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Miami Herald
a day ago
- Sport
- Miami Herald
A look at where FIU is expected to finish in conference in Willie Simmons' first season
Lindy's magazine predicts FIU will finish in last place this year in Conference USA's 12-team football standings. Athlon is a bit kinder to FIU, picking the Panthers ninth. Willie Simmons, FIU's new coach, doesn't agree with either prognostication. 'I think we're going to surprise people this year,' Simmons said on Tuesday at C-USA's Media Day in Frisco, Texas. The outside pessimism regarding FIU is understandable considering the fact that the Panthers have suffered through five straight losing seasons. Over the past four years, the Panthers are 9-32 overall and 3-24 in league play. In addition, FIU lost most of its top players from last season, including wide receivers Eric Rivers and Dean Patterson, who both transferred to Georgia Tech after combining for 112 catches in 2024. In fact, only four FIU starters return from last season: quarterback Keyone Jenkins; left guard Jaheim Buchanon; defensive end Keegan Davis; and cornerback Brian Blades II. Lindy's magazine doesn't have any FIU player listed as a preseason first-team All-C-USA selection. Jenkins, Buchanon and punter Trey Wilhoit are on the second team. In addition, Jenkins is named as the 'best scrambler' in the league. Athlon's – again – holds FIU in a bit higher regard. For example, Buchanon, Blades and kick returner C'Quan Jnopierre made their first-team list. Also, ex-Miami Edison and current FIU running back Sterling Joseph was named as the league's eighth-best freshman recruit. FIU's recruiting class overall was ranked fifth in the conference. Meanwhile, with FIU's players set to report on Monday and its first fall practice of the year scheduled for July 31, Simmons used the word 'excited' or 'exciting' four times in his first 20 seconds on the Media Day stage in Frisco. 'We've had an amazing seven-plus months with these guys, building the roster and putting the coaching staff together,' Simmons said. 'We're excited to get to work next week.' Simmons also admitted that FIU's resources aren't the biggest. But he's not fazed by what FIU may lack. 'Being at low-resource institutions before, you learn the value of efficiency and how to maximize your time,' Simmons said. 'We don't have unlimited resources. That means everyone doing extra work, being unselfish, and that's a quality that breeds success. 'Whether it was at Prairie View, FAMU, even Duke last year or now at FIU – when you don't have the most, you have to make the most of what you do have.'
National Post
4 days ago
- Politics
- National Post
Adam Pankratz: Roberts and McAfee are right — no one cares what sports personalities think about politics
Major League Baseball rolled into Atlanta, Ga., this past week for the playing of the 2025 All-Star Game. Amid the usual fanfare that accompanies the game and the Home Run Derby, there was a slightly awkward moment on Media Day when ESPN personality Pat McAfee was asked by a reporter why the game was in Atlanta at all, after it had been pulled from the city in 2021 due to voter suppression laws that president Joe Biden had described as 'Jim Crow in the 21st century.' Further adding to the awkward nature of the question was the fact that Dave Roberts, the National League manager for the game, had said in 2021 that he might boycott the game if it remained in Atlanta. Article content Article content Neither McAfee nor Roberts wanted to answer the question this year however, with McAfee's initial reply being, 'I don't know if any of us are the experts or the ones that should be giving the answers on that.' Roberts followed with, 'I'm not a politician … but right now I really choose to just focus on the players and the game …' Article content Article content How times have changed since 2021, and probably for the better. It would be a positive step if the incident reminded us that not everything has to be about politics and, in general, we should not expect in-depth and expert social commentary from sports personalities on all that ails society. Article content It is indeed a curious thing that we even look to a baseball manager or a sports reporter for their views on newly implemented state voting laws. Consider the reverse: asking a politician to explain the infield fly rule or what pitch to throw a batter in a 2-2 count with a man on second and two outs when the last pitch you threw was a cutter. It would be theatre of the most absurd kind. 'I don't know,' would a refreshing answer, although most politicians would likely take a blind stab at it for fear of being caught out for not knowing everything. Article content Article content For this reason, McAfee and Roberts deserve a certain kind of credit for their avoidance of the question. While it is easy to be cynical and say they simply toed the company line (they probably did, by the way), McAfee's assertion that 'I don't know if any of us are the experts …' is nonetheless a refreshingly honest admission that he and his fellow sports experts wouldn't have any idea what they were talking about if they began discussing Georgia's voting laws. Society would be better off if more people could boldly make that statement. Article content Article content Article content In our world today, self-identifying as a non-expert is rare. Rarer still is saying you don't have a political opinion on any given issue. Much of this is likely due to our ability to access second-hand information online or via social media. If someone is not an expert, they can likely find enough information to form a strongly held opinion by quickly brushing up on a few facts for their five minutes in the spotlight, when their true grasp of an issue is actually rather tenuous. Kudos to McAfee and Roberts for not doing that.
