Even though this could have been the promising first year of a reorganized respectable second-tier conference, the WAC as we used to know it seems pretty much dead.  All the football members have left or are leaving apart from Idaho and New Mexico St. 

As recently as 1995, the top three WAC teams of this year, Louisiana Tech, Utah St., and San Jose St., all competed in the Big West.  Nevada, UNLV, and New Mexico St. were also in that conference, and Boise St. joined (along with Idaho) in 1996.

Which got me thinking… since there won’t be a WAC, why can’t there be a Big West in football again?  I can’t think of a good reason.  In football, the Big East is doing so much expanding from the area near the Mississippi River all the way to Boise and San Diego, so that can incorporate these teams while the rest of the conference can keep operating as it is already, with some possible quality expansion in other sports.

These were the teams in the WAC in 1995:

Air Force

BYU

Colorado St.

Fresno St.

Hawaii

New Mexico

San Diego St.

Utah

UTEP

Wyoming

Boise St. and San Diego St. are actually going to be in the Big West in other sports, and Hawaii is already there.  I imagine Utah St. and San Jose St. (which appear to be headed to the Mountain West) could be brought back with just the foundation I’ve mentioned so far.  BYU left the Mountain West to become independent in football (WCC in other sports, which makes less sense than the Big West would), but no currently-AQ conference has offered them a spot, and they’re naturals to be playing the likes of Boise St. and Utah St., both of which they’ve played this season. 

The East-West alliance along the lines of the previously-discussed MWC-CUSA idea didn’t work out because of all the existing obligations (essentially schools could then leave without buyout fees and without paying the conference shares of post-season revenue), but all those problems aren’t here since administratively, it would still really be the Big East. 

Louisiana Tech is a definite for the Conference USA, but that’s fine because they were too far to the East for the WAC anyway.  The Big West football conference did extend into Arkansas and Louisiana briefly (including Louisiana Tech and UL-Lafayette, then known as the University of Southwestern Louisiana).  There is a bit of a central region in the Big East as well that could provide the anticipated mega-conference some flexibility, so they’re not completely out of the question later.

The Big East has already announced plans to include Memphis, Tulane, SMU, and Houston.  With the quality Western teams available, I would think Memphis and Tulane would be playing in the true Big East (by which I mean teams that would be in the Big East in other sports and in the Eastern division in football), but SMU and Houston would be good opponents for them as well.  If only one of the four goes out West (in the even both Cincinnati and Connecticut find other conferences), then SMU and Houston could still be permanent opponents.

The only teams left from a couple of years ago (to make up the core of the true Big East) will be Connecticut, Cincinnati, and South Florida.

So this is what I’m thinking as far as alignment...

Click here for chart and remainder of blog.  I discuss possible bowl ties and talk more about the Mountain West.

Howdy, good morning and good day. Welcome all you Gabbers, gawkers, lurkers and others to my NASCAR update and other fast stuff. Judging by that picture I'd say Keselowski was a tad bit thirsty after he won the championship. That certainly ain't milk. And this certainly ain't F1 or Indy Car either. WOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!!!

AWKWARDNESS

So last week saw Mr Jeff Gordon win the final race of the season at Homestead, Florida. Clint Bowyer came in 2nd in the race and in the final points standings. No more incidents between these 2 drivers during this race to speak of. You would think things would just blow over. Right? Seems they haven't.

This past week was the Champions Week held in Las Vegas. Lots of fun driver/fan interaction and awards ceremonies too. All 12 drivers are going to all the events together and hanging out together and joining in on the festivities together. Lots of togetherness. 

It would seem somebody was getting the cold shoulder and feeling a bit awkward in all that togetherness. That would be Jeff Gordon. When asked about how things were going with Clint Bowyer, he had this to say. 

"It's been awkward because I've always had a good relationship with him, we've always talked and had fun. That's obviously not the case. I thought he might have gotten over it at least enough to look at me be he won't even look at me and when you're in that type of environment, that's going to be odd."

For Bowyer's part, he still doesn't want to be interviewed about it. He was asked 3 times in his interview about it and got flustered. He wanted to talk about Vegas and the clubs. He did indicate to not being ready to resolve the issue with Gordon yet. Bowyer is very popular with the other drivers and considered the life of the party. 

