Sports
Pacers get fresh start vs. Lakers with record skid over
Mar 23, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (43) lays up during the second half against the Orlando Magic at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images The slate has been wiped clean ahead of Wednesday’s meeting in Indianapolis, where the Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana Pacers collide after both saw their recent streaks come to an end.
Indiana coach Rick Carlisle implored his players to “make a stand” after crashing to a 16th consecutive loss — a franchise record — and the Pacers did just that with a drought-breaking 128-126 victory over the host Orlando Magic on Monday.
Pascal Siakam scored 37 points before producing the clutch defensive play of the game when he blocked Paolo Banchero’s drive at the buzzer, which would have sent the game into overtime.
“We had not been playing well,” Carlisle said. “The game (Saturday) in San Antonio was very disappointing for all of us. We talked about it (Monday) morning that we needed to make a stand and raise our level of collective will of how we’re competing. Guys did it, led by the veterans — Pascal, Andrew (Nesmith) and Aaron (Nembhard). It was a great game. It felt like a playoff-type game.”
Indiana (16-56) had led by 12 deep in the fourth period before narrowly surviving a late Orlando rally.
It was the Pacers’ first win since Feb. 11, before the All-Star Game that featured Siakam, who is averaging a team-best 24.0 points.
“In the position we’re in, we need to play as much meaningful basketball as we can, because we know we’re not going to be in the playoffs,” Carlisle said. “This was an important game at an important time … We hadn’t won a game in a while. We needed this.”
The Lakers (46-26) had won nine straight — their best run since 2020 — before being edged 113-110 in Detroit on Monday.
Luka Doncic — the league’s leading scorer, averaging 33.4 points — posted 32 against the Pistons, but missed two key shots down the stretch.
The Slovenian superstar was unsuccessful with a go-ahead pullup from 13 feet, before Daniss Jenkins’ two free throws at the other end put Detroit up by three.
Los Angeles called for time and LeBron James’ long inbound caught a deflection before ending with Doncic, who missed a tough 3-pointer over Jalen Duren to level it at the buzzer.
Despite the setback, Lakers coach JJ Redick liked how his team rallied after the Pistons had stormed ahead by 16 in the third period.
“I didn’t feel like we were going to break,” Redick said. “We made the adjustment at halftime to switch one through five. That was helpful in slowing them down.”
The Lakers’ cause wasn’t helped by the absence of regular starters Marcus Smart (ankle) and Rui Hachimura (calf). Smart is doubtful to play Wednesday and Hachimura is questionable.
“Our winning streak also coincided with us being healthy,” Redick said. “(Monday), Smart and Rui were out. Not having Smart killed us. It’s important for us that we can get healthy and play our rotation. Post-Luke (Kennard) trade, when all nine guys have played, we’ve been a good basketball team. We need to finish the season strong, but we also need to finish the season healthy.”
LeBron James endured a rare scoreless first half but still impacted the game, finishing just shy of a triple double — 12 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.
“They play extremely hard, extremely fast and they’re super well-coached,” James said of the Pacers. “We’ve got to be ready for that. It’s our last game of the road trip. I know everybody’s trying to get home, but we’ve got business to take care of. We’ll be ready.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Kirby Smart, SEC Continue Complaining About College Football’s Future
As the calendar flips to the next day, things continue to change; however, one consistency will always come to the forefront, and it’s that the SEC will be the biggest crybabies on the planet.
Similar to its geographic counterparts, Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart went to the media to discuss the SEC’s potential to secede from the NCAA. There are currently two issues causing strife for the SEC.
The major power conferences and Notre Dame want to expand the playoffs to 24 teams, while the SEC only wants to expand to 16 teams. I personally don’t think any expansion should occur, as the regular season should still matter in college football. That said, I’m shocked the SEC doesn’t want the larger expansion.
A larger playoffs means more money, more potential home games, and smaller schools feeling that they can genuinely compete for national titles. The SEC complains every year when their 9-3 teams miss the playoffs, so I’m shocked they wouldn’t want half their conference playing in the postseason.
