Maximum Contracts

In the middle of the biggest summer of NBA free agency ever, I keep hearing the words "Maximum Contract" coming from those wonderful TV analysts.

It seems as though teams are moving players around, or cutting them altogether to make room for the chance of signing one or more of the top players in the league. In places like Miami, New York, Chicago, Cleveland, and many other cities across the NBA galaxy, they are trying to offer "Maximum Contracts" in order to woo players from their current teams. The maximum contract numbers are pretty easy, and there's a wonderful explanation here. But if you don't want specifics, all you need to know is that the big 3 (LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh) have a maximum contract of just over $16.5 million each year. If a team wants to sign two of these players they have to have $33 million and change of open salary cap room.

$33 million and change. For two players.

Do you have any idea what $33 million dollars can buy today? Consider these options...

1. When Michael Jackson died, 40% of his estate went to his three children, leaving each child with $33 million. Each.

2. When Conan O'Brian was being booted off The Tonight Show because Jay Leno's chin was too big for the earlier time slot, NBC paid him to compensate his job loss. They paid him $33 million, just to be fired.

3. When Sir Paul McCartney got divorced from Heather Mills, there was a settlement. Heather Mills was paid, you guessed it, $33 million dollars, not including her own assets, or the $70k per year in child support she'd also be collecting from the former Beatle.

But those are all other high paid, very successful celebrities. Michael Jackson and Sir Paul had billion dollar empires each, and Conan hasn't faded away to spend his money in hiding, he's gone on a comedy tour and is writing a book. I'm sure he'll be able to buy groceries for his great-grandkids with the dough he's rolling in.

But what about us normal people? What about the blue collar, or white collar for that matter, people who get up every day and go to work in an office, at a desk, or in the field? What could $33 million dollars do for the fans?

1. In New York City, you could invest in real estate with a view of the Statue of Liberty. You could buy one for you, and about 31 of your closest friends. But you'd have to deal with those real estate agents in the videos, so maybe not.

2. If you're a video gamer with a political side, you can buy a Sarah Palin autographed Xbox. One for each of your 32 condos in New York City.

3. If you wanted a luxury car, then go straight to the top of the line. For $33 million you can by about 65 brand new Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead.(Ok, honestly, this car is far too nice for any real person to own.)

So let's make it comparable for real life. At about $25k, you could own a small army of 2010 Honda Civic Si Sedans. 1,320 to be exact. Do you even know 1,320 people that you could give these away to? I don't.

Now that we all feel poor and want new cars, we as fans can enjoy the fact that we were picked last in dodgeball, rode the pine in basketball, and were put in right field in baseball. Happy free agency everyone. I hope LeBron reads this, maybe then he'll buy me a car.

GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAL!!!

Sometimes you get lucky. Sometimes you work harder than the other team.

Other times the planets and stars align and there's no way you're going to lose. I happen to think this is what happened the United States yesterday in the World Cup. How else can you explain it?

It was the first time the US has shut out their opponent in the first half this World Cup, and the first time earning a clean sheet for the entire game in 19 games. It was the first time the US has earned points in their last group game in any World Cup. It was the first time since the very first World Cup that the US has won their group. It was the latest goal scored by any team at that point during this World Cup (later to be out done by an Italian goal in the 92nd minute). It was scored by the most veteran, most storied, and most successful player in US Soccer history.

Like the announcer said immediately following Landon Donovan's 91st minute goal, "You could not write a script like this."

Not only had the United States survived a shot off the crossbar in the 6th minute, but they had yet another goal taken away from them in the 20th minute. Fast forward past 70 minutes of gut wrenching near misses, persistent fouling of two American forwards, and near depression caused by the knowledge that unless the US scored, they were going home for the second World Cup in a row. Then everything changed in the span of about 15 seconds.

Tim Howard, the US goalkeeper, saved a shot from Algeria and immediately ran to the top of the penalty box and threw the ball to Donovan. He then raced down the field starting a 4 on 2 counter-attack. A pass out to Jozy Altidore spread the defense. Altidore then played the ball in to Clint Dempsey, who just got a foot to it before the Algerian goalkeeper could control it. The rebound rolled out slowly out to the six yard box, right in the middle of the field where it rested while time stood still.

Then magically, Jupiter caught up to Saturn and the rest of the planets and there appeared Donovan. As he said in his post game interview, "Can't miss from there." Donovan buried the ball into the left side of the net, and began celebrating. Much like the rest of the United States did at the very same time.

It was also reported that the internet reached a spike in usage immediately following Donovan's game winning, and group winning goal. CBS reported that the Akamai Net Usage Index, which measures internet usage, showed that the numbers spiked at 11.2 million people using the internet in the minutes following the goal. The second highest usage ever, less than a million short of the first day of the World Cup. But almost 3 million more than Barack Obama being voted president.

