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College football will need to find a home for the other guys

By Ralph D. Russo The Associated Press Now that the Power Five is about to become the Power Four, the schools left out of the recent consolidation of wealth produced by conference realignment are looking at creative ways to stay relevant. An idea floating around the Mountain West Conference calls for the creation of a multi-tiered conference or alliance of leagues that would use a promotion-and-relegation system akin to what is done in European soccer. Yahoo Sports first reported the existence of the proposal and Front Office Sports obtained the detailed presentation of a plan put ...

US Open is in class by itself

By Ira Kaufman For the Mirror Of all the sporting events I have the privilege to attend each year, the U.S. Open is one of my favorites. Over the past two weeks, I was lucky to attend 12 of the 14 days of the Open. The 2023 Open will be forever known for one: Coco Gauff’s emergence as the most dominant women’s tennis player (at only 19 years old) as she captured her first grand slam title, and also Novak Djokovic cementing himself as the GOAT by winning his record 24th grand slam championship. The Open is truly an experience, even if you are not a tennis fan. The ...

More flag waving at the Olympics?

By Paul Newberry The Associated Press Flag football at the Olympics? Admit it: You chuckled a bit at the thought. Well, hold the laughter. This apparently is a serious thing, though it’s increasingly difficult to keep a straight face with anything involving the International Olympic Committee. The suits who allowed 3-on-3 basketball — also known as pickup games at the local Y — into their grandiose spectacle and went along with the idea of handing out gold medals next summer for breakdancing are trying to lock down which new sports make the cut for the 2028 Los Angeles ...

Ohtani, Deion are eye catching

By Jim Caltagirone For the Mirror Scoop a cup of water from a freshwater stream and you may see a few random particles floating around. Place a drop of that water under a microscope and you’ll discover a complex world of living organisms. Shohei Ohtani and Deion Sanders are experiencing a metamorphosis that is easy to overlook. Like a precious few in history, they are elevating themselves beyond the relevance of their sport. These men have an aura about them. Babe Ruth had that aura. So, too, did Wayne Gretzky, Tiger Woods, Billie Jean King, Michael Jordan and Bear ...

Rodgers will win MVP No. 5 this year

By Rob Maaddi The Associated Press Patrick Mahomes was the NFL and Super Bowl MVP even without Tyreek Hill. He’s going to need Travis Kelce to have a chance to do it again. The defending champion Kansas City Chiefs got off to a losing start after raising their latest Super Bowl banner. With Kelce sporting a mustache in street clothes on the sideline because of a knee injury, Mahomes didn’t have his usual magic touch in a 21-20 loss to the Detroit Lions on Thursday night. Mahomes threw a pick-6 on a pass that hit Kadarius Toney in stride but bounced off his hands. Toney ...

A little perspective on three-peats

By Paul Newberry The Associated Press ATHENS, Ga. — When Larry Farmer walked into UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion for the first time, his gaze quickly turned toward the rafters. It was impossible to miss all those championship banners. “I immediately knew that was the standard,” Farmer recalled Friday. “It was right there in plain sight. Second or third wasn’t really the goal.” As Georgia begins its quest for an unprecedented three-peat in college football, those who have been there before can provide some helpful perspective on what it takes to keep winning titles year ...