Big Ten Twitter Pic - Check out this Cake!

This twitter picture comes from Penn State assistant coach Jay Paterno (@JayPaterno)

"Check out this cake the Penn State bakery whipped up for our recruiting dinner. Fantastic!"

Bowl Tweets

It's bowl season, so that means it's time for the final round of tweets around the Big Ten...

Penn State assistant Jay Paterno:

"I can't help but wonder: if Joe Paterno coached at LSU would their cheer for him be "When I say JeauxPa, you say Terneaux"."

"Congrats to Daryll Clark on winning the Silver Football-Big 10 MVP-the 3rd PSU QB to win since PSU joined in 1993 more than any school"

"The Capital One Bowl will be a showcase of the greatest tailgaters on the planet--Penn State & LSU fans. Can you put kielbasa in gumbo?"

Northwestern Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald:

"Get your tickets for the Outback Bowl http://tinyurl.com/yge49ca - let's fill up Raymond James Stadium with Purple! GO CATS!"

"Our staff is starting to game-plan for the Outback Bowl today [Dec. 7] - we have a LOT of work to do between now and January 1st! GO CATS!"

Penn State Assistant Tom Bradley:

"This afternoon and tonight [Dec. 5] is all about recruiting...we have a great group of players and people on campus this weekend"

Good Tweet, Bad Tweet

The twitter phenomenon is something that looks like it's going to stick around for quite some time.

But with so many people on Twitter - athletes, celebrities, regular joes, and media members, it begs the question about how Twitter is used for "good" and for "bad"

I'll admit, I thought Twitter was pretty stupid and pointless when I first discovered it. But since I've become a member of the media, working as a sports reporter for the Daily Iowan, I've discovered its importance.

Twitter is the fastest way to get news out to other people - whether it's Tiger Woods crashing into a tree, Allen Iverson retiring, or Minnesota head football coach Tim Brewster urging fans to vote the Gophers for the Alamo Bowl.

I've used Twitter on this blog numerous times to report the latest tweets from Big Ten coaches. This is an example of when twitter is used for "good." Twitter is a great way to get inside access to coaches, athletes, celebrities for newsworthy things that reporters might not otherwise discover. I also use Twitter to market my articles that I've written for the Daily Iowan, another good way to use Twitter to further gain readership.

But there can be another side of Twitter.

It can be an avenue for malicious rumors to spread extremely easily. I didn't follow this very closely on Twitter, but I would imagine if someone tweeted that Tiger Woods had died in his car crash, it would have been "Re-Tweeted" millions of times.

The problem is that you can't silence people from tweeting and re-tweeting whatever they want, so how does this problem get solved?

Twitter users just need to be able to distinguish "good" tweeting from the media. Many twitter users in the media provide links to their stories or another person's story, this is a great way to use Twitter.

It's not just the followers fault, but the media members fault, as well. The members of the media that are on Twitter need to realize that they are being followed by sometimes hundreds of thousands of people. People are going to believe what a reputable member of the media says. Take Fox Sports writer Jason Whitlock, who tweeted during the Tiger Woods coverage...

"El broke the back window out with a golf club in an attempt to "save' Tiger. this is getting good. good thang i'm on a diet. im ready baby!! My thoughts and prayers are with El and her young child as they struggle to get through this troubling time.. I'm here if you need me."

This is bad tweeting. Whitlock is not only making light of the Tiger news (granted he might have been tweeting what many people were thinking), he is a member of the media and he is making the story about him just as much as it is about Tiger.

All in all, Twitter is used generally for good in the media, but followers just need to realize the good, the bad, and the completely malicious and untrue.

One pick and One tweet

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. Here's my pick for the lone game this week and tweet for for ya, as well.

Friday Game:
Illinois vs. Cincinnati
Game Time: 11 a.m.
Prediction: The Bearcats head into this game undefeated and poised for a BCS Bowl Berth. Defeating Ron Zook and the Illness shouldn't prove to be too difficult. Bearcats down the Illini, 30-10.


Tweet:
Minnesota head coach Tim Brewster appears to be trying to gain support for his club through twitter.

"Help the Gophers get to the Alamo Bowl...Vote for Minnesota on the Alamo Fan Poll http://bit.ly/1nLIjn"

It looks like Brewster's tweeting is working thus far. Minnesota leads the fan poll with 53% of the vote. Michigan State is behind the Gophers with 33%

The Latest Big Ten Tweets

Coaches should have more time to tweet now that their regular season's are over. Let's see who's tweeting around the Big Ten...

