KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Bobby Witt Jr., widely considered the best prospect in baseball, has made the Kansas City roster and will start at third base in the Royals’ season opener against the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday at Kauffman Stadium. The move with the 21-year-old infielder was widely expected, especially after he hit well in spring training. Witt hit .290 with 33 homers and 29 steals across Double-A and Triple-A last season.
JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — For a hitter not known for fast starts, Paul Goldschmidt put up a lofty number in spring training. A batting average of .500, in fact. The St. Louis Cardinals first baseman popped up and had a sacrifice fly on Tuesday against Miami, leaving him at 11 for 22. Goldschmidt’s hits haven’t been of the cheap variety, either. Four left the ballpark. It would have been five had Washington’s Lane Thomas not extended his glove over the wall on Monday, flicking a ball back into the field of play that Dee Strange-Gordon then caught in mid-air for an out. The Cardinals open the season Thursday at home against Pittsburgh.
NEW YORK (AP) — Kansas’ comeback victory over North Carolina to win the NCAA men’s basketball championship was the most-viewed title game on cable television. The Jayhawks’ 72-69 win averaged 18.1 million viewers on TBS, TNT and truTV. That's a 4 percent increase over last year’s title game between Baylor and Gonzaga on CBS. This was the third time the championship game was on Turner, but first since 2018. They were supposed to have the 2020 final, but the tournament was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The entire tournament on CBS and Turner averaged 10.7 million, a 13% increase over last year.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Great Kansas Comeback is about more than just one scintillating, stifling 20-minute stretch of Jayhawks basketball. The championship KU captured Monday night had roots back in 2020, when the Jayhawks were a team that looked headed for the program’s fourth national title. Instead, it was KU’s come-from-behind 72-69 victory over North Carolina on Monday that brought that fourth championship banner back to Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks insisted they’d share it with the 2020 team, too.
UNDATED (AP) — Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby says he is stepping away from that role later this year after a decade on the job. Bowlsby will remain the Big 12's leader until a new commissioner is appointed. The expectation is that he will then transition into a new interim role with the league. The 70-year-old Bowlsby's contract with the Big 12 goes into 2025. He has been Big 12 commissioner since 2012. He came to the league after serving as athletic director at Stanford, Iowa and Northern Iowa.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Tiger Woods says, for now anyway, he’s planning to play this week in the Masters, a little more than a year after he nearly lost a leg in a car crash. The five-time champion at Augusta National made the announcement this morning. He will play nine more practice holes on Wednesday before making a final decision. Woods was asked if he believes he can win the tournament. He said he does.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The Patriots looked within their division to find some help at receiver, completing a trade with the Dolphins to acquire veteran DeVante Parker. New England sent a 2023 third-round draft pick to Miami for Parker and a 2022 fifth-round pick. Parker arrives in New England with 338 receptions for 4,727 yards and 24 touchdowns. The Patriots are hoping Parker can add to a group of Patriots receivers that already includes Kendrick Bourne, Jakobi Meyers and Nelson Agholor.
TUESDAY SCORES
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Orlando 120 Cleveland 115
Final Philadelphia 131 Indiana 122
Final Toronto 118 Atlanta 108
Final Brooklyn 118 Houston 105
Final Miami 144 Charlotte 115
Final Oklahoma City 98 Portland 94
Final Washington 132 Minnesota 114
Final Milwaukee 127 Chicago 106
Final San Antonio 116 Denver 97
Final OT Utah 121 Memphis 115
Final New Orleans 123 Sacramento 109
Final Phoenix 121 L.A. Lakers 110
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final N-Y Rangers 3 New Jersey 1
Final Buffalo 4 Carolina 2
Final Columbus 4 Philadelphia 2
Final Ottawa 6 Montreal 3
Final Colorado 6 Pittsburgh 4
Final OT Florida 7 Toronto 6
Final Detroit 5 Boston 3
Final Nashville 6 Minnesota 2
Final Dallas 3 N-Y Islanders 2
Final OT Edmonton 2 San Jose 1