AP Sports SummaryBrief at 1:03 a.m. EDT

Wolves surge past Rockets in overtime 110-108 on game-closing 15-0 run capped by Randle's winner

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Julius Randle hit the go-ahead jumper with 8.8 seconds left in overtime to cap a game-closing 15-0 run by the Minnesota Timberwolves for a 110-108 victory over the Houston Rockets. Minnesota overcame a 13-point deficit in overtime, the biggest comeback since detailed play-by-play throughout the game began in 1997. Randle was called for a foul on Kevin Durant’s drive with 3.3 seconds remaining. Durant missed his first free throw and the second one intentionally to try to try to keep possession. The Rockets never got a final shot. Durant and Alperen Sengun each scored 30 points and led a 12-0 run late in regulation.

Judge goes hitless on opening day for first time, Yankees top Giants 7-0 as robot umpire debuts

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Aaron Judge went hitless on opening day for the first time and struck out four times for the first time since September 2024, but the New York Yankees still produced plenty of offense and beat San Francisco 7-0 in the debut of Giants manager Tony Vitello as the major league season began. José Caballero drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI single in a five-run second and also lost the first challenge taken to Major League Baseball’s so-called robot umpire, unsuccessfully appealing a strike by Logan Webb in the fourth. Max Fried allowed two hits in 6 1/3 scoreless innings.

Vegas and Seattle a step closer to getting NBA teams. League's owners approve expansion exploration

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA has finally decided to consider expanding past its current 30-team footprint, with the league’s owners voting Wednesday to start exploring the process of adding franchises in Las Vegas and Seattle. It was not a surprise move; expansion has been a consideration for years, and it’s been clear for some time that those two cities are the ones that are now a significant step closer toward joining the league. Las Vegas has been clamoring for an NBA team since at least the late 1990s, if not even longer. And Seattle has been waiting for the SuperSonics to return for nearly two decades.

March Madness: An eighth grader from Pittsburgh is all alone with a perfect women's NCAA bracket

The only person left out of millions who entered men's and women's NCAA tournament brackets in ESPN's competition is an eighth-grader from suburban Pittsburgh. His name is Otto Schellhammer, and you can bet the 14-year-old is enjoying his one shining moment. He is 48-0 through the first weekend of the women's tournament, and he'll try to push it to 56-0 when the Sweet 16 takes place on Friday and Saturday. The record for ESPN's competition is 57-0. The exact odds of a perfect bracket are steep: Most mathematicians put the number at around 1 in 28 billion.

Brown scores 31 as Celtics rally to beat Thunder 119-109, snapping OKC’s 12-game win streak

BOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 14 of his 31 points a pivotal third quarter and the Boston Celtics rallied to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 119-109, snapping the defending champions’ 12-game win streak. Jayson Tatum recovered from back-to-back rocky performances to add 19 points and 12 rebounds while also contributing seven assists as Boston earned a split in the two regular-season matchups between the past two NBA champs. Brown added eight rebounds and eight assists. Boston’s edge grew as high as 14 in the final period. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 33 points and eight assists. But Oklahoma City was outscored by the Celtics 19-2 in second-chance points and shot just 12 of 37 from the 3-point line.

Yankees' José Caballero loses first robot challenge of ball/strike call

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Yankees’ José Caballero lost the first challenge taken to Major League Baseball’s so-called robot umpire, unsuccessfully appealing a strike by San Francisco Giants right-hander Logan Webb in the season opener won 7-0 by New York. Webb started the fourth inning with a 90.7 mph sinker on the upper, inner corner that was called a strike by Bill Miller. Caballero tapped his helmet, and the 12 Hawk-Eye cameras of the Automated Ball-Strike System upheld Miller’s decision in a graphic shown on the Oracle Park scoreboard.

Ex-ump Richie Garcia worries current umps will be embarrassed when robots overturn ball/strike calls

NEW YORK (AP) — Robot-assisted strike calls are entering Major League Baseball games. MLB introduced the Automated Ball-Strike System for regular-season use in the New York Yankees’ opener at San Francisco. Teams can challenge two ball/strike calls per game and they keep a challenge if they win it. Retired umpire Richie Garcia says MLB is showing that it doesn't trust umpires. Retired umps Ted Barrett and Sam Holbrook say tech helps fix obvious misses. Umpires still call most pitches, and their accuracy climbed to nearly 93% in 2025. ABS uses a different strike-zone definition than the rule book.

NFL will open 2026 season on a Wednesday for 2nd time ever with the champion Seahawks as host

The NFL will open the season on a Wednesday for the second time ever with the defending champion Seattle Seahawks set to host the first game of the 2026 season. The NFL announced the Seahawks will play the opener on Sept. 9, a day earlier than usual with the league also having a Week 1 game in Australia between San Francisco and the Los Angeles Rams. The only other time the opener was played on a Wednesday came in 2012 when Dallas visited the New York Giants. President Barack Obama spoke on that Thursday at the Democratic National Convention.

Azzi Fudd’s March Madness takeover appearing in commercials and social media spots

UConn star Azzi Fudd has become one of the most visible faces in women’s college basketball, thanks to a wave of TV ads and social media deals. Fudd appears in ads for brands like Planet Fitness, Marriott Bonvoy and Geico. A sports marketing expert says companies now know how to use college athletes in real time. Fudd links her Planet Fitness partnership to injury recovery. She says her mom taught her to prioritize recovery early.

March Madness: Here's one thing you need to know about each of the 16 teams remaining in men's field

Florida isn’t around to defend its title anymore, but all the other top seeds in this year's NCAA Tournament are still around. And many of them are winning convincingly. The first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament were decided by an average of 15.3 points. That represents the third-highest average margin of victory through the round of 32 since 1985. The only NCAA Tournaments with higher average victory margin since then came in 1993 (16.1) and 2024 (15.4).