Sports
A Lim Kim grabs four-shot lead at Tournament of Champions
Apr 23, 2023; The Woodlands, Texas, USA; A Lim Kim (KOR) drives off the first tee during the final round of The Chevron Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images A Lim Kim of South Korea shot a sterling 7-under-par 65 on Thursday that handed her a four-stroke lead after one round of the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, the LPGA’s season opener in Orlando, Fla.
Kim’s seven-birdie, bogey-free card gave her ample cushion on the rest of the 32-woman field, all of whom shot between 3 under and 3 over par in the first round. South Korea’s Jin Young Ko and Thailand’s Patty Tavatanakit are tied for second after carding 69.
Kim, 29, started on the back nine at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club. She was 2 under par when she reached the par-4 18th and birdied two straight holes to propel her into the front nine.
Birdies at Nos. 5, 7 and 9 closed her statement round.
“My shot is good. Putting it good. Everything is good,” Kim said.
Ranked No. 55 in the world, Kim’s only LPGA victory before last year came at the 2020 U.S. Women’s Open. Last November, in the third-to-final event of the 2024 season, Kim broke through to win the Lotte Championship. Now she’s parlaying that strong finish into a head start in 2025.
She said she only stayed in her native South Korea for three or four weeks before returning to Florida.
“Just worry about practicing, because in January I focus really, really on body, weight training, and then some strength training,” Kim said. “My body training. Not focus on practicing. But this week I feel really great.”
The next-closest golfers behind Kim are a pair of major winners themselves. Ko posted a bogey-free 69 and told reporters after her round that she was doing too much thinking while trying to improve her game in 2024.
“I just want to make simple on this year,” she said. “Golf is already difficult sport, so I just trying to keep simple in my mind.”
Tavatanakit had four birdies offset by just one bogey.
“I’m a little exhausted from walking 18 holes for the first time this year,” Tavatanakit said. “… I feel like (her) golf was probably six out of 10 but kept it together and scored really well.”
A large group at 2-under 70 featured Rose Zhang, Cheyenne Knight, Ireland’s Leona Maguire, South Korea’s Haeran Ryu, Rio Takeda and Yuka Saso of Japan, France’s Celine Boutier, Hannah Green of Australia, Sweden’s Linn Grant and Thailand’s Pajaree Anannarukarn.
Zhang, 21, is heading back to classes at Stanford next week after participating in the LPGA season opener.
“I kind of got my head straight on what I wanted my objectives to be throughout the year, especially this year,” said Zhang, who does not expect to graduate until 2027 because she’s only taking classes during winter quarters.
World No. 1 Nelly Korda shot a 1-under 71. World No. 2 and tournament defending champion Lydia Ko of New Zealand struggled to a 1-over 73.
–Field Level Media
Sports
76ers C Joel Embiid (oblique) out at least 3 games
Feb 26, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) reacts while clutching his body after a play against the Miami Heat during the second quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Philadelphia star center Joel Embiid underwent an MRI on Saturday that revealed a strained right oblique and he will miss at least three games before being re-evaluated, the 76ers announced.
Embiid, 31, was injured during Philadelphia’s 124-117 home win over the Miami Heat on Thursday, when he still played 31 minutes and totaled 26 points and 11 rebounds.
A seven-time All-Star with a history of injuries, Embiid will be sidelined for Sunday’s game against the host Boston Celtics as well as back-to-back home games against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday and the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.
The 76ers are 33-26, and Embiid has played in 33 games (all starts) this season, averaging 26.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.1 blocks and 31.2 minutes. Philadelphia is 21-12 with him and 12-14 without him.
Embiid was limited to 19 games last season because of an ailing left knee and had surgery in April. He began this season on a minutes restriction because of the knee, and he was out for five games in February because of knee and shin issues.
For his career, Embiid is averaging 27.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.6 blocks and 31.8 minutes in 485 regular-season games (all starts).
He also has averaged 24.9 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.7 blocks and 35.3 minutes in 59 playoff games (all starts).
Embiid was the league’s Most Valuable Player for the 2022-23 season and was voted All-NBA first team in 2022-23 and second team four other times. He’s a three-time All-Defensive team second-team pick. Philadelphia made him the third overall pick of the 2014 NBA Draft out of Kansas.
