Just getting started.

They haven’t even settled on the selection committee details, and Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly is already indulging his inner Jim Boeheim with a little playoff expansion talk.

“I don’t know that four is where we’re going to finish this thing. I think it’s a great entry into where we want to go,” said Kelly, who toured the stadium in preparation for his team’s Oct. 5 matchup in Cowboys Stadium against Arizona State. “Moving forward, I think the focus … will be on whether it’s eight or 16 (teams) or whatever the number is.”

Whatever, indeed.  One thing I know.  A bigger postseason generally means more coaching security, as in “how can you fire the guy who took ’em to the playoffs?”.

Suckers.

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Mike Slive’s new baby

Okay, the SEC Network is now a reality.  It’s a 20-year deal with ESPN.  (Will we even be watching TV in 2034?)

There’s one little tidbit in all the details I hadn’t anticipated.

As for game times, CBS will retain the first pick for which SEC game it wants each week. After that, Slive said scheduling discussions go to what he called a “content board.” Basically any other game will be on an ESPN platform, including the SEC Network, with other outlets for what Slive called “overflow” games.

But CBS won’t have an exclusive window for its 3:30 p.m. games. The SEC Network or ESPN could have a game going on at that time too.  [Emphasis added.]

That’s… interesting.  Is there a little message sending going on there to a CBS that is perhaps a bit recalcitrant in ponying up a few more bucks for Slive’s new, improved 14-school SEC?  Or is it more outright, say, “pay us for the exclusivity, if you want it”?

Of course, it would be a little weird to have a conference network not showing football mid-afternoon Saturdays.  But I can’t imagine the suits at CBS were happy about it when they heard the news.

Hey, look at the neat straw man Jim Delany built!

The man whose rapier-like wit has been directed at the likes of Karl Benson turns on the charm with the O’Bannon plaintiffs.

When asked his response to high-profile athletes such as Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel producing more jersey sales and revenue for their schools because of their play, Delany cited A&M’s storied history (founded in 1876).

“If Johnny Manziel was playing arena football tomorrow, what is his uniform worth?” Delany said.

Gee, Jimbo, I don’t know.  Maybe we should ask Kevin Ware about that.  Or any other athlete in any other sporting venue who’s allowed to make a buck off his or her name.  Or maybe we could ask some of these good folks.  I’m sure somebody could come up with a number for you, not that you’re willing to pay a penny of it.

By the way, the NCAA just announced it turned a nifty $71 million dollar profit – “surplus”, as the organization prefers to call it – last year, in large part based on the nearly $709 million it earned from television and marketing rights fees.  Sounds like they’ll need it to pay for all that lawyering coming up, per Delany.

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany is preparing for a fight in the Ed O’Bannon antitrust lawsuit that could alter the college athletics amateurism model.

Delany told reporters on Wednesday that he’s not expecting a settlement in the case, which began in 2009 over the NCAA’s profits from the likeness of former athletes. Delany believes the case — which could cut into the conference’s multibillion-dollar television revenue streams — will likely “go all the way.”

“There should be no compromise on it,” Delany said.

Suck it, Manziel.

SEC pain, baby.

Nick Saban says this conference can chew you up and spit you out if you’re not careful.

“I think we had 33 guys drafted out of the first 99 in our conference,” Saban said Tuesday of the SEC. “Some people say that guys in the SEC have more injury history.

“I think it’s the nature of the league, but I also think it’s the reason a lot of guys are getting drafted from our league. … It’s physical. It’s more bigger guys. It’s more better athletes. It’s more NFL-like in terms of what players are going to be expected to do at the next level. I guess you’ve got to take the good with the bad.”

That’s what he told Eddie Lacy.

Saban said he told Lacy that if he could be a first-round pick if he came back to Alabama and played injury-free this fall. Otherwise, he probably would be drafted early in the second round.

“I told him … ‘I’ll support whatever decision you make. You’ve been here for four years, you’re very close to graduation, and you have a short shelf-life as a player,’” Saban said. “When you’re a running back in the NFL it’s the shortest shelf-life of any position. So I kind of get it, I get where you’re at.’ We were on board with that one.”

Now you know why ‘Bama has eighteen tailbacks on its roster.

Everything you need to know about the current state of big-time college athletics, in one sentence.

I mean, this says it all.

Major-college athletics departments increased the amount of money they generate by nearly $385 million in 2012, but they increased operational spending by more than $665 million, a USA TODAY Sports analysis finds.

There ain’t enough money in the world to make that math work.  It’s just that the geniuses running the game haven’t come to grips with that yet.  Which is why we’re not done with conference realignment and postseason issues.  Not even close.

Mark Emmert’s ready to open up a whole new can of worms.

Hey, remember that whole Penn State investigation (or should it be “investigation”?) where the NCAA felt like it had to do something and sort of made things up as it went along to get to the result it wanted?  Good times.  Many of you weren’t concerned about it, as the cause was so noble and just and all.

So if this turns into a new crusade, I presume you guys won’t have a problem in the world with it.  Because Mark Emmert means well.

“Female athletes, particularly basketball players, seem to be getting singled out in gender identity during games. What can the NCAA do about this?” one woman from Purdue asked.

Emmert asked what she thought could be done. The woman suggested sanctioning schools for improper behavior from fans.

“I would certainly support a proposal that would do that,” Emmert said. “If that’s a rule that makes sense and there ought to be some sanctioning like that, then I hope the membership brings that forward. I think that would make good sense.”

Who doesn’t like busting into a couple of choruses of “Kumbaya” now and then?

Yeah, this crap is nuts.  Although I have to admit if it turns out that Alabama and Auburn could get into trouble over the callers on Finebaum, I might have to reconsider my objection to it.

(h/t MrSEC.com)