Ozarks Digital Desk: WBIT Preview & NCAA 1st Round Schedule
SPRINGFIELD–Thursday morning, the best sports tournament in America will get underway–March Madness–A full slate of NCAA men's basketball games will begin at 11:15 a.m. CST, and for roughly the next 12 hours, 32 teams will compete in a win-or-go-home scenario that has made this annual competition must watch content.
With the tournament airing on CBS, TNT, TBS, and TruTV, fans will have a variety of options to watch it traditionally or stream it.
Since some games will be played on CBS, KOLR10's normal schedule of news at 5 & 6 p.m. will adjust slightly. The newscast at 5 p.m. will be an hour long, instead of just a 30 minute program. That way, the audience can get a full rundown of the news-of-the-day in the Ozarks, before the next basketball game tips off at 6:10 p.m.
Coinicidentally, the Missouri State Lady Bears basketball team will play its first round contest of the WBIT that same day. However, unlike last year, when MSU had to travel to its first round opponent's court, the Lady Bears will host that game. Their opponent is Oral Roberts out of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
This is the second year in-a-row Mo State will compete in the WBIT and is hoping to beat the Golden Eagles to advance beyond the opening round for the first time.
Take a listen to Chris Pinson to hear the full breakdown of the March Madness schedule Thursday and the matchup between Oral Roberts and Missouri State. Head Coach Beth Cunningham provides insights to the opportunity, plus, how impactful the crowd at Great Southern Bank can be for the Lady Bears.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNBC
5 hours ago
- CNBC
Warner Bros. Discovery split throws the future of TNT Sports into question
Earlier this year, Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Executive Officer David Zaslav ended his company's long relationship with the National Basketball Association. Now, he may be setting the stage to end his relationship with U.S. sports, altogether. WBD announced Monday it's splitting itself into two companies — a concept CNBC first reported had picked up steam in April. One company, temporarily called Streaming and Studios, will consist of Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, DC Studios, HBO and HBO Max. The other, currently dubbed Global Networks, will be the rest of the company's assets: legacy cable networks, TNT Sports, digital products and free-to-air channels in Europe. Zaslav will be the CEO of Streaming and Studios. Gunnar Wiedenfels, the current Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Financial Officer, will become the CEO of Global Networks. The divorce raises the question of where live sports right held by TNT will land without Warner Bros. Discovery's streaming portfolio as part of the same company. During a conference call Monday, Zaslav said it will be up to Wiedenfels and his team to decide where they'd like to license TNT Sports programming to the Streaming and Studios business — or anyone else —in the future. Currently, all of TNT Sports appear on HBO Max, Warner Bros. Discovery's flagship streaming service. Zaslav said U.S. sports haven't been a major driver of HBO Max signups, suggesting that it may make sense for TNT Sports to consciously uncouple with the streaming service down the road. "Inside the U.S., sports have been less critical," Zaslav said on a call with investors Monday. "It's viewed, but it hasn't been a real driver for us. So it will continue to be on HBO Max, but the Global Networks business will evaluate over time where the best place for that is." HBO Max will continue to license sports for existing deals. Still, Wiedenfels will have options on how to monetize TNT's future streaming and digital sports rights. He could strike a licensing deal with a different media company for the live sports that appear on the Turner networks (TNT, TBS and TruTV), such as the NCAA's March Madness, the French Open, NASCAR, Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League. "The U.S. sports rights will reside at the Global Networks, and its management team will determine how best to monetize the streaming and digital rights over time," said Wiedenfels. "Internationally, sports will largely coexist, both on linear and streaming, as they do today." Or, he could decide to merge TNT Sports with another entity, such as the forthcoming Comcast spinout, Versant. Mark Lazarus, Versant's CEO, told CNBC Sport last month he was interested in bidding on sports rights to gain distribution heft with pay-TV operators. Acquiring TNT Sports could be a major step in that direction. If Wiedenfels opts for consolidation, he will have to weigh the tax effects of selling off assets after the separation takes place. While Warner Bros. Discovery noted the split is tax-free, Wiedenfels emphasized on Monday's call that transactions could begin as soon as the separation occurs, which is expected by mid-2026. "On the tax side, I said this earlier, I want to be absolutely clear: Once this deal closes, both companies are going to be free and clear," Wiedenfels said. "There is no minimum time." A spokesperson for Versant did not immediately return request for comment.
