How does it feel? (hint: not good)

How does it feel?
How does it feel?
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

How does it feel?  How does it feel to be realignment losers two years in a row?  How does it feel to see your team blow their chance at the baseball playoffs?  How does it feel?  We'll explore that and so much more in the links:

(1) If you read nothing else, read this article by OKTC about how Mizzou fans have to fight for their right to be in the SEC.  The article starts where the theory of Big 12 stability starts, with OU's President's statement saying the members schools have agreed to give their 1st and 2nd tier media rights to the Big 12 central offices for 6 years, meaning the teams are tied to the conference and can't leave for that period of time.  Except like most stuff said in the Big 12 these days, it wasn't true.  As the Big 12 President, Deaton, pointed out a few minutes later, the Presidents had agreed TO DISCUSS sharing the rights but hadn't agreed TO SHARE the rights.  That, and the fact Deaton announced his press conference and then OU announced theirs--to start a few minutes before.  In other words: same old Big 12, same old dysfunction.  Says OKTC:

Then another Big 12 official said the league was in "philosophical agreement," but no committments had actually been made.

Philosophical agreement? Is this ancient Greece or the Big 12? You can't even make up these quotes any longer. The Big 12 is officially past the point of satire. The only people celebrating after today? Aggie fans all over Texas are building bonfires and rejoicing, their long Texas nightmare is almost over. These dueling press conferences just proved why the Aggies wanted out so bad.

But you can't say the same for Missouri.  The Tigers have managed to be the biggest loser in conference realignment the past two years.

They continue:


If I was a Missouri fan I'd be furious over this double failure. I'd fight for the SEC. Because the Big Ten isn't calling and at some point the Big 12 is still going to crumble as a major conference. We all know this. So if you're Missouri wouldn't you rather control your own fate rather than sink into the mid-tier abyss of college athletics? Mountain West on line one! 

Put another way, if you'd known the Titanic was going to sink, would you have climbed aboard and risked your chances on hopping on the lifeboats? Or would you maybe have not gotten on the Titanic to begin with? The Big 12 is the Titanic, and the iceberg is Texas. The Big 12 is sinking, the only question is when.

OKTC goes on to make fun of OU for claiming to be a double agent against the Pac-10 on behalf of the Big 12, as they have claimed in recent days.  The money quote: "Seriously, the university said this.
If Oklahoma was a double agent, it's got a lot more in common with Austin Powers than it does James Bond."


(2) Feel some hope that all might not be lost; the KC Star says Mizzou to SEC is still in play.  It was telling that our University President, on a national stage acting as the Big 12 Conference President, didn't firmly commit to Mizzou having a future in the conference. 

(3) T-shirt and sports jackets says that's because Missouri is playing the maverick.  If you read a second article, read this one.  He says of Gary Pinkel: "Pinkel is not all that fun in a press conference. He’s not witty. He’s not gregarious. He’s not charming. But if you need someone to talk straight, he seems like your guy. Those comments mirrored something Pinkel said a few weeks ago. Sounds like he — and thus Missouri — are fed up."

(4) A lot of folks are trying to determine conference expansion winners and losers.  Sam Mellinger says the two winners in this Big 12 mess are Beebe and Frank Haith.  Beebe's getting paid not to deal with it and the more the Big 12 embarrasses itself on the national stage, the less people are talking about Frank Haith.

(5) The Statesman picks the Big 12 as the losers, saying: "The conference is alive. But for how long? When asked if he felt good that no other Big 12 school might leave, Dodds said: "I feel confident. But who do you believe anymore?" Exactly."  That can't make anyone feel too good.

(6) How big of the mess is the Big 12 in?  Well, its future is hinging on a vote to revenue share.  That vote failed last spring.  The future doesn't look that bright.

(7) The past, actually, wasn't that bright either.  This mess started from the beginning of the formation of the Big 12.  Not a surprise, it started with a fight with Texas.  Some interesting stuff in here.

(8) Little Man says we need one voice to lead us out of the mess.  That possible voice is a blast from the past.  That's right, the man in charge of the Big 8 is back and he's pretty much seen it all.  Here's a pretty bland Q&A with the new boss.  

(9) Greg Doyal feel all of this mess is just high school drama. 

(10) You'll need a translator to weed through all of the BS being bantered about.

(11) One thing you won't need a translator for: to realize that the biggest loser in all of this us OU.  They messed with Texas and got beat down.  Contrast that to the Children of the Corn and the Aggies, both of whom made brilliant escapes.  OU has lost all of its bargaining power.  Mizzou know how that feels.

