The world according to Jim:

• I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that the continuing fallout from the defection of USC and (particularly) UCLA to the Big Ten has drawn Gov. Gavin Newsom into the fray, especially since he is also chair of the University of California Board of Regents. But will it make a difference? Probably not.

Newsom has taken up Cal’s banner in this case, dismayed by the secrecy with which UCLA bolted the Pac-12 and, by extension, leaving Berkeley’s athletic program in the lurch. Never mind that (a) UCLA telegraphing its intentions might have blown the deal, which may have led to (b) cutting Olympic sports and leaving its own athletes in their own lurch in order to pare a $102 million athletic budget deficit.