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Inspirational thought of the week:

When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary

When troubles come and my heart burdened be

Then, I am still and wait here in the silence

Until You come and sit awhile with me.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains

You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas

I am strong, when I am on your shoulders

You raise me up to more than I can be

— “You Raise Me Up,” Josh Groban

Here at Bottom 10 Headquarters, located in the cargo hold filled with kibble in the belly of Ben Herbstreit’s private canine jet, we, like those who scream “CAN I PET HIM?!” to Kirk Herbstreit every weekend, desperately seek out heartwarming inspiration.

So, imagine the Marcus Spears-sized warm-and-fuzzies we felt last Friday night when the centerpiece showcase game in all of college football was a contest between the teams formerly known as the Kansas Nayhawks and unLv. Not so long ago in seasons not so far away, KU and the Fightin’ Tark Sharks were among those teams in a perpetual whirlpool battle for Bottom 10 suppressed supremacy. Nary was there a year during the first decade I was charged with helming this hole-filled vessel that those two weren’t featured barnacles stuck to the side of the Bottom 10 boat.

But then, sitting at the bar Friday night as I was on the road to cover this grand sport, there they were. On national television. On all the televisions in said watering hole. The room was riveted. KU finished 2023 in the hoity-toity Top 25, and by game’s end UNLV had earned its first ranking in that same fancy-schmancy poll.

What does that tell us? It tells us that hope is good. It tells us that dreaming is OK. Even when I am suddenly reminded of where I was when I was watching that game Friday night: Gainesville, Florida.

“Hey, man!” an overserved gentleman dressed sloppily in orange, blue and green shouted to me, pointing to the Gators logo on his shirt with one hand as he clung to the bar for balance with the other. “You think we can be as good as them two teams one day?”

With apologies to former Florida State corner Chris Hope, University of St. Thomas running back Hope Adebayo, Bob Hope’s All-America Team and Steve Harvey, here’s the post-Week 3 Bottom 10 rankings.

We heard from so many angry loyal subjects of the State of Kent last week that we thought we were at a Renaissance Faire. Were they throwing tomatoes and casting witches’ spells our way because their beloved brethren were in the Bottom 10? Nay! They were hotter than a, well, Golden Flash, because last week they were — in the words of a Twitter/X user who I believe was named @YesJackLambertActuallyPlayedHere — “What do we have to do to prove to you morons that we are the worst team in football?” Turns out, trailing Tennessee 65-0 at the half was enough to do the trick.


The Owls had already made their FBS road debut and their FBS home debut, so when they traveled to San Jose State to lose 31-10, it was their “Hey, SJSU, here’s a copy of our résumé, please take it with you when you have your meeting to try to join the new Pac-12 and yes we did like Elle Woods and made it pink and scented to give it a little something extra” debut.


The Zips followed up their two-week Big Ten check collection tour with a visit from Colgate. Akron won but failed to cover against a team that was 0-2 and picked to finish fourth in the six-team Patriot League. Also, if you laid down cash against the spread in the Akron-Colgate game, you might want to find a different hobby. Speaking of payouts, Akron now travels to Williams-Brice Stadium to face South Carolina.


The Minors asked for Liberty but were given death by a 28-10 score. UTEP opens the season with three of its first four games on the road, followed by a bye week and then finally playing a second home game on Oct. 3, aka Week 6. By then they will have been gone so long the Sun Bowl will be turned into a Spirit Halloween.


After all those years that the UW Huskies made their Thanksgiving living out of snatching the Apple Cup from the favored hands of Washington State, now they played the game in September as a new nonconference game and did so at the end of the same week that Wazzu helped orchestrate the Gravedigger-like resurrection of the Pac-Whatever of which Washington was a member like 10 minutes ago. Hey, Huskies, if you’re nice, maybe they’ll let you come back. No? You’re good? Cool cool cool. We’ll check back in mid-November after your trips to Piscataway, Iowa City, Bloomington and State College. Then again, maybe you’ll like having more frequent frequent flyer miles than George Clooney in “Up in the Air.”


Once again, Temple has to settle for being our second-highest-flying parliament of Strigiformes, forced to sail in the broken wind that trails Kennesaw in the race for Bottom 10 Owl air supremacy. Now they host Bottom 10 watch list members Utah State Not Utah, aka the Other Other Aggies. Speaking of Aggies …


Last week we joked that the L-obos should call their Land of Enchantment mortal enemies for the cheat code on Auburn, seeing as how the Other Aggies (one Other) had beaten Hugh Freeze the past two years in a row. Maybe they did. Because Whew Mexico had Snore Eagle on the ropes for a while, trailing only 17-13 at the half. Then they were outscored 28-6 in the second half. Maybe New Mexico State sent them the “How to Beat Hugh Freeze” playbook tablet, but purposely only charged the iPad halfway so it would go dead at halftime.