Donovan also said in his post game interview, "We embody what Americans are about." when speaking about the disallowed goal earlier in the match. "We can moan about it or we can get on with it.... We're alive baby." said Donovan. The determination and effort shown by the United States team will be exactly what they need to stay alive.

The United States team have their shortest time between games so far in the World Cup, playing Saturday against Ghana. Ghana placed second in Group D, after losing to Germany in their last game. If the US advance, they will play the winner of South Korea and Uruguay on the following Friday, July 2nd.

Lastly, I leave you with the goal commentary done by one of the most famous soccer announcers of all time. I might not be able to understand anything in this clip other than Landon Donovan, Altidore, and Estados Unidos, but there is the one word that is understood across all languages:

GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAL!!!

United States vs. Slovenia

I grew up playing soccer. I've played soccer as much as possible since I was about 4 years old. I've coached soccer. I've officiated soccer. I've played every position you can play in soccer. I've started. I've come off the bench. I've been to the World Cup before.

I've never in my entire life seen a game that was decided by the officials as much as todays game was with the United States and Slovenia.

When I was growing up, just like every other player in the world, I was taught that the ref doesn't control the game. The ref shouldn't determine the outcome. That I should play above the ref. All of these were said to me at one point or another by almost every coach I ever encountered in any sport I've ever played.

Yet today I'm stuck with the fact that the ref determined the outcome of a World Cup match.

There's no way around it. There's no changing that fact.

Going into halftime, the USA was down 2-0 and as I conversed with friends, we were all of the same mind. Its gut check time. Its time to pull your head out of your ass and play with pride. Its time to step up and say, "We're the United States. We came to play. You can't stop us."

A very short 3 minutes later, we scored. Landon Donavon, the all-time leading scorer in US Soccer history, drilled a shot directly over the Slovenian goalies head and into the top netting. Suddenly the USA was back in it, and had momentum oozing from their cleats.

The entire game changed with that goal. You could argue that it changed coming out of halftime, but if Donavon doesn't score that goal you have no idea how the rest of the half goes. When he broke through on the right side, looked at the top of the box for a teammate who wasn't there, then looked at the goalie... you knew.

Nearly 40 minutes and a couple heart attacks later, the equalizer.

In the 82nd minute, a long ball was headed down by Jozy Altidore and then Michael Bradley, Coach Bob Bradley's son, flicked the ball just past the goalie's outstretched hands.

At this point, the game was on very thin ice. It was a 10 minute scramble to the finish line. At this point, this was the best game of the World Cup so far in my opinion.

Then it got interesting. After the officiating had been merely frustrating for the first 85 minutes, it became downright awful on one play that would have changed the outcome of the match.

Landon Donavon plays a free kick into the box from the right side. Maurice Edu makes a great run, breaks through the bear hugs of the Slovenian defense, and connects on the cross, putting a volley into the back of the net to take the lead... Except that it was called back for a foul committed by the US attackers. The problem with this?

THERE WAS NO FOUL!!

Replays have been shown countless times across the world, and I've yet to find one person who agrees with the call. If anything, there should have been three other fouls called against Slovenia in the box, which would have given the US a PK, or allow the goal with an advantage call. Bradley was bear hugged from behind, Altidore was wrapped up on his run, and Dempsey was basically form tackled to the ground. Yet none of this was called. Instead the ref made a call that has yet to be explained, and won't be explained.

FIFA has come out and said that there will be "No Comment" about the call, and that the ref will not explain the call either. Millions of soccer fans across the world are left scratching their head, and the US fans are left wanting justice.

If this were Columbia in 1994, the ref might be stabbed in a bar. That's how bad the call was.

That's all I'm saying.

Conference Expansion Part 5: The Pac-16?

We've now had yet another conference claim that they want to expand. The Pac-10 has entered the expansion race, and have done so by taking the largest step yet.

The Pac-10 is trying to become the Pac-16 by saying that they would offer Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Colorado (with the possibility of Colorado being replaced by Baylor) a spot in the Pac-10. Adding 6 teams is the largest rumor to date surrounding the conference expansion talks.

And adding 6 teams would be the metaphorical "other shoe dropping" in the race to a super conference.

Going above 16 teams seems to scare everybody involved, but having 16 teams seems to be the foreseeable future for conference expansion. I first mentioned having 16 teams in my first ever post back in April. How close was I to the Pac-10's ideas of expansion? I had 5 of their 6 targeted teams included in the "Super West" conference.

So what happens to the rest of the Big 12? That's a little tricky.

