VICK'S A NO-SHOW, CHIEFS PROMOTE ILB'S, HAWKEYES IN TROUBLE & MORE ON CONFERENCE EXPANSION
Just one year removed from his "eye-opening, humbling experience" of prison & the resulting fall from grace, it has apparently worn off for Michael Vick. He was paid $5,000 to appear at a party & another $5,000 in travel costs by Darnell Aponte, chairman of the Black Tie Group in Florida to be the headliner at an event booked in the Gulfstream Racetrack & Casino. Aponte said Vick was called after he failed to arrive on the US Airways flight booked for him & his entourage. Vick told Aponte his flight was cancelled, it was only delayed, 26 minutes, so he wouldn't make the party. Aponte told Vick the flight had only been delayed to which Vick replied "I missed my flight, what the heck do you want me to do about it?" Aponte added "he wasn't apologetic at all, he had a really poor attitude." The party had billed itself as chance to mingle with celebrities & the festivities were to be hosted by Michael Vick. Attendees were charged $25 for a ticket & 1,500 people were expected to attend. Now Aponte is faced with a mountain of refund requests from those who paid to meet Vick. Aponte said he had spent $10k on advertising & his Black Tie Group might be out of the party promotion business after one event. Michael Vick disappointing folks? Is anyone really surprised?
I heard some very good news out of the Chiefs ongoing OTA's, Derrick Johnson & Jovan Belcher have been the starting inside linebackers since the practices began two weeks ago. Last years' starters, Corey Mays & Demario Williams are running with the second team now. I honestly believe this alone will make their defense better this season. DJ is much faster than either Mays or Williams & he proved last year playing in passing situations, he's far superior to either of 2009's starters. Belcher was mostly a special teamer, but he too is quicker. If he can develop into a reliable inside tackler, their defense is improved, I just kept wondering if Haley would ever release DJ from his doghouse. Jarrad Page continues to stay away from all things Chiefs, having not signed his tender offer as a restricted free agent. I question his desire to play football, especially for Todd Haley.
The Iowa Hawkeyes, besieged by off-field transgressions last year, were cruising along with no entries on the police blotter in 2010, until this past weekend. Running back Jewel Hampton & cornerback Jordan Bernstine were arrested at an Iowa City bar & grill early Saturday morning. Hampton, a starter who missed all of last season with a knee injury, was charged with 2 misdemeanors for a pair of "physical confrontations"(don't you love the legal jargon?). Bernstine was arrested for public intoxication & impeding police in their arrest of Hampton. Hawkeye coach Kirk Farentz, whose own son was nailed last year for P.I., has made no comment on the arrests other than the usual "we're gathering all the facts right now & will have a statement later on."
So the drama that is college football conference expansion continues. Over the weekend rumors were floated the Big-12 has told Nebraska & Mizzou they have until July 15th to "commit or go." All of the lying that goes on after these back-channel discussions would be comical if there wasn't so much at stake financially. The PAC-10 held their annual meetings over the weekend & Commissioner Larry Scott said today he has been given full authority to offer invitations to join their conference. The speculation began immediately as to how soon those invites would be extended. There were reports Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick was at a Big-10 meeting on Saturday. This fueled the 'Notre Dame is gonna join the Big-10' frenzy. Then yesterday several Notre Dame officials said Swarbrick had hosted an all-day open house in Indianapolis for his son's graduation with over 150 people in attendance, so no, he wasn't meeting with BIG-10 officials Saturday. I want to state a few facts about all this conference expansion panic, speculation & lying.
1. Texas is being courted by the SEC & Big-10.
Forget it, it would severely hurt their in-state recruiting if the Longhorns move on without OU, A&M & TTech. Parents have been able to see their sons play every weekend by hopping in the car Saturday morning & driving to their games. Can't do that if they are playing in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, South Carolina, Florida, etc. Texas wants to stay right where they are, the biggest fish in the pond, making most of the rules fit them, they carry a very large stick in the Big-12, it wouldn't be that way in the SEC or Big-10. For any conference actively recruiting Texas, be careful what you wish for, you may just get it. When you get Texas, you get big TV money but they are used to making the rules & they can be relentless.
