The college bowl games are just steps to the championship game

When January 1st Meant the End of the College Football season

Once upon a time, January 1st marked the finish line of the college football season. The traditional bowl games played out, a champion was crowned, and players returned to campus to resume their roles as students. That version of the sport no longer exists.

Money changed everything. January 1st is no longer a conclusion. It is now a checkpoint. This year, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena serves as a College Football Playoff quarterfinal. Two more quarterfinal games follow at the Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens and the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. What was once a ceremonial finale has become one of the most lucrative days on the college football calendar.

A Playoff That Pushes Deeper Into the Academic Year

The expansion does not stop on New Year’s Day. The College Football Playoff continues with semifinal games in Glendale, Arizona, and Atlanta. The national championship game follows on January 19 in Miami Gardens.

That date sits deep into the second semester of the academic year. Classes are underway. Campuses are back in full session. The obvious question lingers in the background. Will the players competing for a national title be excused from attending class?

College football now operates on a professional calendar while still claiming an academic identity. That tension grows harder to ignore with every added game.

Players Are Paid, and the NCAA Is Uneasy

The biggest shift in this new era is money flowing directly to players. Stars now receive compensation through schools, collectives, or third-party arrangements. Name, Image, and Likeness payments have effectively turned elite recruiting into a bidding process.

NCAA leadership does not like this reality. The organization has urged federal lawmakers to intervene and create national standards. Their stated concern centers on fairness and competitive balance. Without regulation, boosters can offer massive financial incentives to steer players toward specific programs.

The system is legal. It is also chaotic. And it has stripped away much of the control the NCAA once exercised.

The “Student-Athlete” Label Under Scrutiny

For decades, the NCAA relied on the term “student-athlete” as a legal shield. That label helped deny players salaries, workers’ compensation, and long-term health care for injuries sustained on the field. Courts often sided with schools, ruling athletes were students, not employees.

As a result, schools avoided financial responsibility for life-altering injuries. Scholarships were presented as fair compensation, though the arrangement overwhelmingly favored institutions.

Now, the landscape has shifted. Players earn money. Games stretch further into the academic calendar. The business looks professional in every way except accountability.

A New Order Nobody Fully Controls

College sports leaders find themselves uncomfortable in the world they helped create. The old model no longer holds. The new one lacks structure.

January 1st used to close the season. Now it opens the most profitable chapter. The page has turned. There is no going back.

Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191

Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com

The building is way behind the construction schedule ahead of Milan Olympics

The Olympic Ice in Milan Faces Its First Real Test

From January 7 through January 9, the ice surface inside Milan’s new arena will undergo a critical test ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics. The venue is scheduled to host Olympic men’s hockey beginning February 11, and these early evaluations carry enormous weight.

Old sports adages apply here. You never get a second chance to make a first impression. In this case, the ice itself will introduce the arena to the hockey world. National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman and league officials will closely monitor the process, with two priorities guiding their attention: player safety and whether the surface can withstand the heavy workload required during the Olympic tournament.

Bettman has already made the league’s position clear. If the ice does not meet NHL standards, the league will not hesitate to pull its players from the event.

Size, Safety, and NHL Standards

One of the primary concerns involves the rink’s dimensions. The Milan ice surface measures 197 feet by 85 feet, slightly smaller than the NHL standard of 200 feet by 85 feet. While the difference may seem minor, even a stride or two can affect spacing, speed, and collision risk at the highest level of play.

Olympic hockey traditionally adapts to international rink sizes, but NHL participation raises expectations. Bettman and his staff will want reassurance that the surface allows elite players to perform safely under Olympic conditions. Any signs of inconsistency, softness, or poor durability during testing could raise red flags.

Despite the concerns, the likelihood of the NHL withdrawing from the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games remains low. The league sees the Olympics as a vital global showcase. Exposure in Europe matters, and Milan could eventually become a destination for NHL preseason or even regular-season games.

A Deal Already in Place

In July 2025, the NHL and the NHL Players’ Association finalized an agreement with the International Ice Hockey Federation that cleared the path for player participation in the 2026 Winter Olympics. That deal addressed accommodations, ticket access for families, travel logistics, and the roles of both the league and the players’ union during the event.

