SEC football coaches aren’t the only ones looking forward to using the SEC Network as a recruiting tool.  SEC basketball coaches are also anxiously awaiting the August 2014 debut of the network.  In a wide-ranging interview at the Columbia Daily Tribune, Missouri basketball coach Frank Haith sounded euphoric about the partnership between the SEC and ESPN.

“It’s huge. We’re going to still get on our national TV stuff, but I think the fact that you’ve got ESPN tied to the network … I mean, there’s other networks out there, but none of them have ESPN tied into it, and I think from a recruiting standpoint, we recruit nationally anyway, but now you’ve got this extra piece saying, “Hey, regardless of where we go recruit your kid, you’re going to see them play on TV. You’re going to see pretty much every one of their games.” I think that’s a huge, huge thing. I’m always thinking recruiting. I think it’s a huge, huge plus for us.”

Haith also opened up on a variety of other topics:

* Is he preparing for his June meeting with the NCAA?

“I’m not preparing for that. There’s nothing to prepare for.”

* Earlier start to practice in the fall.

“I applaud the NCAA. They’ve made some really good (changes).”

* The number of transfers and the culture of college basketball today.

“We live in a microwave society in general. Everybody wants things quick. But in college basketball it’s at another level, and you see kids moving all the time”

* Difference in style of play between Big 12 and SEC

“Our league was way more physical than our league was in the Big 12. Way more physical.”

Asked about a disappointing second season in Columbia after a thirty-win first year at Mizzou, Haith said, “This team personnel-wise could have been better.”  He said it wasn’t though, citing things like inconsistent play, injuries, toughness, chemistry and defense.  ”That’s a challenge for us as a coaching staff, holding guys accountable. It all starts out front. If we don’t have great consistency guarding the ball out front, we’re going to get broken down in the paint. And that’s what happened with this team. We weren’t consistent in guarding the ball out front, and that really hurt our defense.”

1. ACC Schools Were Wise To Stick Together And Not Jump To Big XII

2. SEC Commitment Comparison

3. LSU, Florida…Just Man Up And Stop Whining

4. Breaking Down School-By-School SEC Cash Flow And Subsidies

5. Sooner’s Stoops: What’s The Bottom Of The SEC Done? (Also See Saban Responds and Someone Alert OU’s Stoops)

6. Let The Conspiracy Theories Begin: ESPN, SEC Partnership Raising Eyebrows

7. SEC Recruiting Notebook: Auburn Lands A Big One

SEC Football

1. Is Auburn still shopping for a transfer quarterback? “We’ve got two guys currently, we’ve got three coming in. We feel like all of them can play.”

2. The trial of  former Auburn player Dakota Mosley - who was prominent in ESPN’s coverage of failed synthetic marijuana tests – remains tentatively scheduled for June 10.

3. Auburn assistant coach Dameyune Craig is getting attention for his work on the recruiting trail. (Also see our SEC Recruiting Notebook from earlier today).

4. Nick Saban with an endorsement of a power conference schedule.  He likes what the Big Ten is doing – moving away from playing FCS schools.  “I’m for five conferences – everybody playing everybody in those five conferences.”

5. Jeff Schultz on the Alabama coach : ”When Saban speaks, everybody listens now.” Pat Forde: “There is no longer a viable excuse for the rich not to play a nine-game conference schedule.”

6. Saban updates spring practice injuries – including running back Derrick Henry.

7. Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel and his NFL critics.

8. Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo is guarding against complacency.  ”I’m not the most popular guy with our offensive football team right now.”

9. Tennessee secondary looks thin after the departure of cornerback Daniel Gray.

10. Some marquee non-conference matchups involving SEC teams.

Bob Stoops/SEC

11. David Climer on Bob Stoops’ comments regarding the SEC.  ”The Oklahoma coach is right.”  Top six SEC teams went 30-0 against the bottom eight in 2012.

12. Matt Hayes disagrees: “Last year, the Big 12 had one team in the top 10 of the final BCS regular season poll. The SEC had six.”

