The SoapBoxers

A year after Ohio State’s tattoos-for-trophies scandal, another Big 10 school finds itself in trouble.  This time it is Penn State.  On a day in which they didn’t play a game, they still made the news – in the worst way possible.

Former Nittany Lion defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky – once thought to be the successor to legendary coach Joe Paterno – was arrested Saturday on 40 criminal charges related to alleged sexual abuse of eight boys between 1994 and 2007.  Sandusky met the boys through a non-profit organization called The Second Mile, an organization with this stated mission: “The Second Mile challenges young people to achieve their potential as individuals and community members by providing opportunities for them to develop positive life skills and self-esteem as well as by providing education and support for parents and professionals addressing the needs of youth.”

In addition, two officials with Penn State – including athletic director Tim Curley – also face charges for failing to report allegations to proper authorities.  After a graduate assistant witness one sexual assault, he contacted Joe Paterno, who reported the incident to Curley.  Curley and VP for finance and business Gary Shultz were charged with failure to report and perjury after a grand jury deemed that they had lied while in front of the grand jury.

While Paterno is not accused of any wrongdoing, I do feel that he and the graduate assistant could have taken things a step further by reporting the allegations to the police, as well as to university officials.  This wasn’t an issue of an NCAA violation, but allegations of a serious crime.  For the moment, I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they reflexively reported it up the chain, just as they report anything else.

This is a good time to reflect that any of US, if we found ourselves in a similar situation, should also report the allegations to the police.  Don’t simply report it to a superior and assume that it was taken care of.  In this case, Sandusky was finally arrested nine years after the graduate assistant first notified Paterno – and the assaults continued for five years after the 2002 incident.

If the allegations against Sandusky are true, then he deserves to spend a long time in jail.

If Athletic Director Curley is guilty of lying to a grand jury, then the best course of action for Penn State would be to fire him.  You don’t want to have people with such poor judgment in positions of power at your university.

I don’t often write about NASCAR for The Soap Boxers, but I do follow the sport, mostly due to the fact that many people in my office follow it.

My favorite driver is NASCAR’s bad boy, Tony Stewart.  While much ink has been given to the fact that Jimmie Johnson is unlikely to win a six consecutive title, it’s important to note that Stewart – buoyed by three wins in the seven Chase races so far – is just eight points behind Carl Edwards.  A surge by Smoke would give him his third career NASCAR title.  Only eight NASCAR drivers have won at least three titles – Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr. with 7, Johnson with 5, Jeffy Gordon with 4, and Lee Petty, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, and Darrell Waltrip with 3.  Stewart also won an IRL title in the 1997.

A Stewart title would also serve as a nice bookend, as he was the last driver other than Johnson to win a title (in 2005).  He would also become the first driver-owner to win a title since the late Alan Kulwicki in 1992.  Admittedly, this is a bit of an apples and oranges comparison.  Most driver-owners struggle to pay the bills.  Stewart was offered half ownership of Haas Racing (now Stewart Haas Racing) in exchange for joining as a driver and lending his expertise to the operation.  Overnight, the team got a boost in credibility.  Even so, this team had an uphill climb competing against the likes of Hendrick Motorsports.

While you may not like Stewart – many don’t – it’s hard to argue that he doesn’t love his sport.  While he does make good money racing, I’m sure he would do it for free.  Don’t believe me?  Then explain why Stewart spends his spare time racing on dirt tracks across the country – popping up to make random appearances.  Clearly, this isn’t the most profitable use of his time – but he just loves racing.

Stewart also own his own race track in Eldora, Ohio (and also co-owns two tracks in Kentucky and Illinois).  The Eldora track is home to Tony’s annual charity event, Prelude to the Dream, which to date has raise more than $4 million for charities such as the Victory Junction Gang Camp.  Tony also has a foundation (the Tony Stewart Foundation) which raises and donates money to sick children, injured race card drivers, and the protection of animals.

As you can see, while Tony has a bad boy reputation on the track, he clearly has a big heart off the track.

Just three races (Texas, Phoenix, and Homestead) remain in the season.  I expect an exciting finish to a season that got off to an interesting start (with rookie Trevor Bayne capturing the Daytona 500).  Good luck, Tony!

Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck is the odds-on favorite to be the #1 pick in the NFL draft – a smart kid with good physical tools.  There are a few bottom feeders with a quarterback in place (notably the Rams, Panthers, and Cardinals), but most of the other teams at the bottom of the stands would take Luck – even the Vikings, who used a first found pick for Christian Ponder in the 2011 draft.

