Yahoo Sports AM: The SEC is in a league of its own

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🚨 Headlines

🏈 MNF doubleheader: The Vikings improved to 12-2 with a 30-12 win over the Bears, who have lost eight straight games; the Falcons limped past the two-win Raiders, 15-9, to snap a four-game losing streak and get back to .500 (7-7).

⛳️ Paid to play: For the first time ever, American golfers will be paid for participating in the Ryder Cup. Each member of the U.S. team will receive a $200,000 “stipend” from the PGA of America starting with next year’s event at Bethpage Black.

🏈 Clemson’s first transfer: Dabo Swinney, who has been publicly averse to the transfer portal, finally added his first transfer. 6-foot-5 WR Tristan Smith will join the Tigers after a standout season at Southeast Missouri State (FCS).

🏒 Caps streak falls short: The Capitals’ 3-1 loss to the Stars in Dallas snapped their 10-game road winning streak, two shy of the NHL record.

🏀 Pop thanks fans: Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who’s still recovering from the stroke he suffered six weeks ago, issued a statement thanking fans for their support. “My family and I are forever grateful.” Get well soon, Pop.

🏀 The SEC is in a league of its own

A decade ago, the SEC was a football-first conference. Today, it is by far the strongest basketball league in the country — and might just be the best we’ve ever seen.

A league of its own: Every major conference has a strong record so far, but the SEC — with its mind-boggling .878 winning percentage — is in another stratosphere.

• SEC: 144-20 (.878)

• Big 12: 115-39 (.747)

• Big Ten: 140-50 (.737)

• Big East: 82-37 (.689)

• ACC: 122-70 (.635)

By the numbers: The SEC is 55-17 against major conferences, 42-6 against the ACC and Big 12, and 17-8 against ranked opponents — already the most non-conference top 25 wins any league has ever amassed in a single regular season.

• The SEC has five of the top seven teams in this week’s AP poll and eight ranked teams overall, which is three more than any other league.

• They also have more undefeated teams (Tennessee, Florida, Oklahoma) than the rest of Division I combined (Utah State, Drake).

What they’re saying: ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi didn’t have to think long when asked for one word to describe the SEC’s start to the season. “Outrageous,” he said. “I’ve been doing this a long time, and what they’re doing as a collective is unprecedented.”

Looking ahead: All this early success could result in a record number of NCAA bids on Selection Sunday, notes Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Eisenberg. Lunardi’s most recent “Bracketology” projection has 12 SEC schools in the field. That would break the 2011 Big East’s record if it holds.

⚽️ UVM wins first natty on a walk-off

Vermont junior Max Kissel scored a golden goal in overtime on Monday night to lift UVM past Marshall, 2-1, and win the program’s first men’s soccer national championship.

“Don’t call them Cinderella! You can call them National Champs!”

— ESPN’s Dalen Cuff on the call

What a ride: The Catamounts went from unseeded to national champions thanks in large part to Kissel, who had four postseason game-winners. This was Vermont’s first-ever national title game appearance* in any team sport, and it couldn’t have ended in more epic fashion.

What they’re saying: “I’m just so proud to be the coach of this team. To be able to represent our state,” said head coach Rob Dow, who was then interrupted by a celebratory Gatorade bath from his players. “The best.”

Love this guy…

*Of note: While this was the first national title game appearance for the University of Vermont, the school’s skiing program has won six NCAA championships (1980, 1989, 1992, 1994, 2012).

🏈 Why college football coaches are giving back money

Florida State head coach Mike Norvell is contributing $4.5 million of his salary this year to the university in a one-year restructured contract, Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reports.

Sign of the times: At first glance, this may seem like Norvell’s way of apologizing for the Seminoles’ atrocious season (2-10 record). In reality, it’s a new trend in college football as schools gear up for the athlete revenue-sharing era.

Here’s Ross:

Norvell’s contribution is part of the school’s new Vision of Excellence campaign intended to raise money as schools gear up to share revenue directly with athletes under the new House settlement agreement. The settlement permits each school in Division I to share at least $20.5 million with their athletes starting on July 1.

As a response to the settlement, coaches are forking over portions of their multi-million dollar salaries. And schools … are furiously scrambling for cash to pay athletes in a competitive recruiting environment. Even some of the most lucrative and valuable football brands find themselves in a money-crunching position.

