My Thoughts on College Football Expansion/Realignment

It appears that the end of college football as we know it is upon us. It seems only fitting that I blog once again about my thoughts on the subject. I don't blog much and it may seem like that this is all I think about considering my last blog was about college football as well. Things have change a lot in the last 10 months though. Things have changed a lot the last 2 days. With Nebraska, Colorado, and Boise St. on the move and Texas and the Texettes (thank you Ben Baggely of 1320 Kfan here in Salt Lake City) soon to follow, things are going to be very different in college football. How different? Can you say 5 super conferences with 16 teams each? That's what I think will happen and will have a better idea on Tuesday when Texas makes their anouncement. Someone more influential than me, however, thinks the same thing. In an article by ESPN's Gene Wojciechowski which can be found here http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=5272309 former SEC commissioner Beano Cook who was responsible for the SEC expanding to 12 teams says that "I always felt that the Big 12 was a little bit of a fragile conference due to the concessions made to Texas and that nature," said Kramer. "But did I see this on the horizon, did I see this change? No. But I always felt if the Big Ten went to 12 or more, the Pac-10 would immediately do something."
That "something" is likely a 16-team league that would destroy the Big 12. The Pac-10 also could add Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech. The Big 12 leftovers -- Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas and Kansas State (assuming Kramer is right about Missouri and the Big Ten) -- would be adopted by the Mountain West." So what is my humble opinion on these changes? This what I think will happen: There will be 5, 16 team super conferences in college football that will look like this: The Pac-16: USC, UCLA, Stanford, Cal, Oregon, Oregon St., Washington, Washington St., Arizona, Arizona St., Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Oklahoma St, Colorado. The Big 16: Michigan, Ohio St., Illinois, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan St., Purdue, Minnesota, Northwestern, Penn St., Pitt, Syracuse, Rutgers, Notre Dame. The ACC: Boston College, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina St, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Cincinnati, Louisville, UCONN, South Florida, West Virginia, East Carolina, Memphis, Navy. The SEC: Florida, Florida St., Miami, Georgia, Georgia Tech, South Carolina, Clemson, Ole Miss, Mississippi St., Arkansas, Alabama, Auburn, Kentucky, LSU, Tennessee, Vanderbuilt. Finally The Mountain 16: BYU, Utah, Boise St., Fresno St., San Diego St., UNLV, Colorado St., Air Force, Iowa St., Missouri, Kansas, Kansas St., Baylor, TCU, Houston, Nevada. That is what I think the super conferences should look like. 5 champions with automatic bids to the BCS, 2 of which would play each other for the championship. Then you can pick 5 more to fill out the BCS bowl games. It's closer to a "playoff" than what exists now. For those teams outside of these 80 teams however, you basically lose all relavance (that means you New Mexico and Wyoming). I for one am excited by this possibility because it means BYU and Utah would have an automatic bid to the BCS and would have the chance of playing in a league championship each year. I hope this is what the mountain west is working towards, and judging by more reports that have come out today, it looks like they are. It all depends on what happens Tuesday. Texas' decision will alter the landscape of college football; or could all stay the same. If that happens, Utah probably goes to the Pac-10 to form the Pac-12 and BYU better do everything they can to get into the "new" Big 12. My vote goes to the 5 mega conferences though. I think it would be good for college football, and more "fair" than it is right now.

