Free Republic

New York Community Bancorp sent its shares plummeting 26% on Friday after the regional lender said has discovered “material weaknesses” in the ways it tracks loan risks and that its CEO is leaving. The New York-based firm announced late Thursday that CEO Thomas Cangemi would be leaving NYCB — capping off a 27-year tenure at NYCB — and that Alessandro DiNello would take his place, effective immediately. DiNello, NYCB’s executive chairman, had been acting as the bank’s true boss since earlier this month ... One NYCB director, Hanif “Wally” Dahya, said in a Feb. 25 letter that he “did not...

The Elite Eight won’t feature any No. 1 seeds for the first time in NCAA men's tournament history. Nigel Pack’s hot shooting propelled No. 5 Miami to an 89-75 win over No. 1 Houston in the Midwest region on Friday night. Miami’s win came less than an hour after No. 1 Alabama lost to No. 5 San Diego State in the South region. SNIP Alabama and Houston entered Friday night’s Sweet 16 games as the last two No. 1 seeds remaining in the NCAA men's tournament. Purdue became just the second No. 1 seed to lose in the first round...

ATLANTA — Lia Thomas took control in the final 100 yards of the 500-yard freestyle to make history Thursday as the first transgender woman to win an NCAA swimming championship. Thomas, the University of Pennsylvania senior who entered the NCAA women’s swimming and diving championships as the top seed, had a season-best time of 4 minutes, 33.24 seconds. “I didn’t have a whole lot of expectation for this meet,” said Thomas, a former male swimmer for Penn State. “I was just happy to be here and race and compete the best I could.” Virginia’s Emma Weyant was second at 4:34.99....

The Polk County Sheriff's Office stated Wednesday that more than 100 arrests were made during a six-day human trafficking sting. "Operation March Sadness 2" started March 8, according to a press release. Police departments in Winter Haven, Haines City, Lake Wales and Auburndale assisted in the investigation. According to the Sheriff's Office, detectives identified prostitutes who posted online advertisements as well as the "johns" who were seeking them out online. Detectives also identified and investigated adults who engaged in online "sexually charged" communications with those they believed were children. "The arrests of a human trafficker and four child predators alone...

Sick of the news? How about some sports? The NCAA just announced the March Madness brackets: it seems to me everyone’s still in it, no wonder it takes forever to declare a winner. He sits. He stays. He shoots. He scores!To bad we don’t have ESPN’s coverage of Barack’s bracket picking to look forward to anymore. That was always newsworthy back when being President was fun.But I’m pretty sure we discontinued the Presidential Brackets “tradition” once Trump was president.In other sports news: the major league baseball lockout is over! Yeah, I know: I didn’t know there was one either. But...

The Dr. Anthony Fauci email dump includes a puzzling image — a March Madness-style tournament bracket of fatal diseases, in which coronavirus emerges as champion. The image is titled “Dr. Fauci’s March Madness Bracketology Picks.” It is dated March 11, 2020, and signed “—Tony F.” In the morbid pool, coronavirus — top-seeded out of the East region — defeats a field that included such dreaded diseases as Ebola, H1N1, Zika, herpes, and measles.

As revealed in the newly released earth-shattering emails obtained by Judicial Watch, Dr. Anthony Fauci and John T. Brooks appear to have participated in a disturbing “March Madness” disease bracket in March 2020.“Dr. Fauci’s March Madness Bracketology Picks” are divided into four main sections, appearing to be the East, West, South, and Midwest areas of the United States. Diseases listed on the bracket include Coronavirus, SARS, MERS, Zika, West Nile, Rabies, Polio, among others. It appears that Coronavirus won the competition and was declared “CHAMPION.” Meanwhile, a circled signature in the center of the bracket reads “Tony F.” The email...

First time ever no Final Four teams east of the Mississippi River. 12:14 AM · Mar 31, 2021

We are all ORU now. In a riff on a well-known quote from economist Milton Friedman and by Richard Nixon, Christian colleges now all feel some measure of connection to ORU. Oral Roberts University (ORU), founded and named after the famous healing evangelist, is experiencing a Cinderella season in men’s basketball and has now reached the mythical “sweet 16” of the NCAA March Madness following victories over a succession of schools including Florida and Ohio State. Pandemic effects notwithstanding, all Christian colleges are rooting for ORU and its success. We are all ORU now.Sadly, the national spotlight has brought attention...

