BaltoBull

I used to follow the O's closely when I was younger until Pete Angelos bought the team and started messing things up in the 90's. Buck Showalter has done great things with the team as of late though. And yeah, if the O's can hold onto him long enough, Machado might be the man in Baltimore in a few years. I can't say I follow the Nationals at all. A Beltway Series would be very interesting although I'm sure the powers that be at FOX would be less than thrilled about it.

A wonder if true, if bringing in the CBS Sports vice-president will help the NBE. Hasn't CBS Sports been dinging us and our potential TV contract as of late? http://ajerseyguy.com/?p=550

My bad. Great catch Sheriff. I wonder if you are the first one who caught it.

Someone must have an axe to grind with the State University System of Florida. There are three Florida Universities: UCF (#1), FSU (#2) & USF (#4) in the top 5 of Newsweek's "Least Rigorous Schools". FAU is ranked 14th and UF comes in ranked at 21st. http://www.thedailyb...ols-photos.html

And then ESPN will advise and subsidize its busines partners, the Big12 and ACC, to take on Louisville and Rutgers just to violation all over the NBC deal. Sorry guys, it seems we are checkmated by ESPN and disloyal members within the BE ranks. To pull this out, the BE needs to hire the #2 guy from the Pac12. The new commish needs to publically threaten to sue ESPN if the the BE is raided again at or around the time we were supposed to be negotiating with ESPN in good faith. Whether they screwed the BE or not, ESPN needs to know it'll be dragged through the mud if anything happens between now and November. Since a weakened Big12 is in the interests of both the BE and Pac12, the new commish needs to privately work with his Pac12 contacts on a plan to contain Big12 aggression. I agree with your logic and see where you are coming from. However, I hope your scenario does not come to pass. If Rutgers and Louisville were to leave, at this point I have no idea would replace them - Tulsa, Tulane, East Carolina?

Thank you - I've been saying this for a while now.

Are you listening, Mr. Woolard? Please pay attention. What are you guys going to say when quality OOC games are harder to come by due to expansion and scheduling agreements with the "Bigs" and the only way USF will sniff a decent OOC game is to sign 2/3 for 1's or other ridiculous deals? OOC for the elites will likely mean playing a team from the other four 'power' conferences. I will state my opinion again, regardless of the spin being put out by ESPN and the "Bigs", I believe the system is becoming more exclusive to the power conferences, not more inclusive. I could be wrong, but I feel like I'm seeing something between the lines of all of this some of you are not.

If that is truly the case, just create one more BCS bowl game for the Big East and Mountain West conferences. Then it's a win-win-win. if non big 5 teams dont get a fair shot at championship they should break away + 100 This is exactly what I've been saying. I'd much rather have a legitimate shot at winning something then no shot at winning something else.

+1

I've pondered and commented on this previously in this thread, but now I'll ask again, once the 'power conferences' finish their expansion (and there's no reason to believe they are finished now) and the PAC - B10 & proposed B12 - ND scheduling agreements take effect, how will we, or anyone else in the NBE or below schedule 'tough enough' as Bull94 suggested? If, as I understand it, SOS becomes a bigger component of being favored by the selection committee and earning a spot in the playoffs, I believe the opportunities to play a team from the five top conferences (as they will be larger and have scheduling agreements) will become fewer, harder to schedule and therefore, harder to define our season by. I'm not being pessimistic as how things are here and now, as they look today - I'm thinking and commenting about how the landscape will look once the dust settles from these recent announcements and expansion is done. I appreciate the debate and do not mind being told I'm wrong when I am - thank you.

That may not be so easy if the SEC, B10 and B12 take the scraps of the ACC if they ever dissolve and there is no room left. I hate to be the Debbie Downer, but I see all of what's happening in CFB as a consolidation of power, not as a re-distrubtion of it. To this point, we have not been given a seat at the table. What makes some of you think we are (or would be, if we ever won the conference) any different than Boise State, who for all of their recent accomplishments have been denied the respect and prestige they have earned? Face it, there will ALWAYS be a reason to keep the little guy out of CFB. The abolishing of the BCS just makes it easier. I love USF - I have given generously to the school and I will continue to in the future. However, I think I am more realistic than some on this board in believing that we will not have a seat at the table when all is said and done. The fact of the matter is USF is looked down upon by almost all of the collegiate world, athletically and academically. Perhaps the powers that be are threatened by us, but it is what it is. Those in the position of power and prestige are not going to do USF any favors in helping us improve our clout - just look at how biased everything is in Tallahassee. I think some of you are going to be very disappointed when things don't pan out the way you think they will.

Over the last several years, the NBE teams have been at least as good on the field. There are less traditional "prestige" schools. That is why we want the system to be based on on the field performance rather than names. If it is based on the field performance, we have a fighting chance. It won't be. Why do you think expansion has been driven by and involved recognizable & "name brand" schools? Weren't the losses of Pitt and Syracuse designed by ESPN to strip the NBE of it's most prestigious and name-brand schools (albeit, basketball schools) in an attempt to weaken and ultimately, destroy the conference? Make no mistake, conference expansion is being driven by accumulating inventory with recognizable names in large markets. If the conferences are hell-bent on adding big-name, brand schools and their representatives will be on the selection committee, what makes you think we or any other non-brand school has a shot at the NCG? Don't you think the networks, the advertisers as well as the bowls themselves would prefer guaranteed draws with legions of rabid fans for their televised games? Don't you think their powerful influence would be felt by the selection committee?

