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The Future is NOW...

I have tinnitus and have to read lips to hear sometimes. I can't "hear" Finebaum because the glare off his bald head is blinding with the studio lights at a bad angle. In his low budget operation, I guess they can't afford makeup for both his face and his head. Probably better for me, because he usually doesn't say much worth listening to, anyway.
 
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Something to liven up this Lazy Sunday...Let's see how long it takes to get a Fight started! ;)

http://newsok.com/ou-wants-the-big-12-to-work/article/5548249
Finebaum doesn't bother me. He's just someone with an opinion. Nothing more, nothing less. Some things he says I agree with, some things I don't.
I've heard "experts" like him declare such things such as firing Stoops (Skip Bayless) and that Craig Biggio not go into the Hall of Fame (Mike Francessa, a NYC broadcaster).....and yet they're considered elite journalists.
Like the politicians we keep electing, the bar has been lowered for journalists.
 
Tramel isn't someone I favor, but I agree with almost everything he stated. He best point, IMO, was that OU wants the Big 12 to do much better than just survive. I don't see how that will be possible in the long run. Seems a lot of "experts" feel OU will end up in the PAC. I rather watch the Sooners play Missouri, A&M, Arkansas, LSU and Tennessee on a regular season basis.
 
OU had a sixty year tradition with Colorado, and about a ninety year tradition with Nebraska and Missouri. When they left, we surrendered relationships that go back to the 1919s. Yes, we have had a relationship with Texas, but only in one year when we were in the Southwest conference about 1915 were we in the same conference. The OU/Texas rivalry is not conference dependent.

We have no reason to be associated with Baylor, TCU, Tech, or, now, West Virginia. None of these are relationships that benefit OU. Indeed, we were a wrestling power in a wrestling conference. Now, the Big Twelve wrestling conference is:
Air Force
Iowa State
North Dakota State
Northern Colorado
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma
South Dakota State
Utah Valley
West Virginia
Wyoming

Really? For a sport in which the tradition began with OU and Oklahoma A&M, that is now the tradition? What's more, we had a kid win the Big Twelve, and he didn't even qualify for nationals? Really?

We are THE national power in Women's and Men's Gymnastics.

Big Twelve Women's Gymnastics:
Denver
Iowa State
Oklahoma
West Virginia

We don't even call the tournament group for the men a part of a conference. It is simply a qualifying round with
Air Force
California
Oklahoma
Stanford
Are we already in the Pacific Twelve?

We have a softball conference that only has seven members as West Virginia, TCU, and Kansas State don't play. TCU, Kansas State, and Oklahoma State have equestrian tournaments instead. It doesn't help our national championship softball team to be in a conference whose members show no commitment in softball.

Traditions? Haven't we severed some rather good traditions to continue this relationship with the Longhorns, unnecessarily since it was never dependent upon being in the same conference? Are these pseudo-conferences that we have devised for non-football and basketball sports supposed to be some exhibition of traditions?

It is gangrene. Chop it off.
 
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Due to proximity to the humble abode & the historical rivalries, I want the Sooners to rule the b1g west on the reg (we need that AAU thing). An annual showdown with nebbish and a gaggle of scrubs would lead to Conference champ games against tosu or michigan, usually. The conference is usually pretty competitive in hoops and wrasslin'. Plus two of our big B's have b1g roots. From a geographical standpoint, it makes sense. We could keep the RRR going (somehow) and Tulsa and little bother could be non-cons, occasionally.
 
If we go to the SEC, there is NO mem
OU had a sixty year tradition with Colorado, and about a ninety year tradition with Nebraska and Missouri. When they left, we surrendered relationships that go back to the 1919s. Yes, we have had a relationship with Texas, but only in one year when we were in the Southwest conference about 1915 were we in the same conference. The OU/Texas rivalry is not conference dependent.

We have no reason to be associated with Baylor, TCU, Tech, or, now, West Virginia. None of these are relationships that benefit OU. Indeed, we were a wrestling power in a wrestling conference. Now, the Big Twelve wrestling conference is:
Air Force
Iowa State
North Dakota State
Northern Colorado
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma
South Dakota State
Utah Valley
West Virginia
Wyoming

Really? For a sport in which the tradition began with OU and Oklahoma A&M, that is now the tradition? What's more, we had a kid win the Big Twelve, and he didn't even qualify for nationals? Really?

We are THE national power in Women's and Men's Gymnastics.

Big Twelve Women's Gymnastics:
Denver
Iowa State
Oklahoma
West Virginia

We don't even call the tournament group for the men a part of a conference. It is simply a qualifying round with
Air Force
California
Oklahoma
Stanford
Are we already in the Pacific Twelve?

We have a softball conference that only has seven members as West Virginia, TCU, and Kansas State don't play. TCU, Kansas State, and Oklahoma State have equestrian tournaments instead. It doesn't help our national championship softball team to be in a conference whose members show no commitment in softball.

Traditions? Haven't we severed some rather good traditions to continue this relationship with the Longhorns, unnecessarily since it was never dependent upon being in the same conference? Are these pseudo-conferences that we have devised for non-football and basketball sports supposed to be some exhibition of traditions?

It is gangrene. Chop it off.

Those long term conference opponents left us. We didn't leave them.

The PAC 12 would be horrible for any sport besides football. Two or three days of missed class for every trip to the Pacific Time Zone. Lots of that when all the teams in you conference are in the Pacific Time Zone.

SEC? Well there are obvious issues, especially with their payment to football players. But you mentioned OUr men's gymnastics three time national champs. The SEC has no men's gymnastics. Zero.

Big 10? Almost no women's gymnastics. Almost no women's softball. They have 13 schools, and their fourth best team is worst that the Big XII's fourth best teams with only seven teams. You'd play February and March baseball and softball games mostly in horrible weather. It would cost you severely in recruiting for both.

Good in wrestling. But horrible for travel, to snowy runways for five or sixth months and playing outdoor road games in horrible weather two thirds of the school year.

If we want to be non contiguous, then the ACC is the best location, but there would be problems there, too. We're a lot better off doing what Trammel talked about. Making the Big XII great again. There is more than a little of that going around.
 
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Actually in the western half of the b1g the weather isn't that bad (usually) until about Thanksgiving. Plus they always play the champ game indoors...

We possibly would have to return to more of the power run game and toughen up the D some but we'd fit in well, imho.
 
Our Big Eight allies left us only after we embraced Texas. Arkansas and Texas A&M had long relationships with Texas and found them wanting. Nebraska, Colorado, and Missouri didn't look to leave until they lost our support in favor of Texas.

Your reasons for avoiding the Pacific Ten are no longer valid. What is it, an extra hour's flight to LA instead of Ames or Lawrence? That is your barrier?

The SEC men have no gymnastics? The Big Twelve does? Name the team. On the other hand, the softball and women's gymnastics for both the SEC and Pac 12 are great.
 
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Our Big Eight allies left us only after we embraced Texas. Arkansas and Texas A&M had long relationships with Texas and found them wanting. Nebraska, Colorado, and Missouri didn't look to leave until they lost our support in favor of Texas.

Your reasons for avoiding the Pacific Ten are no longer valid. What is it, an extra hour's flight to LA instead of Ames or Lawrence? That is your barrier?

The SEC men have no gymnastics? The Big Twelve does? Name the team. On the other hand, the softball and women's gymnastics for both the SEC and Pac 12 are great.

Except an 8 p.m. basketball game in Seattle doesn't end until midnight in Norman. And that is a long long flight. All of the issues in airports, trips to and from airports, flight delays. It's two days not counting sleep deprivation. Worse in L.A. even though it's a shorter time in the air. Ridiculous time delays at the airports.
 
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Except an 8 p.m. basketball game in Seattle doesn't end until midnight in Norman. And that is a long long flight. All of the issues in airports, trips to and from airports, flight delays. It's two days not counting sleep deprivation. Worse in L.A. even though it's a shorter time in the air. Ridiculous time delays at the airports.
If you end up in the Pac 12, you do it the way they do it. Instead of making two road trips, you make one. You aren't going to fly to Washington just to play one game. You end up playing Washington on Friday and Washington State on Sunday. It eliminates half of your travel delays, problems, whatever. You are going to paired games:
Washington/Washington State
Oregon/Oregon State
UCLA/USC
Stanford/Cal
Arizona/Arizona State
Utah/Colorado

Since you don't play all of these teams, only about half, you will probably only make three conference road trips per year.
 
You're never seen on tv. Playing games that are an expensive trip for alums and especially parents. It's a lousy paradigm for somebody in the central time zone. Student schedules are unmanageable. To be prepared for conference games, that last til midnight. Later in football.

Hard to mix that in with 6 a.m. lifting and other athlete responsibilities. I don't know of anybody in a university in the central time zone, in a conference with teams in the Pacific.
 
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We have 11 AM games for TV. We have 8:00 PM games for TV. That's just football. Basketball and softball tend to schedule early games routinely. But, 6:30 or 7:30 games are also frequent.

So, if you go to the Pac 12, you simply arrange for the games to start an hour earlier in in the Pacific Time Zone, maybe an hour later in the Central. This isn't 1935. We aren't locked into regularity.
 
I have an idea. Why not just go back to 2 pm kickoffs regardless of which time zone the game is played. Oh, wait. Can't do that because of the TV contracts and all the money considerations. The fans be damned. :cool:
 
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Yes, usually. And nobody got tv time more than twice. I remember about 1967 I think, Notre Dame had a full game replay on national tv the day after it was played. They'd been great in '66 and I think NBC showed it. That was the year that OJ Simpson exploded on the national scene. largely because of that new national college football broadcast.

He'd had a nice game two that season with an impressive showing against Texas in the Coliseum. But it was late late on Saturday night. Nobody saw it, and mostly, you just heard about it. But it was a narrow win, and he didn't have a great night, just a really good one. Three weeks later, they thumped Notre Dame, and every guy who was a football fan not going to church Sunday morning before the NFL game started at noon, saw it. OJ was really good, and a couple of great long runs. He came close to winning the Heisman for the next season, that day.

Then he and that year's winner, had another tv spectacular in a 21-20 Trojan win over Gary Beban and UCLA also on tv. And it was a highlight show for both. Beban won in 67 and OJ in 68. Pretty sure Beban's Heisman was announced before that game. But still.

TV was a lot more important, because if you played great when you were seen, then people thought you were always that good.
 
Here's another bonus point if we go to the b1g; say we have the turrible 1-2 loss year but still win the West. We'd end up in the Rose if we didn't make the CFP. How fun would it be to pee on the snooty left coasters again instead of going to the sewer of the south ?
 
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Actually, my preference was originally to join the Big East back before it's members got sucked up by the ACC and Big Ten. I thought OU could have been the football team that stabilized the conference, and I loved the TV exposure.

Number two--slight preference for the Pac 12 over the Big Ten. Nobody should play in Michigan in winter.

I don't really want the SEC. It would be good for women's sports. But, we will go somewhere because I think the four survivors will be Pac 12, Big Ten, SEC, and ACC
 
My concern with OU going to the Big Ten has to do with OU's Texas recruiting, which I believe would take a MAJOR hit.
While November weather in Big Ten territory generally isn't an issue, recruiters from the SEC and Texas (if the Horns went to the SEC or the PAC12) could use playing in a northern climate against OU....as well as playing far away from friends and family.
 
The USA in general needs to get a grip on "non-pro" entertainment as Plaino eloquently illustrates

Non-pro? College Football is extremely professional. Everybody makes money on college football except college football players.
 
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I had not considered that aspect but think we have a Marque name in so many athletic disciplines that 'the powers that be' will eventually get us into a highest bidder situation, hopefully to the benefit of our athletes.
 
Non-pro? College Football is extremely professional. Everybody makes money on college football except college football players.

Well, all they get is a tax free education. Last I checked, that's worth close to $100K if you're an out of state student. That doesn't include feeding on road trips, and getting to see the country. And Tutors to make you much more likely to get your degree. And last I checked, a degree was worth a ton.

What athletes get is enormous. They spend their freshman year at OU living in the best dorm on campus. If they are smart enough to take advantage, they get a great start on their adult lives. It's a blatant lie to say that they don't make money. They get tax free money.

Is there a lot involved? Yes. But anything worthwhile has that. And most of them are getting all that to dow what they love doing. It's a pretty good deal. Ask the parents of those who spent six figures sometimes on Softball Clubs and Elite Soccer and such, and whose kids didn't get a scholarship.

The women that play softball or compete in gymnastics at OU win life long friends with whom they share a unique bond.
 
In football or basketball, they get full scholarships. In softball, what is it? 12 for the whole team?
 
Yeah we do all have them...

Did you ever share with us your Oklahoma ties Scotts ? (go to school there, live in State as a kid, etc.)

I was born in Bartlesville. My dad was a pipeline welder so I was raised all over the US until I was in the 7th grade. My mother was from Ochelata and my dad from Ramona. I went to school in Ochelata and graduated from the last class in 1969. 1970 was the first year of Caney Valley High School (consolidated with Ramona). I spent just under 5 years in the US Army. Got out and went to school at Tulsa JC and TU. I wanted to go to school at OU but a tremendous job opportunity in Tulsa presented itself and narrowed my decision process. After school I took a 9 month job with a division of HC Price (Bartlesville) in United Arab Emirates and Kuwait in 1980 and didn't come back until 2012. I spent 32 years bouncing around the world in the pipeline business. I spent a lot of time in Russia, SE Asia, Middle East and Africa. I started my own company in 1991 and sold to Weatherford in 1996. I started another company in 2010 based in Dubai working in Africa and Caspian Sea region. I'm still actively involved in this venture. In 1997, we decided to eventually settle in the USA and searched for the ideal location. We bought in north Scottsdale in the Pinnacle Peak area. We bought a lot in Talus on the Pinnacle Course at Troon North and built our dream home. We moved to US so my daughter could go to high school in US and I wanted her to have the US experience. I've been a season ticket holder since 1985 and always scheduled my vacations around football season. I carried my daughter from early age to the Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, OU/Texas and many regular season games. My wife is Russian and her first trip to the US was for OU/Texas. Oklahoma may not be my zip code but I can assure you that everyone in my area knows I'm an OU fan.
 
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