NFL:
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ search for a starting quarterback is over after the old one decided to unretire.
Tom Brady has announced that he’ll be back for a 23rd NFL season. The seven-time Super Bowl champion announced his decision on Twitter and Instagram, saying he has “unfinished business.”
The 43-year-old Brady led the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl title following the 2020 season and NFC South championship last season.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL:
Gonzaga, Arizona, Kansas and Baylor have drawn the top seeds for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
The Zags top the West bracket and enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed for the fifth time.
The Wildcats are the top seed in the South Region, the seventh time at No.1 and the first since 2014.
Kansas is No. 1 in the Midwest, the Jayhawks’ 15th time atop a regional.
Defending national champion Baylor is a No. 1 seed for a second straight NCAA Tournament, although the Bears come off a loss in the Big 12 semifinals.
Duke is No. 2 in the West Region, followed by Texas Tech and Arkansas.
Villanova, Tennessee and Illinois fill out the top 4 seeds in the South.
Auburn, Wisconsin and Providence round out the top 4 in the Midwest.
Kentucky is No. 2 in the region, just ahead of Purdue and UCLA.
The Big Ten leads all conferences with nine teams in the tournament.
Texas A&M and Oklahoma are among the biggest snubs by the NCAA Tournament Committee.
The Aggies advanced to the SEC title game by upsetting Auburn and Arkansas, but a 1-8 stretch appears to have sealed their fate. Oklahoma put together a late five-game winning streak that included a win over Baylor in the Big 12 quarterfinals.
Tennessee and Iowa have ended lengthy conference title droughts.
The 24th-ranked Hawkeyes are Big Ten champs for the first time in 16 years following a 75-66 victory over No. 9 Purdue. Keegan Murray had 19 points and 11 rebounds to help Iowa become just the fourth time to win the championship with four victories in as many days. Tony Perkins had 11 points and four assists for the Hawkeyes, while Payton Sandfort added 10 points.
Jaden Ivey scored 20 points and Trevion Williams had 11 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Boilermakers, who were trying to win the tournament for the first time since 2009.
Ninth-ranked Tennessee is the SEC champ for the first time since 1979 following a wire-to-wire win over Texas A&M, 65-50. The Volunteers scored the game’s first 14 points and won for the 12th time in 13 games.
Santiago Vescovi scored 17 points and Josiah-Jordan James had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Vols, who had assists on 19 of their 22 baskets.
No. 18 Houston also earned a conference tournament title, capturing the American Athletic title with a 71-53 rout of Memphis. Fabian White Jr. dropped in 20 points after playing just three minutes of the semifinal because of a back issue. Fellow big man Josh Carlton had 18 to help the Cougars close out their second straight conference crown.
Mike White is the new men’s basketball coach at Georgia, three days after the Gators fired Tom Crean.
White was 142-88 in seven seasons at Florida, including a 72-52 mark in Southeastern Conference games. The Gators were 19-13 this season with a 9-9 conference record.
Of regional interest in the women’s bracket, the 16th-seeded University at Albany will face top seed and host Louisville on Friday in the Wichita Region. Second-seeded UConn hosts 15th-seeded Mercer Saturday in the Bridgeport Region, which also features 12th-seeded UMass against fifth-seeded Notre Dame in Oklahoma Saturday. And 15th-seeded Fairfield faces second-seeded Texas in Austin.
On the men’s side, 13th-seeded Vermont faces fourth-seeded Arkansas Thursday at 9:20 p.m. in Buffalo. That game follows fifth-seeded UConn against 12 seed New Mexico State. 14th-seeded Yale goes against 3rd-seeded Purdue Friday at 2 in Milwaukee. And 14th-seeded Colgate faces 3rd-seeded Wisconsin Friday in Milwaukee at 9:50.
NBA:
Kevin Durant took it upon himself to take over the Brooklyn Nets’ offense with Kyrie Irving, Seth Curry and LaMarcus Aldridge unable to play on Sunday.
Durant delivered game highs of 53 points and nine assists as the Nets got past the Knicks, 110-107. Durant hit four 3-pointers and was 19 of 37 from the field overall. He scored the game’s final seven points with a tiebreaking trey and four free throws.
The Nets won their third straight since a 3-17 skid dropped them a game below .500.
Checking out Sunday’s other NBA action:
Devin Booker furnished 30 points and Deandre Ayton had 23 with 16 rebounds in the Suns’ 140-111 dismantling of the Lakers. Mikal Bridges added 18 points to help the NBA leaders move 50 games over .500 at 54-14. Los Angeles forward LeBron James became the only player in NBA history with at least 30,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 10,000 assists.
Joel Embiid had a double-double and the 76ers rallied to beat the Magic, 116-114 in overtime. Embiid had 35 points and 16 rebounds for the Sixers, who trailed by as many as 17 points. James Harden added 26 points and Tobias Harris 25 for the 76ers.
Desmond Bane scored 21 points and the Grizzlies fended off a late push by the Thunder to earn a 125-118 win. Memphis had seven players with at least 10 points as Jaren Jackson finished with 18 and Ja Morant added 17 with 10 assists.
Spencer Dinwiddie’s basket with nine seconds left sent the Mavericks to their seventh win in eight games, 94-92 versus the Celtics. Luka Doncic provided 26 points for the Mavs, including a game-tying trey with 1:21 remaining.
Marcus Morris scored 31 points and Luke Kennard had 16 against their former team, helping the Clippers rally from an 18-point deficit to earn a 106-102 win over the Pistons. Reggie Jackson finished with 15 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.
