MIAMI — Gunnar Henderson and Roman Anthony homered and the United States limited the Dominican Republic’s electric offense to win a thrilling semifinal 2-1 on Sunday and move one win from capturing its second World Baseball Classic championship.
The loaded American roster, led by National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes and featuring stars Bryce Harper and Aaron Judge, reached its third straight WBC title game after winning in 2017 and falling to Shohei Ohtani and Japan in 2023. The Americans will face the winner of Monday’s semifinal between Italy and Venezuela in Tuesday’s title game.
The Dominicans reached the semifinals for the first time since winning the WBC title in 2013, but missing the championship was not the goal for a roster that featured six players who finished among the top 10 in MVP voting last year and cruised through the early rounds of this WBC.
They faced their biggest test of the tournament against Skenes (2-0), who gave up one run on six hits through 4 ⅓ innings, and the U.S. bullpen, which held the Dominicans scoreless the rest of the way.
The Dominican Republic threatened in the ninth when Julio Rodríguez drew a walk and advanced to third against Mason Miller. With two outs, Miller struck out Geraldo Perdomo for his second save.
Junior Caminero hit a solo drive off Skenes in the second to give the Dominicans a record 15 homers in the tournament, surpassing the mark set by Mexico in 2009. He finished the tournament hitting .350.
The matchup between the two star-studded lineups didn’t fail to deliver big moments, especially on defense.
Judge got it started in the third with a 95.7-mph laser from right field to get Fernando Tatis Jr. at third. The Yankees’ All-Star then found himself on the other side of a huge defensive play in the fifth when Rodríguez — an inning after being hit on the wrist by a 98-mph fastball from Skenes — scaled the center-field wall to rob Judge of a home run.
Henderson, starting at third base over Alex Bregman, homered off Luis Severino to tie it in the fourth before Anthony hit the go-ahead homer, connecting on a 3-2 sinker from loser Gregory Soto.
England’s last-gasp defeat by France will have their fans discussing certain moments for years to come, but their indiscipline throughout the Six Nations came to the fore once again – particularly at the end of both halves in Paris.
Leading 27-17 with half-time looming, Ellis Genge was sin-binned after referee Nika Amashukeli ruled the prop had dragged down a maul, soon after two quick penalties had handed momentum back to France.
“After those three penalties in less than two minutes, England then conceded 21 points including that penalty try,” former Wales and Lions captain Sam Warburton said on BBC Rugby Special.
“Then with 14 men they conceded another 14 points, so that is 21 points in that period. It was a really crucial two minutes that they got wrong.”
Then in the dying moments of normal time with England 46-45 ahead, the referee gave France the option of a penalty kick from either of two positions, following infringements by Trevor Davison and Maro Itoje.
Thomas Ramos made no mistake to secure the title for France. Speaking on Rugby Special, former Scotland captain John Barclay said that short spell will be one England will regret.
“In the final two minutes after Tommy Freeman scored, France had a player in the sin-bin. When England look at how they managed this period, they had the game in their hands and threw it away.
“It was a really disappointing end for England. It will be a really tough debriefing on how they manage those crucial moments in the final bit of the game.
“Across the championship they are the top for penalties conceded, with eight yellows and one red, and the damage it did to them – they conceded 63 points with a player off the pitch.”
Wales continue to play fixtures amid off-field turmoil, with the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) not budging on their plan to cut from four men’s professional teams to three.
Tandy and captain Dewi Lake have had to be the face of Welsh rugby and have conducted themselves impeccably.
The hooker will have played his last Ospreys game before a summer move to Gloucester when the Wales squad link up again in the summer.
“That was a performance we have built towards and this group deserves it massively,” said Lake after the win against Italy.
“We have gone through a lot of emotionally tough things recently, whether that is on the field or off it.”
It remains a cause for concern as Wales build towards the World Cup, with Scarlets and Ospreys on a Professional Rugby Agreement (PRA) that expires in the summer of 2027.
Tandy’s squad next take to the field against Barbarians at Twickenham in June before three Nations Championship fixtures in July against Fiji, Argentina and South Africa.
By then the WRU will have held an extraordinary general meeting, with chair Richard Collier-Keywood facing a vote of no confidence, while there is also a legal battle with Swansea Council over the future of Ospreys.
Tandy has created a positive environment for his players after outlining his approach before the campaign.
“If they’ve got something to share, if they’re seeking more clarity or anything they want to talk about then we have to be open,” he said.
“One thing we can’t do is run away from it or pretend it’s not happening.”
Tandy has allowed his players to grow in their Vale Resort bubble and will aim to keep taking everything in his stride in the summer.
Match of the Day pundit Wayne Rooney analyses Bruno Fernandes’ crucial role in Manchester United’s 3-1 win over Aston Villa at Old Trafford in the Premier League.
It is a first title of the year for Sinner, who had his Australian Open title defence ended by Djokovic in a thrilling five-set semi-final in January.
Sinner also extends his head-to-head record against Medvedev, having won nine of their past 10 meetings.
Despite the loss, Medvedev will re-enter the top 10 when the rankings are updated on Monday.
The former US Open champion almost missed the tournament, having been stuck in Dubai because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
After arriving in the USA, Medvedev showed why he was previously at the top of the men’s game, with a fine semi-final victory over world number one Carlos Alcaraz.
However, it was Sinner who edged the tight moments on Sunday, helped by his imperious serve.
Sinner won 43 of 47 first-serve points, hit 10 aces and won 60% of points behind his second serve to remain in control of the match.
