January 20, 2023 News and Notes

• Juventus will be thrown out of European soccer for the 2023-24 season, if a ruling from an Italian soccer court stands.
• For financial improprieties:
• 15 point deduction from the current Serie A season (which was six more than the prosecutors even wanted).
• Instead of being third in the table, Juventus is now tenth and 12 points down from any European place.
• Former chairman Andrea Agnelli is banned from soccer for 24 months.
• Former sports director Fabio Paratici, banned for 30 months.
• And this might present a problem...  Is that enforceable outside of Italian borders?  If so, Tottenham Hotspur has to fire their managing director -- Paratici!
• This basically solidifies the six teams who will represent Italy in 2023-24 UEFA club competition.  The only questions left are who goes where.
• Matt Weiss has been fired from the University of Michigan for "computer access crimes", or at least an investigation thereto, previously reported.  As I said then, I am getting an idea this probably means "child porn".  If I'm wrong, I'm sorry, but there's too much tapdancing to indicate otherwise.  
• The Berhalter/Reyna scandal has claimed Brian McBride, fired today as the general manager of the USMNT.  This all but ensures Berhalter will be canned as well.
• Jaden Rashada has been released from his letter of intent to play for Florida.  Why is this a story?  Because it appears that the reason Rashada is walking is because a potential THIRTEEN MILLION DOLLAR NIL deal with a University of Florida collective fell through!  Florida law prohibits the schools themselves -- so we're right back to the "bags of money" stuff...   
• Mattress Mack is back -- he's put $2 million on the Cowboys to win, to pocked $3.3 million if they do.  His last big bet:  $3 million...  on TCU to win the title.  They lost by so much to Georgia it should've cost Mack another $9-12M!   
• Stay out of Atlanta tonight.  There is apparently a group in Atlanta wanting violent retribution against the cops there.
• A California legislator has proposed a bill forcing the California universities to pay their athletes as professionals, under the following formula.  You take the revenue the football team gives the university, you halve it, and you split it among the players -- then you deduct their scholarships.
• A right-wing rag has said it would be the end of college football in California -- and, if you recall the votes against sports gambling in the state a scant 2 1/2 months ago, I don't think many California residents would give a material damn if D1 ball left the state and never came back...