Sports Illustrated

Step inside of an in-game huddle for the Purdue Boilermakers men’s basketball team, and the man with the clipboard diagramming the play the Boilermakers will run on their next offensive trip often isn’t coach Matt Painter.

The 27-year-old former Purdue point guard P.J. Thompson’s official title with the Boilermakers is director of player development. In practice, though, he serves as Purdue’s offensive coordinator, a role Painter innovated into the college game around a decade ago that has slowly spread to programs around the country. Thompson calls all the team’s sets from the sideline, writing calls down on a whiteboard he holds up after made baskets and sometimes leading huddles for set plays in key moments of the game. It’s a heavy role Painter has entrusted a staff member with dating back to around when Thompson was recruited to Purdue as a player in 2014, one that has since been occupied by future head coaches like Greg Gary (Mercer) and Micah Shrewsberry (Notre Dame).

Painter’s initial idea for the shift came from football, where he was fascinated by teams’ ability to relay in long play calls quickly and get everyone on the same page. He was also looking to implement more actions offensively without overcomplicating things for his players. He landed on a coordinator-like system with a staffer (in this case, Thompson) handling all things offense, helping implement the Boilermakers’ deep playbook built on a system of code words that allow him to easily communicate calls in game.

“I just felt like I was making some decisions through subbing, through battling with officials, in play calling, to where they were kind of play calls out of emotion, if I’m framing that the best way,” Painter says. “And I just said, ‘You know what, I have to take a step back and get over myself a little bit here and do what’s best for our program, even though no one was really doing this like we are.’ I felt like I had to do that, and that was what was best for our program.”

Thompson holds up a whiteboard with a play call while Painter signals to players during a game.

Matt Blewett/USA TODAY Sports

Despite his age, Thompson was a natural fit to lead Purdue’s offense. Painter credited him after a game in December for being part of a new wave of players he recruited a decade ago whose intellect and winning attributes superseded recruiting rankings and traditional athletic upside. He blossomed into a three-year starter, helping lay the groundwork for Purdue’s incredible stretch of regular-season success of late. And after a brief stint playing professionally, Thompson returned to West Lafayette, Ind., as a graduate assistant and became director of player development prior to the 2022–23 season before being given the keys to the offense this season. Rather than the traditional system of each assistant coach being assigned scouting reports for different games and trading off, Thompson preps the offense for each game, communicates that plan to the team and then makes the calls in game.

“Although we’re all a part of the same program, the way that I speak may be different than the way that [assistant coach] Paul Lusk speaks, him being a defensive guy,” Thompson says. “When the message is clear and consistent each and every game, our guys are able to take it in and understand exactly what we’re doing. While from game to game how we try to manipulate the defense may change, our verbiage, our actions and our principles offensively stay the same.”

The process isn’t so complex. Purdue’s playbook of nearly 150 plays is built on program-specific vernacular, memorized in the offseason and digested on the fly in games. The first word is the position players align in, with subsequent ones being specific actions in the play. Thompson has a call sheet with him on the bench to work through just as a football coordinator would and communicates the calls by writing them on a small whiteboard he flashes to his team as it runs up the floor for offensive possessions. Generally Purdue will go into a game with 20 to 25 calls it likes against the defense based on advanced scouting, but the entire playbook is open, if necessary, based on adjustments made by the defense. In all, Painter says 95% of the decisions get made before the game, then get installed in game seamlessly to avoid making “emotional” decisions.

The results have been staggering. In Painter’s first 10 seasons at Purdue, the Boilermakers finished in the top 50 nationally in KenPom’s offensive efficiency metric just twice. Since, they’ve been in the top 50 for each of the past nine seasons including this one, which features the second-ranked offense nationally. They have been in the top five three other times and worse than No. 26 just once in that nine-year stretch. This season’s group, with Thompson at the controls from the sideline and defending National Player of the Year Zach Edey dominating the paint, is on pace to be the most efficient offense in Purdue history.

