Integrity for thee, casinos for me: The NCAA’s gambling lie | Opinion

Before we get into dissecting the latest round of self-inflicted stupidity from theNCAA, there has to be a red line somewhere.

IfTexas Techquarterback Brendan Sorsbywagered on his teamwhile at Indiana in 2022 — whether he played or not, and no matter how much he won — it’s going to be be extremely difficult for the NCAA to ignoresome form of punishment.

A suspended percentage of the season, or a complete loss of eligibility, something must happen. You can’t have players gambling on their own teams, no matter the amount of money.

ARMOUR:Brendan Sorsby's gambling addiction a symptom of our broader illness

The integrity of the game, and future of the sport depends on it.

With that out of the way, it’s here where we introduce the remarkably ironic and brazen embrace of gambling by an NCAA member institution: the University of Arizona’s football stadium is named after a casino.

That’s right, Casino Del Sol paid Arizona$60 million over 20 yearsfor naming rights to Arizona Stadium. The Tucson casino and resort has a sports book, five betting windows and 15 self-service kiosks.

But we’re not done yet with this wildly inappropriate dalliance of the NCAA and gambling, not by a long shot.

Three years ago, theBig Tenbegan announcing weekly injury reports of its football teams. A stunning move from the conference that holds itself higher than all others. Legends and Leaders, no less.

A year later, theSECfollowed, and a year after that, the Big 12 and ACC joined the club — and college football had officially let the wolf through the door.

I ask you, why do the conferences release injury reports? Why does the NFL, the largest money-maker in professional sports history, have injury reports?

And if the train is barreling down the tracks, why stop it? The NCAA has all but locked up its longterm dream of expanding the annual men’s basketball tournamentto 76 teams, and as much as hoop purists want to believe, it’s not about more teams, more access. It's about gambling.

Embrace it when you need to, decry it when you have to.

The Big Ten last July held its annual Media Days ― a four-day celebration of the ascending football Power conference ―at the monstrous Cosmopolitan resort and casino in Las Vegas. And if all that doesn’t do it for you, here comes the hammer.

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The College Football Playoff national championship game will be played this season in — wait for it — Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. It takes some stones to be that ridiculously two-faced.

Meanwhile ― and I know this will shock you (sarcasm font) ― the 2028 Final Four will be played in Allegiant Stadium, too.

Hey kids, don’t gamble, but you're going to play the most important games of NCAA sports competition in the gambling capital of the world!

At the very least, the NCAA has dialed back the zero tolerance narrative of gambling to avoid the obvious 12,000-pound gorilla in the room. What used to be a mortal sin — Rick Neuheisel was once fired by Washington after participating in an NCAA tournament pool — is now just an oddly structured agreement between the NCAA and gambling.

You scratch my back with millions, and I won’t say you’re the devil. And I’ll throw in a couple of championship events, you know, for the effort.

The hypocrisy is enough to make you puke.

Soone member institution of the NCAA knew of Sorsby’s gambling problems, and another found out months after he transferred there. But only after someone — just some random someone, I’m sure ― informed the NCAA police of the problem.

Gee, I wonder how that happened?

The Southwest Conference has come full circle, everyone. From the renegade conference that ate itself alive in the late 1980s by siccing the NCAA on each other for recruiting violations, to the revamped, rebranded Big 12 that began by adding a handful of former Big Eight teams, and eventually survived by adding from the Group of Five.

And now all the way back to the Southwest Conference.

When the NCAA used the dreaded death penalty on a football program for the first and only time, SMU was forced to cancel the 1987 season (and couldn’t play a home game in 1988) — and the resulting carnage was the beginning of the end of the SWC.

The only person who loses this time around is Sorsby. Depending on the severity of the penalty.

Because, you know, integrity.

Matt Hayesis the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at@MattHayesCFB.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:NCAA hates gambling. Except when it cashes the checks

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April 30, 2026

Integrity for thee, casinos for me: The NCAA’s gambling lie | Opinion

Before we get into dissecting the latest round of self-inflicted stupidity from theNCAA, there has to be a red line somewhere. If...

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Andy Serkis explains why he changed Orwell's iconic 'Animal Farm' ending for new movie

NEW YORK –Andy Serkishas been trying to animateGeorge Orwell’s “Animal Farm” for 15 years. In 2026, he says it “couldn’t, actually, be more relevant.”

