The Weekend Desk Report

"As they enter the third round of the NCAA basketball tournament this weekend, the University of Connecticut Huskies have won 71 consecutive games. Seventy-one! And they won national championships in 1995, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2015 - that's 10 times in the last 21 years, and nine times in the last 15. Now, that's major news. Only it isn't . . . because this is the UConn women's team," sports economist Andrew Zimbalist writes Saturday in a New York Times Op-Ed.

"Even if this year's Huskies win the tournament, the NCAA will pretty much ignore them, too. Certainly it will neglect them financially. Over at the men's tournament, the NCAA pays for success: Each game a team plays (not including the championship) earns the team's conference roughly $260,000 this year plus $260,000 each of the five following years. So the total value of a victory in the men's tournament is approximately $1.56 million. By contrast, a win in the women's tournament brings a reward of exactly zero dollars. That's right, zero dollars."

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One of the teams playing in the women's Sweet Sixteen on Saturday is DePaul University - a team that remains all but invisible to Chicago sports media but is getting a fair amount of attention from the media covering opponent Oregon State. Top search results:

Game time is 5:30 p.m.

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The Return Of America's Muscle Horse
"With American Pharoah gone, California Chrome has a chance to dazzle America, capture hearts at low prices all over again," our man on the rail Tom Chambers wrote today in TrackNotes.

Tom has already e-mailed me an update:

GIDDYUP!

'Chrome did it!

Espinoza sent him right away like he was chasing a desperado and he rated in third, 3-4 wide all the way. Pulled away at the eighth pole looking VERY strong. His saddle cinch slipped too.

I really hope he comes back to America and does some real damage.

Click through to read Tom's column even if that result is in - and read to the end to learn about the tragic death of Jeff Lukas, son of famed trainer D. Wayne Lukas.

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The Sound Opinions Weekend Listening Report: "Jim and Greg are back from their annual music-finding mission to the SXSW Music and Media Conference in Austin, TX. Tune in to find out what bands will make the most noise in 2016. Later, they review a new album from Hüsker Dü leader Bob Mould."

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Weekend BeachBook

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Weekend TweetWood

This may be the worst op-Ed I've ever read https://t.co/6voykvS6xT

— Farhad Manjoo (@fmanjoo) March 26, 2016

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Sat 4/16 @EFF is in town! Join them for a FREE Surveillance Self-Defense 101 Teach-In. RSVP: https://t.co/IceSraTzol pic.twitter.com/1pBmteR81L

— Chicago Rising (@ChicagoRising) March 26, 2016

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Quit trying to make pizza squirrel happen.

— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) March 25, 2016

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"The ultimate media taboo is self-examination". @ggreenwald on the invisible victims of violence. https://t.co/2AAwKVYHhQ @the_intercept

— Lynn Dombek (@LynnDombek) March 25, 2016

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POLITICO & @michaelphirsh demonstrate that Trump/Cruz anti-Muslim bigotry is mainstream https://t.co/DPsT84cKnX pic.twitter.com/l0VlEmZxel

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) March 25, 2016

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Make. It. Stop. RT @ESPNChiCubs: https://t.co/xuq1E1ZWYK

— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) March 25, 2016

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Garry Shandling was one of my comedic heroes. https://t.co/43u6JuzIkj

— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) March 25, 2016

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Daily Mail: Band #Chicago Sings Alongside Trump At Mar-A-Lago: https://t.co/drUcxiGTGQ

— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) March 25, 2016

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The Weekend Desk Tip Line: Now you can flip.

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