General Sports 3d Briefing
×College Basketball
Caitlin Clark made a triumphant return to Team USA, posting a double-double in her debut espn.com with 17 points and 12 assists in a 110-64 rout of their FIBA World Cup qualifier opponent. The performance marked her first game since July and immediately established her as a key contributor for the national team. Meanwhile, the college coaching carousel continued to spin as Syracuse fired Adrian Autry espn.com after three seasons without an NCAA tournament appearance, while Arizona State parted ways with Bobby Hurley espn.com following a historic 91-42 blowout loss to Iowa State in the Big 12 tournament. That defeat marked the largest margin of victory in conference tournament history. On the court, AJ Dybantsa shattered the Big 12 freshman scoring record espn.com with 40 points to lead BYU past Kansas State 105-91, while Hofstra ended a 25-year NCAA tournament drought espn.com with a 75-69 win over Monmouth in the Colonial Athletic Association championship.
College Basketball Awards & Rankings
The college basketball awards season saw UConn's Sarah Strong lead the way espn.com in women's honors, while ESPN's Jay Bilas unveiled his All-America teams espn.com featuring six freshmen among the top 20 selections. The final AP poll before Selection Sunday showed Florida and Houston entering the top five, though Duke, Arizona and Michigan maintained their hold on the top three spots. In women's basketball, No. 2 UCLA narrowed the gap espn.com on UConn in the rankings, picking up three first-place votes while Texas jumped South Carolina for the No. 3 position.
International Rugby
The Six Nations reached a dramatic conclusion as Ireland's Josh van der Flier said his team needs a big performance bbc.com to beat Scotland in Saturday's Triple Crown decider at Dublin. Scotland's confidence is soaring after their remarkable turnaround bbc.com from a potential wooden spoon finish to being on the verge of their first title since 1999. France flanker Oscar Jegou received a four-week suspension bbc.com for eye-gouging, ruling him out of Saturday's clash with England. England's struggles continued as head coach Steve Borthwick admitted the pressure of representing the national team has weighed heavily bbc.com on some players during their disappointing campaign. Wales wing Louis Rees-Zammit expressed confidence that Wales is exciting again bbc.com after slow starts, to their Six Nations finale against Italy.
Golf
The PGA Tour's flagship event approaches with Scottie Scheffler installed as the overwhelming betting favorite espn.com at The Players Championship, though this time by enormous proportions compared to previous years. Brooks Koepka is seeking more consistency espn.com in his game as he makes just his fourth start since returning to the PGA Tour. Matt Fitzpatrick believes winning at Sawgrass would be up there bbc.com with his career achievements, calling it "the next best thing" to a major championship. Meanwhile, CEO Brian Rolapp outlined ambitious changes espn.com for the PGA Tour, including the possibility of relegation, a revamped schedule and match play in the playoffs.
Combat Sports
The combat sports world saw major developments as Jon Jones hinted at a UFC release espn.com after receiving what he called a "lowball" offer for a White House card appearance. Francis Ngannou announced his return espn.com to action on May 16 as part of Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions' inaugural MMA card, which will be headlined by Ronda Rousey's comeback fight against Gina Carano. Rousey said she wants to rewrite her ending bbc.com in her first MMA bout in ten years.
Horse Racing
Day two of the Cheltenham Festival delivered another winner for trainer Willie Mullins as Il Etait Temps powered to victory bbc.com in the Queen Mother Champion Chase, his third win of the meeting. The "Queen of Cheltenham" Lossiemouth cruised to victory bbc.com in the Champion Hurdle on day one, while Golden Ace's trainer Jeremy Scott believes she can successfully defend her Champion Hurdle title bbc.com. The festival continues to draw thousands of British racing fans to the Costa Blanca for what's become known as "Costa del Cheltenham."
Winter Sports
The Winter Paralympics in Milan-Cortina saw Ukraine's Maksym Murashkovskyi credit ChatGPT for his medal bbc.com, saying the AI helped him prepare for his Para-biathlon silver. Brazil's Cristian Westemaier Ribera won the nation's first-ever Winter Paralympic medal bbc.com with silver in the Para-cross-country skiing men's seated sprint. Germany's cross-country skiers protested against Russia bbc.com by turning their backs on Russian gold medallists on the podium. Great Britain's Neil Simpson and guide Rob Poth claimed the nation's first medal bbc.com with silver in the alpine combined.
Motorsports
The F1 season opener in Australia raised questions about the new regulations, with ESPN examining the five biggest questions espn.com heading into Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix. After a wild Australian Grand Prix weekend, BBC Sport's Andrew Benson answered fan questions about the fallout from the biggest rule changes bbc.com. The Australian GP also sparked overreactions, with some suggesting Max Verstappen could quit F1 espn.com and questioning whether McLaren is on the ropes.
Other Sports
The NFL saw the Ravens pivot from Max Crosby to Trey Hendrickson, with ESPN answering four big questions espn.com about Baltimore's decision to land the four-time Pro Bowl pass rusher. In cricket, Sri Lanka named Gary Kirsten as their new head coach bbc.com, while coaches of Hundred teams with IPL investment said they have not been directed away from signing Pakistan players bbc.com in Thursday's men's auction. The NCAA announced it will use technology called Prohi Bet to monitor tournament officials for betting espn.com in basketball, baseball and softball.