K-State Basketball
James Watson is upset about his dismissal from the basketball team. The countdown to the national media taking this story out of context is already underway, but the facts as reported are on K-State's side. According to news reports, Watson has been diagnosed with sickle-cell anemia and a heart defect. Robinett's report notes that he collapsed in his apartment last year. Maybe he does "feel 100-percent healthy," but that's not what the doctors say. Watson will remain on scholarship so he can graduate. Maybe Watson's health problems were a convenient excuse for opening up a scholarship for Michael Orris, but the medical reasons sound legitimate.
Conference Realignment
The ACC announced a new TV deal for all tiers of its media rights. At $3.6 billion over 15 years, the payout for each school would be about $17 million per year. That's an increase from the previous payout for each school of $13 million per year.
After the ACC's announcement, the initial reaction was that this would squelch the persistent rumors that Florida State and Clemson were considering a jump to the Big 12. But no! This is Conference Realignment, where everyone can put their own spin on an event whose import would otherwise seem obvious. It doesn't matter that an extra $4 million should address the budget issues Florida State and other ACC schools are facing, because it's still way behind everyone else.
If Chip Brown is reporting on it, then the next round of realignment mania must be upon us. At this point, we know this for sure. If Florida State and Clemson do jump to the Big 12 now, then it will be the definitive signal that a new era of college sports is upon us. The new era will be one where schools change conference affiliation every few years based on TV contracts. Yay.
Of course, we live in a world where there are people dumb enough to think that there's a legitimate comparison to FSU's gripes with North Carolina and Texas' supposed domination of the current Big 12.