CARDIFF, Wales (AP) — Wales tasted Six Nations success for the first time in 1,099 days after blowing away Italy 31-17 in Principality Stadium on Saturday.

The growing confidence from spirited losses against Scotland and Ireland spilled over into an unexpected and dominant bonus-point win, Wales' first in the championship since March 2023 when it beat Italy in Rome.

Wales was physical, direct and ruthless, leading 21-0 by halftime then 31-0 before Italy scored.

“That performance has been coming,” Wales coach Steve Tandy told broadcaster the BBC. “We've focused on not getting ahead of ourselves and making sure each part of our game improves. But the intent was there from the start from this young group. They’re desperate to learn and get better whether they win or lose. Their effort is amazing.”

Their scramble defense was also amazing as Italy had two tries disallowed, one held up, and another prevented by an ankle tap.

While Wales ended the nightmare of a national record 15-match losing streak in the Six Nations, it finished with a third consecutive wooden spoon.

“Not ideal to finish bottom of the table but everyone can see we're growing and moving in the right direction,” Wales No. 8 and player of the match Aaron Wainwright said. “The way we started today and hung in there shows how far we've come.”

Italy equaled its best Six Nations finish — fourth in 2007 and 2013 — but it wanted more, an historic third win in a single championship after beating Scotland and England. However, the Azzurri were smashed in the first half, and ultimately missed 30 tackles.

“We gave away too many penalties, too many times in their 22. ... We lost a lot of energy to try and max the energy Wales were giving,” Italy captain Michele Lamaro told ITV. “In the end it was too late. The first half cost us.”

Wales made the eight first-half penalties count.

A kick-chase penalty earned by workaholic winger Ellis Mee was booted into the corner and Wainwright crashed over. Despite lineout issues, Wales used the platform again to drive at the line for a second Wainwright try.

Another lineout drive finished with captain Dewi Lake touching down. With Dan Edwards a perfect four-of-four off the tee and nine-for-nine in the tournament, Wales was a deserved 21-0 up after 29 minutes.

They resumed from the second half kickoff. Edwards slanted through a tired defense, converted his try and chipped a drop goal for a scarcely believable 31-0 lead.

Italy ruled the last 30 minutes. But Wales still made it tough for the visitor.

Paolo Garbisi and replacements Tommaso Di Bartolomeo and Tommaso Allan dotted down for Italy but Wales' defense shone.

Mee held up hooker Giacomo Nicotera and made a try-saving tackle on opposite wing Monty Ioane, Edwards ankle-tapped Tommaso Menoncello when the midfielder looked like he was away, Tomos Williams stopped Allan on the tryline, and James Botham's sliding hip ruined a chance for Leonardo Marin.

“Those tries were not tries because (Wales) didn't give up,” Italy coach Gonzalo Quesada said. “The will was bigger for them. Their heart and physicality they put out there was stronger than ours, at least in the first half. That first half defined the game.”

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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

During LA’s current homestand, they’ve faced some of the toughest competition in the league. They responded impressively, earning results over the Knicksand Wolves. Even more surprising is that they won these games while LeBron James was out.

LA winning and Austin Reaves playing better in James’ absence led people to speculate that this team is better when James is unavailable.

While narratives like that can be exhausting to hear when the main takeaway should’ve been that the Lakers are playing well, everyone wanted to see what they would look like upon LeBron’s return. On Thursday, the answer came as James joined LA in their contest against the Bulls.

The result was the Lakers winning dominantly. LeBron was part of a starting lineup that scored 137 points, the most by a starting unit in a regular season game since the 1970-71 season.

After the game, Redick talked about LeBron’s willingness to take on whatever role benefits the team.

“LeBron and I, we talked, we had a great conversation over the last couple days,” Redick said. “I think again, he wants to do everything possible to help this team win. He understands the importance of making sure Luka and AR can be at their best. That’s incredible of him. It speaks a lot to just how much he cares about this team and his teammates and how much he wants to win.”

Throughout his career, LeBron has always been a team-based player. On the floor, he makes the right play even if it means he doesn’t take the last shot. So, of course, he’s willing to take a backseat to Luka Dončić and even Reaves if it means the team’s play is more optimized by him doing so. After the win over the Bulls, LeBron talked about how he did it against them.

“I’m able to adapt to whatever needs from the team,” LeBron said. “With Jaxson Hayes and Maxi Kleber being out, two of our really good screen setters, Jaxson being one of our best rollers, that’s a void that I could put myself in to help the team while Jaxson and Maxi are out. Just try to do that.

