Over the weekend, I stumbled upon a conversation between two gentlemen at the gym. Each was no younger than 40 and older than 55. The topic of their treadmill-strolling discussion centered on Northwestern and the possibility of players unionizing. Had you started eavesdropping 20 seconds after I tuned in, you could have assumed that they were discussing the end of days, or even worse, prohibition. That’s how quickly the tone set and stayed its course. “This will be catastrophic,” ...

UCLA's spring game Saturday at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, was about ending the practice season strong.  "Got a lot of work done. Good crowd, [and] we stayed healthy," head coach Jim Mora said in his postgame interview, per UCLABruins.com.  The spring showcase was a small step toward a large goal of competing for the Pac-12 championship.  "I see some guys really stepping up," Mora said. "I think we can be good. ... I'm not going to ...

Following Alabama’s A-Day game, Nick Saban told reporters, “Nobody has ever had a bad spring game. Let’s start with that.” In some ways, the Crimson Tide’s cantankerous head coach is right. No matter what the score was of your favorite team’s spring game, it has either already been forgotten or will be long forgotten by the time preseason practice opens up in early August. For college football coaches, spring’s 15 practices capped by the traditional spring game are exceptionally ...

College basketball is a never-ending transition game in which today's inexperienced youngsters are tomorrow's leading men. The top programs are the ones which identify and recruit the players who can handle that sometimes-awkward shift. Some teams see entire starting lineups leave at the end of a season, whether through graduation, transfer or answering the siren song of the NBA draft. The players who are left behind must quickly organize themselves into a cohesive unit with new ...

The recruiting picture continues to evolve for coveted 2015 tight end prospect Chris Clark. Dozens of scholarship offers and several campus visits have reshaped his approach, providing him with plenty of collegiate options. The 4-star Connecticut playmaker and former North Carolina commit attended a Nike training camp on Sunday at New York Jets facilities in Florham Park, N.J. Before beginning drills against top-rated defenders, Clark discussed his mindset as he nears a decision. The 6'6", 247-pound Avon Old Farms product is still ...

It was painfully obvious to anyone who followed the Ohio State basketball team in the 2013-14 season the days of Greg Oden, Jared Sullinger and even Kosta Koufos down low were in the rearview mirror. The Buckeyes finished 216th in the country in total rebounds per game and struggled to defend or score against opponents with strong and physical frontcourts. Ultimately, the scarlet and gray went home after one game in the NCAA tournament. If Thad Matta ...

The SEC's "new" scheduling format—which is to say isn't new at all—isn't popular among every conference coach and administrator.  That's to be expected. It's tough to please everyone, especially when it comes to scheduling and competitive equity. The larger the conference, the more convoluted scheduling becomes. Trying to find fairness in scheduling is difficult, if not impossible, in a 14-team SEC.  Still, that didn't stop LSU athletic director Joe Alleva and head coach Les Miles from voicing their opposition ...

Myles Jack is on the verge of growing into an elite linebacker in the college football world, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the offensive side of the ball. The rising sophomore just closed out spring ball at UCLA, and the Bruins' stud defender is set to take the next step in his development as a linebacker. A next step that will place him squarely in the upper echelon of collegiate linebackers. Yet, the only ...

Quarterback Nick Marshall led the Auburn Tigers on an incredible run in 2013, helping them win the SEC Championship Game and make it to the BCS title game. What can he do to develop his game and possibly win the first College Football Playoff? Marshall struggled in the intermediate passing game last year but showed great improvements in the spring game. Expect him to put up monster numbers in 2014 and make a run at the ...

The teams for Oregon's spring game were selected last Friday afternoon as captains Marcus Mariota and Hroniss Grasu (Team "Mariasu"), and Ifo Ekpre-Olomu and Tony Washington (Team "Twifo") selected from pre-split position groups to form two supposedly evenly matched teams. Oregon's official social media account tweeted the rosters, which were compiled and reported by Rob Moseley of GoDucks.com: Per Moseley, each position group was split into two halves before the draft, and the captains selected from the pool ...