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BachelorTrek

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  1. Spoiler

    Mandel: Colorado rejoining Big 12 would be a product of Pac-12 negligence
      By Stewart Mandel - The Athletic
    6h ago
     
    In 2010, Colorado opted to flee the Big 12 for what was then the Pac-10 amid fears that Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma were about to leave for other leagues and decimate the Buffs’ conference. Which they eventually did.
    Thirteen years later, Colorado’s board is expected to vote Thursday to rejoin the Big 12.


    Think about just how many things the Pac-12 had to get wrong over those 13 years to arrive at this precarious moment where it may soon be down to just nine members. Think about the fact that just two summers ago, after powers Oklahoma and Texas bolted the Big 12, new commissioner George Kliavkoff and his league presidents felt no need to grab a TCU or Houston when either would have come crawling in a nanosecond.
    Former commissioner Larry Scott may have set the Pac-12’s tumble in motion with his combo of arrogance and aloofness, but Kliavkoff, his successor, has now rolled the boulder right up to the edge of the cliff with a unique cocktail of naivete and negligence.
    It’s admittedly debatable whether Kliavkoff could have done anything to prevent USC and UCLA from leaving for the much-richer Big Ten. Some folks within the league say the warning signs were there that its golden ticket, USC, was getting antsy. Others say the L.A. schools’ defections last year came as a complete shock.
    But Colorado? … He really can’t keep Colorado?
    How demoralizing must it be for a school that’s gone 27-76 in conference play to have the leverage to singlehandedly destabilize your league. How much more time could he have possibly needed to prepare for the possibility than, oh, the last 13 months?
    At no point since June 30, 2022, would any of the Four Corners schools — Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Arizona State — leaving be considered a shock. And yet, it does genuinely appear that Kliavkoff — the same guy who once formed an “Alliance” with the ACC and Big Ten based on “an agreement between three gentlemen” — did not see this one coming. Had he even a hint Colorado might leave this week, he probably would not have said or done any of the following at his conference’s football media day last Friday:
    • When asked whether it was a “major concern” that the Big 12 may poach his schools, he called it “not a concern,” said that realignment “will come to an end for this cycle” and that “the truth is, we have bigger fish to fry.”
    • On the topic of his league’s interminable media rights negotiations, he said the longer the league has waited, the better their options have become, and that presidents’ and chancellors’ “commitment and patience will be rewarded with an announcement in the near future.”
    • And when the league hosted a lunch-hour roundtable to discuss College Football Playoff expansion, one of the invited panelists was none other than Colorado AD Rick George, a former committee member.


    In hindsight, the first sign something might be amiss came when George rushed off stage afterward and purposefully dodged a group of reporters — at media day.
    As realignment sagas go, this one is uniquely bizarre. In a vacuum, losing Colorado would seem entirely insignificant to the conference. The program is now three decades removed from its Eric Bieniemy/Kordell Stewart/Rashaan Salaam glory days and last played in a major bowl game in 2001. While CU performs better TV-wise than one might expect — fifth-best among the non-L.A. Pac-12 schools from 2015-21 — it would not be considered “additive” if the league were starting from scratch today. Unless potential TV partners were willing to gamble hundreds of millions on Coach Prime becoming the Buffs’ savior.
    And yet, because of its own continued ineptitude, CU leaving is a huuuuuge deal for the Pac-12.
    For one thing, it makes the conference look even weaker than it already does. Since taking over the Big 12 a little over a year ago, commissioner Brett Yormark has outmaneuvered his Pac-12 counterpart at every turn. He landed an extension with ESPN and Fox a year earlier than expected, making the Pac-12’s negotiations more difficult. He’s spent a full year courting the Four Corners schools and is ultimately set to reel in Colorado in part because he’d locked in assurances from ESPN and Fox that any Pac-12 additions would receive the same $31.7 million-per-year share as his current members come 2025. Whereas Kliavkoff has yet to deliver his own members assurance of any TV numbers of any kind beyond this coming year.
    But of course, the much, much bigger deal will be if Colorado’s departure becomes the domino that causes other Pac-12 schools to leave.
    For weeks, administrators across the conference have expressed confidence both that Kliavkoff will land the plane on the TV deal, and that Colorado was the only school still intrigued by the Big 12. If there are in fact new bidders that came to the negotiating table recently, as Oregon AD Rob Mullens and others said last week, and if it results in a deal with a similar dollar figure to the Big 12’s, the Pac-12 could ostensibly just swap in San Diego State for Colorado and be done with the thing.
    But even that would not play out cleanly. The Pac-12’s inability to nail down its deal sooner has all but assured the Aztecs won’t be able to join before 2025, lest they have to pay the Mountain West double their exit fee. Plus, as of media day on Friday, there were at least two schools still opposed to expansion, per two league sources. One would think they’ll reconsider that stance now, though this being the Pac-12, never gamble on it acting rationally.