PSU Assistant Tom Bradley: "Nows its time to get on the road this afternoon and start recruiting"

"Wow that third quarter was awesome [Saturday]. It was a great way to end up and hopefully we can get a BCS bid"

PSU Assistant Jay Paterno: "Congrats to Penn State's 6 First Team All Big-Ten Selections. Daryll Clark becomes the First Two-Time 1st Team All Big 10 QB Since Drew Brees"

"On the road for a whirlwind day of recruiting"

Tweets from Around the Big Ten

Howdy everyone. Now that I've mentally recovered from Iowa's loss to Northwestern, it's once again time for some more tweeting from around the Big Ten.

From Northwestern Coach Pat Fitzgerald: "CATS WIN!! Thanks to all the NU students and fans who made it to the game! GO CATS!!"

Purdue Coach Danny Hope: "Great job Joey Elliott, just named Big 10 Offensive Player of the Week! Finished 28-39 for 367 yards and 3 TD's in HUGE win over Michigan!!"

Indiana running back Bryan Payton (right): "It kills me how fans boo when they can't do anything close to what we do on the field every day...They should check themselves"

(Photo credit: heraldtimesonline.com)

Scott Chipman, Big Ten Assistant Commissioner of Communications: "Congrats to NU football on being named the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week after their win over IOWA"

Post-Game Tweets from none other than Pat Fitzgerald, among others

Here I am, sitting in the library, contemplating whether I should do American Short Story homework or do a little blogging (Is this even a legitimate question?)

To make a long story short, here I am, and here are some post-game tweets from today and yesterday for y'all.

Pat Fitzgerald:
1)"'Cats win!! It was so great to sing our fight song again! GO CATS!"
2) "'Cats fans - Thank you for all the support! We're back in the office and preparing for Miami! GO CATS!"
3) "BEARS WIN! Another great game by former 'Cat Nick Roach- keep it rolling! GO CATS!"
4) "It's great to see former 'Cats Luis Castillo and Trai Essex playing against each other tonight in the Steelers vs Chargers Game. GO CATS!"

Indiana RB Bryan Payton
1) "Well...That game sucked"

*Tell us how you really feel Bryan...*

PSU Assistant Jay Paterno:
1) "Happy with our performance. A big step back from last weekend. Guys played hard & had fun. Got to see Doc to beat this flu."

2) "After watching the video a 2nd time what Joe says is true: You're never as good as you think you are when you win. I am still happy though."

PSU Assisntant Tom Bradley:
1) "The players really played hard yesterday.We made our mistakes but they stayed after them and tackled well.Our offense took it to them !"

Pre-Game Tweets plus some Big Recruiting News

Time for some pre-game tweets to give you readers some insight into whats going on around the Big Ten...

Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema: " Here at the team hotel and the guys were focused in our team meetings. We are excited to be the first Big Ten game in the new stadium...."

Penn State assistant Jay Paterno: "Red Grange scored 6TDs-5 TD runs & 1 TD pass in Oct 1924 at Illinois' Memorial Stadium-In '05 M Rob matched it with 4 TD passes & 2 TD runs

Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald: "Just wrapped up our pre-game walk-thru. Getting a quick lunch and then heading to West Lafayette to take on the Boilermakers! GO CATS!"

In other news, the Iowa Hawkeyes landed one of the top recruits in the country today.

A.J. Derby (below) of Iowa City High School in Iowa City, IA verbally committed to the Hawkeyes today.

The 6-4, 218-pound QB received offers from Alabama, Florida, Florida State, and Michigan, among others.

According to Rivals.com, Derby is rated as the 16th best QB in the country and the 174th best overall player in the U.S.

Photo Credit: Rivals.com

Tweet, Tweet, Tweet

Time to take a look at some of the Tweets around the Big Ten...

Penn State assistant coach Tom Bradley: "Tough day...we need to get everyone focused on our next test Illinois.No time to feel sorry. Juice,Benn and co.can make for a long afternoon"

*Could this tweet mean the Nittany Lions are in store for a potential letdown against the Illini?

Indiana RB Bryan Payton: "its gettin cool outside...time to break out my array of jackets"

*It was quite cold today. I had to get my jacket out of the closet at well.

Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald: "These kids and their families are a true inspiration to our Team! http://cbs2chicago.com/spec..."


Minnesota head coach Tim Brewster: "Gopher Nation you guys were awesome in Chicago!! Lets get ready to make some serious noise on Saturday! See you at 9:00am!! Go Gophers!"

A Bonus Tweet from Indiana head basketball coach Tom Crean, regarding the crucial dual-posseision/interception call in the IU-Michigan game: "Like Ray Bentley just said" Justice was not served." That was wrong. Our guys had earned the right to get this win."

*I have to agree with Coach Crean on this one, I really think the Hoosiers got hosed on that call. They deserved a chance to make the comeback and the refs took it away from them.

Post-Game and Monday Morning Tweets

Sorry for not posting much over the past couple days, it is going to be a really busy week for me. But I will do my best to post as much as possible this week.

So here's another exciting installment of TWEETS AROUND THE BIG TEN!

