IUFootballHappyHappyJoyJoy

So the University of California board of regents isn't happy about UCLA leaving as it would impact Cal (obviously). Now, had the Big Ten also floated getting Cal and Stanford, I certainly wouldn't think they would be complaining as the media rights would more than be enough to help fund the University of California system.

So, par for the course for Indiana football?

In wrestling terms, if the Alliance was Pro Wrestling USA (which was the NWA/AWA/World Class/regional feds) back in the mid 80s, this is Verne Gagne trying again with Super Clash III. So depressing.

Desalination is very expensive and labor intensive, not to mention you have all the issues of what to do with the brine that's left over (if you just dump it out in the ocean, it can cause severe damage to the ecosystem), and its a pain in the @$$ to get stuff further inland. The bigger solution would be conservation, which would be a multi-pronged idea, such as reducing water wasters, like golf courses and water parks (Why would you have water parks in the desert when you're, like, 60-70 miles from the ocean?) as well as changing up the agriculture plans in California, like growing cruciferous crops and beans instead of artichokes and almonds and raising chickens instead of cattle. However, that all involves a lot of long term change and... change sucks. And is expensive.

Well, Indiana playing California and Duke in football would probably be on our strength level.

**** Coast. (I'm as left wing as you can get, and you won't catch me dead out there unless it's for a sporting event.)

Notre Dame can no longer sit on their laurels; that NBC exclusivity deal isn't going to look too promising if the SEC has ESPN money and the Big Ten has Fox Sports money.

Can we acknowledge also that the Rose Bowl itself, the very bowl game that obstinately forced things to change, such as how the BCS Championship Game had to be on ESPN instead of FOX back when that was around because it had its own network contract, or it had be on New Year's Day and at a certain time, is going to probably go kaput because of this? They're not going to end the bowl itself, but the bowl being a brick wall for negotiations probably is no longer a thing.

Priority-wise, the Big Ten should scale the conference in terms of competition when it comes to football, meaning Indiana is not obligated to play the big boys often unless we are able to hold our own; in effect, creating a Tier I (the super programs like Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin, UCLA, USC, and for the hell of it, Iowa) and a Tier II (everyone else). I get the issue with this idea is that if all you do is beat soup cans, then you don't get "real" experience, but if you're a crap program like IU, how are you going to get better and convince people to come play for you if you keep going 4-8 or 3-9 unless divine intervention happens and the world goes to ****? This unfortunately means that we would only see USC coming to the Rock once in a blue moon, but I think this may be the better solution. ... did I make sense?

So, I think the Big Ten wants to go all in and up the league to 20, and considering that the Association of American Universities is likely still going to play a key factor, as well as finances and logistics, here's my picks: *Stanford and Cal: Northern California is a big market, alumni-wise, even if it doesn't have the media reach, plus it would help with travel for USC and UCLA. And, as far as the academics go, you can't go wrong with two University of California members as well as a major private institution out west, plus it could be used as collateral to bring in Notre Dame if you choose. *Duke and North Carolina: If you're going to kill one former Alliance member, why not kill the other? Duke would be brought in for stellar academics and health research, and North Carolina would be brought in for cancer care. Oh, and uh, basketball. The downside would be neither are known for their football, but if you get Stanford and Cal, why would that be a problem? *Kansas and Iowa State: The benefits here would be shoring up your region even further and cementing a natural rivalry with Iowa. The problems, however, are big. For starters, Iowa State is NOT an AAU school. Second, Iowa State is inconsistent in the major sports, and Kansas is horrible at football at the moment. And third, you would sacrifice potential windfall in other regions that you could get with these schools than by going for other regions. *Oregon and Washington: Similar to Stanford and Cal, you'd shore up the entire Pacific Coast, but you'll jilt the state schools in the process, whom, let's face it, are destined for the Mountain West. If I had to say which of the pairs the Big Ten would aim for, it'd definitely be Stanford and Cal & Duke and North Carolina.

The "sicko" in me is dying at the prospect of a 9am game in Pasadena between UCLA and Rutgers.

We have to wait another year for that pick, but who knows the value of that pick if the Cavs are a playoff team in 2023.

You know the baby at the end of the intro for WrestleMania XX? That's Declan McMahon.

Former player DaShaun Brown arrested after kidnapping, robbing a man following sex. Brown never cracked the depth charts after his ACL tear back in 2020 and left the team last year.

Don't know how much of an impact Declan will have on the program but it's a huge coup for the team in terms of the casual audience. So I like it a lot.

Saint Peter's is getting decimated. And the nation is going to get Duke/North Carolina for the 9401st time.

A true cupcake would be IUPUI. Though Utah State had the 358th overall strength of schedule, for anyone curious about which team you're referring to.

So baked fish and dark greens.

But Bellarmine is tough! They keep winning arguably the worst non-HBCU conference in the country (and it's only gonna get worse with two more D-II schools joining, making the conference look even more inept).

Purdue goes Purdont!

Anything to just take our minds off of the fact the team laid an egg.

This is the same group that decided that Southern Methodist & Texas A&M weren't good enough for the tournament, but Rutgers was because of a few wins.

Saint Mary's is from the gated part of the Bay Area, where the real snobs live. The creme de la creme of snobbery. You can see Napa Valley from Moraga.

Yeah, but... we didn't lose to a #15 seed so at least we still have a little bit of dignity.

So long to their bones.