With that agreement signed, expectations shifted from negotiation to execution. NHL players have already been informed that Olympic accommodations will not match their usual league standards. They have been told to expect imperfections.

Construction Delays Add Pressure

Those imperfections may begin with infrastructure. The Milan arena complex is not fully complete. Construction delays have pushed timelines dangerously close to the start of competition.

Locker rooms are expected to be housed in temporary trailers adjacent to the two Milan venues hosting hockey. The main arena structure itself remains unfinished. Typically, Olympic venues are completed at least a year before opening ceremonies. Milan is operating on a far tighter schedule.

No Turning Back Now

The test of the ice represents more than surface quality. It symbolizes readiness. The NHL wants its players on the Olympic stage. The IIHF needs credibility. Milan needs to prove it can deliver.

January’s results will not decide everything, but they will shape confidence. For Olympic hockey, the ice will speak first.

Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191

Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com

The stadium will be located at the old Atlanta Fulton County Stadium site

Stadiums as Pitstops, Not Destinations

Stadiums and arenas rarely serve as permanent homes. They function as pitstops in the larger race to stay relevant in major professional sports. Atlanta learned that lesson early and has lived it repeatedly for nearly seven decades.

The story begins in 1957, when the Eisenhower Administration expanded Atlanta’s airport and positioned the city as a national transit hub. Local elected officials and business leaders saw opportunity. If Atlanta could become a transportation crossroads, it could also become a major league city. The strategy was straightforward. Build a stadium first. Then chase a professional franchise to fill it.

At the time, baseball still ruled American sports. The National Football League existed, but college football dominated much of the South. Atlanta’s leaders understood the hierarchy. Landing a Major League Baseball team would place the city on the national sports map. Football could follow later and share the same facility if necessary.

Ivan Allen Jr. and the Big League Vision

During his 1961 campaign for mayor, Ivan Allen Jr. made a bold promise. He pledged to build a modern sports facility capable of attracting a Major League Baseball franchise. It was a political risk, but it matched the city’s ambitions.

Allen secured funding and broke ground in 1964. With a stadium rising, he turned to expansion and relocation talks. His first target was Kansas City A’s owner Charlie Finley. Allen negotiated a deal to bring the A’s to Atlanta, but American League owners rejected the move.

The setback did not end the pursuit. Soon after, ownership of the Milwaukee Braves accepted Atlanta’s offer. The Braves relocated in 1966 and became the city’s first major league tenant. Atlanta finally arrived.

Allen also worked both sides of professional football. He engaged the American Football League and the National Football League. That effort paid off when Atlanta received an NFL expansion franchise, also beginning play in 1966.

A New Stadium Grows Old Quickly

Success came fast, but so did dissatisfaction. The stadium that symbolized Atlanta’s arrival aged rapidly in the eyes of team owners.

By 1992, the football franchise moved into a new, football-only stadium downtown. Baseball followed a different path. The Braves left the original stadium and moved into the facility built for the 1996 Summer Olympics. One year later, that Olympic venue became their new home.

That move did not last either. In 2017, the Braves relocated again, this time to a suburban stadium designed to maximize revenue and development opportunities. Each move reflected the same pattern. Teams chase newer buildings. Cities chase teams.

What Remains After the Teams Leave

The original stadium did not survive. Crews demolished it and converted the site into a parking lot. The Olympic stadium endured, but not in its original form. It was downsized and repurposed for Georgia State University football.

Now the university plans to add a small baseball field at the site of the original stadium. What once symbolized Atlanta’s major league dreams now serves student-athletes and campus life.

The cycle continues. New buildings replace old ones. Purpose shifts. Memory fades.

The Cost of Staying “Major League”

Atlanta taxpayers have funded the construction of two baseball stadiums, two football stadiums, and two arenas. Each project aimed to keep the city in the major league conversation.

The pursuit has worked, depending on perspective. Atlanta hosts franchises. It stages global events. It remains relevant. The price has been constant reinvestment and repeated reinvention.

Stadiums come and go. Teams move on. Cities keep paying. In Atlanta, the buildings tell the story. They were never meant to last forever. They were meant to keep the city in the game.

Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191

Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com