And with Purdue’s success has come copycats, unsurprising given the nature of the sporting world. Mike Young was an early adopter with his Wofford teams, then brought it with him to Virginia Tech, where he’s in his fifth season. Colorado State coach Niko Medved witnessed Young doing it at Wofford when he was at rival Furman, then eventually adopted it once he got to Fort Collins, Colo. Now, Boise State and New Mexico are among Colorado State’s conference rivals that have used some form of the system this season.

“What I found was, [as a coach] you’re obviously trying to manage the game, too. You’re watching everything, and it’s great to have somebody who you’re going over the game plan with, talking about different things you might want to run, to have somebody that you trust to be ready to call the next action,” Medved says.

Medved’s play-caller is assistant coach and former March hero Ali Farokhmanesh, who once was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated for his legendary shot that helped Northern Iowa upset Kansas in the 2010 NCAA tournament. Now, Farokhmanesh is one of the most highly regarded young assistants in the sport, leading a top-20 offensive unit nationally per KenPom for a team that has spent seven of the last eight weeks in the AP Top 25.

“Niko can focus on the big picture of the game. ‘How’s our offense impacting our defense? How’s our defense impacting our offense right now? How are the guys doing? What are they feeling?’ Niko’s really good at reading rooms,” Farokhmanesh says. “It allows him to really get into it with our guys because we can run whatever play we want, if [senior guard] Joe Palmer’s not feeling good or looks like he’s a little down right now, he’s not making the shot regardless of the play call.”

One natural question, especially given current events in college football: What about sign-stealing? As football coaches get increasingly paranoid about communicating in plays, college basketball coaches are … writing down calls and holding them up on a whiteboard for all to see? The pace of the game helps ease concerns: There isn’t a five- to 10-second lull to change defensive alignments like there is presnap in football. The board allows you to communicate more complicated calls in than old-school tactics like a head tap that can be easily relayed from opposing benches. Plus, teams can use the board to try to deceive a suspecting opponent.

“I say, let them see it,” Painter says. “Every now and then we hold up a sign; we’ll write something during a [timeout] and then hold up a sign that is not the play. We give that to them two to three times a game. So if they’re really on and they’re doing that stuff, they’re going to be writing some things that are inaccurate.”

The bigger concern coaches mentioned with the system was getting everyone up to speed on the terminology, then ensuring players got in a habit of looking to the sideline for the calls. Purdue’s players dive into the vernacular starting in June when they first arrive on campus, sometimes having to put in extra work with flash cards to get up to speed in time. Colorado State uses the play-calling board during five-on-zero offensive practice and has found the habit is built fairly quickly.

But at its core, perhaps the biggest challenge in its uptake is buy-in. It takes a great deal of humility for a coach to cede control of such a central part of their program, and even more to be among the first to do it. While both coaches can send in a call to the coordinator sitting next to them, both say they rarely do. Painter might give advice, like emphasizing wanting to get Edey a post-up, but tries not to call specific plays to avoid ruining Thompson’s flow.

“I think everyone has an ego, but I think he’s one of the best coaches in college basketball and I don’t think his ego is as big as others, right?” Thompson says. “I think if his ego got in the way, there’s no way I could do what I do now. You wouldn’t have people that want to work for him the way we want to work for him.”

“You’ve gotta be able to be a little selfless and be able to step back as a head coach and be in a timeout and a camera be in there, and [Thompson’s] the one that’s [calling the play],” Painter says. “To me, I just want Purdue to win. I don’t care what anyone says about me. People dissect my convictions of the game; I don’t care. I really don’t.” 

The NBA world was shocked Wednesday by the sudden death of Golden State Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojević, a fixture of basketball in his native Serbia and around the world for the last 30 years.

Particularly shaken was Toronto Raptors coach Darko Rajaković, a friend and countryman of Milojević's; their birthplaces are just under two hours apart by car. After the Raptors' 121–97 win over the Miami Heat on Wednesday, Rajaković revealed that Toronto had run its first play of the game in honor of Milojević.

