Governor Nixon disses Big 12 and proves he doesn't get it.

First, I've been a little crazy at my real work that people pay me to do (you know besides being an activist, writer, and statesman) so I apologize for being a little AWOL. It has been driving me crazy because there have been so many topics I wanted to write about but just no time to do them right.........and as you know I'm not a "throw up a picture and a clever comment" kinda blogger. You might even say I'm a bit wordy.....I'm working on that.

I don't do it on purpose but sometimes I hit on something early and then a few weeks later it becomes a bigger story. It falls under the "even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then" category. I've linked to it in case you missed it.

So anyway a little while back I wrote about a throw away line in the KC Star from a writer about Missouri moving to the Big 10. I recall some of the comments where like...."who cares" which is usually right when pondering Missouri but since then the story has evolved.

If you are following it there were some other stories about it including a big one about the Big 10 themselves moving the topic of adding another school back onto their agenda which of course caused all kinds of interest from Missouri folk.

Fast forward to the Gov and his comments that fall right into line with exactly what I was saying all along.......that people from Missouri are stupidly disconnected and don't understand the issue.....beginning with their dumbass governor.

So while the Big Ten has some higher ranked schools it make him look like a total idiot when he says he'd rather be in a conference with Northwestern than Oklahoma State. This is about money.

And then this morning the story was picked up locally.

To wit......dear Governor. That was my point exactly in my previous post. You don't get it. The Big 10 is more like Oklahoma State than Northwestern. Northwestern is a great school with an enrollment about one third to one quarter, okay even one fifth that of their Big 10 (or Big 12) counterparts. The truth is Northwestern doesn't really fit in with the Big 10 but they like beating up on the smart kids on the North side of Chicago every now and again. Northwestern is little more than our Baylor. Each conference is full of huge state schools and one private school.

Oh and a big by the way......Oklahoma State is a world respected college for Mechanical Engineering (Jay, that's where the oil guys go) and Architecture as well as a top center for Information Assurance for the National Security Agency (that basically means military intelligence....ironic eh Jay?) They also boast one of the highest numbers of Truman Scholars in the nation with 15 and 6 out of the last 7 years.

Missouri, on the other hand according to Wikipedia, is known for having the country's first school of Journalism (which means they train the biased assholes we see on MSNBC) and for being one of only 6 schools to have a law, veterinary, agriculture, engineering, and medical schools...no mention of how they rank? I understand most rankings put Missouri ahead of good ole Oklahoma State but if you want to play US News & World Report Ranking game well......the Big Ten would be better off considering that Kansas AND Iowa State both outrank Mizzou.

Besides pointing out the stupidity of Jay Nixon the bigger question is (I guess) will they or won't they go if asked? Really, I don't care but be clear about this, Governor Nixon, that the decision isn't about academics......almost any 4 year state school with a huge enrollment will do......but rather about the television market share they can grab and hence the money they can extract. Period.

I'm horrible at predictions (other than Dennis Moore not running again) but I'd have to say IF they expand they will quietly ask Notre Dame first and after they stupidly say no they will pick between Rutgers and Missouri. And if I were them with all bias aside....I'd try for Rutgers. Huge New Jersey/New York TV audience from a school that is athletically on the upswing right, has a huge enrollment AND is better ranked academically that Mizzou. We'll see.

This isn't to say I don't think Missouri has a gripe about Bowls they haven't been selected to play in the past 3 years. They do.

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Here is just a little background if you are bored this week.

If you are interested here is a little history on the Big Ten. You'll see Northwestern is the only private school and has an enrollment of about 8,000. Do you think they are going offer reciprocal agreements with Missouri? Please.

Here is info on the Big 12. Again, if you look at the schools, the enrollments they look remarkably similar to the Big 10 except the Big 12 was smart enough to understand that 11 is a prime number and kept the number of schools even. Score one point for the Big 12.

Here a history of the Southwest Conference. Do you think there was a reason Houston, Rice or SMU weren't offered spots in the new Big 12? Think about it Jay.

Just a quick program note. I don't check my jocoeveryman@hotmail.com account even close to daily so please understand if I don't get back to you right away. Especially to a certain someone out there: if you don't want me to send you email then you might stop sending them to me.....after all I'm only hitting the "reply button".

Thanks for reading.

Tigers to the Big Ten?

It is usually one little tiny thing that gets my interest and makes me think. It usually isn’t the big headline. Today was just like that. I am drinking my coffee and reading the paper trying to understand the Big 12 Bowl scenario for this year when the sentence that will pass by most sticks in my head.

The chatter has been that Missouri would get snubbed by the Insight Bowl and go to a lesser bowl in favor of Iowa State who has a reputation of traveling well. In fact, they did. Mizzou to the Texas Bowl in Houston and Iowa State gets the Insight Bowl.

I get all that. I get that, yes, they have been snubbed for the past few years and the one that really hurt was when rival and my alma mater, Kansas got the BCS Orange Bowl even though Missouri beat them. I would be pissed off too except that for the many reasons the Texas Bowl is better for them, ie National TV versus the NFL network, in the middle of their recruiting sweet spot, and a place where their fans can drive to see the game. I get it. It hurts to not be wanted, again.

I was reading with some interest as Mizzou officials were selecting their words carefully to not insult their hosts at the Texas Bowl as they expressed their displeasure with the selection process and that the Big 12 allows the Bowls to pick whomever they wish. Truly, their rancor is as much with the Big 12 as with any Bowl that overlooked them.

There was one little line that got my attention. It always cracks me up. It comes up from time to time and frankly I think it is quite laughable. The suggestion is usually officially subtle and less subtle from fans of Mizzou. They threaten or suggest that they might leave and go the Big Ten.

They like to put forward notions they really don’t understand.

1. The Big Ten is the better conference.
2. They really fit in better with the Big Ten academically.
3. The Big Ten wants them.

They think it is sorta like they are stuck at the kid’s table and the Big Ten is the adults table. I think it is more like they are wanting to take their Barbie dolls and go home.

The oft repeated notion which at first I thought was a quote from a Missouri official but really was just a baiting question from KC Star writer Mike DeArmond to John Junker regarding Missouri’s prospects of a future bid to the Insight Bowl, “…..Perhaps as a member of the Big Ten, or some conference that does not have a record of letting Missouri fall in bowl bidding?”

It makes me laugh because people in the know will say the truth is that lots of schools fit academically. Missouri thinks they are saying that Missouri is a better academic school than many of their partners in the Big 12 which really isn’t the case. In other words, they are superior academically to the rest of the Big 12. What they are saying Jr. Missouri Einsteins is that they fit as well as lots of other Midwestern State Schools. It has also been written that Nebraska, Iowa State and even Texas fit academically with the Big Ten. I’m not sure we think of any of those schools, or Kansas for that matter, as defacto members of the Ivy League. In fact, it is often speculated that it was the Big Ten’s talk of wanting to add Kansas AND Missouri that created energy toward the formation of the Big 12 in 1993.

I’m not going to debate which conference is better. They are both really good conferences with good rivalries and a great history of athletics and a probably slightly better than average academics. Of course I'm partial to the Big 12. Actually I liked the old Big 8 best.

Does the Big Ten want them? Well, the Big Ten, or is it 11….or is it 12 if you count the University of Chicago does want and need to add a 12th school that competes in major athletics. In short they want to be like the Big 12. It is about money and reach. They want to capture a larger television audience so they can get more money. Really, that is the beginning and ending of who fits. Missouri brings them St. Louis and some Kansas City viewers. Nebraska brings them a smaller but more loyal viewer but really isn’t a likely match. There isn’ t much competition for the Nebraska viewer so you get most of them. If Iowa State offered anything in television numbers I think they would already be in. Then you get schools like Rutgers and Louisville that have been on the rise and have a lot to offer as well. Would the Big Ten like a piece of the New York, New Jersey television markets? I’d like to think they might. So why the talk about Missouri? They, among several, fit financially, geographically and they are probably willing but ironically…..again are second choice already.

This all leads me to the one we all know makes the most sense to join. Notre Dame. Only the Irish are too proud to see it. Sure, right now they have broadcast revenues that they don’t have to share that are huge but we’ve all seen where the Irish football program has been heading the past few years and they have just fired another coach. Basketball hasn’t been much for sometime either. Notre Dame will always have a silly loyal following from countless numbers of people who couldn’t even dream of going to school there but live and die by it like they did. However, nobody wants to see a loser and these idiots don’t just expect to win they expect National Championships. I think it isn’t a stretch to say unless they modify their admissions for the student athlete their best days are behind them and someday, probably soon, they will wish the Big Ten would consider them.

While I’m at it……conferences are too big anyway. We shouldn’t be expanding them. Eight is a great number for football. They should all have to play each other every year. Simple.

By the way, we will end this football season with two undefeated teams and an outside chance at three if Cincinnati can beat Florida and no playoff to know who really is best. Incredibly sad.