I asked my kids if they could identify Big Ten mascots. They...did better than I expected?

Good morning, and thanks for spending part of your day with Extra Points.

If you've been following me on Twitter for a while, chances are, you've seen what I promise is not a regularly occurring bit: my children tweeting from my account.

This has honestly been happening for years. Tweetdeck is usually one of my open tabs, and if my computer is unattended for a moment, there's a decent chance one of my kids will wander over and start tweeting. When my girls were toddlers, those tweets were gibberish.

But my oldest is now eight years old. So sometimes, you might see tweets like this:

Matt Brown @MattBrownEP hi im matt brown from extra points also im your frend 6:29 PM • Sep 24, 2022 228 likes • 1 retweets

or this

Matt Brown @MattBrownEP its us estela and me penny 6:32 PM • Sep 24, 2022 89 likes • 1 retweets

or this

Matt Brown @MattBrownEP dont tell my dad . he is upstairs eating a sandwich 6:37 PM • Sep 24, 2022 246 likes • 4 retweets

I'm glad that my daughters are interested in the ol' family business, even though I wish they couldn't grab my account without asking. I thought about having them straight up write one of these newsletters, but that's probably a bit ambitious, even for a precocious eight-year-old. But we could do a video, right?

So, if you're interested in that sort of thing, here is a video with me and my kids, where I show them mascots in the Big Ten, and ask a) if they can guess what the school mascot is and b) if they like the mascot.

It's pretty clear my kids have mixed up the messaging in our house somehow (Penny thought Buckeyes come from Brazil which....uh...not quite), but I'm surprised at how much they've retained.

If you like it, maybe we'll do another one. If you don't like it, that's okay! There's plenty of other more Serious Professional stuff on Extra Points this week

For example, you could check out the latest Going For Two!

Bryan and I did two episodes again this week. If you missed it earlier (subscribers to Going For Two, which is free, get it in their phones on Wednesday), we talked a bit about the Colorado opening, but mostly focused on Wisconsin...what made the decision so surprising, what makes this a unique (and not that easy) gig, and how Wisconsin managed to go so long without every firing anybody:

For the Friday show, Brian and I talk a bit about the realignment updates I shared earlier in the week, what we're hearing about the status of the NCAA Transformation Committee, and then, an interview with Baylor President Dr.Linda  Livingstone on the search for the next head of the NCAA.

You can watch all of our Going For Two episodes here on YouTube, or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Here's what else we published this week:

• Like we just mentioned, I wrote about conference realignment updates yesterday, touching on the latest context I've heard about two schools considering reclassifying to D-I, as well as the most context I have around what the Big Ten is considering. I wouldn't get too wrapped up in all of that talk about fourth windows, personally.
• I interviewed the president of Van Wagner College to better understand what Multimedia Rights (NOT broadcast rights) are, why they're important, and how schools are making money from them.
• And I wrote a bit of an anti-take about Wisconsin's surprising decision to fire their football coach...and how it feels almost impossible to really predict if a coach hiring decision is a good one.

I've also been working the phones and filing the FOIAs a lot this week, trying to work on some larger, more reported stories that I hope will be ready soon!

If you want to make sure you get every Extra Points newsletter, be sure to upgrade to a paid subscription for just eight bucks a month, or $75 for the whole dang year. It's the best way to support Extra Points.

Thanks for reading, everybody. I'll see you next week.

This week's Extra Points is brought to you in part by Good Seeds, a company recently started by one of my best friends:

Interested in teaching your kid skills for on and off the field? Check out Good Seeds.

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To sponsor a future Extra Points newsletter, please email sales@extrapointsmb.com.  For article ideas, newsletter feedback, FOIA tips, athlete NIL sponsorships and more, I'm at matt@extrapointsmb.com, or @MattBrownEP on Twitter, and @ExtraPointsMB on Instagram.