Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Michigan Solar Car Team Makes it 3 In a Row!

Okay, this isn't football...Hell, it's not even sports. But as someone who knew someone that was on the team when I was a student, let me tell you it' s a BIG DEAL.

The University of Michigan Solar Car Team Wins the Third National North American Title!

I remember actually seeing the car up in GG Brown at one point. I believe that's where the lab was. And there were a lot of people associated with the team who weren't necessarily on the team that deserve some credit for working on this.

And not only is it three in a row, but Michigan has won 6 overall!

In any event, it just goes to show that Michigan can still put together a champion!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

It's Coming! The MMQ Pre-Season Spectacular

The first e-mail came to me the other day with the first of the early bird Pre-Season polls. I forget which publication it was from, but it looked rather predictable. And it got me to thinking about this year's Pre-Season Spectacular and I started reading some of the past stuff to get the ole spark back. At least I want to sharpen the needle for future wins over many hated rivals. And while we're at it, the Corn Suckers can now be treated like Big10 bretheren and not "revered" for their mystique...But I don't want to get too far ahead of myself.

What was interesting is that I have been surprisingly accurate in predicting Michigan's record in the past. My pre-season analysis for this team is usually spot on down to predicting the who we would lose to and in some cases by how much.

Of course, this year, it would take a TOTAL CONTRARIAN to somehow rank Michigan in the top 25, much less have them knocking on the door of the top 10. Yes, the Defensive Line is returning 4 starters, (without the Great Brandon Graham) and the offensive scheme should be sufficiently in place for Tate and Denard...So, it kind of makes me wonder to the point of giving me an extremely small flicker of hope, but hope none the less.

Yes, there are readers out there that will immediately apply the slappy label on this. But, I believe there will be improvements. There has to be. The Rod's job is on the line and while getting to a bowl might not save him, I think it will at least force everyone to pause and look at where the program's going and what it could potentially become.

But, there's a whole lot of football coming our way. Finally.

It's been a long and tumultuous off-season and I look forward to the lighter side of my analysis.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Citi Bows out of Rose Bowl - Another Nail in the BCS Coffin?

Hmmmmm...The BCS Bowls are having difficulty "leveraging" the sponsorship of the games...Check this link for the details on Citi bowing out of the Rose Bowl.

How do we interpret this? Well, as a casual observer, I would say that you can't leverage 4 hours of television coverage into a season long commitment of advertising, plain and simple. There are 5 BCS bowl games that have exclusive time slots. That's 20 hours of television time that the BCS and ESPN are trying to use to get the sponsors to pony up additional money during the regular season for additional revenue. Let's not forget that Fed Ex dropped completely out of the Orange Bowl Sponsorship and there has not been a replacement named. Citi has stated that it would still be interested in sponsoring the game, but not the annual commitment that's tied to it.

So, it would seem that the dew has gone off the rose and maybe even the petals are starting to wilt a little on the BCS monopoly of 5 "major" bowls that they control. If we start seeing more sponsorships go the way of the Rose and Orange, which are the two biggest bowls by the way, I can only imagine that Tostito's, Nokia, and All State aren't too far behind. So, where does that leave the ole' BCS as we know it?

Follow the money, my friends. IF the BCS can't generate sponsorship, my guess is there won't be a BCS much longer. And that can only logically lead to a Playoff that people would be tripping over themselves to sponsor. At least, that's the MMQ's guess. Kind of like the NCAA Tournament and the CBS relationship. It's all about the money.

So, maybe, just maybe, if the BCS implodes because everyone realizes that a BCS Bowl is simply another bowl with a bigger payout that nobody wants to watch when it's Boise State and TCU, then maybe we end up with a College Football Playoff.

Stay tuned....Alignment was interesting...This is better!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Spin, Spin, Spin

For those of you following along, with ESPN reporting from the "Big 12: Lite" Spin Doctors, this is the SINGLE BEST THING THAT COULD HAVE EVER HAPPENED TO THE BIG 12! Dr. Saturday has a great take and all the details on this, but I of course have my own...

