Best use of a song for a movie montage ever.

“Loud environment.” Jesus, Apple Watch, could you be more of a little bitch?

Today is the day I become the world’s first Funyunaire.

Newsletter: I asked a bunch of smart college football folks for book recommendations for a summer reading list. Got some great replies. Also.. Bubba Cunningham on UNC’s future, John Currie on Wake’s approach in a big $$ era, previewing ACC-SEC games & lots more: open.substack.com/pub/davidhal...

Question for @stevenhyden.bsky.social … your top albums include… Brown Horse, Feeble Little Horse, Fazed on a Pony and, presumably, you misspelled Bruce Horseby… you reviewed Horse Lords… then there’s Horsegirl and HorsegirrL… Is Band of Horses still touring?. Anyway, why is… horse?

Fake news.

Last Inside ACCess until August is today… 5 pm/ACCN… @aadelsonESPN go deep with outgoing UNC AD Bubba Cunningham on his career, the changing of the guard in the ACC, and the future of college sports. + we talk to Wake AD John Currie & break down the Sorsby ruling.

Newsletter: My pal Tommy Tomlinson has a terrific oral history of the music scene in Athens, Ga. in the latest Garden & Gun (gardenandgun.com/athens-georg...). I had follow up Qs for him though (+ Jeff Brohm, Tavita Pritchard, ACC preview & more)... davidhale.substack.com/p/kudzu-and-...

Inside ACCess is on tonight (5 pm/ACCN) for an abridged 30-min ep... we chat w/Jeff Brohm on having a mobile QB, wanting a challenging OOC schedule & making a playoff run in Year 4... + Stanford coach Tavita Prichard on why Andrea can't fold a pizza box. Catch ep in pod form: linktr.ee/InsideACCess

Ham has been restored in the online version. Thx for the heads up!

Newsletter: Is all the debate over governance, the playoff, CBAs, etc. just window dressing before the whole of CFB is upended again with realignment and super leagues in 2-5 years? + QB rankings, Fran Brown, Dave Doeren, top frosh, The Simpsons & ham. davidhale.substack.com/p/deckchair-...

This is true. How many people laughing at this could even design their own de Laval nozzle?

Is that bad? Like Washington Post job reduction bad?

SEC pretty emphatically restated its opposition to pooled media rights today. I asked Sankey if he thought that meant there was real $ being left on the table... He thinks it's more schools with less wanting to draft off the SEC.

Jim Phillips wants a universal tie-breaker policy. Greg Sankey? Not so much. "They need to address their tie-breaker. Ours work really well. I've never been convinced you can be exactly the same, but we have a shared responsibility to make sure the best teams are participating in our championships."

Greg Sankey asked about being passed by the B1G… says outcomes have been slim, and “if you look at the entirety of our league, we are by far the most competitive league. By far. … The breadth, the depth of this league, this league stands alone.”

Inside ACCess is back tonight (5 pm ET/ACCN)... Andrea & I give our breakout freshmen... Rhett Lashlee makes the case for a 24-team playoff... Dave Doeren says he's as energized to coach as he's ever been... Fran Brown on what he learned from '25's struggles.

Darien Mensah vs. the blitz: 20 TDs, 0 INT Gunner Stockton vs. top-25 defenses: 18 TDs, 2 TOs, 72% comp Retunring QBs w/4000 yards & 30 TD: Trinidad Chambliss, Byrum Brown, Drew Mestemaker and Anthony Colandrea Lots more fun QB nuggets: www.espn.com/college-foot...

Ha, you’re not alone! Theoretically no more transfers til December. But also this is CFB. The rules are more suggestions.

Every spring I put way way way too much time and research into ranking every FBS QB situation into tiers knowing that you’ll immediately search for your team then tell me I’m an idiot. It’s a cathartic process. Anyway, here ya go… www.espn.com/college-foot...

I’m old enough to remember when the Cubs weren’t a complete embarrassment.

Newsletter: If we're moving to a 24-team playoff, it's a virtual death sentence for the mid-tier bowls. Which gets me back to an idea I've pushed for years... make bowl season the START of the year, not the end. davidhale.substack.com/p/move-em-on...

1) Dad’s job is the subject of multiple episodes. 2) Dad is an archeologist (digs up bones) and Mum works airport security (sniffer dog). It’s a hilarious in joke. People should never badmouth Bluey. It’s the last pure thing in this F’d up world we’ve created.

Springsteen Soundgarden Neil Diamond Jimmy Buffett Flo Rida Jason Isbell Tom Petty Vertical Horizon Pat McGee Band Sturgil

I cannot say enough how wonderful “Widow’s Bay” is… it’s like a cross between Jaws, Twin Peaks and Parks & Rec. That shouldn’t work at all and yet…

This is an elite post.

Was doing a little research on Texas State for a story and two important takeaways: 1) QB Brad Jackson is pretty damned good and 2) When you go to their roster page it defaults to the grid alignment. Texas State may be my new favorite school for 2026.

