VectorVictor

My uncle described Coach Brown as a "man who could coach a Coke bottle to pour Pepsi." I haven't the foggiest of what he meant, though, as I'm more of a RC man.

We were never told, SuperBuck. IIRC, Dr. Tom and Delany said it was 'proprietary information'. However, it was stipulated that Nebraska would earn no less than what it's split in the Big XII would be, but I do not know if that accounts for new contracts or not. While this is somewhat wishy-washy, it makes sense, as the terms given to Nebraska are likely not to be the same as Notre Dame (if/when), nor the same as a Kansas, Missouri, or Rutgers, among others, down the road. I would be shocked to find that it takes Nebraska more than three years of n00b status before it's fully vested--Nebraska, assuming we go 10-4 again, would stand to make the move pay off after the first year. Hell, adding Nebraska has already garnered the conference $120 million/6 years of found money. That's worth something, right?

Fro--nowhere does it say the Fox Sports deal is $90 million. The DMN link and the Matt's College Sports Media Blog give a ceiling of $70 million, and the DMN cites a realistic $60 million. This isn't a second Fox deal--this is the current Fox deal for second-tier access on Fox Sports (and ultimately FX) for Big XII college sports, and it replaces the existing $20 million deal. Regarding your math above, you only get to add $50 million--the Fox contract is an improvement of $40-$50 million, as the current contract is for $20 million. $70 million - $20 million = $50 million. That means, using your $137 million figure, you see a pot swell to $187 million, or $18.7 million/school. But again, we're including Bowl payouts, NCAA tourney appearances, and the Big XII title game money. The B1G figures of $22 million/school are only for Big 10 Network revenue and ESPN/ABC payouts. These payouts did not include bowl game revenue or title game revenue ($20 million/yr for the conference, or $1.67 million/school). So until the ESPN/ABC contract is renegotiated, it is extremely likely that based on conference payouts, the B1G will exceed that of the Big XII schools, including the Big 3...which goes hand-in-hand with ESPN preying upon Texas' bottom line ego to sign a sweetheart deal to swell their taxpayer-funded, oil-stained coffers. The other thing to remember here that is if ESPN pays an increase in proportion to the Fox Sports increase, that only serves to benefit the B1G when they go back to the table with ESPN immediately following the Big XII contract merry-go-round. So again--whatever the Big XII can do, the B1G can do one better. Now, to add to the B1G's fortunes, there are still two other areas of revenue increase unavailable to the Big XII--national expansion of the B1G Network, and the inclusion of Media Corp (for Fox OtA broadcasting rights) and/or CBS (depending on how the SEC re-up shakes out) for B1G rights. In the end, if Texas didn't have it's ESPN deal, it would had been out-gained in TV revenue by NU once they were a fully-vested member of the B1G. And that would had been a rather embarrassing problem to spin for the vermin of Austin and Irving.

