Warde on conference reailignment:

[partial]

I don't think where we are now is the end of realignment that anyone envisioned, but it seems like enough pieces have shifted where no one wants to stomach more realignment. I hope the situation is ultimately an untenable stopgap which lasts for a year or two and not a decade or two.

 

[noeynox]

L'ville has a fairly fresh hoops NC and BCS bowl win.

Anyway, the Pirates have won more championships than UConn. Just not lately.

My point was that since free agency got expensive and define small market v. large market, the Bucs were almost contracted, almost forced to move due to lack of investors, then taken over by a bunch of incompetents who roll out the same "be patient, we'll return the Pirates to their former championship glory" every single year while making moves that are counterproductive to doing so. With UConn going the way of the "have-nots", I'm sensing hollowness in Warde's proclamations.

Louisville has that now. It did not at the time the last ACC slot got selected. ACC got lucky in that regard, just like they coulda had UConn coming off a BCS appearance and national title in BBall in 2011.

Here is my thing about Warde and that article? Where the hell was that brashness and bravado when the spot was up for grabs? Instead we got monitoring. I know it wouldn't have made a difference. Some see those quotes today and like it. I see those quotes and see a defeated man, making a last stand.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

One thing I have to say...Warde Manuel has done more to improve the facilities in his short tenure than the man he replaced did in his 8 year's here (Burton/Shenkman was it for him). He may not impress me in some ways...but when I look at the hand he was dealt...I am amazed at the amount of work he faced when he signed up for this job.

How much credit can JH possibly take for Burton/Schenkman? Everything that led to the facility (and both Mr Burton & Mr Schenkman being willing to donate the naming rights) happened under Lew's watch.

 

[hthusky74]

The ACC Gor is until 2026-2027. That means, the ACC will not feel the urgency to add UConn at any point until then. As a result, the Big 10 may decide that the remaining options don't add the value it desires, so they can decide to stay at 14. If both happen, UConn will not be able to afford to continously invest all athletic programs and keep them relevant nationally until a slot, it ever, opens up. In my mind, the window is less than 5 years. That being said, I do think if our best hope is that 14 is an inconvenient scheduling number, than that is simply hopeless and senseless.

UConn needed to be proactive and still does. I recommended awhile ago, that UConn should explore the possibility of pulling an ND, go independent in football and approach the Big 10 to join in all other sports. This adds immediate value to the BTN, it preserves the UConn brand, and it will allow the school to invest more in teh football program(as well as gain AAU status) to join the Big 10 in football down as well down the road. To sit in the AAC, continue to invest in football, and hope something happens is not viable.

Why in God's name would that idea hold any interest to the B1G?

 

[Rumrunner]

I still don't understand why manuel didn't buy back uconn's media rights from the AAC and partner with sny. To me, every time he talks/blusters I'll be wondering what "bold and innovative" actually mean.

 

[sportsart]

First, I will duck*ing punch the next UConn administrator who refers to the "big boys". If you're referring to Syracuse or Rutgers or West Virginia or 85% of the power conferences as "big boys", you're a genius. Most of those schools are dirt under our fingernails, so act like it.

I don't care how big Warde is, either. I'm throat-punching him - whatever carnage ensues afterwards is my sacrifice to the cause. (Although I am quite fast and would likely opt for a run-by punching and a speedy escape.)

I know it's fashionable here to blame UConn and there's certainly enough to go around - but holy crap, we really did draw an inside straight of hideous luck. It really has been a treasure trove of bad luck, bad timing and some horrendous decisions by the conferences themselves.

We had this supposed rush of expansion that ends with two conferences stuck at 14, one at 14 or 15 depending on the season, one at 12 and the other at 10. If this was the end game, those conferences are as bad at expansion as the WV rumor mongers were.

Face kicking and now throat punching? Things that make you go hmmmm...

 

[Adios]

Face kicking and now throat punching? Things that make you go hmmmm...

Don't forget carpet-bombing the Southeast.

(I couldn't stop laughing when I saw that.)

