Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which has been locked in a film room putting together a 2013 game plan. I think we’re going to change up our operation here at the WVUSBWMC for the football season, which, holy cow, starts Thursday. Not to give away too much, but I’m weighing quality and quantity and I’m trying enhance my footing on the newspaper end, too. It takes time, but it takes a plan and I want to get that together so I can give both platforms amble time and productivity.

There’s a lot going on here, and I think we had a pretty good scheme last year with some new stuff, and now we’ve established Tier 4 as a legitimate and lucrative, albeit somewhat tongue-in-cheek, vehicle. I just wonder if this needs to be a place people come to get information or a place people come to get TFGD and The Good and the Bad and F Double and any other uniquity for which we’re known. We’ve always been more content provider than content aggregator, anyhow, and those content aggregators are all over the place now.

So I ask: What do we need to do here? We have staples that hold everything together. There are favorites and there are things you could probably do without — and there’s a history here of me ditching things I or you don’t like. I guess what I’m asking is what, either specifically or generally, or perhaps even both, do you want to find here?

I’ll hang up and listen.

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, stay tuned … and sleep inside.

netbros said:

Do some scholarship college football players have it so bad that they delude themselves into believing somehow that pointing a gun at other people and taking possession of their belongings will have a positive outcome?

I guess I’m just getting old. I simply don’t get it. Their room and board is paid for. They get a free education. They eat like kings. They’re idolized by little kids and old farts alike.

Is it drugs and/or alcohol talking? Is it peer pressure? Whatever it is, it’s totally beyond my ability to comprehend.

Let’s not let Korey Harris spoil the punch for everyone. The guy, allegedly, committed armed robbery with a ski mask, but also while wearing his personalized team-issued sweat pants. He is, quite clearly, not the norm. The twisted part? I’ve seen this used as incentive to pay athletes. “Nobody is robbing people for money they don’t have if they have a stipend!”

I love you, Doug! said:

Oh, for those more innocent days when a sniffly Stedman was boosting Theraflu…

If only the players had access to trainers and nutritionists. What? They do? Well, why’d they put that Kroger so close to campus?

Karl said:

Yes, Mike followed “WVU’s mascot” uninterrupted for 15 minutes …

I was in the same room and couldn’t help but track him. Where I’m from, you keep an eye on the guy with the gun. It got really weird when Pistol Pete arrived. 

ShekYbuti said:

Question: Does it help or hinder Kimble to have Mike as his wingman?

Backless. Chaps.

Big Al said:

Why would WVU send the Mountaineer to the meeting on Monday, when the coaches and players won’t be there until Tuesday?

Commercials, promotions, etc. It’s standard.

smeer said:

so what does this “4th division” do with the coat-tail riding programs like Duke, Kansas, Kentucky (didn’t mean to pick just good basketball schools that suck at football but seems to shake out that way) et al? Some programs like Boise and BYU and some BE teams are trying to rise?

guess I’m asking where the line is drawn and what mechanism – budget? stadium size? affiliation in a power conference? . . .

That’s probably why we’re not seeing more advanced or more detailed discussions about it yet. There are a number of programs — and you’ve circled a few — that will be really worried about where and how that line is drawn. It’s not going to be fair to everyone and you’ll have protests from teams that don’t think they’re part of the problem. I think schools that are well-off, which is to say able to pay players a stipend, will move to the front of the line.

PeterB said:

“Officials will look for launching, thrusting, stroking and where the crown of the helmet goes.”

HEY-OH!

One reason I’m not a fan of the live blog function on my version of WordPress is it doesn’t have a tool to edit my comments after I submit them. So I have good news and bad news. Bad news: We have a newer version and it allows me to edit. Good news: I didn’t realize it before I submitted that doozie. I believe in perpetuity.

 

Mack said:

The following sentence is not a joke: I’m confused by the “thrusting” definition. Mike has summarized that it is when the defensive player opts not to wrap up or hit from the side but to create contact by thrusting forward.

I’m simply thinking about the hits on receivers because, unless I’m mistaken, those are the plays that are called for targeting more often than not. And, again, if I’m not mistaken, the defensive back almost always lays his shoulder into the receiver, meaning he hits from the side. So, again, those are still legal hits, but will be called for targeting 100% of the time, right?.

Also, if the head of officiating looks at a play by Jadeveon Clowney that’s been shown on television about half-a-million times and can’t say definitively whether it’s a penalty or not . . . then maybe we should modify the rule. Anyone who creates a rule in football should, at a bare minimum, take the 10 most popular plays from the year before and decide where the line is drawn and whether those would have been penalties.