The steps between an editor saying “Hey Kid Rock is in town” and this AI drivel running during which I would’ve quit this job numbers in the dozens.

Oh I’m curious… I haven’t seen them in anything lately…

Newsletter: It sure seems a 24-team playoff is inevitable. The ripple effects could change the sport forever. Plus: Manny Diaz on tampering, Dan Radakovich on the 3 coaches who defined his career, and Andrea jumps out of an airplane. davidhale.substack.com/p/twenty-fou...

I assumed beating Andrea by so much in this year’s picks contest was enough victory for me. But I have to say, the look of sheer panic as she jumped out of a plane in payment for losing is exceeded wild wildest hopes and dreams.

Inside ACCess is back tonight (5 pm/ACCN) from the ACC spring meetings with… Jim Phillips! Rhett Lashlee! Manny Diaz! Dan Radakovich! And best of all, Andrea jumping out of an airplane! Also available in pod form: linktr.ee/InsideACCess?u…

Newsletter: X factors for each ACC team, news and notes on Syracuse, VT, Boston College and more. Plus draft thouhts on Carson Beck & Cade Klubnik… davidhale.substack.com/p/x-men

ICYMI: the great Mike Tannenbaum joined us to breakdown the new NFL homes for Carson Beck and Cade Klubnik. Listen to the whole show in pod form: linktr.ee/InsideACCess?u…

Inside ACCess today (5 pm/ACCN): - @RealTannenbaum joins us to talk draft fallout in the ACC - BC coach Bill O'Brien gives us an update on the Eagles' spring - @aadelsonESPN and I offer our "X-factors" for the ACC - Clemson WR, Stanford QB, GT RBs & lots more! You should watch!

How good has Miami been on the line of scrimmage under Mario Cristobal? Last year, Canes ranked No. 1 in P4 in pressure rate allowed & No. 1 in non-blitz pressure rate on defense. Since 2017, only 18 teams have ranked in top 10 in both. Miami's done it 3 years in a row.

I refuse to get excited about any royal visit that doesn't involve a hypnotized Reggie Jackson hell bent on committing regicide during an Angels game.

Today marks the 1-year anniversary of what Neil Armstrong* once called “the most significant achievement in human history”… my 24 hours at Buc-ee’s. To celebrate, here FBS stadiums closest to a Buc-ee’s location. (*not the astronaut one. Just a guy who hangs around the 7/11 by my house)

We also looked at who’ll be filling the shoes of each first round draft pick in 2026… www.espn.com/college-foot...

The SEC had the most draft picks… if you go by where guys last played. But the secret is the SEC robbed other leagues blind. That & lots more in a special draft nugget newsletter… davidhale.substack.com/p/2026-nfl-d...

crazy where they started/where they finished draft nugget: Iowa Western CC had 5 players who started there selected in this year's draft. That's more than all but 19 P4 schools.

If you want a visualization of how the Power Five became the Power Two, here it is. Rolling 3-year average NFL draft picks by conference over the past 20 years. In 2007-09, the SEC out-paced the ACC by about 6 players. Now, by about 35. In 2007-09, the ACC=B1G. Now, not close.

Your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate

Imagine telling someone after the 2022 Arkansas game that, after 140 picks and four rounds in 2026, Harold Perkins Jr still hadn’t been drafted. And moreover, it wasn’t really a surprise.

The portal isn’t all about $, it’s also opportunity… Group of 6 schools had just 3 players selected. But another 18 who transferred from G6 to P4 were taken. That’s 21% of the 1st 100 picks who were at G6 schools at some point.

Clemson's had 5 pick in 1st 72 from a 7-6 team. I asked Dabo about that this week: "Lst year was a disappointment for everybody, and it's just nobody's fault but mine. There's a reason people picked us to be a top-5 team last year. We were really talented. I didn't get it done as their leader."

I had a (very minor) cameo on this week's episode of "Top Chef." It's a loooong story on how I swung an invite. That + FSU QBs, Pat Narduzzi, Prince, why I supposedly hate UNC, and lots more in this week's newsletter: open.substack.com/pub/davidhal...

ACC had 6 first round draft picks and 5 more who spent multiple seasons at ACC schools out of high school. Mauigoa Bain Miller Mesidor Rutledge Woods Mendoza Bailey Delane Banks Concepcion ACC players (current or former) taken in 1st round last year? Two.

As a tangent to this… I think decisions get made (or cans get kicked) often because people know it’s not likely to be their problem in a few years.

8 of the ACC’s 18 teams have announced AD changes in the last 18 months. Cal GT UNC Pitt SMU Stanford Cuse VT With Whit Babcock’s departure, the longest serving ACC ADs are Virginia’s Carla Williams (2017), Wake’s John Currie and NC State’s Boo Corrigan (2019).