Newcastle were brought back down to earth following their Carabao Cup heroics in midweek as West Ham held them to a deserved 1-1 draw at St James’ Park.
The Magpies have made huge strides under Eddie Howe this season – with their Wembley date against Manchester United in the Carabao Cup final at the end of the month clear evidence of their progress – but their form in the Premier League has been patchy of late.
Newcastle did make a stunning start to the contest, with Joe Willock’s strike inside the first minute ruled out by VAR, before Callum Wilson successfully opened the scoring just two minutes later.
But West Ham more than matched their hosts and equalised before half-time through Lucas Paqueta, who became the first player to score against Newcastle in the Premier League since November 6 and handed them their fourth draw in their last five games in the competition.
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Callum Wilson slots home as Newcastle make a flying start against West Ham
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Lucas Paqueta scores from a corner to draw West Ham level at 1-1 away at Newcastle
Newcastle are back on Sky Sports when Eddie Howe returns to former side Bournemouth next Saturday; kick-off 5.30pm. They’re also live on Sky Sports when Liverpool visit St James’ Park on February 18; kick-off 5.30pm.
Saturday 11th February 5:00pm
Kick off 5:30pm
West Ham face back-to-back London derbies and welcome Chelsea to the London Stadium on February 11 in the lunchtime game; kick-off 12.30pm. They then visit Tottenham live on Sky Sports on February 19; kick-off 4.30pm.
Colorado has made yet another big splash in recruiting defensive backs as the Buffaloes have gone into Louisiana to land Lafayette (La.) Christian Academy four-star cornerback Ju’Juan Johnson over longtime favorite LSU.
Johnson, who is coming off his first visit to Colorado this past weekend, was widely regarded as a heavy LSU lean going into his trip to Boulder, but a conversation with Deion Sanders helped the Buffaloes storm from behind to steal one of The Boot’s top prospects.
A two-way star for Lafayette Christian Academy, Johnson mainly starred at quarterback for the Knights in 2022 where he helped lead his team to the state championship behind throwing for 3,976 yards and 43 touchdowns. Johnson also added 1,284 yards and 17 touchdowns on the ground, making him one of the more productive offensive players in the country in 2022. In the 52-48 state championship loss to St. Thomas More, Johnson broke the Louisiana state championship record for total yardage in a game after throwing for 341 yards and rushing for 245 yards.
Despite his high production on offense, his highest ceiling is seen on defense where he has pristine technique in the secondary and counters quick-breaking receivers with a fiery first step that puts him in the middle of every matchup from the start of a route to its finish.
If Johnson signs with the Buffaloes, he will join a talented secondary that has signed the No. 1 cornerback in the country from the past two recruiting cycles in Travis Hunter and Cormani McClain.
At 5-foot-11, 180 pounds, Johnson is ranked as the No. 236 recruit in the country for the class of 2024, according to Rivals. He is the No. 4 recruit from the state of Louisiana and the No. 21 cornerback prospect in the country.
Inspired by the lifesaving medical attention Damar Hamlin received on the field during a game last month, the NFL and the American Heart Association will provide free CPR education in Arizona throughout Super Bowl week as part of the NFL Experience at the Phoenix Convention Center.
Hamlin, the 24-year-old Buffalo Bills defensive back, needed to be resuscitated after making a tackle against the Cincinnati Bengals. Bills assistant athletic trainer Denny Kellington performed CPR on Hamlin on the field.
“Being able to deliver care in emergency situations is not just important at sporting events, but in all walks of life,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement issued Friday.
People who visit the mobile training unit will receive hands-only CPR training from experts and receive CPR information that can be shared in their communities. Also, the American Heart Association is working with Hamlin and his #3forHeart CPR Challenge, a social media initiative that encourages people to learn CPR, donate money to support CPR research, education and training, and share the word with others.
“Coming out of the events from last month with Damar Hamlin on the field and the remarkable work that the emergency responders performed, we thought about what opportunities existed for us to share some of the learnings that came from that experience more broadly, which is part of our responsibility throughout the world of football and maybe the world of sports,” NFL executive Jeff Miller told The Associated Press.
“There’s a long history of the NFL trying to share learnings on the health and safety side from what we experienced at the NFL level, whether that be about concussions, concussion education or about emergency action plans,” Miller added. “We take as an obligation to share what we’ve learned and highlight some of the best health and safety approaches that we can with other levels of sport.”
Anna Isaacson, the NFL’s vice president of social responsibility, said the league approached the American Heart Association and American Red Cross to ask: “What can we do here? We saw one life saved. How can we save many more?”
“The world was watching,” Isaacson told the AP. “I think that while we face challenges, we use these moments to try to make a positive impact.”
In addition to free CPR training in Arizona, the NFL throughout February is raising money to support CPR education and youth sports safety efforts across the country.
These include a Super Bowl 50/50 raffle open to Arizona residents and fans attending the game at State Farm Stadium. The winner of the raffle will receive half of the jackpot total; the other half will benefit the NFL Foundation to support CPR-related initiatives, including through the American Heart Association, the Red Cross and their local affiliates.
“Only one out of three high schools has full-time access to an athletic trainer and only about another third even have part-time access to one,” Miller said. “That’s a huge gap in sports and in sports medicine that the league, over a period of time with partners like AHA and others, is going to hopefully try to rectify or address at least a little bit.”
For the third time in the last two recruiting cycles, Notre Dame has dipped into Central Texas to pull away a top prospect after Round Rock (Texas) cornerback Leonard Moore committed to the Fighting Irish on Saturday morning.
Moore, who is coming off a recent visit to South Bend this past weekend, had a desire to lock in an early commitment from the time he starting piling up offers, and education was always going to be the most important piece to his decision.
“Oh, it was huge,” Moore told Inside ND Sports following the offer. “My dad’s excited too. So that was a big moment for me.”
His father, Dr. Leonard N. Moore, is an award-winning American History professor at the University of Texas, and the academic prowess carries down to his son who owns a 5.1 grade-point average at this point in his high school career.
As for on the field, Moore proved to be one of the top lockdown defensive backs in the entire state of Texas in 2022 after allowing just three receptions on 18 targets on 232 snaps. He also recorded three interceptions and nine pass breakups for one of the top teams in Central Texas.
Moore’s length on the boundary makes him a matchup nightmare, even when guarding bigger-framed receivers. His technique and hip fluidity stands among the region’s best and it has made him one of the more feared defensive backs in the state of Texas in the 2024 class.
The Irish’s presence in Central Texas continues to flourish under Marcus Freeman as Moore joins 2023 signees Braylon James (Round Rock Stony Point) and Jaden Greathouse (Austin Westlake) as the trio of Austin-area playmakers making their way to South Bend.
Notre Dame now owns eight commitments in the 2024 cycle as Moore joins the nation’s No. 2 class alongside six four-star prospects. After his breakout junior campaign, Moore is set to join that crop of prospects in the next Rivals rankings update.
At 6-foot-2, 170 pounds, Moore is ranked as the No. 34 cornerback in the country for the class of 2024, according to Rivals.
An Olympic bronze medalist and other former U.S. Ski & Snowboard team members sued their former coach, Peter Foley, along with the national federation, its former CEO and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee on Thursday for sex trafficking, harassment, and enabling and covering up repeated acts of sexual assault and misconduct.
Three-time Olympian Rosey Fletcher, 2010 Olympian Callan Chythlook-Sifsof and former national team member Erin O’Malley alleged in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles that Foley, the national federation, its longtime CEO Gale “Tiger” Shaw and the USOPC “conspired and acted in concert with one another to commit unlawful acts.”
Their lawsuit alleged that Foley exploited his position of trust to “coerce sexual acts through force, manipulation, emotional abuse, intimidation, and retaliation.”
“We are aware of the lawsuits that were filed,” a USSS spokesperson said. “U.S. Ski & Snowboard has not yet been served with the complaint nor has had an opportunity to fully review it.”
A USOPC spokesperson said while the committee had not received the complaint and could not comment “on any specific details at this time, we take every allegation of abuse very seriously.”
Shaw did not immediately respond to ESPN’s request for comment. Nor did Foley’s attorney, Howard Jacobs, who previously told ESPN in March 2022, “Any allegations of sexual misconduct being made against him are false. Mr. Foley has not engaged in any conduct that violates the SafeSport Code.”
By filing the lawsuit, Fletcher, a 2006 Olympic bronze medalist in parallel giant slalom, revealed her identity as the Olympic medalist first described by ESPN in its March 2022 investigation of Foley and USSS. She said in the lawsuit that Foley sexually assaulted her at a U.S. team camp when she was 19 and again at a postrace event at the Olympics, allegations she initially reported to ESPN under the condition of anonymity.
O’Malley alleged she was “sexually assaulted and harassed at USSS- and USOPC-sponsored competitions by Foley, who exploited their unequal power dynamic.” O’Malley said in the lawsuit that Foley began mentally and verbally abusing her when she was 15 and sexually assaulted her in an elevator, in Fletcher’s presence, after a competition.
“Foley began groping Erin and forcibly trying to kiss her — all without her consent,” the lawsuit said, adding, “For nearly twenty years, coaches and executives at both organizations enabled Foley’s behavior, refused to act, and helped cover up Foley’s behavior, allowing him to continue his pattern of abuse.”
The plaintiffs are seeking an unspecified amount in damages.
In the lawsuit, Chythlook-Sifsof revealed for the first time that she was “sexually assaulted and raped by a male coach nearly three times her age from an opposing team” when she was 16 during her first junior world championship event in Zermatt, Switzerland, in 2005.
“Although it was not a USSS coach that sexually assaulted Callan, USSS set the stage for the assault to occur and failed to change the toxic environment,” the lawsuit said.
Chythlook-Sifsof first raised allegations of sexual impropriety against Foley in February 2022 in a series of Instagram posts.
