Yahoo Sports AM: The Gators win their third title
Yahoo Sports AM is our daily newsletter that keeps you up to date on all things sports. Sign up here to get it every weekday morning.
🏆 Glory for Gators, heartbreak for Houston
68 teams entered, one team won it all. ()
Florida cut down the nets on Monday night in San Antonio after beating Houston, 65-63, in a game where they trailed almost the entire time.
Time with lead:
Florida: 1:04
Houston: 30:44
Back on top: The Cougars forced the Gators to play their game, but in the end they played it better, securing their third national championship and denying Houston its first.
Houston falls to 0-3 in title games. ()
From Yahoo Sports' Jeff Eisenberg:
Houston once again has failed to shed the unwanted label of men's college basketball's greatest program never to win a national title. The Cougars have now made seven Final Fours and three title games without experiencing the joy of cutting down nets.
This time the heartbreak came at the hands of a Florida program that entered rarified air by winning a third national title. Only the bluest of blue bloods — UCLA (11), Kentucky (8), UConn (6), North Carolina (6), Duke (5), Indiana (5) and Kansas (4) — have more.
That Florida rallied from a 12-point deficit early in the second half was a fitting way for the Gators to finish this memorable run. They trailed by six or more points in the second half in four of their six NCAA tournament victories.
They fell behind by nine points against Auburn early in the second half of Saturday's Final Four matchup and by as many as 10 points against Texas Tech in the Elite Eight.
"We didn't point fingers, didn't start to make hero plays, gambling defensively," said head coach Todd Golden. Added guard Alijah Martin, "We never blinked. Now we're national champs."
🎶 Watch: One Shining Moment
📊 By the numbers: Masters week
Can Scottie repeat at Augusta? ()
⛳️ +450
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler is the betting favorite (+450 at BetMGM) to win his third green jacket, which is something only eight men have accomplished. Rory McIlroy (+650) has the second-best odds and the most wagers (10.6%) of any golfer in the field.
⛳️ Eight lefties
There are eight left-handed golfers in the 2025 Masters field, the most in the history of the tournament. They are: Phil Mickelson (3x winner), Bubba Watson (2x winner), Mike Weir (1x winner), Akshay Bhatia, Brian Harman, Joe Highsmith, Bob MacIntyre and Matt McCarty.
Watch: Do lefties have an advantage at Augusta National?
⛳️ 41st start
Two-time champion Bernhard Langer will make his 41st and final Masters start this week. Just how long has the 67-year-old been around? Gene Sarazen, born in 1902, was in the field when Langer played his first major (1976 Open); Tom Kim, born in 2002, will be in the field when he plays his last.
⛳️ $1.50
For the 23rd consecutive year, the Pimento Cheese sandwich at the Masters will cost $1.50. The popular menu item cost $1 back in 1997, but factoring for inflation, the sandwich is actually 50 cents cheaper today.
📸 Through the lens
()
Washington, D.C. — President Trump hosted the Dodgers at the White House on Monday to celebrate their World Series victory, and later met with Shohei Ohtani in the Oval Office.
()
Augusta, Georgia — The first practice round of Masters week was canceled due to rain. Fortunately, the forecast looks much better for the rest of the week, including plenty of sunshine for Sunday's finish.
Grigor Dimitrov plays a shot at the Monte Carlo Masters. ()
Monte Carlo, Monaco — The men's clay court season began this week, and for the first time in 25 years, it did so without the "King of Clay," himself, Rafael Nadal.
🏀 NBA playoff race: The West is wild
(Amy Monks/Yahoo Sports)
With college hoops now in the rearview, we shift our attention to the NBA, where teams are jockeying for playoff positioning in the final week of the regular season.
Where it stands: The East is set, with the playoff and play-in teams locked and only seeding yet to be determined. But in the West, nine teams' fates still hang in the balance.
The Wild West: While the Thunder and Rockets have clinched and the bottom four teams have been eliminated, the rest of the conference is ripe for reshuffling.
The Lakers, Nuggets, Clippers, Warriors, Timberwolves and Grizzlies are separated by just two games as they chase four guaranteed playoff spots.
The two who come up short will enter the play-in tournament, where they'll be joined by two of the Kings, Mavericks and Suns.
