Is the Pac-12 now reduced to the Pac-4? Since other schools have also left to join different conferences, what happens to the universities leftover from the original group? Will UCLA and USC fans around the country be shut out from watching the games because they don’t have access to the Pac-12 Network? How will that change when they are part of the Big Ten? Can parents and families afford to support teams in person if they have to travel across the country for games? With the conferences not even geographically related to regions anymore, are they only following the money? Is the geographic community being lost? Did former commissioner Larry Scott have any idea of the events he would be setting in motion when he created the Pac-12 Network?

Mick Cronin and the UCLA Bruins are off to play basketball in Spain. Has Cronin overreached in wanting to have the team seen worldwide? How difficult will it be for parents to accompany players to such far-flung locales?

Former University of Washington athletic director Jennifer Cohen has been named as the new AD for USC, the very first female director in the university’s history and the latest example of women breaking into the highest levels of sports. What fresh ideas does she have for the school? Will she address former athletic director Mike Bohn’s behavior and subsequent dismissal?

The sports memorabilia business is known to vary widely in valuations and what is deemed highly collectible. Do some values fluctuate depending on how an athlete is performing? Is timing everything? Jackie Robinson’s 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers rookie baseball card, only graded at a two out of ten, has just been sold for over $400,000. A premium-grade, mint condition 1979 Wayne Gretzky rookie card went for $1.2M in comparison. How much more would a Jackie Robinson rookie card be worth in mint condition?

Email Fred, Art, and Laura with questions and comments at sportsfred@aol.com