Amanda Serrano will face a promising boxer rather than a seasoned veteran in her first bout since losing to Katie Taylor in July.

The change was beyond her control.

Erika Cruz, Serrano’s originally scheduled opponent, was removed from the card due to an “atypical finding’’ in a prefight drug test, according to Most Valuable Promotions, which made the announcement Dec. 18.

With the 35-year-old Cruz out, up stepped 22-year-old Reina Tellez (13-0-1). On Friday, Tellez weighed in at 0.6 pounds over the maxium limit of 126 pounds. That means she will not have a shot at winning Serrano’s WBO and WBA world featherweight titles.

Serrano, 37, said this might be her final year of boxing. But before retirement, Serrano (47-4-1, 31 KOs)  has goals to meet: 50 career victories and the record for knockouts by a woman. Christy Martin holds the current mark for knockouts with 32 KOs.

USA TODAY Sports will have updates and results for the entire Serrano vs Tellez card here:

Serrano vs Tellez fight results: prelims

Alfred Cruz vs. Jan Paul Rivera, featherweight

• Round 1: Alfred Cruz on the move and strikes with a jab, as Jan Paul Rivera stalks. Cruz connecting early with the jab. Rivera picks up the pace and connects with hard right hands. Cruz fights back with the jab and Rivera misses with big overhand. Cruz 10, Rivera 9.
• Round 2: Cruz stays on the move and Rivera leans in and wraps him up. Cruz scores with the jab, but Rivera landing combinations. Rivera marches in and pushes down Cruz’s head. But the punches are flying — and landing. Cruz’s is winning the war of punching output. Cruz 20, Rivera 18.
• Round 3: Cruz stays busy with the jab. Rivera exhibits power but has yet to stun Cruz. But he breaks through the high guard and scores. Then lands a couple of solid shots and smothers Cruz. Cruz swinging and missing before landing a big right. But Rivera landed more power shots. Cruz 29, Rivera 28.
• Round 4: Spirited fight with both fighters landing punches, and Rivera asserts himself behind power shots. He attacks Cruz to the body as the two exhange meaningful shots. Cruz 39, Rivera 37.
• Round 5: Cruz snaps back Rivera’s head with a left, but Rivera keeps marching forward. Fatigue may be setting in, but suddenly they’re trading punches again. Cruz finishes strong. Cruz 49, Rivera 46.
• Round 6: Cruz still on the move and you got wonder how long those legs will hold up. Rivera lands a bevvy of combinations. Things are heating up again as the two trade shots. Crus hits the gas, but Rivera sufficently dominated the round early. Cruz 58, Rivera 56.
• Round 7: Cruz scores to the body, and Rivera responds with a firestorm of punches. Cruz looks weary as Rivera pounds away. Cruz still running — and maybe not fast enough to evade Rivera. Cruz 67, Rivera 66.
• Round 8: Cruz slips and hits the canvas. But he’s up and trying to elude Rivera again. Cruz hits the deck again, apparently pushed. Rivera attacking and Cruz holding on to Rivera — and for dear life. Cruz landsd a big right and unloads, only to get caught by a big right from Rivera. Cruz 76, Rivera 76.

• Caleb Tirado def. Justin Hill by TKO, bantamweight
• Yandiel Lozano def. Johniel Ramos Cotto by unanimous decision, super featherweight
• Abner Figueroa def. Edwin Rodriguez by unanimous decision, bantamweight
• Elise Soto def. Liliana Martinez by TKO, super featherweight
• Alexis Chapparo def. Augusto Leal by unanimous decision, middleweight
• Chris Echevarria def. Gabriel Bernardi by unanimous decision, super bantamweight
• Henry Lebron def. Juan Tapia by TKO, super featherweight

Amanda Serrano vs Reina Tellez: Time, PPV, streaming for fight

Amanda Serrano will face Reina Tellez on Saturday, Jan. 3 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

• Date: Saturday, Jan. 3
• Time: 8 p.m. ET (main event); Prelims 2:30 p.m. ET (MVP YouTube)
• Serrano vs. Tellez main event ringwalks: 11p.m. ET (estimate)
• Stream: DAZN PPV (MVP YouTube for prelims)

Watch Serrano vs Tellez on DAZN PPV

What time is Amanda Serrano vs Reina Tellez fight card?

Serrano vs Tellez starts at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 3.

When is the Serrano vs Tellez main event ring walk?

The main event between Serrano and Tellez has an estimated start time of 11 p.m. ET.

Amanda Serrano vs Reina Tellez price: How much to watch fight

The fight available on DAZN with a monthly plan of $29.99.

Amanda Serrano stats

Amanda Serrano is 47-4-1 with 31 KOs. She has lost her last two fights, both to Katie Taylor by way of decision.

Amanda Serrano vs Reina Tellez fight card, odds

• Amanda Serrano (-3000) vs. Reina Tellez (+900); Featherweight, for the WBA and WBO title
• Stephanie Han (+160) vs. Holly Holm (-225); Lightweight, for the WBA title
• Krystal Rosado vs. Tania Walters; Bantamweight
• Ebanie Bridges vs. Alexis Arazia; Bantamweight

Amanda Serrano age

Amanda Serrano is 37. Her opponent, Reina Tellez, is 22.

Holly Holm fight

Holly Holm, the legendary boxer and MMA fighter, will be making her second appearance in the boxing ring since signing with Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions. This time, the 44-year-old Holm will be fighting for a world title against Stephanie Han, the reigning WBC lightweight champion.

In June, Holm boxed in her first pro bout since 2013 and defeated previously unbeaten Yolanda Vega by unanimous decision.

• Alabama is basically Illinois now. That’s Alabama’s unpleasant reality. That’ll go over well in Tuscaloosa.
• Kalen DeBoer sees ‘fine line’ between Alabama and Indiana. Come again?
• SEC force fed humble pie in CFP and bowl games.

Alabama is Illinois now.

That’s Alabama’s unpleasant reality. I’m sure that’ll go over well in T-Town.

Seriously, show me the difference between Illinois and Alabama the past two seasons. One wears orange. There’s your differentiation. That’s about it.

Remember how Indiana decked the Illini when the teams met during the regular season? Well, the Rose Bowl became something of a sequel. The Hoosiers boot-stomped Alabama. The key difference? The encore happened in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal instead of an intraconference rout.

Around the time Indiana increased its lead to 38-3 on once-fearsome Alabama, you were forced to accept there’s just not much difference between the Tide and a 9-4 Big Ten team anymore.

Alabama used to be the team that could beat a ranked opponent by 35. Now, it’s the team that can lose by five touchdowns. That’ll make for a spicy offseason for Kalen DeBoer.

Alabama and Illinois each beat Tennessee, for whatever that’s worth. Each team had its moments, and each produced a few clunkers, too. Each lost four times.

Not bad teams. Not great teams, either. Put them on the field against one another, and I’d expect we’d see a fair fight and a good game. A much better game than the one in Pasadena.

I’m not suggesting Illinois should have been in the playoff. No way. The Music City Bowl became a fitting destination for the Illini, who beat an SEC team in a bowl game for the second straight season.

I am saying it’s time to stop defaulting to giving the SEC the benefit of the doubt. It’s not earning that benefit anymore.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey once quoted Sesame Street and claimed his conference is not like the others. That used to be true. Now, it’s more like the others, or at least one other — the other with the B1G jersey patch.

The next time the playoff committee considers bending over backward to ensure a playoff spot for the SEC’s three-loss runner-up, it needs to remember Alabama is Illinois now.

SEC, Alabama supremacy a thing of the past

The committee defaulted toward giving the SEC the benefit of the doubt when it reserved a spot for conference runner-up Alabama, even after our eyes made us question throughout November and again on conference championship weekend whether the Tide looked the part of a playoff team.

