statsman

I get the argument. Fox is obligated to show B12 games on Fox at 3:00. The B12 content is mostly stuff that should be on ESPN2 or FS1, but some will have to be shown on Fox, on Saturday afternoon. We’ll find out how it works out.

Every time? Yes. UT, TAMU, OU, and LSU dominate Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana TVs. Their slots will be staggered. That’s not even counting Georgia, Florida and Alabama playing games. If you think the SEC 3:30 game, when OSU is playing KSU, is going to be MSU vs. Kentucky… The B12 media rights owners will have to decide if they want their best games on Saturday afternoon or Friday night. Texas wasn’t just the B12 cash cow; it was also a defense against SEC encroachment on and ownership of Texas TVs. And your league office despised it.

I’ve rethought this. One problem with the past data on IR8 matchups- before 2024, they have never had to compete for viewers with major local powers, like UT and OU. Maybe they were counter-programmed with LSU or TAMU, and maybe not. Next year, every time a B12 game is scheduled for Fox at 3:00, it will have to compete for viewers with games like OU-Arkansas or Texas-Georgia.

OK. Well, I guess we’ll see next year.

Interestingly, Russia wants a multi-polar world while China is calling for a new (China centric) world order(I.e. mono polar around Beijing).

I really don’t see a significant difference in public interest between UCF/KU and (from your list) OSU/KSU (I believe the increased viewership of the latter was more from time slot than raw public interest). Maybe I’m wrong, but I have to think Fox grabbed UCF/KU for a reason.

Thunder makes a great argument that the B12 will have a place staked out on Fox’ main channel and not be relegated to various FSx or ESPNx cable channels. I was looking at this year’s ratings for that slot so far. Last week, Iowa played Wisconsin (yaaaaawn) and 2.34M watched. The week before, UCF played KU, representative of what the B12 will be putting out going fwd, and 1.45M watched (50% more watches the evening ESPN OSU/KSU matchup; interesting the impact of time slots as well as channels). The week before, Michigan played Nebraska and 4.48M watched. The week before, UCLA played Utah and 1.32M watched (ouch! For UCLA). The week before, WKU played tOSU and 2.82M watched. The week before, Iowa played ISU and 3.38M watched. In week 1, 3.21M watches Texas host Rice. That is a channel and time slot that can deliver good numbers for an interesting matchup. Even unexciting B10 teams get better ratings than typical B12 teams. The challenge for the B12 will be in that ABC and ESPN can counter with more interesting matchups. I expect a heavy dose of Colorado there.

I imagine Hamas will run the forensic investigation the same way Russia ran the investigation the 777 they shot down over Ukraine in 2014, not allowing any help, and coming to similar conclusions.

Possibilities: IDF missile Hamas missile misfire Hamas missile intercepted by IDF (Iron Dome?) Question- does the Iron Dome intercept Israel-bound missiles while over Gaza, or West Bank, or Lebanon? I hadn’t really thought of that, but if so, I can’t really carp.

It was explained to me (haven’t we all shared the experience of finding out about Aggie weirdness as freshmen, talking to old HS friends that went to A&M, as they tried to make it sound normal and reasonable?) that Aggies squeeze their balls so they will feel the same pain as their players actually in the fight.

I think the biggest problem for the B12 teams, in getti mg those nice ABC, Fox and ESPN slots is the competition with the expanded SEC and B10. Say OSU beats Arkansas next year and ISU beats Iowa, and they meet up mid season with one or two losses, and ranked. That same weekend, the SEC, for example, might have Texas and Tennessee, LSU and S Carolina, OU and Auburn, and TAMU and Arkansas. Ok, so much for ABC and ESPN. How about Fox? Well, the B10 hasUSC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon to match up with blue bloods, too I think there will be a whole lot of FS1, ESPN2 and Friday night games for theB12.

Texas made a really good hire in 1998. OU made a great hire in 1999. OU had better to significantly better coaching than Texas from 1999-2021 (until evidence to the contrary comes in, I’ll assume Riley is better than Sark, and I like Sark). This 23 year span convinced a lot of Sooners that there is something in the water in OKC that makes football players faster and more aggressive. There isn’t. UT has advantages that OU doesn’t- Austin is a more attractive college town than OKC, Texas has a more vibrant economy, state pride matters when recruiting Texans (Stoops was pissed that Mack was able to recruit that 2005 team while OU was owning UT), more degree status. OU has advantages over UT; the primary one is that the university subordinates everything to football success (this is Ohio State’s secret sauce, too). OU has made shitty hires; what sets them apart is in how quickly they move them along. I think it was shitty the way Riley swiped his best Sooner players to follow him to USC, too. Tell me this- at what point in his tenure at OU was he instructed on recruiting and roster building ethics?

Sometimes life seems like a dream, especially when I look down and see that I forgot to put on my pants. Love can sweep you off your feet and carry you along in a way you've never known before. But the ride always ends, and you end up feeling lonely and bitter. Wait. It's not love I'm describing. I'm thinking of a monorail.

