Update on the latest sports – UPDATED
APNFL-NEWS-BREES RETIREMENT
Record-setting Saints QB Brees announces retirement at 42
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Saints record-setting quarterback Drew Brees has decided to retire after 20 NFL seasons, including his last 15 with New Orleans. The 42-year-old quarterback announced his decision on Sunday on a social media post. It comes after Brees won nine of 12 regular-season starts while completing 70.5% of his passes in 2020.
He came back from multiple rib fractures and won a wild-card round playoff game before New Orleans’ season ended with a divisional-round playoff loss Tampa Bay.
Brees is the NFL’s all-time leader in yards passing with 80,358. Brees’ 571 career touchdown passes rank second behind Tom Brady’s 581.
Elsewhere in the NFL:
— Benardrick McKinney was traded Sunday by the Houston Texans to the Miami Dolphins for Shaq Lawson in a swap of linebackers. McKinney played in only four games last year because of a shoulder injury.
— Aaron Jones is staying with Packers on 4-year, $48 million deal.
— The Buffalo Bills have re-signed offensive lineman Jon Feliciano to a three-year contract. Feliciano’s return means the Bills will have all five starting offensive linemen back for a second consecutive year. Buffalo re-signed right tackle Darryl Williams on Friday.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL-NCAA TOURNAMENT
Gonzaga, Baylor, Illinois and Michigan get No. 1 seeds for men’s NCAA Tournament
UNDATED (AP) — Gonzaga is the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. After a year without March Madness, the bracket is back after the pandemic forced the cancelation of the tournament last year.
Gonzaga, which is trying to become the first team since the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers to finish undefeated. The Bulldogs are early 11-4 favorites to win it all.
Baylor is the top seed in the South in the NCAA Tournament and could face either North Carolina or Wisconsin in the second round.
Illinois is the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament and could face Loyola-Chicago in round two. Loyola, which made a memorable Final Four run in 2018, is back in the NCAAs for a third straight tournament.
Kansas and Virginia, two programs hit with COVID-19 breakouts over the past week, made it into the bracket released by the NCAA selection committee.
This year, the entire field is heading to Indianapolis, which hosting the whole tournament this year. Starting with the First Four on Thursday, every game will be played in Indiana.
The first round will be played Friday and Saturday.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL-SEC CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 6 Alabama edges LSU to win SEC title
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Herbert Jones drove for a go-ahead layup with 19.5 seconds and No. 6 Alabama won the Southeastern Conference Tournament for the first time since 1991, holding off a late flurry to edge LSU 80-79.
Coach Nate Oats and the Crimson Tide added to their regular-season title with a victory that should help Alabama at least match its highest seed ever in the NCAA Tournament. That was No. 2 in both 1987 and 2002.
Alabama, the reigning national champion in football, won its seventh tournament title overall, second in the SEC only to Kentucky’s 31. The Crimson Tide hadn’t even reached this game since 2002.
Alabama is 24-6. LSU missed a couple of chances in the final seconds and fell to 18-9.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL-BIG TEN
No. 3 Illinois tops No. 9 Ohio State in OT for Big Ten title
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kofi Cockburn and Ayo Dosunmu (EYE’-oh doh-SOO’-moo) both scored 16 points, both grabbed nine rebounds and both made key plays in overtime to give No. 3 Illinois a 91-88 victory over No. 9 Ohio State for its first Big Ten Tournament title since 2005.