1. Teams are going to get more revenue because:
- There are less mouths to feed
- Nebraksa and Colorado's penalty fees will go directly to bottom lines for the individual schools (prorated, of course)
-SCHOOLS GET THE CHANCE TO DEVELOP THERE OWN TV Networks!
2. In addition, THERE IS NO MORE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME! Which, if you listen to anyone from Texas, was the worst idea since the invention of sliced bread. This is due to the fact that the Big 12 somehow managed to eliminate 2 possible National Championship Teams that would have played in the Title Game, but lost the Big 12 Championship.
3. They can now play a round robin schedule, which is better for everyone involved.

Just in case anyone was wondering if any of this was a good thing, allow your MMQ to sift through so much Bull Shit and communicate to you accurately what the Big 12 is REALLY saying:

1. More revenue because of fewer members. While this is some what true, the idea that you can lose Nebraska and Colorado, two of the biggest draws in the Big 12 cannot possibly help revenue. Beebe only stated that the potential new contract would be larger and therefore, produce bigger revenues. Let's look at the Big 12: Lite for a minute:
Texas
Texas Tech
Baylor
Texas A&M
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Iowa State
Kansas
Kansas St.
Missourri

Any match-ups (with the exception of Texas Oklahoma) that are must see TV? Didn't think so.
So, are TV executives going to cough up more money to air these products? Didn't think so.
2. The Chancellor/President (?) at Nebraska has brought up a really good point. If Colorado's and Nebraska's exit from the Big 12 does NO FINANCIAL HARM, than the penalty cannot be enforced, per the Big 12 guidelines.
3. Schools get a chance to develop their own TV networks. Let's restate that to the obvious: TEXAS gets to develop it's own TV network.
4. The Big 12 doesn't have to play in a Championship Game: What the #$#!$@#%"???? are these clowns talk about. The championship game is supposed to be the game that generates ton of extra revenue for the conference, and now that the Big 12 doesn't have one, it's claiming that things are going to be even better financially because they have a better chance of getting two teams into the BCS and a better chance to get a team into the National Title Game...(Okay, I did some research on this one and there was one year that Missourri was ranked number 1 and would have went to the title game (2008) if they hadn't lost to Oklahoma. That year, Mizzou also got screwed out of a BCS game, just like K-State (ranked #2) in 2003.) The former Big 12 simply did not get any love with that 2nd qualifier....So, maybe this point makes some sense....
5. Playing a round robin schedule: This is one that is laughable, but so pathetic in it's premise that it needs to be addressed. If the Big 12 is now going to be playing everyone at there house, well, let's just say that for the remaining Big 12 teams, it's a better deal as Texas will be going (now) to the likes of Iowa State, K-State, etc. But I will bet that Texas fans start to hate the round robin thing the first time said team above upsets Texas on their turf....Just a hunch.

The big driver in all of this: FSN claiming they will up the season purchase some 600% to the Big 12: Lite with reduced content....Now, I don't know who has the naked pictures of the FSN executive with BEVO the cow or some Oklahoma sheep, but whoever it is, I'll bet they aren't around for long and that contract gets renogotiated "Relatively quickly".

Still you will never convince this reader that there was a financial "windfall" in losing two teams...But you might convince me that you'll have more BCS success without a Championship game...

All the more argument for a play-off....

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Expansion is Over????

If you have been following along you know that the Big 12 is now going to remain in its current state as the "Texas 10", "Big 12 Lite", or, more appropriately, "The All Powerful Omnipotent Conference That Exists to Pacify the University of Texas."

