MLB
Pete Alonso launched a tying homer leading off the ninth inning, Tyrone Taylor lined a game-winning single and the New York Mets — after going 13 innings without a hit — rallying past the Detroit Tigers 2-1 for their first victory of the season and a doubleheader split - avoiding opening 0-6 for the first time since their second season in 1963. The Tigers doubled up the Mets 6-3 in the first game. Harrison Bader’s bloop single to start the eighth was New York’s first hit in the second game. But the Mets finally broke through in the ninth to give Carlos Mendoza his first win as a major league manager. Detroit lost for the first time following a 5-0 start. New York blew a three-run lead in the opener and fell 6-3 in 11 innings.
Tanner Bibee and the Cleveland bullpen had 15 strikeouts to put the clamps on Minnesota’s bats, Steven Kwan had three hits and the Guardians spoiled the Twins’ home opener with a 4-2 victory Thursday. Bibee (1-0) matched his career high with nine strikeouts, allowing one run over 5 1/3 innings. Four relievers followed, with Emmanuel Clase working a perfect ninth for his third save. Carlos Correa had three hits and Edouard Julien homered for the Twins. Minnesota starter Pablo López (1-1) gave up four runs — three earned — in 5 2/3 innings.
Nelson Velázquez and MJ Melendez each homered and drove in two runs, leading Seth Lugo and the Kansas City Royals to a 10-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Right fielder Hunter Renfroe threw out the potential tying run at the plate in the sixth inning before Kansas City broke it open with eight runs in the seventh. Velázquez knocked in the first two runs of the game with a single and a homer. Lugo allowed one run and eight hits in 6 2/3 innings for his first win with the Royals. Michael Soroka gave up two runs over six innings in his second start for the White Sox.
The Pittsburgh Pirates bounced right back from their first loss and lowest-scoring game of the season by producing a four-run first inning with the help of Rowdy Tellez’s two-run single to send them on their way to a 7-4 victory over the Washington Nationals. Connor Joe contributed his first homer of the season Thursday as Pittsburgh improved to 6-1. It was a 400-foot, two-run shot in the fifth. Tellez, Oneil Cruz, Bryan Reynolds and Michael A. Taylor each had multiple hits. Martín Pérez allowed two runs in 6 2/3 innings. CJ Abrams homered for the Nationals, who are 2-4.
Nolan Gorman hit a go-ahead two-run double in the seventh inning and the St. Louis Cardinals won their home opener, 8-5 over the winless Miami Marlins, who are off to the worst start in the 33-year history of the franchise. Jake Burger hit a pair of homers for Miami, which fell to 0-8. That's the worst start in the majors since Atlanta and Minnesota each lost their first nine games in 2016. The Marlins are the only winless team in baseball after the New York Mets got their first win Thursday, beating Detroit.
The Athletics will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park near Sacramento until their planned new stadium in Las Vegas is built. The A’s announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland. The A’s announced their intention last April to move to Las Vegas. The decision angered the fans in Oakland and the team’s previously low attendance dropped precipitously with the club drawing a league-low 832,352 fans to the outdated Coliseum last season.
NBA
Jalen Brunson had 35 points and 11 assists, Josh Hart scored a season-high 31 points and the New York Knicks erased a 21-point deficit and beat the Sacramento Kings 120-109 to snap a three-game losing streak, hours after announcing that Julius Randle would have right shoulder surgery and miss the rest of the season. The Knicks showed why they might still be dangerous without him. Hart shook off a sprained right wrist to shoot 14 for 19 and add nine rebounds and eight assists. The Knicks tied Orlando for the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference at 45-31. De’Aaron Fox had 29 points to lead Sacramento.
Tyrese Maxey scored 37 points, Joel Embiid added 29 and the Philadelphia 76ers topped the Miami Heat 109-105 to tighten the Eastern Conference playoff chase. Maxey was one rebound shy of a triple-double, finishing with 11 assists and nine boards for Philadelphia. Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 18 points for the 76ers, who moved within a half-game of Miami for No. 7 in the East. Terry Rozier had 22 points and Jimmy Butler added 20 for Miami, which entered the night No. 6 in the East but ceded that spot back to Indiana.
Luka Doncic finished with 25 points after a rare scoreless first quarter and the Dallas Mavericks stayed alone in fifth place in the Western Conference with a 109-95 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. Kyrie Irving scored 26 points and Doncic had 12 rebounds and eight assists as the Mavericks opened a rare stretch of three home games in four days with their 12th victory in 14 games. Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 17 points for the Hawks. Atlanta has clinched a spot in the play-in tournament in the East.
Steph Curry and Klay Thompson scored 29 points each and the Golden State Warriors stretched their winning streak to a season-high six games with a 133-110 win over the Houston Rockets. The Warriors, who are in 10th place in the Western Conference, never trailed and built a 15-point lead by halftime behind 21 points by Thompson. He made seven 3-pointers with five coming in the first half. They improved to 3-0 against Houston this season and have won the last 13 regular season games against the Rockets. Jabari Smith Jr. had 24 points to lead the Rockets.