Coming up: Here are the remaining schedules for those nine teams in the Western Conference's messy middle:
Lakers: at Thunder (Tue), at Mavericks (Wed), vs. Rockets (Fri), at Trail Blazers (Sun)
Nuggets: at Kings (Wed), vs. Grizzlies (Fri), at Rockets (Sun)
Clippers: vs. Spurs (Tue), vs. Rockets (Wed), at Kings (Fri), at Warriors (Sun)
Warriors: at Suns (Tue), vs. Spurs (Wed), at Trail Blazers (Fri), vs. Clippers (Sun)
Timberwolves: at Bucks (Tue), at Grizzlies (Thu), vs. Nets (Fri), vs. Jazz (Sun)
Grizzlies: at Hornets (Tue), vs Timberwolves (Thu), at Nuggets (Fri), vs. Mavericks (Sun)
Kings: vs. Nuggets (Wed), vs. Clippers (Fri), vs. Suns (Sun)
Mavericks: vs. Lakers (Wed), vs. Raptors (Fri), at Grizzlies (Sun)
Suns: vs. Warriors (Tue), vs. Thunder (Wed), vs. Spurs (Fri), at Kings (Sun)
Looking ahead: The regular season ends on Sunday, and the play-in tournament tips off one week from today.
📺 Watchlist: The Final 8
Arsenal's Emirates Stadium at dusk on Monday. ()
The Champions League quarterfinals begin today with two first-leg matches: Bayern Munich vs. Inter Milan (3pm ET, Paramount+) and Arsenal vs. Real Madrid (3pm, Paramount+).
The rich kid's table: All eight quarterfinalists are among the world's 20 richest clubs. Real Madrid (No. 1) sits at the top, followed by PSG (No. 3), Bayern (No. 5), Barcelona (No. 6), Arsenal (No. 7), Borussia Dortmund (No. 11), Inter (No. 14) and Aston Villa (No. 18).
More to watch:
🏀 NBA: Celtics at Knicks (7:30pm, TNT); Warriors at Suns (10pm, TNT) … Phoenix (35-43) needs a win.
🏒 NHL: Maple Leafs at Panthers (7pm, ESPN); Golden Knights at Avalanche (9:30pm, ESPN) … All four teams have clinched playoff berths.
⚽️ Friendly: USWNT vs. Brazil (10:30pm, TBS) … At PayPal Park in San Jose, California, where the USWNT is 5-0.
⚾️ MLB: Phillies at Braves (7:15pm, TBS) … Philly (7-2) has the third-best record in MLB, Atlanta (1-8) has the worst.
🏀 G League Finals: Stockton Kings at Osceola Magic (8pm, ESPNU) … Players to watch in Game 1: Slam dunk king Mac McClung (Magic) and former SEC POY Mason Jones (Kings).
Plus: Tigres host LA Galaxy in Mexico for a spot in the Champions Cup semifinals (9pm, FS1); "On The Range" at the Masters (12-2pm, CBSSN); Monte Carlo Masters (5am, Tennis).
🏆 Championship trivia
()
Florida is the second school* with exactly three D-I men's basketball titles. Who's the other?
Hint: They won two this century.
*Not counting Louisville, whose third championship (2013) has since been vacated.
Answer at the bottom.
🍻 Brilliant marketing
(Budweiser)
Budweiser sent celebratory cans of Budweiser Zero to goalies who did not get scored on by Alex Ovechkin at any point during their careers. It's a short list!
(Budweiser)
Curtis Joseph (pictured above): "Congrats to the greatest goal-scorer of all time. Feeling very lucky to have not been a part of it! 2 shots, 0 goals."