You may not care, but there are thousands of Irish fans out there that would disagree with you from one of the most prestigious college football teams of all time. There will be no playoff picture that doesn't include non-AQ or independent teams and I can almost guarantee this. If the goal of a playoff is to ensure that everyone gets a chance to win the title, then ND has no choice. Join a conference. Well, or set up a system where you have 'wild card' slots that can be won by independents. You could, but ideally, everyone that is eligible is in a conference with a championship game. That CCG acts as part of the playoff, and gets a team in. The problem with the independents, and non CCG conferences, is you'd have to use the stupid tie-breakers, and you could have situations where teams from a same conference don't play each other. The 6 BCS champs, and top 2 Non-AQ champs. You then use the polls to create the seeding, and determine the Non-AQ teams. I know somebody will complain that there is still a human element (the polls) for the Non-AQ teams, but I think we can all agree that an 8-5 FAU team is not worthy.... Damn j00u!!!11 FaU alL DaeY waY ba3beYY111!!!! w000000000011!!! Seriously, how about just have 16 slots--12 AQ via conference champs (let the conference decide), four wild card slots determined by BCS, and then a seeding committee to avoid independents getting butt-hurt (and schools w/o requisite seating getting a home match they can't handle), with lower seed hosting. I think most people's problems with that can be summed up like this: 1) There aren't 12 AQ conferences, unless you changed the rules that make a conference an AQ conference. Realistically speaking, this won't happen. 2) Given reason number one, you'd either have to just let every conference winner into the playoff (which won't happen) or you'd have to give out several wildcard slots. The reason all conferences won't get a playoff berth automatically is because the parity between college football conferences (between AQ and non-AQ) is significantly different than the divisions in the NFL, for example. As far as wildcards go, the more teams you position into the playoffs the more watered-down the regular season becomes, which is what no honest college football fan wants to have happen. Despite it's problems, the CFB regular season is what makes CFB so unique and great. A water-down regular season is inevitable with a playoff, however. I think most college football fans would be against a 16-team playoff, mainly because every conference will not receive an automatic berth, which means you'd need wildcards. And as I said, too many wildcards waters it down too much in my opinion. 1) There are 12 conferences IIRC--if there's only 11 now, then that's fine, as that now leaves five wildcard slots. If we're doing a playoff, it will have to include all conferences, unfortunately, or Washington will get involved. 2) See #1, specifically the Washington part. 3) Wildcards won't "water down the season"--if anything, it would reward many deserving second-place teams in conferences based off of seasonal play. The only possible thing a wildcard would water down is the conference title game...and frankly, if that means the difference between a 1-seed layup game for the first round or having to go on the road to play a competent team and possibly get knocked out early, that will likely be more than enough motivation. Again--I'm not getting into the debate of whether or not we should have a playoff. Just saying if we have one, I think this is the way to go, as it rewards seasonal play (especially for great teams that don't win their conference), no conference is left out in the cold (yes, even the MAC or Sun Belt, unfortunately), we keep the secondary and tertiary (toiletry?) bowls, and use existing tools (BCS poll). The only way this would happen is if it's a win-win for everyone. Again--not saying it's right or wrong, just trying to be practical about how it would be implemented if it comes to pass.

Maybe a modest bump, but nothing spectacular. A&M, Texas, and OU will hoard the lion's share for themselves, especially if you believe bottom-line ego will play a part in all of this. And Jayhawk, considering Kansas was given leave to explore a Big East option w/o being tethered to Manhattan, I think that actually improves the odds of them landing a B1G invite when (not if) the conference goes to 14. Hell, considering the lack of quality NY/NJ schools (read: TV markets the B1G wants to add), taking one of the best basketball schools of all-time would be a hell of a consolation prize, especially since Basketball does well out east. And FroDaddy--I'm thinking Mizzou would get an invite as well to 14. Adding both KU and MU locks up the St. Louis and KC markets, bolsters the basketball portfolio, brings in Illinois' rival, and it does little to devalue the conference. Now, it's just a matter of when will the conferences go to 14.

Ill check it. Looks like you forgot the original 70 million from ABC/espn. Its an additional 70 for the new contract on top on the old 70. So 70+90+70=230 Fro--according to Matt's College Sports Media Blog, the current ABC/ESPN Big XII deal is 60 million/year, so Sipple was being generous to the tune of $10 million. And I haven't seen $90 million for the Fox Sports (Cable) deal--the ceiling from reports is $70 million, and frankly, that value is inflated solely to stick it to ESPN/ABC when that contract comes up, and nothing more: Linky link link So in order for just the "Big 3" in the Big XII to sniff $20 million/year, they're going to 1) need to see a proportional increase with their ESPN/ABC contract (which is likely), and 2) they will have to add in bowl appearance money, and 3) add in basketball tourney appearance money. Counter that with Nebraska, who (again, based on 2009 B1G payouts), would earn $22 million just for television as soon as they're a vested partner. This money does NOT include bowl appearance money, the recently-signed B1G Title Game contract money, or basketball post-season appearance money (not likely any time soon for Nebraska, sad to say). --- If one subscribes to the philosophy that Texas operates on ego above all else, one could say their ESPN sweetheart deal was their way of making more money than Nebraska (and thus looking like they won the argument) on a yearly basis, and ESPN, sensing a golden opportunity to get another campus in their back pocket, decided to stroke Texas' ego with what ultimately amounts to lunch money for ESPN. If you don't think this is plausible, I ask--what would the political fallout be in the Big XII if, in a few years when Nebraska's a vested member of the B1G, that they show a bigger number on their ledger for conference payouts and TV revenue than Texas? Without Mickey the White Knight, this was a very likely scenario for Texas, and one that Dodds and Beebe wouldn't be able to outlive.

