NBA
The winning total last year: 211 points. The winning total this year: 41 points. An All-Star Game like none other — since it was three games, not one — still had plenty of flash and not a lot of fire. And in the end, Jayson Tatum had the dunk that decided a crown. Shaq’s OGs won the first All-Star mini-tournament in NBA history on Sunday night, getting 15 points from Tatum and 12 from Steph Curry to beat Chuck’s Global Stars 41-25 in the final. It was the debut of the All-Star mini-tournament format: four teams, three games, first to 40 points wins.
Stephen Curry has captured MVP honors at the All-Star Game in front of his home fans, in his arena. Curry earned all this well-deserved fanfare in what has been a remarkable run from Oakland to San Francisco for the Golden State Warriors star. Curry scored the first points of the final on a 3-pointer and later connected from half-court, running down the other way to chest-bump rapper Mistah Fab along one baseline. He helped Shaq’s OGs beat Chuck’s Global Stars 41-25, scoring 12 points on four 3-pointers.
The verdicts were mixed, as would be expected. The NBA’s All-Star Game mini-tournament is now complete, Shaq’s OGs getting the win in the four-team, three-game event where the first squad to score 40 points in each game got the victory. Some players liked it. Some didn’t. Some seemed ambivalent. It was entertaining and had moments where things turned competitive, though tended to lean toward more of the same highlight-reel-type play that has been the norm in All-Star Games for years.
NASCAR
William Byron raced to his second straight Daytona 500 victory, dodging a string of late-race wrecks that knocked out a chunk of contenders and sent the Hendrick Motorsports driver into victory lane last night at Daytona International Speedway. Ninth in the No. 24 Chevrolet with one lap left, Byron became the first back-to-back winner since Denny Hamlin in 2019-20. Byron took advantage of another wreck on the final lap — NASCAR did not drop the caution and let the field race to the finish — and took another, familiar burnout in Daytona International Speedway. The 27-year-old Byron held on to win after two weather delays totaling more than 3 1/2 hours.
Denny Hamlin surged into the lead on the final lap of the Daytona 500 and thought he had a fourth victory in “The Great American Race” within his reach Sunday night. Especially when Riley Herbst went spinning through the infield grass. Hamlin figured NASCAR was for sure going to throw a caution, especially after the Xfinity Series race a day earlier ended under yellow. But when Herbst was able to save his Toyota, NASCAR didn’t need to throw the caution and Hamlin wound up collected in the inevitable crash that comes from drivers making desperate moves. He was three-wide in the middle when Cole Custer wiggled into Hamlin’s car to trigger a race-deciding crash. Hamlin wound up 24th and William Byron won Daytona for the second consecutive year.
GOLF
Ludvig Aberg left Torrey Pines feeling as bad as possible with a stomach bug that caused him to lose 10 pounds. He returned three weeks later as a winner. The Swede birdied four of the last six holes for a 66 to track down Maverick McNealy and win the Genesis Invitational. The tournament normally is held at Riviera but moved to Torrey Pines because of the LA wildfires. Torrey had everything in place from the Farmers Insurance Open last month. McNealy shot 64 and had a three-shot lead until Aberg rallied. Scottie Scheffler shot 66 and tied for third.
Tiger Woods says golf is in a positive place when it comes to negotiating with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf. He expects the game to heal quickly when they get a deal. Woods was at Torrey Pines for his duties as tournament host of the Genesis Invitational. He's part of the negotiations between the tour and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. Woods says a deal will get the game going in the right direction. He says the fans want to see all the best players competing against each other and the plan is to make that happen.
MLB
New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton is uncertain for opening day because of chronic tendinitis in both elbows. Yankees manager Aaron Boone made the announcement as position players reported ahead of the first full-squad workout Monday. Asked whether it could impact Stanton’s availability for the March 27 opener against Milwaukee, Boone responded: “Tough to say.” In addition, outfielder Trent Grisham pulled a hamstring a few weeks ago in training but is running at close to full speed.
St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado reported to spring training on Sunday, showing up to play for a team that tried to trade him. The eight-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove winner is coming off a season that was not up to his standards, hitting .272 with 16 home runs and 71 RBIs. Arenado is owed $74 million for the next three seasons. The Cardinals could not move him and his contract, which gives Arenado a full no-trade provision. He said there were about five teams he would consider going to, noting he would have to pick up his family and move them and that “it has to be something that is worth it.”
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Siena 80 Sacred Heart 73
Quinnipiac 79 Iona 74
Marist 61 Merrimack 60
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
California 75 Syracuse 69
George Mason 76 UMass 66
UConn 87 South Carolina 58
Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes scored a Division I women’s freshman record 55 points in a 98-88 overtime victory over Auburn. Blakes, a 5-foot-8 guard who is averaging 21.8 points, shot 15 for 28 from the field with two 3-pointers and made 23 of 24 free throws. She broke the record set by Elena Delle Donne, who scored 54 as a redshirt freshman at Delaware in a 2010 loss to James Madison. Blakes scored her 55th point from the foul line with 17 seconds left in OT. She then missed her next free throw, the only miss in 24 attempts. She scored 11 of her points in overtime.
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