Latest news with #Wilner
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Is it time to worry about Pac-12 expansion?
It has been 209 days since Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State announced they were leaving the Mountain West Conference to reform the Pac-12 Conference alongside current members Oregon State and Washington State. It has been 198 days since Utah State accepted an invitation to join the reconfigured Pac-12. Advertisement It has been 190 days since Gonzaga did the same, only not as a football-sponsoring member. More than half a year has gone by since the Pac-12 last expanded. Normally that wouldn't be that significant, except for the fact that the conference needs one more football-sponsoring member in order to be recognized by the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and College Football Playoff (CFP). It doesn't need that school yet, but by the 2026 football season, the Pac-12 must have eight football-sponsoring members. The clock is ticking. Is it time to worry? After all, not only does the Pac-12 not have a full complement of schools — without a great deal of overly appealing options either — it doesn't have a media rights deal. In a lot of ways it is a conference in concept and theory only. Advertisement Per John Canzano, it isn't time to panic just yet, though that time isn't far off. 'The Pac-12's expansion plan is still directly (or indirectly) tied to the lawsuit and settlement negotiations with the Mountain West,' Canzano wrote in his Monday mailbag. 'If it's UNLV the Pac-12 ultimately covets, this could take several weeks or a month to figure out. 'I'll start asking more pointed questions about the media rights deal around April 15. If there's no news by May 1, I'll begin to wonder if there's trouble. Fans of the conference shouldn't panic until late June, though. The new-look Pac-12 officially launches on July 1, 2026. That's the NCAA's deadline to get to eight all-sports members. It would be less than ideal for the Pac-12 to get inside that one-year mark without clarity.' According to The Mercury News' Jon Wilner, Pac-12 expansion is as much tied to its prospective media rights deal as it is to ongoing negotiations with the MWC — meaning that expansion isn't likely to come before a media rights deal is finalized or after. But rather those two things will happen almost simultaneously. Advertisement 'In terms of the Pac-12's broad strategy, it's critical to recognize that the media rights negotiations and membership question are, to a large extent, unfolding together,' Wilner wrote in his March 31 mailbag. 'The conference has a list of schools under consideration. It's a matter of wrapping up expansion once the media rights deal is secure, not starting from scratch.' Wilner noted that none of the programs perceived as available to be added by the Pac-12, be it Memphis, Tulane, South Florida (USF), Texas State or New Mexico State, would provide substantially different value to the league. Some are more valuable to be sure, but not significantly. Furthermore, adding more schools that don't sponsor football but excel at basketball — think Saint Mary's, Grand Canyon, etc. — sounds good in theory but won't add substantial value to a media rights deal either. Writes Wilner: 'Prioritizing the media deal over membership makes sense. Why? Because the most important piece to the survive-and-thrive equation isn't the TV dollars; it's the TV exposure. The rebuilt Pac-12 must partner with a linear TV network for its football product. Whether that's The CW or ESPN or Fox or Turner, exposure is everything over the second half of the decade as conferences compete for College Football Playoff access and schools audition for the sport's Great Restructuring in the 2030s. Advertisement 'Also, the media valuation could impact which schools are pursued. Some targets would demand full-share status; others would not. If the media deal lands on the low end of projections, the conference might opt to offer partial shares, thereby creating more dollars for the core eight.' All of which is to say, there isn't an obvious path for the Pac-12 to take for expansion. There isn't an obvious school to add. There isn't a clear and laid out media deal to accept right now, which is why further expansion hasn't already happened. Throw in the ongoing legal disputes between the Pac-12 and Mountain West and the Pac-12 does not appear close to settling in as one of the five best conferences in college football or even college sports in general. Will that happen? There is still time. But the longer it takes the more questions will arise and the more reason to worry. Just not yet it seems.
CBS News
24-02-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Smartwatch alerts Florida man to dangerous heart condition
A routine glance at his smartwatch transformed into a life-altering moment for Florida Keys man, as the device flashed a stark warning. His heart was dangerously out of rhythm, a silent threat now exposed by wearable technology. "This was worse than I thought," Juan Ravelo recalled after reviewing his old health stats on his smartwatch app. The device didn't just track his steps; it alerted him that his heart wasn't beating properly. Silent threat detected on his wrist Ravelo's smartwatch repeatedly flashed a red warning: "Afib." Then, it sent an urgent notification to his phone. "One day, I saw it on the phone—it was red and I said, 'Whoa, my sister was right,'" Ravelo said. His sister had already been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (Afib) thanks to her smartwatch. She urged Ravelo to wear one, too. Before long, he saw the same warning signs. "I started wearing the watch every day and it started happening more and more frequently," he said. Concerned, Ravelo visited Mariner's Hospital in the Florida Keys. Doctors recommended he go to Baptist Health in Kendall for further evaluation. A common but serious condition Afib is the most frequent cardiac arrhythmia, affecting an estimated 6 to 12 million Americans by 2050, according to health experts. The condition causes an irregular and often rapid heart rhythm, which can lead to blood clots, stroke and other complications. "Instead of beating normally, the heart is fibrillating—'boom, boom, boom, boom, boom,'" said Dr. Brian Wilner, a cardiac electrophysiologist at Baptist Health. "That causes blood to become static in the heart, increasing the risk of clots forming. If a clot gets pumped out, it could go to the brain and cause a stroke." Symptoms of Afib include: • Irregular heartbeat • Heart palpitations • Lightheadedness • Extreme fatigue • Shortness of breath • Chest pain To restore Ravelo's normal heart rhythm, Dr. Wilner performed an ablation, a procedure that carefully destroys the small areas of heart tissue causing the irregular beats. The future of wearable health tech Smartwatches and other wearable devices are changing how people monitor their health. Beyond Afib detection, they can track blood pressure, detect signs of sleep apnea and provide other key health insights. "The more informed a patient is about their own health, the more involved they become in their care," Dr. Wilner said. "That leads to better outcomes." Ravelo says he'll continue wearing his watch—and urging others to take their heart health seriously. "Be cognizant of your body. Listen to your body," he said. "It's a good thing I went to the doctor and it's a good thing I wore the watch." Heart health awareness In honor of Heart Month, Baptist Health is offering discounted 30-minute, non-invasive heart scans throughout February. For more information or to schedule a scan, visit