I didn't realize how critical control and power was for UT. That one surprised me. Texas could not give up on the idea of having the TLN and wanted a clause with "whoever's" conference they joined to keep that revenue stream possibility open for the future. Unbeknownst to the MMQ, Florida and other universities in the SEC actually have sports tier channels that are run by the university and exclusive to those universities. I have no idea what kind of income they generate, but Texas obviously believes enough in the model that they want to embark on the idea. Hook 'Em Horns. Hearts and Minds and the bodies will follow....

The other thing that hasn't been made exactly clear yet, at least to this observer, is that how in the world do you lose your 3rd and 5th television market (Colorado and Nebraska) and somehow claim that you will now have a more lucrative television deal forthcoming, netting the schools DOUBLE what they are currently receiving??? Something's very fishy in the Big 12 Lite...And I think it has to do with influential alumni at major coporations agreeing to advertising deals on the cuff in order to hold this whole mess together. There were going to be some major players without a BCS home in all of this and those players may have some very real dollars at work behind the scenes. It's the only way this thing stays together...

Also, what happened to the SEC's offer to Texas A&M? Was there ever really an offer? If there was and A&M rejected it, well, they're idiots and deserve whatever fate they receive. If there wasn't, than A&M didn't really have any options on the table with the exception of trying to hold the Big 12 Lite together with the other losers in the deal....So hopefully that gets answered sometime in the near future.

Winners in the Deal: Nebraska and Colorado. They both get into healthier situations with better partners. The Big 10 clearly gets a superior university and collegiate football team in the conference.

Losers: I'm not convinced that the Big 12 Lite is any better off at 10 teams than they were with 12, especially when you lose two big markets. Advertising and sports revenue is kind of a zero sum game: There's only so much money to go around and my guess is that the Big 12 Lite eventually loses in this deal...No one knows it yet.

Neutral to Winners: The Pac 10. They gained a viable partner and penetration into a new television market, but they certainly did get anything close to their goals. So, while they didn't lose, they didn't exactly win what they wanted....

What remains to be seen: The BEast appears to have dodged a bullet. But in reality, with the exception of a couple of schools, what conference really wants to grab a BEast team? Any other conference could ask any BEast school to come on over and the invitation would be accepted on the spot. That doesn't make for a healthy situation.

The Domers: While they will look at this as victory, much like the global debt in the economy, all that's really happened is they have kicked any decision they will eventually have to make with respect to joining a conference down the road.

The Pac 11: Will they add Utah? My guess is they're happy with where things are currently and don't want to add someone that could prove to be a liability later on. So the Pac 11 will stay at 11 for the foreseeable future.

Is this the end of expansion for right now? Today's news would make you believe that. Everyone in the Big 12 is merely a pawn of Texas and Texas is controlling, even more so, it's own little world....Think Notre Dame in the BEast if it comes to that. They would have everyone answering to their beck and call if they ever did join in Football....

So, with that much dysfunction, what makes anyone think that it's over?

Monday, June 14, 2010

Expansion Puzzle Has Many Pieces and Moving Parts

Okay, you've all heard by now that the following has taken place:

1. Nebraska is in the Big 10.
2. Colorado is going to the Pac 10 (Assuming everyone votes Colorado in).
3. Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State apparently are being welcomed to the Pac 10 with open arms to take that league to 15 teams.
4. The one remaining spot is apparently going to Utah (This remains to be seen- See the comments below.)
5. Texas A&M appears to be headed to the SEC, leaving that team with 13 teams.
6. The remainder of the Big 12 is running around like chickens with their heads cut off trying to find a home. Kansas, K-State, Missouri, Baylor, and Iowa State.

What's left that could possibly happen?

I leave that to Spencer Hall from EDSBS and his handy-dandy chart of what the hell is going on in expansion.

