MON SIX

The actor, known as "The Great One," shared two children with his first wife, dancer Genevieve Halford. The pair wed in 1936 and welcomed their first child, daughter Geraldine, in 1939. Three years later, their second daughter, Linda, was born.

Although Gleason and Halford remained legally married until filing for divorce in 1968, they separated in 1951.

Following their separation, the couple lived apart, with Gleason living in a hotel while his estranged wife lived in an apartment with the kids. While he did visit, he was described as somewhat of an absentee father.

"I can barely remember Dad showing up at Christmas and other times. It seemed like he would only stay a half hour or so," his daughter Geraldine recalled to biographer James Bacon in his 1985 book,How Sweet It Is: The Jackie Gleason Story.

Still, they looked forward to his visits and his attention. "We were always glad to see him," she said.

Geraldine went on to say that as they got older, she and her sister Linda saw their father's absence in a different light. "He's not your average father. We know that now," she said. "We know he loves us in his own special way and we love him."

Here's everything to know about Jackie Gleason's two children, Geraldine and Linda.

Geraldine Gleason Chutuk

Gleason welcomed his first child, daughter Geraldine Gleason, at the age of 23 on July 31, 1939. She was named after her mother's sister.

According toHow Sweet It Is: The Jackie Gleason Story, fatherhood made a strong impression on the actor. "That baby did something to Jackie," his cousin Renée said. "He came home after his show so he could play with his daughter at the two a.m. feeding."

Gleason and Halford separated for the first time after the birth of their second child in the early 1940's before reconciling in 1948. The couple even had a second wedding ceremony to mark their reconciliation, and the family moved together to Hollywood while Gleason pursued his acting career.

Ultimately, their marriage didn't work, and they officially separated in 1951. Speaking to Bacon for his biography, Geraldine recalled that she and her sister, Linda, didn't see their dad as much after that second and final separation.

"As kids, it hurt us some that we didn't have a full-time father. It doesn't hurt us now because as we got older, we realized that our father has a built-in shyness that won't allow him to get close to anyone, not even those he loves," she said.

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"We know now that he always loved us but had a hard time showing affection," she continued. "Sometimes he would express that love in lavish gifts. We never wanted for anything in all our lives. My dad is extremely generous."

Geraldine ultimately grew up in both New York City and Los Angeles, attending the Marymount School in N.Y. and Marymount College in Palos Verdes, Calif.

In September 1961, Geraldine married agent John Chutuk. They welcomed a son in 1964.

Linda Miller

Gleason and Halford welcomed their second daughter, Linda, in 1942.

Unlike her older sister, who has preferred to stay out of the spotlight, Linda chose to follow in her famous father's footsteps. As a child, she acted alongside him in a few scenes of his variety series,Cavalcade of Stars. She then went on to pursue her own successful career in the entertainment industry.

Linda acted in films and television shows and was nominated for a Tony Award for her role in the Broadway playBlack Picture Show.

Despite her father's standing in Hollywood, he never helped her get a job or an agent. In fact, in an August 1983 interview with UPI,Linda shared that Gleason really didn't want her to take after him career-wise.

"He didn't encourage me to go into show business because he didn't want to see me hurt, rejected, put down and turned down," she said.

Still, he had a big influence on her decision. "By example, he showed me that if you believe enough, it can happen. And I think to a certain extent talent is genetic," she said.

In 1963, Linda married actor and playwright Jason Miller, known for writing the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playThat Championship Seasonand for his Oscar-nominated performance as Father Damien Karras inThe Exorcist.

They welcomed three children together, Jennifer, Jason and Jordan Miller, before divorcing in 1973 after ten years of marriage.

In 2024, their youngest child,Jordan Miller, was tragically killed after being struck by a bus in New Jersey. Their middle child, meanwhile, who goes by the nameJason Patric, has found a successful acting career of his own and is known for his roles in films likeThe Lost BoysandMy Sister's Keeper.

Read the original article onPeople

Michigan Synagogue Attack

Just last week, there was unified condemnation of the attack by a man who drove his pickuptruck into a Detroit-area synagoguewhere more than 100 children were attending a preschool program. The driver, who had lost family members during an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon, exchanged gunfire with a guard before killing himself, according to the FBI.