I still say Gordon made him the scapegoat for all his issues this year and that taking a race from a driver is one thing but taking a championship opportunity away is the highest vengeance and Bowyer didn't deserve that. So how's it feel Gordon? Yeah, that's right....awkward. Something to think about.

IT'S MILLER TIME

That cup he's holding isn't the trophy. BUT it could be yours. Well, a replica of that cup could be yours. Right now on eBay There's one like that one signed by Keselowski and his boss Roger Penske. The proceeds go to Keselowski's Checkered Flag Foundation to help first responders and military. As of lunch time Dec 1st it was at $1625.00. So if you need a humongous Miller Time pilsner glass for your New Years celebration than that's the one you need.

2012 STEWIE AWARDS

 It's that time of the year again. The Stewie Awards as voted on by the fans and handed out by Tony Stewart on his SiriusXM radio show. 

Some of the honorees were:

* JUAN PABLO MONTOYA - "Best Stunt Sequence" for his Daytona 500 wreck that took out a jet dryer and started the track on fire.

*DANICA PATRICK - "Bone Headed Move of the Year" for trying to wreck Landon Cassill and wrecking herself instead at the October Kansas race.

* CARL EDWARDS - "Best Driver2Crew Chatter" for his April fools joke on crew chief Bob Osborne. He told Bob his transmission was out at the beginning of the race. 

There were more including a Boys Have At It award which I'm sure you can guess who got that one but if you would like to hear the rebroadcast it's on Sunday evening @ 7pm ET.

MYERS BROTHERS AWARDS LUNCHEON

This too happens during Champions Week. Jeff Gordon got an award for his charitable works. He's collected a lot of money to go towards pediatric cancer research. He's also traveled to Rwanda to aid with health care. 

Dale Jr got the fan favorite award. That would be 10 consecutive years in a row. Like back to back even. He's tied with Bill Elliot. Bill had 16 in all but only 10 consecutive. There were 934,000 votes. 

Keselowski got the Good year Tires and The Sunoco Diamond Performance Awards.

Crew Chief or the year went to Paul Wolfe of Penske and crew chief for Keselowski.

There again there were lots of awards. Even Mars Inc got an award for marketing achievement.

OTHER CHAMPIONS WEEK STUFF

One of the traditional things is to line up all 12 cars and drive down The Strip or Las Vegas Boulevard. They take turns doing burn outs and pit stops for the crowds that line up on the side walk. This year a double decker bus with recovering wounded vets on top was in the lead of the thunderous parade. I don't think the bus did a burn out or tire change but the vets were dressed in their tuxedos and ready to go. It all started and ended at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino where the guys got out for After The Lap festivities sponsored by Ford and Coca Cola. 

There was also a Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader contest. Stewart and Keselowski were partners and the winners. There were math, geography and fruit questions. Jimmie Johnson swore that cantaloupes only have one seed. 

All the weeks interviews, games, burn outs etc came down to the awards banquet on Friday night where the champ is celebrated and sponsors thanked. One of these days I'd like to go. I think it'd be cool.

NASCAR ON DIRT?

Absolutely. Stewart announced that the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will hold a Wednesday race on July 24th at his track, Eldora Speedway. NASCAR hasn't had a race on dirt in the series since 1970. Stewart said this is a dream come true and he is honored. This track is in Ohio. It's a hop skip and a jump from PA. I just might have to make the effort for this one. 

MAYFIELD LOOSES HOME

Jeremy Mayfield finally moved out of his half finished home at 6395 Hudson Chapel Road in Catawba, NC this week when Sheriffs came with an order of possession. They changed the door locks too. You may remember Jeremy from his NASCAR commercial when he comes to pick up his date in his stock car and he asks her if that's 93 octane that she's wearing.

Things have gone down hill for him. He has one count of possession of methamphetamine and 18 counts of possession of stolen property. It's interesting to note that there were 17 rifles in that mess of stolen property. Just the think for a meth head to have around during a weekend bender. Scary. But any way, he has multiple court dates coming up for all that stuff so I'm not seeing him driving in any NASCAR races any time soon. Very sad situation because he had a promising career. I say had. Drugs and race cars don't mix.