(12) Mizzou Alum Pat Forde was feeling good when he spoke with hope that the Big 12 could regain trust and traction the day after the Pac-12's announcement.  That went out the window with OU's lies last night.

(13) I'm feeling good in knowing that we can celebrate the fact that Dan "Mr. Longhorn" Beebe is gone, something Gary Parrish predicted quite a while ago. EDSBS predicts the Beebes will get a chance to right all his wrongs, Quantum Leap style. 

(14) What's worse than being stuck in the Big 12?  The feeling of being in the Big East.  Rutgers and UConn refused to pledge loyalty to the conference.  With Beebe gone, they now have the worst commish in college sports. 

(15) Who has the best?  The Big 10, who ain't expanding.  So how does that make you feel?  Its SEC or bust. 

(16) Speaking of SEC, these t-shirts and a lot of these fashion nightmares belong to them.

Summary
I'm not buying what the Big 12 is selling and, evidently, neither is Deaton or Mizzou.  Let's hope we don't take a Big 12 deal just to take a deal and let's hope the administration is willing to fight for the SEC if they have to.  The SEC isn't a picnic (just look at the t-shirt link above) and isn't our most desired or best destination, but its a hell of a lot better than incompetence and dysfunction we're currently in. 

Like a cockroach, or a virus, the Big 12 survives

While things could fall apart again rather quickly, its appears as if the Big 12 has survived and will survive for another year, minimum.  There are some great debates going on as to if this was good new or bad news.  My thoughts can be summed up in this post by Tim McKernan.  In short, would the SEC have been a difficult and possibly unsuccessful transition?  Yes.  Would it have brought more stability, academic credibility, and football excitement?  Absolutely.  I value the latter more than I worry about the former.  It's risk/reward and I think the move was worth the risk.

OKTC says that the Big 12 makes Ron and Sammi look stable.  He agrees with what others are saying: Texas A&M is gone to the SEC but Mizzou to the SEC is pretty much dead in the water.  It looks like we'd rather see what happens in the Big 12 than fight our way into the SEC.  Something, like I said in the previous post, that would involve us fighting to get out and serving as the President of the Big 12 Board of Directors. 

As the Tulsa World reports, there is consensus that Beebe is out and perhaps the former Big East commish is in on an interim basis.  While it wouldn't solve all of the problems, its at least a good first step.  OU is the some that stepped up and called for his ouster.  Of course, its easier to step up and make bold moves when you've got no other options left of the table. 

The OU plan is just crazy enough to work, say the Oklahoman.  What's in the plan?  A few exerts:

(1) No Beebe
(2) No high school highlights on the Longhorn Network
(3) No Big 12 games on the Longhorn Network
(4) Restrictions on the Longhorn Network
(5) Revenue sharing of Tier 1 and 2 television rights to all Big 12 members

It's a start...a start that would have been great 24 months ago. 

The Big 12 Board of Directors is getting together for one last go of things, says Andy Katz.  Discussion points at the meeting: (1) The OU Plan, (2) Beebe, and (3) how to lock in 5-6 years of stability for the conference.

Part of that, eventually, will locking in new members.  1, 2, or 3 more members is still in the air as well as how new members could/would dilute the payouts to current member schools.

Summary
Much like the people of Libya, the Big 12 is all in this mess together and despite the happy statements coming from college presidents and ADs, no one outside of the Big 12 bottom feeders who were going to be left conference-less can be very excited about the future prospects.  There is no way Beebe or any other leader can find schools that will be an even exchange or an upgrade from the schools we lost.  In other words, the best victory possible at this point is a league that's worse than it once was.  The degrees of worse and the fear of getting pounded in the SEC will determine if the fan base accepts our fate happily or with embarrassment and anger.  The fear of regular SEC poundings was/is real, I'm not debating that point.  But the fact that our league won't be as good as it once was is also very real and can't be debated.  If we add Houston, SMU, and Air Force...that fear of SEC poundings will get less and less and the embarrassment and anger of staying in the Big 12 will grow more and more. 

I Give Up

I give up.  We don't have a league and 6 hours later we do and six hours after that we don't again.  Here is what went down:

(1) The Pac-12 decided it wanted to stay the Pac 12 at around 11 pm eastern time last night.  In that instant that the press release went out, our brothers and sisters at OU knew what we all felt like a year ago with the Big 10.  Welcome to the club.  The club sucks.

(2) What happened to the OU-Pac 12 deal? No one knows, but here is a pretty good FAQ.  Basically, the Pac-12 Presidents balked at OK State, OU, and TX Tech's academic record.  Seriously?  They pick now to start talking academics?  At any rate the FAQ also says Mizzou ain't going to the SEC yet and OU has a list of demands...

