Texas and Texas A&M to Big Ten Refuted: KCBD's Pete Christy talked with Texas Tech Chancellor Kent Hance who refuted yesterday's report out of Kansas City that representatives from both the Texas Longhorns and the Texas A&M Aggies will not be going to the Big Ten:
"That is not true," Chancellor Kent Hance said to KCBD NewsChannel 11 after learning of the report from Kansas City. "I have been assured by UT and A&M that it is not true."
I don't know if we can put this rumor to bed, but at this time, I think this scenario seems highly unlikely. I'm never sure about anything, but I don't think Hance is pulling our leg here.
No Pac-10 Offers . . . Yet: Yesterday, I chuckled a bit at Texas Tech Athletic Director's Gerald Myers' comments regarding Texas Tech's discussions with the Pac-10 (per ESPN Dallas' Jeff Caplan):
"I haven't talked to the commissioner out there. We haven't done anything," Myers said.
But this morning, FWST's Jimmy Burch confirmed from Pac-10 Commissioner Larry Scott said that no invitations have been given:
Asked specifically about that five-school group from the Big 12 South Division, Scott said: "There are no assurances. No invitations have been issued."
Politicians Are Politicking: Per KBTX, U.S. Representative, Chet Edwards is asking that the Texas Legislature to ask Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech to disclose their options to Baylor:
U.S. Representative Chet Edwards Thursday urged Texas Lt. Governor David Dewhurst and Texas Speaker of the House Joe Straus to call immediate hearings in the Texas Legislature on the impact to the state of Texas if the Big 12 Conference is disbanded. Edwards commented, "It is important that all the citizens of Texas have a right to have their voices heard on the future of the Big 12 before, not after, all the decisions have been made. These decisions are too important to be decided solely by a small handful of people behind closed doors without public input from the citizens of our great state. The Texas Legislature has a responsibility to our taxpayers to review the impact of any conference realignment on our state’s economy and historic relationships between our state’s universities and their respective communities."
I know that Baylor really doesn't want to be left out in the cold, in fact, I feel the same way about Texas Tech, but I think it's clear that the Pac-10 gets to make the decisions on who to invite and who not to invite.
Report - Pac-16 Inevitable: The DMN transcribed some of Orangeblood's Chip Brown and he said on Wednesday that the Pac-16 is inevitable, and Chip had all of the answers regarding what happens to Texas, but didn't have a clue about the rest of the conference:
What happens to the leftover teams, like basketball powerhouses Kansas and Kansas State?
Your guess is as good as mine. It sounds like Big East is interested in Kansas. The Mountain West tabled its vote on Boise State for this very reason. The train was coming down the tracks and the Mountain West will put in its bid for whatever is left of the Big XII. I would imagine no one going to be left around to pick up the tabs of the teams leaving. I think they’re all going to be jumping ship into lifeboats but the Mountain West will be bidding, the Big East will be bidding…it’s a fire sale right now.
The reason why Chip knows so much about what's going on is because UT is feeding him information and right now, UT is in the position of power and is deciding what happens. The reason he knows so little about what happens with the rest of the Big 12 is because he's not in their ears. The reason that traditional media organizations are getting scooped by a Rivals.com affiliate is because most of the Rivals.com's affiliates are cozy with their university's administration / coaches / players. There's a reason why these subscription services are able to break news or declare if a high school player has committed faster than traditional media organizations. Think of these websites as an extension of some part of the university. Some universities grant more access to certain websites and some universities grant less access to these websites.
And just to clarify, I have no beef with what these folks do. It's a great gig and there's no doubt that there's a market for what they do as people just eat this stuff up, but just always think to yourself why one of these websites has breaking news.
Texas Tech and Conference Realignment: LAJ's Don Williams talked with head coach Tommy Tuberville who said that Tubs was amazed by the possible realignment talk.
"It's inevitable,'' Tuberville said. "You know what's driving the whole thing is money and TV contracts. The Pac-10 needs a boost. We (in the Big 12) need some help with TV negotiations. Our contract's not near what the Big 10's is and the SEC's is. It's about getting a group of teams together that's got a good sales value on it, and it definitely would do that, now.
"I hate to see the conference break up,'' Tuberville added, "but it's inevitable if you've got teams that are looking to other conferences, it's not ever going to be the same.''
He sounds pretty confident, right?
The LAJ also talked with basketball head coach Pat Knight, baseball head coach Dan Spencer and track coach Wes Kittley.
Report - Sooners Turning Down the SEC: Big hat-tip to SEC blog, Team Speed Kills' Year2, who note that the Oklahoma Sooners may have turned down the SEC:
The Chattanooga Times Free Press's Wes Rucker (a very reliable guy) says that Oklahoma's AD Joe Castiglione told the Tulsa World about the SEC talking with OU about inclusion. No word on whether an official offer was extended (I highly doubt it), but Oklahoma has decided to follow Texas wherever it goes.
SB Nation Dallas: Last night I went to the SB Nation Dallas launch party and I met DTN reader Plano Jeff (shout-out), IAT12M's Beergut and MikeTag as well has a couple of SB Nation higher-ups. Good to meet everyone and put usernames with faces.
World Cup - Landon Donovan Sings Karoake: And in honor of the World Cup starting oh so shortly, the video after the jump is my good friend, Greggo, who ends up singing karoake to the diddy Jack and Diane with the USA's best player, Landon Donovan. And just to answer a few questions, no, that's not Jason Witten. Yes, Greggo did nothing more than call Landon out from the crowd. This happened near Manhattan Beach in Cali. And yes, Greggo has had a few, but we like him that way. [Note by Seth C, 06/11/10 1:15 PM CDT ] And to give a shout-out to the camera man, the one and only T-Storm.
Go USA!