The committee briefly earned some vindication when Alabama won a first-round playoff game. Maybe, it only won a playoff game because it faced another SEC team. What might Miami or Oregon have done to Alabama in Round 1?

The SEC’s relentless supremacy, along with Alabama’s galactic overlord status, ended after NIL and transfer free agency came along.

If the committee wasn’t prepared to acknowledge that before — it awarded the SEC five bids in this playoff — maybe it will be more ready to accept that reality after the SEC’s postseason flop.

Not so long ago, the SEC ruled the block as college football’s ruthless bully. Only those suffering from a bad case of Big Ten bias would deny it.

Now, the SEC is more of a paper tiger, or at the very least an overrated elephant, propped up by propaganda, effective branding and our collective slowness to accept college football norms changed more in these past five seasons than it did in the 25 years that preceded it.

Only one of the SEC’s five playoff qualifiers reached the semifinals. That comes after SEC newcomer Texas was its lone semifinalist last season. The SEC’s bowl performance has been pitiful, too. At least Texas saved some face for the conference by beating turmoil-stricken Michigan.

Tennessee and Missouri, two SEC teams that went 8-5, finished the season without a single victory against an FBS opponent that finished above-.500.

If Alabama is Illinois now, then Tennessee and Missouri were Minnesota.

And yet Tennessee and Missouri spent multiple weeks ranked in the CFP. Minnesota was never ranked.

Big Ten gets a laugh at the SEC’s expense

Rivalries being what they are, some scattered throughout Big Ten land will take the SEC’s postseason performance as a referendum that the conference down south stinks. That battle cry will gain more steam if Mississippi loses to Miami in the CFP semifinals. The SEC hasn’t sent a team to the national championship game since the 2022 season.

The SEC doesn’t stink. It’s just not lapping the field anymore.

Blue bloods had their day. Heck, they had their century. Now, parity exists unlike ever before, so that you can say Alabama is Illinois, and it’s more real than hyperbole.

That doesn’t mean the CFP committee must start rejecting 10-win SEC teams, any more than it should snub a 10-win Big Ten team.

It does mean the committee should stop defaulting to giving the SEC the benefit of the doubt in bubble debates.

Perhaps, the SEC should have lost the benefit of the doubt after Alabama got bullied by Florida State, which later proved unimpressive.

If not then, then it lost the benefit of doubt after Indiana inserted its backup quarterback into a Rose Bowl blowout. Continuing to play the starter became unnecessary against an overmatched opponent.

Indiana’s backup quarterback got to play against Illinois, too.

After Alabama absorbed the beatdown in Pasadena, DeBoer claimed “a fine line” exists between four-loss Alabama and undefeated Indiana. That’s his story, anyway.

I detect a finer line between Alabama and Illinois.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

Amanda Serrano will face a promising boxer rather than a seasoned veteran in her first bout since losing to Katie Taylor in July.

The change was beyond her control.

Erika Cruz, Serrano’s originally scheduled opponent, was removed from the card due to an “atypical finding’’ in a prefight drug test, according to Most Valuable Promotions, which made the announcement Dec. 18.

With the 35-year-old Cruz out, up stepped 22-year-old Reina Tellez (13-0-1). On Friday, Tellez weighed in at 0.6 pounds over the maxium limit of 126 pounds. That means she will not have a shot at winning Serrano’s WBO and WBA world featherweight titles.

Serrano, 37, said this might be her final year of boxing. But before retirement, Serrano (47-4-1, 31 KOs)  has goals to meet: 50 career victories and the record for knockouts by a woman. Christy Martin holds the current mark for knockouts with 32 KOs.

USA TODAY Sports will have updates and results for the entire Serrano vs Tellez card here:

Amanda Serrano vs Reina Tellez: Time, PPV, streaming for fight

Amanda Serrano will face Reina Tellez on Saturday, Jan. 3 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

• Date: Saturday, Jan. 3
• Time: 8 p.m. ET (main event); Prelims 2:30 p.m. ET (MVP YouTube)
• Serrano vs. Tellez main event ringwalks: 11p.m. ET (estimate)
• Stream: DAZN PPV (MVP YouTube for prelims)

Watch Serrano vs Tellez on DAZN PPV

What time is Amanda Serrano vs Reina Tellez fight card?

