The NCAA eyes an Indianapolis bubble for March Madness
17 November 2020
The NCAA announced Monday that it will consolidate March Madness to a single city in 2021, likely Indianapolis.
Why it matters: The NCAA lost $375 million when it canceled March Madness this past spring, and with COVID-19 surging heading into the winter, utilizing a bubble could be the only way to successfully complete the event.
The state of play: The 13 cities originally slated to host preliminary round games will have to wait until 2022 or beyond to get another chance.
- The cities missing out include Brooklyn; Dallas; Detroit; Denver; San Jose, California; Minneapolis; Memphis, Tennessee; Raleigh, North Carolina; Lexington, Kentucky; Wichita, Kansas; Dayton, Ohio; Boise, Idaho; Providence, Rhode Island.
- Indianapoliswas supposed to host the Final Four. Now, it could host the entire 68-team tournament.
Possible locations: Assuming each arena can handle four games per day (noon, 3pm, 6pm, 9pm), then even during the packed first round (16 games per day) they shouldn't need more than four arenas. Some options that could work:
- Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the NFL's Colts
- Hinkle Fieldhouse, Butler University
- Indiana Farmers Coliseum, IUPUI
- IUPUI Gymnasium, IUPUI
Of note: The NBA season will be in full swing, so the Pacers' home court, Bankers Life Fieldhouse, isn't an option. If more than four arenas are needed, smaller gyms — or ones outside the city center — could be in play.
The bottom line: The regular season could get thrown into disarray long before March arrives. But if it's completed as scheduled, a bubble awaits the 68 teams ready to go dancing.
Worth noting: No word yet on the women's tournament. Their Final Four was scheduled to be held in San Antonio.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.