Eileen Gu finds gold on the halfpipe to make it 6 medals in 6 Olympic events over her career
LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — Eileen Gu defended her Olympic ski halfpipe title to make it six medals in six events over her Winter Games career. The 22-year-old Gu, American-born but competing for her mother’s homeland of China, is already the most decorated freeskier in the short history of the sport at the Olympics. Gu won the event on the strength of her second run, a clean, technically sound pass. She got even better in her final run and finished with a score of 94.75. Her teammate, Li Fanghui, took silver and Zoe Atkin of Britain was third. The event was rescheduled to Sunday following a big snowstorm Saturday.
NFL receiver Rondale Moore found dead in his Indiana hometown
NEW ALBANY, Ind. (AP) — Authorities say Rondale Moore, an NFL receiver who had season-ending training camp knee injuries in each of the last two years after a standout college career at Purdue and a promising start with the Arizona Cardinals, has been found dead. He was 25. Police said Moore died of a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police chief Todd Bailey said Moore was found dead in the garage of a property in his hometown of New Albany on Saturday. The death remains under investigation. Floyd County Coroner Matthew Tomlin also confirmed Moore’s death. He said an autopsy would be conducted Sunday. Moore signed with the Minnesota Vikings in 2025.
WNBA offers new CBA proposal that includes paying housing for this season, AP source says
NEW YORK (AP) — The WNBA sent a counterproposal to its players’ union for a new collective bargaining agreement that included continuing to pay for all player housing this season, but not really changing its previous offer of revenue sharing. A person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press about Friday’s development. The person spoke on condition of anonymity on Saturday because of the sensitive nature of negotiations. In the league’s new proposal, the teams would pay for all housing this season. Then teams would pay for housing for players on minimum salary contracts as well as rookies in their first season.
Duke makes its case as top seed by knocking off top-ranked Michigan in March Madness preview
WASHINGTON (AP) — No. 3 Duke has made a statement by outhustling and outplaying top-ranked Michigan. The Blue Devils ended the Wolverines’ 11-game losing streak with a 68-63 win on Saturday night before a riveted crowd at Capital One Arena in Washington. Freshman star Cameron Boozer and the Blue Devils could return to the nation’s capital five weeks from now to play in the East Regional of the NCAA Tournament. Duke was projected earlier Saturday as the No. 1 seed in the East. Coach Jon Scheyer says he’s thankful his team got to play in a “tournament environment.”
The climb toward the Olympic gold medal showdown began months ago and the US came out on top
MILAN (AP) — Management and coaches for the U.S. and Canada put hours into constructing 25-man rosters for the Winter Olympics that gave them the best opportunity to leave with gold. For the Americans, a victory in the final Sunday would validate the decision to bring back nearly the identical roster that fell one goal short against Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off a year ago and leave some dynamic players at home. Canada also did that, particularly sticking with starting goaltender Jordan Binnington.
Michigan, Duke, Arizona, Iowa State headline preliminary seeds from NCAA selection committee
Michigan is the No. 1 overall seed in the preliminary rankings by the committee that will select the 68-team men’s field for the NCAA Tournament. The Wolverines were joined by Duke, Arizona and Iowa State as the 1-seeds in Saturday’s reveal show on CBS. The Cyclones got the last No. 1 seed ahead of UConn and Houston. Saturday’s reveal is a snapshot of where things stand with less than a month left until Selection Sunday. Generally the teams listed above the cutline for a top-four regional seed stay there. Selection Sunday is March 15. The Final Four is in Indianapolis.
Top-ranked Jeeno Thitikul wins home LPGA Thailand tournament for the first time
CHONBURI, Thailand (AP) — Jeeno Thitikul wins the LPGA Thailand by one shot and earns her first victory at her home event. On Sunday, the world No. 1 closed with a 4-under 68. She finishes at 24-under for her eighth LPGA title. Thitikul says winning at home means even more than a major for her. Japan’s Chizzy Iwai pushes hard and finishes second at 23-under. Kim Hyo-joo places third. Defending champion Angel Yin of the United States shot 70 and was in a tie for 48th. The event opens the LPGA’s three-week Asia swing.
Yankees slugger Aaron Judge hits 2 HRs in spring debut
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge hit two homers in his spring debut as he prepares for the World Baseball Classic next month. The three-time Most Valuable Player hit a pair of two-run shots, one in the third inning and another in the fourth. He finished the day 2-for-3 with four RBIs. The 33-year-old has won the MVP in three of the past four seasons, including last year when he hit .331 with 53 homers and 114 RBIs. Judge will be part of what looks like a loaded Team USA lineup in the WBC. The position player group also includes Bryce Harper, Gunnar Henderson, Bobby Witt Jr., Cal Raleigh and Kyle Schwarber.
A record-setting Winter Olympics: 6 golds and 17 medals for the US in women’s events set marks
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Women are powering Team USA’s medal surge at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, and they are setting records along the way. Through Saturday, the next to last day of these Games, they stand at six gold medals and 17 medals in women’s events. That tops past U.S. Winter Games marks. When mixed events are included, the total climbs to 21 medals. More than 40 American women are leaving Italy with at least one medal. Gold moments include women’s hockey over Canada, wins in Alpine skiing, monobob, figure skating, and freestyle moguls. Athletes say the success keeps feeding the next wave.