AP Sports

Final Four serves up the usual menu of fun stories — and UConn looks to snuff out all of them

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Final Four delivers the last entry in college basketball’s heartwarming yearbook. It’s the annual assortment of legendary longshots, coaches looking for hugs and magic oozing from every corner of the bracket. The only problem with the 2024 version is that UConn doesn’t believe in magic. The only thing that has come close to stopping the Huskies on their march to a second straight title has been an uncooperative airliner. Dan Hurley and his players finally arrived in Phoenix at 3:15 a.m. Thursday after a nightmare combo of mechanical issues and bad weather left them hanging in the terminal for hours.

Caitlin Clark of Iowa is the AP Player of the Year in women’s hoops for the 2nd straight season

CLEVELAND (AP) — Caitlin Clark is capping off her illustrious college career with another record breaking season. The NCAA Division I career scoring leader set numerous records helping Iowa reach the Final Four for a second consecutive season. Clark was honored Thursday as The Associated Press women’s basketball Player of the Year. She received 34 votes from the 36-member national media panel that votes on the AP Top 25 each week. Cameron Brink of Stanford received the other vote.

Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers have been in each other’s orbit for years. The Final Four beckons

CLEVELAND (AP) — Two of college basketball’s biggest stars will face off when Iowa and Caitlin Clark meet UConn and Paige Bueckers in the Final Four. Clark is a two-time National Player of the Year trying to guide the Hawkeyes to their first NCAA championship. Bueckers has returned to form this year after dealing with knee injuries that cost her most of two seasons. Clark and Bueckers grew up in the Midwest often facing off in AAU tournaments or playing alongside each other for Team USA. They say they don’t view themselves as rivals but instead feel their rising stardom is symbolic of the increased exposure of the women’s game.

Florida’s 2007 repeat came in ‘totally different environment’ than UConn is facing at Final Four

Billy Donovan hasn’t watched many UConn games. But the Chicago Bulls coach has seen enough to know the Huskies’ bid to repeat as national champions is happening in “a totally different environment.” For starters, there’s an abundance of talent and experience available through the NCAA transfer portal. There’s also name, image and likeness money available to potentially keep guys on campus longer than ever before. It’s a seismic shift that comes with a new set of challenges for sure. It also might provide a path for champs like UConn to rebuild quickly and have a legit shot at winning it all again — even with a revolving group of guys. The Huskies are trying to become the first team since Donovan’s Florida team in 2007 to win back-to-back NCAA Tournaments.

Chiefs’ Rashee Rice was driving Lamborghini in Dallas chain-reaction crash, his attorney says

DALLAS (AP) — Kansas City Chiefs’ player Rashee Rice’s attorney says the wide receiver was the driver of one of two speeding sports cars who left after causing a chain-reaction crash on a Dallas highway over the weekend. Attorney and state Sen. Royce West says Thursday that the reason Rice left Saturday’s crash was under investigation and he declined to elaborate. West spoke at a news conference without Rice. West said that Rice was driving the Lamborghini sport utility vehicle that was involved in the crash. He also said the other speeding sports car belongs to Rice, but no information has been released on the driver.

Athletics announce plans to play the next 3 seasons in minor league park near Sacramento

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Athletics will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park near Sacramento until their planned new stadium in Las Vegas is built. The A’s announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland. The A’s announced their intention last April to move to Las Vegas. The decision angered the fans in Oakland and the team’s previously low attendance dropped precipitously with the club drawing a league-low 832,352 fans to the outdated Coliseum last season.

Julius Randle needs surgery on right shoulder, will miss the rest of New York Knicks’ season

NEW YORK (AP) — Julius Randle needs surgery on his right shoulder and will miss the rest of the season, a crushing blow for a New York Knicks team that was surging before the All-Star forward was hurt in January. The Knicks said Thursday that Randle would be re-evaluated in five months, meaning it’s unclear if he will even be ready for the start of next season. But they had focused on their possibilities for this season when Randle dislocated his shoulder Jan. 27 in a victory over the Miami Heat. The Knicks ended up 14-2 that month, tied for the second-most wins in franchise history in a month.

Alonso hits tying HR in 9th, Mets rally past Tigers 2-1 in nightcap for 1st win of season

NEW YORK (AP) — Pete Alonso launched a tying homer leading off the ninth inning, Tyrone Taylor lined a game-winning single and the New York Mets — after going 13 innings without a hit — rallied past the Detroit Tigers 2-1 for their first victory of the season and a doubleheader split. Harrison Bader’s bloop single to start the eighth was New York’s first hit in the second game. But the Mets finally broke through in the ninth to give Carlos Mendoza his first win as a major league manager. They avoided opening 0-6 for the first time since their second season in 1963. Detroit lost for the first time following a 5-0 start. New York blew a three-run lead in the opener and fell 6-3 in 11 innings.

Muslim athletes push boundaries to keep on training despite fasting during Ramadan

LONDON (AP) — Most people are getting ready for bed when the MMA sessions start at Diesel Gym in East London’s docklands area. The training is running throughout the holy month of Ramadan when Muslim athletes around the world adjust their schedules to squeeze in workouts when they can. Dawn-to-dusk fasting poses obstacles about the best time to exercise because it can adversely impact sleep and energy levels. Sabir Hussein says skipping training is “not an option.” Hussein is an emerging MMA flyweight who plans to fight again in early June. Like other Muslim athletes, Hussein says “it’s all worth it because it’s all a spiritual journey.”

Vingegaard has collapsed lung after crash in Basque Country race. Tour de France defense is in doubt

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Two-time defending Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard remains hospitalized in Spain a day after he broke his collarbone and several ribs in a bad crash with other top riders during the Tour of Basque Country. The Danish rider’s Visma-Lease A Bike team says that further tests revealed the Vingegaard also suffered a collapsed lung and a pulmonary contusion. Remco Evenepoel broke a collarbone and a shoulder blade in the pileup. The accident comes less than three months before the Tour’s start on June 29 when Vingegaard is scheduled to to again face off against top rival Tadej Pogačar. That highly anticipated rematch is now in doubt.