    Colorado officials may provide a more complete picture in the coming days as to their rationale — one that likely includes Deion Sanders’ desire to recruit Texas — but this much is obvious: CU ran out of patience with the Pac-12.
    Last Friday, its commissioner said, “Getting the right deal has always been more important to our board and to the conference than getting the expeditious one.” At least one school disagreed, and if even one more follows, the conference may cease to exist.


    Surely Kliavkoff must be aware of that possibility.

     

    • Hook 'Em 2
    • Fuck Around and Find Out 1
  2. 13 minutes ago, Hurtlocker said:

    Heard McMurphy, Scheer, and another on talk radio today and they've all kind of clarified something that we've wondered.   It seems the way the Pac's contract is written, there is no buyout if they leave by next summer.    There is also no "one year notice" as long as its by 8/1/24, per their contract.  

    Colorado must have been given a deadline by the B12 of August.

    Where'd you hear it? They must podcast everything.

  3. 5 minutes ago, BurntOrange&White said:

    I never understand the aspect of this thread when actual news and stuff is happening people still want to post future speculation. Just post the now and what's happening currently....you'll have another year or years to go into speculation on the future of conferences.

    People want to get their stream-of-consciousness thoughts out there -- or else they may forget it over the course of a year. Lulz.

  4. 1 hour ago, LTtxfan said:

    It's live on NBC if you have antenna set up and local stations close enough.

    "THE OPEN" website has coverage too...

    This happened in the middle of a dispute AT&T is having with the carriage of KXAN/NBC (AT&T turned off KXAN/NBC for Austin-area users), so the only alternatives are streams elsewhere. 

  5. 7 hours ago, Al_4_ISU said:

    I’ve only ever visited Texas.  I’m not claiming a deep learned knowledge, just giving my impressions as a visitor.

    The area between Dallas and Austin has always surprised me at how Midwestern it looked.  It’s the cornfields and grain elevator skylines on the small towns.

    Those things are also found between Austin and Houston.

  6. On 7/14/2023 at 2:02 PM, BurntOrange&White said:

    Just a reminder, fuck this conference and Weiser.

    2022 Holding Calls

    Texas 8
    Opponents 2(Texas Tech/Kansas State)

    Oklahoma 7(1 was declined)
    Opponents 2(Baylor)

    Texas/OU 15
    Opponents 3

    The above does not include the Texas vs Oklahoma Big 12 game.

    Don't forget the BULLSHIT holding calls on Texas defensive linemen!

    Look for more of that BULLSHIT this year.

    • Rage+1 2
  7. 19 minutes ago, LTtxfan said:

     

    So KVET AM/FM will cover Texas games in Central Texas now...

    Screenshot_20230713-135412_kindlephoto-14475622.thumb.png.93999f2795ee4692cc127e6dd3b493b7.png

    The article mentions everything but where baseball will be on radio.

    Baseball is #2 to football in my interest, and IDGAF if basketball is on the radio at all if it pushes baseball out of the way.

    I hope Texas Baseball isn't relegated to a 400-foot temporary road-games transmitter for home games.  

