National columnist
@USATODAYSports
, focusing on college football/basketball and other big stories. Send tips, ideas and requests to dwolken
@usatoday
.com
Pleased to unleash the first of a 10-part series from
@usatodaysports
on cheating in sports. First up: Why is cheating so pervasive, why cheating scandals get so much attention and why it’s so corrosive to our love of sports via
@USATODAY
Andrew Luck deciding he’s made enough money to do whatever he wants to do for the rest of his life without having to get his head bashed in or practice football is one of the most rational things any person could ever decide
The Atlanta Hawks have gone to the Eastern Conference finals, torn it down, completely rebuilt and gotten back to the Eastern Conference finals all in the span of the 76ers’ “Process” before they have
COLUMN: By criticizing Daryl Morey on Monday, LeBron James endorsed a world where calling out his own government for wrongdoing is encouraged but China is above reproach. It's the most shameful day of his career. via
@usatoday
Zion on whether it’s fair that CBS can follow him around with the Zion-cam while not being compensated: “Like my mom taught me, worry about the things you can control.”
It offends every fiber of my core that a team could completely no-show in its final game, sit on its ass during championship weekend and be rewarded with a playoff spot.
Irresponsible for media outlets to speculate about who else was on the plane. Get the info or don’t say anything. The stakes are too high here in this tragedy.
Saban asked if this team tested his patience: “I don’t have any patience so anything that happens is a test of my patience. Including sitting in this chair right now.” Alabama by a million
NBA TV has just shown Ja Morant in the stands eating chili cheese fries and Jaren Jackson downing some chicken fingers and fries. DO THE GRIZZLIES EVEN HAVE A NUTRITIONIST?
In Turkey, they can do 2,000 tests an hour at the airport and give people the results two hours later for $16. The fact we can’t do something like that here is an outrage
Welcome to the start of SEC bowl season in a few hours. Just a reminder, you have two narrative options this year as always.
1) The bowl result proves how dominant the SEC is
2) The SEC team didn’t want to be there
I’m kind of surprised we aren’t talking more about the fact that Ohio State has a better quarterback than Georgia, given that Ohio State’s quarterback was at Georgia last year.
My column on Nate Oats and the dumpster fire at Alabama is on the way. Truly one of the more shocking and disappointing days I’ve had covering college sports in awhile. Oats and AD Greg Byrne should be ashamed.
Coco Gauff says “I definitely believe in climate change” and wasn’t upset at the protesters. “Would I prefer it not happen in my match? 100% yeah, but it is what it is…I always speak about preaching what you feel and what you believe in and it was done in a peaceful way.”
So the Miami thing actually gets stupider, if you can believe it. Cristobal just doesn’t take a knee at the end of games. He hasn’t all year. I don’t understand it. I’m not sure anyone would understand it. But it’s his thing.
Are people really surprised about this Tuohy/Oher story? Maybe my Memphis background and familiarity with the Tuohys puts me in a different head space but I’ve been expecting this for 15 years.
They’re coached like they’re babied. They play like they’re babied. They act like they’re babied. They deal with the media like they’re babied. That’s all on the guy in charge.
After McMurphy dropped the text messages, Brian Voltolini and Urban "discussed at that time whether the media could get access to Coach Meyer’s phone, and specifically how to adjust the settings on Meyer’s phone so that text messages older than one year would be deleted."
This is inaccurate. Two completely different styles, two different players. Jake Fromm = UGA
Justin Fields = OSU
They both were made for the system they’re each playing in. If this were true JF would still be in Athens.
Dabo Swinney swept a racially charged incident during a practice between a white coach and a black player under the rug. If you are a former CFB player who has a similar story to tell at your program, my DMs are open.
Tennessee Tech is your college baseball Cinderella this year. Athletic budget of about $14.5 million just knocked Ole Miss, athletic budget of $110 million, out of the NCAA Tournament. Texas next.
Boise State traveled cross country, had a change of venue to make it a true road game, had to play in the kind of humidity it can’t practice in, got down three scores and was the much fresher, more energetic and composed team in the second half. SMH, Florida State.