Serkis and his producing partner, Jonathan Cavendish, started tinkering around with an adaptation after he filmed 2011's “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.” The rebellion in that movie reminded him of “Animal Farm,” which he read for the first time on the bus to school when he was 10 or 11. Fifty-some years later, it sticks with him. He wore a red hat to the premiere that read, "Make Animal Farm Fiction Again."

“It was just the most amazing experience of reading something that hits you viscerally,” Serkis tells USA TODAY. “It feels like it's something else, but you're not quite understanding the ground swell of darkness that's underneath it.”

Orwell is often lauded as prophetic because his 1940s dystopian novelsring true with readers today. The theme of last year's Banned Books Week was"Censorship Is So 1984."When he wrote “Animal Farm,” he intended it as an allegory for the Russian Revolution and rise of Stalinism. Barnyard animals overthrow their farmer to build a utopia but by the end of the novel have devolved into a corrupt power structure where "all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."

Serkis approached the adaptation by asking himself what Orwell would write about if he wrote “Animal Farm” today. He didn’t want it to be a story about Stalinist Russia. Instead, he gravitated toward themes of capitalism, wealth and overconsumption. The billionaire antagonist, Pilkington (Glenn Close), drives what closely resembles a Cybertruck.

The lead-up to this adaptation, in theaters May 1, has been largely controversial. Whenthe trailer droppedin December, oversaturated with middle-school knee-slappers and set to the upbeat “Feel It Still” by Portugal. The Man, the criticism was swift. After all, “Animal Farm” is a serious and violent story with a bleak ending. This advertised butt jokes, campy fight montages and sinister Seth Rogen laughs. Even a star-studded ensemble of Rogen, Close,Gaten Matarazzo, Jim Parsons,Woody Harrelson, Steve Buscemi andLaverne Coxcouldn’t sell the new “Animal Farm” to some.

Andy Serkis welcomes criticism of new animated ‘Animal Farm’

Backlash to the trailer included one particular sting: “Orwell is rolling in his grave.” But Serkis maintains his estate signed off on the adaptation when he secured the rights. He insists “Orwell would have wanted” controversy.

“He's sort of adored and abhorred by both left and right, and that's the other thing about our film. We're not having a go at any one administration or regime. It's about authoritarianism and our response to that and power corrupting,” Serkis says. “I welcomed it. I loved that debate because that's what it's all about, creating a debate. That's what I do in my job as an actor, storyteller, filmmaker. Any act of creating art for me is about saying to the audience or the viewer, ‘Think about this differently.’ And if you don't agree with me, that's not a problem, but think about it differently."

When he bought the rights, Serkis said the Orwell estate didn’t exert much creative control, only requesting that he not stray too far from what the book is about.

Representatives for the Orwell Estate did not respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.

Anti-dictatorship, but for kids

Serkis scrubs the story of its violence, at least in any graphic manner. Snowball (Cox), for example, is escorted off the farm rather than chased by hounds and torn to pieces like in the book. Boxer’s (Harrelson) horrific glue factory death is largely implied. It didn’t stop Serkis’ team from giving me apromotional bottle of craft gluewith the horse’s face on it, though. I'm not sure how this bit of dark humor will go over with the kiddos.

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Deciding who the audience was, Serkis says, was part of why it took a decade and a half to get the project off the ground. He points out “Animal Farm” was once subtitled“A Fairy Story”: “It was meant for a younger audience. He was writing with children in mind … I think we’ve remained loyal to that,” Serkis says. He added a new protagonist, Lucky (Matarazzo), a “young innocent piglet” with a moral arc and a slightly off-beat side-plot romance.

Did he worry that replacing the violence with potty humor would dilute the message? Serkis doesn’t miss a beat in his reply.

“We didn’t. We wanted to translate it in such a way that the threat is there, the impending threat is always there,” Serkis says.

Many of the secondary school English classes that teach “Animal Farm” study violence as a central theme and abuse of power. The atrocities make the seemingly silly feel sobering. But Serkis prefers his Trojan horse without the slaughter.

“We’re almost desensitized by the amount of violence that we are subjected to through news. But in a way, we’re so desensitized, we can’t cope with it,” Serkis says. “For a young person, if you can allow them to emotionally feel something like I did when I read the book, emotionally feel something, but not fully understand it, that's a good place to be, I think.”

Why Andy Serkis made major changes to ‘Animal Farm’ ending

“Animal Farm,” classically, is a story without a happy ending. But Serkis’ interpretation gives viewers closure. The film adds an entirely new third act: Lucky has a change of heart and apologizes, the animals take down Napoleon and the evil capitalistic Pilkington. Lucky tells the cautionary tale for a new generation.

