Matt Zivich
bigzman3412.bsky.social
Matt Zivich
@bigzman3412.bsky.social
Love talking about men's college basketball and Atari 2600 video games. You can find my blogs at https://fortyminutesofhoopsfun.wordpress.com/ and my podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/56KBvIyAyUZcLQNLhg43Ta?si=ebe69ef7b90d4618
Pinned
Small FYI--when you see many of my blogs leading off with a Song Selection, it is for followers or those who are curious to check out some cool indie rock artists/bands. I pick a song based on my mood, so I hope you get a chance to check out the song and the albums when you get some time.
Light night again on Wednesday, as two schools remain unbeaten. Purdue rolls and the game of the night was out West.
The details are below for your reading pleasure.
Enjoy:
fortyminutesofhoopsfun.wordpress.com/2025/12/11/n...
Nebraska and Miami (Ohio) Remain Unbeaten, Purdue Back on Track
SONG SELECTION: Penny And The Shakes, song “The Holidays Are Comin” Released November 6, 2020 via Happy Owl Records Single can be found on Spotify Two of Eight Remaining Unbeaten Teams …
fortyminutesofhoopsfun.wordpress.com
December 11, 2025 at 8:00 AM
With Finals taking place this week across the country, the schedules are a bit lighter. A few exciting games stood out, especially at the Jimmy V Classic in New York. I highlight those close finishes. plus some other games of interest.
Enjoy:

fortyminutesofhoopsfun.wordpress.com/2025/12/10/m...
Michigan Remains Unbeaten, UConn and BYU Win In Jimmy V Classic
SONG SELECTION: “Santa Tell Me”, by Delacey From album Christmas Angel Released November 7, 2025 via Delicate Flower Coming into Tuesday night’s games, Michigan was one of eight t…
fortyminutesofhoopsfun.wordpress.com
December 10, 2025 at 7:02 AM
With apologies to the recently retired Lee Corso of ESPN "College Gameday" fame, the fight to purchasing the assets of Warner Bros. Discovery took a major turn on Monday morning.