"I told my guys I loved them," Rajaković said. "Our opening was an ATO that—Decky (Milojević's nickname), my friend, I learned that play from him. That's what he brought to the NBA. That's what he brought to Golden State. I stole that play from him, and that was our opening play tonight and we were able to score on it once."

"I told my guys I loved them."

An emotional Darko Rajaković on his pre-game message to the Raptors.

Darko also dedicated the win to the late Dejan Milojević. pic.twitter.com/6kk2GdjRZC

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 18, 2024

Rajaković closed his answer by dedicating his win to Milojević, whose play resulted in guard Gary Trent Jr. swishing a three-pointer to open the scoring. 

Gary Trent Jr. vs Miami Heat

28 PTS
2 REB
10/13 FG
8/9 3P#WeTheNorth W pic.twitter.com/o0iNLMzPH5

— A Walking Highlight (@11AWH) January 18, 2024

In response to Milojević's death, the NBA has postponed a pair of Warriors games against the Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks.

The Dallas Cowboys are officially keeping Mike McCarthy as their head coach in 2024, despite a third straight disappointing playoff exit. The veteran McCarthy will be in his fifth season leading the Cowboys and doesn’t have a contract beyond next year.

McCarthy has led Dallas to a 12–5 record in each of the past three seasons, but Cowboys fans expect more. While speaking to the media for the first time since the news broke, McCarthy explained why he is the right person for the job.

“We have established a championship program; it’s just not the world championship yet,” McCarthy said. “We know how to win, we know how to train to win, we have the right people, but we have not crossed the threshold winning playoff games.”

Mike McCarthy has a message for Cowboys fans:

"We have established a championship program... I know how to win and we will get over that threshold" pic.twitter.com/YsWF0anW9E

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) January 18, 2024

Well, that answer was not good enough for Stephen A. Smith. The ESPN analyst went on a tirade on First Take after hearing McCarthy call the Cowboys a “championship program.”

“Excuse me… are you telling me, did I miss something that championships are won without winning playoff games?” Smith said. “That is the most asinine quote that I have heard in recent memory!”

Stephen A. just blew a gasket over Mike McCarthy's press conference pic.twitter.com/OjbT4JRDlR

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 18, 2024

Smith didn’t end there, as the personality criticized McCarthy’s lack of winning with both the Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers despite having such great quarterbacks.

“You’ve had Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers and Dak Prescott, and you have one championship to show for it in 17 years!” he added. “You are 1–3 in the postseason since you arrived in Dallas four years ago, and you’re gonna sit up there with a straight face, just days after an embarrassment, and say to the world ‘We have a championship program!’”

In 17 years as a head coach, McCarthy has 167 regular season wins but only 11 in the playoffs, including a .500 record in the postseason. Still, despite Smith’s criticism, Dallas is giving McCarthy another chance to lead the team to a championship.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers dismantled the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles 32–9 on Monday, one day after the Detroit Lions outlasted the Los Angeles Rams 24–23 for their first playoff win in 32 years. A spot in the NFC championship is on the line in Sunday’s showdown between the Buccaneers (9–8) and Lions (12–5) at Ford Field, one of three rematches from the regular season set for the divisional round.

Detroit dominated Tampa Bay 20–6 in Week 5 after the Bucs' bye week. That began a precipitous slide that saw the team drop six of seven games to put its playoff hopes in doubt. Baker Mayfield led a late-season turnaround in December and into January, during which the team finished 5–1 to clinch the NFC South for the third year in a row. The Lions locked up the NFC North on Christmas Eve to secure their first division title since 1993.

Mayfield and the entire Tampa Bay team have embraced their underdog role and they’re in that position once again this weekend as Detroit has been installed as a 6.5-point favorite. The total is set at 48.5 points, according to SI Sportsbook, a season-high for the Buccaneers, who are accustomed to unders, unlike the Lions.