Penn State Assistant Coach Tom Bradley (@TomBradleyGOPSF): "Big Ten opener ...Iowa is one tough,physical group"

Penn State Assistant Coach Jay Paterno (@JayPaterno): "@cbfowler says that ESPN Gameday is definitely coming to Penn State for this week. Big Game...everyone wear White for the Whitehouse Game!"

Northwestern Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald (@CoachFitz51): "Congrats to QB Mike Kafka for being Big Ten Co-Player of the Week! He completed 35 of 42 passes for 390 Yards. Way to go! GO CATS!"

Wisconsin Head Coach Bret Bielema (@BretBielema): "Sunday was a good work day. We were able to get through the game health and get our d-lineman back for Big 10 play as well. Good week ahead."

My Sports reporting and Writing professor Dave Schwartz posted this link on his twitter page, its from BigElevenfootball.com. It's what they think Big Ten Coaches are tweeting about
http://www.bigelevenfootball.com/archives/297

That's all for now. It's off to class, and off to the library for some much needed studying...

A couple of Big Ten tweets from today

I know I'm breaking with my normal routine a little bit, but there were a couple of good Big Ten tweets today that I thought I'd share.

Pat Fitzgerald (@CoachFitz51): "Practicing indoors with crowd noise to simulate the HOT & HOSTILE Carrier Dome we'll face in Syracuse!"

Also from Pat Fitzgerald today: "The difference between a dream and wishful thinking is what you're doing now. Practice today what you want to be tomorrow."

And again from Coach Fitzgerald: "We had one of our hardest and most intense practices of the year today--it was GREAT! GO CATS!"

*Pat Fitzgerald appears to be the Big Ten coach with the most tweets at 283

(Fitzgerald Photo Credit: espn.com)

Indiana Running Back Bryan Payton (@bdpayton) on this week's opponent, Akron: "What the hell is a Zip?"

*Here's what a Zip is

Jay Paterno (@JayPaterno): "Tuesday night...good practice, watching practice video & hearing the Blue Band practicing right outside Lasch Building."

We've even got a tweet from Rich Rod today (@UM_CoachRod): "Just met Army Command Sergeant Major Martin Mieras of the Wolverines Battalion. Thanks to all that serve and protect our Country!"

The Second Installment of Tweets around the Big Ten

It's time for the more SWEEEET TWEEEETS. Our second installment is the postgame tweets from a couple of coaches and players...enjoy

Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald (@coachfitz51): "CATS WIN! Glad to be 2-0!"

Penn State assistant coach Tom Bradley (@TomBradleyGOPSF): "Good win today.Sean Lee had another great game.Start on Temple tomorrow very early in am"

Indiana RB Bryan Payton (@bdpayton): "we earned an AWESOME WIN today! This win will make us even closer and pay off as the season goes on."

Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema (@BretBielema): "Was a great enviroment in the Camp today. Was very proud of the way our guys battled through a tough week... Like the attitude of this team"

Penn State assistant Jay Paterno (@JayPaterno): "Happy to be 2-0...but not satisfied. Still some things to tighten up before next week"

The First of a Weekly Feature...Tweets around the Big Ten

That's right, its the Big Ten version of Conan O'Brien's twitter tracker. TWITTER TRACKER TWITTER TRACKER TWITTER TRACKER!

I'm going to keep a running list of the players, coaches, and Big Ten Network personalities that have a twitter page and each Friday I will bring you one of their recent posts. Without further ado, lets see what the Big Ten is tweeting about.

Jay Paterno (Penn State QB Coach): Finished bed check...all the guys are tucked in & ready for a big day tomorrow. Good night to all and to all a good night." Posted about an hour ago

Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern Head Coach): "Walk with us on Walker Way as we arrive at Ryan Field at 8:50 tomorrow morning! We'd love to see you there! GO CATS!" Posted about 7 hours ago

Tim Brewster (Minnesota Head Coach): "48 hrs til kick-off!! Nationally televised on ESPN 2 at 12:00 noon Saturday!! Gopher Nation lets Ride!!!" Posted Yesterday

Danny Hope (Purdue Head Coach): "During the 2007-08 school year, 717 companies recruited on the Purdue campus, conducting 14, 361 interveiws with students." Posted on Sept. 1

Bret Bielama (Wisconsin Head Coach): "Just left a Mendota Gridiron Club event we have every Wednesday night all season. They are all supporters and true fans, join us all year." Posted Sept. 2

Rich Rodriguez (Michigan Head Coach): "Went over 10,000 followers today! Thanks for all the support. Go Blue!" Posted on Aug. 26
*Hopefully those 10,000 followers are still behind Rich Rod after all of the recent allegations against him*

Bryan Payton (Indiana Running Back): "'bout to eat some Chipotle. mmmmm" Posted 4 hours ago