- 10:09 PM
- 10/17/25
Got to love this headline in The Athletic:
"UNC football GM Michael Lombardi met with Saudi Arabia about potential investment".
Way to go, boys. Name, Image, Likeness and Bone Saw.
Burnish the image of the school and the program.
(didn't link to the article due to the NYT paywall)
Initial reporting was done by Pablo Torre, who is seemingly a tireless digger into all sorts of juicy topics.
posted by beaverboard at 10:02 PM on October 16, 2025
What? When? Where did you hear that?
Penn State could do what the Buccaneers did when they hit a ceiling under Dungy.
Bring in Gruden to finish the job.
posted by beaverboard at 05:32 PM on October 15, 2025
The Titans are hell bent on regarding the Vrabel coaching tenure as a blip and continuing their commitment to Whisenhunt / Mularkey - based mediocrity after firing Brian Callahan by naming Mike McCoy the interim coach, while the pool of possible successors includes names like Matt Nagy and Arthur Smith.
No word on the availability of Adam Gase or Norv Turner as yet.
I don't know what a "splash hire" for the Titans would be. Bobby Petrino? Dan Hawkins? Lord help Nashville.
posted by beaverboard at 02:18 PM on October 14, 2025
I can't believe that almost 3 million people are squeezed into Qatar, with Iceland being almost 10 times larger in size.
posted by beaverboard at 01:03 PM on October 14, 2025
Mariners score 10 despite Blue Jays pitchers striking out 14.
posted by beaverboard at 10:37 PM on October 13, 2025
Someone in Howard's family may have lit an extra votive candle this morning.
James Franklin is gone at Penn State.
posted by beaverboard at 02:55 PM on October 12, 2025
NFL offices to traveling teams:
"Now when you get to London, don't try to generate positive passing yards or score touchdowns.
Offense can suck all day long, it doesn't matter.
Just focus on the kicking game. That's what they understand."
posted by beaverboard at 01:01 PM on October 12, 2025
Hard to believe that Joe Judge, who wrecked Mac Jones in New England, is on Lane Kiffin's staff at Ole Miss as a QB coach and has helped turn Jaxson Dart and Trinidad Chambliss into killers.
posted by beaverboard at 02:18 PM on October 11, 2025
Me: I don't know anyone who would run through a brick wall for Brian Daboll
Cam Skattebo: Did you watch last night's game?
posted by beaverboard at 02:05 PM on October 10, 2025
Oh man, RIP. What a player.
posted by beaverboard at 05:26 PM on October 09, 2025
Unmentioned critical ripple effects of this episode:
- Indianapolis will have to ditch the Naptown nickname, as it is currently associated with far too much excitement
- Rex Ryan will have to get a tattoo removed
- The federalized Oregon National Guard will be ordered to help restore order in the lawless midwest metropolis, now seen as far more dangerous than Portland
- The Irsay Sisters will hire a spiritual medium to conduct a seance in an effort to make sure their late father never finds out about the incident
posted by beaverboard at 01:43 PM on October 09, 2025
For multiple reasons, thank you Toronto.
posted by beaverboard at 12:42 PM on October 09, 2025
I don't know what to think about the NCAA allowing college athletes to bet on pro sports.
The approval language includes blather about "encouraging healthy habits for student-athletes who choose to engage in betting activities".
Sort of like a liquor ad that urges folks to drink responsibly. Cross your fingers and hope.
Doesn't take much imagination to think of the potential for greater harm and abuse than is already happening, with college and pro players getting death threats when bettors aren't happy with what happened to the spread or the props.
posted by beaverboard at 04:35 PM on October 08, 2025
Remarkable win last night on the heels of the Pats beating the Bills and the Broncos beating the Eagles, both on the road. And the Texans crushing the Lamar-less Ravens.
Might as well add the remaining non-injured players on the Niners roster beating the Rams.
Things are pretty wide open right now. There are a lot of possibilities. I'm glad that the teams that were rated as slam dunks pre-season are anything but inevitable now.
posted by beaverboard at 11:43 AM on October 07, 2025
Waiting for camera closeups of rcade during the Chiefs-Jags game at EverBank Stadium now that the producers have learned that Taylor Swift won't be there.
posted by beaverboard at 09:30 PM on October 06, 2025
Wondering if the contract contains a proviso about the goaltending.
posted by beaverboard at 09:26 PM on October 06, 2025
Wondering if the Men o' NoMich just put the final nail in the McDaniel coaching coffin.
