He wasn’t perfect but he gave his team a chance to win, and they didn’t get the job done. Enough said!

So if you are interested in the gig…..

The ideal candidate will have a strong voice with excellent enunciation skills *Marylandese . Prior experience working as an announcer in a collegiate or professional sports setting calling into the Scott Garceau show is preferred. Applicants must be from Pasedena or Dundalk and should be available for all 81 home games, as well as any make-up dates or postseason games (that’s not happening), starting at least two hours before the scheduled game time. A complete job description can be found at www.orioles.com/voice. Those interested in applying for the position should visit the website to submit a voice recording based on the provided sample gameday script only after downing a shot a Jack and a pint of Natty Boh. Submissions will also be accepted via mail at Voice of Camden Yards Audition, 333 West Camden Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. Entries must be received by January 25, 2012.

*Marylandese

Eddard Stark- (Game of Thrones)- Okay, maybe what the O’s need is the ability to bring honor back to the House of Angelos. Eddard (Ned) has plenty of experience in supporting a strong minded yet incapable leader. Plus, it would be way too cool to have the title as “Hand of the Owner.” In the end, the job is worse than the deepest pit in the Seven Hells, and it wouldn’t be long before he was on the chopping block (too soon?).

Prop Joe- (The Wire) A true negotiator and a man of many talents. He could fix a clock and run an entire drug organization. A man with this many skills could be useful in what many consider an antiquated front office. Where Prop Joe would show his true worth his ability to find real trade value. Think Billy Beane with true street cred.

Eric Murphy- (Entourage) Okay… E is a whiny douche that has way to much going for him. On the plus, he has proven that he has no loyalty and he could find a way to weasel ownership away from the Angelos family. Then again he could just run back to Vince.

Arthur Bucco- (The Sopranos) Artie might not have the strongest of personalities, but he could cook a mean carbonara. Seriously, he was able to recover after a fire destroyed his business, and the O’s will need someone who knows how to bounce back after big disappointments. On the downside, he’s middle aged, white and still tries to rock an earring.

Charlotte York- (Sex in the City)- She would bring back the elegance and class that the O’s organization, or she could lock herself in her office with a ”rabbit”.

Al Swearengen – (Deadwood) Baltimore baseball might as well be the Wild West, and Brian Cashman has The Pinkertons at his disposal to bring the city to it’s knees.  Enter the Machiavelli of the Mountains.  To beat them at their own game (and with more limited resources) a cunning and ruthless operator is required.  Someone who can see every outcome, and not only keep the wolves at bay, but use that pack of wolves to his own advantage.  He’s the type to smile into your face while slitting your neck, or keep Andy MacPhail’s decapitated head as a trophy to parlay with in his much needed moments of self-dialog.

Chief Albert Lambreaux – (Treme) When asked by a client about why he should pay the extra cost to plaster his storm ravaged home instead of sheet-rocking it, Lambreaux replies “people do a lot of dumb s*** because it’s easier.” Chief Lambreaux is a highly opinionated and dedicated man of action.  He’s duty bound to – if doing anything at all – doing it the way he perceives to be the right, if not noble way.  No short cuts.  No half measures.  He might take longer to get the job done, he might frustrate those around him with his prickliness during the process, but you can trust that it will get done and done to proper results..

Susie Greene (Curb Your Enthusiasm) – Let’s face it, what this team needs right now is a kick in the pants, a whistle blower, someone who is blissfully willing to call them on their s***.  Who better to do that than TV’s foul-mouthed harpy, Susie Greene?  She understands there’s no grey areas.  It’s wrong to decapitate a child’s doll.  It’s wrong to not accept the insipid “house-tour” of a friend’s new home.  There’s no grey areas about signing the injury-prone Brian Roberts to a long extension.  Felix Pie?  GET THE F*** OUT OF MY HOUSE!! (Language).

Special Thanks to Brian Bassett of The Jets Blog for his contributions to the piece.

We know that both programs will bring over EXCELLENT basketball programs. So much so, that they will be competing with the Caroline teams for the ACC crown every year.

Both programs aren’t great in football, but they have storied programs that are rich in history. Jim Brown, Dan Marino. Ernie Davis, Larry Fitzgerald. These two programs may need a few years before they are competing for the league crown. There is no reason to think they can’t fit in right away.

With schools already traveling to Boston College, these two programs fit into the ACC’s geographical landscape.

These two schools are also attract strong television markets.

Assuming that this becomes a reality, what is next?

Does the ACC grab Rutgers and UCONN? Do they go west and bring in Texas and Kansas?

Do they lose VA Tech and one of the Florida schools to the SEC? It’s fun to speculate the future….

So are you happy about this move? What are the impacts for Maryland?

Image by TigerRag

First of all, I am almost confident that the Big 12 is gone. Unless they want to rebuild with the likes of Rice, Houston and TCU, the bigger schools are going to have to find the best places for money and marketability.  I also am going to predict the demise of Big East Football. I think basketball will remain with the likes of Georgetown, Seton Hall, Villanova, St Johns, etc. I just can’t see Syracuse, Pitt, UConn, and Rutgers wanting to see their football programs become obscure and obsolete.

So here are my new and improved Super Conferences. Feel free to question and poke holes into my speculations.

That means the following teams with be left out and forced to fend for themselves in one of the smaller conferences like the MAC , Conference USA, Mountain West or WAC:  Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas St,  and TCU.