So this my friends ends another NASCAR updates and other fast stuff. It's on to football for now. The ice hockey thing is a bust. The weather is still mild enough for me to go yet another week on my space heaters. Got to save that tank of oil. Not as warm in every spot but the pipes won't freeze and I can go spy on mom & dad. 

You all have a great day watching football, hanging with family and or friends, tormenting your neighbor or whatever your plans are, just enjoy. And I'm outta here....

Happy Thanksgiving to the whole Gab Family my yours be filled with family, friends , food , and Football.

Speaking of Football what great day of it we have today. The Texans and the Lions to start it up. Then one of the best rivalries in professional football the Cowboys and the Redskins which is always a battle. Then we top it off with the Patriots and the Jets sounds like a lot of entertainment on Turkey Day.

Saturday, it gets ramped up more starting of thee game Michigan and Ohio State although not meaning much this year as  in past years it’s still a classic. One of my favorites is Florida and Florida State which I think Florida State gets overlooked because they are in the ACC. Then it’s the game we all have been waiting for does Notre Dame continue with the luck of the Irish or will they run into a Trojan  Horse in USC . The best rivalry game is Army- Navy  there is something special about that game and what it means. I love the fact they do it a week after all the big rivalries.

I went to the Patriots –Colts game last week and one observation Andrew Luck is the real thing. This kid is quick smart and a few years He will be the next Brady or Peyton Manning especially if the Colts give him some help. The not so good  Patriots defense stepped up against him but you could just see how good this kid is. You could sense it. There was one offensive play by the Colts really not involving Luck that I have to comment on because I haven’t seen it done in a long time. It was a power left where the entire O line shifted after the snap and blocked left.  This was just old school and a play you used to see in College.

Now What we have all been waiting for the Gobble awards for the biggest Turkeys in sports.

5 Gobbles(Is the suspense killing you)

Retailers that feel the need to open on Thanksgiving and the people who actually go to a store on Thanksgiving justifying the retailers. How did we get to this. We don't do to many things right in Massachusetts but at least we have Blue laws preventing this They can't open til Midnight that is with the approval of the local muncipality.

Lance Armstrong ( what a dope literally) The dude lost everything despite the good work he has done with cancer. The denials of being clean mostly the admissions.

The NHL and the NHLPA . Any of us who follow sports know When Gary Bettman and Donald Fehr get involved in anything it is going to be a mess. The NHL finally had a good TV deal and a popular game. Theyw ere finally doing everything right and they just about ruined all the good stuff by having a lockout in the first place. Use the old CBA until you find common ground.

4 Gobbles

Jeffery Loria for lieing to the City of Miami and blowing up the Marlins nuf said.

The NFL- for using replacement Refs. For the first three weeks and realizing these guys were over their heads. The NFL squabbled over peanuts for the regular Refs who keep the game moving and as fans we don’t like every call but 98% of the time they are right or have replay to correct them in the moment.

Jeff Gordon for his cry baby antics a couple weeks ago for ramming into Bowyer and the fight into the Pit. Calm down Jeff you were being a tool.

3 Gobbles

The Replacement Refs. This was a dream for a lot of these guys. But you have to officiate at your own level. They didn’t have the training. They needed to follow the lead from the D-1 guys who said no thanks. The games were too choppy and there were to many conferences and way too many flags. However, they called the games the way they were taught for High School and small college. I won’t single out anybody like the guy in the Green Bay Game because it was a collective effort.

2 Gobbles

Sabermetrician Keith Law for blasting the writers for choosing Miguel Cabrera over Mike Trout for MVP. The guy acted like he was smarter than everybody else with his numbers. Perhaps Mr.Law needs to get off the numbers and the formulas that are skewed in a manner to make his argument right and look at the practicle aspect of a Triple Crown winner who played a 161 games actually watch what the numbers don’t tell you.

1 Gobble

Ray Allen for blasting the Celtics and taking less money to play for the Miami Heat.Because he wasn’t happy with his role in Boston . The guy went from Classy to Classless.

Bud Selig just because but damn he avoided labor problems but he did add the playin game. which he will expand.

There you have it. Please feel free to ad your own Gobbles.