There is the thought that the allure of Luck will cause some teams to tank down the stretch, resulting in some games that are real stinkers.  It’s hard to talk about tanking without bringing the Colts into the discussion.  The Colts are already in great position for the #1 pick, with an 0-8 record.  They let the Saints score 60 on them a couple of weeks ago (apparently Peyton Manning is also a defensive back).  Peyton Manning has been an iron man in his career, and the Colts never acquired a decent backup  for him.  As a result, they were in hot water when Manning ended up on the shelf this year with a bad neck.

Even if Manning is medically cleared at some point in the season, will the Colts put him on the field?  If Manning gets onto the field and wins a couple of games late in the season, these wins could knock the Colts out of the top spot in the draft.  Does keeping Manning on the sideline amount to tanking?  In my opinion, no.  There’s also the injury to be concerned about.  With the Colts having no shot at a playoff bid, why risk aggravating the injury by rushing him back.  The prudent decision is just to sit him and have him start anew in 2012.

Some people are suggesting that football move to a lottery system, similar to what the NBA has.  If the league feels that this is a better option that the current system (which guarantees the best picks for the teams with the worst records), then by all means go ahead and move to a lottery system (in fairness, I assume that such a solution couldn’t be implemented until the 2012 draft at earliest).  But don’t make the change because of one player – this would be a knee-jerk reaction.  Andrew Luck could turn out to be the next Peyton Manning – or the next JaMarcus Russell, Ryan Leaf, or Akili Smith.

It’s also important to note that sports drafts are not intended to be fair.  They are not intended to distribute talent equally.  In fact, the intent is to distribute talent unevenly, with the better players going to the worse teams.  This is intended to achieve competitive balance, but is certainly not “fair” to good teams that work hard to scout and develop players.

College football season is in full swing. The NFL season has just hit the halfway point. One of the craziest, most discussed, and best World Series games of all time (game 6 last week) just occurred. The NHL season is just underway, College basketball is starting to have exhibition matches and just finished up with a number of “midnight mayhem” types of scrimmages for the fans to help kick off the season.

Then there is the current NBA lockout.

If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is there to hear it……

The National Basketball Association has fallen from grace. Long gone are the days of Bird, Magic, the Doctor, and then the saving grace of Michael Jordan.

Oh yes, there has been some blips on the radar. There is the always interesting Mark Cuban of the Mavericks. There is Kobe gate where the star player in the league is having inappropriate relations with women on the road, only to find himself at a press conference with his wife talking about mistakes and family, while she is sporting a diamond on her hand bigger than the ring pop sucker you kids just scooped up last night while trick-or-treating.

Shaq has retired. The league will definitely feel the impact of this. He has been a breath of fresh air and enjoyment for many years.

LeBron has become the love or hate guy in the NBA. People love or hate the villain.

It is owners versus players on this one. But the opinion of many I talk to is…..”Who Cares”

The popularity of the NBA has been waning for the casual fan over the last decade. The league has been run with by the J Edgar Hoover of league commissioners, David Stern. The owners are proposing a 50-50 split of profits. The players are hanging their hat on getting the balance in their favor 52-48.. Neither side is budging. What will happen next?

Football has taken over as the star of all sports. College is and always will be popular and the pro game has been fueled primarily by the rise and success of Fantasy Football leagues around the nation. This brings in more casual fans than ever who will watch games to see how their players do. It is 17 weeks, it is easy it is basically one game a week.

This does not work as well in other sports such as baseball and basketball. Season is way too long. The Playoffs drag on forever. We are in a generation of millennials, I generations members and (gulp) gen – xers. They want immediate satisfaction.

Football provides this immediate sports fix. It is on television everywhere, it is easier to follow. There are even numerous shows produced by Fox, The Big Ten Network, and the omnipresent monopoly known as ESPN that cover the games, the highlights, the polls, the experts discussing upcoming games, the fantasy football side of games and more. These are all on the MAJOR networks and not for just the ultra-diehard fans to have to subscribe to.

The NBA has no such following on this scale. It has been playing 2nd and now at least 3rd fiddle to the up and coming National Hockey League.

The lockout is a bad thing for fans, the workers who have their livelihood depend on these teams, and the communities that these teams represent. If the players, owners and commissioner do not get together soon to save some part of this season, this could be a blow that will take decades to recover from.

TIMMMMMMMBERRRRRRRR!

Pretty sure no one heard it.

Until next time, Stay Classy Elberton Georgia.