Big 12 officials have reportedly given Missouri and Nebraska until Friday to decide if they want to stay in the Big 12, or move north to join the Big 10. You can bet that every Pac-10 official is waiting for that announcement. If those two schools leave for higher ground, expect a HUGE fallout in Big 12 country. I mean HUGE.

So big, that within hours I'd expect to see the Pac-10 make their offers official. Don't be surprised if the SEC follows suit and makes some offers of their own, probably along the lines of what we reported last month. Although the SEC seems content with their current format, and don't seem to be in much of a rush to expand, you can be that if the Big 12 is going to collapse, the SEC wouldn't mind picking up a couple pieces here and there.

So what about the other Big 12 schools? Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, and Baylor haven't been mentioned at all in expansion talks except Baylor being a possible replacement for Colorado. I think the Big 10 would step in and work with at least 2 of those teams, probably Kansas and Kansas State because they can reach a new market. Iowa State makes logical sense, but since when did anybody follow logic?

They follow money. Which is where this whole situation arose from.

You can almost blame all this conference expansion talk on the SEC and ESPN for signing the largest television contract for college sports ever. Each SEC school this year received $17.3 million in shared television revenue, which blows any other conference out of the water easily. If the Pac-16 forms, then you can expect numbers to reach the $20 million per school level, causing the SEC to either sit in contempt, or make a move.

As the Orlando Sentinel said, "Worst-case scenario, the Pac-10 pulls this off and the SEC still has the last four national titles and billions to count."

Yeah, I'll take that any day.

Celtics/Lakers NBA Finals

The NBA Finals start Thursday night. Did you even know that? Probably not. You might have known that it was playoff time, since the NBA Playoffs have covered 3 TV networks, and lasted since before Moses brought down stone tablets. And even after all the LeBron talk, the Durant hype, the Suns' black-eyes, the Magic's countdown of belly flop for 3, climb back up for 2, and belly flop again, we have what history tells us we should have had, and maybe the best option possible.

Another NBA Finals with the Celtics and the Lakers. The NBA's two most storied franchises. The two teams that have faced each other in the finals more than they've faced any other teams. Teams that could have their own Hall-of-Fames. Teams that have played each other in the finals in almost every decade for 50 years.

Here's my prediction first and foremost: Celtics in 6.

The Lakers have made Kobe into a superstar by making him the centerpiece in a revolving door of supporters. Shaq, Robert Horry, Pau Gausol (twice), Lamar Odom, and even former-rival Ron Artest have all been picked from other teams to come play with Kobe and become the next Jordan-Pippen-esque combo from Phil Jackson.

The Celtics have had Paul Pierce as their centerpiece, then in one fell swoop picked up Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to join the ranks, making the Boston trio a three-headed bean-town icon. Then they went and picked up ever nearly washed up star from other teams to join the ranks, like Rasheed Wallace and Nate Washington (who went from starter for the Knicks, to benched in Boston).

Two teams, with big name stars, and lots of history. Names like Kareem, Magic, Bird, and McHale. It's the East Coast vs. the West Coast. Old-fashioned defense and tough physical play vs. Jack Nicholson sitting next to the visitors bench to talk trash.

It should be a fun series to watch. I'm gonna start cooking some wings. You bring the beer.

The Super Cold Bowl

Today it was announced that Super Bowl XLVIII (that's 48) in 2014 will be played in New York/New Jersey. This will be the first cold weather Super Bowl in my lifetime, so I have no reference on reaction to previous cold weather championships except what I've seen on NFL films.

But I can always offer my opinion, and there's no way you can stop me.

Moving past the fact that the NFL can't seem to choose one team to host, because the city of New York and state of New Jersey force their professional teams to share a stadium. This has the potential to be one of the greatest, or one of the worst decisions in recent NFL history.

I've seen mixed reactions to this decision as well. Some media think it's great. Others don't. Some players love the idea, including Eli Manning who said in a television interview that one of his favorite games was the NFC Championship in Green Bay, one of the coldest games ever in NFL history. Others I'm sure would rather be on the beach in Miami partying with girls in bikinis and free drinks all week.

Don't tell me that the players don't drink that week. I've seen pictures. If you don't play in the game, the next best thing is to party the whole week. Those parties won't be as glamourous stuffed inside a New York bar as they were last year out in the Miami sunshine.

But here's what matters, there's a game to be played. That is the ONLY thing that matters. Who, and how that game is played are all circumstances that we won't know until the week of the game. If the game is Arizona vs. Miami, then both teams are at an equal disadvantage. If it's Giants vs Jets, then it will be the weirdest Super Bowl I can remember, but at least both teams will be used to the weather, which will give neither team an advantage.

