McCready: 10 Weekend Thoughts, presented by GameChanger Patch Co.
This. Is. July.
Which means, at least for me, a bit of a scrambled month. I just spent a few days in Houston with my brother, Ryan, and his family. I’ve got another couple of trips planned for later this month, as I’ve learned the lessons of break-less summers. Football, as much as I love the sport and the fall and the routine of it all, is a grind. I’ve learned to give my brain a late-summer break before diving into the August-May (and this year, late June).
So, I’m going to do all I can to bring 10 Weekend Thoughts to you each week. Just know there will be some times when it’s delayed a day or two. This week’s is going to be more rapid fire than usual.
1. Well, we now know what the big topic will be at Southeastern Conference Media Days in Atlanta in two weeks.
Last year, expansion news rocked the big event in the middle of the third day, as a report correctly leaked that Texas and Oklahoma were going to be joining the SEC.
This year, no one waited for media to be congregated in one place. USC and UCLA are joining the Big Ten, and I think it’s more than a safe bet that future expansion will be on everyone’s minds — and Greg Sankey’s lips — when the commissioner kicks off Media Days with his annual address.
In short, no one believes the two super conferences are stopping at 16 programs each. Hell, I’m not sure either league ever plays a single season at that number. Change is coming and it’s coming fast and furious, at least in my opinion.
The USC departure from the Pac-12, as I’ve been saying for the last 11 months or so, was inevitable. The Trojans are too big a brand, too attractive to television networks, to languish on the West Coast in a league that is fast becoming an afterthought.
I thought USC might be SEC-bound. I was wrong, obviously, but I knew the Trojans would be on the move. UCLA, smartly, attached itself to its Los Angeles rival and preserved its future.
Now what?
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2. All eyes are on Notre Dame. Or at least that’s what it sounds like. The Irish are the one entity that can remain independent and viable, as it has a massive brand and a television deal with NBC. However, in the changing landscape that is college athletics, one has to believe someone in South Bend is encouraging strong consideration, at the very minimum, of a merger with the Big Ten.
I don’t have a gut feeling, but if I were Notre Dame, given the lucrative Big Ten television deal being negotiated with FOX, I think I’d swallow my ego and join. My guess, if that happened, is the Big Ten would then add Washington, Oregon and Stanford, giving it a 20-team league that would arguably be the most attractive entity in college sports. Notice I didn’t say best. I said most attractive. FOX would happily pay dearly, I suspect.
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3. Then all eyes would shift to the SEC. One has to suspect Sankey isn’t sitting quietly after the Big Ten’s California-themed answer to the SEC’s pull of Oklahoma and Texas a year ago. Would the SEC and ESPN sit tight at 16? I have major doubts. But let’s get real here; the options are limited.
For example, would the SEC consider going west with another expansion? And if so, what brands are big enough to justify ESPN baking a Texas-sized piece of pie to add to the TV deal that goes into effect in two years?
I’ve heard Arizona State for a year now, and while Phoenix is a top-10 television market, I wonder if that’s enough justification. Plus, there were rumblings last week that the league was searching for “cultural fits.” Would Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah — individually or collectively — serve as cultural fits to the SEC? Again, I have my doubts.
Would the SEC even consider something as radical as going after Oregon and Washington, two big brands that make no geographical sense whatsoever? I kind of doubt it, but Phil Knight’s pocketbook could talk, I suppose.
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4. My guess is the league would rather go east. There’s no secret the SEC covets North Carolina and would likely accept an attached partner (Virginia and Duke come to mind) to land the Tar Heels. Of course, the Big Ten would likely want North Carolina also, and it’s believed UNC would prefer the academic reputation of the Big Ten over that of the SEC.
Would Virginia Tech, which makes some sense, be enough of a brand for ESPN to buy in? Clemson is a big brand now, but would the league that already has South Carolina and Auburn want a school that is often referred to as “Auburn with a lake?”
Again, so many questions with so few answers.
