Thank God the Senate was finally able to kill those jobs so quickly! Now the nation's top senators can return to the usual business of using their elevated positions to funnel money and prestige to institutions in their home states.

There's a big fight in the world of college sports over which university would get a final slot in the Big 12 conference, a move that for the schools in question — West Virginia or Louisville — would bring in some fat television contracts. It looked like it was going to be West Virginia! Then suddenly it was Louisville. But why? Maybe because of this:

Two other people with direct knowledge said that the lobbying of the Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, had helped Louisville. His communication with Oklahoma's president, David Boren, a former senator, and Texas Tech's chancellor, Kent Hance, a former congressman, played a role in raising Louisville's fortunes. Hance confirmed that McConnell called him to push Louisville.

Naive rookie Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia simply could not believe that Kentucky political kingmaker and manipulative anti-hero Mitch McConnell, Louisville '64, would stoop to this:

"If a United States senator has done anything inappropriate or unethical to interfere with a decision that the Big 12 had already made-then I believe that there should be an investigation in the U.S. Senate, and I will fight to get to the truth," Manchin said in a statement. "West Virginians and the American people deserve to know exactly what is going on and whether politics is interfering with our college sports."

The latest news suggests that West Virginia has ultimately won. Don't believe it until the final contracts are signed and certificates granted, though. Mitch McConnell is always up to some shit.

[Image via AP]