MARCH MADNESS
The Final Four is now set. No. 11 seed NC State is going to a men's national semifinal for the first time since winning it all under Jim Valvano in 1983. The Wolfpack beat their Atlantic Coast Conference rival Duke 76-64 in the South Region final. Kevin Keatts' team will face Purdue after the Boilermakers overcame an 11-point deficit in the first half to defeat Tennessee 72-66 yesterday.
The other half of the bracket was set Saturday night. Alabama drained 16 3s to defeat Clemson 89-82 in the West Regional final. The Crimson Tide are going to the first Final Four in the program's history. Nate Oats' team is paired against overall No. 1 seed UConn in one national semifinal. The Huskies steamrolled Illinois 77-52 to reach their second consecutive Final Four as they defend their 2023 title.
WOMEN’S MARCH MADNESS
Meanwhile, the rematch everyone wanted to see is happening today in Albany in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament. No. 1 seed Iowa and Caitlan Clark face third-seeded LSU and Angel Reese for a trip to the women's Final Four in Cleveland. The seeds say one thing, but history says another: LSU won the national championship game 102-85 last April and likely is perceived by many as the favorite in this rematch.
Tessa Johnson scored 15 points, Kamilla Cardoso added 12 and undefeated South Carolina advanced to the Final Four of the women’s NCAA Tournament with a 70-58 win over Oregon State. South Carolina made it to the national semifinals unbeaten for the second straight season. The Gamecocks lost to Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the Final Four last year. This time, with an entirely new starting lineup, coach Dawn Staley has her group on the verge of the school’s third national championship. The Gamecocks are 36-0 and will play N.C. State after they beat 1 Texas 76-66 on Sunday. Raegan Beers scored 16 points to lead the Beavers.
Aziaha James made a career-high seven 3-pointers and scored 27 points, and third-seeded North Carolina State earned its first trip to the Final Four of the women’s NCAA Tournament since 1998, beating top-seeded Texas 76-66. The played with 3-point lines at different distances on opposite ends of the court. River Baldwin added 16 points for N.C. State, which will face unbeaten South Carolina in the national semifinals in Cleveland. Freshman Madison Booker finished with 17 points to lead the Longhorns, who were vying for their first Final Four since 2003. Both coaches were informed about the problem with the 3-point lines before the game but decided to play on.
The Los Angeles Times has edited a column it published last week about the LSU women’s basketball team ahead of its game against UCLA following criticism from Tigers coach Kim Mulkey, who blasted it as sexist and hurtful. Mulkey defended her players after they were referred to as “villains” and “dirty debutantes” in a piece first published Friday that likened the Sweet 16 game between LSU and UCLA as a battle of good versus evil. The Times removed those references late Saturday as well as one comparing UCLA’s team to “milk and cookies.” It republished the column with a note that said the original version did not meet the newspaper's standards.
MLB
Juan Soto had three hits capped by an RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning that lifted the New York Yankees to a 4-3 win that completed an opening four-game sweep of the Houston Astros. With the score 3-3, Gleyber Torres singled off closer Josh Hader (0-1) with two outs in the ninth inning and stole second base. Soto then singled on a line drive to left field. Soto hit .529 with four RBIs in his first games with the Yankees, helping New York to its first 4-0 start since 2003 and just its fourth since 1950.
Rhys Hoskins drove in four runs, a day after his hard slide into Jeff McNeil caused dugouts to empty, and Yohan Ramírez was ejected for throwing behind the Milwaukee designated hitter’s back the Brewers’ 7-6 victory over the New York Mets. Hoskins hit a two-run single in a three-run first inning, followed with a two-run homer in the third and singled and scored on a balk in the fifth by Luis Severino, who gave up a career-high 12 hits in his Mets debut. Ramírez’s first pitch to Hoskins in the seventh sailed well behind the right-handed hitter. Ramírez was ejected by plate umpire Lance Barrett.
Enmanuel Valdez hit a three-run homer, Garrett Whitlock pitched five effective innings and the Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners 5-1. Valdez, a fill-in second baseman for the injured Vaughn Grissom, hit a drive to right in the fourth after starting the season 0 for 8. Tyler O’Neill connected for a solo shot in the second against Seattle’s Bryce Miller, who was charged with four runs and six hits in five innings. Whitlock helped Boston to a split of the four-game series after it dropped two straight one-run games. The big right-hander allowed three hits, struck out eight and walked none.
Oneil Cruz raced home on Jason Delay’s bunt in the 10th inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Miami Marlins 9-7 for a four-game sweep of their season-opening series. Cruz opened the 10th on second as a pinch runner for Rowdy Tellez. He advanced to third when reliever Tanner Scott committed an error on Alika Williams’ sacrifice attempt. Delay then sent another bunt toward first and Cruz beat first baseman Jake Burger’s throw to the plate. Ke’Bryan Hayes reached on a two-out infield single and Michael A. Taylor gave Pittsburgh a 9-7 lead with a bases-loaded walk.
