On Brand Y, articles on the Crimson girls (yum) and soccer player Grayson getting player of the week (yum yum). Gawd I am a dirty old man.
Brand X has a long interview with Schulz. Good stuff.

Probably a pretty good framework of what the new conference looks like by this weekend (( IF )) Cal and Stan move to ACC. Sounds like it’s more likely than not they will ~75%. Originally it seemed like that gave us the chance of getting into B12 with the network, but ESPN will likely have late night slots with Cal and Stan in ACC now….so that also reduces our B12 chance probably.

Should Cal Stan not make it into ACC, ESPN is pressuring Big12 to take them as a backup, which Stanford already said no to about 2 weeks ago. Those teams would be instantly hated for the original brush off, as well as being the teams that spearheaded saying no Big12 in the “Alliance” and also stopping expansion w/ TX&OU which helped jettison 4 corners from the Pac down the road. Who knows if networks can exert enough pressure on Yomark, who recommended WSU/OSU not long ago for western late night expansion. Either way it seems B12 is moving farther away from us and closer to Eastern Expansion for Bball or (Cal/Stan) pressured by ESPN.

Sounds like Luck/WSU&OSU/MWC commissioner will meet today. And then a second meeting with AAC next week. Won’t surprise me to see B12 try to steal Memphis out of the AAC and pair with UCONN etc for BBall. Maybe even SDSU and Gonzaga.

As of now it looks like it is about 2% chance to the Big12 and 98% MWC/Pac/AAC hybrid. And WSU and OSU receive a nice, albeit, limited windfall to pay debts and help transition to a lower media payout. Hopes would be to form a new conference bringing in about 10-15 million per depending on who all came along, with escalators based on viewership. If the conference is fun enough and on apple, we could earn more than we do now as a base from the Pac12.I am holding out for the B12, delusionally….

If the rumors are true, that Stanford would go to the ACC for a discount, I wouldn't be shocked if they change their course and go to the Big-10 with zero media money.

from a credible source....
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I still think the best path forward is keeping the Pac-12 in name, even if it's Cougs and Beavs rebooting, unless we get a lifeboat from the Big-12.

Immediate adds:
Fresno
SDSU
SJSU
Boise
UNLV
CSU

Plus top AAC mkts:
Tulane
SMU
Memphis
Rice

I hope they’d consider the entire PAC4 + sdsu and SMU for a western pod and easier travel. Add Gonzaga and St Marys for hoops and Olympic sports. Only 2 west coast schools in the ACC makes zero sense. Even less sense then usc and UCLA were the only west coast schools in the BIG.


PS - yes, hope is a poor strategy

Taking no time in their new conference reminding UW they are 2nd tier. Login to view embedded media

Interest comments on this, wouldn't suprise me, everyone was all in one Day, the Pac is going finalize the deal the next day. Then on the meeting the next day, Washington and Oregon don't show up, and announce they are going to the big 10

Did ESPN and Fox kill Apple deal?

As a long time Cyclone fan, I feel badly for the WSU & OSU fans that buy season tix & donate what they can. While I understand the market forces that are driving conference upheaval, that doesn't mean I have to like what is happening to the loyal fans that are essentially told "you are irrelevant". ISU has stared into the abyss, not once but twice. It didn't matter that we pull 60k for football, 14k for men's basketball, and are a Tier 1 research school. We have been very close to your shoes...twice. I hope things turn out well for you & OSU and if the money can be found think both of you would make great additions to the Big 12.

Gawd it's just heartbreaking. Let's see:
The Ukraine war. Cant we assasinate that Goddam Putin?
Now the California Hilary storm. The one good thing is maybe it will help with the drought in AZ, Nevada, etc. What I read is that it's going to get all the way to Washington. Good. Maybe put out some of the fires.
The Medical Lake fire. Almost 200 houses burned down? And counting. Gawd.
Here in YakiVegas - can't even see the Ahtanum ridge a mile away due to the smoke.
Then this Michael Oher (Blind side) thing. Suing the family that took him off the street and primed him for an NFL career? I mean WTF? $5 sez he blew all his NFL money and now wants to get some payback 20 years later?
I won't even start with the Biden/Trump/DeSantis shit.
I could go on and on. It's just so sad and heartbreaking.


We are so f-ed up in the USA and the whole world. Starting to wish I had never brought my children into it. And now I have grandchildren. Every day in the news. Mothers killing their kids. People getting beat up and killed in restaurant bathrooms. Goddamnit.

I just don't get it. As some of you you know, I am from Pullman. And yes the Palouse River would flood about every 10 years (it ran thorough the pasture at my childhood home, it was crazy).

Here in YakiVegas, we would love to see this downpour. I just don't understand how the parched SW is going to flood, when they are dry as shit. Back in the Palouse, it only flooded when the rain came and melted the snowpack. Pretty rare.

So why are Arizona and Nevada going to flood? Not to mention California. They are dry as shit deserts, Why doesn't the ground just suck that moisture in?

I know some folks were concerned the $25M project would be shelved due to any Pac-12 uncertainty, but WSU is moving full-steam ahead on the facilities improvements.

Per Brand X:

Washington State football's time in the bubble is officially done. Day 13 of fall camp on Thursday was the last Cougar practice inside what Jake Dickert laughingly described as "this ugly, godforsaken thing."

