NCAA realignment could be beneficial for small schools
Colorado is heading to the Pac 10, and Nebraska seems to be joining the Big Ten, as the dominoes begin to fall in the Big XII. Much of the southern half of the conference appears to be headed for what will become the Pac 16, the first mega-conference. Rumors connect Texas and Texas A&M to the SEC’s expansion attempts as well, but it appears the grand-ol’ conference will have to settle for expanding into already-secured eastern markets, perhaps raiding the ACC. That is, if the SEC desires to become a mega-conference in the first place (but if it makes money, it makes sense).
As this story has developed, I’ve been thinking about the impact mega-conferences will have on the smaller “mid-major” conferences, and the scenario doesn’t seen near as apocalyptic as prognosticated. Conference re-alignment really only matters to one sport – football. Basketball and baseball still have plenty of playoff spots to spread around. The BCS currently has to grant automatic bids to the champions of six conferences. If the Big XII, Big East and/or ACC crumble as a result of the Pac 10, Big Ten, and SEC forming mega-conferences, the BCS will either offer automatic bids to lesser conferences, or, more likely, remove some of the automatic bids and increase the number of at-large bids. This can do nothing but help the smaller schools’ chances of reaching the BCS bowls.
There will be fewer power-conference champions, yet their strength-of-schedule won’t grow. There will be more teams, not necessarily better teams. Adding the Big XII North to the Big Ten doesn’t add elite teams, it just adds TV markets. Point is, as the mega-conference teams beat up on one another for fewer automatic spots, the Utahs, TCUs, and Boises of the country will have even better chances of their 12-0, 11-1-type records being rewarded with big payoff bowl games. Of course, they still won’t be able to make it to the National Championship Game – Cincinnati, Boise State, and Utah have already proven that over the past few years – but until we get a playoff, this realignment may unwittingly give the little guys their best chance at a piece of the BCS pie.
Reverence for Lord Stanley
Last night, the Chicago Blackhawks hoisted their first Stanley Cup in 49 years, defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 in overtime of Game 6. It was the first road win of the series, and unfortunately, Chicago had to celebrate in front of the opposing crowd. On the bright side, we didn’t have to listen to that god-awful goal song Hawks fans have been singing all year.
It’s no secret that Philly fans can be downright nasty. They infamously cheered when Dallas Cowboy Michael Irvin was carried off the field injured. They always hated Donovan McNabb, for reasons nobody else can figure out. Hell, they even booed Santa Claus! But on this night, Lord Stanley’s Cup brought out the best in the Philly fans.
There is more tradition associated with the Cup than any of the other major sports trophies. It is brought out by handlers wearing white gloves. Only the winning team gets the honor of touching the grail, their names etched along side every other to share in the sacred moment. And despite their team losing in such dramatic fashion, the Flyers fans stuck around to experience the moment. As the teams exchanged hand shakes and the Blackhawks hoisted the Cup, flashbulbs popped and the Philly fans cheered. Down the road in Washington, Donovan must be bewildered.
MLB Draft notes
Stephen Strasburg’s glittering 14-strikeout debut earlier this week combined with the callups of Buster Posey to the Giants and Michael Stanton to the Marlins have introduced us to some of the next wave of big league stars. The players 
selected in this year’s MLB Draft will no doubt join them in a few years. The Nationals took 17-year-old Bryce Harper No. 1 overall. The catcher, who will be converted to a right fielder, has raw power like the draft has not seen in some time, and has been preparing for the big leagues since he was seven.
Ole Miss southpaw Drew Pomeranz was the first collegiate pitcher selected, at No. 5 overall to the Cleveland Indians. The Clarion Ledger’s Rod Walker has compiled a list of every player with Mississippi ties taken in the draft, and Rick Cleveland wrote a piece about why Richton shortstop JaCoby Jones, a projected 5th-8th-round pick who was highly praised on this blog, fell so far.
