AP Sports SummaryBrief at 11:58 p.m. EDT

Florida wins its third national title and denies Houston its first, rallying for 65-63 victory

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Florida and Walter Clayton Jr. somehow overcame Houston’s spirit-crushing defense Monday night to will out a 65-63 victory in an NCAA title-game thriller not decided until Clayton’s own D stopped the Cougars from taking a game-winning shot at the buzzer. Clayton finished with 11 points, but what he’ll be remembered for most was getting Houston’s Emanuel Sharp to stop in the middle of his motion as he tried to go up for the game-winning 3 in the final seconds. Clayton ran at him, Sharp dropped the ball and watched it bounce there while the clock ticked to zero. Florida won its third national title and denied Houston its first.

Houston’s Kelvin Sampson was close to his 1st national title. It slipped away painfully vs. Florida

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Kelvin Sampson watched his Houston team come within seconds of the first NCAA title for both himself and the program. It slipped away in painful fashion on the final play. Houston was unable to get off a shot on the final play and lost to Florida 65-63 in the title game. The 69-year-old Sampson could only watch it unfold as he stood motionless on the sideline with his hands on his hips. Sampson then walked to the locker room with his head down after Houston lost a 12-point second-half lead.

Ohtani, Betts and World Series champion Dodgers visit Trump at the White House

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump welcomed Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and the reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers to the White House on Monday to congratulate them for winning the World Series last season. Trump singled out several Dodgers for their achievements last season, praising Ohtani for becoming baseball’s first 50 home run-50 stolen base player, Japanese pitcher Yoshi Yamamoto and NL Championship Series MVP Tommy Edman. The trip came almost a month after a Department of Defense webpage describing Brooklyn Dodgers great and civil rights icon Jackie Robinson’s military service was restored after it had come down.

Xander Schauffele is on the mend and motivated as ever at the Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Xander Schauffele has all the evidence he needs to believe he can reach the career Grand Slam. He picked up two majors last year in the PGA Championship and the British Open. But he’s a little under the radar coming into the Masters. Schauffele was out of competition for two months earlier this year while dealing with a rib injury. He hasn’t recorded a top-10 finish in the three tournaments he has played since coming back. But the 31-year-old Californian has always been filled with self-belief. He says winning those two majors last year reminds him how he’s capable of playing.

Red Sox’s Jarren Duran opens up about mental health, attempted suicide in Netflix documentary

BOSTON (AP) — Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran said in an upcoming documentary series that two years before his 2024 All-Star season, the pressures of the sport led him to intense bouts of depression and an attempted suicide. The 28-year-old opened up in the fourth episode of an eight-part Netflix series titled, “The Clubhouse: A Year With the Red Sox,” which will debut on Tuesday. The episode chronicles the journey of Duran, a seventh-round draft pick in 2018, to making his MLB debut in 2021. The national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.

Judge wants range of issues addressed in $2.8 billion NCAA settlement before final approval

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken has asked attorneys in the landmark $2.8 billion House settlement to come up with solutions for issues raised at a hearing in Oakland, California, before she grants final approval. She asked both sides to come back in a week with how they might be able to address some of her concerns. Objectors to the settlement who testified at the hearing questioned the fairness of roster cuts and how they are accomplished, the process for how NIL valuations are established and the administration of athletes who will participate in the settlement in coming years.

‘Great One’ Gretzky and ‘Great 8’ Ovechkin: Great goal-scorers and completely different players

NEW YORK (AP) — Wayne Gretzky was the “Great One” for his dominance on the ice in the high-scoring hockey days of the 1980s, a playmaker who just happened to score 894 goals while amassing more assists than anyone in the sport has points. Alex Ovechkin burst into the NHL coming out of a lockout that cost a season and led to rule changes designed to make the league more competitive and entertaining after an era of clutching and grabbing caused a drag on the scoreboard. Ovechkin broke Gretzky’s career goals record as a hard-shooting, pure scorer in a totally different era, in the process making viewers appreciate just how different of players the two all-time legends are.

MLB batting average drops again to .239, near record low in 1968’s Year of the Pitcher

NEW YORK (AP) — Offense is down again at the start of the big league season, with hits even harder to come by. The big league batting average was .239 through the first full week of play, down from .240 through the first full week of 2024. While the overall average generally goes up as weather warms in much of the country, last year’s average didn’t rise much and finished at .243 — among the eight lowest years since professional baseball leagues started in 1871. This year’s current average is just above the record low of .237 set in 1968’s Year of the Pitcher.

WNBA mock draft: Paige Bueckers goes No. 1 to Dallas and Seattle selects French star Malonga 2nd

NEW YORK (AP) — There’s no doubt who’s going first in the WNBA draft next Monday with Paige Bueckers the consensus top pick. After that it gets interesting with Olivia Miles’ decision to enter the NCAA transfer portal instead of the draft. The Washington Mystics, with a new coach and general manager, control the direction of the draft with the third, fourth and sixth pick. Here’s a look at how the first round could look on April 14.

One combined Final Four? Talks of a joint NCAA Tournament showcase for the men and women resurface

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The conversation around a joint men’s and women’s Final Four has resurfaced. Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman sees a world where both premier events happen in the same place. It’s not a new conversation, but Ackerman believes the exponential growth of women’s basketball in a college basketball landscape long dominated by the men makes now an ideal time for a joint Final Four.

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