Fresh off the heels of an improbable World Series triumph, fans of the St. Louis Cardinals are forced once again to face an uncertain future – will Albert Pujols return to the Cardinals, or opt for greener pastures elsewhere.

My advice to Pujols would be to stay put in St. Louis.  He’s a beloved figure in the city, in a city that truly appreciates baseball, affiliated with an organization that has surrounded him with enough talents to win two World Series titles in recent year.  At some point, quality of life takes precedence over dollars and cents – and I can’t imagine a situation that would result in a greater quality of life for Pujols.

Where will Pujols land?  My guess is that he will end up with the Cardinals.  There’s too much pressure on the team to sign him.  How much will they spend to keep him?  Here’s a humorous article on that topic from 2010.

If Pujols doesn’t stay in St. Louis, there’s speculation that he could go north on I-55 to the Chicago Cubs – the hated rivals of the Cardinals.  With Theo Epstein now in charge of the Cubs, if wouldn’t be a shock to see them make a splash in free agency.  Or the Milwaukee Brewers might try to grab him to replace Prince Fielder.  (Who is worth more – Pujols or Fielder?)

Of course, don’t count out the New York Yankees.  It’s true that the Yankees already have a high priced first baseman, Mark Teixeira.  However, with Jorge Posada likely not returning, there are some at bats available.  If I were Brian Cashman, I’d sign Pujols primarily as  DH, but then use him at 1B to give Teixeira a day off in the field and 3B when A-Rod’s DHing.  Furthermore, it’s possible that A-Rod could slide over to SS on occasion to give Jeter a rest, and Pujols could play 3B on those days as well.  Maybe Pujols would get 30 games at 1B and 60 at 3B (30 when A-Rod DHs and 30 when A-Rod plays short).  An extravagance to use Pujols in this manner?  Definitely.  But this is the Yankees we’re talking about.

Ryan Fitzpatrick

On the top of people getting a lot of money, the Buffalo Bills signed Ryan Fitzpatrick to a six year contract extension worth $59 million.  I’m not going to ridicule this deal on the basis that athletes are overpaid, as I really don’t buy into that philosophy.  However, this particular deal is mind-boggling.

For the record, I like Fitzpatrick.  My wife’s favorite team is the St. Louis Rams, and Fitzpatrick played for the Rams for a few seasons.  However, let’s take a look at his career numbers.  He has completed 59% of his passes and has 59 touchdowns and 48 interceptions.  His career QB rating is 76.3.  Those numbers are serviceable, but hardly worth $10 million per year.  You can’t even look back to his college numbers to predict whether he will be an effective QB for the Bills, because he went to Harvard.  The Ivy League schools are great for academics, but not for athletics.

What are the Bills going?  Rewarding this year’s season, I suppose.  Fitzpatrick is off to a very good start – completing 66% of his passes, with 12 touchdowns and 6 interceptions.  Good start to the year, but let’s not extrapolate such a small sample size.

The NFL and NFLPA said that the new rookie pay scale was designed so that established veterans could earn more than unproven rookies.  That sounds good in theory, but in practice, it means $59 million (6 years) for Fitzpatrick (not to mention Michael Vick’s $100 million contract), while Cam Newton gets $22 million for four years.  While I still need to see more to be convinced that Cam Newton is for real, I can’t imagine any point in time when a team would have valued Ryan Fitzpatrick considerably higher than Newton – but Fitz will be making nearly twice as much.

Of course, this is the same league where a team traded a first round pick (plus a conditional pick that could become a first rounder) to a team with no leverage that was trying to trade a malcontent (Carson Palmer), while at other times you see deals get scrapped because a team doesn’t want to include a fifth round pick – so I get confused as to what teams actually value in the NFL.

49ers Close to Division Title

It’s November 1, which is really early to be talking about clinching.  However, the 49ers could clinch a tie for the division title as early as November 13.  San Francisco is 6-1 and their closest pursuers are the 2-5 Seahawks (the Rams and Cardinals are 1-6).

It’s easy to jump to the conclusion that the 49ers have simply been feasting on a weak division, but this isn’t the case.  They’ve only played one game within the division so far.  Half of the ten games remaining for San Francisco are against NFC West foes – meaning that the 49ers could finish the season with a very impressive record.

Will Manning Return This Season?

There’s a possibility that Peyton Manning could be medically cleared to return this year.  However, the smart decision for the Colts would be to shut him down for the year and have him start anew in 2012.  With an 0-8 record this year, the only way the Colts will get to a playoff game is by purchasing tickets on StubHub.  Why risk a possible setback for a few meaningless games.

