DaytonBlue

Would UNC really split up with Duke?

If ND stayed indy for FB, would they go for Georgia Tech for #16 to get Atlanta?

This is like a game of risk where there are five empires vying for four sports. Three empires have clinched spots (SEC, Big10, Pac-12). The ACC and Big 12 are vying for the last spot, but ACC is wounded.

The Pac-12 is stuck at 12 unless they bend their academic requirements (to get Boise St., etc.) or get the Tex/Ok four (TU, TT, OU, OSU).

If the Pac-12 doesn't take those four, the Big 12 will be fine. But do they expand?

SEC takes VT and NCSU

Big 10 takes UVA and Ga. Tech (it's all about "footprint"). I don't see them going after Texas/Oklahoma as some people have speculated because of the politics of those states and keeping schools together and that the Big 10 has a manifest destiny towards the East Coast.

UVA/VT are at an advantage because the commonwealth is fine with them splitting up as long as they both end up somewhere nice.

I think the Big 12 has to expand and takes FSU, Clemson, and maybe Lousville and Cincinnati.

***rest of this gets crazy***

The ACC picks some of the remnants of the Big East football schools that are left or all of them (Boise, SMU, SDSU, and Houston go to Mtn. West), simply out of need to survive. They have ND for other sports, and finally realize to have a respectable conference championship game they need to play it on campus somewhere to get a decent crowd.

North: Uconn, BC, Su, Pitt, Temple, Memphis (yes I said this part was crazy)

South: Wake, UNC, Duke, Miami, USF, UCF

The Big East becomes a basketball only conference and adds some schools of similar profile (Dayton, Xavier, SLU, St. Joseph's)

The A10 raids some Horizon and CAA schools, and the whole thing continues down the line.

The group of five becomes the group of four (Mtn, Sun Belt, MAC, CUSA), with the Mtn winner likely in an "access" bowl almost every year.

I dislike "team name" stadiums (ie Nationals Park, Marlins Park). Either give your stadium/arena a proper name, or sell the naming rights for some $$$$.

They were supposed to be temporary names IIRC, but with the economy in the tank no one wants to put their name on them.

I think Capital Diamond and Orange Park (in honor of the Orange Bowl) would have been much cooler.

And I always thought a reasonable compromise in the LA of Anaheim deal would have been to allow them to be the LA Angels but then the City of Anaheim would get free "naming rights", including sponsorships, etc., for the city around the ballpark. City of Anaheim Stadium.

I assume if they make the playoffs again in the future the Lions will just add the year to that one banner. If so, it's not the coolest thing but not terrible.

The Rams have all their playoff appearances listed below the press box, but it's not as prominent as the NFC and Super Bowl banners.

I don't like it when teams note what round they get to. Memphis Tigers do this for NCAA appearances and it's lame (NCAA 2nd round). The Mets have a banner that says LDS winners (at least they used to at Shea).

It is weird, though, that for teams like the Blues, their best season since I began following them in 1996 (3rd round in 2001) isn't recognized because they didn't win the division or conference while they will raise a banner for last season for winning the Central Division. They also have a President's Trophy Banner for the year they were promptly knocked out by the Sharks in the first round. I think the 2001 season was a greater accomplishment.

I always have felt a little bad for fans in danger of losing their team, but after seeing that guy harass the "water guy" for exercising his right to gather petitions, pack em up and move em to Quebec!

Has Glendale just thought about buying the damn team? That seems like it would be cheaper or almost the same cost as this boondoggle.

Could Barclays be retrofitted to improve some of the seats? I remember reading way back when the Coyotes were at America West Arena how that building had a proposal to retrofit the arena to have 16K unobstructed seats.

If they could get a couple thousand more usable seats (perhaps by retracting both ends and putting the ice more in the middle, it'd be a feasible option for the Isles.

Guys! The most pro-Coyote council member has a twitter! She takes shots at Canadians, those evil "naysayers," the mayor, and then asks "How do I do private response on this thing?"

http://twitter.com/#!/clarkjv

She has a link to her website on her twitter page. It's hilarious. Here's one thing that caught my attention.

Maybe they can stick a library in next to the Coyotes store. You can check out a book while you buy a Coyotes t-shirt.

That just shows how messed up this deal is. If Glendale was even paying a reasonable/comparable arena management fee, GWI would probably leave well enough alone.

If Glendale was even paying a reasonable/comparable arena management fee, the NHL would have moved them years ago.

True as well.

How late could they realistically move the team? (Thrashers sale broke by media around 5/16/11...sale went through 5/31; Nordiques announced move to Denver in May as well)

I could see Gary trying to stall enough so that even if the sale falls apart, they have to stay out there another season.

Byron Schlomach, chief economist at the institute, said the proposed management fee to the team is too high, because comparable facilities garner around $10 million.

Why stop there? Some places don't even pay "arena management fees" and in fact collect money for the right to manage the arena, like Quebec City.

