Cost-benefit analysis

Honestly, I don’t know why we don’t hear more talk like this from major conference athletic directors:

I had a good chat with Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds last Friday. We talked about the past, present and future of the Big 12, and you’ve read about some of our conversation in my Sunday and Monday columns. But Dodds tossed out an idea which didn’t really fit anything I was writing about but which was extremely interesting. So I’ll share it here.

Dodds advocates playing more conference games in BOTH football and basketball. He would like nine Big 12 games in football and 22 in basketball (a double round-robin).

“I’d rather play more conference games,” Dodds said. “We don’t have enough votes for that. We wouldn’t be buying so many games.”

Dodds said he has trotted out the idea “a couple of times. Hadn’t had much success. They know where we stand. Sometimes programs get down and want to play games where they can win more games. Those votes will always be against adding.”

Financially, with the rising cost of scheduling cupcake games, Dodds’ proposal makes more and more sense.  Not that the coaches would like it.

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“Sleep with one eye open, gripping your pillow tight, exit light, enter night.”

At Virginia Tech, you don’t want to “mess with the tradition”.

Because playing amplified music at earsplitting levels at sporting events is so, you know, different than what you hear at other venues.  Special, even.

I know this is likely to come off sounding like one of those “hey, you kids, get off of my lawn” moments, but I really hate that crap.

Bob Huggins wants basketball to be more like football.

Huggins suggests that college basketball follow college football’s lead and break Division I basketball into two divisions… but realizes what the sticking point to doing that is:

Huggins also took the chance to take a shot at the NCAA, saying the organization and the leagues keep all the money earned — leaving very little for the schools who are trying to tighten budgets as it is.

“The next thing is, the presidents need to get their head out of their (expletive) and figure out the NCAA is keeping all their money,” Huggins said Saturday before his team’s win over Seton Hall. “Between the NCAA and the conferences, they’re keeping all the money. You have all these presidents concerned about budgets, meantime they let two organizations steal all their money.”

Good luck with that crusade, coach.  That’s why you’ve got 347 teams eligible for the tourney in the first place.

“I worry every single time the phone rings.”

Oregon football:  it’s like speed dating and the Fulmer Cup got together and had a baby.

This year’s model at quarterback

Tebow, McCoy and Bradford are gone.  Matt Hayes gives us a list of the five quarterbacks in line to be the next big thing.  I don’t know – there’s plenty of potential and a couple of very good system QBs there, but when the top player on his list sported a completion percentage last season that barely topped Joe Cox’ (and will miss 2010 spring practice with a foot injury), let’s just say that things aren’t burning as brightly at the position as they once were.