Trivia answer: Villanova (1985, 2016, 2018)
We hope you enjoyed this edition of Yahoo Sports AM, our daily newsletter that keeps you up to date on all things sports. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Yankees, led by Aaron Judge, hit three straight homers off Shane Baz to start game vs Rays
TAMPA, Fla. - After a nearly two-hour weather delay to start Tuesday night's game, the Yankees came out swinging at Steinbrenner Field. With one out, Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton connected on back-to-back-to-back home runs against Tampa Bay Rays' right-handed starter Shane Baz. Both Judge and Bellinger connected off 1-1 cutters and Stanton rocked an 0-2, 98-mph fastball for a 3-0 first inning lead. Judge's blast to center, his 40th home run of the year, traveled an estimated 429 feet, and it brought the thousands of Yankees fans to their feet at GMS Field - the temporary home of the Rays and the Yanks' spring training home. Before that home run, Judge was batting .229 (8-for-35) with two homers, six RBI and an .854 OPS in 11 games since coming off the injury list due a strained flexor. The flexor issue has prevented Judge from playing the outfield, making him a DH-only option and impacting Stanton, the club's regular DH. After being a reserve player during the Yankees' weekend sweep at St. Louis, Stanton was in right field Tuesday night at Steinbrenner Field, his first outfield start since last Wednesday at Yankee Stadium. In the second inning, Yankees utility player Jose Caballero belted an opposite field two-run homer off Baz, in Caballero's return game against the Rays - who sent him to the Yankees at the July 31 MLB trade deadline. Caballero was getting just his second start at third base with the Yanks, over regular third baseman Ryan McMahon. This article originally appeared on Yankees hit three straight HRs to start game vs Rays
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Tigers' Gleyber Torres set to reach huge milestone tonight vs. Houston
Tigers' Gleyber Torres set to reach huge milestone tonight vs. Houston originally appeared on The Sporting News When Gleyber Torres takes the field tonight, he will join exclusive company. The Detroit Tigers' second baseman will become the 75th active player to reach 1,000 career games, per Chris McCosky of Detroit News. Perhaps more impressive, he will be one of only 11 primary second basemen in MLB history with 150 career home runs by his 1,000th game. And Torres, who made his Major League debut in 2018, is just 28 years old. Torres' journey to 1,000 games The Venezuela native began his climb to the majors in 2013, when he signed as an international free agent with the Chicago Cubs. Five years later, he made his Major League debut during the 2018 season with the New York Yankees and recorded a .271 batting average with 24 home runs and 77 RBI over 123 games. That was a good enough rookie year for Torres to be named an All-Star—a feat he also achieved the following season in 2019, when he upped his average to .278 and set career highs in both homers (38) and RBI (90). After seven years with the Yankees, Torres elected free agency and signed a one-year, $15 million contract with the Detroit Tigers before this season. That proved to be the right choice, as he started his first All-Star game this summer and has helped lead the Tigers to the top of the AL Central with a 73-53 record. Torres has a slash line of .261/.357/.401 this season with 13 homers and 58 RBI through 111 games. The Tigers will certainly need that type of production as they begin a three-game series vs. the Houston Astros—who lead the AL West—at Comerica Park tonight. The two teams haven't faced each other since late April, when the Astros took two out of three games in Houston.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Saggese and Herrera key the Cardinals to a 7-4 win over the Marlins
MIAMI (AP) — Tyler Saggese went 3 for 4 and scored two runs, Iván Herrera had three RBIs, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Miami Marlins 7-4 on Tuesday night. Herrera's RBIs accounted for the first three runs of the game and Pedro Pagés extended his season-high hitting streak to nine games with an RBI single in the fourth to make it 4-0 St. Louis. The Marlins had their first hit of the game in the fourth inning on an infield single by Xavier Edwards, who leads the National League in batting average at .302. He scored on Jakob Marsee's triple and Marsee scored on a fielding error by Cardinals starting pitcher Michael McGreevy, who overthrew to third base to make it 4-2. McGreevy (5-2) pitched six innings, allowing six hits and had five strikeouts. Riley O'Brien earned his second save of the season, pitching one inning with two strikeouts and two walks. Saggese and Maysn Winn both scored a run in the fifth inning to extend the Cardinals' lead to 6-2, but the Marlins responded with an RBI double by Otto Lopez to bring the game within two. Winn scored again in the seventh off a sacrifice fly by Saggese to make it 7-4. Marlins starting pitcher Edward Cabrera (6-7) allowed a career high 11 hits in the loss. He finished with six strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings. Key moment The Marlins had the tying run in scoring position with two outs in the sixth inning but McGreevy struck out Eric Wagaman to keep the Cardinals ahead. Key stat The Cardinals had 12 hits from seven different batters. Up next The Cardinals and the Marlins will meet for the final game of the series on Wednesday night. St. Louis will start Andre Pallante (6-10, 5.04 ERA). Miami will start Sandy Alcantara (6-11, 6.31). — AP MLB:
