OF SEVERAL THINGS: LIKE THE ONLY REASON TO WATCH ACCN WAS ...

 Raise your hand … if you spend much time watching the ACCNetwork. It became an afterthought for yours truly when the morning show featuring WES DURHAM and MARK PACKER was dissolved. We were told Durham wanted out to spend more time doing what he does best … play by play … which was reasonable but, nevertheless, removed the one can’t/shouldn’t miss program on the fledgling system under the ESPN umbrella.

Obviously, there is little honor … in college athletics. (We

 pause for a big ... DUH!) Otherwise how to explain Clemson 

and Florida State suing the ACC over something they agreed to 

… then realized oops, we made a mistake that could cost us a 

lot of money, and are asking for to leave the conference without 

having to pay a large exit fee (said to be upwards of $500 

million) they helped craft? … Now the courts have put the law 

suit on pause, hoping the parties will come up with a settlement 

on their own … from the song “Fat Chance" by the Dubious 

Bros. … Meanwhile, the draft of rights agreement that gave the 

conference exclusive power to negotiate a media contract with 

ESPN still has a shelf life of 12 more years. That is, assuming 

FSU and Clemson don't prevail … and, to further (cliche alert) 

muddy the waters, the cable network apparently hopes they will 

succeed. It's either that or lowball the ACC during the next 

negotiations which seems likely ... I know, I know … it's 

easy to blame ACC commissioner JIM PHILLIPS for this fine 

mess – and it’s hard to ignore he was snookered by competing 

conferences into a handshake agreement – but it says here the 

member schools are to blame for turning a nice, state-of-the-art, 

regionally-compatible conference into a coast-to-coast 

conglomeration all in the pursuit of more money over common 

sense … Still, I’m left to wonder what former commissioner

 GENE CORRIGAN would have done? 

Finally, a few updates … New York Jets’s fan MIKE 

GREENBERG will replace SAMANTHA PONDER

 (fired) as host of ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown.” 

Wonderful! Greenie has become “just another” talking head 

since dumping MIKE GOLICfrom their classic a.m., 

“Mike and Mike” show … And LOUIS RIDDICK moves 

in for the ousted RG III on ESPN’s college football 

coverage.

Until next time ...