Yahoo Sports AM: The Gators win their third title
In today's edition: Florida cuts down the nets, Masters roundup, NBA playoff picture, Champions League returns, Budweiser's brilliant marketing, and more.
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🏆 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)
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