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NCAA prez urges caution on private equity deals

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NCAA prez urges caution on private equity deals


NEW YORK — The president of the NCAA is urging schools and conferences tempted by riches offered through potential deals with new equity sources to think about the long-term repercussions before jumping into the deals.

“My message to everybody on this would be really simple: ‘Be really careful,'” Charlie Baker said Monday at a Big East roundtable on the future of college basketball.

With schools and conferences under increasing pressure to raise funds to pay their players, reports of them negotiating with new equity sources for college sports are becoming more frequent.

Recent headlines out of the Big Ten are about its negotiation to bring in an investor that would pay $2.4 billion to help market the conference’s media rights and other properties.

A meeting of the conference’s presidents and chancellors last week didn’t produce a vote on the deal, with Michigan and USC holding out.

One of the most outspoken opponents has been Michigan regent Jordan Acker, who at a monthly regents meeting last week called the equity proposal, which would last through 2046 and pay more than $100 million to each school, an attempt at solving “the same old problem with a new, and this time, rushed solution.”

In a statement, the Big Ten said its potential partner — the investment arm of the University of California pension system — was not a private equity firm, but rather a nonprofit organization (that still would seek a profit on its investment.)

“Ultimately, it is the decision of the Big Ten member institutions’ presidents and chancellors to decide if it’s the right opportunity and those conversations are ongoing,” the conference said in a statement.

Baker wasn’t speaking directly about the Big Ten issue when discussing equity. He also wasn’t completely dismissive of the idea.

“People should try to play the long game,” he said. “If I’ve learned anything about college sports, it’s very hard to get anybody to think past tomorrow. … People should be thinking vey hard about the long term, and we’d all be well-served, especially in terms of the kids” who the schools are in business to help.



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Between the sheets at the college Excel championships

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One of the most unusual — and fun — events in college sports is a high-stakes spreadsheeting competition in Las Vegas.



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Pakistan set 208-run target for Australia in final T20I

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Pakistan set 208-run target for Australia in final T20I


Pakistan’s Babar Azam watches the ball after playing a shot during the third T20 international cricket match between Pakistan and Australia at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on February 1, 2026. — AFP

Pakistan posted a 208-run target for Australia following Saim Ayub and Babar Azam’s half-centuries after opting to bat first in the third and final T20I at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday.


This is a developing story and is being updated with more details. 





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Over to you, City: Arsenal recover power and poise in classic Arteta win

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Over to you, City: Arsenal recover power and poise in classic Arteta win


LEEDS, England — Whatever fate awaits Arsenal in this Premier League title race, they are determined to do it their way. Much of the fallout from last weekend’s 3-2 defeat to Manchester United centered on suggestions the Gunners have to do something different from here to win their first league crown since 2004.

Mikel Arteta spoke of a clear-the-air meeting a day later in which they vowed to “live and play with enjoyment … courage … and conviction they are going to win it.”

Dropping captain Martin Ødegaard against Leeds hinted at something different. But in the end, they thrashed Leeds United 4-0 on Saturday with a performance that was quintessentially Arteta’s Arsenal.

One goal from a recycled corner, another direct from a corner, a Viktor Gyökeres close-range finish and substitute Gabriel Jesus‘ late strike secured a win that extends their lead at the top of the table back to seven points.

It wasn’t necessarily “fun” — the football was one again formulaic — but it was Arsenal at their effective best. They strangled the life out of Leeds and their vociferous Elland Road crowd with a level of control they only momentarily threatened to relinquish as the home side tried to rouse themselves early in the second half.

There was courage on display, and they certainly had conviction. But significantly, this was Arsenal being Arsenal. There was no timidity or self-doubt. This is how Arteta believes Arsenal can win the league: Dominate possession and territory, extract an advantage from set pieces and send on the “finishers” to complete the job.

The combination was a hugely impressive response to their winless three-game run. No wonder Arteta was delighted.

“The mentality is good,” Arteta said. “I mentioned it to you, to play with that level of enjoyment about where we are and then with the conviction to believe in what we do, how good we are and that we can beat any opponent.

“We certainly did that. And then you have to show the quality to do it in this league to prove it and it came out in great ways from different ways as well.”

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Arteta hails Madueke for performance after Saka’s warmup injury

Mikel Arteta reacts to Arsenal’s 4-0 win over Leeds United, and the performance of Noni Madueke, a late addition to the starting lineup.

The first hour was the most fiercely contested part of this game, and during that period, Arsenal’s physical power and dead-ball prowess made the difference. Noni Madueke only started this game because Bukayo Saka suffered a hip injury in the warmup, but he was their most effective threat.

His 27th-minute corner was cleared, but Arsenal worked the ball back out to the England international, who produced a superb delivery which Martín Zubimendi glanced into the net.

The noise in this famous old ground rarely subsided in the opening 45 minutes, but there was an audible hush whenever Arsenal won a corner. Perhaps they knew what was coming.

The Gunners’ seventh corner of the half was whipped into the near post with such ferocity by Madueke that Leeds goalkeeper Karl Darlow could only rise above the gaggle of players in front of him and punch the ball into his own net.

Leeds boss Daniel Farke made a double change at the break and they began to enjoy more of the ball, but Ødegaard was excellent when he came on alongside Gabriel Martinelli after 61 minutes. His cute pass released Martinelli, who found a cross for Gyökeres to steer home on 69 minutes, snuffing out any hope of a Leeds comeback.

Jesus added a fourth four minutes from time, collecting Ødegaard’s pass and expertly working space for himself in the box before finishing low into the net.

Leeds ended with just three shots and an expected goals tally of 0.15 — the third-lowest figure of any team Arsenal have played across all competitions this season.

This defensive resilience was the foundation of their ascent to the top of the table in the first place and it returned emphatically here.

“[That control] is something that we want,” Arteta said. “You always have an opponent in front of you who is going to test that and you have to execute the actions and be very, very consistent if you don’t want to concede anything. Really impressive because it is a really tough team to do that and between all of us, we did it.”

Farke could not argue: “They were on it from the first to the last second. Whatever we did, they always had an answer. We were not really able to create chances.”

Arsenal’s attacking cohesion remains unconvincing. “Own goal” briefly drew level as their top scorer in the league this season before Gyökeres’ intervention put him clear on six. After wasting a glorious chance when clean through at 2-0, he continues to face a battle to justify his €63.5 million fee, but his goal will help.

Collectively, Arsenal recovered their power and poise to reassert themselves in the title race with Manchester City facing Tottenham and Aston Villa hosting Brentford on Sunday.

Arteta talked about “bringing the temperature down” in his meeting with the players Monday. But nothing will have done it like winning so emphatically as this, especially as they reinforced their own identity while doing so.

Over to you, City.



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