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Buccaneers vs. Lions Odds and Game Info

Moneyline: Buccaneers (+225) | Lions (-300)
Spread: TB +6.5 (-110) | DET -6.5 (-110)
Total: 48.5 — Over (-110) | Under (-118)
Game Info: Sunday, Jan. 21, 3 p.m. ET | NBC

Tampa Bay and Detroit Key Stats and Fun Facts:

• The Buccaneers beat the Lions 20–10 in the wild-card round in 1997 in their only previous playoff matchup.
• Jared Goff (4,575) and Baker Mayfield (4,044) were two of the 10 quarterbacks who threw for at least 4,000 yards this season.
• Mike Evans (13), Amon-Ra St. Brown (10) and Sam LaPorta (10) were among the seven pass-catchers who caught double-digit touchdowns in the regular season.

Best Bet: Under 48.5 (-118)

Tampa Bay pounced on Philadelphia early, scoring on its first four possessions. Mayfield was slinging the ball all over the field as five receivers finished with at least 45 yards and little-known pass-catchers, like David Moore and Trey Palmer, not only outgained Mike Evans but also found the end zone.

As bad as the first half went for the Eagles, they were still very much in the game at halftime, trailing 16–9. Todd Bowles’s defense blanked the Birds in the second half and even forced a safety against Jalen Hurts. With A.J. Brown out, DeVonta Smith had a day, finishing with a season-high 148 yards on eight catches. However, no other receiver finished with even 40 yards and the Buccaneers took away the run altogether. Philadelphia, with its stout offensive line and seemingly unstoppable Tush Push, was held to 42 yards on 15 attempts.

Tampa Bay has now allowed just one touchdown and 15 total points in its last 10 quarters dating back to Week 17. This unit was tough to run on and relatively easy to throw against in the regular season, which played out when Detroit traveled to Raymond James Stadium in October. Jared Goff threw for a season-high 353 yards while the fifth-best regular-season rushing offense was held to 40 yards on 22 carries — that was one of two games rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs missed.

The Buccaneers surprisingly found success running the ball against Philly. Tampa Bay ranked 32nd in rushing yards per game (88.8) heading into the playoffs and the Eagles were a top-10 defense against the run in the regular season. Rachaad White, an inefficient, high-volume rusher, gained 72 yards on 18 carries and the team totaled 119 on the ground. The Lions present a tougher challenge on the ground as they were a top-two run defense this year and they allowed just 46 rushing yards when these teams played in Week 6.

Goff shined against his former team Sunday and spoiled Matthew Stafford’s return to Detroit. He completed a season-best 81.5% of his passes for 277 yards and a touchdown to rookie tight end Sam LaPorta. However, it was Detroit’s running back tandem of Gibbs and David Montgomery who got on the board first, each with a rushing score in the first quarter to establish an early lead.

Stafford had no issues moving the ball against the Lions as he threw for 367 yards and two scores — roughly half of that passing production went to rookie sensation Puka Nacua. However, once the Rams got into the red zone, Detroit’s defense hunkered down. L.A. came away with three field goals on three trips inside the red zone, stops that proved to be crucial in a one-point win.

The Lions, on the other hand, scored every time they advanced to the red zone. Amon-Ra St. Brown helped the offense approach the goal line as he led the team with 110 receiving yards while Gibbs, Montgomery and LaPorta each found paydirt. Detroit’s win brought the team’s record at Ford Field to 7–2 this season, though it fell to 5–4 against the spread as Dan Campbell’s team did not cover as three-point favorites.

Given both teams’ success against the spread (tied for an NFL-best 12–6 including the playoffs), it’s difficult to pick a winner with the points. So instead, let’s play the total. Overs hit at a high rate for the Lions (11–7), especially at home (6–3). But that’s not the case for the Buccaneers (6–12), who have seen the under cash in four straight games.

Detroit’s game against Los Angeles last week was shaping up to be a shootout early on, yet only nine points were scored in the second half as the defenses stepped up. Only 26 points were scored the last time these teams played, which fell well below the 43.5-point total. It shouldn’t be a slog as Goff and Mayfield will both find success throwing, but 48.5 points is a hair too high to pick the over.

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The Whitworths gathered in their Southern California living room last Sunday, all four children and their parents, everyone marveling at how what was became what is. It wasn’t long ago that Jared Goff played quarterback for the Rams, while Andrew Whitworth protected his blindside at left tackle and everyone in their immediate families knew exactly who to root for.

