BIG-12'S "MARRAIGE OF CONVENIENCE - THE FACTS & NOW USC'S BAD BEHAVIOR WILL COST OTHERS, A LOT
I was sincerely hoping to print an extensive, heartfelt apology to Big-12 Commissioner Dan Beebe here today. After listening to his 45-minute news conference earlier, that won't be necessary. Here are some of the lowlights:
1. There is no TV deal, other than the one they already have. All of the numbers being thrown about by Beebe are strictly projections being floated by media consultants. I found this portion of his comments to be the most surprising, the fact that he could herd the "Little-7" into a pen & convince them to give up even more money to the "Big-3"(Texas, A&M & OU) without additional TV revenues.
2. The TV revenues to be forfeited in 2010 by Colorado & Nebraska(not without a fight) will be cut up with the "Big-3" getting the lion's share. There's a surprise.
3. Beebe - "One of the misnomers is this is all about money. They(Big-3) are committed to this conference for more reasons than that." Other than Texas' desire to remain the biggest fish in the pond, this is all about money.
4. Beebe has the word of the school presidents & he's "taking them at their word," no one will stray from the conference, "they're totally committed to the future growth & prosperity in the Big-12." So the fact that they have nothing in writing, nobody had to sign anything, it makes one wonder just how "totally committed" some of these schools really are.
5. Comparing apples to apples, Texas has a $120 million athletic department budget, Kansas has $63 million in theirs' & the "Little-7" has given them even more money to widen that gap. But what choice do they honestly have? Financially, absolutely nothing, right now anyway. Because there is no signed agreement in Beebe's new Big-12, I think any of the "Little -7" that get any kind of a decent offer will bolt. The real question is, who would really want them? Other than the Mountain West(even less revenue) or a decimated Big East(same story) only the Big-10 offers anything resembling financial gain & fairness.
6. This marriage of convenience is just that, something to get by with, something to keep the wolves from the door. Unless of course you're Texas, then it's the best deal in the nation, unquestionably. You have almost total control over your conference & it's commissioner. You have two puppy dogs(A&M - OU) that will follow you around anywhere. And you have the "Little-7", underfunded, out-recruited, football stiffs with almost zero chance to win a Big-12 Championship. If you're a Longhorn, what could be better? You got rid of Nebraska which meant no more Big-12 Championship game, that makes it better, eliminating any chance of a fluke win by an out manned opponent. The Red River Shootout, the annual OU/Texas tilt will essentially become the de-facto conference championship game, whoever wins that game has the inside track to win the conference. Oh yeah, there will be an odd year hear or there where one of the "Little-7" might actually win the conference crown, but don't expect it to happen too often, this is, for all intents & purposes, a 2-team league, the rest are just along to fill out the schedule.
7. The scheduling I told you about yesterday was correct, every team will play each other, a 9-game conference schedule. The basketball scheduling I floated here was also correct, home & home with every team in the conference, a gain of 2 league games. The Big-12 basketball tournament will remain in place, the first round seeding & matchups will differ slightly. This is the only improvement to come out of this mess.
I'm glad the Big-12 will continue to compete but I have a lot of reservations with this new unsigned agreement. I think Dan Beebe stuck a Band Aid on a patient who was run over by a bus. This won't last without a significantly improved TV deal & a little more respect from the "Big-3" toward the "Little-7."
Texas couldn't get this deal from any other major conference, their members wouldn't lay down for this type of steamrolling, but again, the "Little-7" had very little choice unless they were willing to take even less from someone else.
Chiefs' coach Todd Haley canceled the last OTA, scheduled for today, because he was more than satisfied with the effort & production of his team so far in this off-season.
Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson, he of 2,000 yards in '09, is holding out for a renegotiated contract. Today Johnson said "I just got off the phone with my agent & news isn't good, the Titans ain't offering me nothing." Uh, Chris, nothing is exactly what the Titans are offering. I hate to be a stickler, but c'mon Chris.
People are lining up to take their shot at the USC Trojans. The latest is Michael Rosenberg, staff writer for SI.com & Sports Illustrated, who made some great points & even offered the school a new name. His USC = University of Sanctioned Cheating was pretty good. He railed on athletic director Mike Garrett like I did last week saying if the school doesn't force him out, the new USC name would certainly be appropriate. Really, how can Garrett, a former Heisman Trophy winner, not be totally embarrassed by Reggie Bush keeping his? Instead of being contrite, Garrett remains defiant, did he miss the NCAA pulling his pants down in public? How does running backs coach, former Chief Todd McNair, keep his job? The 67-page NCAA report names McNair as "a staff member who was well aware of Bush's transgressions but failed to report the problems to the school's compliance department." So why does he still have a job with the Trojans? Rosenberg believes McNair knows where the bodies are buried & he can point the finger at Garrett, Pete Carroll, Bush or all of the above. When you're winning, for some, it's easy to look the other way. But now, faced with brutal sanctions, it's time for the University to clean house. Otherwise they do look like the University of Sanctioned Cheating. Way back in 2001, Hawaii signed a deal for USC to visit the Island school in 2010. Many years ago the NCAA made a rule that allowed any non-conference team willing to play at Hawaii, would be granted an additional home game on their schedule. Obviously the travel expenses taking 120-people to Hawaii for 4-days are prohibitive for many universities, but having an additional non-conference home game can replenish a school's athletic coffers. Since 2002, when Alabama tried to schedule 2 games at Hawaii over 2 seasons, while they were on NCAA probation, the governing body put in a rule that precluded schools on probation from scheduling an away game with Hawaii. The NCAA didn't want schools to reward their players & alumni with a trip to Hawaii in lieu of their no-bowl game sanctions. So now the Trojans are on probation & they have a scheduled game with Hawaii that can not take place. Too bad for the USC players & alumni right? How about Hawaii? It maybe too close to September 2nd, now an open date thanks to USC, to line up another team willing to head waaay west. The Rainbow Warriors will lose at least a million dollars on this cancellation to say nothing of the losses to be felt thruout the hotel & restaurant industry on Oahu. It hurts the travel industry as well. The University of Hawaii's athletic program is almost always operating in the red because of their geography, think of all their road trips in all the school's sports. Maybe Reggie Bush, Pete Carroll & Mike Garrett would like to pitch in & give Hawaii a bailout. Yeah, that will happen, Bush will get his Super Bowl ring tomorrow night, Carroll will keep conducting practices, ignoring anything from Trojan Nation & Garrett will remain defiant, because USC is the envy of the rest of the world, according to Mike himself. This particular group of people absolutely turn my stomach.
1. There is no TV deal, other than the one they already have. All of the numbers being thrown about by Beebe are strictly projections being floated by media consultants. I found this portion of his comments to be the most surprising, the fact that he could herd the "Little-7" into a pen & convince them to give up even more money to the "Big-3"(Texas, A&M & OU) without additional TV revenues.
2. The TV revenues to be forfeited in 2010 by Colorado & Nebraska(not without a fight) will be cut up with the "Big-3" getting the lion's share. There's a surprise.
3. Beebe - "One of the misnomers is this is all about money. They(Big-3) are committed to this conference for more reasons than that." Other than Texas' desire to remain the biggest fish in the pond, this is all about money.
4. Beebe has the word of the school presidents & he's "taking them at their word," no one will stray from the conference, "they're totally committed to the future growth & prosperity in the Big-12." So the fact that they have nothing in writing, nobody had to sign anything, it makes one wonder just how "totally committed" some of these schools really are.
5. Comparing apples to apples, Texas has a $120 million athletic department budget, Kansas has $63 million in theirs' & the "Little-7" has given them even more money to widen that gap. But what choice do they honestly have? Financially, absolutely nothing, right now anyway. Because there is no signed agreement in Beebe's new Big-12, I think any of the "Little -7" that get any kind of a decent offer will bolt. The real question is, who would really want them? Other than the Mountain West(even less revenue) or a decimated Big East(same story) only the Big-10 offers anything resembling financial gain & fairness.
6. This marriage of convenience is just that, something to get by with, something to keep the wolves from the door. Unless of course you're Texas, then it's the best deal in the nation, unquestionably. You have almost total control over your conference & it's commissioner. You have two puppy dogs(A&M - OU) that will follow you around anywhere. And you have the "Little-7", underfunded, out-recruited, football stiffs with almost zero chance to win a Big-12 Championship. If you're a Longhorn, what could be better? You got rid of Nebraska which meant no more Big-12 Championship game, that makes it better, eliminating any chance of a fluke win by an out manned opponent. The Red River Shootout, the annual OU/Texas tilt will essentially become the de-facto conference championship game, whoever wins that game has the inside track to win the conference. Oh yeah, there will be an odd year hear or there where one of the "Little-7" might actually win the conference crown, but don't expect it to happen too often, this is, for all intents & purposes, a 2-team league, the rest are just along to fill out the schedule.
