Conspiracy theories seem to be coming back in style in the country recently, and the sports world is not immune.
ESPN issued an apology Saturday for comments made by political figure James Carville during its College GameDay program.
Carville, a noted LSU fan, has accused the SEC of helping Alabama via targeting calls against other teams. LSU linebacker Devin White missed the first half of Saturday night's game against the Tide for a targeting penalty he received against Mississippi State.
Carville reiterated the accusations on GameDay.
"We have an apology to make on behalf of ESPN," ESPN host Chris Cotter said. "While appearing as a guest on College GameDay earlier today, James Carville offered his thoughts on SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. As we regularly demonstrate here on ESPN, diverse opinions are encouraged, however these actions were over the top, and we'd like to apologize to Commissioner Sankey for that."
ESPN and the SEC have a tight relationship. The SEC Network is an ESPN property. But what did ESPN expect when Rece Davis asked the Democratic strategist about the debatable targeting penalty that was issued against White two weeks ago against the Bulldogs? Carville wrote an op-ed alleging collusion between Alabama and the SEC on Oct. 21.
"Tennessee's best defensive player couldn't play against Alabama because of the SEC," Carville said. "Missouri's best defensive player couldn't play against Alabama because the SEC kicked him out. A&M's best defensive player couldn't play against Alabama because he was taken out, and now the best defensive player in the conference is not going to play in the first half for nothing. For nothing."
Tennessee cornerback Alontae Taylor was ejected against Alabama for targeting. Missouri's Terez Hall was ejected against Alabama for targeting, and Texas A&M's Donovan Wilson was ejected for targeting against the Crimson Tide.
It's the most-debated rule in college football, even if some of the debates aren't the most rational. ESPN knows that.
If ESPN was going to apologize for anything, it should apologize for having Carville on the set in the first place.
Bolt still wants kicks
Olympic sprinting great Usain Bolt will continue to pursue his dream of playing professional football despite his failure to reach a deal with Central Coast to play in Australian football's A-League.
After a two-month trial, Bolt last week rejected Central Coast's offer of a $150,000 contract to play in the current A-League season. He had been hoping for sponsors to come forward to swell his salary to a reported $3 million.
After also trialing unsuccessfully for teams in Germany, Norway and South Africa, the eight-time Olympic gold medalist said he remains hopeful of winning a professional contract.
"For sure. We'll see what happens," Bolt said Saturday. "I think people are still contacting my agent now about opportunities, so we'll see in which direction it goes."
Bolt said despite his failure to secure a contract he does not regret his time with Central Coast in which he made two preseason appearances, scoring two goals in one match.
"It's sad that it didn't work out, but we parted on good terms and that's a good thing," Bolt said. "I had a great experience with them."
Sports on 11/04/2018