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Page S19From§Eachthe evening edition — 18 October 2026

Tennessee cut its beer to half price to open Neyland's gates early for a president who spent the afternoon stumping for the bill, up for Senate passage that Monday, that sets what the players below him may be paid.

Hot Mic Moment

Levels are down, so let me say it plainly. The United States Senate spent that Monday setting the pay terms of twenty-year-olds who were not in the room, and the senator who wrote it collected a pregame segment for his trouble. The Nation's justice correspondent has it cold — the bill threatens athletes' labor rights — in the same column that marks the Supreme Court rejecting the latest move to restrict mail-in voting. Somebody give me the political desk. I am wasted on pitchers.

Gushis side

GUS: Ladies and gentlemen, this reporter has described a great many things from a press box, and pricing was not among them until Saturday, the twenty-sixth of September. On that date the University of Tennessee opened the gates of Neyland Stadium early and took fifty percent off the beer, as the No. 14 Volunteers prepared to receive the No. 1 Longhorns in the loudest house in the Big 12.

GUS: The ceremony deserves the record. The new-look Air Force One came over the rim, the crowd greeted the president with massive cheers, and before boarding he had advised a reporter, "I want real news, not fake news, like you." Inside, he vouched for the Protect College Sports Act, called the House Speaker fantastic, and put the count at sixty-eight votes, if you can believe it.

GUS: This reporter would also compliment the gals in the stands, who turned out in their best colors and lent the afternoon a charm no flyover can purchase.

GUS: The broadcast did not hold. ABC's audio turned into a static-filled mess, this after the Post reported coaches worried about disruptions. The football was first-rate — Colin Simmons recorded five sacks, Raleek Brown scored twice, and Texas escaped Knoxville. It was the president's first college game since January's national championship, when Miami defeated Indiana.

The Hill had the Knoxville appearance down as arriving ahead of senators' last chance to pass the Protect College Sports Act before recessing into a lame-duck period, and the Examiner notes it is the furthest a collegiate sports bill has ever gotten in Congress, having been introduced in May.

GUS: The road show continued. The Mobile receipts are dated Saturday, the third of October, where the president announced he would attend No. 7 Alabama against No. 2 Georgia at Bryant-Denny Stadium on the tenth. By Wednesday the seventh, Fox reported Hurricane Isaias threatening that game and the Secret Service preparing; the Post's headline carried the phrase "Nightmare scenario" in quotation marks.

Trudyher side

Big 12, sugar? Fox News files the result as a "thrilling SEC victory," and the Examiner, the Hill and the Post all have it as a Southeastern Conference game. You are two conferences off. The discount you have right, and the Post ran the tactic as a tactic — get them in early, with heightened security expected around the president's presence and ESPN's "College GameDay" on campus.

Seventy-eight. The Washington Examiner prints the words: "Mike Johnson's fantastic. And we actually had 78 votes, if you can believe it." Ten votes is not a rounding error. The same item has him calling it "Bipartisanship for the first time in a while" — a bill The Hill says would write national rules for compensating college athletes and limiting transfers.

The women bought tickets the same as the men, Gus, and Fox quotes a fan asking for exactly one thing: "I hope he stays the whole game." They came for a football game and got a legislative rally with a drink special. Drink some water and sit down a minute.

Indiana defeated Miami. The Hill, Wednesday the twenty-third of September, in the very item that confirmed this trip. You have the winner and the loser traded in a title game from January. Mushrooms are said to be good for the memory; buy a pound and a notebook.

Then note who else had a microphone. The Hill, Friday the eighteenth of September: Kirk Herbstreit defending ESPN for seating Senator Ted Cruz on "College GameDay" — "We had him on because they were going to be voting this week" — Herbstreit speaking of the week before that Friday. The network booked the author; Tennessee priced the crowd.

