The following post is expanded and adapted from a comment I left in response to this morning's post by Bill Connolly at the mothership.

The system, it is broken. Almost every year, we have this problem one way or another whether it's the championship game participants or who gets to go to the big money bowls; someone, somewhere, is angry because their team is left on the outside looking in. I suppose that would be easy enough to ignore if that's all it was. We could just make dismissive comments about people being butthurt and get on with our day. Except it's not just the people associated with the teams that get bent out of shape. We all get into the argument. We take sides, we argue, we get angry. When you have, just as an example, a Minnesota fan arguing with a Miami (FL) fan about whether Alabama or Oklahoma State more deserved the shot at LSU, it's obvious we all care about this. (And of course, from the K-State perspective, pretty much everyone who doesn't wear maroon and orange is up in arms about how we've been shafted yet again -- even our rivals and the other teams that have as much to complain about as we do.)

The first reaction we all seem to have to this is to say the system needs to be fixed, and what we always focus on is that we need more teams so that the teams left out won't have anything about which to complain. Now, personally, I am in favor of a playoff -- indeed, I'm in favor of a Great Big Party playoff, the 16-team version in which all 11 conference champions earn a ticket. That, however, is not because I think it'll fix the system. It's because in my super-hero identity, I champion the smaller colleges, and as a result I have been watching teams participate in playoffs for... well, for a long time. As a result, I can tell you without the slightest hesitation that every single argument against a playoff in the major college structure is bogus.

It won't fix the system, however, because the reason we all get mad is directly related to something completely different. The system isn't broken because deserving teams are left out. It's broken because the nature of the selection process is, if not unfair on its face, entirely too prone to accusations that it's unfair. But that's okay; I know how to fix it.

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As I'm sure you're all aware by this point, the Washington Post has reported that in the course of filing suit against his former agents, Michael Beasley effectively admitted that he was receiving improper benefits before (if not during) his time in Manhattan. This, of course, puts his eligibility in question; whether the school itself will be dinged for this is uncertain, as it's possible Michael himself was unaware of the benefits being given to his mother. In that case, the Cam Newton theory comes into play, where even if there were issues with Beasley, the school wouldn't have any liability for them.

But the core aspects of the situation got me thinking, and a comment by Panjandrum is what brings us here. The issue of "handlers" or "runners" seems to be a major problem these days. On the surface, it's obvious that it should be; you don't need professionals working for explotative concerns steering kids into life-changing decisions which are of more benefit to pretty much everyone involved than they are to the kid himself. And it was Pan's mention of Gary Williams' retirement stemming partly from his disgust at Wally Judge showing up with a handler that really triggered a realization.

It's one the old-school college sports fan may very well recoil from in horror.

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Let me get this straight.

Unsourced reports on Tuesday indicated that the Big 12 was close to adding West Virginia University. Yesterday, we heard that announcement was not going to happen and the process was ongoing (see also here for the ESPN/Joe Schad version), and saw more unsourced reports that Louisville may be added to the Big 12 rather than WVU. Then a couple U.S. Congressmen from West Virginia got involved, calling for an investigation to see if anything improper had occurred.

And through all this misdirection and anonymity, we're supposed to be able to draw any conclusions at all?

Yes, apparently, according to some. Sam Mellinger essentially agreed on Twitter with someone who called the Big 12 a clown show, and then when I asked for an explanation could do no better than "the Big 12 is a mess" and that this turn of events proves Missouri's point that the Big 12 is unstable. Granted, it's Twitter, which doesn't leave much room for explanations, but this is just one example. Anyone who listened to 810 this morning heard Steven St. John nearly have a coronary because he was so aghast at the cat-herding show that passes for the Big 12 Conference.

Really? I thought instability was predicated on the possibility that schools would leave the conference. In this instance, we have completely unsourced reports (I really can't stress that enough) that schools are stabbing each other in the back to get into this conference. Look, we've already been through this. Apparently, Oklahoma and Texas looked around, and they found that nobody wants them, for one reason or another. Nobody is leaving the conference right now, except for Missouri.

What we're left with is the empty assertion that, because all conference members don't agree on a course of action the conference is inherently unstable and leaderless. Does that mean the SEC is unstable because not every single one of its members agrees that adding Missouri is a good idea? Of course not. That's laughable. But when the conference is the Big 12, and completely unsourced reports indicate that it is going to add West Virginia, and then completely unsourced reports indicate that its expansion process is on hold, and the only actual, named sources are U.S. Congressmen from West Virginia who are calling for an investigation to see if anything "inappropriate or unethical" was done to interfere with a decision made by the Big 12 Conference, that is clear and convincing proof that the Big 12 is unstable.

If we assume that the unsourced reports are correct and David Boren is lobbying on behalf of Louisville as a favor to his buddy Mitch McConnell, and as a result of that hijacking what was otherwise a done deal, then I can agree that Boren needs to go about his work a bit more discreetly. There's no reason we can't add both schools, if Oklahoma would be willing to budge on its (apparent, and ridiculous) position that we should only go to 10 schools. But even given that, I fail to see how Boren's actions are an indication that the Big 12 is unstable.

In any event, the important steps toward stability have been taken. Earlier this week, the Big 12 board of directors reaffirmed its commitment to a grant of rights for Tier 1 and Tier 2 media rights, and the conference has already agreed to equal sharing of Tier 1 and Tier 2 revenue. This is just another knee-jerk reaction by the media and another scapegoat for Missouri.

