Earlier this week, former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue was introduced as a Special Advisor to the Big East conference.
Today, said Special Advisor attempted to take a shot at the expansion machine known as the Big Ten and the type of havoc they are wreaking and carnage they are leaving all across the collegiate landscape.
Instead, Tagliabue ended up kicking one of the members of the conference he was brought in to guide through these uncertain times right square in their Scarlet Knights.
By way of Adam Rittenberg‘s Big Ten blog on ESPN.com, Tagliabue was discussing the Big Ten and its network potentially expanding their television footprint into the New York City area. And couldn’t help help but toss some collateral damage Rutgers’ way.
(It should be noted that the following job of transcribing is absolutely outstanding, considering the fact that the former commish was talking with his foot in his mouth and all.)
“One of the real challenges for the networks is to provide value, but you only provide value in markets where you provide traction,” Tagliabue said as he slowly raised his foot toward his mouth. “Is Minnesota and Rutgers going to get a big rating on Long Island? Give me a break. Every game isn’t Michigan and Michigan State. Am I going to rush home from a tennis game on Saturday to watch Minnesota and Rutgers if I live on Long Island?”
Is Champ Kind Tagliabue aware that, ya know, Rutgers is a member of the very conference he’s now representing? And, if he is aware of that detail, what kind of twit is he? I get the whole Minnesota-Rutgers thing, but that’s not something, I would think, that you’d want to say out loud.
The Big East has a lot of problems -- potentially -- related to the Big Ten’s push for expansion, and Tagliabue certainly didn’t get off on the right foot by degrading a conference school less than a week on the job.
A job that consists of propping up the sagging conference, not capping it in the knees.
