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🚨 Headlines
🏀 NBA investigates 76ers: The NBA has opened an investigation into the 76ers regarding Joel Embiid’s participation. He’s set to miss at least the first three games of the season due to “left knee management.”
⚾️ Could Ohtani pitch? Some have speculated that Shohei Ohtani could come out of the bullpen in a tight spot during the World Series, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says there’s “no possibility” of that happening.
🏀 Teams revealed: Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 women’s basketball league tipping off in January, has announced the names and branding for its six teams: Laces, Mist, Rose, Lunar Owls, Phantom, and Vinyl.
⚾️ Reds to honor Rose: The Reds and Pete Rose’s family will hold a visitation for baseball’s all-time hits leader at Great American Ball Park next month. The team will also honor him with “Pete Rose Day” on May 14.
💔 Gone too soon: USF men’s basketball coach Amir Abdur-Rahim, a rising star in the college coaching ranks, died Thursday after a battle with an aggressive illness. He was 43.
🏈 All eyes on the Mountain West
No. 17 Boise State (6-1) and UNLV (6-1) face off tonight (10:30pm ET, CBSSN) in one of the biggest non-power conference games in college football history.
From Yahoo Sports’ Dan Wetzel:
On Nov. 6, 2010, No. 3 TCU visited No. 5 Utah. This was back when both were members of the Mountain West Conference (they are now in the Big 12). It was a rarity, a top-five matchup between teams from outside the so-called power conferences.
TCU, led by QB Andy Dalton, won big that day, 47-7, but the headline of Sports Illustrated’s story the following week offered a stark reminder of how college football conducted its business: “Does It Matter?”
Well, every game matters in some way, but at least in pursuit of a national title, it didn’t. TCU would finish undefeated but not get a bid to the BCS title game (Auburn beat Oregon, 22-19). TCU got to play (and win) the Rose Bowl as consolation.
14 years later, a real playoff, with 12 teams and a path of access to leagues such as the Mountain West, is here. It’s just in time for what may be the most consequential and anticipated non-power conference game in memory.
What’s at stake: The winner of tonight’s game will inch closer to winning a Mountain West championship, and ultimately earning the automatic College Football Playoff bid reserved for the best “Group of Five” team.
Adding to the intrigue… Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty is the current favorite to win the Heisman Trophy (+200 at BetMGM).