What's interesting:

1. The Big 12 rules of dissolution state that the Big 12 can only dissolve with a majority vote (8 votes). Seems like the Big 12 (Or at least the members that are leaving) is desperately trying to get 8 votes. So, if Kansas somehow manages to land a spot in either the BEast or MWC, would they become the deciding vote? And if they did that, why on earth would they leave before they could collect on all the penalty fees that everyone else will have to forfeit to the Big 12? That's $10M for each school, kiddies...That's $80M divided 5 ways for two plus years...That ain't too shabby...
2. The latest rumor that Beebe is able to take what will be $20M in departure fees from Colorado and Nebraska, distribute that (unequally of course) to the remaining teams and somehow keep the league alive for a couple of more years as a 10 team league. The Big 12 would lose the conference championship, but each school would gain a larger slice of the television contract pie, which Beebe is claiming will be more than what they had before...I'm not buying that last part because you lost two of the teams from the Big 12 North that people actually tuned in to watch! How can you lose content and get more money from the networks???
3. The BEast: The conference everyone thought was all but gone turns out has life after all. Which is basically because there's not a school in there that's worth a crap and any school in the BEast would immediately bolt for greener pastures, given the opportunity.
4. IF Texas A&M CANNOT be swayed by Beebe then the SEC is looking for team #14. And you can bet that it will either come from the ACC or possibly they will make a run at a different Big 12 team. If they get Georgia Tech or Clemson, the two hot rumor choices, followed closely by Miami and FSU, then the ACC needs to add one to keep it's conference championship.
5. And that one will most likely come from the BEast in the form of Syracuse, Pitt, Rutger or U-Conn...Anything about those names seem familiar? Yep, all the same schools that everyone thought would go to the Big 10. But if the BEast loses one of them and...
6. The Big 10 grabs another and the BEast is done. Meaning Notre Dame doesn't have a home for it's other sports and needs to join a conference, most likely...
7. The Big 10. So, the Big 10 adds a BEast school and Notre Dame and stops at 14. That would be more than enough for the powers that be in the Big 10.
8. Texas may become its own worst enemy with their irrational idea that they can have a Texas Longhorn Network. My guess is that there is going to be a pretty big fight for what games they can actually show. Let's think about this in terms of networks:
-Networks are going to get the big games, plain and simple. No TLN revenue there.
-Games played outside of Texas stadium are probably the property of the other team and they will sell Texas those rights, but you can bet that Texas will pay dearly for those rights.
-That leaves some small, flea bag type games on the TLN. Think people are going to pay a premium (in this economy) for that? Yes, all the bars in Texas will pay, but I doubt you generate as much as Texas thinks they're going to generate.
9. Some schools are really going to get the shaft in this deal...Namely, Kansas, K-State, Iowa State, Missouri, and to a lesser extent, Baylor. Baylor was a small school to begin with and probably didn't deserve what it got in the Big 12 re-alignment the first time around. But the others are Big 8 originals that are now left holding the bag, wondering where they can go.
10. Makes you glad to be in the Big 10 conference, doesn't it? It would seem that the only two conferences worth their salt right now are the Big 10 and SEC.

So, does that all make sense now? Good.

Please explain it to me!!!!!!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Lou Holtz Says, "Notre Dame Should Join the Big 10"

Yes, 4 posts in one day is a new record, but this is simply too good not to post:

Lou Holtz says that the best thing for Notre Dame is to Join the Big 10.

Allow your MMQ to comment openly here for a minute:

chuckle....Hee-hee....Ha-hahahahah....HOOHEEHAAHHAAAA!!!!!!

I really don't know what to say...This is like brain overload. Can this be really happening? One of their own? One of the most loyal and deserving coaches that should be put into the Notre Dame coaching legend book next to Rockne and Parseghian has come out AGAINST INDEPENDENCE????? Is Lou drinking or what?

Oh, you poor, poor Domers...what are you going to do now????

I know, you all think Lou slipped a disc way back when, so he just doesn't mean anything any more...Unfortunately, there's a lot of fans that remember he was the last winning coach you had and still watch and respect what he has to say on ESPN. So, I'm beginning to wonder what those fans might be saying to the powers that be on this whole thing now....