Paul George scored 28 points, James Harden added 20 and the Los Angeles Clippers hung on to beat the Denver Nuggets 102-100. The Clippers snapped a five-game skid at home despite the absence of Kawhi Leonard, who sat out with a sore right knee. Nikola Jokic led Denver with 36 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists for his 24th triple-double of the season. But he missed a potential game-winning 3-point attempt as time expired. Aaron Gordon added 18 points for the Nuggets. The Clippers' bench outscored Denver's reserves, 34-9.
Julius Randle needs surgery on his right shoulder and will miss the rest of the season, a crushing blow for a New York Knicks team that was surging before the All-Star forward was hurt in January. The Knicks said Thursday that Randle would be re-evaluated in five months, meaning it’s unclear if he will even be ready for the start of next season. But they had focused on their possibilities for this season when Randle dislocated his shoulder Jan. 27 in a victory over the Miami Heat. The Knicks ended up 14-2 that month, tied for the second-most wins in franchise history in a month.
NHL
Noah Dobson scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the New York Islanders stayed alive in their quest for the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot with a 4-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Pierre Engvall and Bo Horvat scored first-period goals, and Ilya Sorokin stopped 25 shots for the Islanders, who have won three straight and jumped over the Washington Capitals — 4-1 losers to Pittsburgh on Thursday — and Detroit Red Wings for the final playoff slot with six games left. Kirill Marchenko had a goal and an assist, and Dmitri Voronkov also scored for Columbus.
David Pastrnak and Danton Heinen each had a goal and an assist in the first period and the Boston Bruins beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 on Thursday night. Brad Marchand had the game’s first goal for the 400th of his career, Hampus Lindholm added an empty-netter and Jeremy Swayman made 27 saves for Boston. The Bruins won their third game in a row and moved four points in front of the Hurricanes, who have a game in hand, in a matchup of Eastern Conference playoff-bound teams. Boston finished a six-game road stretch at 4-2-0. It was the first loss in more than five months for Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen, who had gone 7-0-0 since returning following a health issue. Jake Guentzel scored for the Hurricanes.
Alex Nedjelkovic made 30 saves to backstop the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 4-1 victory at the Washington Capitals. Ryan Shea also scored his first NHL goal and Michael Bunting his fourth since joining them in a trade from Carolina. The Penguins have won three in a row and five of six to climb back in the Eastern Conference playoff race. They're now two points back of the division rival Philadelphia Flyers and New York Islanders after being nine out as recently as March 24. The Capitals lost their fourth in a row despite Alex Ovechkin scoring his 27th goal of the season and 849th of his career.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves for his fifth shutout of the season, Matthew Tkachuk had a goal and two assists and the Florida Panthers routed the Ottawa Senators 6-0 on Thursday night. Nick Cousins, Dmitry Kulikov, Anton Lundell, Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart also scored to help Florida improve to 48-24-5. Panthers coach Paul Maurice moved into sole possession of fourth place on the NHL victory list with 865. Joonas Korpisalo allowed four goals on 17 shots for Ottawa. Anton Forsberg gave up two on 14 shots in relief.
NHL points leader Nikita Kucherov scored his 43rd goal of the season and had two assists, Steven Stamkos and Nicholas Paul each scored twice and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Montreal Canadiens 7-4 on Thursday night. Holding the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, the Lightning improved to 43-26-7. Matt Tomkins, a 29-year-old making only his fourth NHL start and the first since Nov. 7, made 26 saves for the victory. He has a 2-2-0 record, with both of his wins coming against the Canadiens in Montreal. Michael Eyssimont and Brandon Hagel also scored for Tampa Bay. Joel Armia scored twice for Montreal. Juraj Slafkovsky and Cole Caufied added goals, and Cayden Primeau made 28 saves.
Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and two assists, Justus Annunen made a career-high 44 saves and the Colorado Avalanche moved closer to first place with a 5-2 win over the Minnesota Wild. Jonathan Drouin scored twice and added an assist as the playoff-bound Avalanche bounced back from a vexing loss Monday at Columbus, last in the Eastern Conference. Second-place Colorado is three points behind idle Dallas, which leads the Central Division and Western Conference with 105 points. Meanwhile, the Wild’s slim postseason chances are fading. Artturi Lehkonen and Mikko Rantanen also scored for the Avs.
Filip Forsberg had two goals and an assist, Juuse Saros made 44 saves and the Nashville Predators beat the St. Louis Blues 6-3 to snap a three-game losing streak. Roman Josi, Anthony Beauvillier, Michael McCarron and Mark Jankowski also scored goals and Gustav Nyquist had three assists for Nashville. Brandon Saad, Jake Neighbours and Jordan Kyrou scored and Jordan Binnington made 25 saves for St. Louis, losers of two of their last three. Nashville sits atop the Western Conference’s wild-card standings with 92 points, eight clear of third place St. Louis.
