THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Pac-12 TV deal, NIL shenanigans and other stuff

You’re right.

Absolutely.

It’s been too long since we’ve done a Notes and Quotes column, so we’ve got to find one lurking around the place.

Oh, and on the subject of lurking …

I’m so far out of it regarding the various initials and phrases spawned by social media, I didn’t even know what WFH was all about.

I’m positive that you super-sharp characters know that it stands for “Work from Home,” a now-common abbreviation that apparently came into existence during COVID-19 office restrictions.

A recent national survey of the WFH crowd turned up some amazing numbers — like, 72 percent of respondents believe that returning to the office would have a negative impact on their mental health.

(That was NOT me, boss, I promise!)

One question posed to WFH employees was pretty simple: How much money, in a lump sum, would be enough to get you back in the office?

Idahoans didn’t ask for much, relatively speaking.

According to the survey, we’d pack up and leave the house for $9,924 apiece.

Meanwhile, North Dakotans would demand $28,176.

Wow, they’re having a lot fun at home over in Fargo.

Right, then, moving along …

ITEM: Feel free to tell plenty of friends you heard a scoop here first.

Although …

This is strictly opinion, OK?

I didn’t break into anyone’s office or swipe their mail.

The Cheap Seats guess is that the Pac-12 Conference will announce a media rights package — in the neighborhood of $32 million per school — sometime in the next couple of weeks.

As for the matter of expansion, SMU and San Diego State remain the most likely candidates.

However, I can’t see that it makes any sense for the Pac-12 to invite then in before 2025.

What’s the rush?

Neither of those schools will get better offers.

Meantime, the 10 remaining Pac-12 schools can split the conference’s College Football Playoff cash among themselves in 2024.

Yahtzee!!

ITEM: The money from NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) has changed college sports dramatically — and in some ways that were unexpected.

For instance, if you have enough cash floating around, you don’t necessarily need an available scholarship to land a big fish.

This fiddling of numbers is especially important in basketball, where scholarships can be a bit more precious.

Example …

Chris Ledlum averaged 18.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game at Harvard last season, then put his name in the transfer portal.

Tennessee scooped up Ledlum, who signed with the Vols in May.

But, apparently someone has come along with a better offer — and Ledlum has de-committed from Tennessee to accept a walk-on spot elsewhere.

Since this is a walk-on deal, you KNOW it’s all about money.

There’s a potentially interesting wrinkle in Ledlum’s case, too.

The player chose the Vols over St. John’s and Indiana when he decided to leave Harvard.

In the meantime, however, the state of New York has passed a law that essentially gives the NCAA no authority over its universities.

If you’re thinking that maybe Rick Pitino and St. John’s were waiting for this legislation to present Ledlum with a better offer, well …

A lot of people agree with you.

Note: Gonzaga won’t be Ledlum’s destination. The Zags surprisingly have three scholarships available for the 2023-24 season.

And …

For what it’s worth, Gonzaga won’t win many NIL bidding wars against schools from, say, the SEC.

Mark Few and his staff will have to do it the old-fashioned way, selling the university and its basketball program.

ITEM: Sure, most baseball fans will remember this week for the All-Star Game in Seattle.

But there was also an anniversary worth noting last Sunday.

On July 9, 1948 — a mere 75 years ago — the legendary Satchel Paige stepped from myth into the American League, joining the Cleveland Indians at the age of 41.

Or perhaps he was 42.

Or …

Well, there are stories from Satch’s contemporaries who would swear that he was closer to 50 when he became the first Black pitcher in the AL.

Naturally, it was owner Bill Veeck — a rebel and storybook character in his own right — who signed Paige.

Satch has some official stats now (including the recognized Negro Leagues), and he went 6-1 down the stretch to help Cleveland win both a pennant and the World Series.

Almost everyone who knew the politics of the time agrees that Satch should have been the first Black player, instead of Jackie Robinson, to break the MLB color barrier.

But baseball executives worried that Satch, who pitched thousands of non-documented games, was TOO much a product of Negro baseball for the limelight that ultimately beamed on Robinson.

One thing is clear, however …

Satch could pitch.

Longtime MLB manager Bob Lemon was a teammate of Paige’s on those ’48 Indians, and I was present when Lemon — then managing the Royals — claimed Satch was almost certainly the best pitcher who ever lived.

Lemon was a Hall of Fame pitcher himself, and part of a Cleveland staff that included Hall members Bob Feller and Early Wynn.

No matter what …

Satch’s entry into the major leagues gives us a meaningful anniversary.

And he got a World Series ring.

Email: [email protected]

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”