Update on the latest sports
APCOLLEGE BASKETBALL-NCAA TOURNAMENT-MEN
Sweet 16 tips off
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The NCAA Tournament moves to the Sweet 16 on Saturday with men’s semifinals in the South and Midwest regions.
Top seed Baylor faces No. 5 seed Villanova. This is Baylor’s fifth trip to the second weekend of the tournament under coach Scott Drew. Villanova is in the Sweet 16 for the fifth time the last seven NCAA Tournaments. Baylor went three full weeks without a game last month due to COVID-19 protocols.
In the other South Region semifinal, No. 15 seed Oral Roberts will play No. 3 seed Arkansas. The Golden Eagles are only the second No. 15 seed in history to get to the Sweet 16. Oral Roberts coach Paul Mills says he believed all season his team would win multiple NCAA Tournament games. Arkansas second-year coach Eric Musselman has the Razorbacks in the Sweet 16 for the first time in more than 20 years.
The Midwest Region has caused more busted NCAA Tournament brackets than any other. But perhaps the four teams in the quadrant that have sent Illinois, Tennessee and Oklahoma State packing shouldn’t be that surprising. Loyola Chicago, Houston and Syracuse all have coaches that have been to the Final Four. Oregon State has lost just once in the past five weeks.
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim (BAY’-hym) is back in the Sweet 16 for the 20th time in his Hall of Fame career. The 11th-seeded Orange will face second-seeded Houston. Syracuse struggled during the regular season but is rolling in the tournament behind Boeheim’s son Buddy. Eighth-seeded Loyola Chicago faces 12th-seeded Oregon State.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL-NCAA TOURNAMENT-WOMEN
Sweet 16 games begin
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The women’s Sweet 16 starts Saturday with UConn against Iowa. UConn’s Geno Auriemma is coaching in his 27th straight Sweet 16 and his first game of this women’s NCAA Tournament. He returns from COVID-19 just in time to get a close-up view of today’s battle between the nation’s most heralded freshmen, UConn’s Paige Bueckers and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark.
The second semifinal in the River Walk regional also features an intriguing one-on-one matchup. This one will be played on the inside. National player of the year candidate Nylyssa Smith and the No. 2 seed Baylor Lady Bears will be facing No. 5 seed Michigan and Big Ten player of the year Naz Hillmon.
As a two-seed, many expected Texas A&M to breeze through the first two rounds of the women’s NCAA Tournament. Instead they squeaked by in their first two games in the Mercado Region, winning those games by a combined six points to advance to the Sweet 16 for the third straight time.
In the other Mercado Region matchup Saturday, Indiana takes on top-seed North Carolina State.
MLB-NEWS
Yanks’ Voit needs knee surgery, giving chance for Jay Bruce
UNDATED (AP) — Major league home run champion Luke Voit needs knee surgery to repair a partial meniscus tear, an injury that opened a New York Yankees roster spot Saturday for Jay Bruce on as a converted first baseman.
Manager Aaron Boone says Voit will not have any baseball activities for three weeks after the operation. He is expected back in May.
The injury to Voit, who hit 22 homers in the pandemic-shortened season, played a role in the decision to add Bruce, who attended spring training with a minor league contract. Bruce played just 54 career games at first base.
In other MLB news:
— The Boston Red Sox say closer Matt Barnes has tested positive for COVID-19 and won’t be ready for opening day. Manager Alex Cora said Saturday that Barnes is asymptomatic. Also, Matt Andriese was scheduled to start a spring training game against Pittsburgh. But he was scratched because of contract tracing. Barnes had emerged as the top candidate for the closer’s job this spring. He will need to remain out for at least 10 days. Says Cora, “It’s a fire drill now.”
— Pablo Sandoval has apparently made the opening day roster for the Atlanta Braves. The team made a flurry of moves to complete its 26-man roster, which included selecting the contract of Sandoval, a nonroster infielder. The 34-year-old Sandoval is a two-time All-Star and 2012 World Series MVP looking to revive his career in a bench role with the Braves. The portly switch-hitter earned his spot by hitting .429 with four RBIs this spring. The Braves also selected the contracts of two other nonroster players: infielder Ehire Adrianza and reliever Nate Jones. Two-time All-Star Jason Kipnis was released.
NFL-RAVENS-WATKINS
Ravens adding wide receiver Sammy Watkins in 1-year deal
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Wide receiver Sammy Watkins, who won a Super Bowl with Kansas City, has agreed to a one-year contract with the Baltimore Ravens.
Watkins must pass a physical exam before signing.
Entering his eighth NFL season, Watkins has been a solid target for Buffalo, the Los Angeles Rams and the Chiefs. He was the fourth overall selection in the 2014 draft by the Bills, who traded him to the Rams in 2017. Watkins joined the Chiefs in 2018 as a free agent.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-OBIT-SCHNELLENBERGER
Former Miami, Louisville coach Schenellenberger dies
MIAMI (AP) — Former football college Howard Schnellenberger has died.
Schnellenberger revived football at the University of Miami and Louisville and started the program at Florida Atlantic during a coaching career that spanned half a century. He had a career record below .500, but when it came to building, he was a winner. His legacy includes on-campus stadiums at Louisville and Florida Atlantic. He led the Miami Hurricanes to the first of their five national championships in 1983, and coached Louisville to a Fiesta Bowl win over Alabama to cap the 1990 season. He then founded the program at Florida Atlantic. Howard Schnellenberger was 87 years old.
Schnellenberger died Saturday at age 87. FAU announced his death and said he recently had been in a care center in South Florida.
FIGURE SKATING-WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Chen wins 3rd straight worlds, beating Olympic champ Hanyu
STOCKHOLM (AP) — Nathan Chen has put himself in the company of history’s best figure skaters, becoming the first American since Scott Hamilton to win a third consecutive World Figure Skating Championships men’s title.
Chen was dynamic in easily surpassing two-time Olympic champ Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan in the free skate in Stockholm and stamp himself as the man to beat at next year’s Beijing Olympics. Hanyu struggled enough Saturday to fall to third place behind 17-year-old countryman Yuma Kagiyama, who took silver in his first senior worlds.