People just can't show Bill Snyder enough love right now.

Snyder has taken a team that was slotted eighth in the preseason media poll and rolled to a 6-0 start, including a 3-0 conference start. That record could very well improve one game tomorrow when K-State takes on hapless KU, which is 2-4 and winless in conference play this season. If K-State wins, it would set up a battle of undefeated teams in Manhattan next week when Oklahoma shows up, and College GameDay would likely set up shop in front of Varney's in Aggieville.

So that leads back to the question at hand. Grantland writer Robert Mays took a look at what Snyder's doing in act two, with the help of acknowledged Snyder fan Barry Switzer. Allen Kenney of Crystal Ball Run called him one of the best college football coaches ever after K-State's 24-17 win over Missouri this year. So is it true? Is Bill Snyder one of, if not the greatest, college football coach in history?

He's certainly among the best, but we knew that after his first run. As the Grantland piece adequately describes, and as we all know very, very well, the fact that he was even able to take K-State to a bowl game represented a remarkable accomplishment. That he nearly took the Wildcats to the national title game would have been unfathomable in the Stan Parrish era. 

When K-State hired Snyder the second time around, I thought it was a mistake. I didn't think he would be able to recapture the magic, and I feared some would think his accomplishments tarnished if he didn't have a similar turnaround. Admittedly, this season is far from over. It's entirely possible that K-State will end up 8-4 this year, which would exceed expectations, but would be seen from the outside as a moderate disappointment given the hoopla surrounding K-State's surprising start. But then again, K-State may keep doing what it's doing right now and finish 9-3 or 10-2.

And if it does, then you can put the pencil away and put Snyder down in pen as one of the greatest coaches ever. Even better, the run shouldn't be over after this year, as Snyder is starting to assemble some young horses that could propel K-State to even greater heights in the years to come. In the end, the fact that we can now ask, with a straight face, this question regarding Bill Snyder speaks volumes about the job he's doing in Manhattan this time around.

It has been more than two years since Beth Mendenhall first suggested that the popular K-State phrase "EMAW" (Every Man A Wildcat, for the visitors) be replaced by the "more inclusive" "EPAW" ("Every Person A Wildcat"). Now, it's September 2011, and the Pride of Wildcat Land no longer includes EMAW in its pregame show, and we have a massive social-media campaign to #SaveEMAW.

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K-State graduate and former Voice of the Wildcats, Steve Physioc, is back in Manhattan, Kan., this week to call the Battle of the K-State's when the Wildcats take on Kent State this Saturday.

As K-State's broadcast voice from 1979 until 1982, Physioc had the privilege of seeing some of Jack Hartman's best basketball teams up close. Despite all the wonderful memories from Ahearn Fieldhouse, Physioc said his best memory of K-State basketball was the NCAA Tournament game at Pauley Pavillion when Rolando Blackman hit a jumper to beat top-ranked Oregon State.

In particular, Physioc loved the broadcasting setup at Pauley. While the broadcasters sat up high in the rafters back in Ahearn, Physioc was on the floor right next to K-State's bench for the game against the Beavers. As a result, he was able to listen to Hartman in the huddle late in the game.

"There was no panic at all. We're down by 12 points now. [He'd say] here's how we're going to get it to 10,'" Physioc said. "Then the next time out, it would be 'here's how we're going to get it to eight.'"

One of the most memorable parts of the Oregon State game was seeing what K-State had worked on in practice pay off on the big stage.

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The voice of reason, Stan Marsh. South Park Studios

Having observed the events of the past 20 months or so, Stan has come to a conclusion about conference realignment.

Stan: You see, I learned something today. Everyone talks right now about how excited they are about TV markets, and national ratings and getting the next big TV contract. But that's not what college sports are about! College sports are about tradition, and history, and passion, and geography, and rivalries. If we keep going down this road of only caring about which TV markets a school captures, we're going to end up with a bunch of schools playing each other who have no history together. We're going to turn college sports into pro sports, and pro sports are already boring enough. I mean, we're already kind of on our way to doing that. We have Texas Christian from Fort Worth, Texas, joining a conference called the Big East. Marquette is the next-farthest-west member of the Big East, and they're in Milwaukee! It's like the Dallas Cowboys playing in the NFC East just because it keeps them relevant in the east-coast TV markets.

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Over the last few weeks, rumors that Texas A&M was leaving for the Southeastern Conference have been percolating. Mostly, they've been percolating on Texas A&M fan sites and blogs, but of course they then got posted on Twitter, where we know nothing untrue has ever been tweeted ever.

Each time the rumors surface, they're a clear response to some news about The Longhorn Network. Texas and ESPN want to show high school games and a Big 12 conference game on the Longhorn Network? The Aggies are outraged and on the verge of leaving! And maybe Oklahoma or Missouri are going with them, because OU hates UT, too, and we all know Missouri is a conference slut.

After all parties announced a detente, in the form of a one-year moratorium on showing high school games, and restrictions on showing conference games, the rumors subsided. Then, an enterprising way-too-bored Texas A&M fan put in a FOIA request and obtained the contract for TLN. Its contents were either outrageous or pretty standard stuff, depending on who you talked to.  But of course, the same group of Aggies that was outraged by the possibility of high school games and Big 12 conference games on TLN were also outraged by the contract terms, and unsurprisingly, the rumors of an Aggie defection resurfaced. Missouri has kept her skirt down thus far, this time around.

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