GOLF
Scottie Scheffler and the rest of golf’s best players have gathered again at Augusta National for the Masters which begins this morning at 7:40 at Augusta. Scheffler and Rory McIlroy are the main attractions for the most anticipated major of the golf season. The final day of rehearsal Wednesday brought 9-hole practice rounds and the Par 3 Tournament. Scheffler says it's all about preparation. McIlroy says if players aren't ready by now then they probably have no chance of winning a green jacket.
NBA
Franz Wagner scored 23 points, Cole Anthony came off the bench with 18 points and the Orlando Magic beat the Boston Celtics 96-76 to clinch seventh place in the Eastern Conference and the top spot in the play-in tournament. Baylor Scheierman and Payton Pritchard scored 15 points each to lead the Celtics, who did not use their top six players and made 7 of 40 3-point shots. Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday and Al Horford did not play for the Celtics. Paolo Banchero had 15 points and six assists for the Magic.
Jeff Dowtin Jr. scored a career-high 30 points and the Philadelphia 76ers snapped a 12-game losing streak with a 122-103 victory over the Washington Wizards. Lonnie Walker IV had 24 points for the 76ers. Dowtin, a Washington, D.C.-area native on a two-way contract for Philadelphia, played for the 76ers for the first time this month. He went 11 of 15 from the field and made four 3-pointers, surpassing his previous career high of 24 points from March 14 against Indiana. Tristan Vukcevic led Washington with a career-high 24 points.
Jonathan Mogbo had 17 points, a career-high 11 assists and 10 rebounds for the first triple-double by a rookie in the NBA this season, helping the Toronto Raptors beat the short-handed Charlotte Hornets 126-96 on Wednesday night. Jared Rhoden scored 23 points in the Raptors’ ninth straight home victory over the Hornets. Scottie Barnes added 17 points and 11 rebounds as the Raptors finished 18-23 at home. AJ Lawson scored 14 points and the Raptors matched their biggest margin of victory this season. Toronto also had a 30-point win at Brooklyn on March 26. Nick Smith Jr. had 28 points and 10 rebounds and Jusuf Nurkic added 26 points for Charlotte. The Hornets have lost five straight and seven in a row in the road.
Luka Doncic entered the court with the Los Angeles Lakers for his first game back in Dallas to cheers in an arena where draped over every seat was a T-shirt with the Slovenian phrase for thank you for everything. Then came the tribute. A more than two-minute highlight video of Doncic’s time with the Mavericks was shown after the rest of the Lakers starting lineup had been introduced. It was an emotional night for the 26-year-old Doncic and the Mavericks fans. He spent his first 5 1/2 NBA seasons of his career in Dallas before the seismic trade two months ago. He scored 45 points as the Lakers won 112-97 to clinch a playoff spot.
Miami Heat forward Andrew Wiggins returned to score 14 points in a 119-111 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday after missing six games because of a right hamstring injury. Wiggins has missed 15 of Miami’s 31 games due to a variety of ailments since the Heat acquired him from Golden State in the Jimmy Butler trade. Wiggins came in averaging 18.2 points and 4.4 rebounds in 58 games with the Warriors and the Heat. He was averaging 19.9 points and 4.1 rebounds through 15 games with Miami. The Heat had their top trio of Wiggins, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro available for the first time since March 27. Miami and Chicago were tied for the final two spots in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament at 36-43.
Kyle Filipowski scored 30 points including a dunk that sent the game into overtime and grabbed 18 rebounds as the Utah Jazz snapped a nine-game losing streak with a 133-126 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. Brice Sensabaugh added 22 points and Keyonte George had 18, oncluding eight in overtime, for the Jazz. Shaedon Sharpe had 37 to lead Portland, but missed three critical free throws in the final minute of regulation. Rayan Rupert added 19 for the Blazers.
