Sports
Padraig Harrington, Thongchai Jaidee tied through two rounds at Cologuard
Padraig Harrington acknowledges the crowd on the 18th green during the final round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club on Sunday, March 8, 2026, in Boca Raton, FL. Ireland’s Padraig Harrington carded a 6-under-par 65 on Saturday to forge a tie with Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee atop the leaderboard with a round to play at the Cologuard Classic in Tucson, Ariz.
Harrington pocketed two impressive eagles over a three-hole stretch (holes 9-11) which also included a birdie as he surged into contention at La Paloma Country Club at 11 under for the tourney.
“You know, every hole out here, if you play it well, you’ve got a birdie chance. But it’s so difficult being committed to your shots,” Harrington said. “Nobody can expect to be perfect, but you’ve got to be committed to whatever number you come up with. Whatever formula you use, you’ve got to stick to it, and probably just roll with the punches when it doesn’t quite work out.”
Harrington finished with two eagles, five birdies and three bogeys.
Jaidee’s day was much calmer, as the veteran went bogey-free while snatching four birdies. His 4-under 67 followed a Friday round that more resembled Harrington’s Saturday: two eagles, four birdies and a bogey (64).
That had been good enough to position him in second, alongside South Africa’s Retief Goosen, who fell off the pace with a 2-over 73. That tumble left Goosen in a tie for 26th.
Defending champion Steven Alker of New Zealand might have raised eyebrows with his scintillating 9-under 62 that tied the course record and brought him back within striking distance at 9 under overall. No player has yet to successfully defend his title at the Cologuard Classic, but Alker will have a chance on Sunday.
“I just wanted to put up a good day to get back in the tournament,” Alker said. “Defending champ, so I wanted to kind of give it a good run. Kind of feel like I’ve put myself in there, three or four back, you never know at the end of the day. Yeah, it was a nice round. Some positive stuff going forward.”
Bo Van Pelt, who had also tied the course record with a 9-under-par 62 on Friday, shot 10 strokes worse than that in Round 2 (1-over 72), dropping him into a tie for eighth at 8 under for the tournament.
Two golfers are ahead of Alker in a tie for third at 10 under after shooting matching 67s: Tommy Gainey and Germany’s Bernhard Langer.
Zach Johnson (65) and Jason Caron (66) are tied with Alker in fifth.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Louisville outlasts Alabama, advances to Sweet 16
Louisville Cardinals forward Elif Istanbulluoglu (11) gestures as the Cards get the ball on a turnover against Alabama during the 2026 NCAA Women’s March Madness Second Round basketball at the KFC Yum Center In Louisville, Kentucky. March 23, 2026. Elif Istanbulluoglu and Tajianna Roberts had 18 points apiece and third-seeded Louisville survived sixth-seeded Alabama for a 69-68 win to advance to the Sweet 16 from Regional 3 in Louisville on Monday.
Trailing by four, Alabama’s Karly Weathers scored with 9.4 seconds left and Louisville’s Imari Berry made both free throws before Weathers hit another 3 to make it 69-68 with four seconds on the clock. But after Reyna Scott missed two fouls shots, Alabama didn’t have time to advance the ball for the potential game-winner.
Istanbulluoglu got the second of two free throws to go down with 2:52 to play and Louisville (29-7) corralled Essence Cody’s missed layup a minute later to send Mackenly Randolph to the line. She made a pair to extend the lead to 65-61, then Roberts’ steal of a Cody pass led to a Louisville timeout.
Scott’s clutch running floater from the left elbow to beat the shot clock and add to Alabama’s deficit with one minute to go gave Louisville breathing room.
Weathers had 11 of her 13 points in the fourth quarter. She canned a pair of 3s to put the Crimson Tide (24-11) in front 59-57 as part of an 11-4 run earlier in the quarter. Istanbulluoglu answered with a 3 off of an offensive rebound and Louisville snuck back in front by one as the clock ticked under the 5-minute mark.
Alabama’s Diana Collins made 4 of 5 from 3-point range and the Crimson Tide shot 46.2% (12 of 26) from 3 but only 45.6% overall (26 of 57).
Ace Austin led Alabama with 17 points. She hit her fifth 3 to keep Alabama in striking distance, 52-49, with 1:22 left in the third.
Istanbulluoglu, who also had 11 rebounds, drilled a long 3 and Roberts hit another on the next possession midway through the third quarter to put Louisville up 50-46. It was Louisville’s largest lead of the game at that point since 13-6 in the first.
