Wednesday, December 6
Can Damon Stoudamire return once-proud Georgia Tech to relevance?
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Can Damon Stoudamire return once-proud Georgia Tech to relevance?

ATLANTA — The head coach bent over at the waist and rested his forearms on the press table, seemingly pressing all of his weight into his elbows. His ears covered by headphones as he prepped for a postgame interview, he hung his head, peering up only with his eyes to answer questions. His body language screamed of a man who had been wrung dry of emotion, as if the incredulity of what just happened was simply too much to bear.Behind him, students danced in delirium at midcourt. Damon Stoudamire, the first Georgia Tech coach to win his first game against Duke, is a mighty career 1-0 in the ACC. That’s it. But as far as debuts go, this is about as good as it gets.Taken on its own, Tech’s 72-68 win over No. 7 Duke does not a renaissance make. Dig into the actual game, though, and the substance...
What the College Football Playoff got wrong: Leaving out Florida State
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What the College Football Playoff got wrong: Leaving out Florida State

Next year, all this College Football Playoff arguing will be moot with the CFP expanding to 12 teams. Arguing over Nos. 3, 4 and 5 is very different than 10, 11, 12 and 13. You lose your benefit of the doubt when you lose games. Even in the SEC.But this year is still a four-team field, and with so many variables factoring into the decision, there is a lot to dissect. And to state it plainly: the College Football Playoff committee got it wrong. College football has, or at least it used to have — up until right now — the best regular season in sports because the games mattered most. We have a smaller sample size in this sport than in any other.To leave out an undefeated 13-0 Florida State team in a Power 5 conference was the wrong decision.Michigan and Washington, both undefeated with top-10...
Who is Miriam Adelson, the casino billionaire buying the Dallas Mavericks from Mark Cuban?
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Who is Miriam Adelson, the casino billionaire buying the Dallas Mavericks from Mark Cuban?

The Dallas Mavericks have long been associated with Mark Cuban, its voluble owner for the last 22 years. But that relationship took an unexpected twist Tuesday with the news that Cuban is set to sell a controlling share in the franchise to the casino billionaire Miriam Adelson and her family. The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that the Mavericks were valued at roughly $3.5 billion in the sale and that Adelson would get a majority stake in the team. Marc Stein was the first to report that Adelson was buying part of the club and that Cuban would retain control of its operations.While Cuban would continue to run basketball operations while retaining a minority interest in the franchise — a rare occurrence — the Mavericks seem as if they will be Adelson’s team soon, pending league approval...
Marie-Louise Eta, Union Berlin’s quiet Champions League trailblazer
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Marie-Louise Eta, Union Berlin’s quiet Champions League trailblazer

This season, The Athletic is following Union Berlin, a Bundesliga club from the former East Germany who were playing regional-level football less than 20 years ago, on their inaugural Champions League journey for our series Iron In The Blood.GO DEEPERIs the Premier League still on course for an extra Champions League spot?As Union Berlin’s players drifted down the tunnel and the stands in Braga’s Municipal Stadium emptied to the tune of one last song over the PA system, Marie-Louise Eta stood alone by the side of the pitch for a moment, lost in her thoughts.Union had just picked up a second successive point in the Champions League on the road — that was the good news.The bad news was that Union had carelessly squandered a lead against a team that had played with 10 men for more than an hou...
Utah State QB Levi Williams led his team to a bowl berth. Next up? Navy SEAL training
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Utah State QB Levi Williams led his team to a bowl berth. Next up? Navy SEAL training

From an outside perspective, Utah State’s dramatic, double-overtime, bowl-clinching 44-41 win over New Mexico on Friday may have looked like the beginning of quarterback Levi Williams’ comeback story.The third-string QB broke out with 351 all-purpose yards and five total touchdowns in his first start since 2021, and he still has one year of college eligibility left.But the dynamic performance that punched the Aggies’ ticket to bowl season is more like a fairytale ending to the closing chapter of his football book because Williams intends to forgo his final year of college eligibility to pursue a dream of becoming a Navy SEAL. Williams will complete his Master of Business Administration from USU’s business school in December.“It’s always been in my heart my entire life. My mom was Army. My ...
Mark Cuban to sell majority stake in Mavericks to Miriam Adelson, but keep hand in operations: Sources
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Mark Cuban to sell majority stake in Mavericks to Miriam Adelson, but keep hand in operations: Sources

