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Focus on NiJaree Canady’s NIL deal ‘insulting’ to Texas Tech softball star

Why Texas Tech, Texas will win 2025 WCWS It’s a Lone Star State Women’s College World Series this year, and reporter Jenni Carlson breaks down one reason Texas Tech will win and one reason Texas will win the WCWS. Glasco argued that the focus on Canady’s compensation overshadows her athletic achievements and perpetuates gender inequality […]

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  • Glasco argued that the focus on Canady’s compensation overshadows her athletic achievements and perpetuates gender inequality in sports.
  • He emphasized the significant value Canady brought to the team, exceeding the financial investment of her NIL deal.
  • Glasco advocated for clearer rules and guidelines surrounding NIL deals in the future.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Even after the Texas Tech softball team’s season came to a bitter end in the finals of the Women’s College World Series, Gerry Glasco had to be asked about NiJaree Canady’s name, image and likeness deal.

Since Canady’s arrival last July, she and her head coach have fielded question after question about the nature of the agreement with The Matador Club — most from national outlets who dropped in on the Red Raiders throughout the season — what it means for Canady, the player, and Glasco, the leader of the Red Raiders. By the end of Friday night’s press conference following the 10-4 loss to Texas in a winner-take-all game for the national championship, Glasco had had enough.

Glasco gave it a second before answering the question from a national outlet’s reporter. He began by saying he was in no way, shape or form the right person to be talking about NIL. He did, however, have a few thoughts on the focus — even 11 months after it became public knowledge — on Canady’s deal.

“Why is it different for a female athlete to be paid $1 million than a male football player getting three million or four million, or a male basketball player?” Glasco rhetorically asked. “I think that’s an interesting question.”

Glasco took Canady’s situation and compared it to that of the Ohio State football team, which was known to have paid a hefty amount for it’s national championship-winning team. While NIL might be mentioned in discussions about the Buckeyes, it rarely appears on TV broadcasts, he said.

Canady and the Red Raiders were not afforded that luxury. Each time Texas Tech made it onto ESPN, the bulk of the talking points — after Canady’s talent — were those about the NIL deal that brought her to Lubbock.

“Personally, I’m thrilled for NiJa,” Glasco said, adding that he loves the idea of any athlete being able to capitalize on themselves, leaving school without years of student loans to pay off. “I found it almost insulting to her at times when I listen to broadcasts, how much they talk about it.

“Like I said, I don’t hear it when we talk about… when we watch a men’s basketball game or a men’s football game. And to me, that’s not right. That shouldn’t be that way.”

The Texas Tech head coach pointed out something he reiterated before the WCWS began: Canady’s deal may be big and historic, but the return on investment might be the highest in the short history of NIL.

“The value of NiJa Canady to our program is, I think, it’s unbelievable,” Glasco said. “I’m no expert, or somebody could do an in-depth study, but I have no doubt it would exceed a million dollars of value.”

The Matador Club seems to agree with Glasco. The Tech NIL collective signed Canady to another lucrative deal that was reported Friday before the championship game.

Glasco sees this is an opportunity for everybody to learn and grow from.

“I think that our sport, I’m thrilled for the athletes that are getting to take advantage,” Glasco said. “I also think that we have to use great caution. It’s a new policy. It’s a new. … I don’t know what the right word (is), but it’s a new situation and obviously a lot of rules and guidelines need to be used or set, established in the coming years.”



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Pittman: House settlement provides level playing field

ATLANTA — Sam Pittman says a $2.8 billion antitrust settlement that went into effect this month levels the college football playing field in a good way for his Arkansas team. Pittman said Arkansas now has a chance to compete on more even terms with other SEC powers like Georgia, Alabama and Texas. Pittman said Thursday […]

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ATLANTA — Sam Pittman says a $2.8 billion antitrust settlement that went into effect this month levels the college football playing field in a good way for his Arkansas team.

Pittman said Arkansas now has a chance to compete on more even terms with other SEC powers like Georgia, Alabama and Texas. Pittman said Thursday at SEC media days his program previously dealt with a financial disadvantage against the schools with more established name, image and likeness collectives since NIL payments began in 2022.

According to the terms of the House settlement, each school now can share up to about $20.5 million with their athletes.

“Financially with revenue sharing I think we are finally back on even keel with everybody, which we weren’t,” said Pittman, whose team finished 7-6 in 2024. “If I was going to make an excuse, it would be financially is why we haven’t done quite as well. … But I think now with it being even, look out, the Razorbacks are coming.”

