One of the most accomplished coaches in college football history with seven national championships, Saban will be joining ESPN, it was announced Wednesday.
Saban, 72, will primarily serve as an analyst on ESPN’s “College GameDay” and also will lend his expertise across ESPN’s platforms to a variety of events, including the NFL draft and SEC media days.
“ESPN and College GameDay have played such an important role in the growth of college football, and I’m honored to have the opportunity to join their team,” Saban said in a statement. “I’ll do my best to offer additional insights and perspectives to contribute to College GameDay, the ultimate Saturday tradition for college football fans.”
Saban has appeared multiple times as a guest on “College GameDay” alongside new teammates Rece Davis, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and Pat McAfee.
“Nick Saban is a singular, iconic presence in college football,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement. “He is also an extremely gifted communicator, who will immediately add even more credibility, authority and entertainment value to ESPN, including our esteemed College GameDay show.”
In his 17 campaigns with the Crimson Tide, Saban won 201 games — tied with Vince Dooley (Georgia) for the second-most wins at a single school in SEC history, behind only Bear Bryant, who won 232 games in his 25 seasons with Alabama.
In addition to six national titles, Saban also won nine SEC championships at Alabama.
In his 28 years as a college head coach — a career that included seven national titles, 12 conference championships (11 SEC, 1 MAC) and 19 bowl game wins — Saban never had a losing season. His worst seasons were at Michigan State in 1996 and 1998 when the Spartans finished .500.
He made a two-year foray into the NFL to coach the Miami Dolphins before returning to college football to revive one of its most storied programs, which hadn’t won a national title in 15 years. He won more games in 17 seasons at Alabama (201) than the Crimson Tide had won in the 24 seasons between Bryant’s retirement and Saban’s hiring (171).
Saban is 292-71-1 as a college coach, ranking him sixth all time in the FBS in wins and 12th in NCAA college football history regardless of division. He led Toledo to a MAC championship in 1990, his lone season as that program’s coach. He then worked as Bill Belichick’s defensive coordinator with the Cleveland Browns for four seasons before becoming the first Michigan State coach to lead his first three teams to bowl games then taking LSU to the 2003 national title.
EDMONTON, Alberta — Reilly Smith scored with 0.4 seconds left on a shot that deflected in off Edmonton forward Leon Draisaitl‘s stick to give the Vegas Golden Knights a stunning 4-3 victory in Game 3 on Saturday night.
Smith’s goal is tied for the latest game winner in regulation in Stanley Cup playoffs history along with Nazem Kadri‘s goal for the Colorado Avalanche in 2020 and Jussi Jokinen’s goal for the Carolina Hurricanes in 2009, according to ESPN Research.
“Honestly, I’ve seen [Vegas forward William Karlsson] use that play a few times where he forechecks and spins it out in front of the net, jumping off the bench,” Smith said when asked about the play. “I think there was around seven seconds. I just tried. And being first on it. … So I thought there was a chance. And once it popped out I saw a lot of guys sell out. So I just hope that I had enough time to kind of pump-fake and find a lane and, you know, worked out.”
The game-winning goal came after Oilers star Connor McDavid tied it with 3:02 to go with a centering pass that went in off defender Brayden McNabb‘s skate.
“We didn’t sort it out very well to let the puck get into the slot. After that, it’s unlucky, it’s unfortunate,” Draisaitl said of the game-winning goal. “It goes off my stick, and I’m just trying to keep it out of the net. It’s just a bad bounce.”
After Corey Perry gave Edmonton an early 2-0 lead, Nicolas Roy and Smith tied it with goals in a 54-second span late in the first period. Karlsson put the Golden Knights in front with 2:55 left in the second, beating goalie Stuart Skinner off a give-and-go play with Noah Hanifin. And Adin Hill made 17 saves for Vegas.
The Golden Knights’ win Saturday cut Edmonton’s lead to 2-1 in the Western Conference semifinal series. Game 4 is Monday night in Edmonton.
“Before the series starts, if you were to tell us that we were gonna be up 2-1 after three, we’d be happy,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. “We’d be pleased with that, not only up 2-1, but Game 4 at home.”