“Allowing AR and Luka to continue on the things that they’ve been doing. Obviously, ball handling, scoring, pick-and-roll play. Trying to help on the glass. I mean, I’m always past the ball, so I’m not worried about that. Also trying to be a little more active.”

The idea that the Lakers are actually better without LeBron was always ridiculous. This season, LeBron is still an All-Star and averaging 21.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and seven assists per game. At worst, he’s the third best Laker and no team improves when a player of that level is out.

The main thing to figure out is how to make three players who are best with the ball in their hands work well together as a unit. Against the Bulls, we saw signs of what that can look like.

LeBron had seven assists, did more offensive work inside the post and shot less than Dončić or Reaves.

While Chicago is one of the weaker teams in the NBA, the process the Lakers took toward success with their big three can be replicated against many teams.

Overall, there is still work for the Lakers to do, but with LeBron embracing any role that’s needed, they should be able to figure out how to optimize their roster.

And if they do that, they’ll enter the playoffs as a Western Conference team with homecourt advantage in the opening round. All things considered, that’s a great place to be in.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.

The jump that Thomas Haugh has made from last year cannot be overlooked. With the transfers of Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee to Florida the hopes of a back-to-back National Championship run were at an all-time high, and with the departures of Will Richard, Alijah Martin, and Walter Clayton Jr. to the NBA there was certainly a need for someone to step up into the roles that were left behind. I’m not sure that many people would have suspected that Thomas would be the guy after his season last year, but he proved us all wrong.

Tale of the Tape

Team: Florida Gators

Position: Forward

Height: 6’9”

Weight: 215 lbs

Counting Stats: 17 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 2 APG, 1.1 Steals Per Game, 1 Block Per Game

Shooting Splits: 46.4 FG%, 33.3 3P%, 76.4 FT%

Hardware/Honors: First-Team All-SEC, Potential All-American Team Selection (?)

Triumphs

The jump from year to year should not be overlooked. Haugh had a perfectly respectable 2024-2025 campaign, but to be asked to carry so much more responsibility AND deliver should be praised. Last year during Florida’s NCAA Championship season he averaged nearly 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists per game on decent shooting splits. He didn’t have many opportunities (only shot 6 times per game on average) but when he did get a chance he made it count.

Now when you compare that to this year, it is almost night and day. He added seven points to his scoring average, nearly doubled his shot attempts, sacrificed very little in efficiency (at least for his standards), and was able to step up on the defensive end as well. Not everyone that gets a green light can stay close to their previous efficiency numbers but Thomas was able to do that.

The counting stats look great but what’s going to get him to the league and keep him there is his ability to play without the ball. When we usually see these kinds of scoring jumps it’s because the ball is constantly in their hands but that hasn’t been the case this year. Lee and Fland still command a lot of the touches so Haugh has been able to take this leap by doing more of what he did well last year: off-ball cutting and rim-running.

Haugh has never seen a 45 cut he hasn’t liked and he is constantly running with his guys in transition. When Florida is in the half court set he also does a great job of relocating. You’ll see a few times in the video above where a Florida player will get a post touch and before you know it their dumping the ball off to Haugh who was in completely different position than he was at the start of the play. Taking advantage of the defense like this and being deceptive would be a welcome addition to any team in the association. Shooting nearly 63% around the rim doesn’t hurt either.

Shortcomings

Truthfully, there aren’t many shortcomings for Thomas other than a very glaring one; his shooting touch. He’s a great off-ball cutter, a good downhill attacker, and the percentages show that: he’s shooting nearly 91% on his dunk attempts and 63% around the rim that we just mentioned. Everything outside of that range? Could use some work.

Just looking at the 46.4 FG% you could say to yourself “yeah, that’s not very efficient, but he can work on it.” It gets a little worse when you realize that he’s shooting 32.4% from 2-point range that isn’t at the rim. Midrange shots are difficult (believe me I’m on a horrific midrange run at my local park) but in today’s NBA it’s vital to be accurate in your shot attempts, especially if you aren’t going to be the 1A, 1B, or 1C kind of guy.

His three point shooting, again, looks respectable on paper. On 5 attempts a game 33% is decent, but these are WIDE open shots he’s taking. Like, lick your finger and check the wind type of open. There’s a very good chance that he will get these same kind of looks in the NBA during his first few years, but depending on where he gets drafted there’s a chance that his coach won’t allow him to shoot through his mistakes and slumps. There is a silver lining in all of this and it’s that his shooting mechanics seem really solid. I’m not sure that he’ll ever be a 40% guy from deep but I also don’t think he’ll ever be any worse than league average once he get’s his footing in the NBA.

