Mideast Complexities Confound Us Coalition Effort

NORMAN, Okla. — Alyssa Brito hit two home runs, giving second-seeded Oklahoma the lead for good with a leadoff shot in the bottom of the third inning, and the Sooners breezed to a five-inning 11-3 run-rule victory over Florida State on Thursday night to begin the Norman Super Regional. Oklahoma (53-6) can finish off a sweep of Florida State (45-15) with a win on Friday. The Sooners grabbed a 1-0 lead two batters into the bottom of the first on a home run by Tiare Jennings. Rylie Boone was hit by a pitch leading off the second and Alynah Torres following with a run-scoring double for a 2-0 lead. The Seminoles pulled even in the top of the third on a two-out, two-run single by Devyn Flaherty. Brito, who doubled her first time up, homered to left field on a 3-0 pitch in the bottom of the inning and Oklahoma never trailed again.

Running off at the typewriter. … There are some of my Gator conspiracy theorist buddies who are actually convinced that Jaden Rashada suing University of Florida football coach Billy Napier and UF’s heavyweight sugar daddy booster Hugh Hathcock for NIL fraud is all being orchestrated by Georgia coach Kirby Smart as a way to get Napier fired. Really, guys? Seriously? Personally, I think it’s just a massive coincidence that Rashada, the much-traveled California quarterback, filed the lawsuit just three weeks after transferring from Arizona State to Georgia.

A day after blocking part of a state law aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration, a federal judge Thursday appeared to have second thoughts about the scope of a preliminary injunction he issued. U. S. District Judge Roy Altman initially applied the injunction statewide. But he issued an order Thursday that partially quoted an Arkansas case and said on “further reflection, and given the ‘national conversation taking place in both the legal academy and the judiciary concerning the propriety of courts using universal injunctions as a matter of preliminary relief,’ we now invite further briefing on the proper scope of the injunction.” Altman, who was appointed as a judge in the federal Southern District of Florida in 2018 by former President Donald Trump, ordered attorneys for the plaintiffs and the state to file briefs by June 6 on whether the injunction should apply to plaintiffs who have established legal standing; all plaintiffs who remain in the case; throughout the Southern District; or statewide. The lawsuit, filed in July by The Farmworker Association of Florida, Inc.

By RALPH D. RUSSO (AP College Football Writer) The NCAA and the nation’s five biggest conferences announced Thursday night that they have agreed to pay nearly $2.8 billion to settle a host of antitrust claims, a monumental decision that sets the stage for a groundbreaking revenue-sharing model that could start steering millions of dollars directly to athletes as soon as the 2025 fall semester. NCAA President Charlie Baker along with the commissioners of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern Conference released a joint statement saying they had agreed to settlement terms.

The NCAA and the nation’s five biggest conferences have agreed to pay nearly $2.8 billion to settle a host of antitrust claims, a monumental decision that sets the stage for a groundbreaking revenue-sharing model that could start directing millions of dollars directly to athletes as soon as the 2025 fall semester. The deal still must be approved by the federal judge overseeing the case and challenges could arise, but if the agreement stands it will mark the beginning of a new era in college sports where athletes are compensated more like professionals and schools can compete for talent using direct payments. “There’s no question about it.

GAINESVILLE – Florida fifth-year senior Skylar Wallace is on a postseason tear at the plate with no end in sight, just when her team needed her most. First, the All-American shortstop had to stare into an abyss she and her coach never saw coming. Wallace searched for answers, lost confidence and even shed tears during an April slump that left the Gators without their leader entering a pivotal SEC stretch. “No one wants to go through that,” Wallace, 24, said.