The "12-Pack" or "Half Rack"

[Pilgrim]

For those of you folks across the various ponds, last week saw an interesting shakeup in college football conferences here.

The Pacific-10 conference (my home conference, in Pacific coast states and Arizona) expanded to 12 teams, the Big 12 (mostly in the middle US) lost two teams to the Big Ten (also middle US).  The PAC-10 gained the University of Colorado and the University of Utah.  The Big 12 lost Colorado to the PAC-10, and the University of Nebraska (a big TV draw) to the Big ten.  The PAC-10 tried to pick up another 4 teams (Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and possibly Baylor University) which would have made it the biggest TV draw in the country...but the U of Texas (the conference power) managed to hold the 10 teams remaining in the conference together.

The reason?  All are getting ready to re-negotiate TV contracts in the near future, and all plan to get massive increases from networks by positioning themselves with teams in critical TV markets.

The result?

The PAC-10 now has 12 teams and can split into two divisions and add a playoff game (TV $$$).  Some new nicknames floating around are "The 12-Pack" (ref: 12 bottles of beer) and "The Half Rack" (a common US term for 12 packaged bottles of beer, a half case).

The Big 12 now has 10 teams.

The Big Ten, which formerly had 11 teams (they added the Pennsylvania State University recently but didn't change the name) now has 12 teams.

Ready for a quiz next period???

I'm sure that to those of you outside the US, this is all 'higher math".  However, some conference re-naming is anticipated. 

I kind of like "The 12-Pack".  I may adopt the term.

[Denis]

Shortsightedness leads to naming conferences using numbers. Down here in the ACC we just want to drink some beer (and beat the hell out of Duke and Carolina). Oh yeah, and I went to NC State, which doesn't beat either team that often...

[Pilgrim]

I can only imagine how nutty this must sound to Uwe and Kenny, among others.....

[Dave W]

An old friend of mine always refers to the Big 12 as the Dirty Dozen. Maybe the Big 10 can adopt that name for now, at least until they expand again. Or contract.

[Denis]

An old friend of mine always refers to the Big 12 as the Dirty Dozen. Maybe the Big 10 can adopt that name for now, at least until they expand again. Or contract.

Big 10 inch?!

[Highlander]

Nutty...? guys... come back when you comprehend the rules of cricket...

[TBird1958]

Half rack in Seattle parlance = a 12 pack of Raindogs (Rainer beer, a cheap local)



Let the good times roll 

[Pilgrim]

Hey there friend, you're in the half-rack or 12-pack too! 

Come to think of it, I got a half-rack of Sam Adams Summer Ale yestiddy......good and cold, too.

[TBird1958]

Indeed Al!


Let me know if you want some Raindogs in cans..........Trailer park treat!   

[Pilgrim]

Indeed Al!


Let me know if you want some Raindogs in cans..........Trailer park treat!   

When I was in school at Wazzu it was Buckhorn or Oly...at least Oly had the distinction of being Clint Eastwood's favorite.

[Freuds_Cat]

Clear as silly mid off and googleys Al 

[exiledarchangel]

Half rack = one boob. That's what I thought anyway.

[Basvarken]

It might as well be written in Swahili.
I have no idea what this is about  

[Dave W]

American college sports conference realignment (and beer).

[Pilgrim]

American college sports conference realignment (and beer).

And, I suspect that as Robert Redford said to his newly acquired indian wife in the movie Jeremiah Johnson, "That is all you need to know."

But we get all in a twist about it, don'chaknow?