General Sports 3d Briefing
×Last updated: March 14, 2026, 7:42 PM ET
NCAA Tournament Developments
The women's NCAA tournament bracket took shape as North Carolina and West Virginia secured top-16 seeds espn.com, while UMBC punched its first ticket since the 2018 Virginia upset espn.com with DJ Armstrong Jr.'s career-high 33 points in the America East championship. In the Big Ten, Michigan advanced to the title game espn.com on Yaxel Lendeborg's buzzer-beating three-pointer, and Arizona reached the Big 12 final espn.com after Jaden Bradley's fallaway jumper at the horn. Meanwhile, UCLA's Tyler Bilodeau suffered a right leg injury espn.com that will likely sideline him for at least one game, though he remains available for the Bruins' NCAA opener after a mild knee strain earlier in the week.
Tennis Highlights
World No. 2 Jannik Sinner claimed his maiden Indian Wells final berth bbc.com with a dominant 6-2, 6-4 dismantling of Alexander Zverev, while Aryna Sabalenka defeated Victoria Mboko bbc.com in straight sets to set up a third final meeting with Elena Rybakina in four months. The tournament also saw Sonay Kartal retire from her fourth-round match bbc.com against Rybakina due to a back injury, with the British player acknowledging it was "one match too many" after her deep run.
Six Nations Championship
Ireland secured their fourth Triple Crown in five years bbc.com with a 43-21 demolition of Scotland, as head coach Andy Farrell praised his team's "ruthless edge" in the decisive victory. The win came after Scotland had been eliminated from title contention bbc.com when France retained the championship by beating England. Wales ended their three-year Six Nations losing streak bbc.com in spectacular fashion with a bonus-point victory over Italy in Cardiff, while uncapped flanker Temo Matiu made his debut bbc.com for France in their final match against England.
Rugby Union Updates
Exeter Chiefs maintained their third-place Premiership Women's Rugby standing bbc.com behind Cliodhna Moloney-Mac Donald's first-half hat-trick in a 47-14 thrashing of Trailfinders Women. In the United Rugby Championship, Ulster staged a superb second-half comeback bbc.com to earn a bonus-point victory at Edinburgh, dealing a blow to the hosts' top-eight playoff hopes. Connacht moved within striking distance of the playoffs bbc.com with a five-try victory over Scarlets in Galway.
Winter Paralympics and Sports
Haiti's Ralf Etienne made history as his nation's first Winter Paralympian bbc.com sixteen years after losing his leg in the 2010 earthquake, while cross-country skier Jake Adicoff became the first out gay man to win individual Paralympic gold bbc.com. Great Britain's Hester Poole vowed to target the slalom bbc.com after crashing out of her giant slalom debut, and visually impaired skier Menna Fitzpatrick finished fifth in her final Milan-Cortina event bbc.com, already to the 2030 Games.
Auto Racing Incidents
Indy Car officials threw a red flag during practice espn.com when three workers were spotted on the hot track as cars were pulling out of the pit area. In Formula, Mercedes dominated Chinese Grand Prix qualifying bbc.com with a front-row lock-out despite showing "first signs of 2026 vulnerability," while Lewis Hamilton noted Ferrari's power unit deficit espn.com as the main reason for their gap to Mercedes. Rally Kenya saw championship leader Elfyn Evans forced to retire bbc.com after suspension damage on Saturday.
College Basketball Coaching Moves
Cincinnati fired Wes Miller after five seasons espn.com, while Providence terminated Kim English's three-year tenure espn.com following a loss to St. John's. Saint Louis extended Josh Schertz's contract espn.com after he led the Billikens to an Atlantic 10 regular-season title, and Kansas State is set to hire Belmont's Casey Alexander espn.com, a perennial 20-game winner. Syracuse's Jim Boeheim defended former coach Adrian Autry espn.com, attributing his dismissal to poor performance by star players and lack of NIL funding rather than coaching ability.
NFL and Professional Sports
The Atlanta Falcons confirmed Tua Tagovailoa will compete with Michael Penix Jr. espn.com for the starting quarterback job, while the complete 2026 NFL draft order was finalized espn.com with the Raiders picking first and the Broncos last. In boxing, Khamzat Chimaev will defend his UFC middleweight title against Sean Strickland bbc.com in May, and Ryan Garner expressed interest in the winner of the Cacace-Dickens world title clash bbc.com. LIV Golf saw Graeme McDowell make history with consecutive hole-in-ones bbc.com, becoming the first player to achieve the feat on tour.
Miscellaneous Sports News
British skier Neil Simpson and guide Rob Poth failed to finish their opening giant slalom run bbc.com at the Winter Paralympics, leaving Simpson "bitterly disappointed." In hockey, Colin Dorgan scored the game-winning goal in double overtime espn.com for his Rhode Island high school team, less than a month after losing three family members in a mass shooting at a local rink. The Big Ten sent a letter to the NCAA requesting a pause on tampering investigations espn.com and modernization of related rules, while the Big 12 transitioned back to a traditional hardwood court espn.com after its innovative LED glass surface caused slipping issues during the conference tournament.