USSS CEO Sophie Goldschmidt previously told ESPN that the federation had immediately implemented an “athlete safety plan” that prohibited Foley from having “one-on-one interaction with female athletes” and from going into the athlete village after Chythlook-Sifsof made her social media posts. USSS placed Foley on a leave of absence in February 2022 before firing him a month later.
The new lawsuits, however, allege that “despite the suspension, video footage showed Foley in a restricted area at the finish line of the Women’s Snowboard Cross event” at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
ESPN has reviewed a video which shows Foley hugging gold medalist Lindsey Jacobellis just after she crossed the finish line.
A USOPC spokesperson told ESPN that Foley’s interactions with female athletes during the Olympics were required to be “observable and interruptible.”
USSS said at the time that it had followed protocol and reported the allegations to the USOPC, which had jurisdiction over Foley during the Games, and the U.S. Center for SafeSport, which handles reports of sexual abuse within the Olympic movement.
Lindsey Nikola, a former USSS employee, filed a separate lawsuit Thursday against Foley, Shaw and the federation alleging that Foley forced her to take nude photos and sexually assaulted her in hotel rooms at two separate World Cup ski races while she was employed as a member of the USSS communications team.
“At USSS-sponsored competitions, Lindsey was coerced, sexually harassed, and sexually assaulted by Foley, who exploited their unequal power dynamic,” the lawsuit said.
Nikola’s allegations were first reported by ESPN in March 2022.
ESPN also reported at the time how Fletcher and O’Malley alleged USSS employees and a former board member interfered in SafeSport’s investigation of their allegations against Foley, prompting a second SafeSport investigation focused on the federation’s alleged interference. Both investigations are ongoing, with Foley temporarily suspended from participating in any event, activity or competition authorized or organized by the USOPC and USSS. It also prevents him from using facilities under their jurisdiction.
“Had the USSS taken the safety of their young athletes and employees seriously, Foley’s behavior could have been prevented,” the new lawsuits stated. “Instead, for nearly twenty years, coaches and executives at USSS enabled Foley’s behavior, refused to act, and helped cover up Foley’s behavior, allowing him to continue his pattern of abuse.”
Others named in the lawsuit include Goldschmidt, former USOPC chief of sports performance Alan Ashley, former Olympic snowboarder and USSS board member Lisa Kosglow, current USSS general counsel Alison Pitt and former USSS employees Abbi Nyberg and Jeffrey Archibald.
LeBron James sat in the visitors locker room at Madison Square Garden with ice on his 38-year-old knees and 28 more points to his name after his Los Angeles Lakers beat the Knicks in overtime. James’s teammate Anthony Davis teased him about how close he was to breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s N.B.A. career scoring record, then about 90 points away.
Suddenly, James remembered something. His mother, Gloria James, was set to go on vacation soon. She might miss his record-breaking game.
He called her on speakerphone, with a dozen attentive reporters close by. He asked when she was leaving, reminding her every once in a while, lest she disclose too much, that reporters could hear the conversation. Eventually, he looked around, sheepishly, and said he would call her later.
“I love you,” he said. Then, just before he ended the call, he added: “I love you more.”
It was typical James: He brings you along for the ride, but on his terms, revealing what he wants to reveal and no more. It is perhaps the only way someone who has been so famous for most of his life could survive the machine of modern celebrity.
As he has closed in on Abdul-Jabbar’s record of 38,387 points, the very idea of what it means to be a star has shifted since James scored his first two points on Oct. 29, 2003. And James has helped define that shift. He has risen above the din of social media celebrities and 24-hour news cycles, buoyed by the basketball fans who love him or love to hate him.
He has been a selfie-snapping tour guide for this journey, with a portfolio that now extends well beyond the court. He has a production company and a show on HBO. He’s acted in a few movies and received some good reviews. His foundation has helped hundreds of students in his hometown Akron, Ohio, and a public school the foundation helps run there, the I Promise School, focuses on children who struggle academically. His opinions are covered as news, given far more weight than those of almost any other athlete.
“Hopefully I made an impact enough so people appreciate what I did, and still appreciate what I did off the floor as well, even when I’m done,” James said in an interview. “But I don’t live for that. I live for my family, for my friends and my community that needs that voice.”
Basketball Is the ‘Main Thing’
In early 2002, James was a high school junior and on the cover of Sports Illustrated. News didn’t travel as quickly as it does now. Not everyone had cellphones, and the ones they had couldn’t livestream videos of whatever anyone did. Social media meant chat rooms on AOL or Yahoo. Facebook had yet to launch, and the deluge of social networking apps was years away.
“Thank God I didn’t have social media; that’s all I can say,” James said in October when asked to reflect on his entry into the league.
As a teenage star, he was spared the incessant gaze of social media and the bullying and harsh criticism that most likely would have come with it.
But social media, in its many changing forms, has also helped people express their personalities and share their lives with others. It lets them define themselves — something particularly useful for public figures whose stories get told one way or another.
James began thinking about that early in his career.
His media and production firm, now called the SpringHill Company, made a documentary about James and his high school teammates titled “More Than a Game” in 2008. It also developed “The Shop,” an HBO show James sometimes appears on with celebrity guests, including former President Barack Obama and the rapper Travis Scott, talking like friends in a barbershop.
James likes to say that he always keeps “the main thing the main thing” — meaning that no matter what else is happening in his life, he prioritizes basketball. He honors the thing that created his fame.
He led his teams to the N.B.A. finals in eight consecutive years and won championships with three different franchises. He was chosen for the league’s Most Valuable Player Award four times, and he has dished the fourth-most assists in N.B.A. history.
James’s talent meant it didn’t take long for him to become the face of the N.B.A. He has mostly embraced that, capitalizing on an era when sports fandom was no longer about sitting down to watch a game so much as it was about catching small bites of the most compelling moments.
“People’s interest in athletes moves very quickly, especially with the N.B.A. season,” said Omar Raja, who in 2014 founded House of Highlights, an Instagram account for viral sports moments, because he wanted to share clips of the Miami Heat during James’s time playing there with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
“LeBron’s Instagram stories would do as well as his poster dunks, and you were like, ‘This is crazy,’” Raja said.
James has used his fame to further business opportunities and build his financial portfolio. He has used it to both shield his children and prepare them for growing up in his shadow.
He has used it for social activism, most notably in speaking about Black civil rights and racism. That began in 2012, when he and his Heat teammates wore hooded sweatshirts and posted a group photo on social media after the death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teenager who was wearing a hoodie when he was shot and killed in Florida. The Heat decided to transfer some of their spotlight to the national conversation about racism that emerged.
Black N.B.A. players have a long history of speaking out or demonstrating against racism and discrimination: Abdul-Jabbar and the Boston Celtics’ Bill Russell were vocal about the racist dangers they faced in the 1960s and ’70s. But what made the actions of James and his teammates stand out was that the superstar athletes of the ’90s and early 2000s — Michael Jordan, most notably — had often shied away from overt activism.
What James chooses to talk about (or not talk about) draws notice.
In 2019, when a Houston Rockets executive angered the Chinese government by expressing support for Hong Kong, James was criticized for not speaking out against China’s human rights abuses. James said he did not know enough to talk about them, but some skeptics accused him of avoiding the subject to protect his financial interests in China.
And in 2020, when protests swept the country after the police killed George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, both of whom were Black, the N.B.A. made social justice part of its ethos. James used many of his news conferences that season to discuss racism and police violence against Black people.
The attention to James’s words separates him from others, as does the attention to his life.
“I don’t want to say it ever becomes too much, but there are times when I wish I could do normal things,” James said Thursday while standing in an arena hallway in Indianapolis about an hour after the Lakers beat the Pacers there. A member of a camera crew that has been following him for the past few years filmed him as he spoke.
“I wish I could just walk outside,” James said. “I wish I could just, like, walk into a movie theater and sit down and go to the concession stand and get popcorn. I wish I could just go to an amusement park just like regular people. I wish I could go to Target sometimes and walk into Starbucks and have my name on the cup just like regular people.”
He added: “I’m not sitting here complaining about it, of course not. But it can be challenging at times.”
James grew up without stable housing or much money, but his life now is not like most people’s because of the money he has made through basketball and business (he’s estimated to be worth more than $1 billion), and because of the extraordinary athletic feats he makes look so easy. Once in a while, as when he’s on the phone with his mother, he manages to come off like just another guy.
Another example: In October 2018, during his first Lakers training camp, James gave up wine as part of a preseason diet regimen. He was asked if abstaining had affected his body.
“Yeah, it made me want wine more,” James said, relatably. “But I feel great. I feel great. I did a two-week cleanse and gave up a lot of things for 14 days.”
James had also quit gluten, dairy, artificial sugars and all alcohol for those two weeks, he said.
What was left?
“In life?” James said. “Air.”
There to See Him
The past few seasons have been challenging for James on the court. He is playing as well as he ever has, but the Lakers have struggled since winning a championship in 2020.
They missed the playoffs last season and are in 12th place in the Western Conference, though they have played better recently. James, his coaches and his teammates all insist that he spends more time thinking about how to get the Lakers into the playoffs than about breaking the scoring record.
Still, Madison Square Garden, one of his favorite arenas, buzzed on Tuesday night. Because of him.
Celebrities, fans and media came to watch him, just as they did when he was a constant in the N.B.A. finals.
He taped a pregame interview with Michael Strahan courtside. Then he went through his pregame warm-up, shooting from different spots on the court, working against an assistant coach, who tried to defend him. He took a few seconds to dance near the 3-point line as he waited for someone to pass the ball back to him.
He was in what he’s made into a comfortable place: the center of the basketball universe.
