VectorVictor

Finally got around to the "ouster" article Knapplc linked above. What stands out in the article was how the AAU's committee was hell bent on getting Nebraska kicked out. From the article: I take back what I said about Harvey in this instance--it appears he's taking this personally, and not just because it would be a pock mark on his accomplishments at Nebraska. Harvey's barbed summation on the whole ouster: I do think that the AAU has overplayed their hand, and their myopic vision will be the undoing of their influence. Having to rig a member vote to kick someone out can't make any of the other members, good standing or otherwise, feel comfortable about their association with the AAU right now.

Knapplc--thanks for the info. I thought Harvey had mentioned there was no appeal in his elongated address that the OWH printed (likely lost on the interwebs, as OWH links live just as long as Sea Monkeys), but I've slept since I read it. With regards to Syracuse voluntarily leaving the AAU, that raises an interesting question that the B1G will need to address should expansion rear it's head again, as Syracuse was a potential expansion target for the conference. --- I feel that the narrow emphasis on Federally-sponsored medicine and science research, to the exclusion of agriculture or local/state/private funding, will set the AAU up to fail long-term. Between likely Federal budget dollars being cut and society's needs for the 21st century (agriculture should be at or very near the top of the list), the AAU seems to prioritize how to best milk money for research from D.C., to the detriment of what that research is or how it is conducted. If anything, DoNU fans can take solace in knowing we'll likely be joined by more schools than just Syracuse should this trend continue soon enough.

I just slowclapped this. My hat's off to you.

Anything from your source on the appeal? Nothing, and I wouldn't expect anything any time soon. Frankly, I don't know that this can be appealed. If it can, it'll take a while. These guys don't meet often. Kanpplc--a question. If we aren't able to appeal, we are still able to reapply at a later time, correct? --- As for these happenings, the takeaway from this IMO is: 1) Harvey dropped the ball, as an accounting shift to put the UNMC under UNL would had rendered all this moot 2) Texas' influence or possible duplicity in this process, despite any vote in the affirmative, should not be dismissed as they did have one of their own (ilk) head this committee, and 3) should we really give two cents about an organization that places no value on agricultural research at all? Frankly, if no AAU membership is forgivable enough for Notre Dame to be extended a potential B1G invite, it should be forgivable for DoNU as well.

Big XII still has rights to Nebraska baseball since it's being played in Lincoln, even though the conference has done a pitiful job of putting NU on the air this season. At least Nebraska got the win.

Sony's confirmed it...finally. Per Joystiq In other words—if you have the email address associated with your PSN ID and password combo used elsewhere, you’ll should change the password post-haste. Additionally, if you remember what security question you used for the PSN, you will want to make sure it’s not used elsewhere. And no, Sony doesn't have password or security question information to provide us. That should tell us the depths of the attack right there.

True, they do suck alot. But, we will never have to order PPV for a game ever again! Which also means no more Ticket Express commercials! Hey--don't knock the Ticket Express commercials. The chick on those commercials was hot. Then again, the commercials were always muted, but that just adds to the fantasy.

It's been kicked around for a while now that the only sticky wicket with our move to the B1G is the lack of quality baseball played in the conference. In the interest of keeping our minds occupied while we watch MA muddle through the spring/early summer and wait for July 1 to arrive, what would you do to improve the quality of baseball being played in the B1G? I've got two ideas, but I don't know how feasible or realistic they are--one is a network-driven "Renaissance" of B1G baseball accomplished by getting rid of antiquated B1G scholarship rules (e.g. freezing a scholarship when a player leaves for the draft). Two is implementing a focus on scheduling quality OOC opponents--all in an effort to ultimately improve the value of product (B1G Baseball) and get people to watch. The first suggestion would take some wrangling, as there must be some reason why the B1G has held on to such a disruptive scholarship rule. The second suggestion would not only be feasible, it would leverage the Big 10 Network asset in order to get quality teams with little TV presence (read: no SEC, Big XII teams) on their network. This way you have quality teams, even if they're not B1G teams, playing on your network and you gradually improve B1G baseball (read: if you want to be the best, you have to play the best). Not unlike the B1G/SEC showdown in basketball, a Pac-12/B1G Baseball showdown could be concocted, or even include MVC or other baseball conferences that often churn out a few good teams. Please feel free to rip these suggestions to shreds as only a message board poster can.

I'm still listening/watching, but I'm still not happy. Elsewhere, an article was mentioned where Sipple claimed that Nebraska could still make the tourney, despite our team not having won a Big XII series in quite some time. Don't understand that logic--other than Creighton (which doesn't look good after Creighton choked against SIU this weekend), Nebraska's lone shining series came against UCLA. More and more, as we watch A&M succeed...it becomes readily apparent we kept the wrong man for the job when Van Horn left. its was a fix. when our ad left for a&m i think he wanted to take childress with him and did. i dont think nebraska had any say in that matter. but you are right, it would have been nice to keep a childress around. i think erstad is the man in waiting and if this has been discussed with TO and comes to fruition im sure that erstad has his guys lined up and ready to take on the big 10 next year. im sure he has had his feelers out and knows of some good up and coming coaches that can fill roles and recruit. i look forward to the erstad era here in husker nation. I know HuskerHacker has posted batting stats so far this year, and they're not impressive. In fact, an argument could be made that they are worse than last year as we had more fluff teams with which to pad our stats. However, it does seem that the batters are more aggressive than last year, and I suspect it would be just as easy to make a case for success on the part of Erstad. But I'm not seeing how handing over the keys to Erstad would be a good thing right now. Maybe in three-five years, but not now. Having said this, I guess if Dr. Tom approaches the B1G as a baseball conference weak enough for Erstad to be able to have success while cutting his teeth, then I suppose I could see his appointment. But that's really downplaying the potential for B1G baseball, especially in the near future, and telling of Dr. Tom's opinion of the sport in the conference.

I'm still listening/watching, but I'm still not happy. Elsewhere, an article was mentioned where Sipple claimed that Nebraska could still make the tourney, despite our team not having won a Big XII series in quite some time. Don't understand that logic--other than Creighton (which doesn't look good after Creighton choked against SIU this weekend), Nebraska's lone shining series came against UCLA. More and more, as we watch A&M succeed...it becomes readily apparent we kept the wrong man for the job when Van Horn left.

Knapplc--got another link? This one is hosed for some reason...

Agree 100%. We need to reduce the drinking age back to 18...as long as we can, in the same bill, significantly increase punishment for drunk driving and make intoxicated vehicular manslaughter carry the same punishment as Murder 2 or 1.

Meh, I didn't say that well, did I? There's no benefit to us playing Creighton--a win does nothing for NU's tourney hopes, and a loss weighs heavily against us. It's akin to some of the non-con teams Nebraska plays in football that we're expected to beat (like Fresno St. coming up in 2011)--if we win, it was expected all along and no big deal, but if we lose, it gets held against the team disproportionately for the remainder of the season. Frankly, if we were to do away with playing Creighton next year (and scheduled better non-con teams) I wouldn't shed a tear over it. And I don't mean to be ugly here--while I'll watch whenever Nebraska baseball is on (looking forward to next year in the B1G and watching many more games in HD), I certainly am not going to expect much from MA's team again this season. Who knows--maybe we'll be pleasantly surprised and MA will finally get things turned around, but considering MA's track record the past few seasons, can you really hold it against me for being more than a tinge skeptical? And I didn't see where Creighton was ranked anywhere. Sorry I missed that.

I'll agree that this was a good series win for the team, but I sure as heck am not even getting my hopes up. This team is only consistent in their inconsistency so far, and I don't see anything to change that on the horizon. Having said that, it would be nice to see them rebound and start taking series, especially since we've got the big boys in the conference coming up. Not going to hold my breath, but I will at least watch (believe two of the OU/NU games are on TV this week). As for Creighton, it doesn't matter. Bottom line is that they're an unranked OOC series from a weak (this year) conference. Creighton is one of those teams that we should always beat, but it pays little dividend to do so, and it kicks us in the cojones if we drop the series to them--very little upside, significant downside. UCLA win--good series win. Creighton--no one cares. And even if Creighton does matter to someone on the selection committee out there, there's the nasty Fresno State series loss that would negate any good that would come from the UCLA and Creighton series wins. That's why we should focus on our conference play--winning out the series in Big XII play will get us a spot in the tourney, not beating up on Creighton.

Don't forget the Pac-12--their deal goes to bid this year for 2012.

EA is being sued by consumers for their monopoly on NCAA and NFL sports-related titles and subsequent pricing. Problem really isn't that EA bought the exclusive license from the NFL and NCAA--the problem is that when they did that, there were competing products on the market (e.g. the glorious NFL 2K5) that sold for $29.99--much less than the $49.99 (and now $59.99) that Madden sold for. Additionally, many football videogame aficionados contend that the 2K5 offering was a superior experience compared to that year's Madden title. As a result, NFL 2K5 sales came very close to overtaking Madden until EA did two things--they lowered the price of Madden to $29.99, and they went and struck an exclusive deal with the NFL to cut 2K sports out of the market. As soon as EA obtained their exclusive deal with the NFL and 2K was left without a competing game, they jacked the price back up to $59.99. Honestly, I'm shocked this hasn't come up sooner. Also, rinse/repeat for the NCAA part of this lawsuit, including the same players (2K Sports, EA) in the same positions. Additionally, some folks have said that 2K Sports (the company) is in a similar bed with MLB, but 2K has a convenient hook to their agreement in that the 1st party console owners (e.g. Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo) can obtain a MLB license and publish first party, console specific titles only. Sony is currently the only company to do this with it's MLB series, which is decidedly better than the 2K offering the past couple of years. Microsoft bought a PC baseball franchise (High Heat IIRC?) with the intent to create a competing product but instead sat on the property, and Nintendo had Ken Griffey Jr. shill a 1st party title until it was pulled during the GameCube days. Anyone that has purchased a NCAA or NFL title from EA since their respective exclusivity deals is a possible member of the class action lawsuit IIRC.

