I thought he retired 10 years ago?

Probably the most significant offseason news, in terms of its long-term impact on ASU, was the announcement that Tom Hansen will retire as Pac-10 commissioner next summer (what, he has to hang on for another year?).

I'm surprised that the guys over at FireTomHansen.com didn't update their website in celebration. Let's face it: this guy was inept. Many people will claim that the lack of TV exposure is his biggest "crime"; personally I think his inability to secure a New Year's Day bowl for the second-placed team is the biggest indictment of his tenure.

Phil Knight as the next commissioner? Lisa Love? It really doesn't matter: whoever the Presidents select will be better than Hansen.

While blogs review his accomplishments (or lack thereof), other authors use the opportunity to re-open the discussion about Pac-10 expansion. This article makes the huge mistake of assuming that the Utah TV market is relevant. Let's be clear: Salt Lake City brings negligible additional viewers, and that is all that matters. The only schools that make sense for the conference to add are Texas, Texas A&M, Colorado or Missouri. And that will only happen if the Big XII breaks apart. Given their recent TV deal, however, that is unlikely to happen.

Tom Hansen is an idiot, part 573

In yet another example of the conference commissioner's ineptitude, it's now Monday morning and there is still no official announcement as to whether ASU/Oregon will be on ABC at 12:30 PT instead of UCLA/au.

How was this decision not made and announced yesterday? Hansen wakes up Sunday morning as commissioner of the conference with the biggest game of the year to date coming up. He should have been on the phone with all the relevant parties and had an announcement by Noon Sunday.

I'm pretty certain we'll hear today that the change has been made, but as of right now, the game is still scheduled to be televised in Oregon and Arizona only.

Updated 10/30: The game will be televised nationally on ESPN (with local coverage in Arizona, Oregon and SoCal). Announcement was made 39 hours after the end of the ASU/Cal game. Presumably, Hansen slept through Sunday and woke up Monday lunchtime to make a few calls.

Updated 11/3: for those of you interested in such matters, the Register-Guard has a good article about the politics behind these negotiations.