13. Joe Walljasper: “Look, we don’t judge the Jacksons on the merits of Rebbie and La Toya.”

14. MrSEC’s take  -  top to bottom –the SEC dominates everyone else come bowl season.

SEC Basketball

15. Long rumored – finally happening. Georgia assistant coach Kwanza Johnson leaving for a job with TCU. Bulldogs only getting Florida, Tennessee and Kentucky on the road next year.  Coach Mark Fox:  ”Those are our biggest draws, and we don’t have that at home, so that’s concerning,”

16. I count five former SEC players on this list of those invited to NBA combine.  One of them is former Mizzou point guard Phil Pressey.

17. The question that will be asked all year – Kentucky or Louisville?

18. Referees could be getting some leeway on players elbowing an opponent above the shoulders. Also some changes coming to the block/charge call.

Extras

19. Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany will be deposed in Ed O’Bannon lawsuit against NCAA.

20. . Concern over a toe was apparently the reason why former Alabama running back Eddie Lacy fell to late in the second round of the NFL draft.

21. Jeff Pearlman: “ Were it not for (Donald) Trump, (Tim) Tebow may very well have a job right now.” (If you’ve ever watched the ESPN documentary-  ”Small Potatoes: Who Killed The USFL?” – you’ll know why Pearlman’s comments make sense.)

Apparently Tuesday was “Go After the SEC Day” around the nation.  First, Bob Stoops called the league’s reputation a product of “propaganda.”  Then The Sporting News’ Matt Hayes conveyed word that folks are now concerned that the SEC and ESPN will work to put more league teams in the new College Football Playoff:

“Sports Business Daily reports that ESPN will own the SEC channel and share profits evenly with the conference.  The SEC owns the content.  ESPN owns television rights to all of the new College Football Playoff.

See where this is headed?

‘If I were anyone other than the SEC,’ says one industry source, ‘I’d be more than a little uneasy about the whole thing.’

If there weren’t already claims from the West Coast, Midwest and Southwest that the SEC has received preferential treatment from the BCS all these years, imagine what happens the first time the most successful conference in the game gets two (or more) teams in the new College Football Playoff.”

First, Hayes is correct that there will be conspiracy theories.  Thanks to the power of the internet, we no longer have any legitimate champions.  The kind of “the refs were in the bag” or “the TV networks wanted ‘em” talk that used to be heard in barbershops can now be shared with the world via social media and blogs and straight-up media websites.  We no longer crown champs.  Instead, we claim that Spygate or Bountygate or stolen signs in baseball (the World Series-winning Phillies) or spending (“The Yankees and Red Sox just buy their titles”) is the real reason teams win titles.  Hell, SEC fans do this to one another.  If it’s your school that wins, it’s legitimate.  If someone else win, there’s been some hanky-panky.

Second, Hayes is also correct that ESPN’s ownership of everything under the sun does make for some potential conflicts of interest.  Now, it’s doubtful that the new playoff selection committee — whatever that group turns out to be — will be on the phone with ESPN discussing who the network wants in the field.  That playoff will be watched by millions upon millions regardless of who’s playing in it.  But throw logic out the window, the potential for skullduggery will leave many claiming skullduggery.  Such is life in a world where ESPN has its hands in every pie.

Third, Hayes’ comment — “Imagine what happens the first time the most successful conference in the game gets two (or more) teams in the new College Football Playoff” — sums up the feeling we’ve been writing about since the playoff was announced.  Outside the SEC, no one wants the league to get more than one team into the playoff.  While there’s the slight potential that ESPN will try to influence the selection committee, there’s also the potential for selection committee members to succumb to their own biases in order to limit the number of SEC squads in the playoff.  Funny, no one seems to be worried much about that.

Finally, there’s a crack in the argument that the SEC and ESPN are two big bodies in cahoots — ESPN is in cahoots with everyone.  Who owns the rights to all the ACC games and is working on a new network for that conference?  ESPN.  Who partnered with Texas on its network?  ESPN.  Who has TV deals in place with the Big Ten and Pac-12 and Big East as well?  ESPN?

Yes, the SEC Network figures to be the most profitable of all those deals, but to suggest that ESPN will somehow push SEC teams into the new playoff more often is to ignore the fact that the network would have to snub all its other partners to do so.

Oh, you can count on conspiracy theories.  But that doesn’t mean the theories are reality.

Out with the old and in with the new.

Once there was a day when the over-air broadcast networks dominated.  Now, cable and satellite networks are turning those over-air broadcasters into “just another channel.”

