Sprints Reassesses Conference Realignment and LSU // 05.19.10

Big Ten might not change the world
With the Big Ten's expansion decision officially months away and the ACC signing a new deal, both Pac-10 and Mountain West bloggers see the westernmost conference standing pat. From Moutain West Connection, which is interested largely because the MWC would likely lose one of its marquee teams if the Pac-10 were to decide it wants to be the Pac-12:

If the only move this summer is Boise to the Mountain West and if the Pac-10 and Big XII create a packaged television deal then it looks like the Mountain West will be intact for a bit longer, because there would be no need for the Pac-10 to expand to twelve just to have a title game.

Building the Dam says that the sizable increase in the ACC's television deal makes it harder for Pac-10 expansion to prove its worth.

At the moment, adding, say, Utah (Salt Lake City/Utah market) and Colorado (Denver) would only have to add $9 million per year to be "profitable". Even at a $100 million annual return, which suddenly seems very attainable, expansion would need to add $20 million per year at a minimum.

Okay, enough stuff about other conferences.

Fallen Star
Alabama backup QB Star Jackson is getting ready to transfer out of Tuscaloosa. Nick Saban is sad for like 10 seconds.

We hate to see any player leave the program, but quarterback's kind of a unique position where one guy can play, and we have a lot of competition there right now. ...

But I think sometimes when quarterbacks can't see the light at the end of the tunnel in terms of when they might be able to play, they get a little antsy and might want to go someplace else.

Roll Bama Roll is also understanding.

Hopefully he sticks around for another year -- if nothing else, it makes redshirting Sims much easier (though that should happen anyway) -- but admittedly it's easy to why Star would look elsewhere. It's pretty clear that, barring a massive run of injuries, he will never be the starter at 'Bama, but with that said he clearly has the talent to play at this level. With that in mind, it's hard to fault the kid for wanting to play somewhere and not spend his career holding the clipboard.

Falling LSU?
Poseur predicts a time of less-than-stellar-but-not-all-bad seasons for the Bayou Bengals in football and baseball. (Mild language warning.)

Decline is inevitable.

This does not mean we are sliding into mediocrity. There's lots of wiggle room between "one of the very best programs in the country" and "mediocre." LSU absolutely can have a successful athletic program even with a slight decline from the peaks of 2000-2009. There's room between 11-1 and 6-6.

Les Miles approved this message.

Shameless self-promotion
The Rocky Top Tennessee annual hits newsstands in July, but you can pre-order yours now. Why do we bring this up? Because your humble correspondent and Year2 both wrote articles for the publication under bizarre "real" names.