His Wikipedia page currently says he's the former coach of the Dolphins.
posted by beaverboard at 06:12 PM on October 05, 2025
Petrino to Belichick: Get one more win, then ditch UNC and come join me in Arkansas.
Don't bring your son. But bring your girlfriend.
posted by beaverboard at 01:16 PM on October 05, 2025
Air Force - Navy was wildly entertaining.
They went toe to toe trading scores. Two dynamic QB's getting it done.
I don't know why Horvath of Navy isn't in the Heisman discussion. C'mon.
posted by beaverboard at 05:23 PM on October 04, 2025
Nice to see Mac Jones do well against the Rams on Thurs.
Always glad to see a player do well elsewhere after being put in a bad situation at a previous stop.
After wrecking the Pats, Belichick seems to have picked up right where he left off in Chapel Hill.
Although I'm tired of Dabo and quietly hope that UNC handles Clemson today.
posted by beaverboard at 11:46 AM on October 04, 2025
Not being a bettor myself, I'm in agreement.
I don't like how many online sports articles have a wagering angle buried in them somewhere.
The Athletic seems to have gone hard for wagering chit chat. I wave it off.
I'm lucky to be able to just look at sports as an endeavor that brings out all sorts of things in people across a wide spectrum, without any consideration whatsoever for fantasy leagues, merchandising, or betting.
I do try to follow the financial part of it, since such an insane amount of wealth and asset valuation is embedded in leagues, franchises, college programs, and conferences.
posted by beaverboard at 05:52 PM on October 02, 2025
Canada to the EU is a thought.
Someday, I hope the US rejoins North America.
posted by beaverboard at 01:15 AM on September 30, 2025
Only thing missing was ICE Barbie leading the chant.
posted by beaverboard at 03:47 PM on September 29, 2025
If you like special teams highlights as much as I do, give thanks for the surge of blocked kicks and returns we seem to be experiencing at the moment.
Not sure how long it will last, but it'll be fun while it does.
posted by beaverboard at 11:43 AM on September 29, 2025
Always a fun one from a fashion sense. The guys who got their togs from the superhero shop on Rodeo Drive versus the kids whose moms got their back to school clothes at JC Penney.
posted by beaverboard at 11:48 AM on September 28, 2025
Never mind who was actually at Woodstock and who wasn't.
Ten years from now, 100,000 people will say they rushed the field at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville last night after Virginia beat Florida State...and they'll be telling the truth.
posted by beaverboard at 05:11 PM on September 27, 2025
When Steichen and Gannon left the Eagles to become HC of the Colts and Cardinals, for a while, I thought Gannon got the better gig. But not no more.
Kyler is never going to live up to the payday he got from the foolish Cards. He should be making Aaron Rodgers, Daniel Jones or Russ Wilson money at best.
posted by beaverboard at 01:43 PM on September 26, 2025
So great, thanks.
posted by beaverboard at 01:20 PM on September 26, 2025
Why hasn't the CFLPA weighed in on this?
posted by beaverboard at 01:06 AM on September 25, 2025
How bout them Lions. Kudos to the OL and DL coaches. Those units ruled.
And how bout that ground game, showing a team with a feared rushing attack how the deed is done.
Hard to believe that with an extra day to prepare, Ravens OC Monken put in a game plan with a bit of clunky stuff and such shaky pass pro.
Wish the Lions would go to a shade of gray instead of their whites. Like the Giants white unis, the Lions' sets look like dirty laundry on TV.
Loved seeing the Ravens in all black against the turf under the lights. Made it much easier to see how the D was positioned and how it responded to each play.
posted by beaverboard at 02:26 PM on September 23, 2025
If you think the US has cut back on its diet of anger and hatred, don't read the comments section that follows the article in The Athletic about Bruce Pearl's retirement.
posted by beaverboard at 06:10 PM on September 22, 2025
Ending of the Eagles game was a hell of a scene.
Panthers game was a shocker. The game stats are insane compared to the outcome.
