Taylor Swift’s music wields the power to lay bare a listener’s soul. To true Swifties, Taylor isn’t just singing. Her lyrics resonate. Even Ole Miss’ 49-year-old football coach sees a bit of himself in those lyrics. Consider Lane Kiffin a Swiftie. He appreciates her music, and although he didn’t embrace Swift’s latest album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” with as much …

Rachel Doerrie, ESPNJun 25, 2024, 12:30 PM ET CloseRachel Doerrie is a professional data consultant specializing in data communication and modelling. She’s worked in the NHL and consulted for professional teams across North American and Europe. She hosts the Staff & Graph Podcast and discusses sports from a data-driven perspective. NHL draft week is officially upon us. The Stanley Cup …

Which schools have recruited well enough to emerge as national champion in the 2024 season? To determine this, it’s essential to understand the level of talent required to clinch college football’s biggest prize, according to recent standards. I set out to answer this question over a decade ago by creating the Blue-Chip Ratio. Since its inception in 2013, the Blue-Chip …

Ben Arthur AFC South Reporter The decision to make a change came from collaboration.  Will Levis knew he didn’t throw at his best as a rookie. The ball wasn’t coming out of his hand as he would’ve liked it to. That led to conversations with the Titans’ new offensive staff — specifically with head coach Brian Callahan, offensive coordinator Nick …

Fresh off the heels of Oklahoma landing its top target for the quarterback position in the class of 2026, the dominoes have already begun to fall for the Sooners and their recruitment of the QB position for the class of 2027. On Monday, Jaden O’Neal, a top-100 player and four-star quarterback from California, announced his commitment to Oklahoma. Oklahoma surged …

There’s nothing quite like a salary cap draft (formerly known as auction drafts). I compare it to playing Madden on All-Pro level as opposed to snake drafts equating to Madden on rookie mode. That’s how strongly I feel about it. In salary cap drafts, every player is available. If you want Christian McCaffrey you’re not bound to whatever draft position …

As part of its effort to defend against the narrow claims of the Sunday Ticket trial, the NFL painted with a very broad brush regarding the potential ramifications of teams having to sell their own TV rights. In a nutshell, the league’s lawyers have suggested (via the evidence they presented) that a loss in this case would create a massive …

Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporterJun 25, 2024, 11:44 AM ET CloseRyan S. Clark is an NHL reporter for ESPN. Colorado Avalanche center Casey Mittelstadt signed a three-year contract with the team Tuesday. Terms were not disclosed, but a team source told ESPN that Mittelstadt will earn $5.75 million annually. Getting Mittelstadt, who was to be a restricted free agent, signed …

Michigan State football has extended a scholarship to an elite defensive prospect in the 2026 class. Bott Mulitalo of American Fork, Utah announced last week that he’s received a scholarship offer from the Spartans. Mulitalo is a four-star defensive line prospect in the 2026 class. Mulitalo ranks as the No. 7 defensive lineman in 247Sports’ composite rankings for the 2026 …

Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporterJun 25, 2024, 11:31 AM ET CloseRyan S. Clark is an NHL reporter for ESPN. Philadelphia Flyers draftee Matvei Michkov is leaving his KHL club SKA St. Petersburg to join the NHL this offseason. The 19-year-old winger was selected by the Flyers with the seventh pick of the 2023 NHL draft. For the Flyers or any …

Bears’ 53-man roster projection: Few questions to answer in training camp with one exception originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago After two-plus years of rebuilding, general manager Ryan Poles proclaimed making the Bears’ 2024 roster in training camp would be difficult. He wasn’t wrong. In each of the past two offseasons, we have headed toward training camp with a number …

The SEC occupies a wide spectrum of expectations as the league expands to 16 teams this season. For some, every season is national championship-or-bust and anything less constitutes a complete failure. Others are perfectly content with scraping by towards a bowl game, or even stringing together a couple conference wins amid a loaded slate of games.  All viewpoints are completely …

After spending his first six seasons with the Giants, running back Saquon Barkley signed a three-year deal with the Eagles in March. Barkley figures to be a centerpiece of Philadelphia’s offense, which is an exciting proposition for a veteran offensive lineman like Lane Johnson. “Once you see him, you’ll never forget, just [a] physically imposing guy,” Johnson said in an …

The Oklahoma Sooners are looking for their first running back commitment of an already-impressive 2026 Recruiting Class. One insider believes OU will find that in a local product. OUInsider’s Parker Thune issued a Rivals FutureCast for four-star running back prospect Kaydin Jones out of Jenks High School in Oklahoma. Jones is the number three player in the state according to Rivals, …

Getty Images The Philadelphia Eagles endured a historic collapse in 2023, losing six of their final seven games, including playoffs, despite starting 10-1 and coming off a Super Bowl shootout with the Kansas City Chiefs. A year later, star lineman Lane Johnson says the team is “eager” to prove it’s back on the right track. “We have a lot of …