As you’ve probably heard, Comcast is in heavy negotiations to acquire NBC for roughly eleventy kerjillion dollars, give or take a kerjillion or threeve. What effect that would have on NBC’s sports programming seemed to be of minimal concern… until you realize that Comcast also owns the Versus Network, and boy would they like to have some good content on that channel, seeing as how DirecTV reportedly called it “a glorified infomercial”. You probably already know where this one’s going.

(An Irish fan’s dream come true!)

According to the SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL, if NBC gets swallowed up by the cable giant, Notre Dame’s probably one of the first big sports programs headed to Versus. And the school and its fans can complain until they’re hoarse, but Notre Dame’s the first to blame; after all, a move to cable is already in their contract.

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• New Jets QB Mark Sanchez struts his stuff in a new photoshoot for GQ:

• Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger is hoping that Formula One star Lewis Hamilton will soon be driving her to the wedding chapel.

• Nice to see the 1962 Mets show up at Dodger Stadium Monday night.

• Michael Strahan is all set to fill in the gap of Fox sitcom programming.

• Vancouver’s sex workers are getting some tips on how to deal with the upcoming Olympic media onslaught.

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Back in the middle of April, I got a letter in the mail from Comcast. It told me that as a subscriber to their sports package that includes the NFL Network, they were going to offer me a deal. On May 1st of 2009 they were going to stop carrying the NFL Network because they were evil and trying to take all of my money from me, and Comcast didn’t want to stand for it. As a way of helping me recover from the raping of my wallet, they were going to give me a chance for faster internet for a year, or Starz free for a year.

Well, I already have the high-speed internet, so it looked like Starz was going to be my choice.

Now that I was happy to make it. After all, Comcast wasn’t treating my wallet very nicely either. Sure, the NFL Network wanted a couple bucks per household, but they weren’t the ones making me pay $10 a month for a package featuring the NFL Network, which I wanted, and a whole bunch of other channels I didn’t. So I was pretty unhappy about Comcast yanking the station I wanted, as I’m sure many NFL fans were. Well, thankfully I won’t be getting Starz anytime soon because both sides have come to an agreement.

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• Joel Przybilla got a $7,500 fine for his part in an NBA brawl. But Joel’s grandma doesn’t like that one bit - and she’s letting David Stern know it.

• Ana Ivanovic frolicking in the surf with Maria Sharapova’s dream date?

• Jenn Sterger is still riding a Jet stream of attention from the media.

• We’ve discovered the best seats in tennis - and they are the property of Vitkoriya Kutuzova & Nicole Vaidisova.

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Apparently, Comcast may be close to finally ending their deep and sadistic hatred of young men and women merely trying to get an education through the noble pursuit of athletic excellence. Also, it seems that the Big Ten could soon stop abusing their young wards by cruelly trying to turn their efforts into wads of cash to be spent wildly by heartless university officials.

(If you like me, check this box. And this one. And sign here.)

All of this might happen, that is, if SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL accurately gauges the possibility that both sides will reach an agreement soon on carriage costs for Comcast to carry the Big Ten Network, ending the hopelessly overheated public rhetoric and underhanded tactics.
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