Sports

Transgender women athletes banned from female Olympic events by new IOC policy

GENEVA (AP) — Transgender women athletes are now excluded from the Olympics after the IOC agreed to a new eligibility policy It aligns with U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order on women’s sports ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games. The International Olympic Committee says “eligibility for any female category event at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event, including individual and team sports, is now limited to biological females.” Eligibility will be determined by “a one‑time SRY gene screening.” It is unclear how many, if any, transgender women are competing at an Olympic level.

LSU fires men’s basketball coach Matt McMahon, is finalizing agreement to rehire Will Wade

LSU has fired fourth-year coach Matt McMahon and is finalizing an agreement to rehire former Tigers coach Will Wade from N.C. State. Wade says “the opportunity to return to Louisiana State University is deeply personal. It’s a chance to go home — to a place that means a great deal to me and my family.” While LSU has yet to formally announce the coaching change, a person with knowledge of the development confirmed it to The Associated Press on Thursday. Wade’s return to LSU comes four years after his firing there over allegations of money-fueled recruiting violations.

Duke coach says Caleb Foster will try to make his March Madness return against St. John’s

WASHINGTON (AP) — Duke coach Jon Scheyer says point guard Caleb Foster will try to play in Friday night’s Sweet 16 matchup against St. John’s. Foster broke his right foot in Duke’s regular-season finale and missed the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the top-seeded Blue Devils. He was on the court Thursday during the portion of practice open to reporters, but that largely consisted of stretching and a bit of shooting. It was hard to tell how mobile Foster might be. Foster is averaging 8.5 points per game this season. He’s made 30 starts.

March Madness meets the iPad era: How coaches’ challenges are changing the game

A new coach’s challenge rule has changed college basketball this season. The impact is also being seen in the NCAA tournaments. Teams now lean on video coordinators who scan replays in seconds. Coaches say they often save challenges for late, high-leverage moments in a close game. That happened in Iowa’s shocker over Florida, where a successful challenge with 70 seconds left set the stage for a basket and eventually a 1-point win.

Pirates ace Paul Skenes gets chased in the 1st inning by the Mets on opening day

NEW YORK (AP) — Paul Skenes didn’t even get through the first inning on opening day. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner gave up five runs and got only two outs against the New York Mets, putting the Pittsburgh Pirates in an early hole at Citi Field. Hurt by shoddy defense from Oneil Cruz in center field, Skenes was pulled by manager Don Kelly after throwing 37 pitches as the Mets batted around. The 23-year-old right-hander allowed four hits and two walks. He also hit a batter with a pitch in what was by far the shortest of his 56 major league starts. The five runs Skenes permitted matched his career high.

Italy hosts Northern Ireland in World Cup playoffs aiming to avoid third straight failure

Four-time champion Italy hosts Northern Ireland in the standout semifinal of World Cup playoffs in Europe. The Azzurri are under pressure to avoid failing to qualify for soccer’s biggest event for a third consecutive time after being eliminated by Sweden in 2017 and North Macedonia in 2022. Turkey beat Romania 1-0 and will face either Slovakia or Kosovo for a spot at its first World Cup since a third-place run in 2002. In all 16 teams are competing for four spots. Eight one-off semifinals are followed by four finals next week. The winners of the finals secure qualification. The other semifinals are Wales vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina; Ukraine vs. Sweden; Poland vs. Albania; Denmark vs. North Macedonia; and Czech Republic vs. Ireland.

Malinin rebounds from Olympics at the worlds with a personal-best short program

PRAGUE (AP) — Ilia Malinin has a massive nine-point lead at the figure skating world championships in Prague after winning the short program with a personal-best score. Malinin is the defending two-time champion. He scored 111.29 points. He opened with a quad flip and a quad lutz and triple toe loop combo. Adam Siao Him Fa of France is second. Aleksandr Selevko of Estonia has surprised to be third. Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama fell while doing a lutz.

AP Mock Draft 2.0: The Raiders take Fernando Mendoza at No. 1 overall

Fernando Mendoza didn’t participate in on-field drills at the combine last month but plans to showcase his skills at Indiana’s pro day next week. He doesn’t have to do anything else to improve his draft positioning. The Heisman Trophy winner who led Indiana to its first national championship is an overwhelming favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick when the Las Vegas Raiders are on the clock in April. The rest of the NFL draft isn’t that clear-cut. The only other quarterback expected to go in the first round is Alabama’s Ty Simpson, whose stock is rising among analysts.

Women’s flag football has basketball players trading sneakers for cleats ahead of 2028 LA Games

Loryn Goodwin was a WNBA draft pick and O’Mariah Gordon an All-ACC guard at Florida State. They switched to flag football and have a shot at making the 2026 Team USA squad for world championships in Germany. Maybe even the squad when the sport makes its Olympic debut at the 2028 LA Games. Flag football is so new the leaders of USA Football are searching for players in all places. Because the skills that make an elite player in hoops — athleticism, vision, eye-hand coordination — translate to the flag football field. Both Goodwin and Gordon will take part in USA Football’s two training camps this spring in California.

Tom Brady says he’s weighed coming out of retirement, but the NFL doesn’t like the idea

Tom Brady says he has thought about returning to the NFL, but the league isn’t a fan of the idea. In an interview released on Thursday, Brady told CNBC he has asked about the eligibility rules for a minority owner. He says the NFL wasn’t too receptive and he’s also very happily retired. Brady owns a minority stake in the Las Vegas Raiders. Brady first retired in the 2022 offseason, then returned after 40 days. He retired again in February 2023. He recently turned heads in a Fanatics flag football event.