College football coaches can be some of the most controlling people in sports. They can be controlling with their players, their program, and especially with the message that is sent out about their team.
USC and head coach Lincoln Riley proved that this week when they suspended the media access of Southern California News Group beat writer Luca Evans.
The cause of the suspension, according to the program, was Evans writing about an exchange two players had before their official media access on Thursday. USC argues that the article violated the program's rules of access for the team that prohibits the reporting of anything of official media availabilities in the team practice facility.
The program also contended that it had issues with Evans earlier in the season for such infractions as asking questions after the official ending of press conferences and media availabilities.
Long-time author and sports writer Jeff Pearlman was extremely critical of USC's move, referring to the decision as another example of a college football coach thinking, "they are god."
Make no mistake, while this decision came under the veil of media relations rules violations, there is no question this is the sort of thing that comes from a head coach. Nothing that happens involving a college football program (or any college athletic program) happens without the okay or approval of the coach.
While there are rules in place for a reason, this seems like a petty action on the part of USC. There were no injury details, game plan, or playbook secrets revealed. It was not anything that put a player or game plan in jeopardy. This was a program that simply had an issue with a reporter doing the most damaging thing it could and taking away valuable access.
Even if Riley and the coaching staff were by some chance not involved, it is still bush league stuff on the part of USC.
When writers covering a team are treated this way it is as if the program wants them to do PR instead of journalism. Beat writers are not publicists and should be allowed to do their job without the threat of punishment. Especially when it is completely innocent stuff.
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Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway's calf injury is one of the last things head coach Billy Napier needs heading into a crucial fourth season in Gainesville. On Tuesday, Napier divulged that Lagway, in line to take over as the team's full-time starting quarterback, has a strained calf, and it's unclear when he'll be healthy enough to return to action. Last season, Lagway, a five-star prospect and the No. 3 national recruit in the 2024 class, appeared in 12 of 13 games as a freshman with seven starts. He guided Florida to home wins over LSU and Ole Miss, knocking both firmly out of the College Football Playoff conversation, and pushed Georgia for four quarters, with the Gators tying the game (an eventual 34-20 loss) at 20 midway through the fourth. When discussing Lagway's latest injury — the Associated Press also noted a shoulder injury kept him out of spring practices — Napier was blunt, telling reporters, "It's not ideal." "He's in Year 2. I think he understands what's required to be ready. It's not ideal, but I think ultimately we'll come up with the best plan we can to have him ready," Napier added. "But he's still a very young player and needs these reps for his development," he continued. Lagway completed 59.9% of his pass attempts last season, throwing for 1,915 yards (10 yards per attempt), 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Florida begins its 2025 season with what should be an easy win regardless of who's quarterback when it hosts FCS Long Island University in Week 1. But the Gators' schedule quickly ramps up from there. They play South Florida, which has the third-best odds to win the American Conference this season, according to ESPN's Football Power Index. Florida's following two games are on the road against LSU and Miami. Florida had built up plenty of positive momentum by winning its final four games last season, its third under Napier, who is 19-19 overall with the program. Despite his mediocre record, athletic director Scott Stricklin backed Napier in a statement last November. Florida originally hired Napier in December 2021 to a seven-year deal worth $51.8M that runs through the 2028 season. Napier could use a strong season to keep critics from grabbing their pitchforks, but Lagway's injury could keep that from happening.
The World Junior Summer Showcase is in full swing, and Maple Leafs top prospect Ben Danford is shattering expectations, truly proving how good of a player he can be. The Toronto Maple Leafs' defensive prospect, Ben Danford, is among the 44 players who were invited to Hockey Canada's World Juniors Summer Showcase. Hockey Canada finally unveiled the 44 prospects who will head to Minnesota for the showcase, after they held the roster release back while the organization dealt with several injuries, which begins Sunday and runs through August 2 in Minneapolis. Defensive prospect Ben Danford is the only Maple Leafs player invited to the annual showcase, where Canada's World Junior staff will get their first look at what their team might look like for the 2026 World Juniors, which will also take place in Minnesota in December. Danford is being called the best player at the World Juniors Summer Showcase Danford has been exceeding expectations, and one source revealed that he has been the best player at the World Junior Showcase so far. The source said Danford is steady, smart, and hard to ignore on the ice. 'Ben Danford has been the best player at the World Junior Showcase he's steady, smart, and impossible to ignore. Makes every shift count, whether he's breaking up plays or starting the rush. Canada's blue line is in good hands.' - An unnamed source The Maple Leafs selected Danford with their first pick (31st overall) at the 2024 NHL Draft. During his visit to Toronto's development camp earlier this month, the defender revealed that he's receiving mentorship from current Leafs defensemen as well as some alumni like Mark Giordano. The 6-foot-2 Danford could make for an excellent fit for Canada should he make the team. He is responsible in his own end, and he demonstrated leadership capabilities when he was named captain of the Oshawa Generals ahead of the 2024-25 OHL season.