The 2023 class has been all but wrapped up save for five-star tight end Duce Robinson’s upcoming decision so there’s no better time to break down each conference. Here’s a look at the Pac-12:
HOW THEY FINISHED
1. Oregon (8 nationally) – The Ducks finished back atop the conference rankings and while they missed on five-star Nyckoles Harbor, getting four-star corner Rodrick Pleasant away from USC was huge.
2. USC (11) – A signing day surprise commitment from four-star tight end Walker Lyons was great news for the Trojans but missing on Pleasant, a speedster from nearby Gardena (Calif.) Serra, to Oregon was not as welcome.
3. Utah (19)– It was a quiet signing day for the Utes who did a lot of important recruiting work in December by landing six four-stars that month.
4. Colorado (27)– December was incredibly busy for first-year coach Deion Sanders and his staff and the biggest blockbuster came in mid-January when the Buffaloes flipped No. 1 cornerback Cormani McClain, a five-star who had been pledged to Miami.
5. Washington (28)– Signing Day was quiet for Washington in the 2023 class but the Huskies landed 2024 QB Austin Mack and December saw UDub land two big-time targets in four-star cornerback Caleb Presley and four-star receiver Taeshaun Lyons.
6. Arizona (39)– It wasn’t as loaded as the Wildcats’ 2022 class that finished atop the conference rankings but three-star receiver Devin Hyatt was a nice addition late.
7. Stanford (44)– The Cardinal had a tough signing day by losing three-star RB LJ Martin to BYU and three-star DL Cameron Brandt to Michigan but Stanford had a productive December and January in coach Troy Taylor’s first class.
8. UCLA (46)– Signing Day was pretty quiet for UCLA as the Bruins are still celebrating the recruiting win of five-star quarterback Dante Moore and they have quickly landed two quality commitments in the 2024 class.
9. Arizona State (51)– The Sun Devils have been incredibly busy in the transfer portal and they got some good news Wednesday when four-star QB Jaden Rashada, who recently got out of his NIL to Florida over a disputed NIL deal, picked the Sun Devils.
10. Oregon State (55)– There was not much action for the Beavers on signing day but they did a lot of work in the summer and fall to put this class together and four-star quarterback Aidan Chiles is really good.
11. Washington State (61)– December was incredibly productive for the Washington State recruiting class as the Cougars went to California and many other states for top talent although things were quiet this week.
12. California (91)– The Golden Bears finished last in the conference rankings with a small class of 12 but signing day was productive with junior college commitments from three-star WR Marquis Montgomery and three-star OL Martin Tine.
*****
THREE SUPERLATIVES
Cormani McClain (Rivals.com)
BIGGEST SIGNING:Dante Moore looked to be headed to the Pac-12 regardless. The longtime Oregon commit backed off his pledge when coach Kenny Dillingham left for Arizona State and the No. 4 overall prospect and five-star quarterback ended up at UCLA giving the Bruins a huge boost.
BIGGEST STEAL: Moore is the highest-rated flip in the Pac-12 but let’s go with Cormani McClain here. He’s from Lakeland, Fla., he had been committed to Miami but new Colorado coach Deion Sanders came in late and flipped the five-star cornerback to the Buffaloes.
BIGGEST SLEEPER:Washington State coach Jake Dickert talked highly of Trey Leckner both in December and on the Rivals Signing Day Show and there’s a good chance his low three-star ranking is a miss. The Snohomish (Wash.) Glacier Peak standout is a plug-and-play guy, positionless where he can go anywhere on offense and do big things as he averaged nearly 20 yards per catch this past season with 13 receiving scores.
*****
TOP THREE PAC-12 RECRUITERS
Demetrice Martin (Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard-USA TODAY NETWORK)
Demetrice Martin, Oregon: The Ducks had one of the best classes in the country and the top one in the Pac-12 and one big reason was because of the defensive back haul. Martin got his four-star son, OK, that’s easy. But he also flipped four-star Daylen Austin from LSU, convinced four-star Rodrick Pleasant to pick Oregon over USC even though he’s from right down the road and then added four-star Tyler Turner and helped with three-star Kodi DeCambra, too.
Dennis Simmons, USC: There were a lot of hands involved in getting five-star receiver Zachariah Branch, high four-star Makai Lemon and top three-star Ja’Kobi Lane in the Trojans’ recruiting class from coach Lincoln Riley on down but Simmons played a key role in their recruitments as well. USC clearly loaded up in a big way with devastating and top-notch receivers who could make things happen as Branch and Lemon are elite players.
Jim Harding, Utah: The Utes had an impressive haul across the board but what was really interesting to see was that Harding targeted four-star offensive linemen Caleb Lomu and Spencer Fano from the very beginning and he landed both in the class. Lomu and Fano were two of the best linemen at the all-star events and it only further speaks to the Utah coaching staffs ability to identify prospects early and then go get them.
*****
WHO WON…
Walker Lyons (Nick Lucero/Rivals.com)
Quarterbacks: UCLA– With Kenny Dillingham leaving Oregon for Arizona State, it opened the door for the Bruins to land five-star quarterback Dante Moore and coach Chip Kelly didn’t miss the opportunity.
Running Backs: Oregon– The Ducks reached into Mississippi for four-star power back Dante Dowdell and then flipped Lake Stevens, Wash., four-star Jayden Limar from Notre Dame as the backfield looks loaded again.
Wide Receivers: USC– Five-star Zachariah Branch could make every argument in the world that he’s the best receiver in the class and no one is going to argue with four-star Makai Lemon’s production throughout his high school career.
Tight Ends: USC– A little TBD here since five-star Duce Robinson still hasn’t made his decision with USC and Georgia leading Oregon and Texas but the Trojans look best after getting four-star Walker Lyons on signing day.
Offensive Line: Utah– Four-stars Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu proved during the all-star events that they’re both of the best offensive linemen in this class and then Roger Alderman is a developmental-type player but lots of NFL OL were undersized heading to college.
Defensive Line: Oregon– The headliner is five-star defensive end Matayo Uiagalelei as Oregon beat out Ohio State, USC and others for the Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco standout but he was hardly the only impactful defensive linemen in Oregon’s class. Four-stat A’Mauri Washington is really talented and defensive ends Johnny Bowens and Terrance Green are two others to watch.
Linebackers: USC– The Trojans did excellent work at linebacker – and not by resorting to players locally. USC went to Many, La., for hard-hitting four-star Tackett Curtis and stayed in that region for four-star Braylan Shelby out of Friendswood, Texas. Three-star David Peevy from San Diego (Calif.) Lincoln is an intriguing prospect and could end up being a steal.
Defensive Backs: Colorado– Not a ton of high-end defensive backs are headed to the Pac-12 this recruiting cycle so the pick is Colorado since it flipped five-star Cormani McClain from Miami in one of the biggest moves this entire recruiting cycle.
Chris Eubank Jr does have a rematch clause to force a second fight with Liam Smith.
But his team will use their full allotment of time to decide on the Brighton star’s next move.
A rematch with Smith is expected to take place eventually, but it will not necessarily be Eubank’s next fight, promoter Kalle Sauerland tells Sky Sports.
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Watch back Chris Eubank Jr vs Liam Smith, with an explosive support cast, in slow motion
“I’ve told Ben [Shalom, Smith’s promoter] we will be using the full time to consider our options,” Sauerland of Wasserman Boxing said.
“We haven’t had much communication on it and we certainly haven’t given any indication that we’re going to be exercising the rematch clause. Is it an interesting option? Absolutely. But is it the best option? We’ve got a few more weeks to think.
“He’s having much deserved downtime with the family at the moment. If you look at it in the grand scheme of things it [the final decision] is going to be quite soon – but just a few more weeks.”
The immediate rematch is one of Eubank’s options, but not his only option.
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A look back at how one of the sport’s most intense rivalries culminated in an unforgettable victory for Liam Smith over Chris Eubank Jr
Sauerland continued: “Rushed decisions in boxing are the worst decisions. It’s all about when it makes sense. Ultimately it has to be the right move for Junior. He’s also at a pivotal stage of his career. Yes it’s a setback, it’s a massive setback when you lose a big fight. But is it a setback that he can come back from? Absolutely. That’s what’s exciting about boxing.”
A claim that an elbow allegedly landed on Eubank during the fight has been under discussion.
“We are still considering the situation regarding use of the elbows,” Sauerland said.
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Chris Eubank Jr’s promotional team are considering an appeal to the British Boxing Board of Control over an alleged elbow from Liam Smith in his stoppage win
“That’s not sour grapes because really you appeal for a rematch. We don’t need to appeal for a rematch. We have a rematch if we want to use a rematch clause if that’s the best option for Junior, which we are still assessing.
“However to the critics you need to go to Specsavers if you can’t see elbows in the combination,” he continued.
“That’s not a criticism of Liam Smith. It was in a flurry of punches. To miss and catch someone with an elbow, which is what happened, that’s as clear as day and night and I challenge anyone to show me that an elbow didn’t land.
“But that’s not to take anything away from Liam. It was a great victory for him and it was his night. That’s nothing to do with trying to have sour grapes here. It’s just that we represent Chris Eubank Jr. The fact that an elbow landed, I don’t think anyone can question.”
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Watch unseen footage of Liam Smith’s sensational stoppage victory over Chris Eubank Jr in Manchester at the weekend
The rematch does remain high on the agenda, the issue will be the timing of it.
“It would be different it had been a one-sided beat down. It wasn’t. Chris was up a round on my card,” Sauerland said.
“He just came off a very good third round. The first round he probably just edged. The second round was Liam, the third round was Chris’, a very clear round and then he caught one. It happens. That’s boxing. Can he do it again? I’d like to see that. A lot of people would like to see that.
“The rematch is a fight that will happen. The question is when it will happen. There are several options open to Junior. It will absolutely happen in time. I’m sure Liam wants the rematch to show that it wasn’t just a lucky punch. Or a lucky elbow, nudge, nudge, wink, wink!”