Medvedev saved the only two break points of the final and came close to forcing a third set when he went 4-0 up in the tie-break.
However, Sinner reeled off seven points in a row to close out the match and win back-to-back Masters 1,000 titles without dropping a set.
Elsewhere, world number three Djokovic has withdrawn from this week’s Miami Open with injury.
The Serb great has won the title six times and finished runner-up to Jakub Mensik last year.
However, the 24-time Grand Slam champion said a right shoulder injury had stopped him competing at the hard-court event, which begins on Monday.
Ryder Cup stars Ludvig Aberg and Matt Fitzpatrick both falter as American Cameron Young comes from behind to win the Players Championship 2026 at TPC Sawgrass.
Neither Alexander Straus nor Mark Parsons were around when Angel City played its first NWSL game in 2022. But they didn’t miss much; in four years the team had one winning season and made just one playoff appearance.
So Straus, in his first full season as coach, and Parsons, 15 months into his job as sporting director, decided to raze the club and its sad history and start over. That break from the past couldn’t have been much clearer than it was in the opening game of the team’s fifth season Sunday, one which ended in a 4-0 rout of the Chicago Stars.
Three of the goals — from Evelyn Shores, Ary Borges and Maiara Niehues — came from players who weren’t on the roster at the start of last season. Borges also picked up her first Angel City assist.
The performance was the most dominant in club history and the margin of victory matched Angel City’s largest ever. It was also the team’s first season-opening win since 2022.
“There is a little bit of a new beginning,” Straus said.
“We’re a completely different organization than we were at the end of last year,” Parsons added.
Angel City proved that when teenager Kennedy Fuller opened the scoring in the 33rd minute, dribbling up the right wing and into the box before driving a right-footed shot off Chicago keeper Alyssa Naeher and just inside the near post.
Shores doubled the lead in the 53rd minute, heading in a Fuller corner for her second NWSL goal before Borges, a Brazilian international, made it 3-0 13 minutes later, jumping on a short goal kick by Naeher, then beating the keeper cleanly with a left-footed shot from the center of the box.
Niehues, another Brazilian international, closed the scoring in the 70th minute on a right-footed shot from the center of the box. Iceland’s Sveindis Jonsdottir got the assist on that goal. Of the four goal-scorers for Angel City, only Borges is over 21.
Angel City dominated the match statistically as much as it did on the field, outshooting Chicago 17-7 and putting six of those shots on target. Angel City keeper Angelina Anderson needed to make just two saves to record the clean sheet.
The announced crowd of 16,813 on a beautiful sun-splashed afternoon was the smallest for an Angel City opener.
Match of the Day pundit Wayne Rooney describes Max Dowman becoming the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history as a “moment he’ll never forget” and argues it will bring those connected to Arsenal closer together, seeing an academy graduate make his mark on the first team.
The 68-team bracket for the 2026 NCAA men’s basketball tournament is set. Matchup starting times and broadcast information will be announced later on Sunday.
The men’s First Four begins Tuesday and first-round games begin on Thursday.
First Four
Tuesday-Wednesday (at Dayton, Ohio) No. 11 Texas (18-14) vs. No. 11 North Carolina State (20-13) No. 11 Miami (Ohio) (31-1) vs. No. 11 Southern Methodist (20-13) No. 16 Maryland Baltimore County (24-8) vs. Howard (23-10) No. 16 Prairie View A&M (18-17) vs. No. 16 Lehigh (18-16)
East Region
FIRST ROUND Thursday (at Greenville, S.C.) No. 1 Duke (32-2) vs. No. 16 Siena (23-11) No. 8, Ohio State (21-12) vs. No. 9 Texas Christian (22-11) Friday (at San Diego) No. 5 St. John’s (28-6) vs. No. 12 Northern Iowa (23-12) No. 4 Kansas (23-10) vs. No. 13 California Baptist (25-8) Thursday (at Buffalo) No. 6 Louisville (23-10) vs. No. 11 South Florida (25-8) No. 3 Michigan State (25-7) vs. No. 14 North Dakota State (27-7) Friday (at Philadelphia) No. 7 UCLA (23-11) vs. No. 10 Central Florida (21-11) No. 2 Connecticut (29-5) vs. No. 15 Furman (22-12)
West Region
FIRST ROUND Friday (at San Diego) No. 1 Arizona (32-2) vs. Long Island University (24-10) No. 8 Villanova (24-8) vs. No. 9 Utah State (25-8) Thursday (at Portland) No. 5 Wisconsin (24-10) vs. No. 12 High Point (30-4) No. 4 Arkansas (26-8) vs. No. 13 Hawaii (24-8) No. 6 Brigham Young (23-11) No. 11 Texas / North Carolina State No. 3 Gonzaga (30-3) vs. No. 14 Kennesaw State (21-13) Friday (at St. Louis) No. 7 Miami (25-8) vs. No. 10 Missouri (20-12) No. 2 Purdue (27-8) vs. No. 15 Queens (21-13)
Midwest Region
FIRST ROUND Thursday (at Buffalo) No. 1 Michigan (31-3) vs. No. 16 Maryland Baltimore County / Howard No. 8 Georgia (22-10) vs. No. 9 Saint Louis (28-5) Friday (at Tampa) No. 5 Texas Tech (22-10) vs. No 12 Akron (29-5) No. 4 Alabama (23-9) vs. No. 13 Hofstra (24-10) Friday (at Philadelphia) No. 6 Tennessee (22-11) vs. No. 11 Miami (Ohio) / Southern Methodist No. 3 Virginia (29-5) vs. No. 14 Wright State (23-11) Friday (at St. Louis) No. 7 Kentucky (21-13) vs. No. 10 Santa Clara (26-8) No. 2 Iowa State (27-7) vs. No. 15 Tennessee State (23-9)
South Region
FIRST ROUND Friday (at Tampa) No. 1 Florida (26-7) vs. No. 16 Prairie View A&M / Lehigh No. 8 Clemson (24-10) vs. Iowa (21-12) Thursday (at Oklahoma City) No. 5 Vanderbilt (26-8) vs. No. 12 McNeese (28-5) No. 4 Nebraska (26-6) vs. No. 13 Troy (22-11) Thursday (at Greenville, S.C.) No. 6 North Carolina (24-8) vs. No. 11 Virginia Commonwealth (27-7) No. 3 Illinois (24-8) vs. No. 14 Pennsylvania (18-11) Thursday (at Oklahoma City) No. 7 Saint Mary’s (27-5) No. 10 Texas A&M (21-11) No. 2 Houston (28-6) vs. Idaho (21-14)
No. 7-seed UCLA’s (22-11) push for another deep NCAA tournament run begins Friday against No. 10-seed Central Florida (21-11) in Philadelphia in the East Regional. If the Bruins win, they will face the winner of No. 2 Connecticut (29-5) versus No. 15 Furman (22-12).
