KingsX

10 against 11 ... an opponent who will be in League 1 next year ... There's very little to be learned from this match. Outside of reinforcing the already painfully obvious need to change in midfield.

And the winner of the Michael Appleton Trophy is … No one.

No handball ??!

A phrase I never thought I'd see.

Is that Soumare's first OG?

So let's keep watching !

WHAT A DEBUT

Stolarcyk plays like he's surprised by everything. Too long spent learning at the feet of Danny Ward.

That home club really is shit.

Tremendous start by the Packers, the only fan-owned club in major American sports. In other news, the Browns hold Joe Burrow and the Bengals to SEVEN yards in the second half -- and lose

How does a third of a billion dollars in yearly athletic revenue strike you? https://www.burntorangenation.com/2025/1/31/24355797/texas-longhorns-athletics-operating-costs-2024-sec-big-12-cfp College football is big, big business for the top schools. And yet their designation of the players as "amateur (i.e. unpaid) student-athletes" has only melted away under court challenges in the last few years. Austin is a huge campus and student body by the way, even by US standards.

Not sure about the vibe in that announcement ... more Vivaldi than Vardy ... almost creepy. "CREMONESE RE-ANIMATE VARDY'S CAREER FOR CAPOCANNONIERE BID"

Great colors ... not unlike my Ohio State Buckeyes ... far better to be unique than wear the same "proper" colors as dozens of other clubs. I'm in Verona for a week every April and have a favorite ristorante in Caorso. May be able to check out a match!

41 minutes until the deal is done then

My Mate's The Ref has just been eclipsed.

I’ve got a treasured Banana Slugs hoodie This was another one where the student body picked the mascot. You’ve been in those forests, so you know all a banana slug does is puke slime and mount other banana slugs. A perfect mascot for the college experience!

Bloody hell! Even I’ve never heard of them I have a soft spot for the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs myself

Game Day is a big part of the experience mate! But … it’s on at the same time as a City 3 pm kickoff…?!

The conferences always aggregated teams based on geography and similar size, resources and emphasis on athletics. There is no relegation. Schools occasionally changed leagues for a better fit. Georgia Tech, for example, left the SEC because it was focused more on academics than football and was becoming less and less competitive. in recent years, most of the money in college sports has come via the league broadcasting deals and schools have lawyered up and will go to extreme lengths to better or preserve their lot. The Big Ten and SEC, traditionally home to the most power programs, pull in 50 mill a year or more for their schools, regardless of how much those schools put into their CFB programs. The ACC and Big 12 round out the “power 4” (P4) at less than half that sum. The other conferences basically get scraps, and since the inception of the transfer portal have their good players and coaches poached faster than a League One side.

Your Gamecocks were non-affiliated independents when I came of age (apparently because their football coach couldn’t field a competitive team without paying some guys who couldn’t spell C-A-T). University presidents have always held the votes on who is admitted to their conference and that must have been too much for them to take. You sure you want to stick with South Carolina?

Even gurus have to google

Your point is valid. In both the NFL and CFB, going into any season, there are about a half dozen teams with the talent to win it all. Those teams will rotate almost yearly in the NFL. In CFB, the powers have changed less, and more slowly. In the new $$$ era, the Big Ten and SEC media deals are now separating the rich from the poor. Potentially offset by rich boosters throwing millions at teenagers at, say, Texas Tech. So, whiffy professionalism is indeed moving CFB more toward the NFL. "The Shield" has been 100% about the money for decades, but happens to offer carefully-engineered parity. If you are a Jags or Colts fan, you have an actual chance to win the Super Bowl someday. Whereas if you are a Boise State fan, you have a chance to win your conference, but not the whole shebang. BUT you'll have the blue turf, Buster Bronco running around on the sideline and a chant and a fight song the whole stadium actually sings. I know because we've been to a game there which did more for me than going to a Seahawks game ever would. s