    And definitely, effectively ending Texas Baseball radio (since they didn't care to explicitly mention what happens to it, which causes people to wonder) isn't going to work as some Crystal-ploy to force more home attendance at the Disch.

    Yes, IHR has many stations in the Austin area, but they all have their own music audiences that will revolt if their 96.7 grooves/etc. get interrupted for Texas Baseball, so where do Texas Baseball radio games go? I wonder if the answer to that is Nowhere.  /rant

  8. 9 hours ago, bschoolprof said:

    Todd and Don to call the games?

    Nah, it was at 590 for a loooong time before 1300 and then 104.9 got the games.

    The play-by-play guys would just bounce to work for whichever station will have the games, just like what'll happen with Craig Way, again. Craig probably already knows where the next radio home for Longhorns' sports will be.

  9. 9 minutes ago, LTtxfan said:

    So they lost the rights to Texas Longhorns sports I guess... 

    Seems there's only 3 places Longhorns sports can go now, if it's going to another sports radio station...... 102.7, back to 1300, or back to 590.

  10. On 7/10/2023 at 10:54 PM, DalTxHornFan said:

    220, 221 -- whatever it takes to make Bob Cole go away.

    "Any change" isn't always for the better -- you might make things worse.

    Disinterested-Asshole former Texas Longhorns football announcer (1980s-era) Jerry Trupiano says, "Hi!"  Lulz.

  11. 3 hours ago, slorch said:

    103 predicted for the high in Amarillo today.  It’s still not remotely as miserable as 93 in H-town with 75+ humidity.

    Or 85F in Tokyo, Japan, with 85%+ humidity and no wind.

  12. 2 hours ago, statsman said:

    How is it hypocritical? My alma mater only claims titles awarded and recognized at the time. 
     
    Is OSU’s claim the most bogus? Well, it’s in the conversation for most bogus. I’d put it up there with SMU’s claim of MNCs in 1981 and 1982. 

    Don't forget all the LAUGHABLE and Imaginary MNC claims that aggy made that they actually thought that making signs would somehow make people believe them.  Lulz.

  13. 1 hour ago, LTtxfan said:

    Went down a "rabbit hole" and found some interesting stuff on Mike Baab... he's considered one of the best centers for the Cleveland Browns.  In 2008, Baab was inducted into the Football Hall of Honor at the University of Texas.

     

    The Life And Career Of Mike Baab (Complete Story)

    By Jimmy Swartz February 18, 2022

    https://www.brownsnation.com/mike-baab/

     

    Baab also attracted attention for something off the field in 1986.  He starred in a 17min short film (produced by his wife) called Masters of the Gridiron” .   The film, which raised money for the United Way and featured various other Browns players, was based on the “Conan the Barbarian” movie. 😂

     

    Baab stated:

    “When we meet each other now, [our lines and character names] are the first thing we say to each other. When I see [Cleveland linebacker] Clay Matthews now, I call him Clayrock. They all call me Baabarian. It’s just what we do. All the names came from this silly video.”

    The film remains a good memory for Baab and other players who appeared in the film.

    Even before the film, Baab was a popular player, as a small subsection of fans in Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium called themselves “Baab’s Barbarians” and dressed in medieval costumes and carried (fake) swords.

     

     

    That ring on Bernie is probably his Super Bowl ring he got with the Dallas Cowboys, including a NFC Title game Pass-TD to Alvin Harper after Aikman left the game against SF with a knee-to-the-head concussion.

     

  14. 23 hours ago, El Squared said:

     

    Brings me back to sitting around in Jester , getting stoned, ordering a thundercloud sub and listing to the entire 3 album Yessongs while staring at Roger Deans album artwork….

     

    You forgot the "Tales From Topographic Oceans", "Tormato", and "Relayer" albums.

    Saw Yes in concert in the Houston area twice, in The Summit for the "Big Generator" tour and at Woods Pavilion for the incredible "Union" album tour.

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