Pat Forde

Wall-to-Wall Ball Saturday is set.
Noon ET: Virginia-Duke
2: Vandy-Kentucky/Louisville-Clemson/SDSU-UNM
4: Kansas-Arizona/TT-Iowa St/Texas- Texas A&M
6: Alabama-Tennessee
8: Villanova-St. John's
8:30: Arkansas-Florida
10:30: Gonzaga-St. Mary's

Yes, but that was fully expected.

Certainly. But it doesn’t ruin their season.

Big CBB night for;
Missouri
UCF
Miami OH

Bad CBB night for:
Indiana
Auburn
USC

Team USA Honored Johnny Gaudreau’s Memory by Making Him an Olympic Champion The NHL veteran was killed by an alleged drunk driver in 2024. With his family in Milan, his former U.S. teammates dedicated their gold medal to him.

Didn't cry enough after yesterday's gold medal Olympic hockey game and honors for Johnny Gaudreau? @bypatforde.bsky.social's column will hit you hard -- so worth reading. www.si.com/winter-olymp... What a moment.

Team USA Honored Johnny Gaudreau’s Memory by Making Him an Olympic Champion The NHL veteran was killed by an alleged drunk driver in 2024. With his family in Milan, his former U.S. teammates dedicated their gold medal to him.

Column: Guy Gaudreau and his family dried their eyes, sang the anthem and then watched Johnny Hockey’s kids take the ice for the team picture.

“He grew up with all these guys. He’s probably here with them right now in spirit, right?”

bit.ly/4tKYvIh

USA Hockey’s Olympic Gold Medal Win Was Decades in the Making Thanks to heroics from Jack Hughes and Connor Hellebuyck, the U.S.finally got the better of its Canadian rivals, ending a 46-year gold medal drought.

Column from Milan on U.S. men’s hockey … finally: www.si.com/winter-olymp...

Team USA Honored Johnny Gaudreau’s Memory by Making Him an Olympic Champion The NHL veteran was killed by an alleged drunk driver in 2024. With his family in Milan, his former U.S. teammates dedicated their gold medal to him.

Column: Guy Gaudreau and his family dried their eyes, sang the anthem and then watched Johnny Hockey’s kids take the ice for the team picture.

“He grew up with all these guys. He’s probably here with them right now in spirit, right?”

bit.ly/4tKYvIh

Bambi, Buses and Bureaucracy: Cortina’s Pace of Life Prospers Despite Olympic Buzz American efficiency and enterprise be damned: This host city offers a refreshing lesson in carpe diem to anyone willing to take it all in.

Column: The Olympics can be an endless, time-sucking logistical hurdle … and then one night people are singing on a jammed van and you can’t help but smile. In the Italian mountains, things just happen when (and how) they happen.

bit.ly/4b2Mmqw

In Milan, Jordan Stolz Became a Star. For French Alps 2030, He Will Work to Be a Legend The 21-year-old won two golds to start the 2026 Winter Olympics but wasn’t satisfied with a silver and fourth-place finish in his final two events.

Column: American speed skater Jordan Stolz had a great Olympics ... but left just enough on the table to be hungry for 2030. bit.ly/4aKRTkj

Bambi, Buses and Bureaucracy: Cortina’s Pace of Life Prospers Despite Olympic Buzz American efficiency and enterprise be damned: This host city offers a refreshing lesson in carpe diem to anyone willing to take it all in.

Column: The Olympics can be an endless, time-sucking logistical hurdle … and then one night people are singing on a jammed van and you can’t help but smile. In the Italian mountains, things just happen when (and how) they happen.

bit.ly/4b2Mmqw

Does not shock me. Great game in the micro, continually improving sport in the macro.

At least the numbers are readable. The USA women’s blue sweaters last night had numbers that were inscrutable from the press tribune.

First Gold at 41, Elana Meyers Taylor Is Team USA’s Most Heartfelt Olympic Story A mother of two, the bobsledder is also the most decorated Black Winter Olympian of all time with medals at the last five Olympics.

Second: driver Elana Meyers Taylor has been one of the faces of the Winter Olympics for years, but this week she finally added a gold medal to her resume at age 41, as a mother of two sons. bit.ly/4aRlVUG

A Mystery Illness Terrorized Her Youth. Now, Olympic Bobsledder Jadin O’Brien Is Shining a Light Recruited on Instagram by Elana Meyers Taylor, the Notre Dame track champion only took up bobsled last year. It’s far from the biggest challenge she’s overcome.

Coming up: first heat of the two-woman bobsled. And boy do the Americans have a couple stories in one sled. First: pusher Jadin O'Brien overcame a mysterious and terrifying childhood ailment to become an NCAA track champion, and now a Winter Olympian. bit.ly/40jWd52

Megan Keller’s Masterful Goal Makes the U.S. Queens of Hockey Once Again The veteran defender's game-winning shot in overtime punctured Canada’s defensive wall and gave Team USA its third Olympic gold medal in women’s hockey.

Column: in the city of “The Last Supper,” American hockey player Megan Keller created “The Last Shot” masterpiece to stave off a huge Canadian upset and capture gold. bit.ly/4rq6bhb

Gold Hair, Gold Dress, Gold Medal: Alysa Liu Radiates Joy As Olympic Champion Four years after retiring at 16, the U.S. star has dazzled the figure skating world with endless exuberance and a penchant for the biggest stage.

Gold Hair, Gold Dress, Gold Medal:

On what Alysa Liu achieved, and also what she won:

www.si.com/winter-olymp...

