SPORTS FOLDEROL

  By the way … did you know that … … “ the Atlantic Coast Conference is entering a period of  stability” …?? … which was the lead on a piece by the  Associated Press following the recent ACC spring  meeting. Stability? Really? … when (for one of many  things) the rich – Clemson and Florida State – became  richer, thanks to a settlement of their law suits against the  conference … that changes revenue distribution to benefit  schools with “marquee football brands” … like Clemson  and FSU … “The revised deal should fortify a league that  looked to be on the verge of collapse,” the AP said. Yeah,  right! It is all about TV ratings, the more people who  watch your games the more money you will get … which  will enable the Tigers and Seminoles to move even  further ahead of the Wake Forests and, yes, Virginias,  even Virginia Techs … and eventually will lead to a  breakup of a once-great association of area schoo...

  “ O, CANADA … OUR HOME AND NATIVE  LAND … TRUE PATRIOT LOVE … IN ALL OF  US COMMAND … WITH GLOWING HEART,  WE SEE THEE RISE, THE NEW NORTH BOLD  AND FREE … FROM FAR AND WIDE …..” “ No matter how many times you hear it … that is  awesome … 18,000-plus singing in unison,” said the  NHL-on-ESPN’s Sean McDonough Tuesday night  after the sell-out crowd in Edmonton gave a stirring,  impromptu rendition of the Canadian National  Anthem prior to Game 4 of the Oilers’ playoff game  with Dallas.  “… .. O, CANADA … WE STAND ON GUARD FOR  THEE …  O, CANADA, WE STAND ON  GUARD … FOR … THEEEEE!!”

  Lots of Stuff … from holiday weekend … the good and the bad ... THE BAD: Fox coverage of the Indianapolis 500 …  So, the network was handed a curve ball when the  start was delayed almost an hour by rain. So what?  It’s happened before … like 14 times. No excuses …  for  DANICA PATRICK  and  TONY STEWART ,  former drivers, saying nothing of substance during a  much-too-long time-killing segment that not even  pre-race host  CHRIS MYERS , one of the few  seasoned talking heads hired by Fox to work the  109 th edition of the could save …  SCOTT  McLAUGHLIN suddenly lost control and wrecked  on the pace lap. When the network then showed   SCOTT DIXON , running alone, it was speculated  immediately he had tangled with McLaughlin …  although there was little to no evidence. Finally, Fox  found a replay of McLaughlin, spinning out on his  own. Wonderful … To think  JAIME LITTLE...

  Briefly told … just college football and hockey ... Hot seat … is getting hotter for Virginia Tech’s   BRENT PRY . In CBS’ 10 th  annual ranking of  Power 4 football coaches, Pry landed 63d among 68  in all. Virginia’s  TONY ELLIOTT  is 65 th  …  “Things appear headed in the wrong direction in  Blacksburg,” began the brief commentary …  explaining why Pry, about to begin his fourth season,  fell 15 spots from a year ago …. when the Hokies  finished with “an uninspiring 6-7 mark, and there’s a  bit of heat on Pry’s seat heading into 2025.” Just a  bit? … The network uses a panel of media types  (exactly how many it doesn’t say), with only two  rules: You can only rank coaches from the four  power conferences – ACC, Big 10, Big 12 and SEC  – and you must rank every one of them. “Everything  else is up to the voter.” … In other words, just about  anything goes. If a panelist doesn’t g...