RIP Dusty Hill

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/zz-top-bassist-dusty-hill-dead-obit-1203694/

It's amazing to me how fast things got out of control. I was always opposed to companies and the NCAA making a fortune off the NIL of the players because of a clause in their commitment papers. And being allowed to use the NIL even after they were no longer playing college football with the players receiving nothing.  I was never in favor of salaries or players being paid to promote products or services.

Well that got out of control quickly. Crack open the door and you never know what can come in.

Yep.

Kind of like how quickly socialism and communism have blasted their way in to our government, all because of some mean tweets. 

I'd better shut up now.   

I think we will see an initial correction (unintended consequences) inside of 5 years

Yep.  And I have really evolved on the players being able to receive money thing. 

If bad coaches can make $5 million per year and then be paid a lump sum upwards of $20 million buyouts for failing, and then immediately go get another job somewhere, then players should be able to profit in some way, as well. 

Bottom line.  The entire damned thing is completely out of control and is no longer amateur sports. 

I don't like it. I hate change in general. I can't find the positive side to this for college football or for UT (real UT) other than money.

You might as well have no conferences. Let teams schedule whoever they want and assign a power rating (points) to each team at the end of the season. If you had beaten that team you get those points. The teams with the highest point totals get in the playoff. No conference championship games.

That system is not much more bland than what they are cooking up now.

I understand where you are coming from.  To us old guys, we still remember the days when college football really was college football.  But with NIL and the money that is being paid coaches and administrators, fueled by the crazy TV revenue contracts provided to the upper echelon conferences, there is no such thing as college football as we knew it any longer.  It's all professional football, just packaged differently. 

And just like the stock market, one day it will correct itself, but that day is a bit down the road.  I probably won't live to see it. 

The schools make more money so they spend more money so that they can make more money.

Who is raking off of the top?

In our case, it's buying out coaches and ADs. 

This is humorous.  There is no way they would have officially pulled out of the Big12 if they didn't already have the votes to join the SEC. 

And the SEC isn't stopping at 16.  I see 20 teams before all is said and done. 

2nd Sweet P's
Heck, I don't recognize the school I spent 4 years attending!

And on Sweet P's - go to the new one off Broadway, and not the one in The Old City.  Night and day.  The original in South Knoxville was the best, but they had to close it to be able to have staff to work the other two locations.  The times we live in. 

2nd Sweet P's
Heck, I don't recognize the school I spent 4 years attending!

Yep. My youngest graduated from Pal in 2008, and it now is nothing even resembling the school she and my son attended. 

Different day, my friend. 

I resided in Powell from ~2001 (?) until 2006 (?). Recently I drove through en route to Kentucky. My goodness things have changed, but fortunately Buddy's had not.

Yeah, I hardly recognize Pal myself, at times.   

And next time, forget Buddy's.  Get off at Callahan Road and stop at Archers.  Or better yet keep driving up I-75 and get off at Caryville and eat at Rickard Ridge's BBQ at Cove Lake State Park. 

And Sweet P's has opened a new store just off of Broadway now, just off of I-640 at Tazewell and Jacksboro Pikes.  Sweet P's is the best BBQ place in town, my go to when my smoker isn't open. 

Powell will be hard to beat. They should win the 5A State Championship. Their Skill players are 2nd to none. Stopping the run had been their weakness. Walter Nolan will take care of that.

If they are ever going to win a gold ball, the time is now or never.  No excuses. 

And they are actually a junior dominated team.  Most of the major talent returns next year, to.

Whoa. Obviously I support this on the principle that everyone should want to live in Powell.

We're actually pretty full right now. 

Sirprised that it happened.  I was told a couple of weeks ago that it was dead and that Nolen was headed to IMG Academy.  Apparently the proper strings got pulled after all to get him to Powell. 

I know I am being repetitive,  but it's all about generating revenue these days. 

There was a sporting goods store here that every year for years and years hosted a preseason BBQ for all the high school football coaches and staffs all over West TN about 2 weeks before the season kicked off.....It was held on Sat around noon and back in the 70's-80's there would be 35 or more schools and staffs attending.....You never heard so much BS in all your life...it got so deep you needed to  be wearing duck waders. And every school there (even though several schools played each other) was going 0-10 on the season....LOL

I rest my case, Your Honor.   

Dad and I would listen to other broadcasts on random AM stations while driving back from hunting in Scott and/or Fentress County. Most had homers, but many could at least paint some sort of picture. Good times.

