The bizarro world of major college athletics recently took another twist when Baylor’s basketball team added a player who was selected 31st in the 2023 NBA draft, though never signed by an NBA team. NCAA president Charlie Baker tried to head off the chorus of critics by announcing that no one who has signed an NBA contract will be granted college eligibility. Have we really reached a point where this needs to be said?
Then again, if Euro pros can suit up for college teams, why can’t NBA players? Oh, but there’s a difference, you say. There is until a judge rules that there isn’t. And recent court decisions have not favored the NCAA.
Carrying the banner: Miami has answered the question of whether the ACC belonged in the playoff. Could Notre Dame have done as well?
Godzilla: Don’t mean to turn this space into a Dodgers fan zone, but if Game 7 of the World Series was the most dramatic moment on the 2025 sports calendar, the greatest individual performance came in Game 4 of the NLCS when Shohei Ohtani clubbed three
home runs (totaling more than 1,300 feet in distance) while striking out 10 in a six-inning, two-hit Sho-piece. I feel like I’m just stating the obvious.
Inevitable: What sport will be hardest hit by gambling scandals in 2026?
Revolving door: After a 12-win season, James Madison is going through the customary transition faced by G5 football teams. From its starting offense, only two players remain — four will graduate, five went into the portal.
Big target: Notre Dame is widely derided for being stuck up after it declined a bowl invitation, while 10 other schools that turned down bowls drew little notice.
Money matters: Though we still hear about the role of NIL in recruiting, the hiring practice most effective for Power Four schools in 2025 can be summed up in three words — straight cash, homie.
Moment of truth: After doing the hard, tireless work of securing the No. 1 pick in the draft, it would be just like the Raiders organization to screw up their must-lose situation Sunday against the depleted Chiefs.
Quick hit: Amazing as it may seem, a Ravens loss to the Steelers Sunday night could signal the end of Lamar Jackson’s time in Baltimore.
Clipped wings: Even behind a stingy defense, it’s hard to picture the Eagles getting back to the Super Bowl with an offense that moved the ball a total of 16 yards, with zero pass completions, in the second half of their Sunday win at Buffalo. How does Philly’s offensive coordinator keep his job?
As years go by: LaDainian Tomlinson was the last non-quarterback to win the NFL’s MVP award. That was in 2006. Since then, the status of the QB has grown to the point where no other position is seriously considered for the award. San Francisco tailback Christian McCaffrey, the league’s most versatile running and pass-catching talent, is having an MVP season. If this were 2006.
Hoop du jour: Try as it might to attract national attention, college basketball is a niche sport at least until the NFL gets off stage.
A reconsidered view: Critics would go easier on Bill Belichick for his disastrous first season at North Carolina if it weren’t for the too-young-girlfriend-as-muse foolishness and Belichick’s general unlikability and conceit. I’m no fan, but any coach needs more than one season to turn around a bad program.
A big influence: The Lions, 15-2 last season, are trying to stave off a last-place finish, while the Bears have come out of hibernation to clinch the NFC North. Ben Johnson’s switch from Detroit offensive coordinator to top man in Chicago reshaped both franchises. For me, that makes him Coach of the Year.
Next chapter: Jim Harbaugh was banned 10 years from college coaching, while Sherrone Moore could be facing prison time. In ways that should be important to serious people, this already makes Kyle Whittingham a big upgrade for Michigan. If he beats Ohio
State.
Bob Molinaro is a former Virginian-Pilot sports columnist. His Weekly Briefing runs Fridays in The Pilot and Daily Press. He can be reached at bob5molinaro@gmail.com and via Twitter@BobMolinaro.