Michael Strahan said it best, "Talent can handle any weather."

If you want to complain about the weather and make excuses, then you don't need to be in the Super Bowl.

So grab some hand warmers, foot warmers, extra socks, gloves, hat, coat, heated bench, and space heaters and let's play. And if you have a dome, that might not hurt either.

Conference Expansion Part 4

Uh oh...

Now we have more "reports" that are mentioning conference expansion. This time, it's the SEC. As I learned in this Anchor Of Gold article a Knoxville, TN radio station has come out to say that IF (I repeat... IF) the SEC was to expand, the schools they would supposedly look at are Texas, Texas A&M, Clemson, Georgia Tech, and if the Texas pair doesn't work out, Florida State, and Miami.

With these newest developments, I am given the wonderful opportunity to continue the discussion on possible conference expansion. However, the last few posts have all been about if the big 6 BCS conferences were to combine and expand into 4 Super Conferences.

But what about the possibility of keeping 6 and only moving certain teams around? What about the possibility of each conference having between 10 and 14 (at most) schools? Wait... Is that right? No. Damn the Big East with their 8 football and 16 basketball teams.

So let's revisit the situation at hand. The Big 10 has reportedly offered to Mizzou, Nebraska, Notre Dame, and Rutgers. The SEC is now eyeing Texas, Texas A&M, Clemson, and Georgia Tech. The two assumptions that you have to make are that 1) each conference would like to have an even number of teams, and 2) each conference will keep a somewhat normal geographic footprint (meaning the Pac-10 isn't going to offer Rutgers a spot). The key word is "somewhat" and I choose that word on purpose, because if you look at a map of current BCS footprints, you see that there isn't a normality to it at all. Once again... Damn you Big East!!!



Looking at that map, the SEC has 4 split states: Kentucky, South Carolina, Florida and Georgia. If you look at the names of possible targets of expansion, it includes 4 states: South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, and Texas.

If you look at the Big 10, there are 3 split states: Iowa, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Their targets include 4 states: Indiana, Missouri, Nebraska, and New Jersey.

I know people are saying that the motivation behind possible expansion is driven by money, and I totally agree. But there seems to also be a feel, at least with the SEC, to secure a geographic footprint of the conference. If you think in military terms, they're making the wall around their city.

I think if the SEC makes a push for Texas and Texas A&M they are doing it based solely on money. Every college sports fan knows that Texas has a following that could invade Poland, and Texas A&M fans have enough people to keep the Longhorn fans out of Poland. The size, alumni, and money from those two schools alone could totally change the landscape of college sports if they were to change conferences.

And their closest neighbor?? The wonderfully successful, storied, and also wealthy, Southeastern Conference.

So geographically, the SEC makes the best fit for a possible change for the Texas pair. But do they fit with the SEC? I don't think so.

Since this is a blog by a fan and I don't have to follow the rules, I won't. I'm an SEC person through and through. And there is something different that the SEC has that nobody else seems to have. It goes all the way back to the civil war and slavery, and plantations, and the settling of the United States of America. There is more pride in the south than any other region of the USA. Can you tell me another REGION that has a flag? If you see a red flag, blue stripes, and white stars you immediately associate with the south.

With that in mind, I think the SEC officials have a strong sense of pride for their already successful conference. So why would you add two schools that will totally and drastically change the dynamic? If we're not going to 16, let's get the best possible fit to keep the already successful product running like it should. The answer: Clemson and Georgia Tech.

Solidifying the states of South Carolina and Georgia as SEC states, it alienates the state of Florida from the rest of the ACC states, while maintaining the tradition, mentality, and success of the SEC. Both schools have existing rivals in the SEC, and have played other SEC teams in the past few years. This means that current SEC fans already know these new schools, and one of the most important parts of the SEC are the fans.

The SEC is sundress clad female students, standing next to their seersucker wearing male students, both complete with canned cheap beer and solo cup liquor drinks. It is massive tents and grills for each family cooking their own version of burgers, brats, ribs, or sometimes gator meat gumbo. It is showing up to the field at 9 AM with a full cooler and tailgating plans, when the game starts at 9 PM and you don't even have tickets. The SEC is having so much compassion for your team that you succeed when they succeed, you fight when they fight, and you suffer when they suffer.

Like this guy.



Wait a minute... You mean to tell me that's a Clemson fan? After a game with Georgia Tech?!?

I rest my case.

The World Cup

I couldn't come up with a catchy title for this post, but that's because there isn't one. There doesn't need to be a catchy title for something that captures the entire world, everybody already knows. The Olympics don't need a nickname. The Super Bowl doesn't need a catch phrase. The World Cup is simply what it is.

