The first round of the NCAA’s men’s basketball tournament started Thursday. But it won’t be the only college basketball competition worth watching this year. Two weeks ago, organizers of a new tournament planned for the fall at the MGM Arena in Las Vegas indicated they’d offer each participating school up to $2 million in NIL money that must be distributed to current athletes.

The Players Era tournament, as it’s known, isn’t competing against March Madness (not yet, at least). But as college athletics undergoes seismic, money-driven changes, it’s one model for the future. Others, intended to further enrich schools, athletic conferences and media partners, are also emerging.

The consequences are stark. By next season, March Madness could look very different. Within a decade, it could be obsolete. Fans, now settling into their sofas to watch some great basketball, should enjoy this year’s tournament as if it’s a last dance.

The NCAA’s first March Madness dance began in 1939. Since then, the organization has steadily grown its men’s basketball tournament — and the money earned by it.

As of 2023, more than 80% of the NCAA’s revenues come from the tournament. That money doesn’t simply stay with the NCAA; much of it is paid out in (roughly) $2 million “units” to athletic conferences based upon each team they qualify and win they earn. It adds up: The SEC took in $34 million worth of units last year.

But the process of getting in is where the problems start and what has long inspired discussions about alternatives to March Madness. Currently, 32 teams automatically qualify for the tournament by winning their conference tournaments. Most of the automatic qualifiers are from smaller leagues, and as a result, competitive teams from bigger conferences often don’t make the tournament, which ultimately also means the money.

This year, for example, the Big East, a long-time basketball power conference, saw three of its 20-win teams fail to qualify for the tournament. In response, the Big East has loudly complained about the NCAA’s selection process. And it’s not alone. On Wednesday, legendary Michigan State coach Tom Izzo (whose team qualified for this year’s tournament) pointedly noted that he wasn’t sure the process was good for the game.

Potential solutions are on the table. Last year, the NCAA proposed expanding the men’s basketball tournament to as many as 90 teams. It didn’t specify who would get those slots and how the money would be divided. But change in the tournament’s structure is imminent. The Athletic recently reported that the tournament will likely expand to 72 or 76 teams as soon as next year.

That’s unlikely to be a happy outcome for college basketball traditionalists. Among other problems, it may dilute the quality of play while marginalizing the importance of the regular season. Then there is the question of money. Unless the NCAA’s media partners are willing to pay for additional games, conferences would be dividing the revenue pie more finely as the tournament expands.

That leaves the biggest conferences with a different and arguably better possibility. Why not start their own post-season competition independent of the NCAA?

There’s plenty of interest available to make it happen. Last year, Fox Sports proposed a tournament featuring teams from the Big 12, Big East and Big Ten conferences that don’t make the NCAA tournament. Money would be a significant factor if Fox or somebody else wanted to take the next step and lure schools and conferences away altogether.

But the funds seem to be available. By one account, the NCAA undervalued its most recent sale of its men’s March Madness rights by as much as $9 billion through the early 2030s. The most recent sale of the women’s tournament may have under-valued it by nearly $50 million a year. If they wanted to do it, the major conferences would have no trouble finding sponsors, private equity and media rights partners.

There’s ample precedent that it could work, too. The College Football Playoff is owned and operated by 10 athletic conferences, plus the University of Notre Dame. CFP — not the NCAA — decides who participates and how the money is divided. On Wednesday, it completed a new, six-year agreement with ESPN that will pay it $1.3 billion annually.

It’s not just the schools and conferences that can potentially benefit from this influx of money. NCAA rules do not prevent networks and other CFP sponsors from offering athletes NIL payments. A new spring basketball tournament looking for an edge over the NCAA could be the trailblazer.

The outcome would be a different kind of event that better reflects the money-driven evolution of college athletics.

It may not have the same form as the current March Madness, but the basketball matchups will be superior, and that’s the kind of madness every fan should enjoy.

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By LEA SKENE (Associated Press)

BALTIMORE (AP) — A container ship rammed into a major bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday, causing it to snap and plunge into the river below. Several vehicles fell into the chilly waters, and rescuers were searching for survivors.

Two people were rescued from the waters under the Francis Scott Key Bridge, one in serious condition, according to Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace. He said authorities “may be looking for upwards of seven people” but said that number could change. It was not clear if the two rescued were included in the seven.

It was not immediately clear what caused the cargo ship to crash into the bridge long before the busy morning commute in what one official called a “developing mass casualty event” in a major American city just outside of Washington.

The ship crashed into one of the bridge’s supports, causing the structure to snap and buckle at several points and tumble into the water in a matter of seconds — a shocking spectacle that was captured on video and posted on social media. The vessel caught fire, and thick, black smoke billowed out of it.

“Never would you think that you would see, physically see, the Key Bridge tumble down like that. It looked like something out of an action movie,” said Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, calling it “an unthinkable tragedy.”