Finally

High School Football in Massachusetts is huge on Thanksgiving with almost all the teams playing today at 10am. A few played last night. Today we celebrate the 125^th playing of the Malden Golden Tornadoes which I’m proud to say I was one for a short while anyway and the Medford Mustangs. This is the oldest continuous  High School Rivalry in the country. Going into today’s game Malden has won 60 times- Medford has won 54, and they have been 10 ties. They will be playing at Malden on their brand new turf field. I was hoping for this game. I ended up a couple of Catholic Schools and a little closer to my house (The F bombs will be flying in this one). A friend and classmate and fellow Official had a chose of  on field assignment in a different league or the Chains at this game he chose the chains and I can’t blame him he’ll get a JV Fee for it.. he was pretty excited to get it. I was just as excited for him.

Sully were you on Dennis and Callahan yesterday ?  guy sounded just like you

Have a great Turkey Day

Happy Birthday Gab

My take on the infield rule , ScottJax’s Baseball Awards, upsets abound, all this and lots more in this weeks edition of……

Just realized its:

10-11-12

What a show of Class by the fans of the Royals when they gave Miguel Cabrera a standing ovation and then even asked for a curtain call. Great moment in sports.

Here are my selections for Major League Baseball Awards:

AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera

His accomplishments this year speak for themselves: Triple Crown winner. Need I say more?

AL CY Young: David Price

He and Jerod Weaver were tied with the most wins in the AL, but David had a better ERA and more strikeouts. Plus he guided the Rays in the hunt to the playoffs until the next to the last week of the season, something the Angels couldn’t do.

AL Rookie of the Year: Mike Trout

Los Angeles didn’t call up Trout until April 28^th, yet he had very impressive numbers, 129 runs (led AL), 182 hits, 30 home runs, 83 rbi’s and 49 stolen bases (led AL). No one was close.

AL Manager of the Year: Bob Melvin Oakland A’s and Buck Showalter Baltimore Orioles.

Neither the A’s nor Orioles were picked to make the playoffs, yet, the A’s won the AL West Division on the last game of the season, while the Oriole’s took the AL wildcard. Bob Melvin guided Oakland to a 94-68 record after finishing 74-88 in 2011. Buck led the Orioles to a 93-69 record as compared to 69-93 in 2011.

Most Disappointing AL Team: Los Angeles Angels

With all the talent the Angels have they just couldn’t pull it off. Albert Pujlos started off slow and turned it around to have his typical year, Greinke came to the team in a midseason trade and went 6-2, Jered Weaver went 20-5 and Mike Trout was called up and sparked the club. So what went wrong?

NL MVP: Andrew McCutchen

Sure Buster Posey had better stats, but the Giants proved last year that they can have a winning season without Buster with a catcher that hit only .197, BUT, you can’t say the same if the Pirates lost Andrew.

NL CY Young: Gio Gonzalez

D.A. Dickey is the “feel good” winner and Stephen Strasburg might be the star of the team, but Gio is the workhorse and anchor of the Washington team

NL Rookie of the Year: Wade Miley

Wade had a very good year with a 16-11 record and a 3.33 era. Arizona finished at 81-81 and was in the playoff hunt until the last month of the season.

NL Manager of the Year: Davey Johnson Washington Nationals Manager

Some baseball writers didn’t pick the Nationals to make the playoffs, and without Strasburg down the stretch Washington won the NL East Division.

Most Disappointing NL Team: Philadelphia Phillies

They have the best starting three in Lee, Hamels and Halladay. Hamels lived up to his expectations but Lee faltered and Halladay could never get into a groove. Howard came back too late to do any real damage (yeah I know they had a hot streak but the fire was put out).

The Boston Red Sox corrected a wrong when they fired Bobby Valentine. He was the wrong choice when they hired him to run the team. Everyone knew it but Boston’s management team. It is unheard of, in our generation, to see the Red Sox finish at 69-93, which is the worst in 50 years and it ruined the 100^th anniversary of Fenway Park. Yeah they got rid of Gonzalez, Crawford and Beckett and that was to shed $250 million in future salaries. Now the Red Sox can start fresh with a new manager and a new team.