Is He Worth The Pick?

At the end of the day I do think that Thomas Haugh is going to be a very serviceable role player in the NBA. Will he be an All-Star? I doubt it. Will he be an elite 3-and-D guy? Elite might be stretching it. I do think that he has the intangibles to have a long career, though. He’s already played with NBA caliber players in a role player capacity. He’s been able to taste a bit of that “star player” role this year for the Gators, and now that he has a chance to be a first round draft pick I think he’ll be able to fall back into that role player mold very well.

For the Jazz specifically, we are in the midst of finding our role players for the future. A lot can be said about the play of guys like Elijah Harkless, Blake Hinson, and Brice Sensabaugh. I still believe in all of their futures but I know that the fanbase is split. The real question is how does the front office feel about them?

The way our first round pick is protected this year is if it falls between 1-8 we get to keep it, and if it falls after 8 it goes to the Oklahoma City Thunder (of course it does). If our pick lands in the top 3 I think there is a very clear hierarchy we need to adhere by to find our next “Face of the Franchise.” If it falls between 4-8, I also think that there are better prospects we could select from because this draft class seems to be so deep. With that being said, I don’t think that it would be wise for us to take Thomas Haugh at 8 when we could have someone else with a bit more upside.

So much of your early career is dependent on where and who you get drafted to, and I think that Haugh would be best served to be drafted by a team that is ready to compete right now or in the near future: the San Antonio Spurs, the Golden State Warriors, and the Charlotte Hornets come to mind. If we had another first round pick this year around the 12-20 range I would LOVE it if we could snag him, but that doesn’t seem to be in the cards for us unless our front office can make some magic happen after the season is over.

So is he worth the pick? I think so… just not for us. Just don’t be surprised when he’s an impact player for a Playoff team soon.

What kind of career do you think Thomas Haugh will have? Do you think Florida can repeat as NCAA Champions? Sound off in the comments!

Be kind. Tell someone you love them.

ATLANTA (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo wasn't available for the Milwaukee Bucks' matchup with the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday, marking the 31st game the two-time MVP has missed this season.

Although Milwaukee's injury report initially had listed Antetokounmpo as questionable due to injury management of his right calf, the team later ruled him out because of a left ankle sprain.

Bucks coach Doc Rivers said at his pregame availability that the issue stemmed from the Bucks’ 112-105 loss to Miami on Thursday night.

The Bucks are playing on back-to-back days; they return home to face the Indiana Pacers on Sunday. Antetokounmpo hasn’t played on consecutive days since returning on March 2 from a right calf strain.

This represents the highest total of games Antetokounmpo has missed in any season during his 13-year career.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

LORIENT, France (AP) — Substitute striker Aiyegun Tosin scored the winner as second-placed Lens lost 2-1 at Lorient in the French league on Saturday, missing the chance to move back to the top of the standings.

With Paris Saint-Germain not playing this weekend, Lens had the chance to move two points clear with a win at mid-table Lorient.

But coach Pierre Sage's players struggled to get things going and were punished in the 18th minute when Bamba Dieng was left unmarked and scored from close range with a right-footed effort.

Following Odsonne Édouard's second-half equalizer, Tosin snatched three points for Lorient in the 65th minute, fluffing his initial attempt before rounding the Lens goalkeeper to score. Lorient goalkeeper Yvon Mvogo made five saves for the hosts.

PSG is off duty because Nantes agreed to postpone their scheduled game on Sunday in order to give PSG better preparation for the Champions League second leg against Chelsea next week. PSG is leading 5-2 from the last-16 first leg on Wednesday.

Balogun scores again

American forward Folarin Balogun continued his excellent run of form as Monaco posted a fifth consecutive win. He broke the deadlock from close range before Aleksandr Golovin made it 2-0 against Brest.

Monaco moved up to fifth place. Balogun has 14 goals overall this season.

Elsewhere, Nice won 2-0 at Angers with goals from defender Melvin Bard and Elye Wahi. The striker, a France youth international, joined the Riviera club on loan from Eintracht Frankfurt this winter until the end of the season.

Third-placed Marseille won 1-0 against struggler Auxerre on Friday. The result left Marseille in third place, three points clear of Lyon, which plays at Le Havre on Sunday. Marseille was seven points behind Lens and eight adrift of PSG.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer