Apparently, Texas did not think that it would be a good idea to move to the Pac-10, set off what would have been a chain of events that would have led to the creation of a collection of “super” conferences, and invoke talk of a college football playoff. Instead, now we essentially have what we started with; a twelve team conference and a ten team conference. The only thing left to do now is switch the names of the conferences to avoid confusion. I still believe that in a few years, Texas will bolt for another conference. As I have said before, it is all about the money. Texas is the Big 12, and therefore is content to stay in it and rack in all the benefits. However, when it becomes clear to all the college presidents that a college playoff is on its way, Texas will realize that they can make even more money by helping create a super conference. It may be a few years, but Texas will eventually be a member of the Pac-10, and the Big 12 will become defunct.
While on the subject of conference expansion, let me correct a mistake from my last post that was brought to my attention by a few of my readers. I had said that the Big 10 would end up with thirteen teams by adding Nebraska, Missouri, and Notre Dame, when the total should actually be fourteen. Thank you to those who pointed that out to me. With that being said, it would be even more logical for the Big 10 to do something like this if the conference swapping were to take place, because having fourteen teams would allow for two seven-team divisions.
The World Cup is now well underway, and thanks to a certain musical instrument, the fans in South Africa are making sure that the world is paying attention. Personally, I kind of like the vuvuzelas; after about five minutes, you almost forget that the noise is there. It has apparently been a tradition in South Africa to blow the horns during games for a long time, and telling a country that they cannot partake in their traditions is unfair. Regardless of what some players say, it’s not hurting anyone. That is why I am glad that FIFA will not ban the horn. As for the U.S. team, they should be feeling confident about their chances of moving on if they stay focused. They got a gift in the game against England, but they have the talent edge over both Slovenia and Algeria. Slovenia did not look impressive in their win over Algeria on Sunday (they also received a gift from Algerian goalkeeper Farouzi Chaouchi), and assuming that the U.S. attacks and does not sit back and defend, they will beat Slovenia. As for Algeria, again; it comes down to staying focused. If the U.S. goes into the Algeria game with a good mindset, then they will end the group stage with seven points, and will move on to the knockout round. Anything less will be a disappointment.
Once again, Stephen Strasburg did not fail to impress, striking out eight and getting his second win in as many starts against Cleveland on Sunday. Many people have been wondering if Strasburg will cool off once he faces a team that has a winning percentage over .410. I believe the answer to that question is no. It would be one thing if Strasburg had just one pitch. But he doesn’t. He doesn’t have just two, either. He has three dominating pitches. In the major leagues, batters study pitchers enough to have at least somewhat of an idea what the pitcher may throw depending on the count. However, because of Strasburg’s control with multiple types of pitches, the hitters are almost guessing at what he may throw next. There shouldn’t be too much of a drop-off from that kind of command, even in a few months when hitters have had time to figure Strasburg out. The bottom line is this guy is just that good.
– K. Becks
