Hot Button: Harbaugh to be cited for lying in Michigan recruiting probe ... NFL cancels Bills-Bengals, has plan involving neutral-site championship game ... Hamlin asks 'Who won?' after 'remarkable improvement'

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Hot Button is a 'round-the-clock feature that covers anything across the scope of sports. We're here to bring you everything hot: News items, highlights, takes — everything but hot meals — whether local, national or international. Better yet, it’s interactive. Share your thoughts in comments, and even post your own links to interesting, safe-for-work sports stories.

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HARBAUGH FACES TROUBLE IN
MICHIGAN RECRUITING PROBE

Friday, January 6: Jim Harbaugh is facing a Level I charge for lying to investigators during a recruiting violations probe of University of Michigan football. The violation could result in a show-cause order, suspending Harbaugh for several games or a full season, based on precedent for the charge. The NCAA is preparing a draft of the notices for the university. 

The school is reported to be receiving four allegations of Level II violations — three related to recruiting during the COVID-19 dead period and one for a rules violation for having a defensive analyst on the sidelines coaching players. Harbaugh is required by the rules to maintain program compliance with NCAA regulations. He is alleged to have lied to or misled investigators about personal knowledge of the recruiting violations. 

Harbaugh was recently tied to the Carolina Panthers and its head-coaching position. Harbaugh acknowledged he had discussions with the Panthers but is committed to the Wolverines long-term.

My take: These things take too long to get a resolution, if the men's basketball investigations are any indication, so it may take a while unless the university wants to get it over with and accept the findings or self-impose some recruiting restrictions and give Harbaugh a few games suspension early in the season against the FCS and non-Power 5 portion of the schedule. — Bob

BILLS-BENGALS CANCELED, NFL
LOOKS TO APPROVE PLAYOFF PLAN

Thursday, January 5: The National Football League has officially canceled the Bills-Bengals game and will proceed without either team playing a 17th game. Commissioner Roger Goodell and the Competition Committee have a plan on how to move forward with the playoffs, considering the ramifications of the canceled game potentially had on the standings and playoff seeding.

The essence of the plan is for a neutral-site AFC Championship should either the Bills or Bengals play in it against another team which could have been No. 1, meaning the Chiefs. Depending on the results of Sunday's Week 18 games. The Bills already fulfill those conditions as the current No. 1 seed. Cincinnati meets those conditions with a win and Buffalo and Kansas City losses.

 • If the Ravens beat Cincinnati on Sunday, they cannot win the division, despite beating them twice because Cincinnati would have a higher winning percentage with fewer games played. If it happens, the NFL proposes a coin toss to determine which team would have home-field advantage should they meet in the Wild Card round.

Goodell said the plan, which is expected to pass, was created to cause the least amount of disruption to the current schedule, and was infulenced by three things:

• That the canceled game does not affect the teams qualifying for the playoffs.
• The aforementioned playoff schedule
• All teams know the conditions of their playoff-qualification requirements entering Week 18

My take: This is reasonable, considering the circumstances. The game could not be played without a major alteration to the schedule or eliminating the bye for one or both conferences between the title games and the Super Bowl. Stinks for the Ravens (dry your eyes, everyone) because they can't earn a potential division title but they're not going to be bigger underdogs Sunday anyway, with Lamar Jackson out another week with his knee injury. — Bob

HAMLIN MAKES GOOD PROGRESS
IN RECOVERY: ASKS 'WHO WON?'

Thursday, January 5: Damar Hamlin has made “remarkable improvement over the past 24 hours,” according to a statement from the Bills issued Thursday, adding, “While still critically ill, he has demonstrated that he appears to be neurologically intact. His lungs continue to heal and he is making steady progress.”

Later in the afternoon, a UC Medical Center press conference was held and doctors shared that Hamlin's first question in writing was "Who won?", referencing the Bills-Bengals game. One doctor replied, "You won. You've won the game of life." 

In an Associated Press report, Ronald Butler, Hamlin's agent, said Hamlin was awake earlier and able to squeeze the hands of family members. He remains in the Intensive Care Unit at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

Hamlin's improvement began overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, with doctors concerned prior because they had expected it to happen through the day Tuesday, but reports from the Bills and Hamlin's family and business team   throughout the day Wednesday indicated a new optimism for Hamlin's long-term prognosis. Now, it appears he's even more progress.