The Minuetmen don’t join the MAC until next year but opened the season with three straight #MACtion opponents and lost all three. This weekend they finally get back to being their true Lexington Green independent selves when they face Central Connecticut. But … wait a feathered-tricorn hat here … the next two games they travel to play My Hammy of Ohio and the Fighting Irish Stompers of Northern Illinois? But they still aren’t actually in the MAC? This is like that Leo DiCaprio movie where he convinces everyone he’s actually a doctor, a lawyer and an airline pilot just by showing up at a hospital, courtroom and airport and saying that he was a doctor, lawyer and airline pilot.


The good news? Charlotte finally won a football game. The bad news? They beat the FCS Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs by one point and had to come back from 17-down in the second half to do it. Calling this a win is like burning all the cupcakes in the pan but one.


Remember when those in FSU circles pointed to the fact that Cal was joining the ACC as a surefire sign that the conference was on its last legs because Cal was so generic at football and Cal was not worthy of being in the same conference with mighty Florida By God State. This weekend the 3-0 Bears face the 0-3 Noles, the same Noles who at last check were favored by a massive 2 points over the little ol’ hippie refuge school out of Berkeley. At home. With a roster that might have 16 NFL draft picks. That’s how you graduate from the Coveted Fifth Spot to the actual Bottom 10. We look forward to hearing from FSU’s lawyers. Everyone else has. Perhaps they can sue us all out of having to watch the Sunshine Showdown with Florida at the end of the season.

Waiting list: Flori-duh, Living on Tulsa Time, Southern Missed, UCan’t, Muddled Tennessee State, Not The Jacksonville You Think It Is State, “Why, oming?”, more flopping.

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Manfred to rule on Rose ban after Trump meeting

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Manfred to rule on Rose ban after Trump meeting

NEW YORK — Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said he discussed Pete Rose with President Donald Trump at a meeting two weeks ago and he plans to rule on a request to end the sport’s permanent ban of the career hits leader, who died in September.

Speaking Monday at a meeting of the Associated Press Sports Editors, Manfred said he and Trump discussed several issues, including concerns over how immigration policies could impact players from Cuba, Venezuela and other foreign countries.

Manfred is considering a petition to have Rose posthumously removed from MLB’s permanently ineligible list. The petition was filed in January by Jeffrey Lenkov, a Southern California lawyer who represented Rose prior to the 17-time All-Star’s death at age 83.

“I met with President Trump two weeks ago … and one of the topics was Pete Rose, but I’m not going beyond that,” Manfred said. “He’s said what he said publicly. I’m not going beyond that in terms of what the back and forth was.”

Trump posted on social media Feb. 28 that he plans to issue “a complete PARDON of Pete Rose.” Trump posted on Truth Social that Rose “shouldn’t have been gambling on baseball, but only bet on HIS TEAM WINNING.”

It’s unclear what a presidential pardon might include. Trump did not specifically mention a tax case in which Rose pleaded guilty in 1990 to two counts of filing false tax returns and served a five-month prison sentence.

The president said he would sign a pardon for Rose “over the next few weeks” but has not addressed the matter since.

Rose had 4,256 hits and also holds records for games (3,562) and plate appearances (15,890). He was the 1973 National League MVP and played on three World Series winners.

An investigation for MLB by lawyer John M. Dowd found Rose placed numerous bets on the Cincinnati Reds to win from 1985-87 while playing for and managing the team. Rose agreed with MLB on a permanent ban in 1989.

Lenkov is seeking Rose’s reinstatement so that he can be considered for the Hall of Fame. Under a rule adopted by the Hall’s board of directors in 1991, anyone on the permanently ineligible list can’t be considered for election to the Hall. Rose applied for reinstatement in 1997 and met with Commissioner Bud Selig in November 2002, but Selig never ruled on Rose’s request. Manfred in 2015 denied Rose’s application for reinstatement.

Manfred said reinstating Rose now was “a little more complicated than it might appear on the outside” and did not commit to a timeline except that “I want to get it done promptly as soon as we get the work done.”

“I’m not going to give this the pocket veto,” Manfred said. “I will in fact issue a ruling.”

Rose’s reinstatement doesn’t mean he would automatically appear on a Hall of Fame ballot. He would first have to be nominated by the Hall’s Historical Overview Committee, which is picked by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and approved by the Hall’s board.

Manfred said he has been in regular contact with chairman Jane Forbes Clark.

“I mean, believe me, a lot of Hall of Fame dialogue on this one,” Manfred said.

If reinstated, Rose potentially would be eligible for consideration to be placed on a ballot to be considered by the 16-member Classic Baseball Era committee in December 2027.

Manfred said he doesn’t think baseball’s current ties to legal sports betting should color views on Rose’s case.

“There is and always has been a clear demarcation between what Rob Manfred, ordinary citizen, can do on the one hand, and what someone who has the privilege to play or work in Major League Baseball can do on the other in respect to gambling,” Manfred said. “The fact that the law changed, and we sell data and/or sponsorships, which is essentially all we do, to sports betting enterprises, I don’t think changes that.

