NCAA

Journey Brown -- Penn State's top running back in 2019 -- is retiring from football after doctors diagnosed him with a serious heart condition

It's called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy -- a thickening of the heart muscle, which makes it more difficult to pump blood to the body.

According to the American Heart Association, "HCM has been cited as the most common reason for sudden cardiac death in young people and athletes under the age of 35."

Experts say things like "lifestyle changes" can make a big impact for people diagnosed with HCM -- which is obviously why Brown is making the decision to quit football. It's just too risky.

Penn State's head coach, James Franklin, said Brown only discovered the condition while undergoing routine COVID testing -- but noting, "it is not COVID related."

"We learned about this in early September, and we've been working through this and dealing with this as a team," Franklin said.

"The entire organization has rallied behind Journey and his family."

Brown was a force at running back -- earning MVP honors at the 2019 Cotton Bowl by rushing for 202 yards and 2 TDs on 16 carries in Penn State's victory over Memphis.

He led Penn State in rushing in 2019 with 890 yards and 12 TDs.

Brown has posted a statement about the situation -- saying his condition will prevent him from realizing his dreams of playing in the NFL, but "football will always be a part of me."

"The pain of not being able to play the game I love anymore hurts and I can't explain how I am feeling right now. However, I can walk away from the game knowing I truly gave my all at every practice, on every down and in the locker room every day."

The president of Notre Dame is "very disappointed" at students who broke COVID protocol and stormed the field when the football team beat Clemson this weekend ... and now there will be repercussions.

Tons of students rushed onto the field Saturday night when the #4 ranked Fighting Irish defeated the #1 ranked Clemson Tigers in a double-overtime thriller -- getting up close and personal with players, coaches and staff. It was a COVID-protocol nightmare.

Now, ND president Rev. John. I. Jenkins has sent a letter to the student body spelling out a NEW protocol -- and threatening to essentially ban students next semester if they don't comply.

"As exciting as last night's victory against Clemson was, it was very disappointing to see evidence of widespread disregard of our health protocols at many gatherings over the weekend," Rev. Jenkins said in a letter sent late Sunday.

Jenkins laid out the following steps:

1) "Because we are now even more concerned about the potential for contagion in your home communities as you prepare to travel home at the end of the semester, the University will place a registration hold on the record of any student fails to appear for testing when asked to do so. A Registration hold would mean that you are unable to matriculate or register for classes next semester or receive a transcript."

2) "Furthermore, you may not leave the South Bend area until you receive the results of your exit test. Again, should we discover that you have left the area, we will place a registration hold on your record."

3) "There will be zero tolerance for any gatherings that do not comport with our health and safety guidelines, on or off campus. Those found responsible for hosting such gatherings will face severe sections."

Rev. Jenkins explained "the grave circumstances of this pandemic compel us to take these exceptional measures."

He finished by telling the students to look to the football team for inspiration on how to get through these challenging times.

"Our football team showed us how to finish strong on Saturday night. Please finish the semester strong by wearing a mask, maintaining physical distance, washing your hands and completing your daily health check."

"Furthermore, as outlined above, you must, if you wish to return as a student in the spring semester, appear for testing were notified and not depart until you receive the test result."

President-elect Joe Biden can Make Syracuse Football Great Again ... so says head coach Dino Babers, who believes #46's ties to the school will help BIG with recruitment.

Biden is a proud Orange alum -- he received his law degree from 'Cuse in 1968 and became the first Orangeman to be elected POTUS.

Babers was asked about Biden winning the presidency following the Orange's 16-13 loss to Boston College ... and he thinks the impact will trickle onto the field.

"To have the opportunity to be the head football coach at the university where the president-elect graduated from, I think is huge," Babers told reporters.

"Not only is it a huge honor, but I think it’s a huge recruiting advantage when you go around the country and say, 'Hey, come to Syracuse University. You can be a president of the United States."

Babers also says he hopes to meet the president-elect someday .. calling the opportunity "extremely cool."

Luke Bryan just took the Georgia-Florida rivalry to a whole 'nother level ... the country music superstar is now using Tim Tebow's Heisman Trophy to cast a curse on the Gators!!!

Bryan -- a BIG Georgia fan -- revealed Thursday he and his wife won the rights to the trophy for 6 months at a charity auction last year ... donating cash to the Brett Boyer Foundation in exchange for the honor.

The thing is ... Tim waited until this week -- just days before the Gators-Bulldogs game on Saturday -- to deliver the award, and Bryan said he believes something was fishy about the timing of all that.

