Talking Bull: Mount USA... We hardly knew ye!

Who has two thumbs and knew that two half conferences don't just merge to make one sweet nearly AQ conference?

This guy right here!

The idea that these two conferences could build a new conference out of the scraps left behind by the Big East and the Big 12 never sat well. Proponents said the TV contracts could be double or triple what CUSA gets, a contract that included all the best teams (and markets) who left for greener pastures.

But even if you put aside the TV money what about the Bowl contracts and AQ slots in NCAA competitions? It was never addressed and treated as an afterthought. Well those afterthoughts played a huge role in putting the Mount USA conference in a coma.

MOUNT USA In Great Peril - From Our Editors - SBNation.com
At least that's how I'm reading this by Brett McMurphy. The Mountain West and Conference USA might not form a whole new conference after all, but could instead just have some sort of formal arrangement. If a 24-team league is no longer on the table, then you can go ahead and keep the table, MOUNT USA, as you've just upset fans of enormous institutions everywhere.

FBS realignment: M-Day becomes A-Day for the MWC, C-USA (and what that would mean for the WAC and Sun Belt) | College Hotline
Turns out, the merger plans could very well be shelved in favor of an alliance between the conferences.

What may come out of this is the once proposed alliance that the two conferences were discussing before the big boys curb stomped them.

Welcome to the MAC Mountaineers!

Luck says WVU, Marcellus share unusual parallel - Sports - Charleston Daily Mail
On men's soccer: With WVU in need of a conference affiliation since the Big 12 doesn't compete in the sport, Luck said Coach Marlon LeBlanc's program will play in the Mid-American Conference.

Its a start right?

Let the run up to the game begin

NCAA Football 13: Barry Sanders, Herschel Walker Could Join RG3 On Cover - SBNation.com
Robert Griffin III has been revealed on the cover of NCAA Football 13. No word yet on whether you'll be able to customize your players' sock choices to include Clifford the Big Red Dog.

It's raining money in Alabama

Alabama Crimson Tide grant coach Nick Saban raise, 2-year extension - ESPN
Alabama coach Nick Saban said he received overtures for other jobs after claiming the second national title in three years. Instead of bolting, he has received a raise and contract extension worth $5.62 million a year that he said represents his intention to finish his career in Tuscaloosa.

To put that in perspective UB's total athletic budget is about 23 million. Just over four times what Alabama pays their head coach.

Bulls hit the pool

UB Swimmers Post Nine Olympic Trial Cuts at Speedo Meet - Buffalo Athletics
Four swimmers, Brittney Kuras, Matt Hogan, Mike Dugan and Mallory Morrell, attained nine U.S. Olympic Trial cuts in the four-day long course meet.

Good article on the Alex Zordich and Joe Licata competition

Zordich and Licata compete for starting quarterback job at UB | Sports | Metrowny.com
Alex Zordich took most of the first-team reps during the University at Buffalo Bulls spring- practice sessions last week, but the job of starting quarterback is still very much up in the air. As of Saturday, it appears to be a two-man race between Zordich, a junior, and redshirt freshman Joe Licata.