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New York Times
a day ago
- Sport
- New York Times
College football's talking season goes quiet. Plus: Clase on leave amid MLB gambling probe
The Pulse Newsletter 📣 | This is The Athletic's daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox. Good morning! Be mindful of upcoming deadlines. The major college football conferences' 'media days' wrapped up last week. Did you notice? Media days have long been a rite of passage to the season, the ultimate sign that fall camp is about to start and Labor Day weekend will arrive before you know it. They've quietly lost primacy in recent years, and I think media days' slippage tells a story about how college football has changed. Advertisement Do you remember what a massive deal the SEC's media days used to be, roughly a decade ago? The annual news conference by the league commissioner was akin to a college football State of the Union address. Coach speaking spots were enough of an event that their adversaries planned around them, like the time a former Ole Miss coach sued his successor immediately before the latter took the podium. Paul Finebaum's SEC Network set was a cauldron. Who could forget the Saban-Finebaum Heated Interaction of 2016? You are rolling your eyes, hopefully. But people did pay attention to media days as a proper event. It's hard to quantify, but I think this Google Trends chart, showing that interest in 'SEC media days' peaked in the early or mid-2010s and has been sloping down since then, is on to something. One problem? 'Talkin' season' is now year-round. The conference commissioners rarely go more than a few weeks without speaking into a microphone and making news about playoff expansion, scheduling models, NIL or some other governance issue. There can't be a SOTU every month. I put the issue to my pal Chris Vannini, a national college football reporter at The Athletic and a veteran of many media days: Are media days dying? And if so, should anyone miss them? 💬 Yes and no. For ESPN and the broadcast partners, media days are when you get the b-roll content on film you use throughout the season. They'll always need that. But from a news perspective, SEC media days have become a waste of time for writers. There is essentially no opportunity for one-on-one conversations. It's mostly just a TV and radio show event at this point. Other leagues' media days are more useful for writers, because they provide individual time with coaches and players. That can be useful down the road. The biggest issue with media days is that the college football offseason isn't about football anymore. It's been that way since COVID. The pandemic, conference realignment, transfers, playoff expansion and now politics have been the most pressing topics. The No. 1 thing most people were looking for going into the Big Ten's media days was the commissioner talking about his playoff idea. We see the numbers. We know what people are reading and listening to, and it's less about football and more about the machinations. I hope it flips back, but I don't know if it will. Let's talk more ball together this year. Guardians' Clase on leave amid gambling probe Cleveland's Luis Ortiz went on non-disciplinary paid leave July 3, as MLB began a probe into abnormal betting around two of his pitches. Now another Guardians pitcher is under the same designation, and it's a notable one: Emmanuel Clase, one of baseball's best relievers. The Guardians say they've been told that no one else in the organization is 'expected to be impacted.' Amid broader concerns for baseball, Clase going on leave throws a wrench into the Guardians' trade deadline. Advertisement Sanders 'cured' of bladder cancer Deion Sanders had his bladder removed in May after doctors discovered an 'aggressive' cancerous tumor, he revealed yesterday, as his health has been a subject of uncertainty throughout the football offseason. 'He is cured from the cancer,' one of his doctors said at a news conference featuring an upbeat Sanders. He'll continue to lead Colorado. More here. More news Our Jacob Whitehead — whose Tour de France coverage was excellent — wrote this in his deep-dive into Tadej Pogacar's dominance last weekend: 'Cycling is a sport where suspicion (of doping) is natural, because those at its heart have been burned before.' And that stuck with us. Is Pogacar — a four-time Tour winner headed toward GOAT status — now going to endure a lifetime of suspicion? We checked in quickly with Jacob: 💬 Invariably, yes. In many ways, this exists outside Pogacar's control — cycling has such a checkered past that suspicion is a default rather than a side avenue. Pogacar, 26, has set all sorts of records in terms of watt/kilo efforts — yet his best times up several climbs, such as the Hautacam, still lag behind those set in the zenith of the blood-doping era. The main issue, in terms of optics, is the presence of Swiss former rider Mauro Gianetti as team manager. During Gianetti's career, two doctors filed a criminal complaint against him over alleged drug use, while as a DS (head coach), his rider Juan José Cobo was stripped of his 2011 Vuelta a España victory after a doping test found abnormalities in his biological passport. Gianetti has always denied wrongdoing. For now, as Jacob points out, Pogacar's dominance appears legitimate. Onward: 📺 MLB: Mets at Padres 9:40 p.m. ET on MLB Network Both teams are in tight races, with the Mets just holding off the Phillies in the NL East and the Padres right on the fence for the last wild card. 📺 WNBA: Aces at Sparks 10 p.m. ET on NBA TV As mentioned above: This is Cameron Brink's season debut for L.A. and first game since June of last year, when she tore her ACL. Get tickets to games like these here. A really fresh angle from Andy McCullough, who canvassed MLB executives to understand their interpersonal dynamics as the trade deadline approaches — and sorted them by personality in the first installment of the three-part series this week. Broad-based index funds are a better investment than sports bets — unless, I suppose, you spent the past few years betting on Scottie Scheffler. This Neil Paine story is fun (and not investment advice). Advertisement This report on Mario Lemieux angling to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins back from Fenway Sports Group filled my Pittsburgh heart with optimism. Antonio Morales took stock of how all of the blue-chip quarterbacks in last year's college football recruiting class are doing. The results are sobering. Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Once again, Ichiro's 'wool sock' comment. Most-read on the website yesterday: Deion Sanders' health update. Ticketing links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ashlyn Watkins taking season off, won't play for South Carolina women's basketball in 2025-26
COLUMBIA — South Carolina women's basketball forward Ashlyn Watkins is taking a year off and will not play for coach Dawn Staley during the 2025-26 season. The 6-foot-3 Watkins has one season of eligibility remaining. 'As most of you know, this past year has been a roller coaster for me,' she wrote in a statement on social media July 25. ' I usually like to keep my personal life private, but every time I step out into the community, I realize I'm not alone in this journey. So many of you have shown me love and encouragement, and because of that, I feel like l owe you a little insight into what's been going on." 'I also want the younger ones who look up to me to know that tough times don't define you, they make you stronger. With everything that's happened this year, I'm going to take some time off to focus on myself, my community, my faith, and my family, so that I can grow as an individual and attempt to master this journey of life. I'm so grateful for my coaches, the USC medical team, my teammates, and everyone who's supported me along the way. For now, I'll be cheering on my team and working hard to come back even stronger in the 2026-27 season.' On Jan. 5, Watkins tore her ACL against Mississippi State and missed the remainder of the season. She wasn't practicing in June when the summer session began and wasn't expected to be ready for the opener. In a statement given to The Greenville News, Staley said, 'Everyone in our program is valued as the whole of who they are, not just as a player or coach or staff member and not just for the time they are on our team. We will support Ashlyn as she works through getting her body and mind stronger; and we will be here when she is ready to return.' Last August, Watkins was arrested on charges of first-degree assault and battery and kidnapping. Following her arrest, she was suspended from all team activities. She was reinstated after completing a pre-trial intervention program. The charges were dropped and she returned to practices on Nov. 8 after missing the season opener. She played in her first game of the season against NC State on Nov. 10 and in total, Watkins played just 14 games as a junior. She averaged 7.2 points and 6.1 rebounds, to go with one dunk on Dec. 8 against TCU. Though South Carolina made it all the way to the national championship game without Watkins, her absence was missed at times, especially in terms of rebounding. Looking ahead to this season, Staley has quality post players and height both in her starting lineup and on the bench, but Watkins still would be a great benefit. If Staley starts Chloe Kitts (6-2) and forward Joyce Edwards, who is 6-3 and led the Gamecocks in scoring last year as a freshman, she will still have options coming off the bench. She can bring in 6-6 Madina Okot as a traditional center, and shift either Kitts or Edwards to a true forward spot. In addition, Staley has options in 6-5 Adhel Tac and 6-4 Maryam Dauda. As a sophomore in 2023-24 Watkins averaged 20.6 minutes, 9.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game. In the 2024 Final Four, she had a career-high 20 rebounds against NC State. She brought down 280 total rebounds and finished with 10 or more rebounds in a game 18 different times. NEW: South Carolina's Joyce Edwards reunites with MiLaysia Fulwiley on USA 3×3 Nations League team Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@ and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina women's basketball: Ashlyn Watkins to miss season
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
After successful Big Ten debut, UCLA has designs on something even bigger
It's a chaotic time in college sports, the rules seeming to change daily and some athletes making nearly as much money as their coaches. At UCLA, the revenue-sharing era officially starts Friday. Athletes will undoubtedly keep refreshing their PayPal accounts to check for that first payment from the pot of $20.5 million that will be distributed in the first year. Meanwhile, Bruins athletic director Martin Jarmond will be keeping tabs on another bottom line — following up a successful Big Ten debut with something far bigger. Having tallied 10 conference championships between the Big Ten and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation — more than any other Big Ten school — UCLA could be poised for a breakthrough in its two marquee sports as part of a potentially historic year across the board for its athletic department. The football team landed transfer Nico Iamaleava from Tennessee and the men's basketball team brought in Donovan Dent from New Mexico, giving UCLA perhaps its best quarterback-point guard combination since Josh Rosen and Lonzo Ball nearly a decade ago. Read more: 'It came down to me wanting to be back home': Nico Iamaleava details move to UCLA 'If you look at our athletic program,' Jarmond, who recently completed his fifth year on the job, told The Times, 'there's an energy and buzz that I feel we haven't had since I've been here, and that's why I'm most positive now.' At a recent player-run practice on campus, Jarmond watched Iamaleava step up in the pocket and fire a 50-yard pass down the sideline to wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer. 'Nico made a play that I don't know how many other guys in the country could make,' Jarmond said, 'and I was like, 'whoa.' Like, that's pretty cool, you know?' There's lots of intrigue to behold in Westwood these days. Read more: UCLA finds its Dylan Andrews replacement in former New Mexico standout Donovan Dent Fresh off a Final Four run, the women's basketball team bolstered itself with the additions of sharpshooter Gianna Kneepkens, a highly coveted transfer from Utah, and freshman Sienna Betts, the younger sister of All-America center Lauren Betts. Oh, and don't forget that softball slugger Megan Grant will make Pauley Pavilion a second home as part of her bid to become a two-sport standout. Grant will also once again combine with Jordan Woolery as perhaps the nation's top-hitting duo in their bid to help the softball team not only make it back to the Women's College World Series but win the whole thing this time. The baseball team that just made the College World Series is bringing back shortstop Roch Cholowsky, the probable No. 1 pick in the 2026 Major League Baseball draft, and recently learned that high school pitcher Angel Cervantes will play for the Bruins next season instead of the Pittsburgh Pirates after contract negotiations ended with the recent draftee. Jarmond said he was confident the team could continue to play at Jackie Robinson Stadium in 2026 after a judge issued a stay of legal proceedings that threatened to force the Bruins to go elsewhere. The men's water polo team will try to defend its national championship with Ryder Dodd trying to top a season in which the freshman scored a MPSF-record 102 goals. Read more: 'A huge moment': Martin Jarmond discusses UCLA's plans after House settlement After finishing as runner-up to national champion Oklahoma, the women's gymnastics team will welcome a top recruiting class plus the return of two-time Olympic medalist Jordan Chiles. Jarmond said he appreciates working for a university administration that understands the importance of supporting a strong Olympic sports program, particularly with the 2028 Summer Olympics headed to Los Angeles. 'This is the time to continue to invest in our Olympic sports and make sure that we have the excellence that UCLA is known for,' Jarmond said, 'and we're going to uphold that tradition.' Unlike other schools that have imposed student fees to help offset rising athletic department costs upon the onset of revenue sharing, UCLA officials have not discussed such a move, Jarmond said. The Bruins will instead focus on revenue generation through fundraising, ticket sales, sponsorships and new creative endeavors. The school plans to partner with an outside firm to help its athletes with content creation to boost their social media following, making them more attractive to brands that could hire them for name, image and likeness deals. Jarmond said he's not aware of any NIL deals involving UCLA athletes being rejected by the new College Sports Commission, though there remains a backlog of deals under review. Deals of $600 or more are evaluated by a clearinghouse called NIL Go to ensure they represent fair market value and a legitimate business purpose. The role of collectives in offering additional compensation to athletes beyond revenue sharing continues to evolve as part of a shift away from what was previously considered a hard cap on earnings. 'I'm optimistic that it's going to work out,' Jarmond said of maximizing earnings opportunities for athletes. 'I'm optimistic that we will adapt to whatever situation that presents itself based on hard cap, soft cap, whatever cap.' UCLA is also strengthening the infrastructure of its men's and women's basketball teams with the hiring of an assistant general manager for each sport to help with recruiting and navigating the transfer portal. When it comes to revenue sharing payments, Jarmond said he's leaving it up to coaches to dictate how much each player makes. Football coach DeShaun Foster said he divvied up his team's money based on talent, with general manager Khary Darlington and assistant general manager Steven Price assigning values for each player based on previous NFL front office experience dealing with salary structures. Read more: A courtside lounge? Dynamic ticket pricing? UCLA hopes new sports ventures will pay off 'They loved that we had people explaining to them how you're getting this money or why you're not getting this money,' Foster said of his players, 'and I think that resonated with them.' Across all sports, the Bruins are seeking a strong encore after an initial Big Ten season that saw the school place fifth in the Learfield Director's Cup standings, its best finish since 2018. UCLA athletes posted what Jarmond called a 'phenomenal' 3.22 grade-point average through winter quarter (the latest for which figures are available) despite the travel challenges presented by playing in a coast-to-coast conference. For UCLA athletics to reach the heights that Jarmond wants, its football and men's basketball teams must win big, and he believes the coaches and influx of talent on each of those teams will give them a chance to do so next season. Iamaleava's arrival has generated heightened excitement about a football team that went 5-7 in Foster's debut season. Jarmond said two recruits he met with on their campus visits mentioned the quarterback as one of the reasons they wanted to come to UCLA. 'You know, we just have more interest and buzz, and it's cool,' Jarmond said. 'I think DeShaun has created that, and Nico and the guys.' What excites Jarmond most is the potential to be on a victory lap that's picking up speed. 'This is a great time for UCLA athletics,' Jarmond said, 'and I feel like it's just the beginning.' Sign up for UCLA sports for big game takeaways, recruiting buzz and more UCLA sports insights. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Kansas basketball coach Bill Self released from hospital after heart procedure
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas basketball coach Bill Self was released from Lawrence Memorial Hospital on Saturday, two days after having two stents inserted into his heart to treat blocked arteries. 'I want to thank all the amazing doctors and nurses at LMH Health for the excellent care I received during my stay there,' Self said in a statement released by the university. 'I feel strong and am excited to be home. Our team has had a productive summer and look forward to our batteries being recharged and prepping for this upcoming season.' The 62-year-old Self felt ill Thursday after having run Kansas' final practice of its summer session earlier in the day. He missed the 2023 Big 12 and NCAA tournaments because of a heart condition, getting a standard catheterization and having two stents inserted to help treat blocked arteries. Self led Kansas to national titles in 2008 and 2022 and is the school's career victory leader with a 609-156 record. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member is 831-261 overall, also coaching Oral Roberts (1993-97), Tulsa (1997-2000) and Illinois (2000-03). ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: and
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
President Trump's executive order on college sports: Here's what it actually means
WASHINGTON — On Thursday morning in the nation's capital, NCAA president Charlie Baker spoke to a few dozen members and guests of the National Press Club — an operation located in Washington's downtown, just a short walk to the White House. Just hours later, the association's years-long fight for federal intervention in college sports received, perhaps, a boost from the man living just a few blocks away. President Donald Trump released his long-awaited executive order related to college athletics, announcing in a five-page order titled 'SAVING COLLEGE SPORTS' that he is directing members of his cabinet to create policy around several aspects of the industry that protect the NCAA and conferences from enforcing and creating rules to govern it. But what exactly does Trump's executive order mean? What will it change, if anything, about college sports' athlete compensation and transfer environment? The short answer, at least for now, is not very much. The longer answer is … well … there are still questions. What are the most important items in the order? Trump's executive order has been a long time coming. In fact, just last week Yahoo Sports obtained a copy of a draft of the order, which isn't wholly different to the one he signed and released on Thursday. Above anything else, the order's preamble describes the college athletics landscape as having been subject to unfair court rulings that 'created an out-of-control, rudderless system' which is 'under unprecedented threat.' 'Waves of recent litigation against collegiate athletics governing rules have eliminated limits on athlete compensation, pay-for-play recruiting inducements, and transfers between universities, unleashing a sea change that threatens the viability of college sports,' Trump writes in the order. He goes on to write critically that some schools are paying their athletes as much as $50 million this year from a combination of House settlement-related revenue share and third-party NIL. 'A national solution is urgently needed to prevent this situation from deteriorating beyond repair and to protect non-revenue sports, including many women's sports,' he writes. How he plans to do this is to direct various members of his cabinet — the attorney general, secretary of labor, secretary of education, etc. — to create policy around several concepts that the NCAA and conferences have been requesting help on from Congress for years. Among those: Protecting scholarships for non-revenue sports: The executive order, most notably, requires schools to maintain or even increase the number of scholarships they provide to non-revenue sports. This is geared to protect Olympic and women's sports that are at risk of elimination as schools direct more funding away from those and to the sports that generate the revenue like football and men's basketball. Those with $125 million or budgets (most of the power league schools) must provide more scholarship opportunities than they did last year, for instance. Those with budgets of $50 million must provide at least the same. Prohibit third-party, 'pay-for-play': You might call this the prohibition of booster collective pay to athletes, which, in a way, codifies the House settlement terms that prohibit collective pay to athletes if they are not deemed to be for legitimate endorsement or commercial opportunities. This issue is at the heart of negotiations among attorneys that is expected to result in a resolution soon that permits collectives to operate in a more open capacity than first thought. The executive order reinforces that provision in the House settlement. How does Trump plan to enforce these parameters? Well, that remains a bit murky, but he suggests in the order that members of his cabinet, as well as the Federal Trade Commission, have 30 days to create a plan on the enforcement of such, including potentially withholding federal funding for violators, opening up Title IX investigations, etc. Athlete employment: Trump directs the Secretary of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board to 'clarify the status of college athletes' — an obvious gesture toward the ongoing debate over courts potentially deeming college athletes as employees. As stated in the order preamble, Trump is against college athletes becoming employees and is clearly, with this directive, ordering cabinet members and the NLRB — he appoints the board — to rule that college athletes are students. Ironically enough, while many college leaders fight against employment, some of them believe collective bargaining is the only solution for the industry. Limited liability protection: This is another issue the NCAA and conferences have spent millions of dollars and six years lobbying for. They want to be protected from legal challenges so they can enforce their rules over things such as transfers, roster limits, booster pay — many of which have been deemed illegal by courts. Trump clearly disagrees with these court rulings, as he notes in the preamble. The order directs the attorney general and the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission to create policies to protect the 'long-term availability of college athletic scholarship and opportunities' when such is 'unreasonably challenged under antitrust' law. The attorney general and the FTC have 60 days to create such a plan, the order says. What are the immediate impacts of the executive order? The answer here is potentially … nothing. Trump's cabinet members — many of whom are quite busy with other more pressing matters — will need to make policy around these subjects. The specifics of that policy will dictate exactly how pivotal, if at all, this order is. What is a certainty is that whatever policies are created are not law and will likely be subject to legal scrutiny. Congressional action and court rulings are law in this country — not executive orders, legal experts tell Yahoo Sports. Baker even suggested this during his talk Thursday morning. 'You can't fix this stuff from executive order,' he said. 'Our focus for now really needs to be trying to get stuff dealt with through the legislative process.' As it turns out, Wednesday was a historic day for college sports with regard to congressional legislation. An all-encompassing federal college sports bill made its way out of committee for the first time since the NCAA's lobbying efforts began nearly six years ago. The SCORE Act, bipartisan but pro-Republican and NCAA-friendly legislation that many Democrats are against, received the necessary votes to advance out of committees and is eligible for debate on the House floor when members return in September from their traditional summer break. In many ways, the SCORE Act grants the NCAA and conferences similar protections as Trump's order. Above anything, Trump's executive order may get Congress to more urgently and swiftly push the bill across the goal line. However, if it does advance out of the House, the SCORE Act faces stiff pushback in a divided U.S. Senate, where at least seven Democrats are needed to overcome the filibuster and reach the 60-vote margin for any bill passage. The Senate, though, has been working toward the introduction of its own legislation, led by Sen. Ted Cruz, who, much like Trump, has made college sports regulation a priority. He's been in negotiations now for months with several Democrats, most notably Chris Coons, Richard Blumenthal and Cory Booker. No agreement has been reached despite more than a year of intense talks. Will Trump's executive order change that? It's one of many questions on the topic that remains a mystery.
