Oregon initially appeared on its way to its second upset of the NCAA tournament, but Duke took control on its home court in the second half.
Texas fires men’s basketball coach Rodney Terry after exit in NCAA First Four
Texas has fired men's basketball coach Rodney Terry after two-plus seasons. The Longhorns lost to Xavier in the First Four on Wednesday.
Duke vs Baylor prediction, picks for 2025 men’s NCAA Tournament
March Madness Round 2 includes No. 1 Duke vs. No. 9 Baylor. Here are expert picks, predictions and how to watch Duke vs Baylor.
Texas reportedly hiring Xavier’s Sean Miller after firing Rodney Terry
The Longhorns lost to Xavier on Wednesday after sneaking into the NCAA tournament.
Opening-day starter Tanner Bibee signs five-year, $48 million contract with Cleveland Guardians
CLEVELAND — Right-hander Tanner Bibee has signed a five-year, $48 million contract with the Cleveland Guardians, a deal that includes a team option for 2030 and could be worth $68 million over six seasons.
Bibee will get his first opening-day assignment on Thursday at Kansas City. He went 12-8 with a 3.47 ERA last season, finishing with 12 quality starts in 31 outings and 187 strikeouts in 173 2/3 innings.
The 26-year-old California native was 0-1 with a 3.45 ERA in four postseason starts last year.
Cleveland also traded infielder/outfielder Tyler Freeman to Colorado for outfielder Nolan Jones on Saturday.
Bibee gets a $2 million signing bonus and salaries of $3 million in 2025, $4 million in 2026, $7 million in 2027, $10 million in 2028 and $21 million in 2029. Cleveland’s 2030 option is for $21 million with a $1 million buyout.
His 2029 salary and the option can escalate by up to $4 million based on Cy Young Award voting from 2025-28. The buyout can increase by an additional $2 million based on Cy Young voting.
Bibee’s deal supersedes a one-year contract agreed to March 8 that called for an $812,000 salary in the major leagues and $372,900 in the minors. He would have been eligible for arbitration after each of the next three seasons and for free agency following the 2028 World Series.
Bibee had 10 wins during his rookie season in 2023 and was second in AL Rookie of the Year voting. He is the third Cleveland pitcher since 2000 with at least 10 wins in each of his first two seasons in the big leagues. Hall of Famer CC Sabathia (2001-02) and Shane Bieber (2018-19) are the others.
Cleveland selected Bibee in the fifth round of the 2021 amateur draft. He will anchor a young rotation this season that will be missing Bieber for at least the first half as he continues to work his way back from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.
Diamondbacks reward closer candidate Justin Martinez with five-year, $18 million contract
PHOENIX — Arizona hard-throwing right-hander Justin Martinez has agreed to a five-year, $18 million contract even as he continues to compete for the role of Diamondbacks closer.
The contract announced on Saturday by Arizona supersedes the one-year contract agreed to on March 11 that called for a $772,200 salary in the major leagues and $335,700 in the minors.
The deal includes a $2 million signing bonus and $1.5 million salary in 2025. He will earn $2 million in 2026, $3 million in 2027, $4 million in 2028, $5.5 million in 2029, with club options for $7 million in 2030 and $9 million in 2031.
Manager Torey Lovullo has said he is still considering Martinez, left-hander A.J. Puk and right-hander Kevin Ginkel for the closer role. Martinez had eight saves and a 2.48 ERA despite 36 walks in 72 2/3 innings in 2024.
Finn Russell returns to lead Bath past Gloucester to consolidate lead at top
- Bath 42-26 Gloucester
- Leaders score six tries against West Country rivals
Bath cemented their position as the team to catch in the Premiership race this season with an entertaining victory against their West Country rivals Gloucester. Assisted by the return of their chief playmaker, Finn Russell, after the Six Nations, the hosts scored six tries and, in a neat example of symmetry, are six points clear of the field with six regular-season fixtures to play.
