Good morning to everyone but especially to...
THE KANSAS JAYHAWKS
It's nice to get a little bit of help from your friends. Two days after Jalen Wilson scored nearly half of his team's points in a blowout loss, No. 9 Kansas used a much more balanced effort to earn a huge, 88-80 win over No. 5 Texas.
For Kansas, this was a must-have against the conference leader. The Big 12's top six now looks like this:
No. 5 Texas (8-3)No. 11 Iowa State (7-3, .5 GB)No. 9 Kansas (7-4, 1 GB)No. 17 TCU (6-4, 1.5 GB)No. 12 Kansas State (6-4, 1.5 GB)No. 14 Baylor (6-1, 1.5 GB)Yes, it's ridiculously stacked. Yes, Kansas still has issues. But if the Jayhawks can get well-rounded offensive efforts like this, they can not only hang in the conference title race, but give themselves a better chance to defend their national championship, too.
Honorable mentions
And not such a good morning for...
Getty ImagesMANCHESTER CITY
In a stunning development, the Premier League has accused Manchester City of breaking financial rules. There are more than 100 charges over a nine-year span from 2009-2018 following a four-year investigation.
City is also accused of not cooperating with the investigation. Here are more details:
The Premier League statement says City breached rules requiring them to provide "accurate financial information that gives a true and fair view of the club's financial position," such as the club's revenue, sponsorship revenue and operating costs.City allegedly breached rules relating to UEFA regulations, including Financial Fair Play rules, and also did not properly disclose player and manager compensation.In a statement, City said the club is "surprised" by the allegations and "welcomes the review of this matter by an independent Commission."Oh, and this isn't the first time City's under fire. In 2020, the club was banned from European competition due to FFP violations, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overruled that.
This is "very bad," to be frank, writes our Jonathan Johnson.
Johnson: "The Premier League's allegations would not be subject to the same sort of time sensitivity [as the 2020 issues] which makes it harder for City to bat them away. Also, Premier League rules would reportedly not allow for appeal to CAS by City. ... Although City being kicked out of the Premier League is unlikely, a hefty points deduction should not be ruled out. ... Given how long it has taken to piece all of this together, do not expect it to be over within a few months -- this could really drag on for some time."For those not familiar with the Premier League, Manchester City is regarded as the club of this era, having won the league each of the last two seasons and six times since 2011-12. What the future holds will be fascinating.