Louisville survived woeful 7-of-26 shooting from long range with 14 offensive rebounds and 24 points in the pant. Alabama was outrebounded 41-24.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Arizona, Michigan vault to NCAA Tournament title favorites
Mar 22, 2026; San Diego, CA, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Brayden Burries (5) celebrates after defeating the Utah State Aggies during a second round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Viejas Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images A No. 1 seed has been eliminated while a No. 11 seed reached the Sweet 16, but the overall dearth of upsets through the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament has left sportsbooks sweating.
“It was a chalky opening weekend in the NCAA Tournament with favorites winning 22 straight games from Thursday to Saturday,” BetMGM senior trader Michael Ranftle said. “The sportsbook will be looking for a few upsets in the Sweet 16.”
No. 1 overall seed Duke survived a first-round upset bid from Siena and remains the strongest favorite to reach the Final Four at -110. Part of that is due to the fact that the Blue Devils will face the third-highest remaining seed in No. 5 St. John’s on Friday.
However, Duke has slipped to the third-shortest odds to win the national title, moving from the -300 pre-tournament favorite to -425 on Monday. The Blue Devils are now behind Michigan (+300) and Arizona (+325) at BetMGM.
The Wolverines have been dominant in blowing through No. 9 Howard and No. 9 St. Louis in the Midwest region by an average of 22 points. Michigan will face No. 4 Alabama in the Sweet 16 on Friday. Arizona blew out Long Island to open its West region action before handling a much tougher test against No. 9 Utah State on Sunday night. The Wildcats will also face a fourth seed in Arkansas on Thursday.
DraftKings is currently offering Arizona as the slight title favorite at +330 ahead of Michigan at +340 and Duke at +370. The Wildcats have also been backed by the most total national champion bets (10.7%) and money (18.1%) at BetMGM.
A notable good result for sportsbooks was the elimination of Miami (Ohio), which had been BetMGM’s biggest liability. In general, upsets leave books exposed.
“On the futures book, St. John’s and Arkansas are the biggest remaining liabilities to cut down the nets, while all the 1-seeds are positive outcomes,” Ranftle said.
The book reported that it has received a $100,000 wager on Purdue to reach the Final Four that would pay $600,000. The No. 2 seed in the West, the Boilermakers will play No. 11 Texas on Thursday before a potential Elite Eight showdown against Arizona or Arkansas. Purdue has also moved from +1400 before the tournament to win the national title to +1200 by Monday.
The upset of the reigning national champion Gators left No. 2 Houston as the top remaining seed in the South. If the Cougars can get by No. 3 Illinois on Thursday they would face the winner of No. 4 Indiana against No. 9 Iowa — the second-highest remaining seed.
Houston’s title odds have shortened from +900 to +700 since the tournament began. BetMGM has taken a $50,000 bet at +900 on Houston to win the title that would pay $450,000. That has contributed to the Cougars being backed by 9.3% of all money wagered on the national champion.
Houston has moved from +1200 to +700 at DraftKings since the tournament began. Iowa has seen the biggest movement, shifting from +30000 to +12000 to win the title, while Texas has moved from +40000 to +30000.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Shohei Ohtani WBC jersey sells for record $1.5M
Mar 14, 2026; Miami, FL, United States; Japan designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (16) rounds the bases after hitting a home run against Venezuela in the first inning during a quarterfinal game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images An unsigned Shohei Ohtani game-used 2026 World Baseball Classic jersey sold for just north of $1.5 million Sunday night via MLB Auctions, shattering the previous high public sale of an Ohtani jersey, autographed with “24 NL MVP,” which was $249,999 in 2025 on Fanatics.
While Sunday’s sale did not come close to matching the price of other jerseys — Babe Ruth’s “called shot” jersey from the 1932 World Series went for $24.12 million in 2024, or Jackie Robinson and Mickey Mantle (both more than $4 million) — it does raise the bar for future game-used Ohtani jersey sales from a major MLB event to perhaps match or eclipse Robinson and Mantle.
And just last Thursday, a one-of-a-kind 2025 Topps MVP gold Logoman patch autographed card of Ohtani and New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge sold for $2.16 million via auction through Fanatics Premier. The card features special gold-embellished MLB logo jersey patches worn by each reigning MVP.
That sale marked the second time a Judge card has sold for more than $1 million, but a solo Ohtani 2025 Topps Chrome one-of-one gold Logoman patch autographed card sold through Fanatic Premier fetched $3 million.
Along with the $1.5 million jersey sale, the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar has three cards that have sold for $1 million or more.
–Field Level Media
Louisville outlasts Alabama, advances to Sweet 16
Arizona, Michigan vault to NCAA Tournament title favorites
