If I wasn't so exhausted from following this ACC expansion mess for almost two months now, I would think that the ACC's failure to pull the trigger on expansion for the second day in a row was funny. Instead, it just makes me want to look up to the heavens and howl, "Sweet mother! Just get it over with already!"

Wednesday evening, the ACC presidents held their second two-plus hour conference call in two days, both of which had a high probability of ending with the ACC extending invitations to the Traitorous Three of Miami, BC, and Syracuse � and neither of which did.

Yes, the ACC, on the verge of expansion for longer than Joe Paterno has been coaching, it seems, having selected the teams, made the campus visits, postured for the press, and left scorched earth behind, but can't seem to hammer that final nail in place. The member presidents have spent five hours on the phone the last two days trying to take their final vote to extend membership invitations, and the result has been hum-dinger quotes like these from ACC commish John Swofford, as relayed by the ACC's official web site:

"The ACC Council of Presidents had a constructive call (Tuesday) afternoon that was an integral part of the ongoing process � No conclusions were reached, nor were any intended to be reached. There will be further discussions, and as has been the case throughout this process, there is no definitive timetable." -- Swofford, after Tuesday evening's conference call.

"The discussions (Wednesday) by the Council of Presidents moved the process along and were constructive. There was no vote taken. Just as before, it will be up to the Council to decide the direction and timing of the process. The next call of the Council of Presidents will take place no sooner than early next week." -- Swofford, after Wednesday evening's conference call.

Anybody else getting the impression that the ACC Expansion Express is coming off the tracks?

Actually, I don't think that's happening, but it's fun to mull the possibility. I think that ACC expansion is inevitable, and so do the folks at Virginia Tech, from what I hear. Watching the ACC trip and stumble its way to the finish is amusing, but while it is amusing, it's also a pain in the neck, because the longer the ACC takes to get itself in gear, the longer the Big East and VT have to sit around and twiddle their thumbs and wait to move forward with their own plans.

Last week's lawsuit aside, I'm told that the Hokies are convinced that the Canes and Company are gone, and the Big East is no longer concentrating its efforts on keeping the Backstabbing Three on board. Instead, they are already moving on with plans to rebuild the conference, get Notre Dame to agree to a partial BE football schedule, and get on with life (complete with a BCS bid, which is good news).

I'm not sure I buy the notion that the Big East has given up on keeping the Judas Three, because the BE is going through some pretty serious maneuvers these days, maneuvers that don't look like the acts of a group that has given up.

First, there's last week's lawsuit. Then there's a conference call that BE presidents had with the media Tuesday, in which they urged the NCAA or another impartial party to mediate. And on Wednesday, Big East presidents sent letters to their ACC counterparts requesting a meeting, on the grounds that the BE presidents want to "know more about the ACC's plans for expansion."

The letter, as released by the Associated Press, said:

"We feel quite certain that no ACC president or chancellor would want to rush to judgment on such a potentially harmful plan without having complete information, and we believe we have insights to share that could not be effectively communicated by anyone else.

"We are now requesting that you work with us to arrange for a discussion," the letter said. "We do so respectfully and in the spirit of collegiality and open communication that has long been one of the hallmarks of American higher education."

Chuckle. The Big East is certainly letting the ACC have it with both barrels these days. First they bare their fangs and file that massive lawsuit, then they give it a gosh-golly "spirit of collegiality," can't-we-just-talk-for-a-second approach. If you're the ACC, do you pay attention to the end of the Big East dog that is barking and growling, or the end that's wagging its tail?

Actually, I doubt that the ACC is worried about the Big East very much at this point. They're more worried about trying to get those seven votes required to extend invitations squeezed out of the nine ACC presidents.

It was reported earlier in the week that UNC and Duke might vote no, with Duke President Nan Keohane making waves with an email she sent to her colleagues that said some issues, mainly related to travel and the welfare of student-athletes, hadn't been resolved to her liking, and that, "In order to feel even minimally comfortable with voting for an action that will have serious consequences for these peer institutions, I would have to be considerably more positive than I am now that the decision is actually the best one for our student-athletes and for our conference.''

The reason for the ACC's inability to close the deal could range anywhere from the possibility that Duke and UNC's concerns are being carefully and slowly addressed, to the chance that Virginia President John Casteen, under political pressure, is providing the third "no" vote that places expansion in serious jeopardy.

Scenario number two -- that ACC expansion is collapsing -- is unlikely. As I said, I still think expansion will go through. But it is fun to watch the image of the ACC as a well-oiled machine take a beating, as nine powerful, busy men spend five hours over the course of two days getting next to nothing accomplished.

At this point, somehow managing to keep the Benedict Arnold Three in the Big East is rapidly getting to be as distasteful as the idea of them leaving. The cohesiveness of the Big East has been destroyed forever in its current configuration, and should they stay, the trust level in the conference will actually dip into the negative. Who wants that bunch to stay? It's impossible to do business when you're constantly checking your back to see if a knife is sticking out of it.

TechSideline Pass Home