CNN
11 hours ago
- CNN
Sports betting is legal and growing more popular. Harassment of athletes by angry gamblers is rising too
Gabby Thomas being harassed at last weekend's Grand Slam Track meet was shocking – except, actually, it wasn't, given how often it seems to be happening. Thomas, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, said she was verbally abused at the meet, reporting on X that a 'grown man followed me around the track as I took pictures and signed autographs for fans (mostly children) shouting personal insults.' Thomas' statement was in reply to another post on X – which has since been deleted – showing a video of a person heckling Thomas while she was on the starting line, shouting, 'You're a choke artist; you're going down, Gabby.' The social media user bragged about how his actions had benefitted his bet, writing: 'I made Gabby lose by heckling her. And it made my parlay win,' alongside a screenshot of two multi-leg bets on the FanDuel sportsbook platform. FanDuel said it had banned the person responsible for the abuse from its platform, explaining it 'condemns in the strongest terms abusive behavior directed towards athletes.' 'Threatening or harassing athletes is unacceptable and has no place in sports. This customer is no longer able to wager with FanDuel,' the statement shared with CNN Sports added. It was in 2018 that the US Supreme Court struck down a 1992 federal law, which had prohibited most states from allowing sports betting. Gambling on sports is now legal in 39 states, which experts warn has opened the floodgates for a torrent of abuse towards professional and collegiate leagues from bettors who blame them for their financial losses. In March, the NCAA launched a campaign aimed at tackling what it described as 'the alarming prevalence of abuse and harassment student-athletes face from angry fans who lost a bet.' According to an analysis of abusive messages sent via social media to college athletes, coaches and officials during the Division I championships, 12% – some 740 messages – were related to sports betting, according to the NCAA. Instances of such messages included one user who threatened a college athlete with the message, 'Yo no big deal but if you don't get 22 points and 12 boards everyone you know and love will Be dead,' according to the analysis, which was produced with Signify Group. Meanwhile, over 540 abusive betting-related messages – including death threats – were leveled at men's and women's basketball student-athletes and game officials during March Madness, a preliminary set of data trends found. Clint Hangebrauck, managing director of enterprise risk management at the NCAA told CNN: 'I think athletes are under attack right now, frankly, on social media and in person, and a lot of the people slinging the biggest bullets are sports bettors.' Hangebrauck, who has worked at the NCAA for 15 years, said that there has been a surge of athletes receiving abuse since the federal ban on sports betting was struck down, adding that in certain states – including Ohio and North Carolina – a barrage of abuse towards student athletes was 'almost immediate.' The NCAA is now seeking a ban on proposition bets, colloquially known as prop bets, on college athletes, calling the phenomenon 'a mental health nightmare.' Prop bets are made on outcomes not associated with the final score and are often based on individual performances. 'You could even perform well, and you're receiving all this negative feedback from betters because you didn't hit specific betting lines,' Hangebrauck added, noting that about half of the states that do allow gambling in the US have banned prop bets on student athletes. Jason Lopez, assistant professor in the Department of Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin told CNN Sports: 'The way that the newly legalized sports betting universe works is that it's very common to make prop bets where, even though it's a team sport, you can actually bet on the performance of individual players.' 