Welcome to your Morning Cup of Joe, an eye-opener to help Joe’s readers ease into their busy workday with a few football links, wacky news and a pleasant distraction.

Distraction of the Day

AI to phase out statgeeks in football? Tell Joe more! (Joe thinks statgeeks have somewhat improved football, except for the idiocy of eschewing field goals). Now, if this can happen in baseball where the bots believe hitting the ball where they ain’t is light years better than swinging for the fence every pitch, which worked very well for about 150 years, then maybe AI can save baseball. But it all depends who programs the dang thing. GIGO. “This Joe” will take to his grave how the statgeeks fully ruined baseball and tore away part of Joe’s life. May they all rot in hell. Joe swears in today’s baseball, Tony Gwynn would never make it. That’s how whacked out and twisted these SOBs are. Bunting is a weapon, not an evil. Leave the Wall Street dudes in finance, not sports. [PFT]

NFL prospects explain why they didn’t take the money and run to different schools. [CBS]

Lions corner Terrion Arnold distances himself from an attempted mob hit where dudes who (allegedly) had previously lifted Arnold’s gear from his Largo crib, were baited by women to a Hillsborough County apartment and then dudes who were packing jumped out of the closet and pistol-whipped the unsuspecting cats once the victims got comfortable with the women in the bedroom. Clever! [Yahoo!]

Keon Coleman gets one more chance from Bills. [NFL]

You’re not a kid any longer, dummy. [TikTok]

So where is the fact-finding mission promised by NFL warden Roger Goodell to look into Giants co-owner Steve Tisch concerning his alleged dalliances with Jeffrey Epstein’s concubines clients? If an NFL player was accused of the same thing, Goodell would have the guy gelded. [BSPN]

Former NFL scout predicts within 10 years, the NFL will shut down “Combine: The TV Show.” The real combine that is never televised will continue, he predicted. Whew, cool. [Awful Announcing]

Gambling suit (indirectly) blames NFL shot-caller Roger Goodell for drop in football betting. He’s sort of got a point but how is Goodell supposed to keep Pat Mahomes healthy, for example? [Front Office Sports]

Mac Jones and his long-time girlfriend from back to their Alabama days, Sophie Scott, split. There goes her meal ticket. On to the next lucky jock man. Wonder if Fernando Mendoza has a girlfriend? [Yahoo!]

When Miami quarterback Carson Beck threw at the combine, he was roundly booed by Indiana fans in Indianapolis, who didn’t forget how he blew off Fernando Mendoza after the national title game. Guys, you pulled off the unthinkable. The Hoosiers won it all. Be happy! Walk over to The District, have them pour you a Sun King Brewery Osiris Pale Ale and relax. You’re the champs! [SI]

LSU coach Lane Kiffin creepin’ on Livvy Dunne. Joe can’t really blame him. [X]

Nope! [Instagram]

When dogs watch TV. [TikTok]

Blazing 🏃🏿‍♂️💨

But how important is that?

I looked at 17 yrs worth of WR data to get that answer. ⬇️ https://t.co/AMcuCMqrqv pic.twitter.com/p8gNv6JpGZ

— Lindsay Rhodes (@lindsay_rhodes) March 1, 2026

Our very own @MikeSilver goes behind the scenes at St. Elmo Steak House in Indianapolis during NFL Scouting Combine week.

The restaurant is a well-known spot where agents, GMs, coaches and players all congregate, leading to signings and trades. pic.twitter.com/hNYa382gYQ

— The Athletic NFL (@TheAthleticNFL) February 26, 2026