General Sports 8 Hours

Last updated: March 23, 2026, 10:30 PM ET

NCAA Women's Tournament Advances

The Women's NCAA Sweet 16 bracket materialized Monday night following several dramatic regional upsets, most notably Virginia ousting host Iowa in double overtime by an 83-75 score, making UVA the first First Four team ever to reach the regional semifinals. Prior to that, UConn secured its spot by dismantling Syracuse 98-45, led by Azzi Fudd who dropped 26 of her 34 points in a dominant first half at Gampel Pavilion, fueling a decisive 31-0 run. As the field narrows, analysts are already dissecting the keys to advancing for all teams heading into the next round of March Madness.

College Basketball Coaching Carousel Heats Up

The coaching carousel saw significant movement on Monday as Arizona State officially hired Saint Mary's Randy Bennett to take the helm of the Sun Devils program. Simultaneously, the search in the Big East concluded with Cincinnati reportedly poaching Jerrod Calhoun from Utah State, who had guided the Aggies to consecutive NCAA tournaments and was the Bearcats' primary target since the job became vacant. Meanwhile, high-profile college figures are fielding NBA interest; it was revealed that UConn coach Dan Hurley sought counsel from Tom Izzo* when the Lakers reportedly offered him a six-year, $70 million contract, which Izzo himself has declined in past NBA overtures to teams like the Cavaliers and Hawks.**

Global Cricket Management Under Fire

English men's cricket management is facing intense scrutiny following the recent Ashes campaign, with former captain Michael Vaughan asserting that head coach Brendon McCullum and managing director Rob Key were fortunate to retain their positions* after an internal post-Ashes review concluded. Captain Ben Stokes acknowledged that the last three months represented "the hardest period" of his tenure but expressed confidence that the existing structure can carry the team forward, an assessment that guests on the 5 Live Cricket Specialdebate. Adding to the organizational changes, New Zealand announced that former Edinburgh head coach Mike Blair will join Dave Rennie's staff as the new attack coach, reuniting a former playing partnership.

Tennis & NBA Chatter

In Miami World Number One Aryna Sabalenka cruised past Zheng Qinwen* at the Miami Open, though the day's play was marred by an unusual delay when an overhead camera caused an interruption during Daniil Medvedev's match. Back in the NBA, a four-year-old interaction between LeBron James and Austin Reaves—where James was seen giving instructions to a seemingly confused Reaves late in a 2022 contest against the Nets—*went viral again this week, prompting commentary from both players. In related sports governance news, a bipartisan Senate bill was introduced Monday aiming to prohibit sports betting operators from allowing transactions based on prediction markets, attempting to draw a clearer line between wagering and speculative financial instruments.*

Other Sports Updates

In professional golf, the TGL playoffs are set for their championship matchup, pitting Los Angeles Golf Club against Jupiter Links GC *for the coveted SoFi Cup title. Separately, a new bill introduced in Washington seeks to ban prediction markets from facilitating wagers that mimic traditional sports betting, an effort to regulate the growing overlap between financial speculation and gambling.