AP Sports

There’s no easy answers for slowing down rising level of pitching injuries at all levels of baseball

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — Figuring out a cause for the skyrocketing number of arm injuries among pitchers is easy. Finding a solution could prove much more challenging. Major League Baseball issued a 62-page report in December that showed how the focus on throwing with increased velocity and using maximum effort on every pitch was a likely cause for the skyrocketing number of arm injuries. The study provided numerical data backing a thesis already supported by conventional wisdom.

World Athletics to require chromosome testing of athletes in women’s track and field

NANJING, China (AP) — World Athletics president Sebastian Coe says the track and field’s governing body has approved the introduction of cheek swabs and dry blood-spot tests for female athletes in order to maintain “the integrity of competition.” The planned changes include reinstating a version of chromosome testing that was discontinued in the 1990s, requiring athletes who compete in the female category to submit to a cheek swab or dry blood-spot test for the presence of a gene that indicates whether the athlete has a “Y” chromosome present in males. Coe says athletes will have to take the test just once during their career. No timeline for the introduction of pre-clearance testing has been officially announced.

USC looks to keep March Madness title hopes alive without generational talent JuJu Watkins in lineup

LOS ANGELES (AP) — If Southern California wants to win its first women’s national championship in 41 years, the Trojans will have to find a way to get it done without star guard JuJu Watkins. She was lost to a season-ending knee injury in the first quarter of USC’s 96-59 win over Mississippi State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Now the Trojans are headed to the Sweet 16. They have a deep and talented roster that will be called upon to contribute in Watkins’ absence. Three of USC’s freshmen scored in double figures against the Bulldogs. Graduate transfer Kiki Iriafen scored 36 points and had eight rebounds.

Women’s NCAA Tournament not ready for expansion from competitive or financial standpoint

The women’s NCAA Tournament features 68 teams and there’s really no room for anymore to join. But if the men’s field was expanded as has been suggested, it is almost a foregone conclusion that the women would follow suit. While it’s questionable whether the men’s tournament is ready for expansion, it seems clear that women’s March Madness is definitely not. The tournament isn’t ready from a competitive or a financial standpoint. There have only been two first-round upsets on the men’s side and only one top-seeded women’s team has ever lost to a 16 seed. In this year’s women’s tourney, there was a near record number of first-round blowouts and noncompetitive games. Six teams scored over 100 points in the opening two days and there were a handful of 50-point games.

MLB free agency: Plenty of talent potentially available in ’25-26 class, likely none for $700M

There almost certainly won’t be a $700 million deal for any player in the baseball’s next free agency class, nothing like the record contracts for two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani and four-time All-Star slugger Juan Soto the past two winters. Still, plenty of talented players are going into their final seasons before potentially becoming free agents for the first time. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., five-tool player Kyle Tucker and starting pitchers Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez and Zac Gallen could all become available to other teams after this season. Three-time batting champion Luis Arráez could also be a first-time free agent.

Jimmy Butler gets his return game in Miami, with both he and the Heat having moved on

MIAMI (AP) — Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat will be linked one last time. And then, they’ll be on opposite sides — just like they were in his final weeks as a member of the team. The Heat will pay tribute to Butler’s 5½ seasons with the team with a pregame video on Tuesday night, one that will be shown in the arena as part of the introduction of the Golden State Warriors’ starting lineup for the game. Butler said he’ll watch the video, though added that it didn’t matter to him whether the Heat did one or not.

Stylistic versatility: Those left in the NCAA Tournament have proven they can win a lot of ways

Houston coach Kelvin Sampson knows his team can always rely on defense to win games. But on the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament, it was the Cougars’ offense that carried them. That’s the reality of March Madness: Teams that can win different ways often do. It was Kentucky, with one of the most porous defenses in the nation, holding Troy to 57 in a first-round win. Or Alabama, which struggled even more than the Wildcats defensively, shutting down Saint Mary’s in a second-round rout. As for Houston, it was able to outscore Gonzaga, which had the nation’s No. 2 scoring offense, to reach the Sweet 16.

Stanford football coach Taylor fired following report he was investigated for alleged mistreatment

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Stanford fired football coach Troy Taylor following a report last week that he had been investigated twice for allegedly mistreating staffers. General manager Andrew Luck announced the decision on Tuesday in his first major move since taking over in his role running the entire football program. ESPN reported last week that Taylor had been investigated twice since taking over before the 2023 season over allegations of hostile and aggressive behavior, as well as personal attacks, against female staff members.

Lindsey Vonn ailing dog Lucy dominates thoughts as she leaves Sun Valley at end of comeback season

SUN VALLEY, Idaho (AP) — Lindsey Vonn is leaving Sun Valley with a second-place finish and a heavy heart. Lucy, her 9-year-old Cavalier King Charles spaniel and faithful travel companion, has failing kidneys and Vonn said the prognosis wasn’t favorable. The American ski racing standout was heading from Idaho to her place in Utah in order to be with Lucy. Vonn closed out her comeback season Sunday at age 40 with a runner-up performance in the super-G. It was her first World Cup podium finish since March 2018. A year later, she earned downhill bronze at the world championships before calling it a career in large part because of her knee. Vonn received a partial knee replacement nearly a year ago.

Viktor Hovland’s pursuit of hitting pure golf shots is really not that complicated

Viktor Hovland can sound like a player who is bent on perfection. But it’s really not that complicated. All he wants to do is hit flush shots. And he’s patient enough to keep searching until he has the answers. Sometimes winning happens along the way. Such was the case at the Valspar Championship. He figured out a swing that allowed him to hit clutch shots down the stretch. That doesn’t mean the pursuit is over. Hovland says the goal of any athlete is to try to improve. He says golf has been his life and he won’t stop searching.