“It’s a privilege to play Major League Baseball. As with every privilege, there comes responsibilities. One of those responsibilities is that they not bet on the game.”

Manfred did not go into details on his discussion with Trump over foreign-born players other than to say he expressed worry.

“Given the number of foreign-born players we have, we’re always concerned about ingress and egress,” Manfred said. “We have had dialogue with the administration about this topic. And, you know, they’re very interested in sports. They understand the unique need to be able to go back and forth, and I’m going to leave it at that.”

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Braves activate RHP Anderson, sign OF Rosario

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Braves activate RHP Anderson, sign OF Rosario

It was old faces in familiar places for the Atlanta Braves on Monday after they activated right-hander Ian Anderson to the active roster and signed outfielder Eddie Rosario to a major league contract.

In corresponding moves, outfielder Jarred Kelenic was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett, while right-hander Davis Daniel was optioned to Triple-A after Sunday’s game.

Both Anderson and Rosario emerged as 2021 postseason heroes in Atlanta as the Braves went on to win the World Series.

Anderson, who was claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday, went 4-0 with a 1.26 ERA in eight postseason starts for the Braves over the 2020 and 2021 postseasons.

In the 2021 World Series, Anderson famously pitched five no-hit innings in Game 3 to lead Atlanta to a 2-0 victory over the Houston Astros. The Braves defeated the Astros in six games.

Anderson, who turns 27 Friday, was traded by the Braves to the Angels on March 23 for left-hander Jose Suarez. He struggled badly with his new club, going 0-1 with an 11.57 ERA in seven relief appearances. He allowed 17 hits and seven walks in just 9⅓ innings.

Rosario, 33, signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in February and played in two games with the club, going 1-for-4. He was designated for assignment and became a free agent when Shohei Ohtani returned from the paternity list just over a week ago.

Rosario was the 2021 National League Championship Series MVP, when he powered the Braves past the Dodgers with three home runs, nine RBIs and a 1.647 OPS in six games.

Over parts of 11 seasons, Rosario is a career .261 hitter with 169 home runs and 583 RBIs in 1,123 games with five different clubs, including five seasons with the Minnesota Twins (2015-20) and four with the Braves (2021-24).

Kelenic, 25, was batting .167 with two home runs in 23 games and is a career .211 hitter with 49 home runs and 156 RBIs in 406 games with the Seattle Mariners (2021-23) and Braves.

Daniel, 27, made his only appearance for the Braves on Sunday with a scoreless inning and has appeared in 10 games (six starts) over the past three seasons with a 4.95 ERA.

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Two-time Cup winner Sullivan out as Pens coach

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Two-time Cup winner Sullivan out as Pens coach

Mike Sullivan, who led the Pittsburgh Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017, is out as the team’s head coach, it was announced Monday.

Sullivan was the longest-tenured coach in Penguins history after just completing his 10th season. The 57-year-old, who also coached Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off, was under contract in Pittsburgh through 2026-27.

In a statement, Penguins GM Kyle Dubas said the decision was “the best course forward for all involved” as Pittsburgh navigates a transitional period.

“On behalf of Fenway Sports Group and the Penguins organization, I would like to thank Mike Sullivan for his unwavering commitment and loyalty to the team and City of Pittsburgh over the past decade,” Dubas said. “Mike is known for his preparation, focus and fierce competitiveness. I was fortunate to have a front-row seat to his dedication to this franchise for the past two seasons. He will forever be an enormous part of Penguins history, not only for the impressive back-to-back Cups, his impact on the core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Bryan Rust, but more importantly, for his love and loyalty to the organization. This was not a decision that was taken lightly, but as we continue to navigate the Penguins through this transitional period, we felt it was the best course forward for all involved.”

The Penguins have missed the playoffs for three straight seasons as Dubas works to retool the team into a contender while Crosby is still competing at a high level. Crosby just completed his 20th straight season in which he posted a point-per-game scoring pace, and he was voted by his peers in the NHLPA as the league’s most complete player. The captain is under contract through next season on a two-year extension he signed prior to the 2024-25 season.

Sullivan was elevated to Penguins head coach in 2015 after leading the organization’s AHL team in Wilkes-Barre. With 409 wins in Pittsburgh, he leaves as the Penguins’ all-time wins leader.

With Sullivan’s departure, there are now seven head-coaching vacancies in the NHL. The Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers, Anaheim Ducks, Seattle Kraken and New York Rangers are also searching for new coaches right now. According to sources, Sullivan has been atop the Rangers’ wish list.

Sources also said Sullivan is keen on coaching again next season and will be a top candidate for several of the vacancies. Sullivan worked as an assistant coach with the Rangers and as both an assistant and head coach with the Bruins earlier in his career.

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