AP Sports Summary for Thursday, March 28th, 2024.
NCAA President Charlie Baker urges states with legal wagering to ban prop bets on college athletes
NCAA President Charlie Baker is urging states with legal wagering on sporting events to ban betting on individual player performances. Prop bets allow gamblers to wager on statistics a player will accumulate during a game. The NBA has opened an investigation into Toronto Raptors two-way player Jontay Porter amid gambling allegations related to his own performance in individual games. Ohio, Vermont and Maryland are among the states that have removed prop betting on college athletes. The American Gaming Association estimates $2.7 billion will be bet this year on the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments through legal sportsbooks.
Phillies-Braves and Brewers-Mets openers postponed a day to Friday due to rainy forecasts
NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball season openers in New York and Philadelphia have been postponed a day until Friday because of rainy forecasts in both cities. Pete Alonso and the New York Mets were scheduled to host the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday afternoon, a day featuring the first full slate of major league games this year. The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres started the regular season with a two-game series in South Korea last week. But with wet weather expected much of Thursday in Queens, the Mets announced Wednesday the game was pushed back to Friday afternoon. Minutes later, the Philadelphia Phillies announced their sold-out opener against the NL East rival Atlanta Braves was moved from Thursday at 3:05 p.m. to Friday at the same time due to anticipated rain.
Opening day 2024: What to watch for on the first full day of the MLB season
After the Dodgers and Padres soft-launched the 2024 MLB season with a two-game series in South Korea last week, the rest of the league was scheduled to start play Thursday. All 30 teams were supposed to be in action, before Braves-Phillies and Brewers-Mets games were rained out. All eyes remain on Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, who will make his home debut with Los Angeles amid investigations into his fired interpreter. Zack Wheeler and Spencer Strider square off in a juicy NL East opener between the Phillies and Braves in Philadelphia. Several stars are set to debut with new teams, including Juan Soto with the Yankees, Josh Hader with the Astros, Corbin Burnes with the Orioles and Matt Chapman with the Giants.
Will Smith, Dodgers reach $140 million, 10-year deal. LA has spent $1.4 billion on 5 key players
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Catcher Will Smith and the Los Angeles Dodgers agreed to a $140 million, 10-year contract, raising the team's spending to nearly $1.4 billion for five key players since December. Smith's deal supersedes an $8.85 million, one-year agreement reached in January. The 28-year-old was a first-time All-Star last year, when he hit .261 with 19 homers and 76 RBIs. Smith has a .263 average with 91 homers and 308 RBIs in six seasons with the Dodgers. Los Angeles has committed almost $1.37 billion to two-way star Shohei Ohtani, right-handers Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow, outfielder Teoscar Hernández and Smith.
Warriors' Draymond Green is ejected less than 4 minutes into game against Magic
Golden State forward Draymond Green was ejected less than four minutes into the Warriors' game against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night. It was Green's fourth ejection of the season and the first since his 16-game suspension by the NBA for his history of misconduct and after he struck Phoenix center Jusuf Nurkic in the face during a Dec. 12 game. Warriors coach Steve Kerr said the 101-93 win over the Magic that Green "deserved" to be ejected and called it "unfortunate."
'Good likelihood' that injured Embiid will be back before start of playoffs, 76ers' Nurse says
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia 76ers coach Nick Nurse said Wednesday that there is a "good likelihood" that reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid will be back on the court before the postseason. Embiid, who has averaged 35.3 points and 11.5 rebounds this season, has missed the last 27 games after suffering a meniscus injury on Jan. 30 at Golden State that required surgery on Feb. 6. The Sixers were 10-16 in the games since Embiid's injury heading into Wednesday. The club had confirmed two weeks ago that Embiid started on-court work, but has been cryptic about the extent of work he has been doing.
MLB owners unanimously approve sale of Baltimore Orioles to a group headed by David Rubenstein
David Rubenstein's purchase of the Baltimore Orioles has been approved by Major League Baseball owners. That clears the way for the Angelos family to finalize the sale after over three decades running the team. Approval of 75% of all owners was required, and MLB said the vote was unanimous. It came the day before the team is scheduled to open the season at home against the Los Angeles Angels. Rubenstein can now take over once his investor group officially closes the sale, which is expected sometime Wednesday. The Angelos family has been in control of the Orioles since 1993, when Peter Angelos purchased the team for $173 million.
