AP Sports

Power conferences fill this year’s Sweet 16 for the first time ever

Years of bracket chaos have given way to the year of the power conference. Cinderella is staying home this time. The Sweet 16, a popular destination for bracket-busting mid-majors, will be made up entirely of teams from power conferences, a first since the bracket expanded to 64 teams in 1985. Not a Saint Peter’s or Loyola Chicago in the bunch. Not even a Butler or Gonzaga. The top four seeds went a combined 16-0 in the first round for the sixth time ever. Two No. 12 seeds got through to the second round and one 11. They all lost, leaving No. 10 Arkansas as the lowest seed left.

When March Madness meets the transfer portal, the world’s biggest scouting combine erupts

DENVER (AP) — They’re playing for more than trips to the Final Four and a chance to cut down nets at March Madness. It’s also a chance to see and be seen – by other teams. In yet another sign of the times in college sports, the transfer portal opens Monday, giving basketball players a 30-day window to switch schools. It means some of the 1,000 or so players on the 68 teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament are playing to win, but also for more money, more playing time, a chance to be seen and potentially set things up for next year.

Niko Medved to leave Colorado State for native Minnesota after tourney run with Rams, AP source says

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota is making plans to hire Colorado State’s Niko Medved as its next head coach, according a person with knowledge of the decision. The native of the Twin Cities area and former student manager for the Gophers had the Rams within one basket of the Sweet 16. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday because the contract was still being finalized. Medved was the front-runner for the Minnesota job from the start. He will replace Ben Johnson, who was fired after going 56-71 overall and 22-57 in the Big Ten Conference over four years on the job.

Bold new rules have reshaped baseball. Could more changes save starting pitching?

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Bold decisions to change Major League Baseball’s longstanding rules quickened the pace of games and revived the popularity of stealing bases over the last few years. A similarly creative move may be needed to help starting pitching regain the relevance it enjoyed as recently as a decade ago. Thirty-four pitchers worked as many as 200 innings and all 30 major league teams got over 900 innings from their starters in 2014. Only four pitchers threw 200 innings last season and just four teams got as many as 900 innings from their starters.

With March Madness underway, it’s game time for newly opened women’s-sports bars across the US

PHOENIX (AP) — Several new bars dedicated to women’s sports have made the mad dash to open in time to capitalize on March Madness, now in full swing. From Phoenix to Austin, there will be more than a dozen overall across the country before the year is over. The femme-focused bar scene has made huge strides from three years ago when The Sports Bra in Oregon was the only one. It comes during an exciting first year where women’s teams will finally be paid for playing in the NCAA Tournament. Many credit athletes like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese for raising the profile of women’s college hoops.

Bridging the political divide: US and Canadian skaters hope sports can unify during worlds in Boston

BOSTON (AP) — One of the best rivalries in figure skating in recent years has been between Canada and the U.S. in ice dancing. But with harsh rhetoric flying from elected officials in both countries, along with trade wars and other divisive issues, there is a different feeling as they take the ice against each other at the world championships this week in Boston. Nobody is quite sure what the reception will be for the Canadians, especially those skaters who were born in the U.S. and now skate for its neighbor to the north.

Tiger Woods confirms his relationship with Vanessa Trump in a social media post

Tiger Woods has confirmed his relationship with the former daughter-in-law of President Donald Trump. Woods posted two images of he and Vanessa Trump on social media. In one of them, she is cuddling with him on a hammock. He wrote that “love is in the air.” And then he asked his 6.4 million followers on X for privacy. Woods and Vanessa Trump had been seen together in San Diego last month during the Genesis Invitational. Her daughter Kai and Woods’ two children attend the Benjamin School. Woods also went public with photos when he announced in 2013 he was dating skier Lindsey Vonn.

Iowa hires McCollum, who swept Missouri Valley titles and won NCAA game in his one season at Drake

Ben McCollum, who led Drake’s dominating run through the Missouri Valley Conference and a win in the NCAA Tournament in his only season with the Bulldogs, is the new head coach at Iowa. Athletic director Beth Goetz announced McCollum’s hiring 10 days after she fired Fran McCaffery and two days after McCollum wrapped up a 31-4 season with a second-round loss to Texas Tech. McCollum takes over a program that had its worst season in seven years. The Hawkeyes were 17-16 and tied for 12th in the Big Ten. Terms of McCollum’s contract weren’t announced.

Anger, frustration, sadness and pride: Dan Hurley full of emotion after UConn’s three-peat bid ends

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Dan Hurley’s emotions ran the gamut following his team’s 77-75 loss to Florida in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, which ended UConn’s bid for a third straight national championship. There was anger over the officiating, frustration over his team’s self-inflicted mistakes, tears about the end of his seniors’ college careers and pride in what UConn accomplished over the past three years. Hurley knew it was coming to an end at some point, with his team as a No. 8 seed after an up-and-down season. But that didn’t make it any easier when the time arrived.

Sasaki, Crews and Domínguez are among baseball’s most intriguing rookies for the 2025 season

CHICAGO (AP) — Baseball’s next big star could be part of this year’s rookie class in the major leagues. Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki is coming over from Japan after signing a minor league contract in January that included a $6.5 million signing bonus. Yankees outfielder Jasson Domínguez is looking for a breakout performance after being hampered by injuries. Nationals outfielder Dylan Crews can do it all, batting .270 with 13 homers, 68 RBIs and 25 steals in 100 games in the minors last year. Tigers pitcher Jackson Jobe and Cubs infielder Matt Shaw are two more rookies to watch going into this season.