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It appears Pac 12 expansion is now pushed off to March or April

I am sure they have their reasons but it sure feels like a suckers game.

Do you anticipate expansion news in January? — @lilcmac5

Based on a recent conversation with one of the Hotline’s most-trusted industry sources, I would peg mid-January to mid-February as the likeliest window for a media rights deal.

And given that Kliavkoff has stated the expansion piece would come after the media rights contract and subsequent grant-of-rights agreement, it could be March or April before the Pac-12 resolves the expansion issue.

Basketball - What our transfers/former recruits are doing

On the former player end:

Elijah Parquet
playing for UNLV - 10 games, 10 starts, 5 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1 assist, 1 steal, half a block a game. Shooting 46% overall for 11-1 LV, 18% from 3. Been a nice piece for the Runnin' Rebels but not really somebody that would have had an impact for CU outside of defense.

Keyshawn Barethelemy playing for Oregon - 4 games, 4 starts, 8.5 ppg, 2.5 assists, 2 rebounds, 36% shooting, 26% from 3 point land. Still not a defensive stopper and mostly a scoring threat. Again, same Keyshawn, not really someone that would have had a big impact on CU. He would have scored some points while not guarding anyone as usual. Oregon is like 7-6 so getting Keyshawn hasn't changed their fortunes.

Even though we haven't had a great preseason, none of the losses have really been all that impactful. If Clifford could get going, this would be out of site and out of mind.

On the former recruit end:

Bobi Klintman
is playing for Wake Forest - 4.5 points and 4 rebounds. Bobi is looking like a very skilled and excellent player off the bench for Wake. This one is looking like a big loss. He might have been the only big ready to play. Poor Tad. It took Coach Prime to change our admissions rules which obviously didn't happen in time for Tad to get Klintman into school. If we don't go to a post season tourney, it will be on the admissions department because Klintman would have been the key.

During the Luke O'Brien Nique Clifford class, we took those 2 players over 2 other local recruits and a player that ended up at UCLA.

1 - TJ Bamba is playing for WSU - 14 starts in 14 games with 17.4 ppg, 4.6 rpb, 1.4 assists. 46% shooting and 43% from 3. Unfortunately, Clifford's regression this year and Bamba's progression makes this look like a bad choice. Bamba is having an All Pac 12 type season. The type of season we were hoping Clifford would progress to. WSU is struggling all the same as they don't have the depth outside of Gueye, so Bamba takes a lot more shots than say Clifford would. Still, looks like a miss at this stage.

2 - Javonte Johnson is playing for ranked UNM - 12 starts in 12 games with 4.3 points and 4.3 rebounds with 37% shooting, 21% from 3. Javonte is playing a lot for UNM but, like Clifford, struggling. Unlike Clifford, Johnson is strictly an offensive player and doesn't give you a lot on the defensive end. Johnson is right where he's supposed to be and definitely not a CU level player. Clifford is better on both ends of the court, even in his struggle season.

3 - Jaylen Clark is playing for highly ranked contender UCLA - 12 starts in 12 games with 15.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 2 assists, and 2.7 steals per game. He's shooting a stunning 60% with 39% from 3 (shooting the 3 has always been his Achilles heel). This one is the real miss unfortunately. Clark is playing not only like an All Pac 12 player, but a player of the year candidate. He has defensive player of the year locked up. Clark was going to commit to CU and was ready to visit the weekend that Clifford committed and made Tad move on. Today's Tad likely takes them both understanding that guys transfer out so there will always be room for 1 more. CU is probably undefeated or near undefeated with Clark at the 2 guard spot. Whoops!

If the Pac-12 signs a deal with Amazon, could Kliavkoff also sell them the Pac-12 Network for a one-time fee? Or is it even worth anything?


There are two separate and distinct components involved in this topic, so let’s make sure everyone is clear:

1. The inventory of games (football, basketball, Olympics sports) that are bound to the Pac-12 Networks through the spring of 2024.

2. The networks themselves, which include the infrastructure, technology and human resources and are wholly owned by the institutions.

The broadcast rights to the game inventory could be sold to Amazon, Apple, ESPN, Fox or any other media company — either as one package or sliced and diced.

If Amazon ends up owning broadcast rights, the company probably would buy or lease the Pac-12 Networks’ infrastructure. Why? Because Amazon doesn’t have production facilities of its own for live sports. (Those ‘Thursday Night Football’ broadcasts are actually produced by NBC.)

In fact, Amazon could use the Pac-12 Networks infrastructure to produce other sporting events.


So, yes: The networks themselves have market value. How much? That remains to be seen.

Transfer addition: All-Sun Belt TE Seydou Traore

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Arkanas State tight end Seydou Traore is the latest transfer addition for the Buffs. Tim Brewster had turned up the heat with him recently, and now he's picked CU over Utah. Traore was an All-Sun Belt first-team selection who caught 50 passes for 655 yards receiving and 4 touchdowns this season. He's another newcomer originally from London, England for CU in the class.

More Christmas Day announcements

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Arkansas State TE transfer Seymour Traore and 2023 QB Kasen Weisman set to announce today. Weisman will announce at 5:30 MT while Traore is TBD. He says he’ll announce when his YouTube page reached 10,000 subscribers but he’s over 8,000 away from that number still. Colorado in great position for both guys.
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