Sean Payton SMACKED DOWN

That shit cray.

Yeah…and he deserved it. Not that he’s completely to blame, because this bounty program that ran under his watch was more the fault of his D-Coordinator (who’s banned indefinitely), but still. C’mon. Had to happen.

For those of you who don’t know the situation, Sean Payton the coach of the Saints just got suspended for a year. The defense on his team used to have a little program where players would post bounties on opposing players. So basically, a d-tackle breaks Aaron Rogers’ legs, and he gets $10,000. Uh. Can’t do that.

I know football is a violent sport and you’re allowed to hurt people, but to TRY to hurt people and have the support of people in authority to do so, that’s another story entirely. Taking someone else’s career in your hands is not only irresponsible, but verges on criminal. The NFL is talked about as a fraternity, and they like to say that there’s a certain measure of respect across the league for others in it. That, apparently, was absent in the Saints locker room.

And for that, the Saints head coach is going to be absent from the Saints locker room. For a whole year.

I’d like to say something nice about Sean Payton in this situation, because the Saints have been a fun, inspirational NFL story in the last few years. If you take this crap out of the situation, there’s absolutely no reason for anyone to dislike the Saints. They became a symbol of the resilience of a city, and in a way, of the country. When Americans get knocked down, we get back up. When the Saints won the Super Bowl, that was a huge part of the narrative.

And now, we’re all disappointed to hear that it was all tainted.

The bounty program isn’t quite the level of Spygate, because it’s not overtly cheating in that way. But despite the fact that the Saints didn’t cheat, they played dirty. They were warned to stop playing dirty. They didn’t stop playing dirty. Then they got what they deserved.

Some people think this whole thing is undeserved, or that somehow the penalties are too harsh. But to those people, I say, c’mon. Seriously?

The Saints were made an example of, yeah, but it had to go that way. NFL football is a violent game. But it’s not a place for bounty hunters. Players need to play with respect for their opponents, and respect for their opponents careers. Sean Payton and the rest of the people who were punished for this got what they deserved. Negligence isn’t an excuse.

How I learned to stop worrying and love Tim Tebow

Tim. F*&king. Tebow.

This freaking guy. Love him or hate him (and I often find myself doing both of those things, sometimes at the same time), the Denver Broncos quarterback was an absolute media sensation during the 2011 season.

The Legend of Tebow really grew as Kyle Orton struggled with the Broncos. Fans were clamoring for change, clamoring for Tebow. He got his shot, and Tebowmania was born.

Despite what the analysts and NFL experts had to say about Tebow and his ability to play quarterback, (which honestly, I STILL can’t evaluate) Tim Tebow steps in, plays terribly for three quarters, then (along with his best friend, Jesus) leads a miracle comeback in the fourth quarter, and the Broncos win the game. This happens enough times for the Broncos to make the playoffs, then happens again IN the playoffs (seriously, I don’t know how the hell the Steelers make that mistake) and becomes the biggest phenomenon ever.

While America-at-large fell in love with the kid who praised Jesus after every first down and basically refused to lose, Tebow-doubters pulled out their hair. Sports radio personalities debated ad nauseum about whether Tim Tebow was literally God’s gift to football or just a conglomeration of fluke occurances. The football-following public had the same debate. Meanwhile, the Broncos, led by Tebow, kept winning.

Personally, I found myself disliking The Tebow, particularly after a certain fourth quarter comeback and subsequent overtime period. I have other reasons to dislike him. I’m not a huge fan of his preachiness. I’m not completely sold that he has the skill to be a successful quarterback in the NFL, or whether he deserves all the attention that he’s getting.

But I’ve now come to realize; any and all resistance that I, or Mel Kiper, or Trent Dilfer, or John Elway, or the rest of the doubting public put up against The Tebow is totally and absoulutely futile.

Why? Because, as my good friend the Jimmer and I discussed many moons ago, Tim Tebow absolutely refuses to be denied.

That argument is the one that The Tebow supporters used from the get-go, saying things like Tim Tebow is simply a winner. But this goes deeper than that. Sure he wins, but WHY?

BECAUSE THE TEBOW IS THE HUMAN INTANGIBLE.

Yes, he’s also an amazing athlete. You just can’t be in the NFL by having ‘more heart’ than the 6’8″, 340 lb. guy. But give me a chance to explain.

The Tebow is able to succeed at this level despite these questionable mechanics and lack of quarterbacking ability (AKA, the ability to throw the ball good). And he does it because he is everything that coaches love to talk about, everything that doesn’t fill a stat sheet. The Tebow is an NFL-caliber athlete, but his physical measureables aren’t all that impressive. And as we’ve heard time and time again fromt he experts on ESPN, he’s not a great quarterback. But what he is is a leader, a hard-worker, an impossibly optimistic, never-say-die dude.

I was talking to the Jimmer about The Tebow a few months back. He said that he’d seen a special on Tim Tebow as he was preparing to enter the NFL draft. It showed footage of Tebow watching all the draft experts and analysts saying what Tim Tebow was and was not capable of as an NFL quarterback. Mostly, these people were Tebow-doubters. But The Tebow fuels off of that. Literally.

After watching all these people hating on him, Tebow pours himself a bowl of nails, and goes to work.