Kirby has his complaints about playoff expansion, but uncontrolled NIL expansion is his bigger concern. I think most people with common sense believe there needs to be more guardrails around NIL. I’m just not sure that head coaches are the right messengers for these complaints.
NIL isn’t going anywhere, either.
College football head coaches tend to be the highest-paid public worker in most states. They can also leave their job whenever they want and hold their universities over the fire for more money. When you hear Kirby Smart complaining about these kids, many of whom coming from limited money, it feels super disingenuous. These high level coaches keep complaining about the current state of NIL, but aren’t coming up with better solutions. Our current “wild west” of NIL is significantly better than these college athletes playing for free in years past.
NIL isn’t the death of college sports, but the SEC leaving the NCAA would be. Smart argues that the SEC can stand on its own, and doesn’t need to play by rules they don’t like.
Things like this is why everyone hates the SEC. If they don’t get everything they like, they take their ball and go home. If the SEC ever left the SEC, maybe the NCAA could survive, but it would always be a shell of its former power.
Also, I feel this is mostly just a bad bluff by Kirby Smart. Yes, SEC fans love their teams, but having an entire season of only SEC football feels like a disaster waiting to happen. Fortunately, the SEC is locked into contracts through the next 5 years, so they’ll have to wait a little before getting too off the rails.
Sports
Report: Serena Williams wants to make comeback at Queen's Club
Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian of Los Angeles Golf Club watch their team against Jupiter Links GC during the TGL finals at SoFi Center on March 23, 2026, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida Serena Williams reportedly is planning a return to professional tennis.
The Telegraph reported Thursday that Williams, 44, plans to request a wild card to play doubles with Victoria Mboko, 19, of Canada in the Queen’s Club Championships next month in London. The tournament, which begins on June 8, serves as a grass-court tune-up for Wimbledon.
Williams had great success on the courts at Wimbledon, where she won seven singles titles. She also teamed with her sister, Venus Williams, for six doubles championships in London.
Serena Williams last played on the WTA Tour in a loss to Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round of the 2022 U.S. Open.
In her time away from tennis, Williams gave birth to her second daughter in August 2023.
She reportedly re-entered the registered testing pool for the International Tennis Integrity Agency in December. She has completed the mandatory six-month period in that pool.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion initially dismissed comeback rumors in December before slightly changing her tune during an appearance on the “Today” show in late January.
“I’m just having fun and enjoying my life right now,” Williams said, when asked on the show about a potential comeback. “That’s not a yes or no. I don’t know. I’m just gonna see what happens.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
MAAC rebranded, now The Metro Conference
Iona Men’s Basketball vs Siena in MAAC men’s basketball tournament quarterfinal game in Atlantic City on March 10 7:30 PM
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The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference is shedding part of its name while trying to maintain tradition.
The conference will rebrand as The Metro Conference effective July 1, as an element of strategic planning launched three years ago.
“The goal of this project was to establish a bold and clear identity that eliminated longstanding confusion surrounding the Conference’s name,” said Travis Tellitocci, MAAC commissioner, in a news release. “Throughout this process, we wanted to create a brand that better positions the Conference for the future while still honoring the tradition and foundation that have defined this league for the past 45 years. We are excited about this next chapter and the future of the Metro Conference.”
Confusion existed with the similar-sounding Mid-American Conference — the Cleveland-based MAC. The length of the full name of the conference also “created inconsistencies in how the brand was referenced and frequently led to the conference being referred to incorrectly,” the new Metro Conference said in its release.
The rebranding includes a new red-and-blue logo with a bold type.
The MAAC was founded in 1980 and has 13 member schools, largely based in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut: Canisius, Fairfield, Iona, Marist, Merrimack, Mount St. Mary’s, Niagara, Quinnipiac, Rider, Sacred Heart, Saint Peter’s and Siena.
–Field Level Media
Kirby Smart, SEC Continue Complaining About College Football’s Future
Report: Serena Williams wants to make comeback at Queen's Club
