Mister Warmth
No, we're not talking about comedian Don Rickles but boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr., who has refused to be caught up in 'Lin-Mania.' In fact, Mayweather believes that New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin is getting national attention because of his race, rather than his exceptional play. "Jeremy Lin is a good player but all the hype is because he's Asian. Black players do what he does every night and don't get the same praise," Mayweather wrote on his Twitter account. "Its OK for ESPN to give their opinion but I say something and everyone questions Floyd Mayweather," the boxer tweeted. "I'm speaking my mind on behalf of other NBA players. They are programmed to be politically correct and will be penalized if they speak up. Other countries get to support/cheer their athletes and everything is fine. As soon as I support Black American athletes, I get criticized." Mayweather has drawn attention for racially insensitive remarks in the past. He went on a profanity-filled racist and homophobic rant against Manny Pacquiao in September 2010. In a video posted on UStream, Mayweather told Pacquiao, a Filipino, to "make some sushi rolls and cook some rice." He also said "we're going to cook him with some cats and dogs." Classy!

On The Sly
Peyton Manning has gone to great lengths, more so than previously made public, to return to the NFL, including an unreported fourth neck surgery, according to SI.com, which cites "NFL sources." In addition, the Indianapolis Colts quarterback strenuously tried to show team officials and coaches that he could play in the final two weeks of the regular season in red-zone situations to mitigate his limited arm strength, the NFL sources told SI.com. But as a precursor to that, Manning had a neck surgery between a May 23 procedure to correct a bulging disk and a Sept. 9 neck fusion surgery, which was reported to be his third neck surgery in 19 months but was actually his fourth. SI.com's sources also claimed he has developed bone spurs in the neck, which could necessitate subsequent operations, perhaps another fusion, down the road. Manning then worked on rehabilitating from the surgeries with the hope of playing last season. He took part in an organized and fully-scripted 30-play practice in the week leading up to the Colts' games against the Tennessee Titans in Week 15. Participants in the practice included RB Joseph Addai, C Jeff Saturday and reserve or practice-squad receivers, and it was attended by team President Bill Polian, coach Jim Caldwell and then-OC Clyde Christensen. Manning hoped the workout, which was at faster pace than a typical walk-through, would be enough to show he could play a limited role in a Week 16 game vs. the Houston Texans. But team physician Hank Feuer would not clear Manning for action, as the quarterback's neck muscles were still atrophied and he lacked full range of motion. Manning, 35, is still rehabbing and working out in hopes of returning next season. His future with the Colts is unclear, along with whether the team will pay his $28 million option bonus due March 8 or cut him. Team owner Jim Irsay said Tuesday he plans to meet with Manning in the next week.

We're Outta Here
West Virginia and the Big East have reached a settlement that will allow the Mountaineers to enter the Big 12 in time for the 2012-13 academic year. The Big East announced in a release Tuesday it would terminate West Virginia's membership as of June 30, 2012. The sides had been at odds over the ability of West Virginia to leave early after it accepted an invitation to its new conference in October. The Big East bylaws require 27-months notice for all schools to depart the league. Both had filed separate lawsuits. According to the Big East, West Virginia will pay an exit fee "well in excess" of the $5 million required. Reports have put that figure at approximately $20 million with roughly half of that coming from the school and the Big 12 providing the other share. "This closes a chapter and opens a new one filled with exciting possibilities for WVU's future," West Virginia athletics director Oliver Luck said in a statement. "I've heard from Mountaineer fans across the country who have made it very clear that they are proud and honored to be heading into the Big 12." The expedited entrance into the Big 12 helps the conference stay at 10 teams and meet its contractual agreement with Fox and ESPN. Missouri and Texas A&M both are headed to the SEC, while TCU is joining from the Mountain West. The Big East will be forced to play with only seven teams this season unless one of the six schools joining for next season will leave their conference early. Boise State of the Mountain West is one possibility. Also joining will be San Diego State, SMU, Houston, Memphis and Central Florida. Navy will enter the league in 2015. The settlement could also clear the way for Pittsburgh and Syracuse to exit the league next season for the ACC, rather than wait until 2014.

