Tons in today's SN column -- it was hard to figure out what to lead with, actually.
There's Ray Allen's 3-point barrage to help the Celtics beat the Lakers -- amazingly, Allen's 3s were matched by Rondo's triple-doube.
There's the whole Pac-16 situation, which is entirely convoluted -- it's hard to figure where the dominoes start, but it feels like the Big 12's ultimatum to Nebraska and Mizzou, which might push them to the Big Ten and start the implosion of the league, as 6 teams head West.
There is the MLB Draft -- the Bryce Harper draft, really -- which sees the Nationals grabbing the spotlight with a superstar draft pick for the second straight year. (And that's before "Strasmas" tomorrow in his first MLB start.)
(Update: Made an error in today's column about Harper. I thought that switching him from catcher to outfielder would cost him money, because a superstar-hitting catcher is more valuable than a superstar-hitting outfielder. That is possibly true, but another financial incentive rules Harper's situation: As an outfielder, he can make the major leagues faster -- and hit MLB free agency faster (meaning get that Yankees max money faster). It will make his signing bonus look piddling. Apologies for the muddled analysis this morning.)
And then, of course, there is the weekend tributes to John Wooden. If you were under 45, he was never "Coach" -- only "legendary." What I was most struck by was the applicability of his philosophies far beyond basketball. In fact, that's how they were intended.
There's a lot more in there -- how can I resist an update to Ubaldomania?
See the complete column here. More to come later today, including an analysis of SB Nation's move within local markets.
-- D.S.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
1 comment:
As a Pac-10 honk (and a playoff proponent), I'd tell you the thing to keep an eye on in all of this is how many mega-conferences emerge.
Let's say for argument's sake that the Big 11 take Neb, Mizzou, ND, and 2 Big East Schools, and the Pac-10 grabs the big XII South. The SEC probably responds by raiding the ACC for FSU, Miami, Clem & GT, leaving the Big East and ACC to some sort of shotgun wedding and the Mtn West picking up the leftovers of the Big XII, plus Boise St. (which probably happens no matter what) and Fresno. From 7 power conferences (and if the Big East is a power conference, the Mountain West damn well better be), you now have 5.
Five champions won't fit into a national semi-finals. If this happens, the BCS is probably safe in some capacity or another. But if the Mtn West *doesn't* get bigger and you're left with four 16 team alliances, now you can take your champions & play them off pretty easily. The irony is the playoff would serve to shut out the very schools who've been screaming for access.
One final note: The Rose Bowl would now be able to draw from Penn St, Ohio St, Michigan, Norte Dame & Nebraska vs. Texas, Oklahoma, USC & Oregon (with Iowa, Wisconsin, Sparty, Oregon St, Stanford & Arizona all worthy 2nd tier representatives). No playoff would ever hold up without the team that bested that collection of talent--these mergers are effectively killing any change of SECession ever happening.
Post a Comment