PAM: Autism Acceptance Week is underway after kicking off this Monday and ends on Sunday, March 30th. But, here at The Ten News, it’s super important to us that we recognize the strengths and challenges that autistic individuals face all year round. This week just serves as an extra special time to raise awareness around autism, encourage acceptance, and push for inclusivity, respect, and support. Autism Acceptance Week is an annual event that takes place during the last week of March leading up to World Autism Awareness Day on April 2nd, which is recognized globally and often celebrated with educational activities, fundraisers, and campaigns in an effort to create a more accepting and accommodating society for our friends with Autism. Check out our show notes for past episodes to learn more!

RYAN: It’s March…which means… it’s time for the Madness! <SFX Soccer Ball Kick, then Baseball Bat Crack, then Basketball Net Swish and a Stadium Crowd Roar> What is March Madness, you ask? It’s the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament that is held every March and April. The tournament is single elimination, which means when a team loses, they are out of the tournament while the opposing team advances, and it features 68 of the best teams competing for the national championship. Opening day for the men’s tournament kicked off last Thursday and was, in fact, Madness. McNeese State, who was a number 12 seed had a historic win over the Clemson Tigers, who were seeded 5th. And, Arkansas State knocked out Kansas in a 79-72 victory, making it the first time since 2006 that the Jayhawks failed to advance.

PAM: And, opening day of the women’s tournament started on Friday of last week! Some highlights included the number 2 seed UConn Huskies, and the team’s standout athlete Paige Bueckers, dominating the Arkansas State Red Wolves 103-34. Plus, Caitlin Clark’s alma mater, the Iowa Hawkeyes, knocked the Murray State Racers out of the tournament in a 92-57 victory.

PAM: There are still plenty of hoops left to watch for all of you basketball fans! We’ll be back with a final recap following the women’s championship game on Sunday, April 6th, in Tampa, FL, and the men’s game on Monday, April 7th, in San Antonio, TX.

RYAN: From college basketball to professional baseball…mixed with some GGs! <SFX Mario 1up> we have some exciting news about the Seattle Mariners and Nintendo on this beautiful MLB Opening Day! The MLB team recently announced that Nintendo of America Inc. is expanding on its long-standing relationship with the Mariners, becoming the team's first-ever official jersey sleeve partner. The Mariners jersey sleeve will sport Nintendo for all regular and postseason games. And, the official debut is actually TODAY in their season opener against the A’s (formerly known as the Oakland A’s) at T-Mobile Park. The Mariners are now the first team in Major League Baseball to feature different marks for home and away games. Home game jerseys will feature the Nintendo racetrack logo, and away Jerseys will have the Nintendo Switch 2 logo!

PAM: This week’s 10 Things has turned into quite the sports takeover, bringing us to our last headline before the break, which is all about soccer! A 14-year-old midfielder for Gotham FC made history as the youngest player to appear in a National Women’s Soccer League regular season match! On opening match day of the 2025 season, McKenna Whitham took to the field, replacing Spanish veteran Esther Gonzalez in the final minutes of their game versus the Seattle Reign. But, this isn’t the young teen’s only record. She is the youngest player to appear in a top-division American soccer game following a preseason match in July 2024; she’s the youngest athlete to sign a NIL (name, image, and likeness) contract with Nike, AND at age 13, she became the youngest signee in NWSL history! Whitham is currently playing for Gotham FC under a 4-year deal through the NWSL’s U-18 Entry Mechanism, allowing players who are 17 or younger to enter the league.

RYAN: Ten’ers. The next Nintendo Switch 2 announcement is happening on Wednesday, April 2nd…which means we will be doing a SPECIAL 10 Things You Need to Know about the Switch 2, on Thursday, April 3rd. Do you have any questions about the Switch 2? If you send us a review, comment or email at Hello@theTenNews.com I will do my best to answer them! It’s going to be one of the most exciting episodes I’ve ever done, so make sure you tune in next Thursday and send us your questions! Aight, back to the show!

PAM: Have you ever heard about the famous cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C.? Well, there’s an entire festival that celebrates the beautiful trees and their pink and white flowers coined the National Cherry Blossom Festival. It actually kicked off on the first day of Spring and runs through Sunday, April 6th with events like Petalpalooza and Bloomaroo. The cherry trees were gifted to the United States by Japan more than 100 years ago symbolizing the countries’ friendship and cultural connections. They now line the Tidal Basin near D.C.s National Mall and bring up to 1.5 million visitors to the nations capital each year. Peak bloom, or when 70% of the flowers on the Yoshino cherry trees have blossomed, is the best time to visit and according to the National Park Service, this year is between March 28th - 31st!

RYAN: Up next, the world’s ugliest fish is getting a little extra love this year and we’re here for it. The blobfish a deep-sea creature that has a flabby body shaped like a tadpole has been referred to as the world’s ugliest animal, but New Zealand thinks otherwise. In a competition held by the Mountains to Seas Conservation Trust, an environmental nonprofit group, New Zealand named the blobfish the country’s fish of the year! Now named, Mr. Blobby, won the competition with nearly 1,300 out of more than 5,500 votes, beating it’s fellow deep-sea friend the Orange Roughy. This annual event aims to educate New Zealanders about the variety of fish and the fragile state of the environments in which they live. Congratulations to Mr. Blobby the blobfish for its big win!