Jalen Williams scored 33 points, Chet Holmgren added 22 and the short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder beat Phoenix 125-112, eliminating the Suns from the playoff race. Phoenix will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2020 despite having a roster that included the high-priced All-Star trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. The Thunder have already wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs and were without several key players on Wednesday, including All-Star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, defensive star Luguentz Dort and center Isaiah Hartenstein. That didn’t stop them from topping the Suns, who have lost eight straight.
Harrison Barnes made a 3-pointer at the buzzer after committing a foul moments earlier that could have cost his team, and the San Antonio Spurs stunned the Golden State Warriors 114-111. Draymond Green made two free throws with 3.1 seconds left to make it 111-all after Barnes fouled late, then the veteran guard let it fly over Jimmy Butler and was immediately swarmed by his teammates when the horn sounded. Keldon Johnson made a go-ahead layup with 11 seconds left after tying the game with 32 seconds remaining and finished with 21 points.
Nikola Jokic had his 32nd triple-double of the season with 20 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists and Denver beat the Sacramento Kings 124-116 on Wednesday night in the Nuggets’ first game since head coach Michael Malone was fired. Christian Braun scored 25 points, Aaron Gordon added and Michael Porter Jr. had 21 points each to help Denver end a four-game losing streak and complete a season-series sweep of Sacramento. Zach LaVine had 27 points and 11 assists for the Kings, whose three-game winning streak ended.
James Harden had 35 points and 10 assists and the streaking Los Angeles Clippers beat the playoff-bound Houston Rockets 134-117 for their sixth straight win. The Rockets had already locked up the No. 2 seed in the West and will be making their first playoff appearance since the 2020 bubble in Florida. They rested most of their starting lineup, including Dillon Brooks and Alperen Sengun. Reed Sheppard led six Rockets in double figures with 20 points. Kawhi Leonard added 22 points and 10 rebounds in his return to the Clippers after sitting out the previous game. Ivica Zubac had 20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
WNBA
Paige Bueckers is clearly the best-known player in Monday’s WNBA draft, but Dominique Malonga of France is among the most interesting. Curiosity around the 6-foot-6 forward seems to be growing. There’s not much doubt Bueckers is going to have an immediate impact on Dallas on and off the court as the team's first pick, giving the Wings one of the most efficient players coming out of college in quite some time. Whether other players in the draft can offer quick help to teams will be seen over the next few months. A lot of that depends on which teams draft which players and how that fit evolves.
MLB
New York Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger is swearing off chicken wings. Bellinger says he will not eat chicken wings for five years after he was scratched from the lineup with a suspected case of food poisoning. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Bellinger started dealing with an upset stomach on Monday night, after the Yankees lost the series-opening game, and it lingered enough that he didn’t play Tuesday. Bellinger was 0 for 4 with three strikeouts in New York’s 4-3 win at Detroit that avoided a three-game sweep.
Max Meyer carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning and the Miami Marlins salvaged the finale of a three-game series by beating the New York Mets 5-0. Matt Mervis homered and finished with three RBIs for the Marlins, who snapped the Mets’ six-game winning streak. Nick Fortes and Jonah Bride each had a run-scoring single. The Mets hit just two balls out of the infield against Meyer before Francisco Lindor’s single up the middle with one out in the sixth. Meyer immediately induced Juan Soto to hit into a double play. Soto finished 0 for 4 as his season-opening on-base streak ended at 11 games.
Bo Bichette’s sacrifice fly in the 11th inning scored Ernie Clement and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. celebrated his contract extension with three hits as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox 2-1. Guerrero and the Blue Jays finalized a $500 million, 14-year contract that starts in 2026, a deal with a record $325 million signing bonus. Later, the slugger went 3 for 5 and scored the team’s first run. Toronto’s Kevin Gausman worked eight innings, allowing one unearned run on four hits with 10 strikeouts and no walks.
