NCAA WOMEN'S MARCH MADNESS
South Carolina is two wins away from completing the 10th undefeated season in women's college basketball history. The Gamecocks used its smothering defense to outlast second-seeded Maryland 86-75 to reach its third straight Final Four. Led by Aliyah Boston, South Carolina will face Iowa and Caitlin Clark in one semifinal. LSU will play Virginia Tech, who beat No. 3 seed Ohio State 84-74, in the other matchup Friday night. It's the Hokies first trip to the Final Four in school history. Coach Kenny Brooks is the third Black male coach to take a team this far in NCAA women's basketball history. Dallas will host the national semifinals this weekend as well as the Division II and III championship games.
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Texas on Monday named Rodney Terry as full-time head basketball coach, removing the interim tag after he led the Longhorns to the Elite Eight following the midseason firing of Chris Beard. The school scheduled a Tuesday news conference to introduce him as the head coach going forward. Financial terms and years of the deal were not immediately available. Rewarding Terry with the promotion was no surprise. He took over Texas when Beard was first suspended on Dec. 12 after a felony domestic violence arrest, and the Longhorns made their deepest NCAA tournament run in 15 years.
NBA
Immanuel Quickley scored a career-high 40 points and Julius Randle had 26 as the New York Knicks snapped a three-game losing streak with a 137-115 victory over the Houston Rockets. RJ Barrett added 19 points, Obi Toppin had 15 and Quinten Grimes scored 14 for the Knicks. Quickley connected on 14 of 18 shots from the field and added nine assists. He started in place of Jalen Brunson, who missed his second straight game with a bruised right hand. Kevin Porter Jr. led the Rockets with 26 points. Jalen Green had 19 and Kenyon Martin Jr. added 18 as Houston dropped its sixth straight game.
Nikola Jokic led the Denver Nuggets to a 116-111 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. But the Sixers were without big man Joel Embiid, who sat out with a sore right calf. That denied the NBA of a showdown between MVP frontrunners. Embiid played both ends of a back-to-back at Golden State and Phoenix over the weekend, but felt discomfort at the 76ers' shootaround in Denver on Monday morning. Sixers coach Doc Rivers said he knows everyone wanted to see the showdown, but insists it was an easy decision to hold out his superstar.
The much-anticipated showdown between MVP front-runners Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic fizzed Monday when the Philadelphia 76ers ruled Embiid out against the Denver Nuggets. Embiid has been dealing with a sore right calf and played against Golden State and Phoenix over the weekend. Embiid's post-All-Star Game surge has led sportsbooks to make him a slight favorite over Jokic in the MVP race. Embiid leads the league in scoring but has sat out 14 games this season. Jokic has won the last two MVP awards with Embiid finishing second. Jokic is nearly averaging a triple-double for the Western Conference-leading Nuggets.
NHL
Kyle Palmieri had two goals and an assist, Ilya Sorokin made 30 saves and the New York Islanders beat the New Jersey Devils 5-1. Pierre Engvall, Bo Horvat and Zach Parise also scored for the Islanders, who stopped a two-game losing streak and moved three points ahead of Pittsburgh for the first wild card in the Eastern Conference. Eric Haula scored for the Devils and Vitek Vanecek finished with 31 saves. New Jersey, which clinched a playoff spot with a win against Ottawa on Saturday, remained three points behind first-place Carolina in the Metropolitan Division.
Michael Pezzetta scored the decisive shootout goal and the Montreal Canadiens avoided playoff elimination by rallying to a 4-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres. Brendan Gallagher forced overtime by scoring his 200th career goal in capping a 3-on-2 rush with a shot from the right circle 8:35 into the third period. Jordan Harris and Alex Belzile also scored for Montreal, and Jake Allen stopped 30 shots through overtime, while allowing one goal on six shootout attempts. Lukas Rousek scored a goal and added an assist in his NHL debut for Buffalo, which blew a chance to move to within four points of the idle Pittsburgh Penguins, who hold the eighth and final playoff spot.
NFL
Lamar Jackson says he has requested a trade from the Baltimore Ravens, saying the team “has not been interested in meeting my value.” The star quarterback said Monday in a series of tweets that he requested a trade as of March 2. On March 7, the Ravens put the nonexclusive franchise tag on Jackson and said they were still hopeful they could reach a long-term deal with him. That version of the franchise tag allowed Jackson to negotiate with other teams, but it also gives Baltimore a chance to match any agreement he makes.
Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said he’s not requiring a first-round pick in a potential trade sending four-time MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets but added he’d want “fair value.” Gutekunst and Jets general manager Joe Douglas both discussed trade talks involving the 39-year-old Rodgers on Monday at the NFL annual meeting. Rodgers said March 15 during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on SiriusXM and YouTube that he intends to play for the Jets in 2023.
Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott will be pulling double duty in also serving as the team’s defensive play-caller in Leslie Frazier’s absence in the 2023 season. McDermott's announcement at the NFL owners’ meetings in Phoenix was not unexpected based on his lengthy defensive background. And it comes one month since the Bills announced Frazier is taking the 2023 season off from coaching with plans to return in 2024. Frazier served as Buffalo’s only defensive coordinator since McDermott took over in 2017.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has launched a $25-million national ad campaign against antisemitism. The ads will be featured during popular television programs such as “The Voice” and during the NFL draft, and NBA and NHL playoffs. Antisemitism has been on the rise over the last five years. Statistics show that while Jewish people are 2.4% of the U.S. population, they are the targets of 55% of religion-motivated hate crimes. Kraft said the ads will show how non-Jewish people can stand in solidarity with their Jewish neighbors against antisemitism and all types of hate.
Dan Snyder’s future in the NFL as owner of the Washington Commanders remains in standby mode while his peers gathered at a posh resort for the league’s annual meetings and waited for news on the potential sale of the team. A discussion on Snyder isn’t on the formal agenda this week, three people familiar with those details told The Associated Press on Monday. Still, Snyder was a hot topic of conversation despite his absence and even while Lamar Jackson’s trade request dominated headlines. Last fall, with multiple investigations ongoing into the team’s workplace culture, finances and into Snyder himself, he and wife Tanya hired a firm to “consider possible transactions.” Tanya continues to represent the team at league events.
MLB
Darin Ruf has been cut by the New York Mets as the team set its opening day roster. Speedy outfielder Tim Locastro won the final bench spot over Ruf, who was acquired from San Francisco at the trade deadline last August. Ruf batted only .152 with no homers and a .413 OPS in 28 games with the Mets. To get him, New York sent J.D. Davis, left-hander Thomas Szapucki and two minor league pitchers to the Giants. The 36-year-old Ruf was designated for assignment and is still due $3.25 million from the Mets. In other moves, veteran right-hander Tommy Hunter earned a bullpen role and lefty David Peterson won the vacant spot in the rotation over right-hander Tylor Megill, who was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse.
Baseball has transformed in the 145 days since Dusty Baker and the Houston Astros sealed the franchise’s second title in six seasons. As New York Mets owner Steve Cohen dominated an offseason that saw billions spent, the sport braced for a new world that includes pitch clocks, bigger bases, limits on defensive shifts and pickoff throws, and an overarching attempt to reverse decades of lengthening games and the Analytics Era domination of the Three True Outcomes — strikeouts, walks and home runs. No player will be watched more closely this season than Shohei Ohtani, a two-way megastar in the final year under contract with the Los Angeles Angels.
The Chicago Cubs have locked up another infielder, agreeing to a $35 million, three-year contract with Nico Hoerner. A person familiar with the negotiations confirmed the contract to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the move had not been announced. The deal begins with the 2024 season. Hoerner, who turns 26 in May, is moving back to second base this year after he was the team’s regular shortstop in 2022. The Cubs signed All-Star shortstop Dansby Swanson to a $177 million, seven-year contract in December. The new deal for Hoerner means the team could have its middle infield in place through the 2026 season.
Sergio Romo retired as a San Francisco Giant just as he wanted to do. The entertaining reliever and three-time World Series champion called it a career Monday night when he pitched against another of his former clubs — the Oakland A's — in the seventh inning of the exhibition finale for both teams at Oracle Park. The Giants reached out a few weeks back asking whether Romo might consider a last time on the mound. He drew a rousing ovation when he came into the game and again when he walked off. The 40-year-old Romo gave up two singles and a walk without getting an out. He also was called for two clock violations before his first pitch, but it hardly mattered on this emotional night in the Bay Area.
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