If you ever get the chance to talk to the Jimmer about what he witnessed next, please do it. His ability to describe what Tebow does as a workout far surpasses my own. But for the sake of this post, I’ll do my best.

Tebow takes a pair of sledgehammers, and just whales on sh!t. Tires (which I’m sure he imagines as Mel Kiper’s skull), or trees (which I’m sure he imagines as Mel Kiper’s skull), or whatever. He just destroys this stuff, flipping SLEDGEHAMMERS over and over in his mighty hands until this stuff is torn asunder.

And then he goes to work on his mechanics, just trying to get better.

Do you see the connection here? Tebow refuses to let these other people define his cieling, and the more crap they talk about him–the harder he works to prove them wrong. That kind of attitude is what makes Tim Tebow The Tebow.

After seeing this in action and truly understanding it, I realized that The Tebow is undeniable. You gotta root for that attitude, right?

Right?

March Madness Preview Part 2 (East and Midwest Regions)

As promised, here’s the second half of TD3’s March Madness preview. You know what we’re doing, so let’s jump right in, shall we?

EAST REGION Boston, MA

Top Four Seeds:

(1) Syracuse: I personally think the Cuse is just slightly overrated. They’re definitely deserving of a number 1 seed, and they finished the season a whopping 31-2. Jimmy Boeheim has a long, athletic team who runs that 2-3 zone d to near perfection. I love zone defense, but only in particular situations. I think a sharpshooting team from long-range is the solution to a zone, particularly if it comes with a player or players capable of collapsing the defense, then kicking it out. Anyway, the Cuse’s strength is going to be their ability to grab boards and start runouts. If they get into a grind it out type game, that could spell doom for the Orange. AND THIS JUST IN, Cuse’s best player Fab Melo WILL NOT PLAY in the NCAA tournament due to an eligibility issue, according to ESPN. I hope you filled out your brackets in pencil.
(2) Ohio State: The Buckeyes had a great run through a difficult non-con sched, and played well in the Big Ten. Jared Sullinger is a big body down low capable of making a lot of plays on both sides of the floor. Ohio State comes in with a 27-7 record, but they’re a hell of a team. They just missed out on No. 1 seed by falling to Michigan State in the Big Ten Final, but what I think of when I think of Ohio State is how they beat the everloving holy hell out of Duke, and went toe-to-toe against Kansas WITHOUT Sully. That’s as impressive as anything any of the other teams in the country have done.
(3) Florida State: How do you not love the Seminoles? They’re 24-9, but uh, 4 of those 24 wins came against Carolina and Duke. Remember when the Noles beat the Tarheels by 33? I do, and you can bet that everyone in their bracket does too. They were on a mission to win the ACC tournament, and they did it in the most impressive way possible. They beat Duke and Carolina for the second time EACH on consecutive days. Florida State is a definite dark horse to advance to New Orleans.
(4) Wisconsin: Bo Ryan’s team always performs well. 24-9, and they face a favorable bracket in that each of the top teams in it possesses a flaw. Wisconsin is a GREAT program for the amount of pub they get. They always tend to bust a few brackets. This might be a year for them to do it again.

Potential Bracket Buster:

Vanderbilt. Pretty easy call here, to me. I know they’re a 5 seed, but I just don’t want the ‘Dores to sneak up on anybody here.

To me, Vandy is a team a lot like Memphis. They were a top-10 team in the preseason, and they went through some growing pains throughout the season. Vandy had some headscratching losses (Cleveland State and Indiana State come to mind), and finished the season 24-10, but they went on a tear through the SEC tourney and beat Kentucky in the title game. To me, any team that beat Kentucky is worth a look. If they can get by Wisconsin, I think the Commodores are a sleeper Final Four team, and now that Fab Melo is out for Cuse, I like that upset a LOT.

Regional Final Prediction:

I’m gonna go out on a limb here, and predict Vanderbilt and Ohio State to meet in the Elite 8. Festus Ezeli vs. Jared Sullinger, in a battle of future NBA draft picks. Despite beating Kentucky though, I think the Dores run out of momentum and lose to a more complete Buckeyes team, and Ohio State advances to New Orleans.

MIDWEST REGION St. Louis, MO

Top Four Seeds:

(1) North Carolina: Despite a second loss to Florida State in the ACC Final, the Heels earned their 773rd No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Roy Williams’ boys are at it again, despite some hiccups along the road including a loss against UNLV and a 33-point drubbing at the hands of the Florida State Seminoles. Even though they have some injury concerns going into the season, I like Carolina as a 1 seed and I expect them to make a deep tourney run.
(2) Kansas: The Jayhawks are back, much to the chagrin of…well, me. I hate the Beakers. But with player of the year candidate Thomas Robinson, and his partners in crime Tyshawn Taylor and Jeff Withey, kU looks like a more complete team than what people thought they were coming into the season. They lost to Baylor in the Big 12 semis, but they won the regular season outright and if you ask me, they can pretty much coast to the Elite 8. People are saying Detroit is undervalued as a 15 seed and that they could give the Jayhawks a game in the first round, and that may be true, but upset worthy? Doubtful.
(3) Georgetown: John Thompson III’s Hoyas went 23-8 on the season, and bowed out of the Big East tourney a touch early with a double-OT loss to Cincinnati. That was their second loss to the Bearcats on the season, and just one of a few kinda gross losses…The Hoyas lost to Seton Hall and Pitt. Wah wahh. What’s interesting to me is that they could potential rematch with Kansas in this bracket. The Hoyas lost their third game of the season by 4 points to the Jayhawks, but I expect a damn good game if the teams are to meet again.
(4) Michigan: My immediate thought as I typed Michigan just now was ‘Damn, the Big Ten really was stacked this year.’ Michigan is the fifth team from the Big Ten amongst the top four seeds in the brackets (the others, (1) Michigan State in the West, (2) Ohio State in the East, (4) Wisconsin in the East, and (4) Indiana in the South). Playing against that level of competition all year has prepared the Wolverines and their Big Ten counterparts well for the tournament, and even though the experts are debating whether Ohio as a 13 seed stands a shot at upsetting the Wolverines, I just don’t see it. I do think they run into a buzzsaw in North Carolina, but a Sweet 16 run is probable for these guys if you ask me.

