Latest news with #CFB
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Oregon Ducks' QB commitment leads to recruiting dominoes falling in 2026 class
With the commitment of four-star QB Bryson Beaver to the Oregon Ducks earlier this afternoon, the dominoes are quickly falling for another Oregon QB target in the class of 2026. Matt Ponatoski, out of Archbishop Moeller in Cincinnati, Ohio, was among Oregon's top QB targets in the 2026 class and was considering them as a program within his top four choices. A Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Ohio for both football and baseball, Ponatoski stood in rare air for his accomplishments on both the gridiron and the diamond. Alongside Beaver at the Elite 11 Finals earlier this month in Los Angeles, Ponatoski received praise from The Athletic's Bruce Feldman for being the CFB analyst's biggest "pleasant surprise" as far as what the Ohio native could do with the ball in his hands. However, after Beaver's commitment, On3's Steve Wiltfong has logged the Kentucky Wildcats as an expert prediction as a landing spot for the No. 9-ranked signal-caller in the 2026 On300. This shift in Ponatoski's recruitment doesn't come as a surprise, seeing as the Ducks did not plan on taking a pair of quarterbacks in the 2026 class, and thus filled their need for a passer on Wednesday. Alongside Kentucky, the two-sport star will presumably also consider Alabama and Arkansas, as those two programs were in his previous top four. Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Fans React To Massive 'College GameDay' Announcement
Fans React To Massive 'College GameDay' Announcement originally appeared on The Spun. As Lee Corso prepares to sign off of "College GameDay" for the final time just a couple short months from now, one of the show's most beloved traditions will also reportedly be leaving with him. According to ESPN, "GameDay" will no longer be doing the iconic headgear picks following Corso's retirement. Which was also confirmed by longtime host Rece Davis: "No one is going to put on a mascot head ever again," Davis said. CFB fans around the country reacted to the news over the weekend. "Proud to have been a Lee Corso headgear pick ✅" Bowling Green replied. "Right move," a user said. "Can never replicate Corso." "No one else can do it like Corso. Good decision," another tagged ESPN. "This is truly a sad day," a fan admitted. "This is a bummer but totally understand the decision," another person commented. "I'll miss seeing it, but it's definitely the right and honorable thing to do," another user posted. "I have no problem with this Lee Corso is a legend," another fan shared. "I understand this move but I'm going to miss it. I made sure to tune in so I could see the headgear pick every Saturday. Without it, no point tuning in to College Gameday over other shows." "I mean no offense to the rest of the crew but the Gameday show as a whole will die out without Corso. You just can't replace what he brought with the headgear," a viewer pointed out. "Good they shouldn't," another account approved. The coach first started his headgear picks back in 1996 before they took on a life of their own and largely ended up defining the show's legacy over the next several decades. Of his 430 selections 286 were correct. But there was never a time that his picks didn't stir up a frenzy at whatever location the broadcast happened to be that week. Corso's final show will be on August 30 — 23 days after his 90th React To Massive 'College GameDay' Announcement first appeared on The Spun on Jun 21, 2025 This story was originally reported by The Spun on Jun 21, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Longshot NYC mayoral candidate Michael Blake gets $2 million in matching funds on eve of primary
NEW YORK — Mayoral candidate Michael Blake has secured $2 million in public matching funds approved by the city's Campaign Finance Board — a significant but belated cash infusion for the longshot campaign. With just five days left in the primary race, the new cash influx likely comes too late for Blake, a former Bronx assemblyman, to mount a competitive campaign or significantly raise his profile. But Blake said the new funds mean his 'name will resonate across the city over the final five days' and mentioned get out the vote efforts and field operations targeting undecided voters. He declined to give specifics. 'We have days to close the deal,' Blake told the Daily News. 'Now we can make it clear to voters — you still have a choice. Especially to Black and brown voters, Michael Blake is a choice for you.' The decision comes after the Democrat sued the CFB for its refusal to allow him to participate in the second and final mayoral debate last week. The board in late May ruled that Blake would not be participating in the debate because he hadn't met the fundraising threshold to qualify for it, and a Manhattan Supreme Court justice backed up their decision. Blake's campaign argued in their suit that he had, in fact, met that threshold, and that the CFB's system errors mistakenly made it seem that he hadn't. The candidate garnered some attention with a lively performance at the first debate at the start of June, and climbed onto some endorsement slates after State Sen. Jessica Ramos, another mayoral candidate all but removed herself from consideration when she endorsed Ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo. He also cross-endorsed Zohran Mamdani earlier this week as part of a broader attempt to block Cuomo from the mayoralty. Blake received 2% of the vote in a recent Marist poll.