"To hold American Jews — let alone children in a preschool — accountable for the actions of a foreign government is a dangerous double standard that we don't apply today to any other group," said Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of theUnion for Reform Judaism. "One can be deeply critical of the policies of the State of Israel and still recognize that targeting synagogues or any Jewish institutions with violence is not political protest; it is antisemitism, plain and simple."

Jewish author and commentator Peter Beinart also denounced the attack, while reiterating his vehement criticism of Israeli policy inGaza, theWest Bankand elsewhere.

"No matter what Israel does, no matter how immoral or brutal or horrifying, it doesn't justify attacking a synagogue or justifying attacking American Jews in any way," he said this week on his podcast. "Americans are not responsible for the actions of foreign governments or foreign organizations, just because they share a religion, an ethnic national ancestry, a race."

A debate over displaying pro-Israel signs

Beinart added, however, that U.S. synagogues displaying "We stand with Israel" signs should take them down "because those signs make the congregants less safe and because they're immoral."

Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, has numerous policy differences with Israeli government, yet said she wouldn't ask that "We stand with Israel" signs be taken down.

"We live in a country where people are entitled to their beliefs," she said. "No one should have to risk violence because they're expressing them."

It's important, Spitalnick said, for Jews to acknowledge that these interrelated issues are nuanced.

"I believe deeply in the need for a Jewish homeland," she said. "And I have fundamental disagreements with this government, the humanitarian crisis it created in Gaza."

Beth Kissileff, a journalist whose husband survived the2018 Pittsburgh synagogue attackthat claimed 11 lives, agrees the issues are complex.

"On the one hand, I do feel the fates of Jews the world over are linked," she said. "On the other hand, I don't feel it's fair for Jews the world over to be the proxies for the actions of the government of Israel."

She noted that she and many others strongly disagree with various actions of Israel's current government. She faulted its failure to curb Israeli settlers who areattacking West Bank Palestiniansand its policies favoring Orthodox over non-Orthodox expressions of Judaism.

But scapegoating Jews because of Israel is unacceptable, she said.

"It's outrageous to take anything out on anyone," she said. "It's outrageous that Iranian schoolgirls were killed," she added, referring to the apparent U.S.missile strikebased on faulty intelligence, which killed many children, both boys and girls. "I'm outraged when any innocent life is taken."

Outrage over blaming Jews for the Israeli government's actions

Even so, Kissileff said, antisemites will find any excuse — whether Israel or something else — to attack Jews.

Her husband, Jonathan Perlman, is rabbi of New Light Congregation. It was one of three Pittsburgh congregations to lose members in the2018 synagogue attack, the deadliest antisemitic massacre in U.S. history. The gunman, now on federal death row, claimed to be outraged by Jewish support for refugee resettlement.

At Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, Nicole Guzik serves jointly as senior rabbi along with her husband, Erez Sherman. While they try to avoid broaching politics from the pulpit, they have convened events designed so congregants hear diverse views.

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Like many rabbis nationwide, they are dismayed by the high cost of security for their Conservative synagogue — more than $1 million a year. A surge in criticism of Israel and anti-Israel protests, triggered by its war in Gaza following Hamas' deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack, have at times spilled over into violence, prompting synagogues and Jewish institutions to beef up security.

"But we are going to live as Jews as proudly as possible," Guzik said. "There's no reason Jews should not be able to express their love for their homeland. ... A love for Israel is intrinsic to Jewish belief."

Motti Seligson, director of public relations for Chabad-Lubavitch, an Orthodox Jewish movement, also lamented the need for stringent security measures. But he welcomed another trend, saying many Jews are strengthening ties to their religion and other Jews worldwide following the Hamas attack.

"This is something that we've been seeing from Oct. 7, just a tremendous amount of people who want to connect with their faith and connect with their people," Seligson said.

Conflation of anti-Zionism and antisemitism challenges Jewish communities

Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove of Park Avenue Synagogue, a large Conservative congregation in New York, said Jews have "grown uncomfortably accustomed to this new reality," including the recent attacks in Michigan andAustralia.

