Chris Vannini
@ChrisVannini
Senior writer, The Athletic • College football, dogs and pro wrestling tweets • Co-host, @BunchFormationP & @GettingOvercast • DM, [email protected]
20 years ago, ESPN aired Playmakers, a scripted drama about a football team with drug issues, domestic violence and homophobia. It was a massive hit, but the NFL hated it, so it was canceled. Here's the definitive story of what happened to Playmakers: theathletic.com/4737293/2023/0…
Roll Tide: nytimes.com/athletic/64884…
🥩🥩🥩🥩🥩🥩🥩🥩🥩🥩 Oba Femi ejected Josh Briggs' soul from his body with that running European uppercut. Holy shittttttttt. #WWENXT
Why did Matt Rhule embrace Scott Frost from afar on Tuesday at Big Ten media days? "The only chance we have is to be united." nytimes.com/athletic/65098…
I can confirm that the College Sports Commission has reached a deal with House attorneys, and collectives will now be treated the same as any other business by NIL Go. Their deals will still be subject to "range of compensation." First reported by @RossDellenger.
🚨Roman Reigns, John Cena return to WWE TV but women stand out in #SummerSlam build. @SilversteinAdam, @ChrisVannini cover: 🤔Cody Rhodes, stips, creative 🎙️GUNTHER bests CM Punk 🚧Naomi instigates IYO, Vaquer ➕Unreal, Becky, Flair, Goldberg, Theory, 🎧 linktr.ee/gettingover
Full story on Tony Petitti's comments today pitching his CFP format with 4 AQ berths and play-in games. "The Big Ten has been consistent in its strong preference for a Playoff system that allocates spots based on conference standings." nytimes.com/athletic/65092…
RIP to the legend. Great to have that farewell show just a few days ago.
It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time. Sharon, Jack, Kelly, Aimee and…
Rhett Lashlee doing some indirect defending of the perceived strength of the ACC: “The SEC has had the same six schools win the championship since 1964. Not a single one has been different since 1964. “That’s top-heavy to me. That's not depth.”
Liberty vs. James Madison is going to become a fun G5 in-state rivalry, scheduled to play six times from 2025-34. (The online fans already hate each other) LU coach Jamey Chadwell: "I hope we can continue to play that game for a long time."
CUSA media day is at the PGA headquarters. Liberty coach Jamey Chadwell is a big Golden Tee guy and got a hole in one last year (cc @KegsnEggs)
At Conference USA media day, we’ve got two new FBS teams in Delaware and Missouri State.
Still weird that not every conference does this, and the ones that do all have different policies.
ACC commissioner Jim Phillips announces player availability reports will be required in football, men's and women's basketball and baseball in conference games. In football, reports will be issued two days before games, with updates one day before and game day.
Phillips says the ACC has discussed going to 9 conference games. If the SEC and ACC both did that, he says some rivalries could go away. That, to me, sounds like the Georgia-GTs, Florida-FSUs, etc.
🎮 The #CFB26 coaching carousel and portal are crazy. How do the game's developers decide how much to open something up? EA Sports' @CMcLeod_EA joined Bunch Formation to explain the tuning process and how they evaluate gamer feedback: 🎧📺 Listen/Watch: linktr.ee/bunchformation
Getting a Bordeaux #CFB26 rebuild video is a big deal for schools. Wrote about him and the growing (and lucrative) college football YouTube space here: nytimes.com/athletic/64794…
Elite decision, @bordeauxyoutube 🎮 @EASPORTSCollege #RTB #SkiUMah #Gophers