Sports
The NCAA May Be Losing Control of College Football as SEC Frustrations Boil Over
For all of you who appreciate college football as deeply as I do, I would strongly advise you to make the most of your enjoyment of the sport for as long as you can.
Because it’s getting hard to see the sport staying as it is now for very much longer.
Georgia president Jere Morehead and head coach Kirby Smart were the first people to say what has been boiling under the surface for years at this point: The way things are trending, it seems less and less likely that the future of the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference are in the NCAA.
As the NCAA pushes Congress to institute laws that would govern the sport and these attempts, like the SCORE Act, which stalled out this week, fail, college sports continue to be Wild West of sorts.
While the NCAA has instituted a cap for how much of its revenue it can share with players ($20.5 million across all sports for the 2025-26 academic year) and instituted a clearing house to approve all NIL transactions, things aren’t being forced on that front.
Tampering continues to be rampant — just ask Dabo Swinney — but we’re still waiting on the first punishment for anything of the sort. That leaves coaches at power programs, like Georgia, open to what they view as a better, NCAA-less future.
“I’ve been a huge advocate that if we can’t find rules that everybody plays by, then we should play on our own,” Smart told reporters this week at the SEC’s spring meetings in Miramar Beach, Fla. “I’m not afraid of that. I’m not afraid to break away and say that our conference is strong enough to go out and play.
“If we could actually function financially, it would make our programs more stable. We could support things financially — I’m talking about all the sports — and do our own rules. I’d be all for that.”
There have been discussions for years about if the college sports landscape, especially college football, is heading for a super league. Could a subset of the SEC and Big Ten break off and go independent, with a few ACC/Big 12 schools potentially replacing those conference’s lower tiers?
It’s always been a possibility this is where things were heading. This new league, which would likely contain an even greater percentage of the best players than these conferences already do, would have no trouble getting a TV contract to televise its games.
If these basketball programs also left the NCAA’s purview, that would seriously hinder the organization’s main cash cow in March Madness and drastically change its finances.
The NCAA is left with no real choice. It needs to bring actionable rules and real governance to college sports or it feels like just a matter of time until it becomes a college sports afterthought.
Even if it does those things, it’s still possible that there’s no keeping the band together at this point. But the NCAA has to try.
Sports
Talor Gooch grabs lead in Korea with second-round 63
May 8, 2026; Sterling, Virginia, USA; Talor Gooch putts during the second round of LIV Golf Virginia golf tournament at Trump National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: John (Jack) Power-Imagn Images Talor Gooch surged into the lead at LIV Golf Korea with a 7-under 63 in the second round Friday at Asiad Country Club in Busan, South Korea.
Gooch carded eight birdies — six on the front nine — and a lone bogey at the par-4 fifth hole to move to 8-under, one stroke ahead of Bryson DeChambeau. It is the eighth time the OKGC captain has shot 63 or better in LIV Golf and the seventh time he has held the 36-hole lead.
A four-time winner on the tour, Gooch chipped in for a birdie on his second hole, the par-4 ninth, and birdied six of his last eight holes.
“The game still doesn’t feel great, but we’re working hard, and we’re working in the right direction,” said Gooch, who entered the week ranked 29th in points but could climb to fifth with a win. “… Hopefully we can just kind of keep it going and get this train rolling.”
First-round co-leader DeChambeau is alone at 7-under after shooting 68 on Friday, finishing with three birdies and a bogey. The Crushers GC captain hit only eight of 14 fairways and 10 of 18 greens in regulation.
“My putting saved me today,” DeChambeau said. “I felt like I was hitting it really well yesterday, driving it well, and today just kind of went sideways.”
DeChambeau is looking for his third win of the LIV Golf season after missing the cut at the PGA Championship earlier this month. He is one of the few big hitters having a strong start at what Gooch called a “shot-maker’s course.”