"I feel it was an effort to bring bad mojo into my household," said Bryan, who seriously LOVES the Dawgs.

So, what did Luke do to combat that???

REVERSE CURSE, BABY!!!

Bryan says he's now going to use Tim's trophy to try to will his Dawgs to a win over the Gators ... explaining, "I've got this all week to put a curse on the Florida Gators!"

Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET in Jacksonville ... and, if the Gators start doing some funny things -- BLAME LUKE!!!

Great photo of Ole Miss tight end DaMarcus Thomas -- who was back on campus and SMILING one day after being discharged from the hospital.

The 18-year-old freshman football player had suffered a frightening injury during Monday practice -- with coach Lane Kiffin saying the player initially couldn't move and lost all feeling in his body.

Thomas was airlifted to a nearby hospital for treatment -- and fortunately, Thomas began to regain feeling and movement.

University officials later told the media Thomas was on the mend and they were hopeful he would make a full recovery.

Fast-forward to Wednesday morning ... when Thomas was back at the Ole Miss training facility -- smiling with Katie Bason, director of player development (and another woman).

Worth noting ... Thomas appears to be sitting up without assistance, an unbelievable sight considering he's just 2 days out from the injury.

Horrible news out of Ole Miss ... where a freshman tight end was airlifted to a hospital after suffering a realty bad injury during Monday practice that left him motionless.

The player is DaMarcus Thomas -- an 18-year-old true freshman from Alabama, who was a 4-star recruit.

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin initially told the media Thomas took a hit during practice and hasn't moved since. A helicopter was immediately called to the field to airlift him to a nearby hospital.

"He never moved and he hasn't," Kiffin said ... "There's no feeling in his entire body. We've informed the family."

Kiffin continued, "I don't know if I've seen anything as hard or like that, personally."

There are reports Thomas was "showing some movement" before being placed in the helicopter -- let's hope that's true.

Ole Miss football is 2-4 on the season -- and coming off a win over Vanderbilt this past weekend.

One of the players ejected from that insane Florida vs. Mizzou fight is speaking out ... issuing an apology AND a warning!

Florida Gators defensive lineman Zachary Carter was one of 3 players ejected from the game for the bench-clearing brawl right before halftime.

The Gators were pissed over a violent late-hit on their QB, Kyle Trask -- and Florida head coach Dan Mullen was so heated, he ran onto the field and began screaming at Mizzou players and staff.

One thing led to another ... and before long, it was complete chaos -- with pushing, shoving, punches. Nuts.

Officials and other coaches eventually broke things up. Florida ended up winning the game in a 41-to-17 rout.

Three players were ejected -- Florida DL Zachary Carter and LB Antwaun Powell. And, Missouri LB Tre Williams.

On Sunday, the schools issued a joint statement condemning the incident.

"We believe both programs will use this moment to learn from so that future incidents like this do not happen."

Now, Carter is also speaking out through social media -- posting a statement about the incident.

"I want to apologize for getting out of character before halftime! Do not disrespect my QB or my head coach! I'm riding for my squad anyway."

He only played at USC for 1 year ... but DeMar DeRozan paid back his school with a MASSIVE donation that funded an incredible weight room renovation.

The University of Southern California just revealed its completely upgraded athlete weight room inside the Galen Center ... complete with new technology, new equipment, the works!

One of the issues that had been plaguing the school ... some of the equipment wasn't big enough for the taller athletes!

So, thanks to DeMar -- they swapped out old machines for new machines that can handle players 6'6" and above!

DeMar only played at USC during the 2008 season -- and was so dominant, the school retired his #10 jersey.

So far, the San Antonio Spurs star has made more than $175 MILLION on contact money in 11 seasons in the NBA ... and he decided to throw some cash back to the school to help other athletes grow.

The school didn't specify exactly how much cash DeMar donated -- but noted it's the single largest donation EVER from a former "USC to the NBA" basketball player.

"We feel like this new weight room, the equipment we were able to purchase and the layout, the flooring ... even down to the new lights, new sound system everything is at the highest level," USC strength and conditioning coach Josh Heidegger said.

Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence -- the biggest star in college football -- has tested positive for COVID-19, according to NFL Network.

21-year-old Lawrence is now required to isolate for 10 days ... which means he will NOT play against Boston College on Saturday, so says Ian Rapoport.

It's unclear if Lawrence is symptomatic.

Lawrence is by far the most high-profile college football star to test positive for COVID-19.