“Big win for our team,” Smith said. “We need to use the momentum in front of us to push forward, but focus one game at a time. That’s kind of always been the mindset for this group. We have a lot of resiliency. So as long as you focus on that next game and get a little bit better every night.”
Roy, playing a day after being fined but not suspended for cross-checking Trent Frederic in the face in overtime in Game 2, cut it to 2-1 off a rebound with 4:43 left in the first. Smith then slipped a backhander through Skinner’s legs with 3:49 to go in the period.
Skinner stopped 20 shots, taking over in goal for the injured Calvin Pickard. Pickard appeared uncomfortable and was seen shaking out his left leg after Vegas forward Tomas Hertl landed on his left pad in Game 2.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Boston Red Sox put first baseman Romy Gonzalez on the 10-day injured list with a left-quad contusion, retroactive to May 8. In a corresponding move, the Red Sox recalled second baseman Nick Sogard from Triple-A Worcester with a plan to have him split time with Abraham Toro.
Sogard was in the starting lineup Saturday against Kansas City left-hander Cole Ragans. He went 1-for-4 with a walk and a run scored in Boston’s 10-1 win.
“I think it’s a short-term thing,” Boston manager Alex Cora said of Gonzalez before Saturday’s game. “He wasn’t bouncing back the way we expected early. So it makes sense just to take care of him and he’ll be alright.”
There was plenty of drama following Thursday’s win over the Texas Rangers, when designated hitter Rafael Devers said he wouldn’t play first base. That caused the Red Sox brass to travel to Kansas City for meetings with Devers. Cora was asked if this latest move might lead to Devers starting to take ground balls at first base.
“We’ll keep talking about stuff,” he said, deflecting the question. “We’ll keep looking for our alternatives. We’ll do what we need to do to keep getting better. We’ve got Romy, we’ve got Toro now, and we’ve got Sogi. That’s the route we’re going to have right now.”
Devers had a big night at the plate Saturday, going 4-for-4 with three RBIs.
Gonzalez was hitting .308 in 17 games after replacing Triston Casas, who is out for the year with a ruptured tendon in his left knee. He has an OPS of .785.
Sogard made his season debut Saturday, after hitting .188 in 28 games with Worcester. His OPS is .562. He hit .273 in 31 games with Boston in 2024.
“He’s a good defender,” Cora said. “He’s a good player. We’ll mix and match with him and Toro. Today (Kansas City has) a tough lefty on the mound, so I think it made sense for him to play. The two of them will be splitting first the next week or so.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
The Colorado Rockies fell to 6-33 after a 21-0 drubbing at the hands of the San Diego Padres on Saturday night in Denver, matching the 1988 Baltimore Orioles for the worst 39-game start in the majors since 1900.
Fernando Tatis Jr. and Xander Bogaerts hit home runs in the fifth inning, part of a five-homer game for San Diego, while Stephen Kolek (2-0) tossed a shutout in his second major league start. It was the biggest shutout win in Padres franchise history and tied for the third-biggest shutout win in MLB since 1901.
The Rockies have lost eight straight games and are headed to their seventh consecutive losing season and a possible third straight 100-loss season with manager Bud Black at the helm.
Despite the struggles, Rockies general manager Bill Schmidt backed Black before Saturday night’s game, telling The Denver Post that he believes the season still can be turned around.
“I think our guys are still playing hard, and that’s what I look at,” Schmidt told the Post. “Guys are working hard every day, they come with energy, for the most part. I don’t think we are [at that point of firing Black]. Guys still believe in what we are doing and where we are headed. We are all frustrated.”
Colorado has lost its past four games by at least eight runs each and is the first team to allow 10 or more runs in four straight games since the 2021 Orioles.
Schmidt said he’s looking for “growth” as the season goes along.
“I feel for the fans, I feel for the people around here,” he said. “I know we are better than we have played, but we are not good right now. We have to battle through it and get to the other side.
“There are still a lot of games left. I think we can turn it around, but it’s going to take a whole group to do it. The guys are working to get better.”
The Associated Press and ESPN Research contributed to this report.