Gasps were heard when ESPN nabbed the BCS games and college football’s championship game starting in 2011.  Turner Sports surprised as well when it became CBS’ broadcast partner on the NCAA Tournament in 2011.

Moving some of those basketball games to cable certainly hasn’t hurt ratings.  This past year’s tourney was the most-watched in 19 years.  So it shouldn’t be a surprise that Turner (and cable) are getting an even bigger part of the tourney package moving forward.

It was announced today that TBS will now begin splitting Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four, and championship games with CBS.  In 2014 and 2015, TBS will get the semifinals and CBS will handle the finals.  In 2016, TBS will air the championship game, marking the first time in the history of the tournament that its final game will be broadcast via cable.

The proliferation of cable and satellite television viewers over the past decade helps to explain why the SEC — which took a measured approach to launching its own television channel — has decided that the time is right to create an SEC Network (with ESPN).

How long cable and satellite will rule, however, is the question.  With more television content being delivered online every day, the window for cable and satellite outlets could be much shorter than that of the well-aged over-air broadcast networks.  Which is why the SEC spent as much time touting the online/digital portion of its new ESPN deal as it did pimping its new television property last week.

Eyes forward, folks.  Eyes forward.

In case you missed the SEC Network trailer shown during last week’s big announcement from the league and ESPN, it’s now up and running on YouTube courtesy of the SEC.

Enjoy…

Now repeat after me: “Call your local cable/satellite provider…”

Oh, the number of times you’re going to be asked to do just that between now and next August.

The SEC announced its new network on Thursday in a big way because the league wanted to make it a big deal.

And it is a big deal. It’s big in terms of money, impact and attention the league will receive.

It will also be beneficial in recruiting.

Prospects already know the SEC is the strongest conference in college football. They’ve seen it win the most BCS championships (seven straight) and produce the most NFL draft picks (63 this year, more than double the next highest conference).

Recruits also know ESPN. It’s their No. 1 option when it comes to sports viewing. And while Fox Sports 1 is on the way and CBS and NBC continue to grow television options to challenge ESPN, the truth is the Worldwide Leader will continue to be No. 1 for the foreseeable future.

So with ESPN and the SEC extending their relationship to 2034, that should should only create opportunities for the league to sell itself to the best prospects in the Southeast and nation.

“It’s all about exposure and (the SEC network gives us) more exposure in the footprint of our 11 states in the Southeast,” Florida coach Will Muschamp said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Of course, we target the Southeast and Texas pretty hard, as far as our recruiting is concerned, as well as doing some national recruiting. The more exposure you get, the better it’s going to be for recruiting obviously, and also your fan base.”

It also helps that the SEC already has a strong lead in recruiting against the rest of the country. The conference finished with five of the top 10 and 10 of the top 25 teams in the 2013 class rankings by Rivals.

The SEC already has five of the top 10 teams listed in the 2014 class rankings. That doesn’t include Alabama, which is ranked No. 17 and will surely climb when the commitments start to roll in for the Crimson Tide.

But the SEC still has room to grow in terms of talent. Schools like Ole Miss and Vanderbilt are recruiting at higher levels than we’ve ever seen and Tennessee, a once dominant recruiter in the SEC, is beginning to have success again on the recruiting trail.

And all 14 schools in the SEC plan to use the conference’s new network, which won’t launch until August 2014, as part of their sales pitch to prospects.

“We’ve had our own network at CBS and several games on ESPN,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “We had a great partnership with them. And now we’re going to improve on that. It’s going to be even better in the future.”

It’s hard to argue against Saban. The SEC had 12 prospects selected in the first round of the NFL draft last week. Who says that record won’t be broken in the future?

With Texas A&M’s early success in the SEC and big plans for the future, expect prospects from one of the country’s most talent-rich states to show more interest in playing in the SEC. Especially when they all have more access to watch the SEC in football and other sports.

As Georgia coach Mark Richt said Thursday, the impact of the SEC network is “going to be huge, really.” And he’s right.

Tennessee lands a big one

That’s a literal and figurative statement.

Read the rest of this entry »

My, how impatient we’ve all become.  With fast food at the drive-thru, breaking news on Twitter, and the constant connectivity provided by smart phones, we’ve flat-out lost the ability to wait.