USA Today
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Arch Manning hype reaches new levels at SEC Media Days
With SEC Media Days having transpired this week we are now in the midst of "football talking season." We are now in, to quote the legendary Elvis Costello, "the other side of summer." We're now passed the halfway point of summer, and that means you can start counting down the days until actual meaningful football is played. Until then, we have the football-like substance that is college football media days. It's the time of the year in which we've been without football for so what Arch Manning wore to the SEC Kickoff becomes a three day news story. Yes, Manning's fit was a major point of discussion this week, as was everything else he said and did at this event. Take a look at the photo of this media scrum, which consists of journalists who would rather stand around, do nothing, and wait for the Texas Longhorns QB1, instead of conducting an actual interview of somebody else. There are more reporters interviewing Arch Manning's ghost than any other player at SEC media days. Arch will take the podium at 4 ET. — Sam Hutchens (@Sam_Hutchens_) July 15, 2025 Or watch this video of the journalism mosh pit around Manning, once he actually took to the podium. It's so intense that you even have a little horde, on that small platform above, observing the young man who is favored to go first overall in the next NFL Draft. Arch Manning better go 37-0 this season — Josh Pate (@JoshPateCFB) July 15, 2025 And all this attention comes despite the fact that Manning's collegiate body of work is still pretty small. His career numbers read as follows: 63 passes completed out of 95 attempts for 969 yards and 9 touchdowns, along with 2 interceptions. We really don't know, yet, if he is truly that good. But we do know that he is 1.) the nephew of both Peyton and Eli Manning 2.) the grandson of Archie Manning 3.) the most hyped up high school recruit in college football history So the crowds are if whatever you record him saying, hundreds of other media members recorded it too. As for Manning's Media Day fit, well, this seems to be as funny as any of the jokes that were made about it: Arch has nailed the "Kappa Sig president begging university leadership not to kick his frat off campus" look. — Zach Barnett (@zach_barnett) July 15, 2025
New York Post
7 days ago
- Sport
- New York Post
Nick Saban's daughter clears the air amid swirling rumors about potential coaching return
The rumors continue to swirl about Nick Saban potentially returning to the sidelines. But his daughter is shutting them down. On Thursday, Kristen Saban posted a video to her Instagram Story of her father's walkout during his time coaching at Alabama with the caption: 'Damn, I miss this.' Some Crimson Tide fans took that as a sign of a possible return to coaching football. However, Kristen shut down the speculation with a quick response post. 'Apparently, some of y'all feel trolled by my last story of Nick's walkout… he's not coming back to coaching, hate to break it to you,' Kristen said in a follow-up story. 'You had your time.' 3 Kristen Saban shot down the coaching rumors involving her dad. Kristen Saban/Instagram The rumors began circulating in earnest on Monday after former Crimson Tide quarterback Greg McElroy said on 'McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning' that he was informed by a trustworthy source that Saban — who now works as a panelist on ESPN's 'College GameDay' — would return to coaching in the future. ESPN's Paul Finebaum, who was also on the podcast, thought the rumors were bogus. 'Greg, you know Nick Saban better than I do, but I ran into somebody the other day who spends time with Saban in Florida — you can imagine where — and said that he is literally having the time of his life,' Finebaum said. 3 Alabama head coach Nick Saban looks toward the Texas A&M side in warmups before an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. AP The Saban speculation was brought up at this week's SEC media days, and Kirby Smart, the head coach at Georgia and former Alabama defensive coordinator, said he believes that Saban's coaching days are past him. 'I don't think Nick's coming back,' Smart told reporters at SEC's Media Day. 'I think he's too happy where he is. I think y'all were lacking buzz and they needed some buzz yesterday… I talk to Nick pretty regularly, and I don't see it. It's one of those things that if he wanted to, he'd be unbelievable at it.' 3 Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban and Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart shake hands after the 2022 CFP college football national championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium. USA TODAY Sports But one of Saban's former offensive coordinators, Lane Kiffin, said he wouldn't be surprised if the iconic coach decided to come back to the sideline — either in the pros or college. 'I kind of always thought that was going to happen. I kind of thought it would happen after one year,' Kiffin said. 'And I say that just because even seeing recent stuff with him and talking. To him on the phone — I have no knowledge that he's coming back. I don't think anybody does… I just think he'll be back, whether it's NFL or college.'
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
SEC Media Day Gaffe Leaves Steve Sarkisian in an Uncomfortable Spotlight
SEC Media Day Gaffe Leaves Steve Sarkisian in an Uncomfortable Spotlight originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The person in charge of the auxiliary chord at Tuesday's SEC media days in Atlanta, Georgia had themselves a rough showing. Advertisement The common practice when a coach heads up to the podium to field questions from the media, is for the program's fight song to be played in the background. When Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian strolled up to the stage, there was a fight song playing from the state of Texas, just not the right one. Immediately after SEC commissioner Greg Sankey introduced Sarkisian, the fight song of the Texas A&M Aggies, one of Texas' biggest rivals was blasted over the speakers. As expected, Sarkisian handled it like a pro and didn't even acknowledge it. However, the rest of social media quickly recognized the error and are letting the SEC have it online. Advertisement The Longhorns and Aggies' rivalry dates back to 1984, and saw the teams play nearly every year since then. Well, that was at least until the Aggies left the Big 12 for the SEC in 2012, thus ending the rivalry until Texas joined the SEC this past season. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian speaks during SEC Media Days. With both SEC Championship and College Football Playoff stakes on the line this past season, the Longhorns went into College Station and blasted the Aggies 17-7. With this accidental blunder taking place on Tuesday, the Longhorns may be even more motivated in 2025 to familiarize the SEC with their fight song. This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 15, 2025, where it first appeared.