The. World. Cup.

Some would argue that it's bigger than the Olympics. I would probably agree. As much as I love watching women's curling in February with hot Swedish girls throwing rocks down ice with brooms and screaming so loud in can sometimes be mistaken for sexual noises if you're in the other room... The World Cup is different.

One sport. The same teams throughout. The same players throughout. Opening round, then single elimination. No second place. No ties (after the opening round). This is a tournament at its most basic level. Win and move on, lose and go home.

The only other sporting tournament that could compare is March Madness, college basketball's catchy name for the NCAA Division 1 Basketball Championship.

But The World Cup is not "June Madness Every Four Years", nor does it need opening and closing ceremonies. Every player knows why they're there. They know what's at stake. They know when it starts. This year they'll arrive and be ready to go from the moment they breathe the South African air.

Americans don't like soccer because there isn't much glory. But there are more guts than you'd believe. In my opinion, no sport plays harder than World Cup soccer.

NFL football plays for 4 quarters of 15 minutes, but with breaks. Players will play just under half the game usually. NHL hockey, plays 3 periods of 20 minutes each, but with shifts. Each player working around 20-30 minutes a game (except the goalie). MLB plays 9 full innings, but at the pace of a golf match. Speaking of golf, they play for 18 holes which could last for 3 or more hours, but they walk, and somebody else carries their equipment. NBA plays 4 quarters of 12 minutes, not even a full hour of actual game time, and they can be subbed out at any time of the game and come back later, along with breaks at each quarter.

No sport plays harder or longer than World Cup players (ok... Rugby is a bitch of a sport. I know). Soccer games are for 90 minutes, 1.5 hours with only one halftime. Teams have limited substitutions, so most of the players will be on the field the entire time. Conditioning at its finest.

And you wanna talk about hits? Watch these: Tab Ramos, Zidane, and these random ones.

This all boils down to one thing. I love The World Cup. It's my favorite time of every four years.

Sleaze and Talent: The Story of LeBron and Calipari

We've all heard about LeBron James' contract ending this summer. I've even heard it referenced to as the "Summer of LeBron" on Sportscenter. So now that his season is over, everybody seems to have shifted focus from LeBron's elbow to his contract... or lack thereof.

So what happens now? Was that the last time LeBron took off his Cavs jersey? Was it the last time he'll go into the home locker room in Cleveland? Hell if I know... but what I can give you is... (cheesy drum roll)... The Fans Point Of View. (Bum Bum Baaa).

I'm not a contract expert by any means, and I don't know the budgets of the teams in the NBA. But what I can tell you is what I saw at the end of Game 6. That's a team that quit, with a leader that quit, and a coach that couldn't do anything to inspire his team.

When LeBron and the Cavs didn't foul with a minute left, or 40 seconds left, or 20 seconds left, all I could think was "They don't want to play anymore." Not just play in that game, but in that city, on that team, for that coach, or as a team. I saw a team that was more ready for the offseason than they were for overtime.

They got what they wanted, an offseason that will be more exciting and expensive than any other offseason before it. Teams have traded and worked deals to have the ability to give a MAXIMUM contract offer to the two-time MVP. I've heard of a salary cap, but I always thought it applied to the team. Not just one player.

LeBron is only 25, and he's going to paid more money than any other basketball player EVER. And he knew it from the beginning of this past season. He knew it from the season before that. And now it's a reality. LeBron: I hope you have multiple bank accounts, because you're gonna need them for the millions of dollars you're about to receive.

So what does money attract? Greedy, selfish people. Enter the one, the only, John Calipari, notorious for the "1 and done" college basketball players who attend classes for only the first semester. Calipari, who has left two schools in near ruins because of accusations of illegal recruiting. Calipari, who has never won a championship at any level. Calipari, who has more money in his hair than Pat Riley and Rick Petino combined. Calipari, the most hated man in college basketball today.

Now we have talks of the two being a coach/player package for an NBA organization. With LeBron being the most sought after player of any recent memory, he has the ball in his court, and we've seen what he can do with a basketball in his hands.

In order for a team to land LeBron, it seems they'll also have to land Calipari. The balance of power has shifted, and some team somewhere will bend to these demands. But with a coach that's never won, and a two-time MVP that's never won, what can we expect from them? We'll just have to wait and see.

Notre Dame and the Big 10

So what happens if the Big 10 doesn't get all 4 teams that they've propositioned? What happens if they get 1? or 3? This article has the take on the SEC reaction if this happens, but what about the rest of the world? Time to take a deeper look into the possibility of conference expansion...

