Chris Camarani's live in studio. All right, Christopher, I need your immediate reaction. RSL has one designated player. His name is Diogo. Is my dog about to hump you?
He's currently chasing his tail, but he's eyeing my right leg.
Just let him know, Just tell him to sit if you want to. If you want to witness c K trying to avoid being humped by my dog. It's on YouTube. Duke is a little bit of a humper, so we're trying to work with him on that. So Diogo Gonsolve is the only designated player on RSL's roster. Has been left home for this two game road trip due to disciplinary reasons. That's all we know. We just found out last segment. What are your thoughts?
It makes me think that And I'm not accusing RSL of fabricating any sort of injury report, but the heel injury the day before last Saturday? Correct?
Correct?
Yeah, the timing is kind of in retrospect, maybe a little too striking. Listen, you're not going to get more from RSL. Like I'm like, good for Jason for telling you, and good that it's out there, because now there's you know, it's a club mandated statement from a club mandated employee. But this to me is a potential pathway down no longer being RSL's number two.
I would agree with that.
Sometimes signings don't work out, and sometimes high profile signings don't work out, and Diogo isn't exactly the type of high profile signing that's worth potential headaches that apparently is being given at the moment. I think he has one goal this year. I don't remember how many he had
last year, one or two. So like, sometimes you have to call a spade a spade, and with the upcomer upcoming sever transfer windows, sometimes you might be better for you to shake hands, give bones, dap each other up and say good luck. I could be wrong. Maybe this is a you know, a step in a direction where Diogo and the coaching staff and the front office have
stuff to settle through. But if you were asking me to read the tea leaves out in Sandy across from the old Mayan, I would say, it seems like we are trending in that potential direction. Did they close the miya oh a long time ago? Food was never very good. Food was never good, But the guys dove off the off the rocks the diver.
The divers were impressive that burritos just were asked. So I guess I shouldn't be surprised that they closed it. All right, So Diego Luna is about to leave for the US men's national team to play in the Gold Cup. He will be playing tonight, He'll be playing on Saturday in Los Angeles. Then he's gone. Pablo on the show last week, I know you heard it because you listen
all of it. He dropped a bit of a bomb and he said he has been informed by ownership that they're no longer interested in the develop young players sell them. He's been told that if we develop a young player that's good for the group, they want the player to stay here. Does that mean RSL will never sell another player again, No, it does not. If some team in La Liga called Kurt Tomorrow and said forty Milo for die you know, like I understand that, it doesn't mean
they're never going to sell players. But what do you make of what Pablo in the front office have expressed that maybe this new ownership group is not interested in the mindset that previous ownership groups have had.
Well, I think we need to challenge the ethos that this franchise is at the level of some other franchises in MLS they or not. They sold Andriscoms last year and they sold for Del Barajas. Other than that, there haven't been bank breaking sales really ever that our sales front off has had a lot to do in the last twenty four months, both bringing in players and selling players, But before that there wasn't that much going on from
a you know, development and sell point of view. They've developed players that have come to the first team, you know, justin Glad Aaron Herrera, Body Hidalgo, mainly defenders, but this is not like they are. I mean, there are other clubs in this in this league that have signed players or developed them from an academy perspective and sold them for a lot of money. Columbus Crew, Philadelphia Union, La Galaxy,
so on and so forth. So I'm not necessarily surprised because Diego Luna is a type of player that you currently can't afford to lose, because if you lose Diego Luna, you lose the fan base. And yes, if there is a forty million dollar tag that comes, yes you sell. I think fans would understand that but it's not going to Diego. Luna isn't going to be sold for more than andreskill. Miss. I don't think so interesting. His player profile is different. Andris is a true burner, pure winger,
like one of the fastest dudes in the league. When he was here, like was a fringe Colombia national team player. Now Diego has a chance to play at the World Cup for the US when the US is pretty stacked from an attacking point of view. But he plays a different position. His style of play is a little more unique, body types a little more unique. He's not exactly a guy that can now he has foot skills, but he's not the type of guy that's going to be able
to run away from a lot of people. But if Diego ends this year with twenty goals, maybe we're having a different conversation. I just don't see it, And I think it makes sense from the Millers' perspective that if Diego continues to play at this level and go like on an upward trajectory, you make him a designated player because he's proven that he can do it, and you need somebody to build around, and they just don't have anybody.
