Pac 12 Means Who Goes East?

The addition of Utah and Colorado makes the Pac 10 now 12.

That causes me to change my Pac 16 to Pac 12 logo (see below).

And, according to an LA Times report: "The conference probably will divide into two, six-team divisions in football and play a conference title game beginning in 2012."

Obviously, the newbies join Arizona and ASU to from 4 of the 6 for the eastern division. But there's no easy answer for the other two.

My hunch says it will be Washington and WSU. Perhaps WSU is the closest to Colorado and that'll be the excuse.

There's no other alternative that will work.

If the Starbuck's schools complain, remind that them that in football USC is in the other division.

U of Phoenix Stadium seems like a good spot for the championship.

To appease the Northern schools however, perhaps Qwest Field is the venue for championship game #1.

Nellie Brings World Class Pub

It's not often that a small college sports information department gets to trumpet (should I say vuvuzela?) on a global scale.

Ryan Nelsen, captain of the 2010 New Zealand "All Whites" World Cup team, attended Greensboro College for two academic years: 1997-98 and 1998-99. He was an exemplary student-athlete and led The Pride to a national runner-up finish in his sophomore season.

He moved to a larger stage--Stanford University--for his last two collegiate seasons. He later matriculated to the DC United (won an MLS CUP) and now captains the Blackburn Rovers of the EPL.

Those laurels are indeed rare for a former NCAA Division III athlete. Most of you probably know that D3 schools can't offer athletic scholarships.

I arrived in Greensboro from Southern California just days after Nelsen left for Palo Alto in August of 1999. I was fortunate enough to provide publicity for a GC soccer team ranked second in the nation.

He was the first of a number of Kiwis who came to attend and play soccer at Greensboro College. The Pride made five straight and advanced to 8 of 9 NCAA tournaments after I got here. (Enjoy that kind of success when it comes!)

I got a chance to meet Nelsen back in 2002. He was a kind and humble dude. He made an impact here and The College is following both the USA and New Zealand this year.

Team Captain Nelsen and New Zealand garnered their first World Cup point in its draw with Slovenia.

Greensboro College inducted Ryan Nelsen into our athletics Hall of Fame in April. Check out the induction video we did for him: HERE

PRK and Brazil: Opposites Attract

Not since Julia Roberts and Lyle Lovett has there been a worse grouping than Brazil vs. North Korea in the World Cup.

Brazil is the top team in the tournament and North Korea the worst.

Brazil is all about Samba and brings to mind the free love of Haight Ashbury of the 1960s.

On the other hand, the PRK is regimented, repressive and reminds me of the Iron Curtain.

Ahhh, those were the days of the Olympics: the USA vs. USSR. American college kids vs. unemotional and robotic Soviet block athletes.

The Soviet block nations didn't travel very well. Communism didn't allow many fans to travel to Montreal or even Munich. They did have enough resources, however, to build a dominant sports power.

In addition to the USSR, Romania, Bulgaria and especially East Germany had success. The Germans also invested a lot in performance-enhancing drugs.

After the wall came down it's just North Korea and Cuba carrying that communist flag. Dictators Kim Jong-Il and Fidel Castro are doing their best to keep the commie dream alive. (China qualifies as repressive dictatorship but they now dig capitalism.)

But what an outdated philosophy in today's World. The information revolution makes it nearly impossible to control the media and minds of the masses.

Cuba has suffered because there's no more Soviet blank check. North Korea still has China's back, if you count sending a few hundred "fans" to root for their Korean neighbors.

You can't make this stuff up. North Koreans can't afford or can get a visa to South Africa to watch their team play. The theater of the bizarre, but that kind of thing would've been normal in international sport in the 1960s or 1970s.

Here's hoping the tyrant dinosaurs and their regimes won't survive much longer.

The Korenas did a great job today. They were aggressive early and their keeper gave up a tough goal to the near post. Let's hope he doesn't end up in a forced labor camp in a few weeks.