Sorry, Fox -- Cowboys-Bears is not America's game of the week.
posted by beaverboard at 04:29 PM on September 21, 2025
UNT could be bowl eligible by Indigenous People's Day.
posted by beaverboard at 12:52 PM on September 21, 2025
Speaking on behalf of a non-profit public interest group in Dade County, former NFL coach Urban Meyer has advised Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel not to fly back to Miami with the team after tonight's game in Buffalo.
posted by beaverboard at 01:15 PM on September 18, 2025
In the current moment, conflict of interest is the soup du jour.
Not sure why Tom wanted to buy into that team to begin with. There must be better ownership opportunities elsewhere.
The time to buy a piece of the Raiders was before they moved to Vegas, when their franchise valuation and operating revenue were rock bottom. Then let the Nevada tide lift your boat like it did Mark Davis'.
posted by beaverboard at 10:23 AM on September 17, 2025
I spent a good bit of my adolescence watching that guy play. RIP.
posted by beaverboard at 10:26 PM on September 15, 2025
The clinical name for it is Minnesota Syndrome.
Latrell Sprewell did the same thing when the Timberwolves offered him a contract because he "had a family to feed". When he couldn't sign elsewhere, he lost the entire value of that contract offer.
Then there's the Curse of Joe Smith on the Wolves, which is the reverse: agreeing to play for below market money in exchange for an illegally engineered future mega payday. The league found out, the team got burned. And so did Joe.
If I owned a pro sports team in MN and had a player I was uncertain of, regardless of the sport, I'd try to see if the Knicks would take him. Heck, they took Towns, it's at least worth a call or a text.
posted by beaverboard at 09:53 PM on September 10, 2025
It's too early to tell, but folks who were calling the NFC North "stacked" were maybe a bit premature.
Jared Goff may wish he still had Ben Johnson, and Johnson will surely wish he didn't have Caleb Williams.
I don't know if JJ McCarthy will become another Brock Purdy, but Caleb seems like he could easily become another Jeff George.
posted by beaverboard at 01:03 PM on September 10, 2025
For the Clips to be "bleeped", they first have to be "bleeped up", which it seems they are.
Ballmer way overpaid when he bought into the league. Donald Sterling was massively rewarded for being Donald Sterling. Ballmer paid an unprecedented premium in a compulsory divestment situation. Franchise sale prices had been cooking along at around the 500-600 million dollar mark and Ballmer comes in at 2 billion - to a seller with zero leverage. That blew the doors open and now franchise values are up beyond earth's atmosphere.
It's hard to part a fool from his money in a meaningful way when the fool has as much money as Ballmer does.
I wouldn't be disappointed if the NBA forced Ballmer to sell. If he does, he'll be rewarded the same way Sterling was.
posted by beaverboard at 09:41 PM on September 09, 2025
I got to see them all play back then. My late father in law filled out scorecards of the games and got a few sigs as well.
There's a stop light at the intersection of Rt. 28 and Eldredge Park Way in Orleans that lines up with the left field foul pole of the ballpark, which sits right on the NW corner of the intersection.
You did not want to be in a line of eastbound cars stopped at that light when Frank Thomas was at the plate.
posted by beaverboard at 02:45 PM on September 09, 2025
The jury is still out on whether when the Bills win a big game, it's because of Sean McDermott or in spite of him.
Last night, the Bills failed on not one, not two, but THREE two point conversion attempts after TD's.
Meanwhile, for the most part, the Baltimore kicker was looking like money.
But then he misses a PAT in the 4th quarter.
And the Ravens lose by one.
I can only imagine how many fights broke out within the groups of Bills fans who left early.
For God's sake, doesn't Buffalo have a Reich Rule in situations like this after what happened in 1993?
posted by beaverboard at 01:18 PM on September 08, 2025
Meanwhile, great to see Nick Folk still in the league swinging his steady leg, back with the Jets after cranking out the two best statistical years of his career with the Titans.
He had a good thing going with the Pats but idiot GM Belichick decided to draft a PK in the 4th round (apparently, no long snappers were available) and moved Folk on to Tennessee. Nick excelled in Nashville and the rookie in Foxboro sucked. Dumb draft choice. One of many.
