WEST COAST WIPEOUT FOR PAC-12?

The west coast finally achieved what the smart sports guys from the eastern time zone have said for years:

The Pac-12 is a minor league athletic conference.

They always blamed the three hour time difference for media neglect.

Was it ever all about the clock? Now time has run out.

What happened? No respect, that’s what happened.

I grew up with the Pac-8.

Schools from states with a border on the Pacific Ocean made sense.

Washington, Oregon, California, and it was enough. For a while.

Back then math was still a good idea.

The Big-10 once had ten schools; the Big-12 had twelve.

That’s how I remember it, conveniently.

Then the Pac-8 became the Pac-10, then Pac-12.

Now it’s the Pac-2.

Hopeful our fly-over country neighbors will be happy with the Oregon Ducks flying in.

Even the east coast time zone gets to see what’s been going on way over here.

Meet me in Piscataway.

No Respect For West Coast

The Big-10 once stopped at Nebraska and Ohio.

Now it goes out to New Jersey and Maryland.

Have you been to New Jersey?

I got a speeding ticket in New Jersey on the way to Fort Dix from Philadelphia.

What have I got against New Jersey? Nothing. It’s New Jersey. It’s fine.

But Oregon Duck fans will find something.

After their first ‘Welcome To The Big-10’ season the disrespect will start seething.

That long weekend in Nebraska? Another in Iowa?

Flying into Chicago for a Northwestern game?

Historically speaking, Oregon drew from Big-10 country on the Oregon Trail.

We got their most ambitious hard-working people out to the west coast.

Let’s hope the Oregon that returns for road games give a good account for the rest of us.

About 80,000 pioneers used it (Oregon Trail) to reach Oregon, and about 20,000 to Washington before the transcontinental railroad in 1869.

Added together it’s still less than the sold out football crowds at Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State.

The New Oregon Trail

If you listen to sports talk radio you hear about recruiting as the lifeline of college sports.

But more important today is the transfer portal.

Instead of high school kids with upside, you get a players with college experience ready to go.

The big question is whether transfer players are moving for opportunity on the field, or NIL money off the field.

Either way, imagine how players from flat-land universities will react when they fly to Oregon.

They will see mountains and rivers and trees.

It will be all new to some of them.

Will it be enough to pull them to Oregon when they think about transferring from their current school?

It’s been enough to draw coaches from Florida and Georgia. What more do you want?

Don’t Ask Idaho

Losing the west coast major signature colleges to midwestern conferences is bad enough.

But losing half the state to Idaho because of no respect in the state legislature?

I never would have guessed the college loss. Now a changing state line isn’t out of the question.

The schools missed their change when their commissioner misjudged the media market.

Will the state prove to be as misguided?

Let’s ask eastern Washington if they want to help Idaho fix their panhandle.

After that Texas can pop up and take Oklahoma’s panhandle.

If that sounds too dumb to even contemplate, meet me in SECU Stadium for the tenacious Terrapins.