Billikens coach Josh Schertz called the Wolverines the best team in the country.

Buffalo, N.Y. — It’s no secret that stretch bigs have given Michigan problems this season.

And it’s no secret that Saint Louis runs a five-out offense with one of the premier shooting big men in the country in Robbie Avila, who sports goggles and has an endless supply of color nicknames.

When push comes to shove in Saturday’s NCAA Tournament second-round matchup at KeyBank Center, the battle between the centers could be at the center of determining who secures a spot in the Sweet 16.

“We’ve learned that against pick-and-pop bigs, if you allow a direct pass, they’re going to shoot about 25% to 30% better. If they make one or two, you need to be prepared to go to your contingency plans quicker than usual,” Michigan coach Dusty May said. “We’ve played this defensive philosophy for several years, so we know what can beat it on a given night. We know what the holes in the defense are. But it’s just like everything else, there’s a give and take.

Does The NWSL Know What Soccer Fans Actually Want? | Full Time PodcastWelcome to Full Time, a show about women’s soccer.

In this episode, Meg and Tamerra dive into the world of NWSL fan supporter groups. As the NWSL is coveting new eyeballs and growth, an announcement that the league would be establishing a “league supporter’s group” as a sponsorship collaboration with an energy drink named Unwell, has sparked questions and concern among fan led groups – who have been on the ground building the league for over a decade now.

Full Time hosts Tamerra Griffin and Meg Linehan discuss tension in the relationship between the league and its supporters. With the help of voices from four different NWSL supporter’s groups from across the country, Tamerra and Meg unpack what values are most important to key community stakeholders and where the NWSL might well be falling short.

Thumbnail credit: Roy K. Miller/ISI Photos / Contributor / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images and Rodin Eckenroth / Stringer / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

Chapter descriptions:
00:00 Intro
00:13 What is a supporters group?
02:49 Guest introductions
05:06 What do supporters groups do?
08:02 Who are supporters groups for?
13:38 Growth & Tension
16:02 The need for a third space for fans
20:11 Is the NWSL doing enough to protect fans?
31:16 Outro

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#nwsl #uswnt #wsl

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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — If Missouri voters get to decide whether to adopt new U.S. House districts backed by President Donald Trump, the ballot proposal presented to them won’t say a word about gerrymandering.

A state judge on Friday ordered a new, toned-down description of the redistricting plan after Missouri’s Republican secretary of state acknowledged that he had crafted an unfair summary likely to create bias for the new districts by describing the old ones as “gerrymandered.”

The ruling marked at least a partial victory for opponents of the new map, who previously submitted more than 300,000 petition signatures seeking to force a statewide referendum. But it remains to be seen whether the referendum actually will occur this November.

Election officials are still in the process of verifying whether opponents gathered enough valid petition signatures. And the state Supreme Court is considering a separate lawsuit seeking to invalidate the new map based on assertions that mid-decade redistricting isn’t allowed under the state constitution.

Missouri lawmakers approved new congressional districts last September — the second Republican-led state after Texas to respond to Trump’s call to redraw districts to try to give the GOP an advantage in this year’s midterm elections.

That triggered an unusual tit-for-tat redistricting battle that also spread to Republican-led North Carolina and Ohio and Democratic-led California and Virginia. Republican-led Florida is set to join the congressional redistricting debate with a special legislative session in April.

Missouri currently is represented in the U.S. House by six Republicans and two Democrats under a map passed in 2022 after the most recent census. The new map is intended to help Republicans win a Kansas City-area seat currently held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver by reassigning portions to two neighboring districts and stretching the remainder into Republican-heavy rural areas.

Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, who supports the new districts, has until Aug. 4 — the date of the state’s primary elections — to determine whether the referendum petition met constitutional muster and got enough valid signatures. If so, then the new districts could be suspended until decided by voters.

As originally drafted by Hoskins, the ballot summary for the potential referendum would have asked voters whether to repeal “Missouri’s existing gerrymandered congressional plan that protects incumbent politicians” and replace it with new boundaries “that keep more cities and counties intact, are more compact, and better reflects statewide voting patterns.”

The opposition group People Not Politicians, which backed the petition drive, filed suit alleging Hoskins’ wording was biased and likely to lead people to vote for the new districts, which opponents contend are the true gerrymander.

Attorneys for Hoskins conceded during court proceedings it was unfair to describe Missouri’s current districts as gerrymandered and protecting incumbents. But Hoskins insisted the remaining description of the new districts was fine.

Cole County Circuit Judge Brian Stumpe struck much of the original wording but agreed with Hoskins that it was accurate to say the new districts are more compact and keep more counties and cities intact. He left those phrases in the new version that he ordered to be used.

Both sides took some satisfaction from the revised wording.

“If the referendum does eventually qualify for the ballot, Missourians will benefit from a fair ballot summary thanks to today’s ruling,” said Stephanie Whitaker, a spokesperson for Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, whose office represented Hoskins.

Chuck Hatfield, an attorney for People Not Politicians, described it as “a solid victory, and important victory.” But he said the group still objects to some of the remaining wording and would consider whether to appeal.