The University of Colorado is joining the Pac 10. Nebraska soon might join them. The Big 12 might dissolve. The SEC might sweep in and grab Oklahoma. Texas might flee to the Pac 10 or the SEC, or another conference could arise out of the ashes.
What does this mean for college football? Anyone who tells you that they know is a total liar. This could be fairly small (Colorado leaves the Big 12, Nebraska declines, Utah accepts, and BYU fills in the hole), or it could be so big that college football in 2011 looks nothing like it does now. As of today, we just don't know.
That being said, I wanted to tackle a couple of topics.
Will the Pac 10 become the Pac 16? And what does that mean?
One ESPN report has the Pac 10 becoming the Pac 16, dividing into two 8-team divisions, playing no championship, and asking for two automatic bids into the BCS. Say what?
First off, if this report is true, the arrogance of these people astounds me. Two automatic bids? This is a conference that has only one national power a year (USC)? And that team is likely going on a bowl ban? Please. The MWC has been as good of a conference in many ways (in football) over the past couple of years.
What is means to other sports is total chaos. I was a sports writer when BYU and many of the traditional WAC teams ditched the WAC and formed the MWC. It was great for football, pretty good for basketball, but not great for other sports. Maybe most fans don't care, but for many athletes, their level of competition changes, and their 'rivals' change.
The destruction of the Big 12
I don't really care about this. It's not like this is a historical conference, formed in 1994 out of the Big 8 and the Southwest. What it really means is destruction of some regional rivalries, both traditional and some relatively new.
For example, what if the Pac 10 takes Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Colorado. What about the UT rivalry with A&m? Will UT only go if A&M is included? And what about Nebraska's rivalries with Missouri and Kansas? Not as traditional or as deep, but they mean something.
Are fans going to have to pay more money to watch their teams play?
If you're still reading this (which is not likely), you should know that my friend Christy actually prompted this blog post. She's an OU grad who lives in Lincoln who is wondering if she's going to have to pay through the nose to watch her beloved Sooners play in whichever conference they end up in. The answer is: maybe.
This is all about money. College football is a greed sport. The Pac 10, SEC and others have seen the financial success of the Big Ten Network, and they want that. Even the lowly MWC has its own network.
And these conference channels have more benefits than major financial windfalls. The conferences build the conference and school brands, promoting other sports besides football and basketball, and better promoting the two premier sports. For example, do you want to watch a show about the best Big Ten basketball players of the 80s? In HD? You can, on the Big Ten Network at 8pm on Friday. I will not be tuning in.
As a BYU fan, the whole Mtn Network thing has been a pain, but it's pretty awesome now. I can sit in my house in Wisconsin and watch every BYU football and basketball game. But I do have to pay more. I have to purchase a premium DirectTV package, and then I have to pay more for the Sports Pack, which includes the Mtn Network.
That being said, it's worth it to me (though my wife may disagree). I get to watch the Cougars for heaven's sake! And I don't have to watch them at weird times or nights, but on Saturdays like they should be. But once most conferences switch to the network model, if you don't live in the geography of your team's conference, you may have to pay extra to see your team.
What does this mean for BYU?
The MWC and BYU are at a the mercy of the other conferences. If the Pac 10 only gets Colorado, then they probably come poach Utah or BYU (most likely the evil U 0f U). Then the Big 12 would need another team, likely BYU or TCU. BYU has some negatives against it, the biggest being not playing sports on Sundays. Being one of the big fishes in the MWC, the conference happily accommodates us. Would the Big 12? Do they honestly want a conservative Mormon school in the ranks? And if Utah and TCU leave, where does that leave the Cougars? No where good.
What does this mean for the BCS?
Again, chaos. If several super-conferences are created (the Pac 10 becomes the Pac 16, the Big Ten becomes the Big 14), they may demand multiple bids. This could squeeze out MWC and WAC teams that have wreaked havoc against the big boys recently. It may also create more a rallying cry for a playoff, but I wouldn't count on that.
How could they fix all this?
The NCAA could fix all this be disbanding all the conferences and going to a region system. Now I don't believe the NCAA has the power to do this, and even if they did, it would be extremely complicated. But imagine a world where small, nimble geographic regions were created. This would make non-revenue sports less expensive, as most schools would rarely travel more than several hundred miles for regional play. It would also make most playoffs clean and rational.
