The Crow's Nest

“I went one day — it was a small class of 20 or 25 — and it kind of turned into more of a big deal than I thought.”

• Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner, on why he has decided to take all of his classes online. Manziel claims that the attention he receives from his peers interferes with his education, and that online classes work best for him in preventing the fuss surrounding his presence. Because all of his classes are taken remotely, Manziel says he is only on campus about once a month.

• After a failed attempt last season, the NHL is getting ready to propose another conference realignment plan to fix the current travel ailments that affect teams around the league. There has been no confirmation by the NHL, but CBC’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the league is looking at a four-conference layout that would include two conferences of seven teams and two conferences of eight teams rather than the current two conferences of 15 teams. Among the reported moves are the Detroit Red Wings to a conference that would include teams such as Tampa Bay and Boston, and the Blue Jackets to a conference that would include teams such as Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

“ESPN has matched the third-party offer that the Big East Conference received, and, subject to Big East board approval, ESPN and the Big East will continue, for years to come, their long-term relationship, which began in 1980.”

• Big East commissioner Mike Aresco, on the conference’s new television deal with ESPN. If approved, the deal would include seven years of media rights for men’s basketball (2013-20) and six years for football (2014-20) for a payout of $130 million. Based on the 12-team league that is expected to form by 2015, each school would receive about $1.8 million annually.