Trea Turner capitalized on a third out overturned on replay with a tying single and Alec Bohm knocked home the two runs in the seventh inning to rally the Philadelphia Phillies to a 5-4 win over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday. Braves reliever Aaron Bummer seemingly got Johan Rojas to ground into an inning-ending double play. But a second look showed Rojas was safe. Turner punched the tying RBI single to right and Bohm followed with a two-RBI single that diving left fielder Adam Duvall could not snag for a 5-3 lead. Ozzie Albies hit a two-run homer for the Braves.
Ian Happ tied his career high with four hits and drew a tiebreaking bases-loaded walk from José Leclerc in a four-run ninth inning, helping the Chicago Cubs beat the Texas Rangers 9-5 to salvage the finale of their opening three-game series. With the score 5-5, Leclerc walked Michael Busch with one out, allowed Nico Hoerner’s swinging-bunt single down the third-base line and walked Mike Tauchman. Happ walked with two outs on a full-count fastball that sailed wide and Seiya Suzuki greeted Jacob Latz with a two-run single. Cody Bellinger singled in the final run.
Reid Detmers gave the Angels some much-needed effectiveness on the mound, allowing one run in five innings to help Los Angeles avoid a season-opening sweep with a 4-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles. The Angels were outscored 24-7 in their first two games against Baltimore, which prompted a team meeting after Saturday’s 13-4 loss. Then Detmers took the mound and quieted the Orioles, and Los Angeles scored two runs in each of the first two innings. Taylor Ward hit a two-run homer to open the scoring, and although Tyler Wells made it through six innings — and did not allow a baserunner after the second — the damage was done.
Justin Turner homered and drove in four runs as the Toronto Blue Jays gained a spit of a four-game series by beating the Tampa Bay Rays 9-2. After winning the opener 8-1 on Thursday, the Blue Jays were outscored 13-3 in losing the next two games. Toronto is just 20-35 in road games against Tampa Bay since the start of the 2018 season. Randy Arozarena homered for the Rays. He also went deep in Saturday’s 5-1 win. Toronto ace Kevin Gausman, on a pitch count after not making his spring training debut until March 25 because of shoulder fatigue, allowed one run, two hits and struck out six in 4 ⅓ innings.
Bobby Witt Jr. finished a double shy of the cycle as the Royals hit five homers to back a strong start by Brady Singer in a 11-0 rout of the Twins. The win allowed Kansas City to avoid getting swept by Minnesota to start a second consecutive season. Salvador Perez hit a three-run homer, Kyle Isbel and Maikel Garcia hit back-to-back homers in the second, and Nelson Velázquez also went deep for Kansas City. Singer allowed three hits and a walk over seven innings while striking out 10. Bailey Ober took the loss for Minnesota, getting just four outs while allowing eight runs on nine hits and a walk.
Jack Flaherty pitched six effective innings in his Detroit debut and Andy Ibáñez snapped a tie with a pinch-hit single in the ninth, sending the Tigers to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Kerry Carpenter and Jake Rogers homered for the Tigers, who are 3-0 for the first time since 2016. Each of their wins in their season-opening series at Chicago was decided by one run. Paul DeJong and Korey Lee went deep for the White Sox. Tyler Holton got the win by striking out four in 1 1/3 innings. Jason Foley got Andrew Vaughn and Braden Shewmake to ground out to earn his second save.
Pinch-hitter Abraham Toro forced in the game-ending run when he drew a four-pitch bases-loaded walk from Eli Morgan, and the Oakland Athletics beat the Cleveland Guardians 4-3 for their first win this season. The A’s, who have announced plans to move to Las Vegas in 2028, drew just 4,118 at the Coliseum on a sunny afternoon. Attendance for the opening four-game series totaled 26,902. Oakland and manager Mark Kotsay lost three of four to the Guardians. The A’s went 60-102 in Kotsay’s first season in 2022, then 50-112 last year.
Will Benson and Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit back-to-back home runs with two outs in the ninth inning, lifting the Cincinnati Reds to a series-clinching 6-5 win over the Washington Nationals. Cincinnati trailed 5-3 when Jonathan India hit a two-out double off Kyle Finnegan. Benson drove a first-pitch splitter to straightaway center. Encarnacion-Strand swung over a low splitter, then drove an up splitter 387 feet into the left-field seats as the Reds streamed out of their dugout to celebrate. Lucas Sims retired three straight batters in the ninth.
