Commissioner: WNBA to begin full-time charter flights​

The WNBA plans to commit $50 million over the next two years to provide full-time charter flight service for its teams during the season, the league's commissioner announced Tuesday in a move that addresses years of player safety concerns.

"We intend to fund a full-time charter for this season," commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a meeting with sports editors.

She said the league will launch the program "as soon as we can get planes in places."

Engelbert said the program will cost the league around $25 million per year for the next two seasons.
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WNBA teams also have been moving games against Clark and Indiana to bigger arenas because of increased demand.

Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier said flying via charter planes is a safety issue as the names, stars and fans grow. She noted video showing Clark having bodyguards surrounding her at the airport and security personnel trying to protect Brittney Griner last year while traveling.

"All these players and these faces are becoming so popular that it really is about that as much as it as about recovery," Collier said.

Flights have been an issue for the WNBA that only increased last year with the league working with Griner and the Phoenix Mercury. They had to travel via commercial air, and the All-Star center who had been detained in Russia for nearly 10 months was harassed by what the WNBA called a "provocateur."

The league hadn't allowed teams to use charter flights except for when they have back-to-back games.

That forced players like Breanna Stewart, the 6-foot-4 forward for the New York Liberty, to squeeze past fellow travelers on commercial flights to fit into her assigned window seat. WNBA players also had to not only retrieve their own luggage but endure travel days that could stretch 13 hours with delays.

All the best big guy

Just sayin': It's the "HOGFATHER".......

The 2025 NFL draft will be the 90th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft is scheduled to be held around Lambeau Field and Titletown campus in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on April 24–26, 2025.

Here's a way too early 2025 NFL Mock Draft that has 6 Ohio State 1st round picks:

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2025 NFL Mock Draft: Colorado stars Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter headline CBS Sports' debut projections​

These college football stars highlight a loaded 2025 draft class.​

College football's biggest stars made leaps in their careers last month when they heard their names called at the 2024 NFL Draft. Meanwhile, those players' departures opened avenues to stardom for the replacements at their respective schools, and many of those up-and-coming standouts and returning weapons thrived in spring practices. Phenoms like the Colorado duo of Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter are now a year out from headlining the NFL's next wave of rookies in 2025.

Preseason stars have a long road ahead of them in cementing their status as pro prospects, but the majority of college football's biggest names for the 2024 campaign will jockey for positioning on the draft board throughout the upcoming season. CBS Sports' Ryan Wilson offered a lookahead at which players could headline next year's class, with Ohio State, Georgia and other recruiting powerhouses leading the way in projected selections.

5. NEW YORK GIANTS: DE JT TUIMOLOAU, OHIO STATE​

JT Tuimoloau projected as a three-year player for Ohio State when he signed with the program as the nation's No. 1 overall recruit in the 2021 class. He is back for a fourth season, though, on the heels of his best campaign to date in which he logged 38 tackles, seven tackles for loss and five sacks. In order to reach the lofty heights that would both fulfill his expectations and make him an early first-round target, Tuimoloau must be more consistent in 2024. He could be the top edge rusher in this draft class.

8. MINNESOTA VIKINGS: DB DENZEL BURKE, OHIO STATE​

Ohio State has a longstanding tradition as one of college football's top cornerback factories, and Denzel Burke should be the next first-rounder to come through Columbus. He made a splash two years ago as a Freshman All-American and remained a formidable pass defender over his sophomore and junior campaigns, and as one of the many draft-eligible players returning for another season with the Buckeyes, Burke could close his college career with a bang and elevate his draft stock to new heights.

14. Indianapolis Colts: WR Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State

17. Cleveland Browns: DT Tyleik Williams, Ohio State

28. Buffalo Bills: DE Jack Sawyer, Ohio State

32. San Francisco 49ers: RB Quinshon Judkins, Ohio State

Re: 2004 Miami tied 2021 Alabama for the record for most first-round picks at six.