The biggest crop of shit happened last Friday night in the Braves - Cardinals game. An infield fly rule was called when the shortstop was running out to left field. Now I am not getting to what runners were on base, etc., what I am going to mention is that if the shortstop would have never run out to get the ball and the left fielder would have run in to catch the ball, the infield fly rule would never have been called.

Chipper Jones has called it a career. Others at YouGabSports have posted his stats and his career highlights, and they are impressive. What I want to say is that I have watched him play his whole career, thanks to TBS, ESPN, MLBTV and the one thing that stands out about Jones is that he plays the game the way it should be played, hardnosed and with respect to his teammates and opposing players. You never heard him say a bad thing about anything. He also accomplished all he did without any supplements.

The Cleveland Indians did the smart thing and hired Terry Francona. He will turn the team around. He even said in his introduction that he would not mind taking the same team that Cleveland had this year, because the likes to teach and he feels he can improve this team. Impressive.

This is what college football is all about. #3 Florida State gets rear ended by North Carolina State 17-16 (even though NCST has won the last 5 games), #10 Florida swamped #4 LSU 14-6, #5 Georgia’s title hopes might have ended by #6 South Carolina, and Iowa ST dominated #15 TCU 37-23.

Congrats go out to the Colts who won a thriller against the Packers, and also giving the game ball to coach Chuck Pagano.

Normally fans applaud when a opposing player is injured and carried off the field to show support/respect for the player. When a home player injury is applauded because the fans want a change is it warranted?

One of the NFL’s all-time greats, Alex Karras died yesterday of kidney failure. He was 77. Alex was a four-time All-Pro defensive tackle and played 12 seasons for the Detroit Lions. He also was a hit in Mel Brooks “Blazing Saddles” as Mongo and also starred in “Webster.”

Til next time

Scott

​Well guys the last vacation (sort of)  of 2012 started on Friday, and will take me to an undetermined destination with my wife, mother-in-law and Taylor and Noah. I planned this trip 3 months ago, when I actually asked for Saturday off to attend my 30th Class Reunion. The reunion is not as important to me as the trip and the time with my family........ However, I am also celebrating my birthday today add another year to my life, and believe me it has been a fun ride so far only to get interesting over the next few months......

​Life is good, I have a beautiful wife and a beautiful ex. Along with 2 beautiful daughters and a future lady-killer for a son. I found myself back in school with now a degree and a half, and with a cool business opportunity that I am considering at this moment in time, actually two of them. But first I have to overcome the issue with my shoulder, Sully, Kyle and Tim know that I will be leaving the Gab on the 8th of October to have my shoulder scoped, bone spur removed, and the rotator cuff sewed back together. I will be fitted for my brace in a few weeks, and then it will be all uphill from there. I honestly thought I was going to do a freaking back-flip when my doctor told me I needed surgery on Thursday afternoon. I will be out of work for 6-8 weeks, but I get to watch a majority of the football season without interference. I sure hope the Lions are at least decent, or it will be a long dull recovery period. But now on to what I really came here to talk about this week.........

​I came home around on Wednesday hoping to catch a few innings of the Nationals-Giants game, when I realized something good was about to happen. Around the 6th or 7th inning MLB started following the journey of King Felix to baseball immortality and I became hooked, and the more I watched I realized that he was going to at least finish the no-hitter it was his day. I do not even remember  a 3 ball count, maybe once or twice but he was simply unbeatable that day. The most impressive thing was that he kept his composure and completed the perfect game under the most stress a pitcher could possibly have protecting a 1-0 lead. Hats off to King Felix and his perfect game.

​Now King Felix joins the baseball immortals and may have punched his ticket to the Hall of Fame, even though he plays in Seattle a team that has not had much success......

​I know that most of you here have already stated your opinion on the matter, but I want to commend him for realizing his addiction to drugs and checking himself into a rehab center to straighten out his life. My thoughts are this though, is he doing this in order to beat his addiction, or to better his chances of returning to LSU for his Senior Season? No matter, at least he realizes that he has a problem and stepped up to the plate to fix it......

​Finally, a pretty important series for the Tigers began on Friday against the Orioles. I love how Buck has turned this team around in such a short period of time, he should be AL Manager of the Year hands down....

​Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave your thoughts.......