I think the future may hold good stuff as well. I envision a lot of streamed alternate broadcasts which could vary from educational to entertaining. I'd love to see a smart broadcast with a good high school coach or two. Network color guys are fine, but they give sanitized explanations. I'd tune in to hear a coach be blunt about a team picking on #52 because he's always out of position or something.

As somebody who has had literally hundreds of high school coaches on the air with me  at one time or another, be careful what you wish for.   Talk about coachspeak and cliches. Most of them would make Butch Jones sound like a professional  broadcaster.   

Just saying.....

A 20 school SEC including these schools? 

Wouldn't even need an NCAA any longer. 

https://www.outkick.com/clemson-ohio-state-michigan-and-florida-state-sec/

Agree 100%...but those days are gone. I loved the days of listening to UT games on the radio and the picture that was drawn for you that made you feel like you were sitting on the 50 yard line. Not many can remember those days but the ones that can know what I'm talking about.

Too bad we have a TV guy doing radio play by play now who has no idea how to paint a picture.  Or pronounce the names correctly.  I still much prefer listening to games on radio, and still do Braves baseball games more often than not. 

Also enjoy listening to West Coast games as I go to bed via the Sirirus/XM app on my phone. 

The ACC better gird their loins. You know the BIG has their eyes on ND, and the SEC has their eyes on several others.

In listening/reading the people I most trust, this whole thing started when the ACC reached out to Texas and Oklahoma, who in turn decided to make a run at the SEC before considering the ACC.  Looks like the ACC outsmarted themselves on this one. 

From a competition standpoint Clemson, FSU, UNC, etc wouldn’t want to move to either the SEC or the Big 10 imo. That being said, things are in motion that could likely force schools to do things that will force them to make moves.

It will be interesting to watch the repercussions if this Texas/OU deal does indeed go through.

Competition standpoint is zero factor.  It's all about what can maximize the $$$$$$ from TV and marketing rights.  

With the football playoff soon going to a 16 team tourney, and it is coming, the SEC will still have an opportunity to put a minimum 4 teams, and as many as 6 or 7, teams in the playoff every year.  And getting to the playoff is the goal.  Get there you have a shot to win a natty. 

Rat bastard tiglets.   

This is way further along than was being put out yesterday.  It's pretty much done, and it wouldn't be to this point unless Sankey knew the votes are there to make it happen. 

The Superconference concept is here.  The SEC isn't going to stop with 18, look for a couple more schools to be added, too. 

And the ACC and Bigcan'tcountconference will follow suit. 

shizzle.

Along those lines, the ESPN article states "One potential obstacle for such a move, at least anytime soon, is that Oklahoma and Texas signed a Big 12 grant-of-rights agreement, in which they granted their first- and second-tier media rights for football and men's basketball to the conference through June 30, 2025. That means the Big 12 would still own those schools' media rights for those sports -- even if they are no longer members -- until the agreement expires.

The Big 12's TV contracts with ESPN and Fox also expire in 2025. The Longhorn Network's deal with ESPN goes through 2031."

I know that money can solve anything but I don't see the Big 12 releasing them from that agreement. And I don't see the SEC agreeing to take them with that agreement still in place.

But money can conquer mountains. Or something like that. 

I don't see Texas and Oklahoma being "full fledged" members of the SEC until then, anyway. 

But if the SEC decides they want them before that they certainly have the power to "negotiate" a buyout that the Big12 can't refuse. 

And this is going to happen.  It wouldn't have been floated otherwise.  Mizzou and The Aggies are likely the only ones to oppose it, and even then, I don't know if Mizzou will actually vote against it when push comes to shove.  They need the expanded SEC share money as badly as everybody else does.  The Aggies?  Not really.  They have more money than just about anybody in the country. 

Agree. I want neither. If you hold me at gunpoint, I’d take OU. But TX is a hard no. They ruin everything they touch. Let them in, and it’s just a matter of time before they’re demanding a bigger slice of the revenue, demanding they keep their own TV network, demanding their opponents get penalized for doing the “horns down” thing, etc.

Besides, didn’t they use the “poor SEC academics” excuse for not joining a decade ago? What’s changed since then? fizzle them.

There is no way the SEC takes Texas with their Longhorn Network deal in place.  It's an ESPN platform, which can be folded in to the SECN package, along with the revenue it creates to split equally, just like the SECN revenue.  The SEC Powers that be aren't stupid, and neither are the SEC presidents.  They don't take Texas unless the LHN is merged with SECN. 

Victoria's secret, weightlifting, sports illustrated, beauty pageants, woman of the year. Is there anything a man can't do?

Birth a baby.  

Science says so, in spite of what some try to tell us these days. 

I'd better shut up now.