'It turns what could be a team game into an individual performance, too. And so it's easy to then focus whatever anger you have on the bet at individual players,' Lopez, whose research focuses on sports media and betting, explained. The issue of bettors harassing athletes is widespread across sporting disciplines, with tennis and NBA players reporting instances of abuse. For a few professional athletes, it's an opportunity to punch back. In reply to a social media user who gave him grief about his seeming nonchalance over a bad performance in a game, NBA superstar Kevin Durant posted on X in November 2024, 'Stop blaming me for losing money because you have a gambling problem.' Great dub suns, and for my parlayers, better luck next time lol For others, however, social media comments made cross any acceptable line. In the past few weeks, MLB players Lance McCullers Jr. and Liam Hendriks have both reported that their families have been on the receiving end of death threats. Houston Astros pitcher McCullers Jr. revealed he received threats from a man who took to social media and threatened to find his kids and 'murder them.' The Houston Police Department later traced these threats to an intoxicated sports bettor from overseas who had lost money betting on the Astros' May 10 game against the Cincinnati Reds, per Reuters. Boston Red Sox pitcher Hendriks reported similar abuse, telling that 'with the rise of sports gambling, it's gotten a lot worse.' 'Threats against my life and my wife's life are horrible and cruel,' Hendriks wrote in a post on his Instagram Stories, according to 'You need help. Comments telling me to commit suicide and how you wish I died from cancer is disgusting and vile. Maybe you should take a step back and re-evaluate your life's purpose before hiding behind a screen attacking players and their families. He added: 'Whether it be Venmo requests, whether it be people telling you in their comments, 'Hey, you blew my parlay. Go f*ck yourself,' kind of stuff. And then it's, 'Go hang yourself. You should kill yourself. I wish you died from cancer.' 'That one kind of hit a little too close to home for me with everything I've gone through,' Hendriks, who in 2023 announced he had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, added. Joe Maloney, senior vice president of strategic communications for the American Gaming Association, told CNN Sports in a statement: 'The outcome of a bet is never an invitation to harass or threaten athletes, coaches, or officials. Abuse of any kind has no place in sports.' 'The legal, regulated industry offers the transparency and accountability needed to identify bad actors and collaborate with leagues, regulators, and law enforcement to deter misconduct and enforce consequences. Unlike illegal and unregulated market apps or bookies, legal operators work every day to uphold the integrity of competition and ensure a responsible wagering environment,' Maloney added. Lopez pointed out that, while sports betting has only recently been legalized and commercialized across the United States, most sports have been associated with wagering since their beginnings, albeit in a more underground capacity up until recently. 'There's just a basic fact about (sports) companies and organizations that run these games for entertainment which is that gambling helps increase interest – it drives interest. So they like all the betting that's happening around them; it builds interest in their sport. 'Their athletes being abused, especially if they're collegiate athletes, could harm their entertainment product. So they have to take very public stances about this in order to try to mitigate the idea that you know this entertainment product is putting people at risk,' he added. Hangebrauck added to CNN: 'I think there's a responsible way to engage in sports betting, and a lot of fans and people do so. Ninety-six percent of people overall generally lose in sports betting in the long run, so just be responsible about how you react to that – own it yourself.'
