😢 Hey, Wednesday. Tumble out of bed. Stumble to the kitchen. Pour myself a cup of ambition.

🎶 Your Morning Pick Me Up. 9 to 5. Dolly Parton

“The ruling out of a Baton Rouge courtroom allowing tight end Dae'Quan Wright to blaze a trail from Cleveland Browns training camp to LSU's roster is like a ship slamming into an iceberg on a sunny day.

Why couldn't the NCAA avoid something that was so easy to see in the distance?

If we were to slice up the pie of blame for the latest legal embarrassment that turns eligibility for college football into a fly-by-lawsuit mockery, the NCAA of course gets a huge piece. By changing the rule this year to allow athletes five years of eligibility but cutting out the recruiting class of 2022 from an extra year of NIL riches, it practically guaranteed the NCAA would get sued and lose. (What else is new?)”

» Court Awareness. “Another slice would go to the judge who, like so many of his colleagues across the country, was dragged into a legally ambiguous case with relatively low stakes and opted for the locally beneficial outcome.”

» The Bottom Line. “But do you know who deserves more blame? The people who lack the willpower to say one simple word: No.”

» Reality Check. “Many coaches and administrators — none quite so shame-free as those at LSU — are merely continuing in the grand tradition of college sports that says the mere threat of your competitors doing something ethically questionable justifies being the first to do something ethically questionable.”

» The Final Word. “Unfortunately, fairness in college sports tends to be in short supply. Someone always has more roster money, a bigger stadium, a better schedule, better advocates among the talking heads on TV. Now those who have the more creative and effective legal strategy tend to come out on top.”

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Tufts received 18 of a possible 19 first-place ballots to earn the preseason No. 1 position in the NFHCA Division III field hockey poll.

The defending champion Jumbos outpointed national runnerup Johns Hopkins with Babson receiving the other top ballot for third place.

» Preseason Top 10. 1-Tufts, 2-Johns Hopkins, 3-Babson, 4-Christopher Newport, T5-Bates, T5-Salisbury; 7-Middlebury, 8-Wesleyan, 9-Dickinson, 10-Endicott.

» Conference Call. NESCAC (8), Centennial (4), ODAC (3), C2C (2), MAC Commonwealth (2), NEWMAC (2), NJAC (2), CNE (1), MAC Freedom (1).

» Players to Watch. Penny Baroni (Jr., F, Babson); Shea Bennett (M, Sr., Stevenson); Haley Dwight (D, Sr., Bates); Emily Ferguson (F., Sr., Bowdoin); Lauren Flynn (D, Sr., Stevens); Maddie Greco (F, Sr., Union); Ella Greico (F, Sr., Geneseo); Caitlin Hoover (F, Sr., Franklin & Marshall); Courtney Hughlett (M, Sr., Christopher Newport); Marli McDorman (M, Sr., Salisbury); Faith Minickene (Jr., GK, Endicott); Khanyisile Mzizi (M, Sr., Lynchburg); Isabelle Nahon (D, Jr., Hamilton); Riley Perkins (D, Jr., Endicott); Samantha Souza (F, Jr., Bridgewater State).

» Returning Leading Goal Scorers. Samantha Souza (Jr., Bridgewater State), 33; Ella Greico (Sr., Geneseo), 28; Brooke Farquhar (Jr., Colby-Sawyer), 28; Caitlin Hoover (Sr., Franklin & Marshall), 23; Emma Gebhart (Sr., Denison), 20; Abbie Zuber (Sr., Bridgewater State), 20.

» Career Goal Scoring Leaders. Maddie Greco (Sr., Union), 49; Ella Greico (Sr., Geneseo), 48; Emma Gebhart (Sr., Denison), 46; Samantha Zouza (Jr., Bridgewater State), 45; Brooke Farquhar (Jr., Colby-Sawyer), 43.

» Winningest Active Coaches. Sharon Pfluger (TCNJ), 685-148-9; Dawn Chamberlin (Salisbury), 602-141-8; Amy Watson (Keene State), 514-245-11; Katharine DeLorenzo (Middlebury), 501-134-2; Nicky Pearson (Bowdoin), 405-110.

stats provided by NCAA Stats

“Last week’s announcement of the Panam Sports pre-Olympic training camp program with Greater Ontario California (GOCAL), for June and July of 2028 illustrated the unique impact of university facilities on the 2028 Olympic Games.

While the announcement focused on the City of Ontario, a significant portion of the facilities to be used by athletes prepping for the Los Angeles Games will actually be at two adjacent university groups: Claremont McKenna College, Harvey Mudd College and Scripps College, known as Claremont-Mudd-Scripps or “CMS,” and Pomona College and Pitzer College, known as “Pomona-Pitzer.” Both groups compete as members of NCAA Division III.

All five schools are adjacent to each other, in Claremont, about 14 miles west of Ontario and 32 miles east of Los Angeles.”

» CMS Housing and Training. Roberts Pavilion for basketball, volleyball and athletic and weight training; Axelrod Pool (25 yards) for swimming, diving and water polo; Burns Track for athletics and football (grass); Pritzlaff Field for football (grass); Parents Field for rugby (grass); Biszantz Family Tennis Center (12 courts), plus residence halls for 1,000.

» Pomona-Pitzer Housing and Training. Center for Athletics, Recreation and Wellness arena for basketball, volleyball and weight training, Haldeman pool (50 m) for swimming, diving and water polo. Strehle Track for athletics; Merritt Field (synthetic) for football; grass fields for football and lacrosse; Pauley Tennis Complex (10 courts), plus residence halls for 1,000.

» Quotable. “The Claremont College community is eager to welcome these competitors from across the Americas. We are very proud of our world-class facilities, including our new stadium complex, which is slated for completion next year.” - CMS AD Erica Jasper

» Baseball. “The technology rules include giving teams the option, when available, of implementing a system to challenge called balls and strikes that could be used in regular-season and postseason games for the upcoming season. This will be an experimental rule in all divisions for the 2027 season.”

» Track and Field. “The Division II and Division III Men’s and Women’s Track and Field and Cross Country Rules Committee rescinded the optional indoor and outdoor team scoring proposals.”

» Ice Hockey. The Hockey News continues its series of top five most viable DIII schools for DI with Adrian.

“Earth's shadow will swallow 96% of the lunar surface overnight on Aug. 27-28, potentially turning the moon a gorgeous shade of crimson as it bathes in light filtered and refracted by our planet's atmosphere.

The partial lunar eclipse will occur as Earth passes between the sun and moon during the monthly full moon phase. Around this time, Earth's curved inner shadow will appear to creep across the lunar surface while leaving a thin crescent exposed to direct sunlight at the point of maximum eclipse.

But who will actually get to see it? As usual, it's all a matter of location.”

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