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College Football Playoff rankings and bracket on final week before Championship Saturday

2024-12-03T20:12:11-05:00

Photo by Jason Clark/Getty Images

How far does Ohio State fall after their shocking loss to Michigan?

It’s finally Championship week, and it feels like the college football world is just ready to get these rankings out of the way so the playoff can start. The biggest shakeup is coming from Columbus, where Ohio State squandered a grand opportunity by losing at home to Michigan 13-10. This would surely drop the Buckeyes out of that fifth spot, holding them from getting the potential fourth seeded team in the second round to now having to possibly play on the road before facing the one seed. In addition, with Miami losing to Syracuse, this opens the door for a team like Alabama to backdoor their way into the playoff despite having 3 losses. If SMU beats Clemson and wins the ACC, then the bottom part of the rankings are set for the playoff, leaving 10-2 Miami out.

Here’s what the bracket would look like if the season ended today:

THE UPDATED CFP BRACKET PROJECTION pic.twitter.com/5dB1gqvoD0
— ESPN (@espn) December 4, 2024

With that being said, here are the latest CFP rankings and projected 12-team playoff:

1 . Oregon Ducks
2. Texas Longhorns
3. Penn State Nittany Lions
4. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
5. Georgia Bulldogs
6. Ohio State Buckeyes
7. Tennessee Volunteers
8. SMU Mustangs
9. Indiana Hoosiers
10. Boise State Broncos
11. Alabama Crimson Tide
12. Miami Hurricanes
13. Ole Miss
14. South Carolina Gamecocks
15. Arizona State Sun Devils
16. Iowa State Cyclones
17. Clemson Tigers
18. BYU Cougars
19. Missouri Tigers
20. UNLV Rebels
21. Illinois Fighting Illini
22. Syracuse Orange
23. Colorado Buffaloes
24. Army Black Knights
25. Memphis Tigers

First Round Byes: No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Texas, No. 3 SMU, No. 4 Boise State

First Round Matchups:

No. 5 Penn State vs. No. 12 Arizona State
No. 6 Notre Dame vs. No. 11 Alabama
No. 7 Georgia vs. No. 10 Indiana
No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 9 Tennessee

What can Texas football expect from early National Signing Day after five-star DB Kade Phillips flips from LSU

2024-12-03T13:38:27-05:00

The Longhorns got a major commitment just one day before the early signing period.

The Texas Longhorns pulled off a major last-minute commitment on Tuesday, flipping 2025 five-star defensive back Kade Phillips from the LSU Tigers.

Phillips, ranked the No. 23 player in the Class of 2025, is a native of Texas, and had initially committed to the Longhorns back on July 6th. However, he flipped to the Tigers just one month later, and had been pledged to LSU until re-committing to the Longhorns on Tuesday, just one day before the early signing period.

The 6’1”, 185-pound cornerback is considered to have one of the higher ceilings in the 2025 class, thanks to his elite athleticism stemming from a strong track background.

.@_KadePhillips locks down half the field for the @HightowerFB secondary. Quarterbacks smartly avoided throwing near him all season long. The game-changing DB will play for @TexasFootball next year and is our Week 16 @ParkerUniv MVP. #txhsfb pic.twitter.com/kBmy44F4ik
— Houston Inside High School Sports (@ihss_houston) December 3, 2024

Phillips has good versatility as well, as he initially committed to Texas to play safety, but is now expected to be a cornerback for the Longhorns, as he was recruited by corners coach Terry Joseph this time around.

With Phillips in the fold, the Longhorns have a top-five class in the 2025 cycle and commitments from five 5-stars: safety Jonah Ball (No. 6 in 2025 class by 247), defensive end Lance Jackson (No. 8 in 2025 class by On3), wide receiver Kaliq Lockett (No. 16 in 2025 class by 247), Phillips (No. 23 in 2025 class by On3), and wide receiver Jaime Ffrench (No. 27 in 2025 class by Rivals).

“They have been pushing really hard to get me back to Texas. Their message has been that they still want me and they want to show what they can do for me,” Phillips told On3. “Sark is building something big and I want be a part of that and have a impact.”