Take the freshly unwrapped SEC Network as an example.  As soon as yesterday’s press conference finished in Atlanta, the MrSEC.com email box filled up with a hundred variations of the same two questions:

“How much money will the network mean for SEC schools?”

“How much will I have to pay to get the network?”

The answer to both?  You’ll have to wait to find out.

That’s not because the SEC is playing coy, mind you.  It’s because all the tumblers haven’t quite clicked into place just yet.

First, some background and then we’ll attempt to answer those questions for you.

The Wall Street Journal reported last evening that a source had told that publication that the new SEC Network will be owned entirely by ESPN, not the conference:

If you read our story from April 17th, that news shouldn’t surprise you one bit.  After close inspection, it became clear that the SEC usually doesn’t “own” much of anything and that ESPN had already cut the exact same type of deal with Texas for the Longhorn Network.  So we’re not shocked to learn that the SEC passed on ownership.  The league has done so to protect itself on the front end.

If the network — which currently has one provider on the hook — fails to gain carriage on several of the biggest cable and satellite providers, the SEC will still get paid.  And if the network booms past initial projections, the league’s built-in escalators in the contract will ensure that it’s always making a certain percentage of the network’s profit.  In terms of safe bets, this type of deal was the safest.

This type of deal also means that Mike Slive and company do know the minimum amount of money they’ll make from ESPN in Year One.  Slive just wasn’t talking about that number — or the network’s ownership plan — yesterday at the presser.  That means we’ll have to wait for those digits to leak out at some point.

But the new SEC Network isn’t the only thing that’s going to increase SEC schools’ revenue in the next few years.

First, there’s the SEC’s share of the new College Football Playoff.  That will be a considerable chunk of cash in its own right.  The league will also kickoff the new Sugar Bowl, which it co-owns with the Big XII.  Such a partnership has never been done before and it figures to create another fat, new revenue stream for the SEC.  Additionally, the league will soon start reworking all of its bowl deals.  Perhaps the SEC will try to take over another bowl or two.  Or maybe it will just partner up with whichever bowls are willing to kick in the most cash.  That’s another wad of money to toss into the overall pot.

Finally, there’s the overall partnership with ESPN to take into consideration.  As we wrote on April 16th, the SEC Network is just one part of much larger partnership.  As was pointed out again and again and again during yesterday’s presser, ESPN will now own the rights to just about all things SEC outside one CBS football game per week and each school’s local radio broadcast rights.  Seriously, the partnership runs that deep.  If the SEC and ESPN were in bed together before, they’ve now been sewn together into an 18th century bundling bag.

And the keyword there is “bundling.”

ESPN will now sell the SEC’s biggest corporate partnership packages.  Controlling so much SEC inventory across so many different platforms will allow the ESPN sales team to bundle properties together when selling those corporate packages.  “Wanna buy some spots in SEC Network football?  Then ya gotta buy spots in SEC Network basketball and on the SEC Digital Network online, too.”  Bundling will bring in much more revenue in the long run.  So toss that loot into the SEC’s kitty as well.

As you can see, there are a number of new spigots that are about to be turned on at the SEC office in Birmingham.  Some will pay dividends before others.  Some will grow faster than others.  Some will do better than projected.  Some will do worse than projected.

With all that in mind, you can now see that the question “How much money will the network mean for SEC schools?” is tad overly simplistic.  The SEC’s recent deals — including the ESPN partnership — are about more than just a new television channel.  And since all of these streams will be pouring in over time, there’s no definitive way of saying, “SEC schools will make this in 2014, this in 2015, and this in 2016.”  Instead, we’re forced to talk in ballpark figures.

Last fall, we spoke with an industry source familiar with the SEC’s plans to buy back its Tier 3 broadcast rights and hand everything over to ESPN.  As we wrote at the time, our source felt that SEC schools would eventually make $10-15 million more per year when all of the new revenue streams are up and running.  With league schools making around $20 million now, we wrote that by 2015 or so SEC schools should be making $30-35 million per year with enormous growth potential moving forward from there.

In January, USA Today conducted a study and they arrived at darn near the exact same numbers.  Their analysis projected that league schools would likely make about $34 million per school per year starting in 2014-15.

So if you’re wondering what the network will be worth to SEC schools, broaden your thinking.  With the network and several other new revenue streams kicking in, SEC schools will likely see their annual checks from the home office spike 50-75% in the next two or three fiscal years with potential for much larger growth as the conference and ESPN get deeper into their 20-year deal.