My take: That's remarkable news. It's always scary when someone's been without oxygen for several minutes — if the brain has been compromised in any way. Seems Hamlin's cleared that massive hurdle. Prayers up for continued healing and more good news in the coming days and weeks. — Bob

QUIPS, PITT ALUM REVIS 
FOOTBALL HALL FINALIST

Thursday, January 5: Aliquippa native Darrelle Revis, who starred for the Quips and at Pitt before a decorated National Football League career, was announced Wednesday night as one of 15 finalists for induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It is his first appearance on the ballot since retiring in 2017. The seven-time Pro Bowl cornerback was the 14th overall pick in the 2007 draft, playing 11 seasons — eight with the Jets and one each with the Buccaneers, Chiefs and Patriots, with whom he won a Super Bowl in 2015. Revis became famous for his man-to-man coverage on top receivers, nicknamed "Revis Island," and earning him four first-team All-Pro selections. He finished with 29 interceptions, 139 passes defensed and 496 tackles in 145 games. He was named to the Hall of Fame's All-2010s team.

Joining Revis is first-ballot nominee Joe Thomas of the Browns. The offensive tackle was named to 10 Pro Bowls in his 11 seasons and six first-team All-Pro selections. He was also a member of the All-2010s team. The third first-ballot finalist, defensive end Dwight Freeney of the Colts, was a member of the Hall's All-2000s team, playing 16 NFL seasons, mainly with the Colts. Freeney had 125.5 sacks — 18th all-time — 148 quarterback hits (only an official stat for his final 12 seasons), and 350 tackles — 128 for a loss — in 218 games. He also forced 47 fumbles. All three men were first-round picks.

Returning finalists, alphabetically, are: DE Jared Allen, OT Willie Anderson, CB Ronde Barber, KR/WR Devin Hester, WR Torry Holt, WR Andre Johnson, CB Albert Lewis, LB Zach Thomas, DE Demarcus Ware, WR Reggie Wayne, LB Patrick Willis, and S Darren Woodson.

Only five players maximum can be selected per class. Inductees will be announced February 9.

My take: Strong class of finalists. Revis and Thomas should be locks and Freeney has good bona fides. Of the others, a case could be made most belong. For me, Anderson, Barber, Hester, Johnson, Willis and Woodson should get in at some point, though Willis had a short-ish career, which could hurt with voters. — Bob

AGGIES GET TECH FOR
NOT HAVING UNIFORMS

Wednesday, January 4: The Florida Gators had a 1-0 lead on Texas A&M Wednesday night ... before the game even started. Turns out, The Aggies forgot their game uniforms at the hotel and did not know until after warmups.

The referees decide to give A&M a technical foul for delaying the start of the game and Florida's Will Richard made the free throw for the 1-0 lead. The game then tipped off.

The Aggies overcame the pregame blunder by storming to a 34-23 halftime lead and holding on down the stretch to outlast the Gators, 66-63.

My take: Not the usual type of wardrobe malfunction. Not often you see any team with a lead before a game begins. — Bob

SHARPE ANGERED BY
BAYLESS, ARGUES ON-AIR

Wednesday, January 4: Shannon Sharpe went after his FS1 "Undisputed" co-host Skip Bayless on air Wednesday, as Sharpe was explaining to viewers why he was absent form Tuesday's program. Bayless was the villain of the internet Monday night, when he reacted to Damar Hamlin's on-field cardiac arrest with a tweet about playing the game:

Sharpe was upset about Bayless' tweet and refused to go on air with him Tuesday, angry that the tweet's focus was not on Hamlin but Monday's game. Sharpe began explaining to viewers why he was absent, when Bayless interrupted. Sharpe was not pleased:

My take: Yikes. Only Bayless would stand by that tweet which, to be fair, does seem to indicate at the end that he thought the game and outcome was no longer important. A simple clarification to that end would have sufficed, but Bayless is ... well ... I don't have kind words on that guy, ever, and I'm not alone. Probably why so many were quick to pillory him for it. — Bob 

NCAA COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS 
EXPANDED MARCH MADNESS

Wednesday, January 4: A lengthy, multi-topic report by the NCAA's transformation committee recommended among many items the expansion of the men's and women's Division I basketball championship tournaments to include 25 percent of all teams which play at that level. In 2022, that number was 350 schools, so 87.5 team by the math would have to qualify, with 90 being the number to best organize a tournament.