It shows, he said, "the blurred line between anti-Zionism and antisemitism, the frightening manner by which violent rhetoric becomes violent action, and the enabling that occurs when people in authority refuse to draw clear moral lines."

Cosgrove, author of "For Such a Time as This: On Being Jewish Today," said Jews have an ancient connection to the land of Israel, even while many are critical of specific actions of its leaders.

"As a proud Zionist, an expression of that love of Israel can come and oftentimes does come in the form of dissent with the Israeli government," Cosgrove said. "Love of Israel ... is different from love of the Israeli government. And the problem of this moment is that it's all being conflated into one."

He was grateful that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul visited the congregation last week, advocating for proposed legislation requiring a buffer zone where demonstrations would be prohibited near houses of worship. It followed recent anti-Israel protests outside New York synagogues.

"I urged my community that, shocked as we were, we need to be mobilized, not paralyzed," Cosgrove said.

Israel's historical role figures in the debate

Israel was founded 1948 as a homeland and refuge for the world's Jews in the wake of the Holocaust. Its leaders consider themselves representatives, partners and defenders of Jewish communities around the world.

Mark Mazower, a history professor at Columbia University, last year published "On Antisemitism: A Word in History," tracing how the meaning of "antisemitism" had evolved since the word was coined in the 19th century. He asserts that gradually, after Israel's founding in 1948, antisemitism was applied with increasing frequency to hostility to Israel.

Over the same period, Mazower notes, many U.S. Jews and the major organizations that served them closely embraced Israel — a trend that now has fueled divisions within the U.S. Jewish community over whether to support or criticize various Israeli policies in the Middle East.

"It's obviously wrong to blame all Jews everywhere for what Israel does," Mazower said. "Yet large American Jewish organizations have wrapped themselves in the Israeli flag and said it's the duty of American Jews to stand with Israel."

Among those organizations is the Anti-Defamation League, which last year reported that incidents related to Israel constituted — for the first time — more than half of the antisemitic incidents in itsannual tally.

"We will not apologize for our love and support for the Jewish state of Israel. Not now, not ever," the ADL's CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, told the organization's national conference this week.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP'scollaborationwith The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

APTOPIX Congress Homeland Security Mullin

At a rally later that year, Trump invited the Oklahoma Republican and his son on stage. He afterward asked Jim Mullin, then 15 years old, to sit on his lap and tell him about his rehabilitation. Trump had taken a special interest in the teenager, offering to fly the family to medical specialists and pay for treatments.

"You know, someone loves your kids, you're going to love that guy forever," Mullin told a crowd at a campaign rally in 2024. "He's a friend of yours."

It's a relationship poised to grow even closer as Mullin, 48, prepares to join Trump's cabinet asthe next leaderof the Department of Homeland Security, the massive agency whoseimmigration crackdownbecame a target of widening criticism under Noem, who wasfired earlier this month.

Trump's selection of Mullin, one of his fiercest defenders in the U.S. Senate, is a reflection of a president who places high value on loyalty and personal relationships. The goal is to steady a department vital to Trump's centerpiece policy of mass deportations with a trusted ally.

During hisSenate confirmation hearingWednesday, Mullin was asked to describe how his connection with Trump came about.

Mullin said he'd try to tell the story without crying and then relayed the details of how his son woke up after the injury a "different kid." He couldn't touch his nose or do basic math equations and had short-term memory loss, Mullin explained.

Throughout the family's ordeal, Mullin said the president would call and ask how his son was doing.

"He was running in one of the toughest elections he had been in, and the guy was still that concerned about my son," said Mullin. "We were acquaintances before that. We've been friends ever since."

Mullin is one of the few people who can disagree with Trump and still maintain his respect, said Mike Stopp, the senator's former chief of staff.

"He has no problem telling the president what he thinks," he said. "They're at that point in their relationship."

From a frustrated business owner to a member of Congress

Mullin was 34 and the owner of a fast-growing plumbing company in 2012 when he decided to run for an open seat in Oklahoma's sprawling 2nd Congressional District, which stretches from the foothills of the Ozark Mountains to the Red River border with Texas.

