Heads22

QUOTE (danman31 @ Jan 21, 2012 -> 02:31 PM) It's not that unlikely. Before the Nebraska loss, give or take 10-8 was the expected conference record. That still could be true, but getting a winning record in the Big Ten won't be easy for IU. 9-9 probably gets them in on the strength of their quality wins and a few extra spots this year, but 8-10 really shouldn't. It's certainly possible. Nebraska is such a vortex of nonsensical basketball that they are sucking the rest of the Big Ten down to their level.

It's amazing that Keiton Page is as productive as he is despite being a legal midget.

Sox.

January 20th seems like a long time to go without signing a major league free agent.

What have we heard from the Sox front office on this? Absolutely nothing. Because it's not pertinent to 2012. The more anyone talks about this, the more time will be wasted because it is absolutely of no benefit for anyone.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Jan 18, 2012 -> 11:01 PM) What a fun night capped off by heads hitting a half court buzzer beater for a w. Oh, Booker finally went a game without a three. I'm glad we could survive a crappy game. Not sure we are an NCAA team, but we needed that game if we want to entertain those thoughts.

Oklahoma State is going to stop playing us in sports.

Pomeroy ranks the conferences: Big Ten Big 12 Big East SEC ACC MWC A10 MVC Pac 12 C USA

Notre Dame just hired Iowa State's DB coach.

Can someone explain Big Ten athletics to me? I don't understand this year's version.

Colts fire Caldwell. Yay!

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Jan 16, 2012 -> 10:33 PM) Baylor lost to phog allen tonight, still no doubt in my mind that they're better than kansas. Baylor's more talented, Kansas much better coached.

Ten minutes in, but Kansas looks like they could destroy Baylor if the Bears don't figure out what the f*** they are doing soon. EDIT: They figured it out.

EL&IC was quite definitely a different read. I enjoyed it, but I like books that don't follow the normal book format.

At least ISU looks kinda like an NCAA team now.

ISU-KU is entertaining as f***. EDIT: Another Booker bomb. Up to 7-8 from behind the arc in Big 12 play. Also, Royce White with another double-double with 5 minutes left in the first half. 10 and 10.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 14, 2012 -> 03:03 PM) He's not being charged with anything. I know a Chicago detective who tells me you wouldn't believe the number of women who come into police stations on Saturday and Sunday mornings claiming to have been sexually assaulted. He said 99% of the time they leave without pursuing it as they realize that just because now they regret what happened, at the time it happened it was consensual. If Coker actually sexually assaulted someone, I hope he would be fully prosecuted and punished, but I think there's a good chance he's a victim here and instead of continuing in Iowa City with this thing over him, he's better off somewhere else. Well, no one knows anything about it yet.

