Not That I'm Bitter

The final Big East Tournament (as we know it, so the claims go) starts tonight. Except I have never been able to figure out the current Big East. I'm just a cranky old fuddy-duddy. Who are these teams that helped kill my beloved basketball conference?

Here's what the real (classic?) Big East Conference looks like -- in no particular order:

• Syracuse
• St. John's
• Georgetown
• Seton Hall 
• Pitt
• UConn
• Providence
• Boston College
• Villanova

The conference was started as a basketball conference. All the teams were in states along the East Coast. But then football had to rear its ugly head and the conference expanded, inviting teams that had no business calling themselves "East". Once the focus switched from basketball to football, the league was doomed. 

The worst, though, was the inclusion of Notre Dame basketball . . .  without Notre Dame football. Somebody explain that to me, please. "We're expanding the league to include football, except Notre Dame football remains independent."

Football destroyed a beautiful thing. 

Thugs.