Sports
Big Ten Championship Logjam Good for the Playoff, Bad for College Football Tradition
The current state of the Big Ten championship race is either the best endorsement of the expanded College Football Playoff or a searing indictment of the bloated conference model, depending on one’s perspective.
In Week 9, Oregon handled No. 20-ranked Illinois in a 38-9 rout. Penn State wore down Wisconsin at Camp Randall, winning 28-13. Indiana, playing backup quarterback Tayven Jackson, cruised past Washington, 31-17.
All three remain undefeated, with a month remaining in the regular season. Such a scenario, with one league boasting three undefeated teams, would make for an exciting November in the old college football landscape.
Of course, Oregon would not be competing for the top of the same conference as Penn State in the old landscape. But their “competition” is played by proxy, decided in aggregate. If they were to avoid each other in the regular season as a setup for a hypothetical Big Ten Conference, who wouldn’t be on board for that?
A championship game that feels like a true championship and keeps the spirit of the Rose Bowl Game alive as more than a hood ornament for the NFL-patterned playoff might be the perfect Year 1 justification for blowing up so much tradition.
And it could still happen. However, the Big Ten race could also conclude with each of Oregon, Penn State, and surprising Indiana at 12-0, as none of the three appear on the others’ schedules.
College football is in an experimental phase in which it certainly feels like the ultimate goal is for two main conferences — the Big Ten and SEC — to function as the AFC and NFC do in the NFL. If this is the pursuit, hopefully someone is taking notes and recognizing why the NFL conferences use divisions.
While it’s impossible for every team in an 18-team conference to play each other, a safeguard that prevents the disaster of three teams going undefeated through the regular season is a must.
Maybe that safeguard is the Big Ten bringing in All Elite Wrestling owner and Illinois alum Tony Khan to book a three-way match in Indianapolis.
Barring a pro wrestling-inspired three-team championship game, however, a scenario in which each of Oregon, Penn State, and Indiana goes 12-0 while one is left out of the Big Ten title tilt introduces this new-look conference with an ugly asterisk next to its inaugural champion.
If all three go 12-0 through Thanksgiving, it’s virtually certain that each will go to the Playoff. This sure beats the days when one team would be punished for playing an extra game or a scenario akin to the first four-team Playoff when deserving Baylor and TCU teams were somewhat arbitrarily skipped over.
However, the continued emphasis placed on making the Playoff above all else — perhaps even over winning a conference championship — strips away some of what made college football special.
Indiana factoring into this strange hypothetical is poetic in the context of what a Big Ten championship meant not so long ago. The coming offseason marks the 20th anniversary since IU hired the late Terry Hoeppner, a 21st-century product of the Miami (OH) Cradle of Coaches.
Upon his introduction as Hoosiers head coach, Coach Hep laid roses on the podium to emphasize his vision for Indiana football: win the Big Ten and return to the Rose Bowl Game for the first time since 1967.
Hoeppner died due to complications from a brain tumor two years later. He’s no doubt enjoying his view from the afterlife of Curt Cignetti’s Hoosiers, fulfilling the expectations Hoeppner brought to Bloomington.
At the same time, there’s a sad irony in Indiana having its breakthrough season at a time when conferences in general, and the Big Ten specifically, have seemingly placed greater priority on getting teams to the Playoff than on laying out the most exciting conference championship race possible.
Sports
Jays' Addison Barger to have elbow surgery, out for season
Mar 18, 2026; Dunedin, Florida, USA; Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Addison Barger (47) hits a home run during the second inning against the Baltimore Orioles at TD Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Addison Barger will undergo surgery on his right elbow Monday and will miss the remainder of the season.
The Blue Jays announced the news on Friday for Barger, who played in just nine games this season.
After missing more than one month with an ankle injury, Barger injured his elbow in his return to the field on May 9. Per manager John Schneider, Barger’s injury was sustained after the outfielder threw a 101.2-mph throw to nail a tagging runner at the plate.
“It’s tough to lose the whole year of at-bats, reps and performance,” Schneider said. “We were counting on him to be a big part of our team. You can see how much we miss him, for sure. It’s also a dude starting his career and trending in the right direction who’s missing, basically, a full season. It’s frustrating for him and for us.”
