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News Junkie
I trust you all made it through the weekend without me. I made it without you ... but just barely. Here's a few headlines from over the weekend that should be addressed on this here World Wide Web log. - The situation with Bryce Brown looks like it's turned into a staring contest and has to be a little frustrating for Kansas State fans. Tennessee coach Derek Dooley says he hasn't granted Brown a release because he hasn't asked for one face-to-face. Brown's father, Arthur Brown, says he did. Let's back it up a bit for the unfamiliar. In short, Brown seems set to join his brother, linebacker (also named) Arthur Brown who transferred to Manhattan from Miami, in becoming a Wildcat. Both are Wichita natives and both were top-ranked recruits coming out of high school. Here's a little more on Brown. My guess: this is solved in a week or two and Kansas State suits up the Brown brothers for the 2011 season.
- Ndamukong Suh really loves Nebraska. The former Huskers star -- who has yet to sign his rookie contract -- donated 160 iPads to the football program over the weekend. The most interesting thing is the details of the gift: To fall in line with compliance, the iPads must be mounted into players' lockers and messages can be sent only to coaches and academic personnel via the gadget. Pretty cool, and sounds expensive, but it's pretty short of his first gift: a $2 million check to the athletic department pledged on the Memorial Stadium field during the spring game before he was drafted. Both are pretty cool.
- What's not cool? Oklahoma State defensive end Jamie Blatnik. Fresh off a stop in Dallas at Big 12 media days as the Cowboys' representative, Blatnik was cited for assault and battery after allegedly fighting with a former teammate, leaving the individual "bleeding profusely" from the eye and suffered a fractured orbital socket, according to police. The Tulsa World has more details on the incident, but this is a headache coach Mike Gundy didn't need entering fall camp. The 6-foot-3, 270-pounder was slotted to start in 2010. We'll see what impact this incident has on that when the Cowboys kick off their season against Washington State on Sept. 4 in Stillwater.
- Texas A&M president R. Bowen Loftin isn't backing down from the tough talk about the Aggies getting their $20 million from the conference in total revenue by 2012-13. From the San Antonio Express-News: "Texas A&M deserves to be treated fairly in all that we do," Loftin told about 900 Aggies faithful in the hotel ballroom Saturday. "And I guarantee you we will be treated fairly. Whatever it takes." The school says the first step -- if not given the money -- will be legal action followed by a possible move to the SEC. Commissioner Dan Beebe can't be happy about this surfacing after last week's lovefest in Dallas, but he issued a statement over the weekend reaffirming that Texas A&M would get its money. Now I suppose there's little left to do besides wait and see.
- Two interesting player polls from the Tulsa World and The Oklahoman. Remember, this is just what the players think, but I'd definitely recommend both. Here's a few tidbits pulled from the data collected at last week's media days:
- Players polled by The Oklahoman voted 100 percent to keep the championship game. The Tulsa World tallied a 15-2 vote in favor of the game. How much influence will that have? Let's go with none to less than none. But still an interesting result.
- TCU was the overwhelming favorite as a candidate to join the Big 12 if the league chose to expand, with 27 percent of poll respondents tabbing the Horned Frogs as a school to mail an invite. Tied in second place with 11 percent: Arkansas and Houston.
- Forty-one percent of respondents said if they had to kick a team out of the Big 12, it'd be Iowa State. Twenty-seven percent said Baylor.
- Couldn't be much less of a consensus on the league's best player. Respondents weren't allowed to suggest players on their own team, and Jared Crick was the only player to receive more than one vote -- with two.
- The league's three most hostile stadiums: Nebraska, Oklahoma State and Missouri. Nowhere on the list: Texas and Oklahoma.
- Plenty, plenty more in both polls there you guys should see, including a nice collection of candid, anonymous quotes about what players will and won't miss about Colorado and Nebraska.
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