2. The PAC-10 wants to expand so they can have a conference championship game.
Baloney, the PAC-10 wants to expand if they can get Texas, end of story. Yes, they might have to drag a few teams with them, but other than OU, the other schools simply don't pump up the TV money enough to make it worth it for the current PAC-10 members. If they expand with 6 teams from the Big-12, their next TV deal will have to be $100 million better than the one they currently have in place, just to keep their revenues at the same level. That's a helluva gamble to stay with the status quo don't you think? Just adding teams willy-nilly doesn't make the PAC-10 a more marketable TV property. Getting Okie State, TTech & Colorado isn't going to improve the TV money, but they will get an equal piece of the pie. I can't see USC being happy bringing in another big fish or two(if OU comes along) to challenge their place at the top of conference hierarchy. Once again, be careful what you wish for...............
3. Mizzou & Nebraska are the teams the BIG-10 wants to add thru expansion.
Bull. They want Notre Dame & if they get the Irish, I sincerely doubt the Huskers or Tigers will be offered a slot in the Big-10. Notre Dame alone can jack their TV revenue up $2-4 million per school. Can Mizzou or Nebraska do that? I don't think so. What Mizzou brings to the table is 7 million TV sets, some geographic rivalries,other quality sports programs including basketball, baseball, wrestling & woman's softball, plus a very high academic standard, actually higher than Notre Dame. But Notre Dame means revenue & forget the academic camouflage, this is about money plain & simple. Nebraska brings a storied football program & like Mizzou, is a member of the Association of American Universities, an academic & research group that all 11 Big-10 schools belong to. Notre Dame isn't a member. Bottom line, if the Irish join the Big-10, I think Mizzou & Nebraska might be out in the cold.
4. A BCS rule worth noting at this point is that no conference may have more than two members in BCS bowl games per season. If you cut up the Big-12, raid the Big East(both have automatic BCS bids for their conf. champs) these rules will have to be changed. God forbid we could actually get a playoff system, but that's exactly what this whole mess screams for, more revenue from a playoff system.
5. The Mountain West didn't extend an invitation to Boise State as everyone, including me, expected. The conference said with all the expansion talk floating about, it made sense to bide their time & see what develops. They can always offer the invitation later. True, if the Big-12 gets raided, the Mountain West might see some of it's members offered places elsewhere that could prove to be more lucrative, Did I mention this was all about money?
Friday night, John Wooden, the legendary "Wizard of Westwood", passed away at the age of 99. The UCLA basketball coach might have been the greatest coach of all-time in any sport at any level. His coaching accomplishments speak for themselves, 10 NCAA basketball championships, twelve final-four appearances, 38-straight wins in the NCAA tournament, four 30-0 undefeated seasons & 98-straight wins at Pauley Pavillion. He won the NCAA basketball championship as a player while at Purdue. He never asked for more than a $35,000 salary from UCLA. He was the first person elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player & later as a coach. His program was never investigated & was always "squeaky clean." He was loved by his players & they visited him regularly, not just when he was ill. He was the thinking man's coach, respected by everyone he came in contact with, a man of high morals & great faith. I will leave you with what I think is his greatest quote.
"Failing to prepare is preparing to fail."
John Robert Wooden
October 14, 1910 - June 4, 2010
Rest in Peace
I heard some very good news out of the Chiefs ongoing OTA's, Derrick Johnson & Jovan Belcher have been the starting inside linebackers since the practices began two weeks ago. Last years' starters, Corey Mays & Demario Williams are running with the second team now. I honestly believe this alone will make their defense better this season. DJ is much faster than either Mays or Williams & he proved last year playing in passing situations, he's far superior to either of 2009's starters. Belcher was mostly a special teamer, but he too is quicker. If he can develop into a reliable inside tackler, their defense is improved, I just kept wondering if Haley would ever release DJ from his doghouse. Jarrad Page continues to stay away from all things Chiefs, having not signed his tender offer as a restricted free agent. I question his desire to play football, especially for Todd Haley.
The Iowa Hawkeyes, besieged by off-field transgressions last year, were cruising along with no entries on the police blotter in 2010, until this past weekend. Running back Jewel Hampton & cornerback Jordan Bernstine were arrested at an Iowa City bar & grill early Saturday morning. Hampton, a starter who missed all of last season with a knee injury, was charged with 2 misdemeanors for a pair of "physical confrontations"(don't you love the legal jargon?). Bernstine was arrested for public intoxication & impeding police in their arrest of Hampton. Hawkeye coach Kirk Farentz, whose own son was nailed last year for P.I., has made no comment on the arrests other than the usual "we're gathering all the facts right now & will have a statement later on."
