Quack with the smell of burnt conferences (expandageddon after the jump). Does it get any better?
- Oregon is hosting the NCAA track & field championships at Hayward Field, which start tomorrow. And GoDucks.com has just about all the main info you'll need if you're planning on going (tickets are still available but going fast).
- One of Oregon's best hopes for scoring this week is senior Andrew Wheating, defending champ in the 800 who will be competing in the 800 and 1500. He will try to become just the 4th athlete to win both. The last time the double happened? Oregon's Joaquim Cruz in 1984, which was also the last time Oregon won an outdoor title, and this also happen at Hayward Field. Oregon is hoping to get 20 points in the 1500, where Matthew Centrowitz and A.J. Acosta are also competing. But nothing is for certain for Wheating or the team. Both races are packed with competition, and Wheating has already been beaten twice in the 800 this year by Virginia Freshman Robby Andrews.
- After an exciting season, Oregon baseball is already looking forward. While the loss to FSU hurt, as Pat Kilkenny put it, "a Ducks loss in any sport had never hurt so good." Oregon was playing with house money once they got into the postseason, and while it would have been great to continue on, the Ducks just didn't have the firepower to stick with FSU. But that shouldn't diminish how far the Ducks have come. The team's hard work has started to create a tradition at Oregon, that can now be built on by future teams.
- In a bit of football news, Phil Steele has unveiled Oregon as his #10 team in the country, and you can download his team preview today.
- Expandageddon is still upon us. The details haven't changed much over the past 24 hours, but it seems that many are now asking if this is or isn't a good idea. MSNBC's Darren Rovell argues that the math just doesn't add up for a 16-team megaconference, and argues that for expansion to work, each team must bring money with it, and increase upon the status quo. He argues that for the Pac-10, they could see an increase in TV revenue of only $2.5 million per team, which would likely happen with a simple re-negotiation of TV contracts. However, I think that Rovell is selling the TV revenue short to a great degree. One, his number for current Pac-10 TV revenue is listed as $100 million (every other number I've heard is around $55 mil), and there is also word that the Pac-10 believes they could get a TV deal in the area of $240 million. If those numbers are correct, each current Pac-10 team would be getting a $9.5 million bump per year.
- Larry Scott has done a masterful job so far with expansion, but let's not forget that he has a huge advantage, his #2 man Kevin Weiberg, who was hired from the Big XII earlier this year.
- Meanwhile, amidst rumors that the Big XII collapse is imminent, Kansas is getting desperate, and practically begging Nebraska to hold the conference together. But Nebraska might not hold the cards in all this, as everyone is waiting on Notre Dame at the moment. If Notre Dame refuses another Big 10 invitation, the Big 10 may react by giving invitations to Missouri, Nebraska, and others, which would set off a chain reaction of changes. If Notre Dame joins the Big 10, then the college football world stays largely the same.
- If the Big XII does start to collapse, good news for the pro-Colorado/anti-Baylor crowd (which is just about everyone): According to Larry Scott, Baylor is not on the list of schools that could be invited to the Pac-10. And currently it seems that Baylor President Ken Starr (yes, that Ken Starr) is trying to hold the Big XII together more than gain entrance into the Pac-10.
Got any other quack to share? Leave it below. GO DUCKS!