College Football Silly Season

We NASCAR fans are all too familiar with the Silly Season- that period in the current season where speculation runs rampant about which drivers will be leaving their current teams and where might they end up. Well, it seems that college football has jumped on the Silly Season bandwagon.

Today, the University of Colorado announced that they were leaving the Big 12 conference for the Pac 10. This move upstages an expected announcement from the University of Nebraska on their departure from the Big 12 in order to join the Big 10 and thereby opens speculation as to what will happen to the rest of the teams in the now former Big 12.

The commissioner of the Pac 10 says that the invitation extended to Colorado is but the first of many. Speculation is that invitations will also be extended to Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State. There are other reports that say Texas and Texas A&M will be going to the Big 10 along with Nebraska. Still others say that Texas A&M is so opposed to the idea of joining the Pac 10 that they are looking at moving to the SEC. If Texas and Texas A&M do end up in different conferences, expect to see large numbers of flying pigs and donkeys- not to mention a significant decrease in the temperature of He11.

Texas governor Rick Perry has put in his two cents on the matter, saying that all the Texas schools should get together and form a conference of their own. I guess the governor forgot about the old Southwest Conference, which was completely dominated by Texas schools with the lone exception of Arkansas.

Tech chancellor Kent Hance(Remember him? He's the idiot who fired the best football coach in the school's history) says that Tech's future is tied to Texas and Texas A&M. Uh, chancellor, it's not up to UT or A&M; it's up to the conference issuing the invitations. Where does Tech go if UT and A&M do end up in different conferences?

On top of all of this, word comes out today that USC- the flagship school of the Pac 10- is facing stiff penalties(loss of scholarships and no bowl games for 2 years) for NCAA rules infractions. While it's not the death penalty, it will certainly have an effect on recruiting. How will that play into all of this?

One thing is for certain. College football has taken to Silly Season like a duck takes to water.

Silly Season Conspiracies

All the driver and sponsor changes announced thus far for 2011 has the Beagle thinking.

Kasey Kahne has signed a contract to drive the #5 for Hendrick Motorsports beginning in 2012. What I don't get is why Rick Hendrick would sign Kasey to a contract without a ride for 2011, and for that matter why Kasey would sign such a contract. Now, don't get me wrong. I completely understand why Kasey would want to drive for HMS. Who wouldn't? They're the dominant team with the best equipment, and they've won the Championship the past four years. Still, there's NASCAR's four car limit, and unless Mark Martin retires, Rick is looking for a ride for Kasey, and I don't see Kasey riding around for a full season in a Nationwide car.

The conventional wisdom seems to be that Rick will park Kasey at Stewart/Haas for the 2011 season. Somehow, I just can't see Tony babysitting Kasey for a year. Then again, the prospect does give Tony a tremendous advantage at the negotiating table .

I have to wonder if there's something going on at Hendrick that they've so far managed to keep a tight lid on. What could that possibly be, you ask? Here's what I'm thinking. Two scenarios come to mind.

1.) Jeff Gordon retires at the end of the 2010 season. Mark Martin would finish his HMS contract in the #24, thus freeing the #5 for Kasey. It's plausible. Jeff's physical condition was a major storyline of 2009, and with the birth of his second child, he might just be looking for other opportunities.

2.) Chad Knaus is a man without a contract. His previous contract expired last August. Now, there's no way in you-know-where that Knaus leaves HMS for another team, BUT, there is speculation, that Chad is more than ready to follow in the footsteps of his mentor, Ray Evernham, and form his own Cup team. I have no doubt that should Chad choose to move in this direction, Rick Hendrick would provide chassis, engines, and any other support needed.

You can understand why Rick would want to keep either of these possibilities under wraps as long as possible- especially the Knaus scenario. Trust me, the news of Knaus leaving to form his own team, and thus splitting with Jimmie, would send shock waves through the NASCAR garages.

Anyway, that what's been going through my mind .