Mahomes reaching rarified company

College sports at a crossroads

Good morning, all! I hope your week is off to a great start. Here in the northeast, we are getting slammed with a snowstorm. To find out what is coming, listen to the latest episode of the Brad Field Weather podcast, which I co-host with my dear friend, Brad. Click here.

Mahomes has reached the summit again

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has reached the summit with his latest Super Bowl win. The 28-year-old signal caller has led his team to three Super Bowl wins. Tom Brady holds the record with seven. The chase continues for Mahomes to tie or exceed Brady’s titles. The next decade should be fun.

My take on the Super Bowl

Super Bowl concession prices through the roof

You think the cost of a Super Bowl ticket is beyond reason? You should see the concession prices. Mike Ashmore is the indefatigable sportswriter for the Trentonian. I know Mike through his coverage of the Somerset Patriots of the Eastern League, but he also covers the NFL and NHL for the Trentonian. He covered the Super Bowl in Las Vegas and posted this picture of a concession board on his X feed.

You will have to zoom in to get a better look, or you may not want to. One bottle of beer went for close to $17. I’ll pass.

College sports at a crossroads

In case you hadn’t noticed, college sports is at a crossroads. Jeff Hafley just left as Boston College head football coach to become defensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers. Chip Reid left as head coach of UCLA’s football team to become offensive coordinator at Ohio St. Coaches, particularly at mid-major colleges, are leaving. At issue? With the NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) and college athletes transferring after each season to other schools, coaches are struggling to build a program. Many coaches, rather than have the pressure of serving as head coach, are settling for secondary roles or leaving the sport for the pros. Now the NLRB has approved the request by the Dartmouth College men’s basketball team to unionize. That ruling will be challenged but seismic shifts are underway. In other words, college sports as we knew it, when growing up, is changing before our very eyes. Soon, we will not recognize the landscape.

That is going to do it for this week’s newsletter. As always, thank you for your support and have a terrific week.

Dan Lovallo