Of course this won't happen. Way too much money is at stake for big boy schools and conferences to let rational thought, small sports, and academics cloud their greed. In the next couple of weeks I will blog about what this would look like. Why? Because this is my blog, read by several.
Closing thoughts
The two big NCAA sports, football and basketball, are greedy enterprises, that cover themselves in a shroud of amateurism but rake in profits like professionals, at least at the enterprise level. The swirling rumors of the last few days clearly show that. I don't know how all of this will land, but I do know that the richer will likely get richer no matter were the various schools land.
Showing posts with label college basketball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label college basketball. Show all posts
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
March Madness Thoughts
I don't watch a lot of college basketball anymore. Beginning 2005, I started watching more NBA. I was intrigued by the new generation of players: LeBron, Carmelo, Wade. NBA basketball was fun again, and the playoffs were intriguing. This waxing of the NBA led to a waning of NCAA basketball.
Don't get me wrong. I still devoured March Madness, the best tournament in sports (closely followed by the NHL playoffs). But I watched a lot fewer games. And my two teams (BYU and Purdue) weren't nationally relevant at the time.
This all crested with the Celtics winning the 2008 NBA title. My favorite team was relevant again (if only for two seasons), and the playoffs were awesome. My NBA time investment was paying off.
This year has been different. I can hardly watch the Celtics; Rasheed Wallace is a disgrace, and watching KG is almost painful now. And the team is irrelevant again, an aging former champ who no longer has the power to play with the big boys, an old team that's falling quickly.
And my college teams were good. Purdue has become a nationally relevant team, and BYU is a fun mid-conference team. So I followed both teams this season, but I didn't watch a lot besides that. So my thoughts on the tournament are going to be confined to my two teams.
Purdue
Before Hummel went down with his gruesome knee injury, I gave the Boilermakers a decent shot at making the Final Four. They were a complete team, with three players that could fill up the basket in different ways. And their defense was solid.
Now they're mediocre, and will likely not make the Sweet 16. That is a big shame. Maybe their terrible showing in the Big Ten tournament against Minnesota will galvanize the team and make them stronger. I think it just showed that they are not the same team without Hummel. Tournament prediction: Loss to Texas A&M in round of 32.
BYU
Early in the season, I had higher hopes for the Cougars. A good showing outside of conference, and a solid rotation with an electric scorer. Though two loses to New Mexico made them conference second class going into the tournament. Still, going into the tourney, they had a shot at a 4-seed, especially if they beat New Mexico in the championship.
But a loss to UNLV on the a 'nuetral' Las Vegas court ended that. A 7-seed means a second-round match-up against Kansas State, instead of squaring off against a Butler, Purdue, Texas A&M -- a team they could have a good shot at beating and making a Sweat 16 run. So despite one of the best BYU teams of the past 20 years, it looks like another tournament disappointment. Tournament prediction: Loss to Kansas State in round of 32.
Don't get me wrong. I still devoured March Madness, the best tournament in sports (closely followed by the NHL playoffs). But I watched a lot fewer games. And my two teams (BYU and Purdue) weren't nationally relevant at the time.
This all crested with the Celtics winning the 2008 NBA title. My favorite team was relevant again (if only for two seasons), and the playoffs were awesome. My NBA time investment was paying off.
This year has been different. I can hardly watch the Celtics; Rasheed Wallace is a disgrace, and watching KG is almost painful now. And the team is irrelevant again, an aging former champ who no longer has the power to play with the big boys, an old team that's falling quickly.
And my college teams were good. Purdue has become a nationally relevant team, and BYU is a fun mid-conference team. So I followed both teams this season, but I didn't watch a lot besides that. So my thoughts on the tournament are going to be confined to my two teams.
Purdue
Before Hummel went down with his gruesome knee injury, I gave the Boilermakers a decent shot at making the Final Four. They were a complete team, with three players that could fill up the basket in different ways. And their defense was solid.
Now they're mediocre, and will likely not make the Sweet 16. That is a big shame. Maybe their terrible showing in the Big Ten tournament against Minnesota will galvanize the team and make them stronger. I think it just showed that they are not the same team without Hummel. Tournament prediction: Loss to Texas A&M in round of 32.
BYU
Early in the season, I had higher hopes for the Cougars. A good showing outside of conference, and a solid rotation with an electric scorer. Though two loses to New Mexico made them conference second class going into the tournament. Still, going into the tourney, they had a shot at a 4-seed, especially if they beat New Mexico in the championship.