We used to laugh at Grandpa when he'd head off and go fishing. But we wouldn't be laughing that evening when he'd come back with some whore he picked up in town.

Dad always thought laughter was the best medicine, which I guess is why several of us died of tuberculosis.

100 years ago, Oklahoma had a population of two million and Texas had a population of four million. Now, Oklahoma has four million and Texas has a population of 29 million. The fact is, Texas has grown, and is growing, in a way Oklahoma isn’t. Yes, OU’s strategy for a long time has been to recruit Texas, to claim it as their recruiting territory. That, and a willingness to pay more, has been effective. Now, they’re joining the SEC. They have to outbid Alabama, Ole Miss, Auburn, LSU, and … Texas. This will be harder than outbidding Tech or OSU. Back to Riley- this guy has a career record of 72-14, is currently 6-1, and people are bagging on him? Only a moron would prefer Brent Venables as coach to Lincoln Riley (and I get that OU will probably start out 12-0 this year)

World leaders are still trying to answer a basic question: Which citizens, from which countries, are being held captive in a tunnel network under the Gaza Strip? https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/israel-hamas-hostage-crisis-ea26e3d7?st=6qckiqvo643zqxj&reflink=share_mobilewebshare

I have heard Israeli leaders say that they appreciate the support of the western nations, but they understand that it has a shelf life. They know that attention on protracted Gazan civilian suffering will erode and end much of that support, so they need to get as much done as they can, as quickly as they can.

I live in Arlington. Have for 35 years. I am 90 miles from the Oklahoma border. I have been to Oklahoma once, a Big Brothers/Big Sisters camping trip at Turner Falls. I cannot think of a reason why I would go to Oklahoma. I have gone to New Mexico, to ski. I might visit Arkansas. I could see doing that. Can you help? Why might I want to go to Oklahoma? If you gave me a choice of taking a weekend in Alpine or OKC, I’d make a reservation at Reata and look into those Margarita lights. I don’t think it’s just me. 100 years ago, Oklahoma had eight representatives. Now it has four? In the 1940s, Oklahoma decided they wanted their flagship university to have a kick ass football team. Texas decided they wanted their flagship to be a kick ass academic institution. Both succeeded in their goal. Which was smarter?

Lincoln Riley has one of the best offensive minds we’ll ever see. He has a lot more chances to make it than most coaches. I get the Sooner angst; his move to LA pulled the curtain back on the pretend show that Oklahoma is anything other than a shithole state. I don’t get it from the others.

Last Friday, I took my middle school daughter and her friend to 6 Flags, for Fright Night. We live in Arlington, so we always get the season pass, and I just noticed that our pass came with a one-time “front of the line” pass for one ride. These can also be purchased. We decided to use ours for “La Vibora” (née “Bobsled “), because it’s a fun ride that always has long lines. There was a problem. The teen girl running the “Flash Pass” entrance had a non working phone device for processing special passes. She was super sweet, and I imagine running her line is usually an easy job (people are happy to skip long lines), but…not that night. I am 60, but when I was in HS in Waco, I worked at Mr. Gattis Pizza for a couple of years. A valuable lesson- when mistakes are made, when things go awry, and you have a complaint- the teen workers really don’t care. They will give you stuff to make you go away, but they really don’t care. That’s why, when customer service is an issue, I stay calm and don’t harangue the workers. I know they don’t give a shit. I knew that, but evidently the other adults didn’t. My daughter recorded the first Karen, complaining about how much she spent and how her evening was being ruined, as we all waited (to be fair, a ridiculous amount of time) for the new device to arrive. She then got her husband to complain; he swore a little (not enough for me to intervene), and made a comment about needing to talk to a manager making “more than $10 an hour” (ha-ha! I think these kids are making more than that). While we were waiting, the girl’s shift blessedly ended. My group thanked her as she left. She was replaced by a slight teen boy. I chatted a little with him, he was a student from FW Dunbar. He displayed a savior faire, an elan, that just impressed the hell out of me. People came to complain and he…ignored them. No perfunctory canned excuses, no apologies. He just sat on his stool, fixed his gaze 210 degrees from the complainer, and said … nothing. It was clear he cares not a whit about their complaints. It was awe inspiring. (why did I never think of that?) Finally, the new device arrived and we rode the ride, which was terrific.

Yep. Russia targets civilian centers in Ukraine and says “there were legitimate military targets adjacent”. (There weren’t). Israel targets military sites placed in schools and hospitals, and Russia says it’s unacceptable.

There was a video of an interrogation of a captured Hamas terrorist. He was asked why they took the women and he said “to dirty them, to rape them”. Then they asked why the children and he said “to rape them”. I don’t think these are coming back. Maybe the children will be sold instead of killed.

I’d like to argue that Israel has not occupied Gaza since 2006, but that’s a CR discussion. I will just mention that Israel has the same relationship with Gaza as its southern neighbor, Egypt, with the exception that Israel provides utility services to avoid a humanitarian disaster.

Houston is one of the US’ largest cities. Think of all the viewers UH brings!