Real Madrid edged Celta Vigo 21 in La Liga thanks to Federico Valverdes heavily deflected 95th-minute strike. Aurelien Tchouameni gave Madrid an early lead, but Borja Iglesias quickly equalised. Missing several key players, including Kylian Mbappe, Madrid struggled but secured victory late on. The win moves them within one point of leaders Barcelona and ends a two-game league losing streak ahead of their Champions League clash with Manchester City.

Criticised by Mohammad Kaif over his remarks on the Indian team, Mohammad Amir hit back, questioning the former batter's international career.

Team USA heads into Friday's game as the World Baseball Classic favorite

The 2026 OVC Mens Tournament bracket heading into the semifinals, in logo form. | Chris Dobbertean using logos from SportsLogos.net2026 Ohio Valley Conference Mens Basketball Tournament BasicsFormatStepladder bracketthe top two seeds each only need to win a semifinal and final to qualify for the NCAAs.SiteFor the ninth consecutive year, the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind., home of the Missouri Valleys Evansville Purple Aces, will host the Ohio Valleys postseason event.ParticipantsTennessee Tech (13-18, 8-12, 9th), Southern Indiana (7-23, 4-16, 10th), and Western Illinois (5-26, 1-19, 11th) did not qualify. The Golden Eagles missed their final OVC Mens Tournament before departing for the Southern Conference after this academic year. Little Rock, who did qualify, is also leaving, but for the new United Athletic Conference, which will be the rebranded WAC.ScheduleDownloadable PDF BracketESPN+ ($) will stream all games before the semifinals.First Round (Wed. 3/4)Gm. 1:(8) Eastern Illinois 77, (5) SIUE (19-13, 12-8) 71 (OT)Gm. 2: (7) Little Rock (12-20, 9-11) 62, (6) Lindenwood 72Quarterfinals (Thurs. 3/5)Gm. 3: (8) Eastern Illinois (13-20, 8-12) 63, (4) UT Martin 66Gm. 4: (6) Lindenwood (18-15, 11-9) 66, (3) Southeast Missouri 68Semifinals (Fri. 3/6)ESPNU will air both games.Gm. 5: (4) UT Martin (22-11, 13-7) 55, (1) Tennessee State 68Gm. 6: (3) Southeast Missouri (20-12, 14-6) vs. (2) Morehead State (19-12, 15-5), 10:30*Home split: Eagles 71-69 on 1/10 and Redhawks 82-70 on 2/5.Championship (Sat. 3/7)Gm. 7: Game 6 winner vs. (1) Tennessee State (22-9, 15-5), 9 (ESPN2)Mayhem PotentialData originally posted by Bob Vetrone Jr. on Twitterin 2020 with my own additions for the seasons beyond.The OVC implemented a stepladder format in 2011, but between 2014 and 2017, the advantage given the No. 1 or 2 seeds didnt mean much, as they were shut out after the top two combined to win the first three titles. The top seeds got themselves right with Murray States victory in 2018, and top two teams alternated wins until 2023. Then, the conferences relative evenness reasserted itself after the Racers and Belmonts departures for the Missouri Valley. SIUEs first-ever Division I NCAA appearance came as the 2 seed. 1 seed (5): 2012, 2013, 2018, 2020, 20222 seed (4): 2011, 2019, 2021, 20253 seed (3): 2014, 2015, 20244 seed (1): 20175 seed (1): 20238 seed (1): 2016NCAA Seeding Record In The 68-Team EraYears with an NCAA win are in bold.6 seed (1): 20127 seed (1): 202211 seed (2): 2013, 2019 (at-large)12 seed (2): 2018, 2019 (automatic)13 seed (1); 201114 seed (1): 2021, 202415 seed (3): 2014, 2015, 201716 seed (3): 2016, 2023 (First Four), 2025Murray State and Belmont, the teams responsible for all the bolded wins other than Morehead States 2011 13-over-4 upset of Louisville, are now in the Missouri Valley.No OVC team ranks higher than Tennessee State in the NET. The 189th-ranked Tigers are joined by 197th-ranked UT Martin as the only two league members in the Top 200. Its again likely that the OVC champ ends up on seed line 16, if not in Dayton.Last NCAA Tournament AppearancesSIU Edwardsville: 2025 (16 seed, 1st Round)Morehead State: 2024 (14 seed, 1st Round)Southeast Missouri State: 2023 (16 seed, First Four)Little Rock: 2016 (12 seed, 2nd Round)Eastern Illinois (2001, 15 seed, 1st Round)Tennessee State: 1994 (14 seed, 1st Round)UT Martin has never qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Neither has Western Illinois (outside of College Hoops 2K8 anyway), and the 1984 Mid-Continent Tournament champions missed the OVC Tournament for the second season running. Lindenwood and Southern Indiana are both eligible for the first time this year, but the Screaming Eagles didnt make the field of eight.Tennessee Tech (1963, 1st Round) will depart for the SoCon still in search of its first modern-era NCAA bid.To put into perspective how much realignment has the changed OVC, 2016 NCAA rep Austin Peay and 2014 OVC Tournament winner Eastern Kentucky are both in the ASUN now, and heading to the UAC for 2026-27. Then theres 2017 qualifier Jacksonville State, which is now in FBS and CUSA. Both 2020 champ (and 2019 at-large) Belmont and 2018, 2019, and 2022 champ Murray State are still in the Missouri Valley, where the Bruins are favorites for Arch Madness

President Donald Trump on Friday said he will write an executive order within a week that will "solve all of the problems" brought forth in an unprecedented meeting at the White House to address the future of college sports.

Formula 1 are unlikely to replace next months Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix if they are cancelled due to the current conflict in the Middle East.

