BYU, Utah, and TCU should bust....The Mountain West!

So everyone probably thought I was going to say the BCS and the BCS does take a big role in this note. But first things first; it's time for these three teams to say adios to the Mountain West. These 3 teams deserve better. They deserve more TV time, more love from the conference that they carry. They also deserve better local coverage for the fans that follow them, and they deserve to be a part of a BCS conference. Now I understand that I'm a fan and what I am going to write I can do because I am a fan and I don't have to worry about money, tv sets, travel costs, etc. I can dream the dream and give my opinion with little consequences whatsoever, which is the beauty of being a fan. But I would absolutely love to have happen what I am going to propose and that is this: BYU, Utah, and TCU need to leave the Mountain West and start a new conference. I have faced reality that none of these teams are going to be invited to the Pac-10 or Big 12. EVER. Even though they are good enough that I think they would be challenging for the top 3 in those conferences each year. With the teams that I propose join these 3 teams in their newly formed conference, however, I think it would be very hard for the BCS not to add this conference as a BCS conference. So without further ado, here is what I think the new conference should look like:

1. BYU
2. Utah
3. TCU
4. Boise St.
5. Fresno St.
6. Nevada
7. Tulsa
8. Colorado St.
9. Houston
10. UNLV

Now here is how I like to break this list down. You'll notice that this is a mixture of the MWC, WAC, and Conference USA, with 5 MWC teams, 3 WAC teams, and 2 Conference USA teams. The first 5 teams are what I like to call the Big 5, with Fresno St. being the weakes of those 5 but they have some enough national pup to include them. The next 3 are my Wild Card teams. They're up or down or somewhere inbetween but they have the potential to have big years. Houston is my unkown, but also the 2nd Texas team which is good for recruiting and TVs and UNLV is there because I think it's good having Vegas in the conference and every conference needs a team they can pound on. What this conference would be called, I'm not sure. I was thinking of something like the American Central Conference, or Western States Conference. The important thing though is that I think this mix of teams provides 5 nationally recognized names especially Utah and Boise St. with their BCS bowl success and BYU with it's national following along with TCU and Fresno St. almost yearly flirting with the BCS (I know Fresno has been down for a few years). The other teams also spreed it out and give an expanded recruiting ground and even TV sets and revenue. I like having 10 teams in a conference, so that only 3 non-conference games are played and hopefully the temptation of playing a Division II teams diminishes although I admit my logic could be somewhat flawed on that point. But I hate 4 non-conference games, I think it's too much. I also think this mixture of teams would be able to secure a better TV deal with the likes of ESPN or Fox Sports where they would only be playing Thursday - Saturday and probably get some good time slots depending on Matchups. I admit, this is my dream scenario, but I would desperately love to see this happen.What do you guys think? What would you change to make it better? Where is my logic flawed? Please let me know, I would love to see what you all think about this idea.

ThAnK yOu BiLL SiMmOnS....

(I don't know if Jim Halpert would agree, but I think this guy is pretty classy!)

Yesterday I read one of Bill Simmons newest articles in which he chronicles Game 1 of the Lakers-Rockets second round playoff series in the West. While his article was filled with pop culture images of Audrina and Brody that made me giggle and a snappy little poke at Luis Scola and Sasha Vujacic and their ugly hair that made me literally LOL, there was one part of his article that brought those goose bumps to my arms that only sports lovers can know. Here goes:

Bill writes: “9:37: Kobe tries to go baseline on Shane Battier, who forces him under the hoop and strips the ball from him as he heads out of bounds. Lakers ball. Is there a better one-on-one matchup in basketball right now than Kobe versus Battier? It was already good, then the great Michael Lewis blessed it, and now it's like watching a basketball chess match every game. I love this series just for Kobe-Battier. Kobe might get his points, but he's gonna have to work his butt off for them. This much we know.”

I was really proud of Bill for acknowledging my favorite player, Shane Battier. I am a Celtics fan for my husband, a die-hard Cameron Crazy for myself, cheer for all the Blue Devils in the NBA, and of all my Blue Devils Shane is my favorite. Maybe it’s because he is the single most decorated college basketball player ever or because he stayed all 4 years to earn his degree in Religion. Maybe it’s because he helped the Blue Devils get another championship or because he’s a solid family man who married his high school sweetheart despite being a “college athlete in the spotlight” or an “NBA player”. Maybe it’s because he does all the dirty work. He’s the defensive force behind the Rockets: taking charges, getting blocks, and guarding the Lebrons and Kobes without much recognition. But mostly it’s for all those reasons. All those reasons and a lot more… Sure some people think I’m crazy because, come on, I’ve never even met the guy. Shane has always been my favorite because he just seems so classy. (The recent Office episode where Jim is wearing the tux and discussing “classy” with Michael may have just ruined that word for me, but oh well I’m using it anyway because it’s the right description.) Anyway, even just watching him on TV I could always tell. He was a hard worker. He gave 110% to everything. Every class. Every team member. Every practice. Every game. Every play. Everything.

Or maybe I love Shane because he always has just seemed like such a well-rounded individual, and that is what I have always aspired to be. He seems like the perfectly combined balance of premiere athlete, scholar, family man, religious student, philanthropist, and all around good guy. If someone called me the female Shane Battier it would be one of the biggest honors of my life. It’s refreshing to see him be recognized by Rylee and I’s favorite writer, Bill Simmons, and it’s funny how satisfying it is to see him work Kobe Bryant over and make him work for each point he gets.

Man, I love the playoffs! I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed them, but going from watching over 60 regular season games and EVERY playoff game last year to watching almost no NBA at all this year has been sad. I’m a college girl at heart, but the NBA is slowly gaining a bigger place in there. I’m itching for the 2011-2012 season when we will have League Pass again. There’s always a perpetual GO CELTICS in my voice, but as for the West-

GO ROCKETS! GO SHANE! Take Kobe down…