Serrano vs Tellez starts at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 3.

When is the Serrano vs Tellez main event ring walk?

The main event between Serrano and Tellez has an estimated start time of 11 p.m. ET.

Amanda Serrano vs Reina Tellez price: How much to watch fight

The fight available on DAZN with a monthly plan of $29.99.

Amanda Serrano stats

Amanda Serrano is 47-4-1 with 31 KOs. She has lost her last two fights, both to Katie Taylor by way of decision.

Amanda Serrano vs Reina Tellez fight card, odds

• Amanda Serrano (-3000) vs. Reina Tellez (+900); Featherweight, for the WBA and WBO title
• Stephanie Han (+160) vs. Holly Holm (-225); Lightweight, for the WBA title
• Krystal Rosado vs. Tania Walters; Bantamweight
• Ebanie Bridges vs. Alexis Arazia; Bantamweight

Serrano vs Tellez fight results: prelims

• Caleb Tirado def. Justin Hill by TKO (2nd rd), bantamweight
• Yandiel Lozano def. Johniel Ramos Cotto by unanimous decision, super featherweight
• Abner Figueroa def. Edwin Rodriguez by unanimous decision, bantamweight
• Elise Soto def. Liliana Martinez by TKO (2nd rd), super featherweight

Amanda Serrano age

Amanda Serrano is 37. Her opponent, Reina Tellez, is 22.

Notre Dame basketball coach Micah Shrewsberry issued an apology for losing his cool on Friday, Jan. 2.

The Fighting Irish coach got into a heated exchange, charging toward an official after California pulled off a 72-71 win over Notre Dame, following a controversial reversal and re-reversal of a four-point play opportunity for the Golden Bears with five seconds remaining in a game that Notre Dame led 71-68.

Shrewsberry charged toward the official who awarded the four-point play, showing visible anger and yelling at the official. He was held back and restrained by multiple Notre Dame players and staffers for a few seconds before he finally led the postgame handshake line with the Cal team.

“I want to apologize for what took place immediately after the Cal game last night,’ Shrewsberry’s statement read. ‘My actions were inappropriate and not symbolic of the leader I strive to be and what Notre Dame expects of its coaches and educators. I will learn from this lack of judgment and be better in the future.

‘I want to apologize to our team, our University and its leaders, to (California) Coach (Mark) Madsen and his team, and to the ACC, as my actions were unacceptable.”

With the Golden Bears trailing 71-68 with seconds remaining, Dai Dai Ames hit a 3-pointer to tie the game, drawing a foul from Notre Dame’s Logan Imes in the process. Initially, it was ruled a four-point play, giving Cal a chance to take the lead.

However, the official overturned the call and said the foul happened before the shot. He then reversed course again and said the foul happened during the shot, resulting in a four-point opportunity.

Ames knocked down his free throw with five seconds remaining to give Cal a 72-71 lead. Notre Dame’s Braeden Shrewsberry missed a buzzer-beating 3-pointer as time expired, which resulted in Micah Shrewsberry losing his cool.

The Atlantic Coast Conference issued a statement reprimanding Shrewsberry’s outburst on Saturday, Jan. 3. There will be no suspension.

‘Shrewsberry aggressively confronted a member of the officiating crew following the game,’ the statement read. ‘The unsportsmanlike behavior that was displayed is unacceptable and tarnishes the on-court play between these institutions.

‘The ACC considers this matter closed and will have no further comment.’

HARTFORD, CT — The UConn women’s basketball team continued its Big East dominance, defeating Seton Hall, 84-48, on Saturday at PeoplesBank Arena.