By Shams Charania, Mike Vorkunov and Tim CatoDallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is selling a majority stake of the franchise to Miriam Adelson and her family for a valuation in the range of $3.5 billion, league sources said. Cuban, however, will retain shares in the team and full control of basketball operations.Las Vegas Sands Corp. announced Tuesday in a SEC filing that Adelson was selling $2 billion worth of stock in the company to put towards buying a majority stake in a sports franchise, along with her own cash. This is approximately 10 percent of her stake.“We have been advised by the Selling Stockholders that they currently intend to use the net proceeds from this offering, along with additional cash on hand, to fund the purchase of a majority interest in a professional sports franch...
Panthers fire Frank Reich after 11 games, shortest head-coaching tenure since 1978
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Panthers fire Frank Reich after 11 games, shortest head-coaching tenure since 1978

The Carolina Panthers have fired Frank Reich after 11 games, owner David Tepper announced Monday morning. Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor will serve as interim coach.Later in the day, the Panthers also fired quarterbacks coach Josh McCown and running backs coach Duce Staley, a league source said. pic.twitter.com/ewX2UsICZM — Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) November 27, 2023Reich’s firing comes two weeks after he took over play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Thomas Brown — three games after delegating the responsibility to Brown in Week 8. Carolina fell to 1-10 on Sunday in a 17-10 loss to the Tennessee Titans.Brown will resume calling offensive plays with senior assistant Jim Caldwell serving as a special adviser, Tepper said.GO DEEPERA stadium takeover, a 3-TD loss for Pant...
Anonymous NFL player poll 2023: Best player? Biggest trash talker? Most annoying fans?
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Anonymous NFL player poll 2023: Best player? Biggest trash talker? Most annoying fans?

Spoiler alert: Players around the NFL think Patrick Mahomes is pretty good.The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback and two-time MVP was our runaway winner as the best player in the game today, according to the 85 players our beat writers from The Athletic spoke to over the past month. That’s no surprise, but the rest of the answers weren’t so obvious, as we set out to conduct our first anonymous NFL player poll.We asked each player we spoke to the same set of questions, although not every player answered them all. They were granted anonymity in order to candidly offer their opinions on the league’s players, coaches, commissioner and some of the biggest topics facing the league today — including running back salaries, the grass versus turf debate and more.Players were polled on who dishes the be...
‘We’re scientists right now’: Wisconsin volleyball’s unconventional path to success
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‘We’re scientists right now’: Wisconsin volleyball’s unconventional path to success

WAUNAKEE, Wis. – A few hours after practice begins with players juggling tennis balls and Def Leppard rattling through the gym, a little while after serving groups are divided into Packers fans and non-Packers fans, Kelly Sheffield sits in a wine bar and describes his first office as a college volleyball head coach. This was at Albany. He shared space with rakes, shovels and snowmobiles belonging to the grounds crew. He assumes his computer was the first one ever made. For the first home match, he scrubbed net poles wearing his suit. Thirteen people showed up.This audience, on this Tuesday night, is into it. It should be. We’re a short drive north of Wisconsin’s campus. Also it’s $100 a head to get in.“B.S. and Bourbon” is the event, with part of the proceeds redirected to volleyball NIL e...
Every Premier League club’s stadium plans – from new stands to ground moves
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Every Premier League club’s stadium plans – from new stands to ground moves

As the Premier League gets bigger and bigger, so – it seems – do the stadiums that play host to it.The vast majority of clubs in the top flight have either drawn up plans to expand their grounds to service the overwhelming demand or are poised to open gleaming new stands – or, in some cases, open new stadiums altogether.Here, our experts guide you through what each club has done to their home ground and what could come next, plus how we rated each stadium in our rankings published last month.Arsenal: Emirates StadiumCurrent capacity: 60,704What The Athletic said: “The Emirates has its critics, but it now delivers the atmosphere, facilities, accessibility and product any sports fan would expect from the Premier League.”The Athletic ranking: 4thWhen was the last redevelopment work done? Arse...