AP Sports Summary for Monday, March 18th, 2024.
March Madness is here. UConn, Purdue, Houston and North Carolina get top seeding in NCAA Tournament
Defending champion Connecticut, along with Houston, Purdue and North Carolina are the top seeds in a March Madness bracket that started going haywire even before the pairings came out. Of the four top seeds, only UConn heads into the tournament coming off a win. That played into the Huskies receiving the No. 1 overall seed. The other three top seeds lost in their conference tournaments.
South Carolina, Iowa, USC and Texas are the top seeds in the women's NCAA Tournament
South Carolina is the the top overall seed in the women's NCAA Tournament. The Gamecocks are looking to become the 10th women's basketball team to go undefeated for an entire season. Caitlin Clark and Iowa also received a No. 1 seed. Both schools are in the Albany Region and wouldn't potentially face off until the national championship game. Iowa knocked South Carolina out last season in the Final Four. USC and Texas earned the other No. 1 seeds. Tennessee continued its streak of making the tournament every season since it began in 1982.
The only rule for filling out your March Madness bracket this year: Don't take it for granted
UConn is the betting favorite to win a second straight national title, but repeating is not easy. Houston has now been tested by a power-conference schedule after joining the Big 12. Purdue will be eager to put aside last year's loss to 16th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson. Here's a quick early prediction: UConn, Houston, Gonzaga and longshot Michigan State reach the Final Four. Then Houston denies UConn a repeat in the championship game.
Scheffler goes back-to-back in Players Championship in Sunday thriller at Sawgrass
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler has become the first player in the 50 years of The Players Championship to win back-to-back. This was the hardest. Not only was he dealing with neck pain all week, he started the final round five shots behind. Scheffler closed with a 64. That matches the lowest final round by a winner. He also tied a Players Championship record with a five-shot comeback. U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, British Open champion Brian Harman and Xander Schauffele all finished one shot behind. All of them had their chances over the final three holes to force a playoff.
Alcaraz defeats Medvedev to defend his Indian Wells title. Swiatek beats Sakkari for women's title
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz defeated Daniil Medvedev for the second straight year in the BNP Paribas Open final. The Spaniard won his first title since taking Wimbledon last year. Alcaraz is the first man to defend at Indian Wells since Novak Djokovic won three in a row from 2014-16. Iga Swiatek beat Maria Sakkari in just over an hour to win the women's title. Swiatek lost just 21 games in six matches during the 12-day tournament. Swiatek earned her 20th match win of the year, which leads the WTA Tour. It was a repeat of the 2022 final, in which Swiatek also beat Sakkari.
Joey Votto homers on 1st pitch in 1st spring training game with hometown Toronto Blue Jays
Joey Votto sure knows how to make an instant impression, going deep on the first pitch he faced as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays. Votto lined a 392-foot homer to left-center off Philadelphia ace Zack Wheeler in his inaugural spring training game with Toronto. Granted, there was some debate about whether the ball went out, and Votto momentarily stopped at second base. But the umpires ruled it a homer and he continued on his way home. Home is what led Votto to Toronto in the first place, agreeing to a minor league contract with his hometown Blue Jays after spending 17 seasons with the Reds.
Denny Hamlin wins tire-management NASCAR race at Bristol, his 4th victory at the famed bullring
Denny Hamlin has won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway after passing Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. in the final laps. It's his fourth victory at the famed short track. Hamlin also won at NASCAR's bullring last September. This one was much different. Tire issues hampered most everyone all afternoon as only five cars finished on the lead lap — the first time that has happened in the Cup Series in 20 years. The Gibbs cars were the class of the field.
Wembanyama, Spurs confirm that they're headed to France next season
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Victor Wembanyama sounds like he expects to be playing an NBA game — or two, perhaps — in his native France next season. San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich confirmed Sunday night that the Spurs are heading to Paris next season, something that former Spurs guard Tony Parker revealed to French reporters several weeks ago. "We're going there," Popovich said. The comment about Paris came after San Antonio topped Brooklyn in Austin, in what was a home game for the Spurs. The NBA hasn't announced which teams will be playing in Paris next season.
