Jon Joseph

Tanks a Lot! https://duckswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/ducks/football/2026/04/05/oregon-football-tank-jones-standout/89471423007/?utm_source=smg-duckswire-strada&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SM

ESPN weighs in - ESPN.comHow Michigan, UConn won Saturday's Final Four -- and keys...ESPN's college basketball crew breaks down what they saw in Indianapolis -- and what could decide the championship.

CBS Sports on The Victors victory - https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/michigan-arizona-live-updates-score-final-four-march-madness-2026-results/live/

Don't be sad, 1 out of 2 B1G ain't bad - Michigan 91 - Arizona 73 It's a Dusty, not a May Day. 😁 Monday night, Michigan vs UConn.

UConn makes the B1G feel Ill - UConn 71 - Illinois 62

Waiting for the Illini - UConn Tip Off - Some Coach Trivia - Michigan's Dusty May grew up in Terre Haute, Indiana. Dusty is a University of Indiana graduate. While at Indiana, he was a student manager for Bob Knight. Illinois basketball coach Brad Underwood paid a whole lot of dues before scoring a B1G gig. Brad was a JC coach before serving as an assistant coach at Western Illinois for ten seasons. Today, in Champaign, Brad can afford Dom Perignon Champagne instead of Ripple. Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd played his college CBB in Walla Walla. First at Walla Walla Community College before finishing at Walla Walla's Chapman College. Lloyd played pro ball Down Under and in Germany. Then, Lloyd coached for twenty years as an assistant with Oregon grad Mark Few's Gonzaga teams. UConn coach Dan Hurley played his college ball at Seton Hall, taking a backseat to his brother, Bobby, who was an All-American at Duke. But when it comes to coaching, Dan is way ahead of his brother with two National Championships at UConn, and is looking for his third. New Jersey native Hurley was an assistant coach at Rutgers before turning NJ high school St. Benedict's Prep into a high school power, and then taking the head coach jobs at Wagner College and Rhode Island. Dan is 17-3 in March Madness games. I'm hoping the UCLA women represent the West and win a title on Easter Sunday. This Monday, I hope we will see Michigan play Illinois for the whole enchilada. We need the B1G dues. 🤑 And I also hope that in 2027, we will see Dana back where he and OBD belong, on the March Madness dance floor.

A Bruin with a B1G Block - https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaw/2026/04/04/lauren-betts-block-delivers-ucla-to-first-ncaa-national-championship-game/89463849007/?utm_source=usatoday-sports-strada&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=usatbaseline&utm_t

Can't we all just get along? 🤬 Larry Brown SportsGeno Auriemma goes at Dawn Staley in heated postgame conf...Geno Auriemma and Dawn Staley exchanged words that weren't of the friendly variety Friday after UConn and South Carolina clashed in the Final Four.

Los Angeles TimesUCLA knocks off Texas, reaches national championship gameUCLA held on for a gritty 51-44 win over Texas, reaching the NCAA tournament national title game for the first time in school history.

UCLA 51 - Texas 44 UCLA defeats the team that handed the Bruins their sole loss in the regular season. South Carolina defeats UConn, 62-48. Championship Game - Sunday, April 5th, 3:30 PM/ 12:30 PM - ABC.

Five key Final 4 matchups - Saturday Down South5 stories and matchups that will define the Final FourWho are the best players at the Final Four? Is the Michigan-Arizona game really the national title game? We break down all things Indy.

It helps the cause when a student manager steps up with 10 Mill - https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/uclas-1968-football-team-manager-194520515.html

College Football News ranks Oregon's 2026 schedule as the 6th most difficult in CFB - https://collegefootballnews.com/college-football/college-football-strength-of-schedule-rankings-2026-spring

Now, how about calling athletes being paid by a school what they are: EMPLOYEES!

May he win the next two games 😁- Or, at least get Ill on Monday night. Maize n BrewEverything Dusty May said before Michigan’s Final Four ga...Here’s everything Michigan Basketball head coach Dusty May told reporters in Indianapolis at the Final Four on Thursday to preview Saturday’s game vs Arizona:

Coming to Eugene on 11/14 - Maize n BrewPower ranking Michigan Football’s position groups, Spring...Michigan Football’s roster has some clear strengths, but still some big question marks. Here’s our ranking of position groups as things stand today:

A Maize and Brew Take on the Tourney - Maize n Brew3 bold predictions for Michigan vs Arizona in the Final FourHere are 3 bold predictions for Michigan Basketball vs Arizona in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament this weekend:

