Without the Mask: Coming Out and Coming Into God's Light

Without the Mask: Coming Out and Coming Into God's Light by Charlie Bird

The artist was a the mascot at BYU. He also came out as gay while remaining active in church. He looks at his history. As a child in rural Missouri, he found he had many "female" interests. He was empathetic, artistic and liked gymnastics. He was not a big fan of the typical "jock" boy activities. (The question remains - why are the preferences typecast as male or female?) His parents divorced, leading him to become closer to his siblings. He was willing to come out to his sisters first, but it was more challenging to come out to his brothers. He found the challenge of being gay and religious. The LGBT contains people with similar orientations, but also tends to be open to substance and sexual experimentation. Trying to be faithful can be challenging with regards to relationships. He had some experiences where he went out with women, but refused to try to enter a relationship. He did mention there were some people that had working relationships like this. (I wonder if this was more common in the past.) It must be a challenge to remain faithful in religion that condemns the expression of the attractions you feel. (Would it be such a challenge if things were not considered so binary?) The theme of the book is love for people, especially as they work through challenges.

Bradbury 13

Thirteen Ray Bradbury stories were dramatized as semi-modern radio plays. The quality is well done. The stories often end with a cliff that leaves you pondering. (And the "screaming lady" story that ends with everything neatly wound leaves you feeling odd that it was so neatly concluded.) Bradbury loves to use the colonization of Mars to comment on our current society. Earthlings freely disregard the Martians - even in cases when the Martians are merely assimilating earthlings from the past.

The dramatizations are top notch. The stories are "science fiction" in a very loose sense of the word. Bradbury spends a lot of time exploring space ships and the colonization of Mars. However, he is primarily telling human stories. Replace space with the oceans and Mars with the new world, and we have the same story in a historical setting. "Time Safari" is one of the few stories that would qualify as "science fiction" when removed from its surroundings. People travel in a time machine to hunt dinosaurs. However, they are careful to stay on the paths and only hunt a dinosaur that was about to die anyway. Even the smallest change from that many years ago could potentially have great ramifications in the future. (Though you have to wonder if even the mere alternate execution of the T-Rex could also have serious impacts.)

Conference Realignment

College football has now aligned itself to five major conferences of 64 teams:

SEC 14
PAC-12 12
Big-10 14
Big-12 10
ACC 14
---------
64

On the football field, the SEC is the clear champion, in terms of on-field performance and attendance. The ACC is the laggard of the Big-5. (Though it is pretty good at basketball.) Looking at football attendance as a barometer for school programs, there is a clear separation of the "big-5" conferences and the "little-5".
The top 50 major teams are all independents or in major conferences. The bottom 35 teams are all in "minor" conferences. The Big-East was always a borderline AQ conference in the BCS. With all the poaching that has been going on, it is now very clearly in the "lower tier".

Are there many big-5 conference teams that shouldn't be there? There are not many teams that are in big conferences, yet are not in the top 64 in attendance. Duke, Northwestern and Vanderbilt are all the "academic" powers in their conferences and are located in major media markets. Duke also has a pretty impressive basketball record TCU's attendance numbers are an aberration due to stadium construction. The most recent attendance would put them closer to the 50s. (They are also sitting in the #5 media market.)

This leaves Washington State, Wake Forest, Baylor and Syracuse as the outliers. Baylor and Syracuse are "right on the border" of being top 64. Baylor also has Texas politics to thank for its position in the Big-12. They both have pretty good basketball programs. This gets us down to just Wake Forest and Washington State as "questionable". Both have had a pretty ugly recent history in football. However, they both have been long term members of their conferences and have well established rivalries.

What changes would you make? Notre Dame and BYU are the two big outliers in the "have nots". Notre Dame already has a non-football membership with the ACC and an in to the "big bowls". (They also have a current "BCS automatic inclusion" clause, but they didn't need to use it due to being first in the standings.) Notre Dame's attendance also exceeds that of all ACC schools. BYU is trickier. The Pac-12 would be a logical place, geographically and attendance-wise, but there are some politics involved. A Big-12 partnership may also make sense.

