College Sports Falling Apart... Who Do We Blame? Lebron, Of Course

Welcome to another ripping on Lebron day. I know they are my favorite too. We have been hearing nonstop about this whole Miami fiasco. To be honest I couldn't care less, did anyone really think this wasn't going on at the U? Seriously, but anyways there is always someone to blame, and I blame Lebron James.



"Back in July, LeBron James' Nike brand announced a pretty sweet deal. He'd be expanding on his relationship with Ohio State to include Kentucky and Miami (CBS Sports.



James has been sponsoring the Buckeyes since 2007. He makes "The Decision," and in the following year the program goes through its worst NCAA violations scandal and their legendary head coach resigns.



James moves to the Heat and the following year the University of Miami suffers arguably the worst reveal of recruiting violations in the history of college sports (CBS Sports)."



The curse of Lebron everyone. Ohio State has already gone down in flames, Miami is on it's way, and let's all be honest with ourselves it's just a matter of time before Kentucky gets strung up by it's boots, it's kind of Calipari's M.O. at this point.



So, when you're sitting back thinking about all the terrible things happening to college sports just remember it's all Lebron's fault. I am just trying to tie him into the failing economy and everything will make sense.

Texas A&M to Stay in the Big XII

The Big XII can breath a little easier, at least for now. While Texas A&M wanted to join the SEC, the amount of obstacles potentially blocking such a move were too many to overcome. A 13 team SEC would present scheduling difficulties, a 14 team begs the obvious question "who would be team #14?" Then there was a minefield of legal difficulties, most of which originated from the Lonestar State.

So for now, Texas A&M will remain in the 10 team Big XII.

But I think eventually, the Big XII will be torn asunder. The Pac-12 must still be considering a move to 16 teams. The SEC seems to be thinking about the same thing. Missouri wants to be part of the Big Ten. And who knows, the Big East might want to cherry-pick another team from the Central Time Zone.

In a few years, all the conferences are going to look different. Originally, the conferences were formed based on region and size of the school, as well as how much focus schools had on athletics. Now, conferences are being reshuffled based on TV dollars. That's why the Big East snatched up TCU, why BC is in the ACC, and why the centrally located Big XII is being ripped apart.

One thing I expect to happen shortly is a process of shedding inferior programs. Conferences will drop the schools that can't make big bowl games, don't make the NCAA basketball tournament, and are never on national television. The SEC will drop Mississippi State, The Big XII (if it still exists) may drop Iowa State. The Big Ten may send Northwestern packing.

The age of the super-conferences will soon be upon us.

-The Commodore

Texas A&M to SEC?

When Texas decided to stay in the Big XII, the conference seemed like it had been saved from being carved up by the SEC, BigTen, and Pac-10. But they're still vulnerable. Texas A&M might be leaving the 10 team Big XII.

On August 22, A&M's regents board will decide the fate of the historic football program.

To be honest, I can understand why A&M might want to do this. Part of the reason U-Texas decided to remain in the Big XII was because it would be receiving a lion's share of revenues. Texas is the king of the Big XII, which is becoming an ever smaller kingdom. A&M could move east to the SEC, where the throne is contested, and they'd be treated as an equal.

And the Big XII can survive without A&M. Frankly, they let TCU slip through their fingers. The Frogs would have been a perfect addition to the conference, joining the 4 other Texas based programs of the Big XII.

And if A&M goes to the SEC, does the SEC kick someone out? Vanderbilt, perhaps? Mississippi State? There's also rumors of Florida State joining the SEC, which could force the ACC to add a team. The musical chairs in college football continues.

-The Commodore

Some Stupid Woman Ends Her Stupid Swim

"Endurance swimmer and record-holder Diana Nyad arrived in Florida Tuesday morning, but not in the manner she hoped. The 61-year-old arrived in Key West aboard a boat, hours after abandoning a 103-mile swim from Cuba to Florida at about the halfway point.



She had attempted to become the first person to swim between Cuba and Florida without a shark cage, but ocean swells, shoulder pain and asthma forced her to give up the swim. Nyad was vomiting when she was brought aboard a boat at 12:45 a.m. Tuesday -- 29 hours after she jumped into the water Sunday (CNN)."



Well maybe you shouldn't try to swim stupid distances when you're 61 years old. In only her 2nd hour of swimming she was having shoulder pain. You know why? Because you have an AARP card and shouldn't be swimming 103 miles in shark infested waters. Sorry, I don't feel anything for her. It was a stupid idea, and I think Cuban people should laugh her. Don't think make this swim all the time? They do it without complaining, and without "10 handlers" to advise them.



In other words this is just another story I want off my TV.



Speaking of old people doing stupid things. Joe Paterno got run over by one of his own players. Maybe it's not a good idea to have an 84 year old man near a bunch of helmeted missiles. Just saying.

Oklahoma Tops Pre-Season Poll

It shouldn't matter, yet it does matter. It's the pre-season poll, based purely on speculation, guessing, reputation, and high school football results. And unfortunately, it does matter. Because if you're up at the top, you have to lose in order to be knocked down. If you're #18, well you have to hope that the teams ahead of you lose.

What truly proves the stupidity of the pre-season poll is that 50 teams received votes. 50! Anyway, Oklahoma topped the USA Today Poll, but four teams (Oklahoma, Alabama, Oregon, and LSU) received first place votes. In other words, we're in for another fun-filled season of college football, loaded with intrigue and surprises. Here's the poll:

1. Oklahoma
2. Alabama
3. Oregon
4. LSU
5. Florida State
6. Stanford
7. Boise State
8. Oklahoma State
9. Texas A&M
10. Wisconsin
11. Nebraska
12. South Carolina
13. Virginia Tech
14. Arkansas
15. TCU
16. Ohio State
17. Michigan State
18. Notre Dame
19. Auburn
20. Mississippi State
21. Missouri
22. Georgia
23. Florida
24. Texas
25. Penn State

It's nice to see the Big XII seemingly relevant again, with three teams in the top 10. Then again, it's hard to take this poll seriously. Spots 22 through 25 are filled with reputation picks. Georgia always seems to weasel its way into the top 25 despite having no talent and no prospects for victory.

I can't wait for the college season to actually start, so we can discuss polls that have a meaning. But as a Sooners fan, it's nice to start out as #1.

-The Commodore

Punish the Conferences

USC got stripped of a title, Ohio State's Jim Tressel quit, these are just the latest stories of minor corruption in big time college football.

What pisses me off is that the conferences don't get punished. The Pac-10 got $17 million for USC's appearance in the Orange Bowl that year. Why don't they have to surrender that money? If the National Title was ill-gotten, wasn't the bid to the title game?

You might ask me why I'd want to punish U-Washington for something that happened at USC. But why does some teammate of Reggie Bush get punished for what Bush did? For how many of Bush's teammates was that achievement the pinnacle of their life? Bush gets his NFL salary, his NFL endorsements, but now his former teammates have "vacated" their title. What the hell does Bush care about Wikipedia listing USC's title as vacated?

Punish the conferences for violations like this. Then the conferences will actually try to police their own schools. And the Pac-10 benefited from Bush's presence just as much as USC did. Why should the NCAA have to watch all 120 programs? How come we never hear about the BigTen uncovering some scandal within their own conference? Because they're not looking. Why would they look?

All the power in college football is held by the conferences. The conferences concocted the BCS, not the NCAA. The conferences get all the money and decide where it goes. They get rewarded for their teams' successes, so why not also hold them responsible for their violations?

-The Commodore