Pittman and most other coaches brought seniors and graduate players to represent their teams at SEC media days, which concluded on Thursday. Pittman brought two 2021 recruits and a transfer, but Arkansas could have difficulty finding seniors next year from his original 2022 signing class because many members of that class have transferred.

Pittman, whose Razorbacks have earned bowl bids in four of his five seasons, said players have different reasons for transferring but many were lured away from Arkansas by more attractive NIL packages at other schools. When asked about the 2022 class, Pittman said, “Here’s what it’s not because of: the way they’re treated, because of the way they’re developed, because of the way they’re taught.”

“That’s not the reason. It could be playing time. It could be finances. Probably the majority of it is finances.”

The House settlement era began on July 1.

The enforcement of the House settlement is still being worked out as the new College Sports Commission has informed athletic directors in letters last week it was rejecting payments to players from collectives created only to pay players instead of as payment for name, likeness and image.

Some seniors at SEC media days said NIL payments and the transfer portal have contributed to their decisions to complete their eligibility instead of leaving school early to pursue opportunities in the NFL.

“I would most definitely say so,” Missouri offensive lineman Connor Tollison said. “Obviously, you know, you have a chance to make some money these days. … With the transfer portal, if you don’t have a necessarily a good opportunity at this place you’re at, you have the chance to go somewhere else and get a fresh start. It wasn’t necessarily something I experienced to my college career, but I’ve seen it. You know, it works for plenty of players. So yeah, I think it’s good for the players.”

When asked if NIL makes it easier for players to complete their eligibility, Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops, coming off a 4-8 season, said, “Listen, we all love our players, whether they’re one year in our program, six months, or four years.”

Linebacker Alex Afari, defensive back Jordan Lovett and tight end Josh Kattus were the seniors who accompanied Stoops to Atlanta.

“Of course I love making money from name, image and likeness,” Lovett said. “But I love football first. You know, football was my first love. So I play for the game, not for money.”

Lovett added his primary motivation for returning was to earn his first win over Georgia.

“It’s the big part of college football now because some dudes just make decisions off, you know, the financial stuff,” Lovett said. “I love football. … I still haven’t, you know, beat Georgia yet. You know, Georgia’s one of my goals.”



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Pittman says House settlement provides level NIL playing field in SEC | College

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LSU 2026 commits receive early NIL lesson at event featuring local businesses

We’re in a new age of college athletics and Thursday morning was another reminder of that. Before athletes were allowed to capitalize on their name, image and likeness, brand events and outside endorsement opportunities were not publicly endorsed. However, walking into Elite Training Academy and seeing all nine of LSU’s commits in the 2026 class […]

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We’re in a new age of college athletics and Thursday morning was another reminder of that. Before athletes were allowed to capitalize on their name, image and likeness, brand events and outside endorsement opportunities were not publicly endorsed.

However, walking into Elite Training Academy and seeing all nine of LSU’s commits in the 2026 class from Louisiana walking around to different local businesses, trying out products and conducting various interviews and photoshoots was yet another dose of reality of where we now are in college sports.

Among the businesses that the athletes spent the better part of three hours learning about, Raising Canes, Voyager, Tanger Outlets, Retief Windows, Boot Krewe Media, Reliable Roofing, Poppi soda and LSU Snacks all had stations set up. The pitch to the Tigers’ commits was pretty straightforward in talking with multiple players out there. 

“They’re just showing me all of the resources that I have here and being a Tiger. I’m pretty sure most of them were Tigers too. Just some resources here in Baton Rouge Louisiana businesses to help us build our brands,” Lamar Brown said. 

“Really just getting to promote these brands and ourselves as well. Just having a fun time getting together as commits and really enjoying the family environment,” Jabari Mack said. “Just getting a connection with LSU’s sponsors and really let them promote us as commits.”

“Come support a few brands for NIL, having fun with some of the other recruits, building bonds,” Richard Anderson said. “Coming here today, everything’s about building bonds. Having a brotherhood.”

In addition to those three, Brysten Martinez, Aiden Hall, Kenny Darby, Dezyrian Ellis, Isaiah Washington and Jalan Chapman were all in attendance. This was the first event of its kind that was organized for these high school commits to explore different brand opportunities here locally in Baton Rouge. The players moved from station to station, hearing different pitches from the local business partners, wore different gear, tried various snack and soda products and spent time around each other as well. 