I'm not trying to be difficult or ignorant, I just don't see how this the four game playoff system is any better for us. To me, it's the same dance, different song. The way I read it, the power conferences have a virtual strangle hold on the bowls and the NCG. If the teams involved in this new system are as I understand it, chosen by a selection committee - I'm being honest here, I just don't see how anyone from the NBE realistically makes the cut. It's too easy for the selection committee to stack the deck in the power conferences favor. Perhaps I'm wrong, but the way I see it, if the 'power conferences' do expand any further and take the remaining 'desirable' or semi-marketable programs with them (Louisville, BYU, etc.) I just don't see how a team not in the 'Big 4' SOS can measure up in the selection committee or presses eyes. Not only that, if the other conferences do expand, it will be more difficult to schedule 'quality' OOC games as there will be less room left on everyone's schedule. The B10 & Pac12's agreement and supposedly ND's arrangement with the B12 also squeeze out the other conferences as well, IMO. I hope I'm wrong, but I think the way things are lining up in the 'power conferences' are much worse for USF and the NBE than some of you care to admit or realize.

I'm thinking it's our best option, man unless you can think of something better than playing our season's with virtually no chance of winning anything of significance. So, if we are shut out of the NCG the same as the ACC, we should just sit tight in CFB purgatory? I would rather have a reasonable shot of being on top of 'some' pecking order than be on the bottom of a pecking order that is severely rigged in other's favor.

I think now is the time for the NBE to start talking to NBC about forming and televising another league within College Football. Maybe we could package something together with the best of the NBE, C-USA & MWC in the best available markets and come up with something new with smaller, more manageable conferences. I hate the fact we are seen as the 'also-rans' and 'not good enough to sit at the table', but now is the time to face reality. I would much rather be competitive at something and have a chance at winning something then not be competitive and know the cards are stacked against us, no matter how good we play. We have to be honest with ourselves and know, even if we run the table and have a perfect season, the 'selection committee' will favor a team from the 'power conferences' with one loss rather than face the 'indignity' of letting a NBE team in. They don't need us, don't respect us and frankly, don't want to give this conference any chance to upstage them - end of story. We (the NBE) need to think of something else and we need to do it quick.

I'm thinking the state will just claim eminent domain on the land, claiming something like it is of "critical importance to keep Florida competitive in the (tech sector)" or something like that then wrestle it away from the WIlliam's Acquisition Holding for much less they they would have to pay for it on the market and then give the land to UF and Alexander's company to develop.

In my heart of hearts, I still believe Poly will be given to the Gators on a silver platter once it's "revealed" the process to get accreditation will be harder & take longer than they "originally thought"; (read: knew all along). Alexander will be out of office by the time everything goes down, won't be able to be voted out or ridiculed for still being in office and will be richer for having helped his friends in Gainesville and selling the surrounding land around the campus to his friends in the state. Sigh.

+1

I think we need to take the best of what we can get. It's obvious the NBE is being shut out of a lot of the bowls now. I still hope we can maintain a tie to the Orange Bowl and be matched up against the champion or #2 of the ACC.

The jump in money will be tremendous. I don't think the jump in money will be as advantageous as some people seem to think - sure, we will be making more money, but everyone else 'above' us will be making proportionally more than we do; the ACC is about to get a modest raise, the BIG XII is getting a raise and the B10 and the PAC make way more than we do. Let's not forget about the revenue the 'power conferences' will be raking in due to their new bowl arrangements money that correct me if I'm wrong, we won't get a sniff of. I suppose the extra money will be nice to help us finish our facilities, but I don't see how the increase in our revenue, no matter how great it is will help us keep up with the Joneses as they are speeding away from the ACC on down. We are not going to be hiring 'better' coaches or assistants than we were before - the other conferences will have more to spend (in their case, MUCH more) just as we will. Everything will be the way it is now and in some ways much worse for the NBE - just everything will be 'inflated' more than it is now, IMO. Can't really count the bowls. Unless the school sells out their ticket allotments and then some, schools usually lose money on bowls. Thanks for the correction, Charsibb.

The jump in money will be tremendous. I don't think the jump in money will be as advantageous as some people seem to think - sure, we will be making more money, but everyone else 'above' us will be making proportionally more than we do; the ACC is about to get a modest raise, the BIG XII is getting a raise and the B10 and the PAC make way more than we do. Let's not forget about the revenue the 'power conferences' will be raking in due to their new bowl arrangements money that correct me if I'm wrong, we won't get a sniff of. I suppose the extra money will be nice to help us finish our facilities, but I don't see how the increase in our revenue, no matter how great it is will help us keep up with the Joneses as they are speeding away from the ACC on down. We are not going to be hiring 'better' coaches or assistants than we were before - the other conferences will have more to spend (in their case, MUCH more) just as we will. Everything will be the way it is now and in some ways much worse for the NBE - just everything will be 'inflated' more than it is now, IMO.

So the gap continues to widen and grow... I'm not holding my breath - I think we will be LUCKY if we make more than 10 mil. per school. We won't make anything close to what the ACC will. I still think we should take our ball and go home.

Although I've said otherwise on this board before, I don't think I will be necessarily "done" if the format goes to the top four - however, I really want to see USF in a situation where we are playing "the best of the rest". I think it will be the only place we will be competitive when all is said and done. I know it kills some of you to hear this, but perhaps our future will be brightest if we take our ball and go home. The "power conferences" have done (and are continuing to do) everything in their power to block the NBE and it seems the ACC from the championship. I know I am among the few, but I think at some point, the leftovers are going to have to re-evaluate where they stand and possibly start from scratch by forming more regional, competitive conferences. We are not going to be invited to the Big 12 and the ACC would only offer a spot to us after all other options have been exhausted and maybe not even then.

I'm leaning that way as well. 4 sixteen team conferences with each conference champion in the playoffs. It seems very reasonable to me. That being said, I don't honestly see the old alma mater as part of the equation. Nope.

Don't worry too much Triple, you are ranked 645 and I am ranked 667 - you'll have a crack at the seats before I do.