NCAA:
Top seeds Connecticut and Maryland have advanced to the Final Four of the NCAA women's basketball tournament, where they will face each other on Sunday. UConn bested Dayton 91-70 after trailing at the half. Maryland downed Tennessee 58-48. Next Tuesday Notre Dame will take on South Carolina in the other Final Four game.
Connecticut's governor and UConn's athletic director are calling on the NCAA to consider moving next year's Women's Final Four out of Indianapolis unless changes are made to Indiana's new religious-objections law. Governor Dannel Malloy and other critics contend the law would allow businesses to deny service to gays and lesbians based on religious beliefs.
St. John's and George Mason have found new basketball coaches. A person with knowledge of the discussions tells The Associated Press that Chris Mullin is returning to St. John's, this time as head coach. George Mason has hired Dave Paulsen as its men's basketball coach. Paulsen was a three-time Patriot League coach of the year at Bucknell, recording a 134-94 record and taking the Bison to the NCAA Tournament twice.
Javion Ogunyemi says he leaving the Siena Saints for a change of scenery. The Times Union reports, he is the fourth Siena player to depart early this season, following guard Patrick Cole, forward Michael Wolfe, and guard Maurice White.
NFL:
The Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons have been disciplined by the NFL.
Browns general manager Ray Farmer has been suspended without pay for the first four games next season for sending text messages to the sideline during games. Farmer has acknowledged sending the messages. The Browns were fined $250,000.
The Falcons have been fined $350,000 and will forfeit their fifth-round selection in the 2016 draft. If the Falcons have multiple picks in that round, the highest selection will be forfeited. Atlanta team president Rich McKay has been suspended from the from the league's Competition Committee beginning April 1 following the team's use of fake noise at home games.
NBA:
In the NBA, Boston beat Charlotte 116-104, the Lakers topped Philadelphia in overtime 113-111, Toronto squeaked by Houston 99-96, Atlanta bested Milwaukee 101-88, Memphis won against Sacramento 97-83, Utah defeated Minnesota 104-84, and it was Portland over Phoenix 109-86.
NHL:
Over on the ice, Buffalo bested Arizona 4-1, Vancouver won against St. Louis 4-1, Tampa Bay routed Montreal 5-3, Calgary skated by Dallas 5-3, Chicago beat Los Angeles 4-1, and it was Edmonton over Colorado 4-1.
MLB:
In baseball spring training, the Mets bested Miami 7-1, Boston crushed Minnesota 14-2, Pittsburgh laughed Philadelphia 18-4, Baltimore tied Tampa Bay 6-6 in 10 innnings, the Cubs topped San Francisco 8-5, the Dodgers doubled up Arizona 4-2, Oakland routed Colorado 11-2, Kansas City trumped Texas 11-7, St. Louis tripled up Washington 6-2, Atlanta doubled up Detroit 4-2, Cleveland beat the White Sox 4-1, Seattle won against the Angels 5-3, and Toronto bested Houston 7-4.
Legal Cases:
The fiancee of former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez has testified in his murder trial that a box he asked her to get rid of smelled skunky and she thought it contained marijuana. Hernandez is accused of killing Odin Lloyd in June of 2013. Shayanna Jenkins testified yesterday that Hernandez told her the day after Lloyd's body was found that it was important to get rid of the box.
Prosecutors have rested their case against Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev with gruesome autopsy photos of the people who died in the 2013 terror attack. Now, Tsarnaev's lawyers will get a chance to present their case. The defense has made it clear that its strategy during the two-phase trial is not to win an acquittal, but to save him from the death penalty.
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