Barger, 26, went 1-for-22 (.045) with two RBIs this season after hitting 21 homers with 74 RBIs in 135 games in 2025. He batted .367 (22-for-60) with three home runs and nine RBIs in 17 games during the 2025 postseason.
Since making his major league debut in 2024, Barger is a career .223 hitter with 28 home runs and 104 RBIs in 213 games for the Blue Jays.
–Field Level Media
Sports
WNBA All-Star Game tickets soar to $340
May 9, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) passes the ball while Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (5) defends in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images Ticket prices for the WNBA All-Star Game continue to rise leading up to the tipoff on Saturday night in Chicago.
The get-in price at United Center escalated from $74 on June 19 to $118 on July 19 to $233 by Friday, according to ticket-tracking service TicketData.com. At 12:20 p.m. ET on Saturday, the price stood at $343.
The game is sold out, TicketData.com reported.
Chicago last hosted the WNBA All-Star Game in 2022 at Wintrust Arena, the 10,387-seat home of the Sky.
Per Front Office Sports, last year’s WNBA All-Star Game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis had a gameday get-in price of $71. And that was in a smaller venue than the United Center.
Gainbridge Fieldhouse fits about 17,200 fans. The United Center, home of the NBA’s Bulls and NHL’s Blackhawks, can seat more than 20,000 people.
The All-Star teams will be headlined by Paige Bueckers of the Dallas Wings and Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever, the leading vote-getters.
Bueckers’ team features three former UConn players — Bueckers, Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty and Gabby Williams of the Golden State Valkyries — in the starting lineup, along with Kelsey Mitchell of the Fever and Natasha Howard of the Minnesota Lynx.
Joining Clark in the starting lineup are her teammate, Aliyah Boston, rookie Olivia Miles of the Lynx, Jessica Sheapard of the Wings and Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson.
A four-time WNBA MVP, Wilson is leading the WNBA in scoring (25.5 points) and blocks (2.0) per game.
ABC will televise the game, which has an 8:30 p.m. ET tipoff.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Richard Carapaz, Tadej Pogacar stand tall at Stage 20 of Tour de France
Richard Carapaz of Ecuador is in action during Stage 20 of the Tour de France on Saturday. The race ends Sunday. Richard Carapaz of Ecuador won the stage and Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia all but wrapped up his fifth general classification title in seven years during a wild penultimate day at the Tour de France on Saturday.
The 33-year-old Carapaz capped a monumental week with his second victory in three stages, and third of his career, while also taking over the polka-dot jersey for top climber of the three-week stage race. He also finished third in Friday’s Stage 19.
Stage 20 unfolded in dramatic fashion as Sepp Kuss of the United States held a comfortable lead with just over 7 kilometers remaining in the 170.9-kilometer stage as it approached the finish at the resort town of Alpe d’Huez.
Kuss then crashed against a curb on the right side of the road while exiting a tunnel but got back on his bike and continued with the lead. Misfortune struck again when Kuss crashed against a left-side curb with 5.8 kilometers remaining.
Carapaz passed Kuss after his second solo crash and went on to the stage victory for the U.S.-based EF Education-EasyPost team. Remco Evenepoel of Belgium passed Kuss near the finish line to take second place, while Kuss made his way to the podium with a disappointing third-place finish.
Kuss was trying for his second career stage and stands as the last American man to win a Tour de France Stage when he reached the finish line first in 2021.
Race leader Pogacar finished fourth in the stage, while his UAE Team Emirates teammate Isaac del Toro of Mexico was fifth. The finish kept del Toro in the white jersey given to the top rider under 26 years old.
All that remains is Sunday’s mostly ceremonial final Stage 21. Barring major disaster, Pogacar will wrap up his third consecutive Tour de France title as he takes a 6-minute, 26-second lead over Evenepoel into the final day.
In third place overall is del Toro, who is 9:42 off his teammate’s pace. Paul Seixas, the 19-year-old sensation from France, is fourth overall and nearly two minutes behind del Toro for the white jersey. Seixas finished 10th in Stage 20.
The final stage into Paris on Sunday was cut from 133 kilometers to 89 kilometers because of nearby wildfires, with fans now treated to two extra circuits along the Champs-Elysees before a climbing finish on the nearby Montmartre loop.
–Field Level Media
Jays' Addison Barger to have elbow surgery, out for season
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