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🚨 Headlines
🏈 NFL offseason: Bills QB Josh Allen (six years, $330M) and Browns DE Myles Garrett ($40M annually) signed record-breaking extensions; Davante Adams is a Ram; the Seahawks sent Geno Smith to the Raiders and DK Metcalf to the Steelers. See all the latest moves here.
⚾️ Rays for sale? After 17 years of trying to find a new stadium, Rays owner Stu Sternberg is reportedly being pressured to sell the team by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and other owners as potential buyers eye the franchise.
🏁 Back-to-back-to-back: The NASCAR Cup Series season is four races old and Christopher Bell has already accomplished something no Cup driver has done since 2021: win three consecutive races. His latest victory came Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.
⛳️ Henley surges to victory: Russell Henley overtook Collin Morikawa late on Sunday to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational and earn a $4 million payday. The former Georgia Bulldog was due: his 10 top-10 finishes since the start of 2024 were the most without a win.
🏒 100 points: Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon became the first NHL player to reach 100 points this season (27 goals, 73 assists) and joined Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Alex Ovechkin as the only active players with three straight 100-point campaigns.
🏀 “D-II Drake” can’t stop winning
Drake’s magical season continued on Sunday when the Bulldogs won the Missouri Valley Conference title game to clinch an NCAA tournament berth and become the first 30-win team in Division I men’s basketball. Not bad for a bunch of D-II guys.
From Yahoo Sports’ Dan Wetzel:
For 15 seasons, Ben McCollum ran the best D-II basketball program in the country at Northwest Missouri State. He had an 81.3% winning percentage, including a seven-year stretch of 224-16 (.933), and four national titles, with COVID stopping a potential fifth for a 31-1 squad in 2020.
The teams were good. So were the players. And so there were times McCollum would do what everyone who has ever coached or played in a lower division does: He wondered how he and his guys would fare if they ever got the chance to compete at the highest level.
“You always wonder,” McCollum said. “We would sit around and discuss it.” The D-II titles were glorious. But still… “Playing in the Division I NCAA tournament is more of a personal thing, a chance to challenge yourself to a certain level,” he said.
Starting from scratch: Drake won 28 games last season under Darian DeVries, but the roster was immediately gutted when he was hired by West Virginia. 12 players transferred, two graduated and one quit basketball, leaving redshirt senior Nate Ferguson and walk-on Matt Alia as the only remaining players.
McCollum, 46, needed an entirely new team, and although he didn’t set out to prove as much, what has resulted is a chance to answer that age-old question of what happens when the small-time get a shot at the big-time.
Of the nine Drake players who regularly see action, seven were not in D-I last year. Their top three scorers all came from Northwest Missouri State, including leading scorer Bennett Stirtz, who was named the Larry Bird Missouri Valley Player of the Year.
When rival fans took a look at their roster last offseason, they were dubbed “D-II Drake.” No one is laughing at the 30-3 Bulldogs now. “I knew these kids. I knew their character. I knew their toughness,” said McCollum.
Bigger than basketball: McCollum’s roster of believers will enter the NCAA tournament as a popular Cinderella pick, and above all else, an inspiration for all those players and coaches and everyday people who dream of being more than just a label.
🎟️ Tickets punched: High Point* (Big South), Lipscomb (ASUN), SIU Edwardsville* (Ohio Valley) and Omaha* (Summit) joined Drake in the men’s field; South Carolina (SEC), Duke (ACC), UCLA (Big Ten), TCU (Big 12), George Mason* (A-10), UNC Greensboro (SoCon), Tennessee Tech (Ohio Valley), High Point (Big South) and South Dakota State (Summit) clinched spots in the women’s field.
*First NCAA tournament bid in program history
🏒 Stars, Panthers new Cup favorites
The Panthers and Stars are the new favorites to win the Stanley Cup (+600 at BetMGM) after both teams made big splashes at the NHL trade deadline.
Making moves: Dallas acquired right winger Mikko Rantanen* from the Hurricanes (then signed him to an eight-year, $96 million extension), while Florida landed longtime Bruins star Brad Marchand in a trade that marks the end of an era in Boston.**
Rantanen had a goal and an assist in his Stars debut on Saturday, then followed that up with another goal in Sunday’s win over the Canucks.
Marchand (upper body injury) won’t be on the ice when the Panthers face the Bruins tomorrow night in Boston, but he’ll be in the building.
What they’re saying: “With Rantanen on the Stars’ top line and fellow midseason acquisition Mikael Granlund on the second line, Dallas has no discernable holes,” writes The Hockey News’ Adam Proteau. As for the defending champion Panthers? “With Marchand, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart, Florida’s snot factor is off the charts.”
*Rantanen was traded twice in six weeks, with Colorado shipping him to Carolina (Jan. 24) before they flipped him to Dallas (March 7). This almost never happens, especially to a star player who ranks 10th in the NHL with 73 points (29 goals, 44 assists).
**For the first time since 2002, the Bruins roster does not feature one of Zdeno Chára, Patrice Bergeron or Marchand, who collectively served as team captains for the past 19 seasons (2006-2025).
🇺🇸 Photos across America
Boston — Jayson Tatum (40-12-8) and the Celtics beat Luka Dončić (34 points) and the Lakers, 111-101, in Saturday night’s marquee matchup* to take a 167-133 lead in their all-time series. LeBron James exited with a groin strain and is expected to miss 1-2 weeks.