Trae Young delivered 33 of his 47 points in the first half of the Hawks’ 131-128 win over the Pacers. Atlanta poured in 77 points by halftime and won for the 13th time in its last 15 home games.
Jonas Valanciunas had 32 points and 10 rebounds as the Pelicans blew out the Rockets, 130-105. Jaxson Hayes scored for 21 points to help New Orleans emphatically end a four-game losing streak.
NHL:
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a little closer to the NHL’s Metropolitan Division lead after defeating the Carolina Hurricanes for the first time in three tries this season.
Tristan Jarry turned back 41 shots as the Penguins doubled up the Hurricanes, 4-2. Role players Brian Boyle, Danton Heinen (HY’-nehn) and Zach Aston-Reese provided goals, with Aston-Reese and Sidney Crosby getting empty-netters. Crosby reached the 20-goal mark for the 14th time.
Carolina lost in regulation for just the second time in 12 games. Antti Raantta finished with 19 saves for the Canes, who lead the division by six points over the Pens.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
Darcy Kuemper stopped a career-best 46 shots in his fourth shutout of the season, sending the Avalanche to a 3-0 win over the Flames. Nathan MacKinnon scored on a power play in the first period and added another goal in the third.
The Lightning have ended their first regulation losing streak of the season as Andrei Vasilevsky stopped 35 shots in a 2-1 win at Vancouver. Victor Hedman and Ross Colton tallied 1:40 apart to give Tampa Bay a 2-0 lead just 5:06 into the game.
Shootout goals by Adrian Kempe and Trevor Moore completed the Kings' comeback in a 3-2 win over the Panthers. Martin Frk tied it on a power-play goal with 32 seconds left in regulation, helping Jonathan Quick get a victory in his 700th career game.
The Sabres won the Heritage Classic outdoor game by getting two goals and an assist from Vinnie Hinostroza in a 5-2 decision over the Maple Leafs. Peyton Krebs also scored twice and Craig Anderson made 36 saves at a windy Tim Horton Field, home of the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Toronto’s Auston Matthews scored his NHL-leading 45th goal.
The Jets ended a two-goal skid by beating the Blues, 4-3 on Pierre Luc-Dubois’ overtime goal. Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele scored 63 seconds apart in the third period to give Winnipeg a 3-2 lead.
Roman Josi and Filip Forsberg each scored twice as the Predators handed the Wild their 10th loss in 15 games, 6-2. Nick Cousins had a goal and two assists for the Predators, who tied Minnesota for third place in the Central Division.
The Blue Jackets posted a 6-4 win over the Golden Knights as 18-year-old rookie Cole Sillinger recorded the first NHL hat trick. Oliver Bjorkstrand had a goal and two assists for Columbus, which has won two straight since a 6-0 loss to the Islanders.
The Islanders have their first three-game winning streak since January after Kyle Palmieri provided a pair of goals in their 4-3 victory over the Ducks. Ilya Sorokin made 39 saves for the Isles, who took control when Palmieri and Anders Lee scored 25 seconds apart late in the first period.
Cole Caufield scored 2:10 into overtime to give the Canadiens a 4-3 comeback victory over the Flyers. Rem Pitlick tied it for Montreal by scoring a short-handed goal with 42.1 seconds left in regulation.
NASCAR:
Chase Briscoe executed two great restarts over the final 20 laps to pull away from Ross Chastain and Tyler Reddick in NASCAR’s Cup race at Phoenix Raceway.
It was an intense late battle between three drivers who had never won in the Cup Series. On the final restart with four laps left, the 27-year-old Briscoe started on the inside, dipped low on the dogleg apron, and was able to hold off the rest of the field.
Pole-sitter Ryan Blaney won the second stage after leading 138 of the first 185 laps before settling for fourth.
PGA:
The Players Championship has become a meteorologist’s dream. First came two days of heavy rain, followed by high winds on Saturday and frigid temperatures on Sunday.
Players finally were able to complete the second round at TPC Sawgrass, where they braved 35-degree weather as Sam Burns and Tom Hoge moved into a first-place tie through two rounds. Burns closed out his second round with a 75-foot eagle putt and an 18-foot par. Hoge shot a 71 on Sunday for a 7 under total.
Erik van Rooyen and Harold Varner III were one off the lead through 36 holes.
The third round was to finish Monday morning, followed by the final round in pursuit of the $3.6 million payoff to the winner. Anirban Lahiri of India was the clubhouse leader when Round 3 was halted by darkness.
MLB:
The Minnesota Twins have acquired right-hander Sonny Gray in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds.
The Reds included minor league right-hander Francis Peguero in the deal for Twins pitching prospect Chase Petty. The 18-year-old Petty was Minnesota’s first-round draft pick last year.
Gray went 7-9 with a 4.19 ERA in 26 starts last season, his third with the Reds.
Elsewhere in the majors:
A person familiar with the deals says shortstop José Iglesias and right-handed reliever Alex Colomé have agreed to one-year contracts with the Rockies. Bringing in Iglesias all but closes the door on a return of free-agent shortstop Trevor Story.
The Cubs have signed Jesse Chavez to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to big league camp. The 38-year Chavez posted a 2.14 ERA in 33 2/3 innings for the Braves last year after being called up for a start in June.
Astros right-hander Justin Verlander says he feels great following his first bullpen session at spring training.
Stephen Strasburg is slated to throw a live bullpen session next week as the Nationals get spring training camp started. The right-hander is coming back from two consecutive seasons lost to surgery.
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