Just sayin': I'll say that Ohio State has an outside chance of 7 1st rounders with Treveyon Henderson, Seth McLaughlin, Will Howard, and/or (maybe) Sonny Styles.

Can definitely say his lifestyle is not to my taste, but when I read his philosophy on how to grab rebounds, using trigonometry, arcs, etc. he made me a believer. Wish I had been that astute, but no such luck. Made a science of it, and guess it worked out for him if he's being enshrined in the NBA Hall of Fame.

DZ83CK said:

Zed got his degree from OSU today. Congrats!!

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And that...right there...is the real win!

enjoy

Michael Good
Associate Director of Creative Media for @OhioStateFB

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THIS WEEK IN TWITTER: AARON CRAFT OBTAINS DOCTORATE FROM OSU COLLEGE OF MEDICINE​

In the heart of the offseason for Ohio State football and basketball, who doesn't appreciate an update on Buckeye legend Aaron Craft?

The beloved former Ohio State point guard retired from the EuroLeague in 2019 after a run of success in the NBA's then-known-as D-League to enroll in medical school. That journey finally came to fruition this week when Craft graduated from The Ohio State University College of Medicine.

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Awesome! Thank you.

NFL Network Drops Michael Irvin, Long-Running Popular Show​

Michael Irvin will no longer work at NFL Network as he was part of the company's layoffs on Friday, The Athletic's Andrew Marchand reported. Irvin first joined the network as an analyst in 2009.

Irvin was suspended by the NFL Network in Feb. 2023 after a woman accused him of improper behavior at a hotel during the Super Bowl in Arizona. Irvin then sued the woman and the Marriott hotel he was staying at, and the $100 million defamation suit was settled in September, allowing him to return to the network.

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Welp, we had to try and Gach is a native to that God-forsaken land up north. Need to find a really good replacement option though, one more high quality OT in this class is a most no matter where they come from.

Thump said:

Will it be on sale at Walden Books at Colony Square?

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Half Price Books in Reynoldsburg.

Wow that class underperformed. A few injuries slowed guys down and quite a few transfers but probably a recent low number of draft picks from a class.

Misread his stats as 5'10 250 lbs. Was a little excited lol

https://n.rivals.com/news/smith-awards-ua-camp-in-canton

LOCKDOWN: Jaimier Scott

5.8

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NATL
9
ST
10
POS
JAIMIER
SCOTT

VERBAL COMMIT
1/20/2024
WISCONSIN
6'0" | 182 LBS | ATH | 2025
MOUNT HEALTHY
MOUNT HEALTHY, OH

One of the things you like to see from defensive backs is competitiveness. Scott wanted matchups with the best receivers at the camp. He won a lot of reps against those players with good technique and being a fluid athlete. Scott wasn’t shy about letting receivers know they were having a tough time with him either.

Scott has great size and length to match that competitive spirt. Wisconsin could have a future star on its hands with the Mount Healthy, Ohio, native.

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Fickell is getting a really talented but raw player. He has the talent to be another Coby Bryant for Fickell

DZ83CK said:

The Dispatch has an article today where Okpara explains his reasons for leaving OSU. Basically, he claims he changed his mind because of his teammates (some combination of Middleton, Key and/or Gayle) transferring after he announced his decision to return. Reading between the lines, he apparently doesn't believe OSU will have a very good team next season and didn't want to deal with continued struggles after going through 2 tough years already.

https://www.dispatch.com/story/sports/college/basketball/2024/04/30/felix-okpara-ohio-state-tennessee-basketball-transfer-aaron-bradshaw/73511733007/

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Hmm. Well tbh, nobody can be shocked with all that after the coaching change. It's disappointing on this one, but we're going to be looking at a very different roster next year and we'll just have to roll with the punches.

other 2

Pre-Draft Analysis​

Jean-Baptiste has the length and upper-body strength to take on and shed tight ends. He's a rangy run-defender who closes well chasing from the backside. Jean-Baptiste flashes the ability to get off blocks and chases with good effort rushing the passer. He is not a polished hand fighter or counterpuncher, but has the traits to develop as a pass-rusher.

