It was 2014 and then Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban made a prediction that caused waves across the sports world. Cuban said that because of the NFL’s greed, the league would implode in 10 years. He went on to use a colorful quote to make this point, a quote that is remembered to this day.

Cuban’s words resonated because, well, this was Mark Cuban. He was, and is, highly respected for his intellect and business acumen.

What Cuban said then, and now to USA TODAY Sports, is a window into the NFL’s almost confounding popularity that stretches across all parts of American society, and how that popularity doesn’t seemingly fit predictive patterns.

In other words, Cuban applied normal thought processes to the NFL, but the league would become so big, nothing normal seems to apply.

Cuban’s remarks 11 years ago were sparked then by a one-year deal with CBS and the NFL Network to air games on Thursday night. The league had been airing Thursday night games limitedly for years but this move indicated the Thursday slate was becoming a permanent fixture.

‘They’re trying to take over every night of TV,’ Cuban said in 2014. ‘Initially, it’ll be, ‘Yeah, they’re the biggest-rating thing that there is.’ OK, Thursday, that’s great, regardless of whether it impacts (the NBA) during that period when we cross over. Then if it gets Saturday, now you’re impacting colleges. Now it’s on four days a week.

‘It’s all football. At some point, the people get sick of it.’

But that wasn’t the juicy quote. It was this:

‘I think the NFL is 10 years away from an implosion. I’m just telling you: Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. And they’re getting hoggy.

‘Just watch. Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. When you try to take it too far, people turn the other way. I’m just telling you, when you’ve got a good thing and you get greedy, it always, always, always, always, always turns on you. That’s rule No. 1 of business.’

Cuban compared the NFL then to ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’ after the game show’s rating declined following its expansion to five days a week.

‘They put it on every night,’ Cuban said. ‘Not 100 percent analogous, but they handled it the same. I’m just telling you, pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered.’

Cuban wasn’t alone in this prediction. I thought the same at several points over the past decade. Heck, I wrote a book on the possibility. There were people inside the league office then who expressed similar concerns about the NFL being too present on television. They didn’t think the league would crater but there were concerns about saturation.

Give Cuban a ton of credit for being willing to look back at his own words. He didn’t run from it.

So what does Cuban think happened? Why was his prediction wrong? He explained in an email to USA TODAY Sports.

‘I thought that they would saturate every night of the week and that would destabilize their partners,’ Cuban said. ‘There is still uncertainty when your biggest revenue source is legacy media, but without question they are the number one viewing option.’

Again, makes sense. Normally, there is such a thing as too much of something. That just doesn’t seem to be the case (for now) with the NFL.

‘The other thing I didn’t realize then,’ Cuban said, ‘is that it seems like there is an inverse relationship between the actual amount of playing time a sport has and their TV ratings.’

He was asked to explain further.

‘There is only about 15 minutes of actual playing time in a college or NFL football game,’ Cuban said. ‘The rest is down time. The more downtime, the better the ratings. The less, the worse. Look at any sport.’

He added: ‘Baseball shortened the game and ratings went up. (NBA Commissioner) Adam (Silver) wants to discuss shortening NBA games. College (basketball) games are 40 minutes and they can often outrate NBA games.’

Yes, 11 years ago, Cuban was wrong.

But so were others. Meanwhile, the NFL keeps dominating.

BOSTON — The 2025 world figure skating championships in Boston have come to a close, and they couldn’t have gone much better for the hosts.

Team USA won world titles in three of the four disciplines − men’s singles, women’s singles and ice dance − and seemed to clearly enjoy having home-ice advantage at what were the first world championships held on U.S. soil since 2016. The crowds at TD Garden were strong, and there were plenty of U.S. skaters who had stellar performances even if they didn’t land on the podium.

Now, of course, the focus will start to shift to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina. Many of the skaters at worlds said they’ve already started to think about their music for next winter or otherwise begin their preparation for the Games.

And so, as the world championships end and figure skating’s offseason nears, here are six takeaways from the past week − and what they mean for Milan-Cortina.