So the drama that is college football conference expansion continues. Over the weekend rumors were floated the Big-12 has told Nebraska & Mizzou they have until July 15th to "commit or go." All of the lying that goes on after these back-channel discussions would be comical if there wasn't so much at stake financially. The PAC-10 held their annual meetings over the weekend & Commissioner Larry Scott said today he has been given full authority to offer invitations to join their conference. The speculation began immediately as to how soon those invites would be extended. There were reports Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick was at a Big-10 meeting on Saturday. This fueled the 'Notre Dame is gonna join the Big-10' frenzy. Then yesterday several Notre Dame officials said Swarbrick had hosted an all-day open house in Indianapolis for his son's graduation with over 150 people in attendance, so no, he wasn't meeting with BIG-10 officials Saturday. I want to state a few facts about all this conference expansion panic, speculation & lying.
1. Texas is being courted by the SEC & Big-10.
Forget it, it would severely hurt their in-state recruiting if the Longhorns move on without OU, A&M & TTech. Parents have been able to see their sons play every weekend by hopping in the car Saturday morning & driving to their games. Can't do that if they are playing in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, South Carolina, Florida, etc. Texas wants to stay right where they are, the biggest fish in the pond, making most of the rules fit them, they carry a very large stick in the Big-12, it wouldn't be that way in the SEC or Big-10. For any conference actively recruiting Texas, be careful what you wish for, you may just get it. When you get Texas, you get big TV money but they are used to making the rules & they can be relentless.
2. The PAC-10 wants to expand so they can have a conference championship game.
Baloney, the PAC-10 wants to expand if they can get Texas, end of story. Yes, they might have to drag a few teams with them, but other than OU, the other schools simply don't pump up the TV money enough to make it worth it for the current PAC-10 members. If they expand with 6 teams from the Big-12, their next TV deal will have to be $100 million better than the one they currently have in place, just to keep their revenues at the same level. That's a helluva gamble to stay with the status quo don't you think? Just adding teams willy-nilly doesn't make the PAC-10 a more marketable TV property. Getting Okie State, TTech & Colorado isn't going to improve the TV money, but they will get an equal piece of the pie. I can't see USC being happy bringing in another big fish or two(if OU comes along) to challenge their place at the top of conference hierarchy. Once again, be careful what you wish for...............
3. Mizzou & Nebraska are the teams the BIG-10 wants to add thru expansion.
Bull. They want Notre Dame & if they get the Irish, I sincerely doubt the Huskers or Tigers will be offered a slot in the Big-10. Notre Dame alone can jack their TV revenue up $2-4 million per school. Can Mizzou or Nebraska do that? I don't think so. What Mizzou brings to the table is 7 million TV sets, some geographic rivalries,other quality sports programs including basketball, baseball, wrestling & woman's softball, plus a very high academic standard, actually higher than Notre Dame. But Notre Dame means revenue & forget the academic camouflage, this is about money plain & simple. Nebraska brings a storied football program & like Mizzou, is a member of the Association of American Universities, an academic & research group that all 11 Big-10 schools belong to. Notre Dame isn't a member. Bottom line, if the Irish join the Big-10, I think Mizzou & Nebraska might be out in the cold.
4. A BCS rule worth noting at this point is that no conference may have more than two members in BCS bowl games per season. If you cut up the Big-12, raid the Big East(both have automatic BCS bids for their conf. champs) these rules will have to be changed. God forbid we could actually get a playoff system, but that's exactly what this whole mess screams for, more revenue from a playoff system.
5. The Mountain West didn't extend an invitation to Boise State as everyone, including me, expected. The conference said with all the expansion talk floating about, it made sense to bide their time & see what develops. They can always offer the invitation later. True, if the Big-12 gets raided, the Mountain West might see some of it's members offered places elsewhere that could prove to be more lucrative, Did I mention this was all about money?
Friday night, John Wooden, the legendary "Wizard of Westwood", passed away at the age of 99. The UCLA basketball coach might have been the greatest coach of all-time in any sport at any level. His coaching accomplishments speak for themselves, 10 NCAA basketball championships, twelve final-four appearances, 38-straight wins in the NCAA tournament, four 30-0 undefeated seasons & 98-straight wins at Pauley Pavillion. He won the NCAA basketball championship as a player while at Purdue. He never asked for more than a $35,000 salary from UCLA. He was the first person elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player & later as a coach. His program was never investigated & was always "squeaky clean." He was loved by his players & they visited him regularly, not just when he was ill. He was the thinking man's coach, respected by everyone he came in contact with, a man of high morals & great faith. I will leave you with what I think is his greatest quote.
"Failing to prepare is preparing to fail."
John Robert Wooden
October 14, 1910 - June 4, 2010
Rest in Peace
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