Beyond the independents, there are no "slam-dunk" options. South Florida is #52. However, it tends to draw a local Tampa audience. Florida State (ACC) and Florida (SEC) both draw from the entire state. Low-caliber academics would exclude the Big-10 or Pac-12. It could be an option if the Big-12 decided to make a run for Florida. However, the quality of the overall sports program lags behind other schools.

East Carolina is in a somewhat similar situation. Geographically, they would fit in the ACC. However, the conference is already loaded with North Carolina schools. East Carolina would lag behind many in academics and non-football sports. SEC lacks schools in North Carolina. However, East Carolina could probably not compete well with the SEC schools. Another Big-12 option?

Connecticut seems like an ideal expansion target. They are in an untapped market (and they could probably claim part of the New York City market also.) Basketball is excellent and football has spurts of quality. Academics are also decent (but lack of AAU membership would turn off the Big-10) AAC would be a logical place to go. However, you get the impression that the AAC is waiting for somebody to get poached before grabbing UConn.

At #61, Central Florida has the same problems as South Florida. At least Orlando doesn't have a pro football team. Hawaii at #63 is in Hawaii. Its a nice vacation, but it is a long way out there. Academics would also be an issue. After that you get Air Force, Fresno State, Navy, UTEP and Boise. Perhaps the national audience of the service academies would appeal to a conference. (The ACC could look at Navy to replace the Maryland market.) Fresno is an academic lightweight in California's central valley. The Pac-12 wouldn't dare go near, but maybe the Big-12 trying to break in to California? (Though of late, #76 San Diego State is out-drawing.) UTEP is in El Paso, which is pretty much the middle of nowhere. Boise has had a lot of football success and is in a growing city.


"Non-Big" Outliers
Notre Dame - 15th in Attendance
BYU - 27th in Attendance
South Florida - 52
East Carolina - 55
UConn - 60
Central Florida - 61
Hawaii - 63
Air Force - 65
Fresno State - 67
Navy - 70
UTEP - 71
Boise - 72
Cinncinnati - 74
Army - 75
San Diego State - 76
Southern Miss - 78
Memphis - 80
Houston - 89
Marshall - 82
New Mexico - 83

"Big Conference" Outliers
Duke - 84
Washington State - 79
Northwestern - 77
Wake Forest - 73
TCU - 69
Vanderbilt - 68
Baylor - 66
Syracuse - 64
Indiana - 62


source: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ArFVbThT6eb5dHNFUmEyc19DTDJEc25BcVRwOWQzWWc#gid=0 or https://twitter.com/ArtDirectorBYU/status/197162017482743809

What can the Mountain West pull off?

For the second year in a row, the Big-12 managed to emerge from the brink of extinction. The Big East just lost two of its football programs. Last season, the Mountain West invited a new school to join, only to lose another school a couple days later. Then the conference attempted a raid on the WAC in a failed attempt to prevent a defection of another school. They later added another former WAC school as a football only member. Then another MWC team announced a defection to the Big East. But, the conference is still a "has been", the best of the "mid-majors" conferences. Can the conference jump in to the realm of the big boys and become a BCS automatic qualifier? I'd bet if the Pac-10's Larry Scott were running things, that would already be the case. Instead, we have rumours of the Big East trying to poach more programs. The Big East? Yes, schools would fly across the country to play football teams that usually rank worse than the Mountain West. But there is more, they get to send all their other programs out there. Sure, its a top notch basketball conference, but do all athletes really need to go out there? And what of these rumors of Air Force going to the Big East in football only? Ugh. Could the MWC engineer a BCS-sharing mechanism? Partner with the Big East to have a "playoff" between the best team in each conference for the BCS spot. Both conferences get the benefit of the extra money of the playoff game. The MWC gets the advantage of guaranteed access. However, the Big East stands to lose by requiring the money to be split among the additional MWC teams. But, if the Big East can be convinced they will lose the autobid soon, this could work. TCU could be a wildcard here. If they dart to the Big-12 (which makes a lot more sense than the Big East, or even MWC), then the Big East would need to struggle just to call itself a football conference. Adding Navy and possibly army could help a bit. However, beyond that, you start to hit the baggage. Would the basketball members really want an East Carolina or UCF? And why does a conference made up of former Conference USA members deserve the bid? If they suddenly become better due to the BCS money, it just goes to show further problems with the system. On the other hand, maybe the Big East will get gutsy. With Connecticut, Rutgers and West Virginia all showing wandering eyes, the conference needs some big names. How about plucking Boise State in football only? If the MWC objects, they may seek a "soft landing" in the WAC for the other sports. Add in BYU and Navy, and the conference does not look half bad. Doesn't really look "east", but when the Big 10 has 12 teams and the Big 12 has 9 or 10, it is right for the course in college sports. Which conference will pull it off? We should know within a year or two...