Texas has recruited the secondary hard in the 2025 class, as Ball and Phillips headline the group, while the Longhorns also have commitments from four-star cornerback Graceson Little, four-star safety Zelus Hicks, and three-star cornerback Caleb Chester.

Phillips is the highest-rated cornerback that the Longhorns have landed under Steve Sarkisian and the second-highest-rated defensive back, marking the magnitude of the move.

With his commitment, the Longhorns are up to 23 players in their 2025 class and they’re not done yet.

Texas is involved in the recruitment of one of the top uncommitted players in the country: five-star defensive lineman Justus Terry, who will make his decision tomorrow on early National Signing Day.

In addition, they’re trying to keep five-star offensive tackle Michael Fasusi home, as the Lewisville native is currently pledged to the Oklahoma Sooners. That battle could be a tough one to win, but Texas has the resources and could make a major move in the trenches if they win out there over the next 24 hours.

One five-star recruit that the Longhorns are trending for is Michael Terry III, the top athlete in the country. A native of San Antonio, this one seems to be a battle between Texas and the Nebraska Cornhuskers for the five-star wide receiver, and will be another recruitment to watch on National Signing Day.

Overall, the Longhorns got one of their biggest targets to flip, as Phillips is set to sign with Texas after his last-minute de-commitment from LSU. NIL seemingly played a factor in this recruitment, but it’s a big one for Texas, who get a defensive back with one of the highest upsides in the recruiting class.

Lionel Messi would love to win an MLS title. But he definitely doesn’t need to

2024-12-03T13:38:20-05:00

Lionel Messi is widely regarded as the best player in world soccer of all-time. But the one trophy that has eluded him is an MLS title with Miami.

Widely regarded as the world’s greatest player, falling short in the MLS Cup playoffs is a blip in an otherwise remarkable career

Lionel Messi has won just about everything there is to win in world soccer — on both the international and club level.

So it’s surprising that the one trophy some would argue would be the easiest, an MLS Cup crown, is the one that alludes the global star following an early-round exit in the MLS Playoffs with Inter Miami last month.

It wasn’t as though Messi didn’t do what he needed to to help push the team forward; he finished the season with 21 goals and added 17 assists in a 22-game shortened season for him due to injury.

Lionel Messi Atlanta:

1 assist
5 chances created (most)
91 touches
3 successful dribbles (most)
9 passes into final third
⚔️ 3 tackles won (most)
4 recoveries
8 duels won (most)
⭐ 8.9 match rating (most)

Top Level. pic.twitter.com/caDW8bjjob
— Sholy Nation Sports (@Sholynationsp) October 26, 2024

It’s a season for him that saw him announced as part of MLS’ Best XI on Tuesday and finds him as a finalist for league MVP. He was also the key piece who turned heads as Miami went from essentially the worst team in the Eastern Conference to the class of it, led by its 37-year-old roving magician.

Set to return for another year in Miami, Messi will not only chase an MLS Cup title in 2025 but will lead Inter as a CONCACAF representative in the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup taking part in the United States next summer.

Photo by Simon Bruty/Anychance/Getty Images

Lionel Messi looks on during Miami’s playoff game against Atlanta in October.

Even more incredible is for the man who has won just about everything in world soccer, he once famously surmised that it’s impossible

“Sometimes you have to accept that you can’t win all the time,” Messi said, who also noted, “There are more important things in life than winning or losing a game.”

Messi enters the pitch in Atlanta.

#MLSSeasonPass: https://t.co/nG7eH6j62M pic.twitter.com/Va88wqjIZj
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 19, 2024

Nothing to prove

Messi is perhaps the greatest player of a generation, perhaps even two as Gen Z has access to all of the clips from his formative and breakthrough years with Barcelona, one that saw him win FIFA World Player of the Year awards a record-breaking six times.

Messi has eight in total and won the award four years in a row in addition to capturing 45 different club trophies, namely two UEFA Champions League titles.

Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images

Messi is regarded as one of the greatest players to wear a Barcelona jersey, one he wore for over 20 years.

The last two years for his native Argentina have arguably been his finest in a uniform for La Albiceleste, winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and followed that up with Argentina’s win over Colombia in the 2024 Copa America this past summer.

He’s scored over 800 goals over a career that began in 1995 in Argentina. But flourished after he moved to Barcelona as an 13-year-old member of its youth academy in 2000. It took just five years following his move to Barca’s senior team to win his first Ballon d’Or title at just 22.

Fans of Messi and Inter Miami will see just how much capturing a major title with his MLS club means to him — he was pretty elated when Inter captured MLS’ Supporter’s Shield this year, given to the team that finishes with the best regular season record.

100 - With his goal against Atlanta United, Lionel Messi has scored against 100 different opponents in his senior club career. Adding. pic.twitter.com/LjZ7bDX2Lu
— OptaJack⚽️ (@OptaJack) July 25, 2023

But to take another memorable quote from Messi, it would appear that if that doesn’t happen before he decides to call it quits on his illustrious career — well, that’s fine too.

“I prefer to win titles with the team ahead of individual awards or scoring more goals than anyone else,” he said during his latest Ballon d’Or win in 2023. “I’m more worried about being a good person than being the best football player in the world. When this is all over, what are you left with? When I retire, I hope I am remembered for being a decent guy.”

Josh Allen has NFL MVP on lock, but another star is more deserving

2024-12-03T13:03:45-05:00

Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images

Saquon Barkley is having a legendary season, but he won’t win the award.

At this point in the NFL season, it’s difficult to imagine anyone catching Josh Allen in the race for MVP. Now the runaway favorite for the award, Allen has remained as effective as ever while former frontrunner Lamar Jackson has fallen by the wayside during the Ravens last three games, two of which were losses.

Allen has been fantastic in spite of a down passing year around the league, of that there’s no debate. On pace for 3,812 passing yards, 28 touchdowns and just 7 interceptions, Allen has also been a force on the ground — where he’s on pace to finish with 473 rushing yards and another 9 touchdowns. It’s impossible to imagine the Bills being same team without Allen under center, which has been the longstanding argument for conflating “Most Valuable Player” with “Best Quarterback.”

While Allen has been fantastic, it’s also wild to consider that he’s such a strong favorite to take home honors when this hasn’t been his best individual season in the NFL, and he’s far from the top quarterback in the league this season. In fact, when compared to his peers at the position Allen doesn’t really have a resume that leaps off the page and screams “MVP.”

14th in passing yards
20th in completion percentage
6th in passing touchdowns
5th in fewest interceptions thrown
14th in yards-per-attempt
10th in passer rating

What Allen does have going for him is total consistency in all areas. This has been a season where up-and-down quarterback play has been the norm, but Allen’s game has neither benefited from extreme high points this year, or been hindered by lows. Instead he’s just playing solid football against every single opponent in the league, and it’s helped that he’s on one of the best teams in the NFL.

It’s definitely difficult to make a strong argument for any quarterback in the NFL to win the award other than Josh Allen this season. Lamar Jackson has been amazing, but largely padded his stats against terrible opponents. Jared Goff is the king of efficiency, but he’s thrown nine interceptions, which hurts his resume. Joe Burrow is having a career year, but the Bengals are so abysmal it’s impossible to put him in consideration.

If this award was for “Best Quarterback” there’s no doubt Allen would win and deserve the award. The problem is that in a just world MVP should be going to Saquon Barkley of the Philadelphia Eagles, just as it should have gone to Christian McCaffrey a year ago.

A core issue with the concept of MVP right now is that by nature “valuable” is always going to apply to a quarterback more than any other position. You would be hard pressed to find any playoff team that could simply lose its signal caller, while maintaining the same level of production and success. That said, it’s also locked in old thinking where quarterback is the most important position on the field by a massive margin — and that hurts someone like Barkley, who has without a doubt been the most important player not just on the Eagles, but in the NFL this season.

