Hartford Courant from Hartford, Connecticut • C1

COURANT.COM/SPORTS SP RTS 24, 2019 131 Oak Street Hartford, Connecticut 860.522.1196 800.344.5297 Safety Tip of the Day Are your brakes This could be a sign there is air in the brake line or perhaps a leak and you should get your car checked out as soon as possible. Next year will be Derek turn to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. C6 CLASSIFIED C7-8 JETER ON DECK Central Connecticut State Uni- versity football coach Pete Rosso- mando has accepted a job as Rutgers offensive line coach, CCSUannouncedWednesday. loved my time with the Blue Rossomando said in a release. time has come for a new challenge, and excited to begin this next venture.

I have spoken with my staff and players, they all know the love I have for each and every one of Rossomando had coached the Blue Devils since the 2014 season, winning 23 games and losing 34. In 2017, he led them to an NEC title and first everFCS playoff appearance. Last fall, his team went 6-5 overall and 4-2 in conference play, losing a shot at another champi- onship during the final week of the season. CCSU FOOTBALL Rossomando takes job as assistant for Rutgers Central Connecticut coach Pete Rossomando looks on during a Blue Devils practice. HARTFORD COURANT FILE By Alex Putterman Turn to CCSU, Page C2 Football player Eli Thomas has enrolled in classes for spring semester, barely three months after suffering a stroke, the school announced Wednes- day.

According to a UConn release, Thomas has not been cleared for football activitiesbuthas returned to Storrs to re-join his teammates. It remains unclear whether he will return to the field next fall or at any point in the future. Thomas mostly recovered physically within weeks of his Oct. 10 stroke but was left with impaired speech, which he ad- dressed through outpatient treat- mentwhile home The Huskies rallied around Thomas during the second half of the 2018 season, as friend and fellow linebacker SantanaSterling wore his No. 22 jersey.

Thomas UCONN FOOTBALL Months after a stroke, Thomas back in school By Alex Putterman Turn to Thomas, Page C4 he level of ourNFLdis-course has deterioratedto suchmind-numbing depths that three days after a historicChampionshipWeekend, all anyonewants to talk about are the referees, overtime rules, com- petition committeemeetings and somehurt feelings. Well, had about enough. Message for everyone: Stopwhin- ing. Andmaybe turn your frustra- tion into appreciation for an entertainingweekend of football and a highly-anticipated Super BowlLIIImatchup between the L.A. Rams andNewEngland Patriots that both teams EARNED.

DidBill officiating crew screw theNewOrleans Saints by not callingRams corner Nickell inter- ference of Saints receiverTom- myleeLewis? You bet they did. Was it a bummer that America get to see PatrickMahomes and theKansasCityChiefs get the ball in overtime? Froman entertainment standpoint, it sure was. But RamsQBJaredGoffmade two enormous throws under duress in overtimewhile the DrewBrees threwan interception under pressure on the first drive ofOT. defense, led by soon-to-beMiamiDol- phins coachBrian Flores, held the high-poweredChiefs score- less in the first half for the first time all season. officiating is and will continue to be a story, sure.

But pretend like theRams andPatriots plays to win these games, and conversely, pretend the Saints and culpable in losing them. The real focus of championship games should be on the players, coaches and foot- ball that decided the results and especially not on contrived, non- sensical controversies like this SUPER BOWL LIII COMMENTARY Enough: Pats, Rams earned it Regardless of the debate if the Rams belong in the Super Bowl, Jared Goff earned his way to it. STREETER Criticism over referees, OT rules overshadows two teams remaining By Pat Leonard New York Daily News Turn to NFL, Page C3 Super Bowl LIII Patriots vs. Rams, Sunday, Feb. 3, 6:30 p.m., Atlanta, CBS Inside: Flores meets again with Dolphins.

C3 Looking at bench during the fourth quarter of one of their blowout victories, you can almost always find No. 24 and No. 33 side by side. They come together, always in sync. There has never been any doubt about whose teamUConn is this year.NapheesaCollier and Katie Lou Samuelson have left no room for questions, putting on consistently dominant per- formances all season long.

On Wednesday night, in the 79-39win over SMU, Collier and Samuelson did what done somany times before. They led their team in scoring, with Collier recording 22 points and BASKETBALL UCONN 79, SMU 39 TWICE ASNICE UConn forward Katie Lou Samuelson reacts to a basket against SMU during a 79-39 win at Gampel Pavilion on Wednesday night. BRAD HARTFORD COURANT dynamic duo of Collier, Samuelson too much for SMU By Kelli Stacy Turn to UConn, Page C4.