The World of Sports

New on Sports Illustrated: Congress Members Lambaste NCAA's Vague and Restrictive NIL 'PR Document'

<a href="https://www.si.com/college/2020/04/30/ncaa-nil-changes-congress-reaction">
Lawmakers who have taken a lead on the issue of student-athletes' rights were not impressed by the NCAA's big day.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Some had waited months, others years and even a few decades. The college sports world excitedly readied itself for this day as it approached, an indelible moment in NCAA athletics history, when the governing body of college sports would jettison 100 years of amateurism policies that so many believe are un-American. Like the kitchen sink, poof, it’d be gone, replaced by modernized rules governing athlete compensation, specific pathways for college athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness.
Eternally berated, the NCAA would claim a rare victory, a crowning achievement—maybe the crowning achievement—by ushering in a new era in college sports.
And then, on Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. ET, it released a report totaling 14,000 words, 31 pages, 18 subsections, seven sections and, as one Congresswoman put it, zero concrete ideas. “My initial reaction is it’s a PR document,” says Donna Shalala, the former president at NCAA member schools Wisconsin and Miami who now serves in the U.S. House of Representative as a Democrat from Florida.
FORDE:
</a> <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2020/04/29/ncaa-name-image-likeness-rules-college-sports">The NCAA Is Right to Support Athlete Compensation</a>
Shalala slammed the NCAA for a vague, nonsensical piece, released only to entice the press and appease the public, she said in an interview Wednesday afternoon from her Miami home. In fact, if she had received such a report while still a university president, she imagines herself wondering aloud, “Why are we paying all these people at the NCAA if they can't give us more details than this?'”
Many key figures on the nation’s political stage held similar feelings about the NCAA’s <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2020/04/29/ncaa-name-image-likeness-changes-athletes-sponsorships">name, image and likeness (NIL) report</a>. The Congressional members most at the center of the NIL debate on Capitol Hill—the same ones NCAA leaders are pleading for help on this matter—spent much of Wednesday rebuking the governing body of college sports for a proposal, they say, that revealed too few details, included too many NCAA-friendly restrictions and, maybe most ghastly of all, contained a not-so-subtle request for a Congressional antitrust exemption.
Antitrust? Some lawmakers were befuddled at the notion. The gall. “I want to see them learn how to make a decision first. Wouldn’t that be nice? They don’t have to committee everything to death,” says Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee and a member of a key senate committee involved in the NIL topic in D.C. “We were giving the NCAA a chance to get their act together, but I think their leadership is weak. They are tentative and have shown they can’t come through with a requisite list of standards. They need to realize that the shot clock has run out on them.”
Nearly each faction of NCAA athletics—coaches, athletic directors, school presidents - has at least one issue, if not 10, with Wednesday’s report. But it’s an external group, the most powerful governing body in the world, that really matters. Congress has the authority to alter the course of the debate over NIL, to write the final chapter, to cut the finale scene. Lawmakers can preempt dozens of independent state NIL laws by crafting their own federal legislation—almost certain to be pro-athlete—to avoid what NCAA leaders describe as a chaotic scene of potentially 50 different regulations.
Or, Congress could do nothing, setting up a collision course between the NCAA and one of its most athletically gifted states. Florida’s state NIL law, if signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis this year as is expected, takes effect July 2021 and allows athletes more NIL freedoms than the recommendations released Wednesday in the NCAA’s report. Without a federal NIL mandate, players from Florida State, Miami, Florida and others within the state’s boundaries will have available to them a bevy of compensation options, while the rest of the nation operates under more restrictive NCAA policies. “Why wouldn’t every five-star go to Florida?” asks Rep. Mark Walker, a North Carolina Republican and author of a Congressional NIL bill that’s currently on hold. “They already have an advantage because of the weather.”
Lawmakers, athletic administrators and legal experts describe this scenario as chaos. Lawsuits will be filed. Courts will be involved. “That’s why we’ve got to act and act fast. That means the NCAA has got to put a little more flesh on the bone than this proposal,” says Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut and one of the legislative leaders on this subject. “It’s Florida right now, but as we creep closer to that date, you better believe Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, South Carolina and every other state with teams in the SEC or ACC are going to start passing laws as well.”
Things aren’t only doom and gloom. In fact, a couple of Congress members expressed hope and optimism at Wednesday’s report. Many of the report’s principles are similar to those that Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio) has included in a Congressional bill he plans to unveil in the next “month or two,” he says. “Unanswered questions remain,” Gonzalez acknowledges. “It’s not ‘Mission Accomplished’ by any means, but I think it’s a good start.” The report is a mostly bare bones framework for NIL, a starting point from which administrators are instructed to form concrete legislation by Oct. 31. The new set of rules will be up for vote in January and then implemented to start the 2021 academic year.
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The report provides two ways for athletes to earn compensation: (1) endorsement deals such as appearing in television or social media ads for a local car dealership or law firm and (2) work/business activities such as personal appearances, clothing lines and autograph signings. Athletes can use agents to strike such deals and can even sign with companies operated by boosters, as long as the ventures are not inducements for recruiting purposes and meet a fair market value regulated by the NCAA. Schools logos and apparel are prohibited from an athlete’s NIL ventures and a school cannot facilitate any NIL deals. “The report has the tone of the NCAA doing this great big favor for student athletes, but it should never be an issue to give back somebody’s rights,” says Walker. “It’s a good and hopeful day, but we’ve got to keep pushing.”
None of this is easy. The NCAA is shaking off a century of rust, forced into it by thousands of state legislators who’d seen enough of coaches and administrators making millions from unpaid labor. Gabe Feldman, an expert on NCAA matters and the director of sports law at Tulane, says the metamorphosis is akin to juggling flaming knives. The NCAA is modernizing rules in the face of pending and potential antitrust litigation while state and Congressional legislators are pressing with radical measures.
Feldman describes the report as an aggressive and massive step by an archaic body, but he acknowledges its vagueness. It leaves plenty of wiggle room for the finished product this fall. “There are a lot of shoulds and coulds in the report, not necessarily mandates,” he says. “It could end up being very close to a free market system or it could end up being an incremental move to allow limited types of payments. Most likely it’s something in the middle.”
Athlete advocates and pro-player lawmakers, however, are skeptical. The NCAA’s report differs in at least four key ways from many states' NIL legislation. It excludes group licensing deals, a necessity for the return of the '<a href="https://www.si.com/college/2020/04/29/ncaa-football-video-game-return-unlikely-nil-recommendations">NCAA Football' video game</a>. It regulates agents and other representatives. It restricts certain types of endorsement deals (for example, according to the report’s recommendations, a player couldn’t sign with an apparel company, say Nike, that is a competitor with his school’s apparel brand, say Under Armour). And finally, the report says, the NCAA holds the right to regulate the fair market for NIL deals, potentially capping an athlete’s profits. “It’s hard to understand how this proposal would work in reality,” says Murphy. “Seems like there are so many hangups and restrictions on athletes that it might not be workable at all. If the end result is a whole new byzantine set of rules that can result in students suspended or kicked off the team, then I’m not sure this ends up helping kids.”
Fair market is a tricky subject. Ramogi Huma, the president of the National College Players Association and one of the NCAA’s harshest critics, says the free market should dictate athlete endorsement deals, not the NCAA, an entity that for so long fought against its players’ NIL rights. He believes the NCAA wants to cap athlete endorsement deals as a way to continue the healthy stream of donations into schools from boosters by limiting what they give to players.
The exclusion of a group licensing agreement irked some as well. NCAA leaders contend group licensing concepts are unworkable in college sports without player unions, something the NCAA would like to avoid. Experts, however, say unions are not a necessary piece to group licensing deals. “The NCAA is the only thing trying to stand in the way of the return of college sports video games,” Huma deadpans.
Within the 31-page report, the word “Congress” or “Congressional” is used 17 times. On multiple occasions, the document outlines the NCAA’s need for help from the governing body—a preemption of state laws with federal legislation and/or an antitrust exemption. The in-depth legal verbiage throughout the report—it outlines antitrust cases against the NCAA and other histories tied to NIL—points to its target audience: Congress. Says Feldman: “It was a little bit of a plea for help.”
But will they? Most lawmakers who spoke to Sports Illustrated on Wednesday quickly debunked the possibility of an antitrust exemption—which would protect the NCAA from NIL legal entanglements—painting the topic as a non-starter and a waste of time. However, preemption might be the way out—a federal bill that governs NIL, both superseding state law and the NCAA’s own legislation. Ironically enough, that’s exactly what the NCAA wants—except it’s hoping Congress’s version leans closer to its report than the state laws.
MCCANN: <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2020/04/29/ncaa-name-image-likeness-changes-legal-analysis">Legal Hurdles Await for the NCAA Over NIL Rules</a>
Many Congress members agree on a need for a federal mandate to govern NIL, but the timing is less than ideal. The coronavirus pandemic has put the nation on hold. The Senate is reconvening next week, but the House has already delayed its return once. Since the virus gripped the nation in mid-March, Murphy knows of no movement on NIL legislation in the Senate, and Shalala actually believes that lawmakers should wait until the NCAA’s final version in January before introducing any bill. However, Gonzalez, Walker and Blackburn are more hopeful, with Blackburn claiming that a bi-partisan bill such as this could pass by the fall. In more positive news, members of a senate committee studying NIL are expected to speak Thursday with NCAA leaders, a legislative source told SI.
That said, the chances of a bill working its way through two committees, two chambers, at least a half dozen amendments and alterations and potentially multiple votes, all during a pandemic, seems like a longshot. Wednesday’s report didn’t help either. “This is a framework, not a plan,” Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said in a statement. “While it’s encouraging to see the NCAA taking baby steps (after much prodding by state and federal officials), more substantive action is needed, and quickly to achieve justice for college athletes.” Some lawmakers took the vagueness of the document to mean that the NCAA is tossing the topic toward Capitol Hill with a sign that reads Please help and hurry! “There’s this whole section about Congress has to help, but I couldn’t tell what they wanted us to do,” Shalala says. “It looks like they threw up their hands and said, ‘You guys figure out what the guardrails are!’”
Lawmakers aren’t the only ones with qualms and questions, says Tom McMillen, a former Congressman from Maryland who is now president of Lead1, which represents FBS athletic directors. The NCAA report recommends that each school monitor their athletes’ NIL ventures, which would mean a significant increase in case load for an athletic department’s compliance staff, along with other department entanglements. In a memo to NCAA leaders in March, Lead1 proposed a third party administrator, like an independent clearinghouse, manage that process—and not the schools. “Most of our ADs do not want to deal with this,” McMillen says. “They want it as far away from them as possible.”
Coaches have their own gripes. Chiefly, they are concerned with the unintended consequences of agent and booster involvement in NIL ventures, says Todd Berry, the president of the American Football Coaches Association. Head coaches are ultimately responsible for the institutional control of their programs. Will they be on the hook for a rogue booster who exceeds fair market value on an endorsement deal with his star quarterback? And how will the NCAA enforce such rules? “As a group collectively we have concerns that there are no regulations on this that can be enforced. If it’s not enforceable, then there are no rules,” Berry says. “If you’re driving down the highway and the speed limit is 55 and you know there is no one to enforce it, then you are going to speed.”
The NCAA’s recommendations Wednesday begin a path of “blurring the lines,” Berry says, between a student athlete and a professional athlete. Agents, boosters and even coaches themselves could weaponize NIL, using it as a recruiting tool in a manner that is difficult to enforce. But isn’t there cheating already? Sure, says Berry, but not like he predicts under NIL. “We know what third parties and parents and kids ask for. It was very easy in the past to say ‘No, can’t do that because it’s against the rules.’ That’s going to be harder now,” he says.
Berry says coaches have discussed a potential solution that avoids an overhaul in the NCAA’s amateurism rules: allow players to leave for professional football at any time during their careers, even after their high school senior year. The sentiment among many coaches, Berry says, is simple: If you want to make money, go pro. There hasn’t been any proposal or formal vote on that matter. “A lot of our coaches—and I’m not saying all—have said, ‘I’d rather have that, go do your own thing, then throw away the model we currently have, a good student-athlete model,” Berry says. “Schools spend a lot of money on these athletes. They are getting strength and mental development, school, meals, housing.”
This infuriates athlete advocates like Chip LaMarca, a Republican Florida state House member who was the primary sponsor of the state’s NIL law. But he and Berry agree on one thing at least: They disagree on Wednesday’s report, both for completely different reasons. Berry and coaches think it went too far, while LaMarca and many other lawmakers believe it didn’t go far enough. LaMarca castigated the NCAA in a statement, citing unnecessary regulations and language. He feels the NCAA, instead of creating a mess of 31 pages, should have modeled its report after the Florida law. It’s two pages. “I feel like every time they take a stab at it they make it more difficult and confusing,” he says. “To me, it looks like they’re just protecting what they have. They’re going to protect the kingdom.”
State laws can be repealed or delayed, but LaMarca doesn’t see that happening in Florida, especially after studying the NCAA’s vague and restrictive report. So without Congressional nationwide legislation, both the Florida NIL law and the new NCAA NIL rules will likely go into effect around the same time next summer. Experts see this ending in three ways: (1) federal legislation superseding both, (2) the NCAA and Florida duking it out in court or (3) the Uniform Law Commission developing universal language in state legislation. ULC is beginning to study a potential uniform state law act, but this route has one very large hole: States won’t be forced to adopt it, says Feldman, who is assisting ULC in the endeavor.
So what’s it all mean next July? Happy Sunshine Staters. “Students will know they made the right choice to come to Florida,” LaMarca laughs. “The other 49 states are going to have to figure it out.”
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<a href="https://www.si.com/college/clemson/football/trevor-lawrence-the-face-of-the-college-athlete">Trevor Lawrence: The Face of the College Athlete?</a> 
<a href="https://www.si.com/college/duke/basketball/what-ncaas-new-rules-mean-for-duke">What NCAA Endorsement Changes Would Mean for Duke</a> 
<a href="https://www.si.com/college/westvirginia/football/neal-brown-prepared-for-ncaas-nil-guidelines">West Virginia Has Already Prepared for NCAA NIL Changes</a>

