Who is Bishop Sycamore?

Most of the time when I write an article about Florida’s IMG Academy, it’s in awe of the pure talent and dedication their athletes have. While they just had an impressive 58-0 victory broadcasted over ESPN, everyone is more concerned about their opponent.

IMG faced off (and demolished) a high school name Bishop Sycamore. However, it turns out Bishop Sycamore might not actually be a real high school after all. The school is actually fully online out of Ohio and not an accredited high school. Aside from academics, Bishop Sycamore lacks a rostered team and eligible players. The schools ‘website’ provides a blank page when you click on the ‘about us’ tab. They do, however, have a blog that talks about their athletes football skills and caliber, which tells us exactly where the ‘schools’ values stand.

Even though they’re ineligible to play high school teams, the team actually managed to play 3 games in one week. This is extremely dangerous for any sport, especially a high contact sport like football. ESPN has yet to comment on how they missed this, and how the team was given airtime.

Cutting Cam Newton

Roster cuts started this week and while anyone could be cut, Cam Newton being on the Patriots list was a cut nobody expected. The veteran and former MVP quarterback had an average 2020 season ending with a 65% overall completion rate, 2,657 yards, and 8 touchdowns. While his performances have begun lacking these past seasons, I never imagined they’d be subpar enough to cut him.

This cut means that rookie Mac Jones will now step up and be the official week one starting quarterback for the Saints. Belichick voiced his desire for consistency, and I suppose the head coach saw that in Jones when the 22 year old stepped up in Cam Newtons Absence. (Newton missed 3 back to back practices due to a COVID misunderstanding). Newton’s exit vacates a team captain position that I’m sure Mac Jones will find himself stepping up to fill during the 2021 season.

TCU to Host the New Orleans Saints

As Hurricane Ida struck Louisiana this past week, the New Orleans saints evacuated their team to Dallas. While the Super dome sustained no substantial damage, the team voiced that they would be unable to staff their week one game against the Packers, as well as practice efficiently in New Orleans. Upon hearing the news, TCU and SMU both offered their facilities up to the New Orleans Saints to practice in. TCU’s offer is likely to be taken up by the Saints as Sean Payton’s son, Connor, is a student assistant for the TCU Football team.

Looking ahead, the New Orleans Saints have also begun to discuss playing their week one game at Cowboys Stadium. Payton feels as though the location would still provide them with more than enough fans to cheer them onto victory.