But a loss to UNLV on the a 'nuetral' Las Vegas court ended that. A 7-seed means a second-round match-up against Kansas State, instead of squaring off against a Butler, Purdue, Texas A&M -- a team they could have a good shot at beating and making a Sweat 16 run. So despite one of the best BYU teams of the past 20 years, it looks like another tournament disappointment. Tournament prediction: Loss to Kansas State in round of 32.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Calipari: The ultimate dodger
In 1996, Jim Calipari led UMass to the Final Four, the best tournament run in school history. But according the NCAA, that run does not exist because of scandal.
In 2008, Calipari led Memphis to the championship game before falling to Kansas. And again, the Tigers run no longer exists according to the NCAA, due to several infractions, including a bogus SAT score for star Derrik Rose.
And yet Calipari got off scott free in both cases. After UMass, he jumped to the NBA for three seasons with the New Jersey Nets, including a playoff run in 1998. And he's now the coach at Kentucky.
Calipari may or may not have done anything wrong in his two college coaching stops before UK. He certainly has never been legitimately implicated in anything. But this smells rotten to me. It appears as if Calipari fostered (or at least tolerated) a culture of corruption at both institutions. In the case of Memphis, they knew what they were getting. As did UK, which apparently was aware of the NCAA investigation when it hired Calipari a few months ago.
What does this mean for college basketball? Likely little. The sport has weathered much larger scandals than this. But it is further confirmation that winning is king in college sports, not integrity and academics.
In 2008, Calipari led Memphis to the championship game before falling to Kansas. And again, the Tigers run no longer exists according to the NCAA, due to several infractions, including a bogus SAT score for star Derrik Rose.
And yet Calipari got off scott free in both cases. After UMass, he jumped to the NBA for three seasons with the New Jersey Nets, including a playoff run in 1998. And he's now the coach at Kentucky.
Calipari may or may not have done anything wrong in his two college coaching stops before UK. He certainly has never been legitimately implicated in anything. But this smells rotten to me. It appears as if Calipari fostered (or at least tolerated) a culture of corruption at both institutions. In the case of Memphis, they knew what they were getting. As did UK, which apparently was aware of the NCAA investigation when it hired Calipari a few months ago.
What does this mean for college basketball? Likely little. The sport has weathered much larger scandals than this. But it is further confirmation that winning is king in college sports, not integrity and academics.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
A night of sports
My wife and two daughters left several hours ago to go visit family in Utah. So how am I handling it? Not well, but I will watch enough sports in the next 10 days that I'll probably be sick of them...nah.
So I've sat here watching the basketball and am now watching the WBC. So here are some diary thoughts, Bill Simmons style.
- BOILER UP!
- Why is it that teams forget how to play defense in the last 15 seconds? I'd feel bad for Western Kentucky if they hadn't let a wide-open drive beat them at the end. Guys, even an open three pointer is harder to make than a wide-open layup.
- What does Coach K have in common with Vlade Divac, Danny Ainge and Tim Duncan? Whining. As I say to my two-year-old: Stop whining! You get all the calls anyway (including two weak calls at the end of the Texas game).
- Why on earth did I pick West Virginia to go deep in the tournament? Oh yeah, because I'm an idiot. Thanks chokin' Bob Huggins.
Now, on to the World Baseball Classic matchup between Korea and Venezuela.
1st Inning
- Really Luis Sojo? You start Carlos Silva over Felix Hernandez in an elimination game? You deserve to lose this game. Silva got hit around more last year in Seattle than Don Flamengo in the old Mike Tyson's Punchout.
- Five of the first hitters for Korea are named Kim or Lee. I'm pretty sure Joe Morgan will get someone confused before this game is over.
- OK, I promise I wrote the first point before Silva got lit up like a Christmas tree.
- The Yankees let Bobby Abreu go for several reasons, but a lot of this had to go with his defense. Nice catch and throw, slick.
- After the top of the first, 5-0 Korea, a team which has pitched brilliantly in this tournament. I agree with Steve Phillips. Felix Hernandez better start the second.
- And the Venezuelans go down quietly in the first.
2nd
- Luis Sojo is a winner. He was an unimportant part of like ten World Series champions. He just knows how to win.
- Yes, Silva starts the inning, and Felix is not even warming up in the bullpen. Sojo is a moron. What are you saving Felix for? Seattle's playoff run?
- One of the Kims hits it out. 7-0. Several thousand Korean children this year will be named Luis Sojo Kim or Luis Sojo Lee.
