WATERCOOLER CHAT: CHANGES TO BIG TEN, PITINO’S AFFAIR, SHANNON BROWN SIGNED TO LAKERS
FOOTBALL
In college football, there have been some major changes in the historic Big Ten conference. The Big Ten is home to Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Iowa and other football powerhouses. Now, however, they will inherit Nebraska (a long time Big 12 team) and have their own conference championship. College championships are very interesting because they can theoretically pit the two best teams in the country against each other prior to the BCS Championship game. This has happened in the SEC Championship a few times. Well, the Big Ten has selected Indianapolis as the first destination for this conference championship game. Now it’s possible that rivals Michigan and Ohio State play each other twice in the same season.
BASKETBALL
In college basketball,  Louisville coach Rick Pitino’s affair was back in the news. This time, however, in a legal manner. In 2003, Pitino had a fling with a woman at a restaurant. Afterwards, she wanted millions to keep quiet. Pitino, makes a living not only as a coach, but as a brand name of fine coaching and leadership. In fact, he sells books on leadership. Having his name tarnished could have been detrimental. However, yesterday, a court found this woman, Karen Cunagin Sypher, guilty of extortion. Pitino did have the affair, but he came clean with it, and pursued legal action. Louisville’s athletic director said Pitino would not be penalized for his conduct, but Pitino did apologize for his “discretion”.
Finally, in the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers are trying to keep their championship team in tact. And yesterday, they took another major step toward keeping the nucleus together signing slam-dunk superstar Shannon Brown to a 2-year deal. For most of the off-season, Brown was expected to leave, as he was a rising star and could be a strong piece elsewhere. But, the Lakers know how valuable a young star like Brown is, and if Brown keeps playing well, he could be a key piece in the post-Kobe era in LA.
