General Sports 3d Briefing
×Last updated: March 14, 2026, 4:38 PM ET
NCAA Basketball Tournament
UCLA's Tyler Bilodeau suffered a right leg injury espn.com that will likely sideline him for at least one game, but the Bruins held off No. 8 Michigan State espn.com 88-84 to advance to the Big Ten tournament semifinals. The injury comes after Bilodeau suffered a mild right knee strain espn.com earlier in the week, though he was expected to be available for the NCAA tournament. Meanwhile, No. 3 Michigan advanced to the Big Ten title game espn.com after Yaxel Lendeborg's tiebreaking 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds remaining gave the Wolverines a 68-65 win over No. 23 Wisconsin. In the America East championship, DJ Armstrong Jr.'s career-high 33 points led top-seeded UMBC espn.com to a 74-59 victory over No. 2 seed Vermont, marking the Retrievers' return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since their historic 2018 upset of Virginia.
College Basketball Coaching Changes
Cincinnati fired men's basketball coach Wes Miller espn.com after five seasons, sources told ESPN, while Providence fired Kim English espn.com following a loss to St. John's, ending his three-year tenure. In contrast, Oklahoma's Porter Moser will return for the 2026-27 season espn.com after athletic director Roger Denny confirmed his status. Saint Louis extended coach Josh Schertz's contract espn.com following his Atlantic 10 regular-season title, and Kansas State is expected to hire Belmont's Casey Alexander espn.com, a perennial 20-game winner. Pitt's Jeff Capel will return for a ninth season espn.com despite a 2025-26 campaign that fell "well short" of expectations, according to athletic director Allen Greene.
International Rugby
Wales ended a three-year Six Nations losing streak bbc.com with a bonus-point win against Italy in Cardiff, while Ireland's 43-21 victory over Scotland bbc.com secured their fourth Triple Crown in five years. Ireland head coach Andy Farrell described his team's performance as having a "ruthless edge" bbc.com, though lock James Ryan was ruled out of the Triple Crown decider against Scotland. Scotland's Sione Tuipulotu said his team had been "to hell and back" bbc.com to become Six Nations title contenders, though they ultimately fell short. France will wear a special edition pale blue shirt bbc.com to mark 120 years of rivalry against England in their final Six Nations game.
Women's Sports
Cliodhna Moloney-Mac Donald's first-half hat-trick helped Exeter Chiefs thrash Trailfinders Women bbc.com 47-14, keeping them third in the Premiership Women's Rugby table. Loughborough Lightning's 43-33 win over Harlequins bbc.com featured the return of England internationals Ellie Kildunne and Sadia Kabeya. In netball, AO Manchester Thunder defeated Lexis Nexis Dragons bbc.com, extending the Dragons' winless run in the Super League. Scotland's women's hockey team will play in their first Hockey World Cup bbc.com since 2002 after beating Italy in a tense play-off, while Paralympic skier Menna Fitzpatrick finished fifth in the visually impaired slalom bbc.com, to 2030 after her Milan-Cortina campaign.
Horse Racing and Equestrian
Gaelic Warrior won the Cheltenham Gold Cup bbc.com in supreme fashion, while Heart Wood triumphed in the Ryanair Chase bbc.com on day three of the festival. However, the final day saw tragedy as Envoi Allen and Saint Le Fort both died bbc.com on Friday. Trainer Paul Nicholls and jockey Sam Twiston-Davies combined to win the Midlands Grand National bbc.com with Isaac Des Obeaux at Uttoxeter. The festival proved challenging for punters, with the average starting price of the 28 winners hitting a 10-year high bbc.com, marking 2026 as "the year of the outsider" at Cheltenham.
Golf and Tennis
A fatal shooting near TPC Sawgrass delayed spectator entry bbc.com before day three of the Players Championship, though play continued. In tennis, Aryna Sabalenka beat Victoria Mboko bbc.com at Indian Wells, with the world number one calling her opponent a "future Grand Slam champion." Sabalenka will face Elena Rybakina in a final for the third time in four months bbc.com. Britain's Sonay Kartal retired from her fourth-round match bbc.com against world number three Elena Rybakina due to a back injury, saying it was "one match too many."
Motorsport
Mercedes showed a first hint of 2026 vulnerability bbc.com in qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix but still secured a front-row lock-out, underlining their superiority. Lewis Hamilton qualified fourth espn.com and noted Ferrari's gap to Mercedes was mainly due to power unit performance deficits. Hamilton explored "every way" to attend Sunday's Oscars espn.com after the Chinese Grand Prix but ultimately decided it was impossible to arrive on time. Meanwhile, Indy Car officials threw a red flag espn.com to slow cars during practice when three workers were spotted on the hot track while pulling out of the pit area.
Combat Sports and Olympics
UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev will defend his title against Sean Strickland bbc.com in May, while Ryan Garner eyes the winner of the Anthony Cacace-James Dickens world title clash bbc.com. Super featherweight boxer Ryan Garner said he has his eye on the winner of Saturday night's world title clash. In Olympic news, Alysa Liu received a key to her hometown espn.com during a rally that included performances from Bay Area artists after her Olympic triumph. Paralympic skier Hester Poole vowed "redemption arc" after crashing bbc.com out of the giant slalom on her Winter Paralympic debut, setting her sights on Saturday's slalom.
Winter Paralympics
Haiti's Ralf Etienne became his nation's first Winter Paralympian bbc.com, sixteen years after losing his leg in an earthquake that devastated Haiti. Cross-country skier Jake Adicoff became the first out gay man to win an individual Paralympic gold medal bbc.com. Great Britain's Hester Poole crashed out of the giant slalom bbc.com on her Winter Paralympic debut but vowed to compete in the slalom. Britain's Neil Simpson and guide Rob Poth failed to finish their opening giant slalom run bbc.com, leaving Simpson "bitterly disappointed." Guide dog Pickle has been stealing the spotlight bbc.com as Paralympics GB's 26th team member in Milan-Cortina.
NFL and American Football
The Atlanta Falcons are bringing in Tua Tagovailoa to compete with Michael Penix Jr. espn.com for the starting quarterback job, according to general manager Ian Cunningham. The complete 2026 NFL draft order has been set espn.com, starting with the Raiders at No. 1 and ending with the Broncos at No. 257 across all seven rounds. NFL Players Association representatives are set to vote on a successor espn.com to disgraced former leader Lloyd Howell. Miami faces its "most challenging" offseason yet espn.com as Mario Cristobal prepares the Canes to climb college football's mountaintop again.
Miscellaneous Sports
England bowler Mark Wood says his injured knee is improving bbc.com but admits he has started thinking about life after cricket for the first time. Triple gold medallist Tom Dean uprooted his life to move to Stirling bbc.com last year with the 2028 Olympics in his sights. Ulster's superb second-half performance bbc.com earned them a bonus-point victory at Edinburgh in the United Rugby Championship, damaging the hosts' top-eight hopes. Glenavon climbed off the bottom bbc.com of the Irish Premiership table with a 3-0 victory over Crusaders, who now occupy the automatic relegation spot.