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Mark Sears, No. 2 Alabama to get started vs. UNC Asheville

NCAA Basketball: SEC Basketball TipoffOct 15, 2024; Birmingham, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide guard Mark Sears talks with the media during SEC Media Days at Grand Bohemian Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

Alabama reached new heights last season by reaching the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament.

Now the task is getting back to the pinnacle of the sport.

The No. 2 Crimson Tide will start their path toward another standout season when they open against UNC Asheville on Monday night in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Alabama won four NCAA games while going 25-12 last season and sent top-seeded North Carolina packing in the Sweet 16. But once the Crimson Tide reached the Final Four, they were outclassed by another No. 1 seed in eventual champion UConn 86-72.

Not surprisingly, Alabama coach Nate Oats is looking to minimize expectations this season.

“When you’re in the program and talking to the team and everybody inside, last year has nothing to do with this year,” Oats said.

The star attraction from last season is back — preseason first-team All-American and SEC Preseason Player of the Year Mark Sears.

Sears averaged 21.5 points last season and set school single-season records of 797 points and 26 games with 20 or more points. The 6-foot-1 guard shot 43.6 percent from 3-point range, averaged 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists, and was a second-team All-American.

Sears flirted with leaving for the NBA before staying put.

“I seen the team that we had, and I wanted to be a part of it and bring home Alabama’s first national championship in basketball,” Sears said at SEC Media Days.

Among the returners are 6-foot-11 Grant Nelson (11.9 points per game, 5.9 rebounds per game) and guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. (8.9 ppg, 44.7 percent from 3-point range).

A key newcomer is transfer center Clifford Omoruyi, who averaged 10.4 points, 8.3 rebounds and swatted away 93 shots for Rutgers. The Crimson Tide also landed two five-star McDonald’s All-Americans in forwards Derrion Reid and Aiden Sherrell.

UNC Asheville went 22-12 last season and is dealing with numerous challenges after Hurricane Helene ravaged Asheville on Sept. 27 and prompted devastating flooding.

The Bulldogs relocated to Charlotte, N.C. — 130 miles to the east — and are practicing at area colleges and high schools and even the practice facility of the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets when it’s available.

“We’re not victims,” Asheville guard Josh Banks said at Big South Media Day. “It’s just the situation that we’ve been in the past couple weeks. We’re just blessed and thankful that we still have a season coming up, and now we’re just locked in and focused.

“It has been tough to see the place that we live and the place where we are most of the time in the condition that it’s in now.”

Bulldogs coach Mike Morrell said some early season home games could become road games if on-campus Kimmel Arena in Asheville isn’t available. Asheville’s game against Appalachian State — a school located about 100 miles away in Boone, N.C., an area also hard hit by the hurricane — has been postponed to next season.

The Bulldogs lost two-time Big South Player of the Year Drew Pember, and Banks is the leading returning scorer at 12.8 points per game. Guard Fletcher Abee (10.6) also returns.

Morrell said he expects to have solid depth, citing eight newcomers (six transfers, two freshmen) on the roster.

–Field Level Media

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CF Montreal wins first game under Philippe Eullaffroy, beat Red Bulls

MLS: Red Bull New York at CF MontrealApr 18, 2026; Montreal, Province of Quebec, CAN; CF Montreal forward Prince Owusu (9) celebrates with teammate midfielder Victor Loturi (22) after scoring a goal against the Red Bull New York during the first half at Saputo Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

Prince Owusu recorded a goal and three assists as CF Montreal bested the visiting New York Red Bulls 4-1 in the home side’s first match under interim head coach Philippe Eullaffroy.

Owusu scored his fifth goal of the season, as Montreal (2-6-0, 6 points) claimed their 100th win all-time at Stade Saputo.

Montreal strode past the visitors’ backline with relative ease in the early going. Red Bulls (3-3-2, 11 points) captain Emil Forsberg failed to control a hurried pass from his goalkeeper, allowing Owusu to play in Victor Loturi, who blasted it past Ethan Horvath in the fifth minute to make it 1-0.

Owusu nearly extended their lead soon after when Ivan Jaime played him through on a one-on-one. The towering center forward opted to hold the ball up before sending it wide of goal.

Owusu made no mistake on his 39th-minute penalty, catching out Horvath with a sly stutter step and slotting it into the left corner to make it 2-0. The penalty came as a result of Dylan Nealis’s handball.

Montreal’s Matty Longstaff knocked balls into both nets at the start of the second half. Longstaff met Owusu’s perfectly threaded through ball to make it 3-0 in the 49th minute. The English midfielder then overhit an attempted backpass to goalkeeper Thomas Gillier four minutes later and inadvertently brought the Red Bulls back within two.