The Maxx Crosby saga has finally come to an end. Weeks after demanding to be traded out of Las Vegas by the Raiders, the All-Pro defensive end finally has a new home.

Ronald Acua Jr. scored easily from third base for Venezuela at the World Baseball Classic, and about a half-dozen of his teammates hopped over the dugout railing to start a celebration.It was a 1-0 game. In the first inning. Didn't matter.For our people, baseball is joy, Jessalyn Suarez, an office manager from Miami, said as she walked into the ballpark about an hour earlier. Today is joy. Today is not about anything else.She was like many other Venezuelan fans Friday wearing her team's jersey, her country's flag knotted loosely around her neck, the country's yellow-blue-red color scheme painted on her face and the faces of some of her friends.Unusual political times didn't seem to matter. Thousands of Venezuelans the stadium was maybe one-third filled for Venezuela vs. Netherlands on Friday, with the overwhelming majority of fans cheering for La Vinotinto showed up to watch their national team play on U.S. soil, two months after American forces executed a military operation in Venezuela to capture deposed leader Nicols Maduro and bring him to New York to face drug trafficking charges.Nobody is thinking about him today, Jesus Otero, a retired heavy machine operator from nearby Hialeah, said as he watched batting practice. He's not here.In the end, the Venezuelan fans left happy: Their team won the opener 6-2.There were a few Netherlands caps and shirts in the crowd but for the most part, the party was very Latin.At 10:30 a.m. outside the ballpark, more than 90 minutes before first pitch, fans arrived as music from Elsen Pro, Bacilos and Carlos Vives blared over giant speakers. At a gas station across the street from one of the parking garages, someone was selling Venezuela jerseys, caps and flags, all packed up into a couple of duffel bags that were serving as display cases.Inside, fans cheered from the very first pitch. Many had their phones out to grab video of the team being announcing, taping what was being shown on the huge screen in center field. The upper deck was almost entirely empty, but the lower deck especially on the third-base side, the one where Venezuela's dugout was was bustling.Venezuelan baseball fans are very motivated and involved with everything that happens with the team, said Nelson Zurita, a Venezuelan who calls Chile home but flew to Miami for the tournament. They are aware of every transaction in the anticipation to the Classic. The country will always be focused on sports but especially baseball. ... The players do not want to mix politics with baseball, but the country is completely behind them.There were no signs of protests outside the ballpark Friday; there was a presence of police officers and sheriff's deputies, but that seemed largely for standard security and traffic-control reasons. Fans were going through the usual sorts of ticket-checks and bag searches that are in place for Miami Marlins games and other events at the ballpark.WBC officials said the night game Friday Nicaragua vs. the Dominican Republic was a sellout, with more than 35,000 people in the ballpark. The announced attendance for the Venezuela-Netherlands game was 19,542.The presence of this team provides some relief from the everyday political stress, Zurita said. The emphasis instead is on the Classic. Baseball breathes new life.___AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Ronald Acua Jr. scored easily from third base for Venezuela at the World Baseball Classic, and about a half-dozen of his teammates hopped over the dugout railing to start a celebration.It was a 1-0 game. In the first inning. Didn't matter.For our people, baseball is joy, Jessalyn Suarez, an office manager from Miami, said as she walked into the ballpark about an hour earlier. Today is joy. Today is not about anything else.She was like many other Venezuelan fans Friday wearing her team's jersey, her country's flag knotted loosely around her neck, the country's yellow-blue-red color scheme painted on her face and the faces of some of her friends.Unusual political times didn't seem to matter. Thousands of Venezuelans the stadium was maybe one-third filled for Venezuela vs. Netherlands on Friday, with the overwhelming majority of fans cheering for La Vinotinto showed up to watch their national team play on U.S. soil, two months after American forces executed a military operation in Venezuela to capture deposed leader Nicols Maduro and bring him to New York to face drug trafficking charges.Nobody is thinking about him today, Jesus Otero, a retired heavy machine operator from nearby Hialeah, said as he watched batting practice. He's not here.In the end, the Venezuelan fans left happy: Their team won the opener 6-2.There were a few Netherlands caps and shirts in the crowd but for the most part, the party was very Latin.At 10:30 a.m. outside the ballpark, more than 90 minutes before first pitch, fans arrived as music from Elsen Pro, Bacilos and Carlos Vives blared over giant speakers. At a gas station across the street from one of the parking garages, someone was selling Venezuela jerseys, caps and flags, all packed up into a couple of duffel bags that were serving as display cases.Inside, fans cheered from the very first pitch. Many had their phones out to grab video of the team being announcing, taping what was being shown on the huge screen in center field. The upper deck was almost entirely empty, but the lower deck especially on the third-base side, the one where Venezuela's dugout was was bustling.Venezuelan baseball fans are very motivated and involved with everything that happens with the team, said Nelson Zurita, a Venezuelan who calls Chile home but flew to Miami for the tournament. They are aware of every transaction in the anticipation to the Classic. The country will always be focused on sports but especially baseball. ... The players do not want to mix politics with baseball, but the country is completely behind them.There were no signs of protests outside the ballpark Friday; there was a presence of police officers and sheriff's deputies, but that seemed largely for standard security and traffic-control reasons. Fans were going through the usual sorts of ticket-checks and bag searches that are in place for Miami Marlins games and other events at the ballpark.WBC officials said the night game Friday Nicaragua vs. the Dominican Republic was a sellout, with more than 35,000 people in the ballpark. The announced attendance for the Venezuela-Netherlands game was 19,542.The presence of this team provides some relief from the everyday political stress, Zurita said. The emphasis instead is on the Classic. Baseball breathes new life.___AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Gracie McGonigal says fans have been "unbelievable" since the release of season four.