Jon Joseph

Great take. After last night in Las Vegas, I think Coach Few has gone into hibernation for the rest of the winter. There is a Power 2 financially. But a Power 1 when it comes to football and that is clearly the SEC. And I more than agree that the SEC has performed better than the B1G in the Tournament. The B1G has big money based mostly upon a huge number of living graduates and its teams benefit financially from being located in the eastern and central time zones. The B1G has 3 teams that play very good to excellent football and the conference year after year is vastly overrated basketball. This season, I have generally seen the best CBB being played in the Big East. Last night's win by FAU, the UConn beat down of Gonzaga and the other teams it has played in the tourney, as well as the play of San Diego State and Creighton, show how often wrong the AP top 25 basketball poll is and how erroneous is any number of seeds the Committee comes up with. For the most part, the football playoff (BCS x 2) Committee has gotten it right. Future SEC member Texas could defeat Miami today and win the whole darn thing.

Great post, thank you. You never know the hour or the day. As a 76-year-old I read Jon's tribute to his baseball coach with great interest. I wish I had reached out to any number of my coaches before they passed. Not surprisingly all of the fine men who helped develop me as an athlete and a person are gone. If you have coaches that helped you who are still walking on this mortal coil do reach out. I did chide Jon for earlier referencing Arizona president Robin Robert's interview with Dennis Dodd which Jon opined was approved by the conference. I expressed my opinion that the interview was scatological, and went out of its way to credit the B12 for jumping ahead of the Pac-10 with its media deal. I also called out Roberts for the off-the-cuff and off-the-wall namedrop of Oregon having been invited to the B1G. Totally inaccurate information. Jon's reply to me: University presidents often go out-of-bounds when in front of a microphone or when giving an interview that involves athletics. In regards to FOX being in the new conference media deal mix? I trust Jon's and John Canzano's sources and not the Denni Dodd-like rumor mill. Thanks, again for the post.

With the Elite 8 games being played today and tomorrow only two Power 5 conferences have the opportunity to make the Final 4, the B12 and the ACC. Texas vs Miami in the Elite 8 game means that a B12 or ACC team will head to Houston for the Final 4. Kansas State will be in the Final 4 if it defeats FAU. Although having seeds galore, no Power 2 team from the SEC and the B1G made the Elite 8. And no number-one seed will play in the Final 4. The B1G has not won an NCAA basketball title since the year 2000. Pathetic when considering the number of teams the B1G sends to the Tournament season after season. $8.2M a year Kentucky coach John Calipari has rarely parlayed his always highly-rated roster into championships. Last evening 5 seed San Diego State (hopefully a soon-to-be Pac conference member) started 4 seniors and 1 junior in its victory over overall number 1 seed Alabama. Darren Perkins delivered a terrific article this week on the need for Oregon's NIL arm, Division Street, to step in with NIL money for the basketball program. However, many of the teams that recruit and depend upon 'one and done ' players straight out of high school do not have the chemistry to succeed come Tournament time. I imagine Coach Dana Altman is paying attention. I hope so. Players like four-year guard Pritchard, now with the Celtics, are solid gold come Tournament time. Meanwhile, expect the SEC and B1G to continue to be overrated season after season.

Et tu Mandel? Stewart is closing in on Dennis Dodd's territory. With its refusal to play on Sunday and Utah in the Salt Lake City market, BYU does not make sense for the Pac-10.

It's off-season so let the nonsense flow. I thought a guy like Stewart Mandel knew better. He is moving toward Dennis Dodd territory.

No number 1 seeds in the Final 4. No Power 2 teams in the Elite 8. 2 P5 teams at most in the Final 4. San Diego State starting 5. 4 seniors and a junior.

Get San Diego State into the conference ASAP. We need the dues! Great win for the Aztecs taking down top-seeded Alabama in Louisville.

However, no football playoff appearance for the LA schools, and Oregon has produced more NCAA Tourney units than the LA schools in the last decade. SC and UCLA are going B1G not based on on-field and on-court excellence but by an accident of geography and brand names that still resonate although neither school, SC in football and UCLA in basketball, have done anything of significance for years. SC did win 1 Rose Bowl with Helton in charge but that win came when the Rose Bowl was not hosting a playoff game.

I hope the Zags make it but Few and his crew will have a tough time getting past a very solid UConn team. UCLA could have easily won last night missing 2 of its best players and its senior point guard going 0-6 from the field in the 2nd half. Meanwhile, I loved the 'little guy' guard from Harlem playing for K State in NYC and putting up 20 points along with a tourney record of 19 assists. The last B1G team standing, Michigan State went down with Tom Izzo whining on his way out the door. 1 B1G team made the Sweet 16 and none made the Elite 8. The conference is overrated in CBB year after year.

Part 1 I could handle. But Part 2? Is this guy on Altman's radar? If he can do this I would think he could make free throws.

FWIW, SMU officially severed ties with the Methodist church 3 years ago. Travel? CU has to travel farther to Seattle than it would have to travel to Dallas.

Conundrum plus. I have no love for the bailing-out Bruins but 'We need the dues!' I guess I will cheer on UCLA tonight but it irks me that finances say I must do so. If only wish that Bill Walton was the president of UCLA. A president with no interest in filling up at truck stops. go bruins?

Thanks for the 3rd-party update; the only updates on the new media deal are those of unsourced 3rd parties. The short answer; No LA market and FOX not competing for media rights with ESPN. Being ungenerous, GK was clueless regarding FOX 'stealing' the LA schools, and timing-wise, he was outfoxed by the B12 moving early to the marketplace. Plus the economy has taken a dip including ESPN's parent company losing value and not wanting to spend extravagantly on sports broadcasts. And having to deal with a functionally insolvent network and with streaming entities that have not broadcast college sports events. A perfect storm for the Pac-10. We heard crickets from yesterday's 'board meeting' of the Pac-10 presidents but I still have hope the Pac-10 will make a deal that is acceptable to all 10 schools.

Great take. I note that CAL has systemic issues and that Stanford has 'admission' issues that do not allow it to fully compete. Do the administrations of these 2 schools give a whip about big-time CFB and CBB? How do you build a brand when you give tickets away for free as Stanford did last season and you cannot sell out a reasonably small-sized stadium for a game vs Notre Dame? CU has stepped up. Utah has obviously made the investment to be competitive in CFB and has improved the OOC schedule with games vs SEC teams including this season's re-match with Florida. ASU is going through a complete roster revamp with Dilly in charge. Arizona? Has never won the conference in CFB and can it be competitive when a school like SC takes away 3 of your best players? Hats off to Oregon State and Washington State for doing more with less but these two schools finance-wise will always have a tough row to hoe. GK is struggling to do a deal without the LA market the USC bell cow brand. Without FOX competing against ESPN for broadcast rights. And having to negotiate a streaming deal with an entity that has not streamed college sports. You are so correct. The only deadline comes in August 2024. But there is a point where schools will get anxious and perhaps look for other alternatives such as the B12.

Thanks for the post. Marchand is supposedly media connected but who, what, and where is his source for this take? How is time running out? All other conferences have their media deals in place. The only 'pressure' on the Pac-10 is coming from unsourced reporting by those needing off-season material. ESPN is going to bring what it will bring; it will not bid against itself. Why or how Marchand thinks ESPN will not be part of the media deal is beyond me. ESPN needs inventory for the 10:30 kickoffs eastern time. FOX is not going to give ESPN any part of LA and the B1G. The B12 has 1 team in the Rocky Mtn time zone and that's it. For Apple and Amazon streaming college football and basketball is brand new to these companies. Thus, GK is negotiating a groundbreaking deal. The only straight-up reporting I have seen regarding the new media deal comes from Wilner and Canzano. This is more of today's unsourced, rumor-mongering, and IMO, irresponsible reporting. Right in line with today's unsocial media.

As a guy living on the Right Coast, I give a hearty 'AMEN' to Charles' comment.

Rufus, but in the above scenario would the Pac-Whatever be considered a Power 5 conference? I do not think so as this hypothetical conference would be on par with the G5 AAC. Let's not forget that in 2022/23 AAC Champion Tulane defeated USC in the Cotton Bowl game.

But the Alabama AD's prayers are with the victim? Nick Saban sends message in Tony Mitchell suspension: 'No such thing as the wrong place at the wrong time' - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM Saban's message contrasts with the one sent by Crimson Tide hoops coach Nate Oats about Brandon Miller Shake my head.

Reading this may make Oregon fans want to barf and not bark. Crowning a champion in college football's 2023 64-team playoff WWW.ESPN.COM Can Georgia three-peat? Can Nick Saban get Alabama back into the title game? The rest of our 64-team bracket has a few surprises. It's ESecPN so the tournament winner comes as no surprise.

Great take. See - Princeton. No player on the Princeton team is even on an athletic scholarship. And Stanford retained its men's CBB coach who has done a terrible job. At least CAL fired its awful CBB head coach. Let's see if CAL hires a solid replacement or someone just to field a team so CAL can get its share of media rights money. Oregon does not have the best conference 'partners' and this is affecting what GK has to sell.

But you know what? It is refreshing that someone at Stanford cares about how a Stanford team performs. She could have been far more classy but anyone giving a whip in Palo Alto about sports these days is a novelty. CAL and Stanford do not appear to want to compete in P5 football and men's basketball at a championship level. Yet, they expect the same media revenue share as Oregon receives.

Are there any on-the-floor leaders on this team? Based on Altman's interview he at least implied there are not enough 'gym rats' on the roster—Guys who on their own get in the gym and work on free throws. Official practice time is limited to the number of hours a week you are allowed to practice in front of coaches. It does not limit the time that an individual can work on his game.

Good point but are Oregon fans turning into front-runners? This was a playoff game after two solid NIT wins. If the fans cannot get excited about a home game against a B1G team that is concerning.

Is the school in session? That is a pathetic showing for a playoff game against a B1G team; a team Oregon has played some terrific games against. A team that brought its band to Eugene. To me, 'not being that good' is not an excuse for poor attendance. This was a playoff game. As Altman noted 10,000 fans showed up at Liberty for the game vs Wisconsin. This is not a good look for the 2nd money-maker sport. As Charles noted in his excellent article this week Oregon is likely in a try-out period for the next 5 years. Fans in the ACC, B12, B1G, and SEC generally show up for basketball home games. This attendance looked like that of CAL and Stanford; very Pac12/10ish. And the game being broadcast on ESPN during a new media negotiation can do nothing to help the cause by getting ESPN on board for a significant dollar amount. If you were one of the 3300 in attendance hats off to you. In another excellent article this week Darren Perkins asked in Division street is in the mix when it comes to Oregon CBB. Last night's attendance likely did not encourage Ducks boosters to come with big NIL money. This lack of support has to be examined by someone to who Rob Mullins, and Dana Altman report. What the heck more can fans ask of PK when it comes to facilities? But does Oregon's new president who came to Eugene from Wisconsin give a whip?

Man, I miss the good old days when dentists used laughing gas. I feel your pain, my friend.