–Field Level Media
Sports
No. 7 Florida drubs No. 20 Arkansas, wins SEC regular-season title
Florida forward Alex Condon (21) drives on Arkansas forward Trevon Brazile (7) during the first half of an NCAA basketball game at Steven C. O’Connell Center Exactek arena in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, February 28, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun] Thomas Haugh scored 22 points, Ruben Chinyelu had 12 points and 16 rebounds for his 17th double-double, and No. 7 Florida clinched the Southeastern Conference regular-season title with a 111-77 rout of No. 20 Arkansas in Gainesville, Fla., on Saturday.
Alex Condon scored 17 points, Urban Klavzar and Boogie Fland scored 14 apiece and Xaivian Lee added 13 as the Gators (23-6, 14-2 SEC) placed seven players in double figures in their highest scoring game of the season.
The defending champion Gators lead second-place No. 17 Alabama (22-7, 12-4) by two games with two games left, and they own the tiebreaker after a 100-79 victory in their lone regular-season meeting.
Florida has won a season-high nine in a row — eight by at least 13 points — and is a projected No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Billy Richmond scored 22 points and Darius Acuff Jr. added 17 for the Razorbacks (21-8, 11-5), who had won five of six. They are a projected No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Acuff, the SEC’s leading scorer at 22.2 points per game, had a streak of nine straight 20-point games broken. He was 6 of 19 from the field.
Florida led by at least 24 in the final 15 minutes and stretched its advantage to 37 on Condon’s layup in the final three minutes.
The Gators secured their first regular-season title since 2013-14, when they also won the SEC tournament.
Florida shot 56.5% from the field and had a 51-31 rebounding advantage. Condon had six rebounds and Haugh had five. The Gators led the nation with a plus-14.1 rebound margin.
The Razorbacks shot 40.0% from the field.
Florida coach Todd Golden and Arkansas coach John Calipari were hit with double technical fouls with 17:27 left with the Gators holding a 23-point lead.
Klavzar kickstarted the Gators with two 3-pointers and Condon added a dunk in a 12-0 run to give Florida a 23-16 lead nine minutes in.
Lee made three layups later in the first half and Isaiah Brown (11 points) hit two 3-pointers and a transition dunk to push the Gators’ lead to 51-27 with 2:33 left in the first half.
Florida led 53-34 at half, when it totaled 32 points in the paint.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Thomas Muller's first-half brace leads Vancouver to rout of Toronto
Feb 28, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Whitecaps FC forward Thomas Muller (13) celebrates scoring on a corner kick from midfielder Sebastian Berhalter (16) (not pictured) against Toronto FC goalkeeper Luka Gavran (1) during the first half at BC Place. Mandatory Credit: Simon Fearn-Imagn Images Thomas Muller scored a first-half brace, leading the Whitecaps to a 3-0 victory over visiting Toronto FC on Saturday night in Vancouver.
Brian White also scored a first-half goal, while keeper Yohei Takaoka made three saves for his second consecutive clean sheet to open the MLS season.
With the victory, Vancouver (2-0-0, 6 points) improved to 4-0-1 in its last five regular-season matches against Toronto.
The Reds (0-2-0, 0 points) are now 6-9-4 in 19 MLS meetings against their Western Canadian rivals.
Trailing 3-0, Toronto had an excellent chance to cut into the lead early in the second half. Djordje Mihailovic thought he’d put Toronto on the board in the 55th minute, but the midfielder was caught offside.
Then in the 74th minute, Takaoka made a diving save off Toronto midfielder Jose Cifuentes – the Reds’ first shot on target of the match.
Vancouver controlled possession in the first half with five shots on target.
Aziel Jackson was awarded a penalty kick after being taken down in the area by Walker Zimmerman in the 24th minute. On the ensuing penalty kick, Muller opened the scoring, putting his right-footed strike in the bottom-left corner past Luka Gavran.
Muller added his second of the half 12 minutes later as Sebastian Berhalter’s corner was headed across to Muller by Mathias Laborda, and the German midfielder ripped his left-footed shot into an open goal.
In first-half stoppage time, off another Berhalter corner, Gavran was caught out of position, allowing White to score on a right-footed strike.
Up next, Vancouver travels to Portland for its first away match of the season next Saturday. Toronto visits Cincinnati next Sunday to wrap up a three-game road trip to open the season.
–Field Level Media
76ers C Joel Embiid (oblique) out at least 3 games
No. 7 Florida drubs No. 20 Arkansas, wins SEC regular-season title