While the book haunts, the film aims for hopeful: dictators are bad, we should help each other and freedom is working hard “not because we have to, but because we choose to,” as Lucky says.

Serkis chose this new ending because he was hesitant to dog-pile on an already “bleak world,” he says.

“We live in a world where there seemingly is no hope at the moment. We keep making the same mistakes. There are oppressive regimes globally. There are bosses in companies that maltreat their workers globally. We're living in such a difficult time. All times are difficult for humanity, but we're living in, it seems, certainly a world without truth or the inability to really know what is true and what isn't true,” Serkis says. “So we wanted the next generation, the kids who we hopefully are going to be watching this film, to at least have the ability to question what they should do next time around. History will inevitably repeat itself.”

Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY’s Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find heron Instagram, subscribe to our weeklyBooks newsletteror tell her what you’re reading atcmulroy@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Andy Serkis welcomes criticism of new 'Animal Farm' movie

byCUSTOS CAELORUM

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April 30, 2026

Andy Serkis explains why he changed Orwell's iconic 'Animal Farm' ending for new movie

NEW YORK –Andy Serkishas been trying to animateGeorge Orwell’s “Animal Farm” for 15 years. In 2026, he says it “couldn’t, actually, be ...

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Gorman, Burleson and Walker drive in 3 runs apiece to lead Cardinals over Pirates 11-7

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Nolan Gorman homered and drove in three runs and Alec Burleson and Jordan Walker drove in three runs apiece to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to an 11-7 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.

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JJ Wetherholt and Ivan Herrera, the top two hitters in the Cardinals’ batting order, scored three runs each. Burleson, Walker and Masyn Winn each finished with two hits.

Gorman opened the scoring with a homer leading off the second, his fourth of the season. Victor Scott II started a two-run second with his first home run of the season before Wetherholt doubled and scored a single by Walker.

The Cardinals extended their lead to 6-0 in the fifth when Burleson doubled in a run and Walker and Gorman followed with consecutive sacrifice fly balls.

Kyle Leahy (3-3) allowed three runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts. The Pirates scored all three runs in the sixth on homers by Oneil Cruz and a two-run shot by Ryan O’Hearn, cutting their deficit to 6-3.

The Cardinals broke the game open with three runs in the seventh inning and two in the eighth.

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The Cardinals have won the first two games of the four-game series after entering on a four-game losing streak. The Pirates have lost three in a row for the first time this season.

Braxton Ashcraft (1-2) was rocked for six runs in 4 1/3 innings after being activated from the bereavement/family medical emergency list before the game. He allowed six hits, struck out seven and walked three.

Pirates rookie Konnor Griffin hit a solo homer in the ninth inning. O’Hearn had two hits and three RBIs and Nick Gonzales had two hits and knocked in two runs.

Up next

Cardinals RHP Andre Pallante (2-2, 4.26 ERA) starts on Wednesday night against rookie RHP Bubba Chandler (1-2, 4.88).

AP MLB:https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

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April 30, 2026

Gorman, Burleson and Walker drive in 3 runs apiece to lead Cardinals over Pirates 11-7

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Nolan Gorman homered and drove in three runs and Alec Burleson and Jordan Walker drove in three runs apiece to lead t...

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Undermanned Wolves try to eliminate balanced Nuggets in Game 6

Faced with key injuries, the Minnesota Timberwolves will try to close out their Western Conference first-round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets in Game 6 on Thursday in Minneapolis.

Minnesota successfully managed Game 4 despite losing star Anthony Edwards and his starting backcourt mate, Donte DiVincenzo, early. But with Edwards sidelined due to a bone bruise and hyperextension in his left knee and DiVincenzo gone with a torn right Achilles tendon, the Timberwolves dropped a close-out opportunity on Monday in Denver, 125-113.

Edwards and DiVincenzo were both catalysts as Minnesota gained the early advantage in the series, with Edwards going for 30 points and 10 rebounds in Game 2. DiVincenzo scored a total of 31 points in Games 2 and 3, both Timberwolves victories.

With the two perimeter playmakers out Monday, Minnesota committed 25 turnovers -- two more than the Timberwolves lost in their previous two games combined, and a team-high dating back to before the All-Star break.

"A lot of silly, forced play by guys trying to make something out of nothing," Minnesota coach Chris Finch said of the Game 5 turnover woes.