The Huskies (15-0, 6-0 Big East) have won 53 consecutive games against conference opponents and are on 31-game win streak overall going back to last season’s 12th national title.

UConn starting point guard KK Arnold returned to the lineup after breaking her nose in practice on Tuesday. She had five points, five assists and five steals.

‘In KK’s case, there’s nobody else on the team that will be able to replicate what she does,’ UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. ‘So when you do have her in the game … she does become incredibly valuable as a tone setter. You know that the game is going to start a certain way, that there’s going to be a kind of a frenetic pace to it, that the other team may not be equipped to handle.’

Sarah Strong had 18 points and eight rebounds to lead UConn. Azzi Fudd added 16 points including four 3-pointers. Allie Ziebell had 12 points on four 3-pointers. Jana El Alfy scored 10 to round out players in double figures.

Despite the margin of victory, Auriemma had some notes. The Huskies continued to struggle with turnovers. They had five in the first quarter and 17 for the game.

‘It’s one of the not so perky perks of coaching women’s basketball at UConn, you get a lot of unselfish players,’ Auriemma said. ‘And we watch on a film and (you ask) … ‘Why didn’t you shoot that?’

‘(We’re) trying to do things that are a little bit more difficult than they need to be. So it’s a good problem to have that they want to be very unselfish. There’s a fine line there.’

The Huskies has 20 steals and 35 points off turnovers. The Pirates had 32 turnovers.

Jordana Codio scored 12 points and Savannah Catalon added 11 to lead Seton Hall (10-5, 4-2 Big East).

Third quarter: UConn 67, Seton Hall 26

UConn dominated in the third quarter and is poised to get its 53rd straight victory in Big East play.

Sarah Strong has 18 points and eight rebounds. Azzi Fudd has 16 points including four 3-pointers. Both have given way to backups as the Huskies outscored to Pirates, 29-8, in the quarter.

Since an 11-all tie in the first quarter, UConn has outscored Seton Hall 55-15.

Azzi Fudd starts second half strong

Fudd got the scoring started with another 3.

Halftime: UConn 38, Seton Hall 18

UConn found its offense in the second quarter. The Huskies outscored the Pirates 19-7. Azzi Fudd has 13 points and Sarah Strong 12 points and five rebounds. UConn has 12 steals and 21 points off turnovers.

Mariana Valenzuela has eight points and four rebounds for Seton Hall.

UConn’s Sarah Strong from range

After being relatively quiet in the early going, Sarah Strong hit back-to-back 3s. She now has 10 points. UConn is on a 21-4 run and up 32-15 on Seton Hall.

Azzi Fudd into double figures

Azzi Fudd, who leads the Huskies by averaging 18.1 points a game, has 11 in the early going. She is 4 for 10 from the field including 3 for 7 from behind the arc.

First quarter: UConn 19, Seton Hall 11

The Huskies went on a 8-0 run to end the quarter including a pair of 3s. Azzi Fudd leads the Huskies with 9 points. Sarah Strong has four points and four rebounds.

Huskies struggling from behind the arc

UConn is shooting 3-for-10 from 3-point range with Ashlynn Shade just cashing in. The Huskies hold a 14-11 lead.

We are underway in Hartford

UConn’s missed its first two shots before Azzi Fudd hit a 3-pointer to get the offense going.

Here’s everything you need to know about Saturday’s matchup between UConn and Seton Hall:

What time is UConn vs. Seton Hall women’s basketball?

The UConn Huskies will face off against the Seton Hall Pirates on Saturday, Jan. 3 at 12 p.m. ET at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford, Connecticut.

UConn vs. Seton Hall: TV, streaming

• Date: Saturday, Jan. 3
• Time: 12 p.m. ET (9 a.m. PT)
• Location: PeoplesBank Arena (Hartford, Connecticut)
• TV: FS1
• Stream: Fubo

UConn starting lineup

Seton Hall starting lineup

UConn knows how to dish it out

The Huskies lead the nation with 24.3 assists per game. UConn has 20 or more assists in its last 13games. Junior KK Arnold ranks second nationally with a 4.69 assist-turnover ratio.