It has already been a good month for Bath, who won the Premiership Cup last weekend to secure their first trophy for 17 years, and here was further evidence of the significant squad depth at their disposal.
Continue reading...Astros release outfielder Ben Gamel, left-hander Jalen Beeks prior to regular season
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Houston Astros released outfielder Ben Gamel and left-hander Jalen Beeks on Saturday.
The move with Gamel comes less than two months after he agreed to a one-year, $1.2 million contract. The deal included a $200,000 signing bonus and a $1 million salary, which was not guaranteed.
The Astros will owe Gamel 45 days termination pay, which comes to $241,036, instead of his salary.
The 32-year-old Gamel hit .167 in 24 at-bats in spring training. He hit .259 with one homer in 20 games with the Astros last season.
The 31-year-old Beeks allowed one run in four innings this spring. He was a combined 7-4 with a 4.50 ERA for Colorado and Pittsburgh in 2024. He had 10 saves, including nine with the Rockies. He got a $100,000 signing bonus as part of his deal with the Astros.
Also, right-hander Miguel Castro and infielder Luis Guillorme were informed they would not make the Astros’ opening day roster. Each will remain with the team through spring training.
Royals acquire outfielder Mark Canha from Brewers for player to be named later or cash
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals confirmed Saturday they have acquired outfielder Mark Canha from the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Royals will send a player to be named later or cash to the Brewers for Canha, 36.
Canha, who can also play first base, was with the Brewers on a minor league deal and had the right to opt out of his contract on Saturday. He was 2-for-23 with one homer this spring.
Canha made his major league debut with Oakland in 2015, his first of seven seasons with the A’s. He has also played for the New York Mets, Detroit and San Francisco. He has a .249 career batting average with 120 homers, including a career-high 26 with Oakland in 2019.
Canha played a combined 125 games with Detroit and San Francisco in 2024 and hit .242 with seven homers.
Ferrari admit ‘genuine error’ after Hamilton and Leclerc disqualified
- Team say they will learn from mistakes at Chinese GP
- Hamilton’s sixth place undone in second race for Ferrari
Ferrari have admitted they were at fault for the mistakes that led to the disqualification of both their drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, from the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday, in what was a disastrous close to the weekend for the Scuderia and a hugely disappointing outcome for Hamilton in only his second race for the team.
Leclerc and Hamilton had finished fifth and sixth respectively in the race, which was won by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. However three hours after the flag, and in the wake of the usual post‑race inspection of the cars to ensure they are in compliance with regulations, Ferrari were found wanting over two clearly defined rules.
Continue reading...Kyle Gibson returns to Baltimore Orioles, agrees to one-year, $5.25 million contract
SARASOTA, Fla. — Right-hander Kyle Gibson returned to the Baltimore Orioles after a one-season absence, agreeing Friday to a one-year, $5.25 million contract.
Reaching a deal less than a week before opening day, Gibson figures to join a rotation projected to include right-handers Zach Eflin, Charlie Morton, Dean Kremer and Tomoyuki Sugano.
Right-hander Grayson Rodriguez will start the season on the injured list because of inflammation in his throwing elbow.
Gibson, a 37-year-old who went 8-8 with a 4.24 ERA in 30 starts for St. Louis last year, can earn an additional $1,525,000 in performance bonuses. He would get $150,000 each for 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 and 24 starts, and $125,000 apiece for 110, 120, 130, 140 and 150 innings.
He was 15-9 with a 4.73 ERA in 33 starts for the Orioles in 2023 on a one-year, $10 million deal, then agreed to a one-year contract with the Cardinals that included a $12 million salary. St. Louis declined a $12 million option for 2025 in favor of a $1 million buyout.
Gibson is 112-108 with a 4.52 ERA in 324 starts and six relief appearances over 12 seasons with Minnesota (2013-19), Texas (2020-21), Philadelphia (2021-22), the Orioles and Cardinals.
