Trump’s words are losing value by the day, meaningful now only to a shrinking base that still wants to believe the performance. For everyone else — including markets and foreign adversaries — the constant warnings, empty phrases, and made-up confidence have become more embarrassing than reassuring.

The consensus opinion is usually wrong or, at best, incomplete, and the reaction to Geno Auriemma after UConn’s loss to South Carolina is a perfect example. Short-term emotions got the best of him, but that does not justify the lazy group-think pile-on from critics whose shallow outrage pales in comparison to what he has accomplished for women’s basketball.

As a general rule, do not buy sports betting picks from touts. Even if you find one of the rare honest voices, the fees alone make an already difficult market even harder to beat, and the vast majority of the business is built on marketing, image, and selling false confidence to naive bettors.

Arizona and Michigan have felt like the two best teams in college basketball for months, and this Final Four matchup looks every bit like the heavyweight battle people expected. The Wildcats have a couple of real edges, but in a game this even, Michigan’s biggest advantage may be the man on the sideline — Dusty May.

UConn has all the March mystique, and Dan Hurley has earned every bit of that respect, but Illinois looks like the better overall team in this matchup. The Illini have the top offense in the country, the coaching to handle the moment, and enough firepower to get out in front and hold off the Huskies late.

Baseball should use its massive schedule as a strength, not a burden, by putting at least two day games on every day and turning the sport into an all-day summer presence. It would create better viewing habits, more family-friendly opportunities at the ballpark, and from a betting and ratings standpoint, it could be a huge win.

Republicans are once again dragging out the old China story around Eric Swalwell because they know it still muddies the waters, even though no evidence ever showed he knowingly cooperated with Chinese intelligence or committed a crime. That alone should tell California Democrats something: if the right is working this hard to weaken him early, rallying around Swalwell may be the smartest way to avoid a disastrous split in the jungle primary.

The NFL is right to push back on prediction markets built around easily manipulated outcomes, because once a market can be moved by insiders, leaks, or one small decision behind the scenes, it stops looking innovative and starts looking reckless. This is not about resisting change — it is about protecting the integrity of the sport before the entire product turns into a circus.