Potential Bracket Buster:

I. Love. Creighton.

They got absolutely hosed being dropped to an 8 seed, despite winning the Missouri Valley Tournament. Wichita State got a damn 5 seed, but I’m not certain the Shockers are the best team in that conference. Doug McDermott is an animal, and probably one of the top 5 or 6 players in the tournament. I would not at ALL be surprised if the Bluejays managed to get by the the Tarheels and reach an Elite 8. But then again, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Heels drubbed ’em either. But yeah. I like the Jays.

Regional Final Prediction:

This is the first bracket I’m not picking a one or a two seed in the regional final. I can’t in good conscious put the Jayhawks there, even though I said they have a cakewalk to the Elite 8. But I woulda thought that in years past too–when Bucknell, Bradley, Northern Iowa, and VCU happened. kU loves losing to mid-majors. So it’ll happen again.

I already told you I love Creighton, but only to advance to the Elite 8. I think they beat Carolina and Michigan to get there, but they lose to Georgetown in the Elite 8. I’m picking the Hoyas to march on to New Orleans.

There you have it!

So to recap, here’s our Final Four Prediction.

KENTUCKY, MISSOURI, OHIO STATE, GEORGETOWN

And for good measure, here’s your National Championship, too:

KENTUCKY, 79 OHIO STATE, 71

Happy Madness Everybody!

March Madness Preview (South and West Regions)

As you all know, the NCAA tournament brackets were released last night, and I couldn’t be more excited.

Not only is March Madness my most favorite time of the year, but my Missouri Tigers are a 2 seed and look poised to make a real run at their first Final Four (knock on wood).

So let the bracket preview commence, eh? We’ll begin by looking at the top four seeds, and break down every region. HERE WE GO.

SOUTH REGION Atlanta, GA

Top Four Seeds:
–(1) Kentucky: Despite losing the SEC title game, we all knew that UK was in no danger of losing the number 1 overall seed. The Wildcats have just 2 losses on the whole season, one of which was by a buzzer beater, and the player/unibrow of the year/century in Anthony Davis. Duh, they’re gonna get the 1 seed. Might be Coach Cal’s best shot yet at a national title.
–(2) Duke: Duke’s got a lot of youth this year, but whoa, imagine this, a Coach K team plays well?!? Duke didn’t reach the ACC final, falling for the second time this season to Florida State (those guys were on a mission, btw), but they come into the NCAA tourney with an overall record of 27-6. Not too shabs, not too shabs at all.
–(3) Baylor: I pretty much figured Baylor for a 3 seed coming into the Big 12 tournament, but they surprised everyone when they dropped the hammer on Kansas to reach the Big 12 Final. If they can get that kind of production out of Perry Jones III, Baylor could make a run. They have the athleticism and length. Baylor has more NBA talent than most teams in the tournament. But Scott Drew can be kind of a bonehead sometimes. We’ll see how the Bears do!
–(4) Indiana: The resurgence of the Hoosiers might be one of the best storylines of the season. Tom Crean’s done a great job building this team up. Still, there have been some headscratchers for this team. They’re kind of up and down. On the one hand, they beat Kentucky. One of the great moments of the season. On the other hand, they lost to Nebraska. Go figure, huh?

Potential Bracket Buster:

I’ve heard a lot of people talking about VCU…and for good reason. They beat a 1 seed (, in one of the greatest moments in recent tourney history), but they’re not my pick to bust a few brackets in the South region.

I kinda feel like UNLV might be better than their 6 seed. Don’t forget, the Runnin’ Rebels beat Carolina earlier this season. Baylor’s has shied away from big moments in the past this season, and I could see the Rebels beating the Bears in the second round and making the Sweet 16.

Regional Final Prediction:

Kinda lame here, but my regional final prediction is Kentucky vs. Duke. Chalk. LAME.

But really, Kentucky is too damn talented, and a loss in the SEC tournament humbled them enough to not overlook teams they should beat, which is often the downfall of number 1 seeds. Anthony Davis and Marquis Teague aren’t the same young guys who seem phased by the big stage.

And when it comes to who the Wildcats will matchup with in the Elite Eight, I can’t help but think despite their flaws, that Duke advances. I like Baylor a lot, I’ve seen them play 3 times this season. Those guys are athletes, more so than the ones Duke has, BUT…the downfall of the Bears is Scott Drew vs. Coach K. Hard not to give the edge to Coach K there. I figure he finds a way to get a flawed Duke team to the Regional Final. That said, I think Kentucky advances to the Final Four.

