On the Mountain West’s media deal, the Pac-12 comps, those left behind, the looming auditions ...

Seconds after the Mountain West revealed its long-awaited media rights deal Tuesday morning — actually, it was more like nanoseconds — comparisons to the Pac-12’s media agreement commenced. Are the linear components similar? How many games on CBS and The CW? What about the dollars involved? Why in the world didn’t the rival leagues simply merge? It was quite the cacophony across two time zones and social media. Some of the noise carried the extra benefit of being based in reality. We’ll dive into the relevant similarities and differences momentarily. But first, let’s draw an alternative comparison — one that exists at 40,000 feet but traces its roots...