UConn, Texas reach women’s Final Four; Braves’ Jurickson Profar gets 80-game suspension

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🏀 Good morning to all, but especially to …

THE (1) TEXAS LONGHORNS AND THE (2) UCONN HUSKIES

The women’s Final Four is set. After wins Monday night, (1) Texas and (2) UConn are headed to Tampa, where they’ll join (1) South Carolina and (1) UCLA. The Longhorns pulled away from (2) TCU for a 58-47 victory in a gritty Lone Star State battle.

• It’s Texas’ first Final Four trip since 2003. The Longhorns had lost in the Elite Eight in three of the four previous years, so this represents a breakthrough for the program and coach Vic Schaefer.
• Texas’ offense, inconsistent all season, was just that early; Texas led 23-21 at halftime.
• But Madison Booker scored 14 of her game-high 18 points in the second half, and Kyla Oldacre scored seven of her nine in the fourth quarter.
• The defense was its normal excellent self, holding TCU to 26.7% shooting, the fourth-worst by any team in an Elite Eight game.
• Texas faces South Carolina on Friday. The Gamecocks, without a go-to scorer, are in for a tough test. Expect a low-scoring affair.

As for UConn, Geno Auriemma has had a lot of great players — legendary players, in fact. He’s never had one do what Paige Bueckers and Sarah Strong did in a 78-64 win over (1) USC.

Bueckers poured in 31 points, handed out six assists and had four steals. She has scored 105 points since the Round of 32, most in UConn history over a three-game NCAA Tournament span.

Strong had 22 points and 17 rebounds, becoming the only Huskies freshman with a 20-10 game in the Elite Eight or later.

USC, without JuJu Watkins after she tore her ACL in the Sweet 16, simply didn’t have the firepower to match. Kiki Iriafan managed just 10 points on 3 of 15 shooting.

The Huskies, in their 16th Final Four in the last 17 years, will face the Bruins, making their first appearance, on Friday.

👍 Honorable mentions

⚾ And not such a good morning for …

JURICKSON PROFAR AND THE ATLANTA BRAVES

Let’s just say Monday will not go down as a banner day in Braves history. They lost to the Dodgers, 6-1, to fall to 0-5 this season — only their second 0-5 start this millennium — hours after it was announced Jurickson Profar was suspended 80 games for failing a performance-enhancing drug test.

• If there’s any silver lining, the Braves finally scored a run, snapping a 29-inning scoreless drought. That had been their longest since 2007.
• Profar’s suspension doesn’t help. He was coming off a breakout 2024 with the Padres — the team that swept Atlanta to open this season — and signed a three-year, $42 million deal with Atlanta this offseason.
• As for some more silver linings, eventually Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuña Jr. will return. And the season is long. Really long. R.J. Anderson assessed the concern level surrounding Atlanta.

👎 Not so honorable mentions

🏀 Buying or selling men’s Final Four storylines

There are only three games left in the men’s college basketball season. But my goodness are these three absolute blockbusters. It’s just the second time all four No. 1 seeds are in the Final Four. The other time that happened was in 2008, and we got an incredible title game between Kansas and Memphis.

Could this version be even better? Cameron Salerno says this is the best Final Four field of the 21st century.

• Salerno: “What makes this field unique and the best is the four best teams in college basketball reached the last weekend of the NCAA Tournament. That’s rare because sometimes the four No. 1 seeds aren’t the best teams in the sport. The Final Four is full of star power, storylines and two incredible matchups to get us started. People will always complain about the matchups no matter who’s in the Final Four. So, sit back, watch and enjoy the greatest Final Four this century.”

I’m pumped. Here are all of Cameron’s thoughts reflecting the Elite Eight and looking forward to the Final Four.

⚾ Red Sox, Garrett Crochet agree to six-year, $170 million extension

This offseason, Garrett Crochet changed his Sox. Just days into his debut season in Boston, he’s adding several zeroes to his bank account. The 25-year-old lefty agreed to a six-year, $170 million extension with the Red Sox that kicks in next season.

• The deal includes no deferred money and is the largest ever for a pitcher with between four and five years of MLB service time.
• Crochet transitioned from reliever to starter last season with the White Sox and broke out behind one of the game’s truly elite fastballs, leading all starters in strikeouts per nine innings (12.9) and making the All-Star Game.
• The Red Sox acquired Crochet in a five-player trade in December.

Here’s Dayn Perry’s take:

• Perry: “From the club standpoint, there’s risk involved given Crochet’s brief track record as a starter and his spotty injury history. However, there’s no doubting the stuff, the velocity, or the dominance he’s flashed thus far as a member of a big-league rotation.”

The Red Sox are also deep into extension talks with another youngster.

🏀 Olivia Miles opts for transfer portal over WNBA Draft

Notre Dame may have fallen one game short of the Elite Eight, but one of the Fighting Irish’s biggest stars still made headlines as the round concluded Monday: Olivia Miles is entering the transfer portal instead of entering the WNBA Draft.

• Miles averaged 15.4 points on 48.3% shooting, including 40.6% from 3 this season. She was the No. 2 overall pick to the Storm in Jack Maloney’s latest mock draft, behind Bueckers to the Wings at No. 1.
• For the moment, the Storm appear to be boxed in, Jack says. Either use the pick or deal the pick. 
• The 2025-26 season will be Miles’ fifth year of eligibility. She took a medical redshirt last season as she recovered from a torn ACL.
• Miles recently acknowledged the “volatility” in the WNBA. The players’ association is likely to opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement after the upcoming season as it seeks “transformational” change. That would include an overhauled rookie pay scale.
• “Over the course of her rookie deal, Miles could potentially make an extra $100,000-plus by waiting to turn pro in 2026,” Jack notes.

📺 What we’re watching Tuesday

⚾ Diamondbacks at Yankees, 7:05 p.m. on TBS
🏀 Suns at Bucks, 7:30 p.m. on TNT/truTV
🏒 Lightning at Islanders, 7:30 p.m. on EPSN+/Hulu/Disney+
🏀 Timberwolves at Grizzlies, 10 p.m. on TNT/truTV