Crowns, chest bumps and swagger: In March Madness, the handshake isn't just for high fives anymore
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The pregame handshake has become a staple of college basketball during March Madness. Nearly every team in both the men's and women's game has at least one player who greets the starters with a sometimes intricately choreographed handshake before the game is tipped off. The ritual has become a part of basketball's culture and offers players a chance to relax before the game begins. LSU's Amani Bartlett says she tailors the handshakes to fit a teammate's personality. Bartlett believes the handshakes serve as a wake-up call that it's time to get serious and focus on the task ahead.
UConn, San Diego State set for title game rematch in Sweet 16; Iowa State, Illinois target Elite 8
BOSTON (AP) — No. 1 overall seed UConn has looked unbeatable so far during its bid to become the first school since 2007 to win back-to-back NCAA Tournament titles. Its next hurdle in the Sweet 16 is a rematch with fifth-seeded San Diego State, which the Huskies beat in last year's title game. The other regional semifinal features a matchup between a second-seeded Iowa State team that has the best defensive rating against No. 3 seed Illinois, which boasts the top offensive rating of remaining teams.
Officials admit to missed call on final play of Clippers win over 76ers
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Officials said they missed a foul call in the closing seconds of the Los Angeles Clippers' 108-107 win over Philadelphia, denying the 76ers a possible victory in their fight for better playoff positioning. Referee Kevin Scott said in a pool report sent to reporters by the NBA an hour after the game that the Clippers' Paul George did make contact with Kelly Oubre Jr. — who had the ball and was driving — before time had expired on the final play of the contest. The foul would have sent Oubre to the line with a chance to win the game with 0.2 seconds remaining.
AP-Scorecard
Here are the scores from yesterday's sports events:
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Charlotte 118 Cleveland 111
Final Golden State 101 Orlando 93
Final OT Brooklyn 122 Washington 119
Final New York 145 Toronto 101
Final Atlanta 120 Portland 106
Final L.A. Clippers 108 Philadelphia 107
Final Minnesota 106 Detroit 91
Final Chicago 125 Indiana 99
Final L.A. Lakers 136 Memphis 124
Final OT Houston 132 Oklahoma City 126
Final San Antonio 118 Utah 111
Final Phoenix 104 Denver 97
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Ottawa 6 Buffalo 2
Final Tampa Bay 3 Boston 1
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TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE
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INTERLEAGUE
Chi Cubs at Texas 7:35 p.m.
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
L-A Angels at Baltimore 3:05 p.m.
Detroit at Chi White Sox 4:10 p.m.
Minnesota at Kansas City 4:10 p.m.
N-Y Yankees at Houston 4:10 p.m.
Toronto at Tampa Bay 4:10 p.m.
Cleveland at Oakland 10:07 p.m.
Boston at Seattle 10:10 p.m.
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Pittsburgh at Miami 4:10 p.m.
San Francisco at San Diego 4:10 p.m.
St. Louis at L-A Dodgers 4:10 p.m.
Washington at Cincinnati 4:10 p.m.
Colorado at Arizona 10:10 p.m.
Milwaukee at N-Y Mets 1:40 p.m. (Postponed)
Atlanta at Philadelphia 3:05 p.m. (Postponed)
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Boston at Atlanta 7:30 p.m.
Milwaukee at New Orleans 8 p.m.
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Chicago at Ottawa 7 p.m.
Columbus at Pittsburgh 7 p.m.
N-Y Islanders at Florida 7 p.m.
Philadelphia at Montreal 7 p.m.
Washington at Toronto 7 p.m.
Detroit at Carolina 7:30 p.m.
Calgary at St. Louis 8 p.m.
San Jose at Minnesota 8 p.m.
Vegas at Winnipeg 8 p.m.
Los Angeles at Edmonton 9 p.m.
N-Y Rangers at Colorado 9 p.m.
Anaheim at Seattle 10 p.m.
Dallas at Vancouver 10 p.m.
Nashville at Arizona 10 p.m.
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TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
(24)San Diego St. at (1)UConn 7:39 p.m.
(10)Illinois at (4)Iowa St. 10:09 p.m.
(19)Alabama at (5)North Carolina 9:39 p.m.
Clemson at (9)Arizona 7:09 p.m.
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