#has to miss like all of february which includes several of the tournaments hes defending

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New Post has been published on https://techcrunchapp.com/todays-sports-news-what-you-need-to-know/

Today's sports news: What you need to know

Latest – Former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield has said he is open to facing one-time rival Mike Tyson in a trilogy fight for charity on the condition that Tyson asks for the bout to be set up.

Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Tyson, 53, fought two epic bouts with Holyfield, 57, during their professional careers, including their controversial 1997 encounter in which Tyson bit off a chunk of Holyfield’s ear.

‘Iron Mike’ had released several training videos in recent weeks fuelling speculation he could be returning to the ring, while Holyfield announced his return for a charity bout on Instagram earlier this month.

“If I ask him it’s almost like me being a bully saying I want to go against somebody I’ve beaten twice,” Holyfield told the BBC. “I don’t want pressure on me that ‘you just want to fight Mike because you know you can beat him’.

“If he hits me I’m going to hit back. I’m going to be 58, he’ll be 54, you talk about being in good health and doing things the proper way that respects it. I don’t have no problem with it.”

Tyson, the first heavyweight to hold the WBA, WBC and IBF titles, retired after a loss to Kevin McBride in 2005, while Holyfield called time on his career nine years later.

If they do return, they will be following in the footsteps of Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao in coming out of retirement for an exhibition fight.

-Reuters

England womens football called off

England’s womens football competitions, stalled by the Covid-19 crisis, have been ended with immediate effect.

Manchester City women Photo: PHOTOSPORT

The FA says the decision was taken to end the Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship following “overwhelming feedback from the clubs” and to give them the chance to “prepare and focus on next season.”

Manchester City were leading the Super League by a point from Chelsea, who had a game in hand.

The FA said no decision had yet been made on how the league winner or relegation to the Women’s Championship would be decided, or how entries for the 2020-21 UEFA Women’s Champions League would be determined.

Aston Villa were six points clear at the top of the Women’s Championship.

Top-flight English football’s men’s teams were given permission to resume training in small groups last week.

-Reuters

Remembering Jesse Owens

It was 85 years ago today that American sprint legend Jesse Owens set four world records.

Described by Sports Illustrated as the “Greatest 45 minutes ever in sports” history, Owens set records in the 100 yard, 220 yard, 220 yard hurdles and long jump.

He achieved the feat running for Ohio State at a College meeting in Michigan.

His tally was in fact six world records as he also achieved metric milestones in two of the races.

A year later Owens went on to win four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

-World Athletics

Baseball returning to Japan

Pro baseball is set to return in Japan with the Nippon Professional Baseball league to begin its 2020 season on June 19, as the government lifts restrictions aimed at stopping the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Games will initially be played without spectators, NPB Commissioner Atsushi Saito announced, without saying when fans may be able to return.

The NPB season was supposed to start on March 20 but has been delayed because of the coronavirus.

New cases in Japan have decreased significantly recently and a state of emergency imposed in April to help stop the virus is gradually being lifted and professional sport is being allowed to resume.

Two Japanese teams held intra-squad practice games in empty ballparks yesterday as they gear up for a return to action.

Several of Japan’s top football clubs, including Andres Iniesta’s Vissel Kobe, also began training on Monday.

-Reuters

Indian hockey legend dies

India’s three-times Olympic hockey gold medallist Balbir Singh has died at the age of 95 after a prolonged pulmonary illness.

Singh helped India win its first Olympic gold as an independent country at the 1948 London Games when they beat Britain 4-0 in the final. India then went on to defend the title at the next two Games in Helsinki and Melbourne.

Singh scored five goals in India’s 6-1 victory over the Netherlands in the 1952 final — a record that still stands. He also captained the country at the 1956 Games when they scored 38 goals in five matches and conceded none.

Following his retirement, Singh coached the Indian team which won the World Cup in 1975.

-Reuters

Reds okay with departing team-mates

Queensland Reds players harbour no ill will towards Wallabies lock Izack Rodda and two other team mates for rebelling against pay-cuts, the Super Rugby team’s captain Liam Wright said.

Rodda, flyhalf Isaac Lucas and lock Harry Hockings were released from their contracts last week after refusing to take pay-cuts signed off by the players union and governing body amid a financial crisis brought on by the coronavirus shutdown.

The three have been criticised heavily by former players and pundits for their stance, which has effectively ended their career in Australian rugby for the foreseeable future.

Wright, however, said the trio’s departure could bring the rest of the Reds playing group closer.

“It’ll definitely be a positive for us,” Wright said.

“We’ve lost some good mates but they’ll still be our mates and they’ve made their decision. This group can only get stronger through it.

“It just makes sure that everyone who wants to be here is really willing to put in.”

Rodda missed out of the Reds captaincy to South Africa-born flanker Wright and there were reports of friction between the lock and the team’s hard-nosed coach Brad Thorn.

