Stuff I Care About

Recent internet discussions of BYU's involvement with the Big East is starting to pick up steam. It seems the Cougars, while not overjoyed at the prospects of a football-only membership, would entertain the idea of all-sports inclusion. Geographically, BYU to the Big East makes little sense. However, a little creative thinking and perhaps reading between the lines can paint a very favorable picture.

Let me preface this idea by first stating, its speculation based on internet rumors and some knowledge of BCS rules. A limited knowledge, no doubt...well why beat around the bush? I'm talking about the now-defunct rule and common misconception that BCS AQ status is attached to the name of a conference. While once true, that rule has been amended to state that it is the collective presence of institutes within the conference that earn AQ status and not the name attached to that group. Look no further than the newly named Pac-12 for evidence. Along those same lines in order to maintain NCAA Basketball Tournament auto-bid status a group of schools must have at least a 5 year relationship which is a given for both sides in a split scenario.

What this means for the Big East is simple. They can essentially do what they want as long as the core of UConn, Syracuse, Pitt, Rutgers, WVU, UC, Louisville and South Florida remain together. As long as that group stays together and the numbers mesh they are free to add who they want, where they want...and be called what they want.

That being said, rumors of a split with the basketball only schools continue to swirl. Drop them all, drop a few, anything is possible at this point. Here's what I'm thinking today (I come up with new scenarios as often as Michael Smith consumes chili dogs). Could the Big East name be forever dead? Football schools going their own way under a new name, same AQ and auto-bid status, similar market reach but solidified football power. For arguments sake, lets call this new conglomerate the National Athletic Conference. In football, a simple 16 team east/west division set up with a conference championship game spanning the nation and grabbing more TV sets than any conference in America. Basketball brings Paul Tagliabue's 20 team pod system to fruition.

National Athletic Conference (Football)

East - UConn, Syracuse, Rutgers, Pitt, UC, Louisville, WVU, USF

West - TCU, BYU, Boise St, Houston, Air Force, Memphis, SMU, Tulsa

National Athletic Conference (Basketball)

Northeast - UConn, Syracuse, Rutgers, Georgetown, St. John's

Mideast - WVU, Pitt, USF, Villanova, Notre Dame

Midwest - UC, Louisville, Memphis, TCU, Houston

Mountain - BYU, Boise St, Air Force, SMU, Tulsa

April of 2011 has been quite an eventful month in sports, entertainment and politics. We have witnessed the U.S. Government almost shutting down, the NFL locking out, an NBA changing of guard as the Grizzlies and Thunder appear poised for conference semi-finals trips and ABC canceling daytime stall-warts “One Life to Live” and “All My Children”. It’s okay fellas, I know that last bit of news is devastating and its going to be tough getting through the day without your “stories” but dry those eyes big guy, you can still get your daily dose of drama from the Big East Conference. I’ll get you up to date real quick on what you’ve missed so you don’t feel left out when your co-workers gossip around the water cooler about tomorrow’s episode.

Last time on “As the Conference Turns” we saw Texas Christian get “horny” (get it?...horned frogs?...horny?...okay, I’ll stop) and act on its money-lust by joining the Big East. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not like the Big East didn’t ask for it. She put herself out there with a little hoops-make up, some BCS blush and an expanded market pushup bra. She can be a fairly attractive old bird, especially for a school looking to marry into some old money, can’t she? It didn’t take long for the two to tie the knot either, after a couple weeks of flirtation the pair made a mad dash to the altar.

Next there was Villanova and I know what you’re thinking. How could the Big East be looking for a new partner so quickly after committing herself to TCU? Well, not only does the old bird clean up nice; she’s a bit of a freak too. The Horned Frogs knew there would be others going into this thing. You can’t turn a hoe into a housewife and the Big East has a history of use and abuse. Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College played her like a fiddle. Make no mistake though, she’s not as innocent as you might think. Just ask Temple.

Now the Wildcats have had their hardwood in the Big East’s backyard for quite sometime so it seemed natural things might heat up between them. ‘Nova laced up its tightest pigskin pants while showing the Big East how nice her neighborhood was as well as its plans to upgrade their living situation. Unfortunately, they had the smallest house on the block by far with or without an addition so the old bird turned it’s nose up and began to look elsewhere.

That brings us all up to speed and personally, I can’t wait to see what the Big East’s next round of shenanigans could include. There’s a rumor floating around that Central Florida might be the next notch on her headboard. I like the idea, however South Florida has been anything but bullish towards the Knights and while the Big East might get around, she has a touch of separation anxiety. Houston, being a bit of a cougar herself, could easily find it’s way into the master suite.

If I were the Big East I’d keep the soap opera plot stewing. Since there aren’t any attractive vampires, wolfmen or ghosts around; I say scoop up the pirates of ECU. They have a football tradition similar to, if not better than, Louisville’s with 2 more bowl appearances, 1 more conference championship and a higher winning percentage. They already know basketball is cause for concern which is why they’ve offered to join in a football-only capacity. Jolly Rogers, No Quarter flags, packed stadiums and established relationships with more than a third of your current brood...what more could you ask for? Okay, Big East, you like being seen on camera with your beaus, I get that. Let’s not forget how much purple and gold graced the four letter network in 2008, when coming off a bowl victory over Boise State, ECU knocked off your ex Virginia Tech and your current squeeze WVU. The pirate paparazzi was in full effect that season.

So this Cardinal fan says shiver ye timbers land lover and welcome the swashbucklers aboard. If that’s not enough for you, Vince McMahon not only knows good drama he’s also an ECU alum!