Auburn, Alabama — Mark Sears’ floater at the buzzer lifted No. 7 Alabama to a 93-91 (OT) victory over top-ranked Auburn in a wildly entertaining contest. The Tigers remain a lock for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, and the Tide are now firmly in the mix for one.
Las Vegas — The headline from UFC 313 was Magomed Ankalaev dethroning Alex Pereira to become the new light heavyweight champion. But the highlight was Mauricio Ruffy’s spinning kick for the ages. Knockout of the year?
Orlando — Washington beat Orlando on penalties after a 1-1 draw on Friday to win the NWSL Challenge Cup. It was redemption for the Spirit, who finished as runners-up to the Pride in the 2024 standings before losing to them in November’s title game.
*Hot ticket: Saturday’s matchup between the No. 2 teams in each conference was the most expensive regular season home game in Celtics history. Courtside tickets went for as much as $23,112, the average ticket was $731 and the cheapest was $485.
🌎 Photos around the world
Hong Kong, China — What year is it? A pair of past-their-prime stars turned back the clock at Hong Kong Golf Club, where Sergio García got the win and Phil Mickelson finished a LIV career-best third. Both former Masters champs are feeling confident a month out from Augusta.
Munich, Germany — Bayern’s stadium looked immaculate on Saturday as the club celebrated its 125th anniversary, but the day ended on a low note after the Bundesliga leaders wasted a 2-0 lead in a 3-2 loss to cellar-dwelling VfL Bochum.
Dubai, U.A.E. — India defeated New Zealand in the Champions Trophy final to win yet another global cricket tournament. This was their 23rd win in 24 games across the last three ICC events, with their only loss coming against Australia in the 2023 Cricket World Cup final.
Dublin, Ireland — France beat two-time defending champion Ireland* on Saturday to take a one-point lead atop the Six Nations standings. England and Ireland remain in contention, but Les Bleus can all but clinch the title with a win over Scotland in next weekend’s finale.
*Three-peat on the brink: Ireland is vying to become the first team in Six Nations history to win three consecutive outright titles. They still have a chance to do so, but the pre-tournament favorites no longer control their own destiny.
✍️ Extra points
🏀 ACC dominance: No. 2 Duke beat UNC, 82-69, on Saturday to complete one of the best ACC campaigns in the program’s storied history. The Blue Devils finished conference play with a 19-1 record and a ridiculous +434 point differential, which is the largest by a power conference team since 1953-54 Kentucky.
🇨🇦 “Most Wanted” Olympian: Former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding has been added to the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list with a $10 million reward for his arrest. The 43-year-old Canadian is wanted for allegedly running a drug trafficking ring and orchestrating multiple murders.
🏀 Injury-ravaged roster: The Mavericks’ miserable 2025 hit a new low on Sunday when they closed out a loss to the Suns with only seven available players. “Never been in a game where we couldn’t take someone out to rest them because we had no one to put in,” said head coach Jason Kidd. “If not in [street] clothes, they were in the back getting stitches or could not move or walk.”
💔 Death at the Iditarod: A four-year-old female dog named Ventana died on Friday after collapsing during the Iditarod. Over 100 dogs have now died during the famous Alaskan sled dog race, which would never be held again if it were up to me. Enough.
🏈 Ohio homecoming: After four seasons at FCS Tennessee State, Eddie George has agreed to become the head coach at Bowling Green, returning to the state where he once starred for the Buckeyes and won the 1995 Heisman Trophy.
📺 Watchlist: SGA vs. Jokić (again)
The NBA MVP favorites faced off on Sunday in Oklahoma City, where Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (40-8-5) and the Thunder beat Nikola Jokić (24-13-9) and the Nuggets, 127-103. Tonight, they’ll go head-to-head again (8pm ET, NBA).
Two-man race: SGA remains the MVP favorite following his third straight 40-point game (and 58th straight game with 20+ points), but Jokić is hot on his heels and helped his case on Friday when he recorded the first 30-20-20 game in NBA history.*
More to watch:
🏀 NCAAM: Wofford vs. Furman (7pm, ESPN); Arkansas State vs. Troy (7pm, ESPN+) … SoCon and Sun Belt title games.
🏀 NCAAW: Arkansas State vs. James Madison (2pm, ESPN2); No. 3 UConn vs. No. 23 Creighton (7pm, FS1) … Sun Belt and Big East title games.
🎾 Tennis: Indian Wells, Round 3 (1pm, Tennis) … No. 3 Coco Gauff and No. 3 Taylor Fritz, the world’s top-ranked Americans, are both in action.
🏀 Unrivaled: Lunar Owls vs. Mist (7:30pm, TNT); Vinyl vs. Rose (8:30pm, TNT) … Playoff spots are on the line in the regular-season finale.
*Dime dropper: Jokić’s 22 assists on Friday broke Wilt Chamberlain’s single-game record for most by a center (21) and were just eight shy of the NBA record (30) set by point guard Scott Skiles in 1990.
🏀 NBA trivia
The Celtics and Lakers are the two winningest franchises in NBA history, with 3,680 and 3,590 wins, respectively.
Question: Which franchise has the third-most wins?
Hint: They moved to their current city in 1963.
Answer at the bottom.
🍿 Baker’s Dozen: Top 13 plays of the weekend
⚾️ Diving grab
Trivia answer: 76ers (3,123 wins)
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