TOKYO (AP) — It's the World Series-champion Los Angeles Dodgers against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Tokyo Dome to start the Major League Baseball season. It's only two games. For the record, the MLB regular season consists of almost 2,500 games. But it's much more than just two games for Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who was born in Japan. And for Shohei Ohtani and the four other Japanese players competing at home for the Dodgers and Cubs. MLB is opening its regular season for the second straight year in the Asian market.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Duke coach Jon Scheyer says it’s a “real long shot” that freshman star Cooper Flagg will be able to play in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament semifinals because of an ankle sprain. The 6-foot-9 Flagg rolled his left ankle in the first half of the top-ranked Blue Devils’ quarterfinal win against Georgia Tech on Thursday. He hobbled off the court before heading to the locker room. He returned to the bench for the second half but didn’t play again. Duke plays in the semifinals on Friday night. Duke also lost versatile defensive forward Maliq Brown to a shoulder injury.
WASHINGTON (AP) — John Feinstein, one of the country’s foremost sports writers and the author of numerous bestselling books, has died unexpectedly, according to his brother, Robert Feinstein. John Feinstein was 69. He died of natural causes at his brother’s home in McLean, Virginia. He was a full-time reporter for the Washington Post from 1977 to 1991 and a commentator for outlets such as NPR, ESPN and the Golf Channel. Feinstein was comfortable writing about all sports, but he was best-known for his connection to college basketball because of his groundbreaking book “A Season on the Brink.” He was an AP Top 25 men's basketball poll voter for more than 20 years.
Xavier and Indiana had chances to give their NCAA Tournament resumes a significant boost. But the Musketeers lost 89-87 to No. 25 Marquette, and Indiana fell 72-59 to No. 23 Oregon. Those aren’t bad losses by any means, but they were squandered chances. And Xavier and Indiana are very much on the bubble. Texas and North Carolina are two bubble teams whose outlooks seemed pretty precarious a couple days ago. Now they're still alive in their conference tournaments. The Longhorns snagged a huge win over No. 14 Texas A&M, 94-89 in double overtime. The Tar Heels beat Wake Forest 68-59.
NOME, Alaska (AP) — Former reality TV star Jessie Holmes has won the longest-ever Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska. Holmes was first to the finish line Friday in the Gold Rush town of Nome, on the Bering Sea coast. The race began March 3 in Fairbanks after a lack of snow forced changes to the route and starting point. That made the normally 1,000-mile race a staggering 1,129 miles across the wilderness. Holmes was competing for the eighth time. He previously finished in the top 10 five times, including third last year and in 2022. In his first Iditarod in 2018, his seventh-place finish earned him Rookie of the Year honors.
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton racing a Ferrari for the first time. Reigning world champion Max Verstappen arriving without a lot of mileage in his Red Bull. Lando Norris helping McLaren set a benchmark with his pace in testing. Formula 1 is expecting a hyper-competitive milestone 75th anniversary season in 2025 which starts this weekend with the Australian Grand Prix. There’s no shortage of unknowns in terms of the pecking order, or the weather. Most of the headlines ahead of Sunday’s Australian GP have revolved around Hamilton’s move to Ferrari from Mercedes. The normally relaxed pre-event news conference at Albert Park was overflowing with media there to hear from a rejuvenated Hamilton about how much he’s enjoying the prancing horse-ride.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry is the first player in NBA history with 4,000 3-pointers. He did it a day before his 37th birthday. His 4,000th came from the right wing on a pass from Moses Moody with 8:19 left in the third, on his fourth attempt of the night. The two-time NBA MVP needed two more from deep coming into Thursday night’s game against the rival Sacramento Kings at Chase Center. He hit his first from the left wing with 5:35 remaining in the opening quarter.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday withdrew from a $1.3 billion ballpark project, citing hurricanes and delays that likely will drive up the proposal’s cost. The team issued a statement by principal owner Stuart Sternberg saying that “a series of events” in October, which included severe damage to the existing Tropicana Field, led to what he called “this difficult decision.” the Rays are set to play this season’s home games across Tampa Bay at the New York Yankees’ spring training home, 11,000-seat Steinbrenner Field. Meanwhile, repairs are envisioned to the Trop, including replacing its roof shredded by Hurricane Milton, that would have it ready for the 2026 season.
