College athletics’ governing body is once again looking to make a statement via punishment; this time, Notre Dame—namely its 2012 national championship runner-up campaign—rests in its sights. A recently completed NCAA investigation found the school culpable for the cheating efforts of a student trainer and three student athletes; six other players were deemed to have received “impermissible benefits” from the trainer. In response, the NCAA is looking to place Notre Dame on probation for a year, implement a mandated two-year disassociation for the trainer, fine the school $5,000, and vacate all wins from the 2012 and 2013 seasons. The school quickly announced its intention to appeal the decision following the publication of the NCAA findings. Per ESPN, head coach Brian Kell…

data-mm-id=”_tr3oncbd1″>The New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins are making further history on the betting lines, each on complete opposite ends of the spectrum.This pair of AFC East rivals are each involved in games that are predicted to be decided by at least 20 points. The Patriots are 22.5-point home favorites against another East squad, the New York Jets, while the Dolphins are -21.5 point underdogs against the Cowboys in Dallas. This is the first time there have been multiple 20-point favorites in a weekly NFL slate since 1987.The 1986 season was marred by a player’s strike that forced replacement players to be utilized during Weeks 4-6. In Week 5, the San Francisco 49ers were the biggest road favorites in NFL history, as the Atlanta Falcons (limited to three regula…

data-mm-id=”_5q1dvq51l”>The Kansas Jayhawks beat the Monmouth Hawks 112-57 on Friday night at Allen Fieldhouse. It was your typical early-season beatdown by a top ranked team at home against a smaller school. It was business as usual until George Papas got very involved in the final seconds. With the Jayhawks leading 110-55 in the final seconds, freshman guard Tristan Enaruna was dribbling out the clock. That's when Papas lost his mind. Papas played possum and then snuck up behind Enaruna and stole the ball. He then raced down the court and dunked. That alone would be noteworthy, but Papas then got in Enaruana's face and appeared to walk away shouting, "I don't give a f—." Monmouth coach King Rice addressed dunk incident with his team. "That is uncalled …

data-mm-id=”_x10egpeyq”>The 2020 NBA All-Star Game is in Chicago this year, and thus the First Take set is on-site for the weekend. They brought on Chicago native Isiah Thomas to chat about the league before the conversation inevitably veered towards the fierce Bulls-Pistons rivalry of the late 80s and early 90s. The crew got into a debate about whether the Pistons, who knocked Michael Jordan out of the playoffs three consecutive years as he was reaching the height of his power, were actually better than the Bulls. Max Kellerman pointed out that when Jordan had an All-Star team on his side in 1989 (when Scottie Pippen was first named to the team), he took the Pistons to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals. Thomas took this time to point out that he never played with a player o…

data-mm-id=”_7hfgr84fi”>With the possibility that the NBA could resume their season in some form on the Disney World property in Florida, a whole slew of other opportunities could present themselves. If the league is going to be in a place like this (isolated and surrounded by camera crews) they might as well optimize profitability. Most productions are shut down indefinitely during the pandemic, but if the NBA can really get this off the ground then they have so many opportunities to shoot possible reality shows to incorporate. Here are some of the best options. MasterChefThis is my personal favorite idea and something that should actually happen. Some of the other entries here are jokes, but this one is completely serious. Each NBA team's active roster is roughly the size of a M…

data-mm-id=”_l7r04luv7″>Army took a step back last year, failing to follow up a triumphant 11-2 run in 2018 by posting a 5-8 mark. Jeff Monken, once one of the hottest names on the coaching carousel rumor mill, has seen his Q score drop off slightly. This may ultimately be a good thing for the Black Knights as they've prospered under his tutelage and erased what was a wide, insufferable gulf between the competency of football played down in Annapolis and the brand played on the Western bank of the Hudson. With no conference to make the decision about the safety and viability of conducting business this fall, Army took it upon themselves to cobble together an independent schedule at the Eleventh Hour. And it is truly amazing. Feast yourself upon what lies ahead for the option-attac…

data-mm-id=”_bgm4e5xsi”>Sam Darnold and the New York Jets wrapped up their season with a 28-14 loss on Sunday and that will likely be the end of the young quarterback's time with the organization. After three years and a complete lack of success, it's time for both parties to move on.The Jets selected Darnold with the third pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, expecting to get a franchise-caliber quarterback. While the USC product is loaded with talent, he hasn't developed during his three years in the NFL. How much of that is his fault is certainly up for debate. Having Adam Gase as his head coach certainly didn't help things. Darnold is only 23 and has shown flashes that he could be a long-term starting quarterback in the NFL. But the well in New York has been poisoned. He…