Roll Tide, "white out" controversy and Becky Hammon - Sep 29, 2008 | 9:54:44
posted by: Howard Smith
- With all of the upsets in college football, Oklahoma is the new top-ranked team. This is the 96th week that the Sooners have been at the top of the AP Poll, which breaks its tie with Notre Dame for the most weeks as college football's No. 1.
- Seriously, how cool does Penn State's "white out" look on television? With the entire stadium dressed in white - aside from some scattered Illinois orange - the 12th-ranked Nittany Lions took care of 22nd-ranked Illinois, 38-24. I'm a big fan of traditions like these, although Georgia's "black out" against Alabama didn't prove to be nearly as successful on the field.
- Not everybody is happy with Penn State's "white out," however. The Phoenix Coyotes hockey team (formerly the Winnipeg Jets) says it trademarked the term after a 1987 playoff game. While the Coyotes gave Penn State permission to use the term for one game two seasons ago because it had already printed t-shirts, it is upset with Penn State for continuing to use the phrase. Before this weekend's game, Penn State was calling it a "Stadium White Out" and "Penn State White Out," phrases that technically aren't trademarked by the Coyotes. While we might need to get an intellectual property lawyer on the phone to straighten out this situation, let me ask you...what do you think about this dilemma?
- Considering the relative success of Duke's football and basketball teams in recent years, Midnight Madness on the basketball floor probably couldn't come soon enough in Durham. However, for one day at least, the football team is the talk of the town after defeating Virginia, 31-3. This was Duke's first ACC win in its last 26 conference games.
- Wake Forest, the top-ranked field hockey team in the country, was defeated by third-ranked Maryland, 4-2, on Saturday. Wake Forest and Maryland are two of the five ACC teams that are currently ranked in the top nine in the country (along with North Carolina, Virginia and Duke).
