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🚨 Headline
🏈 MNF Doubleheader: The Vikings improved to 12-2 with a 30-12 win over the Bears, who have lost eight straight. The Falcons defeated the Raiders with two wins, 15-9, ending a four-game losing streak and getting back to .500 (7-7).
⛳️ Pay to Play: For the first time ever, American golfers will be paid to participate in the Ryder Cup. Each member of the U.S. team will receive a $200,000 “incentive” from the PGA of America starting next year’s event at Bethpage Black.
🏈 Clemson’s first transfer: Dabo Swinney, who publicly hated the transfer portal, finally added his first transfer. 6-foot-5 WR Tristan Smith will join the Tigers after a great season at Southeast Missouri State University (FCS).
🏒 Caps’ winning streak short: The Capitals lost 3-1 to the Stars in Dallas, ending their road winning streak at 10 and falling two short of an NHL record.
🏀 Pop thanks fans: Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who is still recovering from a stroke he suffered six weeks ago, released a statement thanking fans for their support. “My family and I are forever grateful.” Get well soon, Pop.
🏀 The SEC is in a league of its own
Ten years ago, the SEC was a football-first conference. Right now, this league is by far the strongest basketball league in the country, and may be the best we’ve ever seen.
A league of its own: All the major conferences have had good records so far, but the SEC is in a different stratosphere with an astounding .878 winning percentage.
SEC: 144-20 (.878)
Big 12: 115-39 (.747)
Big Ten: 140-50 (.737)
Big East: 82-37 (.689)
ACC: 122-70 (.635)
By the numbers, the SEC is 55-17 against major conferences, 42-6 against the ACC and Big 12, 17-8 against ranked opponents, and top 25 non-conference opponents. This is the most wins the league has ever had in a single regular season. season.
The SEC has five of the top seven teams in this week’s AP poll and eight teams overall, three more than any other league.
They also have more undefeated teams (Tennessee, Florida, Oklahoma) than the rest of Division I (Utah State, Drake) combined.
What they say: ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi didn’t have to think long when asked to describe the SEC’s start to the season in one word. “It’s outrageous,” he said. “I’ve been doing this for a long time, and what they’re doing as a group is unprecedented.”
Looking forward: With these early successes, Sunday’s selection could result in a record number of NCAA bids, according to Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Eisenberg. Lunardi’s latest “bracketology” predictions have 12 SEC schools in the field. If held, it would break the 2011 Big East record.
⚽️ UVM gets first Natty win with walk-off win
Vermont junior Max Kissel scored the golden goal in overtime Monday night to beat UVM 2-1 and win the program’s first men’s soccer national championship.
“Don’t call them Cinderellas! You can call them national champions!”
— ESPN’s Darren Cuff on the call
It was a great experience. The Catamounts’ rise from unseeded to national champions was largely thanks to Kissel, who won four postseason games. This is Vermont’s first ever national title game appearance in a team sport*, and it couldn’t have ended in a more epic way.
What they had to say: “I’m so proud to coach this team and represent our state,” head coach Rob Dow said, before the players’ celebratory Gatorade bath was interrupted. Ta. “The best.”
I love this man…
*Note: Although this was the University of Vermont’s first appearance in the national title game, the school’s ski program has won the NCAA Championship six times (1980, 1989, 1992, 1994, 2012).
🏈 Why college football coaches give their money back
Florida State head coach Mike Norvell is contributing $4.5 million of this year’s salary to the school in a one-year restructured contract, Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reports.
A sign of the times: At first glance, this might seem like Norvell’s way of apologizing for the Seminoles’ terrible season (2-10). In fact, this is a new trend in college football as schools prepare for an era of athlete revenue sharing.
This is Ross.
Norvell’s donation is part of the school’s new Vision of Excellence campaign to raise money as the school prepares to share revenue directly with athletes under the House’s new settlement agreement. . The settlement will allow Division I schools to share at least $20.5 million with players starting July 1.
In response to the settlement, the coaches are splitting a portion of their multimillion-dollar salaries. And schools…are vying furiously for the cash to pay players in a highly competitive recruiting environment. Even some of the most profitable and valuable football brands are finding themselves in a situation where money is tight.
