The Southbound Sports Show

Some players in the NFL are starting to wear guardian caps to prevent concussions while injuries ramp up around the league. Teams are running into NIL issues while bidding wars begin.

The NFL trade deadline hits during the election. The Steelers trade for WR Mike Williams from the Jets. They also made a move for additional pass rushing help. The first college football playoff rankings are released with the Big Ten leading the way.

The Steelers continue to win even though they struggle on offense. Jordan Love gets injured again while Richardson gets benched. Florida State continues to struggle while Michigan pulls off the rivalry win against the Spartans.

Davante Adams loses to the Steelers twice in seven days. Russell Wilson was able to pull off the win in his first start. Michigan suffers another loss as coaching changes loom while the SEC faces a scheduling crisis.

Major NFL trades are going down including Adams going back to the Jets and Cooper going to the Bills. Oregon takes down Ohio State with a timely penalty. Penn State and Pitt both remain undefeated.

The NFL is still seeing a decline in kickoff returns. Jets fire Saleh. MLB fights back against television bankruptcies. Alabama gets upset by Vanderbilt throwing the SEC into disarray.

The Detroit Tigers make the playoffs for the first time since the start of our podcast. NFL sees some major upsets. Florida State struggles again and is changing quarterbacks right before the Clemson game. Michigan finds itself in the top ten again with one of the worst offenses in the entire country.

Justin Fields locks down the Steelers starting quarterback job. Michigan beats USC while only passing for 32 yards and Georgia gets ready for a showdown with Alabama. The PAC-12 starts to poach teams from other conferences including Gonzaga in a deal that includes a full television payout.

Tennessee is going to start adding a talent fee on top of their ticket prices to get ahead of NIL. McCaffrey and Tua have been placed on IR after injury controversies in the NFL.

Christian McCaffrey sat for another meaningless game giving Carolina Panthers fans flashbacks of when he wouldn't play games that wouldn't matter. Justin Fields steals the Steelers starting job. Texas whips up on Michigan as former Michigan players decide to sue the NCAA.

Russell Wilson has been named the Steelers captain after being named the starting quarterback. Florida State loses again and drops out of the top 25 while the rest of the ACC looks rough. Michigan and Texas get ready for a top-ten battle.

NFL teams are making their final roster cuts after the end of preseason with teams moving around backup quarterbacks. Florida State chokes in Ireland against Georgia Tech. Connor Stalions fought against allegations that he illegally stole signs in a new Netflix documentary.

Florida State travels to Ireland to prove last year wasn't a fluke. NFL quarterback positions are being set as the NFL considers changing the kickoff rule again.

The NCAA has given Jim Harbaugh a four-year show-cause penalty and a one-year suspension for not cooperating with their investigation over COVID-19 violations. The AP Poll is released with Georgia landing in the number one spot.

The December notice of allegations for Michigan was obtained by ESPN after a FOIA request. Harbaugh claims that he has never cheated. The 49ers are getting serious about trading Aiyuk. The Olympics are coming to a close with the United States pulling ahead in the medal count.

The NFL is experimenting with additional kickoff changes before the season even starts. Roman Wilson gets injured at Steelers camp. Quarterbacks keep signing large deals before winning a Super Bowl.

Playing online in EA College Football 25 is like trying to fight someone while swimming under water. The ACC says it will continue to fight Florida State and Clemson in court. The Big Ten welcomes new members as Oregon floats a gigantic duck down the river.

The prerelease of EA College Football 25 is finally here. We have encountered a few bugs but playbook customization and other key features return.