WEST REGION Phoenix, AZ

Top Four Seeds:
(1) Michigan State: The Spartans earned the last number 1 seed after their run through the Big Ten tournament. Hard to argue with that, considering how deep that league was this season. State started off the season with 2 straight losses (to Duke and Carolina–on a freaking AIRCRAFT CARRIER, btw), but then rattled off 15 straight wins. Draymond Green is a beast. Izzo is doing what Izzo does. Spartans are 27-7 in a real tough league. Respect.
(2) Missouri: Now…if you read us here at TD3, you know we’re partial to the Tigers. Hard not to like this team if you know the story of the kids and how much they’ve been through the last year. But the selection committee didn’t like the Tigers all that much, it seems like. I’m not going to debate that Mizzou should have gotten a 1 seed, because of the strength of some of the other leagues and the non-con schedules of the teams that DID get them. BUT, to suggest that Mizzou was closer to a 3 seed than it was to a 1 (as a member of the selection committee totally DID) is RIDICULOUS. Mizzou has one bad loss on the season in Oklahoma State, and despite even that, Mizzou was literally 1 overtime point in Lawrence away from winning the Big 12 regular season, AND they won the conference tournament. I woulda thought that would be good enough for the 2 seed in St. Louis, but y’know what? Over it. The theme of this season for the Tigers has been to ‘Reconcile by Winning.’ Time to take your 30 wins and get 6 more, Tigers.
(3) Marquette: I was talking to a friend of mine, who happens to be a Marquette alum about a week ago, before the conference tournaments were getting underway. The Golden Eagles were, at that point, the No. 7 ranked team in the country, and I was saying to my buddy ‘MARQUETTE IS THE MOST UNDER THE RADAR TOP 10 TEAM EVER!’ I’m not sure how accurate that actually is, but uh, they’re good. 25-7 good. I think some of their losses have been pretty bad, but those happen, even to good teams.
(4) Louisville: After storming through the Big East tournament, the Cardinals earned a 4 seed. That’s the same seed they had last year, when they were upset by Murray State. I’m pretty sure Rick Pitino’s squad is pretty set on making sure that doesn’t happen again. Louisville is 26-9. But they DO get a tough draw in the first round–a Davidson team that beat Kansas in Kansas City. We’ll see what the Cardinals can do with their 4 seed this year!

Potential Bracket Buster:

This region is potentially RIPE with upsets if you ask me. Literally, each of the top four seeds MIGHT have trouble advancing past the first weekend. I LOVE Long Beach State at a 12 seed, and Memphis, Florida, and Murray State are ALL undervalued in terms of their seeding. But…

My one choice for Bracket Buster in this region is the Murray State Racers. THEY’VE ONLY LOST 1 DAMN GAME, first of all. But it’s the style that Murray plays that I think could give teams early on some problems. Don’t be surprised if they stretch to the Sweet 16, or even the Elite 8…as much as it pains me to say it.

Regional Final Prediction:

For the sake of NOT giving you chalk all the way across the board, I’m gonna pick my first 1 seed to go down PRIOR to the Elite 8. My (bias) prediction for this regional final…

Memphis vs. Missouri.

Memphis was ranked too highly to start the season, but over the course of the year they really worked things out. Memphis might just surprise EVERYONE, beat Michigan State, and march to the Elite 8.

Missouri on the other hand, won’t be a surprise to anybody. They’ll just be a nightmare. Mizzou has been so successful this season by causing huge matchup problems for their opponents. As Kim English once said, ‘Reciprocal effect, Holly Rowe.’ What Mizzou lacks in size, they make up for in speed and outside shooting. So yeah, they gotta guard bigger teams, but bigger teams gotta guard them too. That’s what makes the Tigers so dangerous, and that’s why they advance to their first ever Final Four. Tigers go to ZOU Orleans.

We’ll be back tomorrow with the other half of the bracket. Tune in for our previews of the East and Midwest regions. DUECES.

Great Mizzou GIFs

There are few things in life more wonderful than a GIF.

Here are a few recent GIFs from our favorite team as they get ready for March Madness.

Shout out to the Rock M Nation community for these awesome GIFs. My favorite place for all things Mizzou.

NCAA Conference Update; AKA OMFG WHAT’S GOING ONNNN!??!?

Conference realignment has been one of the most intriguing storylines of the last SEVERAL years, honestly. But during our 8 month hiatus, a lot of things happened. And happened QUICKLY.

The real reasons behind these conference moves are so deep and so multi-faceted that explaining all of them in a simple blog post would be near impossible. Tiered television rights, exit fees, litigation, stability (or lack thereof). Rivalries are ending and feelings are being hurt all over the place. Schools and conferences are also raking in STACKS of new paper, and looking to make inroads in unfamiliar and exciting places.

Someone’s gonna write a very interesting book about all of this once all the dominoes finally fall and the puzzle pieces fall into place.

But for now, let’s just catch up on what’s happened over the last year or so, shall we? (Seriously, I need to figure out where everyone is/will be for next season anyway. A little research won’t hurt!)