Cronin was hoping the Bruins, who flew home from the Big Ten tournament in Chicago on Sunday morning, would get a break and open postseason play Friday rather than Thursday. He recalled playing in the American Athletic Conference tournament championship on Sundays and still getting assigned Thursday NCAA tournament games, but Purdue coach Matt Painter told Cronin on Saturday night that he should be in line for a Friday NCAA tournament opener and the forecast proved accurate.
Cronin said the universal UCLA program focus on NCAA tournament success drove his decision to hold forward Tyler Bilodeau and guard Donovan Dent out of a 73-66 Big Ten semifinal loss to Purdue on Saturday night at the United Center. Bilodeau’s injury was a minor knee sprain suffered in the win over Michigan State on Friday, while Dent suffered a minor calf strain early in the game against the Boilermakers. Both are expected to be ready to play Friday.
“Tyler could have played [against Purdue.] You know, Donny could have played. They would have been playing hurt,” Cronin said after the loss to the Boilermakers. “I wouldn’t have played them in a regular season game. I just try to take care of guys.”
The coach said the extra minutes played by Eric Freeny, Xavier Booker, Steven Jamerson II and Brandon Williams will help the Bruins when the full lineup is in place for NCAA tournament games.
He called the team’s effort to push eventual Big Ten champion Purdue valiant, but the games ahead in March simply mean more to the Bruins.
“With all due respect to the Big Ten, you could see how hard our guys are trying to win,” Cronin said. “But our guy are well aware, because they practice under 11 banners that say national championship every day. They warm up under another banner with 19 Final Fours on it. We don’t even have one with conference championships cause there’s 36 or something. There’s so many. So [this] week is what it’s about for us.”
UCLA enters the tournament on a 4-1 streak, looking especially strong since the calendar hit March.
“I was happy with the way we competed,” Cronin said when asked whether he learned anything about his players during a spirited Big Ten tournament run. “… We got talent, we just haven’t always had our mind on defense, which is very rare for teams that I coach. We got great guys. Since March 1 or whenever the heck we played Nebraska, it’s been a noted change in our team, we’ve just got to keep it up. And we’ve got to get some rebounds out of the five spot.
”… We’re at UCLA, no matter who we take the floor against in the NCAA tournament, we’re going to be the ones wearing the baby blues and four letters. So we believe in ourselves.”
UCF is coached by former Duke star Johnny Dawkins. Point guard Themus Fulks is a key leader for the Knights, earning third team All-Big 12 honors after averaging 14.1 points and 6.7 assists per contest during the regular season.
UCF posted top-25 wins over Kansas, Texas Tech and Brigham Young.
INDIAN WELLS — World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka beat Elena Rybakina 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6) in the Indian Wells final Sunday for her first title at the tournament.
Sabalenka, a runner-up in 2023 and ‘25, finished off the win at the BNP Paribas Open with a big serve that Rybakina hit long. It was a sweltering afternoon on the court as the temperatures soared into the 90s.
The 27-year-old Sabalenka had a chance to close out the third set but was broken at 5-4. Rybakina found herself with a championship point in the tiebreaker, only to have Sabalenka hit a backhand winner.
This marked the 16th time the two players have met, with Sabalenka now holding a 9-7 advantage. Rybakina of Kazakhstan beat Sabalenka at the 2025 WTA Finals championship and the Australian Open two months ago. She also edged Sabalenka in the finals at Indian Wells in 2023.
“What a day,” Sabalenka said after the match.
In the men’s final later Sunday, Daniil Medvedev faces Jannik Sinner, who has won eight of his last nine matches against Medvedev.
“Edging closer” is the right phrase. Leeds have not won in five league matches but have drawn their past three.
With fellow strugglers West Ham, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham all earning draws this weekend, 15th-placed Leeds have maintained the three-point gap between themselves and the relegation zone.
To misquote the likely apocryphal words of England cricketer George Hirst against Australia in the 1902 Ashes, Leeds will “get it in singles”.
