KC Sports and the Big 12

With everything that is going on here in sports, I've decided I know less than just about everyone about what's going on. But since that's never stopped me from throwing my 2 cents worth in before-LOL!!!, here goes--
-- Dayton Moore, GM of the Royals got on-line for a chat, and answered some very good questions. He was forthright and straight to the point. More on chat next, but it got me wondering if Scott Pioli, GM of the Chiefs, would ever do the same. He might do the chat, but I think he would try to keep everything as close to the vest as possible. Now, for some of what Dayton said:
    -- When asked how soon we could expect a team that could be at .500, or win 81 games, and he said simply that being .500 wasn't the goal. He expected to be that good or better next year and for years to come.
     -- When asked about keeping the team together, he quickly stated that the Royals have Cabrera for next year, Frenchy for 2 years, Gordon couldn't be a free agent until 2015, Escobar until 2016 and the rest of the infield and catcher until 2017, and that he thought he could sign most of this core group for longer than this.
     -- When asked about pitching, and where he would look for better pitching, he stated that first and foremost, he'd look within. He then rattled of a dozen names that would be able to be starting pitchers in the majors next year or the following year. He included Crow, Paulino, Adcock, and Telford, but added names in the minors like Mendoza, Montgomery, Dwyer, Smith, Aguilles, and Odorizzi ( I hope I spelled the names right) and others. Then he said he would look at a trade if that didn't work out, and then at a free agent signing.
-- This makes me think that there will be no big free-agent signings, but if the team is close to winning the division next year, he would trade for a #1 pitcher. But then so will everyone if they have a chance to get into the playoffs.   But the Royals minor leagues are still incredibly deep, even after bringing up 10 players that played significant minutes. the AAA, AA, and one of the two A teams all made the playoffs. 
-- The Royals have won 8 of their last 9 games, and if they win their last game at home tomorrow, they will have only the 2nd winning seaon at home since 1996. And Soria has been injured and hasn't pitched in any of these games. Actually, if Soria this year had been the same as last year, the Royals would already be at 71 or 72 wins, and they'd be looking at getting close to .500 this year.
-- Around 27,000 people went and saw the next-to-last Royals game of the year. I doubt that there will be that many in the stands for the Chiefs last game if they aren't very good. Now, weather will have a big say in how many show up, but don't be surprised if next year, Royals tickets are harder to get than Chiefs tickets. Part of this is because of the All-Star game being here, and if you buy a season ticket, you get an All-Star ticket, and some of this is just that Kansas City loves winners. But part of this is that Kansas City is at heart a baseball town. There just hasn't been a good team here in a generation.
-- If it's in the PM, the Big 12 is still together, but if it's the AM, they may be breaking up. This is how crazy this has become. But no matter what happens in the next few days, there will be fewer and bigger conferences soon. But I do wonder if the biggest fly in the ointment to the super-conferences isn't the Bowl Committees. If there are just a few conferences, a playoff system seems likely. But the small bowls may be putting some pressure on the conferences, too. It's tough enough to watch a Bowl game with the 5th place team from the Big 12 play the 4th place team from the WAC or 6th place team from the SEC. If there were only 4 conferences, would anyone really want to watch the 10th place team from one conference play the 11th place team from another.
-- And finally, if the Big 12 does split up, I doubt that Missouri and Kansas would go to the same conference. My gut says the Border War games in football and basketball would continue, but I wonder how many would say to just let it go, the games don't need to be played. If that were to happen, it would be the saddest part of the greedy grab for money that college sports has become.