Anyway.

As I mentioned, conference realignment isn’t a new phenomena. The Big 12 knows this particularly well. Going into last football season, the Big 12 actually only had 10 schools. Colorado and Nebraska left the conference for the Pac-12 and Big Ten respectively, to help bring those conference memberships up to 12 (the Pac-12 also added Utah) so they could add a championship game.

Even after those monumental moves, there was a lot of tension in the air around a lot of programs. Many schools weren’t satisfied with their conference partners for one reason or another, and while some schools made surprise decisions to jump ship, others (ahem, MIZZOU) were more openly looking for suitors.

I think the best way to do this might be to go conference by conference for each of the power 6 conferences and discuss who’s coming, who’s going, and a little bit of the timeline and issues surrounding each move. Feel free to skip around and skim. I’ll probably repeat myself a few times.

ACC

Adding: Syracuse, Pittsburgh

Losing: Nothing

Back in September, the ACC made a huge splash by extending invitations to Syracuse and Pitt. Cuse and Pitt were once staple and flagship institutions of the Big East, and without them, the cupboards suddenly looked very bare for that conference, and loyalty was all but thrown to the wind.

When the move originally occurred, the ACC looked poised to make another move quickly. Rumors flew about Texas and Texas Tech joining the league, and UConn all but begged for membership.

Since picking up the Orange and the Panthers though, the ACC has been quiet on the realignment front. All that remains to be decided is when the schools will join the league and bring the ACC to 14 members.

The Big East bylaws indicate that in order to withdraw from the conference, schools must give 27 months notice and pay a $5 million exit fee. But, that may be up for debate. We’ll discuss that when we get to the Big East’s wrap up.

In my humble opinion, this move makes the ACC the best basketball conference in the land, hands down. Although we’ll all miss seeing the teams compete in the Big East tournament at the Garden, I get very excited thinking about regular season matchups that pit the Orange against the Tarheels or the Panthers against the Blue Devils. Doesn’t do much for me on the football front, but picking up key TV sets in Pennsylvania and New York obviously looks mighty attractive to the big wigs at the ACC.

Big 12

Adding: Texas Christian, West Virginia

Losing: Texas A&M, Missouri

Now THIS was and continues to be an emotional roller coaster for teams involved.

The catalyst for this was probably The Longhorn Network. Texas’ multi-million dollar network television deal with partner ESPN. Once it was announced, Big 12 teams were put on edge. The network means UT collects millions in third-tier television rights, monies that it doesn’t have to share with it’s conference partners. That could, of course, lead to a competitive disadvantage for schools that can’t support their own network.

I’ve really enjoyed hearing about the various failures of LHN since it’s inception. Whether it be from not being able to broadcast high school games, to not being able to find cable providers interested in carrying the Bevo-centric station, I’m personally quite pleased by all of it.

But 8 months ago, it made me and a lot of other Big 12 fans very, very uneasy. The mood was especially stormy in College Station, Texas. Stormy enough that the Aggies of Texas A&M announced they were ending their partnership with the Big 12 in the middle of the football season. In September, Texas A&M was named the thirteenth member of the SEC.

Around that same time, Missouri fans were flooding their administration’s inboxes with emails, launching social media campaigns (re: Mizzou2SEC.com ) and begging for a change. While it was pretty common knowledge that Mizzou saw itself as a member of the Big Ten if it wasn’t going to be a member of the Big 12, the SEC movement gained momentum FAST. People were freaking out about it. I know I was. I would be at work, entering live chats with reporters for the KC Star to get all the inside info I could. I basically became a daily visitor to newspaper websites from Texas, Oklahoma, and SEC country alike, trying to see what new things people had to say.

Anyway, by November, the move was complete, and Mizzou became the 14th member of the SEC.

Fallout was immediate. The Big 12 was suddenly down to eight teams. Conference commissioner Dan Beebe (definitely worth the fake account follow @danbeebe on Twitter, by the way) lost his job, and the Big 12 appeared on the verge of collapse.

But in came Chuck Neinas.

The interim commish swooped in and soon after he came, so did Texas Christian. The Horned Frogs jumped (heh, get it?) at the chance to join the Power Six conference they wanted to be in from the beginning–and quickly resolved things with the Big East. If you remember, TCU was originally targeted by the Big East for expansion. But they left that conference before they were officially a member, and just like that the Big East’s loss became the Big 12’s gain.

West Virginia’s road to the Big 12 was much messier. In fact, we’re not THAT late in reporting that the Mountaineers will play in the Big 12 in the 2012 season, after finally coming to terms on exit penalties with the Big East.

With TCU in the fold, Big 12 fans began discussing rumors about another expansion target. BYU, Louisville, West Virginia, Air Force and others were up for consideration. After a while, it appeared to be down to either Louisville or West Virginia. And finally, after what felt like a really long time–WVU was tapped as the Big 12’s newest member.

And then the hard part began.

I won’t go too much into it here, because honestly I don’t understand a lot of it. Basically, the Big East and West Virginia filed suits against each other in different states about adhering to Big East bylaws. Y’know. Those pesky things.

The Big East didn’t want to let WVU go–because obviously, they’re hurting for quality programs, especially in football. But finally, FINALLY, the issue was resolved. WVU is paying the Big East like, 9 million dollars, and the other 9 Big 12 teams are paying the Big East like, a million dollars each, and everyone is happy.

