The Wisconsin Badgers are facing off against the Texas Longhorns in the Elite 8 on Sunday evening, looking to make their way back to the Final Four in Kansas City next week.

Wisconsin pulled off an impressive win over the No. 2 Stanford Cardinal on Friday, as it out-hit the latter in a thriller behind strong efforts from Mimi Colyer (27 kills) and Charlie Fuerbringer (61 assists).

Now, they’re facing a team that they were swept by earlier in the season, as the Longhorns thrived off Badger errors during their first matchup.

Texas has cruised through its competition so far in the NCAA Tournament, beating Florida A&M, Penn State, and Indiana en route to the Elite 8.

If Wisconsin can win, it would face the No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats on Thursday in the Final Four, with the No. 3 Texas A&M Aggies and No. 1 Pittsburgh Panthers being the other two teams still left in the field.

Can the Badgers get a huge upset and break the Texas streak of wins on Sunday? Join us as our game thread is officially active.

Former Democratic Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown pitches himself as a blue-collar populist fighting for Ohio workers – but his campaign cash shows Brown is quietly leaning on West Coast megadonors from Hollywood.  

Brown, who according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings, has received at least $1.2 million from actors, producers, writers, industry executives and a slew of others who live in wealthy California zip codes associated with the film industry, will attend another Hollywood fundraiser this week hosted by the CEO of Sony Pictures, Tom Rothman, and his wife, Jill. 

The fundraiser was confirmed by Puck News, which noted that the invite suggests a $10,000 donation to Brown’s campaign for those who attend. 

EX-DEM SENATOR’S PAC SPLURGES ON LUXURY PERKS WHILE SKIRTING HEFTY TAX BILL AHEAD OF POTENTIAL COMEBACK BID

Several of the Hollywood elites who have forked over cash to support Brown include “The West Wing” creator Aaron Sorkin, comedian Will Ferrell, actor Jeff Bridges, actor Michael Douglas, actor Danny DeVito and actress Elizabeth Banks. 

When Donald Trump won his first election in 2016, Sorkin lamented the day following his win that “the Klan won last night.” Meanwhile, Bridges said he had to go through a “grieving process” after Trump’s 2024 victory, while Douglas recently said at a film festival in Italy that he was “embarrassed” by the U.S. under Trump.

In a video announcing his intention to run to retake his lost Senate seat in 2026, Brown positioned himself as a fighter for the working class, while slamming billionaires and wealthy people. 

“Everywhere you look, costs are too high for Ohio’s working families. While billionaires and corporations get record-high tax cuts, Ohioans can’t catch a break. I’m fighting back,” Brown said in a Monday post on X. 

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In October, Brown also touted in a press release how his campaign’s third-quarter fundraising haul “was powered by an army of grassroots donors.” However, Brown’s Q3 fillings showed that 74% of his disclosed donations originated from out of state, with nearly 40% from liberal havens like California, New York, and the D.C., Maryland and Virginia region, according to The Ohio Press Network.  

Brown lost his Senate seat to GOP challenger Bernie Moreno in 2024. His loss followed Brown’s attendance at another big-money fundraiser in the Hollywood Hills that took place while Ohio residents were still reeling from the aftermath of a dangerous chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio.

If selected as the Democratic Party’s candidate, Brown’s likely GOP opponent would be Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, who was appointed to fill Vice President JD Vance’s seat after he left for the White House. A 2026 special election will decide who will serve out the remainder of Vance’s term, which lasts until 2029.

Fox News Digital reached out to representatives for Brown, but did not receive a comment in time for publication.

Fox News Digital’s Houston Keene contributed to this report.

The Detroit Lions needed some help from an AFC rival to improve their playoff odds before their Week 15 matchup, but they didn’t get the outcome they desired.

The Lions (8-5, 3rd in NFC North) are facing off against the NFC’s top-seeded Los Angeles Rams (10-3, 1st in NFC West) on Sunday, Dec. 14, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. As the NFC’s No. 8 seed, the Lions entered the day with a 54% chance to make the playoffs per NFL Next Gen Stats, but those odds fell with the result in Chicago.

With the No. 7-seeded Chicago Bears hosting the 3-10 Cleveland Browns, Lions fans were hoping for a Browns upset to drop the Bears to 9-5 and allow the Lions to move into a playoff position with a win, since a 9-5 Lions team would own a tiebreaker over Chicago (thanks to their Week 2 victory). However, the Bears took care of business on a frigid day at Soldier Field, beating the Browns, 31-3, to improve to 10-4.

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With the Bears beating the Browns, the Lions playoff odds have now lowered to 52% ahead of their game against the Rams (4:25 p.m., Fox). Here’s a look at what the rest of the NFC playoff picture looks like, including how a Lions win can help improve their position.

Lions playoff scenarios

Here’s the latest info on how the Lions can make it into the NFL playoffs, how they could miss out and what their playoff odds are.

What are Lions’ odds to make NFL playoffs?

According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the Lions have a 52% chance of making the playoffs. If they beat the Rams, they will have a 73% chance to make the postseason, but those odds drop to 40% with a loss.

NFC playoff standings

Only the top seven teams make the playoffs in each conference. Here are the NFC standings entering the Lions Week 15 game against the Rams, with playoff odds from NFL Next Gen Stats:

1. Rams: 10-3, 97%
2. Packers: 9-3-1, 92%
3. Eagles: 9-5, 95%
4. Panthers: 7-6, 47%
5. Seahawks: 10-3, 97%
6. Bears, 10-4, 68%
7. 49ers: 9-4, 93%
8. *Lions: 8-5, 52%
9. *Buccaneers: 7-7, 54%
10. *Cowboys: 6-6-1, 8%