Crib Sheet: Deep in the Heat of Texas

Welp I’m finally settled down here as the KCCGD Express is powered down and unpacked.  You know, people were saying that the heat is bad down here but I don’t mind it so much.  It’s not July yet, but mid 90s in late April/early May is a new thing for me.  And I love it.  People were meant to wear less clothes.  Now on to this week’s Crib Sheet:

  • With that mega deal that the Pac 12 got last week, they will fire up the cameras and start their very own sports network.  Will it compete with the Big 10 network?  Fox doesn’t care, they have both of the networks under their wings.
  • Meanwhile, details about the Longhorns Network are spilling out.  ESPN will hire all of the folks and Texas has the power to fire.  It should get interesting to see how fast some of workers will move out of their because of their college affiliation.
  • The Fiesta Bowl gave the boot to four former board chairmen because of the advantages they took against the bowl.  We’ll see if this, along with other steps, will save the Fiesta Bowl from being cut off from the BCS.
  • Now the Justice Department is trying to force the BCS and NCAA’s hand in the whole playoff situation.  Apparently they sent NCAA head dude Mark Emmert questions asking why they haven’t implemented a playoff and what they could do to implement it.  Man, where’s the justice in that?  The last thing I want is regulated college football.
  • In the biggest spin move of the decade so far, Big 10 commissioner Jim Delany said that the Nebraska Cornhuskers are the Green Bay Packers of the Big 10.  Huh?  As in national brand recognition or is he slamming the Packers’ lack of education?  If you remember, Nebraska lost its AAU membership last week and I’ve been laughing ever since.
  • If you want a better breakdown of the recent television contracts some of the college football conferences nabbed up, then check out Kristi Dosh’s article.  Everybody’s in to who got the most money but Kristi delves into the differences between first, second, and third tier rights.  It’s a great read.  What’s more interesting is the school specific revenue.  It helps put into perspective just what schools are getting when the conferences give up certain rights.
  • Kansas State and Ron Prince settled their contract kerfuffle.  Ron Prince walks away with $1.65 million.  It was going to end up that way.  The athletic department was totally asleep at the wheel.  The great benefit is that both Bill Snyder 2.0 and John Currie took their respective places.
  • Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn pointed finger at Missouri governor Jay Nixon fat mouth as the starting point of the Buffaloes move to the Pac 12.  You know I had the pleasure meeting Jay when I was working up in Kansas City.  He couldn’t resist himself and talked some smack on my Kansas State gear on the table.  That’s fine.  Colorado got more money and Nebraska is in the Big 10.  Good job, governor.
  • In other Missouri news, Tyler Gabbert got the first real dose of reality and is now transferring from the school.  It seems that he just couldn’t fill his big brother’s shoe so he’s gonna two-step somewhere else.  He’s thinking about Arizona, Iowa, as well as Oregon.  Um, I don’ t think that’s going to happen.
  • Fox picked up former NCAA basketball announcer god Gus Johnson and placed him square at the head of their college football announce team.  Whoah boy, more of Rise and Fires on the football field.
  • Former Kansas head coach Mark Mangino finally broke his silence over his time at the school.  Some points he made were fairly well thought out.  He’s an aggressive coach and they do things differently than what most touchy feely people expect these days.  So he was a pretty large target.