Sports
Tynes: The death of Alabama's inevitability during the Nick Saban era
Yes, make no mistake, it did happen. I saw it with my own eyes. Just when things looked dour late, Nick Saban had no choice. The sun had already set behind the San Gabriel Mountains. Damn, Saban. Don’t do it, not like this. Not in front of the Rose queen, the royal court and all of the maize and blue Teslas in Arroyo Seco. Not in front of Audra McDonald, for God’s sake. But in the late moments of the Rose Bowl, Saban had to have cracked open his sacred talisman and offered another wish to the genie he’s imprisoned in his golf khakis since Obama was still in office.
January in the playoff meant there had to be a certain crimson magic brewing under the leaves in Pasadena. Do you think all of these Bammers flew ’cross the nation, in L.A.N.K. paraphernalia to watch the Tide roll over? The entire pathos of Alabama football in the last two decades was predicated on Letting Any Naysayer Know. In fact, Bama fans told me at halftime they were confident they’d win the ballgame even if their team started slow, wasn’t leading in yardage and forgot how to convert on third down. What else did Bama do besides win during the winter’s coldest moments despite the collective groans coming from everywhere except the Southeast.
Michigan defensive end Josaiah Stewart (5) reacts after stopping a run by Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe (4) to defeat the Crimson Tide in overtime of the College Football Playoff semifinals at the Rose Bowl Monday.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
In a battle for entitlement between Michigan and Alabama, the press was painting Michigan the mighty underdog leading into the game, even if the oddsmakers in Vegas tagged the Wolverines as slight favorites. Some of us are still too young and beautiful to remember, or even give a damn, frankly, about the Big Blue from yesteryear. Most of the vexatious Michiganders we’ve grown to hate for morphing into a modern Notre Dame migrated from the Midwest to Santa Monica to live year ’round. So, excuse me if I can’t be bothered to remember that Bo Schembechler lost five times in the ’70s in the Rose Bowl, or take the “Michigan vs. Everybody” mantras seriously. For large runs of the playoff semifinal, Wolverines fans didn’t look like they believed the sacred vows sewn onto their shirts. It was settling into their faces as the game was rumbling toward its conclusion. The thump of impending heartbreak was part of their football pedigree.
The game was uncertain for most of the last moments. The only certainty felt like what always happens in these moments, when the mighty machine of Alabama makes its final adaptation and kills off another would-be from seeing the national championship game.
That was: until Jim Harbaugh countered with his own Hail Mary. It was just hard to notice at first.
In front of nearly 100,000 in the Rose Bowl, the warm January afternoon turned chilly. When the sun disappeared, the cold instantly came, and late into the fourth quarter that freeze crept to the bottom of the bowl. We, on the sidelines, started to breathe as heavy as those standing on top of Terry Donahue Pavilion. I couldn’t believe it. Alabama, after being battered and beaten for most of the contest, was not only winning late, but looked like a completely altered image. It felt like Saban was going to do it, again. Everyone in the Rose Bowl felt the sickening churn in the depths of our guts. Saban had turned another national stage into a disaster, a vast abyss of icy winds and hellacious fury. No wonder I could see the frost from my breath.
It took another hour for God to answer Harbaugh’s call and for the temperature to even out while the winds stopped whipping from end zone to end zone. When Michigan tied the game with 90 seconds left in regulation, the howl ringing inside the stadium mirrored the Big House in Ann Arbor. Its eventual victory in overtime was even more damning. Not only did they kill the beast, launching Michigan to their first real title game in the school’s history, they slowed the unstoppable Southeastern Conference for the first time in nine years from putting one of their behemoth programs in the title game. A feat so spectacular, it left nearby SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, standing under the goal post where the Wolverines stopped the Tide, with his jaw dropped.
As the fireworks shot off from behind the goal posts, Wolverines flooded the field from the opposite sideline. A blizzard of confetti parachuted down from the heavens. It almost didn’t seem real: but there on that field died the illusion of divine inevitability. Saban and the Tide were no longer the infallible beasts of college football. It was a feat that could only happen at the Rose Bowl.
