Jumbo Package: Fire Up, Chips!

We love intersectional games here. It gets really boring seeing the same ole’ Sunbelt, ACC, and CUSA teams. And, when going out of Tuscaloosa’s driving range, we’d prefer not to host distant creampuffs like Kent State. So, to previously-scheduled Fresno State and Colorado State, we now add MAC semi-power Central Michigan to the schedule in 2023. The Chippewas are year-in and year-out one of the more physical teams in the cradle of coaches, and they have a goodly amount of talent at the skills positions. Of course, anything can change over the next 4-5 years, but for now this is a decent matchup; the Chips are more than game if a P5 power team takes them lightly.

Ask Oklahoma State about that.

Reuben Foster’s legal problems have mostly evaporated now. He pleaded no-contest to the weapons charge yesterday and will be on probation for two years, along with a variety of other wrist-slaps you or I would receive for a first-time offense.

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I’m not going to name any names (cough, you know who you are), but someone was going to do some occasional track and field writeups for us, because we’re old, fat, old and fat, or simply too inert to be track athletes around these parts.

Alabama’s track & field program had an excellent start to the NCAA’s yesterday. And, because we know nothing about running around here that doesn’t involve Forrest Gump, we’ll let Alabama Athletics explain it:

EUGENE, Ore. – The Alabama men’s track & field team opened competition at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Wednesday with school all-time best finishes in the 10,000 meters and hammer throw at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

Juniors Vincent Kiprop and Gilbert Kigen finished second and seventh, respectively, in the 10,000 meters. Kiprop crossed the line in 28:34.99 and Kigen finished in 28:55.66. Kiprop’s finish is the first in the top two in the event for Alabama at the NCAA Championships and the two top-eight finishes in the 10,000 at the same NCAA meet is also a program first for the Tide.

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There’s a reason bad NFL franchises are bad. Take the Dolphins, for instance, a franchise whose recent ineptitude is matched only by the hilarity of coaches doing rails of blow with strippers in their office.

Another reason? Piss-poor ownership or management or both. Can you imagine seeing Minkah Fitzpatrick unbelievably sitting at No. 11 and then arguing to trade the pick to save money?

After the Miami Dolphins selected Alabama All-American safety Minkah Fitzpatrick with the 11^th pick in the NFL Draft on April 26, team owner Stephen Ross didn’t seem impressed.

”We’ll see,” Ross said. “Nobody knows for sure with this stuff.”

Then the Boston Globe reported Ross had “implored” Dolphins general manager Chris Grier to trade the No. 11 pick to gain more selections and save money instead of drafting Fitzpatrick.

I’m not even sure what you say about that kind of penny-pinching foolishness.

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Blech. Please no. The SEC seems to be supporting an expansion of the NCAA tournament to 72 teams proposed by the ACC. That would encompass a full quarter of the D1 programs in the nation.

“I think there’s generally in that room support,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said. “Did they take a vote? No, but I think there’s support.”

And how would the mechanics work?

ACC commissioner Jack Swofford discussed expanding the field following that league’s spring meetings last month.

”The idea of having two First Fours, if you will, maybe geographic,” Swofford said, according to The News & Observer. “That’s such a quick turnaround. You could have one maybe in Dayton and one in the western part of the states. But we will be proposing that.”

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This is great stuff: Bruce Feldman talks Tua, Jalen, the Elite 11 and more with Ryan Fowler on The Game.

College football writer for The Athletic Bruce Feldman joined The Game with Ryan Fowler to discuss his article on what Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa told the players at the Elite 11, how Hurts handled being benched during the national championship game, and the biggest question heading into the 2018 season.

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Bill Bender at TSN sees the inevitable: Bama-Clemson Round Four. And it’s really hard to argue with that, given a preliminary look at the contenders:

Can anybody else disrupt that? You can throw out the usual contenders here. Georgia, Auburn, Miami, Washington, Wisconsin, Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State, Oklahoma and Notre Dame would be in that mix. Throw in UCF if you have to, but remember they might have to beat Clemson and Alabama to win that trophy. Georgia, Auburn and Miami would get their shot in the regular season, but the others wouldn’t have that luxury. You have to bring talent and depth in those two playoff games, and nobody has more than the Tigers and Crimson Tide.

We could be wrong. In some ways, we hope we’re wrong. It would be more entertaining. The most common response to our bowl projections and that championship pick is, “Way to go out on a limb.”

Sometimes it’s called “the smart money” because it’s smart.

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AL.com finally joins us in the Jaylen Waddle love-fest. Seriously, I can’t wait to see this kid burn.

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So, ummm...I think that’s it for today. Offseason, hoorah?