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois running back Chase Brown and safety Sydney Brown began their lives two minutes apart, identical twins born at 5:33 and 5:35 a.m., respectively, on March 21, 2000.
“Everything they’ve done,” said their mother, Raechel, “they’ve done together, at the same time.”
This past season, they helped revive the Illinois football program, which posted its highest wins total (8) since 2007. This week, they will become the first twins to play in the Senior Bowl. This spring, the Browns are expected to become just the sixth set of twins taken in the same draft over the past 40 years.
They’ve done it despite an unsettled home situation that made it difficult to keep up in school while growing up in London, Ontario. The Brown twins moved to an estimated 20 homes and shelters with their mom and younger sister, Mya, before they were 16. Chase and Sydney became football stars, but in Ontario, where hockey is king, that didn’t mean much.
They didn’t come from a family of college graduates, and without a platform to maximize their athletic ability, they couldn’t conceive of a path to a university degree.
They needed help.
“Our goals were to play college football, but we didn’t know how we were going to get there,” Chase said.
They didn’t know much about college football, either.
“If I’m being honest, I thought South Dakota and f—ing Alabama are on the same level,” Sydney said.
Six years later, Chase finished the 2022 season as the nation’s No. 2 rusher (1,643 yards), and a Doak Walker Award finalist with 10 games of 100 yards or more. He was a second-team All-Big Ten selection. On Dec. 14, he won the Jon Cornish Trophy, given to the best Canadian player in college football.
Sydney earned first-team All-Big Ten honors, leading an Illinois defense ranked No. 1 nationally for much of the season. He tied for the national lead with six interceptions and added 59 tackles. He had two defensive touchdowns in the regular-season finale at Northwestern.
They are believed to be one of the first set of twins to earn All-Big Ten recognition in the same season.
Their football journey has already taken them across a border and several state lines, and required sacrifice, resilience and the maturity to assess their lives and make difficult choices.
The toughest of which came at age 16.
RAECHEL BROWN WAS just 18 when she had Chase and Sydney, a single mom juggling work and immense responsibility. She lived at times with her father and brother, but both eventually died. She leaned on her mom, Nancy, the boys’ beloved Nan, and her stepfather, Alan McQuillan, but life wasn’t easy.
Raechel estimates that she moved more than 20 times, including to shelters. She also became very ill after having Mya, which limited her ability to work.
“It’s been a journey,” Raechel said. “A lot of great and a lot of not-so great all mixed together.”
Chase and Sydney didn’t live with their father, Darren Isaac, who played briefly in the Canadian Football League, and weren’t close with him when they were young. But Isaac and others on his side of the family played football, which “drew our interest into the sport,” Sydney said.
They started in flag football at 7 and coaches soon told Raechel that her boys had high-level potential. Even though she worried about injuries, she moved them up, and they began traveling around Ontario for games. When the boys were 15, coaches from other teams told Rachel that she had to get them to the United States.
Although some FBS programs recruit players directly from Canadian high school programs, Chase and Sydney weren’t going to have the academics to take that route. They were doing the “bare minimum,” Raechel said, to stay on the field.
“I had people tell me straight up it’s not possible, they’re never going to be able to go to college,” Raechel said. “Public schools like to put kids in a little box here. They weren’t being forced to do anything that was going to get them to where they wanted to be.”
As high school freshmen, the Browns applied to Mercyhurst Prep in Pennsylvania, but were denied. They reached a critical point during the summer between their sophomore and junior years. After being evicted because of a lack of finances, Raechel and Mya were living in a shelter, and Chase and Sydney alternated between that shelter and their Nan’s home.
They had connected with Justin Dillon, a recruiting consultant in Canada. Dillon had mentioned the twins to Josh Clark, who helped launch the IMG Madden Football Academy in Bradenton, Florida, and had placed players at IMG and other area schools. Clark thought Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School in Bradenton would be a good fit for the Browns.
“It was getting to be late summer,” Clark said. “Saint Stephens had the setup and was looking to succeed in football, and [the Browns] needed a home. There wasn’t a lot of time. It was helping two kids out with the private school that had the resources and provided them with a good life.”
Things moved quickly. After the twins were admitted, Raechel began speaking with Saint Stephens coach Tod Creneti and others. The boys couldn’t live with a coach or a faculty member, so a host family was found. Phil and Karen Yates were empty nesters whose kids had gone to Saint Stephens.
“Phil called me and we had the most emotional conversation I’ve ever had in my life with a complete stranger,” Raechel said. “I remember crying. He asked if I thought the boys were going to be OK without me. I said, ‘I depend more on them than they depend on me.’ That was the reason why it was so important for them to go and focus on themselves.”
The next day, Raechel and the twins began the 20-hour drive to Florida, along with McQuillan, her stepfather. They met the Yateses for dinner. By the end of the week, Chase and Sydney were moved in and attending classes.
Raechel cried for hours on the drive back home — “the world’s worst passenger” for McQuillan. But she knew this was the right decision.
“We just took a leap of faith,” Sydney said. “Within a week of applying to the school, we were fully engulfed with everything.”
THE MOVE WAS seismic for Chase and Sydney, and came with several aftershocks.
They went from living in subsidized housing and shelters in a Canadian city to a gated community on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Chase and Sydney were behind academically when they arrived, but math was an especially urgent need.
They were high school juniors taking basic algebra, taught only at the middle school at Saint Stephens.
“Honestly, that humbled us,” Sydney said. “You have these twins who come down from Canada to Florida, and all our buddies [in Canada] thought it was sick. But we get down there and it’s like, ‘Hey, you’ve got to dial in.’ Walking to the middle school every day …
“It was the walk of shame,” Chase said.
Phil Yates had tutored kids in math over the years, so every night for several months, he and Karen worked with the twins to catch up in school.
The twins had some initial homesickness, especially Sydney, but they FaceTimed with Raechel, and she made several visits. They settled into life in Florida.
Creneti initially told the Yateses that they would need to host the Browns for only two weeks. Phil soon replied that Chase and Sydney weren’t going anywhere.
“It felt very natural,” Karen Yates said.
The Browns stayed with the Yates family until their final semester, when the Yateses moved to Texas and Chase and Sydney stayed with their neighbors, Tom and Michelle Cross. By then, the time with Phil and Karen had already made an impression.
“What we thought success was completely changed when we moved in with them,” Sydney said. “We were never exposed to that side of society, and really understood the potential that life can bring, if you go to school, if you get your s— done, if you develop a proper work ethic, if you’re an efficient person in society.
“It was such a big flip. We learned so much about how we don’t want to go back.”
Football was the easy part. The Browns had to sit out Saint Stephens’ first two games in an acclimation period, and those two games would be the team’s only losses during the two seasons Chase and Sydney played.
After the 2016 season, Chase got his first scholarship offer from Syracuse, rich in running back tradition. But he waited for other offers to come, including Western Michigan, which had a top aviation school. After living with Phil Yates — a test pilot after 25 years in the Navy, where he flew F-14s and F-18s — Chase was all-in on becoming a pilot. Even as other offers came in, Chase was set on WMU, taking no other official visits.
“I would have hung up the cleats, put the helmet away, put the pads away, just to go be a pilot,” Chase said. “I thought Phil was a rock star.”
Sydney’s recruiting went slower. His height was a concern for some schools, even those who wanted Chase. When offers finally arrived, they came mainly from smaller programs like South Dakota.
“Bama’s next,” he joked to himself.
But just before the early signing date, Sydney got a surprise offer from Illinois and he jumped at the chance to play in the Big Ten.
The only problem was it would separate the twins.
“They wanted to go to college together,” Raechel said. “That was the dream.”
THE BROWNS ARE identical twins but also mirror twins, a subtype in which each sibling’s features and traits are opposite from the other, creating a mirror-image effect. Sydney is right-handed; Chase is left-handed. Chase is laid back; Sydney operates with relentless intensity. When they were little, Raechel noticed their hair curling in opposite directions.
Like many twins, though, the Browns are drawn to each other.
As a freshman in 2018, Chase had 352 rushing yards for Western Michigan and returned 12 kickoffs. But he found out his scholarship didn’t cover flight classes, which he couldn’t afford.
He saw Sydney thriving at Illinois, starting 10 games and recording 55 tackles and five pass breakups. Despite a strong spring at WMU, Chase transferred.
“I wanted to be with him,” Chase said of his twin. “I wanted to have that relationship, where he could push me, I could push him, like we had in high school.”
While waiting to be admitted, Chase slept on the floor of Sydney’s apartment, on a “dog bed” of blankets and pillows. After gaining admission, he and Sydney moved to a larger place and began training camp with the Illini. The one-time transfer rule wasn’t in effect yet, so Chase sat out until mid-October, when he received an immediate-eligibility waiver to play. He appeared in four games, mostly on special teams, to preserve his redshirt.
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Chase Brown runs through tacklers for TD
Chase Brown stays on his feet in the hole and gets into the end zone for an Illinois touchdown.
“His work ethic stood out to me right away, but he was a little impatient in his play,” said Cory Patterson, who coached Illinois’ tight ends at the time before switching to running backs in 2021. “Everything was fast, because he’s a fast kid. The way he talked, the way he thought, it was like [snaps his fingers three times], he wanted to give you the answer, ‘I want to get out there, I want to do it for you, I want to make it happen.’
“As he became more patient, you saw him develop.”
Sydney had a more linear trajectory at Illinois, earning third-team All-Big Ten honors in 2019, when he finished second in the Big Ten in interceptions (3) and sixth in tackles per game (8). When Aaron Henry arrived as defensive backs coach following a transition, he saw a detailed, observant player, fully dedicated to the game.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been around a player wired like him,” Henry said of Sydney. “Every day, he leaves the practice field, he has a 20-minute stretch routine. He has a 20-minute stretch routine he does right before he goes to bed. Then he eats the same thing for breakfast. It’s almost like OCD. He probably could have been a really good MMA fighter, just the way he approaches life and the way he approaches this game.”