 

[Dann]

First, I will duck*ing punch the next UConn administrator who refers to the "big boys". If you're referring to Syracuse or Rutgers or West Virginia or 85% of the power conferences as "big boys", you're a genius. Most of those schools are dirt under our fingernails, so act like it.

I don't care how big Warde is, either. I'm throat-punching him - whatever carnage ensues afterwards is my sacrifice to the cause. (Although I am quite fast and would likely opt for a run-by punching and a speedy escape.)

I know it's fashionable here to blame UConn and there's certainly enough to go around - but holy crap, we really did draw an inside straight of hideous luck. It really has been a treasure trove of bad luck, bad timing and some horrendous decisions by the conferences themselves.

We had this supposed rush of expansion that ends with two conferences stuck at 14, one at 14 or 15 depending on the season, one at 12 and the other at 10. If this was the end game, those conferences are as bad at expansion as the WV rumor mongers were.

take it easy aqua-chuck-norris

warde would sit 0n you and poop ice cream. hes 6'5 250.

what JD did by speaking is tell everyone hes not done yet. if he was done,he wouldn't entertain CR talk an more because he ouldn't need to.

Have a nice day everybody.

as always ygc i love reading your stuff....can i mention utah in the above? i feel they are a big piece of all this.




utah passed byu and cauht the pac t the perfect time in a rush job after the tex/tt/ok/okst/col/kan move went south. the goal always was and stil is 4x16. when we hit it, 4x18 will then be looked at. there are 10 slots left in the 4x16. 10 b12 teams, conn, cincy, byu and bsu are the 14 players. tier 2 has usf, ucf, sdsu and crew. the question is can the sec, b10 and accall find better teams then uconn in that 14 fit wise? i think the sec and big can easy but i dont think the acc can. nd aready lynched itself as a partial. the acc nees 2 more. i would rank wu ahead of us now sed off lville in th acc but the sec could get wvu also. then who for the acc?

are bsu, kst or ist ahead of uconn? cincy? bay? time will tell. but i still feel very confient our worst case is sliding in as #16 for the acc. same as its always been.

pieces that can move?

mizzu-is the only 4x16 team that could swap going sec to b10.

kan-fits b10 or sec with mizzu and could go pac also
kst-they don't fit anywhere
ist-b10 log term saftey otherwise they dont fit anywhere
tt-going with texas everywhere
ok-fits anywhere due to being a tier1 program
tex-same as ok
bay-doesn't really fit pac, could be a sec saftey
tcu-same as bay but better market
okst-tough spot. does ok have enough pull to pac? sec fit somewhat. not b10
wvu-academics make things tough b10. acc an sec fit now.

plenty of time in the 4x16 still. all the acc gor did was make the acc very stable life for uconn the waywe always viewed the b10.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Is Fishy really capable of face kicking anyone? Does he have that kind of flexibility?

 

[ZooCougar]

I still don't understand why manuel didn't buy back uconn's media rights from the AAC and partner with sny. To me, every time he talks/blusters I'll be wondering what "bold and innovative" actually mean.

It really means "novel".

 

[gars44]

How much credit can JH possibly take for Burton/Schenkman? Everything that led to the facility (and both Mr Burton & Mr Schenkman being willing to donate the naming rights) happened under Lew's watch.

Burton is such a huge fan of JH. I don't think JH gets credit for the Burton complex. Burton wants his name off the building due to JH.

 

[CL82]

Is Fishy really capable of face kicking anyone? Does he have that kind of flexibility?

After the curl up from the intitial groin kick (or throat punch) getting to the face is pretty easy.

 

[methodology]

L'ville has a fairly fresh hoops NC and BCS bowl win.

Anyway, the Pirates have won more championships than UConn. Just not lately.

My point was that since free agency got expensive and define small market v. large market, the Bucs were almost contracted, almost forced to move due to lack of investors, then taken over by a bunch of incompetents who roll out the same "be patient, we'll return the Pirates to their former championship glory" every single year while making moves that are counterproductive to doing so. With UConn going the way of the "have-nots", I'm sensing hollowness in Warde's proclamations.

