Expansion Fatigue

Kinda weird how the topic of expansion goes from all-consuming hysteria to ... meh.

Yesterday was probably not a good day to measure message-board interest in topics other than Jamie Cumbie.

Nevertheless, the bombshell that came from our friends at Orangebloods.com (the Texas Rivals site) was a distinct footnote.

SteeleTiger posted a link at 3:46 p.m., and as of this morning the thread has produced five responses and 446 views.

Those numbers would be considered big at some other web sites, but here it's a relative blip.

Pretty crazy that random speculation captivated everyone so thoroughly just a few weeks ago, and yet now the reaction is rather casual when actual stop-the-presses news breaks.

Makes me think a lot of us are experiencing Expansion Fatigue, and justifiably so. For weeks, our brains steadily have been filling with this scenario, that scenario, rumor here, rumor there, to the point where we're sort of desensitized to the whole issue.

And the issue certainly isn't going away.

My first thought while reading the report, which detailed the Pac-10's efforts to plunder the Big 12, was that the ACC could be in some trouble.

If Texas ends up going to the Pac-10, and ends up taking Texas A&M and Oklahoma with it, then the SEC would theoretically be more inclined to look east. I guess that would be good news for Clemson, given that it increases the likelihood of the SEC being interested in the Tigers.

Here's my big question, though. Without the addition of Texas, is expansion really worth it for the SEC? If the SEC added, say, Florida State, Miami, Georgia Tech and Clemson, do TV renegotiations allow the SEC to maintain the current annual payout of $17 mil per school?

I have my doubts on that. Texas is the major player here, presenting a conference tremendous marketability and leverage. If the SEC added Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and an ACC team (say, Florida State), it would be entirely realistic to see ESPN and CBS shelling out a lot more.

But if all this shakes out as the Orangeblood report indicates it will, it's hard to see the SEC standing pat. If the Pac-10 grows to 16 and the Big Ten does the same, my belief is that ego alone will force the SEC to do something.

And that something isn't necessarily going to 16. I wouldn't be shocked if the SEC were more judicious in its expansion, adding two schools instead of four. If you get the right two schools, you enhance your strength while also solving the money question rather easily.

I'm a little surprised Virginia Tech's name hasn't been mentioned more in all the SEC expansion talk. The Hokies absolutely have the football pedigree, and their presence in the D.C. television market would be plenty attractive.

By the way, kudos to Chip Brown of Orangebloods for easily the biggest story on expansion thus far. He's a true pro who spent a long time with the Dallas Morning News before making the jump to Internet land, and it's cool to see a fellow Rivals guy unearthing this kind of story ... and one with actual legs.

More news: Colorado's athletics director says school officials have been led to believe the Pac-10 is about to extend offers.

Bohn said CU has not had any contact with the Pac-10 or its representatives and he was not clear on how he came to believe invitations could be forthcoming. But he said Colorado, Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech could receive invitations possibly as soon as this weekend when Pac-10 officials meet in San Francisco.

"The longer that we were together in Kansas City it appeared that that rumor or speculation did have some validity to it," Bohn said.

The Pac-10 commish knocks down the report in this story.

"I've just seen the piece," Scott said in an e-mail "No decisions made, No offers extended. We meet this weekend and I'm not anticipating any definitive decisions coming out. Still exploring lots of interesting options for the Pac-10."

Eh...

Not exactly the most convincing rebuttal I've ever seen.

In this piece, a look at how the Big 12 and Pac-10 have quickly gone from ally to adversary.

Another interesting point that Scott made involved an increase of "incoming traffic" by the conference since it announced plans to look at expansion. In other words, the Pac-10 hasn't been the conference necessarily making the first contact. Scott wouldn't say which teams from what conferences might have been on the phone.

But think of a scenario where some of the South teams got really tired of the Missouri and Nebraska flirtations with the Big Ten and decided to be proactive. Not saying it went down that way but suddenly the conference picture has changed dramatically.

In this story, Missouri's chancellor isn't committing to the Big 12.

In the SEC, Mike Slive is being a good lawyer and playing his cards close to the vest.



In Auburn, Clemson is determined to put its roller-coaster ways behind it and make a run.

“We’ve got a clean slate from here on,” said senior second baseman and co-captain Mike Freeman. “We know we can play good baseball; we’re beaten some of the best teams in the country. So if we just get on a roll like we did in the beginning of the season and play like we did in the last game of the ACC Tournament (a 9-3 win over national seed Georgia Tech) and against Florida State, we should be just fine.”

Here's a look at Southern Miss' alternate route to the NCAA Regionals.

Kendall Rogers of Rivals gives his Auburn Regional preview, and he lists Clemson as the dark horse.

Not many are talking about Clemson entering the weekend, but it has plenty of talent to make some noise in the postseason. The Tigers are hitting .305 with Brad Miller and Kyle Parker leading the way. Miller is hitting .373 with seven homers and 37 RBIs and Parker is hitting .364 with 19 homers and 57 RBIs. On the mound, the Tigers have a plethora of arms with big-time potential. Starting pitcher Casey Harman is 6-2 with a 4.14 ERA in 91 1/3 innings and is limiting opposing teams to a .246 batting average. Scott Weismann, meanwhile, has a 5.47 ERA in 79 innings. The Tigers can take care of business if their pitching staff steps up.

Some ACC basketball news: Mike Krzyzewski is in for another busy summer.

Speaking of Dook, congrats to Clemson assistant video director Chad Lampman. He's accepted a position as the Blue Devils' video director.

Pack a towel, Chad. The back of your neck tends to get wet from all the Cameron Crazies.


LW