Finch also pointed to Denver's defensive adjustments, noting that the Nuggets "put two (defenders)" on Ayo Dosunmu for the first time in the series.

Dosunmu, a late-season acquisition via trade from Chicago, emerged as the hero in Game 4 after Edwards and DiVincenzo exited. He scored 43 points, bookended by performances of 25 and 18 points, respectively, in Games 3 and 5.

Aside from Julius Randle's 27 points, however, no other Minnesota player managed more than 13 in Monday's loss.

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Denver, meanwhile, got 18-plus points from four of its five starters in the elimination contest. Among the quartet was forward Spencer Jones, who has seen a significant uptick in minutes with Aaron Gordon dealing with a calf injury.

Jones, who scored 11 total points in the series' first four games, went for 20 in Game 5. Gordon, who averaged 16.2 points per game in the regular season, played limited minutes in Game 4, but missed both Games 3 and 5 and is listed as questionable for Thursday.

Jones, who averaged just 5.5 points per game in the regular season, delivered his highest-scoring performance since Dec. 1 (28 points) at an opportune time.

"It's something that happened throughout the season, guys going down and me getting an opportunity to start," Jones said. "I'll get more minutes, but the role is still the same, the duties are still the same."

Building on the momentum from his making four 3-pointers Monday, Jones could play a role in Denver's key perimeter scorer, Jamal Murray, finding cleaner looks from beyond the arc.

Murray has scored 30 points three times in the series, and with his 24 in Game 5, he is up to 26.0 points per game through the five contests. That's a team-high, outpacing three-time league Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic's 25.4 ppg.

However, Murray has gone 0-for from deep twice, including the Game 3 loss.

Jokic, meanwhile, had his best game of the series Monday, finishing as a plus-18 with 27 points, 16 assists and 12 rebounds. He was a plus-one, minus-21 and minus-12 in Denver's three losses.

--Field Level Media

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April 30, 2026

Undermanned Wolves try to eliminate balanced Nuggets in Game 6

Faced with key injuries, the Minnesota Timberwolves will try to close out their Western Conference first-round playoff series against t...

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Nina Dobrev’s Plunging Zuhair Murad Gown Comes With Dangerously High Slit

Nina Dobrevmade a striking appearance at The King’s Trust 5th Annual Gala, delivering a red carpet moment that felt both refined and undeniably bold. The actress, known for her polished yet modern approach to eveningwear, once again proved she understands the balance between classic glamour and contemporary edge. Without revealing too much at first glance, her look carried a quiet intensity, one that unfolded gradually the longer viewers looked.

Nina Dobrev attends King’s Trust Gala in plunging Zuhair Murad gown with ridiculously high slit

For the evening, Nina Dobrev chose a deep emerald gown fromZuhair Murad’s Fall/Winter 2025Couture collection — a designer synonymous with intricate craftsmanship and high-quality silhouettes. The piece immediately stood out for its rich, jewel-toned hue, which contrasted beautifully against the red carpet backdrop, making her presence impossible to miss.

As the full look came into focus, the gown revealed its dramatic construction. A plunging sweetheart neckline framed the upper silhouette, adding a touch of sensuality while still maintaining elegance. The bodice featured delicate ruching that enhanced the shape. It also cinched at the waist before flowing into a voluminous skirt. The real statement, however, came from the dangerously high slit, which moved sharply through the fabric. This introduced movement and a bold edge to an otherwise classic silhouette.

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The gown’s fluid drape and subtle shine gave it a luxurious finish, allowing it to catch the light with every step. Dobrev kept the styling minimal and intentional, letting the dress take center stage. She paired the look with strappy silver grey heels and delicate diamond drop earrings, adding just enough sparkle without overwhelming the outfit.

Her beauty look followed the same approach. She wore her hair sleek, straight, and parted down the middle, creating a clean frame for her face. Soft, neutral makeup with defined eyes and a subtle glow completed the look. With this appearance, Dobrev delivered a masterclass in modern red carpet dressing.

Originally reported by Viha Shah ontheFashionSpot.

The postNina Dobrev’s Plunging Zuhair Murad Gown Comes With Dangerously High Slitappeared first onReality Tea.

byCUSTOS CAELORUM

in

April 30, 2026

Nina Dobrev’s Plunging Zuhair Murad Gown Comes With Dangerously High Slit

Nina Dobrevmade a striking appearance at The King’s Trust 5th Annual Gala, delivering a red carpet moment that felt both refined and undeni...

Read More