Deion Sanders Will Make Colorado Football a Story Worth Covering

If generating headlines and media buzz is now the game in college football, then the University of Colorado undoubtedly made the right decision in hiring NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders as its new head football coach.

“Coach Prime” might not be ready to make the jump from Jackson State, HBCUs, and lower-level FCS to upper FBS and a Power Five conference in the Pac-12. But if football is football, Sanders brings an impressive record to Boulder and an ability to recruit top-flight talent attracted to his personality and history as a player. Everyone following college football will be curious to see if Coach Prime finds success and maybe moves up to an even more established program.

This week, Demetri Ravanos invited me onto his Media Noise podcast for Barrett Sports Media to discuss a column I wrote on Sanders and how he’ll provide plenty of content for college football media to cover. You can listen to the show below. My segment begins at the 4:21 mark:

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NFL Radio: Texans Enabled Watson, Baker Moving On, McLaurin Gets His Payday

Deshaun Watson has been facing trouble for quite a while with 24 civil lawsuits (20 now settled) and a likely season-long suspension from the NFL. But his former team, the Houston Texans, might still have to answer for enabling the sexual misconduct allegations resulting from his “massages.”

On WISE Sports Radio, Pat Ryan, Mike Gore, and I discuss the Texans getting sued, Baker Mayfield saying he and the Cleveland Browns have moved on, and Washington Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin getting a top-10 salary for his position.

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HBO’s ‘Winning Time’ An Equal Opportunity Offender

For this week’s Barrett Sports Media column, I wrote about HBO’s Los Angeles Lakers series, Winning Time, and the controversy it’s generated for how several real-life figures are portrayed.

I’m really enjoying the series for depicting the early-1980s era of the NBA and the insight it provides into the sport. But the show is also ruthless in making virtually everyone in the story look bad. The portrayal of legendary player, coach, and executive Jerry West has been particularly surprising, and he’s spoken out publicly against it.

Hall of Famer Magic Johnson doesn’t come off looking good, either.

The series makes a point of demonstrating that dropping a 20-year-old basketball sensation and savior of a franchise into a den of temptation would inevitably lead to trouble. The story begins by showing us the eventual results of Johnson’s promiscuous ways. But the way Johnson treats the many women in his life and those who can help him make money and become a celebrity is hardly flattering.

You can read the entire column here.