Front Row Seat: Former 4-star QB recruit transfers to San Diego State
The Aztecs football team already looks a lot different, the Las Vegas A's might need a new name, Unrivaled starts its season with a bang & plans for a new San Diego sports arena hit yet another snag.
Here’s a thing I wrote yesterday. It’s not really about anything:
San Diego State Aztecs
Kentucky QB, former 4-star recruit transferring to San Diego State - San Diego Union-Tribune
Saunders and Kentucky starting quarterback Cutter Boley both entered the portal after Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein was hired last month as Kentucky’s new coach. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Saunders did not play in a game this season at Kentucky, so he arrives as a redshirt freshman with four years of eligibility.
Saunders was a four-star recruit coming out of Pennsylvania’s Bishop McDevitt High School, where he set state records for passing yards (13,719), touchdowns (204) and completions (781) over his four-year varsity career. The 204 career touchdown passes ranks third all-time nationally.
Notebook: SDSU swaps WR coaches; Trey White, Owen Chambliss find new schools - San Diego Union-Tribune
Former SDSU edge rusher Trey White and linebacker Owen Chambliss have found new homes.
White is headed to Texas Tech, according to On3.com. The Red Raiders will reportedly pay him in excess of $1.5 million to join.
Chambliss is reuniting with Aurich at Nebraska, per On3.com, reportedly for a seven-figure payday as well.
Odds & Ends
Montana State Survives Illinois State in Remarkable FCS Championship Win - Underdog Dynasty
There never has been... or maybe never will be... an FCS championship game like the one that played out in Nashville on Monday evening. 60 minutes was not quite enough time needed to crown Montana State the champion but, thanks to a blocked PAT and a fourth down touchdown throw in overtime, the Bobcats took home their first title in 41 years. The way Brent Vigen’s squad did it, though, could not have been dreamt up be even Hollywood’s most talented writers.
USPTO Denies ‘Las Vegas Athletics’ Trademark as Geographically Descriptive - Gerben Law
The examining attorney noted that “athletics” is defined as “activities such as sports, exercises, and games that require physical skill and stamina,” and concluded that the term directly describes “the purpose and feature of the applicant’s goods and services.” As a result, the USPTO found that the marks merely describe a professional sports team located in Las Vegas rather than functioning as unique indicators of source.
The team attempted to overcome the refusal by pointing to its ownership of multiple existing trademarks incorporating the word “Athletics,” including registrations for Philadelphia Athletics, Kansas City Athletics, Oakland Athletics, and a stylized ‘Athletics’ logo. However, the USPTO rejected that argument, reiterating that each trademark application must be evaluated on its own merits and that prior registrations do not bind the Office to approve new applications.
Unrivaled season tipoff: Rose, Mist, Laces and Breeze win, Napheesa Collier talks WNBA CBA negotiations: ‘We’re not gonna back down’ - Yahoo Sports
Paige Bueckers absolutely dominated in the final game of the night. The former UConn star dropped 24 points and shot 7-of-15 from the field while leading the Breeze to a commanding 69-62 win over Aliyah Boston and the Phantom.
The Stafford-Maye MVP Debate Gives Everyone Something to Get Mad About - The Ringer
We should really wait until January before we even think about MVP, but the NFL media machine needs content, and MVP is always a juicy discussion point. So we talk, and talk, and talk—all season long. Until we get to January, when it’s actually time to decide.
This season has followed the script, and as Week 18 has come to a close, we’ve landed on an intense Matthew Stafford vs. Drake Maye debate that is guaranteed to result in a lot of loud TV segments and snarky tweets and ultimately leave everyone upset. In a way, this season’s MVP debate perfectly encapsulates the perennial MVP discourse cycle. Everyone thinks they are right. No one is happy. We’ll argue about it forever.
Expect the E(x)pected (G)oals - Chromatic FC
Reflecting on the 2025 San Diego FC season, SDFC ranked 11th in xG. This is an area where the club can improve through better shot quality. Anders Dreyer recorded 17 xG last season, while Chucky Lozano followed with 10 and Onni Valakari with 4.9. Notably, Milan Iloski scored 10 goals despite an xG of only 4.1 (did he just get lucky in San Diego?). It is likely we will see improved shot quality in 2026 from the current roster.
Celtic sack manager Nancy after eight games - BBC
Celtic have parted company with manager Wilfried Nancy, with Saturday’s 3-1 defeat by Rangers his sixth loss in just eight matches and his 33-day reign the shortest in the club’s history.
The 48-year-old signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with the Scottish champions after the conclusion of the Major League Soccer season with Columbus Crew and took charge on 4 December.
But, having won seven of their eight games under interim manager Martin O’Neill, Celtic’s form slumped dramatically under Nancy.
NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps resigning after fallout from trial and texts - The Athletic
Though the lawsuit brought by two race teams, including one owned by Michael Jordan, was ultimately settled, NASCAR’s executive team was bruised in the process — perhaps Phelps chief among them.
The discovery process revealed the existence of text messages and emails from Phelps that showed he called Hall of Fame team owner Richard Childress a “stupid redneck” and “total a— clown” who “needs to be taken out back and flogged,” among other things.
Childress, who was the car owner for six championships won by the late Dale Earnhardt Sr., is admired among the NASCAR fan base and his team’s sponsors — including major backer Johnny Morris of Bass Pro Shops, who wrote an open letter calling for Phelps to step down or be fired.
Midway District’s 30-foot height limit will be restored following California Supreme Court ruling - San Diego Union-Tribune
The denial exhausts the city’s legal options for the 2022 ballot measure, known as Measure C. The trial court must issue a writ of mandate, which will rescind the 2022 ballot measure and restore the height limit in what’s known as the Midway-Pacific Highway Community Plan area.
The decision is a remarkable defeat for the city, which has sought for more than five years to free the expansive, mostly commercial area — currently defined by Pechanga Arena San Diego, supersized streets, strip clubs and warehouses — from a restriction that city leaders believe stands in the way of meaningful redevelopment and new homes. An initial 2020 ballot measure was similarly ruled illegal.
What’s next for MLB and Venezuela? Officials assess impact on upcoming season, WBC - The Athletic
A spokesperson for Major League Baseball declined to comment on the situation in Venezuela. The MLB office has maintained dialogue with teams since President Donald Trump tagged Venezuela with a travel ban last year, according to team and league sources. After the Federal Aviation Administration implemented flight restrictions across Caribbean airspace over the weekend, multiple executives — who, like all of the sources who spoke to The Athletic, requested anonymity in order to speak freely about the situation — expressed relief Monday that the restrictions were quickly removed, allowing players and coaches to leave the country in time for spring training next month.
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