Tiger Woods faces another injury and another lost year. Has golf seen the last of him?
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Tiger Woods is out of the Masters and probably for the rest of the year after surgery for a ruptured Achilles tendon. Add that to a list of injuries that outnumber the 15 majors he has won. The latest surgery raises questions about whether golf has seen the last of Woods. Rory McIlroy says he feels badly for Woods and that hopefully golf will see him again next year. From the knee surgeries to back surgeries to his LA car crash, the 49-year-old Woods has managed to keep coming back. But he hasn’t been competitive for more than five years since his record-tying 82nd career title.
March Madness selection panel will have to juggle thanks to SEC overload in bracket
The NCAA selection committee will have some juggling to do before the bracket comes out Sunday to keep March Madness from looking like an extension of the Southeastern Conference’s regular season. With the league in line to place between 12 and 14 teams in the tournament, some long-held guidelines drawn to help set the matchups will have to give way. Conference rivals could face each other as early as the second round or the Sweet 16. The SEC has been led by Auburn, with Alabama, Tennessee and Florida close behind. The newly expanded conference, along with the Big Ten and Big 12, will gobble up nearly half of this year’s 68 spots in the tournament.
5th anniversary of COVID cancellations brings back painful memories for teams, NCAA officials
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Robert Morris coach Andrew Toole stood next to the staging area near midcourt Tuesday night, the confetti strewn around him as the Colonials danced, mingled with fans and climbed ladders to cut down the nets. It was a moment of pure joy for the school located in suburban Pittsburgh. But for Toole, winning his first Horizon League Tournament title was bittersweet because it also rekindled the bitter memories from the last time his team earned an NCAA Tournament bid — two days before the tourney was canceled on March 12, 2020, because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Real Madrid beats Atletico on penalties in Champions League. Arsenal, Villa, Dortmund also advance
Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid in a Champions League penalty shootout — again — to keep its title defense alive Wednesday and advance to the quarterfinals. Defender Antonio Rudiger scored the decisive spot-kick in a 4-2 shootout win after two Atletico players missed. Arsenal, Aston Villa and Borussia Dortmund all advanced to the quarterfinals lineup. Atletico led 1-0 after 90 minutes in its Metropolitano Stadium to cancel out Madrid’s 2-1 advantage from the first leg. Madrid star Vinícius Júnior blazed his penalty kick high over the Atletico goal. Atletico’s Conor Gallagher scored with the game’s first attack.
Oliver Miller, center who helped Arkansas reach Final Four and played 9 NBA seasons, dies at 54
Oliver Miller, a beefy center who helped Arkansas advance to the Final Four before playing nine seasons in the NBA, has died. He was 54. Several of Miller’s former teams announced his death on Wednesday, as did the National Basketball Retired Players Association. A cause of death was not disclosed. Miller was known as the “The Big O” for his 6-foot-9, 280-pound frame that ballooned to well over 300 pounds during his NBA career. He was a standout at Arkansas from 1988 to 1992 and helped the Razorbacks reach the Final Four in 1990 under Hall of Fame coach Nolan Richardson.
Rams release Super Bowl 56 MVP Cooper Kupp
The Los Angles Rams cut Super Bowl 56 MVP Cooper Kupp after being unable to find a trade partner for their former No. 1 wide receiver. The Rams moved on from the 2021 AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year at the start of the league year. Kupp announced last month that the Rams were trying to trade him despite his desire to remain with the team. But with him being owed $20 million this season, no other team was willing to make a trade.
With Allen’s personal and financial life set, Bills QB focuses on unfinished business — Super Bowl
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — With Josh Allen’s personal and financial life set, the NFL MVP is focusing his attention on unfinished business: leading the Buffalo Bills to a Super Bowl title. The 28-year-old shared his objective in his first comments to reporters since agreeing to a six-year $330 million contract that includes a league-record $250 million guaranteed. The deal capped a memorable season in which Allen became the third Bills player to earn MVP honors. Off the field, he became engaged to actor Hailee Steinfeld. What’s missing is a Super Bowl for Allen, who in seven seasons has led the Bills no further than AFC championship game losses to Kansas City in 2020 and this past season.
The 49ers agree to a 2-year contract with QB Mac Jones, AP source says
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Quarterback Mac Jones will finally join the San Francisco 49ers four years after the team nearly drafted him third overall. Jones agreed to a two-year deal worth $7 million with $5 million guaranteed to join the Niners, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Wednesday night. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal hadn’t been announced, saying it had a maximum value of $11.5 million.
Senators, Blue Jackets, Rangers and Bruins lead an East wild-card playoff race full of surprises
The race for the two wild-card playoff spots in the NHL’s Eastern Conference is full of surprises. The Ottawa Senators under first-year coach Travis Green have separated themselves to move on pace to end their seven-year postseason drought. The Columbus Blue Jackets are also improbably in a playoff position with less than a quarter of the regular season left to play, while the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins have clawed back in it after looking like contenders coming in but underachieving for several months. The Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings and New York Islanders are also in the hunt.
The secret to Sawgrass for The Players Championship: Play well and stay out of trouble
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — More than four decades of The Players Championship at the TPC Sawgrass has shown to expect the unexpected. Scottie Scheffler made history last year as the first player in tournament history to win back to back. It’s a great course. There are great players. And predicting how it will unfold is not easy. Tiger Woods won there only twice. Phil Mickelson won in 2007 and years later wondered how he ever managed. Past champions like Rory McIlroy have a longer history of missing the cut. All eyes will be on Scheffler as the No. 1 player going for three in a row.