New on Sports Illustrated: Congress Members Lambaste NCAA's Vague and Restrictive NIL 'PR Document'

Lawmakers who have taken a lead on the issue of student-athletes' rights were not impressed by the NCAA's big day. WASHINGTON, D.C...

New on Sports Illustrated: NCAA Board of Directors Does Not Recommend One-Time Transfer Waiver 'At This Time'

<a href="https://www.si.com/college/2020/04/30/ncca-one-time-transfer-waiver-recommendation">
The NCAA's Division I Council could still vote on passing new transfer waiver legislation in May.
The NCAA Board of Directors said alterations to the NCAA's waiver process are "not appropriate at this time," per a
</a><a href="https://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/di-board-directors-and-presidential-forum-discuss-future-division">release</a> on Wednesday.
The NCAA is considering a plan that <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2020/02/18/ncaa-transfer-rule-eligibility-change-waiver">grants a one-time transfer waiver</a> that allows athletes to play immediately upon their transfer to a new school. Basketball, baseball, hockey and football players are currently forced to sit out one season if they transfer. But any potential changes to the waiver policy now are being put on hold.
"The board agreed to lift the moratorium on transfer legislation for the 2020-21 legislative cycle but recommended to the Council that changes to the waiver process as suggested by the working group are not appropriate at this time," the <a href="https://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/di-board-directors-and-presidential-forum-discuss-future-division">NCAA said</a> on Wednesday. "Board members recommended the waiver process be sensitive to student-athlete well-being, especially those impacted by COVID-19 in the interim period."
The NCAA Board of Directors can still vote to alter the transfer rules in May. The new policy could also be put in place for the 2021-22 year if they are not enacted in 2020-21.

New on Sports Illustrated: NCAA Board of Directors Does Not Recommend One-Time Transfer Waiver 'At This Time'

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New on Sports Illustrated: Brett Favre or Aaron Rodgers?

<a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/04/30/brett-favre-or-aaron-rodgers">
Who is the better all time Packers quarterback?
Brett Favre said
</a><a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/04/29/favre-rodgers-future-green-bay-somewhere-else">he doesn't think Aaron Rodgers will finish his career with the Green Bay Packers</a>.
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Favre has some experience being a legendary Packers QB and then leaving after the team drafted his eventual replacement, of course. And he believes Rodgers has "every right to be disappointed" about<a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/packers/news/packers-rodgers-favre-ugly"> Green Bay's decision to select quarterback Jordan Love</a> in the NFL draft.
But who is actually the greater all-time Packers signal caller: Favre or Rodgers? Well, there's a clear case for each.
Aaron Rodgers: Before Patrick Mahomes, Rodgers was the Family Feud answer for most talented QB. His ability to throw from different arm angles and on the move is special. And it's not like he hasn't gotten results, winning a Super Bowl and a couple MVPs. Rodgers also protects the ball far better than his predecessor, with an interception rate less than half of the one posted by the ol' gunslinger. So when it comes to escapability, accuracy, safety and Hail Mary throws, it's Aaron.
Brett Favre: Favre took a lot of risks, many unnecessary, he is the all-time leader in interceptions after all (by a good margin). But he also saw plenty of rewards. Like Rodgers, he has a Super Bowl and bests him by one Most Valuable Player trophy taking, three consecutively. He never gave up on a play and had the arm strength and ingenuity to make something out of nothing. Then there's durability. Favre played all 16 games in 17 straight seasons.
There was a time because of how he was fawned over and lauded that I thought Brett Favre was overrated. But now I think it may have gone a bit in the other direction. And if you look at overall accomplishments, whether it be yards, touchdowns or just having fun out there ... Aaron Rodgers may still have some work to do to catch him. Whether that be in Green Bay or elsewhere.

New on Sports Illustrated: Brett Favre or Aaron Rodgers?

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New on Sports Illustrated: Liverpool 'Disappointed' By City Mayor's Wish to Abandon Premier League Season

<a href="https://www.si.com/soccer/2020/04/30/liverpool-mayor-anderson-comments-premier-league-title-return-coronavirus">
Liverpool isn't giving up hope on finishing off its title achievement on the field, but it doesn't have the backing of its own city mayor.
Liverpool sits 25 points clear of its competition in the Premier League and is all but assured of its first top-flight title in 30 years, but the club's own city mayor has no interest in seeing the Reds attempt to finish off that achievement on the field–not even behind closed doors or at a neutral venue.
Mayor Joe Anderson
</a><a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/52484530">told the BBC</a> that he has concerns about fans flouting social distancing protocols to come celebrate outside Anfield if and when Liverpool does clinch the title. Instead, he'd prefer to see the season ended now, with Liverpool crowned champion. It wouldn't be without precedent, with <a href="https://www.si.com/soccer/2020/04/30/psg-ligue-1-champion-final-table-promotion-relegation-france">France's Ligue 1 doing just</a> that on Thursday and giving first-place PSG the title. But the threat of a mass gathering amid the coronavirus outbreak has the mayor fearing the worst.
"Even if it was behind closed doors, there'd be many thousands of people who would turn up outside Anfield," Anderson said. "There's not many people who would respect what we we're saying and stay away from the ground, a lot of people would come to celebrate, so I think it's a non-starter.
"I think the best thing to do is to actually end the season," he continued. "It isn't just about Liverpool–they've clearly won the league–they deserve it, they should be crowned league champions. The bottom line is, though, this is about health and safety and people's lives, and I think football should have to come second in regards to making a choice here."
Liverpool doesn't quite see eye-to-eye with his assessment. Clearly, the club agrees in that it believes it deserves to be crowned as the winners, but it isn't about to give up on returning to action to complete the season on the field if a safe and secure method to do so can be achieved. 
"As a club, we are aware of and disappointed by comments attributed to Mayor Joe Anderson in a media interview which was published today," Liverpool wrote. "As well as a lack of evidence to support such claims, we would also point to recent discussions with Mayor Anderson relating to the possibility of any behind-closed-doors football, which concluded that it is important that key stakeholders across the city continue to engage and work collaboratively. 
"In recent weeks, we have engaged with supporters’ groups who have informed us of their determination to respect social distancing measures and, in the event of a resumption of football being announced, we would continue to work with them and other key stakeholders in keeping with our collective desire to achieve this crucial objective. As part of our ongoing operations, we are in regular contact with the Mayor and his office and we hope these conversations can continue. 
"In the meantime, our primary focus remains responding to the humanitarian crisis which continues to unfold and in particular providing ongoing support to various NHS initiatives and those experiencing food poverty and social isolation."
The Premier League is staging a meeting of its 20 clubs on Friday in which the future of the season–which has been dubbed "Project Restart"–will be discussed. A few Premier League clubs–Arsenal, Brighton, Tottenham and West Ham–have reopened their facilities for limited training, while the hope as of now is to ramp up training across the league in May in anticipation of a June 9 resumption of the season, with all matches played behind closed doors and neutral venues being used if necessary.

New on Sports Illustrated: Liverpool 'Disappointed' By City Mayor's Wish to Abandon Premier League Season

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New on Sports Illustrated: Report: Chiefs Exercise Patrick Mahomes' Fifth-Year Option

<a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/04/30/patrick-mahomes-contract-fifth-year-option-exercised-chiefs">
Patrick Mahomes led the Chiefs to a Super Bowl victory in February.
The Chiefs have exercised quarterback Patrick Mahomes's fifth-year option,
</a><a href="https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1255879857403281411">according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport</a>.
The move comes as no surprise after Mahomes rallied Kansas City in a fourth-quarter comeback <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/02/03/kansas-city-chiefs-patrick-mahomes-win-super-bowl-liv">to win Super Bowl LIV in February</a>. For two years, Mahomes has been the centerpiece of the team's offensive explosion. He's produced highlight reels full of no-look passes and darts to streaking wide receivers downfield. During 2018–his first full season as a starter–Mahomes threw 50 touchdown passes and was named NFL MVP. 
Last season, Mahomes briefly battled a dislocated right kneecap but only missed two games with the injury. He finished 2019 throwing for 4,031 yards, 26 touchdowns and five interceptions and earned his second Pro Bowl nod.
With the team exercising his 2021 option, Mahomes's rookie contract expands to $41 million over five years. The Chiefs drafted him with the No. 10 overall pick in 2017 out of Texas Tech.