Now, onto the second question — “How much will I have to pay to get the network?”

Well, it depends.

That’s probably not the answer you were looking for, but it’s an honest one.  ESPN will spend the next 16 months trying to jam the new SEC Network down the throats of cable and satellite providers.  Currently, AT&T U-verse is the only provider that’s signed on to carry the channel.  AT&T U-verse is small and growing and it needs the pub.

Time-Warner, Comcast, DirecTV, and Dish are not small and they don’t need any added publicity.  They will fight against paying top dollar for a start-up, regional sports network just as they have with every other start-up, regional sports network.  (ESPN can call it a national network if it likes, at the negotiating table, the providers will initially argue that it’s regional.)

For those unfamiliar with carriage battles, here’s a simple explainer.  Right now, networks like ESPN, CNN, FOX News, HBO, NFL Network and others demand a fee from cable and satellite providers for the right to air their programming.  The providers then pass that cost along to you on your monthly cable or satellite bill.

The networks try to create programming that you’ll demand.  We’ve all heard the “Call your local cable operator” pitch a million times.

Most providers usually hold out until the last possible second — or sometimes they allow launch dates to pass completely — before adding a new channel.  If they add the channel at all.  But before adding any new network, they’ll probably warn you that it’s the new channel driving up your bill, not the provider.

Basically it’s a tug of war and you, the viewer, smack dab in the middle of the rope.

Eventually ESPN will reach deals with the biggest providers because the SEC provides great football and because the league can actually put some good games on its channel.  Those deals won’t all be for the same amount of money, however.

Let’s say Time-Warner’s deal with ESPN is for X and DirecTV’s deal is for Y.  Obviously, depending on which of those providers you have, either part of the price of X or part of the price of Y will be passed along to you.

So how much will the new network cost you?  It depends on your provider, the deal that provider cuts with ESPN, and the amount of the total cost that the provider wishes to push your way.

According to the ESPN executives on hand in Atlanta yesterday, the goal within the 11-state SEC footprint is for the SEC Network to equal ESPN in terms of cable and satellite penetration.  That’s a heckuva goal.  That would likely mean main-tier positioning rather than placement on a sports package, but again, that will depend on the provider and the deal they cut with ESPN.

Outside the 11-state footprint, the SEC Network was compared to ESPNU.  The U gets into about 75 million homes.  That would probably mean sports package-type placement for the SEC Network.

With a start-up product, we suspect cable and satellite subscribers in the SEC footprint will likely have to add between $1 and $2 per month onto their monthly bill for the channel.  And that’s a very, very loose estimate for all of the reasons mentioned above.

Those outside the SEC region will likely have to kick in for a sports package if they want to see the channel.

Clear as mud, right?

Additional SEC Network links:

Mike Slive cements his legacy with new network

The SEC Network could help the SEC come playoff selection time

CBS — as expected — has extended its own deal with the SEC

Someone’s done gone and said that the network could lead to SEC expansion
Mike Slive says the network would have probably happened even without expansion

Plans are being made for network programming

Additional SEC Network coverage from MrSEC.com:

Yesterday: SEC Network unveiled: Our quick takes, our rapid responses

April 18th: How ESPN sets the SEC Network Apart

April 17th:  New SEC network to be co-owned?  Not so fast

April 16th:  The new SEC-ESPN partnership is about much more than a TV network

Today in Atlanta, the Southeastern Conference and ESPN took the lid off of their new joint venture, the SEC Network.  Below are our quick takes and rapid responses to what was learned today:

*  The SEC brought in 32 head coaches for the event.  One by one the coaches (from various sports) were introduced.  Impressive, but slow.  The message: “Our coaches are a big part of why we’re great.”  Gotcha.  Next?

*  ESPN and the SEC announced that they have extended their overall media rights agreement through 2034.  No contract in sports television is longer.  The positive is that the SEC is now locked into a partnership with what’s currently the the biggest name in sports for two decades.  A positive negative?  Markets change.  Just as the SEC’s dual contracts with ESPN and CBS signed in 2008 were eventually passed, this pact will set a new bar for other conferences to take aim at as well.  You can bet the SEC worked automatic escalators — or “look-ins” — into this deal.  Just how strong those escalators are will determine how wise it was to sign such a long-term agreement.

