AP Sports SummaryBrief at 11:44 a.m. EDT (2025)

Two courts: NCAA’s present (Gators!) and future play out 1700 miles apart on the same day

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A thrill-a-minute NCAA title for the Florida Gators in San Antonio has reminded us all of what’s so good about the games these college athletes play. In another court a few hours earlier and 1,700 miles away, lawyers, a few athletes and a judge debated issues that will impact the future of games like these and what comes next for a multibillion-dollar college-sports industry that is struggling with change. Those two scenes Monday illustrated what’s at stake, and maybe even whether March Madness, which Florida wrapped up with a 65-63 title-clinching victory over Houston, will look the same in coming years.

Xander Schauffele is on the mend and motivated as ever at the Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Xander Schauffele has all the evidence he needs to believe he can reach the career Grand Slam. He picked up two majors last year in the PGA Championship and the British Open. But he’s a little under the radar coming into the Masters. Schauffele was out of competition for two months earlier this year while dealing with a rib injury. He hasn’t recorded a top-10 finish in the three tournaments he has played since coming back. But the 31-year-old Californian has always been filled with self-belief. He says winning those two majors last year reminds him how he’s capable of playing.

Arsenal hosts Real Madrid in ‘biggest night’ of Arteta’s career

LONDON (AP) — It’s been 19 years since Arsenal played Real Madrid in the Champions League. That was also the last time Arsenal came close to winning the competition, losing the 2006 final to Barcelona after beating Madrid in the round of 16. The Gunners face Madrid again in the first leg of the quarterfinals at their Emirates Stadium home on Tuesday. Manager Mikel Arteta has already called it “the biggest night of my career.” It could also be the biggest night the Emirates has seen since the stadium opened for the 2006-07 season.

It’s the last week of the NBA regular season. It’s time to talk awards, and the MVP race

Denver’s Nikola Jokic might end the season averaging a 30-point triple-double. His numbers, going into the final week: 30 points, 12.8 rebounds and 10.2 assists per game. That is a combination of stats never previously seen in NBA history. And he probably isn’t going to be MVP. It is time for the annual debate. If having the best stats makes one the best player, then it should be Jokic. If it’s the best player on the best team, then it should be Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. It’ll be one of those two, meaning it’s certain that the MVP will be an international player for a seventh consecutive season.

MLB batting average drops again to .239, near record low in 1968’s Year of the Pitcher

NEW YORK (AP) — Offense is down again at the start of the big league season, with hits even harder to come by. The big league batting average was .239 through the first full week of play, down from .240 through the first full week of 2024. While the overall average generally goes up as weather warms in much of the country, last year’s average didn’t rise much and finished at .243 — among the eight lowest years since professional baseball leagues started in 1871. This year’s current average is just above the record low of .237 set in 1968’s Year of the Pitcher.

By The Numbers: How this might be the weakest bottom three in Premier League history

It seems like it’s never been harder for promoted teams to stay in the Premier League. It looks fairly certain now that the three promoted teams will be relegated to the Championship after just one season for the second straight year. That’s never previously happened in the Premier League era, since 1992. It was Sheffield United, Burnley and Luton last season. This season Southampton’s relegation has already been confirmed while Leicester and Ipswich are so far adrift of safety that they have little chance of surviving. The combined points tally of Southampton, Leicester and Ipswich of 47 would barely get them into mid-table. It might be the weakest crop of promoted teams the Premier League has ever seen.

Overall ski champion Brignone discharged from the hospital after breaking her leg

MILAN (AP) — Overall World Cup skiing champion Federica Brignone has been discharged from the hospital. The move comes five days after she broke multiple bones in her left leg in a giant slalom crash and underwent surgery. Brignone tells reporters “I still don’t know how long it will take” to return. She adds that “we’ll go step by step. The next step is post-operation therapy and we’ll start Monday. And then we’ll see how the bone reacts and we’ll take it from there.” Brignone also tore her ACL, raising questions about her chances of competing at the home Olympics in 10 months.

Judge wants range of issues addressed in $2.8 billion NCAA settlement before final approval

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken has asked attorneys in the landmark $2.8 billion House settlement to come up with solutions for issues raised at a hearing in Oakland, California, before she grants final approval. She asked both sides to come back in a week with how they might be able to address some of her concerns. Objectors to the settlement who testified at the hearing questioned the fairness of roster cuts and how they are accomplished, the process for how NIL valuations are established and the administration of athletes who will participate in the settlement in coming years.

‘Great One’ Gretzky and ‘Great 8’ Ovechkin: Great goal-scorers and completely different players

NEW YORK (AP) — Wayne Gretzky was the “Great One” for his dominance on the ice in the high-scoring hockey days of the 1980s, a playmaker who just happened to score 894 goals while amassing more assists than anyone in the sport has points. Alex Ovechkin burst into the NHL coming out of a lockout that cost a season and led to rule changes designed to make the league more competitive and entertaining after an era of clutching and grabbing caused a drag on the scoreboard. Ovechkin broke Gretzky’s career goals record as a hard-shooting, pure scorer in a totally different era, in the process making viewers appreciate just how different of players the two all-time legends are.

Ohtani, Betts and World Series champion Dodgers visit Trump at the White House

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump welcomed Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and the reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers to the White House on Monday to congratulate them for winning the World Series last season. Trump singled out several Dodgers for their achievements last season, praising Ohtani for becoming baseball’s first 50 home run-50 stolen base player, Japanese pitcher Yoshi Yamamoto and NL Championship Series MVP Tommy Edman. The trip came almost a month after a Department of Defense webpage describing Brooklyn Dodgers great and civil rights icon Jackie Robinson’s military service was restored after it had come down.