Every recruiting class at LSU has a healthy dose of Louisiana talent and with six months until signing day, a lot of these players are getting to know each other while others have spent quite a bit of time around each other already. Brown, Mack and Hall all played on the same AAU team growing up and a lot of these commits have played against one another in high school as well. 

But building a brand is something that’s new to all of these players and doing it together is something they were all keen on doing. 

Revenue sharing went into effect back on July 1 and preparing for that has been at the forefront of the NIL planning for LSU going back to the end of the 2025 signing class and transfer portal window in the winter of 2024. But outside endorsement deals are at the heart of where NIL was supposed to lean when it was first allowed by the NCAA. 

These top high school recruits are getting an early lesson on what that looks like and opportunities like the one on Thursday will only continue to grow in years to come. 

“I feel like it’s great. With NIL there’s some bad ways but some good ways but I feel like it’s great for young guys like me. I know I’m going to invest what I get and make sure I’m surrounding myself with the people to help me,” Brown said. 



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NFL Scout Predicts QB Fernando Mendoza to ‘Be a Bigger Riser’ Ahead of 2026 Draft

Indiana was the surprise of the college football world last season when it reached the College Football Playoff with Ohio transfer Kurtis Rourke showing enough at quarterback to be a seventh-round NFL draft pick. Now the Hoosiers have a quarterback in Fernando Mendoza who has a higher ceiling after transferring from Cal to play for […]

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Indiana was the surprise of the college football world last season when it reached the College Football Playoff with Ohio transfer Kurtis Rourke showing enough at quarterback to be a seventh-round NFL draft pick.

Now the Hoosiers have a quarterback in Fernando Mendoza who has a higher ceiling after transferring from Cal to play for head coach Curt Cignetti, and the NFL will be paying attention.

“I really liked Mendoza’s tape,” an NFC scout said, per ESPN’s Jordan Reid. “He’s the one to circle that could be a bigger riser, and Cignetti has a great track record with transfer QBs.”

Reid highlighted his “strong arm with plus mobility for his size” at 6’5″, which allows him to “stand and deliver in the pocket with ease” and make plays outside of the pocket when on the move.

While he was not included in the first round of an April mock draft from B/R’s NFL Scouting Department, Mendoza will have the opportunity to play his way up draft boards under the spotlight the Big Ten presents.

Indiana faces Penn State, Oregon, Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa, among others, and could once again be a factor in the CFP race if Mendoza improves on what he did at Cal.

He completed 68.7 percent of his passes for 3,004 yards, 16 touchdowns and six interceptions while adding 105 yards and two scores on the ground as a runner. He seemed to improve as the season progressed and threw for 364 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Oregon State and 299 yards and three touchdowns in a win over rival Stanford.

The Hoosiers were surely intrigued by that finish to the season and brought him into the Big Ten.

And now the NFL might be intrigued if he can play even better in 2025.



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EA Sports College Football 2026 fixes what fans didn’t love about 2025

I’ve been a fan of EA Sports College Football since childhood, spending countless hours playing on old gaming systems and even battling against my friends. When the series went away in 2013, I stopped gaming altogether until last year, when I couldn’t resist buying a PS5 and EA Sports College Football 2025. Now the 2026 […]

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I’ve been a fan of EA Sports College Football since childhood, spending countless hours playing on old gaming systems and even battling against my friends. When the series went away in 2013, I stopped gaming altogether until last year, when I couldn’t resist buying a PS5 and EA Sports College Football 2025. Now the 2026 edition is here, and after putting in plenty of hours, here’s my full review of the latest game.

New Playbooks

As someone who coached football for 15 years, I enjoy different playbooks to call plays with. Last year’s version, I thought, had good playbooks, but this year’s version is even better. Playbooks have lots of uses for motion for different skill positions. Plus, there is a greater variety of plays. For instance, I love different passing concepts, and now you can run those different passing concepts with motion, formations, and with different personnel. Plus, you see a major difference between different colleges’ playbooks.

Graphics are better then ever

The graphics are incredible. Just the realism of the players is unreal. As an Ohio State fan, I have started a dynasty with Ohio State and Ohio State’s band performing like it looks on TV. I played a game with Texas, and Bevo, the Texas mascot, is in the game. The subtle details of college football are in this game.