The fact that the TV networks would pay various conferences to add 10 of the 12 schools in the Pac-12 but the Pac-12 couldn’t get a TV deal that kept them in the same league is one of the biggest failures by a sports executive we have ever seen
Coach K said Nike sent “their top people” to Durham after the shoe exploded. Those people then went to China to personally oversee the manufacturing of his new shoe. OK then!
I don't think it's hyperbole to say that if Texas A&M was not tied to Jimbo Fisher by the most ridiculous contract in the history of college football, this would be his final season.
I realize no McCord and Marv but the fact that Ohio State was the second-best team the Big Ten had to offer - by a significant distance - isn’t a good look for the Big Ten
COLUMN: The only person in the wrong place at the wrong time is Nate Oats, a coach who proved himself unfit Tuesday to handle a real-life tragedy that has now redefined Alabama’s season with the involvement of its best player now revealed via
@USATODAY
This is such a bad-faith move by Oklahoma especially when the Big 12 literally changed its rules to accommodate Baker Mayfield getting another year of eligibility.
As it pursues Alabama grad transfer quarterback Jalen Hurts, OU is blocking Austin Kendall from becoming immediately eligible at West Virginia as a grad transfer, multiple sources told ESPN.
I have a high opinion of Dabo and his program but hate this comment from a few years back and it’s worth renewing again. When the coach makes $9 million a year it’s not amateur athletics. It’s already professional.
The fact that Alabama didn’t come out the day after the shooting and say they were suspending the two players who were there while gathering more information will go down as one of the biggest blunders in college sports history
Intentional or not, the lasting message of that press conference is Urban Meyer yakking on an easy question by equating his own burden with Courtney Smith’s. Unacceptable. Disgraceful.
I feel like I’m taking crazy pills. I can’t think of a team that has had a better regular season that has been as disrespected as Washington. This is just insane behavior.
Stetson Bennett’s 20 minute interview with print reporters this morning was the best media session I’ve ever experienced with a college football player in two decades of doing this
COLUMN: the Oklahoma State uprising isn’t about Mike Gundy’s t-shirt. It’s about college athletes figuring out who their coaches really are. via
@USATODAY
Real Madrid wants to host a one-off match between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at its 81,000-seat stadium, per
@espn
.
Current renovations at Santiago Bernabeu will create a retractable pitch that can host tennis matches 🎾
If we got rid of championship weekend and went straight to an AQ/wildcard style Playoff we would get something like:
(8) Memphis at (1) Ohio State
(7) Baylor at (2) LSU
(6) Georgia at (3) Clemson
(5) Oklahoma at (4) Utah
Where do I sign up?
Here’s why I love Joe Moorhead getting hired at State: John Cohen didn’t do the typical BS of “gotta hire an SEC guy.” He picked the best football coach and brought a creative offense into the league.
Malcolm Gladwell, continuing his recent string of deeply problematic and weird takes, suggested on Simmons' podcast today that NBA players could be tested daily and live in a bubble and keep the season going
If the conclusion of the Pac 12 and Big Ten medical experts is to shut down and the conclusion of the SEC and Big 12 medical experts is to keep going people better be willing to talk about it in detail and on the record
COLUMN: Georgia went 0-2 against the two best teams on its schedule. The Bulldogs looked great against Alabama, but this isn’t a beauty pageant. Georgia shouldn’t be in the playoff via
@usatoday
Kansas basketball went to the doctor and was told it was going to have a heart attack if it didn’t change its habits and Bill Self responded by eating 50 Big Macs and smoking a carton of Marlboros
The athletic director at Duke, whose basketball coach leveraged his job as Olympic basketball coach into one of the biggest recruiting advantages in college sports history, is concerned about NIL's impact on a level playing field in recruiting. Consider that for a moment.
ESPN says that Coastal Carolina-BYU was the most watched game on ESPNU since 2015 with 1.212 million viewers on TV and 1.425 million total including digital
Source: Florida State officials have started doing background work on Oregon coach Willie Taggart in preparation for the possibility Jimbo Fisher takes the Texas A&M job.
Kirby getting passionate about his playoff case: “It boils down to one thing. Do you want the four best teams or not? Give the coach on the other sideline a vote for who he doesn’t want to play. I promise you it starts with us.”