Beebe addresses Big 12 media
DALLAS -- After an afternoon consumed by muffled bickering about the forthcoming Longhorn Network and what it might mean for the future, Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe, dressed in suit and tie, served up a media day nightcap in the form of a scripted interview with a league-appointed moderator.
<tons snipped - go read it>
The celebratory address was preceded by free booze for all in attendance and included a music-accompanied introduction of every Big 12 head coach (expect Texas Tech's Tommy Tuberville, who skipped the event for a university golf outing). Following the overblown charade, there were gifts ... expensive ones.
Ogio Fugitive backpacks with the league's logo embroidered on the front, which carry a presale, pre-customization price of $69.00 on Amazon.com, were stuffed with t-shirts, polos and hats before being distributed to those who stuck around long enough to take in the show and subsequently left the theater in stitches. Problem is, this movie wasn't intended to be a comedy. Instead, Beebe's performance was meant to be the final scene from Rocky.
...
"I have to admit that I was always jealous of some conferences who had the complete round-robin in football and double round-robin in basketball," Beebe said, somehow maintaining a straight face under the pressure of his enormous lie.
From there, the hits kept coming. He met pre-approved questions with packaged answers about "settling championships on the field" and "promoting a unique brand," all the while ignoring the snickers coming from the pack of reporters and athletic department officials standing in the gallery.
Somehow, though, the half-truths and outright fibs weren't the most troubling part. Instead, that title belonged to the fact the Beebe didn't seem to notice the scheme's total transparency. His lack of embarrassment was excusable, however.
After all, there were plenty of people feeling the emotion for him long after he wrapped up.
