While estimation-prone types ponder whether the impending Big East television deal will be worth way less than the league once hoped or just a little bit less, the conference itself could be using its unique relationship with Notre Dame as a handy bargaining chip.

The Irish are members in all sports except for football, of course. This means their relatively valuable basketball program boosts the Big East, but Memphis Athletic Director R.C. Johnson describes how NBC is thinking bigger:

"(NBC's) purpose (at the meeting) was to show they had an interest in the Big East and they had it tied in with Notre Dame football," Johnson said. "They talked about doubleheaders and tripleheaders on the NBC station. Not on the Versus or whatever they all have, NBC (Sports Network), because they've got several cable outlets.

"They talked about how they liked the time zones and they talked about tying in doubleheaders and tripleheaders on Saturday with football."

ESPN gets the first crack at the Big East's top games, while NBC will likely emerge as a contender if the conference doesn't sell all its stock to ESPN. With the league's truly national footprint, NBC wouldn't have a hard time creating an entire day's worth of college football programming, from the East Coast to Notre Dame to Boise State.

Of course, there's the question of what happens in 2015, when Notre Dame's NBC contract is up and the Irish could very well join a conference in full (which won't be the Big East).

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Via GameDay, it's Lee Corso on a big duck:

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Call your cable company immediately:

BOOMER SOONER PLAYING 24/7! RT @dennisdoddcbs: OU launching cable network this fall according Joe C. One fb game on it this fall.

— WRNL (@WideRtNattyLt) May 31, 2012

It's the Big 12's turn to send out important suits to offer up quotes for dissection, but we can all go ahead and put away cutting instruments when it comes to these remarks by Texas AD DeLoss Dodds (this was in addition to listing "five strong conferences" that presumably doesn't include the Big East, pointing out the Rose Bowl isn't as conference-friendly as the Champions Bowl, and other general shop-wrecking), because these here are sharp enough:

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As LSU tries to get out of playing Florida every year, another marquee pairing is getting scrapped for real. This time, an out-of-conference one, perhaps eliminated by the SEC and Big Ten pairing up with the Big 12 and Pac-12, respectively:

Ohio State and Georgia have canceled their 2020-21 home-and-home football series, FBSchedules.com has learned through documents obtained from UGA.

But how is Urban Meyer going to keep paying Georgia back for dancing in the end zone that one time? Dawgs fans will have to hope for victories on the recruiting trail instead, as Meyer plans to sell Ohio State hard in the Peach State.

The Big 12 once again says it's set at 10 members, which we once again don't quite believe. Florida State and Notre Dame rumors are all floating around, and Louisville's just about throwing itself at the conference, and Les Miles has said he expects the SEC's new partner league to expand to 12, and you can't have a conference title game without a dozen members, and so on.

Chip Brown reports the Big 12 would indeed expand if it could have the Irish, and that might seem like the most obvious thing anybody's written all day. However, it would in fact be newsworthy if that's the conclusion the Big 12 has arrived at.

Will the Big 12 expand even without Notre Dame? Probably, I think, even though its most powerful school might not like the idea of adding another challenge in the way of national titles. Believing the Big 12 will remain at 10 forever is almost like believing the SEC when it said it was cool with 13 members, right?

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While we wait for official word that the Oklahoma St. Cowboys have dismissed running back Herschel Sims (as our own Cowboys Ride For Free first reported), let's check in on the fan sentiment regarding the would-be rising sophomore's status on the team.

As it's all but certain Sims is being accused of defrauding teammate Jeremiah Tshimanga out of $700, CRFF can't quite wrap its head around how he could possibly remain a member of the Pokes:

From a teammate standpoint, how do you trust him ever again? We aren't talking about someone who took someone else's last beer from the fridge or even snagged a five dollar bill off the coffee table. Sims took Tshimanga's ID without him knowing, forged his signature, and stole $700 from his bank account.

And then on top of all that, he repeatedly lied about it when confronted by both Tshimanga and the coaching staff. If you are a fellow teammate, how can you share a locker next to him after that without wondering if your belongings are safe?

More importantly, how do you respect someone that would do something like that to one of his own teammates? What kind of message does it send to the entire team if Sims is able to stay while so many other players have worked their butts off, have done everything the right way off the field, and will still never see the field as much as he will?

As a freshman, Sims produced 242 rushing yards, putting him third on the team behind a pair of sophomores and in line for a very big role in the future. He was rated a four-star recruit by Rivals and ranked as the second best all-purpose back in the country.

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For more on OSU football, visit Cowboys Ride For Free.

While we're here, let's watch some college football videos from SB Nation's new YouTube channel together:

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Based on this logic, would it make sense to think Vanderbilt's James Franklin should start hiring gay coaches who have hot husbands? Either way, Nashville's just gonna keep getting sexier and sexier, and there's nothing you can do about it.

I've been saying it for a long time, I will not hire an assistant until I see his wife. If she looks the part and she's a D1 recruit, then you got a chance to get hired. That's part of the deal. There's a very strong correlation between having the confidence, going up and talking to a women, and being quick on your feet and having some personality and confidence and being articulate and confident, than it is walking into a high school and recruiting a kid and selling him.