It’s hard to see anyone beating Ilia Malinin

Ilia Malinin won his second consecutive world championship by a 31-point margin. From a technical standpoint, he is truly in a class by himself. It’s not just that the 20-year-old is the only person on Earth who can land a quad axel. It’s also the number of quads and combinations that he weaves into his free skate, which give him a massive point advantage over the field before he ever steps onto the ice.

Malinin’s goal is to land seven quads in a free skate. On Saturday, he did ‘only’ six − but that was still two more than anyone else. And looking purely at the base values for Malinin’s two programs last week, he had a cushion of about 13 points over the rest of the field. That means that, all else being equal, he could’ve fallen twice and still won. Malinin just has such a large cushion in difficulty that it’s hard to see anyone beating him in Milan.

The quads are only going to get bigger

In 1999, Timothy Goebel became the first skater in history to land three quadruple jumps in the same program. On Saturday night alone, five men matched that feat − including Malinin, who hit six quads. Reigning Olympic gold medalist Nathan Chen said this isn’t exactly surprising. The only surprising thing, he said, is how quickly the quad figures are going up.

‘If you look at the way the point system is structured, if you throw down big jumps and land them, you get big points,’ he said.

Chen was the first skater to land five quads in a program, as well as the first to hit six. Malinin has set a goal of seven, but it feels like the technical expansion isn’t going to stop there. Could we see another skater, maybe world silver medalist Mikhail Shaidorov, try for six quads to narrow the gap with Malinin in Milan? How long will it be until Malinin starts going for eight? And will we see quads, likely from Russia, on the women’s side too?

Alysa Liu has a legit shot at an individual Olympic medal

If there was a revelatory performance at worlds, it was probably Alysa Liu’s. Her journey from retiring at 16 to winning a world championship at 19 is a remarkable story, but this isn’t just a feel-good one-off. She has a very realistic shot at making the Olympic podium in women’s singles. It’s a feat no American woman has achieved since Sasha Cohen at the 2006 Games, which were also held in Italy less than a year after Liu was born.

Liu’s carefree post-retirement mindset is the sort of approach that can help insulate a skater from the noise and pressure of the Olympic cycle. The Japanese women proved once again at worlds that they will be in the mix. As will Russia’s lone entry. As will the other two American women who make the Olympic team, likely Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito. But at this point, Liu has to feel good about her chances.

The Olympic team event could be a two-country race

Since the introduction of the team figure skating competition at the Winter Olympics in 2014, there have generally been only five countries jockeying for podium spots: Canada, Italy, Japan, Russia and the U.S. But in 2026, it might just be Japan and the U.S. who have a real shot at gold.

While Russian skaters will have a path to compete as neutrals in Milan (more on that later), the country will be barred from team competition under the International Skating Union’s current rules. Canada and Italy, meanwhile, each showed some glaring weaknesses at this week’s world championships. Nothing is certain, of course. One of the most overused cliches in skating is that ice is slippery, and anything can happen. But it would hardly be a shock if Japan and the U.S. are going head-to-head for team gold 10 months from now.

The U.S. ice dance pipeline is as strong as ever

After their free dance, Chock and Bates credited the teams of Tanith White/Ben Agosto and Meryl Davis/Charlie White for laying the foundation for their success. The fifth-place finishers, Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko, are coached by former U.S. Olympic ice dancer Madison Hubbell, among others. And the ninth-place finishers, Caroline Green and Michael Parsons, are coached by the Whites − and, at least recently, ex-U.S. ice dancer Jean-Luc Baker.

It all points to a strong pipeline that should keep the U.S. on the podium in ice dance long after 2026, which is expected to be Chock and Bates’ final season of competition.

Don’t forget about Russia

Russia was not at the world championships and has been barred from international figure skating for nearly three years, so it’s easy to forget about them as the Olympics near. But the ISU has announced that the country will be permitted to enter one skater or team in each of the four disciplines at a qualifying event in Beijing this fall. And, given the country’s figure skating pedigree, they seem almost certain to qualify in all four events.