Let's start with what we know. The Big 10 has offered Nebraska, Missouri, Rutgers, and Notre Dame a spot in the conference.

When I was young, I watched Sesame Street. They played a game on the show called "One of these things is not like the other." Thank you Notre Dame for volunteering to demonstrate.

If Notre Dame joins the Big 10, what are the real consequences? NBC loses their weekly Saturday Catholic Mass (hell, they might not lose it. This whole thing seems to be revolving around TV rights and money anyway). Other than that, the Big East loses a basketball school, which would make their conference tournament only last 6-8 weeks instead of the full 3 months. IN MY OPINION, Notre Dame joining the Big 10 is actually a GOOD thing.

pause... breathe... Yes I said it. Notre Dame in the Big 10 is a good combination. It puts the conference at an even number (12), and Notre Dame already has rivalries with member schools. Geographically it makes more sense than them joining the Big East, and they have the ability and scholarship money to compete on the recruiting front. Coming back to the TV aspect, this move gives the Big 10 the possibility of joining the conference with NBC, not just Notre Dame.

Talking more about the money and TV issues, (which is what this whole debate seems to circle around) the Big 10 network has already proved to be profitable for the conference. Add in a weekly showcase of Notre Dame and/or another big name member school, suddenly there are connections with 2 big networks, NBC and the partnership between Fox Sports and the Big 10 Network.

Hello conference visibility. Worried about fighting with the SEC now?

Yeah the SEC and ESPN signed a deal bigger than A-Rod, Lebron, and Peyton Manning combined. And, no that won't go away for another 15 or so years. But will anybody be able to truly compete with that without something HUGE going down in conference restructuring? NO. So this is the best possible situation for both Notre Dame and the Big 10.

Rutgers just flat doesn't make sense, unless you're trying to dissolve the Big East. But why would the Big 10 want to do that? Oh wait... money. Right.

Missouri and Nebraska?? Mizzou ok... I can see that because of geographic location. But Nebraska? No way. Once again it comes down to poaching and trying to dissolve other conferences to improve their own standing.

I am in no way bad mouthing the Big 10. They made the first move in a chess match of survival.

If I was in a hole and needed to get out, I'd pull others in and stand on their shoulders too.

Sorry Big East and Big 12, you might be buried sooner than you think.

Super Conferences, new and updated

In light of recent reports and rumors, I decided to work a little with my previous post suggesting four new "Super Conferences."

The stories are being passed around that the Big 10 has offered a spot to Nebraska (Big 12 North), Missouri (Big 12 North), Notre Dame (Independent), and Rutgers (Big East).

*Side Note: I had the Big 12 North joining the Big 10 and creating the North Conference. So I was 50% correct before the rumors. Quick pause for a self pat on the back.

The one that stands out in this group is Rutgers. Why Rutgers? New Jersey is not near any of the states that hold current Big 10 teams, the closest is Pennsylvania, where the eastern most outcast of the Big 10 presides, Penn State. Everybody seems to be talking about how the Big 12 is going to be picked apart by other conferences, and they will probably be right about it (in a few years).

By offering Rutgers a spot in a new conference, the Big East suddenly looks like Calista Flockhart in her skinny days. With only 7 members supporting football teams, how long can the conference survive?

In the SEC, football is king. In the Big East, basketball is king. But can a conference survive on basketball alone? It'll be interesting to see what happens if Rutgers decides to move on to greener, bigger pastures.

In regards to my Super 4, there are certain things to note before we get started. First, note that the following is all hypothetical. Second, note that Penn State has now moved into the North with the rest of the Big 10, leaving a spot in the East. We'll now work through all four Super Conferences assuming that the offers are all accepted. First we'll fill out the North.

NORTH:

If all 4 teams bolt, the Big 10 will have 15 football and basketball schools. With a goal of having 16 teams each, the next logical addition to the conference is Iowa State. The Big 10 already has half the state with Iowa, and with 2 other members of the Big 12 North joining, the Cyclones won't be the lone sheep moving to the North. As Seth Davis says, "I'm going sharpie on this one."

Kansas, Kansas State, and Colorado are now homeless, but not forgotten. We'll get back to them.

EAST:

The East now has three open spots if we use my previous arrangement because of Notre Dame, Rutgers, and Penn State moving to the North. So who fills in? Let's pull some of those southern ACC teams back into the mix. If you look in the previous version of the South, there are 4 ACC teams. Time to play "Let's Make A Deal."

I'll give you Louisville, if you'll give me Miami (FL), Florida State, Georgia Tech, and Clemson. Sound fair? Sure. Let's do it. The East is now made up of what is left of the Big East (minus Rutgers Louisville), and the ACC.

Let's go sharpie here too.

