AP Sports

NBA champ Celtics sold for record $6.1 billion to group led by private equity mogul Bill Chisholm

BOSTON (AP) — Private equity mogul William Chisholm has agreed to buy the Boston Celtics in a deal that values the NBA’s reigning champions and most-decorated franchise at a minimum of $6.1 billion. It’s the largest price ever for American professional sports team. If the deal is approved by the NBA’s board of governors this summer, the sale would top the $6.05 billion paid for the NFL’s Washington Commanders in 2023. Chisholm is a Massachusetts native and graduate of Dartmouth College who is the managing partner of California-based Symphony Technology Group.

Former NFL, Michigan assistant coach Matt Weiss charged with hacking for athlete’s intimate photos

DETROIT (AP) — An indictment filed Thursday says that a former NFL and University of Michigan assistant football coach hacked into the computer accounts of thousands of college athletes to access intimate photos and videos. Matt Weiss, who worked for the Baltimore Ravens before joining the University of Michigan in 2021, was charged with 14 counts of unauthorized computer access and 10 counts of identity theft. Weiss was fired in 2023 as Michigan’s co-offensive coordinator after failing to cooperate with the school’s investigation of his access to computers.

Freshman star Cooper Flagg is ready to go for No. 1 seed Duke in NCAA’s East Region bracket

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Duke freshman star Cooper Flagg says he’ll be ready to play fully in Friday’s NCAA Tournament opener against Mount St. Mary’s as he recovers from a sprained ankle. Flagg rolled his left ankle during the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinals and missed the Blue Devils’ wins in the semifinals and title game. That sent Duke into March Madness with the No. 1 seed in the East Region bracket. Flagg said Thursday he has returned to full practice and “hated every second” of being sidelined. Duke’s opener against 16-seed Mount St. Mary’s is one of six first-round games in the East on Friday.

No. 9 Creighton tops No. 8 Louisville 89-75 for 5th straight March Madness opening win

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Jamiya Neal scored a career-high 29 points and had 12 rebounds, Steven Ashworth connected from well beyond the arc on the way to 22 points, and ninth-seeded Creighton beat No. 8 seed Louisville 89-75 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Coach Greg McDermott’s Bluejays won their fifth consecutive March Madness opener and beat a team ranked in the top 10 for the second time this season. Louisville, despite its unimpressive seeding, entered at No. 10 in the AP Top 25. Seeking its fourth Sweet 16 appearance in five years, Creighton will play either No. 1 overall seed Auburn or 16th-seeded Alabama State in the second round of the South Region on Saturday.

Kaufman-Renn scores 21 to help Purdue hold off High Point in the NCAA Tournament

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Trey Kaufman-Renn had 21 points and eight rebounds, and fourth-seeded Purdue held off High Point for a 75-63 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Big Ten player of the year Braden Smith added 20 points and six assists as 23-11 Purdue avoided a first-round exit after reaching the championship game last season. The Boilermakers will meet the winner of Clemson and McNeese State in the second round of the Midwest Region on Saturday. D’Maurian Williams had 12 points for No. 13 seed High Point, which had won 14 straight. Trae Benham added 11 points.

Kirsty Coventry elected IOC president and is first woman, first African to lead global Olympic body

COSTA NAVARINO, Greece (AP) — Kirsty Coventry has been elected president of the International Olympic Committee. She’s the first woman and first African to get perhaps the biggest job in global sports, and aged just 41. The Zimbabwe sports minister is just the 10th leader in the IOC’s 131-year history after one of the most open Olympic elections in decades. She got a stunning win in first-round voting by IOC members in a seven-candidate contest. She gets an eight-year mandate into 2033. Key issues including steering the Olympics through politics and sports challenges toward the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles and picking a 2036 host.

A March Madness trip: Behind-the-scenes with Columbia as the Lions make their way to the Big Dance

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — A year after earning the first NCAA bid in school history, the Columbia women’s basketball team is back in the NCAA Tournament. This behind-the-scenes look by The Associated Press at the Lions’ journey from New York to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, this week provides insight into managing the balance between what is a business trip for any school in the tournament and allowing players to enjoy the ride. The 11th-seeded Lions face Washington on Thursday night in a play-in game.

Buccaneers held inaugural ‘She is Football Weekend’ to increase opportunities for women in the NFL

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — More than 800 women filled a concourse inside Raymond James Stadium on the first Friday morning in March for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ inaugural “She is Football Weekend.” They heard from Buccaneers co-owner Darcie Glazer Kassewitz, NFL executive Dasha Smith and various female leaders across many industries, participated in a full-day summit featuring small group breakout sessions, and watched a live recording of the “Calm Down with Erin & Charissa” podcast featuring NFL reporters Erin Andrews and Charissa Thompson. The two-day event was the latest example of the Buccaneers’ dedication to opening more doors and increasing opportunities for women in the NFL.

Who is Kirsty Coventry, the next president of the International Olympic Committee?

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — The next president of the International Olympic Committee is a former Zimbabwe swimmer who is Africa’s most decorated Olympian and a minister in a government often accused of oppressing political opposition. Kirsty Coventry was elected to one of the most powerful jobs in sport Thursday. Coventry was the back-to-back Olympic champion in the 200 meters backstroke in 2004 and 2008. She retired from swimming after the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016 with seven Olympic medals, more than anyone else from Africa. Coventry is also currently Zimbabwe’s minister of youth, sports, arts and recreation, drawing some scrutiny of her affiliation with a government that has long faced accusations of cracking down on democratic freedoms and suppressing criticism in the southern African country.

This March Madness, women’s teams are getting a perk men have enjoyed for years

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — The Columbia women’s basketball team plays in an intimate 2,700-set gym nestled in Manhattan that is nowhere to be found on the national sports landscape. Now the Lions and all the other starry-eyed dreamers in the NCAA Tournament are being serenaded just like former national champions UConn, South Carolina and Tennessee. And this year, they’re all getting paid to be there. The star treatment this year goes beyond charter flights, hotel accommodations and coveted swag. For the first time women’s teams are getting an individual share of the profits, a perk men’s teams have enjoyed for years.