Sports

UConn star sophomore Sarah Strong named the AP Player of the Year in women’s college basketball

PHOENIX (AP) — Sarah Strong of UConn is The Associated Press women’s basketball Player of the Year. Strong is averaging 18.6 pints, 7.6 rebounds, 3.4 steals and 1.6 blocks a game while helping UConn go 38-0 heading into this week’s Final Four. Strong became just the fifth player to win the award in her sophomore year. The AP started giving out the award in 1995. It’s the 13th time that a Huskies player has won the award; Paige Bueckers was the last to do it before Strong in 2021.

A New England furniture store will refund customers if both UConn teams make the NCAA title games

Some college basketball fans are hoping for more than national titles at the NCAA Final Four. Some 20,000 customers who bought $50 million worth of furniture from Jordan’s Furniture in New England earlier this year could get full refunds — if both the UConn men’s and women’s teams reach the championship games. For Brian Mazzilli of Plymouth, Massachusetts, that could mean a $3,800 refund. He says he’s now an enthusiastic new UConn fan. Jordan’s isn’t on the hook for the $50 million itself, as it got insurance for the promotion. Eliot Tatelman, the retired president of Jordan’s, says he’s routing for both Huskies teams to make it to the title games.

Bodycam shows a stunned Tiger Woods handcuffed after a Florida rollover crash

Newly released body camera footage shows that Tiger Woods expressed astonishment as he was handcuffed after crashing his vehicle last week in Florida. The bodycam footage was released Thursday and shows a Martin County sheriff’s deputy conducting a sobriety test on the golfer. Woods said he was looking at his phone and changing the radio station when his speeding Land Rover clipped a truck and rolled onto its side on a residential road on Jupiter Island. The video also shows that deputies found painkiller pills in Tiger Woods’ pocket after the crash. Woods entered a not guilty plea on Tuesday to suspicion of driving under the influence.

Kirk Cousins and Raiders agree to a deal as veteran is expected to help Fernando Mendoza transition

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Kirk Cousins has agreed to a deal with the Las Vegas Raiders. His agent announced the agreement on Thursday morning. Cousins gives them a veteran quarterback to help ease the expected selection of Fernando Mendoza with the top draft pick. Cousins posted “The Autumn Wind…” in a nod to the Raiders’ theme that is played before every home game and was made famous by NFL Films. Raiders coach Klint Kubiak and general manager John Spytek telegraphed this kind of move, saying they wouldn’t want to throw a rookie quarterback into the starting lineup.

Shea Ralph named AP women’s basketball Coach of the Year after Vanderbilt’s 29-5 season

PHOENIX (AP) — Shea Ralph of Vanderbilt has been named The Associated Press women’s basketball Coach of the Year. Ralph led the Commodores to the most successful season in school history, finishing 29-5. The team returned just one starter and tied for second in the Southeastern Conference. They earned a 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament and reached the Sweet 16. Ralph received 23 votes from the 31-member national media panel. She is the first Vanderbilt coach to win the award, which started in 1994-95.

Barcelona routs Real Madrid 6-0 at Camp Nou to reach Women’s Champions League semifinals

Barcelona has routed Real Madrid 6-0 to reach its eighth straight semifinal in the Women’s Champions League. Caroline Graham Hansen scored twice, while Alexia Putellas, Irene Paredes, Ewa Pajor, and Esmee Brugts each added a goal. This victory follows a 6-2 win in Madrid in the first leg of the quarterfinal. The match was watched by 60,067 spectators at the revamped Camp Nou. Barcelona will face Bayern Munich in the semifinals. Lyon or Wolfsburg will compete for the final semifinal spot to play defending champion Arsenal. Barcelona aims to reclaim the title they lost to Arsenal last season.

Hailee Steinfeld says she and Bills quarterback Josh Allen have welcomed a baby girl

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and actor and singer Hailee Steinfeld are proud parents of a baby girl. Steinfeld announced Thursday in her newsletter that their daughter has been born without sharing any further specifics on the date or the baby’s name. She wrote they are grateful, blessed and savoring the early moments. Steinfeld is coming off a year in which she earned acclaim for her role in the movie “Sinners.” Allen and Steinfeld married last May and announced in the same newsletter in December that they were expecting their first child.

MASTERS ’26: Rory McIlroy sheds burden of winning green jacket. Now it falls to others

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Rory McIlroy ended the last Masters by looking ahead to the next one. His question was what everyone was going to be talking about next year. He refers to questions he faced for 15 years whether he could ever win a green jacket. Now that he has one, who’s next. Next year arrives April 9 with the 90th edition of the major everyone anticipates. The numbers indicate it should be easy to win with so few players in the field compared with the other majors. But there’s something about the history and pressure that makes it tough.

Iowa State star Audi Crooks entering the transfer portal, the latest to leave team in mass exodus

Iowa State star Audi Crooks announced she is entering the transfer portal, making her the fourth starter and 10th Cyclones player overall to say they will move on after a disappointing second half of the season following a start that matched the best in program history. Crooks averaged 25.8 points per game this season to rank second in the nation. She averaged 22.8 points over 99 games in her three seasons. She scored more than 40 points in four games this season and was an AP All-America second-team pick.

Final Four showdown with top seeds Michigan and Arizona includes intriguing matchups

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — A March Madness masterpiece might be on tap. Get your popcorn, kick up your feet and get ready for what shapes up to be an epic showdown in the Final Four nightcap on Saturday night. Michigan and Arizona, top-seeded teams in the NCAA Tournament after being at or near the top of the AP Top 25 all season, will face off with a spot in the championship game on Monday night at stake. The nation’s top two teams in KenPom rankings will be on the same court at the Final Four for just the second time since 2015.