Soto, Snell and Holmes debut for new teams, Skenes makes his first opening-day start
NEW YORK (AP) — Juan Soto, Blake Snell and Clay Holmes debut for new teams. Paul Skenes makes his first opening-day start at age 22 and Sandy Alcántara returns from Tommy John surgery. A week after the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers swept an opening two-game series over the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo, 26 other teams get underway Thursday on opening day in the U.S. and Canada. One day later the Rays and Rockies become the final clubs to take the field, given extra time while Tampa Bay moved into the New York Yankees’ Steinbrenner Field, its temporary home this season after Hurricane Milton destroyed Tropicana Field’s roof.
Calipari embraces new Cinderella role with 10th seeded Arkansas in the Sweet 16
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — In an NCAA Tournament sorely lacking in Cinderella stories, coach John Calipari has the unusual role of being the closest thing to it. After routinely taking powerhouse teams in his first decade at Kentucky to the Sweet 16 and beyond, Calipari has surprisingly done the same in his first season at Arkansas with the 10th-seeded Razorbacks set to take on No. 3 seed Texas Tech in the West Region semifinals on Thursday night as the only double-digit seed remaining in the tournament. Top-seeded Florida will take on No. 4 seed Maryland in the other Sweet 16 game in San Francisco.
Love affair back on at March Madness. Now with Arizona, Caleb Love takes on Duke again
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — If there’s a single player Duke or any of its fans would love to not run into when the stakes are this high, Caleb Love would be that player. Love used to play for Duke’s biggest rival, North Carolina. Now he plays for Duke’s next opponent, Arizona. They meet Thursday in the Sweet 16, with Love, now a fifth-year senior averaging 16.8 points a game for the fourth-seeded Wildcats, trying to wreck another season for the top-seeded Blue Devils. In 2022, Love was key to handing Duke’s legendary coach, Mike Krzyzewski, a pair of losses, including the one at the Final Four that ended his career.
UConn’s Dan Hurley expresses regret over postgame remarks that were caught on camera
STORRS, Conn. (AP) — UConn coach Dan Hurley acknowledged there are things that “I wish I didn’t do” as he expressed regret over making profane comments about the officiating after the Huskies’ NCAA Tournament loss to Florida. Hurley was caught on camera making those remarks as he walked off the floor and toward the locker room after UConn’s bid for a third straight national title ended with a 77-75 defeat in the NCAA Tournament’s round of 32 on Sunday.
Iga Swiatek is given extra security protection at the Miami Open after being verbally harassed
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Iga Swiatek has been given extra security protection at the Miami Open after being verbally attacked during a practice session by a man who had sent the five-time Grand Slam champion harassing messages via social media. Swiatek’s team confirmed what happened in a statement Wednesday after the episode was first reported by BBC Sport. This comes a little more than a month after a stalker was removed from a match being played by 2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu in Dubai. The No. 2-seeded Swiatek lost to Alexandra Eala in the quarterfinals in Miami on Wednesday.
Mavericks star Kyrie Irving has surgery for torn ACL in his left knee
DALLAS (AP) — Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving had surgery on the torn ACL in his left knee, starting a process of recovery that’s likely to continue into next season. The team says further medical updates on Irving will be provided “as appropriate.” Irving was injured in the first quarter of a 122-98 loss to the Sacramento Kings on March 3. It was the biggest in a string of injuries that decimated the Dallas roster. The Mavericks had already lost fellow All-Star Anthony Davis to a groin injury when Irving went down. Davis has since returned as the defending West champs pursue a spot in the play-in tournament.
From Moscow to Washington, how Alex Ovechkin became the Great 8 on the way to chasing NHL history
Raised in Moscow within the Soviet sports system by parents who were accomplished athletes, Alex Ovechkin was given every chance to succeed at hockey and along the way showed he didn’t need special treatment. He became a superstar on the ice and the top NHL draft pick by the Washington Capitals in 2004, and was known as a fun-loving person off the ice. He is now a Stanley Cup champion, a husband, father and a beloved teammate. He has become reflective on his career accomplishments — the next of which will be breaking Wayne Gretzky’s career goals record.
World championships pause to remember young figure skaters and supporters who died in plane crash
BOSTON (AP) — The world figure skating championships paused for a tribute to those those who died in a plane crash on their way back from a camp for up-and-coming skaters this winter. Speakers remembered the more than two dozen members of the skating community who died in the Jan. 29 crash in Washington. The victims’ names were shown on the dasher boards and scoreboards during the tribute, along with their home clubs in Boston, Washington, Philadelphia, Delaware and Virginia. Videos and photos showed the young skaters practicing the jumps they were still perfecting.