Farke’s side also have the kindest run-in on paper, with just one game against a top-six team – Manchester United on 13 April – and home games against the bottom two, Burnley and Wolves.
But there is the nagging feeling their three-point gap to the drop zone should have been five.
Since the start of the 2022-23 season, only Liverpool and Fulham have failed to convert more penalties than Leeds in the top flight – despite the Yorkshire side being in the Championship in two of those campaigns.
It denied Leeds their first away win since September, when they beat rock-bottom Wolves. The only two teams with worse records away from home are the bottom two.
And it was more frustration for Calvert-Lewin, who overcame a late fitness test on a knee issue to play here and led the line with impressive physicality.
But after scoring twice against Palace in December – taking his personal tally to seven league goals versus the Eagles – he has scored only three times in 12 league games.
Farke, a former forward himself, was philosophical.
“I was happy with his overall performance, I was happy for him to take [the penalty]. Also, what he did in the second half, he was a crucial part today.
“Of course, you want to hit the target and he is disappointed. But this is football, even Harry Kane misses penalties.
“I was a striker – I missed more penalties than you can count.”
Manchester United manager Michael Carrick praises the “great” connection between Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes, after the duo combined for the opening goal in their 3-1 victory over Aston Villa.
When Julie Uhrman and a fledgling ownership group that would quickly grow to more than 100 announced plans to start a women’s soccer club in the summer of 2020, the goal was to build something unique and different.
And in that she was wildly successful: four years after its founding, Angel City became the most valuable team in the history of women’s professional sports while funneling millions of dollars to community programs throughout Southern California.
What the team hasn’t done is win. And that, Uhrman said, has to change.
“It’s time to win,” said Uhrman, who this month is stepping down as the team’s chief executive to take a new role as principal advisor. “We’re in L.A. We live in a city of champions and we want to be on the same mantle as them. It’s a process but we have the right team in place, on and off the pitch, to accomplish that.”
Angel City will kick off its fifth season Sunday at BMO Stadium against the Chicago Stars. Over its previous four seasons, Angel City lost 12 more games than it won, finished with a winning record only once and made just one playoff appearance. And it has used four coaches, three sporting directors and more than 70 players in its search for success.
“We needed to rip it up and start again,” Straus said.
As a result, more than half the players on the opening day roster weren’t with Angel City at the start of last season. And nine women who started at least a half-dozen games last season aren’t there this year.
“This is Angel City 2.0,” Parsons said. “We’ve gone through a huge amount of staff change. We’ve gone through a huge amount of roster change. And January 2026 has become Year 1.
“Year 5 is Year 1 of building what we believe is a sporting organization that can get to the top and stay at the top.”
That’s probably not what the team’s long-suffering fans wanted to hear. They wanted to hear that this is the year Angel City wins a trophy. But after watching his team finish 11th in the 14-team NWSL in 2025, Parsons said that’s not realistic.
“You don’t go from 11th to being a top-four team. I think you come from 11th and you become a playoff team ,” said Parsons who, as a manager, took a Portland Thorns team with a losing record to an NWSL Shield and a league title in his first two seasons. “Last year was a tough year. Now we’re in a better place. So we’re still on the journey.”
Angel City coach Alexander Straus watches over a practice session at the team’s training facility in Thousand Oaks in February.
(Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)
So is the league. With the addition of expansion franchises in Denver and Boston, the NWSL entered its 14th season Friday with a record 16 teams, meaning each club will play a record 30 games. The top eight finishers in the table will make the playoffs.
For Angel City, the makeover to 2.0 really launched about six months before Parsons arrived when Disney CEO Bob Iger and his wife, Willow Bay, dean of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, became controlling owners of the club and committed $50 million to improving it. Part of that investment paid for the purchase and renovation of a sprawling state-of-the-art training center at Cal Lutheran University and part of it allowed Parsons to come in and tear things up.
When he took over as sporting director last winter, Parsons quickly set about overhauling the roster, leaving Angel City with one of the youngest teams in the NWSL, averaging 25 years of age, this season. Two players are still in their teens and eight others have yet to turn 23.
A year ago, eight players on the roster were 32 or older.
Among the key offseason additions are defender Emily Sams, an Olympic champion with the U.S. national team, and midfielder Ary Borges, a Brazilian international. They will join a core that includes Japanese midfielder Hina Sugita and Zambian striker Prisca Chilufya, who joined the team at the end of last season.
Of the four, only Sugita, a two-time World Cup veteran, is older than 26.
“We’re getting closer to competing for trophies,” Parsons said. “But making [the] playoffs right now is a logical next step. This year is about showing that we’re going in the right direction. But we can’t jump from 11th to one. Those days are over.
“We have overachieved the last 12 months in building a sporting organization, staffing departments and [constructing a] roster. There’s going to be ups and downs this year, like there is every year.”
Goalkeeper Angelina Anderson, entering her fourth season with Angel City, making her one of the team’s longest-tenured players, believes in Parsons’ deliberate approach and is confident the team is about to turn the corner.
“Having that methodical approach is really smart and it gives us kind of an overview of like, we want to win the championship, we feel like we’re in a really good spot, but there are daily, monthly, season-long challenges that we’re going to have to overcome if that’s where we want to get to,” said Anderson, one of three team captains. “It’s actually a very smart way for all of us to manage our expectations.”
Uhrman agrees too but being realistic is hard. When she helped launch Angel City, it was with the vision of building a winning team and nearly six years later, she’s still waiting for that vision to be released.