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
2025 RBC Canadian Open purse, payouts: Ryan Fox beats Sam Burns in a long playoff to earn spot at the U.S. Open
Ryan Fox is headed to the U.S. Open after his win at the RBC Canadian Open. () It took him four playoff holes, but Ryan Fox is headed to the U.S. Open after all. Fox outlasted Sam Burns in a long playoff at TPC Toronto on Sunday afternoon to claim victory at the RBC Canadian Open. The win marked the second of Fox's career, both of which have come this year, and it officially gave him one of the final spots in the field at next week's major championship. Advertisement Fox, on the fourth playoff hole, landed his second shot just past the cup after taking dead aim at the relocated pin. That set up a two-putt birdie, which was enough to seal his win. Burns, who also landed on the par-5 green in two, three-putted for his par. All four playoff holes were played on the par-5 18th. "To be honest, Sam and I had a bit of a pillow fight there for three holes. It was some pretty average golf from both of us, some average putting," Fox said on CBS. "But that shot I hit on 18, the 3-wood, was probably the best shot I've ever hit." Burns, after spending what felt like forever in the clubhouse, went back out and had a great look to immediately end the playoff on the first hole. But Burns, after spinning his approach shot back to about 5 feet, sent his birdie look past the hole. That sent him and Fox back to the 18th tee to run it back. The two guys parred again on the second and third playoff holes — Burns had to go up and down on the third to stay alive — so they went back for a fourth hole. That's when Fox finally sealed his win. Advertisement Burns erupted early on Sunday, despite starting well back from the leaders. He posted his 8-under 62, which marked his lowest final-round score in his Tour career and was just a shot shy of matching his career round. Burns, after making the turn at 2-under on the day, rattled off five straight birdies on the back nine. He hit five approach shots within 10 feet of the cup on the back nine, too, en route to his 29. That gave him the clubhouse lead. Then, Burns had to wait. But as he sat there in the clubhouse watching, his lead kept holding. Cameron Young came close multiple times, but then he made a bogey on the final hole after his approach shot into the par-5 went well past the green and into the trees. Finally, though, Fox caught up to him. Fox, after making back-to-back birdies late in his round, sank a 17-footer for birdie at the final hole to force the playoff with Burns. Kevin Yu finished alone in third at 17-under. Young and Matt McCarty finished in a tie for fourth at 16-under. Advertisement Fox now has two Tour wins to his name, though he's won eight times internationally — including at the 2023 BMW PGA Championship on the DP World Tour. He picked up his inaugural victory at the OneFlight Myrtle Beach Classic, which he also won in a playoff last month. Fox, who entered this week at No. 75 in the Official World Golf Rankings, needed a top-three finish this week to make it into the field at the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club. Fox's win, which will move him to No. 32 in the world, also earned him a $1.76 million check. The event this week carried a $9.8 million purse. That's roughly half of what is offered at the PGA Tour's signature events, which each carry purses of at least $20 million. The Players Championship leads the way with $25 million up for grabs. By comparison, Scottie Scheffler earned $4 million for his win at The Memorial Tournament last weekend. Here's a look at how much Fox and the rest of the field earned in Toronto. 2025 RBC Canadian Open payouts 1. Ryan Fox — $1.76 million 2. Sam Burns — $1.0682 million 3. Kevin Yu — $676,200 T4. Cameron Young, Matt McCarty — $441,000 T6. Ben An, Andrew Putnam, Matteo Manassero — $330,750 T9. Cameron Champ, Victor Perez, David Skinns, Lee Hodges — $257,250 T13. Ludvig Åberg, Shane Lowry, Nick Taylor, Danny Willett, Alex Smalley — $180,810 T18. Noah Goodwin, Jackson Suber, Jesper Svensson, Jeremy Paul, Thomas Detry, Kevin Roy — $125,277 T24. Emiliano Grillo, Harry Hall, Antoine Rozner — $86,730 T27. Lanto Griffin, Max McGreevy, Corey Conners, Keith Mitchell, Jon Pak, Adam Hadwin, Taylor Pendrith, Jake Knapp, Mackenzie Hughes — $64,353 T36. Robert MacIntyre, Thorbjørn Olesen, Ben Silverman, Taylor Montgomery, Richard Lee, Cristobal Del Solar, Rico Hoey — $44,660 T43. Steven Fisk, Patrick Fishburn, Rasmus Højgaard, Trey Mullinax — $33,810 T47. Mark Hubbard, Nate Lashley, Ryo Hisatsune, Matthew Anderson, Paul Waring — $26,401 T52. Carson Young, Vince Whaley, Zac Blair, Beau Hossler, Paul Peterson, Henrik Norlander, Trevor Cone — $23,114 T59. Wyndham Clark, Hayden Springer, Davis Riley, Dylan Wu, Peter Malnati — $21,854 64. Chandler Phillips — $21,266 T65. Tyler Mawhinney (A)*, Adam Schenk — $21,070 67. Charley Hoffman —$20,874 68. Justin Lower — $20,678 *Amateur, Tyler Mawhinney isn't eligible for a payout