Now, Goff was playing for the Lions; his replacement in Los Angeles, Matthew Stafford, was returning to Detroit and still seeking the playoff win at Ford Field that eluded him for 12 seasons with the Lions. Whitworth was retired, a broadcaster, after winning a Super Bowl with Stafford in L.A. And his children, a group that once sort of unofficially included young Goff, weren’t sure where to direct their cheers.

“Wait! Wait!” one of them would say. “I don’t want Jared to do bad. I love him. But we’re Rams fans, right?”

Goff has the Lions two wins away from their first trip to the Super Bowl. 

Eric Seals / USA TODAY NETWORK

Of course. But they could be Goff fans, too. There are a lot more of those these days—in Detroit and California and all points in between. In some ways, Whitworth watches Goff now, the QB who guided Detroit to its first playoff win in three decades and the divisional round of the NFL playoffs, where they will host the Buccaneers on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, NBC). That Goff—steady, classy, resilient as hell—can seem exactly the same. But other times, Whitworth studies the same player, in the same season, and sees growth upon growth, the same guy and entirely different one wearing the same No. 16 jersey and slinging darts.

“I saw true appreciation for his time as an L.A. Ram,” Whitworth says by phone Wednesday. “And, also, the new person he [has] become in Detroit—and the new man he is there. You saw the whole thing come full circle for him, in, obviously a game where he wanted to prove that he could win.”

The end of Goff’s tenure with the Rams can seem like it happened a million years ago. No need to belabor the unraveling, but the gist matters, because it was tense. He and coach Sean McVay, one of Whitworth’s other closest friends, weren’t exactly speaking. The Rams were turning toward John Wolford in a playoff game and away from the No. 1 pick they traded a bounty of draft capital to select in 2016.

Whitworth understood where each of his friends was coming from. The Rams knew they were talented, knew they had a window and wanted, he says, “to win right that second.” Goff was a veteran who firmly believed his best football was ahead of him. McVay has admitted he could have handled that situation better, but, Whitworth says, time has eased the feelings that felt so visceral at the time.

“The most beautiful part is, regardless of who could have handled it better, everybody’s grown from that moment, everybody’s in a really cool place. That’s the best part.”

He points to this season as proof. McVay led a Rams team few expected to contend for a playoff berth to a 10–7 record. “Maybe more impressive” than the Super Bowl run, Whitworth says, “maybe the best coaching performance he’s had in his whole career.” Meanwhile, Goff took a franchise that has all the ingredients necessary for a deep run to that playoff victory, at his former team’s—and former coach’s—expense. He sees both at the pinnacle of their respective careers while comparing their parting of ways to … a breakup. Over time, the reasons tend to fade. This breakup, Whitworth says, “was great for everybody.” And he’s right.

How many NFL trades where disputes become at least a little bit public ended with the quarterback one team moved from proving them right and wrong at the same time? Maybe it wasn’t Goff’s skills, or anything beyond his fit in McVay’s offense that made their pairing a less-than-ideal fit. In pro football, the pairing of scheme and skill set and roster talent around quarterbacks matters as much as, or more than, the strength built into their throwing arms. Maybe both sides were “right,” as far as anyone in the NFL can be. Maybe Goff is better in Detroit because he’s perfect for Detroit—knocked down, standing upright, unafraid of things such as postseason droughts and preseason analysis and this nagging idea that he wasn’t a franchise quarterback, that he couldn’t do precisely what he has done this season.

“I don’t know what you’d want different,” Whitworth says. “Jared’s an awesome part of this organization that hadn’t won in so long, and here’s this guy that, whatever you want to say about him, has found ways to win. And Sean has gone from winning a Super Bowl to having a disaster [season] to rebuilding in a matter of six months. It’s awesome to see them in these really cool spots, where it’s like, Man, this is exactly where I want to watch them play football—exactly where they’re at.

“I don’t think that happens too often.”