I’m with you. I don’t get it. There’s a lot of cloudiness involved whenever the rule is explained. If you want to watch the whole thing, Walt Anderson does a nice enough job right here. I suggest forwarding ahead to the 25:40 mark. That’s where it gets silly.

Parks said:

Mike—off topic question. If the talks between IMG and WV Radio Corp. broke down does that mean that Tony can’t accept what I read was an “aggressive offer” from IMG?

Not really related. I suppose it makes it more likely Caridi would take the IMG offer if WVRC’s scope is shrinking, though.

NotFooled said:

Not shocked that Raese would screw his own employees in an attempt to stick it to OLuck and WVU.

I’m not seeing how Raese is screwing him. Caridi has a job offer and, presumably, loyalty to someone who’s been very good to him for a very long time. There are unknowns here, though.

Kevin said:

I haven’t read anything in depth relative to the WV Radio Corp situation, but does Caridi have a non-compete or exclusivity agreement? If not, I would assume Caridi could pursue employment anywhere he likes regardless of business arangements that are in play. 

I don’t know his contract situation and it’s not a matter of public record. Now, if there are clauses, I suppose Raese could be “screwing” Caridi by enforcing the terms of the contract, but, come on, that’s business. Of course, the kind thing, in that situation, is to let Caridi loose.

Parks said:

I didn’t realize Tony was a manager at Pikewood. He definitely has some decisions to make. However, if IMG wants him to be above and beyond the face of the program, I think they have the cash to throw the guy all the bones up to a reasonable amount. No reason they shouldn’t be able to get all of this squared away. Outside of Tony, it’s nice to know that WVU is looking out for the entire broadcast teams for football and basketball. To me that’s a smart move. Don’t want to change everything all at once. People are having a hard enough time as it is adjusting to all of the changes.

Maybe it’s not about cash. Maybe Caridi wants to be able to maintain his Pikewood role. The rest of the broadcast teams, by the way, are not guaranteed. WVU has a final say, but IMG makes the call on who does what.

Mack said:

I understand that IMG “has the cash to throw the guy” but the question is: Does Tony Caridi add real value to the radio broadcasts? In other words, does the listenership change by even one single person if it’s someone other than Caridi calling the plays? If not, then how much money does IMG really offer to him?

I still say that by the time August 31 comes around, you won’t notice any discernible difference in the radio broadcasts of the WVU games.

One other thought. There’s a lot of talk about the additional money that the IMG contract brings in to WVU. But WVU did all (or most) of this in house before. There is no discussion as to how much revenue (or profit) WVU made before. One would assume that they’re making more now, but there seems to be no basis of comparison.

Yikes, this is twice now, but I’m with you. This is harsh, but it’s a replaceable part and you’d get used to it and get over it. IMG’s production is top-of-the line, but the quality of the stations will be interesting to monitor. Also, you’re looking at no less than a seven-digit difference between then and now, but the access to greater names and the presence of guaranteed income is enormous.

Kevin said:

I’m not sure how much value Caridi adds to the game broadcast itself. People who want to hear the WVU game live will tune in reagardless of who is doing the play by play. I think Caridi’s value would be in his pregame and postgame work and other features/coverage he might provide where people would be more likely to tune in to hear him versus hearing another personality.

For instance, I will endure a telecast with Pam Ward (ESPN) if it is a game I want to see, but I probably would not watch a pregame/postgame show or other coverage featuring Pam Ward figuring I can find someone somewhere else talking about the same thing.

Yeah, again, it’s harsh, but also largely true. When the question is “Who?” the answer is not Caridi. It’s WVU.

Kevin (also) said:

In comparing the monetary differences, I think it was done the way it was before because WVU liked controlling things, didn’t realize or didn’t care to think of itself as a brand or business and I also think that the ability to monetize these things is very different now than it has been in the past.

That said, I would also love to see how both sides of it looked moneywise.

Here are things you have to realize: WVU is guaranteed money now. Guaranteed. It has to be there because a contract says so. MSN didn’t necessarily guarantee anything. There would be money there, of course, but it could fluctuate and that made it hard to speak of in certain terms. Why does that  matter? When you have guaranteed money, it’s a hell of a lot easier to convince people to agree to or fund or even bond out a project. The guarantee then helps WVU construct things that have to get done because there’s now a lead-pipe lock in terms of income. Second, IMG has national clients that WVU could never work with before. Just watch some of the names that pop up now. Thirdly, the costs belong to IMG now, not WVU. The worries belong to IMG now, not WVU. That matters.