Actually, it wouldn't be in the libraries, but in the increased research opportunities in the labs and educational outreach programs the B1G has that the Big XII does not care to foster. --- And yes, while I originally had football in mind when starting this thread, we should not overlook the educational benefits that the B1G brings us. IIRC, Penn State almost tripled their grant money and saved quite a bit joining the B1G's educational spending consortium. If we emulate Penn State's success, DoNU could bring a lot of money into the state and save the taxpayers money at the same time. Conversely, did/does the Big XII have anything similar to the B1G's educational partnerships? I know we've entered into joint projects with ISU, KSU, and KU from time to time, but nothing of the magnitude the B1G provides, right? --- Back on the football side, didn't the Big XII take away partial qualifiers from Nebraska? And I don't think we can blame just the Big XII for the demise of the yearly OU/NU game--Oklahoma wanted nothing to do with us yearly when the Big XII was formed, as that was their Gibbs/Blake era. They wanted out of what they perceived to be yearly arse-whippings for the forseeable future. And remember the Big XII removed (every other year) the conference basketball tourney from Kansas City, as well as relocated the offices to Austin North (Irving). It's both. Your libraries will (if not already) be linked up with all the other Big 10 universities. Not only this but it includes the University of Chicago, plus access to OCLC as well as a direct link to the library of Congress. Sorry, Coqui, for some reason, I took your statement as the general sarcasm regarding academic/athletic benefits of the B1G. My bad. Ah no. When I mean sarcasm, only an idiot won't get it because my post will ooze and scream it. (or I'll just say /sarcasm) Since they are STUDENT athletes, I was thinking the academic part. Obviously the money you get from the Big10 conference is a nice bump as well. And it's a different type of competitive setting on the field as well. I agree. Frankly, the research money, using Penn State as a model, could infuse another $300-500 million dollars/year into the Nebraska economy. Granted, not all of that money will impact local economy, even half of it would be pretty damn good for a state of 2.1 million people. Then again, between water rights issues and general congestion in the Southern US, I wouldn't be shocked to see that 2.1 million number swell up to over 2.5 million by 2020, and over 3.5 million by 2030.

What makes it not as good? From what I've seen they took it more in a Mass Effect direction Sorry I didn't reply sooner. If you're an action fan over Strategy/RPG fan, then you'll probably love the changes in the combat engine, as it now rewards button spammers over planning/executing attacks and using special abilities. Story-wise, it's surprisingly linear and claustrophobic. DAO was, despite having a certain penultimate battle, very open-ended on how you went about your business. That's not entirely the case with DA2, as you're tracked (whether you realize it or not) through much of the game. Even with ME2, despite the scripted beginning, middle chapter, and penultimate/ultimate battle, you were given an incredible amount of flexibility in which to scavenge/pillage/kill/romance. Another gripe is how the game constantly reuses the same dungeon over an over again for multiple 'cave explorations'. Additionally, you'll be going to the same drab bar, the same drab port, the same drab upper-crust neighborhood to complete your missions, so the environments get stale fast. Additionally, you don't outfit your NPC characters any longer--instead, there are one or two minor updates you can procure to their existing armor or weapons (when applicable), and your personal/hero character is the only one that can custom outfit completely. This is especially bad if you're going down a certain moral 'track' in the game, as the tanks that accompany you are both moral white knights and anything that you do against that strains friendship. So unless you're a tank yourself, you're left with using what kits are available for the rogues and/or mages, which are no tanks. NPCs can't receive specialized training any longer. While they have a character-specific level-up track, it pales in comparison (save for one of the tanks) to what the available 'advanced' classes offered in DAO. Armor/weapons don't have details/story any longer, and jewelry, with very few exceptions, just shows up as 'ring', 'amulet', etc. I don't know how much was EA "streamlining" the game in an (unsuccessful per sales data so far) attempt to broaden appeal, and how much was the dev team being rushed to get the game out the door--I figure the truth is somewhere in between. Long story short, they skewed the game heavily towards hack/slash action and away from strategy, the story is rather linear when all is said and done, they reused assets heavily, failed to detail existing assets as necessary, and took 75% of the NPC customization out of your hands. In summation: If you're down with what amounts to a heavy-handed hack-n-slash sprinkled with RPG elements, then DA2 is just for you. If you were expected more DAO strategy goodness, then you may be disappointed as I am. Hope that helps. And don't get me wrong--I love me some Mass Effect 2, but DA is not a series that needed to be 'streamlined' IMO.