He’s right about that, too. The Goff-Rams-McVay breakup wasn’t smooth like most splits. But it also appears to have spurred growth in both the quarterback and his former coach. A “catalyst,” Whitworth calls it.

Whitworth on the Goff–McVay breakup: "It’s awesome to see them in these really cool spots, where it’s like, Man, this is exactly where I want to watch them play football—exactly where they’re at."

Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports

Having played for the Cincinnati Bengals in so many Super Bowl–less seasons, Whitworth understands the mettle necessary to enact improbable change, to end streaks and change narratives. Goff ranks among the most even-keel teammates he ever played with, which, Whitworth argues, is the kind of makeup required to do what Goff did last Sunday.

Just don’t mistake any of that for done, or peaked. Outsiders might look at Sunday’s matchup, against the surging but inconsistent Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and see an easy victory. But nothing has come easily for Goff, who went out and went to work and fought for his current situation, even when his own coach lost belief in him. Outsiders dismissed him, too, and not one time but for years.

Whitworth sees Detroit in Goff, a shared ethos between a city and the star quarterback who had lost some luster. He considers Goff’s roots in Northern California and the notion that, if the San Francisco 49ers beat the Green Bay Packers on Sunday evening, they will host the NFC championship game in another week.

Imagine that. Goff beats his old team. The Lions win their first playoff game since George H. W. Bush was president. Then Goff heads home, to face the formidable 49ers, and, should Detroit triumph, cements a Super Bowl berth near where he grew up. “I mean,” he says, “it’s a movie script.” With Goff in a starring role. “Jared has that personality like a punching bag,” Whitworth says. “You hit him, and he pops back up. You hit him, and he pops back up …”

Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin met with the media on Thursday for the first time since abruptly leaving his press conference on Monday when asked about his future with the team. 

In his postgame press conference after the Steelers’ loss to the Buffalo Bills on Monday evening, ESPN’s Brooke Pryor began her question to Tomlin by stating, “Mike, you have a year left on your contract.” Before Pryor could even finish the question, Tomlin stepped away from the podium and walked out of the room. 

But Tomlin was in a much better mood when he met with reporters on Thursday. 

Mike Tomlin: "Good afternoon. In a little better mood today, anybody got any contract questions?" pic.twitter.com/gDnIEh5roF

— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) January 18, 2024

He began his press conference with a hearty “Good afternoon!” and then cracked a joke.

“In a little better mood today,” Tomlin quipped, “anybody got any contract questions?”

Tomlin also addressed his decision to walk out of the press conference more seriously. 

“I’ll say this, I certainly could have handled that situation better than I did,” he said. “But I’ll also say this: I just believe there’s a time and place for everything, and postgame press conferences are probably not the place to address contract issues and things of that nature. It’s just a very individual thing. And on gameday, I doubt any of us are in that mindset. Certainly, I am not.”

As the great debate over the Los Angeles Lakers’ need for a significant change at the NBA trade deadline picks up steam, LeBron James had a simple statement that summed up his feelings when asked about the topic.

“I don’t play fantasy basketball,” James said, according to Ryan Ward of Lakers Nation.

The comment drew plenty of attention, but James expanded a bit beyond that, detailing how “disrespectful” it is to think about what the Lakers “need” or “don’t have.”

“What I do is focus on the guys that’s here and in this uniform and show up to work every day,” James said, per Ward. “It’s too disrespectful to be thinking about what we need or what we don’t have. I don’t do that to my teammates.”

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

“We’ve been putting in the work and that’s what we got to continue to do. We like the way we’ve been playing the last couple of games. We got to continue that Friday versus Brooklyn,” James concluded.

It’s unquestionably the “right” answer from James, who’s adopted this same approach of late while taking on a much-needed leadership role for the Lakers. And while numerous questions still linger around this Lakers team, they’ve at least managed to put together a few wins over the recent stretch of games, currently picking up back-to-back wins and emerging victorious in four of the last six games.

The Lakers have been linked to numerous names as the Feb. 8 trade deadline approaches. The initial popular name that’s swirled around the team is Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine, while Atlanta Hawks’ Dejounte Murray has been at the forefront of conversations recently.