Else feels like he's already on the level of what a deep piece should be, right.
I mean, yeah, he's at that level. I don't I would imagine that from a locker room perspective. He's he's not the captain, but he's a you know, a guy that people rally around. He's an easy guy to rally around. People like playing with him, people like watching him play. Mauricio Pochettino's giving him a chance where the previous staff did not, and for that is always going to be one of the more idiotic type of moves that will
never understand why he wasn't even in Paris. But yeah, he's he's been playing like a designated player and he's been the only guy that's been doing that since they jettisoned the likes of Chichio and Andres.
So where do you like if Diego develops fully and meets and meets a ceiling?
Because your point, are we doing comps, doing TJ comps? No?
I actually want to know what sort of level you think he can play at, because he's never going to be a burner. He just never never, He's never going to be a burner. The jabber comps feel right to me because they're really similar, and Javier was a guy that was able to make a difference with his skill but was never a burner could take a Javier are probably better with free kicks than Diego. Favier hit some
incredible free kicks. So if Diego has the desire, and he does, he actually has set it on this show. His goal is to be a European player. Where what league? If he maximizes who you think he can be, what league do you think he could he could play in and play well in.
I think he could easily transition to one of the top clubs in Mexico, which is saying a lot, because you know, top tier Mexican club teams are very good. If you wanted to, I could see him going down to Argentina or Brazil. Now, granted those have really good
club teams, but not at the level of Europe. Europe's tough because mainly every single league is like prioritizes the NFL bigger, faster, stronger model, Like you want dudes who can run really who can jump really high, who can run away from you, and have a crazy amount of talent on the ball. Diego's a little undersized, and you know I know in soccer, we're not talking about guys that need to be six two sixty three, especially in
that position. Like Lionel Messi is the greatest player of all time and he's five eight, right, which is I think what Diego is. But he'd have to go into the right system. Could see him easily starring in a league like the Netherlands, I think, going to top flight England, Spain, Italy. These are all pretty tough, tough asks. France, I think
are are all pretty tough asks. But I think for Diego it's going to come down to, like does he if he wants to go to Europe, does he want to be you know, a potential first team player or a rotational player on a team like PSV, or you know a team that's one of the best teams in let's say the Netherlands, or you know more ob secure leagues like Belgium where you can get a sniff of the Champions League, or does it make sense to make
a lot more money in MLS play. Often, as Jason was saying the previous hit, like a lot of these guys get tantalized with the prospect of going to Europe for obvious reasons. It's where you want to go if you have a chance. But it is so cutthroat and listen, I mean like, look at look at the stats around andrascoms like he is a eighty to eighty fifth minute sub on the middle of the table team in France ye, whereas here he was one of the best players in
the league. So the step up is pretty pretty hefty. But Diego could potentially face that, you know, crossroads, but I think RSL will make it hard for him to want to leave.
One more thing here. I don't do radio like this, and I have an understanding of how organizations work and how roster construction works in pro sports, So I feel like it's a simp who we blame. In Spence well, I feel like it's a simp thing to do to talk about someone has to be blamed, because it's more complicated than that. This is not a linear finger pointing situation.
It's more complicated than that. The ownership transition is a real thing, and with the way MLS is set up with a single entity, it's also misguided to add up the dollars that RSL received in exchange for players Dey jettison and then draw a straight line to say invest
that amount into more players. It's also very fair to say there has been a failure on some level to at least bring in talent and economic investment to continue the momentum you build last year for a team that scored more goals in any team in RSL history and had more points than any team in RSL history. Obviously, the playoff failure is what it is. So instead of saying, is it Dave Blitzer, is it Kurt.
Schmidt, it's everyone's fault. What's fair to say if you win as a team, you lose as a team. Starting from the players, to the staff, to the front office to the ownership, everything is tied together. It is a organic mass that moves intertwined together. Listen, they simply have missed on a lot of players, and they've missed on a lot of players while working with a tight budget, and that's always going to be hard. You want to miss big. RSL hasn't missed big, They've missed small. Miss small.
With Diogo, miss small, I think you, I mean, I don't want to say it's a miss, but a guy like Don Mark Zuke is not. Andrascomas like these were moves that were broadcast as potential replacements, not band aids, which at the time they were and they still are. They're still band aids. Eventually you're gonna have to rip
the band aid off. And I don't know how RSL's roster it's going to be constructed going forward, specifically with the Millers in charge, but it would behoove them to spend money, and it would behoove them to spend more than a three million dollar transfer on a number ten, because three million dollar number ten's don't really exist anymore. Like you spend three million dollars on a guy who is a rotational player in the middle of the field
with like Brian o'haden Amica Anelly. I know that sounds crazy, but you can't really ball on a budget anymore that you can. You can't. And I know fans will always want to support and show out, but sooner or later there's going to be a straw that breaks the Camels back. And like we've talked about, RSL is foundering. The Royals are I think the worst team in NWSL. They have some decent players, but just pay for good players, bring
in good players, and everything else will handle itself. I've been saying this, like ninety percent of what fans want to see is just good players, either in person or on the tube. That's it, one.
Hundred percent, and it is the only way to do this. You have to write checks. There has to be economic investment into the talent under roster, which leads us to the final thing. Then we'll catch a break and we'll do some college football coming up next summer. Transfer window will open in July, got it, And there are thirteen matches starting with the first week of the window opening. If they act that week, that gives them thirteen matches. If they wait until the end of the window, I
think it gives them eight. So look, here's my thing.
Let's hear it.
The primary window came and went, and you blew it. You just blew it, and you tried to save it with a bench player from Sporting Casey and a dude that played against like Dunseeth. You know, you tried to save it. And our guy, big Willie Goles, my guy not looking great. Johnny's played once for fifteen minutes. Jason just basically said like he's not close to soccer shape, which is understandable. He wasn't with a club for seven months.
So because you blew it during the primary transfer window, you should have targets ready that as soon as you can when that window opens, get it done. Don't wait for the window to close and do it the day before. As of Jason's interview last segment, I now have Pablo, Kurt and Jason on the record saying the same thing. Their belief is, or what they're saying out loud publicly. Is there two dynamic attacking players away from being among the best teams in MLS? I have no idea if
that's the case. In addition to Diego, Yes, okay, correct, So if that's the case, two dynamic attacking players, summer transfer window, and don't make it two million dollar guys like Go, make a splash, get two seven eight million dollar attacking players. Is that enough to salvage something this year? No, it's not.
I think the season's lost, especially considering you're losing Diego four potentially two months. You know, let's let's hope he stays healthy and balls with the national team and continues to impress that coaching staff. But I mean, in what world has this iteration of RSL convinced, convinced anybody that they can, you know, tread water on their own without Diego Luna. I mean, it's just there. You watch them play and they have like two two basic attacking maneuvers.
They will overload the right side or they will get it, get it, get it to the left foot of Alex Catronis, who will send it across to Nobody does. But for whatever reason, there is you know, nobody crashing the box, no late runners there. They lack for any sort of idea. But I think they're just I think they know they're limited. I think I think this is a club that understands its limitations and they're learning them in real time. But
I'm with you wholeheartedly. I think if if the Millers really want to show the fan base that they mean business like, I think, you need to be willing to spend not this window, because this window's kind of tough because you're not going to potentially get your exact targets, but you still can. I think, I think, in my opinion, in the next two transfer windows, they need to be willing to spend anywhere from twelve to eighteen million dollars on players.
I agree, and just real quick to your point about whether or not they can do it this window. I don't pretend to know my elbow for my rear end about primary transfer summer window, who's available, who's not. But if you go off of past, you know, just player signings. Last year with a primary transfer window, they didn't do much. And it was the summer transfer window where they bring in Dom.
They sold on just to they sold.
Andre, so they bring in Diego, Dom and Lachlan.
Your god.
