I just don't get it...

I'm frustrated. I'm confused. I'm hurt. I'm about to slam my head into a brick wall.

I don't normally share messages passed my way, but I'm going to make an exception here. I've been pursuing a girl for a few weeks. Not too long ago, this is a message she sent me:

"Hi John, Thank you for your message the other night! I wish I could have gotten back to you earlier and seen you this weekend. It was a crazy week, and the workload for school was especially intense. Wew!

Yes, I would love to sit down with you for coffee or dinner sometime soon! If you happen to be available during the week, I could do Old Town on Tuesday night? Otherwise, we might have to wait until I get back from Honduras, which will be Tuesday the 22nd.

Hope your trip went well - I am anxious to hear about all your travels!"

We've been playing phone/message tag trying to set up a first date. In person, this young lady was also very encouraging suggesting we should get together sometime soon. That all changed earlier tonight when I spoke to her on the phone.

Ladies, if a guy is pursuing you (i.e. 'asking you out' pursuing you), please do not give him words of encouragement if you have already started seeing someone else. It really is frustrating to hear this news after several weeks of putting yourself out there.

Conference Rumblings...

This post is long overdue. I have been on the road with very limited internet access and yet have somehow have managed to get my fill of conference realignment news.

Where have I been? Well, a lot of places to tell you the truth. I hit the road for a couple of weeks for a mix of research and family time. Upon returning, I repacked and made the drive down to Boulder for a week long conference at CU (one of the newest members of the PAC-10, which we will discuss shortly).

I could write more on my trip or my week at CU, but what I've been captivated by for the past several weeks is the NCAA conference shake-up. Once or twice I had something I was ready to share only to find that it was outdated by the time I was ready to post. Those who follow such things learned several things in how everything unfolded:

1) FOOTBALL IS KING & BASKETBALL IS AN AFTERTHOUGHT... KU, one of the most successful basketball programs in the country and a good school to boot (I'm directing this at you, SEC), was ignored for the most part as the PAC-10 and Big Ten went after teams in the Big 12 that could deliver football.

2) GEOGRAPHY DOESN'T MATTER AS MUCH AS MONEY... NU and CU arguably make more sense in the Big 12 given the geography of travel, but Nebraska's statement on how Texas was taking more than their fair share really made me question whether or not I would have done the same thing. The Big Ten shares revenue equally among conference members. This means Northwestern earns as much in football TV revenue as does Penn State, Michigan, and Ohio State. The Big 12 really does favor the South Division and Texas reaps the benefits more than anyone.

In addition to these general statements, we learned (I learned?) that 3 conferences dictate the rules of the game: PAC-10, SEC, Big Ten. Everyone else's existence is based on the actions of these three. Prior to this I would have included the Big 12 and the ACC (with the Big East being a target because of their lack of football schools). We also learned that Iowa State and Baylor are afterthoughts, especially when push comes to shove, even with their colleagues in the Big 12.

We still don't know what the final fate of the collegiate landscape will look like, but we do know a few things as to how it will change in two years: Nebraska will join the Big Ten, Colorado will join the PAC-10, and the Big 12 will remain a viable conference. I really do sincerely hope that we have seen the end of the major shake-ups. If Conference USA or the Sun Belt is raided by the Big 12 or Big East, I really don't care. I'm speaking only of the major conferences.

And the biggest surprise to me with all of this? Utah leaving the Mountain West without even an 'ahem' from BYU and the LDS faithful. This leaves me to wonder, might they be on their way to the Big 12? Possibly along with CSU?

I'd love to hear feedback on this.