Or promoted. But certainly not stagnant.

You may not care, but there are thousands of Irish fans out there that would disagree with you from one of the most prestigious college football teams of all time. There will be no playoff picture that doesn't include non-AQ or independent teams and I can almost guarantee this. If the goal of a playoff is to ensure that everyone gets a chance to win the title, then ND has no choice. Join a conference. Well, or set up a system where you have 'wild card' slots that can be won by independents. You could, but ideally, everyone that is eligible is in a conference with a championship game. That CCG acts as part of the playoff, and gets a team in. The problem with the independents, and non CCG conferences, is you'd have to use the stupid tie-breakers, and you could have situations where teams from a same conference don't play each other. The 6 BCS champs, and top 2 Non-AQ champs. You then use the polls to create the seeding, and determine the Non-AQ teams. I know somebody will complain that there is still a human element (the polls) for the Non-AQ teams, but I think we can all agree that an 8-5 FAU team is not worthy.... Damn j00u!!!11 FaU alL DaeY waY ba3beYY111!!!! w000000000011!!! Seriously, how about just have 16 slots--12 AQ via conference champs (let the conference decide), four wild card slots determined by BCS, and then a seeding committee to avoid independents getting butt-hurt (and schools w/o requisite seating getting a home match they can't handle), with lower seed hosting.

Frank the Tank had an interesting editorial the other day suggesting that A&M (and, ultimately the Big XII-II) is supposedly farked into staying with this crap conference because the Texas state legislature won't allow them to leave w/o taking their inept brethren (Baylor, Texas Tech) along. While Frank does have a point, I think he underestimates the want (need) for SEC recruiting in the state of Texas, the lure of the Houston media market, and the SEC's ability to make the impossible happen with graft, greed, grit, and good 'ole fashioned 'can do'.

The jury is still out on that. We won't find out til our first B1G away game. Agree. From what I have seen, many B1G fans rival those of Mizzou, KSUcks, and Colorado fans at their worst. Wisconsin, PSU, some tOSU, and Iowa fans are pretty bad, by and large, from my experiences. Yes, but they still pale in comparison to the asshattery displayed by Texas Tech, Baylor, or Texas fans. A&M fans, save for this season, were good to be around for games.

You may not care, but there are thousands of Irish fans out there that would disagree with you from one of the most prestigious college football teams of all time. There will be no playoff picture that doesn't include non-AQ or independent teams and I can almost guarantee this. If the goal of a playoff is to ensure that everyone gets a chance to win the title, then ND has no choice. Join a conference. Well, or set up a system where you have 'wild card' slots that can be won by independents.

Should read: The projections of greater TV revenue were what the tool commissioner Dan Beebe used to keep the conference intact as teams considered moves to the Pac-10 , Big Ten and SEC. The question is, though, can a tool be used by another tool?

Sorry to say, but IIRC I called this when Saddler beat Texass that he just won himself a 1-2 yr. extension. Considering how we petered out at the end (again), I'm kinda pissed at myself for getting suckered into the delusion of competence once more.

Honestly wish we would have seen one or two more DoNU names on trophies (c'mon--no Irving Fryar or Johnny Rodgers?), but the fact that they threw us a bone when they didn't have to speaks volumes. On a related(?) note, still think the NU/Michigan tilt trophy should be a replica of both 1997 NC trophies, and the school that wins the game is the only school that can "claim" the NC for the following year.

My link Four things here: 1. This, factored in with the ABC/ESPN agreement, is only (only!) $130 million/year (per Steve Sipple) for the Big XII schools. ESPN agreement is likely to increase, but not to the tune of $70 million more/school/year. 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 regional 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). 3. Based off of these numbers, the Big XII may just edge out 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. 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. Folks--once Nebraska is a fully vested member in the B1G, we will be sitting pretty.

