Author: alaskaadmin

LoanDepot Park (Miami) – Hours after the Dominican Republic was eliminated by the United States, players walked out of the clubhouse blasting a high-energy Dominican Dembow song. Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Juan Soto strutted through the tunnel of the Miami Marlins’s stadium unable to mask their expressions of disappointment and frustration. Yet, despite their 2-1 defeat to Team USA in the World Baseball Classic semifinal, the Dominican Republic tried their best to leave the tournament the same way they entered it. As Soto said a day before the WBC started: “We’re going to have fun, and we’re going to be loud.” The Dominican Republic team paraded its distinctive style of playing baseball with fun and flair from beginning to end in their undefeated run to the semifinals. Players lifted a dumbbell adorned with plantains to celebrate hitting home runs. They danced and took fake selfies at home plate. They pounded their chests while running the bases. They smiled. They laughed. They hugged. They sent 40-foot bat flips into the air. Every swing was dramatic. Every strikeout was aggressive. Every at-bat was a confrontation. This wasn’t fluff; they backed it up. The Dominican Republic this year set a record for the most home runs (15) by a single team in WBC history. Their celebrations were just as explosive as their offensive firepower. The festive atmosphere created by the Dominican Republic had a ripple effect across sold-out crowds and through social media as people watching the tournament worldwide experienced the joy that became the team’s identity. Passion was their personality. Entertainment was essential. And it’s not just the Dominican Republic. Team Italy has an espresso machine in the dugout, and players drink a shot of java after hitting home runs. That style of play was so endearing and so infectious that Team USA fans wondered why players didn’t seem like they were having fun. Dugout celebrations were quieter. Their energy was consistent, if monotonous. There were no props to commemorate home runs. USA’s sense of been there, done that is in stark contrast to the way the rest of the countries in the tournament have openly shown emotion. The Americans took care of business, and played like businessmen. They know they’re being criticized for it. “For some reason, everyone thinks that we don’t have fun playing baseball,” USA outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong said after their win on Sunday. “I don’t know if we make it look like we don’t have fun or what, but our goal is to make it to the championship game. I don’t think we want to get ahead of ourselves, and I think we understand that it’s nine innings of baseball.” Crow-Armstrong said the team is “having a blast out there.” To prove his point, he posted on his Instagram story a picture of Gunnar Henderson’s home run against the Dominican Republic and Team USA’s excited reaction, accompanied by the song “Ain’t It Fun” by Paramore. The Chicago Cubs outfielder sounded almost offended as he defended the perception that the team isn’t having fun. “I’m not offended at all,” he said. “I just think it’s hilarious. Really, I do.” Crow-Armstrong continued: “You guys will think it’s silly if we shuffled like Soto or did Vladdy’s little whip move. That’s them. And if I had enough swag to do that, I’d probably do that too. I think you guys would think it was funny if we were out there doing what they’re doing. I don’t think that’d be as authentic as it is for them to be who they are. And that’s totally okay. We’ve won in our own way, but we definitely have fun out there.” The USA might not have aura, but it does have immense talent. Manager Mark DeRosa compiled the most star-studded roster the tournament has ever seen. The offense is led by team captain and three-time MVP Aaron Judge, Kyle Schwarber, Bobby Witt Jr., and Bryce Harper. And the pitching staff featured the reigning Cy Young award winners from each league in Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal, alongside a lethal bullpen arm in Mason Miller. Twenty-one of the 30 players on USA’s roster have been MLB All-Stars, a total that led all teams in the tournament. USA is a juggernaut. After Sunday’s win over the Dominican Republic, USA advanced to the WBC final and will play the winner of Monday’s semifinal between Italy and Venezuela. As far as the Americans are concerned, they’re letting their winning pedigree speak for itself. “Japan plays a certain game. America plays a certain game. Latin American countries play a certain game,” Harper said. “We’re all in this tournament feeding off of playing a great game, and that’s what makes our game so great, is there’s so many different cultures that play this game. “I can’t dance a lick like Tatis can, but I have fun playing this game. So I think it’s such a storyline for all you guys, compared to us. We’re just going out there and enjoying the game that we play, and that’s kind of how we feel.” It’s fascinating that Harper, of all people, is on the team that’s receiving criticism for not showing enough emotion. Back when he won National League Rookie of the Year in 2012, Harper received backlash for playing the game with intensity and passion. He often challenged America’s traditional unwritten rules and tried to make the game exciting with emphatic bat flips and his signature fiery competitiveness. “Latin American countries play with a lot of flair, a lot of energy,” he said. “And I love watching it because that’s how I played when I was younger. I got in trouble for it.” Harper used to be bold. He played with different colored bats and unique styles of cleats. He smeared way too much eye-black on his cheeks, starting from just underneath his eyes and going all the way down to his neck. He used it as war paint. In 2024, after hitting a home run in the MLB London Series against the Mets, Harper hit a soccer-style knee slide on the turf, complete with his arms wide open while pumping up the crowd. But, about 10–15 years ago, that display of emotion wasn’t popular. MLB told him he couldn’t use gray bats, he couldn’t use eye-black. Eventually, now entering his 15th season in the major leagues, he stopped playing the game with as much passion and flair. Harper said he doesn’t really miss doing that stuff, because it wasn’t fun getting yelled at for showing his personality. “I kind of got pounded for it,” Harper said. “It got beat out of me a little bit, where I didn’t want to do it anymore. The game has changed, and I like that. I love the way that Ronald Acuña [Jr.] plays the game. I love the way that Tatis goes about it. [Shohei] Ohtani, obviously, brings his style of the game, too. Everybody has their certain style from different countries, and that’s why baseball is the greatest game in the world, because you bring so many different styles together, especially in this tournament. And it’s so much fun to watch.” At times, it’s been difficult to understand the USA’s identity. Players salute each other in celebration. They’ve talked about how meaningful the tournament is to them after the sacrifices that service men and women have gone through to defend the country. While videos of Dominican Republic players dancing and being goofy in the clubhouse went viral, Team USA players were shown quietly listening to former Navy SEAL Robert J. O’Neill delivering a pregame speech. As far as USA players are concerned, though, whatever they’re doing is working. They don’t need to match or copy someone else’s identity to win. “What we’re good at on our side is, if the crowd wants to be big and loud and all that, we will keep that steady heartbeat until the pop happens,” Crow-Armstrong said. “The Gunnar homer, the Roman [Anthony] homer. David Bednar getting out of a big inning. [Garrett] Whitlock shutting it down — three up, three down. I think we just pick our spots. You get to see us play our style, and that’s OK. “We’ve carried ourselves this tournament the way that we wanted to, and that is feeling like we’re the best team in this tournament, the best team in the world.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