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New on Sports Illustrated: Beyond the Baseline Podcast: Sports Psychologist Dr. Jonathan Katz

<a href="https://www.si.com/tennis/2020/04/30/beyond-the-baseline-podcast-sports-psychologist-jonathan-katz">
What does a sports psychologist and performance coach say to athletes who are unable to "work from home" during this time? Dr. Jonathan Katz joins the Beyond the Baseline podcast to discuss the pandemic's impact on athlete mental health.
On the latest
</a><a href="https://link.chtbl.com/tennis?sid=article">Beyond the Baseline podcast</a>, host Jon Wertheim talks with Dr. Jonathan Katz, a sports psychologist and performance coach based in Austin, Texas, who works with tennis players at the college and pro levels, in addition to athletes in other sports. Wertheim and Dr. Katz discuss the psychological impact that the coronavirus pandemic will have on athletes; how financial stresses during this time can impact athletes; the mental health dimensions of being a pro tennis player; and much more.
(<a href="https://link.chtbl.com/tennis?sid=article">Listen to the latest Beyond the Baseline podcast here</a>. The following transcript has been edited and condensed for clarity.)
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Jon Wertheim: What you would tell clients who are not able to work from home? What do you tell the athlete that is not working right now? Who could be 20 years old and suddenly—never mind the financial implications—they're not able to do their job. Would you tell them during this period?
Dr. Jonathan Katz: It's funny you said that. Just recently, in the last few weeks, I started working with a male player on the tour. And I brought this up because he kind of had gotten out of the pattern, not only not playing tennis, but really had not been working out very much. And so I brought this up on two levels, basically strongly recommending/suggesting that they get back into a pretty regular routine of working out. To me, I was less concerned about the nature of the workout than they get a regular kind of demanding physical workout. And there's two reasons. One reason is just as a general world event in this pandemic, part of the difficulty that we all face is the uncertainty associated with this. Uncertainty is one of the great triggers for discomfort. One of the positive ways that people can offset that is by providing themselves with some structure and discipline to their lives. I know just as a longstanding long distance runner, it has been enormously important to me and very comforting and grounding to get out for my run every morning. It's something I've done for 100 years, but is particularly important now just because it provides a sameness. Apart from the psychological physical aspects, there is a sense of control that you have over things in your life where a lot of the world is out of our control.
So from an athletic point of view, one of the reasons that it's important to do this is to provide some structure and discipline for themselves. The other aspect is just from the totally performance point of view is that, you know, when I was speaking with this athlete, we don't know whether you're going to play in two months, four months, six months. But whatever it is, you need to put yourself in the mindset that this is going to be working towards your ability to perform at a high level. What happens if at some point in a couple of months there's gonna be an opportunity to play well? If you were six feet deep and your lack of conditioning, that's a hell of a hole to kind of work yourself of. If you're one foot deep, that's gonna be a lot better. You're going to give yourself a competitive advantage if you find, engage and kind of regain that motivation and desire to keep yourself in tip-top shape. Granted, it may or may not be exactly tennis shape. You've got to play the long game here. From a motivational point of view and a career point of view, because whenever things come back, you want to be in the best situation, both mentally and physically to regain your professional talents.
JW: It sounds trite, but it's something I firmly believe that tennis really does teach life skills. What are some other experiences, skills, traits that tennis players have in their arsenal that they can lean on here and tap into that they may not be aware of. What are some other things that come with being a tennis player that might be helpful in this situation?
JK: Well, I think if you look at some common personality characteristics that are common along high level athletes, you would say high level of discipline, process-oriented, conscientious, focused, detail-oriented, hard-working, usually like emotionally resilient. These are aggressive, achievement oriented, competitive.
These are our common characteristics of athletes. And the best ones are really are kind of flexible, open minded. So the ability as a tennis player to be nimble and creative and flexible if a Plan A is not working during that particular match to go to a plan B. So these are some of the common personality characteristics that I see present in a lot of high level athletes.

New on Sports Illustrated: Beyond the Baseline Podcast: Sports Psychologist Dr. Jonathan Katz

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New on Sports Illustrated: Report: Wake Forest to Hire East Tennessee State Coach Steve Forbes

<a href="https://www.si.com/college/2020/04/30/wake-forest-hires-steve-forbes-east-tennessee-state">
Forbes went 130–43 in five years at East Tennessee State.
Wake Forest is finalizing a deal to make Steve Forbes its next head coach, according to Stadium's
</a><a href="https://twitter.com/GoodmanHoops/status/1255869624262053889">Jeff Goodman</a>. 
Forbes joins the Demon Deacons after five seasons at East Tennessee State. He tallied 130 wins in five seasons at ETSU, reaching the NCAA tournament in 2016-17. Forbes and the Buccaneers rolled through the Southern Conference at 30–4 in 2019-20, but they did <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2020/03/12/march-madness-canceled-ncaa-tournament-coronavirus">not get to play in the tournament due to the COVID-19 crisis</a>.
Wake Forest has struggled over the last decade. The program has reached the NCAA tournament just once since 2010-11, losing to Kansas State in the first round in 2017. Former head <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2020/04/25/danny-manning-fired-wake-forest">Danny Manning was fired by Wake Forest</a> on April 25 after six seasons with the program. 
The Demon Deacons finished last season at 13–18, 6–14 ACC. They have not reached the Sweet 16 since 2004.

New on Sports Illustrated: Report: Wake Forest to Hire East Tennessee State Coach Steve Forbes

Forbes went 130–43 in five years at East Tennessee State. Wake Forest is finalizing a deal to make Steve Forbes its next head coach, accor...

New on Sports Illustrated: PSG Crowned Ligue 1 Champion After Season Ends Prematurely

<a href="https://www.si.com/soccer/2020/04/30/psg-ligue-1-champion-final-table-promotion-relegation-france">
Unlike the Netherlands, France's top flight will be crowning a champion and continuing promotion and relegation after ending its season early.
PSG likely didn't need any favors, but the club has been crowned Ligue 1 champion for the fourth straight season–and eighth time in the last nine seasons–after the league
</a><a href="https://www.si.com/soccer/2020/04/28/france-ligue-1-cancel-season-no-matches-august">abandoned the rest of the 2019-20 campaign</a> amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Ligue de Football Professionnel made it official with a vote on Thursday.
PSG led Marseille by 12 points, with a game in hand, when play was suspended, and with the French government not allowing any sports leagues to resume until Sept. 1 at the earliest, the league pulled the plug on the remainder of the season in the nation's top two flights. 
As opposed to the Netherlands, <a href="https://www.si.com/soccer/2020/04/24/eredivisie-cancels-season-netherlands-no-champion-relegation">which did not crown a champion</a>, suspended promotion and relegation and only awarded European places based on the table when canceling the rest of its season, France has covered all the bases, <a href="https://www.espn.com/soccer/paris-saint-germain/story/4090528/psg-crowned-champions-as-ligue-1-cancelled-marseille-and-rennes-in-champions-league">according to ESPN</a>. The final provisional table was determined on a points-per-game basis since not all teams had played the same amount of matches.
PSG will be champion, while Marseille will enter the Champions League group stage and third-place Rennes will go into the qualifying rounds. Lille and Reims will go into the Europa League group phase, and Nice will compete in the play-in rounds for the second-tier European competition. On the bottom end of the table, Amiens and Toulouse will be relegated (replaced by Ligue 2's top two sides Lorient and Lens), while Nimes, currently in the relegation playoff spot in 18th place, will be spared.
That ruling seems nice and tidy, but it won't necessarily play out that way. Last-place Toulouse, which had just 13 points on the season and was 14 points from safety, is already <a href="https://www.lesviolets.com/actu/document-exclusif-lesvioletscom-la-lettre-envoyee-par-sadran-a-la-fff-et-la-lfp,53453.html">reportedly mulling legal action</a> according to comments made by its club president, using its inability to try to play its way to survival to appeal to the LFP.
There are bigger issues in France for the association to handle, with beIN Sports and Canal+ <a href="https://www.lequipe.fr/Football/Actualites/Canal-resilie-son-contrat-avec-la-lfp-pour-2019-20/1130976">reportedly refusing to pay out</a> the remainder of the season's TV rights money, which amounts to over $200 million. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/29/sports/soccer/coronavirus-france-soccer-shutdown.html">According to the New York Times</a>, the French league is seeking a bridge loan to replace those lost funds.
As for PSG, it may still return to action if UEFA can find a way to resume the Champions League. The French power was one of four teams to punch a quarterfinal ticket before the competition was suspended, with PSG battling back to beat Borussia Dortmund in an empty Parc des Princes in the second leg of the round of 16. 
The club's president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, has already stated that the club would look for an approved place abroad to stage the "home" legs of future rounds, should the competition go on. <a href="https://www.si.com/soccer/2020/04/17/uefa-champions-league-final-august-istanbul-issues-coronavirus">UEFA has targeted a rescheduled Aug. 29 date in Istanbul for the final</a>, though a decision on whether the competition can actually resume in any capacity, given all the moving parts and variables, is expected to be made in late May. Lyon is also impacted by UEFA's pending decision, with the club holding a 1-0 aggregate lead over Juventus after the first leg of the round of 16.

New on Sports Illustrated: PSG Crowned Ligue 1 Champion After Season Ends Prematurely

Unlike the Netherlands, France's top flight will be crowning a champion and continuing promotion and relegation after ending its season...

New on Sports Illustrated: There's No Rush to Determine the Fate of the College Football Season

