Sports Fodder: College sports landscape quickly changing

Sports fodder for a Friday morning ...

College sports is exploding. Forget everything you know about college sports history and rivalries. Those silly things don't matter anymore. The only thing that matters is (surprise, surprise) money. Nebraska seemingly is on its way to the Big 10. Colorado (and half the Big 12) looks like it is headed to the Pac-10. The Big 12 is about to fall victim to the wrecking ball. The Big 10 and Pac-10 are about to grow faster than my waistline. Is it good or bad for college sports? Nobody knows. But there is one thing we do know. The fans and the rivalries they cherish mean absolutely nothing to college presidents and athletic directors anymore. College sports programs are like washed up former child actors. They just go to the next shopping mall that pays them to show up.

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All of the movement, though, could be a great thing for the WAC. Let's face it, the WAC, as it stands right now, is about as exciting as an Algeria-Slovenia World Cup soccer game. It's a conference that needs an energy boost. But there is hope. And the best thing about it is the WAC doesn't have to do anything more than just sit back and wait until the dust settles. WAC commissioner Karl Benson insists he has a plan. We'll take his word on that for now. But a word of warning. Benson said this week that the WAC is looking at a half dozen or so current Division I-AA programs. Exciting, huh, Pack fans? Welcome back to the Big Sky Conference, circa 1988.

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It is a little surprising that Boise State has been so open about its desire to leave the WAC. Boise State, which is seemingly headed to the Mountain West Conference, obviously thinks it is too good for the WAC. Well, let the MWC have Boise. Boise State is a one-program school. They don't even have a baseball team. Their other sports are invisible. What value will Boise have to the MWC once its football program returns to its days of mediocrity? Just because you are BCS contender now, doesn't mean you will always be a BCS contender.

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Why would Tom Izzo even consider coaching the Cleveland Cavaliers? OK, we know the answer. Surprise, surprise. It's not about coaching at the highest level. But does Izzo really need more money? He can coach Michigan State for the rest of his life if he so chooses. The Cavs would seem like a death sentence for any coach. Do you really want to coach the Cavs without LeBron James on the roster? And do you want to coach with him? LeBron would be the real coach and if the team doesn't win a championship, who do you think they will fire first? Hint: It won't be LeBron.

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I don't care if I ever watch a second of the NBA Finals this year. I think I watched about two minutes of the Final Four games and about two seconds of the BCS title game (who played?). But I didn't miss a pitch of Stephen Strasburg's amazing debut on Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Yes, a Washington Nationals-Pittsburgh Pirates game on a Tuesday night. Baseball is and will always be our national pastime.

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Do you still think it was a mistake for Las Vegas High baseball player Bryce Harper to give up his last two years in high school to make the jump to junior college? Harper, the top pick on Monday in the major league baseball amateur draft, won't have to work another day in his life once he signs with the Nationals later this summer. We should all make mistakes like that.

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The Chicago Tribune called Luke Babbitt a "Utah sharpshooter" this week. A blog about the Toronto Raptors keeps comparing Babbitt to Keith Van Horn, a former Utah player. What does this tell us? Well, it tells us that Nevada has a serious image problem. And it tells us that the idiots who come up with mock drafts really have no idea what they are talking about.

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Winning the Stanley Cup is the most difficult thing to do in sports. That includes winning the Tour De France, a heavyweight boxing title, a Super Bowl, the World Series, the NBA championship, the Kentucky Derby, Indianapolis 500, Reno-Tahoe Open, the presidential election and marrying a Kardashian girl. Winning the Stanley Cup requires 16 grueling victories over two months and you have to sacrifice your front teeth, a couple pints of blood  and grow a nasty beard.

Joe Santoro is a freelance writer for the Sierra Nevada Media Group.