We here at The Morning Line take great pride in providing the finest in sports entertainment, except today, which will be boring.
Thanks, Doc. See you next week.
You want Reds talk? OK.
Reds lose again to Mets, Castellanos has a mini-fracture in his wrist, meaning the losing could be open-ended until he returns, the six-man rotation is a bad idea, especially if #6 is Jeff Hoffman, Brewers could win the Central at 80-82, need-for-relievers talk will die a quiet death, no one will ever again believe that winning is the #1 priority on the riverfront.
There you go.
Now, then. . .
AND THE WALLS COME TUMBLIN’ DOWN . . . Texas and OU are playing serious footsie with the SEC. Where there’s smoke, there’s desire. Experts are saying this flirtation is real. Yahoo:
The sense is these conversations are very real and could move quickly. The next step in a potential process would be OU and Texas communicating their plans to the Big 12 before formally expressing interest to the SEC. It’s uncertain when that would be, but the publicity from Wednesday would potentially expedite that timeline.
If Texas leaves the Big 12, the Big 12 is dead.
The largest hang-up is the 12’s TV deal, of course it is. It runs through 2024, and puts a big hitch in the two schools’ reported aspirations. Then again,
Oklahoma and Texas would have to pay fees of around $70 million to leave before the grant of rights end, though those have been fought out in court before.
More:Paul Daugherty: Terry Nelson saw the brave new world of NIL coming 30 years ago
Realignment decisions are made with the next generation in mind, however, and because there’s mutual interest between the SEC, and Texas and Oklahoma, it’s hard to imagine finances getting in the way. (Yahoo)
This seems to be the next tumble of the dice in what would eventually be a four-league, 64-team conglomeration. ACC, Pac-12, SEC, Big 10. And if you’re not on that luxury liner, you might as well cruise the Ivy League.
UC’s ever-striving and ambitious plans are deeply affected, obviously. The Bearcats simply must land on the 64 side of this epic shakeout.
That wouldn’t seem to be a huge issue, on the face of things. Nothing matters but football and football is a top 10 product in a desirable TV market that also happens to be loaded with blue-chip high school players.
But that has been the case for decades and when the last realignment happened, the Bearcats were bypassed. The Big 10 will never take them, the Pac-12 wouldn’t work geographically, if the SEC takes TX and OU, it would have its 16. That leaves the ACC, which already has 15.
More:Paul Daugherty: Cincinnati is the medieval torture chamber of sports horrors
Imagine a game of musical chairs, with 10 school mascots and one chair.
I imagine Houston would like that seat. BYU would be interested. Notre Dame might have to be. In Perfect World, quasi-am athletics would ditch current affiliations entirely and just pick the most deserving 64. (That’s not you, Rutgers, or you, Wake Forest.) Vanderbilt is a school masquerading as a football program.
It's ridiculous that Illinois, Kansas and Washington State, to name a few, are on the inside collecting obese checks while UC is still screaming for attention.
All this means is that UC will have to strive even harder than it has already, with no more resources at its disposal. Donors are tapped out. The school couldn’t afford to pay John Brannen a mere $5 mil to pack his bags. At this most critical juncture, the Bearcats pockets are shallow.
It also heightens the value of Luke Fickell and the mandatory need to retain him, no matter what. And Fickell still could leave.
This is a boring sports topic, but a fascinating power grab.
THE WORLD IS SICK. LET’S THROW A PARTY. Opening Ceremonies are Friday night. I wouldn’t miss them for the world, no pun intended.
No, wait a minute. I think I have to take out the trash that night. Then I have to wash my hands, maybe straighten some pictures on the wall.
It’s also walk the dog night. So is every other night, but you know how it goes with rituals. That’ll leave me enough time to brush my teeth and call it an evening.
They’re holding an Olympics a year late. No one’s gonna be in the stands. That’s good in one respect: About 100,000 volunteers had already quit several months ago, due to COVID fears. Polls taken in Japan suggest even the Japanese don’t want the Tokyo Games to happen.
The country’s medical experts mostly agree they’re a bad idea.
Just Wednesday, The Tokyo Olympic organizing committee fired the director of the opening ceremonies because of a Holocaust joke he made during a comedy show in 1998. “Holocaust joke’’ is the gold medalist at the Oxymoron Games.
But hey, let the Games begin.
After all, International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach did say last week there was “zero risk’’ athletes might transmit the virus to each other or to Tokyo residents.
What Monsieur Bach meant to say was there was “zero chance’’ he was going to be good with canceling $3 billion to $4 billion in TV rights income if the show doesn't go on.
In a normal Olympic year, the Games are pomp with circumstance. At their best, their drama is unequaled. Some of my best jock-writing memories happened in Seoul and Athens, Sydney and Atlanta. The Olympics have the power to stir the soul.
These Olympics?
Fan-less and conscience-less, a party many don’t want, attended by guests under a virus cloud? I think I need to change my car’s anti-freeze.
AND NOW. . .
FunMaster Brien gets space-y
This weekend marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Apollo 15 mission. The National Air Force Museum in Dayton is kicking off a seventeen-day celebration to commemorate the accomplishments of that team, and of the space program in general.
Apollo 15 was the fourth Apollo mission to land on the moon. Having become more comfortable with that procedure, this crew was able to focus more on scientific testing and advanced exploration. This was the first mission to bring the iconic lunar rover to the moon’s surface. In keeping with the spirit of science and exploration, the spacecraft was given the call sign Endeavour – after the ship that Captain James Cook sailed to New Zealand in 1768.
On display at the museum will be the Apollo 15 command module and the lunar rover, as well as rarely seen artifacts from many of the space campaigns. Other activities include an interactive exhibit, information sessions on space suits and life in space, plus several simulator rides. You will even have a chance to build and launch your own mini rocket. This is a great opportunity to check out the world’s largest aviation museum.
For the specific daily events and other information, please visit www.nationalmuseum.af.mil.
Imbiber Dave is drinking beer at Hilton Head. Don’t you wish you were, too?
TUNE O' THE DAY. . . I love good, brainless pop. There is no shame in conceding your affection for the Raspberries. In that vein, a one-hit that wondrously captures the pop spirit.
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