<a href="https://www.si.com/college/2020/04/30/college-football-season-2020-status-future">
Moving the 2020 college football season should be a last resort, and we're not close to that point yet.
If you want a vivid illustration of the Nobody Knows Anything world in which we all currently reside, just look at the vacillating outlook surrounding the 2020 college football season.
Last week there was a surge in opinions that an on-time, on-schedule season is virtually impossible and should be put off until 2021. But this week there was a surge of schools saying they are planning for
</a><a href="https://www.si.com/college/oklahomastate/football/fall-classes-on-campus-at-oklahoma-state-could-mean-football-being-played">on-campus classes in the fall semester</a>—including more than a dozen FBS schools. That would seem to heighten the chances of football as semi-usual.
So this seems like a good time to look at the calendar.
Then look at it again.
Now take a deep breath and relax.
The calendar still says April, right? Not May, not June, not July. April is not the time to make decisions or declarations about moving the 2020 college football season to the 2021 side of the academic schedule.
<figure><img height="349" src="https://www.si.com/.image/c_fit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620/MTcyMTgwNzM0NTQ5Njk3NzQ4/college-football-season-2020-plans.jpg" width="620" /></figure>
We may, eventually, get to that point. But it won’t be anytime soon, nor should it, despite some people trying to rush the sport in that direction. It’s basically a re-scheduling of last resort, so it should be made only when all other options are extinguished. Nothing is extinguished yet.
We are prisoners of the most uncertain moment in our lifetime—amid rapidly-changing circumstances, with rapidly-changing data—and that’s not the moment for long-range planning.
Inhabiting an athletic void heightens the inclination to speed ahead to when the next action will occur—or not occur—but that doesn’t make sense right now. Waiting for more information is not foot dragging or denial. It’s responsible. Even if that doesn’t make for dramatic column fodder.
“We will continue to depend on the health experts and their advice, but we are planning to play our fall sport seasons,” Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne tweeted last week. “It’s only April, and things have been changing week-by-week, so we still have time to better understand where we will be by September.”
Byrne has plenty of company in that line of thinking. A conference commissioner told me on April 22 that he believes the college football decision makers have “60 to 75 days” before making a declaration on a fall season.
That’s basically a July 1 deadline, and that would fall in line with two things:
<ul>
<li>A minimal training camp to prepare players for a season would be four weeks, which would mean having players on campus by Aug. 1. A go/no-go decision one month ahead of that date would seem realistic.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>At least one power conference is being guided by feedback from a bioethicist who believes that any organization tasked with major coronavirus-related decisions shouldn’t be trying to plan more than four weeks out.</li>
</ul>
Contingency planning? Sure. Go for it. But good luck finding a contingency that works well, including a 2021 season. A quick look at the problems various season models are facing:
An on-time season that begins with a limited slate Aug. 29 and a full schedule Labor Day weekend would be one of the most joyous sports happenings imaginable. It’s also difficult to envision—especially if the season is going to include all the trappings of college football as normal.
In this area, one of the appeals of college sports is also one of its biggest drawbacks. The constituency is so vast and diverse that there isn’t much in the way of common experience or outlook. In the Northeast and on the West Coast, the idea of playing college football by September likely seems ridiculous to many people, from politicians to university presidents to common fans. In the South and elsewhere, the idea of not playing is appalling.
This is the sport’s fundamental weakness: not enough strong central leadership. It is run by an oligarchy of power conferences, which often have competing interests.
<iframe height="482" width="100%" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm?p=CAD2644015679" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
Where we stand with COVID-19 testing, contact tracing and serology will probably be the data that guides many universities in terms of re-opening campuses. America seemingly will need to make a lot of progress in those areas by July 1. While there is disagreement about whether sports teams should be able to gather and train on otherwise closed campuses, full-scale football practice would be one of the most problematic group activities to renew.
Schools will want full stadiums to maximize revenues, but full stadiums seem like the last thing public health experts will recommend. Fans themselves might be leery of a return to full-capacity seating, after months of social distancing and a fresh education on how transmissible this virus can be. Even if the stadiums are open come September, will they come?
And, of course, states that are forging ahead right now with reopening for business could destroy any hopes of an on-time season if the virus spikes again within their borders in the coming weeks. Add that developing situation to the equation.
So, what about starting on time in empty or partially full stadiums? The media-rights money would continue to flow, a must-have revenue stream for every athletic department, and ratings would be huge. But losses in ticket revenue are a real concern for athletic directors, many of whom need that on top of the big conference media-rights checks. And the games themselves would lose a lot of their visceral appeal without the sights and sounds of a frothing crowd.
Pushing the season back to mid-fall, maybe an October start? It could happen, but that would either lead to playing on-campus games into the dead of winter or a truncated season. A truncated season also cuts into home-game revenue and reduces the TV inventory. While it’s feasible to decide conference champions and playoff teams, doing so based on, say, a nine-game season only increases the chances of crowning the wrong teams. But that may just have to be an acceptable margin of error.
Then there is the potential for a predicted resurgence of the coronavirus next winter, coupled with the usual flu season. That combination could terminate a season that starts in October shortly after it gets going.
Which leads to a possible 2021 season. That’s not a great solution, either.
A mid-winter coronavirus resurgence tops the list of concerns with kicking off college football in January. Not far behind is the weather.
In much of the nation, playing games outdoors in the coldest months of the season is a tough sell to the athletes and fans alike. It wouldn’t be millionaire pros playing a playoff game or two. It would be college kids in Madison and Minneapolis and Ann Arbor and State College and Boston and Boise playing multiple regular-season games that could be brutally uncomfortable.
“We have to think of the sport as a whole,” said one industry leader who is based in a warm-weather state. “It’s not fair to the schools in cold-weather areas to ask them to play in January.”
We could try putting college football on a basic spring-sports calendar—games begin in late February and extend into a championship season in June. The complications there come in the form of the 2021 NFL draft, and whether prospects like Trevor Lawrence want to play a college football season at a time when they would be preparing to be drafted, then turn around and begin an NFL rookie season almost immediately. You want an invitation for top players to skip the season and prepare for their pro future? That would be it.
Then there is another element that would need to be addressed: college basketball. The previously mentioned conference commissioner I spoke with was concerned about trampling that sport—<a href="https://www.si.com/college/2020/03/13/ncaa-cancels-march-madness-money-revenue">and its own billion-dollar payday</a>—in the process of saving the football season.
The TV inventory glut created by simultaneous football and basketball seasons would be massive, leading to myriad scheduling issues for networks and conferences and individual schools. (One theory that has been floated: college basketball games Monday-Friday, college football games on Saturday and Sunday. It would be a tricky calculus.)
The last alternative is perhaps the most radical: a bifurcated season in which conferences and even individual schools go their own way. Some play in the fall, some play in the spring. Each season could play its own bowl games, have its own playoff or crown its own champion.
It could lead to the ultimate throwback resolution: a poll of voters weighing the results of the fall and spring seasons and deciding who is No. 1. It would be a very 1936 way of doing things.
But that idea, like all the others, is just something to consider right now. Nothing needs to be resolved, including any seismic decisions to call off the fall college football season.
It’s April. Relax.

New on Sports Illustrated: There's No Rush to Determine the Fate of the College Football Season

Moving the 2020 college football season should be a last resort, and we're not close to that point yet. If you want a vivid illustrati...

New on Sports Illustrated: This Day in Sports History: Lou Gehrig Plays His 2,130th Straight Game Before Retiring

<a href="https://www.si.com/mlb/2020/04/30/lou-gehrig-plays-2130-straight-game-record-retires">
The Iron Horse played for 17 seasons before announcing his retirement.
One of baseball's greatest streaks came to an end when Lou Gehrig played his final game on April 30, 1939. 
While battling a slump and deteriorating health, Gehrig took the field that day to play his 2,130th consecutive major league game. He batted fifth in the lineup but went hitless in the Yankees' 3–2 loss to the Washington Senators.
New York was off the following day to travel to Detroit. Before the team suited up for its series opener on May 2, Gehrig talked with manager Joe McCarthy at the Book-Cadillac Hotel and asked to be benched.
Gehrig's numbers had started to decline in the 1938 season, which he finished hitting .295 with 29 home runs and 114 RBIs. Although the stats were low for him, they certainly weren't terrible. Through the first eight games of the 1939 campaign, though, Gehrig had four hits in 28 at-bats and a .143 batting average. 
Yankees fans were troubled by Gehrig's start to the season, but they were about to receive even worse news that summer. Gehrig's wife Eleanor reached out to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., due to her concerns over his health. After six days of tests, doctors found Gehrig had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The
</a><a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/amyotrophic-lateral-sclerosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20354022">Mayo Clinic's website</a> describes ALS, which is now commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, as a progressive nervous system disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing loss of muscle control. There is still no cure for the disease.   
The Yankees announced The Iron Horse's retirement on June 21, 1939, and held Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day on July 4. In front of a sold-out crowd, Gehrig delivered his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNLKPaThYkE">famous "Luckiest Man" speech</a> that day at Yankee Stadium. He died on June 2, 1941, at the age of 37. 
Cal Ripken Jr. passed Gehrig's record as baseball's all-time iron man when he played in his 2,131st consecutive game on Sept. 6, 1995. Ripken decided to end his streak–2,632 games–three years later when he sat out of a game at Camden Yards.

New on Sports Illustrated: This Day in Sports History: Lou Gehrig Plays His 2,130th Straight Game Before Retiring

The Iron Horse played for 17 seasons before announcing his retirement. One of baseball's greatest streaks came to an end when Lou Gehr...

New on Sports Illustrated: How Good Are NBA G League Prospects Jalen Green, Isaiah Todd and Daishen Nix?