300 Coaches in the game

Over 300 coaches have signed up to be in the game. The pictures are not always accurate, but still, it is cool to see different coaches you can play against and coach with. An example was that I beat Clemson, and I was happy to see Dabo Swinney upset after the game.

The Road to Glory is back

This is a popular feature where gamers can create a high school football player and have them earn a scholarship. You must create a character and have them earn a scholarship by going through a series of games. You don’t play an entire game but play key moments. This is a fun feature to see if you can earn a scholarship and become a legend at the College Level.

Dynasty mode is updated

Dynasty mode is like last year, but you can also just be the offensive and defensive coordinator, along with being the head coach. You can still change conferences and make individual schedules, which is relatable to real life in an era defined by Conference realignment. Recruiting is similar as well, but it is easier to lose players in the transfer portal if you don’t meet their expectations.

Ultimate team is a new feature

You can once again play a series of challenges to create an ultimate team of current and former players. Then the more success you have, the higher you move through the challenges. It is a fun new feature of the game.

Final Thoughts

The new EA Sports 2026 College Football game is great. If you are a college football fan and you love to play college football games, this is the game for you, even if your wife may resent you buying it.

More College Football News:





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Executive producer of hit mob show named LIU’s women’s flag football coach

Jimmy Barbarise was made for this. The pride of Centereach, creator and star of the hit mob show “Capo: Rise to Power,” was named the first Long Island University women’s flag football coach ahead of the Sharks’ inaugural season. “The beauty of being the executive producer is that I can fit this into my schedule,” […]

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Jimmy Barbarise was made for this.

The pride of Centereach, creator and star of the hit mob show “Capo: Rise to Power,” was named the first Long Island University women’s flag football coach ahead of the Sharks’ inaugural season.

“The beauty of being the executive producer is that I can fit this into my schedule,” Barbarise, an LI flag football hall of fame inductee, told The Post.

“I’ve been asked to be on some other shows, some major shows. I politely turned them down because of the fact that coaching is really important to me.”

The local legend, who led the University of Tampa team to a top-three nationwide ranking, said he turned down five other offers so that he could return to LI from the Sunshine State.

“What would be a better opportunity than to go back home and coach the first D-I school offering women’s football on the island? It was just a perfect match,” said Jimmy the coach, who wrote alternate endings to “The Godfather” as a boy.

Barbarise’s late brother, who died of cancer nearly a decade ago, reminded him of the boyhood passion not just for the silver screen but also his love for flag football that began at age 10.

“He said, ‘There’s no tomorrow for me, but you’ve always had a dream,’ ” Barbarise said. “He encouraged me to go chase that.”

The next step is to build a powerhouse roster, which should come naturally on Long Island given the area’s growing reputation as a flag football powerhouse at the high school level.


Jimmy Barbarise, creator and star of the hit mob show “Capo: Rise to Power,” was named the first Long Island University women’s flag football coach ahead of the Sharks’ inaugural season.
Jimmy Barbarise, creator and star of the hit mob show “Capo: Rise to Power,” was
named the first Long Island University women’s flag football coach ahead of the
Sharks’ inaugural season. Photo courtesy of Jimmy Barbarise

“I’m already inundated with inboxes and the announcement isn’t even a week old. … I have hundreds of messages from girls who want to stay home [on Long Island] and play flag on the college level.”

NIL deal for teen soccer star

She’s the biggest thing in Syosset since Natalie Portman.

Soccer phenom Loradana Paletta just inked her first name, image, and likeness (NIL) deal at the ripe old age of 14.


Loradana Paletta (right), who plays for the U.S. Soccer under-16 girls national team, signed her first NIL deal.
Loradana Paletta (right), who plays for the U.S. Soccer under-16 girls national team, signed her first NIL deal. Getty Images

The midfielder, who plays on the U.S. Soccer under-16 girls national team and the NYCFC youth under-14 academy boys team, now proudly represents the Italian sportswear brand Lotto as she continues to strive for greatness on the North Shore.

“This just feels really natural,” Paletta, proudly of Italian descent, told The Post.

“Once a year, my family has one special day just to make tomato sauce — homemade tomato sauce. We would gather buckets of tomatoes, we would clean them, and we all would spend quality time together.”

Although the Syosset High School-bound ninth-grader won’t be able to play varsity due to her other pressing athletic commitments, she’s all for rooting on the girls in red.

“I’d love to give them pointers here and there, and I would definitely go and watch their games.”



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