PGA Tour player directors prepare for meeting with Saudi leader of LIV Golf
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Players on the PGA Tour board are preparing to meet with the Saudi leader backing LIV Golf. Rory McIlroy says such a meeting with Yasir Al-Rumayyan should have happened long ago. Al-Rumayyan is governor of the Public Investment Fund, which backs LIV Golf. Details remain vague on a planned meeting Monday, including the location and who will be involved. Also unclear is what will be on the table. Patrick Cantlay is one of the six player directors on the board. He doesn't anything too substantive. McIlroy is drawing distinctions between Al-Rumayyan and disruptive nature of LIV operators like Greg Norman.
Mets owner Steven Cohen doesn't expect long-term deal with star Pete Alonso before season ends
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — New York Mets owner Steve Cohen doesn't expect to sign a long-term contract with star first baseman Pete Alonso before the end of the season. Alonso has a $20.5 million, one-year contract and can become a free agent after the World Series. Cohen says: "We haven't had any discussion and I think at this point, for Pete, it's best for him to go and have a great year and not be distracted." Alonso has a .251 batting average with 192 homers, 498 RBIs and a .870 OPS in five major league seasons.
AP-Scorecard
Here are the scores from yesterday's sports events:
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INTERLEAGUE
Final Pittsburgh 8 Tampa Bay 4
Final Baltimore 8 Atlanta 2
Final St. Louis 10 Houston 6
Final Arizona 2 L.A. Angels 0
Final Chicago Cubs 8 Texas 6
Final Arizona 5 Seattle 4
Final Cleveland 4 Cincinnati 2
Final Milwaukee 6 Kansas City 4
Final San Diego 1 Korea 0
Final Boston 3 Atlanta 3
Final Toronto 5 Philadelphia 5
Final San Diego 5 LG Twins 4
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Toronto 9 Minnesota 4
Final Boston 12 N.Y. Yankees 6
Final Baltimore 4 Detroit 4
Final Chicago White Sox 3 Oakland 3
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final N.Y. Mets 7 Miami 6
Final Washington 9 N.Y. Mets 8
Final Colorado 5 San Francisco 3
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Milwaukee 140 Phoenix 129
Final Miami 104 Detroit 101
Final Dallas 107 Denver 105
Final Orlando 111 Toronto 96
Final Boston 130 Washington 104
Final OT San Antonio 122 Brooklyn 115
Final Atlanta 110 L.A. Clippers 93
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final N-Y Rangers 5 N-Y Islanders 2
Final Vegas 3 New Jersey 1
Final Carolina 7 Ottawa 2
Final Chicago 5 San Jose 2
Final Winnipeg 6 Columbus 1
Final Pittsburgh 6 Detroit 3
Final St. Louis 4 Anaheim 2
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TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (12)Auburn 86 Florida 67
Final (13)Illinois 93 Wisconsin 87
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MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Final Cincinnati 2 New England 1
Final Atlanta 2 Orlando City 0
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TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE
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INTERLEAGUE
Korea at L-A Dodgers 6 a.m.
Atlanta at Tampa Bay 1:05 p.m.
Philadelphia at N-Y Yankees 1:05 p.m.
Houston at Miami 1:10 p.m.
L-A Angels at Milwaukee 4:10 p.m.
Oakland at Arizona 4:10 p.m.
Washington at Houston 6:05 p.m.
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
Boston at Minnesota 1:05 p.m.
Cleveland at Chi White Sox 4:05 p.m.
Seattle at Texas 4:05 p.m.
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Pittsburgh at Philadelphia 1:05 p.m.
San Francisco at Cincinnati 9:05 p.m.
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Cleveland at Indiana 7 p.m.
Detroit at Boston 7:30 p.m.
Miami at Philadelphia 7:30 p.m.
Portland at Chicago 8 p.m.
Minnesota at Utah 9 p.m.
Memphis at Sacramento 10 p.m.
New York at Golden State 10 p.m.
Atlanta at L.A. Lakers 10:30 p.m.
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Washington at Calgary 8:30 p.m.
Buffalo at Seattle 10 p.m.
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