Oral Roberts University is the Cinderella Story of this year’s March Madness. However, it’s not sitting well with an some journalists and other woke warriors who don’t want the Christian school getting the spotlight or winning a culture war. They want this Cinderella Story to be cancelled and banned.

The first Cinderella of the 2021 NCAA Tournament has stamped its slipper. Oral Roberts, with its modest 16-10 record and 15th seed in the South Region, stunned No. 2 seeded Ohio State 75-72 in overtime Friday in West Lafayette, Indiana. It was Oral Roberts’ first NCAA Tournament victory since 1974 and sixth consecutive win this season. They are the ninth No. 15 seed ever to bea

The NCAA should attempt the difficult task of conducting its basketball tournaments in empty arenas. We need the positive energy of March Madness to offset the negative energy connected to the COVID-19 virus. March Madness can provide something to cheer about. The entertainment industry has a long history of entertaining military troops on the front lines to help the morale of the troops. Television has made it possible for troops on the front lines of distant battle fields to watch major entertainment events like the Super Bowl. .We are all "troops" on a battle field a killer virus has invaded....

The NCAA should attempt the difficult task of conducting its basketball tournaments in empty arenas. We need the positive energy of March Madness to offset the negative energy connected to the COVID-19 virus. March Madness can provide something to cheer about. The entertainment industry has a long history of entertaining military troops on the front lines to help the morale of the troops. Television has made it possible for troops on the front lines of distant battle fields to watch major entertainment events like the Super Bowl. .We are all "troops" on a battle field a killer virus has invaded....

The NCAA has called off its men's and women's basketball tournaments as part of a complete cancellation of all remaining spring and winter championships. "This decision is based on the evolving COVID-19 public health threat, our ability to ensure the events do not contribute to spread of the pandemic, and the impracticality of hosting such events at any time during this academic year given ongoing decisions by other entities," the NCAA said in a statement Thursday.

March Madness 2020 will be unlike any NCAA Tournament ever. The NCAA announced on Wednesday that both the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments will be played without fans after consulting with its coronavirus advisory panel. “Based on [the panel’s] advice and my discussions with the NCAA Board of Governors, I have made the decision to conduct our upcoming championship events, including the Division I men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, with only essential staff and limited family attendance,” NCAA president Mark Emmert said in a statement.

March Madness 2020 games could be played without fans. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Tuesday he is asking indoor sporting events take place without spectators “other than the athletes, parents, and others essential to the game” over coronavirus fears/ Dayton hosts the First Four of the NCAA Tournament every year at UD Arena, with this year’s game scheduled for next Tuesday and Wednesday. Cleveland is also set to host first and second-round games in the tournament.

National College Players Association's Statement on Coronavirus and College Athlete Health: "In the wake of the emerging coronavirus pandemic, the NCAA and its colleges should take precautions to protect college athletes. They should also make public which actions will be taken and when. Precautions should include cancelling all auxiliary events that put players in contact with crowds such as meet and greets and press events. Athletic programs should also take every possible measure to sanitize buses and airplanes used to transport players. In regard to the NCAA's March Madness Tournament and other athletic events, there should be a serious discussion...

Add Virginia men's basketball to the long list of teams who won’t celebrate a championship with President Trump at the White House. The program tweeted a statement from head coach Tony Bennett Friday that stated the team has " received inquiries about a visit to the White House. "With several players either pursuing pro opportunities or moving on from UVA, it would be difficult, if not impossible to get everyone back together," Bennett added. "We would have to respectfully decline an invitation."

Zion Williamson is about to get paid. Long before he steps on an NBA court, the projected No. 1 overall pick in June's NBA draft is expected to land a sneaker endorsement deal that will make him far richer than his first NBA contract will. In fact, many in the sneaker industry expect that Williamson's eventual deal will make him one of the three highest-paid rookie sneaker endorsers ever, joining the likes of LeBron James and Kevin Durant. "In my lifetime, I think it's going to be the biggest bidding war ever done," said Sonny Vaccaro, the famed former marketing...

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