Cockburn made the go-ahead free throw with 1:39 to play, Dosunmu made a 15-footer with 50 seconds to go and the Illini sealed it at the free-throw line. Illinois has won seven straight overall, six in a row over top-10 foes and 14 of its last 15 overall to claim the conference’s automatic NCAA Tournament bid.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL-AAC
No. 7 Houston takes AAC tourney with 91-54 win over Cincy
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — In the American Athletic Conference championship seventh-ranked Houston has its first conference tournament championship since 2010 back when it was still in Conference USA. Quentin Grimes scored 21 points with five 3-pointers and Marcus Sasser had 16 points as the Cougars beat Cincinnati 91-54. The Cougars were already a lock for their 22nd NCAA Tournament appearance before leading the entire game.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL-A10 CHAMPIONSHIP
St. Bonaventure wins A-10 tourney beating VCU for NCAA bid
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Kyle Lofton scored 23 points and Osun Osunniyi scored 14 points with 12 rebounds and St. Bonaventure beat VCU 74-65 in the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament to clinch an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Bonnies’ Alejandro Vasquez buried a 3-pointer with 11:36 before halftime to break a tie at 12 and St. Bonaventure led the rest of the way.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL-PATRIOT CHAMPIONSHIP
Colgate wins Patriot League title, heads to NCAA Tournament
HAMILTON, N.Y. (AP) — Tucker Richardson scored 17 points and Jordan Burns and Jack Ferguson had 16 each to lead Colgate to a 85-72 win over Loyola of Maryland for the Patriot League tournament championship. Colgate advances to its fourth NCAA Tournament, where it has never won. Its last appearance came in 2019.
The top-seeded Raiders, in their fourth straight Patriot title game, led the entire way in extending their program-record win streak to 13.
NBA-SCHEDULE
Gilgeous-Alexander scores 30 as Thunder top Grizzlies
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous(shay GIHL’-juhs)-Alexander scored 30 points and Aleksej Pokusevski had a career-high 23, helping the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Memphis Grizzlies 128-122. Kenrich Williams added 17 points on 7-for-8 shooting for the Thunder, who trailed by as many as 12.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who missed Saturday’s 119-97 loss to the Knicks with a left quad contusion, went 8 for 17 from the field.
The Thunder had seven players score in double figures and shot 57.5% from the floor. Ja Morant had 22 points and seven assists for Memphis, which lost for the third time in four games.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NBA
Pelicans say some players, staff received COVID-19 vaccine
UNDATED (AP) — Some players and other members of the New Orleans Pelicans organization have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccinations, following changes in the eligibility standards for Louisiana residents.
The Pelicans said the vaccines were administered Saturday making them the first NBA team to acknowledge a widescale receipt of the vaccine by members of a club.
State officials in Louisiana expanded the list of those who may receive the vaccine last week “to include people who have health conditions that may result in a higher risk of disease” and are over the age of 18. Among the higher risk groups: those with a body mass index of 25 or more, which would technically classify them as overweight. Many of the Pelicans’ players fall into that category, despite being NBA players and elite athletes.
NHL-SCHEDULE
Wild score 3 goals in third to beat Coyotes 4-1
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Nick Bonino and Kevin Fiala scored in a three-goal third period and the surging Minnesota Wild beat the Arizona Coyotes 4-1 Sunday. Victor Rask and Joel Eriksson Ek also scored for Minnesota, now within two points of Vegas atop the West Division.
Minnesota, 11-2-1 in its past 14 games, has won four straight overall and seven in a row at home.
Phil Kessel scored for Arizona in the second of three straight games between the teams.
MLB-YANKEES-BOONE
Yanks manager Boone feels ‘awesome’ after getting pacemaker
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone is into his second full week on the bench after having a pacemaker inserted and says he’s feeling “awesome.”
The 48-year-old Boone had the procedure done at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, Florida, on March 3 and was back on the job after missing just three games.
GOLF-PLAYERS
Thomas lives on edge and rallies to win Players Championship
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Justin Thomas won The Players Championship to get his year on the right track. Thomas rallied from three shots behind by playing a four-hole stretch in 5 under and closing with a 68. That was enough for a one-shot victory over Lee Westwood, a runner-up for the second straight week.
Thomas becomes the fourth player to win a major, The Players, the FedEx Cup and a World Golf Championship. Thomas had a rough start this year. He was caught muttering an anti-gay slur in Hawaii that cost him an endorsement and his grandfather died on the eve of the Phoenix Open.
TENNIS-CLIJSTERS
Clijsters withdraws from Miami and Charleston tournaments
MIAMI (AP) — Four-time Grand Slam champion Kim Clijsters (KLY’-sturz) has withdrawn from upcoming tournaments in Miami and Charleston, a setback in her comeback following right knee surgery and a bout with COVID-19.
Clijsters says she plans to undergo three to six weeks of pain management treatment and then make decisions regarding her schedule.