(3) ...as covered yesterday, one of those is getting rid of Dan "Mr. Longhorn" Beebe.  Great article in KC Star about this very topic.  

(4) SI says that the Pac-12 balked because it wasn't going to create special rules for Texas.  Mr. Longhorn is probably drawing up another set of even more special rules to keep them in the Big 12, doubling down on his double down of his Keep-TX-Happy strategy.  For those of you scoring at home, that strategy has cost us three schools and has led to four others wanting out.

(5) Some are pulling for the Big 12 to stay together, as are some loyal readers of this blog.  The Big 12 has to replace some schools and indications are OU wants to head back to 12 schools and not stay at 10.  Under the scenario, here is what our football schedule could look like: (1) Non-Conference, (2) Non-Conference, (3) Non-Conference, (4) ISU, (5) K-State, (6) kU, (7) Airforce, (8) Louisville, (9) SMU, (10) OK State, (11) Baylor, (12) Texas Tech.  How is ESPN GameDay going to choose which ones of these exciting match-ups to cover?!?!?!  Keeping the Big 12 together sounds nice, but the Big 12 isn't the Big 12 anymore.  Nebraska was a national powerhouse, A&M had a rich history and appears on the rise, and for all the shit we talk about Colorado, they won a National Championship in our lifetimes.  The dream is dead, and now we are just caught up in the long nightmare. 

(6) Calmer heads prevailed in realignment says Pre-Snap Read.  I can tell you who prevailed: the ACC, Big 10, and Pac-12.  I long for the day when my school belongs to real conference.

(7) People are still saying we have an SEC offer.  It should make for an interesting Curators meeting on Thursday.

(8) T Boone Pickets: still an asshole.  This guy thinks he single-handedly controls college football.  I will he would try controlling his mouth.

Summary
I don't see how we bolt the SEC seeing as how Deaton is the Big 12 President this year.  I also don't see the league breaking up because without the Pac-12 taking some of the teams, there just aren't enough places for the rest to go.  So it leaves 'Ole Mizzou in one of three places:

(1) Living life in a loveless marriage where your partner(s) are cheating on you and always looking to upgrade in the future.
(2) Praying ND joins the Big 10 and we get an invite.
(3) Risking lawsuit by joining the SEC with A&M. 

I've listed them in the order likelihood.  This will go on for a while...enjoy the ride? 

Daily Recap: What we know and what we don't

In my attempt to bring some order to the chaos, here is a daily recap of what we know and what we don't:

(1) We know DeArmond of the KC Star cited a Mizzou booster as staying that Mizzou was offered a spot in the SEC.

(2) We know that the SEC told the St. Louis P-D that no offer has been extended.  More accurately, they said they have not extended an offer beyond Arkansas, South Carolina, and most recently Texas A&M. 

(3) We know that Out Kick the Coverage has been right about everything they have reported thus far, other than possible SEC alignment if they move to 16 teams.  We know they tweeted that "Mizzou leaked info to see if Big 10 wants to make play.  SEC wants this quiet."  If that's the case, we have a reckless booster who went rogue or an administration with a large set of brass balls. 

(4) We know there are reports of Deaton trying to save the conference, or at least he is trying to give the impression he is trying to.

(5) We know OU has a list of demands that need to be met for it to stay and we know two are (1) putting rules on the Longhorn Network and (2) removing Dan "Mr. Longhorn" Beebe as Commissioner.  FINALLY, SOME SANITY TO THESE DISCUSSIONS.

(6) We know the Mizzou Curators are meeting Thursday morning. 

(7) What we don't know is what shreds of truth there are in numbers 1-5 above.  My best guess?  We got the offer from the SEC, we tried to leverage it, our attempt at leverage may blow up in our face, and the Big 12 is un-saveable. 

To keep the band together, here is what has to happen: Texas has to admit it was wrong by wanting its own set of rules to play by and it has to start playing by a set of rules that are being carved out, largely, by one of their biggest rivals, OU.  Does that sound like a deal Texas is going to accept?  Hardly. 

I don't want to move conferences, but the truth is there is no Big 12 anymore anyway.  Its time to move forward.  We should be finding out what direction "forward" takes us in within days or weeks.

OUR LONG NIGHTMARE IS OVER: MIZZOU HAS SEC OFFER? (and another nightmare begins)

The KC Star says our long national nightmare is over, Mizzou has been extended an offer to join the SEC.  Actually, Mike DeArmond of the KC Star says that and he says that because a booster says that.  Hence the question mark above.  "Don't believe anything until the ink has dried," is what I say.  I also happen to say "Chop Mike DeArmond up into a bunch of little pieces and spread him from 'Bama to South Carolina if he's wrong on this one." 