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…

The Boston Celtics = 2008 NBA Champions

Wow, that felt good to write down. I have always been proud of my Irish heritage, so me being a fan of the Celtics made perfect sense. I always jumped from team to team growing up, and I usually cheered for individual players over teams. Then while I was serving an LDS Mission back in 2003, I decided that it was time for me to choose a team and stick with them. I was sick and tired of players who were awesome and then as soon as I began to cheer for them they let me down (cough, Vince Carter, cough). I always liked Paul Pierce, and due to my Irish Pride, I chose to become a Celtics fan, and I have been ever since.
I remember the season before this one, when the C's only won 24 games. My friend Rhett and I bought the NBA League Pass, and I watched plenty of Celtic defeats. It was tough to swallow. I would tell people I was a Celtics fan and they would laugh at me. That year for Christmas, my wife Katie (who was my girlfriend at the time), bought me 5th row tickets to the Celtics vs. Jazz game (it was incredible!). We both wore Celtics gear and none of the Jazz fans even heckled us or anything, they felt bad for us because of how poorly the Celtics were playing. My only hope that year was that we would end up drafting Greg Oden or Kevin Durant and have an exciting rookie to play alongside Paul Pierce (a.k.a. The Truth) for next year. Then, that hope came crashing down when Fate decided to give the C's the 5th pick in the draft... That was a terrible day...
I remember on draft day when "we" (I think it is completely okay for die-hard fans to say we when they are talking about their favorite team), anyways, I remember when we traded for Ray Allen on draft day, and then about a month later when we traded for Kevin Garnett. All of the sudden the Celtics had the best trio in the NBA, and I was freaking out. Katie bought me NBA League Pass for my b-day that year, and we have watched a lot of Celtics games since then. I feel like I know these guys, and when Pierce was holding the Finals MVP trophy and thanking everyone for sticking with him, I got choked up. I'm not gonna lie, I get goosebumps all of the time in sports. No drama on TV is better than sports, none. If you think athletes are only in it for the money, you never watched a Celtics game this year. It was incredible. Here are some of my favorite memories from this years Celtics team:
- The first game of the season, when KG in his Celtics debut pulled down 20 rebounds, I knew this season was going to be special.
- The buzzer beater 3-pointer that Ray Allen hit in OT to beat the Toronto Raptors. I've said it once and I'll say it again, he has the prettiest jumpshot in the NBA.
-When the Celtics silenced the critics and beat the Pistons in the reg. season. ( I can't stand the Pistons).
-When the Celtics completed the Texas Triangle
- I loved watching every single playoff game. It was all worth it in the end. The C's are the champions!!!!!!! I could go on and on about how great this team is and all of the memories that I will have of this season. I would say the most important memory I will have is how supportive my wife has been and how she watched every single playoff game with me. I love you so much Katie. You are the best! Thanks for calming me down when I would get stressed out about the games. I still get a huge smile on my face thinking about how my team is the #1 team in the NBA, and how they beat the dreaded Lakers. That makes the victory even sweeter. When I have time to calm down a little and collect my thoughts more about this season I am planning on writing more about the Celtics and how cool they are. Until then.... Go Celtics!!!!

The U.S. Open and Rocco Mediate

I talked a little bit in my personal blog about watching the U.S. Open on Sunday. I consider myself a fan of golf because I enjoy playing it even though I'm not that good and it can frustrate me to no end. My mom, dad, and brother Roury however are good at golf and enjoy watching it on TV any chance they get, whereas I can think of many other things I'd rather do than watch golf on TV. Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy watching the last few holes of a tournament to see who wins, but 4 days in a row is a bit much for me. On Father's Day, however, we were at my father's house and Roury has been home from his LDS mission for only a few days so golf was on display on the 65" TV in my parents living room. I enjoyed heckling everyone and trying to get them to root for someone other than Tiger Woods. It's not that I don't like Tiger Woods, I think he's an amazing golfer, definitely #1 in the world, but I just like to see someone else win and put some pressure on him. That someone that I was hoping to have win was Rocco Mediate. What an entertaining golfer! He looked like he was having so much fun out there, always smiling and joking with his caddie and other golfers. Once Tiger came and tied it up on the 18th hole on Sunday to force Monday's 18 hole playoff, I knew the TVs at work would be on, so I was able to catch quite a bit of the playoff. The thing that capped it off for me and has made Rocco my favorite golfer was they were playing on hole #7 the first hole of the sudden death playoff since they were tied after 18 yet again. Rocco is not hitting the ball well and it looks like Tiger is going to win. Rocco hits a shot that almost bounces off the cart path and into the crowd. By rule, there is a spray painted white circle that Rocco is allowed to go drop his ball in. He goes to pick up his ball by the crowd and his talking to the rules guy the whole time. He's pointing at his ball and he's saying to the guy "so I can pick it up right?" Rules Guy (RG): "Yes." Rocco: "Ok". So Rocco picks it up and then pretends to throw it toward the green and hides the ball behind his back and he's like "What, what do you mean I can't throw it? Come on man!" It was hillarious!! Right then and there solidified my thought that this guy is cool. He ended up losing as we all know, but he was very grateful for the opportunity he had to play the #1 player in the world and have a chance to win. A class act all the way, and wouldn't you know it but good old karma awarded him with a 118 position jump from the 158th ranked player in the world all the way to 40!! Way to go Rocco, you deserve it man! Let's hope that this gives this entertaining golfer more opportunities to shine at the majors left this year and put himself in a better position to win the 1st major of his career, I think he deserves it. One last thought, I know we're in the United States and everything but it pains my ears to hear the way we have Americanized this guys last name. Can we please pronounce it the Italian way!!!! It won't make any of us less American, but it will make us more educated.