Then, too, there is draft position to consider.  Having Manning lead the team to a few late wins could mean that the Colts miss out on next generation franchise QB Andrew Luck.

BCS

Who are you pulling for in the BCS title game?  I’d like to see Oklahoma State vs. Boise State.  Would it receive the worst ratings of any BCS title game in history?  Perhaps.  But *I* would certainly enjoy it.

I’ll start by saying that I’m biased – I’m a Randy Moss fan.  I have a #84 jersey in my closet.

I’m not going to say that Moss is a saint.  Clearly he’s not.  He ran into legal issues in high school (although race did play a role in the most prominent incident) and had had issues with marijuana.  He had a number of incidents while he was in the NFL.  He certainly wasn’t the best teammate in the world – but were some of the events overblown?

• There’s the negative perception of Moss taking plays off.  I’m not completely convinced that this is a terrible thing.  I wonder how many players take off plays but use a different phrase to describe it.  If you want to have fresh legs in the fourth quarter, it might make sense to conserve some energy in the first three quarters – especially if you can drag a couple of defenders away from the ball by acting as a decoy and using 50% of your energy.  But I’ll conceded this point and agree that it’s bad for Moss to take off plays.  In spite of this, he had 153 touchdowns and nearly 15,000 receiving yards – he was incredibly productive most years. 
• One of the more famous incidents is the mock mooning of the Packers fans in 2005.  Joe Buck about had a heart attack when this happened.  Seriously, Joe?  Moss didn’t actually drop his pants, he just pretended to – and he was parroting the actions of Packers fan who greet the opposing team bus with a real mooning.  I’m not going to say this was in good taste, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as Joe Buck would make it out to be.  Much ado about nothing.  Also, when Joe Buck is against you, you must be doing something right.  Most overrated broadcaster out there. 

While Moss was getting trashed in the media for taking off plays and pretending to moon people, here’s what some other NFL players were doing:

• Rae Carruth (former Carolina Panther wide receiver) had his pregnant girlfriend killed
• Michael Vick killed dogs
• PacMan Jones was charged with felony coercion and misdemeanor counts of battery and threat to life related to a strip club shooting that left a man paralyzed (and has bounced between the suspended list and the active roster like a ping pong ball over the years)
• Ray Lewis was convicted of obstruction of justice following a murder
• Two seasons after finishing his NFL career, police found 213 pounds of marijuana in a van owned by Nate Newton.  Incredibly, a month later,  he was caught again – this time with 175 pounds of marijuana in the van (give him credit for being persistent, I guess)
• Twenty five years after being bounced from the NFL, Art Schlichter is still popping up on police blotters.  You can wade through his mess of a life on Wikipedia
• Ben Roethlisberger has been consistenly guilty of, um, “conduct unbecoming a gentleman”

This is the tip of the iceberg.  You don’t have to do much work to find a list of NFL players with long rap sheets, including violent crime.

So, what’s my point?  Keep things in perspective.  While Randy Moss may not be remembered as the best teammate ever, he’s often portrayed as a bona fide “bad guy”, and I’m not sure that’s the case, especially when compared to the list above.  Off the field, Moss is active in charity work, but you wouldn’t know it by reading the press clippings.

If you’ve been paying attention over the past few years, you might realize that I’m a baseball fan.  I love the playoffs and World Series, even when my team isn’t in it (sadly the case this year).  The World Series is my Super Bowl (times seven!)

This year’s matchup pits the St. Louis Cardinals from the good league versus the Texas Rangers from the inferior league.  The Cardinals are my second favorite team, so I’m naturally pulling for them.  It’s been a strange journey for the Cardinals, who had to make a miracle run in September just to get into the playoffs.  Early in the month, I commented to Bob Inferapels that while that Phillies had an insurmountable lead over the Braves, the Braves likewise had an insurmountable lead in the wild card.  Well, the Cardinals surmounted it.

This is a team that lost co-ace Adam Wainwright in the spring, had Matt Holliday knocked out early with an appendectomy (and other various injuries during the year), and lost Albert Pujols for a while due to an injury.  They did catch a couple of small breaks when Holliday and Pujols returned earlier than expected, but for much of the year it was guys like David Freese carrying the load.

A few years ago, many critics said that Matt Holliday was simply a product of Coors Field and would flop anywhere else.  While he hasn’t been able to duplicated the crazy numbers he put up for the Rockies (not even I expected him to), his numbers the past three seasons (OPS of .909, .922, and .912) still place him along the elite hitters in baseball.