Christian Walker hit a two-run homer, Brandon Pfaadt pitched five solid innings and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Colorado Rockies 5-1. The D-backs won three of four games in the season-opening series for both teams. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit an RBI single and Walker ripped his two-run homer to left in the first, lifting the Diamondbacks to a 3-0 lead. Gurriel continued a torrid start to the season. He has three homers, two doubles and 10 RBIs over four games. It was a rough defensive day for the Rockies, who had three errors. Jacob Stallings had two hits and the team’s lone RBI.
Luis Campusano and Ha-Seong Kim hit three-run homers, and the San Diego Padres routed the San Francisco Giants 13-4 for an opening four-game split. Patrick Bailey had a run-scoring passed ball and Manny Machado an RBI double in a five-run first inning. Campusano followed with a drive into the first-row seats near the right-field foul pole off Daulton Jeffries, who made his first big league start since 2022. Campusano added a run-scoring single for his fourth RBI, and Machado drove in three runs for the Padres, who out-hit the Giants 16-5. Kim homered for a 9-0 lead in the second.
Paul Goldschidt drove in the go-ahead run in the 10th inning with a groundout after Mookie Betts homered again to help Los Angeles tie it in the ninth, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Dodgers 6-5 on Saturday night. The Cardinals turned a hit batter, a catcher’s interference and a balk into a five-run seventh inning and led 5-3 in the ninth. The Dodgers tied it against Ryan Helsley (1-0) on a one-out home run from Betts and a game-tying single from Max Muncy with two outs. Betts has a home run in four consecutive games.
NBA
LeBron James had one of the best shooting nights of his illustrious career, going 9 for 10 on 3-pointers to tie his career high for makes, and matched a season high with 40 points to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 116-104 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday night. James had the sellout crowd at Barclays Center standing on its feet as he put the finishing touches on his 3-point shooting display in the fourth quarter. The Lakers have won five of six, and this victory moved them a season-high nine games over .500 with seven games remaining in the regular season.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made the go-ahead jumper from the corner with 2.6 seconds left, sending the Oklahoma City Thunder to the playoffs for the first time since 2020 with a 113-112 victory over the New York Knicks on Sunday night. Josh Giddey had 16 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists for Oklahoma City, which moved back into sole possession of first place in the Western Conference at 52-22 with its second straight win. It was Giddey’s third career triple-double — all against the Knicks. He scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, when the Thunder outscored the Knicks 38-27.
Kelly Oubre Jr. scored a season-high 32 points, Kyle Lowry had 11 points and 10 assists against his former team and the Philadelphia 76ers snapped a three-game losing streak, beating the Toronto Raptors 135-120 on Sunday. Cam Payne scored 14 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, Tobias Harris had 21 and Nicolas Batum 19 to help Philadelphia send Toronto to its 13th straight loss and seventh in a row against the 76ers. Oubre shot 10 for 22, matching a season high by making 6 of 11 3-point attempts. Philadelphia made a franchise-record 24 3-pointers on 43 tries. Gary Trent Jr. scored 23 points for Toronto.
Nikola Jokic had 26 points, 18 rebounds and 16 assists for his 22nd triple-double of the season, and the Denver Nuggets beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 130-101 on Sunday to clinch a playoff berth. Jokic got his 128th career triple-double despite dealing with a sore right wrist that nearly kept him out of Friday’s loss to Minnesota. Denver guard Jamal Murray missed his fifth straight game due to knee and ankle injuries but has progressed, coach Michael Malone said before the game. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added a season-high 22 points, going 6 of 9 from 3-point range. Reggie Jackson had 19 points starting in place of the injured Murray and Michael Porter Jr. also scored 19 points for the Nuggets.
Terry Rozier III scored 27 points, Bam Adebayo had 22 and the Miami Heat grinded out a 119-107 victory over the Washington Wizards. Jimmy Butler added 17 points for the Heat, who won their second straight. Miami, seventh in the Eastern Conference, went 25 for 29 from the free throw line to move within a half-game of Indiana in the race to avoid the NBA Play-In Tournament. Jordan Poole scored 22 points and Marvin Bagley III had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Washington on a night Wizards leading scorer Kyle Kuzma sat out with a bruised right heel. Anthony Gill tied a career high with 18 points for the Wizards, who have lost three in a row following a season-high three-game win streak.
Paul George knocked down eight 3-pointers and finished with a season-high 41 points, and the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Charlotte Hornets 130-118 on Sunday night for their fifth straight road win. George finished 14 of 21 from the field and 8 of 12 from beyond the arc to beat the Hornets for the 12th straight time. Ivica Zubac had 24 points and 12 rebounds and Kawhi Leonard chipped in with 23 points for the Clippers. Miles Bridges scored 33 points and Brandon Miller had 22 for Charlotte, which has lost eight of nine.