Not-So-Super Conference
There likely will be one less Football Bowl Subdivision conference in 2013 with Conference USA and the Mountain West announcing they are working on finalizing a merger between the two leagues. The new unnamed league (No Team Left Behind Conference?) would include Alabama-Birmingham, East Carolina, Marshall, Rice, Southern Mississippi, UTEP, Tulane and Tulsa from C-USA and current Mountain West schools Air Force, Colorado State, New Mexico, UNLV and Wyoming. WAC schools Fresno State, Nevada and Hawaii, which were planning to join the Mountain West in 2013, will also be part of the league, with Hawaii being a football-only member. Is your head spinnng yet? According to a joint release, the plan for the new conference would include 18 to 24 schools and hold a football championship format that includes semifinals and a title game. The creation of the new league would look similar to structure to the Western Athletic Conference expansion to 16 teams in 1996 when it added Southwest Conference schools TCU, Rice, SMU along with UNLV, Tulsa and San Jose State. Three years later, eight teams broke off from the league and formed the Mountain West because of concerns about revenue decline, loss of rivalries and travel costs. Logistics should also be an issue in the new league. The football conference will span from Honolulu to Greenville, N.C., a distance of more than 5,700 miles. Other sports would see travel from western cities Fresno and Reno to eastern locations in Birmingham and Huntington, WV. Crazy, huh?

Why Do You Think They Call It Dope?
Four TCU football players are among 17 students at the school who were arrested in a campus drug bust. The Fort Worth Star- Telegram reported the four players are defensive lineman D.J. Yendry, linebacker Tanner Brock, offensive tackle Tyler Horn and defensive back Devin Johnson. Their names have been removed from the roster on the school's website. Three of the players were projected defensive starters for the 2012 season, the school's first in the Big 12. Johnson and Yendry had 47 and 39 tackles, respectively, last season for the Horned Frogs. Brock was an All-Mountain West performer as a sophomore in 2010 after leading the team with 106 tackles. He missed all but one game last year due to a foot injury. "There are days people want to be a head football coach, but today is not one of those days," TCU coach Gary Patterson said in a statement. "As I heard the news this morning, I was first shocked, then hurt and now I'm mad. Under my watch, drugs and drug use by TCU's student-athletes will not be tolerated by me or any member of my coaching staff. Period. Our program is respected nationally for its strong ethics and for that reason the players arrested today were separated from TCU by the University. I believe strongly that young people's lives are more important than wins or losses." TCU police chief Steve McGee said Wednesday the students were caught in an undercover operation selling marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy and prescription drugs. McGee says authorities have been investigating for six months after complaints from students, parents and others.

Pay Up, Suckahs
NCAA men's basketball games carried by Turner's TNT, TBS and TruTV will no longer be free to everyone online as online users will have to pay for some elements, like watching on mobile devices, that had been free. In what will now be called NCAA March Madness Live, formerly March Madness on Demand, what was a completely free service last year will now carry charges ? albeit just a $3.99 one-time cost for the entire tournament. All CBS games will remain free online. And this year, in addition to Apple mobile devices, the games will be available on Android phones. Where the new $3.99 charge will apply:

• If you are not a subscriber to the Turner TV channels. If you do get those channels, you will need to go online to "authenticate" that you are a subscriber to watch the games free.
• If you want to get all games being played simultaneously on one site, so you can quickly switch back and forth between games. Otherwise, you would need to access the games separately on each of the three Turner channel websites.

• If you want to get watch the games on a mobile device.
What's the big deal about having to pay $3.99 for all that NCAA action? Not much, for now. But remember that, originally, watching NCAA games online came through a costly subscription service, and CBS games weren't available online in order to protect CBS' TV ratings. By last year, everything was online at no cost, which was a way to widely introduce an online service that has obvious appeal because the NCAA offers so much weekday action when viewers often don't have access to TV sets. So, this might just be the start of a series of price hikes.

Quote Of The Week
Seton Hall head basketball coach Kevin Willard after his team lost six consecutive games:
"I don't think we don't have one guy who's not in a slump. I'm the only coach who has white guys that can't shoot."