ACC adds Pitt and Syracuse, sends Big East scrambling

It's official.

The ACC has accepted applications from the University of Pittsburgh and Syracuse, sending the Big East Conference into panic mode - trying to replace two of their cornerstone members.

Richard Broadhead, Duke president and also the head of the ACC Council, said, "Both schools are committed to competing at the highest level of academics and athletics. We welcome them as full partners in the ACC."

Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford commented, “[adding Pitt and Syracuse] geographically bridges our footprint between Maryland and Massachusetts.”

Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark Nordenberg said that school officials "could not envision a better conference home for Pitt."

Syracuse chancellor Nancy Cantor - no relation to OSG Brother Phil - was quoted as saying, "'Cuse is looking forward to bringing ACC games to the Big Apple." The Orange was a founding member of the Big East, and had been a part of the conference since 1982.

“This is a very significant day for all of our student-athletes, coaches and staff at the University of Pittsburgh,” said Steve Pederson, University of Pittsburgh Director of Athletics. “The strength and quality of the ACC is highly regarded by everyone at Pitt. When we set high expectations for our student-athletes in their academic, athletic and personal goals, it is important to provide every opportunity and resource to enable that success. Joining the ACC and the outstanding institutions in this conference will give every Pitt student-athlete the chance to achieve their highest aspirations.”

The ACC scheduled a 9:30 a.m. ET teleconference with the media to announce the additions. It is not clear which division each of the new schools will join.

The additions of Pitt and Syracuse make sense, in geographic terms, for the ACC. The name Atlantic Coast Conference now means a lot more, because there are teams in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New York - the majority of the Atlantic seaboard.

Mayweather decks Ortiz, clean or not?

Mayweather vs. Ortiz

((ht: usatoday))

This question may be debated for awhile, particularly if you are a fan of either boxer.

Let's set the scene:

4th Round of Saturday nights big boxing showdown, Floyd Mayweather versus Victor Ortiz for the WBC Welterweight championship. Late in the 4th round, Ortiz is pummeling Mayweather on the ropes and for some unknown reason head-butts him. Ortiz tries to apologize while being penalized a point for the head-butt. Ortiz steps away and tries to apologize again, when Mayweather clocks him.

The move enraged the crowd at the MGM Grand Hotel, and replays showed Ortiz wasn't looking at Mayweather when he got hit.

Read more from USAToday RIGHT HERE

The question is...was it clean? It's somewhat hard to tell and may be a question for a long time. Ortiz, should have known, that while the fight is still going, don't turn away from your adversary. Ever. And yet he did. And while Mayweather may or may not have taken advantage of a questionable period of time, it doesn't appear he did anything illegal.

We might also mention after the fight, Mayweather let loose a profanity filled tirade against HBO Boxing Analyst Larry Merchant. We won't go into too much detail there other than to say, Floyd has a few image problems and that probably won't help them.

Mayweather pocketed a cool $25 million for the fight and we suspect the fight will help rejuvenate his career which had stalled a bit due to several legal issues.

It also, in our opinion will help marginalize boxing, a once proud sport that has support in some circles and still manages to pull of big payday's somehow for it's fighters. It has appeal in certain circles and it works. But when push comes to shove, is it any different these days than professional wrestling?

Your video:

TWTW: Auburn Win Streak Over, Clemson Prevails In This Tiger Fight

One streak ends at Clemson's Death Valley and another stays in tact as Clemson defeated Auburn 38-24.

Auburn saw it's 17 game winning streak snapped while for the third time in three tries Clemson defeated the previous years national champion on its home turf. In 1981 Clemson defeated Georgia 13-3 and in 1991 the Tigers defeated Georgia Tech 9-7.

Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd picked apart the Auburn defense throwing for 386 yards and four touchdowns.

"Tajh Boyd is a guy that has really taken ownership in this team." Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said in a post game press conference. "Our guys believe in him. He noticed the matchup issues in the secondary in the first half and Tajh got the ball where it needed to be."

Sammy Watkins set a Clemson freshman record with 10 catches against Auburn for 155 yards and two touchdowns.

Here are the highlights from Death Valley including sound from Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, wide receiver Sammy Watkins and quarterback Tajh Boyd. (Thanks WSPA-TV Greenville, SC)



Don Hawes of WVTM-TV in Birmingham, Alabama has the Auburn point of view with sound from Auburn head coach Gene Chizik, .

Oregon, You're On The Clock

And you have Willie Lyles and Lache Seastrunk ((among others)) to thank for this go-round...

The NCAA relayed the official "Notice of Inquiry" in a telephone call to Oregon President Richard Lariviere this week. The school announced this development before Oregon's game against Missouri State.

The inquiry is the result of reports that surfaced this spring concerning payments Oregon made to recruiting services, including a $25,000 payment to Willie Lyles and Houston-based Complete Scouting Services.

Most of the info Lyles and CSS gave Oregon was outdated and even included information on players that were playing against the Ducks in bowl games.

"This notice has been anticipated and is simply the next stage of the process," UO athletic director Rob Mullens said in a University release. "The University of Oregon football program, from Head Coach Chip Kelly through the entire organization, has tremendous respect for the NCAA's important role in monitoring collegiate athletics and, to this end, continues to fully cooperate with the NCAA 's ongoing examination.

"The Athletic Department, Coach Kelly and the entire staff remain committed to operating the athletics program consistent with the highest standards and ensuring our program follows best practices."


Of course, you will...

Lyles has admitted that he made a mistake in this and that CSS, for all intents and purposes, is a dead business nowadays...

