Key tweets, and it's all gone to Hell.

[sportsart]

Please read the context of my post/reply.

Fair enough. Now I have to read context?

So many threads that I end up skimming. My bad.

 

[UConn Dan]

Fair enough. Now I have to read context?

So many threads that I end up skimming. My bad.

No worries...

We need a quick resolution here, otherwise lack of UConn fan productivity will likely lead to the great depression.

 

[djct1999]

Interview with John Ouroud

http://kfanav.s3.amazonaws.com/20160801_080116-John-Ourand-WEB.MP3

I really hope the Big 12 calls ESPNs bluff. Regardless of UConn's fate, I am simply sick of this network. Who knows what the landscape will look like in 2025. Roll the dice.

 

[jostar1]

Kirk Bohls ‏@kbohls · 4h4 hours ago
Bohls: Rangers boost postseason hopes; ESPN, Fox not deterring Big 12 from pursuing expansion

2. Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby tells me the league is still exploring expansion but has no idea if a plan can be completed before the football season kicks off. Asked if the balking by ESPN and Fox might give the Big 12 an out and cool off the desire for expansion, Bowlsby said: “Nothing has changed. I have put no time frame on the process. I am not planning to comment on the processes until they are complete.” … Hard to blame ESPN and Fox for balking at paying the league so much for new teams without sizzle. I wonder why the two networks ever agreed to such a one-sided term in the first place, but ESPN and Fox operated in good faith when they did not reduce their Big 12 payments after the conference shrank to 10 teams. Mused one powerful Texas backer, “I keep thinking that ESPN could broker something regarding LHN. Would they pay $50 million to end the contract early? Could we take that and buy our way out of the conference? The closer we get to the end, the more likely that becomes, in my opinion.”

 

[jostar1]

Brett McMurphy‏@McMurphyESPN
AAC's Mike Aresco: "The American is a Power 6 conference." Maybe so, but that’s equivalent of finishing 4th at Olympics. It doesn’t matter

Shawn Scott Smith ‏@luckycreature · Aug 2
@McMurphyESPN an employee of a company diminishing one of his employers affiliate conferences and a great partner.

Carlos Rodriguez ‏@CRod526 · Aug 2
@McMurphyESPN Keep this P5/G5 crap and ESPN and the rest of tv media will kill CFB and will have to look for content elsewhere.

Michael Medlin ‏@mtmedlin1976 · Aug 2
@McMurphyESPN I wouldn't mind being paid like we're the P6. With all the AAC has accomplished getting 1/10 of b12 & ACC monies is an insult

warpigpgh ‏@warpigpgh · Aug 2
@McMurphyESPN I can't believe the Group of 5 haven't sued to get more opportunity for the CFP.

David Honeycutt ‏@dhoney1726 · Aug 2
@McMurphyESPN Big 12 seems to think AAC is Power conference material. Keep up the sham.

Bobby Hayes ‏@RobertH15290250 · Aug 2
@McMurphyESPN Pretty harsh words. Did working my at CBS matter a few years ago? Do your friends that work at Fox and Yahoo Sports matter?

Dave Ackermann ‏@ack4wvu · 3h3 hours ago
@TalkinACCSports @McMurphyESPN UC Houston BYU and UCONN are better than many existing P5 schools #pureESPNbullshit!

Brett McMurphy‏@McMurphyESPN
@ack4wvu yes. It’s ESPN’s fault they’re not in a Power 5 league

 

[UC313]

Push back. 313 likes that. Im a vindictive basturd.

 

[jostar1]

Ben Baby ‏@Ben_Baby · 1h1 hour ago
Gary Patterson's notice to future Big 12 teams: Bring something of value to the table
Gary Patterson on expanding Big 12: 'It's not the conference's job to make that university better' | SportsDay

Patterson told reporters at Wednesday's team media day that any future members should be bringing something worth adding as he discussed the topic of realignment.

"It's not the conference's job to make that university better," Patterson said. "It's the university's job to make the conference better, whether it's in football, academics, whatever it is."

Patterson said the list of expansion schools "is probably down to six."

"My job is just to win football games," Patterson said. "I'm going to leave it to all the rest of them to worry about all the rest of it. I'll play whoever they decide they want me to play and go from there."

 

[FDNY99]

Ben Baby ‏@Ben_Baby · 1h1 hour ago
Gary Patterson's notice to future Big 12 teams: Bring something of value to the table
Gary Patterson on expanding Big 12: 'It's not the conference's job to make that university better' | SportsDay

Patterson told reporters at Wednesday's team media day that any future members should be bringing something worth adding as he discussed the topic of realignment.

"It's not the conference's job to make that university better," Patterson said. "It's the university's job to make the conference better, whether it's in football, academics, whatever it is."

Patterson said the list of expansion schools "is probably down to six."

"My job is just to win football games," Patterson said. "I'm going to leave it to all the rest of them to worry about all the rest of it. I'll play whoever they decide they want me to play and go from there."

UConn most definitely checks that box on a few fronts!