SOUTH:

With the newly acquired Louisville, the South now has the 3 openings. Don't forget Kansas and Kansas State, as they could make the switch to the South, but I don't see that happening. Using the model I created previously, the South already has TCU, so look for the expansion to try to take Texas as a whole state, not just part.

Welcome Texas, Texas Tech, and Texas A&M to the party. Suddenly, the South becomes the measuring stick for what conference strength is all about.

Sharpie.

WEST:

The remaining homeless teams, Kansas, Kansas State, and Colorado, now have a home. Welcome to the high flying, hard-hitting West. Where the only team that will run on you like hard-nosed old school football teams used to will be Oklahoma. When you look at every other team, you see a flare that can only come with the West Coast. Take the Pac-10 showboating, add in a midwest corn-fed Big 12 feel, with the spice of Boise State and BYU and even the Rock can smell what's cooking out west.

I really wonder what he cooked that smelled so bad...

So there we are, with a few new offers, a trade, and the Rock we've reached our new layout. Something like this:

South	West	East	North
SEC	Pac-10	ACC/Big East	Big 10
Alabama	Arizona	Boston College	Illinois
Arkansas	Arizona State	North Carolina	Indiana
Auburn	California	NC State	Iowa
Florida	Oregon	Wake Forest	Michigan
Georgia	Oregon State	Virginia Tech	Michigan State
Kentucky	Stanford	Duke	Minnesota
LSU	UCLA	Cincinnati	Northwestern
Mississippi	USC	Connecticut	Ohio State
Mississippi State	Washington	Pittsburgh	Penn State
South Carolina	Colorado	South Florida	Purdue
Tennessee	Kansas	Syracuse	Wisconsin
Louisville	Kansas State	West Virginia	Rutgers
Texas	Oklahoma State	Miami (FL)	Notre Dame1
Texas A&M	Oklahoma	Florida State	Nebraska
Texas Tech	BYU1	Clemson	Missouri
TCU1	Boise State1	Georgia Tech	Iowa State
1Added to Super Conferences

Love it? Hate it? Leave a comment.

We Are Nashville

I toyed with the idea of writing my own version of this article, but there's no need. This says it best:

We Are Nashville

By

Patten Fuqua

Published: May 4, 2010

Allow me a moment to step away from the usual voice of this website.

What I am about to write has absolutely nothing to do with hockey.

If you live outside of Nashville, you may not be aware, but our city was hit by a 500-year flood over the last few days. The national news coverage gave us 15 minutes, but went back to focusing on a failed car bomb and an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. While both are clearly important stories, was that any reason to ignore our story? It may not be as terror-sexy as a failed car bomb or as eco-sexy as an oil spill, but that’s no reason to be ignored.

The Cumberland River crested at its highest level in over 80 years. Nashville had its highest rainfall totals since records began. People drowned. Billions of dollars in damage occurred. It is the single largest disaster to hit Middle Tennessee since the Civil War. And yet…no one knows about it.

Does it really matter? Eventually, it will…as I mentioned, there are billions of dollars in damage. It seems bizarre that no one seems to be aware that we just experienced what is quite possibly the costliest non-hurricane disaster in American history. The funds to rebuild will have to come from somewhere, which is why people need to know. It’s hard to believe that we will receive much relief if there isn’t a perception that we need it.

But let’s look at the other side of the coin for a moment. A large part of the reason that we are being ignored is because of who we are. Think about that for just a second. Did you hear about looting? Did you hear about crime sprees? No…you didn’t. You heard about people pulling their neighbors off of rooftops. You saw a group of people trying to move two horses to higher ground. No…we didn’t loot. Our biggest warning was, “Don’t play in the floodwater.” When you think about it…that speaks a lot for our city. A large portion of why we were being ignored was that we weren’t doing anything to draw attention to ourselves. We were handling it on our own.

Some will be quick to find fault in the way rescue operations were handled, but the fact of the matter is that the catastrophe could not have been prevented and it is simply ignorant beyond all reason to suggest otherwise. It is a flood. It was caused by rain. You can try to find a face to stick this tragedy to, but you’ll be wrong.

Parts of Nashville that could never even conceivably be underwater were underwater. Some of them still are. Opry Mills and the Opryland Hotel are, for all intents and purposes, destroyed. People died sitting in standstill traffic on the Interstate. We saw boats going down West End. And, of course, we all saw the surreal image of the portable building from Lighthouse Christian floating into traffic and being destroyed when cars were knocked into it. I’m still having trouble comprehending all of it.