Sonar has indicated that there are vehicles in the water, where the temperature was about 47 degrees Fahrenheit (8 degrees Celsius) in the early hours of Tuesday, according to a buoy that collects data for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Earlier, Kevin Cartwright, director of communications for the Baltimore Fire Department, told The Associated Press that several vehicles were on the bridge at the time of the collapse, including one the size of a tractor-trailer truck. The bridge came down in the middle of night when traffic would be lighter than during the day when thousands of cars traverse the span.

Cartwright called the collapse a “developing mass casualty event,” though he didn’t know at the time how many people were affected.

He added that some cargo appeared to be dangling from the bridge, which spans the Patapsco River at the entrance to a busy harbor. The river leads to the Port of Baltimore, a major hub for shipping on the East Coast. Opened in 1977, the bridge is named for the writer of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore declared a state of emergency and said he was working to get federal resources deployed. The FBI was also on the scene.

Synergy Marine Group — which owns and manages the ship called the Dali — confirmed the vessel hit a pillar of the bridge at about 1:30 a.m. while two pilots were in control. It said all crew members, including the pilots, were accounted for and there are no reports of any injuries.

The Dali was headed from Baltimore to Colombo, Sri Lanka, and flying under a Singapore flag, according to data from Marine Traffic. The container ship is about 985 feet (300 meters) long and about 157 feet (48 meters) wide, according to the website.

In 2001, a freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed in a tunnel in downtown Baltimore and caught fire, spewing black smoke into surrounding neighborhoods and forcing officials to temporarily close all major roads into the city.

___

This story has been corrected to reflect that the ship does not appear to have sunk.

Even if the Wild’s pursuit of a Western Conference playoff spot comes up empty, this season has had its share of bright spots, including the team’s general improvement since a late-November coaching change, to Marc-Andre Fleury chasing and catching NHL history.

Don’t forget Brock Faber and Marco Rossi, who have played so much and so well this season that it’s easy to forget they’re playing their first full NHL season.

With 11 regular-season games remaining, Faber ranks second in points (40) among NHL rookies and Rossi ranks second in rookie goals (20), with each trailing Chicago’s Connor Bedard — the No. 1 overall pick in last summer’s entry draft. If they take their regular spots in the lineup on Thursday against the San Jose Sharks in a 7 p.m. puck drop at Xcel Energy Center, Faber and Rossi will remain on pace to be the first Wild rookies to play a full 82-game season.

Rossi already ranks second in goals by a rookie in team history, two more in 71 games than Marian Gaborik, the franchise’s first draft pick, scored in 71 games in 2000-01. Faber has demolished the franchise rookie mark for assists, set last year by Calen Addison, with 33. Jordan Greenway owns the rookie record for games played with 81 in 2018-19.

“For your team moving forward, that’s certainly something that has to happen,” coach John Hynes said. “Particularly in the salary cap era where you have to be able to have young guys come into your lineup — lots of times, on entry level contracts.”

In last Saturday’s 5-4 overtime loss to St. Louis, the Wild played four rookies: Faber, Rossi, Marat Khusnutdinov and Adam Beckman. Rossi had two goals, Faber added the tying goal in the third and an assist.

“To have younger players in your lineup and play important roles, and not only just play but be real productive players for you, it’s certainly good for them as individuals and their confidence levels as players,” Hynes said.

Minnesota has struggled to get over the hump in its pursuit of a fourth straight postseason appearance — counting the abridged 2020 COVID-19 season — but it still has a pulse. Its six points behind eighth-place Vegas before Monday night’s games. It’s a faint pulse, but it’s a pulse, especially with two more games against Vegas on the schedule, starting Saturday at the X.

But even if the Wild fall short, there are reasons to feel good about the future, such as the team’s 29-18-5 record since Hynes replaced Dean Evason as coach on Nov. 28. And Faber and Rossi, both of whom are on the books for less than $1 million next season, are bargains for a team that will still be dealing with $14.7 million in dead cap space from the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts.

Rossi won’t catch Kirill Kaprizov’s rookie goals record of 27, but he’s only the second Wild rookie to score 20 goals in a season with the two he scored against St. Louis.

Asked about the accomplishment, Rossi said, “If we would have won the game it would be different. Yeah, it’s nice. I try to help the team.”

Faber won’t catch Kaprizov’s rookie points record of 51, but the former Gophers star has been nothing short of a revelation — a big, responsible defenseman who runs the top power-play unit and already displays the maturity that makes players a captain.

“He’s mature in a lot of ways,” Hynes said. “I think he’s physically mature, to be able to play the way that he plays and handle the situations he’s been in this year as a first-year pro, but I also think when I talk to him, I think he’s a great teammate. He’s coachable. He’s accountable to himself, but he’s also accountable I think to the team game.

“It’s hard to find … that combination sometimes as a young guy, but he has it.”