Thinking out loud…while wondering if you’re cooler than me, would that also make me hotter than you?
Wait, wut’s this? There’s serious trouble in ACC/Power Five/Big Money paradise?
Shots have been fired. Harmony – and elasticity – no longer exists under a Tobacco Road umbrella that has stretched from Florida to New England for two decades.
Listen live to WEEI
At the conference spring meetings in Florida this week, there were several reports of a group of schools – dubbed the “Magnificent 7” or the “Secret 7” – banding together to potentially find legal loopholes in their Grant of Rights to leave the league, which today is contractually impossible to do before 2036.
Ah, but where there’s a will, and certainly mo’ money at stake, there may be a way. Florida State, Clemson, Miami, UNC, NC State, Virginia, and Virginia Tech are apparently all unhappy with the league’s monetary distribution to membership, particularly FSU and Clemson.
Those two schools have said they can’t compete nationally with current annual compensation falling short of SEC and Big 10 programs by a projected $20-30 million or more per year.
In fact, FSU and Clemson appear to be upset that a school like Central Florida could make more money than they do in the next few years from media rights deals. And the Big 12 (which UCF is joining) almost disbanded, you may recall, a couple of years ago itself.
Thanks, TV. The competition to lock in live programming for the competitive networks is sports’ nuclear arms race.
The “Not-so-secret 7” (Louisville allegedly joined the party later in the week to make it eight disgruntled members) want a merit-based system rather than equal distribution of media/TV funds to all parties. You know…do better on the field, do better in the bank account?
Funny. That was the basis for their pilfering of the old Big East two decades ago…to band with other brands to make more money. Because their media rights are locked in for another 13 years, they won’t get what Big 10, SEC or perhaps even Big 12 schools will be getting through their renegotiated deals.
The ACC’s Grant of Rights was established to keep the league alive. Now, it might be the cause of its eventual demise.
And that likely shouldn’t make Boston College, or ex-Big East members Pitt or Syracuse terribly comfortable.
Hey, what goes around, comes around. Anyone else feel déjà vu…from about 20 years ago when those three pulled the rug out from under their northeast neighbors?
What would another potential realignment mean this time? As unlikely as it might be contractually, any moves for the once-vaunted Tobacco Road-wrapped Atlantic Coast Conference to make will likely depend upon the fate of the Pac-12 and their new media rights package under renegotiation.
If the Pac-12 doesn’t get enough dough, it could disband with remaining members headed for greener pastures elsewhere. They could fall to the Big 10, or more likely the Big 12. Which might mean there won’t be a soft-landing spot for many…or any…from the ACC.
Is BC S-O-L? Without the ACC as a home, they could be. Unless the Big 12 decides to expand onto the east coast and find partners/playmates for West Virginia in a reunion of old Big East partners within a new-look league.
More likely, BC, Syracuse and Pitt could be force-fed a new rights arrangement that pays them less than their more angry, more successful, better-branded brethren within the ACC.
And don’t think UConn would be left out in the cold on such an arrangement. There might be a spot in, say, in an 18 or 20-team Big 12 mega-conference for a program fresh off a basketball natty and a bowl-eligible football season.
Or, if the Big 12 doesn’t get Pac-12 schools to move…UConn is reportedly on the “next up” list.
Who are we kidding? UConn would be gone as fast as (bleep) goes through a goose.
Of course, after finagling their way back into the bosom of the Big East regardless of how much the school is in debt – reportedly at $53 million annually and climbing – they left the AAC so they wouldn’t play far-flung teams like UCF or Houston any longer.
So they’d leave the Big East to go to the Big 12 and play UCF and Houston again? For the payday and the chance to rub out a large chunk of debt…they might.
Basketball has reconnected with its Big East roots, and it paid off this year, certainly. Conference realignment is a primary reason why Connecticut is in the fiscal shape it’s in today in the first place. Plus, there’s that emphasis on playing FBS football, too.
Big money programs need big money revenue. Throw ‘em a lifeline, they’ll likely hang you with it.
On the other hand, the Pac-12 reportedly wants to add Connecticut’s hoop title game foe from this year, San Diego State, and potentially SMU (thus entering the Texas market) as new members to replace USC and UCLA. Ironically, both schools were one-time (near) members of the Big East.
But will there be enough $$$ to go around, to keep others from moving around?
Getcha’ popcorn ready. Bring a pencil with an eraser for your scorecard. We may be on the verge of watching greed and jealousy go to work and do its’ thing all over again in the collegiate landscape.
