Good morning to everyone but especially to ...
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
If you didn't wake up and immediately blast/watch "One Shining Moment"... well, there's still time to catch up. It's March! Conference tournaments are underway, Selection Sunday is under two weeks away, the bubble is heating up and Jerry Palm's Bracketology is here to guide you through it all.
Unfortunately for some teams, March is as much about heartbreak as it is for triumph:
Most of all, remember that the magic and madness of March isn't just in who wins it all. It's in the teams that make the tournament, especially in those tiny conferences that only hand out one bid. It's in Antoine Davis chasing down Pete Maravich's all-time scoring record. It's about teams that convert upset bids and teams that survive them. It's about the players who go from standouts to stars. Stephen Curry, anyone?
It's the very best college basketball has to offer, and I can't wait.
Honorable mentions
And not such a good morning for ...
Getty ImagesDANIEL SNYDER AND THE WASHINGTON COMMANDERS
It's another day and another major scandal for Commander owner Daniel Snyder. This one involves Roger Goodell, millions of dollars and, allegedly, financial fraud, per reports. Here are key details:
In late 2018, Snyder took out a $55 million loan without the required approval of then-minority owners of the Commanders, Robert Rothman, Dwight Schar and Frederick W. Smith. An important detail to note: Snyder bought out Rothman, Schar and Smith's ownership stakes in 2020.Rothman, Schar and Smith demanded an investigation of the loan. Neither Goodell -- who granted league approval for the loan -- nor the NFL arbitrator decided to investigate.A federal grand jury issued subpoenas for the team's financial documents, and this loan is a key part of a criminal inquiry led by a team of FBI and IRS agents. The former minority owners told the NFL the loan had been secured fraudulently and that Snyder had misrepresented that he had gotten the minority owners' approval, per the report. Also in the report: Snyder pays himself $10 million annually and charged the franchise $4.5 million to put the team logo on his private jet as an "advertising fee."The three minority owners said Snyder was using the team as his "personal piggy bank."This report emerges one day after a different report said Snyder is frustrating fellow owners with his demands should he sell the team.
I don't have a ton to add here. It's hard to keep track of each individual scandal, but that shouldn't minimize this one or any of them. Snyder potentially acting as a rogue agent -- and getting Goodell's permission to do so -- is a big, big deal.
