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    ORLANDO, Fla. — To all of those “exploited” college athletes and to the many critics of the NCAA who are lauding the recent landmark decision by the Dartmouth basketball team to unionize so they can be considered employees of the university, just remember this: Be careful what you wish for. You may think you are fighting for the future of college athletes everywhere, but more likely you will ...

    North Carlina State's Sweet 16 game against Stanford in the women's NCAA Tournament is bit of a harbinger of what's to come. That's because next season the perennially talented Cardinal are headed to the Atlantic Coast Conference. Second-seeded Stanford plays No. 3 seed N.C. State on Friday night in the Portland 4 Region, before top-seeded Texas plays No. 4 seed Gonzaga. Stanford is among five Pac-12 teams — most of any conference — that have advanced to the Sweet 16 as the league's days dwindle due to conference reallignment.

    The NCAA transfer portal not only challenges college basketball programs to find the right players to fill roster vacancies but also keep that vast talent pool from becoming deeper with their own players. Smaller schools from lower-profile conferences face an even tougher task in convincing players to stay as bigger schools offer greener pastures -- with name, image and likeness (NIL) endorsement opportunities sweetening the pot in a way they can't. Programs such as Morehead State and Montana State have made it work on the men's side. Drake and top-ranked South Carolina have done so on the women's side.

    For most teams, facing a 7-foot-4, 300-pound force of nature like Zach Edey is uncharted territory. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, for the Gonzaga Bulldogs, Edey is no mystery to them. Twice over the past 16 months, the Zags have faced Edey and Purdue, and twice they have lost by double digits. Gonzaga's third try at toppling the big man comes Friday in the Sweet 16. The winner will face either Creighton or Tennessee with a trip to the Final Four at stake.

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    As a gambler, Mathew Bowyer bet big, often unsuccessfully, listing nearly half a million dollars in losses to two Las Vegas casinos in his 2011 bankruptcy. As bookmaker, the Orange County man wagered that a client’s relationship with baseball phenom Shohei Ohtani would pay off by boosting Bowyer’s reputation in the gambling world. Bowyer, who turns 49 next week, instead, ended up at the center ...

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