- There are pitch limits in the WBC? Really? I hadn't heard about that.
- Another Venezuelan error. Yikes. Too bad there's not a mercy rule this round.
- Managing is actually pretty easy. You just need to not over think it. Like batting Ordonez 6th or starting Silva just because he's pitched a little better the last couple of weeks.
3rd - I really like listening to Jon Miller. He is one of the best around. I wish he could do the World Series instead of Joe 'I'm not as good as my dad' Buck, and Tim 'I suck' McCarver. - Are the Venezuelans getting something going? Two on, one out. - Mora's RBI single puts Venezuela on the board, 7-1. This game isn't over, even with the handicap of having Sojo in the dugout. - A defensive replacement in the 3rd? I've never seen that before, but it's a great move. An American (or Venezuelan) manager would never do anything that smart.
- Cabrera ends the inning with a loud out.
4th
- And of course the defensive replacement launches a double.
- Had to look it up: Sojo was on 4 Yankees championship teams. His teams won 11 of the 13 postseason series they were in. His career postseason batting line: 257/284/317. He's a winner.
- Nothing's better than a pick-off move to second when both SS and 2B cover.
- Another bad play by the Fat Cat at 1B, the team's 4th error. 8-1 Korea.
- Joe Morgan just told us that the Venezuelans are in trouble after giving up the 8th run. I'm pretty sure the trouble started before that when Sojo wrote Silva's name on the lineup card.
5th
- The Venezuelans get robbed on a close play at first. I was hoping Sojo would get thrown out. It might have helped their chances.
- Well, they get the call right back after Scutaro dives into first. I'm with Joe Morgan. Diving into first is pointless. Kind of like voting Democrat.
- Wow, Sojo couldn't do any worse. Yes, you're down seven runs. Send the runner and waste your precious outs.
6th
- And Venezuela trots out the corpse of Victor Zambrano. All 10 Tampa Bay fans are smiling at this moment. Mets fans just threw their Darryl Strawberry bobblehead at the TV.
- Thunderstix were invented in Korea, and they've cloned a dog? I am now rooting for Venezuela.
- After DH Lee almost hits it out, he pokes it to left, 9-1 Korea. I'm starting to get sleepy.
- They just showed a graphic of Korean players missing from the 2006 WBC team, including BK Kim, who's had a perpetual pouty face since the 2001 World Series.
- Man, the Venezuelans (who've looked so good in this tournament) look like a high school team. Throw home, catcher misses it, pitcher throws ball to third and luckily it's snagged by the SS backing up 3B. I'm pretty sure that only Magglio Ordonez will be safe from the wrath of Pres. Chavez when they get home.
- A wild pitch results in the third out. What a crazy game. 10-1 Korea.
7th
- Carlos Guillen hits a bomb. 10-2.
- In each and every WBC game, the announcers debate the format of the WBC. Guess what: it's fine how it is. Jayson Stark at ESPN has a solution, which is just as bad as the rest (doing it over the All-Star break). There's not perfect way to do this. People need to stop whining. Just like Coach K.
8th
- I'm pretty sure someone will sign TK Kim, big 1B dude for Korea. And I'm pretty sure he'll hit .230 with 20 bombs and a lot of Ks.
- They keep showing international soccer scores. Why? US baseball fans suddenly care about the English Premiere League? (Yes, I'm getting really bored.)
- The Koreans finally make an error. And it doesn't matter.
9th
- Game over. This was fun. I'm going to bed now.
So I've sat here watching the basketball and am now watching the WBC. So here are some diary thoughts, Bill Simmons style.
- BOILER UP!
- Why is it that teams forget how to play defense in the last 15 seconds? I'd feel bad for Western Kentucky if they hadn't let a wide-open drive beat them at the end. Guys, even an open three pointer is harder to make than a wide-open layup.
- What does Coach K have in common with Vlade Divac, Danny Ainge and Tim Duncan? Whining. As I say to my two-year-old: Stop whining! You get all the calls anyway (including two weak calls at the end of the Texas game).
- Why on earth did I pick West Virginia to go deep in the tournament? Oh yeah, because I'm an idiot. Thanks chokin' Bob Huggins.
Now, on to the World Baseball Classic matchup between Korea and Venezuela.
1st Inning
- Really Luis Sojo? You start Carlos Silva over Felix Hernandez in an elimination game? You deserve to lose this game. Silva got hit around more last year in Seattle than Don Flamengo in the old Mike Tyson's Punchout.