*  Mike Slive: “For the first time a conference will launch a network with its primary media rights partner.”  As we wrote in mid-April, this deal is about much more than just a television channel.  ESPN and the SEC will now be able to bundle inventory for sales purposes which will drive league revenue through the roof.  Slive said the fact that the conference is creating a network with its main media rights partner allows the league to move its properties “across platforms seamlessly.”  As we told you two weeks ago, the network is big… but the overall partnership is even bigger.

*  Content will include 1,000 live events per year split between the channel and the digital network (online).  That includes three SEC football games per week (45 total) and more than 100 men’s basketball games per season.  The key?  Those three football games per week.  As we noted — again in mid-April — the fact that ESPN already own 95% of the SEC’s football content gives the league an opportunity to put more “good” games on its channel at start-up.  That should create greater demand from viewers and in turn put more pressure on cable and satellite providers to carry the channel.  Make no mistake, you will be used for leverage.

*  AT&T U-verse was announced as the SEC’s initial carriage partner.  Not to sneeze at AT&T U-verse, but the fact that a more well-known provider such as DirecTV, Comcast or Time-Warner isn’t onboard already might give you a pretty good idea of what ESPN and the SEC are charging for carriage.  Meaning: A lot.  Asked about other distributors, ESPN’s reps pointed out multiple times that AT&T U-verse is the fastest growing distributor in the country.  Fine.  But you the viewer need to prepare for the carriage battles we’ve warned you about.

*  Slive refused to detail any ownership details regarding the network.  “The actual details we’re just not going to discuss at this time.”  So we’ll have to wait a bit longer to learn if this is a 51/49-type split between the league and the network or if the SEC is simply being paid a healthy per-year sum by ESPN.  (We’ve come to believe that the latter is the model that’s been adopted, just as ESPN pays Texas an annual sum for their Longhorn Network partnership.)  Slive also said he would not reveal financial projections or distribution projections for the network.  ESPN’s reps said that they want complete coverage — like ESPN itself — in the 11-state SEC footprint.  They also pointed out that the SEC Network is a “national network.”  On a national scale, ESPNU’s distribution was mentioned as a goal for the SEC Network on a national scale.  ESPNU gets into about 75 million homes across the country.  Cha-ching.

*  Only two Thursday night football games will be played over the course of a season and there will be no new weeknight package of games.  (Good.)  Each Saturday in the fall, then, the SEC Network will carry three games per day — meaning one at noon, one in mid-afternoon, and one in the evening.  CBS has agreed to allow a game to go head-to-head with its SEC game of the week.  That’s very, very big.  That shows you the strength of the SEC, as you can be sure CBS does not want any competition in the 3:30pm ET time slot.  But the network agreed to it anyway.  CBS will continue to have the first pick on games each week.

*  Slive said he anticipates further discussion of a potential nine-game football schedule.

*  “The network will be priced efficiently and effectively,” according to ESPN’s reps.  Those reps also made sure to point out that they are not asking consumers to pay anything.  Of course, they are asking the carriers to pay for the channel and they know full well that those costs will be passed on to the consumers.  Semantics.

*  As expected, the network will be based in Charlotte at ESPN’s regional hub.  It’s launch date was announced as August of 2014.

*  UPDATE — Buried in the SEC’s Q&A sheet (linked to below) is this nugget: “The Network will televise the SEC Championships for all sports other than football.”  If that’s correct, you’ll need the SEC Network if you want to watch the SEC men’s basketball tournament championship game in March of 2015.  That’s a bit surprising.

*  UPDATE — Also tucked away in the Q&A sheet is the fact that the SEC game of the week that airs on CBS can be re-aired on the SEC Network.

Some additional info can be found below:

*  For information on SEC Network availability, click here.

*  For a full press release from ESPN and the SEC, click here.

*  For easy answers to questions about the network in a simple Q&A format, click here.

And if you’re wondering what 32 coaches, two players, a conference commissioner, an emcee, and two ESPN reps look like on one stage… here ya go:

Today the SEC and ESPN will formally announce their new partnership in the SEC Network.  Considering the cash and security the new partnership will bring to the league, this will not be known as the night they drove ol’ Dixie down.

“Ya take what ya need and ya leave the rest, but they should never have taken the very best.”