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🏀 Five things to know Thursday
The 64-team March Madness field is set. On the second day of the First Four, Prairie View A&M dropped 40 second-half points to beat Lehigh, and Miami (OH) rained 3-pointers to roll past SMU. First-round matchups are now set as the action tips off this afternoon. Be sure to get your Bracket Games selections submitted, and check out the complete first-round schedule to map out your viewing priorities.Louisville freshman Mikel Brown Jr. has been ruled out vs. South Florida. The Cardinals will be starting their NCAA Tournament journey this afternoon against USF, but they will do so without one of their best players. Louisville has ruled out Brown for at least the first round — and possibly the second round — due to a back injury. Before finalizing those brackets or submitting those bets, make sure to double-check our March Madness injury tracker.Lionel Messi scored his 900th career goal against Nashville SC. Shifting away from the hardwood for a moment, Messi tallied his 900th career goal in the Concacaf Champions Cup. In doing so, Messi joined Cristiano Ronaldo as the only male players to reach that career milestone. Unfortunately for Messi and Inter Miami, it wasn’t all good news. The 1-1 final score meant Nashville SC advanced due to the away goals tiebreaker.Yankees ace Gerrit Cole made his first start after Tommy John surgery. After missing the entire 2025 season due to injury, Cole is hoping to bounce back and lead the Yankees to a World Series. Wednesday’s spring training start against the Red Sox was an encouraging sign. Cole threw one scoreless inning, and he showed off that flamethrower attached to his right shoulder. Cole hit 98.7 mph in the brief outing.The WNBA and…..
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