SO IT REALLY WAS THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS OF COLLEGE CONFERENCE REALIGNMENT FIASCOS: All that noise and twittering and rumormongering and we up with basically the same set of conferences. Where's the kaboom? There was supposed to be an earth shattering kaboom! One slight change is that the Big XII is even more Texas-dominated, and those who got stuck in the Big XII with Texas are more aware than ever that Only Texas Matters. And they are Texas' slaves, or vassals, or bitches, or any number of terms where one party is the powerful and the other party is weak and in thrall. Colorado and Nebraska were the only ones who found freedom in this version of the Great Escape; everyone else is stuck in that prison camp.

To me the most interesting part of all this is A&M's decision to turn down an offer from the SEC. Yes--they turned down an offer from the nation's most prestigious football conference, and athletically A&M football is at the top of their interests. This is what I want more information on--I want to buy the hardcover that investigates why A&M, being presented with a once-in-a-generation chance to get out from under Texas domination, to finally give Texas (the state now, not the school) kids a reason to go there over UT--i.e., playing in the SEC! Playing Alabama and Auburn and Florida is far more attractive than even Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas. If the A&M muckety-mucks made this decision on their own--their lack of imagination is appalling. If their decision was made for them--somebody in Austin, for example, having a conniption over UT potentially losing their precious stranglehold on in-state recruiting--it's more understandable. If they did for a few extra bucks they are absolutely craven and their fanbase is right to hate them as much as they do right now. It's the most interestingly inexplicable decision on all this and I hope there's a journalist out there with a pile of notes already working on giving us the who and the what and about all the why why why?