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Sydney Brown scores defensive touchdown vs. Illinois
Sydney Brown scores defensive touchdown vs. Illinois
Patterson has noticed similar discipline from Chase, who “just wants to work.”
Just how driven and disciplined are they? After taking the twins to Indianapolis for Big Ten media days in July, Illinois coach Bret Bielema watched them agonize over whether to drink a Coke before dinner.
They bring out the competitiveness in each other. One time in preseason practice, Sydney landed a big hit on Chase — “Stroked him,” Henry recalled — only to have Chase pop him in his facemask.
“We’re throwing hands at each other,” Sydney said. “I get kicked out of practice, he still gets to practice. I’m a total freak if you take something from me. He took my reps from practice. The competitive nature, it carries onto pretty much everything we do. It carries onto the hydration board, who’s going to drink their DripDrop first.
“It’s just fun having somebody that’s equally competitive on the other side of the ball.”
GROWING UP IN Canada, the Browns didn’t really talk about the NFL. Playing major college football was their goal. Both have earned their degrees at Illinois.
But their college careers have put both on the NFL radar. Chase, who has 2,648 rushing yards the past two seasons, is No. 137 on ESPN’s draft prospect rankings. Sydney has surged to No. 125 on ESPN’s prospect list, displaying a combination of speed, intelligence and physicality to thrive as a pro safety.
NFL scouts project both as Day 3 picks who will need to contribute on special teams and find the right schemes. Sydney’s special teams prowess should help his value. Before games, opposing coaches told Bielema how often Sydney jumped out during their special teams scouting.
“I can see a special teams coordinator falling in love with the guy, just in terms of his toughness and the speed,” a scout said.
Bielema described Sydney as a “niche fit safety,” suited for some NFL systems but not all. He’s a safety-linebacker hybrid who can play in the box because of his instincts, core strength and coverage skills.
“He’s got the impact and the power and ability to make short-area very powerful tackles, sheds blocks kind of like [former NFL safety] Bob Sanders,” said Bielema, who spent three seasons as an NFL assistant before coming to Illinois. “But he kind of has that big-play mentality of [New England Patriots safety] Jabrill Peppers. Especially the last half of the season, Sydney just took over the game on several occasions.”
Chase likely will be “more of a complementary back,” a scout said, lacking the biggest build at 5-foot-11 and 205 pounds. He reached 1,000 rushing yards in 2021 but eclipsed 18 carries only three times. Chase emerged this past season as not only a prolific and productive ball carrier — he had 20 or more carries in 10 of 12 games and just one performance of fewer than 98 rush yards — but also a versatile one.
He had 27 receptions, nearly eclipsing his total from his first three college seasons (31), and improved as a pass blocker.
“He can run right by you, he can run right through you and he can make you miss, that’s a very unusual combo,” Bielema said. “But the third-down value he brings is just very, very uncommon. … When you have a running back who can run it and protect, that’s going to bring good value.”
With their NFL journey set to begin in just a few months it’s likely the twins will be separated again. For now they are savoring their time together, though.
“How many people could say they played college ball with their brother?” Chase said. “We’re going to be able to look back on these four, five years of our lives and be like, ‘Remember this game? Remember when this happened?’”
It is hard to determine precisely how many people have flocked to pickleball — by some accounts, as many as 4.8 million people in the United States are playing, and some say that figure is more than 36 million. To be clear: People love pickleball.
Now investors and executives within the sport must figure out how to convince recreational pickleball enthusiasts that professional pickleball is worth watching on television and paying to see in person. As this year’s professional tournaments get underway, those in the pro ranks must persuade those who don’t already follow professional pickleball that the sport’s most popular players — such as Anna Leigh Waters, Ben Johns and Lee Whitwell — are just as fun to watch as Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Naomi Osaka.
‘Not a real sport’
Whitwell, 48, herself was initially reluctant to watch or play the game. She grew up playing tennis and was competitive enough to win two N.C.A.A. Division II national doubles titles and play a few professional matches.
“There was no room for a sport called pickleball,” Whitwell said. “As a tennis purist, I refused. I thought it was an old-person sport and not a real sport.”
Then, in 2017, Whitwell said a friend bribed her with a case of beer to give pickleball a try. Within about a year of playing for the first time, Whitwell started playing the sport professionally.
“Little did I know that as soon as I started playing it, I would fall in love with it,” Whitwell said.
These days, Whitwell is a pro pickleball star, a fan favorite who is often asked for an autograph or photo at tournaments. She is aware of the role she plays in helping grow the sport.
“We are on the ground floor of helping shape the sport,” Whitwell said.
Those who follow pickleball are deeply familiar with Whitwell, Johns and Waters. They might tune in to live streams on YouTube or ESPN Plus to watch them play. Some even buy tickets to go see them at tournaments across the country.
But outside of the pickleball world, Stu Upson, the outgoing chief executive of USA Pickleball, said those names were not well known.
“If we can have a Roger or Serena of pickleball, when people are watching pickleball and they know who they are, whether they play the game or not, that would be huge,” Upson said. “But that takes a long time to develop.”
Pickleball executives and investors are aiming to convince those who play casually to become invested enough to follow the pros.
Steve Kuhn, founder of Major League Pickleball, has been pushing the slogan “40 by 30,” for his goal to have 40 million people playing the sport by 2030.
“If this is the most played sport in America, it might not be the most watched sport in America, but it will be up there,” Kuhn said.
Unlike in most other sports, many pickleball tournaments also host a number of amateur competitions alongside the professional matches. Some tournaments even offer opportunities for amateurs to play into the professional draws. That interest from amateurs has drawn investors like Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, who recently invested in a professional pickleball league.
“If you play actively, you watch, so the player growth will certainly translate to more viewers,” Cuban said.
‘The television future is limited’
Pickleball’s low barrier for entry is what draws many to play the sport. The gear isn’t particularly expensive, it’s relatively easy to learn and a participant doesn’t need to be especially strong, tall or fast.
“How many sports are there where grandparents can play with their grandkids?” Chuck Menke, chief marketing officer of USA Pickleball, said.
The sport is already showcasing examples that make success look attainable: Anna Leigh Waters, 16, considered to be one of the best players in the sport, plays women’s doubles with her mother, Leigh Waters, 43.
“It’s one of these sports where you can actually go out and see success early on,” Lisa Delpy Neirotti, a professor of sports management at George Washington University, said.
But that low barrier for entry could be what makes watching it on TV less appealing. Andrew Zimbalist, an economics professor at Smith College who has served as a consultant for sports leagues and teams, said that one issue pickleball faces as a spectator sport “is that it doesn’t move very fast.”
“We like things that display physical acumen, where the stars can do things that we can’t do, and I think that pickleball is less amenable to that kind of an appreciation,” Zimbalist said.
About three to four pickleball courts can fit on one tennis court, which means shorter serves and less room to sprint for a ball. The court size may make strategy less visible, especially for new audiences or fans with a casual interest. The smaller court size also makes it harder to follow a player’s tactics or “anticipate the buildup,” Zimbalist said.
“I think that suggests that the television future is limited, no matter how many people play it,” he said.
Some pickleball tournaments can already be seen on ESPN, Fox Sports and the Tennis Channel, along with a number of streams online. But as pro pickleball looks to expand on TV, Zimbalist said that it also faced competition from other sports that are already well established — like tennis and golf — and others that have been growing for awhile, such as professional women’s soccer and lacrosse.
Upson, the outgoing chief executive of USA Pickleball, said that pickleball matches were better appreciated up close, much like hockey.
“If you go and get a seat down near the glass, and you see these guys skating at 20 miles an hour with that hand-eye coordination and quickness, and beating the heck out of each other — getting eight stitches and then coming back 10 minutes later — you get a much deeper appreciation for the sport,” Upson said.
Inside and Outside Competition
As new fans are drawn to pro pickleball, they have found there is much to navigate, with tours from three leagues: the Association of Pickleball Professionals, the Professional Pickleball Association and Major League Pickleball.
Each league has something that sets it apart. The A.P.P. had the first tour sanctioned by USA Pickleball. The P.P.A. signed some of pro pickleball’s best players to exclusive contracts. Major League Pickleball, with a team-style format, has drawn a number of well-known figures to buy teams or invest in the league, including Tom Brady, Kim Clijsters, Kevin Durant and LeBron James.
While each league appears to be steady for now, some say it might be only a matter of time before one falls, or two leagues merge.
“It’s hard to find a major sport where competing pro tours or pro leagues have both been able to thrive,” Upson said. “Even the A.F.L. and the N.F.L. had to merge.”
But no matter how popular recreational pickleball gets, the pro leagues will face external challenges from leagues like the N.F.L., M.L.B., N.B.A., N.H.L., M.L.S. and W.N.B.A.
“It’s going to be hard to beat the N.F.L.,” Kuhn said. “Could it be in the top five? Yeah. I project it will be. I might be wrong, but the thing is, I could be wrong in terms of where we’re valuing the league now and still be right. It doesn’t have to be top five for us to do well. If it’s top 20 in terms of viewership, the investors at this level will do just fine.”
Connor Pardoe, chief executive of the P.P.A., said one of his goals for the organization was to try to convince spectators that pro pickleball players “are at the top of the game.”
“They’re true to their craft like any other any other professional sports personality, and trying to show that it’s not just a silly game that you play in the backyard but is a real professional thing,” Pardoe said. “That’s our challenge.”
The highest peak of a triathlete’s career can be found along a stretch of Ali’i Drive in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
It’s a small road, one dotted with local cafes, a smattering of hotels and the Kona Farmers Market.