Luka Doncic had 47 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, Kyrie Irving added 24 points and seven assists, and the Dallas Mavericks won their seventh straight and snapped the Houston Rockets’ 11-game winning streak with a 125-107 victory on Sunday night. Doncic scored 32 points in the first half on 12-of-18 shooting, going 6 of 10 on 3-pointers, as the Mavs led 66-45. Doncic had 22 in the first quarter alone. Dallas tied idle New Orleans for fifth in the Western Conference with eight games remaining for each team.
DeMar DeRozan had 27 points and eight assists and Alex Caruso added 21 points on a season-high seven 3-pointers as the hot-shooting Chicago Bulls beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 109-101. Nikola Vucevic had 19 points and eight rebounds, Coby White scored 17 and Ayo Dosunmu added 13 for the Bulls, who shot 52.5% from the floor, including 58.6% from 3-point range. Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves with 22 points and 11 rebounds, but he also had six of Minnesota’s 14 turnovers. Rudy Gobert had 19 points and 10 boards, Mike Conley finished with 19 points and seven assists, and Naz Reid had 14 points for the Timberwolves, who were trying to clinch a Western Conference playoff spot.
Stephen Curry had 33 points and the Golden State Warriors held on to beat the undermanned San Antonio Spurs 117-113 on Sunday night for their fourth straight victory. Curry was 12 for 23 from the field, hitting 7 of 15 3-pointer attempts, as Golden State clings to the final play-in spot in the Western Conference — two games ahead of Houston after the Rockets’ home loss to Dallas on Sunday. Spurs center Victor Wembanyama had 32 points and nine rebounds. Wembanyama was called for an over-the-back foul on what would have been his 10th rebound with four seconds remaining. Warriors forward Draymond Green made one of two free throws to seal the victory. Green finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds.
Harrison Barnes scored 24 points and keyed a big third-quarter run for Sacramento that carried the Kings to a 127-106 victory over the Utah Jazz. Keegan Murray scored 25 points to lead the Kings, De’Aaron Fox had 24 points and 12 assists and Domantas Sabonis had 17 points and 11 rebounds for his 57th straight double-double. That helped the Kings complete a three-game series sweep against Utah for their first season sweep against the Jazz since the 2001-02 season. Brice Sensabaugh and Collin Sexton each scored 22 points for the Jazz. Utah has lost nine straight games.
NHL
Dakota Joshua scored twice and the Vancouver Canucks held on for a 3-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday. Brock Boeser added a first-period power-play goal for the Canucks and J.T. Miller contributed a pair of assists. The Ducks got third-period tallies from Olen Zellweger and Mason McTavish. Vancouver goaltender Arturs Silovs made 20 saves in his first NHL action since March 6, 2023. Lukas Dostal stopped 27 of 30 for the Ducks.
NFL
Cameron Sutton has turned himself in, ending a weekslong search for a former NFL defensive back who was wanted for a domestic violence warrant. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office announced the 29-year-old Sutton arrived at a jail in Florida on Sunday night, nearly a week after it said his attorney informed authorities that the former Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Steelers standout would turn himself in. Sutton was wanted for domestic battery by strangulation. The sheriff’s department responded to a call about domestic violence in progress involving Sutton and a female around 5 a.m. on March 7.
PGA TOUR
Stephan Jaeger of Germany is a PGA Tour winner for the first time and headed to the Masters. His victory at the Houston Open ended Scottie Scheffler's bid for three straight victories. Scheffler had his chances right to the end. He had a 5-foot birdie putt to force a playoff and missed it left. Jaeger finished with nine straight pars and shot 67 to win on his 135th attempt on the PGA Tour. Scheffler tied for second with Tony Finau, Thomas Detry, Alejandro Tosti and Taylor Moore. Tosti was tied for the lead until a bogey on the 18th.
WPGA TOUR
Top-ranked Nelly Korda became the first LPGA Tour player in eight years to win three straight starts, shooting a 7-under 65 in soggy conditions for a two-stroke victory in the Ford Championship. Korda stayed steady through four days in the desert, entering the final round two shots back through weather that got progressively worse at Seville Golf and Country Club. Korda nearly holed out her second shot for birdie on the short par-4 16th to take the lead and birdied No. 18 to finish at 20-under 268 for her 12th career LPGA victory. She’s the first LPGA player to win three straight starts since Ariya Jutanugarn in 2016. Australian rookie Hira Naveed shot 66 to finish second at 18 under in her second career start.
NASCAR
Denny Hamlin won the race off pit road with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. after a caution with two laps to go and won in overtime at Richmond Raceway. Truex dominated the second half of the NASCAR Cup Series race and seemed poised to hold off challenges by Joey Logano and Hamlin for the final two laps until Kyle Larson got nudged from behind on the front straightaway and skidded into the infield. Hamlin’s victory was his second this season, the fifth of his career and the 53rd of his career.
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