General Sports 24-Hour Briefing
×Last updated: March 14, 2026, 12:58 PM ET
Winter Sports
Menna Fitzpatrick ended her Milan-Cortina programme with a fifth-place finish in the visually impaired slalom, already shifting focus toward the 2030 Winter Games. Meanwhile, Davy Zyw, the first athlete with MND to compete at a Winter Paralympics, expressed that the joy from his Milan-Cortina experience will "fortify" him for the rest of his life. The Paris-Nice cycling race faced weather complications as organizers abandoned summit finish plans in Auron for Saturday's penultimate stage due to snow, while the Cheltenham Festival concluded with two more horses—Envoi Allen and Saint Le Fort—dying on the final day, marking a difficult year for punters as the average starting price of winners hit a 10-year high for outsiders.
Rally & Motorsports
Elfyn Evans was forced to retire from Rally Kenya after his car suffered suspension damage on Saturday, ending the championship leader's hopes. In Formula, Mercedes showed first signs of vulnerability during qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix, with the team still managing a front-row lockout to underline their superiority. Meanwhile, the F1 Academy is nurturing female drivers who can compete at the top level of motorsport, challenging the notion that racing "wasn't for girls" as they aim to develop future faces of Formula.
Basketball
Kawhi Leonard scored at least 20 points for the 44th consecutive game to equal a 51-year-old franchise record for the Los Angeles Clippers. Despite losing star Tyler Bilodeau to a right leg injury that will sideline him for at least one game, UCLA held off No. 8 Michigan State 88-84 to advance to the Big Ten tournament semifinals. Jaden Bradley hit a fallaway jumper at the buzzer to send No. 2 Arizona to the Big 12 tournament final with an 82-80 win over Iowa State, while Jeff Capel will return for a ninth season as coach of the Pitt men's basketball team despite a 2025-26 campaign that fell "well short" of expectations.
Football & Coaching Changes
MAC commissioner Jon A. Steinbrecher expressed confidence that his conference will get two teams into the NCAA tournament for the first time in 27 years despite Miami (Ohio) losing to UMass in the league quarterfinals. Conference USA and the Sun Belt both included Louisiana Tech on their 2026 football schedules amid a standoff