A political newcomer, Mullin was particularly upset with a provision of the Affordable Care Act that would have mandated providing health insurance to his employees, said Trebor Worthen, Mullin's campaign adviser at the time.

"Markwayne was fed up," Worthen recalled.

In the largely rural district, Mullin's hiring of blue-collar workers and his experience in cattle ranching resonated with voters in both parties and gave him an everyman appeal. "Anybody who lives in Oklahoma or who has family in Oklahoma, you know somebody like Markwayne Mullin," said Worthen, who spent a year traveling the district with Mullin in a red diesel pickup truck.

Mullin won handily and vowed to only serve three terms in Congress —a promise he brokewhen he announced plans to run again in 2018, saying he "didn't understand politics" when he made the pledge. Despitesome criticism, he easily won reelection and served a total of five House terms before joining the Senate in 2023.

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Mullin is a MAGA loyalist who is close to some Democrats

After arriving in Washington, Mullin was known for forging friendships with Democrats, many of which he developed while leading early-morning workouts inside the members-only House gym.

A former mixed martial arts fighter and collegiate wrestler, Mullin grew close to powerful players in both parties during the fitness sessions. His workout partners have included former Massachusetts Democratic congressman Joe Kennedy III, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Noem.

"What I like about him is he's willing to not just share his views but to listen to yours, which really helps when you're trying to get something done, especially in a bipartisan way," said U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat from New Jersey who met Mullin through the workout group and considers him a close friend. Gottheimer was at Mullin's confirmation hearing in a show of support.

Also there in support? The manMullin almostgot into a brawl with during a 2023 Senate hearing: Sean O'Brien, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. He sat directly behind Mullin at Wednesday's hearing, during which Mullin said the two had worked through their differences and that he considered O'Brien a "close friend."

Since joining the Senate, Mullin has taken a leading role in amplifying Trump's messages in the hallways of the Capitol and behind closed doors. He tamped down concerns over cabinet picks, includingNoemandDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth. And he has helped Senate Republican leaders navigate the occasionally tricky relationship with his former colleagues in the House, walking across the Capitol to deliver messages from one side to the other.

He also supported Trump's failed attempt to overturn the 2020 election, casting his vote in the House even after helping confront rioters during the Jan. 6attack by Trump supporterson the Capitol.

Mullin led a group of Republicans who helped police barricade the doors to the House as lawmakers huddled inside. As a group of rioters tried to break down the doors, Mullin talked to them through the broken glass in the doorway and tried to convince them to retreat.

He later visited police officers who were injured in the attack.

"They weren't cowards. They stood the line and took a beating," Mullin told C-SPAN in a 2021 interview.

Mullin is a staunch supporter of Trump's immigration crackdown

Mullin has cheered on construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall and defended federal immigration agents following the fatalshootings of two U.S. citizensin Minnesota. He said on NBC's "Meet The Press" last summer that children born in the U.S. to immigrants living in the country illegally should be deported along with their parents.

Stopp said the senator has needed immigrant labor while running the family plumbing business. "He hired folks who were on visas. He helped them go through the citizenship process. He was very proud of that," Stopp said.

Mullin, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, would be the first Native American person to lead the agency. His role as DHS secretary would give him authority over the training of federal immigration agents, who have come under criticism for stopping, andin some cases detaining, tribal citizens or calling into question their tribal IDs.

"He should meet with tribal leaders and say, 'Let me hear your concerns,'" said Patrice Kunesh, a former commissioner of the Administration for Native Americans during the Biden administration and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. She also hopes Mullin would institute better training for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on identifying tribal IDs.

"Direct consultation with tribal governments, tribal leaders, would be incredibly important," she said.

Mary Clare Jalonick and Rebecca Santana contributed to this report from Washington.

Leo penned a special message marking the 10th anniversary of Francis' 2016 document"The Joy of Love."He called the text a "luminous message of hope" that is even more relevant and urgent today than it was a decade ago.

When it was released, "The Joy of Love" immediately sparked controversy because it opened the door to letting civilly remarried Catholics receive Communion.

Church teaching holds that unless these Catholics obtain an annulment — a church decree that their first marriage was invalid — they cannot receive the sacraments, since they are seen as living in sin and committing adultery.

