March Madness brackets are live; Team USA reaches WBC final; Cameron Young wins The Players

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🏀 Five things to know Monday

1. The men’s and women’s NCAA Tournament brackets are set. 68 teams, 67 games, infinite drama, a Cinderella or two and one champion — for each bracket! That’s the recipe that makes March Madness so unforgettable every year. This season’s action tips off Tuesday with the men’s First Four, continues Wednesday when the women’s tournament gets underway and rolls into April until the national champions are crowned. Here are the brackets in all of their glory with Duke claiming the No. 1 overall seed in the men’s tournament and UConn once again standing atop the women’s field.
2. Team USA is headed to the World Baseball Classic final. The wake-up call at the end of pool play seemed to invigorate Team USA, which bounced back with consecutive wins to punch its ticket. Friday’s 5-3 triumph over Canada set the stage for an all-timer of a battle with the Dominican Republic on Sunday, which the United States won 2-1. The Americans will face the winner of Venezuela and Italy, who are set to play their semifinal game tonight after making surprisingly deep runs through the bracket. The championship battle is set for 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
3. Cameron Young came from behind to win The Players Championship. The second PGA Tour victory of Young’s career came thrillingly as he blasted a 375-yard drive on the 18th tee and took sole possession of the lead for the first and final time on Sunday. Young (-13) squeaked past Matt Fitzpatrick and pocketed a $4.5 million prize from the largest purse of any tournament outside of the Tour Championship.
4. Two more jobs are open on the college basketball coaching carousel. Providence officially fired Kim English, following through with the intentions that Matt Norlander reported about a week ago. Wes Miller is also out after five seasons at Cincinnati, across which he oversaw a move to the Big 12, posted a 100-74 record but did not reach the NCAA Tournament. There will be no coaching change at Pittsburgh, though, with the Panthers set to bring Jeff Capel back for Year 9 and thus avoid a massive $15 million buyout.
5. Auston Matthews is out for the season with a torn MCL. The Maple Leafs captain sustained the injury in Thursday’s win over the Ducks and will sit the final 16 games of the year. Matthews was on the receiving end of what his teammates called a “dirty” hit from Radko Gudas, who received a five-game suspension from the NHL Department of Player Safety. That penalty did not go far enough, though, according to Matthews’ agent.

🏀 Do not miss this: March Madness bracket breakdown

Office pools beware — we have all the tools you need to build a winning bracket. But first, for all the old-schoolers like myself who like to put pen to paper during this process, make sure to print out your copy of the 68-team field. Here’s a printable men’s bracket and a printable women’s bracket.

The perfect place to get started is to evaluate the winners and losers of the tournament draws. Miami (Ohio) is unquestionably a winner on the men’s side after punching its ticket as an at-large selection, while fellow bubble teams Auburn and Oklahoma fell short of the cut line. In the women’s tournament, the ACC pulled off quite the turnaround to send a conference-record nine teams to the Big Dance, but Duke received a tough path.

Here are a few more resources that will come in handy as you build a bracket for the men’s tournament:

Once you fill out your bracket, it’s time to tune in. The tip times, TV channels and announcer assignments are set for every men’s game through the national championship. And here are the game times and channels for the women’s First Four and first round.

Don’t forget to play Men’s and Women’s bracket pools with friends, family and co-workers. You can enter both Bracket Challenges for your shot at winning trips to each 2027 Final Four®!

📊 NBA Power Rankings

Remember when the Clippers looked destined to miss the playoffs? It wasn’t so long ago that they broke our Panic Meter, yet here they are as the biggest risers in our latest NBA Power Rankings. At 7-3 in their past 10 games, they climbed seven spots to No. 12 in the pecking order. The Rockets, meanwhile, are on a downward spiral, and Brad Botkin is concerned about their outlook.

• Botkin: “I’ve pretty much given up on the Rockets as a contender. Way too much standing around offensively and not nearly enough of the All-NBA caliber Alperen Sengun we saw so much of early in the season. This is too reminiscent of all the post-Warriors Kevin Durant teams that were just too reliant on him making a million tough self-created shots. It’s not going to happen.”

Here are the top five teams in the rankings. You’ll notice there’s another team on the rise in Los Angeles.

