The Big East falls flat

Five things that bother Halftime Snack about the Big East Conference, expressed as the SU teams begin league play:

1) The conference is “the nation’s largest Division I-A Conference,” according to its Web site, with 16 schools.  Yet the largest school in the Northeast by population (Penn State) is soaking up big money and high-quality players in another conference.

2) Weak baseball. Top-seed St. John’s is the first team eliminated in the 2008 Big East Tournament. Louisville returned respectability with a couple deep NCAA runs.

3) The death of St. Johns.  Change the nickname and the claws are removed from this one-ferocious basketball cat.  Dare we say The Curse of Ron Artest? 

4) South Florida is in Tampa.  More like West Florida or Gulf Coast of Florida.

5) The invasion of Duke.  The Blue Devils have set up shop in the New York City-area with yearly games. Can I beat a dead-horse or what?   Pick yourself off the floor and defend Madison Square Garden, St. Johns.