Isn’t that a neat little package? What a mess.

Big Ten

Adding: Nothing

Losing: Nothing

The Big Ten made a big deal of saying they were comfortable at 12 after adding Nebraska for the 2011 season.

During this latest round of realignment, a lot of folks were hypothesizing that the Big Ten might get in on the fun and make a splash, but it never happened. Personally, I’m not sure if it ever will.

The Big Ten won’t be influenced by whatever trends perpetuate throughout the college football landscape. And really, even when their chief rival, the SEC, does expand to 14–the Big Ten won’t feel the pressure to do the same.

The Big Ten DID manage to get some headlines by unveiling a new scheduling partnership with the Pac-12, but details on that are forthcoming. Hopefully that’ll be cool.

Big East

Adding: Temple (football 2012, all-sports 2013), Houston (all sports-2013), Southern Methodist (all sports-2013), Central Florida (all sports-2013), Memphis (all sports-2013), Boise State (football only-2013), San Diego State (football only-2013), Navy (football only-2015)

Losing: Syracuse (effective 2014 season), Pittsburgh (effective 2014 season), West Virginia (effective 2012 season), Texas Christian (effective 2012 season)

If you’re even reading this after looking at who the Big East is adding, I commend you and apologize for the headache. I mean, how confusing is this crap? It’s exhausting, but this is the reality of conference realignment.

Anyway, the Big East really had to scramble after losing two cornerstones of the conference–Syracuse and Pitt–to the ACC. That move majorly destabilized the conference, and what they’ve done since is do their best to counteract that effect.

If you talk on the record with anyone from the conference, I’m sure they’d TELL you that they’re confident in the moves the Big East has made. I’m sure they’d TELL you that they’re comfortable with their conference partners moving forward and excited to compete at a high level in the future. But when it happened, you bet your ass folks at UConn, Louisville, and Cincinnati were freaking the F*&K out. And they still might be, honestly. I mean, wouldn’t you be? The Big East was, and still is, frankly, in danger of losing it’s automatic qualifier BCS status.

ESPECIALLY since West Virginia is bolting, and TCU left the Big East at the altar. Both of those schools are now joining the Big 12. And looking at the dregs of what was once the Big East, do you blame them for jumping at the chance to get out?

Oh yeah. And there’s that issue about WVU somehow getting out of the 27 month notification period laid out by the Big East bylaws. West Virginia managed to get out for the 2012 season by throwing a huge amount of money at the Big East, assisted by their new conference compatriots. Dangerous precedent to set for the Big East, what with Syracuse and Pitt already betrothed to another conference, and others (*cough* Louisville *cough cough* UConn and Rutgers) probably catching the wandering eye.

I feel like I’m hating on the Big East. I probably am. But really, WVU football was about all there was out of the Big East for years. South Florida had a hot streak, too, I guess. And adding teams from Conference USA isn’t the best way to jump up your football competitiveness.

That said, adding Boise is huge. So they got that going for them.

But people who hate conference realignment base all their arguments on the Big East. And it’s hard to get over some of the issues that are bound to come up. Non-revenue sports from Houston and SMU also have new conference affiliation, after all. Think of the travel!!!

Anyway, I think it’ll be really interesting to see how long the Big East survives in it’s current form. I think it’s possible that it lasts a long, long time. I also think it’s possible that it fails in less than five years, and other conferences swoop in to pick up the schools that they deem worthy.

Interesting tidbit, Temple joined the Big East officially a day or two ago. It’s interesting because the Owls were kicked OUT of the Big East. Now that they’re desperate, they’re Big East worthy. Stupid Big East.

Pac-12

Adding: Nothing

Losing: Nothing

The Pac-12 was on the verge of ripping the Big 12 apart, and leaving Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State and Iowa State conference-less by picking up Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas Tech to form the first 16-team superconference.

There was real fear in Big 12 country that that was going to happen. It almost seemed inevitable. And then, it didn’t happen.

Conference commish Larry Scott seemed really anxious to expand. But Pac-12 presidents didn’t share his desire. Can’t say I blame them. Oklahoma and Texas are great, great programs. And tough opponents. Though the forming of a Pac-16 superconference would likely strengthen the brand of the conference, it might have diminished the brands of individual schools in the western part of the country.

Anyway, no movement in the Pac-12 for this season. We’ll see how long that keeps up. I think Larry Scott wants to grow.

SEC

Adding: Texas A&M, Missouri

Losing: Nothing

The nation’s best athletic conference made a bold move and grew to 14 teams with the addition of the Aggies and Tigers.

The motivating factor for expansion was probably TV sets. Missouri and Texas have a lot of people in them, and make a new TV deal much more lucrative for the SEC’s television partners. An SEC Network similar to the Big Ten Network is on it’s way, very soon, and this move certainly makes that network more attractive to cable carriers. By expanding the footprint, the conference stands to collect millions more dollars off of it’s television contracts by restructuring them.

As far as athletics go, there are a lot of doubters and detractors from the SEC’s moves.  A&M and Mizzou have had some success, but are they going to remain successful in the toughest football conference there is?