The 2024 offseason expanded the $30M-per-year wide receiver club to six members. D.K. Metcalf, Ja’Marr Chase and Garrett Wilson have taken it to nine this year. Terry McLaurin is undoubtedly pushing to bump that number to 10, after seeing 2019 Day 2 classmates Metcalf and A.J. Brown land among that contingent. McLaurin reported to training camp Sunday and landed on the active/PUP list. As our Rory Parks explained, skepticism exists about how injured the Commanders’ top wide receiver really is. An ankle injury has keyed the PUP stay, but it can be safely assumed McLaurin would be ready to practice if an extension comes to pass. Nevertheless, the Commanders have been surprised by the difficulty of these talks. Using an injury to avoid practicing while negotiating — developments the Jonathan Taylor and Micah Parsons sagas brought — represents a third tactic, joining the holdout and the increasingly utilized hold-in amid extension talks. McLaurin shifted from a holdout to the injury route; no matter how he is accomplishing not practicing, the seventh-year veteran is aiming to land a lucrative third contract. His age provides a complication for Washington. McLaurin is going into an age-30 season, separating him from Brown and Metcalf. Both Ole Miss products were drafted just before McLaurin, a 2019 third-round pick, but they are each two years younger. This strengthened their cases for big-ticket third contracts. McLaurin went first to ignite the second-tier boom on the receiver market in 2022, agreeing to a three-year, $69.6M extension. That shaped the Metcalf and Deebo Samuel extensions, both of which coming in higher than McLaurin’s despite the latter’s consistency with suboptimal quarterback situations. McLaurin’s AAV has dropped to 17th at wide receiver. The Commanders are prepared to extend their top wideout, but Sportskeeda.com’s Tony Pauline indicates the "holdup" is regarding the $30M-AAV number. Some around the league point to the team not wanting to go into that neighborhood for McLaurin, despite his five 1,000-yard seasons. Courtland Sutton and McLaurin are nearly the same age, and the Broncos’ top target signed a four-year, $92M extension. That matches where the Titans went for Calvin Ridley (now 30) in 2024. McLaurin, though, has a better resume than both and should be aiming higher. The Commanders have a Jayden Daniels rookie contract to structure another McLaurin extension around as well. Adam Peters was around for the 49ers’ 2022 Samuel extension but not Brandon Aiyuk‘s $30M-per-year deal. (The Samuel extension also did not work out for the 49ers, who proceeded with a salary dump of sorts by trading him to the Commanders.) The second-year GM taking a hardline stance with McLaurin would be an interesting route given the WR’s importance to a sudden contender. Peters confirmed talks are ongoing, with that comment coming after McLaurin expressed frustration about the negotiations. A potential gap between the pack of 20-somethings (and Tyreek Hill) north of $30M AAV and the Tee Higgins–Jaylen Waddle–D.J. Moore tier could be relevant here, and it will be interesting to see if McLaurin settles for something just south of that $30MM benchmark. Guarantees and contract structure, of course, will be important to determining the value as well. A short-term extension should be reached soon, per Pauline, but if the Commanders hold the line at or around $30M, the McLaurin matter could drag on for a while longer.
Jonathan Kuminga and the Golden State Warriors have been in a contract standoff for quite some time now, and things aren’t getting any prettier. The former 7th overall pick is ghosting the team, according to sources. Leaving his future with the Dubs in question, while also making us wonder where he could land next. The situation between Kuminga and the Warriors seems almost irreparable at this point. He wants a more consistent starting role on the team, as well as the freedom to take more important shots and grow his game. But with Jimmy Butler and Steph Curry, it doesn’t seem like the team is in a hurry to give Kuminga more touches. That’s why it’s not really too surprising to hear that the forward has been ignoring the Warriors’ contract offers recently. “No response, no counteroffer—just silence. And it’s escalating tensions,” wrote League Alerts on the situation. It’s hard to ignore that Kuminga seems completely focused on a move away from Golden State. The team still hasn’t been able to find any sort of middle ground with him. He’s also reportedly demanding a long-term deal worth $30 million annually. But sources say that the Warriors’ best offer to him so far has been two years, $40 million. Now the question becomes, where will Kuminga play next season? The Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns are the only teams that have expressed significant interest so far. However, being in the same division, the Warriors will surely try to do everything possible to make sure that move doesn’t happen. So, let’s look into the Eastern Conference. Maybe the Milwaukee Bucks or the Chicago Bulls? Both have also expressed varying levels of interest in Kuminga recently, and he would be a nice addition to each roster. Additionally, the Washington Wizards could always use some young talent. In the end, though, it’s a matter of who is willing to give up enough assets to acquire Kuminga. They will also need to be willing to pay him. A sign and trade is certainly on the table, but given his ghosting of the Warriors during negotiations, some might just wait it out and try to offer him a bag after beating his restricted free agency. Of course, Golden State will have the opportunity to match the offer. But if the Kings come in and offer Kuminga $30 million, the Warriors would be hard-pressed to match it. After all, they’ve already shown an unwillingness to go above $20 million. All in all, it’s an interesting standoff that is continuously changing by the day. Stay tuned because the shoe could drop on Kuminga at any moment.
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