Well, I guess if ISU isn't going to miss a three here, we've got a shot against Kansas. EDIT: Anthony Booker now 6-6 from behind the arc in Big 12 play.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jan 14, 2012 -> 02:42 PM) There is no way to not devalue one of their properties. Their are 2 choices, a) no guaranteed bids or b) guaranteed bids. In a no guarantee system, ESPN devalues all of its assets. In a guarantee system, ESPN increases the value of some of its assets and devalues other assets. Im just working with the system thats been suggested, 4 team playoff and currently 5 power conferences. How do you think it would work? Because I just dont see the Big10 agreeing to a new system out of the kindness of its heart, there has to be some tangible advantage. If the Big Ten doesn't agree then it's just possible nothing gets done.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Jan 14, 2012 -> 02:42 PM) Great at home, bad on the road. Big 12 is a three-team race (Baylor, Mizzou, Kansas) but I think Baylor will pull away at some point. Their length makes them upset proof against so many teams. This will obviously get sorted by the end of the year, but I think people's perceptions are far from the actual rankings of the Big Ten teams. It's a wacky year, but I don't think Michigan is any good and Indiana probably finishes only 11-7 or 10-8. Wisconsin is struggling and Illinois is surprisingly coming on. It's a wide open league, but I think by the end of the year these 'upsets' won't be upsets when you look at the final standings. I still don't believe in Scott Drew as a coach.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jan 14, 2012 -> 02:36 PM) What the f*** is going on in Iowa. WE can't keep good RB's at all. Coker gone after putting up a ridiculous season and he had 2 years of eligiblity left. He had a shot at shattering every Iowa record. I don't follow the little details of college football but they seem to have had a ton of off the field problems lately as well as just guys leaving the program. It certainly seems like more than normal attrition and it irritates me since Ferentz seems like a classy guy (and he's clearly a well above average coach). It sounds like Coker was very grateful to the Iowa program and that something had happened at his house and that is why he is being dismissed from the team. Sexual assault investigation.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jan 14, 2012 -> 02:23 PM) ESPN has money tied to all the conferences. Their real fear for ESPN is watching the Big/Pac keep moving things off of ESPN to their own networks and to FOX. The Big12 almost fell apart, they basically have no negotiating power with the other power conferences. Now, if ESPN wants to bankroll the Big12 and was willing to offer Big10 a 50mil guarantee every year, regardless of whether or not a team makes the "final 4", I am sure the Big10 will listen. And I said that likely ACC/Big12 would get to split a spot (both ESPN contracts), thats basically the same representation that they receive in the BCS. Every year SEC/Big have had 2 BCS spots, the ACC/Big12 generally only get 1 spot. So half a spot compared to a full spot, is 1:2 ratio, pretty much what is going on now. I really don't think you're giving ESPN enough credit in how much they will drive all of this. Also, Fox paid out the ass to make sure that the Big 12 survived as well. You can say whatever you want about the stability of the conference, but the television money (which is what's going to drive all of this) has shown that it will make an investment in the Big 12's survival and I just don't see them allowing a product which they invested in quite heavily to be devalued by some of their other properties. EDIT: Plus, with something like that, it could very easily trigger more conference realignment at the highest levels, which, again, both ESPN and FOX have paid to not see happen.

K State sure is tripping up a bit.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jan 14, 2012 -> 01:51 PM) How would it be an epic s*** storm? In the precursor to the BCS (The Bowl Alliance and The Bowl Coalition) the top Big/Pac team played in the Rose Bowl still. The only reason the BCS ever worked was that the Big/Pac were given the Rose Bowl concession and the Rose Bowl was guaranteed that it would at worst only have to take a non-AQ 1 time every 4 years. I just cant see any incentive for the Big10 to agree to any playoff where they are not guaranteed a spot. Can anyone give me a good one? The Big10 has consistently made it clear it only cares about money. In 2012 the Big10 got over $40 mil from their 2 BCS games and another 10mil+ from other bowl games. Thats 50mil, in order for the Big10 to agree to any playoff it would need a guaranteed payout of $50mil annually (similar with the SEC). In a 4 team playoff, that would mean that the contract at minimum would have to be $200mil per year(and thats only if its being split 4 ways). If you were to add in 2 more conferences and non-aqs, now you are talking about 4 games for $350mil plus per year. It sucks for the fans, but right now money is driving this ship. And television money (especially ESPN, who has a lot of money tied up in the Big 12 and ACC) probably doesn't want to see it's product devalued by not having a guaranteed spot. ESPN is expected to make a pretty damn big bid for Tier 1 football rights for the Big 12 (for the purpose of keeping NBC out of the CFB market) and I can't see how they'd let that same conference not be guaranteed a spot.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jan 14, 2012 -> 01:11 PM) It depends. If the ACC/Big12 wants the SEC/Big/Pac money they will agree. There is already talk of Big East losing its automatic bid, so if Big12/ACC agree to split a bid thats 4 bids for 4 playoff spots. If they dont agree, I can see Pac/Big/SEC making a deal outside of the BCS, for a 6 team playoff (2 from each conference) with the top 2 seeds getting buys. You could use the Rose Bowl, Coliseum, Jerry World, etc for the games and those 3 conferences would make a killing in money. You do that and it opens up an epic s***storm in college football for which no one would be prepared. There's enough power brokers between the ACC and Big 12 to discourage that.