Today, in as Big East realignment turns...

Today's news: the Big East football schools are having a secret meeting. Tonight! Well, it was going to be secret, but someone snitched. Someone always does. And Villanova wants to show just how wild and crazy they can be between the hashes if the Big East lets them play shiny egg Bowl Championship football.

Oklahoma, meanwhile, wants to keep the Big XII together - which could be good or bad for the Big East, depending on how that shakes out. If they offer invitations to Texas Christian (TCU), Houston, and Southern Methodist to round out their roster, that takes a few replacement candidates away from the Big East... and a future Big East member in TCU.

The kicker?

OU wants to oust Big XII commissioner Dan Beebe as a stipulation (and share Texas' Longhorn Network money. But the personality beef makes for a better story, doesn't it?)

Back into the den of theives... where a lot of Athletic Directors are talking tough confident talk with their big boy pants on. Not all of the boastful confidence in their futures can come true. My ipod just started playing Tool's "Intolerance". With lines like "but you lie, cheat and steal - no one is innocent," appropriate.

St. John's related links first, and then some of today's realignment action.

St. John's

CBSSports: What's next for Kyle Anderson's five finalists?

Which, for our purposes, is what's next for St. John's in recruiting?

If [Jakarr] Sampson decides to return to St. John’s, the Red Storm will likely have one scholarship available for 2012-13. Ricardo Gathers will help up front, but Steve Lavin could use more help down low. Chris Obekpa, who plays at Our Savior New American (N.Y.), rose up the charts in the summer and could be someone the Red Storm target.

Here's hoping the Red Storm target Obekpa and Joell James from Florida.

NY Post: Lavin says St. John's 'will continue to thrive' in Big East

St. John's said it believes "in the strong core" of what remains of the Big East Conference and will adapt to college sports' changing alignments.

With Syracuse and Pittsburgh leaving the league for the ACC, and UConn and Rutgers poised to follow, the Big East, if it continues to exist, could become a basketball-centered league, as it was when it was created.

Steve Lavin, entering his second season as Red Storm head coach, expects success in any scenario.

"St. John's is a proud founding member of the Big East Conference and we are confident in the future of the league," Lavin said in a statement released by the university Sunday...

Expansionocalypse

First, via Rush the Court, this is an awesome spoof, taken from the movie Downfall (written language NSFW, Downfall is a movie about Hitler, so NSFW for that as well, perhaps):

ESPN: Sources: Big East football to meet

One Big East source said he did not expect any substantial decisions to be made at the meeting, but called it "a chance to look each other in the eye and get a feel for who's in and who's out."

However, an official at one of the league's non-football schools questioned whether all of those attending can be trusted.

"Instead of looking each other in the eye, what they should all do is turn on their cell phones and show who they've been talking to and texting with," the official said.

VU Hoops: Football Schools Meet Tonight

Villanova’s inclusion in any merged league could depend greatly on the discussions that will occur tonight. ESPN is reporting that Nova administrators have asked to be included in this meeting with the football schools in order to make another pitch to the conference for inclusion.

Syracuse Post-Standard: A house divided: Sources say differing agendas led to the departures of Syracuse and Pittsburgh from the Big East

A second source said Pittsburgh president Mark Nordenberg was an advocate for trying to bargain a better deal when the Pac-12's 12-year, $2.7 billion deal with ESPN and Fox became known.

"After the decision not to take the ESPN deal, you're an (athletic director) and board member," the official. "What's changing? Who are you going to get that changes the Big East and makes it better? Notre Dame? Not a chance. Houston. Central Florida. We can get them this week. You don't have to wait. Those schools were not getting calls.

"You start to realize there's no school you can add that changes Big East football or makes it better."

The official said at that point, some schools became wary of their conference brethren’s intentions.

"People talk about loyalty," he said, "but at this point the future for my program is not an exciting prospect."

Some of the Big East's basketball-only schools agreed with Pitt, West Virginia, and Rutgers in opposing Villanova's move up to "Bowl Championship Series" football? Nice work.

CBS/ Brtett McMurphy: West Virginia turned down by ACC, SEC

West Virginia was turned down by the ACC and SEC. Now, tail between legs, they have to make some form of the Big East or the possible Big XII merger work.

PIttsburgh Post-Gazette: Michael Tranghese, Jack Swarbrick, John Marinatto Sound Off

A breakdown of Mike Tranghese's angry comments. He was venting, and Pitt partisans and the media who follow Pitt don't take too kindly to his commentary.His commentary, interestingly, has him directly taking shots at the football programs and labeling the idea of Rutgers delivering a New York market at ridiculous. Which it is.

Hard to paraphrase all the good stuff in there, go read it.

Follow RITG on Twitter | Like RITG on Facebook