Francis didn't create a church-wide pass for these Catholics, but suggested — in vague terms and a strategically placed footnote — that bishops and priests could do so on a case-by-case basis after accompanying them on a spiritual journey of discernment. Subsequent comments and writings made clear Francis intended such wiggle room, part of his belief that God's mercy extends in particular to sinners and that the Eucharist isn't a prize for the perfect but nourishment for the weak.

The document became one of the most divisive of Francis' pontificate and in many ways became thefocal point of conservative oppositionto his pontificate. It prompted a wave of criticism from mostly conservative Catholics, who said it had sown confusion among the faithful about the church's teaching on the indissolubility of marriage.

Leo strongly endorses Francis' message

But in his message Thursday marking the anniversary, Leo strongly endorsed Francis' text. He cited the Chapter VIII, which contained Francis' opening on the divorce question, though he didn't explicitly refer to access to the sacraments or Francis' footnote No. 351.

In the text, Francis had told priests that they cannot merely apply moral laws to people in "irregular" situations. Rather, he said the church should help people who are in a technical state of sin, especially when there are mitigating factors at play.

In the related footnote No. 351, Francis elaborated that "in certain cases, this can include the help of the sacraments." He told priests that "the confessional must not be a torture chamber, but rather an encounter with the Lord's mercy" and that the Eucharist "is not a prize for the perfect, but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak."

"On this tenth anniversary, we give thanks to the Lord for the stimulus that has encouraged reflection and pastoral conversion in the Church, and ask God for the courage to persevere on this path," Leo wrote.

He summoned the presidents of bishops conferences to Rome for a meeting in October to decide next steps to minister to families today "in light of 'The Joy of Love' and taking into account what is currently being done in the local churches."

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A document that leads to claims of heresy

Francis' document sharply divided the church.

Within the first year of publication, four conservative cardinals formally asked Francis to clarify certain questions, or "dubia," raised by the text. They argued church doctrine held that Catholics who remarried without a church annulment were living in sin and couldn't receive the sacraments.

He never replied.

For a variety of reasons, such annulments often cannot be obtained though Francis issueda separate reformto simplify, facilitate and accelerate the process.

The following year, a petition of conservative Catholic theologiansaccused Francis of heresy.

But others embraced the text. Bishops from Francis' native Buenos Aires issued a set of criteria to apply Chapter VIII that clearly allowed for civilly remarried Catholics to receive Communion, especially if the person in question isn't responsible for the failed first marriage, while stressing it was not a free-for-all "as if any situation were to sufficiently justify it."

Francis ordered the Argentine criteria published as an official act of the Vatican and wrote a letter to the bishops declaring their interpretation authoritative. "The document is excellent and clearly sets out the meaning of Chapter VIII," he wrote. "There are no other interpretations."

The Maltese church, for its part, issued its own set of guidelines that were published in the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, in another indication of Holy See approval.

The Maltese guidelines say that if a Catholic in a new civil union believes, after a path of spiritual discernment searching for God's will, that he or she can be at peace with God, "he or she cannot be precluded from participating in the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist."

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP'scollaborationwith The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Acuff, the Razorbacks star freshman guard, scored 49 points against the Crimson Tide, all while dealing with an ankle injury that required him to wear a boot when he wasn't playing. Given the performance he had in 50 minutes of action, Calipari suggested sitting out the next game against Missouri.

That didn't sit well with Acuff.

"We lost, I'm not sitting out," he told his coach.

Bold predictions:March Madness top upset picks, surprises, sleepers

More:March Madness a stage for 3-way race for NBA draft's No. 1 pick

Thus began the weeklong contest between a coach desperate to get his leading scorer off his legs and a player adamant on not missing anything.

The tug-of-war finally swayed in Calipari's favor on the final week of the regular season, getting Acuff to sit out the finale against Missouri. Even then, "we had to go back and forth," Calipari said.

While Acuff didn't want to miss a thing, Calipari was thinking of the big picture.Arkansashad the SEC tournament coming up and March Madness right after. Of course you want your star 100% for that.

So, Calipari took a page from the pros.

"I took a chance. We did the NBA load management," he said.

