Another ICE Murder; CFP Format Changes; Mendoza's Line: College FB On Fire; Basketball Eligibility Nonsense

Donald Trump's untrained, trigger-happy goon squad continues to murder people on the streets of Minneapolis.

And then lie about it.

The DHS versions of these killings bear no resemblance to what is actually happening.

Suddenly, we're living in George Orwell's dark, dystopian 1984, where "the party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears."

So don't believe your lying eyes, folks. Instead believe the "let's-get-out-a- statement-defending-our-murderous-agents-and-accusing-the-victim-of-being-a- domestic-terrorist" bullshit from the government.

Friday's killing of 37-year old Alex Pretti was an execution, as five ICE agents threw him to the ground, assaulted and pistol-whipped him, and shot him several times at point blank range.

Stephen Miller, the president's crazed Minister of Evil, called Pretti an "assassin." 

But videos show Pretti, a hospital intensive care nurse, holding his phone, not his gun.

We all used to say, "that can't happen in America."

But it's happening now, and it's getting worse by the day.

We have a madman in the White House who continues to defy the Constitution, the rule of law, and the values that once made this country great.

Drunk with power, he pursues his own vile, vindictive, vicious agenda.

He's killing his own citizens. Falsely prosecuting his opponents. Invading Venezuela. Bombing  boats on the high seas. Threatening our allies in Greenland and Canada. 

Fascism, anyone?

Yet few brave souls in the once proud Republican Party, the party of Abraham Lincoln, will speak out.

His hand-picked, Fox TV, unqualified cabinet won't oust him using the 25th Amendment.

Vice-president JD Vance says the ICE Agent murderers have "absolute immunity."

Glamour girl DHS Secretary Kristi Noem spouts lie after lie.

What to do?

Stand with the people of Minneapolis.

Defend freedom of speech.

Peacefully protest. 

Do not let the ICE goons bait you into violence or any aggressive behavior.

Do not carry a weapon.

Write to your Congressional representatives.

Elect Democrats.

We must overwhelmingly elect a Democratic House this fall and if possible, regain the Senate, so we can throw this deranged lunatic out of office.

God help us endure the next 10 months until the election.

Moving on...

CFP Format Changes: After a year of haggling over whether to expand the College Football Playoff field, the 12-team format will continue for at least another year.

The two power brokers--the Big Ten and SEC--couldn't agree, even though everyone but the Big Ten favored moving to a 16-team field.

Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, who has more goofy ideas than anyone outside of Washington D.C., was pushing a 24-team field that stood no chance of being adopted by the other conferences, not to mention the university presidents who would've had to sign off on it.

At the last minute, Petitti offered to go along with the 16-team field if the others agreed to expand to 24 teams three years down the road, but that didn't fly either.

So we're stuck with another year of the dreaded first-round byes for the four top ranked teams. There will be a few changes next fall, however.

First, Notre Dame, which was somehow excluded from this season's playoff because of the inclusion of two Group of 5 champions and an undeserving Alabama team, will now be guaranteed a spot if it finishes ranked in the top 12. (it was ranked 11th this year).

Second, the Power 4 champions will all be guaranteed spots, along with one Group of 6 (the new Pac-12 is now included in the group) champ. No longer will it be possible for a second Group of 6 team to be included.

You'll recall that for the first two years of the 12-team field, five spots were reserved for the highest ranked conference champions, regardless of league. That setup resulted in two Group of 5 teams--Tulane and James Madison--making the CFP because they were ranked ahead of the ACC's five-loss champion, Duke.

Starting this fall, that can't happen. The Power 4 champs will gain automatic entry, regardless of ranking, with just one more spot available for the next highest-ranked league winner.

Third, the Big Ten and SEC will receive 58% of the revenue from the event, guaranteed. Starting this fall, the money will be divided according to a pre-set distribution, rather than based on how many wins each conference earns in the playoff.

Mendoza's Line: Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza has impressed us all with the impressive character, class, and humility he's shown throughout the season in countless interviews. 

After his team's victory in the College Football Playoff National Championship game, the Heisman Trophy winner found a few minutes to update his Linked In profile. It's a classic, well worth reading:

"Monday night my teammates and I had the honor of raising the National Championship Trophy and bringing a CFP title back to Bloomington, Indiana, for the first time in history. With the guidance of our coaches and the unwavering support of Hoosier Nation, our band of brothers made the unbelievable believable.

Here's what winning a National Championship taught me about B2B sales (kidding..kinda)

1. Believe in yourself: Four years ago I was a two-star recruit playing high school football 30 minutes from Hard Rock Stadium with a dream of playing at the highest level. Two days ago, I became a National Champion in that same stadium, surrounded by the family that never stopped believing in me.

2. Take the risk. When it's 4th-and-5 at the 12-yard line, go for it.

3. Remember who got you there. Thank you to my teammates, coaches, support staff, professors, and everyone behind the scenes who helped make this happen."

College Football On Fire: Despite the distaste many of us feel about the impact of unchecked NIL payments and the poaching portal, reports of the death of college football were premature, to say the least.

In fact, college football has never been more popular.

According to the Washington Post and Fox Sports, some 179 billion minutes of college football were consumed by TV viewers during the 2025 regular season, an increase of 33% from 2021. Post-season bowl games recorded their highest audience in 10 years. Thanks to the expanded playoff, college football accounted for eight of the 100 most watched telecasts in 2025, the most ever. And ESPN college football posted its highest viewing numbers since 2011.

Who Cares: You've got to love all the hand-wringing and posturing from college basketball coaches who are outraged by the current NCAA inconsistency regarding "professional" players returning to college after playing in the NBA's G League or overseas, or after being drafted by an NBA team.

What does it matter?

They're all professionals. And college players are now professionals, folks, thanks to NIL and the transfer portal.

Amateurism is dead. The petty differences from the various levels of professionalism are not worth fighting about.

Just let 'em play.

As usual, the NCAA's ham-handed approach is ridiculous, and the coaches' chest-thumping is hypocritical.