At any rate, SB Nation thinks enough of the report (or of DeArmond) that they are citing it, too. 

PowerMizzou.com has a free article with some interesting questions:

(1) Could Mizzou make the move to the SEC independent of what Oklahoma and Oklahoma State decide?

(2) Will the desire to keep the Big 12 intact win out, if the Oklahoma schools opt to stay?

(3) If Oklahoma and Oklahoma State do leave, is that the final blow that cannot be overcome, and does that launch Missouri to the SEC? Or could Texas somehow scrape together enough support to keep the Tigers around and hold a watered-down version of the conference together? 

My answers are YES, NO, YES/NO.  What are yours?  Post in the comments. 

While you are posting consider answering any of these questions: 

(1) How the hell are we going to compete in the SEC in football?  One nightmare ends, another begins.
(2) Will the Bigelows get a divorce because one conference isn't big enough for the both of them?
(3) How much more racist does the Mizzou fan base need to get to fit into the rest of the SEC fan base?
(4) Does this mean we have to learn to speak pig, or whatever it is they speak in Arkansas at the games?
(5) What will the division alignment in the SEC look like?
(6) Will there be 14 or 16 teams?
(7) What will the fan base do to DeArmond if he happens to be wrong?
(8) Are there standard issue SEC jorts, or can we just make our own?
(9) Can kU be team 15 or 16 and at this point how much do your care?
(10) Will we have to share our "secret" of indoor plumbing with the State of Alabama?
(11) Can we now marry, or at minimum kiss our sisters?
(12) Would you rather be in a Big 12 with "leftovers" (Iowa State and Baylor type leftovers) or the SEC? or Would you rather be in the ACC or SEC? 

Summary
Breathe easy.  I'm feeling much better than when I wrote the "Fog of War" blog just a few hours ago.  Worst case scenario we're move from the best football league in the country to the next best football league in the country.  That's a pretty good worst case scenario.   

Fog of War

Battles may be won or lost rather quickly, but wars often times drag on for while until one side simply runs out of resources or willpower.  Ditto college football expansion.  It appears as if we are talking weeks not days as OU's Prez says he wants this figured out "sooner [ed note: get it?!?! sooners...get it...] rather than later" while the TX Prez says he wants this done in "two weeks."  In other words, hunker down, we'll be fighting for sometime.  Here are the links:

(1) If the first causality of war was the Big East, the second is West Virginia.  Brett McMurphy of CBS Sports tweets that he has confirmation from a West Virginia Administrator that the school has been turned down by both the SEC and ACC.  Good news for Mizzou. 

(2) Out Kick the Coverage was on top of the West Virginia story a day ago, as they have consistently with all of their leads.  Today they're saying the SEC expands to 16 and has four four-team pods with an extended playoff for the SEC championship.  Its an out-of-the-box idea but one that merits some consideration.  I'm a purist, so my initial thoughts were it was a bad idea, but I'm also pro football playoffs and this would be a big step in that direction.  Who does the SEC add to get to 16?  They say A&M, Mizzou, Va Tech, and NC State(?!?). 

(3) In what can only be described as "cute" the Mountain West and C-USA are talking about merging to try and get around a 50 team league that is a BCS auto-qualifier.  You might want to bookmark that link, its a constantly updated series of posts by SB Nation on the minute-by-minute goings on.  Its rather informative. 

(4) Another story in that link, the Big East is holding 'Cuse and Pitt to the 27 month rule to leave the Big East.  I guess that is more mature than filing a lawsuit, but not by much.

(5) Speaking of lawsuits, the jerks from Baylor are trying to pass off bad data as "scientific" to build their case to hold the Little 9 together.  Keep in mind its the same Baylor Bears who jumped ship from their conference into the Big 12 not too long ago. 

(6) Don't be confused by the headline that the Big 10 is warming up to Mizzou as a member.  It's not.  The Big 10 blogger for ESPN is warming up....and evidently bad at his job give the confusion.

(7) The timing if the Big 12 breakup is ironic, seeing as how we're now the best football conference in the nation (and that's without Nebraska).

(8) Andy Katz also laments what could have been in basketball if the Big 12 had stayed together.  

(9) Frank the Tank thinks that if the Big 10 expands, it goes east not west.  Or I think that his what he says.  Either I'm not picking up what he's putting down, or he's just confusing sometimes.

