Notebook: RIP Big 12?

I had a very eventful morning so just a few links. Post your own, throw out your hottest hot take, or just quietly read.

Toppmeyer: If SEC adds Texas, Oklahoma, here's what 16-team league should look like
If the SEC were to add Texas and OU, you could envision a scenario in which the league could claim as many as six or seven spots in a 12-team playoff, unless another super conference or two formed in the wake of this.

Look: Oklahoma Football Recruit Has Message For Texas
“Horns Down” has become an iconic symbol of the Oklahoma-Texas rivalry, but it won’t be found on the field too often later this fall. The Big 12’s coordinator of officiating said at the conference’s media days earlier this year that if a Sooners player gestures “Horns Down” to a Texas player, it’ll warrant a penalty. Signaling the gesture towards the crowd could even prompt a ref to throw the flag.

Texas A&M AD Ross Bjork speaks out against report that Texas, Oklahoma want to join SEC
"We want to be the only SEC program in the state of Texas," Bjork said. "There's a reason why Texas A&M left the Big 12 -- to be standalone, to have our own identity."

Seattle Kraken expansion draft: Top takeaways as newest NHL team takes shape
The Kraken selected one player from 30 NHL teams, with the Vegas Golden Knights exempt from the draft. The result was a roster that was young and well under the salary cap, and an approach to the draft that was in stark contrast with the way Vegas handled it in 2017.

Division II's Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference mandates that players, coaches, staff be fully vaccinated
The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference on Tuesday became the first conference on record to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations.

NCAA president Mark Emmert made $2.9 million as NCAA's revenue dropped more than 50%
NCAA president Mark Emmert made $2.9 million during the 2019-2020 fiscal year, a period when pandemic-related closures caused the organization's revenue to drop by more than 50%.

Why Bill Self sees Gonzaga as top recruiting program in college hoops
"Coaches that win obviously get the lion's share of the credit," Self began on an episode of Hawk Talk. "But when people say, 'He's a great coach, he's a great coach,' or, 'he's the best coach,' the best coaches, from a public standpoint, are the ones that usually have the best players that's playing for you. Let's just call it like it is."