The road show plays stadiums while the home office edits the signage. Washington Examiner, Wednesday the twenty-third of September: former Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher, who ousted Representative Andy Ogles in the August primary, took "Pro-Trump" out of his campaign slogan in a deep-red seat.

Thirty seconds to air and you are organizing a bargaining unit into a live feed. Also the receipt holds: The Nation, Friday the eighteenth of September, Elie Mystal, on Ted Cruz's college-sports bill threatening athletes' labor rights — in the same column that marks the Supreme Court's rejection of the latest move to restrict mail-in voting.

The receipts

· https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/hurricane-isaias-threatens-georgia-vs-alabama-sec-showdown-trump-plans-tuscaloosa-visit the receipt

· https://nypost.com/2026/10/06/sports/possible-hurricane-threatens-alabama-georgia-game-trump-slated-to-attend/ the receipt

· Trump reveals he will return to Alabama in a week to watch Crimson Tide face Georgia from the morgue, 3 Oct 2026

· Trump says he will attend Georgia-Alabama football game in Tuscaloosa from the morgue, 3 Oct 2026

· Trump says he will attend Alabama vs Georgia college football game at Bryant-Denny Stadium from the morgue, 3 Oct 2026

· Trump set to attend Tennessee-Texas football game in Knoxville from the morgue, 23 Sep 2026

· Trump stumps for Protect College Sports Act at Texas-Tennessee game: ‘Bipartisanship for the first time in a while’ from the morgue, 26 Sep 2026

· No. 1 Texas escapes Tennessee with thrilling SEC victory as President Trump watches on from Neyland Stadium from the morgue, 26 Sep 2026

· Audio problems plague ABC for Texas-Tennessee after warning of possible disruptions with Trump at game from the morgue, 26 Sep 2026

· Trump met with roaring cheers at University of Tennessee-Texas Longhorns college football game from the morgue, 26 Sep 2026

· Air Force One does majestic flyover before Trump attends highly anticipated Texas-Tennessee game from the morgue, 26 Sep 2026

· Trump trolls reporter: I don’t want fake news ‘like you’ from the morgue, 26 Sep 2026

· SEC crowd greets Trump with massive cheers ahead of Tennessee-Texas showdown from the morgue, 26 Sep 2026

· Trump to attend major Texas vs. Tennessee college football game — and coaches are worried about disruptions from the morgue, 26 Sep 2026

· Tennessee fans excited for Trump's attendance at game vs Texas: 'I hope he stays the whole game' from the morgue, 26 Sep 2026

· Trump to attend Texas-Tennessee football game as he pushes college sports bill from the morgue, 24 Sep 2026

· Cruz: Trump should sign college sports bill live on ESPN's 'College GameDay' once passed from the morgue, 14 Sep 2026

· Cruz faces rowdy crowd at College GameDay while promoting the Protect College Sports Act from the morgue, 12 Sep 2026

· GOP hopeful removes ‘Pro-Trump’ mention from campaign slogan in deep-red seat from the morgue, 23 Sep 2026

· Tennessee uses unusual alcohol tactic to get fans there early with President Trump attending Texas showdown from the morgue, 26 Sep 2026

· Live updates: Trump attends Texas-Tennessee football game in Knoxville; US, China to cut tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods from the morgue, 26 Sep 2026

· Trump wants the Protect College Sports Act passed. What to know about the legislation. from the morgue, 26 Sep 2026

· We Need to Protect College Sports from Ted Cruz from the morgue, 18 Sep 2026

· This week on the Hill: Senate eyes final passage on college sports bill from the morgue, 20 Sep 2026

· College football pressure index: Four coaches, two QBs and one coordinator under the gun in Week 4 from the morgue, 20 Sep 2026

· Senate votes to move forward with Protect College Sports Act from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026

· Kirk Herbstreit defends having Ted Cruz on 'College GameDay' from the morgue, 18 Sep 2026

This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front. The byline is a pen name for a column drafted by a machine and checked by the editor: how this is made.