CBB Weekend Picks: Needing a FOX Sports Stream

As I settled in to watch Marquette take on Xavier, the Butler-DePaul game was still ongoing. I thought 'Well they will probably flip us to the other game, or we will just miss a little bit of the game.' The game happened to go two overtimes, and FOX Sports 1 where the MU-Xavier game was on alerted the audience it would go to FOX Sports 2, a channel normal digital Time Warner Cable customers do not get in their package. This would not be a problem if FOX Sports had a viable streaming option, but that is not the case. This is officially a problem for FOX Sports.

If they want to contend with ESPN like they say they do, FOX needs to have a respectable streaming option. They have FOX Sports Go, but as Awful Announcing points out, this is not really a legitimate choice right now.  WatchESPN is such an awesome tool. Every game is partially on there if it is on ESPN. Sometimes they do not show ESPNU games, but other than that, if it is on ESPN, you have it a stream of it. Even the major ABC events like the NBA Finals, were on WatchESPN this past summer. FOX does not have anything close to do that, and when they tried to do it for San Francisco-Green Bay which did not work out well. When it started ESPN3 had some major issues, but it did not take long for them to fix those issues. ESPN3 made sure I could watch Marquette games when I went to Eau Claire, it was vital.

The reason why this is a problem is more and more of the younger generation do not have cable. They have Roku, Apple TV, XBox 1, Playstation 4 are all options people are using instead of paying for cable. If FOX wants to appeal to the 18-30 demo (The same demo whom has some issues with ESPN lately, see Tebow, Tim), they need to at least have a streaming option. The fact they are the last ones in the group even if CBS and NBC Sports have some flaws, they still stream a ton of their important content. FOX needs seriously improvement in this category.

Games to watch
20. Iowa at 3. Ohio State (Played Sunday) 12:30 pm CBS - One team is coming off a loss, the other team gets their fiery head coach back. First time Iowa has been on national television since the Luke Recker days? As much as the guy irks me, Iowa does not really have an answer for Aaron Craft. I think he can get his hands all in this game plus they have enough big men to compete with the Hawkeyes. OSU 74-69

25. Kansas State at 18. Kansas 1:00 pm ESPN - Big game for Kansas. They picked up a nice road win against Oklahoma this week with the Jayhawks not getting much from Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid. That's important for Kansas to win without those guys doing much. Kansas State is a little undersized and they have only won at Lawrence twice in the last 20 years. I am taking Kansas by double digits. KU 79-63
 
North Carolina at 2. Syracuse 11:00 am ESPN - I honestly do not know what to hell to think about this one. Tar Heels have beaten these teams this year but losing to slums like Miami and Wake Forest. Orange have actually beat some teams this year unlike others where they feast on cupcakes. Syracuse's zone is not as good as its been in years past yet North Carolina is going to force so many bad shots in this game. Orange pulls away in the last couple minutes of the game. CUSE 71-62

15. Colorado at Washington (Played Sunday) 2:00 pm FOX Sports 1 - This is my upset special of the weekend. Washington has six losses already meaning they need a win. Huskies pushed Arizona on the road last week, and this is their first big home opponent. Lock it up, Washington. UW 65-62

Minnesota at 3. Michigan State 1:15 pm Big Ten Network - I do not know if this will be close, but Golden Gophers start a stretch that is Sparty, Ohio State, Iowa and Wisconsin, all ranked three in the top ten. Best of luck Goldy. MSU 75-59

Charlie.

Sportandfashion-news Bowl Predictions: Troops, Texas & Baseball Stadiums

Military Bowl 

Marshall vs. Maryland 1:30 pm ESPN - It is always cool to see teams who have not played in a bowl game for a couple years get the opportunity to play in one again. This is Maryland's first bowl since 2010 and Marshall's first one since 2011.  Both teams had respectable years with Marshall nearly winning Conference USA. Maryland had a bounce back year with Randy Edsall, and beat the teams they were supposed for the greater part minus a bad Wake Forest defeat. My only real concern is Maryland's injuries might limit their potential missing C.J. Brown at quarterback and Stefon Diggs at wide receiver. Terrapins will need to find some offense in this one. All of Marshall's four losses came against bowl teams, and the only game they were blown out was the final one against Rice. Quarterback Rakeem Cato is a beast for the Herd, and he can definitely have a big game against an average Maryland defense. I am very tempted to pick Marshall here but I am going to go with Maryland. Tough, gritty win. MARY 23-21   

Texas Bowl 

Syracuse vs. Minnesota 5:00 pm ESPN - This is Minnesota's second straight trip to the Texas Bowl, but this year, the Golden Gophers are much improved. Sometimes bowl games will display a team on the rise, and they will completely blow out the team they are playing catching the eye of all national media. After years of futility, Syracuse is playing in their third bowl game in four years, and a change of pace this year playing in Houston. The Orange definitely rely on their defense to make plays for the most part. If you look at their wins and it is usually pretty ugly. Same goes for Minnesota meaning we might not see a ton of points in this one. I think it comes down to who can pass the ball better. Both teams are in the 100's when it comes to throwing the football, but if one team can do it better, I think they win the game. Minnesota avoids another Texas Bowl collapse, and wins this one going away. MINN 20-10  

Fight Hunger Bowl 

BYU vs. Washington 8:30 pm ESPN - To me, this has potential to be game of the day. Basically what I
want to watch in this game is Kyle Von Noy versus Bishop Sankey. That's a matchup of a generation there. I expect worlds colliding. Alright, I am making a bigger deal out of it than it already is but still it should be fun to watch these two go at it. BYU needs to find a way to control the clock, and do something on offense. They are a solid defensive team, but their offense is very inconsistent. If the offense comes to play, they can keep Sankey and Washington off the field. As for the Huskies, they are without a coach which always makes me leery. Currently, teams without their head coaches are 1-3 thus far. I feel like Keith Price is due for a big game as he did not really impress his senior year. Washington is a good football team. They lost to Oregon, Arizona State, Stanford and UCLA. No real bad losses there. Huskies take control and win this one going away. WASH 33-21  

Bowl Record: 6-2

Charlie.