Sports
No. 7 Saint Mary's strives for tournament breakthrough against No. 10 Texas A&M
March 9, 2026; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Saint Mary’s Gaels forward Paulius Murauskas (23) shoots the basketball against Santa Clara Broncos guard Thierry Darlan (15) during the second half at Orleans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images Seventh-seeded Saint Mary’s is in the NCAA Tournament for the 12th time under coach Randy Bennett, but deep runs haven’t been part of the story.
The Gaels begin pursuit of a breakthrough experience when they face No. 10 seed Texas A&M on Thursday night in South Region first-round play at Oklahoma City.
Saint Mary’s (27-5) is making its fifth straight March Madness appearance but only once have the Gaels reached the Sweet 16 during Bennett’s 25 seasons. That was in 2010 when Saint Mary’s was a No. 10 seed and beat Richmond and Villanova before being routed 72-49 by Baylor.
Gaels guard Joshua Dent covets an extended run this time around.
“It’s cool being in this position now, but like we’ve been trying to say, we want to cement our legacy above some of these other (Saint Mary’s) teams,” Dent said. “No disrespect to them, but we want to get further and see what we can do.”
The Gaels lost to Alabama in the second round last year.
Saint Mary’s first reached the NCAA Tournament during Bennett’s reign back in 2005. That also was in Oklahoma City and the Gaels lost to Southern Illinois in the first round.
Saint Mary’s faced just three ranked teams this season – splitting with West Coast Conference power Gonzaga and losing to Vanderbilt in nonconference play.
Texas A&M (21-11) also struggled (0-4) against ranked teams but made the NCAA field for the fourth straight season.
First-year coach Bucky McMillan finds that satisfying after only one player — reserve walk-on Chris McDermott — returned from last season’s team.
“It means a lot,” McMillan said. “When we didn’t have a roster, we were piecing (it) together, a lot of people didn’t know, ‘Hey, could we get in (the field)?’ And I thought this group could. I did from the start.”
A big piece for the Aggies is seventh-year forward Rashaun Agee, who previously had stops at New Mexico State, Bowling Green and Southern California.
Agee leads Texas A&M in scoring (14.7 points per game) and rebounding (8.9) and set a school record with 13 double-doubles.
Agee expects the Aggies to have a long stay.
“Everybody knows that in this time of basketball, each one of us, players and coaches, this can change our lives,” Agee said.
Texas A&M struggled down the stretch with seven losses in 11 games. The Aggies were one-and-done in the Southeastern Conference tournament, falling 83-63 to Oklahoma.
McMillan was hoping the late slumber wouldn’t cost his team a spot in the Big Dance.
“The SEC is the toughest league in the country, top to bottom,” McMillan said. “To finish tied for fourth in that league, it would have been a travesty if these guys didn’t get the opportunity.”
The Aggies rank 15th nationally with 10.8 3-point makes per game. Ruben Dominguez (10.3 ppg) has a team-best 82, Rylan Griffen (11.6) has 63 and Pop Isaacs (10.1) has 59.
For Saint Mary’s, Paulius Murauskas leads in scoring (18.8), while Mikey Lewis ranks second at 14.2 and Dent third at 13.0. Lewis leads the Gaels with 67 treys.
Saint Mary’s won eight straight games before losing to Santa Clara in the WCC tourney semifinals. Still, Dent is confident the team can make a run.
“Obviously, we’re not going there to win one or two games,” Dent said. “We’re going there to win as much as we can. Like we say, it’s do or die at this point.”
This is the third meeting between the Gaels and Aggies. They split two matchups in the mid-1990s.
The winner draws a second-round matchup Saturday against No. 2 Houston or No. 15 Idaho.
–Field Level Media
Sports
'Everything hurts': Michelle Wie West making first LPGA start in 3 years
Michelle Wie West watches a practice round of the 2025 Masters. Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images Serving as tournament host is not what’s making Michelle Wie West nervous at this week’s Mizuho Americas Open in West Caldwell, N.J.
Wie West, 36, will tee it up in an LPGA Tour event for the first time since stepping away from competition after missing the cut at the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open. She joked Wednesday that she “knew a few people” who could help her secure a spot into this week’s field, as Wie West prepares to play in next month’s U.S. Women’s Open.
After three years away from competition, Wie West was asked if the mental or physical side of the game is the most difficult to prepare for this week.
“Definitely mental. I don’t know physical. I feel pretty old right now and everything hurts. But I would say mental for sure,” Wie West said. “I get hit with moments of being nervous and I freeze up.
“To be fair, I feel like I have a lot of really good clarity on the feeling of being nervous and whatnot. But kind of getting back into the mode of playing there is really only a few things I do when I get nervous. I need to just not do them. That’s easier said than done.