KK Arnold return to the UConn lineup

After sustaining a nasal fracture in practice Tuesday and missing Wednesday’s game, starting point guard KK Arnold is back against Seton Hall.

Seton Hall in the house

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

The NBA and its uniform police have another suspect in custody.

This time, it’s about headbands.

Suggs, who is in his fifth NBA season, said he doesn’t have an explanation for the unique fashion statement.

“I wear it on my neck and once I feel into the game, into the flow I put it on my head and we rock,’ Suggs said earlier this season. ‘That’s just me being J-Suggs.”

“Really, it originates as football drip—that’s where it stems from. But I don’t know, there really isn’t much else to it. I wear it on my neck, and once I get into the game, into the flow, I put it on my head and we rock.”

During the television broadcast of Orlando’s game against the Chicago Bulls on Friday, it was explained that the NBA told Suggs he begin the game with the headband situated where it was initially intended – and not as a choker around his neck.

The last time the NBA had an issue with headgear was the 2019-2020 season, when it banned the ‘ninja-style’ headbands, citing safety concerns about their length and how they were tied.

Suggs is averaging 15 points, 4.7 assists, and 3.7 rebounds per game this season for Orlando.

Just when it seemed the New England Patriots were riding the perfect, storybook wave of momentum toward their return to the NFL playoffs, stuff hits the fan.

Look at Stefon Diggs. Accused of smacking his former chef and trying to choke her during an alleged Dec. 2 incident as a beef over apparent back pay escalated. Really? The go-to receiver is facing a felony charge for strangulation or suffocation.

Consider Christian Barmore. Accused of throwing the mother of his 2-year-old child to the floor and issuing threats during an alleged Aug. 8 argument that stemmed from disagreements about the room temperature and that she was making food. Seriously? The 315-pound defensive tackle is facing a misdemeanor charge of domestic assault and battery.

Two key players, two rounds of allegations that they committed heinous crimes surfaced on back-to-back days this week. Bad timing. Bad optics. The NFL had enough regular season-finale plotlines to set up Week 18, but as 2025 transitioned to 2026, the Patriots have another version of in-with-the-new drama.

At this point, as Patriots coach Mike Vrabel insisted, they are allegations. Attorneys representing both players have flatly denied the accusations.

“We’ve made a statement, we’ve taken the allegations very seriously, and what comes of that, I think then we’ll have another discussion,” Vrabel said during a midweek news conference. “But I don’t think we have to jump to any sort of conclusions right now and let the process take its toll.”

Of course, Vrabel has a vested interest in keeping the players on the field. This isn’t to question the coach’s integrity. Trumped-up allegations happen. Yet it sure sounds like the Patriots might have jumped to some conclusions.

In their Tuesday statement, the team said, “We support Stefon.”

In the Wednesday statement, the team indicated that it was aware of the incident involving Barmore shortly after it occurred. Yet apparently, the team reached the conclusion that whatever happened wasn’t serious enough to remove a key player from the lineup.

Which reminds me: In 1996, the Patriots renounced their rights to fifth-round defensive tackle Christian Peter a week after drafting him because Myra Kraft, wife of the team owner, learned of Peter’s history of violence against women and insisted as much while backlash from women’s groups mounted. Early in Robert Kraft’s ownership, it set a tone for the Patriots standards.

That was a long time ago. Myra, bless her, passed in 2011.

Then again, as Vrabel maintains, these are allegations. It’s just that the nature of the allegations are disturbing enough to raise red flags. Yet unlike the assault on a fan by Pittsburgh Steelers receiver DK Metcalf that was captured on video and resulted in a two-game suspension, it’s difficult to assess when there’s no apparent evidence (at least in Diggs’ case).   

You might think Roger Goodell – no stranger to managing sticky fallout from domestic violence cases – would step right in and take the players off the field and put them on the Commissioner’s exempt list while the legal process plays out.

