David Hookstead
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PAC-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff continues his best Bahgdad Bob impression as the conference descends into turmoil.
The PAC-12 is in major trouble after USC and UCLA agreed to join the Big Ten starting in 2024, and Kliavkoff has done everything to convince people the ship isn’t sinking.
Now, he wants fans to believe the Bruins and Trojans “regret” joining the B1G.
“It’s clear that UCLA and USC made a decision for short-term financial gain at the expense of their student-athletes. It’s 100 percent clear to me. It’s really unfortunate, and I think they are already regretting it, given the pushback that they’ve gotten from almost every corner of their communities. I think they will regret it more as time goes on,” Kliavkoff told The Athletic when talking about the situation.
Regret? Kliavkoff thinks the Bruins and Trojans regret agreeing to join the Big Ten? Baghdad Bob strikes again!
To be clear, UCLA’s athletic department is in trouble, and is north of $100 million in the hole.
Joining the Big Ten isn’t being done for the hell of it. It’s being done as an act of survival. The Bruins can either sink in the PAC-12 like the Titanic after hitting an iceberg, or they can join the B1G and take the money.
Clearly, the latter is the only realistic option. Kliavkoff can say whatever he wants, but it doesn’t change reality.
The tanks are outside Baghdad and Baghdad Bob’s speeches about surrendering in the desert don’t change the dynamics!
That lesson applies perfectly to Kliavkoff’s comments about the PAC-12, USC and UCLA and the B1G.
“…UCLA’s athletic department is in huge trouble, and is north of $100 million in the hole.”
Uh that’s a big enchilada. Is that true?
Yes it is, but they just got a $67 million dollar settlement from Under Armour for breaking their contract. That certainly helps a lot, but long-term the PAC12 (10) will not get a big enough TV deal to make staying viable. The PAC is history and everybody knows it. USC and UCLA got to the lifeboats first and like the Titanic, there aren’t enough for everybody.
This moron has effectively killed the PAC12. Starting with his refusal to play day games so he can put “prime matchups” on at west coast prime time ON THE PAC12 NETWORK, which half the cable and satellite providers don’t carry and the other do for insanely high prices, to his religious adhering to COVID fears, to bending the knee to BLM, to not doing anything to promote sports like baseball even with some of the best teams in the country, to this. No wonder teams want to flee from this disastrous conference
To be fair, most of that nonsense is on the last commissioner, Larry Scott. Kliavkoff has been on the job for only the past year.