“Our aspiration is to win the championship. Our goal is to make the playoffs,” she said. “And we feel very comfortable that we can do that. It is a process. We’re realistic about where we are in the process and what we need to do to develop and grow.
“Believing in the fact that it’s a process is comforting because we are being realistic about what we are. But that doesn’t change what we want to accomplish.”
PHOENIX — Wait, what? That’s me whenever I see a list of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball that doesn’t include the Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the top three — or not until No. 7, like MLB Network’s did.
It’s hard to believe there are professional ball-watchers who want us to believe there are a handful of pitchers better than the Dodgers’ righty who’s steadily filling the fingers on his hand with championship rings.
Respectfully, the Philadelphia Phillies’ Zack Wheeler and Atlanta Braves’ Chris Sale are great. So are the Philadelphia Phillies’ Christopher Sánchez and Boston Red Sox’s Garrett Crochet.
But they’re not greater than Yamamoto.
I’m not saying criminally underrating someone like Yamamoto should be prosecutable, I’m just wondering why anyone would?
“It could have something to do with him not throwing 100 like some other guys,” Dodgers pitcher Ben Casparius said. “But just in terms of pure pitching and what he’s able to do and where he’s able to locate certain pitches and how he’s able to read the hitters?”
Elite.
“In our eyes, I would for sure say Yamamoto is very underrated,” catcher Dalton Rushing said. “I think what goes into your role as a player is your willingness to win, whatever you’ll do to win. I don’t have to go back to the World Series and bring anything up, everyone watched those games, everyone saw what he did.”
Maybe it was a power outage at some folks’ homes during the World Series? Or a subtle form of protest against the Dodgers, champions of capitalism? Maybe Yamamoto’s unassuming everyman act is just that good?
We’ve all marveled at Shohei Ohtani’s Superman quick change, how he’ll go from dynamite pitcher to fearsome hitter in a few bats of an eye. But the truly superheroic character on the Dodgers’ roster is their 5-foot-10, 176-pound ace, Yamamoto.
His Clark Kent-esque transformation, from unimposing nice guy — “the nicest guy in the entire world,” Casparius said — to smirking menace whenever the day needs saving is the stuff of comic book legends.
In last season’s World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays that went the distance and beyond, Yamamoto earned MVP and three of the Dodgers’ four wins.
He had a 1.02 ERA. Got the Dodgers squared away with nine innings of one-run baseball in Game 2. Staved off elimination in Game 6, giving up just one run in six innings. And closed the deal in Game 7 when he pitched 2 ⅔ innings of scoreless relief in the Dodgers’ 5-4, 11-inning victory.
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto is all smiles as he’s hugged by a teammate following the Game 7 win over the Blue Jays in the World Series.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Oh, and of course Yamamoto was warming in the bullpen when Freddie Freeman hit his walk-off home run to end the 18-inning Game 3 epic at Dodger Stadium.
Yamamoto also showed up for Japan in the World Baseball Classic. He tossed 2 ⅔ scoreless innings in one pool-play start and started again in a knockout game Saturday in Miami, striking out five in four innings and leaving with the lead before Venezuela roared back to win 8-5.
“Part of being a gamer and being a great competitor in big moments is the preparation,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “And when you prepare the right way, that eliminates a lot of doubt and fear. And that, for me, that’s the core of who Yoshinobu is.”
Hyper-competitive and exceptionally nimble, Yamamoto is also super strong — in body and mind.
Bruce Wayne had Alfred Pennyworth; Yamamoto has Yada Sensei, personal trainer Osamu Yada, a 60-something Japanese judo therapist whose unique training regimen has helped turn his star pupil into a world-beater.
So while the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Paul Skenes and Detroit Tigers’ Tarik Skubal are baseball’s kings of the hill, if you had to pick one arm to decide the fate of the universe, whose would it be?
Cue the Yoshinobu Yamamoto anthem.
“He’s probably the best pitcher I’ve ever seen live,” Casparius said. “He’s definitely the guy I’m taking in a must-win game.”
Said pitcher River Ryan: “Yoshi, he is just a natural freak athlete” with a “routine that’s incredible to watch.”
And it isn’t merely the pitcher’s willingness to go to bat for his team and country, all the metrics make his case, too.
Last season, Yamamoto had the fourth-best ERA in the big leagues (2.49) and gave up two or fewer runs in 20 of his 30 starts. He was also tied for first in barrel rate (5.7%), fifth in strikeout rate (29.4%) and seventh in FIP (2.94).
Pick a category, and it paints the picture almost as well as Yamamoto does corners.
I’m not asking people to put some respect on Yamamoto’s name, I’m asking them to put mad respect on it.
“I would say yes, I don’t think he’s fully appreciated for what he’s done,” third baseman Max Muncy said. “Not just yet. He will.”
Eventually even people around Clark Kent have to catch on: This guy might not walk around like he’s a superhero, but he is one.
F1’s bosses are caught in the middle of this debate, recognising the superficial appeal of the back-and-forth racing, but concerned about what the new cars are doing to the sport they grew up loving because they were attracted by its essence as the ultimate test of driver and machine.
Andrea Stella, team principal of world champions McLaren, said: “In qualifying, there’s some aspects of driving that could be counterintuitive.
“Like, occasionally there are comments from our drivers that once they make a mistake, actually save some energy, you go faster overall in a sector, because the energy you saved with the delay on the throttle because you had a problem is going to reward you at the end of the straight.”
