I just thought I'd let everyone know that the sports wall graphics company Fathead has made the Laurence Maroney Fathead and the Marion Barber Fathead available IN THEIR MINNESOTA UNIFORMS in their collection of giant wall decals. This is in addition to the Fathead sports posters of Marion in his Cowboys uniform and the huge Minnesota logo (looks like no Laurence Patriots Fathead yet). Check them out at http://www.fathead.com/college/minnesota-golden-gophers/ or http://www.fathead.com/ and let me know what you think!

Just because I like solving puzzles, here is a different set of "divisions" and rivalries I came up with (yes, I do have too much time on my hands today).

North: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Michigan St.

South: Iowa, Nebraska, Northwestern, Illinois

East: Indiana, Purdue, Ohio St., Penn St.

Protected games every year: Minn - Iowa, Neb; Wisc - Iowa, Neb; Iowa - Minn, Wisc; Neb- Wisc, Minn

Protected games every year: Mich - OSU, PSU; Mich St. - PSU, OSU; OSU - Mich, Mich St.; PSU - Mich, Mich St.

Protected games every year: Ind - Ill, NW; Purdue - Ill, NW; NW - Purdue, Ind; Ill - Ind, Purdue

Based on ESPN's Adam Rittenberg's important rivalry games posted here: http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/13184/which-big-ten-rivalries-are-worth-saving#comments, some games take a hit - namely: Illinois-OSU (Illinois gets Neb every year; OSU gets PSU every year); Iowa-PSU (Iowa get Neb, Mich; PSU gets Mich, OSU); Minn-PSU (Minn gets Neb, Mich; PSU gets Mich, OSU), Mich St.-Ind (Mich St. gets OSU, PSU; Ind gets OSU, PSU).

This would be 3 "division" games, 2 protected games, and 3 other games. Divisions could be just for scheduling purposes (think 5 protected games), with the playoffs seeding all 12 teams.

Looking at this there is probably too much concentrated power in the OSU/PSU/Michigan area, and it could be a few years for some teams to play each other, but it seems to me to be pretty balanced and reasonably regional while keeping most of the traditional rivalries.

As the Big Ten tries to figure out how the divisions are going to be set, it is time for give to give my two cents.

The only logical way to divide the conference is to use Lake Michigan as the dividing line and go East-West.  Why?  Rivalries is the first reason . Minnesota-Iowa, Minnesota-Wisconsin, Iowa-Wisconsin, and with Nebraska coming into the conference, the rivalry between Minnesota and Nebraska (they have met 51 times) and Iowa and Nebraska (41 times) will be renewed. Let's not forget the rivalry between the states of Illinois and Wisconsin (Bears-Packers, Cubs-Brewers).

The second reason is the fans of the northernmost team (Minnesota) and the westernmost team (Nebraska) should be able to easily travel to at least in-division road games.  The longest in-division trip for Gopher fans would be 422 to Champaign, easily traveled in 8 hours. For Nebraska, it is Evanston at 529 miles, or about a 10 hour drive.

So, for the sake of rivalries and fan friendliness, make it East-West for the Big Ten.

The first defection is on the books.  Jordan Campbell has informed Lane Kiffin that he is leaving USC and will transfer.

Campbell's decision to leave the Trojans is especially interesting because of the circumstances surrounding his time at USC. A high school All-American out of Norco High who struggled to find playing time at USC during his three-year career, Campbell ended spring practice not officially on USC's roster due to a violation of head coach Lane Kiffin's newly instituted "zero-tolerance" policy.

Instead of being forced to sit out a season and thus forfeit his penultimate year of eligibility -- as would have happened if he decided to transfer even a month ago -- Campbell will be immediately eligible upon enrolling at his new school.

"I decided to transfer because it was a blessing in disguise," Campbell said by phone Monday. "The opportunity to go to any other school that I wanted to without sitting out a year -- that was awesome."

Campbell was a four-star LB out of high school and obviously was battling for playing time at USC.  But this begs the question, is there a chance that the Gophers can get Campbell or any other potential USC defectors?  We are in a major conference, Brewster seems to do a great job connecting with recruits AND we have USC on the schedule for the next two years.

