NBA:
In the NBA, Golden State humiliated New York 121-85, Oklahoma City blasted Boston 130-109, Cleveland edged Dallas 99-98, Washington beat Chicago 117-96, Atlanta defeated Detroit 118-114, Minnesota bested Memphis 114-108, the Clippers topped Houston 122-106, Charlotte won against Orlando 107-99, and it was New Orleans over Sacramento 123-108.
NHL:
In the NHL, the Rangers topped Anaheim 2-1, Montreal edged Buffalo in overtime 3-2, Philadelphia skated by Chicago 3-2, Edmonton beat St. Louis 6-4, Colorado won against Vancouver 3-1, and it was Calgary over Winnipeg 4-1.
NCAA:
Robert Champion scored 19 points, including a key 3-pointer in the final minute, to help Holy Cross beat Southern University 59-55 for its first NCAA Tournament victory in 63 years. The 15-19 Crusaders out of the Patriot League advance to play West regional top seed Oregon Friday.
Zak Irvin hit a go-ahead 3-pointer and a pair of free throws in the closing minute as Michigan pulled out another one at the end by beating Tulsa 67-62 in the other First Four game. The Wolverines move on to play Notre Dame in the East regional on Friday.
The 64-team portion of the NCAA tournaments starts Thursday with 16 games around the country. Midwest top seed Virginia plays Hampton in Raleigh, N.C., while East No. 1 seed North Carolina takes on Florida Gulf Coast, which defeated Fairleigh Dickinson in a play-in game on Tuesday.
President Barack Obama has made his final NCAA Tournament selections before his second term ends. His choices for the Final Four are Kansas, Texas A&M, North Carolina and Michigan State. The president picks the top overall seed Jayhawks to win the national championship.
Andrew Poturalski of the University of New Hampshire's men's hockey team has been named one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award. The award is given annually to the nation's top NCAA Division I men's hockey player that displays outstanding skills in all phases of the game, strength of character on and off the ice, sportsmanship and scholastic achievements.
MLB:
Told to cut down his son's time in the clubhouse, Chicago White Sox first baseman Adam LaRoche took a different path: He said he planned to retire and walk away from a $13 million salary. White Sox President Kenny Williams confirmed that he twice asked LaRoche in the last week to "dial it back" with his 14-year-old son. The result is the 36-year-old LaRoche is retiring, leaving $13 million on the table.
The New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays 2-1 last night. Brett Gardner went 0 for 2 in his first spring training game of the year, and Starlin Castro hit a two-run homer and made a nifty defensive play. Gardner played five innings in left field. He hit a grounder and struck out in his first game since bruising his left wrist in last year's AL wild-card loss to Houston.
The New York Mets have released infielder Ruben Tejada. He will receive $491,803, which is 30 days' termination pay, rather than the $3 million salary under the contract he agreed to in January. Tejada signed with the Mets in 2006 and spent parts of six big league seasons with New York.
The Minnesota Twins beat the Boston Red Sox 9-4 last night. Kyle Gibson settled down after serving up a leadoff homer to Mookie Betts, striking out seven in an encouraging pitching performance for the Twins. Brian Dozier hit his second home run of the spring. Eddie Rosario had a two-run homer, and Byung Ho Park added a two-run double as Minnesota scored four times off Koji Uehara in the fifth inning.
Miami slugger Giancarlo Stanton and 51-year-old hitting coach Barry Bonds showed off their home run prowess at spring training, slugging homers on the back fields at the Roger Dean Stadium in a de facto Home Run Derby. Stanton says he hit three homers and Bonds finished with four. The 26-year-old Stanton called it "probably one of the coolest things we've done."
NFL:
The New York Jets have signed free-agent defensive lineman Jarvis Jenkins and nose tackle Steve McLendon. The deals help the Jets make up for losing nose tackle Damon Harrison to the Giants in free agency. A person with direct knowledge of the deal says Jenkins' contract is for two years and $7 million, with $3 million guaranteed. McLendon's agent says his client has signed a three-year, $12 million deal.
Former Jets linebacker Demario Davis has signed a two-year contract with the Browns. He started every game the past three seasons for the Jets, but shared playing time last season and finished with 90 tackles and two sacks. His arrival paved the way for the Browns to announce the release of veteran linebacker Karlos Dansby, their leading tackler last season. Cleveland has also released wide receiver Dwayne Bowe after one disappointing season.
Sullivan Award:
World gymnastics champion Simone Biles, Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry of Alabama and Connecticut basketball star Breanna Stewart are among seven finalists for the Sullivan Award that honors the nation's best amateur athlete. Voting for the award is open to the public online through next Wednesday. The award will be presented at the New York Athletic Club next month.
FIFA:
For the first time, officials at FIFA have admitted votes for World Cup competitions were bought by some of its officials. In a 22-page claim to the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York, the corrupt organization wants money from the U.S. that it impounded from dozens of officials indicted but who have denied bribery charges. Officials of soccer's governing body say the bribe money seized by U.S. federal prosecutors belongs to the organization and should be returned to help pay its legal bills and for damages to its reputation. FIFA claims it is the victim of corrupt individuals and should be paid tens of millions of dollars.
Chewing Tobacco:
Chicago is knocking chewing tobacco out of the ballpark as aldermen approved a ban on chewing tobacco at professional and amateur sporting events in the Windy City. White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf voiced his support in a letter to the city's finance committee last week. Similar bans are taking effect in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Boston. Legislation has been proposed in New York City, and both the Mets and Yankees say they back such a ban at their parks. In Toronto, a city legislator said late last month that he plans to pursue a ban that would cover the Blue Jays' stadium.
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