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Sports Report: MLB Play Starts Sunday; Final Four This Weekend

2016 Final Four

NBA:

In the NBA, Cleveland blasted Brooklyn 107-87, Portland topped Boston 116-109, Chicago won against Houston 103-100, Orlando beat Indiana 114-94, New Orleans defeated Denver 101-95, and it was Oklahoma City over the Clippers 119-117.

Cavs superstar LeBron James has moved past Dominique Wilkins into 12th place on the NBA's career scoring list. James recorded a three-point play in the first quarter of the Cleveland Cavaliers' 107-87 win over Brooklyn, surpassing Wilkins' 26,668 points during his Hall of Fame career.

NHL:

In the NHL, the Islanders topped Columbus 4-3, Carolina beat the Rangers 4-3, Buffalo won against Toronto 4-1, Florida edged New Jersey 3-2, Montreal blanked Tampa Bay 3-0, Ottawa bested Minnesota 3-2, Dallas defeated Arizona 4-1, Los Angeles shut out Calgary 3-0, Vancouver doubled up San Jose 4-2, and it was Pittsburgh over Nashville 5-2.

NCAA:

The last teams in the NCAA Tournament have arrived and it's time to get ready for the Final Four. Oklahoma plays Villanova in the first semifinal Saturday night. They'll be followed by North Carolina against Syracuse. The winners play Monday night for the title.

George Washington won its first National Invitation Tournament championship, getting 18 points from Kevin Larsen and pulling away in the second half to beat Valparaiso 76-60 at Madison Square Garden. Patricio Garino had 14 points and Joe McDonald added 13 as the fourth-seeded Colonials set a school record with their 28th win this season.

NCAA President Mark Emmert says he has spoken to North Carolina's governor about the state's new religious exemption law and made clear if it remains in place, it will affect the state's chances to host major college athletic events. Emmert says the NCAA is prepared to refrain from doing business in places that create hostile environments for student-athletes, coaches and fans.

For the second time, Bill Self of Kansas is AP Coach of the Year Award, finishing six votes ahead of Xavier's Chris Mack. Self led the Jayhawks to the No. 1 ranking in the final weekly poll and their 12th straight Big 12 title before lost to Villanova in the regional final.

Michigan State's Denzel Valentine is The Associated Press College Player of the Year in close voting. He out-polled Oklahoma's Buddy Hield by three votes to become the first Spartan player to win the honor. Valentine averaged 19.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.6 assists.

Karl Hobbs is leaving Connecticut's coaching staff to join Steve Pikiell at Rutgers. Hobbs released a statement through Connecticut last night, confirming the move. Pikiell worked under Hobbs for four seasons at George Washington. He was named Rutgers coach last week. Pikiell and Hobbs are both former Connecticut players, team captains and long-time friends.

A preliminary study by Boston University researchers shows a link between the number of hits a player takes in youth, high school and college football and the development of cognitive difficulties as an adult. The authors warn that more research is needed before parents or policy-makers draw conclusions about the safety of amateur football.

MLB:

Sunday marks the start of baseball season. In a rematch that night, it the New York Mets up against the World Series Champions, the Kansas City Royals, at 8:30.

Masahiro Tanaka will be the New York Yankees' opening day starter on Monday against the Houston Astros. Tanaka rebounded from a slow spring training start by allowing one run over four innings in Tuesday's game against Philadelphia. He had a procedure in October to remove a bone spur from his throwing elbow.

The Minnesota Twins beat the Boston Red Sox 7-4 yesterday. In his final spring training at-bat, David Ortiz hit his first home run of the spring. Ortiz announced on his 40th birthday in November that this will be his final season. He played in 342 Grapefruit League games in Fort Myers over 20 seasons with the Minnesota Twins and Boston Red Sox.

Pablo Sandoval has become a $95 million bench player. The Boston Red Sox announced before their final spring training game yesterday that Travis Shaw will be their starting third baseman. The 25-year-old Shaw made his big league debut last May.

Baseball season is about to begin but nearly a million fans in the Northeast may not be able to watch their beloved New York Yankees. With opening day looming, the dispute between TV provider Comcast and the YES network remains unresolved.

Jackie Robinson:

Philadelphia is officially apologizing to Jackie Robinson for the racism he faced in the City of Brotherly Love. The City Council passed a resolution Thursday naming April 15 as a day to honor Robinson's achievements and to apologize for his mistreatment while visiting Philadelphia in 1947. April 15 is the day Robinson broke the color barrier by becoming the first black player in Major League Baseball, playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

In Philadelphia, Robinson was refused service by a local hotel and taunted by Philadelphia Phillies manager Ben Chapman, who, along with players, hurled racial slurs at Robinson each time he came to bat. The 2013 biopic "42" highlights the hateful reception Robinson received in Philadelphia. The apology will be presented to Robinson's widow, Rachel.

Skating:

Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France repeated as ice dance world champs last night, defending their title despite missing the Grand Prix season because of injury. They were followed by two American teams, just the third time the U.S. has had multiple ice dance medalists at the same world championships.

Gracie Gold leads after the short program as she seeks to become the first American woman to win a world championship in a decade. No U.S. woman has even finished on the podium since Kimmie Meissner took gold and Sasha Cohen bronze in 2006. But at a home world championships, the Americans now have a chance at two medals with Ashley Wagner in fourth after yesterday's short program.

U.S. Soccer:

Five players from the World Cup-winning U.S. women's national team have accused the U.S. Soccer Federation of wage discriminationin an action filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Alex Morgan, Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe, Becky Sauerbrunn and Hope Solo maintain in the filing they were paid nearly four times less than their male counterparts on the U.S. men's national team.

PGA:

Charley Hoffman fired an 8-under 64 to grab the lead after the first round of Houston Open. Dustin Johnson, Scott Brown, Morgan Hoffmann and Roberto Castro shot 7-under 65s to tie for second. Chez Reavie, Johnson Wagner, Scott Pinckney and Justin Hicks are two shots off the pace.

NYC:

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is rolling out vintage train cars in New York City for Yankees and Mets fans on Opening Day.

The agency says a "Nostalgia Train" with four cars from 1917 will leave Grand Central Terminal at 11:30 a.m. Monday to take fans to Yankee Stadium for a 1:05 p.m. game against the Houston Astros.

On April 8, a "Train of Many Colors" consisting of 11 cars built between 1948 and 1964 will leave 34th Street-Hudson Yards at 11:30 a.m. to take fans to Citi Field for the Mets' home opener against the Philadelphia Phillies. The colors of the cars mark different eras in subway history.

©2016 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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