Issues remain with travel and scheduling. Teams want to retain traditional cross-division rivalries. Coaches don’t want to play 9 conference games. And as much as we all want it to make sense–Florida traveling to Columbia, Missouri for an eastern division game is probably a bit of a stretch.

But these partnerships last a long time. Nobody’s ever left the SEC. So all the doubters and detractors better get used to it–cuz like it or not, the Tigers and Aggies are your family now.

The Beginning of the End of the Peyton Manning Era

I was going to wait to write about this, but given today’s news, this seems like a really good time to talk about Peyton Manning.

Well, most of us saw this coming even though it kinda hurt our hearts. The Colts 2-14 season assured them the first pick in the upcoming NFL draft. That draft happens to have the most highly touted quarterback recruit in recent memory in Andrew Luck (you may have heard of him or his neckbeard). Add to that the fact that Peyton Manning missed the entire season with a mysterious neck injury that required multiple surgeries and leaves his future as a football player in doubt, AND the fact that Peyton was due $28 million as a roster bonus TOMORROW, and the Colts decision was clear. They simply had to part ways with the most important player in franchise history.

Even though it’s emotional and difficult to handle if you’re a fan of the Colts, that’s the reality of sports. Nobody begins their pro career in the same place that they end their pro career, or at least it happens in very, very rare instances. Some of Peyton’s peers are examples of that. Joe Montana, who everyone remembers as a 49er, but he played a few seasons as a Kansas City Chief. More recently, Brett Favre retired as a Minnesota Viking, but spent his best years as a member of the Green Bay Packers. Regardless of where Peyton ends up, his legacy will be with the Colts.

This does signify the end of an era in the NFL. For years, the cream of the NFL crop has been Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Even though Manning isn’t retired, and will definitely find a home on an NFL team for the next few seasons, this definitely is the first sign that he’s on his way out. Peyton Manning is 35 years old. Tom Brady is right behind him at 34. And even though Manning’s neck injury is a unique circumstance that maybe expedited his exit from the Colts, it’s a step. I don’t expect either Manning or Tom Brady to be as foolhardy as a certain Grandpa Favre was at the end of his career. Favre officially retired at the age of 42. Do you really think that Manning will be around for 7 more years and risk further harm to his neck? And even though Tom Brady doesn’t have as significant an injury, the wear and tear of an NFL season takes enough of a toll that you can’t really expect even Brady and his luscious head of hair to be around for that much longer. Brady and Manning’s departures will make way for a new breed of insanely successful NFL quarterbacks. Looking at you Mr. Rodgers. And perhaps, you too Mr. Andrew Luck.

So take solace, Colts fans. Don’t be blue (see what I did there?!) Manning isn’t dying, and he’s always going to be a part of Colts lore. It’s just time for you and for NFL fans in general to look forward to the next big thing.

For Colts fans, maybe it’ll come sooner than later!

If they’re Luck-y that is.

SEE WHAT I DID THERE?!

Renaissance/WTF happened?!?

Wow… Much has changed since our last post, gang. We’ve been bad. It’s been about 8 months.

But give us a break, will ya? I (this is Thundaa by the way) left a job, took an unpaid internship, and found another job. Attackin’ and Jimmer both moved for new jobs.

And The Daily 3’s Alma Mater, our beloved University of Missouri, switched it’s conference membership.

Yes, 2011-2012 has been nothing short of insane. So excuse us for being a little late.

But now, dear readers, it’s time for our Renaissance. Our Rebirth, if you will. And if we don’t keep up with it again, who cares? You’re all a forgiving bunch, aren’t you? You must be, or you wouldn’t be reading this post.

It’s also time to discuss What the F*&k happened since we last checked in with you.

Not gonna lie, guys. If you’ve ONLY been checking the blog for all your sports news, you’ve missed a lot.

Tebow. Lin. Realignment. Peyton Manning’s neck. Eli Manning’s second Super Bowl. NBA Lockout. Ryan Braun.

And uh…this guy named Jerry Sandusky.

But now, dear readers, it’s time we catch up.

Over the next several weeks, we’ll be posting about all the stories that caught our collective eye over the last 8 months.

So come back. We missed you.

And don’t lie. You missed us too.

Numbers DO Lie

So, basketball is my favorite sport. I love the way they dribble up and down the court.

But seriously, Kurtis Blow lyrics aside, it is. I really freakin’ love hoops.

I love it so damn much, I wanna take it behind the middle school and get it pregnant!

Just kidding. I should stop making these horribly obscure pop culture references.

Let me get to my point. My love of basketball has spurred me to really want to study it. Of course, I know about the legendary players we all know about. Your Larry Birds, Magic Johnsons, Bill Russells, what-have-yous. But I want to know MORE. So I sought out new sources of insight.

I’m a fan of Bill Simmons. You may know him as ‘The Sports Guy.’ Anyway, he writes a column for ESPN.com and he’s a basketball junkie. He recently launched a site of his own called Grantland.com. I’m obsessed with it. Anyway, knowing what I do about Mr. Simmons, I know that he’s also an author of a tome called ‘The Book of Basketball.’ With his name fresh in my mind from the launch of his new site, I decided this would be a good place for my quest for more basketball knowledge to begin.

I downloaded ‘The Book of Basketball’ on my Nook and I’ve already come across something worth expanding on.