Gabe Vilardi had a hat trick and the Winnipeg Jets wrapped up a playoff spot and eliminated Calgary from the wild-card race, beating the Flames 5-2 on Thursday night to close a five-game homestand. Vilardi scored his third goal of the game and 19th of the season into an empty net with 1:04 left. Nikolaj Ehlers had a goal and an assist, Tyler Toffoli also scored and Connor Hellebuyck stopped 31 shots to help the Jets improve to 46-24-6. Martin Pospisil and MacKenzie Weegar scored for Calgary. Dustin Wolf made 40 saves. Toffoli gave Winnipeg a 3-2 lead on a power play with 4:25 left in the second period.
Akil Thomas scored his first NHL goal and David Rittich stopped 15 shots as the Los Angeles Kings beat the San Jose Sharks 2-1 to improve their playoff position. Adrian Kempe also scored for the Kings, who are 7-0-1 in their last eight games against San Jose. Los Angeles moved seven points ahead of St. Louis for the second Western Conference wild card with six games remaining. The Kings also stayed one point behind Nashville for the top wild card and climbed within one point of Vegas for third place in the Pacific Division. Klim Kostin scored for the last-place Sharks, who have lost 11 of 12. Mikael Granlund had an assist to extend his point streak to six games. Mackenzie Blackwood made 25 saves in the loss.
NFL
Kansas City Chiefs’ player Rashee Rice’s attorney says the wide receiver was the driver of one of two speeding sports cars who left after causing a chain-reaction crash on a Dallas highway over the weekend. Attorney and state Sen. Royce West says Thursday that the reason Rice left Saturday’s crash was under investigation and he declined to elaborate. West spoke at a news conference without Rice. West said that Rice was driving the Lamborghini sport utility vehicle that was involved in the crash. He also said the other speeding sports car belongs to Rice, but no information has been released on the driver.
MARCH MADNESS
The Final Four delivers the last entry in college basketball’s heartwarming yearbook. It's the annual assortment of legendary longshots, coaches looking for hugs and magic oozing from every corner of the bracket. The only problem with the 2024 version is that UConn doesn’t believe in magic. The only thing that has come close to stopping the Huskies on their march to a second straight title has been an uncooperative airliner. Dan Hurley and his players finally arrived in Phoenix at 3:15 a.m. Thursday after a nightmare combo of mechanical issues and bad weather left them hanging in the terminal for hours.
Two of college basketball's biggest stars will face off tonight at 9:30 when Iowa and Caitlin Clark meet UConn and Paige Bueckers in the Final Four. Clark is a two-time National Player of the Year trying to guide the Hawkeyes to their first NCAA championship. Bueckers has returned to form this year after dealing with knee injuries that cost her most of two seasons. Clark and Bueckers grew up in the Midwest often facing off in AAU tournaments or playing alongside each other for Team USA. They say they don't view themselves as rivals but instead feel their rising stardom is symbolic of the increased exposure of the women's game.
Meanwhile, 3 NC State takes on 1 USC at 7 p.m. in Cleveland.
Caitlin Clark is capping off her illustrious college career with another record-breaking season. The NCAA Division I career scoring leader set numerous records helping Iowa reach the Final Four for a second consecutive season. Clark was honored Thursday as The Associated Press women’s basketball Player of the Year. She received 34 votes from the 36-member national media panel that votes on the AP Top 25 each week. Cameron Brink of Stanford received the other vote.
On the men’s side, top-seed Purdue will face off against 11-seed NC State at 6:09 Saturday night in Glendale, Arizona, with UConn taking on 4 Alabama at 8:49.
Billy Donovan hasn’t watched many UConn games. But the Chicago Bulls coach has seen enough to know the Huskies’ bid to repeat as national champions is happening in “a totally different environment.” For starters, there’s an abundance of talent and experience available through the NCAA transfer portal. There’s also name, image and likeness money available to potentially keep guys on campus longer than ever before. It’s a seismic shift that comes with a new set of challenges for sure. It also might provide a path for champs like UConn to rebuild quickly and have a legit shot at winning it all again — even with a revolving group of guys. The Huskies are trying to become the first team since Donovan’s Florida team in 2007 to win back-to-back NCAA Tournaments.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Eric Musselman of Arkansas has been hired as Southern California men’s basketball coach. It's the first major hire by new athletic director Jennifer Cohen. He replaces Andy Enfield, who left for the same job at SMU on Monday. The 59-year-old Musselman will be introduced at a news conference on Friday. He spent the last five years at Arkansas, where he led the Razorbacks to three NCAA Tournament appearances, including the Elite Eight twice. Musselman was 111-59 overall in Fayetteville. He's had other college and NBA coaching stints.
GOLF
Akshay Bhatia has opened with a 63 to build a three-shot lead in the Valero Texas Open. The 22-year-old Bhatia played bogey-free at the TPC San Antonio. He hit the ball so well that only two of his nine birdies were longer than 10 feet. He leads by three over Justin Lower and Brendon Todd. Rory McIlroy also played bogey-free. He just didn't make many birdies. McIlroy shot a 69 in his final tournament before the Masters. For Jordan Spieth, it was another wild ride. He followed a double bogey with a hole-in-one and rallied late to salvage a 73.
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