Just sayin': Drafted #2 in the 7th round (#222 overall) by Washington.

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Roger Goodell addresses college football's transfer portal, NIL issues at 2024 NFL Draft: 'Who's in control?'​

The NFL commissioner could be a beacon of hope for college football.​

"Who is in control?" Goodell said on The Pat McAfee Show. "Is it the NCAA, or is it the conferences? They're moving around. I don't know enough about it right now, but if anybody asks us for help, we're going to try to do our best."

The newest NIL regulations require athletes to disclose any deal of more than $600 to their schools, marking a step toward financial transparency. It still, however, prohibits direct pay-for-play compensation from universities.

"Guys are staying in college football because they're getting paid," said Goodell. "I don't think that's a bad thing because they're still in a college program. I'm a big believer in college football. I love it. I watch it all day. But I also think they make stars for our players. They give them that platform. They get them ready to play the professional game both physically, mentally and otherwise. So I think it works."

Goodell said he does not see a future wherein college football and the NFL merge, but he aims to be a problem-solver for the college game, which each year sends its biggest stars to the professional level.

"We work really closely with college football," said Goodell. "I'm meeting with them in the next week. We want to try to help."

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Matt Rhule claims 'every team in the country' is trying to convince one of Nebraska's top players to transfer​

The Huskers are fighting to keep one of their top players from transferring.​

Nebraska football has yet to have a current player enter the transfer portal during the active window, but that could soon change after the Huskers wrapped up their spring practice on Saturday with a scrimmage inside Memorial Stadium. Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule said earlier in April that some players on his roster were contacted by other teams gauging their interest in entering the transfer portal ahead of the spring window. On Saturday, he revealed tight end Thomas Fidone as one of the top Nebraska players with outside interest.

"Every team in the country is trying to get him to leave and go there," Rhule said. "The kid is a Nebraska Cornhusker through and through."

Fidone rated as a four-star prospect and ranked as the No. 1 tight end in the 2021 recruiting class. After suffering a pair of ACL injuries in his first two seasons at Nebraska, the 6-foot-6, 250-pound played in all 12 games with eight starts as a sophomore in 2023.

Fidone led the Huskers with four touchdown catches and finished second with 25 receptions for 260 yards last season.

"I think the biggest thing with Thomas — at the end of the season I said to Thomas, I was like, 'What a great fall we had,' meaning him, us, we had. He's like, 'What do you mean?' What I love about Thomas Fidone, man, he is never happy. He is never happy. It's because he wants to be great. He wants to be the best tight end in the world. He's always trying to be better. My point was, coming off two ACLs, to get through a spring, a fall and a season healthy, that's what he needed. Because now instead of rehabbing this winter, he's lifting. He's in the 260 range at 4.5 with 34-inch arms. He's a physical freak. And he's loyal. ... So, I love that guy and I love his approach. It's so good for our players to see a guy who's so obsessed with being great and never happy. You know what I mean? But at the same time, to your point, he just had to have a true offseason. He just had to have weight lifting where he's not rehabbing and now I think you're starting to see what he can do."

Just sayin': If true, isn't that tampering?

FORMER OHIO STATE GUARD BOWEN HARDMAN COMMITS TO AKRON​

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A Cincinnati native and Princeton High School graduate, Hardman was a three-star recruit in Ohio State’s top-10 ranked 2022 class. He never carved out much of a role in his two years with the Buckeyes, appearing in 25 total games across both seasons. In 2023-24, Hardman averaged a career-best 4.2 minutes, 1.8 points and 0.4 rebounds per game in 18 appearances.

With two years of eligibility remaining, Hardman joins an Akron squad that went 24-11 overall, won the MAC Tournament and lost to No. 3-seeded Creighton in the NCAA Tournament. Like the Buckeyes, the Zips have rebuilt their roster through the portal this offseason, with Hardman one of five transfers to join the program in March and April.

for those who missed it