The bubble will be shut down all football season as WSU holds a groundbreaking ceremony on Sep. 9, the day of the Wisconsin game, for the new, state-of-the-art Taylor Sports Complex. It will replace what was always supposed to be only a temporary facility when it opened in 2002.

Great to see further confirmation about the IPF groundbreaking on Sept. 9 before the night game against Wisconsin on ABC. Pullman will be electric that entire weekend.

One thing that hasn't been reported (at least from what I've seen) here at CougZone (or with the Spokesman-Review newspaper, Brand X or Brand Y), is what's next for "The Bubble" as its known?

Brand X refers to it as a "temporary facility" in the excerpt above, but why would've then AD Jim Sterk approved spending $10M in 2002 dollars ($17M today) for something temporary? Sterk had to have a plan in place for when the IPF was built.

Gotta figure Dr. Schulz and Chun the short-timer have something in mind other than hauling a deflated bubble to a landfill

Winds are blowing fire towards 4 lakes. Hopped I-90 twice.

Fire beginning to shift to head towards Cheney.

All buildings, homes, over 2OO homes GONE. Only thing left standing, I hear, is the Base around Silver Lake area.

Lots of my friends in Lincoln County, have family affected. One of those friends is a family that adopted Bjorn, now a teenager, was at a sporting practice event. It got canceled, and he and his aunt just barely got out, escaped, evacuated. His aunt's family lost their home, nearby the school, when the school got burned.

Doug, a leader in my church, and him, his family are friends of mine, is one of the fire department leaders, has been fighting the fire

If the fire reaches Cheney, it could get worse, as more fuel, trees, forest, Turnabull Wilderness area, etc, in Cheney.

I just found out, don't know much, don't have links, etc.

Once I find out more, I'll update.

This is bad, sad. I went to Cheney Highschool. My prayers, thoughts, condolences, etc, go out to those that affected.

I hope Doug stays relatively safe fighting the fire, and contains, stops the fire before it does a lot more damage.

Also please, if you know something, or find out something about the fire, or have links, updates, etc, please help update, post links, etc.

I got a Facebook message last night from a friend of mine that graduated from UW. She was surprised that she hadn't seen any public commentary from me about the Pac-12 falling apart. What surprised me a little was the fact that she's pissed that UW is leaving the Pac-12.

This past week, KU announced that they are getting ready to start a $300 million stadium renovation. The difference between KU and WSU is that they secured $125 million in private donations before they started the project. It's taken us 10 years to get enough donations to build a $20 million dollar indoor practice facility and they can raise 6x that much for their stadium in 10 months. Until WSU fans get serious about supporting the program, we are doomed to be second class citizens.

On a separate note, KU is reducing their stadium size from 47,000 to the lower 40,000 range. Contrary to what a certain has-been thinks, providing a top tier experience in a great facility is more important than meaningless dick measuring on overall stadium capacity.

#1 is an interview with Shulz, who candidly laid it out. 3 options - Mtn West, AAC (not Acc mind you), or try to rebuild the Pac-12. #2 is a piece about the new advisory committee. Not really sure what the point of it is, but whatever.

I'm not certain if the story is true that Stanford actually offered to play in the ACC for free. The Oliver Luck representing all members of the Pac-4 story isn't true, as this recent ACC play by Stanford confirms. But, apparently, you can act too desperate and you can flash too much cash around. While I don't harbor a grudge, as I wish we had that type of money, but it smacks of a rich kid not knowing its audience. While the ACC does have some of the top public schools in the country, and Duke, they also have some pretty blue collar schools too. And did I mention that this is a conference primarily based in the South and Southerners "don't take kindly" to Yankees coming in and throwing their wealth around. Isn't this the same Stanford, which recently let the Big 12 know, that they were beneath them, only to be found groveling and rejected at the feet of the ACC.

The current relignment situation has brought out the worst in everyone, but maybe, just maybe, there is a limit too what money can buy after all!

Love my school

1. Uw - goes without saying but now sounds like they led Oregon to the BIG. F them forever.
2. USC - shooting down the merger with B12 while they plotted to leave plus over 100 years of arrogance cheating and lying.
3. Tied - UCLA and Oregon. Both could have nutted up and been big boys in a good sized pond.
5. Colorado - they vowed to stick around until July 31 but when they bailed the linear deal went away. F them and Dion.
6. Arizona - they were flirting with the B12 for a year, weakening the PACs position. I really want to bury them in Pullman this year. It’s personal.
7. Utah and ASU. Sounds like they really wanted the PAC to work out but saw the writing in the wall.
9. Stanford. We’ll see what they do next but unless it’s a complete douche move they’ll stay behind ASU and Utah.
10. Cal
11. OSU

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if it happens we should know today,

ACC looking at Stanford, Cal and SMU

From the article....
Ultimately, the Pac-12 fell apart and is down to just four schools remaining. Magnus admitted that it’s hard for him to say why this happened but noted that some of the movement doesn’t make sense geographically.

“It’s hard for me to say. You know, I’ve always scratched my head over the USC and UCLA moves to the Big Ten. At its core, college is various regional confederations, if you will, of like-minded schools with some geography underpinning it. There’s this regional appeal to college sports which has blossomed into national interest. But yet, at its core, the brands and the schools, and by association the conferences, are regional in nature. I think that’s what in large part drives the interest,” Magnus said.

I ask because the owner was selling it and my buddy had a contract with him to buy it at the beginning of the year..but the owner reneged and I haven't heard anything about the bar since.