1. Thunder (Previously: 2)
2. Spurs (1)
3. Celtics (4)
4. Nuggets (8)
5. Lakers (11)

⚽ 2026 NWSL picks and predictions

The first weekend of the 2026 NWSL season is complete, and it featured a victory for reigning champions Gotham FC, the debut of two expansion clubs, Trinity Rodman’s first game on her new mega-contract and a ton of highly competitive soccer.

Before we get too deep into the campaign, though, we need to make some predictions. Our staff offered their picks for a bevy of awards and other categories, including the league championship — and the majority are siding with the Kansas City Current to hoist the trophy at season’s end.

Pardeep Cattry, however, explained why the Washington Spirit are the Current’s biggest threat to achieve NWSL supremacy.

• Cattry: “This is a team built to compete for titles, and with the added motivation of two empty-handed trips to the championship, they might finally pull it off.”

Don’t miss our picks for MVP, Rookie of the Year and Golden Boot. Additionally, the staff brainstormed a few bold predictions. Here they are:

• Chicago Stars make the playoffs
• Denver Summit, Boston Legacy are playoff contenders
• Angel City finish in the top 4
• Houston Dash get sold
• Nick Cushing wins Coach of the Year
• Current disappoint

👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest

• The NIT announced its 32-team field with Auburn, Wake Forest, New Mexico and Tulsa securing No. 1 seeds. The WBIT, now in its third year as the second-tier women’s tournament, announced BYU, Texas A&M, North Dakota State and Utah as No. 1 seeds.
• WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert set today as the new deadline in CBA negotiations.
• The Titans unveiled their rebrand with a new primary logo and uniforms.
• Bam Adebayo is not apologizing for his 83-point game.
• Dallas Goedert will reportedly re-sign with the Eagles, which could impact a potential A.J. Brown trade.
• Jaguars general manager James Gladstone dispelled the “fraudulent” reports that he is open to trading Brian Thomas Jr.
• Luka Dončić hit a buzzer-beater as the Lakers defeated the Nuggets in overtime to gain a critical tiebreaker. The NBA said an incorrect foul call in the final seconds of regulation also benefited the Lakers.
• Darryn Peterson opened up about his “traumatic” health struggles during his highly scrutinized season at Kansas.
• Bryson DeChambeau earned his first win of the season at LIV Golf Singapore.
• James Pearce Jr. faces three felony charges and a misdemeanor after the incident involving Rickea Jackson.
• Jaylen Brown has had it with the NBA rewarding “foul-baiting.”
• The war in Iran continues to impact the sports world. F1 is reportedly expected to cancel races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, while the 2026 Finalissima between Spain and Argentina (set to be held in Qatar) is officially off.
• Rising star Kevin Vallejos knocked out Josh Emmett in the first round at UFC Fight Night.
• Victor Wembanyama is going all-in on winning MVP and Defensive Player of the Year.
• Arsenal, following a 2-0 win over Everton, are nine points clear of second place atop the Premier League table.
• Randy Orton left Cody Rhodes bloodied during WWE SmackDown as the Road to WrestleMania 42 heats up.
• Because of a legal battle over conference ties, Louisiana Tech is on both the 2026 Conference USA and Sun Belt football schedules.
• Check out this absurd goal Arda Güler scored from beyond midfield in Real Madrid’s win over Elche.
• The NFLPA will announce a new executive director this week.

📺 What we’re watching Monday

⚾ Spring training: Blue Jays at Marlins, 1:10 p.m. on MLB Network
⚽ Wolverhampton Wanderers at Brentford, 4 p.m. on USA Network
⚾ Spring training: Brewers at Dodgers, 4:05 p.m. on MLB Network
🏀 Magic at Hawks, 7 p.m. on NBC Sports Network
🏒 Bruins at Devils, 7 p.m. on ESPN
⚾ World Baseball Classic, semifinal: Italy vs. Venezuela, 8 p.m. on FS1
⚾ Spring training: White Sox at Rangers, 8:05 p.m. on MLB Network
🏀 Lakers at Rockets, 9:30 p.m. on NBC Sports Network
🏒 Penguins at Avalanche, 9:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Spurs at Clippers, 10 p.m. on Peacock