Jon Joseph

USA gals are Golden. 😍 In a game that went into Overtime, USA 2 - Canada 1.

Amen, but CFB sold the right to make playoff and bowl decisions to Disney/ESPN.

Thanks, Gat. Petitti's PO format proposal no longer includes automatic qualifiers. The season would begin in Week Zero. There would be no conference champ games played. Petitti proposes a 16-team field in 2027-28 and 2028-29, with the field going to 24 teams in 2029-30, which just happens to be 😁 the first year of the Big Ten's new media deal. The B1G's current media deal will be the first P4 conference deal to expire and be renegotiated. The B12 deal runs through 2030-31. The SEC's deal runs through 2033-34. The ACC's deal runs through 2036. Petitti has the B1G perfectly positioned. (Not to be confused with Larry Scott having the Pac-12 perfectly positioned. 🤬) While it hasn't to date been given the antitrust green light, streaming service Venu, owned 50/50 by Fox and Disney/ESPN, signals an intent of the two to cooperate on the media front. Fox owns 60% of the Big Ten Network, so it will be the B1G's 'go-to' network. I'm hoping that, come 2030, ESPN will become a Big Ten broadcast partner. No entity supports CFB more than ESPN, and I think ESPN being a B1G and SEC broadcast partner will lead to agreement on an expanded playoff format. I like 24-teams, no AQs, top 8 ranked teams with a short 1st round bye, and at least the 1st and 2nd rounds played on campus, as part of Petitti's format. And the PO starts and finishes two weeks earlier than today. If the NCAA managed the FBS CFB playoff, we'd already be at 24 teams. CFB Needs the Dues! The money that will rain down from a 24-team field with the PO to start and finish two weeks sooner than today. 🤑

Here's hoping that Hilary will have a good Knight! AP NewsHilary Knight gets her dream matchup as US faces Canada f...Hilary Knight got her wish. The United States women's hockey captain and her teammates will be going for gold against archrival Canada on Thursday.

Thanks again for the great article to ponder. I don't believe in a conference with 16 or more teams that in-conference scheduling can be 'fair.' In 2023, I don't believe any human or any computer programmed to make in-conference scheduling equal could have predicted that the college football program with the most losses in the history of the sport would qualify for the playoff in 2024 and win the whole darn thing in 2025. The NFL does all it can to achieve parity among the 32 teams. Besides Bo being injured and a new head coach with a clue, the Pats were in the Super Bowl because New England stunk the prior four seasons, and accordingly, played the easiest NFL schedule in 2025. It just so happens that Ohio State plays the most difficult conference schedule in 2026, plus a game at Texas. But do you want your top brands and the two teams that played for a conference championship the year before to have the most difficult schedules the next season? Such scheduling would be putting multi-million dollar bullets in your gun and shooting your conference in the foot. There is a solution, and it's a solution that reflects the state of today's game, including the teams that have qualified for a 12-team playoff the last two years. Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti's 16-team, 4-4-2-2-1-3 automatic qualifier format in 2025-26 would have had one fewer G5 team, but one more B1G, SEC, ACC, B12 team, and Notre Dame would also have been in the field. Playoff play-in games would help with scheduling symmetry. Wisconsin had a brutal schedule last season. A sixth-place Badgers team may well have been better than a third-place team that had a lightweight schedule; settle it on the field. 1st and 2nd place are in the playoff field, 3rd and fourth place teams are rewarded with flex scheduled home game in the final week of the regular season. The 5th and 6th-place teams have a shot at the playoffs, and more fans would be involved and invested in the entire season. The price of attendance for Oregon home games next season, and for home games coast-to-coast increase significantly in 2026. Flex-scheduled playoff play-in games would bring in more media dollars. And with an AQ playoff format, a B1G/SEC out-of-conference football challenge could be played every season for bigger B1G/$EC media money. Much of the PO Committee's subjectivity would be eliminated. More money for the ACC and the B12 helps stave off further consolidation and keeps millions of ACC and B12 football fans invested in the great game of college football. No need to further shuffle the CFB conference deck. Your Honor (if you are still awake), I rest my case.😁 [Oops - If and as I expect will happen in 2030, B1G teams keep the playoff money they earn, and media revenue is based at least in part on the number of folks watching the games, adding Cal and Stanford, with a floor for annual investment in athletics for all conference teams, might make sense.]

Love this article and thanks for the velvet hammer. My great reply did not get a pass from you, Professor. I get it; been there and velvet-hammered before. For the most part, all hammering was well deserved. Chancing a deserved critique, might I suggest the following B1G add-ons, with the understanding that the next media deal will see B1G teams keeping the majority of money they earn in the postseason, and media revenue will be shared by eyes on the prize; how many people are watching you play ball. Cal, Stanford, CU, Utah, UNC, and Duke. (Notre Dame, if amenable, would take the place of one of these six teams. If ND agreed to go B1G, perhaps add UVA with ND.) Three eight-team divisions. Twenty-four-team playoff. Flex schedule the last two weeks of the regular season for playoff play-in games. Seven division games. Four cross-over games. One OOC game. PS - Two trips to the Eastern time zone in November of 2026 is cruel and unusual, but usual for OBD.

Thanks, Charles. So many terrific movies - The Apostle was one of his best.

USA Women vs. Canada Gold Medal Game - Thursday, February 22nd USA Network 3 EST/ Noon Pacific The USA Women's Team features Captain Hillary Knight, Minnesota, competing in her 5th Olympiad. Hillary is the Women's Hockey trailblazer. Her play for the Golden Gophers helped put Women's ice hockey on the college sports map. Twelve more B1G players will be on the ice for the Gold Medal game: Minnesota - Lee Stricklin, Kelly Pannek, Grace Zumwinkle, Taylor Heise, and Abbey Murphy. Wisconsin - Caroline Harvey, Kirsten Sims, Laila Edwards, and Ava McNaughten Ohio State - Hannah Bilka, Joy Dunne Penn State - Tessa Janecke Disclosure - I have an additional reason to cheer on the USA. For the 8th time, Ms. AJ Mleczko will be the color commentator for NBC's broadcast of the Olympic Gold Medal game. AJ was an All-American player at Harvard and played on a USA Olympic Gold Medal team. AJ's Dad, Tom Mleczko, a/k/a 'Eye Chart', was my college roommate. --- Men's hockey semifinal games on Friday: USA vs. Slovakia/ Canada vs. Finland. So, Hosers, it's odds on for another Gold Medal game matchup between the Canucks and the Yanks on NBC - Sunday, 2/22, 8 AM EST/ 5 AM Pacific - 😧 Men's Hockey team - Michigan - Kevin Connor, Quinn Hughes, Dylan Larkin, and Zack Werenski Minnesota - Brock Faber - This guy definitely should have played for Faber College, where Knowledge is Good 😁 ... Roundball Heads Up - ESPN Saturday 6:30 PM EST/ 3:30 Pacific In a possible champ game preview, No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 3 Duke

New Seeding Format for College Baseball 2026 NCAA Championship - Play Ball! On3NCAA Baseball Tournament: New seeding format will alter F....

2026 - Joel Klatt Loves LA? SC could be scary on O. UCLA, or Under Chesney, LA should improve. https://www.foxsports.com/stories/college-football/college-football-stock-watch-why-usc-heading-right-direction-alabama-isnt

I guess UW was boat raced?😁

Top portal player for every ESPN preseason top 25 team. DT Gray at Notre Dame and RB Limar at UW make the list. It's black and white, not Gray, to me; I want Gray back! Safety Perich is OBD's top guy. ESPN.comBest college football transfer portal addition for top 25...A look at the incoming transfers who will have the biggest impact on the best teams in 2026.

Thanks, David. A lot of talent on the 2026 roster. I'd add the already-impactful DL players A'Mauri Washington and Bear Alexander. When, if ever, has OBD had two potential All-Americans on the interior of the D-line?

10 Explosive Os in 2026, including OBD at No. 5. Week 2 opponent, Oklahoma State, comes in at 10. Hmmmmmmm? All that love for the Golden Archie and Texas again?🤔 Just Sayin. https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-footballs-offenses-2026-texas-miami-portal-hauls/

ESPN's Bill Connolly is the creator of the SP+ college football rankings and one of today's top college football (CFB) journalists. Bill's article on the state of college football is an excellent look at how CFB morphed into what it is today: chaotic but more popular than ever. Connolly also suggests how to fix what ails CFB today. With many conflicting agendas, a fix will not be quick or easy. Bill advises that CFB should be wary of further CFB consolidation. If a CFB Super League had come to fruition in 2023, forget Indiana, Fernando, and a smoking hot Cig. ESPN.comFor college football's future, be careful to understand h...The sport's manifest destiny opened doors for Indiana and others. Consolidating power and access could eliminate the thrill of that growth.