There’s a portion in the first chapter in which Mr. Simmons shares with us the ‘Secret of Basketball.’ Basically, he confirms all of my suspicions. Basketball isn’t like baseball. It’s not purely a numbers game. In every aspect, basketball is more subjective than any other game. In order to properly analyze the game, you have to watch it. You can’t just look at a box score.

Think about this year’s NBA season.

Derrick Rose (of your Chicago Bulls, thank you very much) won the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award. Everyone who recognizes that the game isn’t all about the numbers realized that D.Rose was, hands down, the MVP of the regular season.

There were some personalities and talking heads who were screaming from the pulpit that Derrick’s numbers were undeserving. There were (incredibly loud) dissenters who brought up Russell Westbrook’s numbers, compared them to Rose’s, and wondered why Westbrook wasn’t in the MVP conversation (because he SO wasn’t).

Just for argument’s sake, here are the 2 player’s 2010-2011 season averages according to basketball-reference.com:

Russell Westbrook: FG%: 44.2, Pts: 21.9, Ast: 8.5, Stl: 2.0

Derrick Rose: FG%: 44.5, Pts, 25.0, Ast: 7.7, Stl: 1.0

So they’re pretty close. In terms of numbers, at least.

But if you watched the games, Derrick Rose did whatever his team needed him to do for them to win. And I’m not just saying that because I’m a fan of D.rose and the Bulls. Although he is pretty awesome…

Anyway. I’m not going to outline every big play Derrick made throughout the season to back up my point. That’d be impossible. But there is a reason that Derrick ran away with the award this year. Derrick played bigger than his numbers, and carried his team to victories where without him, they would have lost.

Want another example? How about LeBron James?

Remember how after Game 4 of the Finals, where LeBron scored 8 points and launched the ‘What the Hell Happened to LeBron?’ conversation?

There were a lot of people who thought he would respond with a big performance in Game 5. And, when you think about it by the numbers, he did. He had a triple-double, with 17 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds.

But what was the conversation the day after that Game 5 loss by the Miami Heat?

Again, it was ‘What the Hell Happened to LeBron?’

So think about that. The numbers would indicate that LeBron had a great game. A triple-double in an NBA Finals game!? But it wasn’t good enough. LeBron should have had at least a few more points, but only scored 2 in the fourth.

But if you only look at the box score, you don’t get that part of the story.

Dennis Rodman was a helluva player. He’s a Hall of Famer. But let’s take a look at his career stats, shall we?

Over the course of his career, Dennis averaged 7.3 pts, 13.1 rebs, and 1.8 asts a game.

Do those REALLY look like HALL OF FAME numbers?

HELL NAW! But that’s the thing. Dennis is a Hall of Famer, and deserves to be, because of his subjective contributions on the basketball court. The stuff you can’t take stats on.

It’s what coaches love to talk about. A player’s intangibles. His ability to impact the game without filling up the stat sheet.

And it’s what basketball is all about.

Well, Basketball is Over…

Basketball is over.

I’d write something about how glad I am the Heat lost, how glad I am LeBron James is the central figure and failure, and how happy I am for Mark Cuban and Dirk Nowitski. But since I spent a good portion of my workday and evening reading about everything there is to say about the game, the series, and whatever sports-writer-diagnosed psychosis LeBron James has, I’ve decided to take my talents in a different direction and discuss something that we’re all looking forward to…

Football.

The NFL lockout continues, and that’s super lame, but I don’t think anybody is actually thinking that we won’t have any NFL football in 2011. I kinda think the only people making a big deal out of this are the media. Obviously, if the lockout extends and we miss a game, the casual fan will raise an eyebrow, but I’m pretty sure everyone expects this thing to be over by July.

Anyway, I don’t wanna talk about the NFL. As far as the lockout goes, wake me up when it’s over.

Let’s talk about college football, which is way better and way more fun anyway.

I wonder 2 main things going into the 2011 season. What the hell is gonna happen in the Big Ten and Big 12?

Basically, I’m interested to see what happens with the fall out of the entire Ohio State controversy. It seems like it might finally be someone else’s turn in the Big Ten, because Ohio State can’t possibly be the team they’ve been in recent years (the one that pretty much dominated the league) can they? There’s going to be an opportunity for Wisconsin to return to the Rose Bowl, or maybe for conference newcomer to Nebraska to punch everyone in the face, pee on them, and assert their dominance in their new stomping grounds.

Also, I’m interested (for obvious reasons) in how the new Big 12 format will impact teams in the former North Division of that conference. Mizzou has been a pretty decent team in recent years, but they might have a hard time becoming bowl eligible if they have to play the likes of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M and a tough non-conference team like Arizona State every single year. I think it’s gonna be super interesting to see the impact of teams like Nebraska and Colorado leaving the league as we get more and more removed from it. Are they going to be able to continue to draw recruits from the great talent pool that is the state of Texas now that they don’t play teams from the state of Texas on a regular basis? Are teams from the former North Division just gonna get their shit rocked for the rest of eternity?

Anyway. College football is awesome, and I basically can’t wait for it to kickoff. I’m sure my main man Jimmer will have a LOT to say come late August and early September.

In the meantime, I guess I’ll have to watch the White Sox try. But it could be worse. I could be a Cubs fan. BOOM!