You are incorrect about your assertions of the Pirates management. Here is a very brief baseball lesson as I can write about a 200 page post about the economics of baseball and how small-mid market teams must operate to have a chance of success in the MLB with the way it is currently constructed.

The Pirates owners are doing exactly what they need to do . If you dont believe that you are just concerned with instant gratification and are just viewing and seeing how large market teams operate and do well, which is not feasible for small-mid market teams to mimic. The Pirates ahve spent some of hte most money of any MLB organization in spending during the draft since their new owners took over. They ahve also traded away cost controlled players for packages of more prospects, which is the way to do things when in the Pirates situation. Teams not in NY, Boston, LA, Texas CANNOT spend like a drunken sailor it will put your franchise back about 10-20 years. You will have a short term gains but after that 3-5 year period you will fall into what the Pirates have become for the better part of the past 20 years (I am an Orioles fan so I know very well about sucking year in and year out).

The best way for a team to compete and stay competitive is through drafting, scouting and player development. Have a bunch of young, cost controlled guys and you pray and hope that a few of your prospects turn into everyday, productive major leaguers. Pitching and defense are the names of the game, forget about offense. Pitching costs the big bucks you need to bring up pitching from within the organization and when you have a young core that you view as being ready to compete you go out and spend money on FA to complement your young cost controlled core. You will have a window of 3-5 years with that core and having payroll in desirable range and you continue with the draft/international spending and trying to keep the best scouting and development.

Small-mid market teams will never be able to spend or compete on the FA marktet with NY, Boston, LA, Chicagos, Texas of the world. Its just the economics. THe Yankees have the largest, built in (economic and demographic) advantage of any professional sports team in the United States. Any Yankee fan who denies this just doesnt like facts and they aren't doing naything wrong as they are playing within the rules but the way baseball is set up they will always have an advantage over every single franchise in baseball. There is no parity or level playing field.

 

[storrsroars]

You are incorrect about your assertions of the Pirates management. Here is a very brief baseball lesson as I can write about a 200 page post about the economics of baseball and how small-mid market teams must operate to have a chance of success in the MLB with the way it is currently constructed.

The Pirates owners are doing exactly what they need to do . If you dont believe that you are just concerned with instant gratification and are just viewing and seeing how large market teams operate and do well, which is not feasible for small-mid market teams to mimic. The Pirates ahve spent some of hte most money of any MLB organization in spending during the draft since their new owners took over. They ahve also traded away cost controlled players for packages of more prospects, which is the way to do things when in the Pirates situation. Teams not in NY, Boston, LA, Texas CANNOT spend like a drunken sailor it will put your franchise back about 10-20 years. You will have a short term gains but after that 3-5 year period you will fall into what the Pirates have become for the better part of the past 20 years (I am an Orioles fan so I know very well about sucking year in and year out).

The best way for a team to compete and stay competitive is through drafting, scouting and player development. Have a bunch of young, cost controlled guys and you pray and hope that a few of your prospects turn into everyday, productive major leaguers. Pitching and defense are the names of the game, forget about offense. Pitching costs the big bucks you need to bring up pitching from within the organization and when you have a young core that you view as being ready to compete you go out and spend money on FA to complement your young cost controlled core. You will have a window of 3-5 years with that core and having payroll in desirable range and you continue with the draft/international spending and trying to keep the best scouting and development.

Small-mid market teams will never be able to spend or compete on the FA marktet with NY, Boston, LA, Chicagos, Texas of the world. Its just the economics. THe Yankees have the largest, built in (economic and demographic) advantage of any professional sports team in the United States. Any Yankee fan who denies this just doesnt like facts and they aren't doing naything wrong as they are playing within the rules but the way baseball is set up they will always have an advantage over every single franchise in baseball. There is no parity or level playing field.

Dear Captain Obvious,
I brought up the Pirates analogy to illustrate what can happen when you have a have/have-not situation and the management of said franchise is questionable, as can easily be asserted in Warde's/UConn's case based on how this CR fiasco has turned out.

