Fans, players, coaches, and administrators all breathed a sigh of relief when the Big 12 survived as a ten-team conference. Nebraska bolted for the Big 10, and Colorado, the Pac 10, but Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State declined to join them. Don’t count new Texas Tech football coach Tommy Tuberville among those lauding the new league, he told Rivals Radio that the Big 12 won’t be around that much longer. Tuberville coached in the SEC for 14 years at Ole Miss and Auburn. He says the Big 12 needs revenue sharing to ensure its long term viability. Tuberville says the SEC has what the Big 12 does not, a strong commisioner who will look out for all of it’s teams. He went on to say that Nebraska bolted for the Big 10 because of a lack of trust in its former league schools, and Texas will call the shots even more so in the new Big 12. Nebraska will be leaving for the Big 10 in 2011, and Colorado is looking to do the same after initially saying it would leave in 2012.

(AP) University of Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn says he hopes to know within a month how much it’s going to cost the school to bolt the Big 12 for the Pac-10. Lawyers for both conferences and the university are in discussions on an exit strategy for CU, which announced earlier this month it was switching leagues in 2012. The Buffaloes would prefer to leave after next season like the University of Nebraska, which is joining the Big Ten in 2011. That could prove costlier for Colorado, but the Big 12 might also decide it’s better for the Buffaloes to leave after next school year and agree to a lower penalty fee.

(AP) Whit Merrifield’s RBI single with one out in the bottom of the 11th inning gave South Carolina its first baseball national championship with a 2-1 victory over UCLA in the College World Series on Tuesday night. The Gamecocks (54-16) won six straight games after losing their CWS opener against Oklahoma. They also won the last championship played at Rosenblatt Stadium, the CWS’ home since 1950. Scott Wingo drew a leadoff walk and took second when catcher Steve Rodriguez, perhaps distracted when Evan Marzilli squared to bunt, let an inside 1-0 pitch get past him. Wingo moved to third when Marzilli got a bunt down, and scored when Merrifield drilled a 2-0 pitch by Dan Klein (6-1) past pulled-in outfield of the Bruins (51-17). It is South Carolina’s first baseball championship and joins an NCAA title won by the women’s track team in 2002 as the athletic department’s biggest achievements.

The Kansas City Chiefs have signed fifth-round draft pick Kendrick Lewis, a defensive back out of Mississippi. Terms of the deal announced Tuesday were not released. The 6-foot, 198-pound Lewis was the first of two fifth-round selections for the Chiefs and the 136th pick overall. He appeared in 44 games at Mississippi, making 226 tackles and six interceptions with 18 passes defensed.

(AP) Gavin Floyd pitched into the seventh inning to earn his first win in five weeks as the Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 4-3 on Tuesday night. Floyd, who was 0-3 with a 2.79 ERA in six starts since beating Florida on May 22, held the Royals to three runs, one unearned, and seven hits in 6 2-3 innings. In his previous two 2010 starts against the Royals, Floyd was 0-2, allowing 11 runs and 23 hits in 12 1/3 innings. Floyd (3-7) entered the game 0-4 in five career starts at Kauffman Stadium and 1-7 with a 5.53 ERA in 10 career starts against the Royals. He beat them for the first time since June 3, 2008. Royals starter Brian Bannister (7-6) was lifted after four innings, allowing four runs and eight hits.

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was ejected from the team’s game against the Royals. Guillen was thrown out by plate umpire Tim Timmons, apparently for arguing balls and strikes. The White Sox were leading 3-0. Dayan Viciedo had just been called out on a checked swing. It was the fourth ejection this year for Guillen, and 23rd of his career.

Now former K-State Wildcat Denis Clemente will begin his professional career with the Charlotte Bobcats’ summer league team, NBC Action News in Kansas City is reporting. Clemente will compete with former KU guard Sherron Collins for a roster spot with the Bobcats, who will also play in Orlando this summer with the team. Clemente averaged 16.6 points and 4.2 assists per game this past season for the Wildcats in their 29-win campaign that ended in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. Charlotte starts the Orlando Summer League next Monday against the Utah Jazz.

(AP) UCLA has won a nation-leading 106 NCAA championships in 17 sports. Not one of them is in baseball yet. The Bruins’ chance is here, against South Carolina, in the best-of-three College World Series finals starting Monday night. The Bruins are in the finals a year after finishing 27-29 and not making the 64-team NCAA tournament. They’ve ridden the strong pitching of starters Gerrit Cole, Trevor Bauer and Rob Rasmussen. South Carolina reached the CWS championship game in 1975, 1977 and 2002 and lost each time. The Gamecocks survived four elimination games to make it to the finals. UCLA will start Cole (11-3) in Game 1. South Carolina didn’t announce a starter, deciding among Blake Cooper (12-2), Tyler Webb (3-2) and Jay Brown (3-0).

(AP) Jason Kendall had a pair of two-run doubles and Jose Guillen stretched his hitting streak to 21 games, leading the Kansas City Royals past the St. Louis Cardinals 10-3 Sunday. Wilson Betemit hit a three-run homer as the Royals took two of three from their I-70 rivals. Last year, the Cardinals went 5-1 against Kansas City and swept all three in Kauffman Stadium. Guillen had two singles, his first glanced off the glove of shortstop Brendan Ryan and drove in a run. His 21-game streak is the longest by a Royal since Rey Sanchez hit in 21 straight in 2001. During Guillen’s streak, 27 of his 31 hits have been singles. He’s also had two doubles, a triple, one homer and 13 RBIs.

The newest K-State baseball recruit is also the fourth Manhattan High Indian in the last several years to play in their hometown. Kyle Speer, a member of the class of 2011, commited to the Wildcats this month. He hit over .500 as the Indians #3 hitter as he helped lead the Indians to the 6A state tournament. Speer follows current Wildcats Blair DeBord and Matt Giller from Manhattan High, along with 2008 graduate Justin Murray. He says he’s looking forward to playing in his hometown, as he chose the K-State program over Nebraska. Speer adds that he’s glad to have his recruitment wrapped so he can focus on his senior year at MHS.

Speer and his Manhattan Manko Senior 17′ers teammates won their first game of the Battle of Omaha tournament on Thursday, 14-7 over River Falls, Wisconsin. Manko will play two more games on both Friday and Saturday.

Kansas State outfielder Nick Martini picked up his second All-America award on Thursday as he was named a Second Team All-American by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA). Martini, who earned Louisville Slugger Third Team All-American accolades by Collegiate Baseball, became the second-straight Wildcat to be honored by the ABCA after A.J. Morris was named an All-American and the Midwest Region Player of the Year in 2009. Martini, the 2010 Big 12 Co-Player of the Year, finished his sophomore campaign with a Big 12-best .416 batting average. The Crystal Lake, Ill., product tied for fifth in school history in single-season batting average, while he will begin his junior year second on the school’s career list at .376. Martini logged 96 hits in 2010, just one shy of tying Heath Schesser’s record of 97 in 1997. Of his 96 hits, 71 were singles, setting the school’s single-season mark. He also set the school record for longest hitting streak (26), while finishing the season third in the K-State record book in on-base percentage (.509), ninth in total bases (133) and 10th in RBI (59).

Joining Martini on the ABCA All-America list from the Big 12 were Texas pitchers Chance Ruffin (first team) and Cole Green (second team), Texas A&M pitcher Barret Loux (third team), Missouri first baseman Aaron Senne (third team) and Oklahoma third baseman Garrett Buechele (third team).