Various odds and sods, October 1...

• John Calipari, head basketball coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks, has reported that nine of the twelve players on his roster earn more money in NIL contracts than his assistant coaches, with the other three even eclipsing his entire staff!  And if you think that's not going to translate to behavior in practices and games, I got some swampland to sell you in Little Rock!  
• Still no word from South Carolina about Dylan Stewart after this week.  Coach Shane Beamer (who may not be the coach much longer!) has gone silent on Stewart's future with the team, and will almost certainly remain silent until, at minimum, after the game with Kentucky this week.  This, after Beamer said upon the indefinite suspension that he would probably have announced it Monday or Tuesday at the latest what happens after the Kentucky game.  More evidence Dylan Stewart has played his last game at South Carolina, and it's not going to matter whose choice it is.  No word yet on the claim of the South Carolina NIL collective, seeking $167,000 a game back from Stewart for the suspension.   
• This probably should get its own post, but one of the major indications in the appeal by Manchester City may surround that many of the payments may have come directly from the United Arab Emirates government, making the team state-owned and state-financed.  And am I the only person in the world who believes that might not make the situation WORSE???   
• The Northwestern Marching Band, the Athletic Marketing citing lack of attendance at the games, will no longer perform pregame at Northwestern home football games.  At least this week, they will perform at a Chicago food festival instead, "where the fans are"...  Well, if Northwestern had a relevant college football team, maybe this would be different, right UCLA and USC?   
• According to at least one member of the band, this is NOT a decision of the band itself, but of Athletic Marketing.  Which causes my statement above to go double. 
• The Big Sky Commissioner finally admits it:  That there's a chance that if the power conferences break off completely from the rest of FBS, the Group of 6 (the remaining FBS conferences) will probably blend in at the top of FCS.
• Since a lot of this is about college football, I'll leave this here in closing:  Ratings for college football are down double digits from last year -- -11%.

England may not be the only major soccer power in Europe about to lose their top domestic league...

This has not been a good international break for European soccer.

A long-standing probable match-fixing scandal regarding the dominant run of the then-most (if not only) relevant team in the Spanish top league has resurfaced.

Barcelona stands accused by UEFA of undue influence, from 2001-2018 of paying 7 million euros to a company owned by a former vice president of refereeing in the Spanish Federation, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira.

Real Madrid has said this is evidence that Barcelona have basically bought their entire run with crooked refereeing.

Barcelona maintains their innocence.

This is all that's involved:

• 10 La Liga titles, including five in a row, and six of seven.
• 9 Copa del Rey (the national cup) finals, eight in a row.  6 Copa del Rey championships.
• 4 Champions League titles

Oof.  What is it in the water over there?