The recruiting pitch would have to be the opportunity to play USC and prove to them that you should have been starting.

         Just wanted to take a second to address all those doom and gloom Gopher fans who always assume we have literally the worst team and coach in the league. Is Brewster a good coach? No. And I think that's been proven by now. But is he the worst coach out there? I think this is where we need to stop for a sec and put everything into perspective. Jump with me as I remind you that mediocrity does not mean we suck.

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Good evening, Gopher fans!  I'm Christopher Gates, the head blogger over at SBNation's Minnesota Vikings site, The Daily Norseman.  I am happy and proud to announce that in twelve days, we will be having the first ever SBNation Minnesota Meet-Up!

Want to discuss the Gophers' prospects on the diamond, the gridiron, or the basketball court?  There's going to be plenty of Gopher fans and alumni at the SBNation Minnesota Meet-Up!

Want to banter about the upcoming NBA draft with local Timberwolves fans?  I'll bet you'll find a lot of them at the SBNation Minnesota Meet-Up!

Want to talk about the upcoming draft with your fellow Wild fans, or even about the fact that Norm Green still sucks after all these years?  Head on over to the SBNation Minnesota Meet-Up!

Want to discuss the continued dominance of the American League Central with other Twins fans?  Well, you'll find plenty at the SBNation Minnesota Meet-Up!

Want to talk about the upcoming season with your fellow Viking fans?  They'll be at the SBNation Minnesota Meet-Up!

Okay, now that everyone knows what's happening, let's talk about the when and the where of the event.  It's going to be on Wednesday, June 16th from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM at Hubert's Bar and Grill in the Warehouse District.  The address is 600 North 1st Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55403.  (If you need to MapQuest your way there, click on this link here.)

The only thing I ask is that if you plan on attending this event, you RSVP by clicking on the link below:

Heck yeah, Gonzo, I want to party with my fellow Minnesota sports fans!

I hope a lot of you can attend. . .this is going to be a big event, and a great opportunity for all fans of Minnesota sports teams and their respective SBNation sites.  Have a good rest of your Friday, folks!

Why not consider Colorado for the Big X? It is an AAU school, so the academics should be there. Denver + rest of eastern slope is a large growing area with a lot of the population having Midwest roots, so the BTN should be able to increase revenue. Mountain time zone isn't the best. Colorado may be more interested in joining than the Texas schools, and they may not be that interested in joining a revamped Pac-10.

Seth Rosin went 7 innings with 9 Ks and allowed only 2 earned runs as the Gophers won game 1 of the Ohio State series.  10 Gophers had at least 1 hit and four of them hit a HR.  16-2 was the final and the Gophers remained in 1st place with just two games to play.  Michigan also earned a win over Penn State while Purdue's game at Iowa was rained out.

2 games to go and the Gophers need only a split to guarantee at least a share of their 22nd Big Ten title.  Quite a remarkable turnaround this season.  Tonight's 6:05 game will be aired on the Big Ten Network as will Saturday's season finale.

Hey guys Im Tomahawk44 and I am visiting you from Arrowhead Pride. I am coming over to see if you guys could tell me a little about Garrett Brown. Will he be able to be the middle guy for the Chiefs? What are his strengths and weaknesses? Any insider information we could get from you guys would be greatly appreciated. We are all wondering about this guy since we did not draft a NT in the draft. Hopefully we found a future starter with Brown!

Thanks Daily Gopher!

Make sure to visit AP b/c we will have this linked over there as well.

Some time ago, PJS posted a lengthy column on the Big Ten Network and how it was quickly becoming a heavy anchor around the neck of the conference.  There was talk of the SEC's super-fabulous ESPN contract and how the Big 11 would surely look back on this venture as a quality failure.  Now with all the talk of expansion (due mostly to the Daddy Warbucks money coming in from the network) that argument doesn't seem to carry so much weight.

Since I'm too lazy to look up his exact argument I thought I'd ask him to review the topic and admit his short-sightedness.  Or simply call me out for oversimplifying his argument.  Here's your chance Jimbo.  Let me have it.