Earlier this season, high-profile coaches like Nick Saban tested positive -- but he ultimately didn't miss a game.

Colin Kaepernick has been selected for the University of Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame, the school announced.

Kaepernick played for the Wolf Pack from 2006 to 2010 -- racking up more than 10,000 passing yards and 4,000 rushing yards during his college career.

He was also named was Offensive Player of the Year TWICE -- once in 2008 and again in 2010.

Kaepernick famously led the Wolf Pack to a 13-1 season in 2010 -- winning a WAC conference championship. The team also won the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl and finished as the #11 ranked team in the country on the AP poll.

Kaepernick will be inducted with 2 of his teammates -- running back Vai Taua and defensive end Dontay Moch.

"The 2020 Hall of Fame class represents some of the best of the best in Wolf Pack history," Nevada AD Doug Knuth said.

"This is an incredible collection of accomplished student-athletes and we can't wait for the opportunity to welcome them back to campus and celebrate their careers."

There's just one snag ... the school says there will be no official induction dinner held in the fall due to COVID-19.

School officials are hopeful to hold a celebration to honor Kap and company in the future.

Penn State basketball coach Pat Chambers resigned Wednesday -- following an investigation into new allegations of misconduct.

The University says the new allegations were made following a report by The Undefeated back in July that Chambers made racially insensitive comments to a black player.

The player, Rasir Bolton, told The Undefeated that Chambers made a comment to him referencing a metaphorical "noose" back in 2019.

Bolton claims Chambers approached him and said, "I want to be a stress reliever for you. You can talk to me about anything. I need to get some of this pressure off you. I want to loosen the noose that's around your neck."

Bolton said of Chambers' comment, "Due to other interactions with Coach, I knew this was no slip of the tongue."

At the time the article came out, Chambers issued a statement saying, "I failed to comprehend the experiences of others, and the reference I made was hurtful, insensitive and unacceptable. I cannot apologize enough for what I said, and I will carry that forever."

The player transferred from PSU to Iowa State shortly after the incident.

Penn State says "new allegations surfaced shortly after" the article came out -- so an investigation was launched into Chambers by Penn State's Affirmative Action and Athletics Integrity offices.

The school did not release the details regarding the new allegations.

But, Chambers issued a statement Wednesday saying he would be resigning.

"This has been an incredibly difficult year for me and my family, and we are in need of a break to reset and chart our path forward," chambers said.

"So, I’m taking a step back to prepare myself for the next 20 years."

The 49-year-old coach had been at Penn State since 2011.

LSU has banned Odell Beckham from its facilities for the next 2 years for his antics at the 2019 National Championship game ... when the NFL star handed out $2,000 in $100 bills to LSU players.

You remember the video ... Odell -- who played at LSU back in the day -- was going crazy on the field after LSU beat Clemson on Jan. 13, 2020 ... throwing around money like he didn't care.

Guess what ... LSU cared and so does the NCAA -- since it's against the rules to just hand out money to college players like that.

LSU believes the Odell money incident constitutes a Level III violation, according to SI.com.

Remember, LSU initially told the media Odell was handing out fake money that night -- but it turned out to be real.

In fact, LSU quarterback Joe Burrow later confirmed it was real cash during an episode of the Barstool Sports podcast, "Pardon My Take."

LSU says Odell is now banned from all LSU facilities for the next 2 years.

LSU has bigger problems ... they're also accused of several other NCAA violations, which could cost them scholarships and more.

The University has self-imposed penalties -- including the loss of 8 scholarships over the next 2 years -- in the hopes of getting a lighter punishment from the NCAA. We'll see if the strategy works.

The school released a statement Wednesday saying, "LSU has worked proactively and in cooperation with the NCAA to identify and self-report any violations that occurred within our football program."

Incredible news ... UCF quarterback McKenize Milton has been cleared to play football again -- this just roughly 2 years after he almost had to have his leg amputated due to a severe injury.

You'll recall ... the on-field incident was gruesome -- McKenzie dislocated his right knee after taking a vicious shot in a Nov. 2018 game against USF.

Milton's injuries were devastating ... he tore ligaments and an artery, stretched a nerve and had his entire kneecap dislodged.

Things got so dire ... some feared Milton was going to have to lose the lower part of his leg.

But, docs were able to repair the damage ... and now, nearly 2 years after the incident, Milton is back practicing with the team.

McKenzie was cleared for work with UCF in August ... and ESPN reports he's now been practicing as the Golden Knights' scout-team QB.