Whether the Lakers will take a big swing and add a player like LaVine or Murray is the question on everyone’s mind currently. Still, one thing that feels certain is that it’s highly unlikely Rob Pelinka and company opt to stand pat entirely.

Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh has a contract extension offer with the university sitting on his desk. However, Harbaugh signing the extension and remaining with the Wolverines is far from a certainty.

His interest in a potential NFL return is no secret. Harbaugh has interviewed for numerous professional coaching jobs the last several offseasons, which includes discussions with the Los Angeles Chargers and Atlanta Falcons so far this coaching cycle. However, Harbaugh loves Michigan, and it would take the perfect situation for him to return to the NFL.

Fresh off a national championship, Michigan football fans are beginning to get antsy. Harbaugh’s future at the school remains unclear. As such, fans have gotten over the national title high, and instead have directed their frustrations toward University of Michigan president Santa Ono, as well as athletic director Warde Manuel. This is a good reminder that happiness and overall contentment is fleeting in major college athletics.

Here are some of the best reactions from social media, as Michigan fans continue to air their grievances with key decision makers within the administration:

Dear @SantaJOno, FIRE WARDE.😤

Sincerely,
The entire Michigan fanbase and Alumn.

— Zee🇵🇱 (@Szetela89) January 17, 2024

Day 1 of asking @SantaJOno why he is letting Michigan AD run this great athletic department into the ground. You have let down so many great fans who gives thousands of dollars to this great football program. You and warde should be ashamed!

— ben (@BenGerman200) January 18, 2024

Hoping @SantaJOno is doing his job correctly and having a sit down with warde to tell him you either get this contract done or you’re fired

— ben (@BenGerman200) January 18, 2024

Waiting on that contract @UMichAthletics @SantaJOno pic.twitter.com/69eQaVzAb9

— Tommy B (@snyder1512) January 17, 2024

So @SantaJOno
You need to fire Warde. You can’t let Harbaugh walk away.

— Michigan’s Armchair Quarterback (@ArmchairQB_UM) January 16, 2024

Do (literally) whatever it takes @SantaJOno. https://t.co/KX2RDAMHtm

— The Wolverine Daily (@WolverineDaily) January 11, 2024

Iowa guard Caitlin Clark is much more than an elite scorer, a destroyer of worlds, and the Big Ten's most famous non-football athlete in years.

As she proved Tuesday night, she is also a woman of the people.

After the No. 2 Hawkeyes crushed Wisconsin 96–50 Tuesday night, Clark gave her shoes to a young Iowa fan who had been imitating the team's warmup.

"Usually they don't say much, because I think they're in a little bit of shock," Clark said of young fans she meets. "That girl had my jersey on, it was cute. She was, like, copying our stretching warming up. I thought it was adorable. She was doing leg swings when we were doing leg swings."

Caitlin gave away her custom Sabrinas to this lucky fan

We later found out this was no coincidence: Franny, from Dubuque, was mimicking the Hawkeyes warming up and she was flattered. pic.twitter.com/DhnlBUJV9V

— Blake Hornstein (@BlakeHornTV) January 17, 2024

Blake Hornstein of WHBF-TV in Rock Island, Ill. identified the fan as Franny from Dubuque, Iowa.

"She was super happy to be there, and she was sitting courtside," Clark said. "It was something easy I could (do to) make her day, and I'm sure she loved it. So it was cool."

Clark finished with 32 points, seven rebounds and five assists as the Hawkeyes continued their spectacular season.

Elena Rybakina, the runner-up at last year’s Australian Open, crashed out of this year’s tournament in the second round after a marathon match. 

Anna Blinkova won the match 6–4, 4–6, 7–6 (20) after a 42-point tiebreaker that was the longest in Grand Slam history. Blinkova survived six match points in the final set to advance past the second round at a major for just the fourth time in her career. 

Elena Rybakina fought through a record-long tiebreaker before losing to Anna Blinkova at the Australian Open.

