Morning Briefing: Here’s the plot for an ‘Ocean’s 11’ remake

At this year’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament, each team locker room had a special rug in it. The rug was emblazoned with the NCAA logo, the phrase “March Madness” and a mini-bracket facsimile on each side.

And the rugs are very popular seeing as how they are almost always stolen, much to the chagrin of the NCAA, which suspects players of taking them as souvenirs.

A member the Iowa Hawkeyes (which lost in the second round), Jordan Bohannon, has decided to have some fun with the rug he, uh, acquired.

Bohannon sent a tweet on Sunday that showed a picture of a rug and said, “Give us the ability to make money off our own name and we’ll give you your rug back. You have 24 hours.”

Yes, he is holding the rug hostage until the NCAA decides to share the millions they make off the tournament with those competing in the tournament.

Let’s just say Bohannon shouldn’t hold his breath waiting for that to happen.

But it looks like Bohannon will be able to keep the rug.

Late Sunday he tweeted, “After much deliberation, the NCAA has agreed with the rug can stay in Iowa City as long as I issue a mea culpa. With that, I am sorry for my actions. No one is denying the incredible opportunities the NCAA provides for athletes like myself. I am forever grateful.”

Fight! Fight!

UFC star Conor McGregor, who announced his retirement last week, is willing to come back for one more fight. What foe could lure him out of retirement?

Actor Mark Wahlberg.

You see, one of the reasons McGregor gave for his retirement was that he believed he deserved to have an ownership share in UFC because of all the money he had made for the company. UFC said no.

But guess who does have ownership shares in the company?

Wahlberg.

McGregor sent a tweet Saturday night: “I have decided to challenge Hollywood actress Mark Wahlberg next. A fight for all the shares!”

That’s some clever name calling by McGregor, calling Wahlberg an “actress.” McGregor really should stop letting first-graders handle his social media accounts.

Time to call in Scooby Doo

Remember when Duke star Zion Williamson’s shoe fell apart during a game against North Carolina a few weeks ago?

No one can find the shoe. Nike, which made the shoe, apparently sent some people to inspect the shoe so they could figure out what happened.

And then the shoe just vanished.

TMZ Sports asked Williamson if he had the shoe, and Williamson said, “Ask coach about them.” So they called the Duke athletics department, and someone there told them they had no idea where the shoe ended up.

A Nike representative told the news outlet, “We’re thrilled to see Zion returning to the court. … I don’t have any more information” on the location of the shoe.

According to some experts, the shoe could bring about $250,000 at auction, making it an expensive item to misplace.

So if you see a shoe lying on the side of the road, check it out. It could be more valuable than a lottery ticket. And if you aren’t sure, send the shoe to us in the Times sports department. We will take very good care of it for a while.