Like everyone else, I'm not too surprised that Ryan Kerrigan was picked in the top-20 of last night's NFL draft. I am surprised that prognosticators got it so right though. On both EsPN & NFL's tickers in the last few days, he was either 16 or very near that spot...and he ends up getting picked up at the 16th spot by the Washington Redskins after a trade from the Jags.
Washington was in need of a pass rusher...right now. They get that from another guy in a long line of quarterback terrorizing DE from God's country. Kerrigan might have the best combo of motor and strength of all of the guys who ended up in the NFL from Purdue. Like many of them, 94 said he'd be willing to move to OLB if the Redskins needed/wanted to give him a try there. They most-definitely will see if he works there.
Congrats to Ryan Kerrigan...Man, are you going to be missed.
Elsewhere in the draft, all-around great and likable guy, Cam Newton went as #1 overall to the Panthers. He'll be joining another totally-awesome and uber-likable guy who also plays QB in Carolina named Jimmy. Something tells me that the Panthers aren't fans of their young QB from ND as much as he, himself is.
If nothing else, Carolina has made it very easy for me to decide whom I'll be rooting against next season...regardless if the Panthers decide to keep both QBs or not (which they won't), one of those guys is enough of a jack to draw the ire of plenty of fans on his own.
Now, Newton, Kerrigan and the rest of the fresh-faced draftees can join their brethren in solidarity as they all fight with the owners in a battle that I don't care to watch for one more second.
Hopefully Keith Smith finds a home in the coming days. Adams and Werner will probably also get camp contracts at minimum after the draft is over...good luck to all of these guys- they were all easy to root for, at least for me, while playing for both Hope and Tiller.
2011 NCAA Attendance
You're going to hear me do something I don't do a whole lot: Give IU some credit...and it's deserved. In spite of having a coach that demotivates his team as the season progresses and the fact that IU spent its third-straight season in cellar of the BT, IU fans still show up in droves. That says a lot. IU was 12th in the nation, third in the conference in basketball attendance averaging 15,529 tickets sold/game. That's around 2,000 unsold tickets/game.
At the same time, Purdue came in at sixth in the conference, 17th in the nation. This number might be an indictment of the shrinking Mackey Arena, more than the Purdue fans. Mackey only averaged a few hundred empty seats/game.
See more here...but here are a few things we found noteworthy:
Six of the top-20 arenas in the nation were in the BT. The only upper-half team that wasn't in the top-20 was Michigan (37th). UM had over 3,000 empties each game. Sure, that number is probably off because of their early-season performance. But, poor performance didn't keep Iowa fans away (31st in the nation).
Penn State came in at an embarrassing 70th place. This in spite of the surprising Lions finishing better than many thought they would and playing extremely well during the season. Penn State boasts of an enrollment of over 44,000 students, and the Bryce Jordan will hold over 15,000 whimpering kitties...but the PSU only had around 7,000 fans at each contest.
Outside the conference, it wasn't surprising to see the likes of the win-at-all-costs UK fans atop the list and the massive Carrier Dome close behind, but there were a few surprises. Memphis' small-ish enrollment didn't keep the out of the top-10 as the city of Memphis has decided the Tigers are their sports team as they attracted 2,000 more fans/game than the Grizzlies.
Jimmer helped propel BYU to the top-10 and record-setting numbers in Provo (Spain?). The 123rd (RPI) ranked Creighton Blue Jays landed at an astounding 22nd in the nation in attendance...Iowa State was only a few spots behind them.
The Big East had three teams in the top-20. The national champ Huskies were in 32nd place averaging a bit over 11,500.
8 comments:
It is sad to see Kerrigan go, but it makes me cringe to think he is going to the Redskins. At least they made a smart pick this year.
Attendance numbers always intrest me. I think it just goes to show that in some parts of the country, such as Iowa, there isn't much else to do.
I was a little surprised to see ND's placement till I saw that their court only holds 9800.
I am a huge Redskin fan, so I am elated that there is finally a Boiler on the team... and one that I am proud of (as opposed to CP being on the team!)
Not surprised at Creighton's attendance numbers. They play in the Qwest Center which has had seats added so that it can now host NCAA Tournament games. Plus, after having spent 3 years in Omaha, I have to say the whole city shows up to go to home games.
I'd like to see an attendance chart based on the number empty seats per game. Ohio State is ahead of Purdue with some 15K per game, but they have room for closer to 19K at their arena.
CP?
Curtis Painter...
Ouch BG. You know my younger brother and I were the only two people cheering on Painter in all of Lucas Oil Stadium two years ago when they pulled Peyton after the first posession against the Jets. Needless to say there was alcohol involved... oh, and the other brother (IU grad) was silent.
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