So look, I'm not saying high five for bringing in players that aren't very good, but they did make more signings in the summer last year than they did in the primary last year.
Bait correct, they did, And it seems like last year they had their ducks in a row in terms of understanding that a potentially big offer, one that they couldn't turn down was coming for Andres, which it did, and then they went out and signed players. But Diogo, Lachlan and Dom probably cost a total of like four point five million dollars between three players, five million, which is not gonna get it done.
When did they bring in Alex? Was Alex a primary transfer window or was he a summer transfer window?
No? I think he was before the start of last season.
Before the start of last season, Okay, because I mean that was a good sign and I think Alex has been Yeah, but you're not wrong. We need to write some checks, all right, before we catch a break. You can cash in on the basketball playoffs with Prize Picks. Don't miss your last chance to ad your favorite players from the court to your Prize Picks lineup. Whether it's points, rebounds, or assists, you can take your pick of more or less for your shot to win up the two thousand
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I will take less on chet Homegrin five point five defensive rebounds and I'll go I'll go more on Alex Caruso eight point five points tonight. So Prize Picks run your game all season long. Christopher Camaradi c K. Did anyone ever call you Christopher? I mean that's your proper name, correct, Yeah, that's.
On my birth certificate. I'm sometime parents. No, it's it's always been Chris or Ck. It's weird, okay, but weirdly I choose to go by Christopher on my byline.
Yeah, I saw that. Yeah, and I think at one point I tried to take credit for Ck. But did you say who initially came up with the K?
That's been going on since I was ten years old because I used to think it was cool that Calvin Klein had jeans.
It is kind of cool. It's kind of cool, back to the future style. I'm not going to complain Alvin kleins right back in the day. Shout out Michael J. Fox. All right, Chris, you were in uh midtown Manhattan not too long ago for the Athletic College Football Annual Meeting. Any grand takeaways you'd like to share with our I mean, look, the landscape at college football right now is wild. I mean, CBS is reporting that the SEC is leaving the NCAA
in twenty twenty nine. You can't just do that. So there are a lot of things that have to take place, conversations about the new CFP format where it's clearly the SEC and the Big ten calling all the show, and you can complain about it all you want. That's kind of the landscape of the thing. So what were some of the college football stories topics fantied about by some of the heaviest hitters in college football media.
Exactly that it's beyond guard be prepared for rampant change once again, and ironically enough, just within the last six days since I've been home, the SEC meetings have taken place in Greg Sankie and folks are unhappy with the state of college athletics apparently, and they can throw their weight around because they want to and because they can.
Also the seeding is officially changed that I think that happened like two days after I got home, which I think is ultimately the right decision to do away with those you know, bloated higher seeds. But I think what I would say would be that you just have to be prepared for a tremendous amount of change and be prepared to ride the coattails of the powers that be. And those powers that be are the two heavy hitters that you mentioned, the SEC and the Big Ten. And listen,
things changed all the time. I mean, once upon a time people were mad that the NBA had a best of five series in the first round, and I know it's hard to compare that to the amount of teams in the college football playoff. But things change, man, Like we Major League Baseball used to have I think one wild card team and that was it. Things changed. Everything is not going to be as it always was, and
I think that's a good thing. I mean, thank god, we're no longer dealing with that computer system known as the BCS, like, I think a lot of people are just operating either publicly or privately, in fear that they're going to be left behind when the dust settles. But I don't personally, I don't think it's going to get
to that level now. It can now if CBS's report is correct that the SEC is going to go rogue and call its own shots in four years, I guess we'll have to tackle that beast when they when they cross that bridge. But I just think it makes sense for everybody to remain in lockstep because that's where all the money is.
So Ross Dellinger, who does a really good job for Yahoo, and also Matt Brown front of the show Extra Points, I kind of read what those two write and followed them as a north star when it comes to some of the legislation in place. Tennessee passed a law without really telling everybody, like any school in our state does not have to adhere to the House v NCAA settlement
guidelines like you're exempt. And then the p four Conferences drafted a contract that said, no, actually you're not allowed to follow your state law if you want to be part of our lunch table. The Trump White House came up with a College Football Commission that they were going to solve everything. The White House was like, you're not doing that. So now that's on pause, kind of like the tariffs, Like here are the tariffs. Wait, no, the
tariffs are not that. No they are. Now we're going to roll this back.
