1. I’m amazed that some folks are still having trouble understanding why the SEC would want Texas A&M. The SEC set and watched the Big 12 and the Pac 12 pass them in TV contracts and that was unacceptable. Knowing he had to ring the register quickly, Mike Slive went on the offensive. That’s the biggest change from this time last year. In a sense, Dan Beebe and DeLoss Dodds brought this on themselves by making the Big 12 “work” last summer.

2. Instead of playing for a traveling trophy, the SEC should make Texas A&M and Mississippi State play in the Jackie Sherrill Bowl. The loser each year must devote 10 pages in their media guide to the Sherrill era at their school.

3. Texas Tech, Texas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State will fit in nicely with the Pac-12.

4. Texas will roll the Longhorn Network into the Pac-16′s regional nets. Tech, OU, and OSU will share the other regional net in this part of the world. The Big 3-Bevo Free can be their slogan.

5. Larry Scott is the smartest man in the room once again.

Hyatt

Don’t believe the hype!

No way, no way Texas is staying in the Big 12. Many reports out there that Texas is agreeing to stay in the Big 12 (10) and make it work. Particularly if they get their own network and unequal revenue sharing. Ya, that’ll keep A&M from going to the SEC. That’ll keep OU from leaving for the Pac 10…

All Texas is doing is trying to make it look like they tried. They weren’t the bad guys. They didn’t break up the Big 12. Nebraska did. And the Aggies did. And you know you can’t trust Missouri. Smart move and it’ll play great in Austin when the Legislature plays politics with their hearings on Wednesday (24 hours after Tech and Texas accept Pac 10 invites ).

Today on the show we’ll get your thoughts on the latest rumors and find out what you think Texas Tech should do. Stay with UT and a short-term Big 12 or take the Pac 10 invite and run? Give us your thoughts here and let us know what you think is going on and what should go on!

We’ll get the latest on what’s up with Tech today from Raiderpower.com’s Managing Editor in Travis Cram. Don’t miss it.

Hyatt

1.  For Texas Tech fans, Jimmy Buffett’s “Come Monday” will make for a good theme song this weekend. By then the Fog of War should have cleared and we’ll solidly know the lay of the land. Go West young man.

2.  For Texas A&M fans, do you really want to trust the same folks that helped get your athletic department into $16 million worth of debt to make a good decision about whether to go to the SEC or not? This is one of those times when Old Army needs to listen to the folks in Austin. They’re weird but they’re right on this deal.

3.  When Texas Tech ends up in the expanded Pac-10 it’s gonna be interesting to see which school Tech develops a good rivalry with. It was fun in the mid-90′s to watch Tech and Oklahoma State do battle on and off the field, starting with some heated baseball games. I’m hoping that same thing happens with Texas Tech and Arizona State. I think in many sports there’s a chance for some great battles. Plus Lubbock is so much like Tempe. . .

4.  The idea that Texas would go to the Big 10 is laughable. The idea that Nebraska would go to the Big 10 with a chance Texas would follow is even more laughable.

5.  One more hat-tip to Chip Brown of orangebloods.com for owning this story from the beginning. We got to know Chip when he was working in Lubbock and he’s a great guy and rock-solid old-school, get the dirt and get it right reporter. People have wrongly tried to dismiss him as some sort of basement dwelling blogger in order to ignore what he writes. ( read Baylor and Missouri fans here ) Chip has mastered the New Media but he’s as old-school as it gets when it comes to journalism. Well done, friend! You can follow Chip on Twitter at ChipBrownOB

1.  Hey, Mark Cuban! You may not be proud of the NBA right now but it is only fair since not many of your fans are proud of the Dallas Mavericks after another flop in the play-offs. You’re a soft owner and you’ve got soft players both mentally and physically. Instead of whining about the officials, get tough and score more points. It is amazing that after more than a decade as an owner you’re still making the same mistakes. Maybe an internship in San Antonio this summer would help. There. I said it.

2. I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m the only person out here that has no problem with Miami’s Jeff Ireland asking Dez Bryant “The Question”. If my job is on the line in making a choice on who to give millions of dollars to to represent my company and make plays for me, I’m going to ask them anything I damn well please. I think a G.M. not only has the right but the obligation to ask any question he thinks might lend insight into the person he’s investing in. Context is everything. I guess if he’d ask if Bryant’s mom was still doing crack and going to jail no one would care.

We get all over pro sports teams for having low-character guys or people that get into trouble but when they try and make sure the know exactly who they’re getting people get upset. You can’t have it both ways.

I’m also at a loss as to how this got out. Oh ya, it was Bryant who told the world and started the uproar. If he doesn’t say anything, no one is talking about this. The Cowboys made a mistake. Miami didn’t.

UPDATE:  S.I. just posted this story after I finished up 5 Things today. Now maybe people we begin to realize how wrong they were in going after Ireland…

3. Brett Favre will play for the Minnesota Vikings in 2010. No way he walks now being this close to a Super Bowl. The ankle surgery is just a little drama to keep ESPN’s Rachel Nichols employed.