<a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2020/04/30/nba-g-league-prospect-scouting-reports-jalen-green-isaiah-todd-daishen-nix">
Jalen Green, Daishen Nix, Isaiah Todd, and whoever else joins the NBA G League pathway program will go beneath one of the more unique microscopes in recent years.
If you’ve been living under a rock—or, respectably, avoiding the internet for an indefinite amount of time (hey, who among us)—
</a><a href="https://www.si.com/college/2020/04/16/jalen-green-g-league-ncaa-nba-competitors">the NBA G League continues to make significant headway</a> in shaking up basketball’s traditional player development framework. This week, <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2020/04/28/daishen-nix-decommits-ucla-signs-g-league">five-star guard Daishen Nix opted to forgo his letter of intent to UCLA and joined the G League’s impressive group of committed players</a>, which includes top recruits <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2020/04/16/jalen-green-nba-g-league-decision">Jalen Green</a> and <a href="https://www.si.com/college/recruiting/basketball/isaiah-todd-g-league-michigan-juwan-howard-jalen-green">Isaiah Todd</a>. These elite high school prospects will compete as a team, separate from the G League’s affiliate franchises, with the majority of details about the program still forthcoming. What the program will actually look like is a real point of interest right now around the NBA, but <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2020/04/24/nba-mailbag-g-league-college-basketball">the quality of the players the league has landed is substantial</a>, and how well the program fares in year one will become one of next season’s more closely-monitored subplots at any level of basketball. That much seems foregone, with a pair of lottery picks in the fold, and the NCAA seemingly being forced to adapt at long last.
The early question I’ve heard a lot from teams has to do with how competitive the game environments are going to be, whether or not players will truly be placed in a position to fail, and what type of adversity they’ll face, particularly relative to college, which includes a personal growth component for all teenagers, regardless of whether or not they play a sport. As far as on the court is concerned, it’ll be one thing to have them <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2020/04/16/jalen-green-nba-g-league-team-la">playing real G League teams or international pro clubs</a> on a regular basis. But if this group were to primarily play against, say, the NBA’s global academy teams, or at international tournaments for players their age, the element of challenge could end up being diminished.
From a scouting perspective, having these guys in a brand new environment and playing at a sort of in-between level creates a different type of evaluatory challenge for the brain. We know what college games look like live, and we know what G League games look like, and our brains can make a distinction accordingly, but scouts have expressed the fact that there’s inevitably going to be some type of adjustment on their end as well, which is a component here. There’s certainly a convenience bump from this team <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2020/04/16/jalen-green-nba-g-league-team-la">being based in Southern California</a>, and, one might posit, potentially getting to play games at centralized locations that will save teams extra mileage. It’s better than having to fly to Australia and effectively lose a week or two adjusting to the travel.
From an intel standpoint, there may be fewer unique points of entry to information on these players as a result of their decision to forgo college, where, surprise, they encounter a lot of different people on a daily basis, all of whom are theoretically sources. But any competent front office should have personnel on staff capable of gathering background from within the G League’s program, which is largely staffed by well-connected individuals, many of whom are former NBA players. Figuring out how to find the most salient information is part of the job description for player personnel specialists, and it’s a big part of why far-reaching relationships in different corners of basketball are so critical. Teams doing their diligence will be able to obtain substantive intel that predates a prospect’s brief time as a professional, as well. The G League program doesn’t rewrite the book here—it simply presents a different set of parameters.
Green, Nix, Todd, and whoever else joins them on the team will go beneath one of the more unique microscopes in recent years. I’ve evaluated all three in multiple live settings over the past 12 months. For now, here’s what you need to know.
<figure><img height="349" src="https://www.si.com/.image/c_fit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620/MTcxNzQxMDQ5MDgzOTMwMDI4/jalen-green-top-uncommitted-recruits.jpg" width="620" /></figure>
<h2>Jalen Green</h2>
Frankly, the G League’s program may not have been tenable in this particular way had Green’s commitment not been the first domino. His ability and long-term potential notwithstanding, he comes with the type of cachet amongst his peers and younger players to be a trend-setter. Green’s decision in essence ensured that this pathway would be taken seriously moving forward, which means much more in concert with the G League’s ability to make more competitive financial offers to prospective talent. When a potential No. 1 overall pick decides to do something unorthodox, it instantly means more. If Green was eligible for the 2020 draft, he’d likely be picked first. Looking towards 2021, which is shaping up to have one of the more impressive draft classes in years, he’ll be firmly in the mix there, with the early NBA consensus leaning toward Cade Cunningham, but with that draft, obviously, more than a year away.
There’s little doubt about Green’s upside, as he’s a gifted athlete with pop and explosiveness who can create his own shot and do damage from the perimeter. Although it’s far from a given, he has the basic toolbox to eventually be an elite scorer, and in a best-case scenario, the type of guard for whom bad shots are good shots. Granted, it takes a lot of projection to see him getting there. But I was able to see Green live several times this season, and thought he did a reasonable job of answering some of the questions surrounding his approach. It’s one thing to be something of a showman on the court—sometimes it’s decidedly a negative—but it helps to back that up with results, and Green did that during his senior year, leading Prolific Prep to a 26-3 record. He made progress in terms of consistent on-court engagement. For a player who, for better or worse, is going to need to see a lot of the ball to reach his ceiling, it’s an important step.
For what it’s worth, I do think the range of outcomes with Green is a bit wider than advertised, given how hard it is to be a true high-efficiency, high-volume scorer in the NBA, and how long and demanding of a learning curve tends to accompany that type of career arc. But that’s what he wants to be, and as a 6’5” wing, that’s probably his path to stardom, for better or worse. Green has the tools to be a terrific defender, and the explosiveness to live at the rim more consistently if he wants to. It doesn’t take long to see his potential as an isolation scorer, and he’s not a bad passer, although he can be an infrequent one. Just like everyone else, I’m curious to see how much he’s truly tested by whatever level the G League’s group ends up playing at next season, whether it’s against international competition, G League teams, or players closer to their own age. But it seems preordained that he’ll be the face of this operation, and given how talented he is, it’s hard to see him falling too far flat before next year’s draft.
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<h2>Daishen Nix</h2>
Nix’s importance to the ultimate success of the G League’s program shouldn’t be undersold: someone is going to have to pass the ball around on this team, and he was among the best possible options. Right now he should be firmly regarded as a lottery-level talent, and based on my own evaluations and early buzz around the NBA, I’d argue that he’s vastly underrated in the various national rankings, even in a strong recruiting class. At the moment, ESPN has Nix ranked 20th, Rivals 13th, and 247Sports is the highest on him at No. 11. There’s likely a visibility component to that, as Nix didn’t play AAU on any of the shoe circuits and has developed in semi-obscurity, particularly relative to his level of ability. Nix was born and raised in Alaska before moving to Las Vegas to play high school ball at a non-traditional prep program, Trinity International. It’s not like he was hiding (more on that in a second), but his route has certainly been different from the norm.
When first seeing Nix live over the summer in Colorado Springs with USA Basketball, I was immediately struck by his rare combination of traits—terrific size for a point guard, great foot speed and chance of pace, a wider build that can hold up against bigger opponents, and an unquestionably elite-level basketball brain. It’s not just his decision-making and passing, but his defensive anticipation and understanding of how to look off defenders and read the entire floor. There are plenty of flashy high school guards, and they come and go. Not all of them are truly competitive, and there aren’t many who can do that while directly impacting winning basketball in every area, and Nix falls into that category. I tailed Nix and Trinity International for three straight days in Vegas at the Tarkanian Classic in December, and found it hard to look away. Cade Cunningham is the best point guard in high school basketball, but Nix may be closer behind him than you realize, and both were ready to start for most college programs as high school seniors.
The issues that may cap Nix’s ceiling are his finishing and his jumper, both of which are solid at the high school level, but require further progression and projection in order for him to blossom into a star. He’s a good athlete, but not elite creating in isolation or exploding to the rim, and while he already incorporates a variety of crafty finishes, Nix will have to keep working on consistency attacking angles and playing against bodies. He does find his way into the paint and to the line a lot. He shoots more of a set jumper and doesn’t get a ton of elevation—which isn’t to say it won’t work, only that he may not be an overly dynamic shooter. The key here is envisioning what happens to Nix’s game long-term, when he’s no longer the best player on his team, and in that regard, his potential is substantial. This has to sting heavily for UCLA, but I’m optimistic about the long-term fate of the player.
<h2>Isaiah Todd</h2>
Todd’s decision to join the G League program is the one that makes the least amount of sense, at least from my perspective, as he’s much further away from being an NBA player than Green and Nix, and certainly less of a sure thing. The counterpoint here is that he may actually be in for a higher dose of minutes with this team, where the priority is the development of these players, than he might have gotten in year one at Michigan. It’s very hard to play up front in the Big Ten, and very few true freshmen bigs have taken that conference by storm (Jaren Jackson Jr. was drafted fourth out of Michigan State based off his flashes of potential, not because he was a dominant player). Todd isn’t that caliber of player, but he has an attractive level of skill for his frame, and some projectability as a stretch four long-term once he fully figures out what it will take for him to succeed.
For Todd, the added eyeballs that come from flanking Green and Nix are understandably preferable to having to break in at Michigan, or trying to turn pro overseas, where young players are often an afterthought, and where bigs tend to be developed differently. He‘s walking into a situation that should make him look good, without the pressure that accompanies having to be the best player on a brand new team. If he blocks shots, rebounds, hits open jump shots and assuages long-standing concerns that he wants to be a wing (he likely isn’t one), Todd should be able to help himself. Todd has strong potential defensively as a mobile rim protector, and enough flashes of skill that there’s some basic level of floor here.
Still, after bouncing around between AAU teams and high school programs, what Todd may need above all is to be coached hard and pushed competitively. As noted earlier, whether the G League situation turns out to be conducive to that type of individual growth remains to be seen. But for an unfinished product, choosing to take the risk of participating in a program like this versus training solo and hiding from scouts is at least commendable. Where Green and Nix figure to be fairly stable stocks moving forward, how much the G League program can benefit a prospect like Todd may actually be the better measure of success.

New on Sports Illustrated: How Good Are NBA G League Prospects Jalen Green, Isaiah Todd and Daishen Nix?

Jalen Green, Daishen Nix, Isaiah Todd, and whoever else joins the NBA G League pathway program will go beneath one of the more unique micro...

New on Sports Illustrated: Report: NWSL Aiming to Reopen Training Camps on May 16

<a href="https://www.si.com/soccer/2020/04/30/nswsl-may-16-return-training-camp-coronavirus">
Players are expected to return to their home markets within two weeks in order to undergo medical exams.
The National Women's Soccer League is planning to reopen training camps on May 16, according to the Washington Post's
</a><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/04/30/nwsl-tells-players-return-aims-reopen-camps-may-16/">Steven Goff</a>. 
The <a href="https://www.si.com/sports-illustrated/2020/03/26/coronavirus-impact-women-sports-leagues">NWSL was slated to host its season opener on April 18</a>, but that was delayed due to the COVID-19 crisis. Workouts for teams are expected to begin in mid-May, and the season could start without fans on June 27 depending on "medical factors and state guidelines," per Goff. 
"We have aspirations, but we won't know until we get there," NWSL Players Association director Brooke Elby <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/04/30/nwsl-tells-players-return-aims-reopen-camps-may-16/">told Goff</a>. "We can't speculate because it could change in the next hour or the next day.
The NWSL has not settled on a plan for hosting regular-season games in 2020, per <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/04/30/nwsl-tells-players-return-aims-reopen-camps-may-16/">Goff</a>. The league could reportedly opt to keep all nine teams in the Washington D.C. area, using multiple venues within the city to kick off the season.
2020 marks the NWSL's eighth season. The <a href="https://www.si.com/soccer/2019/10/27/nwsl-final-nc-courage-chicago-red-stars-video-highlights">North Carolina Courage won their second straight NWSL Championship</a> in 2019.

New on Sports Illustrated: Report: NWSL Aiming to Reopen Training Camps on May 16

Players are expected to return to their home markets within two weeks in order to undergo medical exams. The National Women's Soccer L...

New on Sports Illustrated: Seven NFL Rookies Who Are Under Pressure to Perform Quickly