Nick Saban was supposed to be the face of it, and right even he was like, I don't know what you're.
Talking about, right exactly, So there was a conversation going on that the White House was going to get involved. Now that's not happening because that's kind of the deal walking everything back. But when it comes to the p four Conferences and their desire to make sure that all of their member institutions do follow whatever the House VNCAA settlement says versus the state passing laws saying that you do not have to do that, how do we traverse
out like who's rights? Like, ultimately, if you're Vanderbilt, if you're the University of Tennessee and you have legislation in place from your state leaders saying you don't have to follow any of that. But then there's the Four Conferences drafting the contract to say, if you want to be part of us. You have to sign this, and you
do have to follow it. All of this feels like we're just in for more legislation and we're in for more legal battles, and the lawyers are the ones that ultimately are going to be the winners.
Correct, You're going to be dealing with things that are pseudo passed tied up in court, you know, file motions and junctions and all of these almost went there, all of these court legal mumbo jumbo jargons that everyone has had to either relearn or learn for the first time again.
There will be loopholes, I mean, don't forget that. Like, just as recently as March Madness, the state of West Virginia was threatening to was threatening to sue the NC Double A because West Virginia was left out of the ncuble A tournament. Like, I think a lot of it is grandstanding. I think a lot of it is is going to be filled with ways around these motions and these bylaws and these laws. I think ultimately it will
boil down to games won't be disrupted. I don't roster construction will be altered all that significantly until that day comes. You know, maybe maybe Tennessee and Vandy do get a leg up significantly. I don't necessarily see that being the case, because I think it's I think at the end of the day, you're likely to be more emboldened to side with your governing conference body as opposed to some state legislators that you don't really know, but it could be wrong.
So it is, we've approached it's silly season without a doubt, and everybody's in my opinion, is kind of bloviating.
Well, and also Chris where I've kind of landed, and look, I don't know this to be true, and maybe we need congressional involvement, Maybe we need the highest office of the land to try to get involved here. And I
guess that was the idea before everybody else. I guess Cody Campbell, the Texas Tech booster, was involved in addition to sab and as you reference, when Campbell was announced as somebody who was going to kind of co chair the thing, a lot of people pump the brakes, like, wait, we don't know that we want this dude involved because conflict of interest with Texas Tech and then the White
House that surrounds Donald Trump. They basically said, we cannot get involved with this, and that's why they paused it. So maybe because it is so a convoluted and complex we do need the highest office of the land to get involved to just have some sort of final solution. But where I've kind of landed is that I don't see a solution on the horizon. I don't see the dust settling anytime soon, like maybe in four or five years.
But it feels like we have entered and are still in and will remain in this space of ambiguity with the sport, and you just kind of have to deal with it day by day and year by year, and the chaos will continue.
Yeah, you basically took the words out of the mouth man, like this is until there is a hard and fast rule book, until there is ways, until there are ways to punish people or you know, mistakes or missteps or misgivings, like people are just going to be able to operate the way they want to because there is no governing body.
I don't know if it's necessarily something that needs to be congressional or even you know, involved in involving the executive branch of government, Like you just need to get people to come together and agree on something, but everybody's best interests are going to be served, and those are
generally involving their own right. And it it sounds really like depressing to say, but if you're speaking from like a pure business perspective, it doesn't make sense to punt on your best interests in it for the sake of other people. Well, and and the SEC and the Big especially the SEC can just basically flex its chest, right.
And the other thing that maybe people have either forgotten or they never knew, is the ability to enforce rules was stripped from the NCAA. They were thrown out of court like, hey, you're a serial antitrust violator, and also you're no longer able to even enforce the rules that you have in place. So when you hear an announcement like the SEC leaving the NCAA, and look it's twenty twenty five, that's four years down the line, none of that is surprising, Like I feel like that's where we've
been going all along. But as we continue to traverse into this new space, the chasm that exists between the SEC and the Big ten and even the Big twelve and the ACC continues to widen because the SEC and the Big Ten. They have the cards, they have the ace in the hole, and we can complain about it as a Big twelve market about what's fair or what's not fair. But this has turned into a game of leverage.