A chance well-taken.

It's a wonder what a little rest can do. Acuff healed up, and showcased what he can do at full strength with an SEC tournament performance for the ages. In three games, he averaged 30.3 points and 7.6 assists, running hog wild to getArkansas' first conference tournament titlesince 2000.

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"We needed him in the SEC tournament run to be that guy," Calipari said. "So I'm glad I did it."

Acuff has been exceptional all season for the Razorbacks. You don't get named SEC freshman of the year for nothing, especially averaging 22.2 points and 6.4 assists per game.

There have been little snippets of load management trickling its way to the college level, notably with Kansas guard Darryn Peterson andConnecticut women's star Sarah Strong.

Acuff's run in Nashville showed how it can work, showcasing a clutch gene that is so rare to find at this level. Not only is he another recognizable freshman, but he may just be the best player in the whole sport.

He certainly has the attention of Arkansas' first round opponent Hawai'i, who now have the difficult task of trying to stop a guy that is scorching. Rainbow Warriors guard Dre Bullock said the team isn't scared of anybody and "everybody's excited to guard" Acuff, but "it's a great challenge for us."

In the preparations, Arkansas' opponent can't help but marvel at the play.

"Not too often, a lot of times you see these point-of-attack guys that score 20-plus points a game. Maybe the play making isn't there or the shooting isn't there. This is a guy scoring 20, 25 a game. Obviously he had some big games, playing a lot of minutes as a freshman at the most important position," said Hawai'i coach Eran Ganot. "The way he does it with six, seven assists a game efficiently. The way he shoots it, gets guys involved. Makes big plays.

"How can you not respect him from afar?" he added.

VCU Rams (27-7)
VCU closed the season with a 21-3 record over the final 24 games and won 16 of its last 17 games. A matchup against No. 6 North Carolina in the first round, before a potential matchup against No. 3 Illinois, sets up the Rams as well as an 11-seed can be set up.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Miami (Ohio) RedHawks (31-1)
With 90.7 points per game, Miami was second in the nation in points per game, trailing only Alabama, while leading the nation with 52.4% shooting from the field.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> South Florida Bulls (24-8)
South Florida enters the NCAA Tournament on an 11-game winning streak. winning the American Conference tournament championship game 70-55 over Wichita State.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Troy Trojans (22-11)
Troy could be the biggest Cinderella this year after winning back-to-back Sun Belt tournament titles.  Nebraska is officially on upset alert with a matchup against Troy.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Saint Louis Billikens (28-5)
Saint Louis can light up the scoreboard, averaging 87.2 points per game, and ranking among the national leaders in 3-pointers per game.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> High Point Panthers (30-4)
The Panthers offense is explosive enough to threaten any higher seed it faces. They average 90 points per game shooting 49.1% from the field.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

March Madness bracket busters eye the next big upset

VCU Rams (27-7)VCU closed the season with a 21-3 record over the final 24 games and won 16 of its last 17 games. A matchup against No. 6 North Carolina in the first round, before a potential matchup against No. 3 Illinois, sets up the Rams as well as an 11-seed can be set up.

Acuff is the exact player Calipari has needed to get his March Madness mojo back. After the surprise run to the Sweet 16 in his first season with the Hogs got him to the second weekend of theNCAA Tournamentfor the first time since 2019, he is trying to break his 11-year Final Four drought.

Even better, Acuff will enter the NCAA Tournament not having worn a boot "for a while," according to his coach.

When those close games reach the final minutes, or "winning time," as Acuff calls it, he becomes the most dangerous man on the court, on a warpath to victory.

"Whatever I need to do to get our team to win, whether it's me passing or me shooting or getting a stop, I'm going to do it," he said.

A hot run sparked by a tussle between Calipari and Acuff. In this battle, the point goes to coach.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:How John Calipari prepared Darius Acuff Jr for March Madness

His club said in a statement after Wednesday's game that Osimhen took a knock on his right arm during the first half at Anfield. He remained on the pitch until halftime but could not resume after the interval due to a suspected fracture.