“Yeah, it’s all difficult.”
A little more than a year after playing in her last LPGA Tour event, Wie West gave birth to her second child. She has spent much of the time since in various endeavors, including using events like the Mizuho Americas Open to mentor youth athletes.
The itch to compete and grow the game of golf also remains. In addition to the two upcoming events, Wie West is one of 14 women who have signed on to compete in the upcoming WTGL, the tech-infused indoor golf league co-owned by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.
“I think any platform that can give LPGA players a sounding board and opportunity to showcase their talent, personalities, I think TGL is perfect for that,” Wie West said. “I think we’re going to reach new audiences hopefully.
“With the innovation and technology, I think it’s a perfect place to showcase everyone’s talents.”
Nelly Korda is the most prominent name yet to commit to the WTGL. However, like the world’s top-ranked player, Wie West hopes the league will grow to see PGA and LPGA Tour players compete together.
“From day one I got very excited about the aspect of playing co-ed matches. I think that would be really exciting,” she said. “I think these players, LPGA players, have such amazing personalities.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Andy Pages (3 HRs, 6 RBIs) powers Dodgers in rout of Astros
May 6, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages (44) is congratulated by left fielder Teoscar Hernandez (37) after hitting a two run home run against the Houston Astros during the fifth inning at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images
Andy Pages’ career-best three home runs and six RBIs carried the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers to a 12-2 victory over the Houston Astros on Wednesday.
Los Angeles starter Tyler Glasnow left after an inning with low back pain. Jack Dreyer (2-1) earned the win by throwing two scoreless frames. Six relievers combined to hurl eight innings of one-run, four-hit ball.
Shohei Ohtani posted two hits, two runs and an RBI for the Dodgers, who won their third game in four tries and took the three-game set.
Houston starter Lance McCullers Jr. (2-3) lasted just 2 2/3 innings, allowing six runs on four hits, striking out four and walking three. In relief, Jason Alexander yielded five runs on nine hits across 4 1/3 frames, striking out a pair and walking five.
Houston opened the scoring in the bottom of the first as Brice Matthews connected on his fourth homer of the year,a drive to left on Glasnow’s third pitch of the game.
After Kyle Tucker doubled and Dalton Rushing singled in the second, McCullers’ wild pitch evened the score.
Glasnow was then replaced by Dreyer after trying to pitch in the second.
Alex Freeland walked and Ohtani doubled to begin the third, before two more wild pitches from McCullers gave the Dodgers a 3-1 edge.
Following walks to Freddie Freeman and Tucker, Pages belted his sixth homer of the year to left to extend the lead to 6-1 and chase McCullers.
Freeman’s double in the fourth off Alexander pushed the margin to six.
Muncy laced a one-out single in the fifth before Pages hit his second homer, another shot to left, to give the Dodgers an 9-1 advantage. Later in the inning, Ohtani lined an RBI single.
Freeland’s single extended the lead to 11-1 in the seventh.
Against Blake Treinen, Zach Cole singled to cut the Astros’ deficit to nine.
First baseman Cesar Salazar pitched the ninth for Houston, allowing Pages’ third homer, a shot to left.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Tigers fired Gabe Alvarez over harassment claim
Erie SeaWolves manager Gabe Alvarez watches warm-ups prior to a game with the Binghamton Rumble Ponies at UPMC Park in Erie on July 13, 2022.
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The Detroit Tigers fired Triple-A manager Gabe Alvarez after an investigation into alleged harassment claims by a female employee, The Athletic reported Wednesday.
The Tigers announced Tuesday that Alvarez’s contract had been terminated due to an undisclosed “violation of club policy.”
Alvarez, 52, was in his second season as manager of the Toledo Mud Hens, who were 17-16 under his leadership.
Sources told The Athletic that Alvarez was fired following a human resources investigation into the complaint.
Neither the Tigers nor Alvarez and his representatives responded to The Athletic’s requests for comment.
A major leaguer for parts of three seasons, Alvarez was a career .222 hitter with seven home runs and 33 RBIs over 92 games for the Tigers (1998-2000) and San Diego Padres (2000). During nine seasons in the minor leagues, Alvarez batted .278 with 114 home runs.
A second-round pick out of Southern California in 1995, Alvarez served as an assistant coach at his alma mater starting in 2010. He was hired by the Tigers to be the manager at Double-A Erie starting in the 2022 season and was promoted to manager at Toledo in October of 2024.
–Field Level Media
'Everything hurts': Michelle Wie West making first LPGA start in 3 years
Andy Pages (3 HRs, 6 RBIs) powers Dodgers in rout of Astros
