Welcome to the Final Four of Take Madness! We are down to four talented writers, and you, the readers, can vote for who should make it to the championship. Read below and vote on Instagram and X!

For the second day of the Final Four, we have the winners of the Nate Robinson and DMV regions.
Welcome to Wall Street University // Nate Robinson region winner Sean McQuillan, Staff Writer
The authenticity of college athletics has been destroyed.
To the untrained ear, that may seem harsh until you realize that, as a Pitt sports fan, those words above are crystal clear. How so? Meet public enemy number one to the University of Pittsburgh — Name, Image and Likeness.
NIL is the game-changing rule that lets student-athletes cash in on their own identity, on and off the playing field of their respective sport. For example, if you buy an Eli Holstein jersey, a portion of the money goes into his bank account. But NIL is bigger than jersey sales — so let’s take a look at the University of Pittsburgh’s side of things, shall we?
A constant debate for Pitt fans is what the future holds for the Panthers, who, seemingly at the start of the 2024 campaign, looked like a top dog in the college football world, but then it all went downhill. Why, you may ask? Well, let’s take a look at the facts.
The Panthers have demonstrated this season that money is everything, even though Pitt

isn’t an NIL powerhouse capable of acquiring the top-rated recruits and transfer portal targets.
With an annual budget of $6 million, the collective looks like it may increase its spending. With the appointment of Allen Greene as the new Director of Athletics, Pitt has made the decision to take a direct stance on revenue sharing and NIL.
However, in all honesty, Pitt will never win a college football championship — at least in my lifetime. Think about the new format that the College Football Playoff committee most recently created. Pitt would basically need to win the ACC to ever compete in the tournament, and even then, who would they play in the first round?
A Texas Longhorns team with a quarterback in Arch Manning, who is making approximately $6 million a season. That $6 million is the equivalent amount of NIL money that Pitt has obtained. To put it into perspective, Pitt would probably lose by 30 points, and that is generous.

Pittsburgh is the perfect place for Alex Ovechkin to break Gretzky’s Record // DMV region winner Thomas Simione, Staff Writer

There’s no doubt that Alex Ovechkin has cemented himself as one of the greatest goal-scorers ever. After a goal against Carolina on April 2, Ovechkin now sits at 892 goals in his career, just three goals away from passing Wayne Gretzky for the most in NHL history.

With seven games left in the season, it seems inevitable that Ovi will pass Gretzky by the end of the season. Sure, Washington seems like a great place to get the record-breaking goal, but the season finale against the Pittsburgh Penguins is a much more dramatic setting.

First of all, there’s a history between these two teams that shouldn’t be ignored. The Penguins and the Capitals have one of the most heated rivalries in the NHL, and Ovechkin making history in the Penguins’ building is all the more satisfying for Caps fans. 

The Penguins are responsible for preventing the Capitals from advancing in the playoffs several times over the past decade, so there’s no doubt that Ovechkin would play with a little extra juice, considering the opponent he’s facing. 

Secondly, how perfect of a moment for Ovechkin to break the record while facing Sidney Crosby. There are no two players in sports whose legacies are more linked than Ovechkin and Crosby.
Both were drafted first overall in consecutive years, and the pair have had generational careers, with debates ongoing over who is the better player. Ovechkin has a chance for a huge achievement and legacy boost against his bitter rival, and Crosby can only watch as a celebration takes place on the ice for Ovechkin.

These two teams have an intense history, and we could see another chapter written on April 17 at PPG Paints Arena. If Ovechkin has tied the record by the time his Capitals come to Pittsburgh, then grab a ticket and grab some popcorn.