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Longshot NYC mayoral candidate Michael Blake gets $2m in matching funds on eve of primary
Mayoral candidate Michael Blake has secured $2 million in public matching funds approved by the city's Campaign Finance Board — a significant but belated cash infusion for the longshot campaign. With just five days left in the primary race, the new cash influx infusion likely comes too late for Blake, a former Bronx assemblyman, to mount a competitive campaign or significantly raise his profile. The decision comes after the Democrat sued the CFB for its refusal to allow him to participate in the second and final mayoral debate last week. The board in late May ruled that Blake would not be participating in the debate because he hadn't met the fundraising threshold to qualify for it, and a Manhattan Supreme Court justice backed up their decision. Blake's campaign argued in their suit that he had, in fact, met that threshold, and that the CFB's system errors mistakenly made it seem that he hadn't. The candidate garnered some attention with a lively performance at the first debate at the start of June, and climbed onto some endorsement slates after State Sen. Jessica Ramos, another mayoral candidate all but removed herself from consideration when she endorsed Ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo. He also cross-endorsed Zohran Mamdani earlier this week as part of a braoder attempt to block Cuomo from the mayoralty. Blake received 2% of the vote in a recent Marist poll. He did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
New York Post
09-06-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Long-shot NYC mayoral candidate sues to get onto final debate stage, claims donors ‘illegally' rejected
Mayoral long-shot candidate Michael Blake is suing the city's powerful campaign finance agency in a last-ditch bid to be allowed onto the Democratic primary debate stage later this week. Blake — arguably the breakout star of last week's first debate — claims the Campaign Finance Board nixed hundreds of valid donations that would have made him eligible for the forum hosted by Spectrum on Thursday night. 'The CFB has acted arbitrarily, capriciously, illegally, and unconstitutionally in doing so,' claims Blake's Manhattan Supreme Court suit. The CFB's 'antiquated' database wrongly rejected nearly 200 donations to Blake's campaign, including one by Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, according to the lawsuit, filed Sunday. The contributions would have made Blake eligible for the city's generous eight-to-one public matching funds program, a threshold for entry into the second and final debate, the suit states. 5 Michael Blake is suing after he said he was 'illegally' booted from the second debate. Pool/ABACA/Shutterstock The former Bronx Assemblyman, during last Wednesday's NBC 4 New York-Politico debate, referenced the fact that he'd been barred from participating in the next forum when asked about his biggest political regret. 'The campaign finance board did not want to meet with us, they said go to court and that's what we are doing,' Blake, an associate pastor at a South Bronx church and former Obama White House aide, told The Post on Monday. 'It is the CFB who made the error and they still have time to fix it. All we are asking for is we deserve to be on the stage Thursday night, we deserve to get matching funds.' The Blake donors were 'arbitrarily' disqualified due to address verification issues, including Williams — himself a candidate currently participating in the CFB matching funds program, the suit alleges. Williams' $250 donation was rejected in the audit 'solely because his apartment was not included,' a field not required by the Campaign Finance Law, the suit claims. 5 Blake, considered a 'breakout' star at last week's debate, says the Campaign Finance Board messed up, and he has actually met the threshold to be on stage at the second and final mayoral debate. AP 5 Public Advocate Jumaane Williams's $250 donation to Blake was nixed by the CFB because it claimed he entered 'a non-residental address.' Stephen Yang 'This audit arbitrarily preliminarily disqualified numerous contributions,' the suit reads, adding that the 'vast majority of such failures are due to the inflexibility of CFB's database fields.' 'The sole reason given by the CFB in denying Michael Blake participation is their conclusory and inaccurate contention that the Blake Campaign did not meet their eligibility threshold based upon matchable dollars raised to date,' the suit claims. 5 'It's surreal,' Blake told The Post on Monday. 'The egregiousness of these errors and the ramifications. Christopher Sadowski Blake, who is polling at 1.5%, is asking for a judge to force the CFB to include him in the debate. The board is required to host primary debates for citywide office elections, under the Campaign Finance Act, but is given broad discretion over who will be on the dais. Candidates either need to raise and spend nearly $2.4 million or pull in more than $250,000 in public matching funds to participate in the second debate. The threshold for the first debate was lower, with only $200,000 needed to be raised and spent to get on Blake sent in his May 19 contribution disclosure, the board at first seemed primed to give out matching funds, even asking for updated bank information. 5 Michael Blake was a former Obama aide and Bronx Assemblyman. James Messerschmidt But the CFB later sent the 'audit letter' claiming he was 78 donors short and included two conflicting contribution dollar totals, according to the suit. The suit also says the CFB was using an arbitrary deadline for when the contribution threshold could be met. 'They are just making up a rule,' Blake said. 'It's surreal. The egregiousness of these errors and the ramifications.'
