Sports Extra 2.01

College Football Report

Recognizing a Hero…

While nut jobs are pushing people off a New York subway platform to die under a train, or setting people on fire while asleep on a subway car get so much media attention, little is said about a hero who pushed a young woman out of the way before he was killed by the New Orleans terrorist.

Former Princeton football player, Martin “Tiger” Bech died January 1 when ran down on a crowded Bourbon Street sidewalk by ISIS-associated terrorist Shamsud-Din Jabbar.

Outkick.com reported that Martin’s brother, Jack, a football player at TCU, tweeted his brother spent the last moments of his life shielding an innocent woman.

He shared a text screenshot showing the FBI saw Martin on a video pushing a girl out of the way to save her life before he was killed.

Athletics teach us lots of things. Quick thinking and quick reaction time are two such attributes.

Martin “Tiger” Bech is rightly being called a hero.

Race Doesn’t Matter In College Coaching…

The sports media is fixated on the significance of the first Black coach having a chance to win the college football championship.

The New York Post reported, “It has been a storyline since the matchup was set: The winning coach in this game (Penn State vs. Notre Dame) will go to the CFP title game on Jan. 20 with a chance of becoming the first Black coach to win a major college football national championship.

ESPN’s sideline babe, Molly McGrath, baited Freeman in the post-game clip asking his thoughts on becoming the first African-American coach to reach the national championship.

Freeman handled the question with grace and aplomb, saying he hoped all coaches, regardless of race, get great opportunities like he did.

The semi-final pairings pitted two Black coaches against each other, with Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman coming out on top. And two White coaches as opponents will be on the sidelines for the Friday night Texas vs. Ohio State game.

When the championship game is played Jan. 20, the coaches’ ethnicities will have no bearing on the outcome of the game. The players on the field will determine that.

All of these coaches are coaches of character. That’s what matters, not their race. They are men of determination, that’s what got them to their positions. They are good at what the do, that’s why they are successful. It’s crazy to think that being runner - up to the a national championship is a failure for any coach.

For the record, Tony Dungy became the first Black NFL coach to win a Super Bowl when he coached the Indianapolis Colts to victory in Super Bowl XLI in 2007. The Colts defeated the Chicago Bears, coached by another Black coach, Lovie Smith. Coach Mike Tomlin of the Steelers is the only other Black coach to win a Super Bowl. It was Super Bowl XLIII in 2009.

The Portal Report

The college football portal parade keeps getting more strange with each passing day.

Quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele has flip-flopped. Now he’s back at Cal after having left that program just a month earlier. He signed with the Ducks top-ranked class during the early signing period. He enrolled at Oregon last month and joined the program for its Rose Bowl preparations, according to ESPN. He even stood on the sideline during the Ducks’ loss to Ohio State in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal on Jan. 1.

Sagapolutele said he spent the time at Oregon scoping his prospects of being the Ducks’ quarterback and decided he was not certain to be the field general next year. So, he took advantage of the five-day window that Ducks players were given to use the transfer portal after their season-ending defeat.

Sagapolutele becomes the top-ranked member of the Bears' 2025 recruiting class. The No. 1 prospect from Hawaii and ESPN's No. 18 pocket passer will be eligible to play immediately next fall.

At Campbell High School in Hawaii Sagapolutele had a senior season with 3,404 passing yards, 46 touchdowns and just three interceptions.

Unless there’s another move, it’s now Cal’s problem of having to figure out how to get “Sagapolutele” inscribed on the back of a jersey, and how to get the pronunciation of Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele in its 2025 media guide.

Mountaineers Are No Longer Free … They Cost Big Bucks

The West Virginia State motto is Montani Semper Liberi, latin for Mountaineers are always free.

The NCAA has changed that for the West Virginia University Mountaineers.

Former West Virginia University wide receiver Hudson Clement is now on the 2025 roster for Illinois. The instate recruit for the Mountaineers entered the portal on December 20 and said nothing until his name was suddenly included on the Illinois roster.

West Virginia has lost 14 players to other schools and still has five players in the portal. The Mountaineers under new (second time around) coach Rich Rodriquez have acquired 19 players through the portal, most with just one year of eligibility left, but many are

well experienced players at their positions.

Clement entered the portal after making catches for 166 yards and two touchdowns in WVU’s 42-37 loss in Scooter’s Coffee Friscol Bowl. I his second season, Clement, a 6-foot-1, 198 pound receiver, had 51 catches for 741 yards (14.5 average) and 5 touchdowns.

He took to twitter to thank the folks at WVU for the opportunity to play two years there, but responded to the criticism from fans for abandoning his state’s pride and joy football program.

“Even though I’ll be continuing my career elsewhere I will always have a special place in my heart for WVU. With that being said I hope everyone can respect my decision. This was best for me and my family and I will continue my career at Illinois. Thank you West Virginia University!” Clement posted on X.

Translated “This was best for me and my family” means this was a better offer.

“Folks want me to do what makes them happy not what’s best for me. Y’all don’t know me and don’t know what I been through. Never chased a bag always chased better opportunities. Appreciate the ones who helped me get here but I don’t owe no one anything.”

Ellie Colbert, writing for Clement’s hometown newspaper, The Journal of Martinsburg, W.Va., commented:

“Clement’s pair of statements reveal how difficult it can be for a young athlete to navigate the intense scrutiny that often comes with making career decisions in the public eye.”

There’s no questioned, the NCAA has brought very big life decisions to the front door of many young athletes who may not be ready to deal with that stress and pressure. College no longer is a game, it’s big business.

Should we start paying high school athletes?

Baseball Is Just Around the Corner…

It’s just one month until pitchers and catchers report for spring training!

Thanks for reading. Your comments will make this post much better.

Or you can buy me a cup of coffee. It will help make time pass until baseball gets here.