Actually, it wouldn't be in the libraries, but in the increased research opportunities in the labs and educational outreach programs the B1G has that the Big XII does not care to foster. --- And yes, while I originally had football in mind when starting this thread, we should not overlook the educational benefits that the B1G brings us. IIRC, Penn State almost tripled their grant money and saved quite a bit joining the B1G's educational spending consortium. If we emulate Penn State's success, DoNU could bring a lot of money into the state and save the taxpayers money at the same time. Conversely, did/does the Big XII have anything similar to the B1G's educational partnerships? I know we've entered into joint projects with ISU, KSU, and KU from time to time, but nothing of the magnitude the B1G provides, right? --- Back on the football side, didn't the Big XII take away partial qualifiers from Nebraska? And I don't think we can blame just the Big XII for the demise of the yearly OU/NU game--Oklahoma wanted nothing to do with us yearly when the Big XII was formed, as that was their Gibbs/Blake era. They wanted out of what they perceived to be yearly arse-whippings for the forseeable future. And remember the Big XII removed (every other year) the conference basketball tourney from Kansas City, as well as relocated the offices to Austin North (Irving). It's both. Your libraries will (if not already) be linked up with all the other Big 10 universities. Not only this but it includes the University of Chicago, plus access to OCLC as well as a direct link to the library of Congress. Sorry, Coqui, for some reason, I took your statement as the general sarcasm regarding academic/athletic benefits of the B1G. My bad.

Meh--10 teams is too weird. Not getting into the playoff vs. non-playoff debate; honestly fine either way. If they do go to a tourney, though, I think it should be: 16 teams - 12 from conference champions (keep it fair and keep politics out of it, for the most part), and four at-large as determined by highest placement in the BCS at the end of the season (including conference title games). At-large automatically have lowest seeds, first rounds are played on campus, second round on played in BCS bowl sites. Lower seeds with stadium capacities lower than 45k* are obligated to find an alternate venue (read: closest pro or college stadium willing to take game) or defer home field to the higher seed. BCS bowls rotate pecking order yearly. Two week break between round of four and NC game where all toilet/secondary bowls get played. Nice, neat, uses existing mechanisms which value regular season/conference title games, and the toilet/secondary bowls can be a week/two week celebration leading up to the big game. And if the weak sister schools don't want to expand seating to accommodate the bigger programs they claim they want a shot at, then they have two options.

10 wins and to play for the B1G Title Game. Anything else is gravy--remember, first year of a new offense and all.

This. There's a special place in hell for what Walt Anderson, Dan Beebe, and the Big XII did to those kids. Nebraska won that game, fair and square.

Going through Dragon Age II at the moment...but it's unfortunately a chore to me. The game just isn't nearly as good as DAO...or Baldur's Gate, or any of the Gold Box D&D games. Otherwise, will be going through Beyond Good and Evil and the Tomb Radier from XBLA (the later was on sale for $7.50 last week) and some Battlefield BC2 multiplayer.

Now, now, let's not get ugly here. We can just call that the Battle of Lexington vs. Council Bluffs(tucky) instead. Though, for halftime, we could have them set up rival meth labs and have a cookoff at the 50 yard line for the best product. Koch Industries could even sponsor the necessary ammonia, and AMC could advertise the new season of Breaking Bad. Look--a nifty title, two likely sponsors, and plenty of corporate tie-in possibilities. What's not to love?

How about the "Johnny Bowl", as in Johnny Carson? Don't both Norfolk, NE and Corning, IA lay claim to his greatness? If anything, we may get a humorous skit out of Dana Carvey (though no Phil Hartman, for obvious reasons) for halftime.

Actually, it wouldn't be in the libraries, but in the increased research opportunities in the labs and educational outreach programs the B1G has that the Big XII does not care to foster. --- And yes, while I originally had football in mind when starting this thread, we should not overlook the educational benefits that the B1G brings us. IIRC, Penn State almost tripled their grant money and saved quite a bit joining the B1G's educational spending consortium. If we emulate Penn State's success, DoNU could bring a lot of money into the state and save the taxpayers money at the same time. Conversely, did/does the Big XII have anything similar to the B1G's educational partnerships? I know we've entered into joint projects with ISU, KSU, and KU from time to time, but nothing of the magnitude the B1G provides, right? --- Back on the football side, didn't the Big XII take away partial qualifiers from Nebraska? And I don't think we can blame just the Big XII for the demise of the yearly OU/NU game--Oklahoma wanted nothing to do with us yearly when the Big XII was formed, as that was their Gibbs/Blake era. They wanted out of what they perceived to be yearly arse-whippings for the forseeable future. And remember the Big XII removed (every other year) the conference basketball tourney from Kansas City, as well as relocated the offices to Austin North (Irving).