Day 598

• It appears as if the Washington Spirit may not survive the NWSL controversies.  Larry Best is gone as the head of sporting operations, and the controlling owner of the team, Steve Baldwin, wants out -- and a female co-owner is who the players want to see buy the interest.
• That said, ESPN had a video up where Julie Foudy is asked whether the answer is more women in coaching.  It's not only that, ESPN, but fewer men:  I don't think a lot of people get how badly male-controlled ANYTHING in this country is for women, because of what "being a man" is -- and we don't nearly punish men enough, because they are all but expected to do this...
• And now word from Sports Illustrated that a part-owner of the Dodgers, Tood Boehly, wanted a stake in the Spirit.  I don't think that's going to fly, see above.   
• And it didn't.  He rescinded the offer, I believe on the insistence of the players.
• Latest CFP meetings are now to see if the new plan is going to be eight teams or twelve.  This basically hearkens, according to SI, back to a 1994 committee discussion on an on-field FBS National Championship:  Plan A is what they went with, a one-game title match.  This is going between Plans C and D.
• Once believed to be almost-certain -- it now appears that CFP expansion is all but gone.  Some will claim it's a push-back from the Power 5 -- I think it's more the realities of NIL and that there won't BE college football, as presently constructed, by the 2024 launch date.  The competing plans are as follows:

1. The Go5 won't vote for a "Best 8" concept.
2. The Power 5 won't vote for a "six conference champions, two at-larges" field.
3. The compromise bid -- which, if anything is to be taken seriously here, sounds like it will go, is a "6+6" 12-team field, but player safety and season length become an issue.  Though it does leave more teams with meaningful games into November.  Right now, today, you have, probably at best, five or six meaningful playoff games on Halloween weekend 2021.