This, That And The Other …

There seems to be lots of “little stuff” happening out there in the sports landscape today so let me start with an oddity in this year’s NBA Draft.  There are 30 NBA teams that would theoretically have the opportunity to select players in the first round of this year’s Draft; however, as a result of trades and deals and whatever, the Brooklyn Nets have 5 of those 30 first round picks.  The Nets will pick:

1. Eighth
2. Nineteenth
3. Twenty-second
4. Twenty-sixth
5. Twenty-seventh

If the plan in Brooklyn is to “get younger”, then this is an ideal situation.  If, however, …

Moving on …  It has been about two weeks since Aaron Rodgers was the subject of sports reporting and that is an untenable position for someone who loves the spotlight as much as Rodgers obviously does.  And so, in his periodic visit to the Pat McAfee Show yesterday, Rodgers said that this year – – his first year with the Steelers – – will “likely” be his last year in the NFL and that he would “likely” retire once it is finished.  Rodgers said that this thinking is the reason he and the Steelers came to a one-year agreement in terms of a contract.

If I assume that the statement from yesterday actually comes to pass, that will “likely” mean that the buzz around the Steelers in the next offseason will be the same one that tortured us this year:

• Will the team really be willing to go through a season with Mason Rudolph as their starting QB?

Next up …  Earlier this week, the Oakland/Las Vegas A’s broke ground for the new stadium that is supposed to be the home field for the team in Las Vegas.  This storyline has been around for years with more twists, turns and entanglements than a plate of spaghetti.  The reports around the actions earlier this week give the storyline a new stature.  When it comes to major building ventures, there is a significant difference between “Plans”/“Agreements”/”Referenda” and dirt being removed from the ground in preparation for laying a concrete foundation.

The site for the new stadium is close by Allegiant Stadium – – home of the Las Vegas Raiders – – just off The Strip in Las Vegas.  The project is budgeted to cost $1.75B and is supposed to be ready for business at the start of the 2028 MLB season.  The facility will have a dome/roof and will seat 33,000 fans.  To make room for the facility, it was necessary to tear down the old Tropicana Hotel.  Theoretically, that hotel and casino will be replaced by a new one once stadium construction is completed.  My skepticism here is that I wonder if there is enough room for both the stadium and the hotel – – plus parking for those two venues – – on the plot of ground in question.  Que sera, sera…

Switching gears …  In mythology, the Phoenix was destroyed by fire but reconstituted itself from its ashes and rose to exist in an even more powerful incarnation.  I don’t know about the “more powerful” part of this story, but the PAC-12 conference had been burned to the ground and now is trying to reconstitute itself.  The conference imploded when most of  its members defected to the Big-12 and the Big-10 leaving only Oregon State and Washington State behind.  Those two schools have attracted 5 other schools seeking to play under the aegis of the “PAC-12” and the reconstituted conference has reached an agreement with CBS on a TV package that will provide financial footing for the conference.

For reasons known only to the mavens who run the NCAA, there is a rule – – of course – – that says to be a conference and to strike TV deals, there need to be 8 members of the conference.  Right now, “PAC-12  2.0” has only 7 members so there has to be some momentum there to go and find another participant.  As of this morning, here are the 7 schools:

1. Oregon State – – hold over from the original PAC-12
2. Washington State – – holdover from the original PAC-12
3. Boise State – – late of the Mountain West Conference
4. Colorado State – – late of the Mountain West Conference
5. Fresno State – – late of the Mountain West Conference
6. San Diego State – – late of the Mountain West Conference
7. Utah State – – late of the Mountain West Conference

That list leads me to think about a couple of things:

• Since every school in the reconstituted PAC-12 is “Something State”, maybe they should try to get New Mexico State or Texas State or even Oklahoma State to become the eighth conference member.  Everyone could refer to the conference as the “State Department”.
• The Mountain West Conference had twelve members.  If it loses 5 teams as noted above, that would mean the Mountain West would fall below the NCAA’s “8-team threshold” meaning the MWC might be out looking for “immigrants”.

Sure looks to me as if this story is not over.

Finally, having mentioned the Phoenix above, I am reminded of this malaprop by former Vice-President, Dan Quayle:

“I love California, I practically grew up in Phoenix.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports ………