AP Sports

Shohei Ohtani, Japan’s other baseball stars shook their nerves and delivered in MLB’s Tokyo opener

TOKYO (AP) — Yoshinobu Yamamoto had a little extra zip on his fastball. Shohei Ohtani even admitted to some nerves. There was little doubt this was no ordinary baseball game. But the Japanese players who were playing in front of their home country at the Tokyo Dome on Tuesday night handled any jitters they had quite well, delivering in clutch moments as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs 4-1 in Major League Baseball’s season opener. Ohtani finished with two hits and scored two runs in the Dodgers’ win while Yamamoto threw five excellent innings. Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga also threw four scoreless innings, facing Yamamoto in the first all-Japanese starting pitching duel on opening day in MLB history.

Players’ group founded by Novak Djokovic files an antitrust suit against tennis organizers

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The players’ association co-founded by Novak Djokovic has filed an antitrust lawsuit against the women’s and men’s professional tours, the International Tennis Federation and the sport’s integrity agency. Tuesday’s filing in federal court in New York calls the groups in charge of tennis a cartel. The filing on behalf of the Professional Tennis Players’ Association says the organizations that run the sport hold “complete control over the players’ pay and working conditions” and their setup constitutes “textbook violations of state and federal law” that “immunize professional tennis from ordinary market forces and deny professional tennis players and other industry participants their right to fair competition.”

FIFA report highlights the inequities in women’s soccer

Despite the growing attention on women’s soccer globally, the vast majority of players and teams still struggle for resources and investment. FIFA on Monday released its annual report on the women’s game, highlighting the inequities across the sport. Soccer’s world governing body expanded the fourth edition’s scope from 34 leagues to 86 leagues and some 669 teams, providing a more accurate picture of the state of the game.

Johni Broome of Auburn, Cooper Flagg of Duke unanimous picks to lead the AP All-America team

Johni Broome of Auburn and Cooper Flagg of Duke are unanimous first-team selections for The Associated Press men’s college basketball All-America team. Broome and Flagg were joined on the first team by Alabama star Mark Sears, Purdue’s Braden Smith and Walter Clayton Jr. of Florida. Broome is the first Auburn player to be a first-team All-American, while Flagg is the 19th player from Duke to earn such recognition. JT Toppin, Kam Jones, John Tonje, PJ Haggerty and RJ Luis Jr. were second-team picks, and Ryan Kalkbrenner, Zakai Zeigler, Eric Dixon, LJ Cryer and Hunter Dickinson were third-team selections.

In March Madness, the women still have more stars and perhaps more people watching too

The two biggest names in college basketball these days will be playing in the women’s tournament when March Madness gets into full swing. Whether the presence of Juju Watkins of USC and Paige Bueckers of UConn will overcome the game’s loss of Caitlin Clark and drive a repeat of last year’s history-making surge in viewership is among the questions over the next three weeks. One big factor to consider is that the men’s Final Four will be aired on CBS this year. Last year, when it was on cable, the women’s final outdrew the men for the first time in history.

2-time Super Bowl champ Brandon Graham retires after 15 seasons with the Eagles

Brandon Graham retired following a 15-year career in Philadelphia that was highlighted by his role in the defensive play that helped deliver the Eagles their first Super Bowl title. Graham turns 37 in April and had indicated that last season would be his final one in the NFL. The former first-round draft pick out of Michigan in 2010 ends his career as the all-time leader in games played for the Eagles with 206 and ranks third with 76 1/2 sacks. His strip-sack of Tom Brady late in Super Bowl 52 thwarted a comeback attempt and helped deliver Philadelphia its first Lombardi Trophy.

Skenes highlights MLB opening day starter list as youngest since ’14 to take mound to begin season

Pittsburgh right-hander Paul Skenes will be the youngest pitcher in 11 years to start a season opener when he takes the mound for the Pirates. The reigning National League Rookie of the Year award winner will be 22 years and 302 days old on March 27 when Pittsburgh plays at Miami. José Fernández of the Marlins was 21 years and 243 days old when he opened 2014. Major League Baseball made its annual announcement of opening day starters and also revealed Skenes will be the fastest first overall draft pick to start on opening day. He was drafted in 2023.

The Thunder and Cavaliers lead the conferences by big margins. They’re playing for something more

The East is a runaway. The West is a bigger runaway. And the NBA hasn’t seen anything quite like this in nearly 40 years. While all the attention is on your NCAA brackets this week, it’s safe to go ahead and pencil in Cleveland as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and Oklahoma City as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. It’s not mathematically certain yet, but let’s face it, neither of those teams are going to get caught.

Rory McIlroy wins The Players Championship and Masters expectations rise

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Winning The Players Championship gave Rory McIlroy so much he doesn’t need. The $4.5 million payoff went to a player closing in on $100 million for his career. All the exemptions he already has. Winning also comes with higher expectations at the Masters. He doesn’t need those, either. That’s what happens when a player of his talent goes 11 years without a major and the Masters is the one keeping him from the career Grand Slam. But the wins at Sawgrass and Pebble Beach indicate that McIlroy is a more complete player. Now it’s a matter of staying the course.

Transfer portal and NIL are making it even more difficult to three-peat in college basketball

UConn has a chance to join very rare company as March Madness winds into full gear this week. The Huskies have won the last two national championships and could become only the second team to three-peat, joining John Wooden’s UCLA teams of the 1960s and ’70s. Florida was the last team with a chance to three-peat after winning titles in 2006 and 2007 but failed to make the NCAA Tournament the next season. Limited eligibility for players has played a role, making it tough for teams to have continuity from one season to the next. The transfer portal and NIL opportunities have made it even more difficult, with coaches essentially having to rebuild their rosters every year.