Sports
UConn, UCLA, Texas, South Carolina lead women's NCAA field
Mar 9, 2026; Uncasville, CT, USA; UConn Huskies forward Sarah Strong (21) named player of the year as they celebrate their Big East Championship win over the Villanova Wildcats at Mohegan Sun Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images UConn, UCLA, Texas and South Carolina are the four No. 1 seeds for the women’s 2026 NCAA Tournament, as revealed Sunday night.
Undefeated UConn got the nod over one-loss UCLA as the top overall seed despite some conversation over whether the Bruins deserved the spot. UCLA had a tougher strength of schedule and 19 Quad 1 wins to UConn’s nine, but UConn was No. 1 in the NET and the Bruins sat at No. 2.
“We watched a whole lot of good basketball between those two teams,” committee chair Amanda Braun said on ESPN. “The debate was pretty close the whole time … It went to a committee vote, and we watched a lot of UConn, we watched a lot of UCLA as a group. The vote ultimately gave the edge to UConn.”
Head coach Geno Auriemma, national Player of the Year candidate Sarah Strong and the Huskies (34-0) enter the NCAA Tournament on a 50-game winning streak as they aim to defend their 2025 national title.
They’ll host No. 16 seed UTSA (18-15) in the first round on Saturday, and with a win play either No. 8 Iowa State or No. 9 Syracuse in the second round in Storrs, Conn.
Joining UConn in the Fort Worth Regional 1 are No. 2 seed Vanderbilt (27-4), No. 3 seed Ohio State (26-7) and No. 4 seed North Carolina (26-7). The top 16 overall seeds (four in each quadrant of the bracket) will host first- and second-round games at campus sites.
UCLA (31-1) tops the Sacramento Regional 2 and opens against No. 16 Cal Baptist (23-10) on Saturday. Coach Kim Mulkey and LSU (27-5) are No. 2, Atlantic Coast Conference champion Duke (24-8) is No. 3 and Minnesota (22-8) is No. 4 in that region.
Texas (31-3) earned the third No. 1 seed over South Carolina after the Longhorns beat the Gamecocks in two out of three meetings, including 78-61 in the Southeastern Conference championship game. The Longhorns will face the winner of a First Four game between Missouri State and Stephen F. Austin.
No. 2 Michigan (25-6), No. 3 Louisville (27-7) and No. 4 West Virginia (27-6), the Big 12 champion, also occupy Fort Worth Regional 3 with Texas.
South Carolina (31-3) leads the Sacramento Regional 4 and draws a First Four winner between Southern and Samford. Iowa (26-6) is the No. 2, TCU (29-5) is the No. 3 and Oklahoma (24-7) is the No. 4 seed in that quadrant of the bracket.
The final four teams in the field were Virginia, Arizona State, Nebraska and Richmond. Virginia and Arizona State will face off in the First Four for a No. 10 seed to face No. 7 Georgia, while Nebraska and Richmond will play for a No. 11 seed and the right to face No. 6 Baylor.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Hurricanes start rookie Brandon Bussi for Game 4 of Stanley Cup Final
Jun 6, 2026; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Brandon Bussi (32) looks on during the third period against the Vegas Golden Knights in game three of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images The Carolina Hurricanes made a change in net for Tuesday night’s Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Carolina gave rookie Brandon Bussi his first career playoff start as the Hurricanes look to level the series at 2-2 in Las Vegas, with the announcement becoming shortly before the game began.
ESPN reported that Frederik Andersen, who was 12-1 in the team’s first three playoff series, is a healthy scratch with no injury designation.
Andersen allowed four second-period goals in Saturday’s Game 3 loss. He was replaced at the start of the third period by Bussi, who stopped 18 of 19 shots as the Hurricanes rallied before falling 5-4 in double overtime.
Bussi, 27, was acquired off waivers from the Florida Panthers last October. He entered the season with no NHL experience, but became a critical member of the Hurricanes’ goalie rotation, amassing a 31-6-2 record, 2.47 goals-against average and .895 save percentage.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Nick Martinez, Rays hold down Red Sox to seal series win
Jun 9, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero (13) avoids the tag of Boston Red Sox shortstop Marcelo Mayer (11) in the first inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images Ryan Vilade went 3-for-4 and Nick Martinez turned in seven-plus strong innings to help the Tampa Bay Rays defeat the Boston Red Sox 4-3 on Tuesday in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Martinez (6-2) held Boston to three runs on six hits, departing after the first three Red Sox hitters reached base in the eighth. He struck out two without issuing a walk. Bryan Baker retired the Red Sox in order in the ninth to earn his 18th save.
Tampa Bay’s Ben Williamson and Nick Fortes each contributed two hits and an RBI. Yandy Diaz singled and walked to extend his on-base streak to 23 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the major leagues.
Boston’s Payton Tolle (3-3) pitched six innings and allowed four runs on nine hits and one walk with three strikeouts. Isiah Kiner-Falefa had two of the Red Sox’s six hits and scored twice.
Tampa Bay, which has won the first two games of the three-game series, finished 5-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Boston took its third loss in a row.
The Red Sox grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Kiner-Falefa doubled with one out and scored on Jarren Duran’s two-out single.
A three-run fourth put the Rays in front. Vilade doubled and scored on Cedric Mullins’ two-out single. Williamson doubled to drive in Mullins and give Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead, and Williamson came home on Fortes’ double.
The Rays added a run in the sixth for a 4-1 edge. Williamson reached base on an infield single, took second when Fortes was hit by a pitch and scored on Richie Palacios’ single.
Boston made it a one-run game by scoring twice in the eighth. After singles by Caleb Durbin and Kiner-Falefa, Marcelo Mayer doubled home both runners to cut Tampa Bay’s lead to 4-3. Kevin Kelly replaced Martinez on the mound, and Mayer moved to third on Duran’s groundout — the first out of the inning — but he was still on third when the inning ended.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Reports: NHLPA wants investigation before Oilers hire Mike Babcock
Jul 1, 2023; Columbus, OH, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets introduce Mike Babcock as their new head coach during a press conference at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Robertson-USA TODAY NETWORK The NHL Players’ Association has requested that the league conduct an investigation of coach Mike Babcock as the Edmonton Oilers move toward hiring him, TSN and The Athletic reported Tuesday.
Independent hockey insider Frank Seravalli added that the union specifically asked the NHL to step in and delay the Oilers’ hiring of Babcock until the league can complete an investigation into allegations stemming from his brief stint with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
In 2023, Babcock was hired to take over the Blue Jackets for what would have been his first NHL job since the Toronto Maple Leafs dismissed him in 2019. But that September, reports emerged that some players felt Babcock invaded their privacy by asking to see their cellphone camera rolls in one-on-one meetings.
Babcock resigned before the season began, so the NHL did not investigate the claims.
At the time, Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner and the late Johnny Gaudreau confirmed Babcock asked to see photos on their phone, but they were not pressured to do so and understood it to be in the spirit of getting to know one another. Babcock reportedly also showed players photos from his phone.
However, younger players reportedly felt uncomfortable with Babcock’s approach, and he already had a reputation for controversial motivational tactics while with the Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings.
Per The Athletic, the NHL will only move forward with investigating Babcock once the Oilers confirm they are intent on hiring the 63-year-old.
Babcock has a 700-418-164 career record (19 ties) as the head coach of the then-Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002-04), Red Wings (2005-15) and Maple Leafs (2015-19). He led the Red Wings to the 2008 Stanley Cup title.
–Field Level Media