There are two similar situations. LSU coach Brian Kelly announced last week that he would match up to $1 million in donations to LSU organizations, a roundabout way of taking a pay cut to contribute to a team’s roster. Meanwhile, in Stillwater, Oklahoma State cut coach Mike Gundy’s salary to pay for athlete revenue sharing.
Bottom line: “It’s simple economics,” says sports law attorney Matt Winter. “Many coaches would rather take a pay cut to free up funds to pay their players rather than lose their jobs due to lack of talent.”
🇪🇸 Soccer at low tide
Hundreds of soccer players descended on Sardinero Beach in Santander, Spain, last week to celebrate the 64th Campeonato de Football Playero de Santander, which has been held every year without interruption since 1960. Dale Beach Soccer Championship).
“The main goal of this championship has always been to bring together the large community of football lovers who flock to the beaches of Santander every Sunday to enjoy the sport they love,” said Getty Images photographer David. Ramos writes.
The tournament will feature 16 teams consisting of players 28 years of age and older. Games last 90 minutes, divided into 45-minute halves with a 10-minute half-time break.
Each team is represented by a representative who also acts as the “owner” of a particular area of the beach. They are responsible for marking out a field 100 paces long and 60 paces wide and setting up the goals.
Games are played only at low tide. As a result, the championship calendar is intricately linked to the tidal schedule, with matches starting when the water recedes to reveal the playing surface.
📆 December 17, 2016: Pumphrey passes Dain.
Eight years ago today, San Diego State’s Donnell Pumphrey broke the NCAA career rushing record by running for 115 yards and a TD in his final game at the Las Vegas Bowl.
Career top 5 rushing yards:
Pumphrey (SDSU): 6,405 yards (54 games)
Ron Dayne* (Wisconsin): 6,397 yards (43 games)
Ricky Williams* (Texas): 6,279 yards (41 games)
Jonathan Taylor (Wisconsin): 6,174 yards (46 games)
Tony Dorsett* (Pitt): 6,082 yards (43 games)
Two-headed monster: Pumphrey broke the record despite the rise of teammate Rashard Penny, who took the most carries. In fact, Pumphrey and Penny are the only pair of FBS teammates to rush for 2,000 and 1,000 yards, respectively, in the same season.
*Note: The NCAA began counting bowl games in records in 2002. If they were counting from the beginning, Dayne (7,125 games), Williams (6,683 games) and Dorsett (6,526 games) would all surpass Pumphrey’s all-time record. list.
📺 Watchlist: 30 teams entered, 2 teams remaining
The Bucks and Thunder will face off tonight in Las Vegas (8:30 p.m. ABC ET) in the NBA Cup Championship Game*.
Note: This is the only game that does not count towards regular season standings. Players on the winning team will each receive $514,000 and players on the losing team will receive $206,000.
Also noteworthy:
🏈 Bowl Game: Memphis vs. West Virginia (9 p.m., ESPN) … Frisco Bowl in Frisco, Texas.
⛳️ Golf: Crypto.com Showdown (6 p.m., TNT) … Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy (PGA) vs. Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau (LIV) in Las Vegas.
🏀 NCAAW: LSU No. 5 Seton Hall (6 p.m., FS1). No. 4 Iowa State (8:30 p.m., FS1). No. 10 Oklahoma vs. No. 20 Michigan (9:30 p.m., ESPN2)
🏀 NCAAM: No. 7 UNC at Florida State (7 p.m., ESPN)
*Pregame reading: 3 big questions heading into the NBA Cup Finals (Dan Devine, Yahoo Sports)
🏈 College Football Trivia
Oregon State was chosen almost unanimously by a panel of experts to win the 12-team College Football Playoff, becoming the seventh national champion in the CFP era.
Question: Can you tell me the names of the other six?
Hint: There are three conferences.
The answer is at the bottom.
🏈 All Bowl Games, Ranked
Welcome to bowl season! The effort began Saturday with the Celebration Bowl and Salute to Veterans Bowl and continues today at the Frisco Bowl. To help you prepare for the upcoming Ironclad Gauntlet, we’ve ranked every matchup.
Trivia answers: Alabama (3x), Georgia (2x), Clemson (2x), Ohio State, LSU, Michigan
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