Trea Turner hit a tiebreaking homer off closer Raisel Iglesias in the ninth inning and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves 4-3. Turner’s first homer of the season came off a slider from Iglesias. The NL East rivals have split the first two games of their three-game series. Bryce Harper’s two-run homer in the seventh gave Philadelphia a 3-2 lead. Harper hit a fastball from Dylan Lee into the Braves bullpen behind the wall in center field. Austin Riley tied the game with a homer off Joe Ross in the bottom of the seventh.
Texas shortstop Corey Seager homered twice as the Rangers avoided a sweep in Chicago, beating the Cubs 6-2. The two-time World Series MVP opened the game with a solo shot to left-center, and then lined another solo home run to right field in the seventh to put the Rangers up five. It was Seager’s 18th career game with multiple home runs and his first since August 19, 2024. Rangers pitcher Tyler Mahle held Chicago to just two hits in seven innings. The right-hander allowed one earned run and lowered his season ERA to 1.32.
Randy Vásquez gave up one hit over five innings and Xander Bogaerts had three hits and scored both of San Diego’s runs in a 2-1 victory over the Athletics. Vásquez (1-1) gave up the Athletics’ run with Adrian Morejon, Jeremiah Estrada, Jason Adam and Robert Suarez each pitching a scoreless inning of relief. Suarez got his third save. Bogaerts scored in the third on Gavin Sheets’ sacrifice fly and in the fifth on Oscar Gonzalez’s single. The Padres took the rubber game of the three-game series without Fernando Tatis Jr., Jake Cronenworth, and Jackson Merrill. Osvaldo Bido (1-1) gave up nine hits and two runs over five innings.
Corbin Carroll homered for the second straight game, Pavin Smith added a two-run shot and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Baltimore Orioles 9-0 on Wednesday. Brandon Pfaadt threw six scoreless innings, giving up four hits and two walks while striking out three. The D-backs won two of three games in the series. Arizona broke the game open with a five-run fifth inning to take a 7-0 lead. Carroll made it 2-0 in the third with his solo homer that cleared the right-center field fence, just to the right of the 413-foot sign. He already has five homers this season.
Randy Arozarena hit a grand slam in the eighth and drew the game-winning walk in the ninth as the Seattle Mariners rallied for seven runs over the final two innings to beat the Houston Astros 7-6. Arozarena’s slam trimmed Seattle’s deficit to one before the Astros made it 6-4 when Jeremy Peña scored on a wild pitch by Casey Lawrence in the top of the ninth. Julio Rodríguez delivered a two-run double in the bottom half to tie it, and a walk to Mitch Garver loaded the bases. Houston got a forceout at home before Bryan Abreu walked Arozarena on a full count.
The Chicago White Sox were hoping 2025 would be better after they lost 121 games last year, a major league record since 1900. Instead, their pain is continuing in new ways. Chicago’s 3-2 loss to Cleveland on Wednesday night was its seventh straight. The South Siders are 2-9, the same record they had after 11 games last season. The White Sox were on the verge of tying the score in the ninth inning when Mike Tauchman appeared to get injured while rounding third base after an RBI single by Miguel Vargas. Chicago held the Guardians to three hits for the second straight day, but still lost. It's the first time in the 125-year history of the franchise the team has dropped consecutive games with three or fewer hits allowed.
José Caballero slugged his first career grand slam and the Tampa Bay Rays held on for a 5-4 win over the Los Angeles Angels to snap a five-game losing streak. Caballero gave the Rays a 4-0 lead in the first inning before the Angels hit solo homers in the second, fourth and fifth to cut the margin to one. Yandy Díaz added a solo homer in the seventh for a two-run cushion before Los Angeles’ Kyren Paris hit his second solo shot of the game in the eighth. Ryan Pepiot went five innings for the win. Pete Fairbanks earned his second save.