Saquon Barkley won’t win NFL MVP, but he deserves the award

While Allen will win the award with fairly middling numbers, Barkley is having one of the best running back seasons in history. Sitting at 1,499 yards, the Eagles’ back is on track to finish 2024 with 2,123 rushing yards — which would be the most by a back since Derrick Henry in 2020, and break Eric Dickerson’s record of 2,105 yards, set back in 1984. Considering that Barkley has a final five-game stretch against teams who have been horrific against the run this season.

Panthers: 32nd
Steelers: 4th
Commanders: 27th
Cowboys: 31st
Giants: 29th

Considering Barkley is averaging 6.1 yards-per-carry it’s easy to see him surpassing Dickerson’s mark, and there’s even an outside chance he could break the 2,200 yard mark for the first time in NFL history.

When it comes to establishing “value” it’s difficult to imagine any player in the league being more important, or transformative to their organization that Saquon Barkley. He’s single-handedly taken the Eagles from a lost team that appeared to be destined to fire Nick Sirianni, to now being 10-2 and a legitimate Super Bowl theat. Meanwhile the argument for Josh Allen is solid, but it’s largely based off “more of the same” from the Bills’ quarterback.

This is not a unique argument to Allen vs. Barkley. It’s the exact same argument as to why Christian McCaffrey should have been the MVP last year. In 2024 we’ve seen what happened to the San Francisco 49ers without their do-everything running back, and it transformed them from one of the best teams in the NFC, so last place in the NFC West.

What makes this so tricky is that MVP isn’t, nor should it be a “body of work” award — but Allen has come so close to winning in the past that this feels a bit like it will be making good on a stellar career thus far. Allen has had his best seasons get overshadowed by a breakout, career-defining year from another player. In 2020 his 4,500 yard, 37 TD season was washed out by Aaron Rodgers throwing 48 TDs and only 5 INTs. In 2022 he lost out to Patrick Mahomes on a career year. Part of this is a testament to Allen’s consistency, but that also his downfall when it comes to individual awards like this — because he is just a year in, year out top-5 QB, which makes him less prone to have these eye-opening seasons that garner all the attention.

Ultimately, we need a new award. We need to find a way to separate out MVP and Offensive Player of the Year so it’s not simply quarterbacks always winning MVP, with the best non-quarterback winning OPOY. In a just world we’d have Barkley win the MVP in 2024, Allen be named Quarterback of the Year, and then OPOY being opened up so someone like Joe Burrow can get recognized outside of his team’s defensive struggles.

That won’t happen in 2024 though. Josh Allen will win the MVP, but it’s simply wrong to have a legendary running back season get overshadowed by a solid, but unremarkable QB year.

Kyle Shanahan is failing the San Francisco 49ers

2024-12-03T12:00:00-05:00

Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

Kyle Shanahan can no longer save the San Francisco 49ers.

We have reached the month of December and quite the time in the NFL season.

Even though it is only the second day of this glorious month we have already seen two different snow games and one team clinch a division title. The football is football-ing and for that we are forever grateful.

While a sense of gratitude is well and nice we also have some thoughts on teams that are failing in epic ways and have to hold them accountable for doing so. Basically, we have a lot of opinions about a lot of things and need to get them out somewhere.

Welcome to that somewhere. This is The Skinny Post and we, Michael Peterson and RJ Ochoa, are about to take you through Week 13.

I take back what I said last week about the Eagles and now I believe they’re one of the top contenders in the NFL

Michael:

Last week, I discussed how I did not believe the Eagles were once again one of the best teams in the NFL. After watching them dominate the Ravens on Sunday, I have to rescind my previous comments and agree with the original claim by RJ.

The Eagles beat the Ravens 24-19, but Lamar Jackson threw his final touchdown pass to Isaiah Likely with three seconds left to make the score look a bit prettier. Otherwise, this was a double-digit win for Philly over an AFC contender.

Philadelphia’s defense held fridge-turned-running back Derrick Henry to 82 yards rushing and no touchdowns on top of keeping Jackson to just 40 yards on the ground before he ripped off a 39-yard scamper on the final drive of the game. This was a great performance by Vic Fangio’s unit. The offense wasn’t anything spectacular outside of Saquon Barkley’s 107 yards and a touchdown, but they won’t need to be if the complementary football continues.

RJ:

Obviously as our resident Dallas Cowboys person I keep close tabs on the Eagles and it is demoralizing how different this year feels for them.

On the surface, I think the biggest thing is that Saquon Barkley provides a closing element for them that they haven’t had in the past, but more than anything I think that they have finally accepted that being boring or winning in boring fashion is fine. Winning is all that matters.

Two years ago, the Eagles stormed through everyone and I think that when you are THAT good (sort of like the Detroit Lions this year) there is an added pressure akin to when we (Michael and I) were growing up and working on our franchise mode teams in Madden.

You want to win in the most epic way with all of the records smashed and all of the high scores. That is obviously cool, but when you swing for the fence to break the home run record you leave yourself prone to misses.

I’m afraid that this Eagles team finally understands that.

Which of the current postseason-bound teams has the highest chance to be one-and-done in this year’s playoffs?

RJ:

The easiest answer here is clearly a team who I accurately predicted to win their division last year (check the SB Nation archives, I dare you) in the Houston Texans. I was in before everyone else and am sorry to say that I may be out in that same way as well.

If there is a paper tiger in the NFL right now, then it is easily Houston. They barely hung on to beat the Jaguars and look ready for this whole thing to be over with.

I have spoken.

Michael:

The Texans are a great choice here. I’m surprised almost every week to see them struggling against teams I would have otherwise predicted them to dominate. After what Stroud did as a rookie, I would have assumed they’d take a big step forward and be one of the top teams in the AFC this season. Boy, were we wrong.

For the sake of not being repetitive, I’m going with — and I can’t believe I’m saying this — my Los Angeles Chargers.

Look, this team has a great defense, but they’re actually a pretty banged up team and no one really talks about it because they’re still finding a way to be successful. At the same time, the side of the ball that is actually healthy is the offense and they’ve been really up-and-down depending on the week. Most games, they disappear in the second half after posting strong opening quarters.

That type of football is not conducive to postseason winning. The Chargers offense had four drives in the second half against the Falcons on Sunday. They were all four plays or less. They scored zero touchdowns. Justin Herbert has thrown for zero touchdowns in back-to-back games, the most recent of which came against the NFL’s 25th-ranked defense.

I just don’t see how they turn it around fast enough with who they have. J.K. Dobbins won’t return from IR until Week 17 and their receivers not name Ladd McConkey struggle to be consistent week-to-week.

This just screams like a surprise playoff team who will be exposed in their opening matchup.

Are the Steelers in the same cut as the Lions, Eagles and Bills?

Michael:

I’m actually super torn on this question. Every ounce of being would have said no, but their latest win over the the Bengals has me ready to change my tune about my idea of this Steelers team. They’ve been a great defensive team that only needed to play clean — not stellar — to win games this year, but it looks like Russell Wilson has regained something close to his prime form and he’s a big reason they’ve won six of their last seven.

As of right now, I’m comfortable saying the Steelers are in the same tier as those teams listed above, or at least very adjacent. Over 400 passing yards and three touchdowns from Wilson in a 44-point performance by the offense is a good sign, no matter the defense you played. Great teams have to win games no matter what events transpire and so far the Steelers have shown how to win the close wins, whether in shootout fashion or instances of a defensive tug-of-war.

RJ:

I’m going to say that the Steelers aren’t in the same tier as the other would-be contenders, but I will hedge that by saying that I trust them the most to prove me wrong, if that makes sense.

Michael is right in that tearing up any NFL defense is noteworthy, but the Bengals are horrendous these days. That context matters.

Still though, what Mike Tomlin and this whole group are doing is amazing. I don’t know that there is a playoff-level team with as much variance as they have right now. They could storm through the entire tournament and it wouldn’t shock us and at the same time they could score 9 points in the Wild Card round and get bounced at home.

It is beautiful.