Two similar situations: LSU coach Brian Kelly announced last week that he’d be matching donations to LSU’s collective of up to $1 million, a roundabout way to take a pay reduction in order to contribute to his team’s roster. Meanwhile in Stillwater, Oklahoma State reduced coach Mike Gundy’s salary to direct it to the athlete revenue-sharing efforts.

Bottom line: “It’s simple economics,” says sports law attorney Mat Winter. “Many coaches would rather get paid less and have money to pay players than lose their jobs because of a lack of talent.”

🇪🇸 Fútbol at low tide

Hundreds of soccer players descended on Sardinero Beach in Santander, Spain, this past week to take part in the 64th Campeonato de Fútbol Playero de Santander (Santander Beach Soccer Championship), which has taken place every year since 1960 without interruption.

“The primary goal of this championship has always been to bring together the large community of football enthusiasts who gather on Santander’s beaches every Sunday to enjoy their favorite sport,” writes Getty Images photographer David Ramos.

The tournament features 16 teams, each comprising players aged 28 and older. Matches last 90 minutes, divided into two 45-minute halves with a 10-minute halftime break.

Each team is represented by a delegate who also acts as the “owner” of a specific area of the beach. They’re responsible for marking out the field to measure 100 steps in length and 60 in width, and setting up the goals.

Games are played exclusively when the tide is low. As a result, the championship calendar is intricately linked to the tide schedule, and matches kick off when the receding water reveals the playing surface.

📆 Dec. 17, 2016: Pumphrey passes Dayne

Eight years ago today, San Diego State’s Donnel Pumphrey broke the NCAA career rushing record in his final game, running for 115 yards and a TD in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Top 5 career rushing yards:

1. Pumphrey (SDSU): 6,405 yards (54 games)

2. Ron Dayne* (Wisconsin): 6,397 yards (43 games)

3. Ricky Williams* (Texas): 6,279 yards (41 games)

4. Jonathan Taylor (Wisconsin): 6,174 yards (46 games)

5. Tony Dorsett* (Pitt): 6,082 yards (43 games)

Two-headed monster: Pumphrey broke the record despite the emergence of teammate Rashaad Penny, who took away plenty of carries. In fact, Pumphrey and Penny are the only pair of FBS teammates to ever rush for 2,000 yards and 1,000 yards, respectively, in the same season.

*Of note: The NCAA didn’t start counting bowl games towards records until 2002. If they counted them all along, Dayne (7,125), Williams (6,683) and Dorsett (6,526) would all be ahead of Pumphrey on the all-time list.

📺 Watchlist: 30 teams entered, 2 remain

The Bucks and Thunder will face off tonight in Las Vegas (8:30pm ET, ABC) in the NBA Cup championship game*.

As a reminder: This is the one game that doesn’t count toward regular-season standings. Players on the winning team will receive $514K each, while players on the losing team will receive $206K.

More to watch:

• 🏈 Bowl Game: Memphis vs. West Virginia (9pm, ESPN) … Frisco Bowl in Frisco, Texas.

• ⛳️ Golf: Crypto.com Showdown (6pm, TNT) … Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy (PGA) vs. Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau (LIV) in Las Vegas.

• 🏀 NCAAW: Seton Hall at No. 5 LSU (6pm, FS1); Iowa State at No. 4 UConn (8:30pm, FS1); No. 10 Oklahoma at No. 20 Michigan (9:30pm, ESPN2)

• 🏀 NCAAM: UNC at No. 7 Florida (7pm, ESPN)

*Pregame reading: 3 big questions ahead of the NBA Cup Final (Dan Devine, Yahoo Sports)

🏈 College football trivia

Oregon is a near-unanimous pick by our panel of experts to win the 12-team College Football Playoff, which would make them the seventh national champion of the CFP era.

Question: Can you name the other six?

Hint: Three conferences.

Answer at the bottom.

🏈 Every Bowl game, ranked

Welcome to Bowl Season! The action began on Saturday with the Celebration Bowl and the Salute to Veterans Bowl and continues today with the Frisco Bowl. To prepare you for the gridiron gauntlet ahead, we ranked every matchup.

Trivia answer: Alabama (3x), Georgia (2x), Clemson (2x), Ohio State, LSU, Michigan

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