Is SECession the right move for A&M?

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Most if not all Texas A&M fans are upset about UT's incredibly lucrative deal with ESPN. They are also mad about the weighted distribution of money amongst Big 12 (now 9.5) schools and understandably so. The University of Texas in the past 12 months has shifted from a potential PAC 10 school to the unanimous king of a BCS conference. Win or lose on the field, Texas will win every year financially thanks to these TV contracts. The overwhelming general opinion is that A&M will in fact leave the Big 12 and join the SEC, but the reasons for doing so are not quite as clear nor is the future for the aggies. The perception is that Texas A&M is just sick of playing second fiddle to Texas and is ready to mix it up with the big boys of college football. Sure the SEC will open doors to spotlight matchups and new rivalries, but what about old rivalries? Will Alabama/A&M be equivalent to the A&M/Texas Tech war? Could A&M have their cake and eat it annually in the form of the Lone Star Shootout with Texas, despite the conference realignment? Only time will tell.

Texas A&M University stands to pocket a few extra dollars with a shift to the South Eastern Conference, but will that be enough? The Big 12 is not the SEC, however the aggies were typically only looking up at two teams whereas with this move they could be the 4th best team in just the West division. It is unlikely that A&M will compete for the SEC title most years and just as unlikely that they will replace Vanderbilt as the pseudo bye week for opposing teams. Just imagine though if Texas A&M is the newest Ole Miss or Arkansas. The Razorbacks found a little success the past few years but only 3 Division Championships in 30 years of the SEC while having 9 Conference Championships including a national championship during 30 years in the Southwest Conference. Might A&M be destined for the same fate? Can they be consistently competitive with more frequent marquee opponents?

Winners continue to win and as long as Texas A&M wins in the SEC, the recruiting will be there to restock and reload. However one bad coach, one missed opportunity and it is possible that Texas A&M joins the Miss State Bulldogs in the land of irrelevance. And all because big brother burnt orange got the bigger piece of pie.

Posted in Football on August 24, 2011



The Woes of Social Media

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Social media has become an increasingly painful headache for coaches in virtually every sport, just ask Bob Stoops. The often grumpy head coach of the Sooners said the team does not have a social-media policy for its players but said he’s going to make one. “Guys that don’t know what they’re doing need to have it taken away,” Stoops said. “Some of the just really foolish things that are thrown at me that so-and-so had this on their Twitter is hard to believe. It’s hard to believe they don’t get it. They still think they’re at East Handkerchief High School, where no one cares. And that’s not the case.”

How bad can it be? Players have not only mindlessly dumped random thoughts on their "private" pages, they have called out other campus sports causing embarrassment for the entire school. Junior tight end Trent Ratterree posted this tweet: “The lady gymnasts emailing everyone in their classes begging for fans. @OUProblems”. Is Trent implying that the fans in Norman care more about what happens between the hash marks than between uneven bars? Nonsense. The Oklahoma women’s gymnastics program finished 3rd in the NCAA tournament for the tens of fans that care.

And who can forget Tommy Mason-Griffin’s poetic Facebook status update announcing his intentions to enter the NBA draft last spring. Young Tommy was not an English major but you might have mistaken him for one after reading this gem, "its a official dat i am leavin skool....ask me y i aint doin anotha yr yue mite get ignored." Remarkable. I had no idea Griffin was fluent in Swahili. (That is Swahili, right?)

Oh baby, the stars may burn bright in the skies of Norman, but evidently not in the classrooms.
Partial Source: James Corley/The Oklahoma Daily

Posted in Football on April 28, 2011



New Talent, New Coaches, New Horns?

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How would the Texas Longhorns recover from a miserable 2010 season? Well it was a foregone conclusion that serious changes were ahead primarily at the offensive coordinator position. The "legacy" of Greg Davis will be hard to forget but fans have been anticipating the opportunity to wipe their memories for several years. Such a disappointing season couldn't affect Mr. February's recruiting dominance. . . could it?

No one was prepared for the uncharacteristically spontaneous series of events, however, that began when Will Muschamp left for Florida. Mack Brown was planning to hire a coordinator but not a Defensive coordinator. The coach instead hired 37-year-old Manny Diaz from Mississippi State to replace Muschamp, the previous head-coach-in-waiting. Brown then hired 34-year-old Bryan Harsin from Boise State to redesign the offense. Almost overnight, the Texas coaching staff went from uncertain to impaired to enhanced.

We'll have to wait and see how many of these new faces will turn out to be savvy selections, but the future looks bright for UT.

Posted in Football on April 4, 2011

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