David Jones

Caitlin Clark has changed my mind about women’s basketball. She has proven me wrong. And she’s made me a fan. I never would’ve thought it possible back around the turn of the century.

The reads are brief this morning, owing to an early flight back to Atlanta. But there’s some history involved in both takes. Perfect for those of a certain age with eyewitness heritage to draw from.

Bowl season now falls smack in the middle of a manic musical chairs game, players either transferring or leveraging their loyalty against immediate NIL compensation and playing time. It’s chaos. On Friday morning I asked both coaches involved in the Peach Bowl how they keep their players engaged and their teams cohesive in this wild new world.

The mailbag is coming to you live from Atlanta where Penn State is preparing to play Mississippi. But we aren’t limiting ourselves to Peach patter. We touch on the prospect of all-week NFL games, whether the Bama coach could retire at 72 and what next year’s CFP might be like in northern climes like Beaver Stadium.

Florida State’s overt attempt to leave the Atlantic Coast Conference through a lawsuit, and the ACC’s countersuit intended to enforce its binding Grant of Rights through 2036, has shaken the power league to its core and threatened to tear it apart.

The mailbag was dumped and a lot of unopened letters to Manny Diaz fell out. Then, under the pile were appraisals of the exodus of talent at Ohio State, some scattered CFP references and uh… is anyone talking about the Peach Bowl?

When the crowd gets jacked up and the band starts blasting at a college athletic event, the sound goes through your body. It’s a spiritual experience. But that’s not the sound I’m hearing in most college venues anymore. It’s a fabricated noise that’s anything but joyous.

Only two reads today, but one big one up top. We begin with the injury to Drew Allar in the penultimate game of a frustrating season for the sophomore quarterback. Then, it’s on to another young prodigy on the defensive side who had a better day.

Could the NCAA/B1G probe of the sign-stealers finally be cracking Sharkface’s facade and maybe blur his team’s focus? And what if that coincides with a reprieve and rebirth of Penn State’s beleaguered quarterback? Meanwhile, Ohio State’s sports car RB is out of the shop and purring. Here they are, back to front.

The mailbag is overloaded with caustic Penn State football and Phillies commentary, as you might imagine. But there are also some from beyond the local fanbase. And even a couple locals who reserve the right to root against the local teams.

The reads begin with a rhetorical and analytical question at once. Then, we examine how the chronic turnover at wide receivers coach has affected the position in the Ohio State rivalry. Finally, it’s a descent into the agony of defeat followed by reasons for a glimmer of hope.

Rick Sayles, a former tight end/wideout slash receiver from a generation ago, is leading a community gardening initiative at Steelton-Highspire High School at once was a trash dump.

Other than Penn State’s oddly placed siesta with Massachusetts next week, the B1G’s non-con schedule will be complete as of this Saturday. Now, it’s down to square biz against league foes only. And a pair of intriguing boxer-boxer (MD@OS) and puncher-puncher (RU@WI) matchups wait on deck. Here they are as we stand, back to front:

The Nittany Lions’ superior defense compensated for a sleepy and sloppy offense in ripping open a tie game at halftime. What does it all mean for the games that matter? Nothing about this one could possibly be an indicator.

FOX killed the wrong league. While the lame-duck P12 looks like the best conference in the nation, the B1G needs a low-T remedy from Larry King. It was easy to rank the second division. But who fills in those slots after the Top 3? Can we just leave #4 to #7 blank? I have no choice but to fulfill my duty. Here they are, back to front.

With 17 minutes left on Saturday night in a nearly empty Ryan Field, the Cats trailed Minnesota 31-10. But that doesn’t even say it. It was the way in which they fell behind by three touchdowns. And then how they responded behind a transfer quarterback from Cincinnati and a young interim head coach who has never been one before.

During a week in which nobody in the conference exactly distinguished themselves, and both the much-disparaged Pac-12 and ACC (and especially their quarterbacks) appeared a class above, it wasn’t hard to wonder whether FOX killed the wrong league. Here they are in the motley B1G, bulging bottom to slim top.

In the tradition of crafty southpaws of yore, this diminutive mop-topped 12-year-old from the farming town of Needville, Texas, has scrambled one bigger preteen after another in Williamsport with his mix of speeds and eye levels, each tailored to the hitter. A lot of today’s MLB pitchers should take notes.

The Americans barely advanced to the 2023 Women’s World Cup knockout round after a scoreless tie with the world’s #21-ranked side. Not only that, they seemed rather pleased with themselves afterward, of which former USWNT star Carli Lloyd took a very dim view.

Back through the 2016 season, a certain East division member has done better for bettors than anyone by far in the conference. Considering how badly they did in Vegas for decades prior, yeah, it’s a stunner.