COLLEGE BASKETBALL
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Baylor and Houston have reached the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament.
Baylor reached the Final Four for the first time in 71 years, getting 22 points from MaCio Teague and a dominating defensive performance from Davion Mitchell to beat Arkansas 81-72.
Houston overcame a blown 17-point lead to hold off Oregon State 67-61 and reach the Final Four for the first time in 37 years.
Undefeated Gonzaga faces USC, and UCLA and Michigan meet Tuesday for spots in the Final Four.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) - UConn and Arizona are headed to the Final Four of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
Paige Bueckers scored 28 points and top seed UConn used a huge run spanning the final two quarters to beat Baylor 69-67 and reach a 13th consecutive Final Four.
Aari McDonald scored 33 points and Arizona beat Indiana 66-53 to earn its first trip to the Final Four.
Louisville takes on Stanford, and Texas takes on South Carolina on Tuesday, with two Final Four spots up for grabs.
NEW YORK (AP) - Fordham is finalizing a deal to hire Villanova assistant Kyle Neptune to be its new men’s basketball coach.
A person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Monday that the Atlantic 10 school was close to an agreement and Neptune was likely to be introduced Tuesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the school was not ready to make an official announcement.
The 36-year-old Neptune is a New York native who went to high school in Brooklyn. He has been an assistant coach under Jay Wright at Villanova for eight seasons, and part of a program that has won four Big East championships and two NCAA Tournament titles.
-By AP College Sports Writer Ralph D. Russo.
DENVER (AP) - The University of Denver has hired Jeff Wulbrun as its men’s basketball coach.
It will be Wilbrun’s first head coaching job in the college ranks.
The Stanford associate head coach takes over for Rodney Billups, who was let go earlier this month after finishing 48-94 with the Pioneers.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Memphis has hired Katrina Merriweather as the new women’s basketball coach after she led Wright State to that program’s first NCAA Tournament win.
Athletic director Laird Veatch announced the hiring Monday.
Merriweather led No. 13 seed Wright State to an upset of fourth-seeded Arkansas in the first round last week before a loss to Missouri State in the second round. She also led Wright State to the only three Horizon League championships in school history.
WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) - Missy Traversi was hired as the women’s basketball coach at Army on Monday, joining the academy after five years of coaching Adelphi on Long Island.
She succeeds Dave Magarity, who retired after this season in which the Black Knights went 9-11. Her appointment was announced by athletic director Mike Buddie.
MLB
NEW YORK (AP) - Card games, car pools and eating at restaurants may be back in the major leagues later this season. Trips to church and sponsor events may return, too.
A three-page memorandum from Major League Baseball and the players’ association sent to players and staff on Monday and obtained by The Associated Press also stated “all players and staff are strongly encouraged to receive one of the approved COVID-19 vaccines when eligible.”
Not many players have been vaccinated, according to MLB, but it expects the pace to increase after teams return to their home cities from spring training. Opening day is Thursday.
- By Baseball Writer Ronald Blum.
NFL
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) - The Buffalo Bills’ home has a new name: Highmark Stadium.
The newly rebranded health insurer, Highmark BlueCross, BlueShield of Western New York, has purchased the naming rights for what was simply known as Bills Stadium last season, the team announced on Thursday.
The move comes after Pittsburgh-based Highmark Inc. completed an affiliation agreement with the Buffalo-based HealthNow New York.
NBA
NEW YORK (AP) - The NBA has scheduled this year’s draft for July 29, though it has yet to announce the location for the event.
Other key dates going into the draft were also revealed Monday: The draft combine is scheduled for June 21 through June 27, the draft lottery will be held June 22 and July 19 is the deadline for early-entry candidates to withdraw from the draft.
Early-entry candidates must apply for the draft by May 30, the NBA said.
NHL
MIAMI (AP) - Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad had surgery Monday and is likely done for the season, meaning the Panthers will have to continue their playoff push without one of their best players.
The Panthers said that Ekblad will need 12 weeks to recover. They didn’t reveal the extent of the damage - hockey teams are rarely specific on injuries, and the team only went as far as to say he had surgery to “repair a fracture in his lower extremities.”
But it was evident when he got hurt Sunday night at Dallas that it was a serious matter, and Monday’s announcement only confirmed that. The 12-week timeframe means he wouldn’t be able to play again until late June at the earliest.
NASCAR
BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) - Joey Logano won NASCAR’s first Cup Series race on dirt since 1970 with an overtime victory at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The track had been converted to dirt for an experimental event that, despite bobbles leading into the race, ultimately finished fairly trouble-free.
Even before Logano took the checkered flag, Bristol announced over the public address system that next year’s race would again be on dirt.
The track had issues through the weekend and the race was pushed to Monday because of flooding on the Bristol grounds.
OLYMPICS
TOKYO (AP) - Many fans living outside Japan who bought tickets for the Tokyo Olympics from brokers - known as Authorized Ticket Resellers - will not get full refunds. And they may have a long wait to get any refunds at all.
The question of refunds came into play a week ago when local organizers and the Japanese government decided to bar most fans from abroad because of the pandemic.
There are dozens of Authorized Tickets Resellers. They are typically appointed by national Olympic committees and are allowed to charge a 20% handling fee on tickets. For $2,000 worth of tickets, for instance, the reseller can charge $2,400.
DOG SHOW
NEW YORK (AP) - America’s top dogs won’t have their pack of fans on hand at this year’s Westminster Kennel Club dog show.
The club announced Monday that spectators and vendors won’t be allowed this year because of coronavirus limitations. No tickets will be sold.
It’s the latest in a series of pandemic shakeups to the nation’s most prestigious canine competition. It’s been moved from its longtime February date to June 12-13, and from New York City’s Hudson River piers and Madison Square Garden to an outdoor setting at a riverfront estate in suburban Tarrytown, about 25 miles (40 km) north of Manhattan.
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