Joe Ryan continued his mastery over Kansas City, giving up just two hits over seven scoreless innings in the Minnesota Twins’ 4-0 victory over the Royals. Ryan (1-1), who struck out four and did not give up a walk, is now 7-0 in nine career starts against the Royals with a 1.30 ERA in 55 1/3 innings. Seth Lugo (1-1) threw 109 pitches for the Royals, allowing two runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings. The Twins got a run in the fourth on Edouard Julien’s RBI single to right. France’s two-out single in the sixth drove in Correa for a 2-0 lead. The Twins got home runs in the eighth and ninth.
Joey Bart singled in the winning run with the bases loaded in the 13th inning to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 2-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals despite six hitless innings from Erick Fedde. The Pirates loaded the bases Wednesday against Chris Roycroft with no outs as Alexander Canario and Bryan Reynolds drew walks. Andrew McCutchen hit into a force out, but Bart hit a drive that bounced into the stands and scored automatic runner Isiah Kiner-Falefa. The Cardinals took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before Endy Rodriguez ended it. Fedde was pulled after throwing 88 pitches, 51 for strikes.
Mike Yastrzemski hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th inning, Jung Hoo Lee had three hits including a triple and a double, and the San Francisco Giants rallied from a five-run deficit for an 8-6 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. Yastrzemski homered off Emilio Pagán (0-1) with automatic runner Matt Chapman at third. Elly De La Cruz had a two-run double and Gavin Lux singled in two for Cincinnati in a five-run third inning. Giants starter Justin Verlander struck out nine and gave up six runs on five hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings. Erik Miller (1-0) pitched a perfect 10th inning for the win.
Teoscar Hernández homered and drove in three, including the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Washington Nationals 6-5 to avoid a three-game sweep. Los Angeles designated hitter Shohei Ohtani went 2 for 4 with singles in the first and seventh and a walk in the second. He scored two runs. The Dodgers went 2-4 on their trip to Philadelphia and Washington. The Nationals’ four-game winning streak ended. Los Angeles' Andy Pages homered in the seventh to tie it at 5, and Ohtani followed with a single. Tommy Edman walked two batters later, and Hernández floated a single to right field that scored Ohtani.
Jackson Chourio homered and doubled to drive in five runs as the Milwaukee Brewers cruised to a 17-2 win over the slumping Colorado Rockies. The Brewers have taken the opening two games against Colorado to secure their first series win at Coors Field since 2018. Brice Turang had a pair of singles to give him at least one hit in all 12 games. The franchise record to open a season is 13 games by Dickie Thon in 1993. William Contreras smashed a two-run homer as part of a five-run third inning to break open the game. Ryan McMahon homered for the Rockies.
Dominican-born Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez says he has family members unaccounted for who were inside the Santo Domingo nightclub when its roof collapsed. The 53-year-old Martinez was born in Manoguayabo, about 10 miles west of the Dominican Republic’s capital city. At least 124 people were killed and hundreds more injured when the roof collapsed early Tuesday. Authorities confirmed former major league pitcher Octavio Dotel and former major league utility player Tony Blanco were among the dead. Also killed was Nelsy Cruz, the governor of the Monte Cristi province in the country and sister of seven-time MLB All-Star Nelson Cruz.
NHL
Tyson Foerster scored a hat trick and rookie Aleksei Kolosov made 24 saves as the Philadelphia Flyers downed the New York Rangers 8-5 to put the Rangers on the brink of elimination from the playoff race. After Sean Couturier scored at 11:55 of the third to put the Flyers ahead 5-4, Foerster scored his second and third goals of the game to cement the win. Garnet Hathaway, Travis Sanheim, Jakob Pelletier and Owen Tippett also scored for Philadelphia. Vincent Trocheck, Artemi Panarin, Jonny Brodzinski, J.T. Miller and Chris Kreider scored for the Rangers. Mika Zibanejad had four assists for New York. Jonathan Quick made 21 saves in defeat.