There is often a little bit of intrigue around the Russian contingent, as there was in 2022 with Kamila Valieva. But that intrigue will only be amplified in 2026, given the lack of international opportunities to see the Russians’ top skaters. Even with just a handful of participants, the Russians − er, I mean Individual Neutral Athletes − will certainly make some noise in Milan. It’s not such much a question of whether they reach the podium as it is where they place and in which event(s).

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @tomschad.bsky.social.

Correction: A previous version of this story had the incorrect winner of the game between Auburn and Florida.

The stage is set for the Final Four of the NCAA men’s tournament in San Antonio, Texas.

This year’s national semifinals will feature a star-studded cast — and a chalky, historic one at that. For just the first time since 2008 and just the second time in NCAA Tournament history, the Final Four will be all No. 1 seeds: Florida, Duke, Houston and Auburn.

In Saturday’s first game, Florida will face Auburn for the second time this season. The Gators took the regular-season meeting, winning 90-81 in early February. It’ll be the Blue Devils and Cougars in the second matchup.

The Gators booked their spot with a memorable Elite Eight comeback against No. 3 Texas Tech. Duke was dominant in shutting down No. 2 Alabama’s top-ranked offense. Houston bullied No. 2 Tennessee and Auburn pulled away from No. 2 Michigan State.

It was a bittersweet second weekend for the SEC, which had visions of sending four teams to the Alamodome but will settle instead for only half the field. This is the fifth time the conference has put multiple teams into the Final Four.

The biggest winner of the weekend has to be the Blue Devils, who are the team to beat after bulldozing through the East region to reach the semifinals for the first time under third-year coach Jon Scheyer.

Duke and the SEC lead the tournament winners and losers heading into the Final Four:

Winners

Duke

The Blue Devils’ 85-65 win against Alabama was a defensive masterclass. After setting a tournament record with 25 makes from behind the arc in the Sweet 16 against No. 6 Brigham Young, the Crimson Tide went just 8 of 32 from 3-point range against Duke, which was superb at closing out on defenders around the perimeter. This performance offset a less-than-stellar game from the Duke offense, which was bogged down behind an uncharacteristically weak game from freshman forward Cooper Flagg. After putting on a clinic in the Sweet 16 against No. 4 Arizona, Flagg finished with just 16 points on 6 of 16 shooting. But teammates such as freshman guard Kon Knueppel stepped up to erase the sour taste of last year’s Elite Eight upset against North Carolina State. Even when not at their best, the Blue Devils resemble a powerhouse — and that has to be an intimidating thought for the rest of the Final Four to consider.

Jon Scheyer

The former Duke guard and Mike Krzyzewski assistant has delivered in the wake of a coaching legend unlike few in the history of the sport. The way this year’s roster was constructed speaks to Scheyer’s grasp of how to build a winner in college basketball’s current environment: The Blue Devils have combined a transcendent freshman class with key veteran transfers such as Mason Gillis, Sion James and Maliq Brown. This blend has Duke surging into the Final Four.

The SEC

That the Volunteers and Tide couldn’t get through the Elite Eight doesn’t change the fact that the SEC is not only the best conference in college basketball this season – that’s been settled for months – but one of the most dominant single-season leagues in NCAA history. Yeah, getting even three teams into the Final Four would’ve felt like a coronation; that’s something only one conference, the Big East in 1985 has ever achieved. Still, to have multiple SEC teams in the semifinals is a fitting way to end this season.

Houston

It wasn’t the easiest road to the Elite Eight for the Big 12 regular-season and tournament champions. The Cougars struggled to put away No. 8 Gonzaga in the second round, winning 81-76 after the Bulldogs missed the potential game-tying 3-pointer with three seconds left, and then needed a bucket off an inbounds play with under a second remaining to beat No. 4 Purdue 62-60. But things came much, much easier in the Elite Eight against Tennessee. Houston’s defense delivered once again by limiting the Volunteers to just 15 points in the first half and 28.8% shooting overall to win 69-50 and reach the Final Four for the second time under coach Kelvin Sampson.