More than the flurry of goals, the single biggest change in Montreal’s approach was in their defensive setup. Eullaffroy’s zonal marking stood in stark contrast to Marco Donadel’s aggressive man-marking, the Red Bulls managing just one shot on goal all game long. Eullaffroy also started Samuel Piette in the midfield after the Montreal captain remained on the bench in their last two outings.

Owusu chipped the ball over Matthew Dos Santos and into the path of Kwadwo Opoku, who guided it into the open net to restore Montreal’s three-goal lead.

The victory marked Montreal’s first at home since August of last year. Both of Montreal’s wins this season have come against the Red Bulls. New York, meanwhile, has won just one of its last six league matches.

–Field Level Media

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Carson Kelly's pinch-hit homer propels Cubs over hapless Mets

MLB: New York Mets at Chicago CubsApr 18, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs pinch-hitter Carson Kelly (15) hits a three-run homer against the New York Mets during the sixth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images

Carson Kelly hit a tie-breaking three-run pinch-hit home run in the sixth inning Saturday afternoon for the host Chicago Cubs, who beat the skidding New York Mets 4-2.

The pinch-hit homer was the second of Kelly’s career and his first since Aug. 25, 2021, when he went deep for the Arizona Diamondbacks against the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Anthony Banda.

Ian Happ homered in the second for the Cubs, who have won four straight and have scored 51 runs while winning five of their last six games. Chicago scored 59 runs in its first 14 games this season.

Kelly’s homer off Brooks Raley made a winner of Jameson Taillon (1-1), who gave up one run on five hits and three walks while striking out four over six innings.

Mark Vientos provided the visitors a short-lived lead by homering in the top of the second for the Mets, who have lost 10 straight — their longest skid since an 11-game losing streak from Aug. 28-Sept. 8, 2004. New York hasn’t led at the end of an inning since first inning of an 11-6 loss to the Athletics on Apr. 11 — a span of 62 frames.

New York’s Bo Bichette scored when second baseman Nico Hoerner threw wide of the bag on Francisco Alvarez’s two-out grounder in the eighth. But reliever Ben Brown induced Vientos to ground out to third and strand two before Caleb Thielbar struck out two in a perfect ninth to earn his first save of 2026.

Freddy Peralta (1-2) took the loss after allowing three runs on three hits and two walks while striking out three over 5 2/3 innings. Peralta issued both walks with two outs in the sixth, after which Kelly took Raley deep on the first pitch he saw. The homer was the first surrendered by Raley since 2023.

The Cubs only managed five hits as Happ reached in 3-of-4 plate appearances with a pair of walks.

Francisco Lindor and Luis Robert Jr. had two hits apiece for the Mets, who were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.

–Field Level Media

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WTA roundup: Elena Rybakina continues sizzling start to 2026

Syndication: Desert SunElena Rybakina waves to the crowd after advancing to the quarterfinals after Sonay Kartal retired from their match at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., Wednesday, March 11, 2026.

Top-seeded Elena Rybakina continued her outstanding 2026 campaign by overwhelming sixth-seeded Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-1 on Saturday to reach the finals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany.

Rybakina, who represents Kazakhstan, will face No. 7 seed Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in Sunday’s final. Muchova pulled off a mild upset with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 victory over No. 4 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.

Rybakina, who won the 2026 Australian Open and reached the finals at Indian Wells, exchanged breaks with Andreeva before winning four of five points on the Russian’s serve to capture the first set. She cruised in the second set, winning a combined 21 of 25 points on her first serves and Andreeva’s second service offerings.

The deciding set between Muchova and Svitolina looked to be going the distance, but the Czech won the final eight points of the match — four on her opponent’s serve in the ninth game — to set up the fourth all-time meeting with Rybakina. Muchova has won two of three prior matches, including a quarterfinal victory in January at Brisbane.

Rouen Metropolitan Open

Top-seeded Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine cruised past Germany’s Tatjana Maria 6-3, 6-0 to reach the finals in Rouen, France.

Kostyuk will take on teenage qualifier and countrywoman Veronika Podrez. She advanced in a walkover prior to her scheduled match against Romania’s Sonia Cirstea, who withdrew due to a leg injury.

Kostyuk, who will be trying to win her second WTA title and first since a 2023 championship in Austin, Texas, fended off all four break points in the match against the 38-year old German. Maria could not contain Kostyuk’s power, dropping 32 of 43 (74.4%) service points.

Podrez, 19, advanced to the semifinals with wins over Sloane Stephens, No. 7 seed Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy and Great Britain’s Katie Boulter.

–Field Level Media

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