"After the match, a hospital examination, under the supervision of our medical team, confirmed a fracture of the right forearm, and a cast was applied," Galatasaray said. "A decision regarding a possible surgical procedure will be made in the coming days after further tests."

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Liverpool overturned a 1-0 first-leg deficit to set up a quarterfinal against trophy holder Paris Saint-Germain.

AP soccer:https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

This time a year ago, the Sharks were still stinging from a loss to Saint Francis in the Northeast Conference semifinals after finishing second in the league standings during the regular season.

A rocky, step-by-step construction process has led to Friday, when Strickland and the No. 16 Sharks will face No. 1 seed Arizona as heavy underdogs in the opening round of the Men's NCAA TournamentWest Region.

Bold predictions:Best March Madness upset picks, Final Four sleeper

"I was just looking for LIU on that board," Strickland said on Selection Sunday. "Actually seeing it, it's a great feeling for everyone in the room."

University of Akron:
Yvette Nicole Brown, Alexa Bliss, Dominique Moceanu, The Black Keys and George Wallace

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> California Baptist University: Brent Kutzle, Dustin-Leigh Konzelman, Kay Warren, Rick Warren and Marissa Figueroa (not pictured)

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> University of Hawaii: Bette Midler, Larry Beil, Jason Elam, Ken Niumatalolo and Barack Obama, Sr.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> High Point University: Austin Dillon, Tubby Smith, Donna Fargo, Cody Allen and Charles F. Price (not pictured)

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Howard University:
Chadwick Boseman, Thurgood Marshall, Anthony Anderson, Taraji P. Henson and Gus Johnson

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Kennesaw State University: Bron Breakker, Jasmine Burke, ReesaTeesa, Larry Nelson and theRadBrad (not pictured)

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> University of Maryland, Baltimore County: Kathleen Turner, Duff Goldman, Stavros Halkias, Young Mazino and Scott Seiss

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> University of Pennsylvania: Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Elizabeth Banks, John Legend and Maury Povich

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Prairie View A&M University: Megan Thee Stallion, Mr. T., Loni Love, Terry Ellis and Cecil Cooper

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

Actors, athletes and icons: Famous alumni from every NCAA men's tournament team

University of Akron:Yvette Nicole Brown, Alexa Bliss, Dominique Moceanu, The Black Keys and George Wallace

Over the course of Strickland's four seasons, LIU has gone from abysmal (2022-23) to flat-out bad (2023-24) to postseason contenders (2024-25) to the program's first tournament appearance since the university system consolidated its Brooklyn and Long Island athletics departments in 2019.

Simply reaching this point is the culmination of a four-year journey: LIU turned the embarrassment of Strickland's debut and the pain of last season's tournament near-miss into perhaps the most impressive rebuilding project in this year's field.

"Last year, it burnt," said senior guard Jamal Fuller. "It carried over to this year. We all made sure that this year, it wouldn't happen. We all did what we were supposed to do. From Day 1, we came in here as a group and no one tried to belittle anybody."

Building on last season's tournament miss

The seed of this unexpected NCAA appearance was planted in the days after last year's exit from the conference tournament.

The 2024-25 season was a breakthrough, sure, but the Sharks were focused on what could have been. LIU finished 17-16 overall, posting the program's first winning season since 2021-22, but lost 10 games by single digits, including three losses in overtime.

"We lost a lot of games that we should've won," Fuller said. "But we learned from it."

In the wake of the loss to Saint Francis, the Sharks gathered to outline the expectations for this season: to win the NEC regular-season championship, tournament championship and, yes, the national championship.

"That's what it's about. We started this as a unit," said Strickland. "This call to become regular-season, conference and NCAA champions. It started with all of us in a room talking about it."

By the summer, LIU had added in a seven-person recruiting class that joined key holdovers such as Fuller and fellow guard Malachi Davis, both of whom were selected to the preseason all-conference team.

"I have to give them a lot of credit for sticking with us, for believing in us," Strickland said of the Sharks' returning core.

Among the additions were guard Greg Gordon, who previously played at Alabama-Birmingham and Iona, and guard Jomo Goings, a 6-5 junior who earned all-conference accolades at Slippery Rock University.

Over the course of the summer months and preseason, the Sharks weathered early dissension as they blended the incoming class with the returning roster.