5. And here’s another one: Can any ACC schools get out of the grant of rights, even if they want to? Per the Louisville Courier-Journal, the conference's exit fee, equivalent to three years of the league's operating budget, now exceeds $100 million. Additionally, any member school changing conferences is bound by a grant of rights agreement to forfeit its media revenues to the ACC through the expiration of an ESPN contract that runs through the 2035-36 school year.
From Tim Sullivan of the C-J:
Whether those provisions could withstand litigation is unclear. The University of Maryland challenged the ACC's exit fee after leaving for the Big Ten, eventually reaching a 2014 settlement that paid the league $31.3 million of the $52 million it was then due, roughly 60 cents on the dollar.
Whether individual schools will be deterred from joining a more lucrative league by the short-term costs associated with leaving the ACC is a question confronting administrators, accountants and attorneys at Clemson, North Carolina and other potential targets.
“I think it makes it difficult,” Louisville athletics director Josh Heird said. “I don’t think it makes it impossible.
“I think if you ask any of USC’s or UCLA’s colleagues in the Pac-12 on Wednesday, they probably would have felt pretty confident that the Pac-12 was going to be 12 teams. And all of a sudden, on Thursday, it’s not.”
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6. And then there’s the Big 12, which is in its final years with Oklahoma and Texas.
From CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd:
The Big 12 is involved in deep discussions to add multiple Pac-12 programs as a way to shore up its membership in the wake of the USC and UCLA defection to the Big Ten, sources tell CBS Sports. At least four teams are being considered with the potential for the Big 12 to add more as realignment continues to shake out.
Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah were mentioned specifically as the teams being targeted by the Big 12, sources tell CBS Sports. There is also consideration of adding Oregon and Washington to make the Big 12 an 18-team league, the largest in the FBS.
A merger of the Big 12 and Pac-12, in some form, is also a possibility.
"Everything is on the table," said one Big 12 source.
There is "no question" the Big 12 has to be aggressive in expansion, another conference source said.
Adding at least those four schools would extend the Big 12 further into the Mountain Time Zone, creating "travel partners" for incoming member BYU while also adding a rival for the Cougars in the Utes. The Arizona schools are two hours apart and feature Phoenix as a major market acquisition for the conference.
What the Big 12 cannot afford to do, according to multiple industry sources, is stand pat. There is still the lingering question of who even has leverage in adding teams between the Pac-12 and Big 12.
Josh Pate is a national correspondent/columnist for 247 Sports. He quote-tweeted a quote that said ACC officials at one school had weighed the cost of litigation versus the cost of leaving Big Ten/SEC money on the table. The financial risk outweighed the future reward.
“‘We’ll figure it out in court’ was the quote given to me from an ACC school last week RE: grant of rights,” Pate tweeted. “They’ll be ready to move if the call comes from Big10/SEC.”
Pate’s right. Change is coming and it’s coming fast. College sports, which have endured quite a bit of change in the past 24 months, are about to take on a completely different look and feel.
7. Is that good for the sport? I don’t know. Probably not. The rich are getting richer and the poor are going to have to reevaluate things.
I foresee a strong, powerful SEC and a strong, powerful Big Ten of 20-24 teams each. If the Big 12 is smart, it’ll combine with the highest quality leftovers from the Pac 12 and possibly the ACC and form a pretty attractive third league.
What about the American, the MAC, the Sun Belt, Conference USA? If they’re smart, they’ll band together into one homogenous support system and try to survive on much smaller budgets. I wonder what happens to “buy” games in the future. If I’m ESPN or Fox, I’m not happy with Central Arkansas-Ole Miss, not when I can have some crossover and maybe have Iowa, Penn State or Minnesota play in Oxford instead.
Regardless, while there are no practices or games this month, there does figure to be action.
8. I saw two playoff teams square off on Thursday afternoon in Houston. The Astros beat the Yankees, 2-1, at Minute Maid Field. I was the idiot who gave Anthony Rizzo a minute-long standing ovation wearing an Astros cap.
