In what has already been an unpredictable year in sports, today may have been the wildest, craziest, most unexpected day in sports in my short time on this earth. Three seperate unexpected events occured - on most days, each event would have rightfully hogged the Sportscenter spotlight - on the same day; within the same hour, actually. Each event left me in a state of shock, watching SC with my jaw resting on the floor. I still can't believe what happened today. Now I want to share my unbelief with you folks (whoever still reads my blog, that is).
STORY ONE:
USC punished with two-year football postseason ban.
It would really suck to be Lane Kiffin right now.
Kiffin recently signed on as the Head Coach of USC football, taking over for Pete Carroll, who bolted for the NFL and the Seattle Seahawks amid suspicion of violating NCAA rules. Turns out, Carroll made the smartest move of his career. After four years of ongoing investigations, the NCAA discovered that 2005 Heisman Reggie Bush played nearly an entire season while being ruled ineligibe. USC won the National Championship in 2004 and went undefeated before bowing out to Texas in the 2005 National Championship.
In a few weeks, that year may never exist. The NCAA is fully planning on revoking the Trojans' Trophy in '04, which would mean that no team was crowned a National Champ in 2004. (Hey Charlotte, there's another trivia question that you could shock your friends with....kinda like the 1994 World Series;)). Oh, and that Heisman Bush ran away with in '05? Yeah, that also doesn't exist.
My question here is: What the HELL was the NCAA doing when USC was using Reggie Bush when he was ineligible?! Surely they have SOME sort of document lying around that says "Oh by the way, the guy who's gonna win the HEISMAN TROPHY, the most coveted individual award in college football, is in fact NOT ELIGIBLE to be on the field. And now the NCAA is looking into whether it was in fact THEIR OWN PEOPLE who ruled him ineligible? I'm not the brightest kid in the world here, but I'm pretty sure that I would: 1) Know that I ruled someone ineligible and: 2) Know that he's STILL ON THE FIELD! I mean, he was on ESPN every. single. day. for two years! I don't know how they missed that one. Seriously.
What began the investigations were not actually because of his eligibility, which I find quite ironic. They looked into USC because - like almost every problem that the NCAA looks at these days - Reggie Bush was receiving "special treatment." I.E. free freaking rent for his family. USC was paying his family's rent! I knew the NCAA would dig up something like special treatment for Bush and his family; that I expected. What I didn't expect was the eligibility problem and the hell that USC now has to pay. It'll be good to see some bowl games without the Trojans. Oh, and they lose out on 30 scholarships for the next three years.
If only Kiffin stayed at Tennessee.
STORY TWO:
Tom Izzo close to accepting job as Cleveland Cavs head coach.
This surprises me mainly because of what Tom Izzo means to Michigan State, the state of Michigan and Sparty Nation. He is the reason why Michigan State is a powerhouse in college basketball and has been for over a decade. He led them to the National Title in 2000, then led many different squads with a number of new stars to an astounding SIX Final Fours in 12 seasons. That means his team survived the Madness of March to dance into the Final Weekend SIX TIMES. There are countless schools who haven't even made it to March Madness six times. Ever. And Izzo led these boys six different times with six different teams. For that reason, and other reasons, he is one of my favorite college coaches of all time. It would be extremely sad to see him bolt to the NBA. Even if it did mean he would be coaching Lebron James, which is no gurantee (another reason why this is such a shocking story: Lebron most likely will not return to Cleveland, which would mean Izzo left a great situation in East Lansing to lead a team that won't even make it past the first round in the watered-down Eastern Conference).
STORY THREE:
COLORADO ANNOUNCES ITS ACCEPTANCE TO JOIN PAC-10.
Yes, I knew this was coming for about two weeks. That doesn't make it any less surprising. Colorado belongs in the Big 12. It's as simple as that. With all due respect to Colorado State, Nebraska has been the Buffs' primary rival since 5200 BC. If you wear the Gold and Black, you can't stand the sight of the college version of the Big Red Machine. If you wear the Red and White, just the thought of a Buffalo roaming the streets of Lincoln makes you want to Husker that Corn with a violent ferocity.
There are so many - and I mean, SOOOO MANY - reasons why this idea is absolutely insane (and I mean that in the worst possible way), but the two things that really surprise me are these:
1) CU's inception into the Pac-10 marks the FIRST TIME since 1978 that the Pac-10 has added a new team. Thirty Two Years! And for the Pac-10, this is only the beginning...
2) The West Coast Powers are doing everything in their power to lure six of the current 12 schools involved in the Big 12. Colorado is numero uno. Mark Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State as the other five. The big wigs for the Longhorns met with Missouri officials today to discuss their future and the future of the Big 12. Don't be fooled by what they say ("We support the Big 12." "We're working hard to stay together."). No, they're leaving, there's little to no doubt in my mind. So what does that mean, exactly? Take a look:
I remember having multiple conversations with Mark Wood about what's playing out right now, although our conversations were more geared towards BYU finding a way into the Pac-10. I'm not sure if he remembers, but the first time we talked about it was back when I was in middle school at our Ward Youth Conference in Silverthorne. I remember him telling me that BYU is more than capable of sticking with teams like Arizona, Arizona State, Washington, Washington State, Cal and Stanford. I remember thinking that, statistically, the Cougars actually could match up with these teams in football especially. Maybe not basketball, but, as the NCAA is proving to the Nation right now, the only sport that actually matters is football. If things fall into place, BYU will have their shot at a Power Conference. And they wouldn't even have to leave the Mountain West. Here's how:
BIG 12 DISSOLVES:
With CU heading West and Nebraska most likely leaving for the Big Ten this weekend, that should set up a chain reaction with the other five schools previously mentioned following the Buffs, which would leave just six schools (Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Iowa State and Baylor) in the Big 12.
Two of those schools, Missouri and Iowa State, are strongly considering joining Nebraska in the Big Ten, which would leave just three teams in the Big 12, effectively destroying the most dominant all-around conference in college.
So we now have 16 teams in the Pac-10. They'll split it up into two divisions, the Pac-16 West and the Pac-16 East. It will most likely look something like this:
WEST:
Washington
Washington State
Cal
Stanford
USC
UCLA
Oregon
Oregon State
EAST:
Arizona
Arizona State
Colorado
Texas
Texas Tech
Texas A&M
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
The Big Ten will also turn into a Super Conference, and with Missouri and Iowa State joining, that opens the door for Notre Dame, which will ultimately lead to the death of the Big East, the POWER in college basketball. The Big Ten will look very similar to the Pac-16:
NORTH:
Michigan
Michigan State
Minnesota
Ohio State
Notre Dame
Penn State
Wisconsin
Purdue
SOUTH:
Indiana
Illinois
Iowa
Iowa State
Nebraska
Missouri
Northwestern
(One more team, most likely from the Big East)
This re-alignment would probably spur the Mountain West to expand, which would most likely mean that Boise State, Kansas, Kansas State and Baylor joining BYU, TCU and Utah for MWC Dominance. I believe this would create a new BCS Conference in the Mountain West, and I am excited about that possibility.
But life without the Big East and the Big 12? And not seeing another epic CU-Nebraska Thanksgiving Classic? That depresses me, and I think it is ultimately the wrong move for college athletics.
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