March 18, 2026 5:38 pm
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Sidney Crosby is returning to the Pittsburgh Penguins’ lineup against the Carolina Hurricanes. The 38-year-old captain has been out a month after sustaining a lower-body injury while competing for Canada at the Milan Cortina Olympics. The Penguins went 5-3-3 during Crosby’s 11-game absence to remain in the hunt for a playoff spot with less than a month to go in the regular season. Crosby leads the Penguins with 59 points in 56 games. Crosby says he’s feeling good and has been impressed with how the club performed while he recovered from the injury.
March 18, 2026 4:33 am
MIAMI (AP) — Venezuela has won the World Baseball Classic for the first time, rebounding from a blown eighth-inning lead to beat the United States 3-2 on Eugenio Suárez’s tiebreaking double in the ninth. Maikel Garcia’s third-inning sacrifice fly and Wilyer Abreu’s fifth-inning homer off rookie Nolan McLean built a 2-0 lead before a roaring pro-Latin America crowd in Miami. Eduardo Rodríguez and lights-out relievers limited the Americans to two hits before Bryce Harper’s two-out, two-run homer in the eighth tied it. Daniel Palencia retired the side in order in the ninth, finishing a three-hitter.
March 18, 2026 4:34 am
The Denver Broncos have acquired standout wide receiver Jaylen Waddle in a blockbuster deal that sends three draft picks to the Miami Dolphins, including a first-rounder, according to two people with knowledge of the trade. Both spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal hasn’t been announced. The Dolphins will receive the 30th-overall pick in next month’s NFL draft along with picks in the third and fourth rounds. Denver will get Miami’s fourth-rounder along with Waddle. Waddle gives Bo Nix another main playmaker along with Courtland Sutton, boosting a passing offense that finished 11th in the NFL last season.
March 17, 2026 4:27 am
DENVER (AP) — Evgeni Malkin scored twice in a four-goal first period and added an assist in his return from a five-game suspension for slashing, sparking the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 7-2 victory over the league-leading Colorado Avalanche. Malkin’s punishment from the NHL was for raising his stick and striking Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin on the helmet and shoulder during their game on March 5. Anthony Mantha, Elmer Soderblom, Erik Karlsson, Bryan Rust and Noel Acciari also scored for the Penguins as they matched their season high for goals on just 20 shots while playing their 11th straight game without star center Sidney Crosby.
March 17, 2026 4:30 am
MIAMI (AP) — Ronald Acuña Jr., Maikel Garcia and Luis Arraez hit run-scoring, two-out singles in a seventh-inning rally that led Venezuela over Italy 4-2 and into its first World Baseball Classic championship game. Venezuela overcame a 2-0, fourth-inning deficit after climbing out of a three-run hole to beat defending champion Japan in a quarterfinal and reached the final for the first time after losing to South Korea in its only previous semifinal appearance in 2009. It meets the United States for the title on Tuesday night and appears likely to start Eduardo Rodríguez against the Americans’ Nolan McLean.
March 17, 2026 4:28 am
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — March Madness tips off with the First Four, featuring one of this season’s best stories in Miami (Ohio) and a matchup of formerly embattled head coaches in Texas’ Sean Miller and NC State’s Will Wade. Coming off their only loss of the season, the RedHawks have a chance to silence some skeptics against fellow No. 11 seed SMU (20-13) on Wednesday night. The RedHawks, who are back in the tournament for the first time since 2007, were rewarded with a game in Dayton, roughly 43 miles from campus. There are two games Tuesday night to open the tournament.
March 16, 2026 4:33 am
MIAMI (AP) — Paul Skenes shined in the World Baseball Classic semifinal, dominating an All-Star lineup in the United States’ 2-1 victory over the Dominican Republic. He improved to 2-0 in the tournament, allowing Junior Caminero’s homer in a 4 1/3-inning outing. Skenes has a 1.96 ERA in 55 career starts, striking out 386 while walking 74 in 320 2/3 innings. Gunnar Henderson and Roman Anthony homered and the United States limited the Dominican Republic’s electric offense to win a thrilling semifinal 2-1 and move a win from its second World Baseball Classic championship. The loaded U.S. team reached its third straight WBC title game after winning in 2017 and falling to Shohei Ohtani and Japan in 2023.
March 16, 2026 4:39 am
Duke is the top overall seed in the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament, with Arizona, Michigan, and Florida also landing on the No. 1 line. Miami (Ohio), which opened the season 31-0 before a loss early its conference tournament, got in as an 11 seed despite a weak schedule. They play a First Four game on Wednesday against SMU. The tournament begins Tuesday with other play-in games, including Texas versus North Carolina State.
March 16, 2026 4:40 am
UConn is the No. 1 overall seed in the women’s NCAA Tournament and enters March Madness needing six more victories to complete the seventh undefeated season in school history. The Huskies (34-0) are looking for their 13th national title and becoming the first team to repeat as champions since the Huskies won four in a row from 2013-16. They are joined by UCLA, Texas and South Carolina as the other No. 1 seeds.
March 16, 2026 4:42 am
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Cameron Young finally has a big title to go with his major talent. In a thriller at The Players Championship he made a 10-foot birdie on the island green at the TPC Sawgrass to tie Matt Fitzpatrick. Young crushed a drive that set up an easy par and won when Fitzpatrick failed to make an 8-foot par putt to force a playoff. Young shot 68 and won $4.5 million. Ludvig Aberg had control of the tournament until hitting into the water on consecutive holes on the back nine. He shot a 40 on the back nine for a 76.
