The ramifications of Tom Brady’s retirement, and of course Alabama has the best recruiting class for 2023

Good morning to everyone, but especially to…

THE ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE

exactly one year ago Texas A&M brought the highest rated recruiting class of all time. Shortly thereafter Nick Saban said the Aggies “bought every player on their team”. Ah, the joys of college football recruiting.

Saban and his Alabama Program wasted little time officially retaking the throne on Wednesday, Finished the top recruiting class of 2023 and the third highest rated class of all timebehind only the 2022 class of the Aggies and the 2021 class of Alabama.

• The class of 2023 in Alabama includes a record nine five-star playersincluding EDGE Keon Keeley (No. 3 overall), offensive lineman Lady Proctor (#5 overall) and safety Caleb Downs (#8 overall)
• Of the 28-player Crimson Tide class, 27 are five- or four-star recruits. The only one who isn’t? Conor Talty, the country’s second-place kicker.
• Behind Alabama lies Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma and State of Ohio. Here is the team ranking for 2023.

Not every five-star recruit has signed with Crimson Tide, even if it sometimes appears so. In fact, another SEC team – South Carolina — signed five star athlete Nyckole’s Harbourand the Gamecocks were one of the big winners of National Signing Daywrites Brandon Huffman.

However, no recruiting battle was more dramatic than Jaden Rashad‘s, and he ended at State of Arizona. I really enjoyed it Dennis Dodd’s story about the new Sun Devils head coach Kenny Dillingham.

recognitions

And not such a good morning for…

Getty Images

THE CAROLINA PANTHERS AND MATT RHULE

Matt Rhule‘s tenure with the Panthers went badand apparently things are still not smoothed outeven almost four months later his dismissal. Last week, Rhule – who was hired by Nebraska end of November — filed an arbitration claim against the franchise, claims the Panthers are refusing to pay his severance pay.

The terms of the contract indicate that this is the case around 5 million US dollars are disputed, writes our NFL insider Jonathan Jones.

• The Panthers plan to argue that Rhule’s contract with Nebraska violates the league’s anti-tampering policy. Rhule signed an eight-year, $74 million deal with the Cornhuskers, up from the seven-year, $60 million deal with Carolina.
• “The argument is that Rhule’s Nebraska contract has an unreasonable increase of more than 20 percent when deferred pay and other benefits are taken into account,” writes Jonathan.
• On Rhule’s side, his contract at Carolina states that he owes $34 million from February 1, 2023 to January 31, 2027. The Nebraska contract pays him $29 million from the November 2022 start date through December 31, 2026. That’s where the $5 million difference comes from.

There should be a conclusion in the coming weeks.

What Tom Brady’s retirement means for Bucs and everyone else 🏈

Welcome to your first full day of retirement, Tom Brady! In case you somehow missed it, Brady gives up — this time “forever” he says – after 23 seasons, seven Super Bowl wins and so many ridiculous numbers that if I listed them all we would be here forever. His career is truly unique and will likely remain so forever. Robert Kraft thinks so. The win, the longevity, the records…it’s really mind-blowing.

His retirement sent shockwaves across the NFL – This is how the sports world reactedand here is how two of his closest teammates reacted — and the repercussions of his departure will reach far and wide, especially ahead of what appears to be another frantic quarterback carousel this off-season.

Our Cody Benjamin watched the domino effects of Brady’s departureespecially at a hypothetical destination.

• Benjamin: “The most predicted Brady destination in the event of a move from Tampa is this robber solely because of the sensible Josh McDaniels Connection… With that scenario gone, the Raiders are still ready to part ways with them Derek Carr… Jimmy Garoppolo is possibly the next best thing for McDaniels to share patriots roots, but a Jarret Stidham The return is also a logical alternative in connection with a rookie addition.”

We also have Winners and losers of the decisionand it is important to note that Brady himself is the biggest winner, as our Bryan DeArdo writes. A big loser, however, is the privateerand Bryan has For options for what’s next, head to Downtown in Tampa Bay. Could it be Garoppolo? perhaps, says Tyler Sullivan. I have to give big props to our NFL team covering every single angle:

Breanna Stewart joins Liberty as a super team grows in New York 🏀

Getty Images

Breanna Stewart is with their talents to the Big Apple. And, my goodness, what a talented team this is New York freedom will be.

After being voted #1 overall in the 2016 draft, Stewart spent the first seven years of her career with the Stormwhere she filled her trophy box:

• Two-time WNBA champion (2018, 2020)
• MVP (2018)
• Commissioner’s Cup Champion and MVP (2021)
• Two-time Finals MVP
• Top Scorer 2022
• Quadruple All Star
• Five-time All-WNBA
• Four-time all-defensive team
• Rookie of the Year

Stewart becomes MVP in 2021 Jonquel Jonesacquired from the Sun mid-Januaryand 2022 All Star Sabrina Ionescu to form a damn big “Big Three”. Expectations are high nowwrites our Jack Maloney.

• Maloney: “There might be some growing pains as they figure out how to play together, but they’re all selfless players and it’s hard to bet against that kind of talent. … Other surprises aside, The Liberty appears to be on a crash course with the defending champion Las Vegas Aceswho strengthened their roster by agreeing to a deal with candace parker. “

Stewart’s free hand was perhaps the biggest in WNBA historywith Kevin Durant even recruiting them to New York. Now that she’s there, expect her to continue speaking candidly on some important issues – including charter flights – off the pitch while dominating on the pitch. As Jack notes, “The WNBA has officially entered its superteam era.”

Enjoy the ride as LeBron James gets closer to winning the title 🏀

Getty Images

Lebron James is 89 points before breaking Kareem Abdul Jabbars all-time record. It’s not about “if” anymore, it’s about “when” and “when” is probably next week – possibly on February 7th at its current rate.

The gray cloud hanging over it, of course, is that the Lakers are not very good. Only the spores and rockets are worse in the west. If the season ended today, James would miss the playoffs for the second straight year — something that hasn’t happened since his first two years in the league. Injuries, underperformance, bad luck, tension, questionable decisions. You name it, the Lakers dealt with it.

However, let that subside for a few nights and Focus on James breaking a record long held as untouchablewrites our Bill Reiter.

• Equestrian: “Will there be enough freedom from fear – enough joy and positivity – to spark a resurgence in the Lakers and a run between now and the end of the season? Perhaps. Maybe not. … But a reminder of a feeling — of the purple and gold at the heart of the basketball universe, the most talked about team, coming back from downtown LA, the entire NBA casting their often jaded and jealous eyes on the Lakers aiming – will rise again, albeit temporarily.

What we’re watching Thursday 📺

🏀 No. 19 FAU at UAB7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network
🏀 Grizzlies at Cavaliers7:30 p.m. on TNT
🏀 No. 8 Maryland at No. 6 Iowa8:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Hair clippers at Bucks10 p.m. on TNT