Susan Mullane/USA Today Sports

“I had so many match points,” Blinkova said on the court after the match. "I tried to be aggressive in these moments, but my hands were shaking. My legs, too."

The previous record for longest tiebreaker at a Grand Slam tournament was 38 points, shared by Lesia Tsurenko and Ana Bogdan at Wimbledon last year and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Andy Roddick at the 2007 Australian Open. 

Rybankina, who was the tournament’s No. 3 seed, is one of several top-10 women’s seeds to bow out of the competition in the first two rounds. Ons Jabeur, Jessica Pegula, Maria Sakkari and Marketa Vondrousova were all upset. 

Bernhard Langer, 66, will walk the hallowed fairways of Augusta National in competition for the last time this April. The two-time champion announced on Wednesday that the 2024 Masters will be his last.

“It’s going to be my last Masters this year, I’ve already decided on that. And probably will be my last U.S. Open too, unless some miracle happens in the future,” he said on Golf Channel. 

Langer made the decision public from Hawaii, where the PGA Tour Champions season kicks off with the Mitsubishi Electric Championship. 

This year’s Masters will mark Langer’s 41st start in the tournament. In addition to his two wins in 1985 and 1993, he has seven top-10 finishes at Augusta National. In 2020, he became the oldest player in Masters history to make the cut at age 63 and finished tied for 29th. 

“It’s exciting,” Langer said. “At the same time, I am aware that I’m going to be hitting 3-irons and 2-hybrids when the guys are hitting 9-irons into the green, and that’s tough to compete against.”

“But it’s a challenge, and I usually don’t shy away from challenges.” 

The end of an era at Augusta.

2-time Masters champion @BernhardLanger6 announces this year will be his final Masters. pic.twitter.com/orxRvgvNlr

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) January 17, 2024

The German holds over 60 worldwide titles and has played in 10 Ryder Cups for Team Europe. On the PGA Tour Champions, which he has played full time since turning 50, Langer has 46 wins including 12 senior major championships. Last month, Langer and his son Jason triumphed for the third time at the PNC Championship, the PGA Tour’s parent-child tournament. 

The Masters will be played from April 11-14. 

Bobby Hurley didn’t want to talk about the officiating during Arizona State’s matchup with UCLA on Wednesday night. However, in doing so, he ended up saying plenty during his postgame press conference. 

The Sun Devils lost to the Bruins, 68–66, blowing a 15-point lead in the defeat. That would be enough reason for Hurley to be upset. But Arizona State’s coach was particularly worked up about the foul disparity that resulted in UCLA (8–10, 3–4) getting nine more free throws. Additionally, the Sun Devils (10–7, 4–2) were called for four technical fouls in the game.

Whether it was to avoid a fine or other penalty from the Pac-12, Hurley refused to directly criticize the officials after the game. However, he was seething when speaking to reporters. 

“I wish I could say how I really feel right now,” Hurley said as he sat down for postgame questions. “But I’m not gonna do that. I am not gonna say how I really feel.”

“So I am just going to start out by saying when you look at the stat sheet, I’m proud of my team’s shooting percentages from three, from two against a very good defensive team that’s starting to find itself,” he added. “We had six turnovers as opposed to their 11. That’s all I’m going to say, really. I’m not going to say anything. I’m not going to talk about how I feel. So feel free to ask me anything you want.” 

BOBBY HURLEY IS HOT!!!!

"I'm not going to talk about how I feel right now!"
"We were the bad guys!"@12SportsAZ pic.twitter.com/W5C3g9fU3q

— Cameron Cox (@CamCox12) January 18, 2024

Naturally, reporters wanted to ask about what Hurley said he wouldn’t talk about. He did elaborate that he was happy about everything that happened on the court–besides the free-throw line. And he revealed a bit more with each question.

For instance, none of the referees provided what Hurley viewed as a suitable explanation. He acknowledged that he could’ve handled himself better, yet stated “We’re the bad guys. Say hello to the bad guys.” 

That is sure to be printed on a T-shirt for Arizona State fans soon. Those might be available already.