A View from the North on the Iron Bowl

I consider myself to be very knowledgeable and passionate about college football, but in my wildest dreams I have never experience the passion of the game like I have this week. During the last week, I have been listening to the Paul Finebaum Radio Network for my college football talk on the way home from work and boy has it opened it my eyes to the hate in the Auburn/Alabama rivalry. For the last couple of days, the radio has been fantastic with the lunatics on both sides of the game yelling at each other.

Having a show like Finebaum's, which is based in Alabama, allows people like me to see the other side of college football and the passion that two very loyal fan basis have. The passion is fantastic, as a Rutgers season ticket holder, I wish that the Knights would have another group to fight like this. This game defines the state of Alabama and its residents. When you are born in that state you are born on a side of the rivalry. During this week on the program, people have been talking about classic Iron Bowl games, and making fun of the others teams boosters, ex-coaches, and former ADs.

The passion for the game is spelled out by former Auburn David Housel speech a bunch of years back, which I heard on Tuesday's Finebaum show.

With no pro sports in the state, this is the only thing they have and I would like to thank XM for allowing people who live in the northeast to see what the rivalry is like through Finebaum's show.

Falling down

I was driving home from work yesterday, listening to my XM Radio and found a familar voices come on, former ESPN analist and Mets GM Steve Phillips. Instead of working for one of the best best networks on tv or running a major market baseball team, Phillips is now the co-host of a fantasy baseball show on XM Radio's Fantasy Sports Radio, now that is a long fall. After working with the greatest of the game he is now working with such great personalities as Anita Marks and Matt Camps, now that is big time.

The fall from grace started, on October 21, 2009 when it was revealed that Phillips had been involved in an affair with a 22-year-old ESPN production assistant. After an initial suspension by ESPN, Phillips was fired by the company on October 25, 2009.

While some people think Phillips is a hack on TV, I was always in the other camp. I thought that he was a fun to listen to and one of the better ESPN guys. Its just surprising to see fall this far.

So Far Ok

A couple of months ago the best sports talk team in the United States was broken up. Mike and the Mad Dog was no more and both Mike Francesa and Chris Russo decided to go their separate ways, with Francesa stay at WFAN and Russo moving over the Sirius XM Radio to host his own show and channel.

So far Russo's new show, Mad Dog Unleashed, has been ok. There are a couple of things that Russo has to learn in order to take his show to the next level.

The major thing that Russo has to do his learn more about college football. I think that Russo under estimated how popular college football is. When he was in at WFAN college football never really came up except for the time they took the show to the Rutgers Louisville game a couple of years ago. People living the SEC and Big 12 countries do not have pro teams to root for and their college football's teams are the only thing that they have. Besides that his show has been a success. The guest have been outstanding and have not been limited to New York media types.

His show is already moving in a positive direction and I can not wait to continue to watch the show develop, which it will.