So, who blinks first?

The last week has been an especially wild week in this, the craziest off season I can ever remember.  The Big XII meetings in Kansas City started with a lot of questions about Dan Beebe and his "who's on the plane" question on Tuesday and ended up on Friday with a report that the Pac 10 was ready to annex the Big XII south and/or Colorado.

So still really all we know is that sometime in the future is that the Big Ten is planning on expanding and Missouri and Nebraska may be or maybe already have been semi-invited.  (Why don't you 2 guys fill out an application for membership to the Big Ten.  wink*wink)  We also know, per Chip Brown anyway that the Pac 10 has offered to take 6 teams from a weakened Big XII to form a 16 team conference with an east and west divisions.  We know, once again through Chip that while the Pac 10 wants Colorado, Texas prefers to bring Baylor along and Texas always gets their way.  Right?    But since Texas is so benevolent, they've decided to give Missouri and Nebraska until Friday at 5:00 pm to sign a loyalty oath to the conference or Texas will take their ball, their brothers and head west.
But not so damn fast their longwhorns.  While it appears that the Pac 10 indeed plans to expand, apparently they have no intention of taking Baylor.  They also appear committed to starting up their own Pac 10 channel which would preclude Texas starting their own cable venture. 

So exactly what is shaking down here and what do I expect to happen within the next couple of days?  Pretty much nothing.  I don't think Jim Delaney has much or any interest in Deloss Dodds bluster.   I don't believe that Missouri or Nebraska will respond in any manner.  Why should they?  Where are the threats to the Texas 6?  Dodds is used to getting his way but this time he may well have jumped in over his head.  He brought his 6 shooter to the gunfight only to find out the other guy has a rocket launcher and is just as devious as he is.  Right now he's looking at a conference that could well lose 3 members from the northern division within the next few months, if not days and it's possible he's going to have to negotiate a deal for not only Texas, but A&M, Tech and Baylor who may or may not be hanging onto his legs hoping the parachute will carry them all to safety.
And what happens with the 4 members that appear to be left out of these discussions?  Iowa State has some of the greatest fans in the country but absolutely nothing that would appeal to any conference in what could be a suddenly changing landscape.  K State and kansas may or may not be joined at the hip and kansas has it's own set of problems to deal with such as the current FBI anal probe going on in lawrence.  Karma is indeed a bitch isn't it?  This broke at about as bad a time as it could have for the beaks.

So what are my feelings?  I think that probably Mizzou and corn nation have some unofficial word that they will be invited to join the Big Ten, where Nebraska offers name recognition and Missouri and it's 6 million citizens can pay their own way from day one.  For me, after the last 3 years, I have to say I'm ready to cut bait.  I'd sign no loyalty oath and if it means we wind up playing in Laramie on a Thursday night game then so be it.  I'm sick of Texas, sick of Oklahoma, Big XII favoritism, bowl snubs and the idiot that was put in charge of this conference, Dan Beebe.  I have only one thing to say on my way out, and I imagine you can guess what it is.