Joe Parsons said:

MSN made 6million last year, IMG will pay WVU 4.1 million in the first year. I’m not brilliant but where i come from 6 mill is more than 4.1!

This isn’t fair. It’s not that easily explained and it’s not a dollar-for-dollar comparison. MSN made that money by doing things in house but had to cover costs for production and printing and salary and the like. A good chunk of that figure you allege comes from the assets WVU chose to maintain this time — health care, financial services, athletic apparel and beverages. That’s worth a lot of money. Let’s combine that and the costs — and I’ve done this looking over the reports online from the past several years. MSN turned out on average somewhere near $3.5 million when you remove costs and the retained assets. Now let’s remember those assets. WVU is keeping them and profiting from them on their own and the money is going to be greater because of new contracts. So let’s add that to the $4.1 million guarantee and let’s remember that the conflict with Team Raese cost at least another seven figures this year. Let’s also add the signing bonus on a prorated basis, the capital expenditures, the ticket purchases and the suite purchases. Finally, let’s remove the costs, which were hundreds of thousands of dollars. It adds up to way beyond what WVU was making before.

Michael Walker said:

Why do you keep leaving Dontrill Hyman on the list of no shows? I have offered you a jpg of his letter of acceptance for fall classes.

The others may have enrolled for the fall semester also. Why do you dismiss it? A JUCO doesn’t have to go through the NCAA clearinghouse.

I do this because he’s not on campus and no one I talk to will guarantee me he’ll be here. That’s the proper route to travel. There are major differences between acceptance, enrollment, arrival and participation. Also, there is no clearinghouse. It’s called the NCAA Eligibility Center.

Parks said: 

I know it won’t happen, but since that 12th regular season game was added for everyone to buy a cheap home win, with all this TV money, eliminate the 12th game. If no team will be playing FCS teams and the power 5 will be on their own, then isn’t it unnecessary? Remove one regular season game, make conference championships universal one way or the other, and put at least 8 teams in a playoff.

While I’m at it, I’d also like the winning lottery ticket for the next drawing.

Thanks.

You’re correct. It won’t happen. You’re more apt to see games added than removed.

Karl said:

If what Mike is saying is true, the Big 12 desperately needs to add a couple of new members who aren’t quite as powerful in football. We’re too good for our own good. All of the others have their share of in-conference automatic win games, we have one (Kansas). If not, we’re putting ourselves at a competitive disadvantage.

Another reason I’m starting to believe the 10-teams-by-design thing can’t last. The concentration of these 10 teams is pretty strong.

Karl said:

The conference commissioners are playing with fire. If you cut the field of competitors by almost half solely to make more money, then start paying players, then move out from the governance of the NCAA, can you still argue what you’re doing is a nonprofit activity that should be tax exempt?

If the five conference oligarchy proceeds, you’re going to have a LOT of teams left out who can make a compelling case that they belong. The facts will not back up that a school like Boise State can’t compete — only that they won’t sell many cable packages. WVU could so easily be in the same boat. And what of the service academies? All of the disaffected schools will have their share of powerful alumni and backers in Congress.

Before, the “haves” at least presented the illusion of access to the smaller schools in the way of at-large BCS bids. All of this Division 4 talk is very bold. There’s no way something like this can move ahead without major pushback.

Major, major pushback. It’s a Pandora’s box and the scariest part is simply talking about what’s inside.

AnxiousEER97 said:

Adding Tech and Penn State to the schedule is a big deal. Our new conference will take time to build rivalries and familiarity. Sure, everyone will always get geeked up for Texas and Oklahoma, but getting some some nonconference games with regional schools seems like a no-brainer to me.

Really, what if I told you three years ago you’d have a schedule with Oklahoma, Texas, Penn State and Virginia Tech? Realignment was supposed to eliminate rivalries, and it has, but it changes fast.

NotFooled said:

Again – OLuck is making things happen for the betterment of the athletic department. He earlier discussed the possibility of yearly rotation of the old regional foes; one year VT, next PSU, next sPitt….it looks like he is making it happen.

I’m positive Pitt and WVU are working toward something. Details remain, but they’re working.

Rick said:

Rushel Shell is coming or no?

Well, he didn’t even visit Kentucky, the other choice, so …

Rugger said:

Kid needs to come out if his shell.

Enjoy the weekend!