Those worried about the future of America should not worry about politics. It is irrelevant whether Democrat, Republican or independent controls the American government. There is a threat beyond anything political or even economic collapse. The great threat to America’s future is soccer. Soccer is the vilest sport. It is a sport so mind numbingly [...]
Archive | June, 2010
Some newspaper thoughts
First, congratulations to Lord Black on a small victory before the Supreme Court. Lord Black ran Hollinger and has faced some persecution by the US government over allegations he cheated shareholders. You can read more about the Supreme Court’s decision in a story below. But one important point about Black, he was a successful newspaperman. [...]
Dumbasses: NCAA regulators
The NCAA rulebook is filled with stupid regulations. How do you make it better? Add rules that are difficult to enforce. Like this one. According to this AP report, “An NCAA committee announced Thursday that it will back a proposal to prohibit making scholarships offers to recruits before July 1 in the summer between their [...]
An Erin Andrews update
From the AP, “Andrews’ contract expires July 1, meaning the CWS could be her last assignment for the cable sports giant. Her Los Angeles-based agent, Babette Perry, also declined to comment. Andrews built her celebrity at ESPN and expanded upon it as a finalist on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” this year. She said she [...]
SEC Wish List
This was a story that I missed, but a helpful reader forwarded it to me this week. Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman writes, “I think Mike Slive’s dream is to add Texas, Texas A&M, North Carolina and Duke,” the long-time SEC veteran said. “That would add the state of Texas as well as the [...]
SEC wasn’t interested in arrogant Texas?
I know I’m late posting this story, but I was getting my air conditioner replaced. Sorry, but being cool wins over thinking about conference expansion. The AP reported, “The president of the University of Oklahoma said Wednesday that his school and Texas A&M both received invitations to join the Southeastern Conference during the last round [...]
SPIN: TV is hurting Tennessee
The Tennessean attempts to explain why demand for Tennessee Volunteer tickets is down. It provides the usual options, “Certainly, the recession has taken a toll on discretionary spending. Likewise, it’s hard to get hot and bothered about a program that is just 36-27 over the past five seasons and hasn’t been to a BCS bowl [...]
Finebaum as Matt Drudge?
The Tuscaloosa News examined the 2010 election and provided this gem, “The rumor made it to columnist and sports talk show host Paul Finebaum, the Matt Drudge of Alabama, who fielded a deluge of calls on his radio show for a couple of days. Finebaum also reported in his column in the Mobile Press-Register that [...]
Alabama’s Nick Saban to the NFL?
Why not? Yahoo provides some interesting thoughts on the subject. According to Yahoo’s Shutdown Corner, “There’s no official weight to a Saban-to-the-NFL story just yet, but don’t be surprised if there is in the future. After all, why else would Nick Saban apologize for anything?” Oh. Saban apologized! Ergo, he wants to coach in the [...]
Lawrence leaves Southern Miss
Remember the name Alonzo Lawrence? Once a sure thing, shooting to the top of everyone’s recruiting board in 2007-2008, the young man who “shut down” Julio Jones in the 2007 Alabama-Mississippi All-Star game has now left his second Division I football program either on his own, or after being asked to leave. Southern Mississippi head [...]
Alabama’s Nick Saban has a heart
Nick Saban has a heart. I know. I know. You never hear that in the pro-Auburn media. Instead we usually hear about how Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban doesn’t have a heart because of how he acted in the BCS national title game—you remember, he didn’t like getting hit in the head with the [...]
Conference expansion winners & losers
The AP moved this list of winners and losers of the Big XII’s conference expansion drama. Agree or disagree with them? I thought this was the funniest. From the story that follows below, “Loser: Missouri. While the Tigers stay in the Big 12, Gov. Jay Nixon was so excited at the prospect of ditching the [...]
REPORT: MWC finished with expansion
REPORT: The decision is to do nothing. Swapping Boise State and Utah was essentially a wash. The Mountain West loses a big chunk of the Salt Lake City market with the loss of the Utes — though there are still BYU fans and a few from Boise State mixed in — but gains a Broncos [...]
Bigger dumbasses than BP
Watching CNBC today showed that Congressmen/women are bigger dumbasses than BP. To see demagogic morons lecturing a Ph.D. about well engineering was enough to shake anyone’s confidence in the American experiment. (And yes, I still own stock in BP. It is smaller than before and I will likely move some into Royal Dutch Shell or [...]
Little 12: Lawmakers want Houston in Big 12
Now that the Texas Longhorns have forced Nebraska and Colorado out of the conference and snagged more money for doing it, other schools in Texas want in on the windfall. REPORT: About two dozen Texas lawmakers are supporting efforts to get the University of Houston admitted to the Big 12 Conference. State Reps. Garnet Coleman [...]