Who is the most impressive NBAer of all-time?  As Dave Chappelle would say…Kobe!  Now before you throw Jordan at me, let me explain what I mean by “most impressive”.  We can argue talent, accolades and who would beat who in their primes all day.  That’s not my intention here.  Under pressure, not even the great #23 can stand toe to toe with the Black Mamba.

Close your eyes for a moment (well, not your real eyes…your mind’s eye…please keep reading) and imagine you’re 18 years old.  Fresh out of high school, prom’s last song still playing in the back of your head (probably something off of the American Pie soundtrack if you’re my age) and all you can think about are ways to justify summertime noon wake up calls.  Mom has scrambled eggs and bacon on a plastic plate in the microwave waiting for your hibernation to break and a freezer stocked with Pizza Rolls for that pre-dinner meal you always managed to squeeze into that 5 hour window. Warms the cockles of your heart doesn’t it?

Now replace that nostalgia with an offer to pursue your dream career.  Sounds pretty sweet right?  Well there’s a catch, not only do you forfeit your last taste of childhood; you are expected to surpass the achievements of the man who held the job right before you came along.  That man is the undisputed best there has ever been.  You’re Jake Moore replacing Gordon Gekko, Andrew Johnson replacing Honest Abe…Kobe Bryant replacing Michael Jordan.  Pressure that great would have caused most of our 18-year-old-selves to reach for the Tostino’s and crawl back into bed for a 12 hour power nap.

Kobe Bryant took that pressure and turned it into motivation.  At 18 years old he took the dream job, tossed the lukewarm breakfast aside and told the world he would give it his all.  He would win championship after championship after championship.  He would move to 6^th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list at just 32 years of age.  Kobe would put himself into the “greatest” conversation.

That’s one battle’s victor that time will determine but I can’t think of anyone who has taken so much naysaying in stride.  Jordan didn’t have Jordan to live up to but Kobe does.  To succeed in those conditions, to come close, still striving towards and arguably achieving “Jordan status” is as impressive as anything his Airness ever accomplished.  Ask Phil Jackson about Kobe vs Mike.  He will tell you it’s close and that should tell you all you need to know.  Kobe is the definition of impressive when it comes to NBA careers.

The college athletics landscape is one of constant change. Both growth and erosion frequent the NCAA’s chameleon-esq structure, creating a hard to follow tale of dollars and cents with an even more difficult-to-predict next chapter. Sometimes it seems as if we’ve all been watching a not-so-clever but undeniably entertaining M. Night Shyamalan movie; where, for better or worse, the more you figure things out the further you end up from the truth. For those who have been paying attention, the makeup of college football’s conference alignments illustrate this phenomenon incredibly.

In December of 2009, Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany announced a study had begun to determine the 12^th and potentially up to 16^th members of the improperly-named conference. With the Big Ten Network raking in a rumored $20 million per school (not bad for a highly criticized move at its inception), rumors began to swirl that the Big East would find itself crumbling once again. Giving himself a full year to conduct his study, Jim Delany and his cohorts would no doubt hold the sporting nation’s collective breath and imaginations hostage for the foreseeable future.

One of Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse and even UConn were likely grabs in any expansion scenario. After all, whose mind doesn’t immediately dart towards doomsday when it’s presented as a real option? This expansion was all about money and television sets and not one conference has more eyeballs per square mile than the teams united under the Big East umbrella. The patchwork armor of the Big East had already been blown to bits by the ACC less than a decade ago. Another smash and grab operation was imminent and the year-long timeframe was nothing more than a flexing of muscle by college football’s wealthiest conglomerate.

Message boards and the media exploded with “insiders” claiming college football was merely weeks away from the Big Ten toppling the first domino in what was sure to be a race of arms. Notre Dame would finally abandon independence to join Rutgers, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and heavily campaigning Missouri to create the first “super conference”. Next, the Pac 10 would snatch up the Big 12 South, leaving the remaining Big East and Big 12 schools to be picked off by the ACC and SEC or face expulsion from the BCS altogether.

Of course none of that came to fruition. Nebraska flew in under the radar to the Big Ten and Colorado made its way to the Pac 10 with Utah making the Big 10 the Big 12, the Big 12 the Big 10 and the Pac 10 the Pac 12. Even though the Big 10 is still the Big 10 and the Big 12 is still the Big 12. Makes sense, right? I know…not really but at least the Pac 10 really is the Pac 12 now. Jim Delany finally ended the madness by announcing his league had no intentions of expansion beyond twelve members. For more details and a visual of all parties involved CLICK HERE.

The Big East, noticeably shaken after dodging more bullets than Neo in The Matrix, announced an expansion study of their own citing the desire to increase football membership from 8 to possibly 12 members. In December of 2010, nearly a year after Jim Delany sent shockwaves across college athletics and just weeks before Texas Christian won the Rose Bowl, the Big East Conference created an aftershock itself by formally inviting Horned Frogs to join their ranks. A move accompanied by current basketball only Big East member, Villanova, announcing plans to explore a “football upgrade clause” in its conference membership agreement.

Today the Big East sits at nine members poised to poach from perceived lesser conferences or in Villanova’s case a lesser division. We can speculate all we want about who those poachees may be and why not? It’s fun! While common sense would suggestion the additions of Central Florida, Houston, Temple, East Carolina or Southern Methodist, I cannot help but to look at the Big Ten expansion and ponder. What is really going to happen once the dust settles? All I know for sure is the landscape WILL change once again and I’m positive its’ change will not cease with the end of the Big East’s expansion.

My introduction to the blogging world will be short and sweet. My actual entries? Not so much. I tend to be long winded when I'm passionate about a subject and let's face it, I wouldn't be creating a sports blog if I wasn't passionate about sports. I'll update whenever something tickles my fancy. I'll have one or two up tonight, so feel free to comment and discuss. Oh and tell your friends!