Yes, it's a peccadillo of mine. And you're right Da Huskers. And the $22.9 million/yr. figure we float around here from the B1G is from 2009 information and doesn't include bowl money either IIRC. Add to that a natural increase in 2010, sprinkle in an extra $20 million to the pot for Nebraska joining, add whatever you project the windfall to be for Nebraska fans embracing having the Big 10 Network to call 'home' now. Frankly, I think we'll pay for ourselves in a year if we make a NC run--don't know if we'll get a full share quicker that way, but I would think the B1G would reward success, especially if the University remembers to be gracious, complimentary, and publicly supportive of our new home and hosts. That, and while Delaney is a shrewd business man (chess vs. candy land analogy applies here when comparing to Beebe), I would think a move to reward success and quickly embrace the newcomer would be great PR as well and put a positive spin on any potential B1G expansion.

Per Dodd, CBS Sports Five things here (updated from the first thread): 1. This, factored in with the ABC/ESPN agreement, is only (only!) $190 to $220 million/year (per Steve Sipple) for the Big XII to split until 2015-2016. 2. This money is only for airtime on the Fox Sports cable channels, not Fox Over the Air--remember the Big 10 (and soon to be Pac-12) deals are for Fox OTA National broadcasts, not crappy, half-baked FX broadcasts. (see Hank the Tank's blog re: Fox's recent move to bid against ESPN for Fox OtA national broadcasting rights to college football). While these broadcasts will be regional on Fox Sports Net and national on FX, the production values will likely remain moribund. 3. Based off of these numbers, the Big XII did beat what the ACC pulls in (read: $16 million/school). Don't be shocked if it doesn't happen, though. 4. This money isn't split evenly. If you aren't a Texas school or a school that has an antiquated mode of transportation for a mascot and a team name based off of a criminal act, you see jack and **** of this deal. 5. In contract, fully vested B1G schools pulled in approx. $22 million/school for 2009, and an estimated $24 million/school for 2010, IIRC. Add another $1.6 million/school to that B1G number for 2011 (Title game on Fox OtA), and remember the ESPN/ABC contract is up for renegotiation in a couple of years. B1G schools, even after the Fox Sports windfall, will still be pulling in better money. Folks--once Nebraska is a fully vested member in the B1G (sooner rather than later if we deliver a NC game), Nebraska will still be sitting pretty.

Ugh. That's too bad. Apparently the view of better offensive output is merely wishful thinking. This kind of pours a bucket of water on the "Erstad for Coach" embers out there...not that it was roaring fire or anything, but Erstad was in the discussion as a dark horse to take over if MA was canned this year. Regardless, thanks for the hard work HHacker. These numbers don't lie, and they tell a pretty grim story so far in 2011.

Good find HHacker. Sam seems to be 'in the know' quite a bit about NU athletics. I would think if this is being discussed in his columns, it's already been discussed to some extent at higher levels in the NU Athletics Dept.

Thanks HuskerHacker. I would be curious to see what our Hits, On-Base %, and Slugging % changes are, as it does seem that our players have been hitting the ball better, and against better pitching than last year's teams. All in all, though, this, along with the W/L stats, is more statistical evidence that does not support the gainful employment of one Coach Mike Anderson at NU.

While possible, I doubt it would be an issue. The Big Ten is alot smarter than the rtards of the Big XII. I'm sure they knew the legality of televising it before even approaching Nebraska. I agree that the legality of the B1G televising this isn't a concern, or the B1G wouldn't have approached Dr. Tom, et al. But there is something to be said about not antagonizing the conference you're leaving. We already saw how the conference screwed us in Football, and I'm sure Dr. Tom has enough on his plate that he doesn't want to deal with an annoying PR battle between Dodds, his ballboy Beebe, and DoNU or deal with conference officials that wish to submarine summer sports that are progressing well. Sometimes it's just best to lay low and wait for your contract to expire. Just sayin'.

IIRC, for those keeping score at home, we're looking at dropping 21 of the last 24 conference series, and we're coasting towards a bottom two finish in the Big XII conference. While the Creighton win is nice, in reality it does jack and **** to help this team reach the post-season or the conference tourney. I'm seriously trying to find an upside or something we've improved upon from last year. Hitting seems to be improved overall compared to last year, though it's nowhere near consistent. Otherwise, I'm struggling to find an upside here...

Dr. Tom's going to have to force MA to leave, and the sooner the better. Only saw game via BBoard updates, but the people listening to radio sounded pissed, like the team had no life and didn't give two ****s about what was going on. Then again, with the medium of radio, that is purely conjecture to possibly excuse away a poor showing...but when all of our showings are poor as of late...