- Five of the first hitters for Korea are named Kim or Lee. I'm pretty sure Joe Morgan will get someone confused before this game is over.
- OK, I promise I wrote the first point before Silva got lit up like a Christmas tree.
- The Yankees let Bobby Abreu go for several reasons, but a lot of this had to go with his defense. Nice catch and throw, slick.
- After the top of the first, 5-0 Korea, a team which has pitched brilliantly in this tournament. I agree with Steve Phillips. Felix Hernandez better start the second.
- And the Venezuelans go down quietly in the first.
2nd
- Luis Sojo is a winner. He was an unimportant part of like ten World Series champions. He just knows how to win.
- Yes, Silva starts the inning, and Felix is not even warming up in the bullpen. Sojo is a moron. What are you saving Felix for? Seattle's playoff run?
- One of the Kims hits it out. 7-0. Several thousand Korean children this year will be named Luis Sojo Kim or Luis Sojo Lee.
- There are pitch limits in the WBC? Really? I hadn't heard about that.
- Another Venezuelan error. Yikes. Too bad there's not a mercy rule this round.
- Managing is actually pretty easy. You just need to not over think it. Like batting Ordonez 6th or starting Silva just because he's pitched a little better the last couple of weeks.
3rd - I really like listening to Jon Miller. He is one of the best around. I wish he could do the World Series instead of Joe 'I'm not as good as my dad' Buck, and Tim 'I suck' McCarver. - Are the Venezuelans getting something going? Two on, one out. - Mora's RBI single puts Venezuela on the board, 7-1. This game isn't over, even with the handicap of having Sojo in the dugout. - A defensive replacement in the 3rd? I've never seen that before, but it's a great move. An American (or Venezuelan) manager would never do anything that smart.
- Cabrera ends the inning with a loud out.
4th
- And of course the defensive replacement launches a double.
- Had to look it up: Sojo was on 4 Yankees championship teams. His teams won 11 of the 13 postseason series they were in. His career postseason batting line: 257/284/317. He's a winner.
- Nothing's better than a pick-off move to second when both SS and 2B cover.
- Another bad play by the Fat Cat at 1B, the team's 4th error. 8-1 Korea.
- Joe Morgan just told us that the Venezuelans are in trouble after giving up the 8th run. I'm pretty sure the trouble started before that when Sojo wrote Silva's name on the lineup card.
5th
- The Venezuelans get robbed on a close play at first. I was hoping Sojo would get thrown out. It might have helped their chances.
- Well, they get the call right back after Scutaro dives into first. I'm with Joe Morgan. Diving into first is pointless. Kind of like voting Democrat.
- Wow, Sojo couldn't do any worse. Yes, you're down seven runs. Send the runner and waste your precious outs.
6th
- And Venezuela trots out the corpse of Victor Zambrano. All 10 Tampa Bay fans are smiling at this moment. Mets fans just threw their Darryl Strawberry bobblehead at the TV.
- Thunderstix were invented in Korea, and they've cloned a dog? I am now rooting for Venezuela.
- After DH Lee almost hits it out, he pokes it to left, 9-1 Korea. I'm starting to get sleepy.
- They just showed a graphic of Korean players missing from the 2006 WBC team, including BK Kim, who's had a perpetual pouty face since the 2001 World Series.
- Man, the Venezuelans (who've looked so good in this tournament) look like a high school team. Throw home, catcher misses it, pitcher throws ball to third and luckily it's snagged by the SS backing up 3B. I'm pretty sure that only Magglio Ordonez will be safe from the wrath of Pres. Chavez when they get home.
- A wild pitch results in the third out. What a crazy game. 10-1 Korea.
7th
- Carlos Guillen hits a bomb. 10-2.
- In each and every WBC game, the announcers debate the format of the WBC. Guess what: it's fine how it is. Jayson Stark at ESPN has a solution, which is just as bad as the rest (doing it over the All-Star break). There's not perfect way to do this. People need to stop whining. Just like Coach K.
8th
- I'm pretty sure someone will sign TK Kim, big 1B dude for Korea. And I'm pretty sure he'll hit .230 with 20 bombs and a lot of Ks.
- They keep showing international soccer scores. Why? US baseball fans suddenly care about the English Premiere League? (Yes, I'm getting really bored.)
- The Koreans finally make an error. And it doesn't matter.
9th
- Game over. This was fun. I'm going to bed now.
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