Update on the latest sports
APCOLLEGE BASKETBALL-TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIPS
Conference tournaments wrap up Sunday
UNDATED (AP) — The conference tournaments in men’s college basketball conclude Sunday.
No. 9 Ohio State takes on No. 3 Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament championship. The Buckeyes will play their fourth game in four days after holding off Michigan on Saturday, 68-67. Illinois, which beat No. 5 Iowa 82-71, is looking for its first tourney title since 2005. The Fighting Illini (ih-LY’-ny) have won six straight, with three coming against top-10 foes.
No. 6 Alabama is trying for its first SEC Tournament title since 1991 as it faces LSU. The top-seeded Crimson Tide advanced by beating Tennessee, which awaits an NCAA Tournament seeding on Sunday. LSU beat Arkansas to reach the title game for the first time since 1993.
No. 7 Houston meets fifth-seeded Cincinnati in the American Athletic Conference Tournament final. The Cougars head to their third consecutive AAC championship game after beating NCAA bubble team Memphis 76-74. Cincinnati reached its fourth straight championship game by edging Wichita State 60-59. Houston is already a lock for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
St. Bonaventure plays VCU for the Atlantic 10 Conference title and Loyola of Maryland faces Colgate for the Patriot League championship.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL-MIAMI-TIMBERLAKE
Hurricanes freshman guard Timberlake enters transfer portal
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Miami Hurricanes guard Earl Timberlake has entered the transfer portal after a freshman season cut short by a shoulder injury. Timberlake played in just seven games and averaged 9.3 points for the Hurricanes, who endured an injury-riddled season and went 10-17.
Timberlake was one of the most highly rated recruits in Miami Hurricanes history. He averaged 16.5 points and 10 rebounds as a senior at DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland.
NFL-TEXANS-DOLPHINS TRADE
LB swap: McKinney traded by Texans to Dolphins for Lawson
MIAMI (AP) — 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. But he missed just two starts with Houston from 2016 to 2019 while totaling at least 95 tackles each season, and made the Pro Bowl in 2018. He was a second-round pick by the Texans in 2015.
Lawson, a 2016 first-round pick by the Buffalo Bills, spent four seasons with them. He had four sacks in 14 games in his only season with Miami.
On Wednesday, the Dolphins released another veteran linebacker, Kyle Van Noy, after one season with the team.
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.”
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.
Boone had open heart surgery on March 26, 2009, while he was a player with the Houston Astros, a procedure to correct a swelling of the aorta. The condition had been first discovered when he was in college.
The 48-year-old Boone underwent yearly checkups since and said electrocardiograms this winter came back good, with no change, But when he was monitored for several weeks, he was found to have a heart rate as low as 30-39 beats per minute, well below the 60-100 considered normal for adults.
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’ return to the women’s tennis tour in 2020 after a seven-year hiatus was interrupted by the pandemic. She underwent knee surgery in October and came down with a mild case of the virus in January. Clijsters says she plans to undergo three to six weeks of pain management treatment and then make decisions regarding her schedule.