LET'S GET READY TO RAMBLE......

Hello all! For those of you who already know, and for those of you who don’t, I LOVE SPORTS! I love them. Seriously, love them! I didn’t grow up in a home with a father who loved sports, so I can only conclude that I have it in my genes. (Which Korean genes make me love American sports I’m not sure, but just go with me on this one ok?) I have loved sports ever since I can remember. In 1992 I was 6 years old. I watched the NCAA Men’s National Championship. The entire thing. As a six year old! Not because my dad or older brother was, but just because I was entranced by it. Been a Duke fan ever since.

I love football: the smell of freshly mowed grass in the fall, the sound of brown crunchy leaves under cleats, and the cold breeze that blows through your soul when your team is down by 6 with 0:32 to go and a “Hail Mary” is in the air. I love baseball: the silence as a ball sails through the air with bases loaded in the 9th inning, sons with their fathers praying to the Great Bambino that they will catch a foul and win their father’s undying affection for the day, and the lights heating up as dusk falls upon the field. I love golf: Sergio Garcia closing his eyes, swinging, and then running down the fairway to catch a glimpse of his fate, Tiger’s fist pumps, and Jesper Parnevik’s wardrobe. I love tennis: Sampras v. Agassi, names no one can pronounce, and the fact that having nothing is called “love”. I even love sports media: Pardon the Interruption with Kornheiser’s ridiculous antics, Dike Vitale’s catch-phrases like “diaper dandy” and “dipsy-do dunk-a-roo”, and Bill Simmons love-hate relationship with Doc Rivers that changes more than the weather this spring in Utah.

If sports are my love then it’s safe to say that basketball is my husband. Like I said, I began loving basketball at the age of 6. Not an extraordinary feat for most little boys or girls with hardcore dads. But I just loved it. I have hundreds of hours of Duke games on tape. I know more about college basketball than most avid fans. Seriously. My mom used to make me wear gloves during the games because I would get so nervous and bite my fingernails until I would bleed. Real blood. One time when I was about 10 or 11 I had the actual thought occur to me that it would be a brilliant idea to somehow make myself develop cancer so that I could be a “Make a Wish” kid and go to Cameron Indoor for a Duke v. UNC game. I’m not joking.

I have said numerous times that if I could only do one thing for the rest of my life it would be to watch and write about sports. I’ve been so excited about starting THE SHOT CLOCK CHRONICLES that I can’t sleep. I’m pretty sure there’s more to life than being really, really, really, ridiculously good at sports writing, and I intend to find out what that is………..

But until then I hope you enjoy this blog! I’ve invited 3 fellow sports fanatics to ramble with me. Luke Jr.(my brother-in-law), Rhett(my husband’s best friend), and of course, my husband himself, Rylee. I plan to shortly write an article about the freakin’ awesome Game 4 of the NBA Finals, but until then- watch Sportscenter, hit a bucket of balls, and love the game. LET’S GET READY TO RAMBLE!!!