<a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/04/30/nfl-rookies-under-pressure-joe-burrow-jordan-love-henry-ruggs">
There were some polarizing picks in 2020 who will immediately garner a spotlight, for better or worse.
This article is about rookies who will face the most immediate pressure in 2020, but let’s be clear about one thing: This stress will be shared—and perhaps shouldered more heavily—by the coaching staffs who are inheriting these talents. It’s more likely these days that an underperforming young star results in the firing of a coaching staff before a coaching staff is allowed to move on from a promising young star (See: any highly-drafted quarterback of the last 20 years).
That said, there were some polarizing picks in 2020 who will immediately garner a spotlight, for better or worse. Here’s a look at who and why.
<h3>ANDREW THOMAS, OT, NEW YORK GIANTS</h3>
The Giants have been largely scorned by their last two high-profile acquisitions on the offensive line. Ereck Flowers, a former top 10 pick, bottomed out before reviving his career in Washington and is now in Miami as a guard. Nate Solder, who was signed to a four-year, $62 million deal back in 2018, has also struggled to live up to expectations. 
Enter Thomas, who is GM Dave Gettleman’s latest attempt at reviving a Giants offensive line that has not been stable since the Tom Coughlin era. Why is the pressure significant on Thomas in particular? He is the pick of an embattled general manager who chose Thomas first amid a run of first-round offensive tackles. The class was as deep at the position as it had been in decades, meaning there will be plenty of picks in a similar range for Thomas to be compared to. 
By all accounts, he seems to be the most complete player in this class and will be a godsend to Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones. Also, the Giants’ offensive line is looking increasingly more complete on paper and could evolve as a unit under new head coach Joe Judge.
GiantsCountry:
</a><a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/giants/film/film-room-what-andrew-thomas-brings-to-the-offense">Film Room | What Andrew Thomas Brings to the Offense</a>
<h3>HENRY RUGGS, WR, LAS VEGAS RAIDERS</h3>
Like Thomas, Ruggs was the first in a long run at his position taken in this year’s draft. The Raiders seem largely unconcerned with the opinions of the football world at large. Each of Mike Mayock’s first two drafts with the club have elicited surprise selections that seemed to buck conventional thinking. 
Ruggs may not have been as surprising as Damon Arnette, but he was almost certainly not the consensus top wideout in the class (Ruggs was a distant third on his team in receiving this past year, 37 catches behind Jerry Jeudy, who went a few picks later to the Broncos). A simplistic analysis might also suggest that, because Ruggs’s speed (and what that speed does to coverages) is his greatest asset, it adds to the boom-or-bust feel that this pick carries.
RaiderMaven: <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/raiders/news/henry-ruggs-was-born-to-be-a-raider-RNEEZ9HGrkSjqpkW9zlGiQ">Henry Ruggs Was Born to Be a Raider</a>
<h3>JORDAN LOVE, QB, GREEN BAY PACKERS</h3>
He's the only player on this list who will likely not play a down this season, unless the Packers are blowing out an opponent or an unfortunate injury has taken place. By no fault of his own, Love has likely been wedged into <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/04/24/nfl-draft-green-bay-packers-jordan-love-aaron-rodgers">a very serious discussion</a> about <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/04/28/green-bay-packers-draft-jordan-love-aaron-rodgers-deja-vu">the future of the quarterback position in Green Bay</a> and whether the time was right to consider replacing one of the most purely talented throwers of his generation. 
In a lot of these cases, that means the younger player is often subjected to boundless naval gazing from the outside world and relentless nitpicking in close quarters. Will his comparable stats be charted in training camp? How many times can a person be asked about and judged on his answer to a question about eventually replacing one of the most important players in franchise history? 
Love said on draft night that he spoke to Rodgers, which appears like a fortuitous start to their time together. How long will that last, though, and when will we get an accurate picture of how scorned Aaron Rodgers actually feels?
PackerCentral: <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/packers/news/love-will-keep-packers-competitive">Scout: Love Will Keep Packers 'Competitive for 20 Years'</a>
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<h3>JUSTIN JEFFERSON, WR, MINNESOTA VIKINGS</h3>
It’s difficult to be any first-round pick who is so obviously a 1-for-1 replacement of a departed talent. With Stefon Diggs getting his wish and landing elsewhere, Jefferson comes in to try and replicate Diggs’s role in a great receiver tandem with Adam Thielen. In Minnesota, this might be especially difficult given the low margin for error there. 
Assuming the team keeps a similar vibe offensively without coordinator Kevin Stefanski (now the head coach in Cleveland), their most popular personnel groupings on both first and second down were looks with two tight end and two wide receivers, meaning that Jefferson will be expected to click right away if he wants to see the field. 
The Vikings obviously deserve credit for the way they were able to identify and develop Thielen, an undrafted free agent, and Diggs, a fifth-round selection. However, their recent history also includes notable first-round swings and misses at the position, in 2016 with Laquon Treadwell and 2013 with Cordarrelle Patterson (an All-Pro returner, but a guy who never amassed 500 receiving yards in a season). The depth of this year’s class and the steady presence of Kirk Cousins should ease some of those concerns, though there is still going to be a significant amount of legwork put in to readying Jefferson for Week 1.
InsideTheVikings: <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/vikings/news/draft-grades-vikings-justin-jefferson-jeff-gladney">Grading Minnesota's First-Round Picks</a>
<h3>ISAIAH SIMMONS, LB, ARIZONA CARDINALS</h3>
Simmons was so exceptional in college. Thankfully for us, he also had a defensive coordinator in Brent Venables who embraced the modern “positionless football” philosophy that elevated Simmons to the top of the first round. However, recent comments from Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph indicate that we might see Simmons as more of a static player at the next level.
“It’s a lateral, it’s a speed game, it’s a three-wide-receiver game. Some of the things he did at Clemson, it’s going to be realistic, some of it won’t be,” <a href="https://arizonasports.com/story/2297979/vance-joseph-isaiah-simmons-will-be-primarily-ilb-for-cardinals/">Joseph told reporters</a>. Perhaps some of this is just the getting-to-know-you phase (and would Joseph actually detail how he was going to use Simmons on a post-draft conference call?) but the gamble with Simmons was always going to be finding a coach who was interested in keeping pace with all of his athletic tools. If Simmons becomes a more conventional player, where does the blame fall?
AllCardinals: <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/cardinals/news/isaiah-simmons-defensive-scheme-vance-joseph">Versatile Simmons to Start Out Mastering Linebacker Spot</a>
<h3>JOE BURROW, QB, CINCINNATI BENGALS</h3>
This is an obvious choice, but Burrow faces the most unprecedented offseason in modern NFL history before taking the reins of a woebegone franchise. This isn’t a small task. Unlike other quarterbacks who have come before him, he seems uniquely up to the challenge. The question is whether or not the Bengals are in lockstep. The weight placed on a No. 1 pick is always absurd and unfair. So much of a player’s development is dependent on <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/04/24/will-bengals-invest-in-building-a-winner-around-joe-burrow">outside factors</a> and nearly all of the avenues by which to improve those factors will be condensed or eliminated altogether this spring and summer.
Add in the fact that the division around the Bengals took a quantum leap forward this offseason—the Steelers will get Ben Roethlisberger back and added a legitimate second receiving threat behind JuJu Smith-Schuster, the Ravens restocked their linebacking corps with a pair of blue-chip players and the Browns finally fortified their porous offensive line—and the climb for Burrow only looks steeper from here.
AllBengals: <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/bengals/gm-report/bengals-post-nfl-draft-offense">A Look at the Bengals' Post-Draft Offense</a>
<h3>JALEN REAGOR, WR, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES</h3>
As we’ve detailed in the past, <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/04/10/draft-wide-receiver-wr-first-round-busts-kyle-lauletta-jimmy-garoppolo-chad-kanoff-princeton">receiver development is difficult in the NFL as it is</a>. This has changed a bit over the last two years as NFL and collegiate offenses have come to more of a middle ground, but Reagor comes into a situation where he’s going to be forced to be spectacular right away. The Eagles’ aging, injury-prone receiving corps dragged down the offense late in the season and was difficult to replenish in one offseason, despite a solid draft and trade for Marquise Goodwin.
Reagor was in the slot 14% of the time at TCU last year and ran 13 different route concepts. The diversification of his responsibilities will broaden in Philadelphia. 
EagleMaven: <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/eagles/news/jalen-reagor-is-the-wr-the-eagles-needed">Jalen Reagor Is WR Eagles 'Needed'</a>
• Question or comment? <a href="mailto:gary.gramling@si.com">Email us</a>.

New on Sports Illustrated: Seven NFL Rookies Who Are Under Pressure to Perform Quickly

There were some polarizing picks in 2020 who will immediately garner a spotlight, for better or worse. This article is about rookies who w...

New on Sports Illustrated: Newcastle Eyeing Mauricio Pochettino Adds Up, But Why Would He Want the Job?

<a href="https://www.si.com/soccer/2020/04/30/newcastle-saudi-arabia-takeover-mauricio-pochettino-manager">
There's plenty of reason for a new Newcastle regime to want Mauricio Pochettino managing its club, but there's little reason for the ex-Tottenham manager to reciprocate the feeling.
Although the
</a><a href="https://www.si.com/soccer/2020/04/22/newcastle-sale-saudi-arabia-mike-ashley-premier-league">Saudi takeover of Newcastle United</a> has not yet gone through, the expectation remains that, despite <a href="https://www.si.com/soccer/2020/04/22/newcastle-saudi-arabia-takeover-amnesty-international-premier-league">objections from Amnesty International</a> and Human Rights Watch; despite pleas from the <a href="https://www.si.com/soccer/2020/04/29/jamal-khashoggi-fiancee-block-saudi-newcastle-purchase">fiancee of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi</a> and from the Qatari TV company beIN Sports; and despite the potential for Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, to influence Abdullah bin Musa'ad, a lower-ranking Saudi prince who owns Sheffield United, it will in the end be ratified. And inevitably, alongside the qualms about another Premier League club becoming an agent of soft-power for a government with a highly questionable human rights record, that means speculation.
Excited hopes that Newcastle is about to <a href="https://www.si.com/soccer/2020/04/27/transfers-impacted-pandemic-sancho-mbappe-haaland-neymar">launch a nine-figure bid</a> for Kylian Mbappe are probably wide of the mark, but if the deal does go through, it’s almost certain that there will be a glut of signings and, quite probably, a new manager.
Steve Bruce has become a divisive figure on Tyneside. Although he grew up in Daisy Hill, just over three miles east of St James’ Park, and supported Newcastle as a boy, his willingness to work for a despised owner in Mike Ashley caused many to turn against him. His supposedly negative tactics have been criticized as well, but he had the club in 13th, and his Premier League win percentage of 31% is very close to the 31.4% achieved by his very popular predecessor, Rafa Benitez. The perception of him, though, is of somebody lacking the sophistication of Benitez, a manager operating at the summit of his range. And he is not a figure likely to be much of draw for overseas talent.
Although the prospective new owners have said Bruce will have at least until the end of the season (<a href="https://www.si.com/soccer/2020/04/28/europe-leagues-uefa-plan-return-dates-coronavirus-matches">whenever that may be</a>), it was no great surprise to see Mauricio Pochettino linked this week with the post. Pochettino is extremely highly regarded, has shown he can take an upper-mid-table Premier League side and transform it into a title challenger and has been without a job since being sacked by Tottenham in November. He is exactly the sort of person new owners should be contacting.
<figure><img height="349" src="https://www.si.com/.image/c_fit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620/MTcyMjE5NDA2MTY2Nzk1NDc2/mauricio-pochettino-newcastle.jpg" width="620" /></figure>
The assumption had been that Pochettino was next on the list for both the Real Madrid and Manchester United jobs. Both clubs rate him highly. Neither has a manager who, at the moment, inspires complete confidence. But United’s form had picked up under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer before lockdown and it’s not clear either anyway that United or Madrid would be willing to dismiss their present managers, both icons of their clubs, amid the disruption of the virus. That perhaps would leave Pochettino more open to a concrete offer from elsewhere.
But how attractive, really, is the Newcastle job? Any new manager will have to deal with questions about the human rights record of his employers, just as Pep Guardiola has had to at Manchester City. Pochettino presented a coaching masterclass at the Aspire Fellows Summit last year, so perhaps that isn’t something that overly concerns him but, at the very least, it would be a distraction.
Newcastle fans seem to expect a huge spending spree, but it’s hard to see how that is possible. Financial Fair Play regulations in the Premier League cap losses over three years at £105 million; UEFA limits them to £26 million (as in, the restrictions are tighter for clubs in European competition, but the added income from being in that competition offsets the difference). Although there is likely to be some short-term softening to regulations to take into account the way the lockdown has impacted club finances, those basic principles remain.
Newcastle made a small profit in 2017-18, but the expectation is that the figures for 2018-19 will show a loss. That places a severe restriction on spending. For context, Chelsea made a loss of £308 million in its first three years after the Roman Abramovich takeover in 2003; City endured a loss of £395 million in the three years after the Sheikh Mansour takeover in 2008. FFP regulations are not only more stringent now, but as the recent UEFA ban on City showed, regulators are far more alert than they were to the potential for manufactured sponsorship deals (a state company, for instance, offering a shirt sponsorship deal at several times the market rate as a means of disguising direct investment). The likelihood will be of more player purchases than there has been of late, but nothing like the sort of splurge Newcastle fans are wishfully anticipating.
Although Pochettino may like the idea of building a club from the ground up again, as he did at Tottenham, he discovered there the limits on even a well-run side when there is a lack of money to invest. Given all that, and the fact that there is no indication what sort of owners the Saudis may be, it’s by no means certain Newcastle would tempt him, at least not while his reputation remans high and he, presumably, is in no immediate need of work.
Whenever football does return in England and Spain, the picture could clear very quickly. With Maurizio Sarri seemingly on his way out from Juventus, there could also be opportunities in Italy. Pochettino is in a very fortunate position. He can wait and take his pick. Even with the imminent takeover, Newcastle may not seem like a step forward.

New on Sports Illustrated: Newcastle Eyeing Mauricio Pochettino Adds Up, But Why Would He Want the Job?

There's plenty of reason for a new Newcastle regime to want Mauricio Pochettino managing its club, but there's little reason for th...