7. The scheduling I told you about yesterday was correct, every team will play each other, a 9-game conference schedule. The basketball scheduling I floated here was also correct, home & home with every team in the conference, a gain of 2 league games. The Big-12 basketball tournament will remain in place, the first round seeding & matchups will differ slightly. This is the only improvement to come out of this mess.
I'm glad the Big-12 will continue to compete but I have a lot of reservations with this new unsigned agreement. I think Dan Beebe stuck a Band Aid on a patient who was run over by a bus. This won't last without a significantly improved TV deal & a little more respect from the "Big-3" toward the "Little-7."
Texas couldn't get this deal from any other major conference, their members wouldn't lay down for this type of steamrolling, but again, the "Little-7" had very little choice unless they were willing to take even less from someone else.
Chiefs' coach Todd Haley canceled the last OTA, scheduled for today, because he was more than satisfied with the effort & production of his team so far in this off-season.
Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson, he of 2,000 yards in '09, is holding out for a renegotiated contract. Today Johnson said "I just got off the phone with my agent & news isn't good, the Titans ain't offering me nothing." Uh, Chris, nothing is exactly what the Titans are offering. I hate to be a stickler, but c'mon Chris.
People are lining up to take their shot at the USC Trojans. The latest is Michael Rosenberg, staff writer for SI.com & Sports Illustrated, who made some great points & even offered the school a new name. His USC = University of Sanctioned Cheating was pretty good. He railed on athletic director Mike Garrett like I did last week saying if the school doesn't force him out, the new USC name would certainly be appropriate. Really, how can Garrett, a former Heisman Trophy winner, not be totally embarrassed by Reggie Bush keeping his? Instead of being contrite, Garrett remains defiant, did he miss the NCAA pulling his pants down in public? How does running backs coach, former Chief Todd McNair, keep his job? The 67-page NCAA report names McNair as "a staff member who was well aware of Bush's transgressions but failed to report the problems to the school's compliance department." So why does he still have a job with the Trojans? Rosenberg believes McNair knows where the bodies are buried & he can point the finger at Garrett, Pete Carroll, Bush or all of the above. When you're winning, for some, it's easy to look the other way. But now, faced with brutal sanctions, it's time for the University to clean house. Otherwise they do look like the University of Sanctioned Cheating. Way back in 2001, Hawaii signed a deal for USC to visit the Island school in 2010. Many years ago the NCAA made a rule that allowed any non-conference team willing to play at Hawaii, would be granted an additional home game on their schedule. Obviously the travel expenses taking 120-people to Hawaii for 4-days are prohibitive for many universities, but having an additional non-conference home game can replenish a school's athletic coffers. Since 2002, when Alabama tried to schedule 2 games at Hawaii over 2 seasons, while they were on NCAA probation, the governing body put in a rule that precluded schools on probation from scheduling an away game with Hawaii. The NCAA didn't want schools to reward their players & alumni with a trip to Hawaii in lieu of their no-bowl game sanctions. So now the Trojans are on probation & they have a scheduled game with Hawaii that can not take place. Too bad for the USC players & alumni right? How about Hawaii? It maybe too close to September 2nd, now an open date thanks to USC, to line up another team willing to head waaay west. The Rainbow Warriors will lose at least a million dollars on this cancellation to say nothing of the losses to be felt thruout the hotel & restaurant industry on Oahu. It hurts the travel industry as well. The University of Hawaii's athletic program is almost always operating in the red because of their geography, think of all their road trips in all the school's sports. Maybe Reggie Bush, Pete Carroll & Mike Garrett would like to pitch in & give Hawaii a bailout. Yeah, that will happen, Bush will get his Super Bowl ring tomorrow night, Carroll will keep conducting practices, ignoring anything from Trojan Nation & Garrett will remain defiant, because USC is the envy of the rest of the world, according to Mike himself. This particular group of people absolutely turn my stomach.
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