Baltimore’s rotation lost ace Corbin Burnes, who agreed to a six-year, $210 million contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Celtics Wyc Grousbeck says 'you can’t stay in the second apron' just as team is about to go deep into it
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JANUARY 10: Owner Wyc Grousbeck of the Boston Celtics reacts during the second half of a game against the Sacramento Kings at TD Garden on January 10, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Getty Images)
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Wyc Grousbeck and his family may have just sold the Boston Celtics to Bill Chisholm and his investors for a record $6.1 billion. Grousbeck will remain as team governor and work with the new owners through 2028.
That has raised one big question: The Boston Celtics are about to get historically expensive, are Chisholm and his team going to pay up to keep a championship team together? Next season, the Celtics' payroll is expected to be around $230 million — they have $225 million on the books without re-signing Al Horford or Luke Kornet, both free agents — and that would bring a luxury tax bill of around $270 million, or a total of $500 million to keep this contending roster together? Will the new owners pay that?
Here is what new ownership would inherit for next season:
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) March 20, 2025
- 11 players under contract
- 2 picks in the top-32 pic.twitter.com/Z6xe8DtE3o
The question isn't the money, it's the second apron basketball penalties that will keep Boston from living above the tax line, Grousbeck said during a recent WEEI appearance.
"It's not the luxury tax bill, it's the basketball penalties. The new CBA was designed by the league to stop teams from going crazy. They decided that it's not good enough to go after the wallets because the fans can be like, 'Hey find someone who can afford to spend $500 million dollars a year or whatever it is, like the English Premier League...
"The basketball penalties mean that it's even more of a premium now to have your basketball general manager be brilliant and lucky. Because you have to navigate because you can't stay in the second apron, nobody will, I predict, for the next 40 years of the CBA, no one is going to stay in the second apron more than two years."
Grousbeck speaks the truth. What are those restrictions? Second apron teams cannot:
• Aggregate salaries in trades, they can only send out one player (plus picks)
• Take back more salary than they send out in a trade,
• Send cash in trades
• Use the midlevel exception
• Make a sign-and-trade deal
• Cannot sign anyone on the buyout market who made more than the mid-level exception
• Cannot trade its ts first-round draft pick seven years into the future (2032 for Boston this summer). If a team is over the second apron for two of the following four years after that (or three of five), then said pick drops to the end of the first round (regardless of where the team falls in the standings).
The second apron restrictions make team building nearly impossible, and it's one of the reasons the Clippers and Warriors — two teams with ownership more than willing to spend to win — dropped below that apron this season.
Grousbeck went out of his way in the interview to praise Brad Stevens, but how the Celtics executive is going to get this team below that tax line is not easy to envision. Next season Jayson Tatum will make $54.1 million as his new max deal kicks in, Jaylen Brown will make $53.1 million, Jrue Holiday is at $32.4 million, Kristaps Porzingis at $30.7 million and Derrick White at $28.1 million. There will be no easy cuts.
Just don't expect the Celtics to spend that freely. The second apron is not a hard cap, but for the foreseeable future, it's going to act like one.
Rockies’ Thairo Estrada breaks wrist when hit by Kumar Rocker pitch and will miss 4 to 8 weeks
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Colorado’s Thairo Estrada broke his right wrist when he was hit by a pitch from Texas’ Kumar Rocker and will be out four to eight weeks, manager Bud Black said Friday.
Estrada, injured on a 97.1 mph sinker leading off Thursday’s game, was expected to be the Rockies’ second baseman when they open at Tampa Bay on March 28.
The 29-year-old spent the past four seasons with San Francisco and hit .217 with nine homers and 47 RBIs last year, when he was sidelined by a sprained left wrist between June 27 and July 9 and again between July 25 and Aug. 19. He was assigned outright to Triple-A Sacramento on Aug. 30 and on Oct. 1 elected to become a free agent.