A 2-1 loss to Brazil was no disgrace for North Korea.

The people of the PRK, however, deserve more than a decent soccer team and nuclear weapons. Food and freedom would be better.

World Cup 2, NBA Nil

You can count on some things every four years. A Presidential Election, the Olympics and newspaper writers ripping the World Cup.

But I love the World Cup. Especially with the USA playing.

There were no televised games or Internet when I began following international soccer in the 80s. My sources were the L.A. Times and Sports Illustrated. (BTW, they both have GREAT soccer writers today in Grahme Jones and Grant Wahl.)

There wasn't much good to report back then. The underfunded USSF sent undermanned teams to wilt against many, most noteworthy: Mejico.

As the decade came to a close, our nation was assembling an improved group. My hunch is this was partly due to the soccer boom from a decade earlier, and the better play of NCAA Division I soccer teams.

Pau Caliguiri's "shot heard around the World" beat Trinidad, 1-0, and new era of USA soccer began. The USA qualified for the 1990 World Cup in Italy.

While the USA did not advance, I recall going toe-to-toe with the host Italians. I'm sure we were "packing it in" but, please, this was Italy and the Americans. I can remember Eric Wynalda (he led San Diego State to the NCAA title game in 1987) getting a red card. Actually, I forgot but according to Trivial Pursuit, he did.

1990 was a start, however.

That era was better, but not by much, than the previous decade for soccer fans. Other than the World Cup and a qualifying match here or there, no games were available on television.

Well, at least ENGLISH speaking television.

I spent a number of late nights viewing Univision. My three semesters of Espanol came in handy. A few years later, Andres "Goalllllllllllllll" Cantor would become a celebrity.

The 1994 World Cup came to the United States. I was lucky enough to attend.

I wasn't in Michigan wheWynala blasted a goal vs. Switzerland in the Silverdome. I had tickets to the Yanks game vs. Colombia. However, my wife Kim and I owned a computer magazine back the--Coast Compute--and it was our deadline. While I couldn't make to the Rose Bowl, I was able to watch the exciting game on the tele.

Cobi Jones, Alexi Lalas, Tony Meola, Claudio Reyna, Joe-Max Moore and John Harkes were a few of the stars back then.

Romania and the USA met later at the Rose Bowl. I attended that game with a friend, Mitch Fenton. However, that was the Americans only group loss (1-0).

The 2002 Cup brought more fun. The Amebericans upset Potrugual and should've beaten Gremany (Google "handball by Frings for more details).

The next Cup was not a huge success, but the US Soccer men's program was still at high level. That talent level is getting better every year. Shoot, we had Brazil down 2-0 in the Confederation's Cup championship last year!

Landon Donovan and Tim Howard are likely the best players we've produced. We've also got game Clint Dempsey (above) and Jozy Altidore, who might be the most exciting player this nation has produced.

Team chemistry appears to be great on this club, which could go a long way.

Because of the headline of this story, you may wonder where is the talk of the NBA. Well, many others will write about that. I'd rather watch the US in the World Cup than the NBA finals. And that's coming from a Laker fan.

I'm looking forward to the Americans next games in the World Cup. If it means setting the alarm early or watching in Spanish, I'll do it!

A Good Walk Spoiled or a Spoiled Golfer?

I went golfing on Friday. I hooked up with Greensboro College women's basketball coach Randy Tuggle and we headed to Jamestown Park Golf Course.

Now, I like Jamestown. It's five minutes from my house. It's affordable and not too difficult. It's also walkable.

And usually it's a breeze to play. But not on Friday.

We showed up a about 1 p.m. and took another duo's tee time. (Well, we didn't take it, they did not show.) We paid our 18 hole fee to ride and were off.

The first few holes were smooth. However, at the par 3 fourth hole we got backed up. No problem.

The next five holes we were caught up to two groups ahead of us. We found out why we were on their backs.