Mercedes F1 team principal Toto Wolff said: “From an entertainment perspective, I believe that what we’ve seen today between Ferrari and McLaren was good racing. Many overtakes.
“We were all part of Formula 1 where there was no overtake, literally. Sometimes we’re too nostalgic about the good old years.
“But I think the product is good in itself. We saw quite some racing in the midfield also. And that is, I think, the positive.
“Now, from a driver’s standpoint, when it comes to the qualifying lap, that is different. Clearly, lift and coast in the qualifying, I’m sure for someone like Max, who is a full-attack guy, it’s difficult to cope and digest.
“Qualifying flat-out would be nice. But when you look at the fans and the excitement that is there, live, the cheering when there’s overtakes and also on social media, the younger fans, the vast majority, through all the demographics, like the sport at the moment.
“So, yes, we can always look at how we’re improving it. But at the moment, all the indicators and all the data say people love it. And I spoke with Stefano (Domenicali, the F1 president). He says that, too.”
The cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grands Prix gives the sport a little more breathing space to consider all this.
There is a meeting of team bosses with F1 and governing body the FIA this week, and another race in Japan in two weeks’ time before a five-week break before the next Grand Prix in Miami at the beginning of May.
A number of ideas to reduce the degree to which the purity of the driving experience has been polluted are already in the mix, such as removing a lower limit for energy recovery currently in force in a certain phase of the straights. And others may yet emerge.
Stella says: “Do we want to be faithful to the DNA of racing in a traditional sense? Do we accept that this counterintuitive situation belongs to the business or not? This is a high-level philosophical question.”
BBC Sport has contacted the Argentine FA for comment.
Uefa said: “Argentina made a counter suggestion to play the game after the World Cup but, as Spain has no available dates, that option had to be ruled out.”
The Spanish FA said, external it had “worked intensively” to get the game on in any format possible, whether in Spain or at a neutral venue.
It said: “Spain was prepared to play as it has always been stated. They set no conditions.
“Spain, together with Uefa, has offered all possibilities.”
On Saturday the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Formula 1 Grands Prix due to be held in April were cancelled.
Formula 1 said it is not safe to stage the races because of the conflict across the region.
The Finalissima, which is staged every four years and is organised by Uefa and the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol), was last won by Argentina at Wembley in 2022.
In late November, Gabriela Jaquez scored 29 points against Tennessee. It wasn’t her career high; that came when she tallied 30 points two years prior.
But that game, when Tennessee had no answers for a player who was then the UCLA women’s basketball team’s fifth offensive option, felt like Jaquez’s coming-out party after years as a quieter cog in the Bruins’ rotation. It changed the way teams had to defend her. Previously known more for attacking the rim than for shooting from outside, Jaquez showcased a different dimension.
Suddenly, one of the best teams in the nation had one of the best breakout stars. Entering the NCAA tournament, the 31-1 Big Ten champion Bruins are relying on Jaquez as one of their super seniors to guide them back to the Final Four.
UCLA guard Charlisse Leger-Walker hugs teammate Gabriela Jaquez, who led the Bruins in scoring during a win over Tennessee on Nov. 30 at Pauley Pavilion.
(Luiza Moraes / Getty Images)
“I do think she’s always been that player,” said senior guard Kiki Rice, who has played four seasons with Jaquez. “But I do think she’s had a lot more opportunity to demonstrate that, and you saw that in the beginning of the year. She just started off such a hot shooter, and the way that she’s developed every single year, gotten better and just found a way to impact the team.”
Though she hasn’t reached that same scoring peak again, Jaquez has quietly buoyed UCLA’s dominant run this season as the Bruins have emerged as one of the favorites to win a national title. She ranks second on UCLA (among players with at least 30 attempts) in field-goal percentage at 54.3%, second in three-point shooting at 41.1% and third in scoring.
Jaquez has gotten attention for being part of a family legacy at UCLA and spending an offseason with the Bruins’ softball team. But in the background, even when she hasn’t been the leader for the UCLA women’s basketball team, Jaquez has honed herself into one of just 25 Power Four conference players shooting better than 40% from deep this season.
Jaquez, who tallied her 1,000th career point early this season, is having a career-best season with 13.6 points per game, has added double-digits in 25 of her 31 games this season.
“There’s so much depth to her,” said guard Charlisse Leger-Walker, who often dances alongside Jaquez in videos posted on social media and Leger-Walker’s YouTube video series. “Getting to understand her off the court, I think has really helped our connection on the court, and kind of how her personality is so outgoing. She likes to bring people along. You can see that on the court.”
Jaquez came in as a 5-foot-11 freshman who played primarily as an undersized forward and would crash the net and collect rebounds.
The shooting, though, has been the biggest change this season.
“I think of her as someone who, especially early on, like she doesn’t need to have the ball on hand, she doesn’t need to have plays run for her to impact the game,” Rice said. “But then she’s been shooting so well too.”
Early in the season, teams doubled Lauren Betts, who leads the team with 16.4 points per game as a center, which opened Jaquez to shoot from deep, establishing herself as someone who needed to be keyed on.
UCLA’s Gabriela Jaquez shoots the ball under pressure from Oregon’s Katie Fiso on Dec. 7 at Pauley Pavilion.
(Luke Hales / Getty Images)
Her 107 three-point attempts are a career-high this season, with her shot selection jumping to 32.4% coming from behind the arc. That’s come with a career-high 2.2 assists per game and an 85.2 defensive rating, ranked in the top 20% of the nation.