And I think it's clear that certainly the SEC probably first and foremost, but the Big Ten alongside of them, they are holding the cards. And Brett Yormar can negotiate all he wants, but if you want to be part of wherever they're going, you're probably just gonna have to follow whatever they say. Is that fair?
Yeah, and you mentioned Britt you are. It's going to be interesting to see what he says during the Big twelve meetings this week, because these conferences never lack for these official, unofficial meetings. The SEC had theirs, Big Ten had theirs. Now it's the Big twelve s turn. He'll be I'm sure he'll be asked ad nauseum about all of this stuff. But we live in a capitalistic society, and whoever gets I mean, you know, the rule man, the man with the gold makes the rules number one
rule of the drive. So the SEC, the Big Ten get the biggest amount of dollars because they get the most eyeballs and the media contracts are the fattest for them because most people watch them. And it is it is an interesting kind of dichotomy if you think about like professional sports compared to college sports. Professional sports, for the most part, are always driven by really high profile
urban markets. College is like basically the complete opposite. Like how is it that a place like as you know, remote as Tuscaloosa, you know, or Starkville can play a role and you know, these multi billion dollar media rights deals. It's because people will watch them, and people will you know, at the at the end of the day, pay more attention to them because they have more history, more success,
And that is the reality of the situation. And you mentioned the chasm, Like the Big twelve just doesn't have any established you know, Goliath. They have a bunch of maybe maybe it's a little low hanging fruit to say, a bunch of David's, but like they don't have anybody that's going to be like they have Deon Sanders. But other than that, like is is anybody busting down the door to watch Arizona State? And Kenny Dillingham, Is anybody busting down the door to watch Kyle Whittingham? And Utah.
I mean by use a little unique in that, and like, you know, they have the historic contract with ESPN and you know the very big, you know, Mormon population worldwide, but it's it's it's who you're marketing, and these other conferences just have such more, They have so much more at their disposal compared to anyone else.
Did the PAC twelve and the ACC once upon a time announce like an alliance and I remember.
That, correct that too?
Yeah, and it lasted like two weeks, so yeah, that's right. And the press release like we are committed moving and no, no.
You're not.
Y it's still so wild. I was watching Pacers Nicks last night and they reference at Benedict Matheren was the PAC twelve Player of the Year, and I just started thinking, like when he was at Arizona.
Okay, I just.
Started thinking, in ten or fifteen years, when you bring up the PAC twelve, the youngs are gonna be like, what the hell is the PAC twelve.
Well, the PAC twelve will be wazoo Oregon State, you know, some of these new guys, But like.
But like what it was the real yeah, like a home for West Coast football and it doesn't even exist. If your Brett or Mark, are you considering engaging with the ACC about potentially trying to put something together there to put it in tendency in place in the event that the SEC and the Big ten say we are taking our ball and we are going home and you're not allowed to come with us, because that appears to be on the table.
Chris, I think you would need two member institutions who are very prickly at their own conference in the moment, and Clemson in Florida State to be willing to be front facing and forward and being like, yes, we're all for this, because those are two institutions who have recently, either publicly or privately threatened that they may want to
no longer be part of the ACC. So the heaviest hitters have the most sway, and I think you can make easily make an argument that between the Big twelve and the ACC, Clemson in Florida State and even Miami
would probably be third. And like the Big the Big twelve just doesn't really have anybody, So I think it would make sense, but it would be it would be fascinating to talk to these guys, just like, why don't you guys all just like sit down, you know, in a room, like just sort it out, come to it, come sort of come to some sort of common ground. But egos are real, you know. The amount of money
on the table is very real. It just seems like and and maybe I'm a maybe I'm an optimist beneath this endless pile.
Of the news. Christopher camrodnie optimist.
It seems like it. It seems like it's doable. Am I I mean? Am I am I being a little naive?