New on Sports Illustrated: Roger Goodell's Approval Rating Has Gone Up: Unchecked

<a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/04/30/roger-goodell-approval-rating-up">
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has become more likable during quarantine.
Roger Goodell’s Q-Rating has gone up during quarantine.
The Commissioner of the National Football League has had a good few weeks as I don’t think anyone is upset anymore that the
</a><a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/04/26/nfl-draft-2020-team-grades-picks-analysis">NFL went through with the draft</a>, which all things considered <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/cowboys/news/the-nfl-virtual-draft-was-excellent-and-here-is-why-YoAxHqCeEkO6pvL1Gwjgmw">went rather seamlessly</a>. And with the focus of so many eyeballs solely on the commish, it allowed for Goodell to display his basement, wardrobe, mood and for the first time maybe ever show a little personality. Sit up Roger, you're on television!
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Even if it could be said Goodell's vibe might be described as just a bit bumbling. However, overall he came across way more endearing than he ever has before. And please, someone get the man more M & M’s.
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And now it has <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/04/29/nfl-coronavirus-salary-cuts">been revealed he volunteered to forgo his salary during the current crisis</a>. Which hopefully will go toward helping NFL employees rather than team owners. I won’t be over the top calling this nobility, as it must be nice to be able to afford to do so, still saying no to paychecks that can total up to $40 million annually isn’t nothing. 
For as massively popular as the NFL is, Goodell hasn’t been. I also wouldn’t call the league’s overall reputation great. This doesn’t make any legitimate issues simply go away but it is worth recognizing that Goodell has done perhaps his best work of late. And emerged as way more likable because of it. He’s earned that money he won’t get paid. Cue the boos.
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New on Sports Illustrated: Roger Goodell's Approval Rating Has Gone Up: Unchecked

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has become more likable during quarantine. Roger Goodell’s Q-Rating has gone up during quarantine. The Com...

New on Sports Illustrated: Report: Bengals to Release Quarterback Andy Dalton

<a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/04/30/andy-dalton-released-cincinnati-bengals">
Dalton went 70–61–2 in nine seasons as the Bengals quarterback from 2011-19.
The Bengals will release quarterback Andy Dalton on Thursday, according to ESPN's
</a><a href="https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1255846677090635776">Adam Schefter</a>.
Dalton started 133 games for the Bengals from 2011-19, going 70–61–2. The TCU product is Cincinnati's all-time leader in touchdown passes. 
The Bengals were largely respectable with Dalton, reaching the postseason in four straight years from 2011-15. But after a four-year playoff drought, Cincinnati opted to go in a new direction this offseason.
Cincinnati's move to release the veteran QB follows its decision to <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/04/24/will-bengals-invest-in-building-a-winner-around-joe-burrow">select Joe Burrow with the No. 1 pick</a> in the 2020 NFL Draft. <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2019/12/15/joe-burrow-wins-2019-heisman-trophy-lsu">Burrow won the Heisman Trophy</a> with LSU in 2019, and he w<a href="https://www.si.com/college/2020/01/14/lsu-beats-clemson-joe-burrow-national-championship">on the National Championship</a>.
The Bengals finished last in the AFC North in 2019 at 2–14. They have not won a playoff game since 1990.

New on Sports Illustrated: Report: Bengals to Release Quarterback Andy Dalton

Dalton went 70–61–2 in nine seasons as the Bengals quarterback from 2011-19. The Bengals will release quarterback Andy Dalton on Thursday,...

New on Sports Illustrated: Fixing Jameis Winston’s Picks Can’t Be as Simple as LASIK Eye Surgery, Right?

<a href="https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2020/04/30/saints-jameis-winston-lasik-eye-surgery">
Solving Jameis’s interception issues can’t be that simple, right?
<h2>Now he can throw picks to guys he sees clear as day</h2>
Jameis Winston is getting a fresh start in 2020. He has a new team (the Saints), a new job (backup) and new eyes (repaired with laser beams). 
Winston, speaking reporters Wednesday for the first time since signing with New Orleans, said he decided to undergo LASIK eye surgery
</a><a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/saints/2020/04/29/jameis-winston-lasik-surgery-new-orleans-saints-tampa-bay-buccaneers/3050740001/">in February to fix his nearsightedness and astigmatism</a> and has been pleased with the results. 
“I can read license plates. I can read street signs,” <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/saints/2020/04/29/jameis-winston-lasik-surgery-new-orleans-saints-tampa-bay-buccaneers/3050740001/">Winston told reporters</a>. “I think the precision in the vision is the biggest difference.”
Winston said his vision was imperfect before, but it wasn’t that bad. Still, he’s seeing significant improvements since the surgery. 
“No blurriness, and I think that’s huge,” Winston said. “Depth perception has increased tremendously and those are the big things. I didn’t have bad eyes, I just had astigmatism. I had certain things that they had to fix to increase the precision and the sharpness of my vision.”
Incredibly, Winston hasn’t really done much to address his vision in the past. 
“He can’t read the scoreboard, but he can see the guys in front of him, so he’s fine,” <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/28689055/jameis-winston-undergoes-lasik-eye-surgery-nearsightedness">Bucs coach Bruce Arians said last year</a>. That’s because Winston doesn’t wear contacts, although Arians said he’d sometimes wear goggles in practice. 
Anyone who watched Winston last year would have thought he was half-blind. He threw a league-high 30 interceptions, tied for the seventh-most in an NFL season and the most since Brett Favre’s 29 in 2005. 
But Winston’s eyes can’t be blamed for all those picks (and he hasn’t said that, either, though <a href="https://www.thebiglead.com/posts/jameis-winston-lasik-vision-01e73jr2sg9q">some media members</a> are wondering how the surgery might improve his game). He’s been dealing with sub-par vision since he was at Florida State, where he threw 10 interceptions in his first season and 18 in his last. Even in the NFL, his reputation may be as a turnover machine but his interception totals in his first four seasons were 15, 18, 11 and 14. That’s a still a lot of picks—especially 14 in just nine starts in 2018—but it’s not 30. 
Thirty interceptions is an insane number. It’s possible improved vision would help that number come down a bit, although it’s not going to magically fix him. Maybe the combination of better eyes and learning behind Drew Brees will help Jameis become a quality starter. Or maybe he’ll just be able to see cornerbacks grinning when he throws up a duck. 
<h2>The best of SI</h2>
If the NFL keeps saying the season will <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/04/29/nfl-coronavirus-roger-goodell-pay-cut">go on as usual, why are league employees taking pay cuts</a>? ... How elite athletes are <a href="https://www.si.com/olympics/2020/04/29/mental-impact-of-the-pandemic-on-athletes">dealing with the psychological toll of the pandemic</a>. ... Why the NFL expanding <a href="https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2020/04/29/nfl-amazing-gets-exclusive-rights-to-saturday-game">its deal with Amazon is bad news for fans</a>.
<h2>Around the sports world</h2>
They’re playing baseball in Taiwan <a href="https://mlb.nbcsports.com/2020/04/29/manny-ramirez-wants-to-play-in-taiwan-in-2020/">and 48-year-old Manny Ramirez says he wants to play</a>. ... ESPN is going to let <a href="https://www.fantasypros.com/nfl/news/256511/taysom-hill-granted-teflex-eligibility-espn-fantasy-leagues.php">fantasy football players deploy Taysom Hill at tight end</a>. ... Baseball Hall of Famer Andre Dawson now <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2020/04/28/andre-dawson-funeral-home-coronavirus/3039571001/">owns a funeral home and spoke about how difficult that is right now</a>. ... Victor Cruz says he’s “haunted” by <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/04/29/victor-cruz-giants-boat-trip-photo-will-haunt-him-for-life/">that photo the Giants receivers took on the boat</a>. ... Ken Burns isn’t happy that ESPN <a href="https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/ken-burns-criticizes-the-last-dance-for-involvement-of-michael-jordan-production-company.html">looped in Michael Jordan’s production company for The Last Dance</a>. ... John Smoltz shared a few <a href="https://www.mlb.com/braves/news/john-smoltz-shares-golf-stories-of-braves-teammates">great stories about playing golf with his teammates</a>.
<h3>It’s almost as if he wanted to help out the owners by making a gesture that might give the league some good PR if people don’t think too hard about it</h3>
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<h3>Way to instill confidence in the team</h3>
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<h3>Favorite team: Chargers football</h3>
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<h3>The dog’s reaction is the best</h3>
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<h3>After making just 68% of his field goals last year?</h3>
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<h2>Not sports</h2>
A 66-million-year-old fossil of a badger <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/crazy-beast-of-gondwana-may-be-oldest-mammal-skeleton-found-in-southern-hemisphere">like animal challenges scientists’ ideas about prehistoric mammals</a>. ... Beer and soda production <a href="https://jalopnik.com/because-were-all-driving-less-due-to-the-pandemic-its-a-1843159229">is being negatively impacted by the decreased demand for gasoline</a>. ... A driver in Michigan was busted <a href="https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/michigan-state-police-catch-speeder-going-180-on-i-75">going 180 mph on a lockdown-emptied highway</a>. ... Due to the pandemic, Georgia teens no long need to <a href="https://www.complex.com/life/2020/04/georgia-drops-driving-test-requirement-for-license-due-to-pandemic">pass a road test to get a driver’s license. They just need a parent to say it’s cool</a>. 
<h3>It’s equal parts disturbing and cute</h3>
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<h3>Even his fake teeth were jacked up</h3>
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<h3>Anne Hathaway made a big mistake when she auditioned for The Dark Knight Rises</h3>
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<h2>A good song</h2>
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Email dan.gartland@si.com with any feedback or <a href="https://twitter.com/Dan_Gartland">follow me on Twitter</a> for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. <a href="https://www.si.com/tag/hot-clicks">Bookmark this page</a> to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0KhJJa6nSLoPreU3oJpmMZ?si=jLW6kicrT0e9w5slye4SiA">I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here</a>. Visit our <a href="http://si.com/extra-mustard">Extra Mustard page</a> throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.

New on Sports Illustrated: Fixing Jameis Winston’s Picks Can’t Be as Simple as LASIK Eye Surgery, Right?

Solving Jameis’s interception issues can’t be that simple, right? Now he can throw picks to guys he sees clear as day Jameis Winston is g...

New on Sports Illustrated: One Big Question For Every Team: Charlotte Hornets

<a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2020/04/30/charlotte-hornets-one-big-question">
Over the next few weeks The Crossover will be examining one big-picture question for every NBA team. Today we take a look at the Charlotte Hornets, who were 23–42 when the season was suspended.
<h2>When Will the Front Office Commit to a Rebuild? </h2>
The Hornets are fortunate their owner is only receiving attention for his playing career during
</a><a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2020/04/27/last-night-on-the-last-dance-episodes-3-and-4">Last Dance mania</a>, because Charlotte’s future under Michael Jordan remains as murky as ever. The Hornets appeared ready to move forward in a big way last summer by not offering Kemba Walker a full max contract, paving the way for him to sign with the Celtics. (Though if Charlotte had planned on that strategy for a while, why not try to trade Walker for something during his final season?) Walker’s departure was compounded by the head-scratching move of signing Terry Rozier to a three-year deal soon after. Charlotte was finally getting close to ridding itself of high-priced vets who don’t move the needle, why bring in another one, particularly when he won’t be paired with any top-end talent? <iframe height="482" width="100%" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm?p=DGT1910570625" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
Moving forward, Charlotte needs to genuinely turn the page from the Kemba years into a fuller-scale rebuild. Rozier hasn’t been horrible, but his presence also takes away opportunities from guys like Devonte’ Graham and Malik Monk, who are younger, cheaper, and arguably have more potential. (Graham especially was having a nice season, while Monk—a former lottery pick—still needs some seasoning.)
Charlotte is fortunate it will only have one more year each of Cody Zeller and Nicolas Batum, neither of whom are useless players but aren’t necessarily serving a purpose in their current roles. With the books starting to clear up, and a homegrown star long gone, the runway is finally clear for the Hornets to commit to a youth movement. The issue is the front office, which hasn’t always made sound long-term decisions in the past.
The amount of losing here has to be frustrating. Entering this season, Charlotte had only made the playoffs once in five seasons. But until the front office is willing to build this team on a solid foundation from the ground up, it’s hard to see how the level of success changes there any time soon.