The Rangers road the bat of Nelson Cruz into the series, returning to complete the unfinished business from last year.  They lost Cliff Lee as a free agent in the off-season, and very nearly traded away an at-the-time disgrunted Michael Young in the spring, but put those events in the rear view mirror early in the season and roared to a 96 win season.

Some of the Rangers players have faced a lot of struggles in their lives.  The most notable, of course, is Josh Hamilton.  The former #1 pick was always an elite talent, but his struggles with drugs and alcohol nearly cost him his career.  This season, Hamilton faced a tragedy when a fan fell to his death trying to catch a ball Hamilton had tossed to him.  It’s very common for outfielders to toss a ball to fan in the stands.  Shannon Stone was simply the unfortunate victim of a freak occurrence.  It would be nice for Hamilton to finish the season on a high note.

Pitcher Alexi Ogando had been invited to Spring Training in 2005.  However, when he arrived in the US that year, he was taken into custody for his role in a human trafficking ring.  The gist of the operation was that young baseball players were marrying women who had been denied visas, in order to allow the women to gain entrance into the country.  Ogando was banned from entering the United State for five years, derailing his Major League career.  Ogando started the season strong and cooled in the second half (likely due to a large increase in innings pitched), but still finished with a 13-8 record and a 3.51 ERA.

Even if the east coast media market doesn’t like this matchup, it should be a great World Series!

The college football season is roughly at the halfway point and many conference battles are starting to sort themselves out. The arguments are flying each and every way as to all the possible BCS scenarios, which team is the best, who has the toughest schedule and it goes on and on.

This week I will look at Johnny G’s Heisman candidates.

Everyone has Andrew Luck on top of their list. I do not buy into that hype. While I am a guy that fully understands his current talent, and NFL future potential, I think the Heisman trophy should be awarded to the person that is most valuable in all of college football, who is a person that is a complete difference maker as part of their teams success, and a person who basically single-handedly is a reason that teams is winning more games than they should.

1. I go with Russell Wilson – Wisconsin – The free agent hired gun who played most of his career in the SEC graduated thereby not having to sit out a year in order to transfer and winds up at the land of cheese and honey. The Badgers have no chance to be in the National Title hunt this year with a first time Freshman or redshirt Freshman quarterback. Wilson also provides an element of elusiveness that has never been seen before for WISCO. This guy is the reason they will go undefeated this year and he gets my vote.
2. Robert Griffin III- Baylor – What is Baylor without Robert Griffin? They are bad. He makes them a top 25 type of team. His statistics are sickening with a 78% completion rating. 22 touchdowns to just 2 interceptions and a passer rating of 200….yeah…I said 200. If you didn’t see this guy when we was a Freshman- pre knee injury, you just don’t get it . While Griffin is fast, before the injury he had world class speed (actually was at Baylor for Track and Field as well as football).  His “slower” abilities are still eye popping.
3. Andrew Luck – Stanford – Hey the guy is good, but I am not sure he adds as much for his team as the two guys I have mentioned above. Not trying to slight Luck as in the media’s eyes (and hey isn’t it the media ( errrrr…..ESPN….. that basically “announces” to the world who should win the Heisman anyway?) He is the poster child this year. Something special in reality will have to happen for someone to overtake him.
4. Kellen Moore – Boise State – I think Moore is good, really good, the problem is he gets to pad stats against teams that are mainly soap scrimmage caliber while he is surrounded by a lot of NFL talent on his roster. His games are like the varsity playing against the jr high teams. This makes it tougher to put him any higher up on the list.
5. The Medical staff at the following Universities – Oregon, South Carolina, and Michigan – Players that were on “the list” including Le Marcus James, Marcus Lattimore, and Denard Robinson all get moved off of the list due to getting nicked or dinged up, (some worse than others) James and Lattimore’s immediate future is in question and Robinson proves again that he is fast, he is cagey he can put up huge stats against MAC teams, but when it hits BIG 10 conference time, he is somewhat of a glass Joe.

6-10) In no particular order some folks to keep an eye on include: Trent Richardson from Alabama – Justin Blackmon from Oklahoma State – Case Keenum from Houston (everyone has forgotten about this statistical hound) Ryan Tannehill from Texas A&M – and Frank Broyles from Oklahoma who this past week set a number of career receiving records and still has many games to play.

Until next time – Stay Classy Roseville, Minnesota!

Johnny G will move from his normal run down of sports articles this week and take a quick look at what he enjoys on Sundays and Mondays

Fantasy Football

Here is a re-cap of some of the high and lows of the Fantasy season so far.

Biggest Fantasy Bust thus far:

There are always a lot of candidates here, mostly due to injury. Anyone who drafted Peyton Manning is still hating their pre-draft listing or wishing they had one less adult beverage at draft time.

Miles Austin the #1 wideout for the Cowboys has been injured and he was sure to go high in many leagues. Matt Ryan has been underperforming from a statistical standpoint as well. Most any Philadelphia player outside Michael Vick, has their owners talking as the defense, Jeremy Maclin, Deshaun Jackson, and yes even Kicker Alex Henery have not performed up to the hype of the dream team.

Biggest Surprise thus far:

Has to be Cam Newton. Not only are the Panthers competitive, Newton has put up gigantic numbers for fantasy owners, the jury is still out as he is only four games in, but in 20+ years of fantasy football leagues I cannot remember a rookie that has had this much impactful scoring right out of the gate.

The Safety Play that has worked the best:

Hopefully you took Aaron Rodgers high in drafts, and if you did, you have been rewarded mightily. The weather is still good in Wisconsin and the Packer Scoring juggernaut is in high gear. We shall see if this trend continues if the weather starts to get colder at the frozen tundra.

Best RB thus far – There is a lot to choose from but I am taking Matt Forte from the Bears. He has exceeded all expectations of all owners and is in a contract year. He wants to be shown the money and I am confident that he will continue to put up good numbers as long as the Bears give him the ball more than 15 times a game.

Rookies to keep watching:

Julio Jones and A.J. Green. Both guys are large receivers and seem to be quickly becoming the go to targets at the wide out position of their respective teams. Mark Ingram has not shown that the Saints have a good enough line to block for him so I would be an interested “seller” if someone was looking for him.

Throw Him the Ball More ….Please!

Ok in different leagues I have both Calvin Johnson and Dez Bryant. Neither guy is remotely defendable. Would someone tell Stafford and Romo to throw them the damn ball (my best Keyshawn Johnson impersonation)

Still Sleeping….I like Daniel Thomas from the Dolphins. I think he could be poised to have a good year if he stays healthy and the fish can figure out an offensive identity. I also am encouraged by Curtis Painter as he stepped up in the Monday night game against the Bucs and will sure to have the waiver wire lighting up this week. Lastly how about Jacoby Jones with the uncertainty of Houston Texans Wideout Andre Johnson. Hamstring issues have a way of lingering, and Schaub has to throw the ball to someone.

Until next time..Stay Classy Battle Mountain Nevada

There have been many columns and many opinions published about the future of the Big XII conference. The focus primarily has been on the football angle of the configuration. As a Texas graduate and fan, I want to see the conference survive, with Texas and Oklahoma still part of the group. I feel that the conference was really hurt by the departure of Nebraska, but not so much by the departure of Colorado or the future departure of Texas A&M. True there is a good rivalry between Texas and Texas A&M, but that is really the only thing that was brought to the table with Texas A&M. If we break it down by sport we can see that this is a strong conference. You probably notice that there is only discussion of splintering during football season.

Football has a number of perennial bowl team – Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska (☹), and a number of contenders most of the time – Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Texas Tech, Missouri. Even this year, Baylor and Texas A&M are ranked.

Men’s Basketball has perennial NCAA teams – Texas, Kansas, Missouri, and a number of contenders most years – Oklahoma, Kansas State, Texas A&M.

Women’s Basketball has perennial NCAA teams – Baylor and Iowa State recently, Texas in the past, and contenders – Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Kansas State.

Baseball we have Texas, Texas Tech, Baylor, and Oklahoma almost every year and Texas A&M Oklahoma State showing well recently.

Softball there is Missouri, Texas, Baylor each year.

Wrestling we have Iowa State and Missouri (and Nebraska) showing well every year.

There is swimming, track and field, and rowing. There are very few sports that the big XII is not represented at the tournament levels. Beyond that, every team is successful in at least one sport.

It seems that most writers are concentrating on the demise of the conference and the assumption that Oklahoma and Texas will leave for a “better” deal. What is so unbelievable about the Big XII finding good teams (Big East or unhappy other teams) to make a super conference? Bringing in a West Virginia or UConn or even an Arkansas would strengthen an already strong conference.

In the final analysis, none of the authors who have expressed their opinions actually know what is happening behind the scenes at the conference. I, as a fan, can only hope that the financial and other issues can be worked out to establish the Big XII as a dominant permanent conference in all of the NCAA sports.