Do more teams mean more money?
This story (see the whole thing below) provides some interesting details on the financial ramifications to the Pac-10 of failing to snag the Texas market. There are also a few tidbits on how the Big Ten Network works. According to the report, it generates 88 cents per month in the Big Ten’s market and 5 [...]
Little 12 wheeling & dealing
It was not extortion. Really. We just paid Texas because we like them so much. According to the AP, “‘Five schools got together and we tried to develop a business plan like everything else,’ said Perkins, who did not disclose financial details of the offer. He said paying to remain aligned with Texas, Oklahoma and [...]
Pac-10 promises newer, bolder league
Here is a piece on the new face leading the Pac-10. You can find some interesting information in the piece below (beyond what I quote.) One of those interesting tidbits reinforces the idea that it was greed that prevented Texas from joining the Pac-16. With all the talk about the bold steps, no word on [...]
Arkansas has ‘no interest’ in Big 12
Arkansas denies interest in leaving the SEC. According to the AP, “Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long says the school has “no interest” in joining another conference amid speculation the Razorbacks could be a candidate to move to the Big 12. Long said Wednesday that Arkansas is happy in the Southeastern Conference. The Big 12 recently [...]
OFFICIAL: Utah invited to Pac-10
The Pac-10 extends an invitation to Utah to join the conference. According to the AP report, “The Pac-10 is inviting the University of Utah to become the 12th member of the conference. The Pac-10 extended an invitation Wednesday to Utah, which is currently in the Mountain West Conference. The move comes two days after being [...]
State sees growth in college enrollment
“California, the District of Columbia, Arizona, Alabama and Nevada had the largest freshman enrollment increases in 2008, with gains ranging from 11 percent to 21 percent. States registering declines included Minnesota, Nebraska, Delaware and Oklahoma, which dropped as much as 5 percent.” (entire story follows below) Powered by Mochila
Pac-10: No animosity toward Texas
Why don’t I believe this? Oh, that’s right. I’m cynical. From the AP: Pac-10 commissioner has no animosity toward Texas Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott tells The Associated Press he has no animosity toward Texas for declining an invitation to join his league. Scott says when the news came down that Texas and the rest were [...]
Big XII won’t add Arkansas
Kevin Scarbinsky writes, “One school of thought among some high-ranking officials at SEC schools is that, despite the relief everyone has felt since Monday, expansion and realignment may not be over. That possibility concerns them, and they won’t be surprised if the Big 12 tries to turn the tables on the SEC by luring Arkansas [...]
Forecasting SEC expansion plans
The SEC is not talking about its expansion plans, but it is not hard to figure out the SEC’s wish list. We can use the Big Ten’s experience to illuminate what the SEC will do. To understand expansion one needs to understand the desperation of the Big Ten. That is right. The Big Ten is [...]
REPORT: Utah to join Pac-10
REPORT: “The Pacific-10 Conference will extend an invitation to the University of Utah to become the league’s 12th team, Comcast SportsNet has learned exclusively from sources close to the situation. A press conference is expected to formalize the announcement on Wednesday.” The strategic implication is that Utah’s admission to the Pac-10 looks to fit the [...]
Notre Dame forecasting ‘small’ changes
What does Notre Dame think of the outlook for conference expansion? Small changes in the short term. From the AP: Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick says the dramatic alteration of college sports that many were bracing for might not be coming soon after all. “I felt like there was either going to be very [...]
REPORT: The Texas math
Penalty dollars helped save the Little 12? CNBC reports: “Perhaps one of the most understated appeals — the promise of some nice penalty cash from Colorado and Nebraska. Originally speculated as a $10 million penalty, it looks like the Big XII thinks they are entitled to much more. Beebe says that the lawyers have led [...]
No new Little 12 tv deal
The Big XII (Little 12) hasn’t inked any new television deals. Future money is all hypothetical. AP: “Commissioner Dan Beebe says no future TV deals have been reached, and he wouldn’t get into specific numbers during a 45-minute conference call Tuesday. But he says consultants and media companies verified that the Big 12 — even [...]
CASH: Benefit of owning realignment story
Fan sites on the Rivals, Scout and ESPN recruiting networks are notorious for biased reporting. It is impossible to forget how Rivals’ Auburn site edited video in an attempt to eliminate evidence of recruiting violations at last year’s Big Cat Weekend. While these sites might not have the ethical standards of traditional media, they do [...]
Rick & Bubba could hurt Auburn recruiting!
Last week one of the most prominent Auburn fans in the nation made a few remarks that were perceived as anti-gay. According to the non-partisan Media Matters County Fair blog, Rick Burgess and Bill ‘Bubba’ Bussey, hosts of The Rick and Bubba Show which is syndicated throughout the south, went on what progressive blogger Pam [...]