Ex-Kentucky forward Lance Ware, who played against the Friars just a couple of months ago in the NCAA Tournament, visited campus this week and could be in position to join the team he helped to vanquish.
THAT would be a big move…to join forces again with former UK teammate Bryce Hopkins and his current team. PC might just go from contender status to a favorite…depending upon draft-related moves elsewhere…or other schools’ opportunities and offerings. Villanova, for one.
With adequate outside shooting, Providence could become not just deep – but dangerous.
St. John’s and Rick Pitino bagged another one for their roster this past week, bringing the total to 11 newcomers in a span of 55 days. That’s a rebuild. 6-9 Kansas transfer Zuby Ejiofor, a former Top 50 HS recruit, will be a candidate to man the middle for the Red Storm.
Ed Cooley got his biggest ‘get’ yet with a commitment from 2024 Top 50 big man Thomas Sorber this week. But the Hoyas still have a team to field for this year, too.
And word is they’re in the running for Pawtucket native and NC State transfer Isaiah Miranda…along with Kentucky.
Marquette’s O-Max Prosper is raising eyebrows at the NBA Draft Combine, along with his draft chances. A borderline draftee a week or two ago, he may have worked himself into a first-round selection…meaning an unlikely return to Milwaukee.
UConn reportedly has a multi-year deal in place to play Gonzaga, but both games at potential sites off campus…in Seattle at Climate Pledge Arena and New York at Madison Square Garden.
Bryant pulled in two forwards from the portal this week – 6-7 former JUCO all-American and Saint Louis transfer Daniel Rivera, along with 6-7 forward Connor Withers from UMass Lowell.
Bryant’s stay in the NCAA Lacrosse tournament was short lived. The America East champs lost to perennial power Johns Hopkins 22-8 in their opening round match last weekend.
CBS Sports reported this week URI will play Northwestern at the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic at Mohegan Sun in November, joined by Mississippi State and Washington State.
And, the Rams reportedly have a home-and-home set up with Charleston beginning Dec. 10th, 2023 in South Carolina with the return match in Kingston for 2024.
We told you a couple of months ago about two Brown student-athletes who were suing the Ivy League and its’ membership, saying that not offering athletic scholarships violates antitrust law, and constituted a price-fixing scheme in denying athletes benefits they could receive elsewhere.
The Ivy League’s membership this week asked a Connecticut federal judge to dismiss the suit…saying they don’t violate antitrust law.
And what, exactly, was learned here? That life is good for those who work in courtrooms. Or maybe…don’t go to an Ivy school if you want benefits that are offered at other schools?
Remember when “AI” simply meant “Allen Iverson,” rather than artificial intelligence? Yeah, good times.
The Jayson Tatum game. Is that what we’ll refer to last weekend’s 51-point Superman-like performance in Game 7 against the Sixers?
Game 1 against the Heat, Superman and the Celtics met their Kryptonite. Or, their Lex Luthor. Hello, Jimmy Butler.
51 points against Philly. ZERO official field goal attempts in the 4th quarter Wednesday against Miami, and three turnovers.
The how and why aren’t hard to figure out. They know who these guys are. Miami is a team that barely squeezed into the NBA play-in game. And maybe that’s the real problem.
There simply is something in the Celtics’ mechanics and/or DNA that prevents them from putting forth the kind of effort needed to win consistently.
The Heat is on. 46 points scored against the C’s in that devastatingly disastrous 3rd quarter Wednesday night. Devastatingly disastrous is redundant, yes.
Far be it from me to second-guess, but hey, Johnston Joe? Maybe get a time out in there somewhere during the Heat’s massive, game-changing run in that period?
Or…maybe put a couple of guys in there who can (and want to) defend a little bit? If this team is truly title-worthy, it is past time to show it.
Good one from the “Sultan of Stat,” Dick Lipe: in 2852 playoff quarters all time, the Celtics have given up 46 or more points only TWICE…Wednesday night, and in game three against the Lakers in 1984.
Maybe we should put Jimmy Butler in charge of US diplomacy. Or the economy? He seems to be able to do whatever is needed to win, doesn’t he?
If you’re pulling for the old school “Beat LA!” chants to rain in the Garden again, understood. But around these parts, if the Celtics were to find themselves in the Finals against Denver…we’d have us a Hendricken Bowl.
Yup, the Nuggets (as we’ve noted previously) are coached by Bishop Hendricken alum and former Providence College assistant Mike Malone. Two Hawks opposing each other on the sidelines of the NBA Finals with Rhody roots as deep as quahogs buried on the beach?
Paying attention yet, TV types?
A shout out and long, slow bow of congratulations to Al McCoy, who is signing off in Phoenix as the Voice of the Suns after 51 years of calling the play-by-play. Remarkable, really.
McCoy began as the team’s radio voice in 1972 and was one of the first opposing broadcasters I had the privilege to meet and learn from when I started in San Antonio in 1982, along with the late, great Lakers’ announcer Chick Hearn.
Our buddy Rich Chvotkin, the Voice of the Georgetown Hoyas, will embark on Season 50 this fall in DC, and the Big East will only be 44 years old.
I’ll have what those guys are having.
Poor Ja Morant. If we gave him a penny for his thoughts, we’d get change back. Just sayin’.
Who else thinks we should be rubbing those Spurs in San Antonio for a little luck? The Spurs won the draft lottery (again) this week, putting them on target to select their third transformative “big man” in the past 35 years – David Robinson, Tim Duncan, and now Victor Wembanyama.
Robinson arrived on the scene in South Texas at about the same time as my arrival in the northeast, after having worked for and covered the Spurs for six seasons. Duncan, as PC fans are painfully aware, could have been a Friar if Rick Barnes hadn’t departed for Clemson in ’94.
Wembanyama? Still working on the degrees of separation for that one.
My buddy “Big E” sez he’s really watching out for how he dresses every day. When he gets dressed now, he knows if he dies, that’s his ghost outfit forever.
The Red Sox gave us a nice, little run there for a week or so, didn’t they? Now, let’s get back to our regularly scheduled stumbling and bumbling.
It’s all in the pitching. It’s all in the pitching. It’s all in the pitching.
Which Ryan Brasier simply could not do well any longer. But thanks for 2018.
Might the Sox have found a shortstop in Pablo Reyes? At the least, someone to keep the spot warm until Marcelo Meyer is ready for harvesting.
At the least, they’ve found a relief pitcher with a 34-mph curve ball. Hey, I’ve got one of those, too.
And only a few months removed from being the best starter they had, Nick Pivetta is relegated to the bullpen because, frankly, he can’t get anyone out. Which also isn’t a good spot for a relief pitcher, either.
You want domination? Consider the SEC in softball…12 of the 14 schools in the conference are advancing to the NCAA Tournament…and one school (Vanderbilt) doesn’t even play softball.
Not for nuthin’, but it appears spring football is surviving this time around. For now. The third iteration of the XFL crowned a champ last weekend (the Arlington Renegades), and the rebooted USFL is halfway through its second season and appears to have a slight advantage in TV ratings.
Not that this should come as a big surprise, but the season opener at Gillette Stadium (aka the TB12 Comes Home game) is going for $800+ per ticket on the secondary ticket market. And it undoubtedly will go higher as we get closer to September.
With the waiving of tackle Yodny Cajuste this week, exactly ZERO members of the Patriots’ 2019 draft class remain on the New England roster. Fair to grade that class (with the possible exception of Damien Harris, Jarrett Stidham and/or Jake Bailey) as an “F?”
Former BC star and Atlanta/Indy QB Matt Ryan is joining CBS as a game analyst for next season. But he also sez he’s open to the thought of returning to play again…which sounds a little like TB12, and others.
Tip o’ the cap to our buddy Ian Steele at WLNE-TV ABC 6 for this nugget: 14 Cumberland High School student athletes signed letters of intent to play in college next year, including six with scholarships to Division I programs.
You’ve heard the phrase “there’s no such thing as a free lunch?” Check that.
The Rhode Island Senate voted for such a thing this week for all public-school students in the state, regardless of their household income. It sounds like a decent idea, until you consider taxpayers will pick up the tab for what federal funds won’t cover…and for children of families who can more than afford to pay for their own lunches.
There’s a magnanimous, $40 million gesture that hits you right in the feels, and the pockets, all at once. You’re welcome.
Interested in having your questions on local Rhode Island sports (and yes, that includes the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics) answered in a somewhat timely fashion? It’s your chance to “think out loud,” so send your questions, comments, and local stories to jrbroadcaster@gmail.com. We’ll share mailbag comments/Facebook posts/Tweets right here! Would appreciate the follow on Twitter, @JRbroadcaster…and join in on Facebook, www.facebook.com/john.rooke ...
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