Since 1981, the town of around 20,000 has played host to the pinnacle of the sport: the Ironman World Championship. Annually, 2,500 athletes qualify to participate in the event, having outraced those in their age groups in a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile marathon.
“Everyone who has heard of triathlon as a sport has heard of Kona,” Todd Wakefield, a world championship qualifier said.
But on Jan. 5, Ironman officially announced that it would be making a long-term change to the annual world championship. The 2023 event will take place across two days in two cities. This year, men will be racing in Nice, France, on Sept. 10, while the women will race in Kona on Oct. 14. The two cities will host until 2026, with men and women switching locations every year.
No longer would Kona be singularly synonymous with the top Ironman triathletes in the world.
“Heartbreaking,” Drew Jordan, another world championship qualifier, said. In 2018, Wakefield and Jordan began sharing their triathlon journey and a look at the most prestigious course on an Instagram account called Couch to Kona.
The “two dudes trying to stay fit,” as they call themselves, were inundated with messages after the official call came down. Everything was about Kona, they said, one echoing the other between sighs. “We’ve literally been thinking about trying to qualify for this race for four years now,” Jordan said.
It was a major change that many have seen coming for some time, but one that was realized in 2022 in part because of an enormous glut of qualifiers who had yet to race because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Andrew Messick, the chief executive of Ironman.
In an effort to get qualified athletes racing again, the 2021 world championship — the first held after the 2020 race’s cancellation — was moved to St. George, Utah, a location with looser Covid restrictions.
Qualifiers from 2019 were given an option of either racing in May 2022 in Utah (the event counted as the 2021 championship) or deferring their qualification to the usual time and location of the championships, the second weekend of October in Kona (an event that would count as the 2022 championship).
Most athletes picked the latter, choosing the mystique of Kona over the first championship to return since the onset of the pandemic.
“Everyone’s dream is Kona,” Skye Ombac, a triathlete from Hawaii, said. A fan of the sport, Ombac streamed the St. George world championship in May 2022. “They still had the Hawaiian drums, and the volunteers had the fake leis. And there were Hawaiian dancers and they were trying so hard to still make it Kona, but it’s not in Kona.”
“It was a world championship,” Ombac continued. “But everyone said it was the world championship in quotation marks; it’s not Kona.”
After a series of conversations with Mitch Roth, the mayor of Hawaii County, Messick and his team decided to host two days of racing in Kona in 2022, with men and women competing on different days. There were two live broadcasts.
This was the future, Messick thought. Bigger fields, more qualifying slots for age-group athletes and a clear way to highlight the women’s race, which has historically been swallowed up by simultaneous coverage of the men’s race.
“We need to continue to adapt to what has been an extraordinary growth in demand for the world championship,” Messick said. “While Kona is a huge part of the history of Ironman, we have outgrown the ability to do a world championship in just one day there.”
Around 2,500 athletes translates to some 10,000 visitors for the coastal town on the west side of the island of Hawaii. For many, it feels like the race subsumes the area. Bicycles that are worth tens of thousands of dollars flood the airport, and popular pre-race foods like bananas become impossible to find on the island. Road closures in the small town make travel nearly impossible.
Permanently increasing the number of participants — and adding a second race day — would not have been sustainable in Kona in the long term.
The number of athletes who could qualify for the world championship has not changed, even as the number of athletes competing in the Ironman series of races has exploded in the past 17 years. It has gone from 15,500 registrations for full-distance Ironman triathlon events in 2005 to some 94,000 registrations for full-distance Ironman races in 2022. In 2005, there were 14 full distance Ironman triathlons around the world. In 2023, there are 44 such races scheduled. But the number of athletes who could toe the line in Kona remained squarely around 2,500.
That’s in contrast to an event like the Boston Marathon. That race, a pinnacle for amateur distance runners, had a field of close to 20,000 in 2005. It has grown to a field of around 30,000 in 2022.
It is difficult to overstate the significance of place to these races. For runners and triathletes, qualifying for a race is qualifying to “run Boston” or to “race Kona.” Runners don’t want to qualify for the Boston Marathon to run the marathon in another city. And many aren’t interested in qualifying for a world championship to race outside of Hawaii.
Some athletes, including Jordan and Wakefield, are beginning to strategize. They still plan to focus on qualifying for the world championship, but only when it’s their turn to race in Kona. Ombac, a teacher who was cheered on by students on race day, said competing in Kona was one of the best days of her life, but traveling to Nice for a championship is too expensive. Some athletes may have on years and off years.
If there’s one point everyone can agree on, it’s the improved coverage of the women’s race that came with a separate event date. Athletes interviewed — even those who were vehemently opposed to the change — nodded toward that progress.
It’s “good for the sport,” Sarah Crowley, a two-time world championship bronze medalist who finished seventh in the 2022 race, said.
“After seeing the success of the two-day format I can see the importance of the women’s only race,” Crowley, an Australian athlete, said. “Being a female competitor at the highest level, it showcased the women individually and gave us our own day.”
As she discussed the change in location, she said she would go anywhere to race in the world championship. A world title is a world title, she said.
But then she paused. It may be a different conversation if she were headed to Nice this year after all.
“It’s easy to see it through my eyes because I get to go to Kona this year,” she said.
SALT LAKE CITY — Trae Young had 27 points and six assists to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 115-108 victory over the Utah Jazz on Friday night.
De’Andre Hunter scored 26 points for the Hawks. Onyeka Okongwu had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Dejounte Murray added 13 points and eight assists.
Atlanta won for the third time in its last four road games.
“I feel like winning on the road comes down to energy,” Hunter said. “You know the crowd is going to be behind the home team, so we just rally around each other to build that energy. Once we have energy, everything else just flows.”
The Hawks went to the rim early and it paid off. They had 28 assists on 44 baskets and scored 56 points in the paint.
“We have to be aggressive,” coach Nate McMillan said. “We don’t want to just sit out there and settle for the perimeter shots. I think we’re creating opportunities when we’re being aggressive, attacking the rim, attacking the paint.”
Lauri Markkanen had 25 points and 10 rebounds to pace Utah. Jordan Clarkson scored 24, and Mike Conley finished with 20 points and eight assists.
Utah struggled from the outside, going 13 of 44 from 3-point range. The Jazz had a three-game home winning streak snapped.
“We did a pretty good job on the shooters all night,” Young said. “I think that helped us.”
Atlanta dominated on both ends of the court throughout the first half. The Hawks built a 60-38 lead late in the second quarter after Young bookended an 8-0 run with a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws.
Utah made only one 3-pointer in the first quarter and just five outside baskets by halftime.
“Those tough misses maybe affected us,” Markkanen said. “I felt like I forced (shots) up after I saw a couple roll, so I wanted to go try again.”
Utah chipped away at the deficit in the second half and rallied late in the fourth quarter. Clarkson buried consecutive 3-pointers to punctuate a 10-0 run and cut Atlanta’s lead to 106-101 with 3:17 left. Young countered with a 3 to keep the Hawks in control.
Atlanta held off the Jazz in the end because Utah struggled to get stops even after making baskets.
“They have a lot of very good offensive players and if you’re not detailed in your defense, they can punish you,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said.
DOUBLE DUTY
Hunter turned in one of his most complete games of the season. The fourth-year forward made a season-high 10 field goals and set a season best for points. Defensively, he drew the assignment of guarding Markkanen. Hunter found a way to slow the Jazz All-Star long enough to help keep Utah’s offense off balance for much of the game.
“He’s the All-Star on their team,” Hunter said. “Slowing him down definitely will slow the team down. That was my main thing, just trying to make it as tough as possible for him.”
TIP-INS
Hawks: John Collins scored all 10 of his points in the first quarter. Collins started 3 of 5 from the field but went 0 for 5 over the final three quarters. … Clint Capela grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.
Jazz: Conley played in his 1,000th career game. … Jarred Vanderbilt finished with a team-best 11 rebounds. … Clarkson started 1 of 9 from the field before making nine of his last 12 shots.
UP NEXT
Hawks: Visit Denver on Saturday.
Jazz: Host Dallas on Monday.
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MINNEAPOLIS — A fight broke out and punches were thrown during the game between the Orlando Magic and Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.
Five players were ejected following the brawl, which started in front of the Orlando bench late in the third quarter. Minnesota guard Austin Rivers and Magic center Mo Bamba were the initial players involved, and it spilled over to include several others on the court.
Rivers, Jaden McDaniels and Taurean Prince were ejected from the Timberwolves. Jalen Suggs was tossed along with Bamba for Orlando, which went on to win 127-120.
“This isn’t like a cool moment for me,” Rivers said after the game. “I feel embarrassed. I’m the oldest on the team. I consider myself the leader of the team, or one of the leaders of the team. It was a weird game, and I don’t think that helped at all. If anything right now, I’m just (ticked off) that we lost, and that I had (something) to do with that. It doesn’t make me feel good.”
Bamba and Suggs were not available for comment after the game.
“You obviously want to have your teammate’s back and at the same time, you’ve got to be a professional,” said Orlando center Moritz Wagner, also involved in a skirmish with Detroit in December.
“So, that’s a challenge for a young team like us. I think this time around we did a good job compared to last time. So, yeah, I don’t really know. It’s a weird dynamic. You don’t really want to be in those situations and it’s not really the best look. You want to be professional. At the same time, there is something in me that appreciates the team sticking together like that.”
Wagner appeared to get knocked out in that fight with the Pistons in Detroit. Wagner and Detroit’s Killian Hayes and Hamadou Diallo were all ejected.
On this night, the fight began with Rivers right in front of the Magic bench as play was ongoing at the far end of the court. Bamba came off the bench and Rivers threw punches at him. Suggs later pulled Rivers away and swung him to the court. McDaniels and Prince joined the scrum.
“Their guy came off the bench and threw a punch,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “Pretty egregious. Then it’s a melee, and somehow our guys get punished a lot worse. One guy got sent for not being a peacekeeper. I just looked at the film, and I didn’t see any difference between what their guys were doing and what our guys were doing.”
The altercation seemed to stem from talk from the Magic bench, particularly Bamba. A few moments earlier, Rivers missed a 3-point attempt in front of the Orlando bench, and Bamba and Markelle Fultz could be seen reacting to the miss.
Rivers said he approached the 7-foot, 231-pound Bamba about his comments.
“I’m not gonna snitch on the dude or whatever, but I just didn’t like the way he was talking to me,” said Rivers, listed at 6-4 and 200 pounds. “For no reason, too. I don’t even know that dude. I don’t know anything about him. Obviously, I just know he’s a player for the Magic. And he proceeded to talk, so that next possession, when I went down there, I just said, pretty much, ‘Just keep it respectful, bro.’”
Rivers later added: “I went up to him and I pressed him, and at that point, it can go one of two ways. I didn’t think we were going to get in a fight. But when you stand up that fast and put your hands up — he threw a punch and missed, thankfully. At that point, I’ve got to protect myself. Ain’t no one worried about him.”
The fight came one night after an on-court altercation between Memphis Grizzlies guard Dillon Brooks and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell.
Brooks swung and struck Mitchell in the groin area during the third quarter Thursday after the Grizzlies guard had fallen to the floor. Mitchell retaliated by throwing the ball at Brooks and then shoving him.
Both players were ejected from Cleveland’s 128-113 win. Afterward, Mitchell accused Brooks of being a dirty player.
The NBA announced punishments for both players Friday, with Brooks getting suspended one game without pay and Mitchell fined $20,000.
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The top scorer for the Eastern Illinois men’s basketball team will be disciplined “internally” after he tried to hit a fan in a loss Thursday, according to the school.
Late in the first half of Eastern Illinois’ 80-67 loss at Lindenwood, guard Kinyon Hodges walked up to a fan sitting in the front row at Hyland Arena and swung at his face. The fan and another man sitting next to him immediately pointed to a ref who stopped the game. Hodges was hit with a technical foul, but he was allowed to remain in the game.
It’s unclear from video of the incident what led up to it or if Hodges actually made contact with the fan.
Hodges, who averages a team-high 13.8 points per game, scored two in 24 minutes Thursday as Eastern Illinois suffered its eighth loss in nine games. The team is 7-17 under second-year coach Marty Simmons.
Per an Eastern Illinois statement Friday, Hodges let his “emotions get the best of him.”
“We are aware of the incident that occurred during the first half of our men’s basketball game at Lindenwood [Thursday],” EIU athletic director Tom Michael said in a statement. “As an athletic department, Eastern Illinois prides itself on good sportsmanship. We do not condone this type of behavior by our men’s basketball team or any of our 500 student-athletes.
“The issue has been addressed with both the player involved for EIU as well as the Ohio Valley Conference with any disciplinary action to be handled internally. The player in question understands that this is not the type of behavior displayed by our student-athletes or our men’s basketball program and in the heat of the moment let emotions get the best of him. This will be a learning moment moving forward and we apologize to anyone that may have been adversely impacted by the incident.”
Hodges is in his first year at Eastern Illinois after playing the last three seasons at Three Rivers, a junior college in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. He joined a program that has achieved one winning season (2019-20) in the last nine years.
Simmons said Hodges is remorseful for his actions Thursday.
“I spoke with the young man this morning and he is extremely sorry for his actions at [Thursday’s] basketball game,” Simmons said in a statement. “This is not in the character of this young man. Even though he did not make physical contact with the fan, he understands the seriousness of this and regrets that his actions have negatively impacted the view of not only himself but the Eastern Illinois program.”
MINNEAPOLIS — A fight broke out and punches were thrown during the game between the Orlando Magic and Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.
Five players were ejected following the brawl, which started in front of the Orlando bench late in the third quarter. Minnesota guard Austin Rivers and Magic center Mo Bamba were the initial players involved, and it spilled over to include several others on the court.
Rivers, Jaden McDaniels and Taurean Prince were ejected from the Timberwolves. Jalen Suggs was tossed along with Bamba for Orlando, which went on to win 127-120.
“This isn’t like a cool moment for me,” Rivers said after the game. “I feel embarrassed. I’m the oldest on the team. I consider myself the leader of the team, or one of the leaders of the team. It was a weird game, and I don’t think that helped at all. If anything right now, I’m just [ticked off] that we lost, and that I had [something] to do with that. It doesn’t make me feel good.”
Bamba and Suggs were not available for comment after the game.
“You obviously want to have your teammate’s back and at the same time, you’ve got to be a professional,” said Orlando center Moritz Wagner, also involved in a skirmish with Detroit in December.
“So, that’s a challenge for a young team like us. I think this time around we did a good job compared to last time. So, yeah, I don’t really know. It’s a weird dynamic. You don’t really want to be in those situations and it’s not really the best look. You want to be professional. At the same time, there is something in me that appreciates the team sticking together like that.”
Wagner appeared to get knocked out in that fight with the Pistons in Detroit. Wagner and Detroit’s Killian Hayes and Hamidou Diallo were all ejected.
On this night, the fight began with Rivers right in front of the Magic bench as play was ongoing at the far end of the court. Bamba came off the bench and Rivers threw punches at him. Suggs later pulled Rivers away and swung him to the court. McDaniels and Prince joined the scrum.
“Their guy came off the bench and threw a punch,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “Pretty egregious. Then it’s a melee, and somehow our guys get punished a lot worse. One guy got sent for not being a peacekeeper. I just looked at the film, and I didn’t see any difference between what their guys were doing and what our guys were doing.”
The altercation seemed to stem from talk from the Magic bench, particularly Bamba. A few moments earlier, Rivers missed a 3-point attempt in front of the Orlando bench, and Bamba and Markelle Fultz could be seen reacting to the miss.
Rivers said he approached the 7-foot, 231-pound Bamba about his comments.
“I’m not gonna snitch on the dude or whatever, but I just didn’t like the way he was talking to me,” said Rivers, listed at 6-4 and 200 pounds. “For no reason, too. I don’t even know that dude. I don’t know anything about him. Obviously, I just know he’s a player for the Magic. And he proceeded to talk, so that next possession, when I went down there, I just said, pretty much, ‘Just keep it respectful, bro.’”
Rivers later added: “I went up to him and I pressed him, and at that point, it can go one of two ways. I didn’t think we were going to get in a fight. But when you stand up that fast and put your hands up — he threw a punch and missed, thankfully. At that point, I’ve got to protect myself. Ain’t no one worried about him.”
Fultz, when asked what Bamba said to Rivers, told reporters it was “normal trash, nothing disrespectful or crazy.”
“It was just … people talking trash when somebody shoots on the side,” Fultz said. “We were just having fun, talking [trash]. Same stuff they do on their side. I don’t know if it was something that [Rivers] has been dealing with or something, but he got extremely mad, and that’s what he chose to do to retaliate. I don’t think Mo did anything crazy or said anything crazy.”
Brooks swung and struck Mitchell in the groin area during the third quarter Thursday after the Grizzlies guard had fallen to the floor. Mitchell retaliated by throwing the ball at Brooks and then shoving him.
Both players were ejected from Cleveland’s 128-113 win. Afterward, Mitchell accused Brooks of being a dirty player.
The NBA announced punishments for both players Friday, with Brooks getting suspended one game without pay and Mitchell fined $20,000.
SAN ANTONIO — Joel Embiid had 33 points and 10 rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers beat San Antonio 137-125 on Friday night, sending the scuffling Spurs to their eighth straight loss.
Tyrese Maxey had 25 points and James Harden added 16 for Philadelphia, which has the third-best record in the Eastern Conference.
“Tonight was one of those games where it was difficult to get up,” Harden said. “But you’ve got to still be professional. You’ve got to be an elite team. That’s where we are trying to get to consistently. We weren’t consistent enough tonight.
“We got a win, but we’ve got to try to be better overall.”
San Antonio rookie Malaki Branham set a season high for the second straight game with 26 points, eclipsing his 22-point outing Wednesday in a loss to Sacramento.
Keldon Johnson added 18 points and Jakob Poeltl had 16 points and 10 rebounds in San Antonio’s final home game before embarking on a nine-game road trip that ends Feb. 28.
The Spurs are 9-37 since opening the season 5-2.
Embiid, Harden and Tobias Harris returned to the court with five minutes remaining after San Antonio trimmed Philadelphia’s 22-point lead to just 10 at 122-112. Embiid and Harden combined for eight points and three rebounds in 3 1/2 minutes to seal the victory.
“A couple of us older guys on the bench were happy for them when they brought it back all the way to like 10 or nine points,” Poeltl said. “Made them bring their starters back in. It was fun to watch them out there just playing free, playing aggressive.”
Embiid, who was listed as questionable with a sore left foot, was 10 for 18 from the field, 2 for 3 on 3-pointers and 11 for 13 on free throws in an efficient 29 minutes. Named an All-Star reserve Thursday, Embiid added four assists and two steals.
The Spurs were without injured starters Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan and Tre Jones, as well as Romeo Langford, who has started 19 games.
Their absence contributed to San Antonio committing 18 turnovers that led to 26 points for Philadelphia.
“Giving up 26 points off turnovers makes it impossible (to win),” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “That was the most disappointing part of the game. Their grunt and their ability to just play the game is super, but taking care of the basketball is pretty important and we didn’t do that tonight. That was the bad part of the game.”
Philadelphia started the game with three straight turnovers in falling behind 8-1. The 76ers rallied to end the first quarter tied at 26 and then outscored the Spurs 47-35 in the second quarter.
The run included a one-handed alley-oop dunk by Embiid on a pass from Harden followed by a fastbreak dunk by Harris in building a 66-49 lead.
The second unit then began a charge that ended in Philadelphia’s bench outscoring San Antonio’s 67-42.
“That’s what we’re going to need from them,” Harden said. “Consistently they run their sets. With that unit, it’s about just getting stops. We get stops, we give ourselves a chance to get out in transition.”
TIP-INS
76ers: Harden said he was fine after exiting for the locker room with a second remaining in the first half after falling on his elbow late in the first half. Harden returned early for warmups and started the second half. … Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers was honored before the game as part of the Spurs’ 50th anniversary celebration. Rivers played his final two seasons in the NBA with the Spurs, beginning in 1994. … Play was stopped midway through the first quarter so the 76ers could tend to a minor cut near Embiid’s right thumb that was bleeding. Embiid drained a 3-pointer on the next play.
Spurs: San Antonio’s next home game is March 2 against Houston. … San Antonio has the league’s second-longest active losing streak, trailing New Orleans’ 10-game skid. … Popovich received a technical foul with 5 minutes remaining in the first quarter after stomping down the sideline and screaming at official Mousa Dagher. Popovich was upset no foul was called on a reverse layup attempted by Keldon Johnson.
UP NEXT
76ers: At Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.
Spurs: At Chicago on Tuesday.
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The Raiders have granted Derek Carr permission to speak with teams that have already agreed to the compensation Las Vegas is looking for in a potential trade for the quarterback, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Friday.
Carr said on Thursday during the Pro Bowl Games skills competition that he and his representative were waiting to be authorized to speak with potential trade partners. Carr has a no-trade clause in his contract and said he would use it if he deemed it necessary.
Carr also said Thursday that he has no intention of extending the Feb. 15 trigger date on his contract, the date by which more than $40 million in guarantees kick in.
The 31-year-old quarterback signed a five-year, $125 million contract extension with the Raiders in 2017 and then a three-year, $121.5 million extension last spring. The most recent extension included the right for the Raiders to cut him ahead of Feb. 15 for a relatively minor $5.625 million salary-cap hit.
A team trading for Carr would owe him $32.9 million in 2022, $41.9 million in 2023 and $41.2 million in 2023, with a $100,000 workout bonus included each season, according to ESPN’s Field Yates.
Carr, who had been the Raiders’ starting quarterback since being selected in the second round of the 2014 NFL draft, bid farewell to the team and its fans in a statement last month.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Thirty-five years after Doug Williams became the first Black quarterback to start in the Super Bowl, this season’s NFL championship game will have two Black starting quarterbacks for the first time.
“To be on the world stage and have two Black quarterbacks start in the Super Bowl, I think it’s special, and I’ve learned more and more about the history of the Black quarterback since I’ve been in this league,” Mahomes said Thursday. “The guys that came before me and Jalen set the stage for this, and now, I’m just glad that we can kind of set the stage for guys that are kids that are coming up now.
“You’ve seen over time, whenever Doug Williams or Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb go out and play great football, it gives other guys like me and Jalen chances to have this platform and have this spot on an NFL team. And so, if we can continue to show that we can consistently be great, I think it’ll just continue to open doors, for other kids growing up to follow their dreams, to be a quarterback of the NFL team. It’s good that we have guys like Jalen on the other side. He’s a great person and obviously a great quarterback.”
Williams led Washington to a 42-10 win over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXII following the 1987 season. He threw for 340 yards and four touchdowns.
Since then, six Black quarterbacks have started in the Super Bowl, including Mahomes twice, but never two in the same game.
“I think it’s history,” Hurts said Thursday in Philadelphia. “I think it’s something worthy of being noted. It’s come a long way. I think there’s only been seven African American quarterbacks to play in the Super Bowl. To be the first in something is pretty cool, so I know it will be a good one.
“I think anyone like Mike Vick, Cam [Newton], Randall Cunningham, McNabb, all those type of guys are guys that a lot of young kids looked up to, a lot of young Black kids as well, Steve McNair, all of those guys.”
Mahomes said he did not aggravate his high ankle sprain in the Chiefs’ AFC Championship Game victory against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. He was scheduled to be a full practice participant Thursday as the Chiefs began preparations for the Super Bowl.
He said he was experiencing general soreness from what he called a physical game but added, “Other than that, I feel I’m in a good spot.”
Hurts also has been battling an injury, as he suffered an SC joint sprain in his right shoulder on Dec. 18 against the Chicago Bears. He returned for the Eagles’ season finale and the postseason.
“I’m getting there. I made it clear this whole time it’s been something I’ve been dealing with,” he said, adding that it’s getting better “with time.”
Hurts wouldn’t put a number on it when asked what percentage he is health-wise.
On Friday, Alabama offered its offensive coordinator job to Tommy Rees and he accepted, making him the Crimson Tide’s ninth different OC since Nick Saban became head coach in 2007. Rees spent the previous three years in the same position at Notre Dame.
Rees is replacing former offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien, who left Alabama for the same position with the New England Patriots.
So what does this mean for both Saban and the Crimson Tide and Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish? Our reporters break it down.
What prompted this move from Alabama?
Whether Bill O’Brien left on his own terms or not — ultimately returning to the New England Patriots — Alabama had to change offensively after a disappointing 2022 season. The Crimson Tide had become too one-dimensional and too reliant on stellar quarterback play to generate points. The creative playcalling under former OC’s Steve Sarkisian and Lane Kiffin was missing. Receivers couldn’t get open and the running game was inconsistent at best, especially between the tackles and in short-yardage situations. On third and fourth down with 2 yards or less to go, Alabama picked up a first down rushing only 60% of the time — which ranked 11th out of 14 SEC teams. The balance that Saban craves was missing. So were the explosive plays. Despite dropping back to pass 56.6% of the time — compared to Georgia at 50.3% — Alabama ranked fourth in the conference in plays of 20 or more yards.
— Alex Scarborough
What does this mean for the Tide moving forward?
I’m not sure exactly how far the pendulum is getting ready to swing back in the direction of a more traditional offense, but I am confident we’ll see a more pro-style approach moving forward. Just look at the numbers from last season. With Rees calling plays, Notre Dame was under center 58 times last season compared to Alabama at 12. Notre Dame also utilized 12 personnel — two tight ends and one back — on 302 plays compared to Alabama at 166. Finally, Notre Dame went into a pistol formation 129 times compared to Alabama at 84. In other words: Expect fewer empty sets and a more traditional running game. And with a new quarterback and a deep group of running backs — not to mention Saban’s proclivity for playing ball control offense — it makes sense that Alabama’s playbook will look more like 2012 than 2022.
— Scarborough
What does the hire say about where Saban thinks the program is?
Saban could have done almost anything with this hire. Schematically, it might have made sense to pursue a more modern run-pass option offense with someone like Oklahoma O.C. Jeff Lebby. Sarkisian had a lot of success with the RPO at Alabama, and Mike Locksley before him. According to Al.com, Saban spoke to former Mississippi State coach and RPO proponent Joe Moorhead about the job. But Saban landed on Rees, who has a more pro-style approach compared to some of his contemporaries. That’s no accident. Saban is after more balance and ball control. Alabama ranked 80th in time of possession per play last season. Notre Dame ranked 19th. If Saban is looking to fix a defense that’s struggled to meet expectations in recent years, a good first step would be fielding an offense that chews up some clock and limits the opposing team’s possessions. — Scarborough
What were his strengths and weaknesses as an OC at ND? What will he bring to Alabama?
In Rees’ three seasons as Notre Dame’s offensive coordinator, the Irish averaged 2.75, 2.55 and 2.53 points per drive, respectively. That’s a show of both success (all ranked top 40 in FBS) and consistency, despite losing a longtime starting QB, a bunch of talented O-linemen, and some terrific skill position players along the way. What does Rees do well? The first thing to note might be his adaptability. He’s designed offenses built around Ian Book’s mobility, Kyren Williams and a power run game and Michael Mayer‘s dominance at tight end. His best skill, however, might be his intimate knowledge of the QB position. As a player at Notre Dame, Rees was under the microscope and dealt with his share of backlash and frustration from fans and questions from the media. At Alabama, a new QB will be stepping into some very big shoes, and his performance will face the same type of scrutiny. Rees helped develop Book into a star, groomed Tyler Buchner for the starting job, then pivoted to Drew Pyne and got the most out of his far different skill set, too. His hands-on work and deep knowledge of the modern QB makes him well suited to handle what might be the Tide’s biggest challenge entering 2023.
— David M. Hale
Where does Notre Dame go from here?
Notre Dame won six of its final seven games, including a 45-38 win over No. 19 South Carolina in the Taxslayer Gator Bowl, and can reassert itself in the national picture with the right hire. It’s a critical decision and one that needs to lend itself to stability as the Irish continue to develop the program under Freeman. One thing Notre Dame won’t do is change its pro-style offensive identity, which is driven by its offensive line and exceptional tight ends.
The question is if Freeman wants to promote from within at the expense of experience or look elsewhere for a more proven candidate. Irish tight ends coach Gerad Parker spent two years as offensive coordinator at West Virginia before Freeman hired him in 2022, and in 2019 Parker was Penn State‘s passing game coordinator. He’s well-respected within the program, and has coaching history with Freeman.
The acquisition of Wake Forest transfer quarterback Sam Hartman has created a buzz, as the veteran has thrown for almost 13,000 yards and 110 touchdowns in five seasons, but Hartman has also been plagued at times by turnovers (26 in the past two seasons). He’ll compete with Tyler Buchner, who had five touchdowns in the bowl win. The next coordinator will have to judge a quarterback competition at a program that needs an elite passer to elevate the entire team.
