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I just want to see the Big 12 fall apart all around Texas. Greedy bastards.
Agree. It would be poetic justice IMO...as I said a while back, one can make the case that the turmoil in conference alignment has been driven by Texas. It would be ironic if, with their precious LHN drapped around their necks like the proverbial anchor, they had to go independent or re-align themselves with the likes of Rice and SMU because ATM and OU went elsewhere.
Not that it?ll happen, as UT has its fist rammed squarely up Oklahoma?s rectum.
There's a lot of chatter going around claiming that UNC has just fired Butch Davis. Supposedly, the chancellor has stepped in to impose some sanity. I would guess UNC saw how Ohio State managed to avoid the most serious NCAA charges by throwing those directly responsible to the wolves, figuratively speaking, and realized that continuing to defend Butch Davis was a losing proposition. We'll see.
Yep, it's official. This is from the UNC athletic department website...
Carolina Football Makes Coaching Change
July 27, 2011
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - University of North Carolina Chancellor Holden Thorp announced this evening that Butch Davis has been dismissed as head coach of the Carolina football program. Davis was informed by Thorp and Director of Athletics Dick Baddour of the decision.
"To restore confidence in the University of North Carolina and our football program, it's time to make a change," said Thorp. "What started as a purely athletic issue has begun to chip away at this University's reputation. I have been deliberate in my approach to understanding this situation fully, and I have worked to be fair to everyone involved. However, I have lost confidence in our ability to come through this without harming the way people think of this institution. Our academic integrity is paramount and we must work diligently to protect it. The only way to move forward and put this behind us is to make a change."
Thorp said the decision was not related to any change in the NCAA investigation, but that it was the result of the cumulative damage to the University's reputation over the past year.
"Athletics and football are an important part of this University, and a successful football program is essential to the overall health of our athletic program," Thorp continued. "That's why we have to put this behind us and move forward."
Baddour said, "The last 13 months have been some of the most difficult that anyone associated with the athletic department and football program have dealt with. At this time, a decision has been made to change the leadership of the football program to help the entire University community move forward.
"I want to thank Butch Davis and his family for their four-plus years of service and dedication to the University and the Chapel Hill community," continued Baddour. "My staff and I will work with Chancellor Thorp to transition to an interim head coach as soon as possible. It is critical that we do all we can to help our students and other staff members on the football team since preseason training camp begins in just eight days."
Thorp and Baddour will meet with the media on Thursday at 11:00 a.m. at the Friday Center in Chapel Hill (Redbud Room).
Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott drops conference network bombshell
Posted by Ben Kercheval on July 27, 2011, 5:48 PM EDT
Pac-12 Network?
Ha. Child’s play.
More like Pac-12 Networks. Plural.
After what appeared to be a last-minute finalization, Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott decided to open up the New York version of Pac-12 Media Day with an announcement about the conference’s network media rights deal.
And it’s huge.
Scott announced the creation of what is now know as Pac-12 Networks (part of Pac-12 Media Enterprises), which is comprised of six regional networks and one national network that will be broadcast through four cable operators: Comcast, Time Warner Cable, COX Communications and Bright House Networks.
The four cable operators will broadcast a total of 850 sporting events — 350 events nationally and 500 events regionally — including every football game and every men’s basketball game that isn’t carried by the Pac-12′s other media rights conglomerates, ESPN and FOX.
The six regional networks are Washington, Oregon, Northern California, Southern California, Arizona and Mountain. This means that fans from all 12 Pac-12 institutions will have an opportunity to watch every football and men’s basketball game of their school provided they have the network. The six regional networks will also broadcast other Olympic (i.e. non-revenue generating) sports and academic programming.
And people really had a problem with the Longhorn Network?
Pac-12 Networks is set to begin next August. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
“As we explored the potential for a Pac-12 network, it became clear that we could customize programming towards local interests and provide our students, alumni, and many fans the widest possible range of events with the best opportunity to see the schools they care about most,” Scott said in a conference release.
Your move, Big Ten.
Grammar... The difference between feeling your nuts and feeling you're nuts.
Why the hell would you want six regional networks? The BTN struggles to completely fill the programming slate of ONE network, let alone trying to divy things up among 7 different stations. And as far as I know, pretty much every football or men's basketball game that isn't on a major network ends up on BTN even with just one channel, since they branch into "regional" channels when there are mutliple events at the same time. If you have DirecTV you can get all of these channels at once.
Plus, the BTN only has to get one station on cable and satellite providers. What if someone in New York wants the "Washington Network". Are they going to be able to get that, or just the "Pac 12 National" network?
I hate Delany in most things, but I think everything he's done with the BTN has been exactly right. Dunno how much of that was him and how much was Fox, but I suspect it was mostly Fox. Either way, I think the BTN model makes a hell of a lot more sense.
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