There was no mention as to why the tournaments would be better from their current 68-team format, other than a mention that it would align with different D-I sports championships. The recommendation is not a rubber stamp — the full report goes to the Division I Board of Directors for consideration and potential voting in June, after review by other committees.

The report was heavy on recommendations for student-athlete benefits, including mandatory health care for two years after they leave school, allowing scholarship student-athletes up to return to complete their degrees for free within 10 years, multiple items related to on-field safety and mental health services, and the establishment of programs to support understanding and management of monetary benefits like NIL.

My take: 90 teams in March Madness would be ridiculous. There arent that many good teams to take one in four and have an interesting and intriguing tournament. It foolishly equates all conferences as equally competitive, so most of the teams in the top conferences would qualify and that ruins the regular-season schedule. The NCAA, of course, is just about dumb enough to do it. — Bob

HAMLIN HAD TO BE REVIVED
TWICE SAYS UNCLE

Tuesday, January 3: Damar Hamlin's uncle, Dorrian Glenn, said his nephew has improved a little since being admitted to the Intensive Care Unit at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, though Hamlin remains intubated and sedated while tests continue, with Glenn saying there is additional concern about potential lung damage, according to an interview he gave ESPN's Coley Harvey outside the hospital. 

Glenn also told Harvey that Hamlin was resuscitated on the field but had to be resuscitated again in the ambulance en route to the hospital.

In a separate interview with NFL Network, Glenn said Hamlin's oxygen level has improved, noting he was originally placed on 100 percent oxygen and now is down to 50 percent, and that he's optimistic about Hamlin's long-term prognosis.

Glenn spent a good portion of both interviews thanking fans for all their prayers, love and support, and thanked both the Bills and Bengals organizations for their response on the field and off, and the medical professionals at UC Medical Center.

My take: Seems like good news so far, though Hamlin remains in critical condition in an ICU. Needless to say, he has a long way to go but here's hoping Glenn's optimism is warranted. — Bob

NFL SAYS WEEK 18 UNCHANGED 
AFTER MNF POSTPONEMENT

Tuesday, January 3: The National Football League announced Tuesday that the Bills and Bengals will not play their suspended game this week, and that it intends to move forward with the Week 18 slate as scheduled, meaning there is no plan at present to conclude the Bills-Bengals contest.

Mike Tomlin addressed aspects of this at his weekly press conference, operating business as usual. The NFL did not provide any comment or indicate how it intends to handle the suspended game, which is critical in deciding which team might win the AFC North and which team will be the No. 1 seed in the AFC, earning the lone first-round bye.

My take: I believe the best way to handle this is to make this weekend a bye for all teams, allowing the Bills and Bengals to decide to finish their game any time before Tuesday. The league can stay on schedule with the Super Bowl by eliminating the bye week after the conference title games and moving the Pro Bowl to Friday and Saturday of the AFC an NFC title games. This allows the full schedule to be played and is fair to all teams, particularly those impacted by the pending result of Bills-Bengals. — Bob

VINCENT SETS RECORD STRAIGHT
ON NFL RESPONSE TO HAMLIN

Tuesday, January 3: NFL executive Troy Vincent said early Tuesday morning that the National Football League never attempted to resume play after Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest on the field during Monday night's contest against the Bengals in Cincinnati. There was much speculation and criticism of the National Football League in the wake of the tragic event, claiming the league was too interested in continuing the game despite what happened on the field, where players from each team witnessed Hamlin receiving CPR for several minutes. Monday Night Football broadcaster Joe Buck said the players had five minutes to warm up, and cameras showed Bills receiver Stefon Diggs attempting to focus fellow players and Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow throwing passes on the sideline.

Vincent denied it explicitly to NBC's "Pro Football Talk," saying "It was really about Damar and making sure — look, I’ve never seen anything like it since I’ve been playing, so immediately my player hat went on. How do you resume playing when such a traumatic event occurs in front of you in real time? And that’s the way we were thinking about it, [Roger Goodell] and I." 