Wolverines players were skipping toward the locker room after the trophy presentation, roses betwixt their teeth, battle scars on their bodies. Not many players in the recent history of college football have gone to the underworld and come back alive. But there was no doubt they belonged here, at last. In the dark of the night in Pasadena, right before they disappeared to the party in the locker room, were players screaming to the moon, “I DON’T GIVE A PISS ABOUT NOTHIN’ BUT THE TIDE!”
Alabama offensive lineman Tyler Booker, left, and quarterback Jalen Milroe walk off the field after losing to Michigan in the Rose Bowl Monday.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Saban and his starting quarterback, Jalen Milroe, rode by the locker rooms on a long golf cart as the Michigan celebrations continued — Wolverines fans shouting the university mottos and fight songs above them from the connecting bridges of the stadium. Milroe was shielded by a towel over his head, but it was clear he was listlessly staring into the nothingness of his cleats. Saban was seated next to his soldier, wearing the mug of the defeated general.
By the time he was seen at the dais in front of the gathered press, Saban appeared even more tortured — forced to endure the same agony he’d been dishing out to the rest of the country for as long as some of us watching had been alive. That reality was silently shaking him to his core. There has rarely been a postseason defeat in the glitzy dynasty Saban built in Tuscaloosa County. And this one, of course it was this one, where we all may have seen the truth rear its ugly head. I’m sure someone’s meemaw is hewing now about how Saban deserves the ax. Even at the end of his remarks to the media, he and his wife, Terri, exchanged a long, somber hug once he was done delivering his sullen final words of the season.
“I just wish that I could have done more as a coach to help them be successful and help them finish.” Saban said, clicking his teeth and looking away with reddening eyes. There’s an innate pressure to playing at Alabama. One of those includes titles, which the Tide have missed on in three straight seasons now, their longest drought with Saban at the helm. All that remained was another missed chance. Every second Saban sat there, it was sinking in. “All we can do now is learn from the lessons that, sometimes, failings bring to us.”
It was a sight many of us never thought we’d never see: Nick Saban, the mortal man.
And, he wasn’t the only one. Let them Bama boys tell it, they just didn’t live up to the standard tonight.
“You know, even though guys got they heads down, you gotta be proud to accomplish what we have so far,” defensive lineman Justin Eboigbe told a small scrum of media. His eyes were as low as anyone’s that night. “We were able to be SEC champions. You have to look at the positives, not just the negatives right now.”
Tyler Booker, the Tide’s starting left guard who went to high school at IMG with Michigan’s winning quarterback J.J. McCarthy, was another Bama player who kept a cool head after the loss. He noted the team was young and would be back. On the field after the game, helmet off, he found McCarthy and hugged him tight. “I love you baby,” he said. Booker pulled him in tighter. “I’m so happy for you,” he said. “Go finish the job.”
Alabama running back Jase McClellan (2) runs the ball under pressure from Michigan Wolverines linebacker Junior Colson (25) and defensive back Will Johnson (2) during the fourth quarter at the Rose Bowl Monday.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
“We’re still trying our best to embody the standard,” he said after the game. “We talked a lot about the standard after the Georgia game and we kind of got away from it today. We have to make sure we get back to it and keep it through the whole [game].” Booker said he was going to use the playoff experience as a driving force to get Bama back to their contending ways next season. “Just remember this feeling,” the sophomore said, noting how young this team was. “A lot of guys are coming back. Guys in the right position are going to step up and help us win next year.”
One thing Michigan disrupted on the Alabama offensive line was a direct challenge to the group’s set of rules as a unit. They had a lot of movement across their defensive line and offered a few stunts that confused the Tide’s linemen. Booker acknowledged that Michigan was certainly the best defense in the country. “When we were in six-man protection or five-man protection, they had a good tell on what we were doing,” he said. “They had rule-breakers over there.”
“Of course we’re expected to win every year, but this is football,” he continued. “College football is different now. Everybody’s good, now.”
