Daily Dirt: Whoa, New Hampshire! Time to cut back a little, eh?

Daily Dirt for Wednesday, May 25, 2022

The Big Ten concept in item No. 2 is long overdue. Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 294 of The Daily Dirt.

1. The insidehook.com website earlier this month released interesting information if you are a consumer of beer. Details provided by the Top Agency and American Beer Institute reported the following states consume the most beer by adults 21 and older:

• 1. New Hampshire, 41.5 gallons per person. (Budweiser is the most popular.)
• 2. North Dakota, 37.5 gallons per person. (Fargo is the most popular.)
• 3. South Dakota, 37.3 gallons per person. (Budweiser is the most popular.)
• 4. Vermont, 34 gallons per person. (Bud Light is the most popular.)
• Other notable states: Iowa, 31.0 gallons per person (Budweiser is the most popular), Missouri, 26.9 gallons per person. (Budweiser is the most popular) and Illinois, 25.9 gallons per person (Goose Island is the most popular).

Beer in the U.S. was a $94.1 billion industry at the end of 2021.

2. Did you notice the Big Ten will likely be reconfiguring its divisions for football, mostly because of the ongoing domination of the East? Until this week, it looked as if the Big Ten would simply pile all 14 schools into one division and send the top two to its annual championship game, due largely to the inability of the West schools to compete with East behemoths like Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State.

If there is a realignment, it certainly won’t be determined by geography. I would guess Ohio State and Michigan would be placed in one division and Michigan State and Penn State in the other — then just divide up all the have-nots and wannabes like Illinois, Rutgers, Maryland, Northwestern, Nebraska, etc.

Granted, Wisconsin and Iowa have traditionally been better than that “have-not” or “wannabe” tag, but most years, even the Badgers and Hawkeyes now have trouble competing with the conference football elite. In all fairness, both Iowa and Wisconsin have been successful enough to probably earn a seat at the table when the “powers” are divided up.

3. The week’s best comments “Found on Facebook”:

• “Music  is just like candy. It’s great once you get rid of the rapper.”
• “Thank you student loans for getting me through college. I don’t think I can ever repay you.”
• “And God said unto John, ‘Come forth and you will be granted everlasting life.’ John came fifth and received a toaster.”
• “My kid’s science teacher gave her class an assignment about observing condensation during the night. It was dew the next day.”
• “My wife is complaining because I never buy her flowers. I never knew she sold them.”

Steve Thought O’ The Day
Steve understands the North Dakota and South Dakota parts of that first comment, but New Hampshire and Vermont? There are actually many other things to do in those states — as opposed to the Dakotas — than drink beer.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. He believes Ohio State should get its own division in the Big Ten and play for the conference title every season.