Update on the latest sports
COLLEGE BASKETBALL-NCAA TOURNAMENT
Top-seeded Gonzaga puts perfect record on the line
UNDATED (AP) — The top-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs are preparing to open the NCAA Tournament and put their perfect record on the line in Indiana.
The Zags are 26-0 and seeking to become the first champion to finish a season without a loss since Bobby Knight's Hoosiers went 32-0 in 1976.
Coach Mark Few appreciates what's at stake while understanding Gonzaga will be an unwelcome guest each time it takes the floor. The Bulldogs open against Norfolk State on Saturday. The West Region features three potential opponents that Gonzaga has already defeated this season in No. 2 Iowa, No. 3 Kansas and No. 4 Virginia.
East Region top seed Michigan opens its first round against No. 16 seed Texas Southern, looking for a better outcome than some of the other Big Ten teams. Ohio State is already gone. So is Purdue. Michigan State couldn't make it out of the First Four. Those three results all were decided in overtime but still raised at least a little suspicion about the strength of the Big Ten, which led all conferences with nine NCAA Tournament bids. Two other Big Ten teams are in action Saturday: Maryland faces UConn and Iowa plays Grand Canyon.
TOKYO OLYMPICS-FOREIGN FANS
Spectators from abroad to be barred from Tokyo Olympics
TOKYO (AP) — Spectators from abroad will be barred from the Tokyo Olympics when they open in four months.
The decision was announced Saturday after an online meeting of the International Olympic Committee, the Japanese government, the Tokyo government, the International Paralympic Committee, and local organizers.
Officials said the risk was too great to admit ticket holders from overseas during a pandemic. The Japanese public has also opposed fans from abroad. Several surveys have shown that up to 80% oppose holding the Olympics, and a similar percentage opposed fans from overseas attending.
Japan has attributed about 8,800 deaths to COVID-19 and has controlled the virus better than most countries.
Organizers said 600,000 tickets were sold to fans from outside Japan. Another 30,000 were sold for the Paralympics. They have promised refunds, but this will be determined by so-called Authorized Ticket Resellers that handle sales outside Japan. These dealers charge fees of up to 20% above the ticket price. It is not clear if the fees will be refunded.
SKI-WORLD CUP FINALS-WOMEN'S SLALOM
Slovakian Petra Vlhova wins skiing's World Cup overall title
LENZERHEIDE, Switzerland (AP) — Petra Vlhova has won the women's World Cup overall title, becoming the first Slovakian to be crowned the best all-around skier.
Vlhova needed only a top-14 finish in her specialist slalom event Saturday in Switzerland. She placed sixth in a race that Katharina Liensberger won by 1.24 seconds. That earned Liensberger the season-long discipline title, edging Mikaela Shiffrin, who placed second in today's race.
Vlhova's result gave her an unbeatable lead of more than 100 points in the overall standings over Lara Gut-Behrami. Gut-Behrami skips slalom but will compete against Vlhova in the season-ending giant slalom on Sunday.
Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Vladimir Tarasenko scored the decisive goal in a shootout and the St. Louis Blues snapped a five-game losing streak by beating the San Jose Sharks 2-1. Tyler Bozak scored a short-handed goal on his 35th birthday to tie the game in the third period. Jordan Binnington made 30 saves and helped the Blues kill a penalty in overtime. Ryan Donato scored his first goal in 21 games, and Martin Jones made 33 saves for the Sharks. San Jose lost a second straight game after taking a lead into the third period.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Iowa leads the team race heading into the final day of the NCAA wrestling championships but Penn State showed it's not going to easily loosen the grip it's had on the title for nearly a decade. Spencer Lee and two of his Iowa teammates won semifinals and the Hawkeyes go into Saturday with 109 points. The Nittany Lions had all four of their semifinalists advance and had 94.5 points. The Hawkeyes are looking for their 24th team title and first since 2010. Penn State is looking for its ninth in 10 years and fifth in a row.
UNDATED (AP) — Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard says new basketball coach T.J. Otzelberger has agreed to a five-year contract that will be loaded with incentive bonuses. Terms of the contract are still being worked out. Pollard said it will be structured creatively to account for the athletic department's financial problems stemming from the pandemic. Otzelberger was earning $1.2 million in the second year of his five-year contract at UNLV. Otzelberger says his Cyclone teams will play with high intensity on both ends of the court.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — With the first round of college basketball's March Madness underway, Kansas legislators are moving closer toward legalizing sports betting. But action Friday by a state House committee showed that lawmakers disagree about where sports fans should be able to place live wagers. The House committee approved a bill that would allow live sports wagering at four state-owned casinos, racetracks and as many as 1,200 retail stores that current sell Kansas Lottery tickets. The Senate approved a proposal earlier this month to limit live wagering to four state-owned casinos. Both bills would allow online and mobile-app betting but with different players operating them.
UNDATED (AP) — He is known as the Da Crazy Hawaiian and he just might be the future of slap fighting in the United States. His real name is Layne Kailiilauokekoa Viernes and he has has dished out the fiercest open-hand smacks in the United States in his bid to be the most punishing slapper in slap fighting. Viernes has joined the SlapStrike roster and will appear as a guest Saturday on the promotion's "The War from Warsaw" pay-per-view event in Poland. His goal is to fight Vasily "Dumpling" Kamotsky, the big Russian universally recognized as the greatest slap fighting champion.