Interesting to see who comes out alive in this one...

OSG NAIA: Sometimes, It's Just Meant To Be...

Okay, this one is from the OTHER weekend job members of the HQ have...

Your Shorter Hawks, transitioning from NAIA Division 1 to NCAA Division II after this season, scored nine points in 30 seconds to pull out a win against a feisty Pikeville University squad Saturday afternoon...

And while, yes, the HQ can add to its sunburned totals for the year, this win had Kardiac Kids written all over it... Heart-Stopping Hawks, maybe...???

Anyway, I digress...

It was the home opener for the nationally-ranked lot after their upset win over Webber International in Lake Wales, Florida last Saturday. Pikeville has had a lot of turnover in the last year. They hired a Kentucky high school football legend as their new coach. Dudley Hilton brings his 36 years, 3 state titles, and 345 wins over to the college side of things. His rep kept a lot of kids home for a change and 193 showed up for first practices...

I'm not kidding... 193 kids showed up...

And they had a relatively easy time of it so far with a 2-0 start in a win over Southern Virginia, 63-18, and a 24-17 win over NCAA Division II Kentucky Wesleyan.

They're not as outmanned as they seemed in the past and will be a headache for the Mid-South Conference in the years to come...

They were down 20-0 at Barron Stadium but, scored to make it 20-7 at the break, ran back the opening 2nd half kickoff for another score and recovered the ensuing onside kick to scare the daylights out of the blue-and-black clad home fans...

Pikeville, and their new uniforms, scored again with a little under 11 minutes to go to take a 21-20 lead and Shorter had to try and get something going for a score with a little under two minutes to go after swapping what seemed like a shopping spree on punting...

Troy Postell had missed a field goal with four minutes to go, but thanks to a drive that took a little over a minute, he hit a 44-yarder with 30 seconds to go for a 23-21 lead. The one he missed...? Two yards shorter...

But Pikeville threw two passes in the last 30 seconds that set up a 33-yard field goal attempt with 8 seconds on the clock.

That's where Daniel Hazard steps in to frame...

When you talk to Daniel, he's about as open and honest as a college senior can be- and he believes everything he says. You could be talking about religion, football, or traffic lights... and if he told you that the light turned an amazing shade of pink, he'd be convincing in his arguments if you didn't see it yourself.

He's the vocal and emotional leader on defense and some special teams situations and it came through again... he plowed through, found a hole, blocked the possible game-winner, scooped it up, and scored as the clock ran out... ((Thanks to Tracey Long for the amazing photo...))

Game, set, match... 29-21...

"When I saw the hole open up, I went right through it and was able to get my hands [on the kick]," he told Shorter SID Matt Green. "When I picked up the ball I just had my eyes focused on the goal line and once I got into the end zone, I just collapsed to my knees.

"I couldn't believe it -- God has blessed me."

He told me that he heard a little voice in his head that said for him to pick the ball up and not to worry about running with it. There were noises in his ears that were his teammates clearing the way down the field, and he just collapsed in the endzone after the score.

But there's another part to this...

His family is going through a lot right now...

His grandfather, at 85 years young and sporting a black Dartmouth cap in the stands in Rome, has to head back up to the northeast for surgery after a diagnosis of colon cancer. He came down for the game to see Daniel play.

The HQ doesn't want to hear anything negative about higher powers in play today... because, as you all know, Daniel Hazard will be more than happy to tell you otherwise...

The HQ's thoughts are with the Hazard family through all that they are set to face...

Oh, Shorter ((ranked #20)) heads to Georgetown ((KY)) next Saturday- just south of Satellite HQ...

ACC increases buyout and getting applications for membership

((ht: espn/dinich))

It appears the ACC has taken some measures to keep themselves from being brushed aside during the "Galactic Realignment" of college sports.

The conference presidents apparently...and quietly, have increased the buyout for schools wanting to leave from $13 million to $20 million. And while it may not stop it from happening it will certainly make anyone looking to defect to think twice about it.

The other ACC news is this: The New York Times, Friday night reported that both Pittsburgh and Syracuse from the Big East. Heather Dinich from ESPN.com confirmed that report. Dinich also reports that the ACC has received at least 10 applications for membership.

You can read her report RIGHT HERE

This is interesting. Certainly adding Pitt and Syracuse makes more sense than adding say, Texas, but it is even more intriguing that so many schools have inquired. And while we fully anticipate that global shift of the continents, we, like everyone else don't really know how that shift is going to play out.

We reported Thursday night that Oklahoma intends to have a regents meeting on Monday to discuss whether or not they are going to leave, now, Texas and their board is meeting too.

At some point there one of these schools will be forced to take the plunge and go. The guess as to who is first is anyone's guess. We think it will be Oklahoma, but we wouldn't put money on it. Once one of the majors takes the plunge, the rest of the domino's will fall into place.

In the meantime, this is the only video that makes sense to attach to this story right now:

What If World B. Free Met Metta...???

((HT: LA Times))

It's now official... but haven't we been here before...???
Just ask Lloyd...
((HT: NBA/NBAE))


The World was a better scorer, but will Metta World Peace take hold- especially on the road...???

Ron Artest's name change is officially official...
An LA Superior Court commissioner okayed the move from Artest since his outstanding traffic tickets had been addressed...

Apparently, his 8-year-old daughter, Diamond, may be close behind in the name change department...

This may be the only case where a diamond could bring world peace...???
And what happens when Metta goes on tour...??? The world could become one after all... "Peace in the Middle East" sounds pretty solid for starters...

Any ideas, everyone...???