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Big 12’s gloom-and-doom on its way out

By Ralph D. Russo The Associated Press NEW YORK — Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark spent part of this week in Manhattan, at ESPN’s South Street Seaport studios and also hunkered down in the midtown offices of one of the top public relations firms in the country, trying to “set the narrative” for a conference that has come back from the brink. Two and half months into his tenure, Yormark is grinding to deliver on his top priorities: Creating new revenue streams and making the Big 12’s brand more relevant to both high school recruits and potential business ...

Wembanyama … NBA teams might tank for him

By Tim Reynolds The Associated Press Victor Wembanyama already has command of the English language, including some terms that don’t exactly show up in the 18-year-old’s French dictionary. Among them: tanking. The worst-kept secret in the NBA this season is that some teams aren’t exactly going to be trying their best to win as many games as possible. Instead, they’ll be using this season to develop their young players, get them some experience, while hoping to be bad enough — and then lucky enough — to win the draft lottery and the chance to select the 7-foot-3 ...

Name brands losing their clout

By Jim Caltagirone For the Mirror That crashing sound you heard at the beginning of September was the shattered dreams of Dallas Cowboys and Notre Dame Fighting Irish fans. Once again, it’s apparent that the branding of those football teams possesses more clout than the on-field product. Decades have passed since the Cowboys and Fighting Irish last claimed a championship, but their fan bases have adopted the tendency to view each new season as the one that will fulfill their championship aspirations. Powerhouses tend to generate a feeling of entitlement among their loyalists ...

Losing NFL teams not necessarily doomed in September

By Rob Maaddi The Associated Press DENVER — A losing record in October doesn’t mean playoff hopes are lost. Last year, the Patriots, Steelers and Eagles rebounded from a 1-3 start to earn a postseason berth. The Chiefs and 49ers both opened 2-3 and still reached their conference championship games. Entering Week 5, nine teams had losing records, including three 2021 playoff teams. Odds are at least one of those nine teams will bounce back and get to the postseason. The Indianapolis Colts took a first step, rallying to beat Denver in overtime Thursday night to even their ...

MLB needs change in strategy

By Jim Krug For the Mirror Editor’s note: Jim Krug has followed the ups and downs of the Pittsburgh Pirates since the late 1980s. He wrote over 150 articles about the Pirates from 2010-16 for online sports site isportsweb.com. This is the third in a three-part series examining the challenges of Major League Baseball. A tenuous but vital tenant-landlord relationship exists between MLB clubs and their independently-owned minor league affiliates entrusted with the stewardship of their valuable prospects. Unspoken resentment on the part of Major League teams seeking to dictate ...

Scheduling will hurt Penn State in long run

Full disclosure: I’ve never been a fan of James Franklin. Most will agree with me, though, that Franklin has proven over the years that he will be outcoached in big games. So now he wants to eliminate those big non-conference games to pad his won-loss record. He won’t schedule games any more against SEC teams, depriving the loyal paying fans the opportunity to see those good teams from the SEC at Beaver Stadium. A couple of thoughts. 1. I’m wondering how the new athletic director, Pat Kraft, feels about this? Now seems like a good time to seek him out on the ...