The week’s hump day was a busy day in the world of college football with Signing Day and Jim Harbaugh being Jim Harbaugh. Outside of college football Under Armour is off to a rocky start in 2017 and fun Super Bowl prop were examined.
Top Headlines from CFB Signing Day
Michigan State recruit can’t sign his NLI because he’s in jail:
Yes you read that right. Michigan State has one fewer signee in its 2017 football recruiting class than it previously thought. Nobody decommited, but Donovan Winter, a three-star defensive end, couldn’t sign with the school today because he was in jail.
Winter was arrested Monday night and charged with burglary and larceny of a firearm, just two days before he was going to make his commitment to the Spartans official. He was still in jail the morning of signing day, according to the Orlando Sentinel, and the paper reported that he is no longer a student at Bishop Moore High School. Bishop Moore’s coach simply told the Sentinel this morning, “No, he’s not signing. Long story.”
Given that Winter is no longer in high school, his future with the Spartans, and in college football, is (at best) up in the air.
Nick Saban and Alabama were jerks to a recruit:
National Signing Day is celebrated nationwide as a time when high school athletes get to make their college picks, and while it is a joyous day for many players, some coaches still show how they hold all the power in the process and can screw over athletes.
Well, Alabama, which had offered four-star defensive end Jarez Parks a spot in its class, decided on National Signing Day it would not be honoring that offer.
As it turns out, the Crimson Tide went over their 85-scholarship allotment when they were offering scholarships, and only had room to take one more player on National Signing Day.
USC commit pulls a fast one:
Levi Jones is a four-star outside linebacker recruit from Austin, Texas, who pretty much had his choice of where to play football in college. He narrowed it down to three—USC, Florida and Florida State—and decided to announce on signing day.
Just watch to find out what happened next.
See ya next year, college football signing day.
Jim Harbaugh wants to take Michigan football around the world
Last week, word came out Jim Harbaugh was taking the Wolverines to Italy.
And he doesn’t want to stop there either.
On National Signing Day, Harbaugh revealed he has a five-year plan for these types of international trips for his team, which includes journeys to South Africa, Japan, and Israel.
Harbaugh is nothing if not a man who pushes the boundaries and thinks outside of the box. Last year it was a tour around the globe for satellite camps and a spring break trip to IMG Academy in Florida.
The NCAA put the end to the spring break trips with a new rule barring organized football-related activities when school is not in session during the academic year. No worries for Harbaugh, as he likely saw that ban coming a mile away.
Under Armour’s market value fell almost $3 billion
The apparel company, which until recently was the second-largest sportswear company in the country as well as the fastest growing, has experienced stock market issues. Deadspin reports CEO Kevin Blank revealed Under Armour’s fourth quarter revenue was $100 million lower than analysts expected at $1.31 million. With the drop, Class A shares fell 26.2 percent on Wednesday and the companies total stock value dipped $3 billion dollars to $8 billion total.
To top things off, Under Armour CFO Chip Molloy stepped down from the company for “personal reasons.”
Plank stressed Under Armour needs to become more fashion-friendly.
“We need to become more fashion,” Plank said on the conference call. “The consumer wants it all. They want product that looks great, that wears great, that you wear at night with a pair of jeans, but also that performs for them.”
Super Bowl LI prop bets are wild
Our own Brad Gagnon took a long look at some of the best and most popular Super Bowl prop bets. Here are some of my personal favorites that are both game related and not with Brad’s tip.
Team to use coach’s challenge first
Patriots -110
Falcons -110
Just our tip: Bill Belichick hasn’t thrown a challenge flag since Week 3. Meanwhile, Dan Quinn has challenged three calls in two playoff games.
Luke Bryan’s time to sing the national anthem
O/U 2:15
Just their tip: “It might be a silly prop but in reality, this seems like a gift. Bryan sang the anthem in 2:03 at the 2012 MLB All-Star game,” Oddsshark.com’s Jon Campbell told the National Post. “The under is 7-3 for the last 10 Super Bowl anthems, with the average duration of The Star Spangled Banner being less than two minutes. I’m going under, and I expect to be up money before kickoff.”
How many times will Trump be said on TV during broadcast?
Over/U 1.5
Just our tip: When I asked Joe Buck before Super Bowl XLV how often he’d mention Brett Favre (the Packers were playing the Steelers), he bristled and said there was no chance because he’d focus on the game. Sure enough, he never mentioned Favre, who was a lot more relevant to that than Trump is to this.
Will there be a missed extra point?
Yes +270
No -330
Just our tip: This should be tempting. It’s been the year of missed PATs, nerves will be a factor and Pats kicker Stephen Gostkowski has missed four of ’em this year.
Quick Hits
– With Fox holding the rights to Super Bowl LI this weekend in Houston, Fox is hoping all of the attention to its network will bring in better ratings and more viewers for FS1.
Let’s just say some of their shows could use the Super Bowl bump:
On Monday the Bayless-led Undisputed drew 93,000 viewers.
On same day/slot, My Friends Tiger & Pooh drew 550,000 on Disney Jr. https://t.co/Jsc9rx2CW8— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) February 1, 2017
Super Bowl Media Day ratings:
NFL Network: 280,000
ESPN2: 206,000
FS1: 123,000
Per: @SportsTVRatings— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) February 1, 2017
Monday:
First Take: 450K
Barstool Rundown: 310K
Undisputed: 93K— Sports TV Ratings (@SportsTVRatings) January 31, 2017
– Donald Trump thinks Roger Goodell is a “stupid guy”, which conversely means Goodell is really smart?
– Speaking of Commissioner Goodell, he believes the Patriots would welcome him back with open arms.
Goodell: "I have no doubt if I wanted to go to Foxboro, Robert Kraft would welcome me back." This contradicts what he said about not going.
— Ryan Hannable (@RyanHannable) February 1, 2017
Goodell doesn't need to be invited to Foxboro. Jonathan Kraft has been on record saying teams don't invite commissioner, up to him.
— Ryan Hannable (@RyanHannable) February 1, 2017
– The National Labor Relations Board struck a big blow for college athletes on Wednesday. Well, not for all college athletes. But the ruling could ignite a big change, particularly in college football, where the debate over whether or not to pay athletes has been consistently argued.
Remember this dates back to the original issue from 2015 and Northwestern.
– Fox Sports Live has the only subscription to the ‘Tom Brady Times‘.
– New San Francisco 49ers General Manager John Lynch is very stealthy.
In fact, according to a report from KNBR in San Fransisco, Lynch used his want to keep his hiring process secret as a test of his now employer’s culture of leaking.
You see, things were a little messy (and that might be putting it mildly) with the firing of Chip Kelly near the end of the season. Leaks coming from out of the organization gave away what was happening before the season finale even was underway.
– The Internet is the best worst thing ever. Today it was the best because it gave us an alternate ending for Jurassic Park. Check out the storyboards right here.
– Roger Goodell denies knowing about Barstool Sports losing their credentials.
Goodell on @barstoolsports being banned from Super Bowl week: "I am not familiar with this."
— Ryan Hannable (@RyanHannable) February 1, 2017
When PFT asked Goodell about the decision at today’s annual “State of the League” press conference, Goodell said he didn’t know anything about Barstool Sports or the decision to ban it, but he did say he entrusts the people who work in the league’s media offices to make the right decisions, and he assumes they had a good reason.
PFT also went above and beyond by asking about the “No Fun League” designation slapped upon the league, specifically related to banning a popular outlet like Barstool
PFT also asked Goodell whether banning a popular outlet with younger fans would perpetuate the view that NFL stands for No Fun League. Goodell said he doesn’t see that as a concern.
– Oh and Steph Curry isn’t human.
Steph with his 6th 3… of the 1st quarter https://t.co/yqzxKlSMvG
— Matt Clapp (@Matt2Clapp) February 2, 2017
A Random ‘The Office’ Related Video:
Pam’s reaction was reasonable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0xHneElAcg
One Last Glorious Moment of Procrastination:
This.
https://twitter.com/TitanicHoops/status/825548796608311296