Terrion Arnold, one of the Tide’s starting corners who said that the game would be more like a heavyweight title fight, told me after that the difference was execution. OK, sure, but what about running it on fourth-and-goal from the three-yard line with the game on the line in overtime? “It’s one of those things that the offense practices,” he said of the run by Milroe. “I love when the ball is in his hands. He’s a playmaker. Unfortunately, we came up short. But, I wouldn’t of had it no other way than with the ball in his hands.”
Behind some dark sunglasses, he turned zen considering what it meant that Bama came up short. Most of these players have lived with the immense demands of being the kings of college football for quite some time. What is required to survive in Title Town Tuscaloosa is a different request than some other programs. Eventually, as players who’ve won it all before for the Tide have told me, everyone learns how to shoulder the weight of being the sport’s crowning champion for the last generation. It just seems, now, that maybe college football’s one great civilization is finally falling.
“You have to look forward, pick your guys up and really grow from it,” Arnold said, noting it’s also something you have to constantly do to survive in this world. “This is one of those things where you can get emotional, get down on yourself, beat yourself up, but you can’t do that in life. The sun is gon’ rise tomorrow, the moon is gon’ [shine] tonight. So we have to keep lookin’ forward. We have to continue to keep livin’.”
Sports
Jordan Staal’s two-goal night lifts Hurricanes past Golden Knights, evening Stanley Cup Final series
Tyler Reddick Makes History! Inside His 3-Peat and Historic Start to the Season
Fresh off his victory at Circuit of the Americas, Tyler Reddick joins Kevin Harvick on this week’s Victory Lap to break down his historic third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series win to open the 2026 season. Reddick discusses how he and 23XI Racing have built early-season momentum, what has clicked across the organization, and how the team has elevated its performance to championship level. He details his intense battle with road course standout Shane van Gisbergen at COTA, the strategy and execution that helped him secure the win, and what it means to become the first Cup driver to win the first three races of a season. Reddick also reflects on his viral 3-peat photo tribute to team owner Michael Jordan, the confidence inside the garage, and how this dominant start shapes expectations for the rest of the year.
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The Carolina Hurricanes have evened up the Stanley Cup Final once more thanks to Jordan Staal’s two-goal night in Las Vegas to beat the Golden Knights in Game 4, 5-3.
The series now sits at 2-2 with Game 5 slated for a return back to Carolina’s Lenovo Center on Thursday to see who will have the edge in this pivotal clash on ice.
This game didn’t need overtime like the previous two, but it did need someone to break the 3-3 tie that went into the third period between these opponents.
Jordan Staal of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrates his power play goal with teammates against the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period of Game Four of the Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., on June 9, 2026. (Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)
With 13:39 left in Game 4, Shea Theodore made a disastrous turnover in the Golden Knights’ own zone, and Hurricanes star Seth Jarvis picked it off right in front of the net.
Luckily for Vegas, Carter Harter stopped Jarvis’ backhand, but the threat wasn’t averted just yet. Jarvis battled to get the puck back out in front, and it ended up trickling to the stick of Nikolaj Ehlers, who tried flipping it to Staal.
SETH JARVIS SCORES OVERTIME GAME-WINNER AS HURRICANES STORM BACK FROM 2-0 DEFICIT TO EVEN STANLEY CUP FINAL
Staal lost his edge on his skate, but that didn’t stop him from swatting a back-handed shot of his own toward the net. It just trickled past Hart, and Staal celebrated while still down on the ice. He became the first player in 44 years to score a goal in each of the first four games of the Stanley Cup Final.
With the way these games have been going, though, a one-goal lead was not safe. This time, however, the Hurricanes had the defense and timely saves by Brandon Bussi, who head coach Rod Brind’Amour went with over Frederik Anderson, and the decision paid off.
The Golden Knights took 20 shots on goal, with Bussi saving 7 in his first time on ice for Carolina in this series. And Ehlers sealed victory when he cleverly banked the puck out of his own zone with an empty net on the other end that walked into the net for the 5-3 win.
