data-mm-id=”_n688f1ok5″>The first round of the 2020 NFL Draft has been completed. Here's a look at the biggest losers from the draft's first night. New York GiantsThe Giants had the fourth pick in the draft and could have gone in a number of ways. They chose to select Georgia offensive tackle Andrew Thomas, who is a fine, solid player. But at No. 4 a franchise needs to either find an elite, next-level talent or trade down to stockpile picks. The Giants did neither. I had Thomas as the fourth-ranked tackle on my board. He's a high-floor, low-ceiling guy but isn't an elite talent. The Giants passed up playmaking Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons, who could be an elite defender in the NFL. Instead they opted for a guy many people thought would be a mid-first-round pick…
data-mm-id=”_ra1lrslh7″>Today, we saw two of the top high school basketball recruits in the class of 2020 opt to skip college and head straight to the pros. ESPN's No. 1 recruit in the nation, Jalen Green, and No. 13, Isaiah Todd, both decided to take advantage of the new rule allowing elite 18-year-old prospects to join the NBA G League instead of heading to college. This follows the paths of LaMelo Ball and RJ Hampton, two of the top 2020 NBA Draft prospects, to play overseas this past season instead of playing in college. Guess what? That's the best thing for college basketball. Since the NBA instituted a rule in 2006 requiring players to be one year removed from high school before entering the draft, the aptly-nicknamed "one-and-done" rule, college basketball ha…
data-mm-id=”_cgf4aa7e8″>The 2020 NBA Championship is up in the air right now. Top seeds look vulnerable and teams who might not even make the playoffs look unstoppable at times. On Saturday, the Dallas Mavericks beat the Milwaukee Bucks in overtime on ESPN. Luka Doncic had a 36 point, 19 assists, 14 rebound triple-double and he did this.THIS LUKA DIME ? pic.twitter.com/L94BcqX4zz— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 9, 2020To quote Jeff Van Gundy – "Wow."Coming off that win, you have to ask yourself if the Dallas Mavericks can win the title right now. It is both crazy and totally plausible. On the one hand, this was just the Mavericks' second win in five games since the restart. On the other hand, they have an unstoppable star and are capable of scoring any number of p…
data-mm-id=”_uo838e7gn”>The Big Ten is about to change its own rules for the 2020 football season to ensure Ohio State gets maximum exposure and to increase the Buckeyes' chances of being selected for the College Football Playoff. Yes, the entire league is going to bend over backwards solely to help land the extra payday involved with having a team make the CFP. And the conference's decision-makers will do it regardless of what every member agreed to at the start of the season. With Ohio State's matchup with Michigan cancelled this weekend, the Buckeyes will finish the season 5-0. Before the campaign began the conference ruled that to qualify for the Big Ten Championship Game, a team had to play in at least six games. Therefore, Ohio State will be ineligible to compete. …
data-mm-id=”_pps6mnqre”>On Saturday, May 13, the Arlington Renegades defeated the DC Defenders in the XFL Championship Game to cap off the league's first season under the patronage of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and in partnership with ESPN. To be able to finish the season at all made the league a success after the previous iteration collapsed before reaching the playoffs thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, but the XFL and ESPN should feel great about 2023 through pretty much every lens. Everything went off largely without a hitch, the talent pool was solid, the new rules made the game interesting, and most importantly, the league's ability to draw eyeballs was about what was expected. The 2023 XFL season was bookended by two significant viewership events. The season …