Nick is only 40, so he's got a ways to go if he wants to get into the rock of ages Adam Vinatieri / Morten Andersen / George Blanda territory.
posted by beaverboard at 11:57 PM on September 07, 2025
The bigger story is whose idea it is.
Is the USTA obeying in advance or did they get a directive from somewhere in the government or the power elite?
posted by beaverboard at 02:37 PM on September 07, 2025
NFL post-game internal memo:
1) Don't put a franchise in the UK if you can't handle the weather in Philadelphia.
posted by beaverboard at 04:57 PM on September 05, 2025
Dallas post-game internal memo:
1) Have an opponent spit on Prescott before the start of each half.
2) Figure out if there may be a reason for the following, which was repeated throughout the broadcast: "Hurts, with all kinds of time..."
3) Either get Cee Dee Lamb some Lester Hayes Stickum or quit throwing him passes with Wallenda-level degrees of difficulty and high potential for serious collisions.
posted by beaverboard at 04:56 PM on September 05, 2025
Indianapolis being favored over Miami is strange. What am I not seeing there?
An off-season of steadily building impatience with former wunderkind McDaniel and ongoing dislike for longtime brunt Grier.
Home game for the Colts with a new DC and what should be a decent D overall.
Zach Wilson might miss the walkthrough looking for maturity at Ike and Jonesy's.
posted by beaverboard at 12:18 PM on September 03, 2025
If agent Jimmy Sexton's top 5 money earning college head coach clients (including Kalen DeBoer of Alabama) were fired without cause, the combined buyout total would be 340 million dollars.
Nick Saban was (and is) a Jimmy Sexton client but never figured into that math because he didn't have a buyout clause in his contract when he was coaching.
Sexton made up for it when he negotiated a massive buyout for DeBoer that Bama never should have agreed to. They wanted to look brisk and decisive in replacing Saban and paid accordingly.
posted by beaverboard at 10:27 AM on September 03, 2025
If a sports editor ordered a new plot concept for The Wizard Of Oz:
"Horned Frogs Of Dykes Lick Heels Of Gold Digger's Daddy"
posted by beaverboard at 11:23 AM on September 02, 2025
RIP Alabama and Dallas great Lee Roy Jordan, who regrettably lived to see the Cowboys GM trade away Micah Parsons, but thankfully won't be around to witness the spectacle of boosters at his alma mater begging Coach Saban to come out of retirement and rescue the backsliding Tide.
posted by beaverboard at 04:41 PM on August 31, 2025
Noles send Tide home stunned.
There are people not getting any younger who have never known what it's like when all three of the big Fla. schools are nationally competitive at the same time.
The glory years would have been even more epic if Coach Bowden had cared enough about placekicking to recruit and develop reliable, sustained excellence at the position.
posted by beaverboard at 09:42 PM on August 30, 2025
Jerry Jones:
"those draft picks could get us, I'm talking top Pro-Bowl type players," the Cowboys owner said. "They could get us as few as three or as many as five outstanding players."
The Cowboys haven't drafted all that badly in recent years, so maybe.
But it sure sounds like Jerry has Johnnie Walkered his front office brain back into the Herschel Zone.
posted by beaverboard at 05:13 PM on August 29, 2025
The owner of the most valuable sports franchise in the world negotiates in the dumbest way possible with Parsons and his agent, so Micah goes to a community owned team in the league's smallest market with the second lowest operating revenue and gets an unprecedented contract.
If Jim Irsay was still alive and someone asked me if I'd rather have the Cowboys' ownership problems or the Colts' ownership problems, I'd have to think about it.
posted by beaverboard at 10:18 AM on August 29, 2025
Unreal photo.
Sort of looks like the facial masks that NoMich and I recently got at the man spa.
We chatted idly about what the Eagles could possibly see in Sam Howell.
posted by beaverboard at 01:47 PM on August 27, 2025
I feel a little bad for Daniel Jones.
There are only 32 GM's in the NFL. A player's chances of being rostered by an astute one are less than even odds.
Jones went from playing for a GM who decided the QB was worth paying before releasing him (Joe Schoen) to a GM who declared that he believed in Anthony Richardson the day before Jones was named the starting QB (Chris Ballard).