One guy sat in the cart while the other teed off. After that, the second guy sauntered to his bag, grabbed a club and got ready to tee off. There was no urgency and certainly none of the "Ready Golf" I try to play when there's a hint of crowds.

The other g group? We then got a glimpse of a guy throwing up blades of grass for his second shot. Trust me: there was no wind. It was 95 degrees and windless all day.

Another clue came on a later hole. A group of duffers were playing from the back tees. One tee shot hit a house adjacent to the same hole's white tees.

After 9 holes we asked for a rain check. The good folks at JPGC gladly obliged.

I started thinking and realized how lucky I am. It's rarely like this in Greensboro, N.C. We usually can walk up, get a tee-time and play hassle free.

This was not the case in my home state of California.

There, I always called for a tee-time--if you could get one. A party of two would be slotted with another duo. I would have to wait on tee boxes like I did on Friday more often than not.

C'mon golfers, read the Ready Golf rules posted in the cart.

Then, I got to wondering am I being a curmudgeon, am I spoiled or should those dudes be banned from the links for life?

Feedback requested.

Super-conference is Dead?

The Super-conference is dead, long live the Super-Conference!

1. Great move to add Boise State as a preemptive strike. With the Utes all but gone, the MWC will be in a similar spot in one area (football) and behind elsewhere (the rest of the teams).

2. Good luck to the reformed U Texas conference. Looks like the rest of the schools will never make as much as UT. The Longhorns are to their conference what the Yankees are to MLB.

3. The super-conference is now gone? Maybe, and--when you think about sharing money 16 ways--it makes sense.

4. Does the WAC stand pat when Utah exits? They could one to get to 10. Or, add three to get to 12 for a playoff. Fresno State, Houston (if TCU allows ;-) ) and... that's the problem... not enough talent out there. (Nevada? Hawaii? Utah State?).

5. The WAC now needs to add at least one. And there are no DI FBS football programs to pluck. Unless CUSA West folks are unhappy.

Conference Expansion Recap

With the weekend here, it's a good time to recap what's happened in conference realignment. Nothing should happen this weekend, but if it did nobody would be surprised.

Nebraska going to the Big 10 (which now has 12) from the Big 12 (which now has 10).

The whole idea of Cornhuskers heading north seems an odd fit in many ways. Television markets are driving most expansion, but not here. The Big 10 already has a network and Lincoln, Neb. is not high on the TV market list.

The Huskers have a big following, but their tradition adds good content for the network. I'd be concerned with losing the Texas recruiting market if I was a fan of the "N."

Big 10 championship game will be at: Lucas Oil Stadium? Soldier Field? Lambeau Field?

Boise State to the Mountain West from the WAC?

While this move is not of the Colorado or Nebraska magnitude, it's significant for a number of reasons.

1. It puts the MWC in a good position to regroup if Utah, BYU and/or TCU bolt.

2. It gives the conference 2 eilte teams (TCU, BSU) and 2 more second tier clubs (Utah, BYU). That is good collateral in the BCS sweepstakes if the B12 goes belly up.

3. BSU has been the darling of college football for the past few years. That cachet is a bonus for the MWC.

4. Boise is a fast-growing area and 10 years down the road will be an even bigger player in college athletics.

Colorado from the Big12 to Pac 11.

The Pac grabs a nice TV market in Denver. They will add one more team to make 12 or, more likely, five more to make 16.

Texas legislators meet on Tuesday to discuss the football futures of UT Austin, Texas A&M and Texas Tech.

(Note: Baylor is a private school and not officially in the mix. The way things work in the Lone Star state, however, back room deals may be occurring but don't expect BU in the P16. Waco to the WAC?)

If Texas is the only one to head west, the Pac 12 has a football championship game. In this scenario, which teams other than the Arizona schools go with Texas and Colorado? Wash and WSU?

Also, if Texas opts out, look for Utah to take spot #12.

We've already discussed the Pac 16 with the other B12 transfers.

Stay tuned for Tuesday. The Longhorns still hold many cards.