Category Archives: News

Crib Sheet: Realignment Is Spooky

Sometimes having this tasty looking Crib Sheet in the middle of the week can be a curse.  Sometimes it can be blessing.  It’s a little bit of both right now.  So last Friday Missouri pretty much said that they were leaving the Big 12 (again) and snuck out the back door to wash their cold feet.  This week it appears that West Virginia is leaving the Big East for the Big 12, with some contingencies attached.  I think when this is all over, everyone will have a ‘win-win’ situation, except for Kansas City.  The soul is slowly being sucked away from that town, and this kind of conference nonsense stretches that hole out for a faster escape.  I guess that’s part of why I left.  Hey, it’s all about ups and downs, blessings and cursing.  Here’s this week’s pre-Halloween creepy Crib Sheet:

Continue reading Crib Sheet: Realignment Is Spooky

Crib Sheet: Hello Goodbye

We may be seeing the search for Missouri end real quick.  We also may see the search for the Big 12 heat right up.  The Tigers are planning on leaving for the SEC and we may know about it here by tomorrow.  Alot of people, including myself, thought that they would wait unilt the end of the season to get the ball rolling but apparently they want to move fast.  So in the middle of the football season, we will see even more conference realignment.  I’m just going to avert my eyes from the pain and check out this week’s Crib Sheet:

Continue reading Crib Sheet: Hello Goodbye

Crib Sheet: Horned Frogs Homecoming

In today’s college football, things can change dramatically week to week both on the field and off.  One week, Missouri is leaving the Big 12 and will blow up the conference.  The next, the Big 12 invites TCU to  join to lock things up.   TCU head honchos met to make it a done deal.  They made the announcement Monday night.  I can breathe a sigh of relief because for the first time, the Big 12 will actually grow and Missouri should stay put for the rest of the year.  We’ll have to find out next week if something else that’s huge will go down.  In the meantime, here’s this week’s Crib Sheet:

Continue reading Crib Sheet: Horned Frogs Homecoming

Crib Sheet: Here We Go Again On Our Own, Maybe

Once we thought we were safe, but anybody who knew their history and knew about the psyche of Missouri understood it was not over.  And with that, Missouri last night gave chancellor Brady Deaton the power to pursue other conferences.  They could be like Oklahoma and stay or they could be like Texas A&M and go.  Time will tell.  Although, they were first on the block last year so I’m pretty sure they are out the door.  Nevermind the fact that Tier 1 and Tier 2 rights are officially equal in the Big 12, provided everyone commits to the league.  Yup, so expect some announcements early next week about conference affiliation so they don’t bother with the actual games being played on the field.  In the meantime, check out this week’s Crib Sheet:

Continue reading Crib Sheet: Here We Go Again On Our Own, Maybe

Crib Sheet: Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself

So the deed is finally done.  Texas A&M and the SEC made it official.  Now last week, we found out that the Big 12 was staying together.  We also found out that Dan Beebe resigned, at the request of Oklahoma and some others.  Connected sports guy Chuck Neinas was setup as the interim Big 12 Commissioner.  What else?  The 1st and 2nd tier television rights are on the table.  That’s fine for Texas because the LHN is 3rd tier, noinch!  The athletic directors all met and were saying they are committed to keeping the Big 12 alive.  Although, it seems Missouri’s foot is still out of the door.  Worse yet, the reason Oklahoma wanted the Big 12 to stay alive was because they couldn’t swing a deal with the Pac 12.  So is it safe?  I guess it is for now.  I’ll be certain of it when somebody actually joins the conference instead of leaves it.  Until then, here’s another installment of the Crib Sheet: Continue reading Crib Sheet: Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself

Crib Sheet: And Around And Around We Go

Man I don’t even know where to start.  The reports are spinning right round, baby right round about anything and everything related to conference alignment.  Everyone knows what’s going on as of now.  I would dump here in the Crib Sheet, but going over my starred items in Google Reader is proving to be a fruitless endeavor.  Stuff as new as earlier this afternoon is now wrong.  I just can’t drop it in here as a developing item when it will more than likely be false.  The Crib Sheet is just too good for that.  The only thing I can say is that the Big 12 is in huge trouble and will more than likely go away next week.  That’s about it.  No links or nothing.  There’s plenty out there to read from.  If you’re looking for something other than conference Armageddon then check out this week’s Crib Sheet:

  • A booster from Ohio State admitted that he helped give some cash to Ohio State players that missed the first two games of the season.  You know, if there were more legitimate ways to pay players, we wouldn’t be seeing this kind of stuff.
  • Okay, is everyone getting on the uniform bus.  Maryland had some crazy ones and now Michigan State is getting some snappy ones.  It’s too much.  Just look at the dude covering it for ESPN.  He’s the uniform watch columnist.  Yes, there is a position like that.  I just threw up in my mouth a little.
  • Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill left the hospital last Thursday, after suffering a seizure on the field last weekend.  I think he coached the game.  I wish him all the best.
  • The College Football Hall of Fame flooded its basements over the weekend due to an improper sprinkler fitting.  Doh!  It’s located in South Bend, Indiana so I guess bad luck is going on all over around there.
  • This is how rivalries should be between fans:  A Notre Dame fan had a heart attack at the Michigan game and was revived via CPR by another fan in the stands.  Take note, everybody, it’s just game.  Rivalries should be held in high respects but not to the point where you wish damage on the other.
  • How fans should not act:  The kid who wore the Iowa State mascot uniform known as Cy fell from the stands an broke his arm.  He didn’t say anything happened to the cops, but he posted on Facebook that some Uconn fans pushed him.  Wow, not cool people.  Not cool.
  • A Texas associate athletic director Cleve Bryant was canned for sexually harassing someone.  Yup, you can’t go and do that even when you think you run the state, partner.
  • So Nevin Shapiro apparently ponzied Miami and now Luther Campbell, former 2 Live Crew kid and Miami booster, wants to sue him.  The charge?  Defamation.  Apparently the guy who rapped about being so horny doesn’t like other people raking his name through the mud.
  • Osceloa, Kansas wants the University of Kansas to drop the name ‘Jayhawk’ because of its Civil War connotations.  Too early?  Um, too late.  The response was hilarious though.  I mean come on, they need to keep that name.  How else can I call them Chickenhawks?
  • So you know how War Eagle flew into a window during Auburn’s pre game last week? Welp, PETA assembled and is scratching for some publicity by calling out against having any eagles during Auburn’s pre game.  What a shocker.  Go back to funding your porno website PETA, nothing to see here.
  • A former Northern Illinois student sued the NCAA for its concussion rules.  Apparently he suffers from the classic chronic symptoms of concussions and blames the NCAA for not doing a good job.  You think conference alignment is going to change football, wait until the concussion stuff bubbles up.  7 on 7 two hand touch, I’m not kidding.
  • Oklahoma State linebackers coach Glenn Spencer left the team during the three hour weather delay to be with his family.  His wife died shortly after the game started.  My condolences go out to his friends and family.
  • South Carolina athletes were accused by the NCAA for receiving over $55,000 in impermissible benefits.  Again, it’s getting to the point that ESPN (and Disney really) is pumping money out the yang for television.  These players are the ones doing all the work.  This kind of stuff would go away if they actually got paid.
  • Bob Stoops got a seven year, $34.5 million extension Monday.  He’s sitting prettier than alot of the schools in the Big 12 right now.
  • The Sugar Bowl revealed that they may have made a couple of illegal donations to a politician in the mid 2000s, and the Playoff Pac jumped all over it.  That’s right, the almighty complaint to the IRS will strike down on the Sugar Bowl and slowly but surely ruin any chances for the current BCS system to service.  Check and Mate for the Playoff Pac.
  • The New York Times has an interesting article about a South Korean kid named Seung Hoon Choi who started for the Nebraska Cornhuskers over the weekend.  I usually thought it was Samoans from across the seas that get line work.  South Koreans?  I didn’t know.  Fascinating.
  • Ho man, chalk one up to Texas A&M and the creative billboard they dumped in Waco, the home of the Baylor Bears.  Now as much as it sucks for the Big 12, it still is pretty funny.

Crib Sheet: It’s PMA Day

There could be a big ole disparaging parenthetical here about how the Big 12 will go away and how badly it will affect my peeps and schools back home around the Kansas City area, but I’m deciding that we’ll focus on the good things this week.  Sure there may be moves, but our teams will play this Saturday and many Saturdays to come.  Whether or not they will play for a national title might still be going away real quickly, we’ll get enjoy the regional rivals and funky inter-conference matchups.  It’s time for some PMA (Positive Mental Attitude) and for this week’s Crib Sheet: Continue reading Crib Sheet: It’s PMA Day