 

[upstater]

Ben Baby ‏@Ben_Baby · 1h1 hour ago
Gary Patterson's notice to future Big 12 teams: Bring something of value to the table
Gary Patterson on expanding Big 12: 'It's not the conference's job to make that university better' | SportsDay

Patterson told reporters at Wednesday's team media day that any future members should be bringing something worth adding as he discussed the topic of realignment.

"It's not the conference's job to make that university better," Patterson said. "It's the university's job to make the conference better, whether it's in football, academics, whatever it is."

Patterson said the list of expansion schools "is probably down to six."

"My job is just to win football games," Patterson said. "I'm going to leave it to all the rest of them to worry about all the rest of it. I'll play whoever they decide they want me to play and go from there."

Hrrrrggghhhh! What does that even mean? It is the conference's job to give more money to schools and to give schools more competition.

 

[WestHartHusk]

s...how they forget that we voted to include them in our BCS conference, and now they are mighty gate-keeper.

 

[jostar1]

Chuck Carlton ‏@ChuckCarltonDMN · 18m18 minutes ago
Where Big 12 stands barely two weeks into iexpansion exploration: how many, when, Fox and ESPN, Texas and Oklahoma.
Five industry sources weigh in on top candidates to join Big 12; ESPN and Fox not thrilled with expansion talks | SportsDay

At the moment, no one school has the eight votes necessary for membership, industry sources indicated. Discussions and inevitable horse trading haven't really begun yet.

The support of Texas state and university officials, including Gov. Greg Abbott and UT President Greg Fenves, has put Houston into the top tier.

Of course, with Texas backing Houston strongly -- a point several sources affirmed Wednesday as very real -- then Oklahoma and President David Boren may be in a position to push for a school. The next two choices would be Cincinnati and BYU.

Beyond BYU, a host of schools are clustered, led by UConn, Memphis, Central Florida and Colorado State, in an evolving order.

More at:
Five industry sources weigh in on top candidates to join Big 12; ESPN and Fox not thrilled with expansion talks | SportsDay

 

[Fishy]

That is a platinum tweet, doofus.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

So, either hope for BYU and Houston or we need 4.

Fwiw, life in the AAC as a fan doesn't really change much for me if Houston leaves.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

If the writer doesn't understand the TV side of the equation, I basically don't care what he says. He is one step above a message board poster.

 

[sportsart]

That is a platinum tweet, doofus.

Do not be calling jostar a doofus, doof.....er..Fishy.

He be da man.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Brett McMurphy‏@McMurphyESPN
AAC's Mike Aresco: "The American is a Power 6 conference." Maybe so, but that’s equivalent of finishing 4th at Olympics. It doesn’t matter

Shawn Scott Smith ‏@luckycreature · Aug 2
@McMurphyESPN an employee of a company diminishing one of his employers affiliate conferences and a great partner.

Carlos Rodriguez ‏@CRod526 · Aug 2
@McMurphyESPN Keep this P5/G5 crap and ESPN and the rest of tv media will kill CFB and will have to look for content elsewhere.

Michael Medlin ‏@mtmedlin1976 · Aug 2
@McMurphyESPN I wouldn't mind being paid like we're the P6. With all the AAC has accomplished getting 1/10 of b12 & ACC monies is an insult

warpigpgh ‏@warpigpgh · Aug 2
@McMurphyESPN I can't believe the Group of 5 haven't sued to get more opportunity for the CFP.

David Honeycutt ‏@dhoney1726 · Aug 2
@McMurphyESPN Big 12 seems to think AAC is Power conference material. Keep up the sham.

Bobby Hayes ‏@RobertH15290250 · Aug 2
@McMurphyESPN Pretty harsh words. Did working my at CBS matter a few years ago? Do your friends that work at Fox and Yahoo Sports matter?

Dave Ackermann ‏@ack4wvu · 3h3 hours ago
@TalkinACCSports @McMurphyESPN UC Houston BYU and UCONN are better than many existing P5 schools #pureESPNbullshit!

Brett McMurphy‏@McMurphyESPN
@ack4wvu yes. It’s ESPN’s fault they’re not in a Power 5 league

If I was ESPN's legal department, I would tell McMurphy to cool it. The article a few days ago indicating that ESPN was manipulating the Big 12, and its conflict issue between the AAC and Big 12, are a big legal problem for ESPN, and at some point they are going to piss someone off that doesn't care about the consequences of suing the P5 and ESPN. There are now multiple public sources describing ESPN using its market power to fix prices, and dozens of universities harmed by ESPN's exercise of that market power.

 

[jostar1]

John E. Hoover ‏@johnehoover · 10h10 hours ago
My column today: What if all this #Big12 expansion talk is really just a clever ruse?

John E. Hoover: What if all this Big 12 expansion talk is really just a clever ruse?

Maybe all this tough talk about expansion and television contract pro rata adjustments is really just a smokescreen for what the Big 12 really wants: a league television network.

Yes, the Big 12 is the only Power 5 conference with 10 teams. But now, the Big 12 is also the only Power 5 conference without a television network.

Ten members actually is a workable model, so long as it’s stable. The Big 12 nearly had two teams in the inaugural College Football Playoff, and last year the Big 12 landed both a playoff football team and a Final Four basketball team. As Bowlsby and Boren reminded us so frequently leading up to July, that indicates a position of strength, not weakness.

But now, being the only Power 5 conference without a TV network, that is a sign of weakness.

Think about it. Does the Big 12 really want to add Cincinnati or Houston or Memphis or Colorado State at the risk of jeopardizing its relationships (and future negotiating leverage) with ESPN and Fox?

Maybe the Big 12’s sudden, unexpected interest in expansion and its unusually hardline stance on pro rata adjustments is really just a big negotiating chip to force ESPN and Fox to give the Big 12 what it really wants: a television network.

More at:

John E. Hoover: What if all this Big 12 expansion talk is really just a clever ruse?

 

[Exit 4]

John E. Hoover ‏@johnehoover · 10h10 hours ago
My column today: What if all this #Big12 expansion talk is really just a clever ruse?

John E. Hoover: What if all this Big 12 expansion talk is really just a clever ruse?

Maybe all this tough talk about expansion and television contract pro rata adjustments is really just a smokescreen for what the Big 12 really wants: a league television network.

Yes, the Big 12 is the only Power 5 conference with 10 teams. But now, the Big 12 is also the only Power 5 conference without a television network.

Ten members actually is a workable model, so long as it’s stable. The Big 12 nearly had two teams in the inaugural College Football Playoff, and last year the Big 12 landed both a playoff football team and a Final Four basketball team. As Bowlsby and Boren reminded us so frequently leading up to July, that indicates a position of strength, not weakness.

But now, being the only Power 5 conference without a TV network, that is a sign of weakness.

Think about it. Does the Big 12 really want to add Cincinnati or Houston or Memphis or Colorado State at the risk of jeopardizing its relationships (and future negotiating leverage) with ESPN and Fox?

Maybe the Big 12’s sudden, unexpected interest in expansion and its unusually hardline stance on pro rata adjustments is really just a big negotiating chip to force ESPN and Fox to give the Big 12 what it really wants: a television network.

More at:

John E. Hoover: What if all this Big 12 expansion talk is really just a clever ruse?

The short answer is yes, of course this could be the end game, but then you remember, what's the point of a conf network for a league with just TX and some rural plains states? How is that a conf advertisers want to go big on? And so, this league needs to expand to survive, the footprint just ins't good enough.

 

[FDNY99]

If I was ESPN's legal department, I would tell McMurphy to cool it. The article a few days ago indicating that ESPN was manipulating the Big 12, and its conflict issue between the AAC and Big 12, are a big legal problem for ESPN, and at some point they are going to piss someone off that doesn't care about the consequences of suing the P5 and ESPN. There are now multiple public sources describing ESPN using its market power to fix prices, and dozens of universities harmed by ESPN's exercise of that market power.

How great would it be if the remaining AAC schools go after ESPN and this moron McMurphy's tweets end up being used as evidence that helps the AAC win a windfall day. Whether UConn was the recipient of that windfall or in the B-12 it would make me smile that's for sure.

 

[Slasher]

The short answer is yes, of course this could be the end game, but then you remember, what's the point of a conf network for a league with just TX and some rural plains states? How is that a conf advertisers want to go big on? And so, this league needs to expand to survive, the footprint just ins't good enough.

Yep which is why again adding Houston is a really bad idea. UT is going to get the channel (if it's a linear channel) distribution in Houston whether they're in the league or not. You have to go to new markets. UConn/Cincy/UCF/USF are the best options for markets. And maybe BYU if you believe they have national reach.

 

[Stinger92860]

Yep which is why again adding Houston is a really bad idea. UT is going to get the channel (if it's a linear channel) distribution in Houston whether they're in the league or not. You have to go to new markets. UConn/Cincy/UCF/USF are the best options for markets. And maybe BYU if you believe they have national reach.

Don't they already have the distribution in Houston? Houston brings no incremental value based on DMA, no expanded exposure, and no value after football season. I would agrue that despite their recent football success the football program will provide no incremental financial value to ESPN/Fox from the b12.

 

[Husky25]

Don't they already have the distribution in Houston? Houston brings no incremental value based on DMA, no expanded exposure, and no value after football season. I would agrue that despite their recent football success the football program will provide no incremental financial value to ESPN/Fox from the b12.

It actually hurts ESPN. Much like UConn, ESPN is paying a pittance for Houston in the AAC and reaping a windfall. At least UConn provides exposure to a portion of the NYC DMA. The LHN is already in Greater Houston.

 

[CallMeBruce]

It actually hurts ESPN. Much like UConn, ESPN is paying a pittance for Houston in the AAC and reaping a windfall. At least UConn provides exposure to a portion of the NYC DMA. The LHN is already in Greater Houston.

I'm no big city media analyst, but this doesn't appear to be the case. Neither Comcast nor the weird regional cable company appears to carry it.

 

[uconnsouth]

Is UHouston even the most popular college team in their own town?! I mean what are we talking about here?!

 

[Mots010]

Is UHouston even the most popular college team in their own town?! I mean what are we talking about here?!

Are they even the 2nd or 3rd most popular team in their own town?