Pursuant to the House settlement, next season's ceiling on direct payments to athletes is $21.5M. At least 80%, $17.2M, will go to the football program, which accounts for over 80% of the Athletic Department's annual revenue. As disclosed by Yahoo in the above post, $10M was the minimum spent by successful programs. If direct payments correlate to what a given sport earns in gross revenue, 20% in the case of men's basketball, the remaining $4.3M would go to Altman's team. I do not believe the Moneyball sports receive all of the direct payment money. If this is the case, boosters would need to raise approximately $8M to assemble a men's basketball winning roster. After buying the talent, you have to hope that the new players gel and everyone stays healthy. The shortfall in roster money for men's basketball illustrates today's college sports conundrum: Where will the money come from to pay for sports that are not in the black? Other than football and men's basketball, in 2024, the only profitable program in the Big Ten was the Minnesota men's hockey team. The historic Big Ten schools have living alumni that dwarfs the number of living Oregon alumni. And every school has well-heeled alumni who care about athletics and write big checks. Many programs have a football stadium close to double the size of Autzen Stadium. Football teams play seven or more home games. (In 2027, instead of another lay-up out of conference game in Autzen, OBD is playing at Baylor, playing only six home games. This is a B1G money mistake.) Compared to the Pac-12, football and basketball in the Big Ten are an in-conference grind, travel, and competition-wise. You will not win a basketball championship in the B1G on the cheap. With far bigger athletics budgets than Oregon, how many Big Ten schools are competing for football and basketball championships every season? Not many. Are the Ducks boosters interested and invested enough in Oregon men's basketball to fund NIL deals sufficient to buy championship Football and men's basketball rosters? And where will the money come from to support non-revenue sports? A businessman, Tony Petitti, comes up with a 24-team football playoff format modified to not include automatic qualifying teams. Tony supports increasing the NCAA basketball tournament field. The man is vilified by many who want athletes to be paid but have no idea how to raise the additional money necessary to pay for the Moneyball sports rosters and to also field non-revenue teams. Vilified by people bemoaning the destruction of tradition that, if you are paying attention, has been destroyed by the capitalization and evolution of college sports. It's time to stop the fiction. Athletes being paid directly are employees. Accordingly, athletes can form a union(s) and negotiate with 'management' to rein in the costs of college sports. Expanded playoff fields in football and men's basketball should happen ASAP. The House settlement was another attempt to keep the NCAA in place. The settlement was stupid, ridiculously expensive, and many programs never intended to follow the terms of the settlement. In today's college sports, can Oregon field Moneyball rosters and also field non-revenue sports?

What ten March Madness teams spent- https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/2026-march-madness-top-spenders-144342842.html

FYI - The SOS Rankings for the 'Loyal Opposition' - https://collegefootballnews.com/college-football/sec-football-strength-of-schedule-rankings-2026-spring

College Football News (CFN) ranks the Big Ten's 2026 Schedules - No. 1 being the most difficult and No. 18 the easiest. In this ranking, Ohio State's schedule is ranked as the 6th most difficult. Poor Doo comes in at No. 1. OBD's schedule is ranked the 2nd hardest in the Big Ten. IMO, OBD's schedule definitely belongs in the top 4. The Ducks Wire article that said the Oregon schedule in 2026 is easy? The author needs to go to his room without dinner. The game at Illinois is made more difficult by the Illini having a bye before playing Oregon, and Oregon playing Nebraska the week before traveling to Champaign. The November finish to the schedule is hard and made harder by having to make two trips to the Eastern time. 11/7 - At Ohio State / 11/14 - Michigan / 11/21 at Michigan State 11/28 UW - Prepare for snow in East Lansing on 11/21. And also prepare to play three teams that will likely be in the Playoff Committee's Top 25. The game against UW will be the eighth straight Big Ten Game without a break. https://collegefootballnews.com/college-football/big-ten-football-strength-of-schedule-rankings-2026-spring

Sending Out a B1G SOS - CFN Nails It - OBD plays one of the B1G's Toughest Schedules in 2026 - 2nd Toughest in the B1G - Games are ranked by degree of difficulty. No. 1 for OBD is at Ohio State - https://collegefootballnews.com/college-football/big-ten-football-strength-of-schedule-rankings-2026-spring

Four on the Floor to Watch on Saturday - https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2026/04/02/final-four-x-factors-march-madness-arizona-michigan-uconn-illinois/89394087007/

Again, I caution: Not So Fast! There are darn good athletes in Dixie. Florida won the NCAA Tourney last season. Two or zero B1G teams could be playing for the title on Monday. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2026/04/01/sec-football-motto-big-ten-basketball-final-four-ncaa-tournament/89385477007/?utm_source=usatoday-sports-strada&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=

USC's 2026 schedule hits the 2025 Playoff Trifecta - Home games vs. Oregon and Ohio State - On the road vs. Indiana - With Notre Dame off the schedule, and three out-of-conference cupcake chomps, SC will start 3-0 before the Oregon game. The road game against Penn State is likely to be a White Out. At Wisconsin is a tricky game, and UCLA is rarely an easy out. SC has the chance to finish the season with impressive wins and a place in the playoffs, or this could be Linc's last stand. In which case, cue the Portal. https://trojanswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/trojans/football/2026/04/02/usc-football-big-ten-preseason-rankings-intriguing-question/89355427007/?utm_source=smg-trojanswire-strada&utm_medium=e