Crib Sheet: Conference Armageddon Again

You know, I was hoping the big news of the week would be the start of the college football season.  The only thing that could overshadow it was Texas A&M leaving the Big 12.  Welp they announced their intention to do so.  Now that it’s official, the Big 12 must look to expand, which is more than what they did last year.  Everyone is saying that BYU is the most likely candidate, and they are being very careful with their words .  Even though they have been talking with the Big 12.  Will it happen?  Who knows, but there will be a boatload of speculation in the meantime.  Well and Oklahoma is looking to take the lead in blowing up the league.  Let’s hit up the Crib Sheet while we wait: Continue reading Crib Sheet: Conference Armageddon Again

Crib Sheet: Kicking Off Another Season

HO BOY OH BOY OH BOY!  It’s here!  Well, one more day.  But finally after an anguishing offseason, college football is back!  Tomorrow night kicks it off and we get our itch scratch all the way through January.  Here we go!  But first, the last Crib Sheet of the offseason: Continue reading Crib Sheet: Kicking Off Another Season

Crib Sheet: Winds Of Change (Pocket) Blowing In Miami

This week’s drama is Miami and the Ponzi schemed Nevin Shapiro who was making it rain all over the place.  Among the accused, two new Alabama assistant coaches, a former Husker,  newly minted K-Stater’s Bryce and Arthur Brown, Missouri head basketball coach Frank Haith, and 15 current Miami players.  This summer has been brutal for college football on the public relations side.  It’s been all about the money and breaking the rules.  It’s like NASCAR.  Or worse yet, baseball.  Winds of change will be blowing real quick.  Maybe it means the players will finally get paid.  On to the Crib Sheet: Continue reading Crib Sheet: Winds Of Change (Pocket) Blowing In Miami

Crib Sheet: Another Summer Another Realignment Saga

Only this time it’s smaller.  Presidential hopeful Rick Perry open his mouth and pulled a Jay Nixon by saying that there are talks between Texas A&M and the SEC for a big move.  Next thing you know, the whole damn college football world is on fire.  Red fire!  I’ve chosen to stay out of this one over the weekend.  If I learned anything last year, it’s that nowadays rumors are 95% of the ‘reports’ out there and the other 5% has a shred of truth to it.  So as of right now, the SEC is staying chill, The Texas A&M president has power to explore realignment as well as take his time, the NCAA may get involved, and Rick Perry now says he doesn’t expect Texas A&M to leave.  If you’re asking me what will happen, I’m saying that A&M is out at the end of the BCS contract (2014).  Why?  The Big 12 will blow up after the restructure of the BCS and somehow, sadly, Texas finds the vacated ‘Notre Dame Automatic Bid’ and dumps the conference.  The rest of the teams fill out the Mountain West, Big 10, and SEC.

Mascot Monday: Captain Cane

We’re back again this week with the countup of mascots from Phil Steele’s preseason Top 50 for 2011.  WIth the kind of week the Big 12 has been through, they could use a hero.  A hero who has been through some recent changes as well.  So with that in mind, we’ll look at $35 and the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes’ Captain Cane.  This week, we will look at the reason there are hurricanes in Oklahoma, as well as check out how one of the lamest mascots got a makeover and somewhat of an upgrade.  Board up the windows, here comes the latest edition of Mascot Monday

Continue reading Mascot Monday: Captain Cane

Crib Sheet: Coaches Poll Leaves No Surprises

The ESPN/USA Today coaches preseason bowl came out and there’s no surprise with Oklahoma notched at number 1.  That happened a couple of years ago and they lost their first game.  Yup, it doesn’t matter who’s where right now, but what matters is that it’s the horn blasting the announcement that the college football season is ramping up for real now.  Another thing to note, the Big 12/0  has half of their teams in the Top 25.  Usually they have 6 but since a couple of teams left, they can only muster 5.  Fair enough, on to this week’s Crib Sheet:

Continue reading Crib Sheet: Coaches Poll Leaves No Surprises

Crib Sheet: Ramping Up For Another Year

Media days are about done and that means practices are right around the corner.  I’m almost ready to ring the cowbell for a new season.  In the meantime, here’s this week’s Crib Sheet:
Continue reading Crib Sheet: Ramping Up For Another Year

Crib Sheet: Media Day Menagerie

Oh yeah lot’s of squawking and a talking this week.  Media Days are here and the Big 12’s focus this year is the Longhorns Network, not the impending doom of the conference.  Although some would say that the network is the started of a long doom for the conference.  This week’s Crib Sheet delves into that as well as the usual news items that comes across my desk.  So let’s dig in: