As many of you may have figured out, I’m still mourning the death of the Southwest Conference. I still miss all of the Texas schools playing each other in real, meaningful games. Of course, we had to put up with those interlopers from Bill Clinton’s home state, but they weren’t so bad (even if I do still blame them for the breakup of my childhood conference).
I had grown to accept the Big 12 even if I didn’t love it. Sure, Texas/OU now meant something, but then, hadn’t it always? OSU is a solid program, but where was any rivalry (other than with OU which is still a foreign school in my mind). Who gets worked up over what Nebraska, an Iowa school, a Kansas school or Colorado does? At least the Big 12 had some solid rivalries. Texas-OU, Texas-A&M and A&M-Texas Tech all brought a little legitimacy to the conference.
A year ago, after Nebraska bailed (and who shed a tear over that?), I thought that Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe had successfully performed CPR on the league. Little did I know that they had merely put it on life support. Well, the Aggies just pulled the plug. The Big 12 is in the process of taking its final gasp.
Oh, the batteries on its pacemaker will keep it beating for another season or two, but even the Eveready Bunny can only go so long. I think Cason’s might want to start ordering extra floral arrangements.
They may entice BYU into the fold, but the Salt Lake City crew won’t revive this conference. Notre Dame? About the same time that the pope starts holding a tent revival in Blooming Grove. TCU is sitting back giggling right now. Arkansas? The Hogs dumped the Southwest Conference, and it was a much more viable conference than the Big 12 is at this time.
SMU has informed the Big 12 that they would like to be included. However, unless they can bring back Eric Dickerson and Craig James (and the big money backers of the Pony Express) … well, you get the idea.
Don’t worry about Texas, Texas Tech, OU or Okie State. They’ll wind up in the Pac 12 (or 16 as it will become). That makes absolutely no sense to me, but an old Gypsy woman told me she saw that in her crystal ball or Tarot cards or in the bumps on my head or something. It will happen. I never doubt old Gypsy women.
If you bleed burnt orange or guns up red, you had better invest in either a DVR or a large quantity of Red Bull. Games at Oregon or Washington will start about my bedtime. I mean, when the Rangers play in Anaheim, I only watch about the first three innings. Maybe you can hitch a ride with Carl White when the ‘Horns play at USC.
The big question is: What happens to Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas and K-State? With apologies to my Baylor friends (and that includes my sister), the Bears may be looking in on the Horned Frogs’ situation in the Big East with a jealous eye.
That old Gypsy woman, right after she sold me that magic elixir, told me that she saw the Bears, the Cyclones, the Wildcats and the Jayhawks feeding on a steady diet of Owls, Cougars and assortment of Conference USA and Mountain West fodder.
Oh, wait! I can tell that Oliver is “fixin’” to jump all over the fact that I omitted the Missouri Tigers. As Oliver and all other diehard “American football” fans know, there are 9 of the 10 teams of the Big 12 left, so where is Mizzou? They’re a tweener. I don’t think that Missouri has a shot at the SEC, the Pac 16 (odd numbers never work) or the Big 10 and their 12 teams. I do think that they will draw more interest than the other four after-thoughts of the conference. The little gypsy woman (she hates it when I call her that) said she could see Missouri going to the ACC.
So, I think we should commence the wake. Why wait until there is no heartbeat? We know the outcome. Besides, viewing the body is so distasteful. Let’s toast the memory of the Big 12, even if its life was short. At least maybe we can get a party out of all of this.
Sports
Related Photos
-
Ron Morgan is the Daily Sun's Sunday columnist
Discussion
Morgan: Big 12 dying
Commence the wake
- Sports
-
-
GC Baseball: UPDATES w/FINAL: Windthorst outlasts weather, Dawson, 8-6
Windthorst and Dawson resumed Game 2 of their Region II-1A semifinal series Saturday morning, and after less than hour, the Trojans closed the books on the series with an 8-6 win.
-
Morgan: Solid shape - Despite injuries, Rangers just fine
Let me see a show of hands. Who was worried this season about the Rangers losing Josh Hamilton, Michael Young and Mike Napoli? Come on, now. You know it was hard to see how they would replace both the production and the leadership provided by that threesome. Oh, and let’s add that they would have to start the season without Coby Lewis and Neftali Feliz. Surely, you had to wonder if even Moses could lead us could lead us out of the AL West.
-
GC Softball: Sam Rayburn ends Hubbard's run, 7-2
The Hubbard Lady Jags' magical playoff run came to an end against the Sam Rayburn Lady Rebels, keeping Hubbard just short of getting to the state tournament. Dallas Fletcher hit a two-run home run before Sam Rayburn pulled away for a 7-2 victory over the Lady Jaguars in the Class 1A Region II final on Friday night.
-
JUCO World Series: The goods ... Navarro knows what it takes (UPDATED: Corrects schedules to CST)
The Navarro Bulldogs won the 2011 JUCO World Series the way most baseball championships are won. With a deep pitching staff. An unsung hero. Great defense. And a defining moment, catcher J.T. Files’ walkoff home run in the national championship game.
-
Navarro County Pro Rodeo set to hit town next week
It’s almost rodeo time in Navarro County. The Navarro County Pro Rodeo is coming to town next weekend at the Navarro County Youth Exposition Center. Gates will open at 6 p.m. both Friday, May 31, and Saturday, June 1, with the rodeo beginning about 8 p.m.
-
Melton collects two more hits, but Aggies fall to Miss. St., 6-4
Adam Frazier went 4 for 5 with an RBI and Mississippi State beat Texas A&M 6-4 Thursday night in the Southeastern Conference tournament. Hunter Melton was 2 for 4 with an RBI single in the first.
-
GC Baseball: Unbelievable - Windthorst plates 6 in seventh to stun Dawson
Bo Moore lives by the run. He likes to put pressure on the opponent. A three-run seventh looked like just enough cushion in a five-run game. But it wasn’t. Windthorst scored six runs, five with two outs, to steal a 7-6 win from Dawson in Game 1 of the Region II-1A seminfinals at Weatherford College.
-
NC Baseball: Bloodlines run deep for top hurler
Lukas Schiraldi will likely be drafted in the first five to six rounds in June’s Major League Baseball draft. Navarro’s right-hander already has signed with the University of Texas. His baseball career will continue at the next level after the JUCO World Series.
-
Melton homers again as A&M tops Vanderbilt, 5-0
Parker Ray pitched eight-plus innings to lead Texas A&M to a 5-0 victory over top-seeded Vanderbilt on Wednesday in the second round of the Southeastern Conference baseball tournament. Hunter Melton of Corsicana homered for the second straight day.
-
GC Softball: Single focus - Hubbard has sights set on steady Sam Rayburn
When Tuesday’s rains blew through Hubbard, blowing up the last half of practice, the Lady Jags loaded up, and went home. They can only hope to be loading up and going south next week. Hubbard (24-6-1) has a chance to set GPS devices for Austin if the Lady Jags can get past Sam Rayburn (28-2) Friday in the Region II-1A championship.
- More Sports Headlines
-
Raw: Train Derails After Overpass Collapse
Raw: Rescues From San Antonio Flooding
Raw: French Soldier Stabbed in Throat Near Paris
Mayor: Person Killed in San Antonio Flooding
Raw: Apple 1 Computer Sells for More Than $650k
Hagel Urges Cadets to End Scourge of Sex Assault
Raw: Gay Rights Activists March in Ukraine
Bus Fire Kills 16 Children, Teacher in Pakistan
Raw: Pakistan Election Results Protested
Raw: Trucker Bumps I-5 Bridge Before Collapse
Raw: Texas Deputy Shot by Colo. Suspect Honored
Major Detours Following Wash. Bridge Collapse
American Held in Grisly Czech Murders
Raw: Jersey Shore Reopens for Summer
UK-bound Pakistan Plane Diverted, 2 Men Arrested
