General Sports 24-Hour Briefing
×Last updated: March 17, 2026, 5:30 PM ET
College Basketball Turbulence & Tournament Projections
The NCAA men’s basketball tournament picture faced immediate shakeups following legal trouble for Alabama star Aden Holloway, who was arrested Monday morning on a felony drug possession charge involving 2.1 pounds of marijuana found in his apartment Cops: Bama's Holloway had 2.1 pounds of pot. Alabama coach Nate Oats confirmed the team is preparing to play without Holloway Bama preps to play without Holloway after arrest as they head into postseason action, adding uncertainty to their bracket placement. Meanwhile, Duke freshman Cameron Boozer received unanimous recognition, earning a first-team All-American selection from The Associated Press Boozer among freshmen on All-America 1st team. Regarding tournament futures, oddsmakers currently place Duke ahead of Michigan and Arizona in the men's title odds Men's tournament odds: Duke ahead of Michigan and Arizona to win it all, while the women's bracket sees UConn as the heavy odds-on favorite, with UCLA, Texas, and South Carolina trailing Women's tournament odds: UConn odds-on favorite; UCLA, Texas, South Carolina next.
As brackets begin to solidify, bracketologist Joe Lunardi released his ultimate guide to men's March Madness 2026 Joe Lunardi's ultimate guide to men's March Madness 2026, offering analysis on every team's chances, alongside specific betting advice for the first-round matchups and the new Eliminator game format Men's tournament: Best bets for the round of, plus Eliminator picks. For those seeking immediate upsets, ESPN's BPI metric is identifying potential double-digit seed advancements to the second round this week Giant Killers: Identifying men's tourney upsets. to college football, Michigan's new coach Kyle Whittingham is concentrating efforts on developing sophomore quarterback Bryce Underwood into a "completely finished product" in an effort to refine the Wolverines' struggling passing game U-M's Whittingham looks to refine QB Underwood.
International Baseball & Global Athletics
Team USA received a major boost ahead of the World Baseball Classic final against Venezuela, as manager Mark DeRosa confirmed that All-Star closer Mason Miller will be available Closer Miller available for Team USA in WBC final. In track and field news, Scottish middle-distance runner Jemma Reekie stated she feels "no pressure" ahead of the World Indoor Championships while revealing ambitions to double up by running the 800m and mile at this summer's Commonwealth Games Reekie 'would love' to run 800m & mile at Commonwealths. Josh Kerr echoed a similar dual focus, noting that while he is concentrating on the World Indoors in Poland this week, the priority remains the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow Glasgow key for Kerr as focus turns to world indoors. Separately, the BBC announced it will not feature four-time Olympic gold medallist Michael Johnson in its athletics coverage lineup for the current year BBC not planning to use Johnson in 2026 coverage.
Soccer, Rugby, and Combat Sports Updates
The upcoming men's Hockey World Cup draw resulted in an immediate pool-stage showdown, as England and Wales were drawn together England and Wales drawn together at Hockey World Cup. In rugby union, Northampton second row JJ van der Mescht is currently in contention for a senior South Africa call-up after receiving an invitation to a virtual alignment camp by the Springboks Northampton's Van der Mescht in Springboks reckoning. Meanwhile, legendary coach Shaun Edwards expressed his ambition to win a Rugby Championship with a southern hemisphere giant following his tenure with France concluding after the 2027 World Cup Edwards has 'ambition to win a Rugby Championship'. In combat sports, undefeated Briton Luke Riley is set for a high-profile bout, co-headlining the O2 Arena card on Saturday in only his second UFC fight, with observers noting he is a "different animal" compared to previous fighters like Pimblett Following Pimblett's footsteps - but Riley is 'different animal'.
Global Sports Personalities & Miscellaneous
The organizing committee for the Los Angeles World Cup selected comedian Will Ferrell as a host city ambassador Will Ferrell named as a Los Angeles World Cup host ambassador, joining a slate of high-profile figures including Luka Doncic, Magic Johnson, Snoop Dogg, Julie Foudy, and Mia Hamm. In a demonstration of their continuing friendly rivalry, Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards was seen trading trash talk with former President Barack Obama during a tease event for the Presidential Center opening Barack Obama, Anthony Edwards shoot hoops, talk trash in Presidential Center opening tease. In snooker, Stan Moody secured a notable victory in his 2,000th professional match against veteran John Higgins, clinching a tense 5-4 win at the World Open Higgins beaten by teenager Moody in 2,000th match. Finally, the TGL season concluded with two remarkable feats, as Neal Shipley and Tom Kim each recorded holes-in-one, marking the only such occurrences in the league’s history during the 2026 regular season A pair of holes-in-one lead the best moments from TGL season.