“It’s a testament to how great of a golfer Bryson is to be able to play bomber’s paradises and then this course is a little bit more of a shot-maker’s course,” Gooch said. “It’s a fun course, and it’s just another example that a course doesn’t have to be 8,000 yards to be a good test.”
Five golfers are tied for third at 5-under, including Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith of Australia (68 on Friday) and Torque GC captain Joaquin Niemann (69) of Chile. Belgium’s Thomas Pieters (69), Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent (70) and Charles Howell III (70) also are in that group.
Korean GC’s Doyeob Mun (68) is tied for eighth place at 4-under with Fireballs GC captain Sergio Garcia (69) of Spain.
Gooch’s OKGC leads the team standings at 14-under, one shot ahead of DeChambeau’s Crushers and three clear of Ripper GC.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Knicks C Mitchell Robinson to play with broken pinky
May 19, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson (23) reacts to missing a free throw against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the third quarter of game one of the eastern conference finals during the 2026 NBA playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson plans to play in Game 1 of the NBA Finals with a broken right pinky finger, ESPN reported Friday.
Robinson, 28, has undergone surgery to repair the fracture and will wear a brace on his hand, per the report.
Video from Monday’s Eastern Conference finals-clinching win at Cleveland shows Robinson grabbing his right hand following a rebound attempt with 5:35 left in the third quarter. He continued to play until midway through the fourth quarter of the 130-93 Game 4 rout of the Cavaliers.
Game 1 of the Knicks’ first Finals appearance since 1999 will be Wednesday night against the winner of Saturday’s Game 7 between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals.
Robinson tallied eight points and 10 rebounds in 18 minutes Monday as the Knicks completed their sweep and won their 11th consecutive game.
The backup to six-time All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns, Robinson is averaging 5.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 14.2 minutes per game while shooting a league-leading 73.7% from the field (28 of 38) in 13 playoff games as a reserve. He has made only 13 of 43 free-throw attempts (30.2%).
During the regular season, Robinson averaged 5.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 19.6 minutes in 60 games (16 starts) and finished eighth in voting for NBA Sixth Man of the Year.
For his career, Robinson has averaged 7.5 points, 8.0 boards, 1.7 blocks and 23.4 minutes in 397 regular-season games (215 starts) with New York. The Knicks’ longest-tenured Knicks player was selected in the second round of the 2018 NBA Draft out of Western Kentucky.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Retired players to receive share of $14M
Aug 21, 2025; Uncasville, Connecticut, USA; Connecticut Sun center Tina Charles (31) reacts after his basket against the Washington Mystics in the second half at Mohegan Sun Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images Retired WNBA players with at least five years of experience are entitled to a share of a $14 million pool, Front Office Sports reported Friday.
The “Veteran Recognition Payment” was included in the new collective bargaining agreement that was agreed to by the league and players’ union ahead of the 2026 season.
Players who were in the league for five to seven years are due a lump sum of $30,000, while those who played eight to 11 years will receive $50,000 and those who suited up for 12 or more years will get $100,000, per the report.
About 280 players who retired before the start of the current season reportedly are eligible. That includes eight-time All-Star and 2012 Most Valuable Player Tina Charles, a 14-year veteran who retired three days before the start of the 2026 campaign.
In addition, any retired player who won the MVP award but played fewer than 12 years will qualify for the $100,000 payment, per the report. That would include two-time MVPs Cynthia Cooper and Elena Delle Donne along with Maya Moore and Yolanda Griffith.
“I’m sure there are a certain number of (retired players) who it will make a real impact on their lives,” ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo told FOS. “For the current players to kind of appreciate the history of the game and where they are now as a result of some of the women who came before them, that was magnanimous and certainly a surprise.”
According to the CBA, the payments are expected to be distributed before the end of the calendar year.
–Field Level Media
Talor Gooch grabs lead in Korea with second-round 63
Report: Knicks C Mitchell Robinson to play with broken pinky