That just shows how messed up this deal is. If Glendale was even paying a reasonable/comparable arena management fee, GWI would probably leave well enough alone.

Possible shakeout based on current rumors

Pac 12

Washington

Wash. St.

Oregon

Oregon St.

Stanford

California

Arizona

Arizona St.

Utah

Colorado

USC

UCLA

Big 16

Texas

Texas Tech

TCU

Baylor

Kansas

Kansas St.

Oklahoma

Ok. State

West Virginia

Iowa State

Florida St.

Clemson

Notre Dame

Georgia Tech

Louisville

PIT or CINCY? (heard little talk on these two, but if they take others they'll likely need one to have an even number)

Big 10

Nebraska

Iowa

Indiana

Purdue

Illinois

Northwestern

Wisconsin

Minnesota

Maryland

Duke

UNC

VA

Ohio St.

Michigan St.

Michigan St.

Penn St.

SEC

Tennessee

Georgia

South Carolina

Florida

Kentucky

Vanderbilt

Va Tech

NC State

Ole Miss

Miss St.

LSU

Auburn

Alabama

TX A&M

Arkansas

Mizzou

Then perhaps the Big East basketball schools break away and add some A10 schools and the football schools merge with the ACC.

ACC

Boston College

Uconn

Temple

Syracuse

Rutgers

Wake Forest

Memphis

Miami

South Fla

Cent Fla

SMU

Houston

PIT or CINCY?

NAVY (FB only)

I gotta think if this happens Boise St. and San Diego St. go back to the Mtn. West.

That ACC conference is still a lot of decent schools to leave out of the national championship picture permanently if this four superconference thing is going to happen. And of course as we've discussed here, the Pac-12's lack of viable expansion teams is an issue.

It amazes me how the Big 12 went from its death bed to major player in a year.

And geography, academics, tradition, etc., are completely out the window at this point. I bet when it's done these new alignments will make the old NFC West of CAR, NO, ATL, STL, SF almost seem logical!

Interesting how those banners avoid the issue of putting the old logo on them or the new one. I guess I'd rather see something like that than banners with the new logo recognizing achievements won with the old logo.

Well, the silly season in college football is becoming as entertaining as it is in minor league hockey!

If the Warriors are leaving, could they do this?

1. When the Warriors move out, tear down Oracle and build a new baseball park in its place.

2. Then tear down the circular part of the Coliseum and rebuild the other half like a football stadium for the Raiders. Raiders could play at Candlestick or Santa Clara for a year or two.

Then they'd have a Coliseum sports complex like the one in Kansas City, for the price of 1 1/2 stadia.

Edit: I usually am really careful with spelling!

Oh I didn't think adding those schools was a good idea. But will the Big 10/12 and SEC like being 16-team conferences while the Pac-12 stays at 12?

-----------------------------

That said, there's a problem with this round of "SuperConferences are happening!" that leads me to be skeptical. Who will be Pac-12 teams 13-16? Every school not in one of the 4 that is west of the Mississippi River is seriously unattractive for one reason or another.

That's the problem I see in all of this. If you look at TV market size, I guess they could add Boise St., New Mexico, UNLV, and UTEP, but I don't think the Pac-12 would want any of those schools. Maybe they'd add Hawaii as a recruiting perk. Again, like the Big 10, they may be forced to do something.

I wonder if the remnants of the Big East FB schools and ACC form a conference and the Big East non-football schools merge with some of the A10 schools to make a powerhouse basketball-only conference. Of course the leftover schools become basically irrelevant.

So theoretically, a Big East/ACC football merger could be:

North

Boston College

Pitt

Syracuse

Rutgers

Uconn

Temple

Cincinnati

Louisville

South

Miami

Wake Forest

Georgia Tech

South Fla

Cent Fla

SMU

Houston

Memphis

If this were the case, I see Boise and SDSU retracting to Mount West again.

Yes, but I bet a few of these teams would get invited to the Big 12 to get it up to 16 (perhaps Miami, Ga. Tech, Louisville, Pitt, or maybe Cincinnati)...I still think if these superconferences come about ND is going to have to get into one. I

Unless Oakland somehow comes up with a stadium, I think it's either lawsuit or possibly contraction. Unlike the NFL and LA, MLB has no markets to use to black male anyone. Portland A's? Charlotte A's? Montreal A's? I don't think so.

According to @ChadScott, ACC could lose up to 8 members by August. Duke, MD, VA, and UNC to Big 10.

Other rumors have VA Tech and NC State to SEC.

Still others have GA Tech and Clemson (Clemson more a certainty, Ga Tech "just talking") to Big 12.

I wonder if the remnants of the Big East FB schools and ACC form a conference and the Big East non-football schools merge with some of the A10 schools to make a powerhouse basketball-only conference.

And I would think Notre Dame is going to have to make a move to a conference if they want to stay relevant at all.

Superconferences here we come.

If Big 10, SEC, and Big 12 all go to 16 teams, who could the Pac-12 realistically take if they wanted to match the other three of the "big four"?

1. The Big Ten said REPEATEDLY after they got Nebraska was that 12 teams was how they'd stay for now. Wonder if the landscape's changed enough where they really would go for more now?

2. Virginia Tech I could see, but NC State's just not elite enough to make that jump IMHO.

3. So the Big 12's going to Georgia and South Carolina? Geographical relevancy is officially DEAD now...

4. I would like to see a Big East-Atlantic 10 elite basketball-only conference...if only to see Marquette FINALLY win another conference title (they're the best of all these non-football schools in basketball right now)

I think the landscape is going to force the Big 10 to make a move.

NC State I think has been mentioned purely for expanding the footprint.

As a Dayton alum, I would love to see Dayton, Marquette, DePaul, St. John's, St. Joe's, Georgetown, Duquense, Xavier, and SLU together.

I'm from Missouri, and with Mizzou in the SEC now and the A10 only getting stronger, I look forward to sitting back and watching the show.

According to @ChadScott, ACC could lose up to 8 members by August. Duke, MD, VA, and UNC to Big 10.

Other rumors have VA Tech and NC State to SEC.

Still others have GA Tech and Clemson (Clemson more a certainty, Ga Tech "just talking") to Big 12.

I wonder if the remnants of the Big East FB schools and ACC form a conference and the Big East non-football schools merge with some of the A10 schools to make a powerhouse basketball-only conference. Of course the leftover schools become basically irrelevant.

And I would think Notre Dame is going to have to make a move to a conference if they want to stay relevant at all.

Superconferences here we come.

If Big 10, SEC, and Big 12 all go to 16 teams, who could the Pac-12 realistically take if they wanted to match the other three of the "big four"?

In this nightmare scenario, the NBA lets the Kings move to Anaheim. All hell breaks loose with teams moving to larger markets left and right.

Pacific Division

Vancouver Pacers

Phoenix Suns

Seattle Bucks

Denver Nuggets

Portland Trailblazers

California

LA Lakers

LA Clippers

Anaheim Royals

San Francisco Warriors

San Jose Wolves

Southwest

Houston Rockets

San Antonio Spurs

Dallas Mavericks

New Orleans Hornets

Oklahoma City Thunder

Central

Chicago Bulls

Chicago Grizzlies

Detroit Pistons

Columbus Cavaliers

Toronto Raptors

Atlantic

Boston Celtics

New Jersey Bobcats

New York Knicks

Brooklyn Nets

Montreal Jazz

...le Jazz become France's team, playing two home games in Paris each year

Southeast

Washington Wizards

Miami Heat

Orlando Magic

Atlanta Hawks

Philadelphia 76ers

And yet they've reportedly been in financial trouble, which doesn't speak well for the strength of the league.

Agreed. If the business model requires most teams to make the playoffs or even go to the 2nd round to be profitable, that's not good.

If they moved there, couldn't they make the opposite end retractable and center the rink. I would think that, combined with adding some seats in open areas that are visible in the renderings, could get it up to 16K or so with unobstructed views.

When the Coyotes were discussing moving out of America West Arena, a plan was mentioned about renovating that building to have 16K seats with a view of the whole ice. Anyone know more details about what happened with that plan and why it never happened. I imagine the Coyotes would not be in the mess they are in if they were still in downtown Phoenix or Scottsdale.

Here is a five-division arrangement for the NHL (assuming PHX to QUE)

Pacific: VAN, CAL, EDM, SJ, LA, ANA

Central: COL, MIN, WPG, STL, CHI, DAL

East: DET, CBJ, NAS, CAR, TB, FL

Atlantic: NYR, NYI, NJ, PIT, PHI, WSH

North: OTT, QUE, TOR, MON, BUF, BOS

VAN still gets to be with Calgary and Edmonton.

DAL gets away from many games on West Coast.

MIN reunites with old rivals WPG, CHI, and STL.

DET and CBJ now in division mostly with teams in same time zone.

Atlantic stays together and is reunited with WSH.

North (formerly NE) stays together and adds QUE.

Play your division 6x. (30 games)

Play everyone else 2x. (48 games)

Four games based on previous years standings, a la NFL (play one extra game against other non-division teams finishing in same position). 4x

Works out to 82 games.

Playoffs:

Division winners+11 wild cards.

Seeding: Based on points only, with caveat that division winners cannot be seeded below 8th (the reward for winning division is home ice in at least one round, but good teams in other divisions can have a higher seed in later rounds).

Reseed for 2nd and 3rd rounds.

Format: If teams are more than one time zone apart, format is 2-3-2.

For cross-country match ups, west coast teams will be required to start Mon-Thurs. games at 6 local time, and central/east coast teams 8:00 local time to make it easier for fans of the road team to watch the games.

did not hear about that...if PHX moves to Quebec you'd think they would at least let them switch spots and have QUE in the southeast and WPG in the Pacific.