Should Kyle Shanahan be taking more criticism?

RJ:

Just speaking off the top of my head here... there is nobody I can think of that looks more annoyed by their gift than Kyle Shanahan. He appears genuinely bothered to have to use his football brilliance in front of the whole world.

That being said, I feel like we are not coming at him enough as a football society. The offseason conversation will eventually turn toxic around Brock Purdy and how you just can’t pay him all of that money when he didn’t lift his team, but we have spent the last half decade saying that Kyle Shanahan and his system were quarterback-proof. Both can’t be the primary culprit.

Beyond the fact that I think Shanahan is failing his team in terms of offensive design these days (you’ve been a bit figured out, Kyle... time to think a little bit harder!) he is not helping matters by not playing nice whenever he is behind a microphone. History is written by the winners and when you win you can act as smug as you want, but the whole act feels tired and broken right now.

As a Cowboys fan... it really is a shame!

Michael:

I haven’t thought much about the 49ers this season as they’ve become boringly good the past few seasons, but that sure doesn’t seem to be the case this year. Every time I see them on television, they’re dropping a game to another team. How are the 5-7? I know Christian McCaffrey is hurt, but he isn’t the only good player on the Niners. George Kittle? Deebo Samuel? Brandon Aiyuk played seven games before he was hurt. Trent Willliams has played in 10.

Now what about the defense? Fred Warner? Nick Bosa? Dre Greenlaw?

I think you’re absolutely right. I really haven’t heard much in the way of criticism for Kyle Shanahan and I think it’s time we start holding his nose to the fire a bit. This team is coming off a Super Bowl appearance. The drop-off in success is staggering. Will it really lead to more quarterback discourse over the offseason? Would the 49ers really consider moving on from Brock Purdy, even if he’s under contract on a minimal deal in 2025? I guess I can’t say I’d be surprised about any of that. The NFL is a “what have you done for me lately” league and if Purdy can’t turn it around, he’ll be at the center of those talks about the team’s future. And to be honest, Shanahan should be there too if the season continues the way it’s been going.

Or, you know, maybe it’s just a fluke season and they’ll be back to dominance next season. Who truly ever knows? But for now, these questions about the team are real and they’ll need to be addressed by season’s end.

MLB’s proposed ‘Golden At-Bat’ idea is both neat and stupid as hell

2024-12-03T11:26:25-05:00

Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images

A weird, proposed rule is drawing closer to a reality.

It’s a tight game in the 7th between the Dodgers and Padres. Tied 3-3 it could be anyone’s game. Los Angeles has the bases loaded, one out left, with Max Muncy and his .232 batting average set to take the plate. The Dodgers call to the umpire that they’re using their “Golden At-Bat.” Now Shohei Ohtani is pulled out of order and is immediately at the plate, giving his team its best chance to win.

This is one of the most preposterous concepts imaginable, and yet it could soon be a reality. MLB owners are discussing the idea of several rule changes to spice up the game, including the idea of a “Golden At-Bat,” where teams could elect to send their best hitter to the plate for one at-bat, independent of lineup or pinch hitting rules. Jayson Stark of The Athletic notes that nothing is set in stone right now, and that the devil is in the details — meaning we have no idea how a “Golden At-Bat” rule would be worded. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is at least interested in the idea.

“There are a variety of (rule change ideas) that are being talked about out there,” Manfred said. “One of them — there was a little buzz around it at an owners’ meeting — was the idea of a Golden At-Bat.”

It’s an obviously bizarre change without a lot of explanation as to why there’s a need for the change. Obviously getting more at-bats for star players comes with a level of appeal, but there’s nothing about the Golden At-Bat which would improve the quality of the game itself. Stark has one idea of how the rule could work, and it’s a pretty wild one.

“Or there’s the variation I’d vote for — where only a team that is trailing (or tied) in the ninth or later gets to use a Golden AB. I’m a fan of less is more, and two Golden ABs every game (one per team) might be overkill.”

Other potential variants involve letting teams use a Golden At-Bat whenever they want, once per game, perhaps they could only use it in the 7th inning or later. Either way it would represent a monumental change to the nature of baseball.