Jordan Staal of the Carolina Hurricanes scores a first-period goal against Carter Hart of the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Four of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., on June 9, 2026. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
The Hurricanes came out roaring in the first period in this one as well, scoring three goals to the Golden Knights’ one by captain Mark Stone. Logan Stankoven notched his 11th of these playoffs just 1:06 into the game. Jackson Blake quickly followed on a goal assisted by Taylor Hall and Ehlers.
Then, Staal’s first goal of the game came 12:48 into the period on a power play. Shayne Gostisbehere ripped a shot on goal, and after Hart made the save, Staal was first to find the puck and a clear shot right in front of the goal.
With a 3-1 lead after the first 20 minutes, the Hurricanes had to feel good. But again, no lead is safe, and Vegas reminded them of that in the second period.
Logan Stankoven of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrates after scoring a first-period goal against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Four of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on June 9, 2026. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
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William Karlsson got Vegas closer with his third goal of the playoffs, while Brett Howden, adding to his case for the Conn Smythe Trophy, scored his 14th to tie it all up at three.
In the end, Staal’s heroics for the Hurricanes is why he has a “C” on his sweater.
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The first serious legal challenge to the House settlement will come courtesy of a USC freshman linebacker.
Talanoa Ili, a top-100 recruit in the Trojans’ vaunted 2026 class, joins Stanford quarterback Charlie Mirer as one of two lead plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit that takes aim at the system implemented since the settlement ushered in a new era of direct payment from universities to athletes. The suit, which was filed Tuesday, accuses the NCAA, the Power Four conferences and the enforcement arm they created — the College Sports Commission — of participating in a “conspiracy” by creating a system of policies that have “direct anti-competitive effects, including the suppression of [name, image and likeness] compensation below competitive levels.”
Those policies, their attorneys argue, violate state laws in California that prohibit restrictions on NIL rights, as well as federal antitrust statutes. They’re seeking monetary damages, as well as an injunction that would upend the enforcement structure created to determine whether individual NIL deals over $2,500 meet criteria, including whether they have “a valid business purpose” or fall within a reasonable range of market value.
The clearinghouse, NIL Go, was created with the hope of eliminating an influx of booster-funded NIL deals that were basically direct payments from donors to the program. But since its inception, the system has been more restrictive and worked less efficiently than some schools and athletes might have hoped. As of last month, according to Yahoo Sports, more than $125 million worth of NIL compensation that had been promised to athletes had been rejected by the clearinghouse or was still under review.
In Ili’s case, the complaint states that he received a “substantial multi-year offer” from USC’s House of Victory collective in 2024 that led him to commit to the Trojans, only to have the offer disappear after approval of the House settlement.
“Absent the NIL Restrictions on Direct Pay NIL Compensation, Ili would have received more for his NIL rights than he now receives,” the complaint states. “The Agreement has thus injured Ili.”
Mirer, meanwhile, claims that he has received no NIL compensation from Stanford’s collective or revenue-sharing money from the university since 2024 as a result of the settlement.
Stanford quarterback Charlie Mirer during a game last season.
(Godofredo A. Vásquez / Associated Press)
“The [CSC agreement] has suppressed, deterred, and effectively terminated the economic relationships that had produced his prior NIL compensation,” the lawsuit says.
Even the plaintiffs in the House settlement, which created the CSC, are in the process of challenging the current system. On Wednesday, plaintiff attorney Jeffrey Kessler will argue in a hearing that school-affiliated businesses such as multimedia rights holders or corporate sponsors, should not be subject to the CSC’s rigorous criteria for NIL deals. That decision could also open the floodgates, with schools using those entities to circumvent the cap.
Two U.S. senators are hoping to pass legislation they believe would bring more stability to college athletics and thwart legal challenges. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Texas) spoke with presidents and chancellors from the Big Ten Conference on Tuesday about a bipartisan bill, the Protect College Sports Act, which would codify some of the CSC’s policies into federal law.