Well, I mean, here's where I land on that dynamic. Negotiations are about one thing always power, no dang it. Leverage. Okay, okay, so write this down, kids, Take out the pen. Okay. Negotiations are about one thing. It's leverage.
You think kids have pens. Take out the iPad.
Take out the iPad. Type this in snapchat it or TikTok it.
There you go.
Negotiations are about leverage. They just are. And if it's your own life, and if it's your own job, and if you want to go to your boss and negotiate a new compensation package, you better have tangible data about the value you provide your company, or you better have a job offer that you can say, Okay, I'm getting paid twenty five percent more over here. If you want to keep me, you have to match that. So negotiations about leverage, and the leverage resides with the SEC and
the Big Ten. It just does so when it comes to their inability to land in a space where an agreement could be found, it's the ACC and the Big twelve complaining about the concessions they're not getting from the SEC and the Big Ten. But it's the SEC and the Big Ten saying we don't need to give you these concessions because we have the leverage. So where's the
middle ground? Ultimately, and right now, the one example we do have that's tangible is the expanded sixteen T and CFP for next year twenty twenty six, the next cycle, which as we know right now, the proposal is four auto bids for the SEC and the Big Ten, two auto bids for the Big twelve in the ACC, one auto bid for the Group of six now shout out
Newpac twelve, and then three at large bids. The reports are the Big twelve and the ACC aren't happy with that because of the auto bids that the SEC and the Big Ten are receiving but if you're the Big twelve in the ACC, I think you have to understand the leverage lies with them, and you might just have to agree to that. Say you get half the auto bids, we'll take two. We just want to sit at your lunch table.
I think that's very accurate and I think that's fair. I think until the Big twelve finds a way to establish itself with the powers that be, they don't have any leverage. That's great, it's good learning lesson leverage.
There we go.
I have a question how much does the rise of SEC basketball add to their already deep war chests? Ye, because like it used to be, I mean, it used to be the AC, the Big twelve, historically Big East, you know, rest in peace. But now it's like I think the SEC had the most amount of tournament teams and they.
Have a conference in college basketballs.
So I wonder, as you know, a big college troops guy, indeed, how much does that add to their already strengthened war chest.
I don't and you know this, I don't think it adds much to it, only because even though college basketball is viable due to March Madness, it's still a drop in the bucket compared to college football. I mean, it can't hurt it. But it's the reason why Brett yor Mark was interested in adding Yukon to the Big twelve. Yukon football is pathetic, but Yukon basketball is one of the top two or three blue bloods in the country.
They are an ad a beneficial, you know, tangible asset to your conference because of their basketball team, not their football program. But there are I mean, Duke Carolina football is better than it used to be, but there are only a handful of basketball front facing programs that really makes sense that would help your conference. You want it
to be attached to a excellent football team. It's why Brian Santiago, when he was introduced as the BYU athletic director, was very front facing that football drives us, even though their economic investment is in their basketball program. Right, So, look, BYU basketball is going to be a top five team this year. AJ Debonca right away probably will be the best player that's ever played in our state. Do you respect to Van Horne and Andre and everybody else like
AJ is different. But if they don't invest with Kilani and his group the way they've invested with Kevin and his group. Yeah, it's awesome that you have a great basketball program, But do you want to be Yukon? No, you want to be Bama. You want to be Florida. You just won the national championship.
Yeah, and it's interesting too because you have kind of a clean slate. You have an opportunity to take hold of this geographical footprint where currently it's kind of Oregon and everybody else like SC paying Lincoln Riley King's ransom clearly isn't worked out. Washington has to figure out, you know, who they are after you know, losing Kalin to Boor. But like, the possibilities are out there, you can establish
yourself as a geographical giant. Now it's difficult because you have to be able to win those recruiting battles out west, and you have to stave off all of these guys in the SEC and Big Ten who are coming for the players in your state. But it is a great point that like the likes of these programs in the Big twelve, have the opportunity to seize the moment. Carpe DM Indeed, fortune favors the ball shout out JP does.
I just don't know if anybody is good enough or if the pockets are deep enough to do it.