Wait, so Florida State and Clemson fans are sick of being treated unfairly by the ACC's equal money distribution? Not Virginia Tech fans? From David Teel's breakdown of bowl revenue won for the ACC by each member since 2004:

Virginia Tech $83.4M

Clemson $33.7M

Florida State $29.3M

Worth pointing out Virginia Tech and Clemson have paired to make more bowl money for the ACC than the rest of the conference combined has.

First things first: yes, rapper/emperor Sean Combs' son Justin Combs is going to play college football for the UCLA Bruins. This means we are all very old, but he's a very good cornerback who had offers to play big-time football at other good schools as well, and these things happen.

Even though his father is rich, UCLA would still like to pay for three-to-five years worth of schooling in return for football-related services. Somehow, this has become an Internet controversy this week despite not actually being a controversy.

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A young man refused a college scholarship offer with such vigor that another young man is out here publicly soliciting gun battles. College football recruiting is really something:

OSU fans giving @LoganTillman threats on your way to his house make a stop by mine and I'll show you what a real death threat is #bringagun

— Kyle Bosch(@KyleBoschOL79) May 30, 2012

EA Sports' NCAA Football 13 has a new feature that allows you to plunk certain Heisman Trophy winners onto your dynasty team, meaning you can reunite Barry Sanders with former quarterback Mike Gundy on Oklahoma State's 2012 roster! Or bring Robert Griffin III back for another year at Baylor!

Or do some entirely unholy things like Herschel Walker at Auburn, as seen above, or Desmond Howard at Ohio State, which is among the many rivalry-crossing horrors contained below:

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So the impending SEC Network's secret insider name is reportedly Project X, which is the same name as about a million other things, but most interestingly a doomsday device in Atlas Shrugged. Via Wikibooks, a description of the weapon that sounds exactly like the Paul Finebaum show:

Project X is an invention of the scientists at the state science institute, requiring tons of Rearden Metal. Basically, it is a "death ray", and is capable of destroying anything with a sonic pulse. The scientists claim that the project will be used to preserve peace and squash rebellion. It is destroyed towards the end of the book, and emits a pulse of radiation that destroys everything in the surrounding area, including Cuffy Meigs and Dr. Stadler, as well as the Taggart Bridge. The invention is publicly introduced as the "Thompson Harmonizer".

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Just when you thought the Jerry Sandusky trial couldn't get any more bizarre:

Reporters will be allowed to live-tweet and live-blog during the trial of former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky on sexual abuse charges, according to a court order issued Wednesday.

This actually isn't uncommon, but still ... yuck.

Former SMU Mustangs star and ESPN personality Craig James received only 4 percent of the vote in Tuesday night's U.S. Senate Republican primary in Texas, finishing no better than third in any county in the entire state. His showing was especially bad in Lubbock, which was home to Mike Leach until James hired a PR firm to get the popular and successful coach fired.

Still, James says he'll keep on doing what he's doing:

Friends,

I cannot begin to express my gratitude for your support during this campaign.

Last night I issued a statement congratulating Ted Cruz and David Dewhurst for making it into a runoff. Now, it's up to us, Texas voters, to determine who will best represent us in the U.S. Senate.

Last night was not a defeat; victory was merely delayed to another day! As Vince Lombardi said, "We didn't lose the game; we just ran out of time." I am still just as committed to advancing our values in Texas and Washington, DC.

This campaign reaffirmed my belief that Texans understand exactly what is needed to turn our country around. We've found the winning formula and it's rooted in the principles that founded this country: limited government, personal responsibility and opportunity for unlimited prosperity.

We need to export the principles that have created unprecedented job growth and business innovation here in the Lone Star State. That's why I will continue my work with Texans for a Better America, the non-profit organization I founded last year. Texans for a Better America is dedicated to the Constitution, free market and American Exceptionalism. We have an important message and I'm excited to share it with the country.

I hope you'll join me in this effort by liking the Texans for a Better America Facebook page,following us on Twitter and signing up for our newsletters.

Again, thank you for your support and vote. I look forward to seeing you down the road!

For Faith, Freedom and Texas,

Craig James

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While we’re here, let’s watch some college football videos from SB Nation’s new YouTube channel together:

Chris Bahn lays out the case for this widely circulated photo ...

... maybe having some actual validity to it. That whited-out Hogs helmet is kind of nice, though this might not be the best year to start wearing shiny black from head to toe. No good comes from looking like a motorcycle person.

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Former high school star Brian Banks, recently released from prison after his 2002 rape conviction was overturned, is doing everything he can to get his football career back to where it should be. He was set to play for USC before being jailed, but has now lined up workouts with a number of NFL teams.

This doesn't mean college teams aren't interested in the former top recruit, who's remained in peak physical condition despite taking almost a decade off:

Heard from several big college programs this wk intrigued by Brian Banks, but sounds like he's trying to make to NFL right now.

— Bruce Feldman (@BFeldmanCBS) May 30, 2012

At 26 years old, Banks would be at least 29 before he could complete three years worth of college ball. While Brandon Weeden was just drafted at 28, he's quite an exception, and running backs are thought to have very short shelf lives as pro prospects.

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While we’re here, let’s watch some college football videos from SB Nation’s new YouTube channel together:

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