And yet…life will go on. We’ll go back to work, to school, to our lives…and we’ll carry on. In a little over a month, I’ll be on this website talking about the draft. In October, we’ll be discussing the new Predators’ season with nary a thought of these past few days. But in a way, they changed everyone in this town. We now know that that it can happen to us…but also know that we can handle it.

Because we are Nashville.

The Super Four

In a world where money seems to drive everything, and corporate sponsors decide which sports drink you can have on the sidelines, the fans are left to debate one of the most talked about issues in college football this millennium: the BCS.

As a fan, I have often gotten deep into debates about how this conference should give up teams to that conference, this region is better than that region, on and on until really absolutely nothing is decided. Such is the world we live in.

Well, I’ve had enough. I’m tired of debating with no solutions. I’m tired of asking questions with no answers. I’m tired of conversations that last well into the night and make me...well, tired. So I decided to do something about it.

We all like to play God and pretend we’re in control of the world. We do it while driving, at work, at home, at church, at games, with friends, with family, with our pastor, with other random people we meet while drinking a beer and watching Vanderbilt get destroyed by Florida and wondering why they’re ever in the same conference (Don’t worry, that problem has been fixed).

So having heard a couple rumors going around about creating four “super conferences” from the six existing BCS conferences, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I’ve taken the six BCS conferences and combined them into four new conferences: North, South, East, and West. I apologize now for my lack of creativity in the names.

In creating these conferences, I looked at a few different criteria such as original conference membership, most recent win-loss record, geographic location, original conference standings, and final 2009 Top 25 positions. Then, using mostly geographic locations and original conference memberships, I was able to realign the existing BCS teams, with some small adjustments. A few teams were removed from the conferences all together because of their recent win-loss record, both overall and conference records, and some teams were added because of their competitiveness or the fact that Notre Dame should just be in a conference.

Ok, enough talk. Time to show the results.

South	West	East	North
SEC/ACC Southern	Pac-10/Big 12 South	ACC Northern/Big East	Big 12 North/Big 10
Alabama	Arizona	Boston College	Illinois
Arkansas	Arizona State	North Carolina	Indiana
Auburn	California	NC State	Iowa
Florida	Oregon	Wake Forest	Michigan
Georgia	Oregon State	Virginia Tech	Michigan State
Kentucky	Stanford	Duke	Minnesota
LSU	UCLA	Cincinnati	Northwestern
Mississippi	USC	Connecticut	Ohio State
Mississippi State	Washington	Louisville	Purdue
South Carolina	Texas	Pittsburgh	Wisconsin
Tennessee	Oklahoma State	Rutgers	Colorado
Miami (FL)	Texas Tech	South Florida	Nebraska
Florida State	Oklahoma	Syracuse	Missouri
Clemson	Texas A&M	West Virginia	Kansas
Georgia Tech	BYU1	Notre Dame1	Kansas State
TCU1	Boise St1	Penn State*	Iowa State
1Added to four Super Conferences		*Penn State added because of geographical location

There are numerous plusses and minuses to this new arrangement, and I’ll be the first to tell you that it probably is not the most fair arrangement that could be made. But forget the bad, focus on the good and look at the possibilities.

With 16 teams each, it allows for two 8-team divisions in each conference. The schedule for a 12 game season works out to have seven division games, 4 cross division games, and 1 additional game for the schools to decide on individually. Not much wiggle room with only 1 optional game, but this is a rough sketch not a final plan.

Just imagine this: In the South, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, LSU, Miami (FL), and Florida State are all in conference. Texas, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, USC, Oregon, and Oregon State fight for the West. The North has the classic Big 10 (minus Penn State for geographical reasons) with the weaker Big 12 North. The East will finally be able to settle the score between the ACC and Big East. The added teams: Boise State, BYU, TCU, and Notre Dame all have to put up or shut up now. No excuses when you’re playing in a real conference, you have to sort it out on the field.

There are teams that were removed from the original six conferences, but all were done so because of past win-loss records. These teams are: Vanderbilt (SEC), Baylor (Big 12), Washington State (Pac-10), Virginia (ACC), and Maryland (ACC). They would all be able to join whichever remaining conference they choose.

Also worth mentioning is that Utah was left out of the conferences because of a loaded West. However, I essentially handed them the Mountain West Conference Championship from now until eternity, or until Air Force can compete, which ever comes first. Army and Navy are also left out of the Super Four, but are able to join a new conference, or remain unassociated and continue as they have for years.

There is a possible way to include those last eight teams that didn’t make the cut, however, that would have created an 18 team conference. Which then leaves no possibility for non-conference opponents in the schedule, so I decided to stick with 16 and give the others a high five on their way out the door. Better luck next time. Now you can compete with teams closer to your skill level.

To the 64 teams that did make it though, time to start the Fall Madness.