12/21/24
March 26, 2014
SportsFilter: The Wednesday Huddle:
A place to discuss the sports stories that aren't making news, share links that aren't quite front-page material, and diagram plays on your hand. Remember to count to five Mississippi before commenting in anger.
No Diploma, No USF Job For Steve Masiello
posted by BornIcon at 11:58 AM on March 26, 2014
"If it's accurate, I'm shocked by it," said Pitino, whose team beat Manhattan in the second round of the NCAA tournament last week. "I had no idea. I left the previous year, and he was on track to graduate."The quote should come with a roll of paper towels.
posted by yerfatma at 12:11 PM on March 26, 2014
Two-ply econo roll.
posted by beaverboard at 12:39 PM on March 26, 2014
New NFL rules for this season (and some that didn't make it):
Proposals passed:Proposals tabled for further review:
- Officials can now use replay review to rule on loose ball recoveriesthe so-called "NaVorro Bowman" rule, so dubbed after the 49ers were unable to challenge an obvious Niners fumble recovery in the NFC Championship that the refs awarded to the Seahawks.
- The goalpost uprights will be extended five feet higher, to reduce the instances of a kick sailing above the upright and leaving it to the officials' judgment.
- The game clock will no longer stop when a quarterback is sacked.
- "Roll up blocks," where a blocker hits the side of the knee of a player, are banned.
- Officials will now be able to speak wirelessly with each other, and with the central replay office.
- While not a new rule, the existing rule forbidding the use of the ball as a prop during TD celebrations will be extended to ban dunking the ball over the crossbar.
Proposals voted down:
- Though a proposal to move the line of scrimmage on PATs to the 25 was officially tabled, there will be a change. For the first two weeks of the preseason, extra point tries will be snapped from the 20, making it roughly a 38-yard kick. (Historical data says to expect a success rate in the high 80s.) The league will monitor the results, and presumably vote on changing the rule at next year's meetings.
- A proposal to do away with overtime in preseason games and let them end in ties.
- A proposal to add six boundary-line cameras at every game to make replay reviews more conclusive. (This was the one where Bill Belichick joked that the NFL needs to hold a bake sale if they can't afford the cameras.)
- Owners voted against moving the kickoff from the 35-yard-line to the 40.
- Owners voted against a proposal that would have made every play challengeable by coaches.
- Owners voted against allowing officials to use replay to review personal foul penalty calls.
posted by Etrigan at 12:49 PM on March 26, 2014
Regional National Labor Relations Board rules that college football players are employees and are therefore eligible to form a union. Northwestern will appeal to the NLRB headquarters in Washington, then whoever loses that one will doubtless take it to court.
posted by Etrigan at 03:23 PM on March 26, 2014
There is no better exemplar of modern college athletics than an AD getting a week's pay bonus for a wrestler winning his weight class at the NCAA championship.