Estrada has a .251 average with 48 homers, 195 RBIs and 52 stolen bases in 469 games over parts of six seasons with the New York Yankees (2019-20) and the Giants (2021-24).
Carlos Carrasco lands major league contract with Yankees following strong showing in spring training
TAMPA, Fla. — Carlos Carrasco’s impressive spring performance has earned the right-hander a major league contract with New York and a spot in the Yankees’ rotation.
The Yankees announced on Saturday they had signed Carrasco to a one-year contract.
Carrasco, 38, signed a minor league deal with the Yankees on Feb. 5 and could have opted out of the deal on Saturday. Instead, the right-hander’s 1.69 ERA in five spring training games, including four starts, earned him his new deal with New York.
He gets a $1.5 million salary while in the major leagues and $180,000 while in the minors, and can earn $2.5 million in performance bonuses for starts: $150,000 each for 12, 14, 16 and 18, $250,000 each for 20, 22, 24 and 26, and $450,000 each for 28 and 30.
Carrasco was 3-10 with a 5.64 ERA in 21 starts for Cleveland last season. In 15 seasons, Carrasco has a 110-103 record and 4.14 ERA. He led the American League in wins in 2017, when he was 18-6 with Cleveland.
The Yankees moved right-hander Gerrit Cole to the 60-day injured list as he faces season-ending Tommy John surgery.
Another injury also created the opening for Carrasco. General manager Brian Cashman said right-hander Clarke Schmidt will open the season on the injured list. Schmidt is recovering from back stiffness and a sore right shoulder.
Also, the team reassigned right-handers Colten Brewer and Geoff Hartlieb, left-hander Rob Zastryzny, outfielder Ismael Munguia and infielder-outfielder Andrew Velazquez to minor league camp.
Phillies add hard-throwing reliever, finalize Opening Day pitching staff
Phillies add hard-throwing reliever, finalize Opening Day pitching staff originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Tyler Phillips made it all the way to the end of camp with the Phillies but was designated for assignment on Sunday afternoon to clear a roster spot for waiver claim Carlos Hernandez, a high-velocity right-hander formerly with the Royals.
Hernandez will be in the Phillies’ Opening Day bullpen. He’s a burly, 6-foot-4, 255-pound right-hander from Venezuela entering his age-28 season. He started 11 games for Kansas City in 2021 but has pitched mostly in relief since, appearing frequently in high-leverage spots in the second half of 2024. He had a 3.30 ERA in 30 innings last season, though he walked 16 and that’s been a career-long issue. Hernandez has walked a batter every two innings in the majors.
The Phillies will take a chance; really, it’s not much of a gamble. Teams can do worse with the final reliever in their bullpen. Hernandez’ fastball averaged just over 98 mph last season.
Earlier in the day, the Phillies optioned pitcher Michael Mercado to Triple A Lehigh Valley, likely meaning that Matt Strahm (left shoulder) will be ready for Opening Day.
This is the eight-man bullpen: Jordan Romano, Strahm, Orion Kerkering, Jose Alvarado, Tanner Banks, Jose Ruiz, Joe Ross and Hernandez.
The Phillies’ five starters to begin the season will be Zack Wheeler, Jesus Luzardo, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sanchez and Taijuan Walker. Ranger Suarez (back stiffness) will begin the season on the injured list, manager Rob Thomson said in an in-game interview during Sunday’s spring training game.
Walker’s first turn in the rotation will be in the Phillies’ sixth game of the season. Wheeler will pitch Games 1 and 5. The Phillies have to early off-days that would’ve given Wheeler too much rest otherwise.
The Phillies’ spring training finale is Monday afternoon in Clearwater against the Rays. They have 27 healthy players left on their spring training roster, with the only remaining battle between Kody Clemens and Buddy Kennedy for the final bench spot. The Phils could also do what they did with Hernandez, bringing in a player let go by another organization, if they find a bench fit better than Clemens or Kennedy over the next 72 hours.