“She can shoot the ball, she can finish, she defends,” shooting guard Gianna Kneepkens said. “I love playing with Gabs. Sometimes I get caught watching her because she’s just so amazing.”
Now, Jaquez projects as a first-round WNBA pick, in large part because of her versatility on offense. She is listed as a guard on the Bruins’ roster, but often starts at forward, where she can stretch the floor. Her 5.4 rebounds per game are third on the team, thanks in large part because of her ability to fill positions one through five.
During UCLA’s Big Ten semifinal win over Ohio State, Jaquez shot four for 12 but Bruins coach Cori Close noted Jaquez’s importance when her shooting isn’t on target.
“What I liked about that the most is that she struggled a little bit in the middle of the second half,” Close said. “It just showed a lot of her mental toughness that, when we needed her the most, she was going to be there for us on the defensive end and on the rebounding end.”
While all five starters have been mentioned as possible WNBA first-rounders, Jaquez has perhaps made the biggest leap, two WNBA scouts not authorized to publicly discuss prospects said.
UCLA senior Gabriela Jaquez celebrates with the Big Ten tournament trophy after the Bruins beat Iowa in the finals on March 8 in Indianapolis.
(Michael Conroy / Associated Press)
When Rice and Leger-Walker are on the bench, Jaquez has taken on point guard duties.
“She does all those little hustle plays,” Leger-Walker said. “She will score if you need her to, she’ll cut, she’ll rebound, like, she’s so versatile. You know what you’re getting from her, and she’s kind of that person who’s the engine of our team.”
Jaquez hasn’t thought much about what happens after this season. This year’s mantra of joy has resonated after last year’s crushing Final Four loss to Connecticut.
“It’s been fuel,” Jaquez said. “That started [last] spring and into the offseason, knowing exactly what to work on, how to prepare…. But I just love the team aspect of basketball, I love this group of girls specifically and I think having so much fun out there has [been the most important thing] and winning has made it even better.”
The night Jaquez hit five three-pointers against Tennessee may have felt like her arrival. But for the teammates who have watched her develop for four years, it looked less like a breakthrough and more like the rest of the country finally catching up.
The rest of the country may have only noticed this season. But inside UCLA’s locker room, Jaquez has been that player all along.
“Gabs is an extremely confident person, so I feel like if you’d asked her this freshman year, she would have believed that she’d become just the incredible player that she is,” Rice said. “Just the opportunity, her experience at this level these past few years has really helped her develop into what she is.”
Ohtani began the World Baseball Classic in Tokyo for Team Japan with a double on the first pitch he saw and then, one inning later, a grand slam … of course he did.
It continued with an espresso shot …
The hitters of lovable Team Italy celebrated home runs with shots of Italian espresso in a dugout dripping with cheek kisses and caffeine.
After hitting three homers against Mexico, Italy’s Vinnie Pasquantino told Fox that he was, “beaned up.”
Truly, this blip of a tournament has been beaned up, a glorious 10 days of deafening cheers and eye-blacked tears, fans dressed like discount popes and bald eagles, TV ratings through the roof, baseball at its October best … in the middle of spring training?
Italy’s Jac Caglianone takes a shot of espresso as he celebrates with teammate Vinnie Pasquantino after hitting a solo home run against the U.S. during the World Baseball Classic on Tuesday in Houston.
(Kenneth Richmond / Getty Images)
What a thing! What a treat!
All hail the WBC, 20 years old and all grown up, its sixth incarnation stealing the stage in a sweet spot during NBA doldrums and before March Madness.
Have you watched any of it? Have you been energized by all of it? It’s been like two weeks of All-Star games, only the players are serious. It’s been like when baseball was part of the Olympics, only the players are all truly the best in the world.
In the middle of the most boring part of the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues, it’s like a Superhero League. Two weeks before opening day, it’s like the final week of a pennant race.
It’s competitive, and it’s crazy, and Friday’s quarterfinals were filled with both.
There was giant Vladimir Guerrero Jr. going airborne to score a run for the Dominican Republic against Korea, and then leaping up and pumping his fist as if he had just won the World Series.
There was Juan Soto flying home to score an inning later, his head-first dive celebrated by Soto doing a swim move in the dugout.
Then there was Team USA’s David Bednar, screaming along with the chanting crowd as he worked out of a seventh-inning jam in a win over Canada.
In a tournament filled with equal parts emotion and edginess, Team USA now plays the Dominican Republic Sunday in Miami in a semifinal that could be the most-watched game of this season before the season starts.
Paul Skenes versus a lineup so deep Julio Rodriguez bats seventh? A team led by Aaron Judge and Bryce Harper versus a team featuring Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr?
Dominican Republic’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. dives past South Korea catcher Park Dong-won to score on a double by Junior Caminero during the World Baseball Classic on Friday in Miami.
(Lynne Sladky / Associated Press)
“I expect it to be one of the best games of all time,” said Team USA Manager Mark DeRosa.
No, the WBC isn’t as big as the World Series. One notable player said it’s even bigger.
“The Classic kind of feels above the World Series,” Kiké Hernández told reporters earlier this spring. “Maybe it’s because of what we have on the chest,”
Hernández, who didn’t play for his home country Puerto Rico because he is recovering from elbow surgery, nonetheless showed up in San Juan for the pool-play games.
He was so excited when Puerto Rico beat Panama on a walk-off home run, he texted Dodgers baseball president Andrew Friedman and asked if he could accompany the team to Houston for the knockout round. Friedman of course said yes.
