General Sports 3d Briefing
×Last updated: March 13, 2026, 2:46 PM ET
College Basketball
Syracuse fired Adrian Autry espn.com after three seasons without an NCAA tournament appearance, joining Arizona State in coaching changes as the Sun Devils parted ways with Bobby Hurley espn.com following an 11-season tenure. Hofstra returned to the NCAA tournament espn.com for the first time in 25 years with a 75-69 win over Monmouth in the Coastal Athletic Association championship. In the Big, No. 10 BYU's AJ Dybantsa shattered the freshman scoring record espn.com with 40 points in a 105-91 victory over Kansas State, while Texas Tech's Christian Anderson suffered a muscle strain espn.com slipping on the conference's new LED glass court during Iowa State's 75-53 win. The Big 12 announced it would revert to hardwood espn.com for the remainder of its tournament after the innovative surface caused multiple slips and falls.
Football
The Atlanta Falcons brought in Tua Tagovailoa espn.com to compete with Michael Penix Jr. for the starting quarterback job, according to general manager Ian Cunningham. Meanwhile, NFL Players Association representatives prepared to vote on new leadership espn.com following the departure of former head Lloyd Howell. In college football, Miami (Ohio) suffered its first defeat espn.com with an 87-83 loss to UMass in the Mid-American Conference tournament, while Utah Valley settled a $1 million WAC exit fee dispute espn.com that had threatened their tournament participation.
Horse Racing
Cheltenham Festival saw its third horse fatality bbc.com when Envoi Allen collapsed on the walk back to stables after the Gold Cup, following earlier deaths of Global Citizen and Lady Rebecca. The Gold Cup itself was won by Gaelic Warrior bbc.com in supreme fashion, with Harry Redknapp-owned Jukebox Man finishing eighth bbc.com. Trainer Nicky Henderson's Fact To File was withdrawn due to ground conditions bbc.com, prompting Mullins to threaten future non-attendance over concerns about track quality.
Rugby Union
Scotland stood on the brink of history bbc.com heading into their Six Nations finale against Ireland, with captain Sione Tuipulotu saying the team had been "to hell and back" to become title contenders. Ireland ruled out James Ryan bbc.com through injury and made four changes for the decisive clash, while Scotland's Gregor Townsend faced his most significant selection dilemma bbc.com before the trip to Dublin. France will wear special edition pale blue shirts bbc.com against England to mark 120 years of rivalry, with uncapped flanker Temo Matiu earning his debut start bbc.com. Wales named an unchanged side bbc.com for their finale against Italy, with record-breaking flanker Alex Mann set to finish strongly bbc.com in Cardiff.
Tennis
World number one Aryna Sabalenka defeated Victoria Mboko bbc.com, whom she called a "future Grand Slam champion," at Indian Wells, though Iga Swiatek exited earlier than expected. Britain's Sonay Kartal retired from her fourth-round match bbc.com against Elena Rybakina due to a back injury, calling it "one match too many."
Motorsport
Lewis Hamilton qualified fourth for the Chinese Grand Prix espn.com and explained Ferrari's gap to Mercedes was primarily due to power unit performance deficits. The seven-time champion decided against attending the Oscars espn.com despite "F1" nominations, concluding it would be impossible to arrive on time after the Shanghai race.
Combat Sports
Khamzat Chimaev will defend his UFC middleweight title bbc.com against Sean Strickland in May, while Henry de Bromhead celebrated his first Cheltenham winner bbc.com as Heart Wood triumphed in the Ryanair Chase. Super featherweight Ryan Garner targeted the winner bbc.com of Saturday's world title clash between James Dickens and Anthony Cacace. Ronda Rousey announced her MMA return bbc.com against Gina Carano on May 16, aiming to "rewrite her ending" after a decade away from the sport.
Winter Paralympics
Britain's Hester Poole vowed redemption bbc.com after crashing out of her giant slalom debut, while Neil Simpson and guide Rob Poth failed to finish their opening run bbc.com in the men's visually impaired event. Cross-country skier Jake Adicoff became the first out gay man bbc.com to win an individual Paralympic gold medal. Austrian siblings Veronika and Johannes Aigner continued their dominant run bbc.com as the "Von Trapp" family of Paralympic skiing.
Other Sports
Graeme McDowell created LIV Golf history bbc.com with a second consecutive hole-in-one, becoming the first player to achieve the feat on tour. Kim English's three-year tenure at Providence ended abruptly espn.com after a loss to St. John's. Sixteen years after losing his leg in Haiti's devastating earthquake, Ralf Etienne became his nation's first Winter Paralympian bbc.com. Josh Schertz agreed to a contract extension espn.com at Saint Louis after leading the Billikens to an Atlantic 10 regular-season title.