Nick Saban had some choice words for Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher, but they seemed  unwarranted — after all, what does the winningest active college football coach have to complain about?

On Wednesday, Saban called out the Aggies for “buying” their top-ranked class via name, image, and likeness, while his Crimson Tide did it “the right way” — with 25 players leveraging roughly $3 million in NIL deals, according to Saban himself.

In response, Saban’s former assistant coach told reporters, “I know how some of those guys recruit, too… You don’t want to go down that avenue.” 

• Entering 2021, Saban claimed 11 of the last 14 recruiting titles — including seven straight.
• Alabama QB Bryce Young is one of college football’s highest-paid athletes.
• The Heisman winner made roughly $1 million in NIL deals with BMW, Cash App, Subway, and Logan’s Roadhouse.

Their roots run deep: Fisher was an assistant coach under Saban at LSU from 2000-06, winning a national championship in 2003.

It appears Saban has little to complain about. The Crimson Tide have won the most titles (14) in the AP Poll Era, and Saban himself surpassed Bear Bryant with seven of his own championships — the most for any D1 football coach. 

Plus, his $9.8 million salary is the highest of any college football coach. So what gives? 

Saban sounds mostly upset at the idea that his former assistant has outdone him in the new era of recruiting. The Tide lost to the Aggies in October, then to Georgia in the 2022 National Championship.

The first postseason Battle of Alberta in over 30 years didn’t disappoint, thanks to a historic glut of goals.

On Wednesday in Calgary, the Flames and Oilers opened their conference semifinals series with 15 combined goals — the fifth-most in Stanley Cup Playoffs history.

The contest, which the Flames won 9-6, also featured the two fastest goals to open a playoff game when Calgary jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first 51 seconds.

The Flames’ big scorers from Wednesday’s barnburner form the core of their red-hot offense — though all of them are on expiring contracts.

• Matthew Tkachuk, who recorded his first career playoff hat trick after co-leading the team in goals in the regular season, is an RFA this offseason.
• Andrew Mangiapane, who posted career highs across the board (35 G, 20 A, 55 P) and scored the record-setting second goal Wednesday, will also be an RFA.
• Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary’s regular-season points (115) and assists (75) leader — who contributed three helpers in Game 1 — will be a UFA this offseason.

Edmonton wasn’t exactly goal-shy either, led by stars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, who combined for two goals and five assists. The pair have contracts tying them to the Oilers through 2025-26 and 2024-25, respectively.

Of course, the collective firepower was offset by some very poor defense.

Mike Smith allowed three goals on 10 shots before getting the hook, while backup Miko Koskinen had to face 37 shots. And Calgary’s Jacob Markstrom — a 2022 Vezina Trophy finalist — had his worst game of the playoffs, allowing six goals on just 28 shots.

Shohei Ohtani has made a gigantic splash in the majors, but his Angels haven’t finished higher than fourth in the AL West since the two-way superstar arrived in 2018 to complement Mike Trout’s bat.

Now, Taylor Ward has emerged as a third offensive force — and the bargain star could be the missing piece for Los Angeles to make the postseason for the first time since 2014.

Ward is having a monster season at the plate, but while Trout and Ohtani make a combined $43 million, Ward is bringing home $720,000.

• He leads MLB in batting average (.375), OBP (.488), slugging percentage (.721), OPS (1.209), OPS+ (253), and batting average on balls in play (.435).
• The 28-year-old has hit nine home runs and 23 RBI in 29 games, with a 25-game on-base streak.
• Selected 26th overall as a catcher in 2015, Ward inked a $1.67M signing bonus, — about $400,000 less than what the pick was slated to be worth.

With Ward’s big bat — plus a healthy, resurgent Trout and Ohtani’s pitching and hitting prowess — the Angels (24-16) have a +48 run differential, second-best in the AL behind the Yankees and are one game back of the Astros in the West.

Trout and Ohtani have won four of the previous eight AL MVP Awards, but Ward is making a case to join the party, even if the odds remain steep. Ohtani (+210) is the favorite, with Trout third (+475), and Ward tied for 12th (+6000).