Ah well so. The President is now involving himself with the Big Ten's decision to cancel fall sports, thus forcing this site to consider whether he is likely to have any impact on the situation. Here's a video of the president saying that people were throwing bags of soup at police. It seems unlikely this man will have any positive impact on the situation.

Is there a situation? Dan Patrick has a source saying that the Big 10 may reverse course and try to start up October 10th:

DP Gives an update on his Big Ten report: "Why October 10th? That's the latest they can play and still be in the Playoffs." pic.twitter.com/ULl5vXqYIE

— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) September 2, 2020

There's a lot of hedging in this item above, and other Sources are dumping on it pretty hard. Pete Thamel:

To say multiple sources denied the notion of the Big Ten playing immediately would not be strong enough. The sources heartily laughed at it. The notion of playing around Thanksgiving is in embryonic discussion, and there’s a desire among coaches to start as early as possible. But “immediately” is in another universe, especially with multiple Big Ten teams not even having players on campus right now.

Dan Patrick says this source was the same one who was out in front of the Big Ten's cancellation, but that resulted in a report of a 12-2 vote of some variety which apparently did not happen. I'd put Thamel's cadre of sources ahead of Dan Patrick's solitary, already wobbly one. Likelihood of an October surprise: ~1%.

Man I bet Kevin Warren thought this was going to be a cushy gig. Instead everyone's furious at him for other people's votes and he has to get on the phone with a [redacted] and listen to it blather on about all the strokes it didn't have and how antifa bought all the mulligatawny because it's foreign.

[After THE JUMP: presidential debates should just be Jeopardy! Fact.]

Doomed, if true. Penn State's top athletic doctor:

During a State College Area school board of directors meeting on Monday night, Wayne Sebastianelli — Penn State’s director of athletic medicine — made some alarming comments about the link between COVID-19 and myocarditis, particularly in Big Ten athletes. Sebastianelli said that cardiac MRI scans revealed that approximately a third of Big Ten athletes who tested positive for COVID-19 appeared to have myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle that can be fatal if left unchecked.

“When we looked at our COVID-positive athletes, whether they were symptomatic or not, 30 to roughly 35 percent of their heart muscles (are) inflamed,” Sebastianelli said. “And we really just don’t know what to do with it right now. It’s still very early in the infection. Some of that has led to the Pac-12 and the Big Ten’s decision to sort of put a hiatus on what’s happening.”

That is a big difference between the previous statements about myocarditis in Big Ten athletes. When the issue first made it to the public consciousness the fact that 10 to 15 Big Ten athletes had been diagnosed was cited. That rate would mean that Rutgers football alone would have 10 guys.

That's alarming, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's get a second opinion.

@ClayTravis thoughts? This seems... off?

— Griff Lucas (@PowerNaus) September 3, 2020

Truly the stupidest timeline.

More in stupidest timeline. Almost half of Power 5 schools will not disclose their COVID testing numbers. Many of them are citing HIPAA, which obviously does not apply:

Many of the schools that declined to give data to ESPN cited federal student privacy laws, university protocols and other confidentiality considerations, although legal experts say those laws shouldn't be applied to such a request because the data wouldn't identify specific students.

Michigan was one of ten schools that answered all of ESPN's questions.

Basketball plans solidify. Per the Athletic the Division 1 oversight council is expected to move the start of basketball season back two weeks to November 25th, which is the day before Thanksgiving. Many schools have altered their schedules so that students will not return to campus after the Thanksgiving break; hopefully the late reduces fiasco levels somewhat.

Also in the offing: bubbles. Michigan's neutral site tourney this year is run by these guys:

The Gazelle Group, which operates several events scheduled for Madison Square Garden and the Barclays Center, and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, which puts on the Hall of Fame Tip-Off and Hall of Fame Invitational, are proposing another bubble model with an intriguing twist. They are going to invite several teams to come to Mohegan Sun, the casino resort in Uncasville, Conn., during a two-week window in December. Not only would those teams have the chance to play games already scheduled, but they also would be given the opportunity to cross-pollinate with the other events and pick up additional opponents.

Rick Giles, the president of the Gazelle Group, says he is talking to additional schools that have expressed interest in joining up. If the season begins 15 days later than normal, schools around the country will be looking to make up games. Schools also are also anticipating cancellations of nonconference games that are usually held on campus, creating a demand for matchups made on the fly.

Michigan was scheduled to play two games at Madison Square Garden. Instead they might end up going to a bubble and get many of their nonconference games in that way. That two week window would probably have to be pretty rapid-fire if it is Michigan's main/only nonconference slate. Six games? Seven?

Also in the Athletic. Brendan Quinn previews the season. There is the requisite amount of Franz hype but I thought this was an interesting thing from Columbia transfer Mike Smith:

“I don’t know if I necessarily see myself like (Simpson) because I don’t need the ball,” Smith says. “I’m not a (ball-) dominant guard, where I need to come off ball screens to create. I feel like this team, a lot of these guys have played with each other and they have one more year in Coach Howard’s system, and it’s going to open up other doors for people to create for themselves, instead of one person having to create for them, which was what I saw when I watched the film. That’s why (Simpson) had nine assists per game, because he was creating for everybody else, which I can do, but, like, I don’t feel like I need to do that. I mean, if Coach tells me that’s what he needs me to do, then, hey, I’m going to dribble the ball like I’m James Harden and find everybody.”

When Smith committed to Michigan we noted that his mediocre efficiency had a lot to do with his giant usage and the team around him. He appeared to have the #1 translatable skill for an up-transfer: a sweet stroke. Smith was a 95th percentile spot-up shooter last year. If Michigan can find spot-ups for him that should go very well. Getting spot-ups for a 5'10" kid who's supposed to be your point guard is the trick.

Hello fast person. Hockey picked up a commitment from Minnesota forward Jackson Hallum recently. The Draft Analyst on his performance at the Minnesota state tournament:

The first thing you notice about Hallum is his speed – pound for pound, he could be the fastest skater in the entire 2020 draft class, let alone in the State of Hockey.

But having elite speed is just part of Hallum’s consistent contributions. He is a versatile checker but also a strong playmaker and accurate passer with good vision. One of the things I like the most about Hallum is that he makes heady plays while slicing through the neutral zone at top spot. All his movements are fluid no matter the direction, and he will peel away from pressure or execute a timely chip and chase rather than try to take on three or four opponents at once. Hallum also plays physical, is an in-your-face forechecker, and can anchor the top penalty-killing unit. There’s some Ryder Rolston in his game from a stylistic standpoint, but Hallum is more creative as a playmaking center than a shoot-first winger. He’s uncommitted but should have his choice of premier Division I schools.

Sounds like he could be in the Dwight Helminen/Carl Hagelin vein of extremely fast defensive centers with some offensive upside. Michigan gets commits from Minnesota high school players so rarely I have no context for his numbers. He had 61 point in 43 games last year, but he's in leagues where guys score well over 2 or even 3 PPG. There's a guy in his league who put up almost 4 PPG who Neutral Zone barely ranks!

Hallum's likely to be in the USHL next year after Green Bay took him, and that'll provide some context that's more useful.

Etc.: Kork Coupons self-Dragos. College players already sign all sorts of crazy crap that in any other context would clearly designate them as employees. Minnesota gets a waiver for a 7-foot Drake transfer. Max Bultman on hockey's incoming class, stay inside, sacrifice all for hockey. Good breakdowns of Matt Beniers and Johnny Beecher at the Daily. It's a post-X world.

This year's Madden is a doozy.

Upcoming vote of no confidence in the administration. More on myocarditis. One man's bad math ruined English soccer. What rescued it? A guy with a horn incessantly playing Earth Wind & Fire's "September" during all national team games, men's and women's.