Sports
Rob Gronkowski is ‘Team USA all the way’ despite being a soccer novice ahead of 2026 FIFA World Cup
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It’s officially World Cup week around the globe, and for the U.S. men’s national team, it’s the quest to make a run on home soil.
While soccer isn’t remotely close to the national sport, the feeling of patriotism and support for the USMNT is expected in full force when kickoff comes on June 12 against Paraguay in Inglewood, California.
Just ask legendary NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski, who may still be learning the game he never played growing up, but is “Team USA all the way” as they gear up for the tournament.
Rob Gronkowski attends WrestleMania 42 Night 2 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 19, 2026. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
“No doubt about it. I’m Team USA all the way. How can you not be?” he told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. “I mean, I think it’ll be the greatest thing for the sport of soccer if somehow a miracle Team USA wins the World Cup.”
Gronkowski understands it’s a long shot for the USMNT to capture its first World Cup title. But his understanding of the sport mirrors that of many Americans, who love their country and want to see the Stars and Stripes make a run.
USMNT CAPTAIN TYLER ADAMS READY TO BE IN ‘PATRIOTIC MOOD’ PLAYING ON HOME SOIL FOR 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP
Working alongside fellow NFL fan-favorite, New York Giants quarterback Jameis Winston, Gronkowski has been building his soccer acumen and getting ready for the World Cup on Tubi’s “The Other Football.”
“I think it’s great for America to learn the game of soccer,” Gronkowski said about the show. “We got referees come on, we have players that come on. They’re teaching us the game of football and we’re asking questions because America’s a country that’s slacking behind in the game of soccer. There’s no doubt about that, and it’s great for the game of soccer that the World Cup is here because I feel like the whole entire world knows about soccer, knows the rules inside out and knows all the players. A good percentage of the USA is learning about the game of soccer. The game of soccer is expanding.
“I’m learning so much about it and I’m loving it.”
The U.S. Men’s National Team poses during the announcement of the 2026 World Cup roster in New York on May 26, 2026. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP)
Gronkowski and his brothers were multi-sport athletes growing up, but soccer didn’t fall into that regimen in West New York. That doesn’t mean Gronkowski didn’t share tremendous respect for what these elite athletes do on the pitch and will showcase for the next month.
“The cardio, the shape they’re in is absolutely incredible,” he explained. “I just never played growing up. I don’t think I would last that long. I’m a short sprit guy – 40 yards. Then, I need a little break. If I had to go that long, I don’t think I would’ve lasted on a soccer field. I truly love their athleticism. I wish I played a little bit because my footwork for the game of football and basketball would’ve been more phenomenal and more on point as well. They’re just complete athletes and I respect what they do. I’m learning more and more about the game, and that’s what’s great about the World Cup being here.”
Not only are Gronkowski and Winston learning about the rules, but also the expanded FIFA format that will debut this week. It will be 48 teams instead of the usual 32, where two teams from each group of four will make it to the knockout stages, as well as the best eight teams in third place across the 12 groupings.
LANDON DONOVAN RECALLS LIFE-CHANGING WORLD CUP MOMENT AMID PLAYERS’ ‘RESPONSIBILITY’ OF GROWING GAME IN USA
Gronkowski is looking forward to cheering on the U.S., and while it’s a longshot they win it all, he has a bar set for victory.
“If we get out of the tourney and into the knockout stages and at least win one of those games and get to the Round of 16, I think that’s a win,” he said. “That’s like the USA winning the World Cup. It’s not winning it all, but that just shows how special it would be if we got that far.”
Christian Pulisic poses with his jersey during the United States World Cup roster reveal in New York City on May 26, 2026. (Adam Hunger/Getty Images)
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The USMNT will face Paraguay on June 12, followed by matches against Australia on June 19 and Türkiye on June 25 to complete their group stage play.
And like many others simply watching to support the country and share their patriotism, Gronkowski now knows enough of the basics to get rowdy for a hopeful U.S. run.
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