Yes, yes, yes, more, more, more.
Before this spring, I had watched exactly one WBC at-bat. The entire deal felt cheesy and contrived. American players didn’t appear to care. American players would rather lounge through the final days of spring training in occasional games and on countless golf courses
Other countries loved it. Other countries caused a ruckus. The fan experience was highlighted by a memorable and deafening 2009 final at Dodger Stadium featured a Japan victory over South Korea in a game that many observers said was the loudest they ever attended.
Not me. Didn’t care. I pretty much ignored the whole thing until stumbling upon that one at-bat, the final out in the 2023 title game, that stunning dramatic strikeout of Mike Trout by then-Angel teammate Ohtani to give Japan the title.
Ohtani threw his cap and glove in a rare show of emotion, setting off a wild and sincere celebration as my ignorant self finally realized, “Hey, this is a thing.”
Three years later, the American players have agreed, stacking the roster with stars like Judge and Harper, kids like Pete Crow-Armstrong, vets like Kyle Schwarber and Big Dumpers named Cal Raleigh, all transforming this occasional baseball oddity into must-see TV.
You know how one can tell it’s real American baseball? The team spent its first week mired in social media drama and a second-guessing controversy.
American right fielder Aaron Judge celebrates his team’s win over Canada during a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game on Friday in Houston.
(David J. Phillip / Associated Press)
Tarik Skubal, the game’s best pitcher, found himself defending his patriotism after leaving the tournament early to better prepare for his opening day start with the Detroit Tigers.
First, he admitted he was surprised at how bad he felt about abandoning Team USA. That seemed to be a theme in a clubhouse that has been stunned at how much this matters.
“I totally misread how I would feel,” he said.
Then, he seemed genuinely hurt that people think he is turning his back on the flag.
“It’s just not fair,” he told the Athletic, later adding, “If they know me, though, and they know me on a personal level and they know what my peers think of me, I don’t think it’s fair to say those things.”
Also finding himself in hot water was USA manager Mark DeRosa, who nearly allowed his team to be eliminated in pool play because he didn’t know the rules.
When Team USA played Italy on Tuesday night, DeRosa rested most of his starters, nearly used retired Clayton Kershaw and basically managed the game as if he thought they didn’t need to win to guarantee advancement to the next round.
Guess what? They needed to win. But they didn’t win, losing 8-6 in a shocking upset. So they were forced to sweat out the Italy-Mexico game on Wednesday, where another Italian upset allowed them to back into the quarterfinals.
DeRosa claimed he knew the rules all along, which he clearly did not.
Before the game against Italy, in an interview on the MLB Network, he said, “Our ticket’s punched to the quarterfinals.”
After the game, DeRosa claimed he just, “misspoke”
And then Thursday he told the media, “I was well aware that we had to win the game.”
The 16-year journeyman clearly messed up, and then tried to cover up, and here’s guessing even if Team USA wins this tournament, he won’t be managing them in the 2028 Olympics or in any future WBC events.
Meanwhile, one American player had a dissenting view about the status of this tournament, Harper offering a tired argument.
“Obviously, the WBC has been great, but it’s not the Olympics, right?” he told reporters. “That’s no disrespect to the WBC or anything, but everybody knows that when the Olympics are on, everybody’s watching. It doesn’t matter what sport it is; it could be the most random sport, and it’s got all the fans watching it.”
Wrong. Here’s guessing more fans will be watching Sunday night in a matchup for the ages. Then, imagine if Team USA wins and plays Japan on Tuesday night for the championship?
With the sport headed toward a seemingly inevitable work stoppage this winter, this could be the sweet beginnings of a long farewell. Soak it in. Enjoy the buzz. Get all beaned up. March madness indeed.
Former England striker Ellen White sits down with Manchester United forward Celin Bizet Donnum to talk through the Norwegian’s ongoing pregnancy journey – from the decision-making process to the support policies in place. They consider whether more female footballers are likely to start families during their playing careers.
Russell Westbrook had 12 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his 209th career triple-double and DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points to lead the Sacramento Kings to a 118-109 victory over the Clippers on Saturday night.
Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points before leaving with a sprained left ankle for the Clippers, whose four-game winning streak was stopped. It was Leonard’s 45th consecutive game with at least 20 points, topping Bob McAdoo’s franchise record set during the 1974-75 season when the team was based in Buffalo.
Leonard was injured with 9:27 left in the fourth quarter when he was guarding DeRozan and landed awkwardly before backpedaling a few steps and tumbling to the court. He popped up quickly, but limped noticeably to the Clippers’ bench before heading to the locker room. Leonard didn’t return to the game and there was no immediate word on whether he might miss time.
Precious Achiuwa added 25 points and 13 rebounds, Maxime Raynaud had 23 points and Daeqwon Plowden scored 15 for the Kings, who have won three of their last four games.
Darius Garland added 25 points and Bennedict Mathurin had 24 for Los Angeles, which had won its last five at home.
The game was close early and tied at 39 with 7:04 left in the second quarter, but Sacramento took over from there. The Kings led 68-54 at halftime and made it a 20-point game — their largest lead — at 90-70 on Plowden’s three-pointer with 2:19 left in the third quarter.
But the Clippers, even without Leonard, stormed back in the fourth and cut the deficit to 103-100 on a pullup basket by Mathurin with 4:15 remaining. Sacramento outscored Los Angeles 15-9 the rest of the way to seal the win.