Can the Big East Be Saved?

The founder of the Big East conference recently died. And at the same time, his conference was dealt a critical blow. With Pitt and Syracuse on their way out to the ACC can the Big East conference be saved? Would anybody want to latch on now in its fallen state?

The conference does still have the reigning men's basketball champ. Even with the losses of two power basketball programs, it remains one of the marquee basketball conferences.

However, football is hanging by life support. With TCU coming on board, they would be left with just 7 football teams. West Virginia is the only one that has a significant long-term national reputation.

A number of schools, such as UCF, are eager to move up to the ranks of the "BCS" leagues. However, should the league implode, or lose its BCS auto-bid, things could be even worse for them. They may want to play it slow.

The first step would be to get some of the football independents on speed dial. Notre Dame would be the obvious coup. They have an interest in having a place to park their non-football sports. They may be willing to add football to help save the league. Or they may just decided to jump to the Big-10.

Navy is in the right geographical footprint, and could easily join as a football-only school. They have a large following and a record of recent success that would help with the BCS standings.

BYU is a new independent with recent football success and a national following. They are not close, but they are eager for the cachet that being in an auto-bid conference would give them. By joining in football only, they get the advantage without having to undo their recent paring of sports in the WCC. If things don't go well, they can go back to being independent.

Hawaii could be another alternative. Their football team is separate from the other sports and may be willing to move. Geographically, it would be a huge mess, but a trip from connecticut to Hawaii in November doesn't sound all that bad.

The football only schools would help strengthen the BCS credentials of the conference, without adding to the large number of basketball only schools. However, there are still basketball schools that need to be replaced, especially if Connecticut also leaves.

This is where the Big-12 comes in. Kansas, Kansas State and Baylor. Invite them now. If Oklahoma jumps ship, have the press conference within the hour. Or better yet, have them join before. That way the Big East is on the offensive and can have more latitude with other schools.

In basketball, the big east is already the first "superconference." Will it stay so in football?

Where does the Big-12 go?

