Another boring blowout in the era of super teams
By halftime, with Alabama clearly unstoppable and cruising toward a perfect season, the mind began to wander toward an obvious question.
Has Nick Saban, the greatest coach in the history of college football, assembled the greatest team of them all?
Certainly, a case can be made for a group that breezed through a Southeastern Conference-only schedule in a pandemic-plagued season while barely breaking a sweat.
“I think we’re the best team to ever play,” quarterback Mac Jones said. “There’s no team that will ever play an SEC schedule like that. I’m so happy to win this game and kind of put the icing on the cake.”
Hold up, though.
It was only a year ago that LSU romped to the national title with a juggernaut of a team led by Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow and a horde of NFL-bound players.
Come to think of it, a case could also be made for the 2018 Clemson Tigers, thoroughly dominant as they became the first team ever to finish 15-0.
There’s something to be said for this era of superpower teams, with all their
their playoff run, the team lost their replacements to injuries.
Cleveland placed guard Michael Dunn and cornerback Robert Jackson on injured reserve Tuesday, losing two players who started Sunday’s playoff win at Pittsburgh while Bitonio and Ward remain sidelined with the virus.
Dunn injured his calf during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 48-37 wild-card win while Jackson suffered a hamstring injury. Both are done for the season and won’t play in this week’s game against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
It’s not yet known if or when Bitonio or Ward will be back. Bitonio tested positive last week along with coach Kevin Stefanski. They both were back in Cleveland when the Browns stunned the Steelers for their first postseason win in 26 years.
Ward tested positive for COVID-19 on Dec. 31 and was eligible to return last week, but wasn’t ready. Compounding his absence is that cornerback Kevin Johnson, who has made six starts this season, is also out with COVID-19.
Perfect Alabama finishes No. 1 in AP Top 25 for 12th time
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Alabama finished the season No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for the 12th time, extending its record by completing the program’s first perfect season since 2009.
The Crimson Tide were a unanimous No. 1 in the final poll, getting 61 first-place votes, after beating Ohio State 52-24 in the College Football Playoff championship game Monday night.
Alabama was the preseason No. 3, but when it started playing this strange season amid a pandemic in late September it moved up to No. 2. The Tide jumped to No. 1 in early November and finished as major college football’s only undefeated team.
Masters plans for a limited number of spectators in April
Some volume is returning to the Masters, just maybe not the head-turning roars.
Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley said Tuesday the club intends to allow a limited number of spectators for the Masters on April 8-11, provided it can be done safely, given the coronavirus pandemic.
In other areas, the Masters in April will be a lot like the last one in November. Ridley said it will be conducted with similar health and safety standards. Those standards last fall included mandatory COVID-19 testing and masks being worn.
Ridley said holding the Masters with only essential personnel made the club confident in its ability to stage a major championship with limited fans.
US Soccer’s relationship with NWSL changing
U.S. Soccer is no longer managing the National Women’s Soccer League, although some aspects of the partnership remain, NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird said Tuesday.
Baird spoke on a wide-ranging conference call with reporters ahead of the league’s draft Wednesday night. She also announced that a franchise in Sacramento would join the NWSL in 2022.
U.S. Soccer’s management of the NWSL was supposed to come to an end at the close of 2019 but was extended through 2020. The change gives team owners more control over the league.
U.S. Soccer, which has managed the league since its launch in 2013, will continue to invest in the NWSL, Baird said. She characterized the relationship as a “new chapter” with both sides committed to the ongoing success of the league.
Bruins retiring jersey of NHL barrier breaker Willie O’Ree
BOSTON — Willie O’Ree, who broke the NHL’s color barrier, is set have his jersey retired by the Boston Bruins.
O’Ree will have his No. 22 jersey honored prior to the Bruins’ Feb. 18 game against the New Jersey Devils, the team announced Tuesday.
He became the league’s first Black player when he suited up for Boston on Jan. 18, 1958, against the Montreal Canadiens, despite being legally blind in one eye. O’Ree played two seasons from the Bruins, retiring from professional hockey in 1979.
He also donned No. 18 and No. 25 during his time with the Bruins but wore number 22 in the bulk of his games with the club.
O’Ree, 85, becomes the 12th player in team history to have a sweater hung in the TD Garden rafters.
“Willie’s contributions to the game of hockey transcend on-ice accomplishments and have opened countless doors for players who have come after him. He is without question deserving of this honor,” Bruins president Cam Neely said in a statement.
O’Ree was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame class of 2018 as part of the “Builder” category, which honors those who have made significant contributions to the sport.
Packers sign OT Veldheer, who played with Colts last week
Offensive tackle Jared Veldheer is back with the Green Bay Packers, giving him an opportunity to compete in playoff games for different teams on back-to-back weekends.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur confirmed Tuesday that Veldheer was with the team and would be practicing later that day, making him available for their NFC divisional playoff game Saturday with the Los Angeles Rams (11-6).
The 33-year-old Veldheer was the Indianapolis Colts’ starting left tackle for their final two games, including a 27-24 AFC first-round playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills last weekend.
Because the Colts merely elevated him from the practice squad for game day and didn’t officially sign him to their 53man roster, the Packers (133) were able to sign him this week.
Veldheer joined the Packers late last season and was their starting right tackle for a divisional playoff victory over the Seattle Seahawks when an illness left Bryan Bulaga unable to play in that game.