Auburn

It seems like all good news for the tournament’s top-overall seed. After surviving a stiff test in the Sweet 16 from No. 5 Michigan to win 78-65, Auburn held off the Spartans’ late offensive surge and pulled out a 70-64 win. That sends coach Bruce Pearl and the Tigers back to the Final Four for the first time since 2019 and second time overall. Auburn also seems to have dodged a bullet after star forward Johni Broome suffered an apparent arm injury with 10:37 to play. After being taken into the locker room for observation, Broome checked back in at the 5:29 mark and immediately pulled down a rebound and made a 3-pointer to push Auburn’s lead to 60-48. He finished with a game-high 25 points and 14 rebounds. Broome makes Auburn go; taking him out of the equation in San Antonio would’ve drastically cut down on the Tigers’ chances of winning the first championship in program history.

Losers

Texas Tech

The Red Raiders rode the tournament rollercoaster: Two days after shocking No. 10 Arkansas by climbing out of a 16-point hole and then winning in overtime to reach the Elite Eight, Texas Tech coughed up a 75-66 lead with three minutes to play and lost 84-79 to the Gators. Walter Clayton Jr. and Thomas Haugh combined for 50 points for Florida, including multiple key makes down the stretch, as Tech failed to seal the deal and reach the second Final Four in program history.

The Big Ten

With Michigan State losing to Auburn, the Big Ten will fail to put a team in the semifinals for the fourth time in the past five tournaments. That’s part of an even larger drought that hangs over the league: No team from the Big Ten has won the national championship since the Spartans in 2000. Another three teams failed to advance past the Sweet 16 in Purdue, Michigan and No. 4 Maryland, which fell 87-71 to Florida.

Rick Barnes

For the second year in a row, Tennessee’s season ended in the regional final. Yes, this is a trend under coach Rick Barnes, who made the Final Four at Texas in 2003 but has gone 0-4 in the Elite Eight since. While Barnes’ work at Tennessee has been terrific overall — he’s steadily built the program into an annual championship contender — Sunday’s loss to the Cougars might be the most painful of his tenure in Knoxville. The Volunteers missed their first 14 attempts from deep, trailed by as many as 22 points in the first half, scored just three fastbreak points and were outscored 30-14 in the paint.

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ courtship of quarterback Aaron Rodgers continued over the weekend.

NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported Monday morning that Rodgers had a throwing session with new Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf at UCLA in recent days.

Pittsburgh acquired Metcalf in a trade with the Seahawks earlier in the offseason, adding another pass-catching weapon to its offense to pair with fellow receiver George Pickens and tight end Pat Freiermuth. He’s already putting in the work to recruit his new team’s potential new starting quarterback.

The news broke one day after ESPN reported on the current state of the Steelers’ pursuit of Aaron Rodgers.

Head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters at the annual league meetings that the team is ‘still evaluating the acquisition of a guy at the position, whether it’s free agency and/or the draft, and so we’re doing our due diligence communicating with some free agents.’

Tomlin also shared that Pittsburgh is remaining patient with Rodgers and giving him time to make a decision.

‘I don’t know that we’ve approached it from a deadline perspective,’ he said. ‘Certainly, as I mentioned, you’d like to have settled circumstances, but deadlines don’t often bring that to a head.’

Rodgers spent nearly six hours at the Steelers’ team facility on March 21, though he ultimately left the building without signing a new contract.

Pittsburgh retained none of their three quarterbacks from the 2024 season. Russell Wilson (Giants), Justin Fields (Jets) and Kyle Allen (Lions) all signed elsewhere after hitting free agency this offseason.

At the time of writing, the Steelers have two quarterbacks on their depth chart: Mason Rudolph, whom the team signed to a two-year deal earlier this month, and Skylar Thompson, who received a reserve/future contract from the Steelers in January.