The three players, who are all managed by the same agent, are expected to look overseas for playing opportunities.

-Reuters

Kvitova happy to be back

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova is happy to finally play tennis again for fans around the world – even if they can only watch on television.

Czech tennis star Petra Kvitova. Photo: Photosport/Icon Sportswire

The world number 12 will headline an all-Czech tournament in Prague starting today without spectators, handshakes or the usual towel service.

The return to action is one of the first after pro tennis tours were suspended in early March as countries went into lockdown to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.

Some exhibition events without fans have been held in countries like Germany and the United States while more are planned elsewhere in the coming weeks.

Kvitova last played at the Qatar Open in February where she lost in the final to Belarus’s Aryna Sabalenka. She said finding rhythm and playing without support would be the hardest part returning.

“That it will be without people is something I still can’t imagine at all,” she told a news conference on Monday.

“We will play some nice tennis… I think we are mainly here to bring tennis back not only to the Czech Republic, but to the world, too.”

The tournament, with eight players in both the men’s and women’s draw, will resemble regular tennis as much as possible.

-Reuters

Ban on cricket spit only temporary

A recommendation banning the use of saliva to shine a cricket ball when the sport resumes after the novel coronavirus shutdown is only a temporary measure, Anil Kumble, the chairman of the International Cricket Council’s Cricket Committee, said.

Cricketers have used the age-old method of shining one side of the ball with a combination of saliva and sweat to help bowlers generate more movement in the air as it travels towards the batsman.

However, as part of efforts aimed at minimizing the risk of spreading the virus, the governing body’s cricket committee has recommended the ban on using spit.

“We have been very critical and we have been very focused on eliminating any external substances coming into the game,” former India leg-spinner Kumble said on Star Sports’ Cricket Connected.

“This is only an interim measure and as long as we have hopefully control over COVID in a few months or a year’s time then I think things will go back to as normal as it can be.”

Australia quick Pat Cummins has said cricket’s lawmakers should approve the use of an artificial substance to shine the ball if the ban on saliva was enacted, while compatriot Josh Hazlewood has said it would difficult to police such a ban.

-Reuters

New Zealand to host tennis tournament

The prize-money is paltry, the field lacks star power and the tournament director is busy hammering out the draw while locked down in quarantine.

But New Zealand will be proud to revive elite tennis next week when it stages the “Premier League” in Auckland, marking the southern hemisphere’s first pro competition since the Covid-19 pandemic brought global sport to a halt.

The men’s team-based tournament will run for three weeks from June 3, giving tennis-starved fans something to watch in the absence of the pinnacle ATP and WTA tours, which have been suspended since early March.

It will also have the sporting spotlight exclusively in New Zealand for its opening 10 days, having left professional rugby’s June 13 restart in the dust.

All 112 matches will be staged without the general public in the terraces but the games will be broadcast live on Sky Sport’s Youtube channel, Sky Sport Next.

“Yeah, it’s a big thing,” Tennis New Zealand’s commercial manager Gareth Archer told Reuters.

“As soon as rugby starts there’s probably no more talk about (anything else) in New Zealand so to get a week or two on them is a good thing.”

-Reuters

[junker-town]

The Celtics are going back to their future

It’s time to see how Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown can develop.

Kyrie Irving and Al Horford are out. Kemba Walker and a bunch of tall guys who are not Horford are in. Also gone are Terry Rozier, Aron Baynes, and presumably Marcus Morris. One by choice, one by trade, and the other by market forces. That’s more than half the rotation of the most disappointing team in the league gone in a week.

Still in Boston, somewhat surprisingly given what the Celtics hoped to accomplish this summer, are both of the Jays: Brown and Tatum. With Brown entering his fourth season and Tatum his third, their development becomes the most important franchise consideration for the first time in their careers.

Also, still in Boston: Marcus Smart, who is the team’s conscience and soul to such a degree that he was at the top of everyone’s please do not trade this guy list. Oh and Gordon Hayward too, another year removed from the catastrophic leg injury that did as much to derail their fortunes as any other variable you care to mention. And finally, in are a trio of rookies who will compete for rotation minutes with a handful of other young holdovers.

This wasn’t the summer the Celtics envisioned, but it’s the one that became reality whenever Irving decided to check out of their orbit. Some say that was around February. Others say it was earlier than that. Maybe it was May. Doesn’t matter, really. Kyrie didn’t vibe with the C’s and they didn’t meet him on his level. Or maybe it was the other way around.

Irving’s exit heralded Horford’s departure and thus concludes a bizarre mini-era in Celtic basketball that veered wildly between gritty overachieving and sadly underwhelming. When the environment was positive, their culture was the envy of the league. When it turned negative, the Garden was depressing as hell.

Considering the way it ended, with Irving leaving for Brooklyn and Horford signing with Philadelphia, they will not be remembered fondly. In the decade or so I’ve been around the team, this was easily the most reviled Celtic team I’ve covered. They were booed often and honestly. The fans here are many things, but dumb is definitely not one of them. They know bullshit effort when they see it and that was the case far too often.

All of that is a shame because for a while the Celtics were the embodiment of a connected basketball team: smart, tough, and unselfish. That they couldn’t build on that momentum will go down as one of the great missed opportunities in recent memory.

Left in its wake is a franchise in transition. This should still be a playoff team, but most importantly, the 2019-20 Celtics have a chance to rebuild the spirit of a team that lost its way amid the cacophonous calamity of weirdness that consumed everything else in sight.

***

The Celtics that we will see this season will be a little bit different from the ones we’ve seen the last few years, and markedly different from the superteam dream scenario that never actually materialized.

Their offense with Walker in place of Irving and Enes Kanter in for Horford could be tremendous. They have shooting, spacing, and shot creation with Walker, Brown, Tatum, and Hayward. They drafted players who actually get to the free-throw line and they signed Kanter for whom offensive rebounding is like breathing.

Their defense without Horford and Baynes figures to take several steps back. They still have a handful of tough defenders — Smart, in particular — but Horford and Baynes erased a lot of mistakes.

They should still be a playoff team, especially if Hayward can recapture his form. If all goes well, they might even be a top-four seed in an Eastern Conference that once again lacks clarity beyond the handful of top few contenders.

Getting there will be tougher, though. With or without Kawhi Leonard, the Raptors will be formidable. Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks are running back a 60-win team. The Pacers got better. The Sixers arguably got better, and at Boston’s expense. The Heat added Jimmy Butler and figure to be a lot better.

The Nets will also be better with Irving. It will be endlessly fascinating to see which team has the better season, considering Irving’s joining another young team on the rise while Kevin Durant recovers from his Achilles tear.

And here we are getting dragged back into Kyrie’s world.

Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

Let’s stipulate here and now that Irving is a better player than Walker. Kyrie is a better shooter, and a craftier playmaker. He’s also two years younger and owns a far deeper postseason resume, one that includes an iconic shot in Game 7 of the Finals.

If you are trying to become a bellwether franchise, one that attracts prime free-agent talent to your side, you absolutely prefer Kyrie over Kemba. Over the years we’ve heard that Butler, Anthony Davis, and Kevin Durant would all love to team up with Kyrie in a market to be determined.

The Celtics thought that would be Boston with AD. Turns out the place was Brooklyn and the teammate was KD. That’s a gut punch for a franchise that dreamed up big plans even when the future seemed bright enough to light its own path.

It was a high-wire act that ended badly, but because the Celtics operated on multiple levels, the recovery isn’t as gruesome as one would have suspected. They still have an array of young talent to build around, and in Walker they have an All-NBA replacement for their departed All-NBA guard.

Because he’s played in Charlotte throughout his career with a personality that is best described as low-key, Walker has never been thought of as one of those guys. “Basketball royalty,” as Danny Ainge put it to me several years ago describing Kyrie back when everything was wide open and accessible for the Celtics.

But Kemba is very, very good. A self-made shooter who has never enjoyed the benefit of playing with a second star with the Hornets, Walker turned himself into a franchise player. A three-time all-star and third-team All-NBA performer, Walker was in line to sign a supermax deal that would keep him in Charlotte throughout his prime. The Hornets balked, the Celtics pounced, and now Walker is in Boston.

He arrives with a reputation as rock solid as his game: a no-nonsense clutch player who leads by example. Walker should thrive playing in Brad Stevens’ offense, much like Isaiah Thomas several years prior. The trick for Walker and Stevens will be developing a comprehensive strategy to unleash Kemba and empower the talented trio of wings as they try to get their careers back on track.

Brown and Tatum didn’t really regress. It’s true that their development stalled last season, but their production was more or less in line with what they’ve achieved in the past. Now it’s time for Tatum to progress as a scorer and Brown to continue working toward becoming a star caliber two-way threat.

Hayward also holds the promise of a stronger season, one that looks a lot more like the player the Celtics thought they were getting in the summer of 2017. They, along with Walker, represent the strength of this team. Figuring out how they all play together without Horford’s steady and unselfish presence is the point of this season.

Replacing Horford will be much, much tougher. A consummate pro, a wonderful defender, and a skilled playmaker, Horford was the epitome of a great teammate. That some people didn’t appreciate his many contributions is their problem, and their loss, frankly. Watching Horford play night after night was like witnessing a masterclass in positioning and spacing.

There was no way to replicate all the elements Horford brings to the equation given the limited means to acquire big men under the cap. They settled on Kanter, who is to offense what Horford is to defense. A skilled offensive rebounder with a nice touch, Kanter would be a superstar if not for his defensive limitations, which have been considerable throughout his career.

