Realignment: Following Our Cues

The ACC is supposed to have a conference call Saturday morning. Given the record of previous ACC conference calls, I wouldn’t bet anything I cared about that there will be any definitive news.

Control of the situation, meanwhile, is even further out of our hands now than it has been before. If the ACC invite comes through (and whether it will seems to depend almost entirely on the mood of the person being asked), that question will be answered by the state government — and that answer WILL be yes.

As for me, I’m leaving the country. ;-) So I’ll leave you with some musical amusement, detailing how a 1970’s musical visionary foresaw the conference events of today.

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Realignment: "Sweet Merciful Crap!"

First, listen to Homer. I suggest loading his voice in a separate window, so you can click the Play button as necessary throughout this piece.

WVU Rivals and the Washington Post were the first to report it tentatively. Now ESPN and CBS SportsLine are reporting it as done.

Virginia Tech could be going to the ACC… as team number 13.

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BTN Weekend Roundup

Just checking in with some quick takes on the weekend’s events.

First expansion: we got nothin’. Not even any really good rumors or wild ideas out there. The usual suspects said expansion was still on; other usual suspects said not so fast. All we know is that there wasn’t a successful ACC conference call on Monday. (By the way, BTN would like to thank Eric McErlain for the ACC coverage compliments on Friday — and to apologize for the 404s some of you probably got following his link. Hopefully we didn’t lose you permanently.)

(Newport News) Daily Press columnist David Teel suggested Saturday that the ACC and Big East form an alliance. Although he was actually responding to another compromise plan, I think TSL’s Capitol Hokie’s description of it as a “non-aggression pact” would be appropriate here, both in intent and in potential for long-term success.

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Realignment II: Back On Your Heads!

Before I begin this entry for real, I’d like to extend a welcome to all the folks finding their way over here as a result of Steven Den Beste and Mark Byron linking to my most recent article. I’d also like to thank those two gentlemen for driving more traffic to that one article than the entire site had seen in the previous month. ;-) Welcome and thank you, everyone, and feel free to stick around here at BTN. If this particular article confuses you a bit, poke around in the archives for the background.

If the past few days’ news in the ACC/Big East war hasn’t been totally perfect for the remaining Big East schools, it’s certainly been miserable for the ACC, and right now we’ll accept that. The ACC commissioner and presidents conducted two separate conference calls Tuesday and Wednesday without getting a positive vote for expansion. Pay no attention to ACC Commissioner John Swofford’s bleatings that no vote was planned or taken. Both days, if he had had the necessary seven (of nine) votes for expansion, those presidents would have ended the conference call with three new, far-flung ACC members. The UNC chancellor, Duke president, and UVa president held, though, and the next conference call hasn’t even been scheduled for any more specific time than “sometime next week.”

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Realignment II: "Don't Change The Subject..."

Hamish: “Is your father a ghost, or do you converse with the Almighty?”
Stephen: “In order to find his equal, an Irishman is forced to talk to God. [Looking heavenward.] Yes, Father! [To William and his men.] The Almighty says don’t change the subject, just answer the #$^*&@! question.”
     —Braveheart

The ACC responded to the Big East’s suit this morning, with a story that was clearly timed for the major regional newspapers’ Monday press run. ACC commissioner (and former North Carolina AD) John Swofford released a statement taking a swipe at Virginia Tech, claiming VT had had discussions with the ACC on May 6.

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