VectorVictor

You sure got that right! The first time I saw this picture (or one similar to it), I thought it was joke. This Oklahoma cheerleader (dude) was on the sidelines for the CCG. First time my wife and I saw this, we had to do a doubletake on the DVR. We figured that this was simply a fraternity prank/hazing by OU for whatever reason, and that ABC would out this guy on TV. Perhaps OU should start importing cheerleaders along with football players from Texas?

What's sad/pathetic about Beebe is the precedent for this happening is already out there--the ACC had just signed their new contract with ESPN, and IIRC, it came out to approx. $14 million/school/year. And the ACC now has a better product, bigger media markets, more national brands, and a championship game. Add to that a sagging economy (no politics--just stating what's out the window), and there's no way in hell the Big XII will get a better contract than the ACC. Our $22-25 million/yr/school (when we become fully vested) in the B1G has been projected to flirt with $30 million/yr./school when the B1G ESPN/ABC contract is up for bid in a few years (especially if the reports of Fox Broadcasting--not Fox Sports Cable--wanting to get into NCAA Football broadcasting are true). We could realistically be looking at making double what the Big XII (save for Texas) will be making, assuming they're still around. And the question at that point is whether or not Beebe will be able to escape unscathed, or if the non-Whorn schools will draw and quarter Beebe for malfeasance in a court of law.

Oh c'mon, it's still fun to point and laugh. Schadenfreude (pronounced [shahd-n-froi-duh], is pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others. This, and isn't it a nice feeling know your school was right all along?

B2BC GotY Bundle has all of the DLC (save for the Battlefield: Vietnam expansion) and can be found for $29 to $35 on 360 and PS3, and $5-10 less for PC or on Steam. That's not too bad, right?

Article Link to NewsOK Of note: I do think Berry Trammel is being wayyyy to generous regarding the number of "quality" games. And to add salt in the wound, the Big XII now inherits the problem the B1G had until next season--being relevant post-Thanksgiving. Hope the schools have a picture of the pinky-swear that Beebe gave them--they're going to need it when the new TV deals fail to deliver, especially if they're needing to count "T. Boones Farms Pickens presents Okie Lite" as a "heavyweight" team.

Yay for unabashed optimism ? I'm still thinking hoping 8-8 and a single game win or more in the Big XII tourney will get us a seat. Then again, with CBB being down overall this year, our "improved mediocrity" may get lost in the shuffle with the deluge of bubble team possibilities this year...so maybe 3 of the last 4 and 2+ wins in the Big XII tourney is the only way in. Regardless, nothing wrong with drinking the Kool-Aid, Paul, just so long as you mix it with a fifth of Jack.

Agree 150%. I love the teamwork aspects of the game--you get points for spotting (since enemies don't show on your map unless they're spotted or vehicle trace darts are used). The Medic and Recon classes seem a tad unbalanced, but nothing game-shattering (like the hacking or incessant, relentless n00b tubing in CoD). And Fro--if you decide to pick BBC2 up again and you're on XBL, give me a holler. Got a group of 2-5 guys I squad with.

I miss my connection to Lincoln every day. Can't believe how I took for granted all the cool stuff in Lincoln, only to see the crap that passes for excellent city planning in Texas. And I agree that we should be able to upset Ohio State. More worried about Wisconsin and Michigan than OSU, to be honest. As for our schedule, it actually will be a blessing, especially in two years when we replace OSU and Wisconsin with two of these three: Purdue, Illinois, Indiana. Plus, we have one of the most difficult schedules of any BCS team out there--even with one loss, we can get to the BCS title game, especially over an undefeated team from a weaker conference (read: Big East, Big XII X).

Couldn't agree more. As a Lions fan, I really hope he ends up there with Suh. Unfortunately I do not see him dropping that low in the draft Don't think Prince will go to Dallas. The fans (who are mostly 'Whorn, A&M, and OU fans) don't much to do with Prince, save for the lone rational thinker. Considering how Jerry isn't a fan of Nebraska's (especially since last summer's events cut directly into his pocketbook), and Jerry does very little with rationality (see the seating debacle from the last Super Bowl), and he's an ex-Arkansas player, I don't see it happening, despite the excellent fit. Plus, to be practical, Dallas has needs that don't necessarily warrant high-level picks--I could see Dallas trading down to get multiple second/third round picks to better address their poodle-skirt defensive problems.

You're assuming the officiating wasn't tainted with the stank of Beebe. Considering how we saw the officials help the Texas players up off the floor while leaving the Nebraska ones down multiple times, I think we know where their loyalties lie. Plus, the "fouls" on Diaz and Beranek towards the end of the game were nothing short of the zebras imposing their will on a game. Diaz was iffy at best (especially considering Texas got away with much worse all game long), and from the replay, I didn't even see Beranek touch the second Whorn player. All in all, a good win. 8-8 in conference gets us in, especially since we 1) have no bad OOC losses, and 2) our worst loss is to Tech, who upended better teams this year. A win against KSU would allow fans to make reservations, and a loss won't hurt us as long as we go 8-8. And the thing lost in discussion--this win will give Doc another two years at the helm, easily.

Link to College Football News Composite Schedule for Big 10 Of note: Not too shabby. With the exception of the Minnesota game (understandably so), we're either the best or second-best draw in the conference per CFN. And frankly, the fact that we don't drop below third for what will be a certain blow-out in Minnesota bodes well for Nebraska's media exposure this season (read: National ABC/ESPN coverage...save for the Minnesota game *sigh*). Other than the Washington game, our non-conference slate will likely all be on the Big 10 Network, which works out great for the conference--no better way to introduce us to the B1G fans than to show us three out of four weeks at the beginning of the season. Anyway, CFN has a crap-ton of articles up from the past week or so about Nebraska and the Big 10 en masse. It's the off-season, so we can't afford to be picky about our reading material...right?

Fro--don't mean to troll, but this is the very reason I got the **** out of Call of Duty. That and the whole Infinity Ward/Bobby conundrum. Any of you guys try out Battlefield: Bad Company 2? While it's not perfect, it's better than what I've heard about Black Ops. Hell, there's even fewer campers--buildings are destructible, so all one needs to do is grab a tank or a n00b tubed gun and collapse the building to kill campers (or at least watch them scurry like rats).

Is "Tick Tock Ya Don't Stop, To The Tick Top Ya Don't Stop" the proper response to this?

LOL, figured I'd try to scoop Knapp just once.

Adam Rittenberg needs to slow down and pace himself, or he'll run out of material before we get to March. ESPN Link Of note: One of the issues from season seemed to be a lack of team leadership. Rex seems to be the type of kid we want to step up, especially at such a critical point in 'Husker football.

Never said the B1G *had* to have a Southern school--if anything, Delany's comments suggest that the Big 10 is cognizant of the population shift. While I suppose using that as a smokescreen for Nebraska was possible, I would expect the comments to hold more meaning for the expansion committee. Then again, these are the same folks that came up with Legends and Leaders for division names, so maybe it was just superfluous information after all. As the U of Chicago, it was a point which supported that not all schools have to participate in the same affairs as the other in the conference. Not all schools are equal, and if the Big 10 was only about grant money or it was the only priority, then there would be no reason for the Big 10 to go through the motions in expanding fan base or creating a cable network for their sports teams. And the geography is there--in order to remain contiguous, the Big 10 would need to take Kansas or Missouri, as you said. Again, if the Big East and ACC aren't available, there's not much else out there to grab. Standing pat for the B1G would be a plan D or E for the Big 10. If the SEC goes to 14, so goes the ACC, Pac-12, etc. Don't know if the Big East would go to 12 or 14 football teams, considering how big the conference is in basketball already. But inaction is not really an option--hell, even the C-USA will go to 14 or more if Iowa State, Baylor, or Texas Tech, among others, don't have homes. As for Texas--Texas' looming independence will kill the idea of them joining a conference shortly. BYU was the canary in the coal mine for Texas, and the canary got a deal great enough to upgrade to a gilded cage.

The Big 10 Network is nice. It rakes in tens of millions of dollars for the conference. It's an important asset to the schools. But the revenue from the BTN pales in comparison to the lion's share of the $1.4 Billion (with a "B") in grant monies these schools rake in annually thanks to their collective academic standing. There is zero chance they jeopardize their grant revenue to acquire a larger TV footprint. This, again, from knapplc. Football bucks are chump change compared to all those juicy research and federal contracts. No way are they going to let Okie, or any other non-AAU member in, and put that $$$ at risk. Again, concessions can be and have been made re: AAU membership. Admitting a non-AAU member or a member with little to no research arm is not going to jeopardize the existing grant money. If anything, a new member that is non-AAU just simply will not participate with the existing AAU members in pooling resources to obtain grant money and collaborate on research. The University of Chicago has not fielded any sort of athletics since the 50s IIRC--I don't see people saying they are any less a member of the Big 10. Not everyone has to participate equally to join, and there's existing precedent as such. And I agree that the research money handily trumps athletic money and that the Big 10 would do nothing to jeopardize that cash cow. But athletics have been a public face to generate exposure for a conference and a school--and with the advent of conference-run channels, it's a 24/7 PR machine that needs new/original content to feed it. Again, I've never insisted that Oklahoma is a "Plan A" or even a "Plan B" for the Big 10. But if the B1G is spurned by the Big East and ACC schools (quite possible), that also means no Notre Dame (as they still have a home for Olympic sports), and that leaves the nebulous "southern schools" that Delaney mentioned and easy pickin' Big XII-II fruit. If you were Jim and 1) had to select from the Big XII-II leftovers, 2) you had to program entertainment for a network, and 3) had to keep a contiguous footprint, who would you take between MU, KU, KSU, OSU, and OU? Also, for the person that asked for it, here's an article from mid 2010 where Jim Delany discussed "southern expansion": Link

No comment...next question? What do you mea...ooooh, look, bunny with pancake! Mmmmmmm...pancakes. /Homer Also, a question--was Sanders coaching at NC when John Blake was there? Perhaps recruiting issues? Just grasping at straws here...

I can imagine Mangino, Carl, and Bo teeing off on the Big 10 all the way to the title game. Despite his size, Mangino is an offensive genius that may be looking for a place to land. And I'm sure Dr. Tom would be straight with Mangino and his weight and offer assistance to get him out of the morbidly obese statistic--Dr. Tom loves reclamation projects such as this (Mangino--not our offense), and it would be a win for everyone involved. As for Sanders, there hopefully is a darn good explanation for all this. He is perhaps the second-best or best assistant on the team, depending on what you think of Hot Carl (whom I believe is head coach material already). Im more worried about our offense than Mangino's weight. If he can coach us to 24 pts a game, then let the fat guy coach. Who cares about his freaking weight, I know we kid and make fun of him. But about 5 years ago I wish he was the one calling the shots on our offense. I'm thinking more along the lines of potential good PR to go along with those 24 ppg you mention. That, and I'd hate to see all that offensive genius go to seed because he couldn't keep his weight in check. But no, I wouldn't prevent him from coaching because of weight--just think there's more that could be done to benefit both parties and get Nebraska some positive Sunday time on ESPN. Sorry if it sounded like I'd bar him from coaching due to weight.

You are more than welcome to think this, but swap out Okie U for DoNU, and you have what Mizzou and 'Whorn fans told me as they laughed off my suggestion that Nebraska will receive a Big 10 invite well before Nebraska was even considered to be in the running. Just sayin'. Okie is not in the AAU. End of story. Wrong. Lack of AAU membership does not preclude an invite to the Big 10. Otherwise, Notre Dame would have never received an unofficial invite (or, at the very least, heavy scrutiny benefiting a potential new member). And both Wake Forrest and UConn are potential expansion targets that were on the B1G short list during the first round of discussions and neither school is a member of the AAU. Additionally, expansion into the South (per Delaney's mandate) would be tough if AAU membership were a requirement--see the map below and note the lack of AAU schools south of the B1G footprint: Link I doubt Delaney meant Vandy or Duke when he discussed expansion to southern schools.

I can imagine Mangino, Carl, and Bo teeing off on the Big 10 all the way to the title game. Despite his size, Mangino is an offensive genius that may be looking for a place to land. And I'm sure Dr. Tom would be straight with Mangino and his weight and offer assistance to get him out of the morbidly obese statistic--Dr. Tom loves reclamation projects such as this (Mangino--not our offense), and it would be a win for everyone involved. As for Sanders, there hopefully is a darn good explanation for all this. He is perhaps the second-best or best assistant on the team, depending on what you think of Hot Carl (whom I believe is head coach material already).

You are more than welcome to think this, but swap out Okie U for DoNU, and you have what Mizzou and 'Whorn fans told me as they laughed off my suggestion that Nebraska will receive a Big 10 invite well before Nebraska was even considered to be in the running. Just sayin'.

Because when you look at the balance sheet for Oklahoma, they potentially take away (read: can actually win the SEC football race) more than they bring in (they're program isn't as valuable as Nebraska's per Forbes, so-so basketball as of late, and lack of households since state is split). Again--we're not just talking about football prowess or power--these conferences are programming a television channel for the conference, all while keeping the original fat cats happy. Conversely, A&M provides three things Oklahoma cannot: recruiting doors into Texas, the Houston TV market, and a team that is a significant name (for whatever reason), but is not a consistent threat to LSU, 'Bama, or Florida. Plus, there are teams available in the Big East and ACC that would better serve the SEC's interests. They won't go to 13--they'll want even numbers, and I'm sure the SEC has a grocery list ready if/when A&M and $ Bill Byrne find their cojones (which explains the whole Ben Cotton scrum thing, I suppose...) I'm not saying it's likely--just don't be shocked if Oklahoma is offered along with a Kansas or Missouri by the Big 10 should Big East expansion, for whatever reason, prove untenable or unavailable. Likewise, don't be shocked if Oklahoma is left out of SEC expansion. And just remember that even though the Big 10 offers, it doesn't mean Oklahoma will accept--remember, these are the same folks that proudly and openly said they're hitching their schooner to Bevo's tailpipe. Oklahoma isn't an AAU school. Without that accomplishment they will never be invited to the Big 10. Eventually it won't matter. Some of the B1G's targets out east are non-AAU schools, and as I said before, they're programming for a network now--at some point, being an AAU member will be secondary or tertiary (if it isn't already) to bringing schools in, especially if expansion goes to 16 and becomes a collegiate 'cold war'. Granted, the Big 10 may ask that non-AAU member schools get their academic/research **** together to eventually get AAU membership, but it won't be drop-dead requirement for further B1G expansion. And, let's be honest here, if Nebraska was not an AAU member, does anyone really think that would had excluded us from receiving a Big 10 invite? If you do, well, then I'll tell you Nebraska has an excellent O-Coordinator.

Because when you look at the balance sheet for Oklahoma, they potentially take away (read: can actually win the SEC football race) more than they bring in (they're program isn't as valuable as Nebraska's per Forbes, so-so basketball as of late, and lack of households since state is split). Again--we're not just talking about football prowess or power--these conferences are programming a television channel for the conference, all while keeping the original fat cats happy. Conversely, A&M provides three things Oklahoma cannot: recruiting doors into Texas, the Houston TV market, and a team that is a significant name (for whatever reason), but is not a consistent threat to LSU, 'Bama, or Florida. Plus, there are teams available in the Big East and ACC that would better serve the SEC's interests. They won't go to 13--they'll want even numbers, and I'm sure the SEC has a grocery list ready if/when A&M and $ Bill Byrne find their cojones (which explains the whole Ben Cotton scrum thing, I suppose...) I'm not saying it's likely--just don't be shocked if Oklahoma is offered along with a Kansas or Missouri by the Big 10 should Big East expansion, for whatever reason, prove untenable or unavailable. Likewise, don't be shocked if Oklahoma is left out of SEC expansion. And just remember that even though the Big 10 offers, it doesn't mean Oklahoma will accept--remember, these are the same folks that proudly and openly said they're hitching their schooner to Bevo's tailpipe.