There will be opportunity for Robert Williams, who flashed a handful of holy shit moments in limited minutes. Holdover Daniel Theis and Euro import Vincent Porier are big, defensive-minded centers. Rugged Semi Ojeleye will also get a chance to prove he is more than just a matchup player who earns spot minutes.

The rookies are interesting, too. Romeo Langford was touted as a top-five pick before a thumb injury distorted his freshman season at Indiana. Grant Williams left Tennessee as a decorated tough-minded forward. Point guard Carsen Edwards was the breakout star of the NCAA Tournament. There’s a lot of talent for Stevens to absorb into a cohesive rotation, which again, is the point of this season.

Add it all together and the Celtics aren’t really rebuilding. They’re retooling. Few franchises have that luxury after experiencing their disaster scenario, but that’s the benefit of laying a solid foundation. Now we’ll see just how far that can take them.

[writingguide003-blog]

March Madness 2018: our writers predict the winners, sleepers and upsets

New Post has been published on https://writingguideto.com/must-see/march-madness-2018-our-writers-predict-the-winners-sleepers-and-upsets/

March Madness 2018: our writers predict the winners, sleepers and upsets

Will anyone stop Villanova? Who is this years Cinderella team? Our writers break down the bracket for the NCAA tournament

South regional

Favorite

Virginia. The Cavaliers have been the nations best team for the last two months and play ferocious defense. But as good as theyve been and they have been very good history is not on their side. Despite several outstanding regular seasons, they never seem to have enough to make the Final Four. Will this one be different? LC

Virginia. The Cavaliers are the No1 overall seed in the tournament for good reason. Theyre 31-2, just won the ACC regular season and tournament, and boast the nations best defense allowing just 53.4 points per game. Their issue in tournaments past has been scoring enough to beat highly talented teams. Last years 39-point output in a second-round loss to Florida remains an all-time horror show of offensive basketball. DG

Virginia. Its the Cavaliers on paper, but questions abound. With an average of 59.2 possessions per game, they were the slowest of the 351 teams in Division I this year, albeit with the best defensive efficiency in the country. Will that extreme approach hold up in a regional stacked with in-form contenders like No2 Cincinnati, No4 Arizona and No5 Kentucky? BAG

Dark horse

Strange to call Kentucky a dark horse and yet John Caliparis latest group of one-and-dones spent much of the season trying to catch up to the college game. This has led many to believe they are not a true Kentucky team. But the Wildcats have won seven of their last eight, including the SEC tournament title. This could well be another Final Four Kentucky team. LC

Is it possible to call the NBA factory that is Kentucky a dark horse? Well, they do have 10 losses on the season, a grand total of two junior and zero seniors on the roster and were awarded with just a 5-seed by the tournament committee despite winning the SEC tournament. John Calipari has his latest young team peaking at the right time. DG

Loyola-Chicago, the No11 seed, fits the profile of the unheralded mid-major that inevitably crashes the Sweet 16. The Ramblers are tight on defense (24th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency), lights out from the floor (eighth nationally in effective field-goal percentage) and have a high-profile scalp under their belts (winning on Floridas home court in December). Miami and Tennessee, beware. BAG

First-round game to watch

Arizona v Buffalo. The Pac-12 champions could be walking into trouble when they meet the Bulls on Thursday night. Though the Wildcats have done a great job of ignoring the controversy surrounding coach Sean Miller and potential payments, those questions will come again at the NCAAs. Buffalo is a tenacious, experienced team that will give Arizona trouble. LC

Kentucky v Davidson. Davidson, the program that produced Steph Curry, has the potential to produce some bracket mayhem. Fresh off of leading his team to a surprising win in the Atlantic 10 tournament, senior forward Peyton Aldridge will see what he can do against the freshmen and sophomores of the Wildcats. DG

Kentucky v Davidson. Two of the nations hottest teams face off in Boise. The Wildcats may be peaking at the right time, but theyll have their hands full with the red-hot Atlantic 10 champions. BG

One bold prediction

Like many of the countrys top teams, Cincinnati has been very good defensively. But can they score? They earned a second seed with their relentless defense and yet their offensive struggles could cost them in the second round against either Nevada or Texas. LC

No1 overall seed Virginia doesnt get past the Sweet 16. Not enough offense will doom the Cavaliers again, as they are overwhelmed by the superior athleticism of Kentucky or DeAndre Ayton and Arizona in the Sweet 16. DG

Loyola-Chicago becomes the highest seed to make this years Sweet 16 as former Iowa State point guard Clayton Custer (13.4 points, 4.3 assists, 1.5 steals), the Missouri Valley Conference player of the year, emerges as this years Ali Faroukmanesh.

Sweet 16 picks

Virginia, Kentucky, Miami, Nevada. LC

Virginia, Cincinnati, Arizona, Miami. DG

Virginia, Cincinnati, Kentucky, Loyola-Chicago. BG

Final Four pick

Kentucky. LC

Arizona. DG

Virginia. BG

Will this be the year Virginia finally makes their Final Four breakthrough? Photograph: Jamie Rhodes/USA Today Sports

West regional

Favorite

North Carolina. The Tar Heels have been two straight national championship games and until they lose they have to be the favorites to go again. They can shoot and come into the tournament on a tremendous roll. Dont be fooled by the No2 seeding, this is the biggest name in the quarter. LC

North Carolina. The Xavier Musketeers are the No1 seed in the regional, but UNCs tournament pedigree is hard to discount. Six Final Four appearances since 2000 alone, including winning last years national title, compared to zero Final Four appearances for Xavier in its history. The experience of senior guard Joel Berry II will be huge in helping the Tar Heels get through tight, pressure-packed tournament games. DG

North Carolina. No disrespect to Xavier, who earned the first No1 seed in school history by hanging in or around the top 10 from December on. But the talent-stacked defending national champions are a No2 seed in name only. BG

Dark horse

Missouri is a tricky team to judge. The Tigers have the nations top recruit, Michael Porter Jr, back after he missed the whole regular season following back surgery. Though Porter seems a step slow, hes a great scorer and Missouri which plays excellent can bury teams from outside. LC

Missouri and its all thanks to Michael Porter Jr. The freshman was supposed to be one of the top players in the nation this year, but was injured in the first half of the Tigers season opener in early November. His first game back was last Thursday. If Porter is close to 100%, the Tigers are a dangerous 8-seed. DG

Providence. The Friars knocked off Xavier in the Big East tournament semis and pushed Villanova to the limit in Saturdays final. No one at the Garden last week would be surprised if Ed Cooleys squad played into the second weekend. BG

First-round game to watch

Houston v San Diego State. Sixth-seeded Houston has made some good teams look very bad this season. Likewise, No11 San Diego State has played some excellent defense lately. This Thursday night game could be one of the best of the first round. LC

Ohio State v South Dakota State. Some more possible 5-12 upset magic. The 12-seed Jackrabbits fittingly play an up tempo game, averaging 84.9 points per game sixth-best in the country including 23.8 points per game from junior forward Mike Daum, while the Buckeyes have scored more than 80 points just once in their past 14 games. DG

Ohio State v South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits Mike Daum is more than the tournaments best nickname (The Dauminator): he may be the best NBA prospect youve never heard of. Against a fifth-seeded Buckeyes side that looked vulnerable down the stretch, an upset could be in the stars.

One bold prediction

Gonzaga will fall early.Last year the Zags finally made a Final Four, going all the way to the title game. The same will not happen this year. Gonzaga has had their share of early exits over the years and this will be another one. LC

Gonzaga makes the Final Four again. After finally making it to the national title game last year, the Bulldogs went 30-4 this season and are on a 14-game winning streak. So they were rewarded with … a No4 seed? Watch out for a balanced Bulldogs side. DG

Xavier becomes the first No1 seed to fall. Perhaps not so bold given the lack of collective confidence around the Musketeers nationally, but an all-Catholic school clash with Gonzaga in the Sweet 16 is where their dream season will end. BG

Sweet 16 picks

North Carolina, Michigan, Ohio State, Missouri. LC

Xavier, North Carolina, Michigan, Gonzaga. DG

Xavier, North Carolina, Michigan, Gonzaga. BG

Final Four pick

North Carolina. LC

Gonzaga. DG

North Carolina. BG

Garrison Brooks and the the North Carolina Tar Heels are gunning for a second straight national title. Photograph: Al Bello/Getty Images

East regional

Favorite

Villanova. The national champion from two years ago is as talented as any team in the country and plays together beautifully. The Wildcats coach, Jay Wright, used to be mocked as a poor NCAA tournament coach. No longer. Villanova is for real. LC

Villanova. After stumbling through the month of February and losing three of its four games on the season, the No1 seed Wildcats seem to have found their footing again, winning five games in a row and by an average of 15 points per game. Head coach Jay Wright will surely remind his players of last years disappointing second-round exit for extra motivation. DG

Villanova. Jay Wright has built something special on the Main Line. The Wildcats fourth straight 30-win season pressed forward on Saturday with a third Big East tournament championship in four years. And the committee has done them a solid by placing them in what appears to be the easiest regional after last years stinger of a draw. BG

Dark horse

West Virginia. Late in the Big 12 season, West Virginia stumbled and slipped to a five seed, but this is a dangerous team. The Mountaineers have an aggressive backcourt with experienced players who love to grind through games. Nobody likes to face teams coached by Bob Huggins in the postseason, especially the way they play defense. This one is no exception. LC

Marshall. Jon Elmore is the kind of player who can carry teams on Cinderella runs if he gets hot. The junior guard averages nearly eight three-point attempts per game and hit on 7-of-13 in the Conference USA title game. More of that in the tournament could see the 13-seed Thundering Herd make noise. DG

Florida. Last years Gators outplayed their seeding line by making the Elite Eight as a No4 before they were clipped by seventh-seeded South Carolina. The four-guard offense behind this seasons team (Jalen Hudson, Egor Koulechov, KeVaughn Allen and Chris Chiozza) should be enough to score upsets of No3 Texas Tech, No2 Purdue and maybe even the top-seeded Wildcats. BG

First-round game to watch

Florida has a six seed and plays the winner of a play-in game on Thursday but their draw is a challenging one. The Gators are a talented but live and die by the three-pointer. They will either face a resilient, senior-dominated St Bonaventure or a UCLA team that is good enough to beat anyone when shooting well. LC

West Virginia v Murray State. If youre looking for the customary 12-v-5-seed upset, heres the best option. The Racers are on a 13-game winning streak while the 5-seed Mountaineers have dropped half of their last 18 games after starting the season 15-1. DG

Wichita State v Marshall. The Shockers, typically on the friendly end of March Madness upsets, will find themselves in the Goliath role against the fast-paced Thundering Herd, who average 74.8 possessions per game, the sixth fastest pace in Division I.

One bold prediction

Purdue dominated the Big 10 for much of the season but this is not necessarily an NCAA tournament team. Dont be surprised to see Arkansas knock them off in the second round. LC

UCLA loses the 11-seed play-in game to St Bonaventure, causing LaVar Ball to rip the Bruins into the nearest microphone. OK, so maybe thats not a wildly bold prediction. DG

At least one No13 seed has beaten a No4 in 23 of the last 33 tournaments. Marshalls shock win over Wichita State in a track meet will make it 24 of 34. BG

Sweet 16 picks

Villanova, West Virginia, Arkansas, St Bonaventure. LC

Villanova, Purdue, Texas Tech, Murray State. DG

Villanova, Purdue, Texas Tech, West Virginia. BG

Final Four pick

Villanova. LC

Villanova. DG

Villanova. BG

Villanovas Jalen Brunson helped the Wildcats to a third Big East tournament championship in four years. Photograph: Danny Wild/USA Today Sports

Midwest regional

Favorite

Duke. No matter where Duke is seeded they are always the team to beat in any bracket. The Blue Devils are a second seed this year and it doesnt matter. Until Duke loses, the region will be considered theirs to lose. Star freshman Marvin Bagley III (who should be in high school still) has been tremendous as has Grayson Allen. LC

Michigan State. The Spartans went 29-4 in a Power Five conference, have Tom Izzo and all that tournament pedigree, and yet were given just a 4-seed. One of the Spartans losses this year came by seven points to Duke back in early November. Look for them to flip the outcome against the 2-seed Blue Devils in the Sweet 16. DG

Duke. If all teams are roaring at full cylinders, Ill take the Blue Devils over any team in the quarter. The likely Sweet 16 showdown with Michigan State is dripping with game of the tournament potential.

Dark horse

Rhode Island. Dan Hurley is undoubtedly coaching his final games at Kinston. He will be moving somewhere big very soon. His teams are aggressive, play great defense and make opponents do silly things when passing the ball. But can the Rams beat Duke? Rhode Island got a terrible second game draw. LC

College of Charleston. Head coach Earl Grant is being mentioned as a candidate for open Power Five jobs for good reason. In his four seasons at Charleston, he has gone from 9-24 to 17-14 to 25-10 and an NIT birth to 26-7 and a 13-seed in this years NCAA tournament. The Cougars open against a struggling Auburn team that has lost four of six. DG

Rhode Island. Rhody has a chance to make a true splash in the Big Dance for the first time since the years of Tyson Wheeler, Cuttino Mobley and Antonio Reynolds-Dean. If they can spring an second-round upset of mighty Duke, who havent proven completely unassailable in the early rounds, the sky is the limit.

First-round game to watch

Clemson v New Mexico State. Clemson can shoot and that makes the Tigers, seeded fifth, dangerous. But the 12th seed New Mexico State has a tremendous shooter of their own in Zach Lofton and the Aggies are an excellent defensive team. This game screams upset. LC

Oklahoma v Rhode Island. The 10-seed Sooners are the team most say doesnt deserve to be in the field. On Thursday afternoon, freshman scorer Trae Young (27.7 points per game) and friends will get to make their case that they belong. DG

Oklahoma v Rhode Island. Sooners freshman Trae Young became the first ever player to lead the nation in scoring and assists but hes been written off after an extended slump dating back to January. Look for him to bounce back in a big way over the next two games, giving Rhode Island (and possibly Duke) all it can handle during the first weekend. BG

One bold prediction

Kansas with their guard-heavy lineup will be knocked out by the Sweet 16, perhaps by North Carolina State, an intriguing nine seed and possible second game opponent. The Jayhawks are good and scrambled at seasons end to win their Big 12 title but they are vulnerable to tough inside teams. LC

Duke senior Grayson Allen makes is through the entire tournament without trying to hurt anyone. Hell need to behave for just three games for this prediction to come true, as Duke will fall in the Sweet 16 to Michigan State. DG

I cant quite bring myself to pick North Carolina State over Kansas in the second round, but Im sure the Wolfpack, who beat Duke and Arizona this season, will give the Jayhawks everything they can handle with a Sweet 16 berth on the line. BG

Sweet 16 picks

Duke, Michigan State, Auburn, NC State. LC

Kansas, Duke, Michigan State, College of Charleston. DG

Kansas, Duke, Michigan State, Auburn. BG

Final Four pick

Duke. LC

Michigan State. DG

Duke. BG

Dukes Grayson Allen has the Blue Devils pointed toward yet another Final Four appearance. Photograph: Mark Dolejs/USA Today Sports

Who will win it all?

Villanova over North Carolina. Why not a repeat of 2016? However, this time the Wildcats wont wait to win on a buzzer-beater. Instead, they will coast through the second half and establish a new dynasty on the Main Line and send Wright to the Hall of Fame. LC

Villanova over Gonzaga. Jay Wright has quietly strung together a five-year run at Villanova that any program in history would happily take: 159 wins, four Big East regular season titles, three conference tournament titles and a national title. Cutting down the nets again this year will give his program the national respects it deserves. DG

Villanova over Virginia. Make it two national titles in three years for Wright, whose tiny Catholic school powerhouse on Philadelphias Main Line will make the jump to dynasty status after cutting down the nets in San Antonio. BG

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us

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Live Update: The Latest: Amateurs hope to grow golf in native countries

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Live Update: The Latest: Amateurs hope to grow golf in native countries

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) The Latest on the Masters (all times local):

5:25 p.m.

Jordan Spieth admittedly felt a little panic last month at the Valspar Championship in Palm Harbor, Florida.

Article continues below …

Spieth shot a 6-over 76 in the opening round and missed the cut the following day.

”I made big strides in the last two weeks to get from kind of a panic place to a very calm, collected and confident place,” Spieth said two days before the Masters. ”It’s difficult to do in two weeks. Sometimes it takes years. And I feel like I’ve been able to speed that process up a lot over the last couple weeks.”

Spieth believes he got off to a slow start in 2018 partly because he was sick for most of December. Taking a few lengthy flights in January didn’t help him recover. He missed the cut in Phoenix in early February and reached a low point – especially with his usually steady putter – in the Tampa Bay area two months later.

He says, ”You’re like, `What the heck happened?”’

The 2015 Masters champion feels like he found his previous form last week at the Houston Open, when he finished tied for third.

Spieth says his ”iron play and off the tee (have) been fantastic, just like it was last year.”

He says, ”It’s just been about just finding the (putting) setup that I had for a couple years that I kind of got a little stiff and away from recently. So settling into that from round one will be important, but I feel like last week was a tremendous stepping stone in the right direction.”

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4:45 p.m.

Phil Mickelson agrees with anyone who believes this is the most anticipated Masters in years or decades, maybe even ever.

And not just because of Tiger Woods‘ return.

Mickelson, who played a rare practice round with Woods on Tuesday, says ”there’s a lot of players, a lot of the top quality players, young and old, are playing some of their best golf. I think that’s going to lead to one of the most exciting Masters in years.”

Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Justin Rose, Bubba Watson, Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Woods and Mickelson are among the favorites. Johnson, Thomas, McIlroy, Rahm, Rose, Watson, Day and Mickelson already have won this season.

And Woods looks capable of joining them.

Even Lefty is cheering for his longtime rival.

Mickelson says ”nobody respects and appreciates” what Woods has done for the game more than he does ”because nobody’s benefited from what he’s done for the game of golf more than I have.”

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2:45 p.m.

Rory McIlroy knows how significant this Masters could be in terms of golf history.

Once again, he’s got a shot at the career Grand Slam.

The Masters remains the only major championship to elude McIlroy, who has won the U.S. Open, the British Open and the PGA Championship. Only five players have captured all four of the modern major championships, making it one of golf’s most exclusive clubs.

McIlroy says he needs to ”relish the opportunity that’s been put in front” of him, and then ”go out and grab it.”

Amazingly enough, McIlroy nearly won his first major at Augusta National in 2011. He led after each of the first three rounds and seemed to be cruising toward the green jacket, only to collapse on the back nine Sunday.

McIlroy says that experience made him ”a better golfer, a better person.” Without the lessons learned that day, he doubts that he would’ve had so much success.

While he hasn’t come as close to winning as he did seven years ago, McIlroy has always played well at Augusta National, finishing in the top 10 each of the last four years.

He comes into this year’s event off a win at Bay Hill, giving him plenty of confidence that this can finally be the year he finally breaks through.

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2:30 p.m.

Shubhankar Sharma got his first glimpse of childhood hero Tiger Woods at the Masters on Tuesday.

Well, sort of.

”I saw his bag outside the clubhouse with his caddie,” Sharma said with a smile.

The 21-year-old golfer from India, a rising star on the European Tour, is making his Masters debut and has his sights set on meeting Woods.

He first saw him at the Delhi Golf Club in 2014. Sharma, his father and several friends were among the thousands crammed throughout the tight course to watch Woods play an exhibition round.

”We were pretty much running from one green to another,” he said. ”It was a great thing. Tiger has been a big inspiration not only to me but to a lot of kids back home, so it was just great to watch him play in person and got to learn a lot.”

Sharma expects to top that feeling this week at Augusta National. And it starts with meeting Woods.

”Tiger has a different aura about him and just the player that he is and how he dominated the world of golf is something,” he said. ”It definitely will be a fanboy moment for me when I go and say hi to him.”

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1:45 p.m.

Tiger Wood calls his comeback ”a miracle.”

Woods is playing the Masters for the first time since 2015, after going through spinal fusion surgery to relieve chronic back pain.

The four-time Augusta champion says he doesn’t ”know anybody who had lower back fusion and can swing the club as fast as I can swing it.”

After myriad health problems, Woods seems to have his game in order heading into the first major of the year. He’s listed as one of the co-favorites, even though the last of his 14 major titles came nearly a decade ago at the U.S. Open.

Woods last won the Masters in 2005. He couldn’t play the last two years because of back issues, which he describes as ”very, very difficult.” He watched as much of the tournament as he could on television, but adds that ”it’s even more fun playing.”

Woods like his chance this week. In his words, ”This is a tournament where it really helps to have experience” and he has ”an understanding of how to play this particular golf course.”

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12:35 p.m.

Tiger Woods will tee off at 10:42 a.m. Thursday in the first round of the Masters. Woods will be paired with Marc Leishman and Tommy Fleetwood.

Defending champion Sergio Garcia, Justin Thomas and amateur Doc Redman will be in the group behind Woods. Bubba Watson, Henrik Stenson and Jason Day will tee off behind them, creating a star-studded stretch of golf at the year’s first major.

Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler and Matt Kuchar will tee off in the afternoon, at 1:27 p.m.

Rory McIlroy, who is going for the career Grand Slam, tees off at 1:38 p.m., followed by 2015 Masters champion Jordan Spieth. World No. 1 Dustin Johnson is in the final group, which tees off at 2 p.m. Johnson had to drop out of the tournament last year after injuring himself in a fall.

The tournament will begin at 8:15 a.m. with ceremonial tee shots from Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.

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12:15 p.m.

Lin Yuxin and Joaquin Niemann hope their appearance at Augusta National will help golf become more popular in their home countries.

Lin earned his spot at the Masters by capturing the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship last October, making him one of two players from China in the field. Niemann won the Latin American Amateur title in January in his native Chile.

”The game in China is just getting bigger and bigger,” the 17-year-old Lin said. ”I can see a lot of young kids playing, starting to play golf when they are like 5 or 6. … I can see a bunch of kids on the range every day at practice and, yeah, the game in China is just getting really popular. Everyone seems to enjoy it and they love it.”

The 19-year-old Niemann said the sport still has some catching up to do in Chile.

”But there’s still a lot of people that play golf that love the Masters,” he added. ”When I was a child, it was a dream to be here. When I was like 4 or 5 years old, I was watching the Masters on TV. So it feels nice to be here.”

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11:50 a.m.

Justin Thomas no longer gets questions about when he’s going to capture his first major title.

He took care of that last year at the PGA Championship, which made his news conference Tuesday at Augusta National a lot more pleasant.

”Not getting questions on a day like today: When do you feel like you’re going to get your first major? Or, do you feel like you’re one of the best players without a major?” Thomas said. ”I was glad to get that over with as quick as I could.”

Thomas is coming off an amazing season that included five victories in all, as well as a FedEx Cup championship. He’s off to another stellar start in 2018 with a pair of wins.

That makes Thomas one of the players to beat at the first major of the season.

”When I get in those scenarios or when I have a chance to win a big tournament, or any tournament, I’m able to look back at the PGA Championship and just remember the things that I went through the feelings I felt, the emotions that I had, and just try to kind of learn from that and use it to my advantage,” he said.

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For more AP golf coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/apf-Golf

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