It’s also fair to consider whether this would lead to significant competitive imbalances. Being able to utilize more at-bats for star hitters would naturally give an edge to teams with an Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani on the roster, over those who have a less top-heavy, but evenly-rounded lineup.

Despite this, there is one place a golden at bat could make sense: Extra innings. Does anyone really enjoy extra inning games? What if we expedited the process by allowing teams one Golden At-bat for every inning, starting in the 11th. Each team is forced to play one inning with their current lineup, like an overtime period in hockey — then get to keep putting in their best player over and over again to close out the game would serve as a penalty shootout of sorts.

This would limit the competitive impact of the Golden At-bat, while also adding a wrinkle to end games quicker. Outside of that it’s tough to see how this rule makes a lot of sense.

Tiger Woods supports Ryder Cup stars getting paid, but with a catch

2024-12-03T11:16:26-05:00

Tiger Woods addresses the media ahead of the 2024 Hero World Challenge. | Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Tiger Woods addressed the Ryder Cup pay-to-play conundrum ahead of the Hero World Challenge.

Tiger Woods wants U.S. Ryder Cup team members to get paid to play in the biennial competition.

But he wants those earnings to go to a charity of their choice.

“It’s never really been about getting paid,” Woods explained Tuesday.

“It’s how can we allocate funds to help our sport or help things that we believe in back home because it’s so hard to get onto that team; there’s only 12 guys. What’s wrong with being able to allocate more funds?”

The question arose because a Telegraph report from November indicated that the 12 U.S. players at Bethpage Black would receive $400,000 for participating next year. U.S. players do not currently receive any compensation. Instead, the PGA of America currently allocates $200,000 for each player to donate to a charity of their choice, much in line with what Woods is already advocating for.

But the 15-time major winner wants the PGA of America to increase the stakes.

“I hope they would get $5 million each and donate it all to different charities,” Woods added.

“I think it’s great. What’s wrong with that?”

The Ryder Cup has turned into a cash cow for the PGA of America, which will undoubtedly shatter revenue records next year on Long Island. Corporate hospitality has already sold out, as have the $750 tickets that caused quite a stir.

“The Ryder Cup itself makes so much money; why can’t we allocate it to various charities?” Woods pressed.

“And what’s wrong with each player, 12 players getting a million dollars and the ability to divvy out to amazing charities they’re involved in that they can help out? It’s their hometowns, where they’re from, all the different junior golf associations or endeavors that the members are involved in.”

Woods also noted that this dilemma is nothing new.

“I would have to say that going back to my playing days, we had the same conversation back in ‘99, and it was we didn’t want to get paid,” Woods said.

“We wanted to give more money to charity, and the media turned it around against us and said we want to get paid.”

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

Franco Colapinto carries the hopes of Argentina’s past, and future, to the F1 grid

2024-12-03T11:01:12-05:00

21-year-old Franco Colapinto is driving for himself, and for Argentina’s future

A Formula 1 paddock is one of the most surreal settings in all of sports.

Let us paint a picture, using the United States Grand Prix in Austin as an example. Located just steps from pit lane, the F1 paddock contains hospitality spaces for each of the ten teams, the FIA, and Pirelli (the sport’s exclusive tire supplier), as well as space for media sessions, and more.

Which means at a given moment you can walk through a Formula 1 paddock and literally bump into some of the most famous figures in motorsport, as they arrive at the circuit and make their way to their team’s respective hospitality space. Those areas serve as not just meeting areas for the drivers, team principals, and team members but also serve as mini restaurants, as each team enjoys meals throughout their days at the track.

Then you factor in the fans. In Austin fans can pay top dollar for paddock access, giving themselves the chance to rub elbows with F1 royalty.

Continuing with the theme of the United States Grand Prix, one figure stood out more than most that week.

Franco Colapinto.