The NC Courage had a promo night to celebrate Olympians. Florida State and Clemson are making a push to leave the ACC in court. The NCAA playoffs are expanding which looks to box out smaller conferences. Once a year, the nation turns its collective eyes toward the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Teams practice yearlong for an attempt at glory in the greatest postseason tournament in sports. For teams that belong to smaller conferences, their only shot at joining this tournament is to win their conference tournament. The conference tournament winner receives an automatic bid to the national NCAA tournament. With the current “First Four” structure, some teams will have to win yet another game until they actually make the tournament. The First Four setup is a direct shot to the bow of the smaller conferences. Every year, four teams from smaller conferences face off in two of the first four games to decide who will end up as the actual 16 seed in the tournament. These teams have to fly to Dayton, Ohio, play a game on Tuesday or Wednesday, then fly to the host city for another game on Thursday or Friday. They have no rest in between games. Their reward for winning their play-in game is a match-up against one of the top seeds in the entire country. The first four should be changed to include only at-large teams. At-large teams make the tournament on their body of work throughout the season. They do not have a real complaint when they do not make the tournament as they always have access to an automatic bid like everyone else. The NCAA should treat every conference the same no matter how big or prestigious it is. Every conference should be able to determine how it selects its team for its automatic bid. Some conferences may prefer to have their automatic bid go to their regular season champion while others would like to have their bid go to tournament champions. I would think that most of the bigger conferences would continue to allow their tournament champion to claim the automatic bid for the conference. In most cases, the regular season champion would have a better résumé and would likely make the tournament anyway as an at-large selection. Smaller conferences would likely benefit from the opposite approach. Smaller conferences that never receive multiple bids for the NCAA tournament would benefit from having their regular season champion make the field. They would benefit from the extra exposure they would receive if their team would pull off some upsets and make a run in the tournament. The conference would want their strongest team to make the field for this to happen. The regular season champion is most likely going to be their strongest team. It is a much harder accomplishment to win a regular-season championship compared to a tournament championship. A tournament championship can be won by a team hitting a hot streak or taking advantage of match-up problems. The regular season is a grind that would put the strongest team on top. The best team in any conference has the best shot at making a run in the tournament. Each conference wants to see their teams do well. They can increase the chance of tournament success by getting their best teams on the field. Having these best teams face off in a play-in game is unfair to the players. Players work hard all season long with one goal in mind — to make the NCAA tournament. Players can ensure this bid is received by winning their conference tournament. It is time the NCAA revised its first four strategies to reward teams from smaller conferences that earn an automatic bid. Let the at-large teams battle in the play-in games. Eight at-large teams battling it out in the first four games for a shot at the NCAA tournament is a lot more appealing than watching the University of New Orleans get their hearts ripped out in Dayton after a one-point loss in the first four.

It is a slow time of year in terms of football news. We have NBA teams making moves as the Celtics lock in their core group. Meanwhile, the 76ers are loading up to provide them with a challenge. The NCAA basketball tournament is looking to expand with another round of play in games while conference alignment officially kicks in. Conference tournaments are starting this week in college basketball. They let these tournaments determine who gets an automatic bid in the NCAA tournament. I can’t believe they do that. It throws away the entire regular season for a lot of conferences and teams. One loss can mean a postseason in a lesser tournament or at home. I get that it creates buzz and television money for the tournament. If they insist on having tournaments, then the NCAA should step in. They should not let every team play in their conference tournaments. Let only the top half of the conference take part. That way the regular season still has meaning. There were a ton of upsets in the conference brackets last year in the NCAA. I guess this gives the smaller conferences a chance to get more teams in the tournament. The winner gets an automatic bid. So, a lower team that upsets the conference leader could be enough to get both teams in. This waters down the tournament. Last year an awful Holy Cross team won their conference tournament. They finished the regular season second to last in their conference. For a team to qualify for their conference tournament, they should have to finish in the top half of their respective conference. That way, if a conference has more teams the rules are consistent. The NCAA needs to step in and stop a bottom feeder from lucking into the tournament. This creates a better experience for fans that have no rooting interest. Cinderella teams that make the tournament will have a legitimate chance at advancing. There will be fewer teams in the tournament that do not belong. As the NCAA tournament keeps expanding, the time for the NCAA to step in and rule on conference tournaments is now.