Casey Wasserman Must Resign. The Integrity of the 2028 L.A. Olympics Depends on It The LA28 chair’s ties to Ghislaine Maxwell and the Epstein Files should make it clear that the upcoming Summer Games are better off without him.

Casey Wasserman is selling his agency because clients started bailing.

He remains chair of the L.A. Olympics organizing committee.

You are the client.

Why Wasserman has to go: www.si.com/winter-olymp...

Megan Keller’s Masterful Goal Makes the U.S. Queens of Hockey Once Again The veteran defender's game-winning shot in overtime punctured Canada’s defensive wall and gave Team USA its third Olympic gold medal in women’s hockey.

Column: in the city of “The Last Supper,” American hockey player Megan Keller created “The Last Shot” masterpiece to stave off a huge Canadian upset and capture gold. bit.ly/4rq6bhb

It's Time for the Jordan Stolz Era of Speedskating to Begin Already the world record holder in the 1,000-meter race, the 21-year-old American phenom has a shot at four gold medals in the Milan Cortina Olympics.

Jordan Stolz shoots for his third speed-skating gold shortly. Earlier story on his Ledecky-like focus:

bit.ly/4rE3cS8

I would recommend athletes, coaches and administrators watch Mikaela Shiffrin’s full gold medal press conference from Wednesday. Great perspective, wisdom, candor. Importantly, she was also available and expansive when things didn’t go well.

Mikaela Shiffrin Vanquishes Olympic Nightmare by Reminding Us of Her Greatness The U.S. star was in danger of going two straight Winter Games without a medal. Then, she dug in for one of the most dominant skiing performances ever.

Column: Mikaela Shiffrin smashed her Olympic mental block to rubble … and then didn’t react. Turns out the deep thinker was with her people on the inside, including those who couldn’t be there. bit.ly/4r2HDu1

Mikaela Shiffrin Vanquishes Olympic Nightmare by Reminding Us of Her Greatness The U.S. star was in danger of going two straight Winter Games without a medal. Then, she dug in for one of the most dominant skiing performances ever.

Column: Mikaela Shiffrin smashed her Olympic mental block to rubble … and then didn’t react. Turns out the deep thinker was with her people on the inside, including those who couldn’t be there. bit.ly/4r2HDu1

A Mystery Illness Terrorized Her Youth. Now, Olympic Bobsledder Jadin O’Brien Is Shining a Light Recruited on Instagram by Elana Meyers Taylor, the Notre Dame track champion only took up bobsled last year. It’s far from the biggest challenge she’s overcome.

New story: American bobsledder Jadin O’Brien had a traumatic childhood illness that defied explanation for years — to the point that her parents sought help from an exorcist. They found a treatment, and she became a track star turned Winter Olympian.

bit.ly/40jWd52

A Mystery Illness Terrorized Her Youth. Now, Olympic Bobsledder Jadin O’Brien Is Shining a Light Recruited on Instagram by Elana Meyers Taylor, the Notre Dame track champion only took up bobsled last year. It’s far from the biggest challenge she’s overcome.

New story: American bobsledder Jadin O’Brien had a traumatic childhood illness that defied explanation for years — to the point that her parents sought help from an exorcist. They found a treatment, and she became a track star turned Winter Olympian.

bit.ly/40jWd52

First Gold at 41, Elana Meyers Taylor Is Team USA’s Most Heartfelt Olympic Story A mother of two, the bobsledder is also the most decorated Black Winter Olympian of all time with medals at the last five Olympics.

Column: Olympic Mother’s Day. Two moms in their 40s won bobsled medals Monday night, with Elana Meyers Taylor finally capturing gold. An inspiration to multitasking mothers everywhere.

bit.ly/4aRlVUG

First Gold at 41, Elana Meyers Taylor Is Team USA’s Most Heartfelt Olympic Story A mother of two, the bobsledder is also the most decorated Black Winter Olympian of all time with medals at the last five Olympics.

Column: Olympic Mother’s Day. Two moms in their 40s won bobsled medals Monday night, with Elana Meyers Taylor finally capturing gold. An inspiration to multitasking mothers everywhere.

bit.ly/4aRlVUG

Italy’s Olympic Renaissance Thrives Thanks to Home Cooking and Seasoned Vets The host country has already broken its national record for most medals at a Winter Games—and there’s still one week of action left.

From Sunday: The Italian athletic renaissance is upon us, with a record medal total and plenty of time to add to it. As Mikaela Shiffrin finishes 11th in giant slalom, Italy's 35 y.o. Federica Brignone continues her incredible comeback from severe injury. bit.ly/4bVUjPp

Political Tension Makes U.S. vs. Canada Hockey Rivalry Even Hotter at Olympics Already one of the most enduring and fiercest rivalries in sports, the feud will be magnified in Milan, amid frigid political climate and fiery on-ice clashes.

And a peek ahead at one of the primary storylines of this week: the U.S.-Canada hockey rivalry, which has taken on added heat due to political tension and Four Nations brawls. www.si.com/winter-olymp...

Ukraine’s Vladyslav Heraskevych Writes New Chapter in the Olympic Protest Tradition The flag bearer’s disqualification over a helmet featuring athletes killed in the war is another example of how politics and the Olympics cannot be separated.

The sad, angry scene at the sliding center after Ukrainian Vladyslav Heraskevych was not allowed to compete in his helmet that memorialized athletes killed in the war with Russia. www.si.com/winter-olymp...