4.  The Arizona Border Security bill recently passed is just, legal, needed and right. For those that actually want to know what it contains and why it will pass any constitutional challenge you can read Kris Kobach’s break-down of the law.

5.  Each day I grow more and more convinced that 2010 will be the last year Nebraska and Missouri play in the Big 12. Here’s hoping Texas Tech officials are being very aggressive in making plans for the future and hopefully looking west to possible Pac-10 expansion. Next time around, the Texas Legislature isn’t bailing anyone out. Texas Tech doesn’t have the same kind of juice down in Austin as it did 20 years ago during the break-up of the SWC. The politicos also know that it may be in the best interest of all not to partner up the four Texas Big 12 South schools, but to let them find their own place in the new landscape. That is how it should be. Get busy Tech.

Good afternoon West Texans and all you good, fine, friendly folks out there who wish you were. . .

Much like every other media outlet today, our sources are telling us this fine Saturday that Tommy Tuberville will be the next head coach at Texas Tech with an announcement coming on Sunday or Monday it looks like. For Red Raider fans that has to feel like falling into a pile of manure a week ago and coming out smelling like a rose.

A Double-T leading “The Double-T”

(AP Photo/Todd J. Van Emst)

Tuberville brings to Texas Tech the most proven head coach to take over as a new hire since Jim Carlen came in from West Virginia in 1970. However, Tuberville’s credentials blow away even Carlen’s, who went on to great success in the early 70′s at Tech. For A.D. Gerald Myers, President Guy Bailey, and Chancellor Kent Hance it is also vindication that the job at Tech was of value and that they weren’t locked in on some imaginary hire like Art Briles or Ruffin McNeill just because it was cheap, easy, or expedient.

If it took a few more days to get it right, it was worth it if Tommy Tuberville is the man I hear he is from those who have worked with him and the coach I think he is from the results we’ve seen in the past.

Tuberville positions himself as a great recruiter and he’d better be. His first order of business is going to be recruiting the current Tech players to get on board with he and his coaches after coming out so publicly for Ruffin. I’d be shocked if McNeill or really any of the current Tech assistants are retained, but it is possible. Not much is broken X’s and O’s wise at Tech and Tuberville may want to maintain some of that. If not though he’ll have to get the players behind him first, the current recruiting class after that and then make a huge sales-pitch to Red Raider fans everywhere that he’s got a boat big enough for everyone, even the disenfranchised pirates out there. (hell, maybe he’s a Jimmy Buffet fan!)

We said the minute that Tech fired Mike Leach that you wouldn’t be able to make a completge judgement about the impact of the story until you knew who Tech hired to replace him. As of now it looks like Tommy Tuberville is that guy. If that’s the case the Tech admnistration has sent a strong signal that status quo just wasn’t good enough both in terms of relationship with Leach and maybe even where they felt this program could go under Leach and Co.

It will be interesting to watch the reaction of Tech fans over the next 24 to 48 hours. I think those that are on Team Leach will begin to realize that life is going on with or without them. Those on Team Ruff will also come to realize that like Baron Batch said, the Double T is bigger than one man and if you support the Double T, love Texas Tech football and want to see  the program grow they’ll get on Team Tubby. If not they’ll end up being responsible for their own unhappiness, Kent Hance might tell them.

We live in interesting times…

MORE LATER

HYATT

“Texas Tech will never get a good coach after firing Mike Leach”

–Caller

I don’t know how many times in the past 48 hours we’ve heard the doom and gloom crowd say that Texas Tech football is over and done with the firing of Mike Leach. They say that Tech will never get a coach to come in and work for Gerald Myers and Kent Hance. No one would ever want to be in this environment. It is over.

They’re wrong.

They’re wrong at about Tech’s chances just like they were wrong when Kansas fired Mark Mangino and folks said Lew Perkins would never get a good coach. All he did was capture Turner Gill, one of the hottest names on the market and a guy many thought should have had several BCS jobs before now.

Yesterday we found out former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville is telling any media outlet that will listen that he’s more than interested in Texas Tech. How could this be?

Texas Tech fans, once they get over the shock of what happened with Leach, will realize that the program has elevated so much over the decade that it is a highly desired job. There’s about 2.5 million reasons most coaches will listen to any overture by Myers. After that you’ve got great facilities, a lot of returning talent, a high-profile conference to play in and an administration that has spent madly on football the last few years and no matter what the Lead Pirate may say seems to have tried to do everything they could to help Tech win football games, perhaps even at the expense of every other program in the department.

That gets the attention of guys like Tuberville.

The bottom line is that interest like this from a guy that went undefeated in the SEC and went to 8 straight bowl games should make Texas Tech fans feel pretty good as the calendar flips over to 2010. It is also the ultimate compliment that can be paid to any coach. Mike Leach leaves Texas Tech a better place than when he arrived. Because of the work he, his staff, the administration and the fans have done since 1999, Texas Tech will be able to hire a coach today that will have much more impressive credentials that the ones carried by Leach when he was hired in 1999.

That’s one of the few positives that’s coming out of this situation right now, but for Tech fans you need to grab on to anything good you can right now.

MORE LATER

HYATT