Anyway, my favorite team, the Chicago Cubs, play their 81st game of the season tonight, so here are my utterly meaningless midseason awards:
American League:
Manager of the Year: Aaron Boone, New York
Rookie of the Year: Julio Rodriguez, Seattle
Cy Young Award: Shane McClanahan, Tampa Bay
Most Valuable Player: Aaron Judge, New York
National League:
Manager of the Year: Buck Showalter, New York
Rookie of the Year: MacKenzie Gore, San Diego
Cy Young Award: Tony Gonsolin, Los Angeles
Most Valuable Player: Paul Goldschmidt, St. Louis
9. It’s time to eat. Here’s our resident Parisian chef, Burton Webb, with Taste of the Place, Lesson 142 — Champagne Jello Shots.
Well, why not. Records were made at Rocco’s, Ole Miss won a natty, and it’s our country's birthday. Wow, a lot of things all piled into one. Why not introduce some jello shots.
Tidbit #1: You do not need to buy store-bought Jello. Just saying, because it has too much sugar. You only need 3 ingredients of alcohol, fruit juice, and powdered gelatine.
Tidbit #2: Whenever you’re adding alcohol to your jello mix, it is important to keep the quantity of liquid the same. I.e. if the recipe calls for 4 cups, the final quantity has to be a mix of alcohol and fruit juice that equals 4 cups.
Tidbit #3: You can do anything with jello, like anything. Here are a few: 1) whiskey and sprite 2) gin and tonic 3) bay breeze 4) French 75 5) walk me down
Tidbit #4: Just give enough time to let them set up in the fridge, so make the day before, and you're all good.
Things you will need:
6 people
Preparation time - 8 Minutes
Rest time - Overnight
Utensils needed:
Work surface
Measuring cups
Bowl and whisk
Fridge
Sauce pot and stovetop
Ingredients needed:
3 Cups champagne
1 Cups strawberry juice
1/4 Cup powdered gelatine (4 sheets of gelatine)
Mise en Plac
Step 1: Place half of your liquid in the mixing bowl with the gelatine. Stir and let sit for 4 minutes.
Step 1.2: Pour the rest of the liquid into the saucepan and heat until almost boiling.
Step 2.1: Add the hot liquid to the cold liquid and stir using the whisk. Pour into your molds and place in the fridge overnight.
Final
Step 3: When needed, take from the fridge and distribute. Very easy win for all 3 celebrations above.
From the Mississippian in Paris, Congrats, Congrats, and Happy 4th of July!
10. We’ll have coverage of, well, something this week on RebelGrove.com. Until then, here are some links of interest to me — and hopefully, to you — for your reading pleasure:
Can Lane Kiffin make Ole Miss football his mecca? He's intrigued
Canzano: Oregon Ducks make a wish list, while Pac-12 rallies behind scenes
Staples: How would a school challenge a grant of rights? We asked a lawyer
Inside USC and UCLA's shocking split from the Pac-12 for the Big Ten
What's next for ACC after USC and UCLA's move to the Big Ten? It could be time for a Hail Mary
How likely is a Juan Soto extension with the Nats? Here's what we know
Rosenthal: Freeman’s free agency saga is rife with tears, anger and blame
Could Twins shortstop Carlos Correa become the new face of the Cubs?
What one potential free agent says about state of Cubs
Former MLB Pitcher Kyle Farnsworth Is a Shredded Bodybuilder Now
A's get another needed approval for Howard Terminal ballpark project
Kevin Durant, the NBA's modern, nomadic superstar, wants to be on the move ... again
The Five Most Interesting Trade Packages for Kevin Durant
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the right point guard for Nick Nurse’s Canadian team - The Athletic
Timberwolves’ big swing for Rudy Gobert: The logic and the risks
From St. Elmo to the Brickyard: Pacers show new draft picks why Indy is special
'Arkansas stuff': The small-town bond that drove Austin Reaves and Malik Monk to new heights
The Richarlison you don't know
How chess (so much chess) explains Christian Mate Pulisic
Is Biden trying to crash the economy? | The Spectator
These 4 Exercises Will Help to Banish Your Man Boobs
This Is How Many Steps a Day You Really Need to Extend Your Life
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