AUGUSTA, Ga. — Scottie Scheffler had no doubts about this Masters, and neither did anyone watching. He pulled ahead with magnificent shots Sunday around the turn and poured it on along the back nine at Augusta National for a 4-under 68 to claim his second green jacket in three years. Scheffler is simply unstoppable at the moment, and he had help from a faltering cast of contenders to make it look easier than it was. Much like Tiger Woods he made the outcome look inevitable with sublime control, the difference being a peach shirt instead of Sunday red, and no fist pumps until it was over. After ..read more

The Hotline mailbag publishes weekly. Send questions to pac12hotline@bayareanewsgroup.com and include ‘mailbag’ in the subject line. Or hit me on Twitter/X: @WilnerHotline. Please note: Some questions have been edited for clarity and brevity. Which of the former Pac-12 schools entering the Big Ten would you expect to have the most football wins over the next five or 10 years? — @CreedThoughts24 It’s a fascinating topic that is more easily addressed if we work in reverse order. Of the four, UCLA has the most challenging road and, in our view, will win the fewest games — whether t ..read more

The Cal and Stanford men’s basketball programs received good news on Friday. Mark Madsen reaffirmed his commitment to Cal as speculation swirled that he would be a top candidate to take over at BYU from Mark Pope, who left to replace John Calipari at Kentucky. And Stanford’s 7-foot-1 center Maxime Raynaud withdrew his name from the transfer portal, giving the Cardinal a huge piece as new coach Kyle Smith aims to rebuild the program. In a post on X/Twitter, Madsen said he and his wife, Hannah, “want to thank every single member of the Cal community for your unconditional love and support this y ..read more

MORAGA – Built to accommodate supporters of Saint Mary’s now-defunct football program, the stands on this day were populated with fans of the ancient sport America’s Game is based upon. Two factions, one decked out in red and blue, the other blue and gold, streamed into repurposed bleachers.  The 4,000-plus onlookers were there to watch the college rugby regular-season match of the year. The match that would decide Bay Area bragging rights. The match that has years of history behind it.  Cal versus Saint Mary’s.  “It means everything,” Saint Mary’s sophomore star Dom Besag said ..read more

Back when he was a senior at Folsom High School, Mason Forbes narrowed his college choices to two schools. One of them was Saint Mary’s, and during a campus visit Forbes met with coach Randy Bennett, who laid out all the talking points that favored the Gaels. “The only other school that you’re looking at that I think could beat us out would be Harvard because we can’t offer that same level of academics,” Forbes recalled Bennett telling him. The 6-foot-9 forward opted for the Ivy League and earned his Harvard degree in psychology. But he never got the chance he has this weekend — to play in the ..read more

The Hotline is delighted to provide Pac-12 fans with a regular dive into the recruiting process through the eyes and ears of Brandon Huffman, the Seattle-based national recruiting editor for 247Sports. He submitted the following report on March 18 … Well hello, UCLA! First, Kalen DeBoer left Washington for Alabama. Then Jedd Fisch left Arizona for Washington. Then Brent Brennan left San Jose State for Arizona. After that triple-whammy, things finally looked like they were calming down on the West Coast coaching carousel. But it’s 2024, and movement can happen anytime. Chip Kelly’s stunning ear ..read more

The Hotline mailbag publishes weekly. Send questions to pac12hotline@bayareanewsgroup.com and include ‘mailbag’ in the subject line. Or hit me on Twitter/X: — @WilnerHotline. Please note: Some questions have been edited for clarity and brevity. Is this the worst year ever for Division I college basketball in California? From UCLA to Cal Poly, it feels like most teams have sucked. — @drewstapes It’s the worst year in recent memory, for sure, and that reality will become crystal clear next week with the start of March Madness. As the situation stands on Friday afternoon, only one Calif ..read more

BERKELEY — California has signed coach Mark Madsen to a two-year extension after he led an impressive turnaround in his first season with the Golden Bears. Athletic director Jim Knowlton announced the deal on Tuesday that will run through the 2029-30 season, saying Madsen has made an “incredible difference” in his brief tenure at Cal. Madsen took over a program that went 3-29 under Mark Fox last season and led the Bears to a 13-18 mark heading into the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament on Wednesday night against Stanford. Related Articles College Sports | Raynaud has double-double, Stanfo ..read more

One Pac-12 head coach is on the way out, and more could follow. Perhaps by the end of the week. Maybe in the next 36 hours. The Pac-12 tournament begins Wednesday in Las Vegas with a slew of underachieving teams and underperforming coaches, including Washington’s Mike Hopkins, whose tenure is officially over when UW’s season concludes. In fact, only three of the 12 coaches have cleared the Hotline’s bar for successful seasons based on the talent at their disposal and the results on the court: Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd, Cal’s Mark Madsen and Washington State’s Kyle Smith. It’s difficult to compare ..read more

STANFORD – Mark Madsen has been involved in plenty of Stanford blowouts at Maples Pavilion. He was on the losing end of one for the first time Thursday night. The Cardinal dominated Cal 80-58, handing the former Stanford All-American a loss in his first game as the opposing coach at the arena and both teams’ last regular-season game before departing the Pac-12 for the ACC this summer. “I have a lot of blood, sweat and tears here on this court,” said Madsen, who wore a grey polo shirt with the Cal logo. “Spent four years here. I love my time here, and that was a great chapter of my life. And no ..read more