Indeed, that’s a possibility – just not this week, with the worst-to-first Patriots (13-3) hosting the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

According to the fine print of the NFL’s personal conduct policy, a player can be placed on the exempt list, which amounts to a paid leave of absence, when formal charges for a felony or violent crime are forwarded with a grand jury indictment, charges by a prosecutor or an arraignment in a criminal court.

Diggs is scheduled to be arraigned Jan. 23 – two days before the AFC title game.

Barmore has an arraignment date of Feb. 3 – five days before Super Bowl 60.

Of course, there’s no guarantee the Patriots will advance to the AFC Championship Game or the franchise’s first Super Bowl since the Tom Brady era. But the way things have gone this season, you can’t call it a pipe dream.

Vrabel returned to jolt New England to prominence ASAP, illustrating just how impactful the right coach in the right situation can be. New England was 4-13 in Jerod Mayo’s only campaign as Bill Belichick’s successor in 2024. Now the Patriots have a chance to seize the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs. And while Drake Maye has blossomed into an MVP candidate in his second season – with Diggs assisting that effort with big plays and big leadership – the Patriots snapped Buffalo’s streak of five consecutive AFC East titles.

None of that, however, should matter when weighing the status of Diggs and Barmore.

And no, Goodell doesn’t have to wait on the arraignment dates to make a call. There’s also fine print in that same personal conduct policy that stipulates a player can be placed on the exempt list on a limited, temporary basis to allow time for the league to conduct a preliminary investigation of an alleged crime of violence.

So, what’s happening with that feature of the policy in these cases?

In the allegations against Barmore, first reported by Boston-area television station WCVB, the police report includes photographs the woman provided of her bruises. And the Patriots were aware of the incident back in August? Hmmm.

The team apparently had no qualms about putting him on the field. It makes you wonder what type of evidence is needed – an elevator video, maybe – to have some domestic violence cases hit home.

“Again, allegations,” Vrabel said, “and we want to make sure that the court – that those ongoing court proceedings – and once those are satisfied, then we’ll come to whatever decision that we have to make.”

It’s a decision that goes far beyond the Patriots. Sure, there are nuances.

In the allegations against Diggs, there are no photographs of bruises. No third-party witnesses. It seems to be a classic case of he-said, she-said. Does it matter that the apparent victim didn’t alert police until Dec. 16 – two weeks after the incident – and didn’t decide to press charges until Dec. 23?

Sometimes, it takes a while for victims to come forward. And in this case, there are discussions about a potential monetary settlement.

In the meantime, Vrabel insists the fresh revelations are not a distraction for his team.

Yeah, right. No, it shouldn’t interfere with game-planning and practices. Yet the timing of this is less than ideal for the Patriots, with the playoffs looming. And there’s still some level of energy expended on this by the participants and others inside the organization. So, distraction or not, it’s not exactly business as usual – at least not for everyone.

Said Vrabel, “It’s things we have to handle, and every day there’s distractions, some are smaller than others.”

It’s just that this developing issue has the potential of growing into a much bigger distraction for the Patriots – complete with bad optics.

Contact Jarrett Bell at jbell@usatoday.com or follow on X: @JarrettBell

AI-assisted summary
• Former Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin’s departure for LSU has become a central storyline in the team’s College Football Playoff run.
• New head coach Pete Golding and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. have been credited with the team’s continued success.

We’ve reached the point of this Shakespearean tragic comedy where a single, undeniable question must be asked. 

Was it foolish pride that prevented Lane Kiffin from seeing what he had at Ole Miss — or worse, did he even believe it?

Either way, the entire college football world is now an Ole Miss fan. Everyone is on board.

‘Sip on that, Lane Train.

“I don’t want it to end,” new Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding said after the Rebels wrote another chapter of this quickly evolving and beautifully blossoming middle finger of a College Football Playoff opus from Ole Miss to all things Kiffin.

Two games up, two games down. And two more to go before this sublime soliloquy is complete.

The universe has spoken, and let’s just say it’s not a big fan of Kiffin.

In one crazy unthinkable night in the French Quarter, all the wrongs of the last month that felt like 10 years to the betrayed and bewildered Ole Miss community, have one by one been resolved with the sheer, indomitable force of it’s about us, not you.

It’s about a former Division II quarterback, and the assistant coach who recruited and developed him in such a short time this offseason. 

Ole Miss offensive coordinator — wait, or is that LSU offensive coordinator? — Charlie Weis Jr. recruited Trinidad Chambliss as a backup to starter Austin Simmons (Kiffin’s long-running, five-star project), and then got Chambliss ready to play when Simmons was injured in the second game of the season. 

Now Chambliss — not Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza — looks like the guy who should be hoisting the bronze statue. Now Weis, not Kiffin, looks like the architect of this dangerously devastating Ole Miss offense. 

Because he always has been. 

That’s the big misnomer of this story: Weis, not Kiffin, runs the offense and calls the plays at Ole Miss. Has since Kiffin took the job in 2020.

It was Weis who walked into Kiffin’s office at LSU last month, and told him — in the spirit of all great Shakespearean tragic comedies — he had deep, emotional conflict about leaving the Ole Miss players to fend for themselves in the CFP.  Told Kiffin he couldn’t do it, and not that he wanted to help the Ole Miss players — but that he had to help them. 

A 32-year-old assistant coach stepping forward as the only adult in the room, while a university and its former coach aired a bitter, publicly divorce for all to see.

A source with direct knowledge of the situation, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told USA TODAY Sports that Weis will continue coaching Ole Miss in the Fiesta Bowl semifinal against Miami. But this story isn’t just about the unique Weis dynamic.

It’s also about Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter, who stood firm in the face of criticism he was willfully tanking the greatest season in school history out of spite. He wasn’t letting Kiffin coach this team in the CFP, and you better believe that reality — in Carter’s heart of hearts — was the baseline factor for every single move he made during the separation process. 

This wasn’t about Kiffin recruiting the Ole Miss roster as the LSU coach, it was about Kiffin walking away from a job that would pay him whatever he wanted, and — in this new era of player procurement — could produce a national champion just as easily as LSU could.

Kiffin’s decision was a slap in the face to Ole Miss. There’s no chance he was coaching this team in the CFP. 

So Kiffin walked away from a team that’s now two wins from winning the whole damn thing — for a program that just fired a coach for winning 34 games in three and a half seasons.

It’s about Golding, the career Group of Five and NCAA lower division assistant that former Alabama coach Nick Saban hand-picked to run his defense in Tuscaloosa. Kiffin eventually hired Golding at Ole Miss in 2023, and it should come as no surprise that a defense that couldn’t get off the field in Kiffin’s first three seasons, is a critical component to 34 wins since.

So yeah, it wasn’t that difficult for Carter to see what he had in Golding after Kiffin decided to drop everything he had built and leave for LSU. Wasn’t a stretch to see what could be in raging storm of what is.

It’s about a loyal and unwavering Ole Miss community and its deep-pocket boosters, who did everything Kiffin wanted and built an NIL war chest for Kiffin to compete with the likes of LSU. No one in the SEC was going to outspend Ole Miss, and frankly, no one did.

It was simply a matter of Kiffin building a product that attracted elite players, and when he finally did and had the program primed for greatness, ego and the desire for more finally got the best of a coach who had turned around his wayward life off the field within the safe embrace of Oxford.

But this Shakespearean tragic comedy isn’t over, everyone. Not by a long shot. 

Profound loss has been followed by restoration. Elite, high-status characters have been humbled with magical (CFP) moments.

The only thing left is the cyclical nature of life. Death to joy, despair to rebirth. 

The entire college football world is an Ole Miss fan now, united in its desire to see one man get his just comeuppance. 

A villain by necessity, a fool by heavenly compulsion.