If the Daughters of Irsay decide to do some firing, I would can Ballard ASAP and give Coach Steichen a fighting chance to compete with a roster built by someone who knows what they're doing and doesn't have their career trajectory forever pegged to having the rug pulled out from under them by the retirement of Andrew Luck.
posted by beaverboard at 04:00 PM on August 20, 2025
I don't want Dolan to give the Federal Government any more technology based exclusionary ideas.
My money's on Morgan and Morgan. Their average annual revenue is at least 10 times Dolan's net worth.
Attorneys could have a lot of fun with this.
Such as announcing a Vendetta Day. All ticket holders show up in Guy Fawkes masks to thwart facial recognition devices.
I now see the task that lies ahead of me.
I have to find a way to dupe Alan Dershowitz into suing Madison Square Garden.
If that guy gets banned, Dolan will wish he'd never been born.
Dershowitz is in the "All About Me" Hall Of Fame along with the likes of Tonya Harding, Terrell Owens, and General Douglas MacArthur.
posted by beaverboard at 01:31 PM on August 15, 2025
Arlington, Texas remains the largest city in the US without a fixed route mass transit system.
Many tax dollars have gone into funding new sports facilities instead.
And we recently learned here on SpoFi about how abhorrent the Stars have become in imposing a stranglehold on the central Texas hockey community.
According to one of the comments that follow this Defector piece (the comments are almost as blistering as the piece itself), no one in Arlington cares about the Cowboys.
The article includes this insight into area highway conditions:
"Every Dallas resident has a fetish for sitting dead-stopped on a 10-lane highway alongside a bunch of other unhappy people, all driving the largest car available."
At least things are trending upward in one other sporting region of the continent.
posted by beaverboard at 04:52 PM on August 11, 2025
That whole bit in the Isaac clip about the K-Ball prep is illuminating.
It'll be interesting to see if someone breaks Tucker's record during the regular season.
posted by beaverboard at 12:41 PM on August 11, 2025
Immortality confirmed: The LSD fueled no-hitter that Dock Ellis threw in 1970 was a clue in today's Boston Globe Crossword.
1970 was a banner year in sports.
posted by beaverboard at 12:35 PM on August 10, 2025
Cam Little kicked a 70 yd. field goal for the Jaguars yesterday.
It's not in the record books because it was not kicked during a regular season game.
But it was even a more historic kick than the numbers indicate.
Tom Dempsey kicked a record setting 63 yd. FG in 1970 that was all the more remarkable because he kicked it in the sultry air of outdoor Tulane Stadium in NOLA.
But it was kicked in November, when weather conditions in Louisiana are more moderate.
Most of the massive moon shots that Elam, Prater and McManus kicked for the Broncos were struck in the thin, high altitude air of Denver, where the ball carries farther.
Justin Tucker's record 66 yarder was kicked in a controlled environment, indoors at Ford Field in Detroit.
Cam Little's kick was nailed outdoors in August in Jacksonville on the banks of the St. Johns River, a short distance inland from the sea air of the Atlantic.
That is some thick, wet, heavy ass air. The idea that Little made a 70 yard kick under those conditions is mind boggling. I'd say tack on another 5 yards for degree of difficulty and give him the record.
The whole thing is fitting poetic justice. It wasn't that long ago that the Jags' Asshole In Chief, Urban Meyer, kicked PK Josh Lambo in the leg during an August practice and said: "Hey dipshit, make your fucking kicks" before releasing Lambo (one of the best all time kickers in franchise history) from the squad.
posted by beaverboard at 10:38 AM on August 10, 2025
SportsFilter: The Friday Huddle
Last night's Steelers-Bengals game was a hoot.
No wonder Mike Tomlin got his undies bunched up when Cincy traded for Flacco.
Only thing missing was that tahoe didn't lock the Bengals to win. He should get an honorary lock just for picking them.
Flacco will probably come back to earth before long, but it's still fun to see the unexpected momentary magic show up now and then.
The Siberian Tiger white unis are great, as always. Flacco just needed a break from orange helmets for a minute.
Flacco's soft touch on the ball is unreal. It's like watching Scott McGregor or Jamie Moyer pitch. Flac should mentor Bazooka Joe Milton and show him how to vary his ball velocity.
Looks like the Browns GM is in the James Franklin zone of scorn, getting roasted for trading Flacco, especially within the division.