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Good morning! What’s your buyout?
While You Were Sleeping: John > Jim, still
John and Jim Harbaugh have combined to coach 22 NFL seasons. Thus far, only two of those campaigns ended with losing records, and they both belong to John, who’s coached 17 of those 22 years. John has won a Super Bowl (against Jim), and Jim has won a college national title.
These two are simply coaching freaks, born to do this one specific thing. It was evident last night in the 8-4 Ravens’ 30-23 win over the 7-4 Chargers. Great matchup between two clearly good teams.
Two takes from the game itself:
- Lamar Jackson gave an MVP-worthy performance, appearing in control at all times. His supporting cast was elite too, including Derrick Henry’s 140 yards. His backup, Justice Hill, also ran for a backbreaking 51-yard touchdown. The 30-year-old Henry is 67 yards behind Saquon Barkley for the NFL rushing lead.
- Justin Herbert continues to look more confident with Jim, but crucial drops soured his night, including two from Quentin Johnston. The Chargers have a tough stretch upcoming as they try to stay afloat in the playoff race. No more big drops, please.
John moves to 3-0 against his brother. They’ll surely be too busy doing football stuff to trash-talk at Thanksgiving dinner, but that’s probably normal for them anyway.
Comebacks: Elfrid Payton’s quick glow-up
I get it. You may not be wowed by the following GIF:
Elfrid Payton now has 20 assists — the most by any player in the NBA this season 😱
Payton was signed by the Pelicans just FIVE days ago to a one-year, non-guaranteed deal after bouncing back and forth between the NBA and G-League.
🎥 @NBApic.twitter.com/2vYEdNvRHS
— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) November 26, 2024
A normal assist, right? Wrong, given the context: The passer is Pelicans guard Elfrid Payton, a former first-round draft pick signed by New Orleans six days ago. Before that, the 30-year-old Payton had not played in an NBA game since 2022. That assist was his 20th of the game, and he finished the contest — a 114-110 Pels loss to the Pacers — with 21 dimes, an NBA season high.
New Orleans dropped to 4-14 on the year, but at least nice stories emerge from darkness. Uplifting! Let’s move on.
News to Know
Angels make a splash
Free-agent starter Yusei Kikuchi agreed to a three-year, $63 million deal with the Angels yesterday, a source confirmed to The Athletic. L.A. has been surprisingly aggressive this offseason, after the 2024 season went as poorly as possible, both in record (63-99) and in … a former franchise cornerstone going across town to win an MVP award and a World Series. Kikuchi is The Athletic’s No. 14-ranked free agent on the Big Board.
Bissonnette assaulted
Hockey personality and former NHL player Paul Bissonnette went to the hospital last night after being attacked by multiple restaurant patrons in Scottsdale, Ariz., he confirmed. In a video posted to social media, Bissonnette said the fight occurred after he attempted to intervene in an argument between diners and the restaurant manager. Read our report here.
Judge refuses to block SJSU player from play
Yesterday, a Colorado federal judge denied an emergency injunction request filed by a group of volleyball players — led by San Jose State’s Brooke Slusser — and coaches who want to declare a SJSU player ineligible, claiming the player is transgender. The plaintiffs, who filed another appeal last night, argue that by allowing the player to participate, the school is violating the U.S. Constitution and Title IX. See the full backstory here.
More news
Yin and Yang: College football’s good problems
No sport is ever perfect. Just look at college football. Money is flowing, and in this modern NIL era, more of it lands in the hands of the players providing most of the value. It is messy in its current state, but it is more equitable.
But again: Nothing is ever perfect, especially when you have hundreds of millions of dollars snaking around. Two items from yesterday sparked my thinking on this:
- Bad, as usual: outrageous coach buyouts. Bruce Feldman and Ralph Russo wrote a deep dive about the issues for Brian Kelly at my beloved LSU, but I keep fixating on this number: $61 million, the amount it would cost LSU to make a coaching change right now. I’m not saying LSU should fire Kelly, but that number makes it impossible to even think about. Or look at Florida State, where Mike Norvell’s buyout is nearly $64 million, which is uncomfortable for a Seminoles program in shambles amid a 2-9 year. Especially with schools needing to budget toward likely paying players directly, handcuffing your athletic department to such a massive buyout seems unwise.
- Good: the drama of an expanded Playoff. Money is why the CFP expanded from four teams to 12, and its first year has delivered tremendously, as David Ubben wrote yesterday. Every weekend features an array of games that affect the CFP race, and the anarchy from this past weekend was the apex. And we still have no idea how the field will shake out. This is a great thing.
Growing pains are good when growth is happening. Onward:
Watch and Listen
📺 NBA: Bucks at Heat
7:30 p.m. on TNT
Everyone is happy in Milwaukee right now, as the Damian Lillard-Giannis Antetokounmpo pairing finally looks as advertised. Miami … is doing just fine. I want to see if the 8-9 Bucks can keep everyone smiling.
📺 NCAAM: No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 11 Duke
9 p.m. ET on ESPN
Top draft prospect Cooper Flagg plays against the top-ranked team. Easy sell.
Get tickets to games like these here.
🎧 “The Athletic FC Podcast” on the current best Premier League player, Mohamed Salah, being out of contract at the end of the season.
Pulse Picks
The PWHL had a great inaugural season. Year 2 will decide the future of women’s pro hockey. No pressure. Great read today.
Are the Giants less of a “clown show” than the Jets? It’s hard to tell the difference, as Mike Sando writes in his weekly Pick Six column.
The Panthers are still bad, but Bryce Young — benched two months ago — is starting to look like a No. 1 pick.
Strangeness is afoot here in New Orleans surrounding Zion Williamson, who split with his agency this week. Could the Pelicans be angling to part ways with the oft-injured star after this season?
What’s going on with Manchester City? Sam Lee has 16 reasons why the juggernauts are scuffling.
Mohamed Salah really seems to be on his way out at Liverpool. The club legend does not seem pleased about it, either.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Our story on the dissatisfaction in the Chiefs’ locker room, despite a 10-1 record.
Most-read on the website yesterday: Chris Vannini’s latest ranking of all 134 FBS teams, which is more useful than ever.
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(Top photo: Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)
