LAS VEGAS — Jim Phillips extended his fist toward Greg Sankey.
A punch? Of course not, silly! A fist bump.
Balling his right hand, the SEC commissioner engaged his ACC colleague in what has become the world’s post-COVID-19 gentleman’s exchange.
“I warmed them up for you,” Phillips told Sankey. “Now it’s time for the main event.”
Phillips had just completed his question-and-answer segment here at the annual Intercollegiate Athletics Forum at the glitzy Aria Casino on the Vegas Strip, and up next was Sankey.
Deep within this colossal structure’s belly, well past the Christmas-themed lobby and the cigar lounge, beyond the dizzying array of slot machines and table games, up three flights of escalators and around a bend of conference meeting rooms, the most powerful people in college football, finally, put their collective cards on the table.