But then Kenneth Starr did what lawyers do....got litigious....and when Slive didn't immediately squash his frivolity in kind, he was branded a wimp....within SEC circles, nationally, and among Aggies. What have you done for us lately?

And then David Boren and Larry Scott played footsie in the media for a couple weeks, and suddenly everybody "knew" that Slive was getting surpassed in savviness and cache. And Bevo floated even more fantasies out there, even though we know the one place they'd NEVER go is the SEC, but that's not Slive's fault.

Then John Swofford pulls a mighty preemptive strike and it seems the Race To 16 is on for real.

But then the pause button is hit, the dust clears, and here's what we're left with:

- UTx overplayed its hand.

- OU overplayed its hand.

- Larry Scott, who very clearly salivates about a PAC-16 as well as the thought of himself as the new legit visionary.....has tipped his hand. He's right to reject UTx's unreasonable demands, but now he knows that the only PAC-16 to exist in the near future will likely contain the likes of Kansas, Kansas State and Oklahoma State.

- Big East commish John Marinatto returns from the restroom to find some of his chips gone, his chair removed and a really big guy at the door handing him his jacket.

- Dan Beebe looks up from feverishly studying his pair of deuces to see everyone else around the table now standing and staring at him, open vests exposing jeweled Derringer grips. He rises sheepishly and lets himself out.

- John Swofford sits tall in his chair, but doesn't realize there's no prize for coming in 2nd place in the hand. He's got what he always wanted, the same thing that is all he's ever had...a basketball conference.

- And there sits ol Silent Mike....still just sitting there, waiting his turn. And when it gets around to him, he gets the slightest little grin at the corner of his mouth and says simply, "Call."