Regarding the alleged five-minute warmup, he later added that " ... there was no time period for the players to get warmed up [after Hamlin was taken from the field]. Frankly, the only thing that we asked was that [the referee] communicate with both head coaches to make sure they had the proper time inside the locker room to discuss what they felt was best. So I’m not sure where that came from. Five-minute warmup never crossed my mind ... And I was the one that was communicating with the commissioner. ... it never crossed our mind to talk about warming up to resume play. That’s ridiculous. That’s insensitive. And that’s not a place that we should ever be in."

There is still no word from the NFL on when ... or if ... the game will resume. The Bengals had the ball with 5:58 remaining in the first quarter and leading 7-3. It's been confirmed that many Bills players flew back to Buffalo, while others stayed behind to be close to Hamlin. Both teams are in the playoffs, so the game was only necessary for seeding, with the Bills currently the No. 1 seed. Each team has a game Sunday — Buffalo hosts New England; Cincinnati hosts Baltimore — so it is unlikely the game can be played any later than Wednesday, and only if the teams' Sunday games are moved to Monday night ahead of playoff games the following weekend.

My take: I believe Vincent, who's been refeshingly forthright on several issues since becoming the league's executive vice president of football operations. It helps he was a player. There was so much going on after Hamlin was taken to the hospital and so much airtime to fill that some comments by the ESPN crew were either erroneous or speculative, though not in a malicious or unprofessional way — no one was prepared to handle what happened. — Bob

BEDARD SENDS CANADA TO
SEMIS WITH OT STUNNER

Monday, January 2: Canada center and top prospect Connor Bedard scored a stunning 3-on-3 overtime goal Monday night to defeat Slovakia, 4-3, and advance to the semifinals:

Bedard beat goaltender Adam Gajan, who singlehandedly kept his team in the game, making 53 saves in a stellar showing. 

The 17-year-old Bedard, who plays for the Regina Pats of the WHL, now holds Canada's all-time World Juniors records for goals (15), points (32) and also set a new mark with total points in one World Juniors with 21 this tournament, nearly double that of second-leading scorer Logan Cooley of the United States (11 points). Canada will now face the U.S., which beat Germany, 11-1, in their quarterfinal. Czechia will  face Sweden in the other semifinal, each Wednesday at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The gold-medal and bronze-medal games will be Thursday.

My take: Canada has steamrolled through this thing after a 5-2 loss to Czechia in the opening game, scoring 29 goals in four games of the preliminary round and now four more in the playoffs, and Bedard has points on 21 of them. Utter dominance. This is not, however, a done deal for Canada. They should get past the U.S. but they already lost to Czechia — which should beat Sweden and has the second largest goal differential in the tournament. — Bob

HAMLIN ADMINISTERED CPR, 
GAME POSTPONED

Monday, January 2: The Bills and Bengals Monday Night Football game has been suspended for the evening after Bills safety and Pitt alum Damar Hamlin had to be administered CPR on the field following a hit sustained on a tackle of receiver Tee Higgins. The teams left the field with just over five minutes left on the game clock in the first quarter after nearly thirty minutes elapsed from the time Hamlin collapsed, received emergency medical care and was removed by ambulance. 45 minutes later, the National Football League officially suspended the game for the evening.

After Hamlin was removed by ambulance after 20 minutes, the teams were given five minutes to warm up and resume the game. Players were in obvious distress over what happened and after a brief conversation between head coaches Zac Taylor and Sean McDermott the teams left for their locker rooms and it was announced the game was temporarily suspended unitl further notice.

Cory Crisan has all the coverage

My take: I'm shaken. Prayers to Hamlin, his family and the players, coaches, organizations, and football fans everywhere affected by this tragic event. — Bob

KRAKEN TO HOST
2024 WINTER CLASSIC

Monday, January 2: The National Hockey League announced Monday that the Kraken will host the Golden Knights in the 2024 Discover NHL Winter Classic at T-Mobile Park on Jan. 1, 2024, in a matchup of the league's newest franchises. T-Mobile Park is home to the Mariners and has a retractable roof. It will be open for the game but may be closed to help prepare the ice surface and organize the event.

The 2024 Winter Classic will be broadcast on TNT, as was the Penguins-Bruins game Monday.

My take: Good for the NHL to promote it's recent expansion franchises. Obviously, Vegas has made a name for itself in a short time but the Kraken can use some exposure. Great sports city, too, so I'd expect a great event. — Bob