Colapinto is the newest rock star in a sport filled with them. Promoted mid-season to drive for Williams, replacing Logan Sargeant, Colapinto has taken the F1 world by storm. During his week in Austin everywhere you turned, from the paddock to the grandstands, the Argentine flag was visible, as Colapinto’s legions of fans followed his every move.

Not only is the young driver carrying his own hopes and dreams, but also those of an entire nation.

But the 21-year-old driver has spoken at length about what it means to represent Argentina, and to offer hope for future drivers from his home country.

“I was really waiting for this,” said Colapinto to the media, including SB Nation, in Austin. “And it is very special.

“Of course, I have all my life raced in Europe and maybe a week in Australia, something like that. But I never raced in America, and that’s closer to home. And so I’ve been really waiting for these three rounds.

“It is very special, of course.

“So my dream would be to race in Argentina and to race in Buenos Aires. But that’s not happening. And this the closest three races that we have. And I know many fans are gonna be here, and I know many fans are gonna be in Mexico, and more in Brazil.”

Colapinto also talked about how his sudden stardom is playing out back home in Argentina, noting how his success has captivated the minds of fans back home, young and old.

“I don’t see any Formula One driver that has as much support as I from their fans, and you know it shows that it’s also very important, and it does push you forward a little bit,” described Colapinto. “And to get all these messages of support, to get all the fans coming to the races to support you, it is very nice and it does, you know, make you push a little bit harder for you to what you want.

“It’s something very special and I am very happy to be the next Argentinian in Formula One and to have all these kids that they are overwhelmed,” continued Colapinto. “They’re very happy to see a Formula One driver for the first time from their country and to all these kids that are getting into motorsport because they are like, ‘[w]ow, I love Formula One now,’ and they are getting into a sport.

“And, you know, motorsport in Argentina is going a lot different due to this. So it’s really good what is happening there in the country.”

The young driver outlined how he feels that the the F1 schedule’s swing through the Americas gives him a number of home races.

“So it’s it’s gonna feel almost like home, I think at least Brazil, and I am very excited about it,” continued Colapinto. “I have a lot of support from the fans from Argentina to race close to where my home is, and it’s something I’ve been waiting for and something I’ve been dreaming of.

“And it’s happening now. Very exciting times.”

Speaking in Brazil ahead of the São Paulo Grand Prix, Colapinto talked at length about how his success could pave the way for future drivers from Argentina.

“Yeah, it will be great. I think it shows that things are getting better,” said Colapinto during the FIA Press Conference at the São Paulo Grand Prix. “Lewis [Hamilton] many times already spoke about the difficulties that came from his side. I had many. I really struggled to go away from my country to Europe when I was very young. You’re very far from your family, you struggle. It’s like, when you’re European you finish the race and you go back in a plane for an hour and you go back home and you’re with your family in the evening and it’s just normal, whilst for me it was completely the opposite.

“At 14, living alone, going back from a tough weekend needing a bit of a hug, and you don’t have that. You are completely alone, which makes it a bit more difficult. Of course, the budget part is the most difficult one, and that’s why we struggle so much. I think there is a lot of talent in South America, and we show it when one has got a chance,” continued Colapinto. “That is the most important part.

“I think nowadays it’s getting much better. Lewis already spoke about how for him it was very important to be very welcoming and to give a little bit of that back of what he felt that he didn’t receive at his time. And I have felt that nowadays, it’s getting much better. I have a lot of support. Everyone around me has been very supportive,” added Colapinto. “And they have involved me in every little bit, which it’s very nice to see. And I think very exciting to see how we are progressing as a society.

“And yeah, also the drivers, everyone has been so welcoming. It’s been very nice. The respect from Lewis that he has been showing these last few races. And since I arrived, it has been something very special for me and very important, I think, for the sport. So look, I think it’s going to be great if someone else comes in the future, some South American. And if I can stay to have two, it will be amazing. Let’s hope for it,” added the young driver.

Everywhere you look in an F1 paddock these days, you see that blue-and-white flag follow Colapinto’s every move. The young driver is carrying the hopes and dreams of a nation, as well as the hopes and dreams of future generations of drivers.

Making F1 all the better every step of the way.