The BIG EAST’s Tweet Coast Bias

On New Year’s Eve, 10 private colleges took part in the (re)inauguration of BIG EAST basketball.  The BIG EAST* kicked off the fall season several months earlier, but the primary purpose of the “new Big East” was basketball.  If the conference was born (again) with soccer and volleyball, New Year’s basketball was its baptism.

*OK, that’s enough of that all-caps thing

As a graduate of the school on the western heel of the new Big East’s footprint, I was concerned that the new conference would neglect much of the news out of Nebraska.  Just as Stephen Colbert does not see race, I do not see regionalism.  However, with this anecdote, my friend showed me that it is a legitimate concern.  He went to school out east and, when he introduced himself as being from Minnesota, his fellow student responded with “Oh, cool.  Is that in Wisconsin?”* Almost a month has passed since the coronation of the new conference and I wanted to check in on my concerns.  So, as I think to myself almost daily, thank goodness for Twitter.

Kickin’ Around a New Name: Minnesota soccer plays the name game…and loses

Editor's note: The President of the Minnesota United FC, Nick Rogers, responded to this post and his comments are below. 

About a month ago, the Minnesota Stars* decided that it was time to re-brand themselves after the then-league-owned team was purchased by former UnitedHealth CEO, William McGuire.  Like naming a child, choosing a name for a professional sports team is a rare occurrence that provides the owners/parents the opportunity to provide the team/child with the opportunity to be successful while also acknowledging familiar surroundings and family ties.  The Tampa Bay Devil Rays recently determined that supporting the underworld’s patriarch was not good for business and decided to drop “Devil” from the team’s moniker.  The New Orleans Hornets, after moving from Charlotte to New Orleans (and then to and from Oklahoma), will begin anew as the Pelicans next season.**