Jim Delany: Don't write off Big Ten
http://es.pn/1AnUcjk
By Adam Rittenberg | ESPN.com
Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany expressed disappointment in the league's
results Saturday but doesn't think the door is closed for a Big Ten team to
reach the inaugural College Football Playoff.
Big 10主席Jim Delany在今天接受ESPN訪問時，不意外地表達他對昨天Big 10人氣球隊
不約而同輸球的失望。但他認為Big 10晉級季後賽的大門仍然沒有關閉。
Michigan State, Michigan and Ohio State all lost high-profile games by double
digits on Saturday night. Michigan went scoreless for the first time since
1984, an NCAA-record streak of 365 games.
密西根州大(斯巴達人)、密西根(金剛狼)與俄亥俄州大(鹿眼)，這三隻球隊在三場備受
全美球迷矚目的球賽都輸球了。金剛狼面臨30年以來第一次無法拿分的命運－也就
是說他們先前365場都有拿到分數，這也是NCAA球隊連續場次得分的紀錄。
Ohio State dropped its first home opener since 1978. It marked the first time
since Sept. 17, 1988, that all three schools lost on the same day.
OSU也沒好到哪裡去，這是他們1978年以來第一次在主場開幕賽輸球。此外，這也是1988
年9月17日以來，這三隻球隊首次在同一天輸球。
The spotlight losses ended a day that also featured two Big Ten teams
(Northwestern and Purdue) losing to Mid-American Conference opponents, and
Nebraska needing a last-minute touchdown to beat FCS McNeese State.
讓情況雪上加霜的另一個事實是：西北與普渡這兩所Big 10學校也在昨天輸給MAC球隊。
至於內布拉斯加雖然有贏球，但也是到了最後一分鐘才以達陣擊敗等級較低的McNeese
State。
"Big games matter on big stages with big ratings and a lot of attention,"
Delany told ESPN.com on Sunday. "In the three primetime games, we didn't win
any. That's disappointing.
Delany今天接受ESPN網站訪問時表示：「這三場聯盟金雞母的球賽固然重要，畢竟他們
都是收視率保證的對戰組合，而且注意的球迷也多。所以在這三場黃金時段舉行的球賽
，沒有辦法拿到任何一場，那當然是很讓人失望的事情..」
I would say this: I said they would be disproportionately impactful but I
didn't say they would be dispositive. We're not feeling very good but the
facts are the facts. I would just say with 50 percent of the nonconference
games and 100 percent of conference games remaining, it's premature to make
any judgments.
「我相信那三場球賽不僅讓他們的球迷失望，還會造成重大影響，但我不會說那是一種
死刑。看到輸球我們心情也沒辦法好起來，但那已經是事實了。在還有50%比例的跨聯
盟賽事，加上聯盟內賽事還沒開打前，對我們球隊作總結實在太早了。」
"It's September 7, not December 7. I would hate to think after two weeks we'd
pick any teams for anything."
「畢竟現在只是9月7日，而不是12月7日，我討厭那些才開打兩週就隨意定下的結論。」
Delany is aware of the "big picture," how the Big Ten hasn't won a national
championship since 2002 and has struggled recently in high-profile nonleague
games. The league is just 8-29 against ranked teams from Power Five
conferences since 2010. The Big Ten is the only Power Five conference without
a team in the top 10 of Sunday's AP poll.
Big 10有球隊拿到全國總冠軍獎盃，已經是2002的事情了(Ohio State)，而且這幾年打
重要的跨聯盟比賽經常感到挫折－2010年以來與五大聯盟種子隊(Top25)的對戰成績是
8勝29負。
更殘酷的事情是：在今天剛出爐的美聯社記者投票中，Big 10是五大聯盟中唯一沒有球隊
進入前十名的聯盟。
"No doubt some games matter more than others," he said. "We still have more
work to do. We just don't have those [wins] in our résumé. Others do.
People can write what they want to write. It's America. But it's at a stage
where the narrative is still developing.
Delany對此又表示：「有些球賽的重要程度無疑是比較高的，而我們聯盟(旗下球隊)要做
的事情還很多，畢竟我們沒有辦法把那些球賽弄成勝場數。所有人都可以寫他們想要說的
話，畢竟這裡是美國，但我要說的是－是現在故事還在處於進行式的階段。」
"Anyone who writes the story of the 2014 football season after two weeks,
that's premature."
「而那些今年球賽只看兩週就寫下完整故事的人，我只能說他們的時機還不夠成熟。」