So the athletic director and coaches meetings for the Big 12 are in Kansas City this week and the Crib Sheet is here to fill you in.  We’ll start out this week with the beginnings of the meeting and then wrap up Thursday’s and Friday’s talk next week.  Dan Beebe held a press conference to field questions about the first day of talks.  The big picture?  The league is heading into media negotiations with excitement next year because of the money the ACC got from ESPN.  But they need to stay together and Beebe would like to know if they are a soon as possible, even though he knows it won’t happen.  Among his case for staying together was that potential for more money, the disruption of balance in the league that could force some regulatory structuring, and that the Big 10 could very well do nothing.  Beebe says it’s a young conference and would like to see it grow old together with the members.  Will it happen?  We’ll find out next year, but in the meantime here’s this week’s Crib Sheet:

• The Big East wants the NCAA to study whether or not the on field head official should be in charge of overturning instant replay calls instead of the in-booth official.  We don’t think this works out to well because even though the head official is in the flow of the game, the in booth official has better looks at close plays.
• Dennis Dodd over at CBS Sports reiterates what we have been saying about Rich Rodriquez:  he’s on the hot seat big time this season.  Dodd puts the odds at 8-4 and a bowl appearance for him to keep his job.  Any takers?
• Nebraska’s top receiver Niles Paul got his 2nd MIP and a ticket for urinating in public last week.  If he keeps it up, he might be kicked off the team.
• The NCAA extended its catastrophic insurance for student athletes up through 2013.  A student athlete could receive up to $20 million in lifetime benefits if they get hurt during practice or competition.  That’s a pretty sweet deal.
• The cause behind the Urban Meyer drama last year finally came out.  Meyer stated he had esophageal spasms and that he has some meds to take for it.  The pain from the spasms made it ultra painful to eat.  Hopefully the medication will work and he can continue on in his work.
• The latest road block from Texas Tech didn’t work.  The judge in the case states that Mike Leach can move forward in his lawsuit against the university for his firing late last year.  Notch one win for the pirates.  It’s going to be quite the naval battle between these two.
• Even though Oklahoma is under some potential violations, the Sooners sent a letter to the NCAA stating that they meet the requirements set by the NCAA for their probation.  A probation period that came from recruiting violations and is expiring soon.  So they are out of the woods but could be right back in it soon.
• Some officials from Kansas are caught up in a ticket scandal that diverted a couple of million in tickets to 3rd parties for personal gain.  Most of the 6 officials involved have either left or been fired.  Meanwhile, athletic director Lew Perkins stated he didn’t know it was going on.  This shouldn’t hurt the athletics department in terms of probation and what not, but Perkins image is damaged and the school has not only money to recoup but the Feds sniffing around for more.
• On to football, the Big 12 meetings this week let loose some football schedule nuggets.  The Border War will be on Fox Sports Net on November 27th at 11:30 am.  The Sunflower Showdown moved from Saturday to Thursday night October 14th on Fox Sports Net at 6:30 pm.  Mark your calendars.  Also, note that it’s exclusively on Fox.  Testing for media numbers for the upcoming negotiations anyone?
• Apparently some exercise equipment loaned to Kansas athletic director Lew Perkins has come around to bite him in the form of a blackmail scheme.  A former disgruntled employee, Bill Dent, tried to extort money in exchange for keeping quiet about the equipment.  Dent also says that Perkins received the equipment in exchange for tickets.  We’ll find out what happens here.  Perkins says he is a victim, because the company that loaned the equipment went under and didn’t recover the gear.
• Meanwhile at the Big 12 meetings this week, Lew Perkins talked about that as well some talk about the expansion speculation.  The big takeaway?  He says expansion is a super serious threat and that Kansas may or may not have been contacted by the Big 10.  Diversion tactic is a go!