Since you brought up best c the reports are sc Notre Dame is going away. It's not done very bad. So look b yu Utah will be preserved because they're conference buds. Otherwise we were already in a space where it went away incrementally and could have gone away entirely if they didn't land in the same conference. College football, to me, one of the things that does separate it from the NFL is rivalries. We have some good NFL rivalries,
but there's something different about college football rivalries. Is it time to change that paradigm?
Though?
Is it time to get rid of any romantic idea of what college football is based off of how rapidly it's all changed, Because if you're Lincoln Riley, like, why would you schedule that game if it's going to get in the way of you winning your conference and maybe making the expanded to I get the counterpoint, right.
Yeah, But this goes back to the moving target of change we talked about, like, how I guess the auto If this theoretical sixteen team tournament exists, then your autobids or your autobids it and maybe your strength of schedule isn't getting measured the way it historically has and all these things. But I'm I mean, like there's a reason why locally that that game is awesome every year, Like last year, on paper, that game had no reason being
as good as it was it was. And we've talked about this over and over for the last twenty years. The one game that my wife still remembers and still talks about is the kick six with Auburn and Alabama. Like it's the only time I've seen her like actually freak out during a sporting event watching watching that guy return that that attempted field goal, Like if that's if that's Auburn and Vandy, if it's Auburn and Iowa State, does it resonate Now?
No, it does not.
I mean there and I think, honestly, the rivalries are why will even bring in the casuals. They will bring in the likes of you and I We will probably if we're free, we'll tune in for the Iron Bowl Catch quarter. Sure, I'm not really that intrigued by the idea of SC and whoever you know SC in Texas, A and M. I mean, that's that's too good of an example.
Now I understand the honest and the point. One more thing here, then we'll set you loose. Duke is looking at me. I gotta go a bathroom, and I am one dog dump in the studio away from never being allowed to bring him in again. So we're gonna get Duke outside, can go to the bathroom. You always hear this, Moniker, and I use it too, but I think it's different when you look at what is transpired in college football and what could transpire in football, you always hear the
same thing. Well, regardless of all the chaos, Saturdays in the fall still feel like Saturday's in the fall. They don't if you're an Oregon State fan, they don't. If you're a Washington State fan, they don't. If you're one of these teams that have been left behind. And if we continue to move into a space where you know, it's simply capitalism, economic investment, and anyone who's in that group don't, they don't need to make concessions for anybody else.
And we'll just use the sec in the Big ten. And if they decide that they're gonna go do their thing and period, end of story, that's it. There will be more schools where Saturday's in the fall no longer
longer feel like Saturdays in the fall. You can make an argument that for Utah fans that for a decade plus welcomed in Oregon and USC and UCLA and the Big Pac twelve brands, and suddenly that's gone, and due respect, it's now Iowa State and k State and just and Baylor and brand like good solid programs, but not the brands that were accustomed. You can make an argument it's Saturdays in the fall around here don't feel like Saturdays in the fall like they did a couple of years ago.
And they don't for Washington State, they don't for Oregon State. Where I think this sport could find itself in peril is if Saturday's in the fall no longer feel like Saturdays in the fall for the majority of college football fan bases, and they just feel like it for the SEC in the Big.
Ten, Saturdays in the fall need to force parents to make their kids miss their soccer games for games, they need to make them miss scheduled events because of the importance of what it means, either in person at the tailgate in the stadium or even on the twa yep. After the news broke that the PAC twelve was dissolving, I was actually sent if you remember this, I went and Thanksgiving weekend, I went to both the Civil War and the Apple Cup in twenty four hours and talking
to those fans that have been left behind. It is a stark reminder that people just because they might have, you know, gone to a different school, they might have different colors, their diploma might might say something different that shouldn't negate you know, their ability to you know, have the money that they invest in their alma maters or
the schools that they support, have it potentially payoff. And you're right, like we are rapidly trending towards a world which we leave people in schools behind, and I don't think we can afford to do that.
Great to see him, my man, get Duke outside.
I will.
And then you're in charge of the flyer for Fox's birthday. I want that you got twenty four hours.
I got you