RYAN: In other paw-sitive animal news, we have a very special reunion following the cat-astrpohic LA wildfires. A 5-year-old Maine coon cat named Aggie was feared dead for two months following the Palisades wildfire in Los Angeles that left her owner’s home in ashes. But, 82-year-old Katherine Kiefer didn’t give up hope and was reunited with Aggie thanks to the West Los Angeles Animal Shelter. Kiefer’s daughter shared a video of Aggie curling up in her tearful, and joyful, owner’s arms on TikTok that received more than 1 million likes. Social media users were so thrilled about the reunion that they asked for daily updates on Aggie. She had been found in poor health, so the family started a GoFundMe for Aggie’s vet bills that raised over $35,000 of it’s $20,000 goal!

PAM: We love a happy ending, and we also love cool discoveries! An incomplete skull was discovered in northern Spain in 2022, but just two weeks ago archeologists announced that the fossil from a human ancestor is the oldest in western Europe. According to research publish in the journal ‘Nature’, the fossil, that’s just a section of the left cheek bone and upper jaw, is between 1.1 million and 1.4 million years old. The fossil marks the first evidence that shows human ancestors were taking excursions into Europe according to the director of the Smithsonian’s Human Origins Program.

PAM: And for the last thing you need to know, let’s go to our trivia master, Owen.

OWEN: Thanks Pam! I’m here with a special guest, <SFX kitten meow> and…Ryan.

RYAN: Thank you for having us Owen!

OWEN: Are we going to reveal your kitten’s name now?!

RYAN: Yes, yes we are. But first, I gotta thank all of the Ten’ers that wrote in suggestions. We’ve had some amazing ideas and they’re still coming in!

OWEN: Aiden from New Jersey suggested the name Crookshanks, like from Harry Potter. Ella, the daughter of Michelle, suggested the name Fire Heart. Catlover said, name him Jumpy or Marigold. <SFX Kitten purrrrr>

RYAN: The Max said Cinnamon, JWuhan said Cinnamon Roll, Erin says Ginger, Bofam77 said Litten or Inceroar from Pokemon. Doggies Furever said Pumpkin and Waffles R Yummy said I should name the cat, Ginger, Cinnabon, Cinnamon, Coffee, Auna, Oompa Loompa or Gingerbread. <SFX kitten Meow meow meow>

OWEN: Ryan, I think we’ve gotten more suggestions than I can count. So let’s get to it. What did Ryan name his now 16 week old, orange male kitten that likes to jump on him and sleep on his shoulder? Is it:

Mr. Cinnamon Roll
Rigby
Pumpkin Waffle or…
Ginger

OWEN: Ryan’s kitten’s name is…

RYAN: B! RIGBY! <SFX Crowd Cheer> I thought it was a really cool, unique name that I don’t hear very often. And Rigby and Ryan sounds like a force to be reckoned with.

OWEN: But what about his middle name?

RYAN: Thank you for asking. His full name is Rigby the Cinnamon Roll Willard, the first. It was really tough choosing, and I really appreciate everyone’s suggestions!

OWEN: Are you gonna show everyone what Rigby the Cinnamon Roll Willard looks like?

RYAN: Yeah, if they want! Ten’ers if you want me to post a picture or video of Rigby the Cinnamon Rollapalooza Willard, leave us a review, comment or an email with your thoughts about the show at hello@thetennews.com.

PAM: And that was Ten Things You Need to Know. Awwww little Rigby the Cinnamon Roll! <SFX kitten meow>

RYAN: He loves you, Pam! To be fair though, he’s really friendly and loves everyone.

PAM: How is he getting along with Midnight, the Ten News Cat? Cats can be very territorial when you introduce them for the first time…

RYAN: Oh. I didn’t even think about that. I’m sure it’ll be fine. <SFX Midnight the cat, MEOWS> Oh heyyy, Midnight! Meet Rigby the Cinnamon Ro–

MIDNIGHT: <SFX Cat Meow> <SFX Rigby meows>

<SFX the cats instantly get the zoomies and run around, quickly tearing up the office>

<SFX an explosive whirlwind of desks and things crashing about>

<SFX one last thing slowly falls and breaks>

RYAN: Okay, yeah, so…Midnight and Rigby are getting along. I will clean this zoomie mess… after some Ten News Snaps?

PAM: Great idea. And before that, here’s a quick note for the grownups.

RYAN: Time for Ten News Snaps!

PAM: JLS MASON left us a review that said, “The best mornings are when my 10 and 11 year old have a new episode to wake up with! Thank you for all you do! <SFX “What’s going on here?!”> is also super fun to mimic randomly throughout the day…!” Thank you so so so much for that amazing review, JLS Mason! (PAM INSERT ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO SAY!)

RYAN: JLS Mason if you and your kids are listening to this right now, maybe you’ll give them ice cream for breakfast? C’moooon! Okay, maybe not. But that would be pretty sweet.

PAM: And two extra notes for the grown-ups, you can now get ad-free versions of our episodes when you join the Ten’ers Club on our website.

RYAN: And if you want to help support the Ten News, you can make a tax-deductible donation at the link in our show notes. The whole team thanks you for your support!

PAM: “The Ten News” is a co-production of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts and part of the Airwave Podcast Network.

RYAN: The Ten News creative team is playing all the sports and cuddling all the animals and includes Tracey Not a Crooks, Adam the Great Bambino Bernard, Brian Not Ryan Douglas and Carson Not So Harry Potter. Big thanks to Owen, Not Slowin Down for Anybody.

PAM: Our Production Director is Jeremiah “On Fyaah” Tittle, and our Executive Producers are Donald “Albright Albright Albright” and show creator Tracy Takes the Leeds Kaplan. I’m Pamela Kirkland.

RYAN: And I’m Ryan Willard, thanks for listening to the Ten News.

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