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The Players Championship always delivers the unpredictable at the TPC Sawgrass. Camilo Villegas, Lucas Glover and J.J. Spaun are tied for the lead. Villegas got a lesson on the day before the opening round from a swing coach who was in Singapore for the start of a LIV event. Rory McIlroy was one behind. He made four of his birdies from the rough or the pine straw. Jordan Spieth had an eagle, birdie, par, bogey and double bogey after only six holes. He shot 70. Chandler Phillips set a Players record with three eagles. He also had a triple bogey.
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Rory McIlroy shot a 67 at The Players Championship. Getting as much attention is a video of him taking a phone away from a University of Texas player who heckled him during a practice round. Golf.com reported that Texas player Luke Potter took a dig at McIlroy about the 2011 Masters after McIlroy hooked a tee shot into the water during a Tuesday practice round. Potter had just won a college tournament across the street on Monday. Potter tells GolfChannel.com that he's sorry for the incident. Asked about it on Thursday, McIlroy said only he was happy with a 67.
THURSDAY SCORES
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Thursday, Mar. 13
American Athletic Second Round
Wichita St. 73, South Florida 68
FAU 64, Charlotte 59
Tulsa 75, Temple 71
East Carolina 70, UTSA 65
Atlantic 10 Second Round
St. Bonaventure 64, Duquesne 59
Saint Louis 83, Davidson 75
George Washington 88, Fordham 81
Saint Joseph's 75, La Salle 70
Atlantic Coast Quarterfinal
Duke 78, Georgia Tech 70
North Carolina 68, Wake Forest 59
Louisville 75, Stanford 73
Clemson 57, SMU 54
Atlantic Sun Quarterfinal
Kennesaw St. 80, New Mexico St. 77
Big 12 Quarterfinal
BYU 96, Iowa St. 92
Houston 77, Colorado 68
Texas Tech 76, Baylor 74
Arizona 88, Kansas 77
Big East Quarterfinal
St. John's 78, Butler 57
Marquette 89, Xavier 87
Creighton 85, DePaul 81, 2OT
UConn 73, Villanova 56
Big Ten Second Round
Oregon 72, Indiana 59
Wisconsin 70, Northwestern 63
Illinois 106, Iowa 94
Purdue 76, Southern Cal 71
Big West Quarterfinal
UC Santa Barbara 78, CS Northridge 72
Cal Poly 96, UC Riverside 83
Conference USA Quarterfinal
Middle Tennessee 77, Louisiana Tech 75
Metro Atlantic Athletic Quarterfinal
Iona 77, Manhattan 65
Mount St. Mary's 62, Marist 58
Mid-American Quarterfinal
Akron 96, Bowling Green 67
Toledo 90, Ohio 85, OT
Miami (Ohio) 81, E. Michigan 75
Kent St. 73, W. Michigan 66
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Quarterfinal
Morgan St. 91, Howard 90
NC Central 79, Delaware St. 77
Mountain-West Conference Quarterfinal
New Mexico 63, San Jose St. 52
Boise St. 62, San Diego St. 52
Colorado St. 67, Nevada 59
Utah St. 70, UNLV 58
Southeastern Second Round
Mississippi 83, Arkansas 80
Texas 94, Texas A&M 89, 2OT
Missouri 85, Mississippi St. 73
Kentucky 85, Oklahoma 84
Southwestern Athletic Quarterfinal
Alabama St. 84, Texas Southern 79
Bethune-Cookman 69, Alcorn St. 60
Western Athletic Quarterfinal
Seattle 69, Abilene Christian 63
Cal Baptist 55, Tarleton St. 51
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Washington 129, Detroit 125
Milwaukee 126, L.A. Lakers 106
Orlando 113, New Orleans 93
Chicago 116, Brooklyn 110
Golden State 130, Sacramento 104
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Vegas 4, Columbus 0
Pittsburgh 5, St. Louis 3
Florida 3, Toronto 2
Ottawa 6, Boston 3
Philadelphia 4, Tampa Bay 3, SO
New Jersey 3, Edmonton 2
N.Y. Rangers 3, Minnesota 2, OT
San Jose 4, Chicago 2
Los Angeles 3, Washington 0