The point being that when the entire athletic world is against you, that's when you most require exceptional leadership. I'm not sure UConn has it at the AD level.

I congratulate you on remaining an Orioles fan through thick and thin and I'm happy that Buck found a use for McLouth, Pearce, Eveland, Paulino and that catcher that Littlefield passed up in the draft in favor of a poor middle reliever. And that Buck gave John Russell a place in the dugout to nap.

But since you seem to want to give me a lesson about baseball economics as it concerns the Pittsburgh Pirates Baseball Club, I'll be happy to do so in the venue of your choice as I have to move back to CT for a few weeks. Instead of listing the sins of Cam Bonifay, Dave Littlefield and Neal Huntington here, suffice it to say you know nothing about me and what I think of baseball economics and you certainly don't know a damned thing about the Pirates.

 

[methodology]

as much as you want to hate on your pirates they are doing what they have to do in this day and age if baseball. You can call me captain obvious by putting one of my sentences in bold but only about 25%-50 of the mlb teams operate in that bolded sense. The Tampa bay rays are an exact prototype of how to operate a mlb franchise and the team's who follow that blue print and have for quite a while are Atlanta, San Fran, st Louis, Oakland, Minnesota, and Baltimore took on this change when Andy McPhail took over and changed the way the organization was run.

the pirates owner have done a terrific job with adding quality depth in their minor league system and spending more than most teams in the amateur draft. they are about 1-2 years away from spending on free agents to supplement McCutchen and soon the pitching studs Cole and taillon. You may want things to happen immediately but that's counterproductive to the long term. i would love to hear what you hate about nutting

And this applies to UConn in the sense if they scout better than other teams, have better coaching, and better player development then their inferior conference situation won't mean all that much. their performance and results will keep them competitive with the big boys and they could pump their results and player development to recruits

 

[ConnHuskBask]

The Rays aren't a prototype for small market clubs.

They Rays were the absolute worst team in baseball for a decade and stock piled #1 picks for that whole time.

They also got incredibly lucky because Evan Longoria's agent is a genius.

Oakland is how a small market team should operate. They've been competitive damn near every season due to the front office. That's a model of how to operate.

 

[methodology]

wrong.

the rays are the blueprint to follow. I've been told this by many in the baseball business including Brian cashman when I happened to be eating next to him at the bar at a restaurant in Darien. we got to talking baseball and how organizations are run he was very impressed with my knowledge of the way the lower levels are run that the casual fan has no idea about, for the most part. I then told him about some scouts, national cross checkers and a couple other people I knew in the business since my uncle use to coach and scout for major league clubs. he then understood why I was as knowledgeable as I was...

Long story short the rays are the blueprint to follow they do it better than any team since the turn if the century. Yes they were helped out by top draft picks but not all those top draft picks turned out. it was more than top picks that got them to the point they are today, they played the draft pick collecting game/fa compensation game better than anyone along with better scouting and better player development. based on your assertion of it was top draft picks I would wager a guess you have minimal knowledge about the draft and what percentage of players make the show for a cup of coffee based on draft position, not even top 10 picks are Guaranteed to make it....as cashman said Oakland and beane started the moneyball era but Tampa perfected it

cashman was a real nice guy actually gave me tickets to a game and had a great response about Yankee fans.... this meeting happened during the beginning of the season probably around this time about 3 years ago and the Yankees didn't start off too well. I told him it's a long season things are always changing... he said "I keep telling myself that but the fans don't like waiting" and that right there was proof in the pudding that Yankee fans demand instant gratification even a month into the season

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I think we're possibly just arguing the semantics, but the Rays aren't a blueprint. Following their formula isn't practical and would be nearly impossible to imitate.

You can't just throw away a decade in order to have moderate success over a handful of seasons. There's no question they have done a remarkable job, but their success isn't easy to repeat as a small market club.

Oakland and Minnesota are two clubs that have had success with small market limitations and follow a way more repeatable method for their success.

Tampa has been good and is a great story, but the odds of another club being able to use their blueprint is minimal at best.