"This is the most fun I've had in two years, being out there with the guys, going up against some good competition and lighting a fire under their butt," Milton said. "I'm making throws on the move, I'm changing direction not thinking twice about it. I feel normal."

Milton says he looked to NFL stars like Alex Smith, Teddy Bridgewater and Jaylon Smith for comeback inspiration (since they all resumed their careers after catastrophic injuries) ... and added he actually received a message of encouragement from Alex recently.

While it's unclear if Milton will ever get into another official game for UCF ... he said he's super happy to just be to the point where he's finally healthy and with his teammates again.

Super sad news for ex-Arizona State football head coach Todd Graham ... his wife says 17 of his most prized championship rings were stolen in Arizona this week.

Penni Graham tells TMZ Sports ... she and the coach are in the process of moving to Hawaii from Scottsdale for his new head coaching gig -- and had given the rings to a close friend to help move the jewelry out to Honolulu.

But, Penni says someone broke into their friend's car Tuesday at around 1 PM a couple blocks from Arizona State's campus ... and stole everything.

Penni says the coach is heartbroken over the loss of the items ... and is pleading with the thieves to return them ASAP.

"So much went into earning those rings," Penni said, "especially his National Championship ring, as a coach in 1992. Seventeen rings from years of blood, sweat and tears. He is devastated."

Penni says they're working with the Tempe Police Department to try to get the rings back.

Todd had a ton of success as the Sun Devils' coach from 2012 through 2017 ... winning 10 games in 2013 and 2014 and earning 2 bowl victories.

He left the program after the 2017 season ... and just signed on in January to be the Univ. of Hawaii's new head man.

Wichita State basketball coach Gregg Marshall is the subject of an internal investigation after multiple claims of hostility -- including allegations he punched a player TWICE during a 2015 practice.

The alleged victim is former Shockers forward Shaq Morris -- who claims Marshall socked him in the face for committing a foul on a teammate during a workout.

Morris says he was trying to block a shot by teammate Zach Brown -- and unintentionally knocked Brown to the ground.

"I went over to help [Brown] up, and as I was helping him up to make sure he was okay, bam -- I’m struck on the left side of my face with a punch," Morris told Stadium.

"I turned back with my fists ready to punch or swing. I don’t know who did what and I see Marshall standing there. I turned around and started walking out."

Stadium says 6 players who were on the team at the time have corroborated the incident.

Several teammates, including Fred VanVleet (who's now in the NBA) allegedly refused to practice the next day unless Marshall apologized, which Morris says he did.

"[Marshall] comes down in the film room and says, ‘First off, I just want to apologize to you and he pointed at me. Then he said, “We good? We good? We good? All right, let’s move on."

There's more ... Morris says Marshall also choked assistant coach Kyle Lindsted during a practice in the 2016-17 season.

"I looked over and saw coach Marshall choking him," Morris said. "Then people started de-escalating the situation, trying to calm him down."

Lindsted -- who left Wichita State in 2018 -- declined to comment to Stadium about the allegation.

There are also allegations of racism ... Marshall allegedly verbally abused player Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler, who is of Native American descent.

Marshall allegedly told him to "get back on his horse" and made "Indian howling noises" while in practice during the 2018-19 season.

One former assistant coach described Marshall this way to Stadium -- "He’s smart, a great coach. Just a bad person."

The coach has commented on the investigation -- telling The Athletic, "I'm aware the university conducted interviews and I fully participated in the process."

"I look forward to having it wrapped up as I continue to focus my energy on our team."

Lane Kiffin's season may be going down the crapper ... 'cause the Ole Miss head coach's media time was interrupted by what may have been a flushing toilet!!

The 45-year-old was asked a question during SEC media availability this week ... and while we can't say for certain he was taking care of some personal business at the time, the audio evidence sure seems to point in that direction.

Kiffin was asked about the Rebels' matchup against Kentucky this weekend ... and his response had some, uh, additional sound effects to it.

"A challenge playing a really good team, very physical and runs the ball really well and played great defense last year and in the first game and limited explosive plays ..."

FLUSH NOISE ... long pause.

"... as a team, so a lot at stake here. Need to play well."

One can only imagine what was going through Kiffin's head *IF* he did, in fact, flush the can and forget to mute his phone while speaking to a bunch of reporters ... which may explain the long pause.

Let's be real -- what else could the sound have been?? And, as Kentucky Sports Radio points out, no one else's phones would be unmuted while Kiffin was answering.