(10) Speaking of confusing, here's a great article about my BFF Dan "Mr. Longhorn" Beebe.  First, he produces a grammatically incorrect statement about Texas and OU and then he claims that the "Case for Big 12 as strong today as it was last year."  I used to get mad at him for doing nothing, but now I see that doing nothing was/is his strong suit.

(11) Berry Tramel of the Oklahoman likes to do a few things: (a) Wear t-shirts under sport jackets, (b) take shots at Missouri for starting the conference switch a year ago, and (c) defend Dan "Mr. Longhorn" Beebe.  Despite those facts, he is right in this article in that it doesn't matter who the Little 9 could add to the league, the Big 12 is dead and it died because of lack of trust and partnership (and I would add sports writers who wear t-shirts under sport jackets). 

(12) Finally, you have to click here.  Its about a journey west on the Pac Trail.

Summary
I've got expansion fatigue.  Everyone is grasping at straws.  I'm hoping the Big 10 takes ND or the SEC wraps its loving arms around us as #14.

Thanks for reading,

Doug

Zero Hour?

Code Blue has been called and the docs are working on what's left of the Big 12.  The Priest has been sent in to sit with the family.  The Big 12's gotten off the operating table before, but this time it looks grim.  Here is what folks are saying:

(1) 'Cuse and Pitt have been accepted into the ACC.  As the article states: "The Longhorn Network started all of this."  Only thing standing in their way: 27 months and 5 million.  That's the Big East exit fee and time delay in getting out of their conference contract.  The 5 million ain't a problem, the 27 months is.  College Football should look "interesting" next year.  As this article state, the Big East is dead. 

(2) The Big East is dead.  Oh wait, we heard that before.  Money quote: "There's a pattern here: The ACC gets what it wants, and the Big East settles for padding its ranks with the scraps."

(3) In the first  good news I've heard in a while, Out Kick the Coverage says W. Virginia is not headed to the SEC.  It's worth clicking on the link to see the pic.  The premise is the SEC President's won't let a University into the league who is, nationally, barely considered a University.  Seems reasonable to me.

(4) I mean, if you burn couches after wins and losses, I don't know if you deserve to be in the SEC anyway.  The fire marshal has declared that all residents must put any potential kindling locked inside their homes before the game begins.  Again, seems reasonable to me.  The fact that he has to ask/enforce this rule, perhaps a bit unreasonable.

(5) Know an honorable man running college sports?  Wait a few minutes.  Not a particularly insightful article, but one that points out how crazy this mess has become.   

(6) Also not insightful: anything coming out of kU's normal circle of sports coverage.   It's almost as if kU and k-State's sports columnists are just walking around in a haze.  If we think we should be nervous at Mizzou, let's just say our friends are feeling worse than we are. 

(7) Mizzou has lots of options, but few certainties, says PowerMizzou.  Meanwhile, Saturday's game at OU could be our last one.  What won't be sad is putting a mark in the loss column every other year since the 60's, what will be sad is the loss of yet another rival.  On to the game this Saturday...21.5 points.  Are you serious?  I know it's a road game and I know they are #1, but really?  Three touchdowns?!? 

(8) I don't know Frank the Tank and I really don't know what he is trying to say here, but I thought I would pass it along for all to see.  Somewhere in the article he's trying to say--I think--that Texas might go indy in football but put all other sports in the ACC and then Notre Dame might do the same?  Good luck getting through it.  It was an idea that hadn't been presented before.  I thought you deserved to know.  You're welcome.

(9) Shocker: Mack Brown wants to keep making up the rules as he goes along and keep getting handsomely rewarded for it.  In other words, he prefers the Big 12 to stay together. 

(10) Not-a-Shocker: T Boone Pickens?  Still an asshole.  His awful little school is lucky to be in the same state with a really good one. 

(11)  A Rock-M-Nation columnists (and founder?) hits the big time with SB Nation.  Congrats.

(12) At Michigan, grandma's participate in shotgun beer races.  Neat?  Neat.

(13) Some random from Mercury News in the Bay Area, CA just tweeted that Pac 12-20 has Mizzou high on its radar.  So that could mean Texas & T Tech or OK and OK State aren't going to the Pac 12-20.  Or it could mean nothing at all...bringing us to...the summary.

Summary
Conference realignment has been a lot lot like a trip to Vegas: Lots of high, lots of lows.  Some laughter, some tears.  Some excitements, some fears.  Right now, though?  I just want to get off the ride.  Let's just get this over with, says the BoCoMo Trib.  To quote: "And as exciting as this realignment ride has been, I’m ready to reach the destination."  Me too.  I'm ready to go home.  Where ever that home may be.