Nikolas Webster

an elderly man is using a walker and says `` thank you '' . ALT: an elderly man is using a walker and says `` thank you '' .

Same, man

Michigan finishes at 8-5.
Bad by program standards. And yet:
-Beat USC (#11 at the time)
-Beat Minnesota for the Brown Jug.
-Beat MSU for Paul Bunyan.
-Beat NU for the Jewett trophy.
-Beat #2 OSU in historic upset.
-Beat #11 Bama in a bow.
Not sure any Michigan team got more bang for the buck.

Happy 2025!

Notre Dame’s Independent Status Earns It CFP Windfall Notre Dame football has a leg up on its rivals financially because it doesn't share its College Football Playoff payout with other conference members.

Because they’re Notre Dame, that’s why. Nice article. Read and learn.
www.sportico.com/leagues/coll...

Not surprised. Probably will see more of this.

America!

My grandfather’s train set. Most pieces are 70+ years old. Need to clean them up a bit. Going to be a fun few weeks ahead 🚂

Miami’s Jim Larrañaga steps down 2 years after Final Four run, cites business side of sport "I just didn't feel like I could successfully navigate this whole new world that I was dealing with," Larrañaga, 75, said.

Yep. Previous exploitative rules made coaches doing business really easy. Now not so much. Surprised at stepping down rather than job simplification. Let “GMs” do the business, and coaches now just coach.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/601...

Lmao “can’t make sense of the capitalistic forces shaping college recruiting”

Oh, you mean the ones you have to legally report now?

Good economics here. Substitutes matter. The follow through? Prices should start to fall.

Coaching Salary Cuts Support Economist’s ‘O’Bannon’ Testimony Roger Noll, a key expert witness in O’Bannon v. NCAA, says contract restructurings for Mike Gundy and Mike Norvell bear out his earlier hypothesis.

My textbook. Chapter 13. 2006.
www.sportico.com/leagues/foot...

Dear ESPN: If you chase the CFP ratings, you can’t complain about the results. ESPN gave us the 12-team College Football Playoff. It didn’t seem to enjoy it very much last weekend.

ESPN worked very hard to get a 12-team Playoff on air, then spent the first weekend of the thing -- which should have been a celebration of college football -- acting like it didn't care very much for the product it was paying for.

It was sorta odd: www.indystar.com/story/sports...

First page of complaint filed by Southern Miss basketball player John Wade III against the NCAA challenging the JUCO rule.

We have our first (of potentially many?) Pavia lawsuit clones.

Southern Miss basketball player John Wade III has filed a lawsuit challenging the JUCO bylaw on antitrust grounds.

I think they’re called the Glazers, but if you have to identify them by species, they’re rats, not mice.

two red and white flags with the letters ii and u on them flying in the wind ALT: two red and white flags with the letters ii and u on them flying in the wind

#iufb

Love it

Preliminary injunction order

Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia's motion for a preliminary injunction that would allow him to play in 2025 has been GRANTED.

wtf? Although, not surprisingly, it is the Hornets.

Continuing to pass the costs onto fans, I see

CT scanners are being used on sealed packs of sports cards to reveal what's inside.

The economics are easy. The ethical dilemma isn’t.

🔗 www.nytimes.com/athletic/598...

a man with glasses and a white shirt says i 'm not dead ALT: a man with glasses and a white shirt says i 'm not dead

Grades are in

Norvell revamps deal, gives $4.5M to FSU project Florida State coach Mike Norvell has agreed to a one-year restructured contract that includes a $4.5 million contribution to help launch a new university initiative aimed, in part, at raising money fo...

The reallocation away from coaches is happening faster than I would have guessed. SportsEcon predicted it must, but the speed is interesting.
www.espn.com/college-foot...

Reading about “parity” and the “new” CFB. The “parity” being identified but not defined here (sigh) is just expansion of CFP. And even that is BiG and SEC dominated. If it were the previous format, the CFP would be PSU v OR and Tex v GA. Same old same old, BiG and SEC.

This is going to be a trend.

Bill Belichick dealing with NIL.

Bill Belichick at Media Days.

Bill Belichick dealing with 6-7 reporters in a cramped auxiliary after a rainy-soaked game at Virginia.

It’s all gonna be so glorious.

I give it two years.

This is the news we all need to hear today