"It was a lot of, like, arguments about who was going to be who, who's going to lead or what," said Gordon. "But eventually we just kind of chose the fact that we'll prioritize winning over feelings. That's kind of been our biggest thing."

After going 6-7 in nonconference play, including road losses to future tournament teams in Illinois and Georgia, the Sharks won 11 of 12 to open NEC action and fulfilled their promise as the league's unanimous preseason favorite.

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"At the end of the day, that's what this is all about," said Strickland. "Giving them the best experience we've had and we're having."

A major gamble has paid off for LIU, Strickland

It's not uncommon to see former NBA players leading teams into the NCAA Tournament.

Strickland is one of six in this year's field, joining Hofstra's Speedy Claxton, Central Florida's Johnny Dawkins, Nebraska's Fred Hoiberg, North Carolina's Hubert Davis and Kentucky's Mark Pope.

During his 17-year NBA career, Strickland developed a reputation as a mercurial talent who, when harnessed, could rival any of the league's top point guards. That reputation lingered into the start of Strickland's coaching career, which began as the director of basketball operations at Memphis before he served as an on-court assistant under former South Florida coach Orlando Antigua from 2014-17 and an off-court support staffer for John Calipari at Kentucky.

Despite his limited résumé, that Strickland accepted the job at LIU in 2022 represented a major gamble on both ends — the Sharks' administration was rolling the dice on an unproven coach, while Strickland was betting he could avoid the type of pitfall that could come to define his coaching career.

"I had to bet on me," he said. "And bet on that I could define the environment and try to make it work and make it happen. I was betting on me and the people I could bring around to help me elevate this place."

He rarely references his NBA career, according to players. Gordon didn't even know Strickland was "a big NBA guy" when he arrived on campus, he said; asked by a teammate if he knew of Strickland's background, Gordon replied, "Not really."

But a professional career that still clings to Strickland led to raised eyebrows when he accepted the LIU opening: Why would someone with his level of name recognition choose to make his debut as a head coach at a program miles removed from the sport's upper crust?

Because of the challenge, said Strickland.

"It's never about the job, like, itself," he said. "For me, it was about growth. I feel like I've done so many things in basketball and this was just, like, another thing to conquer. I wanted to see if I could do it. I wanted to see if I could change the environment as a head coach. More than anything, I probably came here for more personal growth than anything.

"Like, I was given an opportunity. I would never walk in somewhere and think it's beneath me. LIU was a great opportunity. And it was an opportunity to show that I could change the environment, I could help young people get better, I could help the staff."

Does LIU have a chance at upsetting Arizona?

This year's team is Strickland's most talented "as a whole," he said.

Looking ahead to the tournament, the Sharks have assets that typically play well in March: a productive and veteran backcourt, rim protection and solid perimeter defense.

Led by Fuller's 16.4 points per game, the four primary ballhandlers — Fuller, Davis, Gordon and Goings — account for 75.4% of the Sharks' scoring. All four average in double figures with at least 3.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. Goings was the only one of this group not to earn all-conference accolades.

LIU also ranks 10th nationally and third among mid-major programs with 5.4 blocks per game. It also ranks first in the NEC and 70th in the country with 7.8 steals per game and first in the NEC and 73rd nationally in allowing opponents to make 31.9% from deep.

Arizona remains a daunting challenge. The Big 12 regular-season and conference champions have gone a combined 24-2 against Quad 1 and Quad 2 competition — LIU is 0-4 in such games — and enter the tournament on a nine-game winning streak punctuated by wins against Iowa State and Houston.

"Regardless, we're going to go out there and do what we have to do," Fuller said.

While two No. 16 seeds have defeated No. 1 seeds since the tournament expanded — most recently, fellow NEC member Fairleigh Dickinson beat Purdue in 2023 — the top-ranked Wildcats opened as nearly 30-point favorites, meaning an LIU shocker would qualify as the biggest upset in tournament history by point spread.

"Opportunity is opportunity," said Strickland. "And you've got to start somewhere. Everybody's path and how it happens is just different."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:How Rod Strickland led LIU from rock bottom to NCAA Tournament 2026