Texas A&M is now all but out of the Big-12. Their likely destination, the SEC will potentially be poaching another school from the Big-12. This could leave the conference as an 8 team conference. Well, it was once the Big-8 before taking on the Texas schools. Swapping Texas for Nebraska seems like a fair deal. Texas Tech for Colorado? Texas Tech for Missouri? Well, not slam dunks, but not a huge difference. Of course, that leaves the conference a small shadow of its former self. Expansion? Well, it doesn't look as good as it did last year. Had the Big-12 expanded to 12 after Colorado and Nebraska had bolted, they would have appeared to be a good destination for up and coming schools. BYU would have jumped in and brought a powerful program from the vacated mountain west. TCU would be a former Southwest Conference rival rejoining the fray. Now, however, TCU is set to join the Big East and BYU independent football and the West Coast Conference. Would the Big-12 make any sense? For BYU, the Big-12 presents immediate access to the BCS in football. However, a 9 team Big-12 could make scheduling easier for BYU. For mens basketball, it is a step up from the WCC. (However, the WCC is a respectable conference with regular at-large NCAA bids. BYU's chances at NCAA tourney runs may be better in the WCC.) For other sports, the Big-12 would involve longer travel distances. The nearest Big-12 school (Texas Tech) is further away than the furthest WCC school. However, in most cases it would only mean switching from a 10 hour bus ride to a 16 hour one. Sure it is long, but from Provo, once you get beyond, Utah and Utah State, everything is far away. (UNLV and Wyoming are 'only' 5-6 hours away.) So if you are BYU do you send your teams off on longer distance trips for the Big 12? If you think it will work well for the long run, sure. But, with a conference that looks to be on the verge of collapse, why create ill will with the nascent relationship with the WCC? By being the big dog with the WCC, BYU can set its terms (such as no Sunday play) and still get the coverage it wants. With the Big-12 it may be harder. BYU could also end up with what feels like a 6-7 game home schedule. With huge alumni populations in the bay area and southern california, BYU supporters could easily outnumber the local fans in the small WCC stadiums. Even in Portland, the BYU supporters could be a huge crowd. Gonzaga may be the only place where they have a truly hostile crowd. In the Big-12 it could be much tougher. Perhaps a football-only invite to the Big-12 may make everyone happy, and keep BYU's options open in case of a conference collapse. (New relationships could only help.) What about TCU? They have just opted to join the Big East. The Big-12 could be an upgrade. However, in the Big East, they would be a Texas brand. In the Big-12, they would be easily overshadowed by the other Texas schools. TCU also is much more valuable to the Big East than to the Big12. However, the Big-12 would fit much better geographically with the TCU. Would the Big-12 invite TCU? If they are desperate. But, if they are desperate, would TCU want to join? Considering the Big-East may be as unstable as the Big-12, that is a big possibility. Houston? Rice? SMU? All conference USA desperation moves. These former SWC teams would jump at the chance. But, would it do much for the Big-12? Boise State? Geographic outlier. They would love the respect. It could help in football, but would show desperation. Big East schools? Arkansas? Well, now it is real desperation. The big-12 may just survive, but how is anybody's guess.

Independent BYU football

How will BYU fare as an independent footballs school?  The schedule seems fairly manageable and respectable, with a wide range of possibilities.

Will Win:
New Mexico State - They did beat New Mexico and San Jose State last year
Idaho - They did beat 5 FBS teams last year. Those teams averaged 3 wins each.
Idaho State - They are an FCS team with one win last year (against an NAIA team)
San Jose State - They won one game last year, a narrow victory over an FCS team.
Utah State- Utah State won last year. That keeps them on track for their one win per decade.

Could Win:
Hawaii - Hawaii can be tough on the islands. However, BYU has historically had no problem there.
TCU - This could play out like the last few seasons of Mountain West conference games.
UCF - UCF is traveling cross-country to Provo, which should give the Cougars the advantage.
Utah - This is the rivalry game coming off of Utah's visit to USC (and BYU's trip to Texas.) Utah has the next week off, but BYU has the game at home.
Oregon State - This comes in the middle of OSU's conference play. The Beaver's next game is Washington State, while the Cougars follow with Idaho State. Both teams should be focussed here.
Texas - They are coming off of a bad year, and may be beatable. However, Rice should enable the Longhorms to get their opening day jitters out; and with the following games at UCLA and Iowa State, Texas is not likely to overlook BYU.
Mississippi - This is the first game for both teams. Mississippi is coming off of a mediocre year. However, the net games are vs Southern Illinois and at Vanderbilt, so this could by their early season focus. BYU may be caught looking towads Texas.

Worst case: An off game at Mississippi zaps their confidence causing them to lose all of their 'big' games and limp to a 5-7 record.

Best case: They go undefeated and squeak out wins over all their opponents. Hawaii wins the WAC, UCF wins CUSA, Texas wins the Big12 and Mississippi wins the SEC and Oregon State and Utah face off in the Pac-12 title game. Ohio State has the best record in the Big-10, but gets banned from the post season, leaving a two-loss team to win the championship. The ACC and Big East pummell each other as usual. BYU plays Boise State in the final BCS championship game.

Reasonable case: BYU knocks off a few of their big-time opponents to finish 10-2, and declare their first year of idependence a success.