New on Sports Illustrated: One Big Question For Every Team: Charlotte Hornets

Over the next few weeks The Crossover will be examining one big-picture question for every NBA team. Today we take a look at the Charlotte ...

New on Sports Illustrated: Former US Olympic Gymnastics Coach Maggie Haney Suspended Eight Years

<a href="https://www.si.com/olympics/2020/04/30/maggie-haney-suspension-usa-gymnastics-eight-years">
Haney will be suspended for verbal and emotional abuse of athletes.
Former U.S. Olympic coach Maggie Haney has been suspended for eight years by USA Gymnastics for verbal and emotional abuse of athletes.
USA Gymnastics confirmed the penalty in a statement Wednesday.
The decision came after two months of hearings that included Olympic champion Laurie Hernandez testifying against her longtime coach and world champion Riley McCusker writing a letter critical of Haney.
“The independent hearing panel -- comprised of three members of the gymnastics community, including an attorney, a club owner, and a former national team athlete -- found that Ms. Haney violated the USA Gymnastics Code of Ethical Conduct, Safe Sport Policy, and other policies,” USA Gymnastics said in the statement.
Haney is suspended from membership and any coaching of USA Gymnastics athletes or in member clubs for eight years, effective immediately, followed by a two-year probationary period. After the suspension concludes, USA Gymnastics said Haney may reapply for membership after submitting proof of completing certain specified Safe Sport courses.”
“The ruling is regrettable but in no way surprising considering the heavy-handed nature of the investigative and hearing process,” Russell Prince, Haney’s attorney, told the Southern California News Group. “There is no fundamental fairness to the manner in which these matters are resolved. Clearly, I would anticipate an arbitration.”
The 42-year-old Haney coached Hernandez and McCusker at MG Elite Gymnastics in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey.
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New on Sports Illustrated: Former US Olympic Gymnastics Coach Maggie Haney Suspended Eight Years

Haney will be suspended for verbal and emotional abuse of athletes. Former U.S. Olympic coach Maggie Haney has been suspended for eight ye...

New on Sports Illustrated: Tales from the Bench of the 1990s Chicago Bulls

<a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2020/04/30/1990s-bulls-bench-players-rockstar-treatment">
Even the rotating cast of bench players for the 1990s Bulls were treated like rock stars in public. But they had to work hard for that honor.
In January of 1993, NBA veteran Darrell Walker received a call from Bulls general manager Jerry Krause. “Would you be interested in a 10-day contract with us?” Krause asked him. “With you guys, absolutely,” Walker responded.
The Pistons had waived the 6’4’’ guard earlier that season and before the Bulls reached out for his services, Walker’s NBA career seemed all but over. He had played nine prior seasons, but was still looking for what had been an elusive first NBA title. What better team to join than the two-time defending champion Chicago Bulls? A first 10-day contract turned into a second 10-day, which turned into a contract for the rest of the season. By June, Walker had won a title. “I was able to be part of the Rolling Stones,” he says of what turned out to be his final NBA season.
Beginning in the 1990-91 season, 44 different players played at least one game during each of the Bulls’ six championship runs. Besides Jordan, just Scottie Pippen was on all six of those teams. No other player won more than three titles with the dynasty. The mainstay role players of the franchise’s first three-peat were not part of the second three-peat. Turnover was constant and Jordan was the “ultimate competitor,” says center Will Perdue. “He truly was the definition of win at all costs.” Alongside the historic core of Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Phil Jackson, the Bulls' bench was caught up in the life with the best and most famous basketball player, and team, in the world.
“Jordan was the frontman of the biggest, most iconic rock group,” says Scott Williams, a reserve big man who played for the Bulls between 1990 and 1994. “We were the backup singers.”
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Just joining the Bulls was akin to a walking into a high-profile audition. Perdue averaged more than 18 points and 10 rebounds in his final season in college before Chicago selected the Vanderbilt graduate No. 11 in the 1988 draft. “When I got picked, I was like ‘I’m going to play with Michael Jordan,’” he recalls. “It wasn’t necessarily, ‘I was going to play for the Bulls.’”
As
</a><a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2020/04/27/last-night-on-the-last-dance-episodes-3-and-4">Episodes 3 and 4</a> of ESPN’s heavily-watched <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2020/04/27/michael-jordan-dennis-rodman-the-last-dance-roundtable">The Last Dance documentary</a> laid out, Jordan emerged as the league’s best player years before his first title. Perdue says he never questioned if he was good enough to play with Chicago. Instead he questioned if he was “ever going to live up to the expectations of MJ.” He wasn’t alone in wondering what he could do to satisfy the transcendent star.
Unlike Perdue, guard Jo Jo English went undrafted after his four-year career at South Carolina. English caught the attention of Bulls management during the 1992 Rocky Mountain Revue summer league and was invited to Bulls camp that fall. There were nearly 50 players invited to Chicago’s rookie camp, and English was one of just six to be brought to veteran camp. While English was taking his physical, he felt an energy change in the building: Michael Jordan had just walked inside.
Jordan was relentless on the team’s undrafted players, testing their toughness throughout the camp. He called English “South Carolina,”—birth names had to be earned. “There were a lot of talented guys at that training camp that didn’t make it because they weren’t mentally tough,” says English, who spent time with the Bulls in three separate stints between 1992-93 and 1994-95. “But I wouldn’t trade my experience for anything in the world.”
Like English, Williams also joined the club as an undrafted rookie, doing so in the fall of 1990-91, the year of the Bulls’ first title. He remembers that it was like “playoff basketball in October.” Similar to the Bulls’ star, Williams attended North Carolina. But while Jordan didn’t go easy on anyone, he did make sure that the 6’10’’ forward had Nike sneakers to wear during his rookie season.
<figure><img height="346" src="https://www.si.com/.image/c_fit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620/MTcyMjExOTA0MjAxMTA2OTY5/bill-laimbeer-and-will-perdue.jpg" width="620" /></figure>
Throughout Chicago’s first two title-winning seasons, the franchise didn’t have a private practice facility. Instead, it used just a single court at the Multiplex health club in nearby Deerfield. The team would try and drop screens to shield spectators from watching practice, but “you could hear what was going on,” Williams says. On the occasional days when Jordan didn’t enter the gym 100%, Perdue says the team’s leader might have talked more trash, trying to bait teammates into jawing back at him. But once a player chirped back, “it was like throwing gasoline on a fire. He wasn’t gonna stop,” explains Perdue, who played with the Bulls from 1988 until 1995.
The Bulls often played three-on-three or five-on-five with the starters battling the reserves. “We’d always get our a** kicked,” Williams says. And even when occasional games were close, Williams recalls that “they would just give the ball to MJ down the stretch and s**t, we didn’t have a guy who could stop him.” As the 90s showed, the no other team in the world had a player who could effectively stop Jordan, either.
Perdue adds that there were a few instances when Jordan got so pissed at assistant coaches Jim Clemons and Johnny Bach—the two coaches who often officiated scrimmages—that he would basically leave practice. “You guys aren’t going to cheat me and aren’t going to give me an opportunity to win, so I’m outta here.” Perdue recalls Jordan saying.
During the second half of the 92-93 season, The defensive-minded Walker battled Jordan during practice, never shying away from a matchup. Throughout one particular workout in which Jordan was making countless tough shots, Pippen yelled at Walker to “stop him.” Jordan barked back at Pippen, “Why don’t you come stop me?”
“They were intense at all times,” Walker says. “But when games started, everyone was ready to go.”
The veteran guard made just 28 appearances during his one year with the team. However, there were no true rest days. “I felt like I played every game that season, because I was guarding Jordan in practice,” he says.
Away from the floor, the Bulls’ supporting cast was very much caught up in the orbit of Jordan. English remembers being stunned during his first training camp to see thousands of people outside of the team’s hotel ahead of preseason games. As a result of such fanfare, the Bulls would often shuffle into their lodgings through back entrances and use back elevators.
Alias names were often needed for protection. Perdue says he went by “Cosmo Kramer,” of the '90s hit sitcom Seinfeld. And the veteran center recalls that some of his teammates would constantly change their pseudonyms to the point that he occasionally would have to guess whose name belonged to whom. Still, it was worth the effort. If room number information leaked, fans would call the hotel at all hours. Radio stations would try and phone rooms to ask for brief interviews no matter how much action a player saw.
Venturing into public settings also required a constant awareness. While Perdue says Jordan was “kind of his own guy,” and didn’t (or couldn’t) frequently attend group gatherings, even the team’s bench unit “couldn’t just go to the mall and to the food court.” If one player made it clear he was a Bull, then waves of fans would rush over. “One or two autographs didn’t exist,” Perdue says. “You would suddenly look up and there’s 50 people standing there.”
“The entire restaurant would want to come over,” Williams adds, recalling what eating out with Jordan was like.
Like he had hoped, Walker’s lone season with the Bulls resulted in a championship. He remembers sitting on the plane next to the future five-time league MVP as the team returned from Phoenix and prepared to celebrate its third title. As they smoked victory cigars, the two started to unwind. At one point during the flight, Jordan looked out the window before turning to the veteran guard. “You know, D-Walker, I think they’ve seen the last of me,” he said.
“Seen the last of me?” Walker replied.
“Yeah,” Jordan responded.
Walker tried to reason with the Bulls’ mega-star. Maybe he was just worn out from the whole season or from dealing with the media pressure. Spending time in North Carolina with family, playing golf and drinking red wine might be a fix. “What if somebody’s gonna offer you $30 million?” Walker asked.
“I don’t need $30 million,” Jordan told him.
<a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2020/04/17/michael-jordan-first-retirement-jack-mccallum-interview-the-record-podcast">That October, Jordan did abruptly retire</a>. “I guess he was serious,” Walker says.
As for Walker, he never made a formal retirement announcement. “I just quit playing and started working directly for the NBA Players Association,” he says.
Such was life for those on the Bulls’ bench.
“We realized he was going to get the headlines,” Williams says. “It was just a matter of accepting your role and being part of something special.”
MORE: <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2020/04/27/last-night-on-the-last-dance-episodes-3-and-4">Last Night on 'The Last Dance': Episodes 3 & 4</a>

New on Sports Illustrated: Tales from the Bench of the 1990s Chicago Bulls

Even the rotating cast of bench players for the 1990s Bulls were treated like rock stars in public. But they had to work hard for that hono...