The details:
fortyminutesofhoopsfun.wordpress.com/2025/12/08/n...
Not So Fast, My Online Friend
Paramount Fights Back Monday morning came the stunning news that David Ellison’s Paramount enterprise making a $108 billion cash offer for Warner Bros. Discovery. In Paramount’s press r…
fortyminutesofhoopsfun.wordpress.com
December 9, 2025 at 1:05 AM
What a huge blow for college basketball and football fans, especially in several mid-major conferences as ESPN3 is no more 😭:
cordcuttersnews.com/disney-abrup...
Disney Abruptly Shuts Down ESPN3, Moves Programing to ESPN Unlimited & Other Services | Cord Cutters News
In a surprising move that has left sports fans scrambling, Disney has quietly discontinued its long-standing ESPN3 streaming platform, folding its content into other ESPN-branded services such as the ...
cordcuttersnews.com
December 8, 2025 at 10:00 PM
ICYMI the last few days, there was some news off the court. Plus, a familiar theme of a team who got snubbed from the CFP. Notre Dame joins some other football teams, and dozens of basketball teams being the first team out.
Plenty to dive into:
fortyminutesofhoopsfun.wordpress.com/2025/12/08/n...
News And Notes From The Last Week Worth Mentioning
Such is the case that life often gets in the way, especially during the holiday season. Even with Notre Dame on Sunday afternoon deciding to skip playing in a bowl game because they felt they were …
fortyminutesofhoopsfun.wordpress.com
December 8, 2025 at 8:23 AM
After a tense Saturday in college football, the first huge Saturday in college hoops saw a upset in West Lafayette, Indiana as part of a CBS tripleheader (Louisville beat Indiana, Memphis shocked Baylor). Why? Because they no longer carry the SEC:
fortyminutesofhoopsfun.wordpress.com/2025/12/07/i...
Iowa State Steamrolls Purdue, Michigan, Arizona Roll To Easy Wins
SONG SELECTION: Hayley Williams, song “True Believer” From the album Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party Released November 7, 2025 via Post Atlantic Top Ranked Purdue Suffers Humiliating …
fortyminutesofhoopsfun.wordpress.com
December 7, 2025 at 8:38 AM
Congress is not happy about this mega merger between Netflix and Warner Bros. Expect some major jabs in 2026, and if the merger is fully approved--higher subscription rates for subscribers:
finance.yahoo.com/news/netflix...
Netflix-Warner Bros deal faces political pushback even as company touts benefits
Some members of Congress on Friday deemed Netflix's $72 billion proposed acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery's studios and streaming unit an antitrust "nightmare" for consumers and creatives, while t...
finance.yahoo.com
December 6, 2025 at 2:40 AM
I bet soccer fans are going to be sick of waiting for the group stage to start...in over 6 months?!
In the NCAA Tournament, the first group of four schools who play in Dayton, Ohio two and three days after the draw. Thursday and Friday, 4 games each in 4 different regions, over 12 hours each day.
December 6, 2025 at 12:38 AM
Sorry to the soccer fans having to wait 90 minutes for the first country to be posted. And those weird looking balls?
It reminded me of the two hour Selection Sunday snoozefest that TBS aired in March 2018. Each school in alphabetical order. The first of the four regions started 17 minutes later.
December 6, 2025 at 12:24 AM
Made the 2018 NCAA Men's basketball tournament draw seem not as cringy. At least, those fans who attended that year in Atlanta ate some free pizza.
World Cup draw is pure Hunger Games
December 5, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix mentioned in a 2023 earnings call, “Driving folks to a theater is just not our business”.
Ladies and gentlemen, the theater is going to be on your phone, computer, or SmartTV after sealing a blockbuster deal today:

fortyminutesofhoopsfun.wordpress.com/2025/12/05/n...
Netflix Big Winner As Streamer Acquires Warner Bros.
A Movie Lover’s Paradise To Arrive Sometime in 2026 Late Thursday night, the world’s most popular streamer entered exclusive negotiations to purchase Warner Bros. and its studio and str…
fortyminutesofhoopsfun.wordpress.com
December 5, 2025 at 6:02 PM
My blog had an error last night, which showed that both the ACC and SEC were tied in their annual challenge. It was not to be the case, so I made the correction below.
I found our the correct result via a podcast. I apologize for the error.
fortyminutesofhoopsfun.wordpress.com/2025/12/04/s...
SEC Wins ACC/SEC Challenge 9-7
SONG SELECTION: Ratboys, song “What’s Right?” From the upcoming album Singin’ To An Empty Chair To be released Friday, February 6, 2026 via Ratboys LLC under exclusive licen…
fortyminutesofhoopsfun.wordpress.com
December 4, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Here’s my #SpotifyWrapped
December 4, 2025 at 4:22 AM
In a dominant night for the ACC, a pair classic games in Lexington and Durham had true tournament vibes. Rock. Chalk. Jayhawk is slumping. That and the Big Ten started conference play.

Enjoy my Tuesday recap, and please leave some comments:
fortyminutesofhoopsfun.wordpress.com/2025/12/03/u...
UConn Steals One In The Phog, UNC Outlasts Kentucky, and Duke Barely Survives Over Florida
SONG SELECTION: Melody’s Echo Chamber, “In The Stars” From the upcoming album Unclouded To be released on Friday, December 5, 2025 via Domino ACC/SEC Challenge Had An Exciting Sta…
fortyminutesofhoopsfun.wordpress.com
December 3, 2025 at 8:26 AM
A busy news day on Monday spilling over into Tuesday, which leads to a huge night of hoops on the hardwood.

Here's what you need to know in my latest edition of...
fortyminutesofhoopsfun.wordpress.com/2025/12/02/n...
News and Notes The December 2 Edition
Is Everyone Back Home From Turkey Break? Every Thanksgiving is the same: It comes at you in the early part of the week, rushing around to get all of the ingredients, hoping the turkey is thawing, a…
fortyminutesofhoopsfun.wordpress.com
December 2, 2025 at 11:44 PM
For those who missed my earlier update on what happened in college hoops last week, here you go:
fortyminutesofhoopsfun.wordpress.com/2025/12/01/f...
Feast Week Review
Players Era Festival Provided Lots of Fun, Maui and the Bahamas Turned Out To Be Mostly a Snoozefest Hope everyone in the United States had a nice and safe Thanksgiving celebration. I kept mine dow…
fortyminutesofhoopsfun.wordpress.com
December 2, 2025 at 11:43 PM
I noticed during the women's volleyball Selection Show that every school had a watch party except three: Stanford, Princeton, and BYU (obviously). The very cool watch party belonged to Cal Poly, as the Lady Mustangs watched the draw in the warm California sunshine (how lucky those ladies must be.)
November 30, 2025 at 11:56 PM
For Small Business Saturday, I am offering many items with discounted prices. Stock up on Christmas decorations, plus many other great items at my eBay store.
* U.S. Buyers Only *.

www.ebay.com/str/acesplac...
Security Measure | eBay
www.ebay.com
November 29, 2025 at 8:36 PM
When I think of Black Friday, I think of this:

youtu.be/O4irXQhgMqg?...
The Rolling Stones - Paint It, Black (Official Lyric Video)
YouTube video by ABKCOVEVO
youtu.be
November 29, 2025 at 3:34 AM
A huge media story worth checking on with Paramount accepting three bids last week. Puck senior correspondent John Ourand interviewed Axios Media Correspondent Sara Fischer on the third YouTube podcast "The Varsity".

Definitely worth checking out:
youtu.be/XEzQ3SjHLP8?...
The Vox - Netflix Podquake & ESPN's Détente // PUCK presents The Varsity Podcast with John Ourand
YouTube video by NESN
youtu.be
November 24, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Happy Turkey Week, to all of my readers in the United States.
Here is your annual guide to the biggest tournaments, including a few that are starting as I posted this.

Enjoy the games wherever your travels take you, and Happy Thanksgiving:
fortyminutesofhoopsfun.wordpress.com/2025/11/24/f...
Feast Week Provides Huge Buffet of Fun Hoops Action
The best week outside of March is a true smorgasbord of basketball that even casual fans should check out between bites of turkey, stuffing, vegetables, and my favorite side dish–homemade cra…
fortyminutesofhoopsfun.wordpress.com
November 24, 2025 at 6:36 PM
MTE's started this past week, and there were some good games that many people missed out on.
I provide a brief recap, as an appetizer to the real fun that starts on Monday afternoon:
fortyminutesofhoopsfun.wordpress.com/2025/11/23/b...
Brief Recap of Some Big Games From Last Week
Wednesday had some history made with Arizona stunning UConn in Storrs 71-67. The call from FS1: More stats about the stunning win from Jeff Borzello of ESPN.com: Arizona (5-0) dominated inside in t…
fortyminutesofhoopsfun.wordpress.com
November 24, 2025 at 5:03 AM
Your recap from Tuesday, minus seeing Rece Davis and the college football crew stuffed way up in the upper rafters inside Madison Square Garden inbetween games of the annual State Farm Champions Classic:
fortyminutesofhoopsfun.wordpress.com/2025/11/19/d...
Duke Outlasts Kansas, Michigan State With Surprise Win Over Kentucky
SONG SELECTION: Kacey Musgraves, song “Too Good To Be True” From the album Deeper Well Released March 15, 2024 via UMG Records, Inc. At the State Farm Champions Classic in New York, Duk…
fortyminutesofhoopsfun.wordpress.com
November 19, 2025 at 7:57 AM