Matthew Knies scored a game-winning goal in overtime to record his second hat trick of the season, and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3. Toronto opened up a three-point lead on Tampa Bay for first place in the Atlantic Division with four games left for each team. Knies finished off his hat trick with 1:04 left in the overtime. Mitch Marner had a goal and three points and Auston Matthews had three assists. Anthony Stolarz finished with 25 saves. Oliver Bjorkstrand, Victor Hedman and Nick Perbix scored for the Lightning, which moved three points ahead of Florida for second place in the division. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves. Toronto scored twice in the opening 3:33, with Marner scoring his 25th of the season at 1:13.
Joel Eriksson Ek scored a career-high four goals in his return from a lower-body injury, Kirill Kaprizov had his second of the game in overtime in his first game back and the Minnesota Wild outlasted the San Jose Sharks 8-7 on Wednesday night. Minnesota moved into the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference when the St. Louis Blues lost at Edmonton in a late game. The Wild and Blues each have 93 points, with St. Louis having played one more game. Eriksson Ek missed the previous 21 games. Kaprizov also returned from a lower-body injury after missing the last 28 games. Kaprizov — who also had an assist — scored his 25th goal of the season at 1:01 of overtime.
Cutter Gauthier teamed with Frank Vatrano to tie it with a late burst, then scored at 1:11 of overtime to give the Anaheim Ducks a 4-3 victory over the Calgary Flames. Soon after Yegor Sharangovich and Matt Coronato scored in a 1:42 span to give Calgary a 3-1 lead, Vatrano started the rally with 3:57 left. Gauthier tied it eight seconds later. In overtime, Gauthier took a pass from Leo Carlsson and beat goalie Dustin Wolf with a wrist shot from the high slot to the top, right corner. Ville Husso stopped 36 shots for the Ducks. Mikael Backlund opened the scoring for the Flames in the second period, and Trevor Zegras tied it with 8:11 remaining.
Connor Brown scored twice, Connor McDavid had three assists in his return to the lineup and the injury-riddled Edmonton Oilers moved within a hair of wrapping up a playoff spot, beating the St. Louis Blues 4-3 on Wednesday night. The Oilers would have clinched a postseason berth if the Calgary Flames lost in regulation rather than overtime in Anaheim. Vasily Podkolzin and Viktor Arvidsson also scored to help the Oilers snap a two-game losing streak. Calvin Pickard made 23 saves. Edmonton got its superstar captain back, but was missing eight other regular players, including NHL goals leader Leon Draisaitl, forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, top-pairing defenseman Mattias Ekholm and starting goalie Stuart Skinner. St. Louis has lost two straight after winning 12 in a row.
NFL
Police say Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill and his wife were involved in a domestic dispute at their South Florida high-rise condominium, but no charges were filed. Sunny Isles Beach officers responded to the home Monday following a call from Hill’s mother-in-law. She had been living with the couple since November, shortly after her granddaughter was born. According to a police report, the mother-in-law told responding officers that Hill was aggressive and impulsive and that she was afraid for her daughter. She said Hill threw a laptop on the floor and grabbed his baby before walking toward the balcony. Hill’s agent didn’t immediately respond to a telephone message seeking comment.
SOCCER
Lionel Messi and Inter Miami are headed to the CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinals and it took a dramatic three-goal comeback to get there. Messi scored twice, including a penalty kick in the 84th minute, to lift Inter Miami past LAFC 3-1 on Wednesday night. It was good enough for a 3-2 aggregate win in the two-leg series. The Herons needed three unanswered goals to win the series and ensure they wouldn’t lose a tiebreaker.
TRANSGENDER ATHLETES
As the rhetoric around transgender athletes grows more heated, one organization is trying to create a safe space. The National Association of Intercollegiate Gymnastics Clubs allows trans and non-binary athletes to self-select their gender at its annual national meet. A dozen gymnasts opted into the category at the recently completed 2025 nationals. Ray Hung, a student at Northeastern University, is non-binary trans masculine. Hung called the NAIGC a “shield” for trans gymnasts. NAIGC director of operations Ilana Shushansky says the organization's mission is to create an environment for gymnasts to compete into adulthood in a place that feels comfortable and supportive.
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