Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Is it Now or Never for BYU?

It seems that the Big 12 will announce expansion sometime between the end of May and the first of August.  BYU fans are on pins and needles.  Of course there are reasons to choose BYU and reasons to say no.  I will not go into those here, but answer some other questions.



First, is this the last chance for BYU to get into a power conference?  No.  There will be changes coming to college education and to college sports.  There is no way that this will be the end of expansion.  One thing that we have not yet to see, which is surely coming sometime in the near future, is power 5 programs who are not keeping up deciding to accept a step back.  Much like Idaho has taken a step back from the FBS and deciding to return to the Big Sky Conference.  I do not know who, yet.  But there are very few programs actually profitable.  Sooner or later, states will look at expenses, and determine that the high cost isn't worth it.  Schools, after all, are spending tons of money on facilities that do not seem to educate students, and only benefit a handful.  That money has to be looked at.  Is it really fair to force students to borrow money to cover the expenses of others?  Some schools will have to make hard choices and determine that Power-5 athletics are not worth the price, and drop bakc.  If BYU does not get into the Big 12 now, there will shortly be other opportunities.

Will BYU remain independent if the Big 12 passes on them this time time?  That will be the case if they can find another conference that will work with them.  Perhaps it will be the American, but just for football.  It is still doubtful, at least in my mind, that the MWC will take them back.  Perhaps there will be a new conference form for the Cougars.  However, it seems most likely that if the Big 12 passes on the Cougars, that they will remain independent for the near future.

My hunch is that it is most likely that BYU will join the Big 12 with Cincinnati.  And if it is not now, it is also not never, either.

Sunday, May 8, 2016

The Leicester City Equivelent

I know that most of my readers are probably not familiar with the English Premier League.  This is one of the top four soccer leagues in the world (along with Spain's La Liga, Germany's Bundesliga and Italy's Siere A), and the equivalent of the NFL here.  Something absolutely incredible has happened there.

In the European Leagues, they practice something known as promotion/relegation.  It would be similar to knocking the bottom-finishing MLB baseball teams to AAA at the end of the season, and giving the best AAA teams a shot at the majors in their place.  (Except the AAA teams would be independent and not farm clubs of the Major League Teams.)

In England, the Leicester City Football Club was promoted to the English Premier League for the 2014/15 season.  In their second season in the top tier league, they win it.  Absolutely incredible.  Here is what I think would be the American equivalent to what Leicester just did.

NFL


The Jacksonville Jaguars Win Super Bowl LI.
Closest actual experience...Super Bowl XXXVI, where Brady, as a rookie, lead the Patriots to their first championship.

NBA


The Utah Jazz win the 2017 NBA Title.
Closest actual experience...1977 Portland Trailblazers beat the Philadelphia 76ers to win the NBA Title.

Hockey



The Columbus Blue Jackets hoist Lord Stanley's Cup.
The closest actual experience...1974 Philadelphia Flyers over the Boston Bruins.  This was the first time a non-original six team won the cup.

Baseball


The Albuquerque Isotopes win the 2017 World Series.
The closest actual experience...1969 New York Mets winning the World Series over the Orioles.  Remember, the Mets replaced the Dodgers/Giants in 1962.

College Football


The Montana Grizzlies claim the FBS College Playoff Championship
The closest actual experience...Notre Dame in 1943.  All of the young men were drafted into the Army.  Anyone other than a service academy winning at this time was incredible.  (Army won most of their national titles during this era.)

College Basketball


UMKC Kangaroos claim NCAA Final Four Championship.  (There are probably 270 schools that fit this description.  The 'Roos were the first one I thought of.)
The closest actual experience...Texas Western (Now UTEP) in 1966.  The only time between 1964 and 1973 that someone other than UCLA won.  Don Haskins broke the color barrier in College Basketball in a big way.

MLS Soccer


Sacramento Republic claim MLS Cup.
The closest actual experience...Real Salt Lake in 2009.  RSL started in 2005 and the LA Galaxy had some of the best players in the world.

Golf

Ben Hunt (That's me...Sorry no photo) wins the Masters.  (I wear a 40 short)
The closest actual experience...2013 Adam Scott