The College Basketball Crown is back as the second-year event takes center stage in Las Vegas in early-April. This year’s edition will feature eight teams facing off in a postseason tournament, competing for NIL dollars. There are six automatic bids — two each reserved for the top teams in the NCAA Evaluation Tool in the Big Ten, Big East and Big 12 — as well as two at-large participants. Here is the full schedule and key information for the College Basketball Crown. Who is in the 2026 College Basketball Crown tournament? The College Basketball Crown tournament is made up of an 8-team field. Below are this year’s participants: Where is the 2026 College Basketball Crown? The 2026 College Basketball Crown will take place in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in the quarterfinals, and T-Mobile Arena for the semifinals and final. Where can I watch the College Basketball Crown? The 2026 College Basketball Crown will air on FOX and FS1, with the quarterfinals broadcast on FS1 and the semifinals and final on FOX. College Basketball Crown Schedule and Bracket Crown Quarterfinals Wednesday, April 18 p.m. ET: Oklahoma vs. Colorado (FS1)4:30 p.m. ET: Baylor vs. Minnesota (FS1) Thursday, April 28 p.m. ET: Stanford vs. West Virginia (FS1)4:30 p.m. ET: Rutgers vs. Creighton (FS1) Crown Semifinals Saturday, April 41:30 p.m. ET: TBD vs. TBD (FOX)4 p.m. ET: TBD vs. TBD (FOX) Crown Finals Sunday, April 55:30 p.m. ET: TBD vs. TBD (FOX)​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

The College Basketball Crown is back. After debuting with a 16-team format in Las Vegas last spring, the sport’s newest postseason event will return to the desert in early April as an eight-team showcase. The field for this year’s College Basketball Crown was revealed Monday evening, live on FS1. This year’s participants are Oklahoma, Colorado, Baylor, Minnesota, Stanford, West Virginia, Rutgers and Creighton. First-round games will be played on April 1-2. Semifinal matchups will be held on April 4. And the championship game is slated for April 5. Here are my takeaways from the bracket reveal: 1. Oklahoma had a case to be in the NCAA Tournament Given that the Sooners lost nine consecutive games from Jan. 7 through Feb. 4, it’s almost inconceivable to believe they had a legitimate claim for an at-large berth in the Big Dance. And yet, that’s how strong certain parts of Oklahoma’s résumé really were. Head coach Porter Moser and his team now enter the postseason with five wins over teams included in this year’s NCAA Tournament: Vanderbilt, Georgia, Missouri, Texas and Texas A&M. They also notched a victory against Auburn, another team that landed squarely on the bubble, and suffered narrow defeats to Nebraska (105-99), Alabama (83-81), Missouri (88-87 in OT) and Arkansas (82-79) — all of whom are now participating in March Madness. Oklahoma’s analytical profile is also quite strong. The Sooners are ranked No. 40 on KenPom, No. 39 on Torvik and No. 33 by EvanMiya. They finished among the top 50 in both the NET Rankings and the Wins Above Bubble metric. Moser’s offense ranks 18th nationally in efficiency, according to KenPom, and the team’s overall strength of schedule is 25th. The Sooners were probably the best team left out of the NCAA Tournament. 2. Several NBA-caliber talents worth watching The teams included in the College Basketball Crown are home to a handful of high-level prospects who are expected to figure prominently in this year’s NBA Draft: Cameron Carr, SG/SF, Baylor — The 6-foot-5 redshirt sophomore, who spent his previous two seasons at Tennessee, enjoyed a breakout campaign for the Bears by averaging 19.2 points and 5.5 rebounds. He shot better than 50% from the field on more than a dozen field goal attempts per game and connected on 39.4% of his attempts from beyond the arc. He scored at least 20 points on 15 occasions this season. Tounde Yessoufou, SG/SF, Baylor — Yessoufou is a five-star freshman from the county of Benin in West Africa. He ranks second on the Bears in scoring at 17.8 points per game and third in rebounding at 5.8 per game. At 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds, he has good size and stoutness for the next level, but he’ll need to make strides as a perimeter shooter. Yessoufou only shot 30.2% from beyond the arc on more than five attempts per game. Ebuka Okorie, PG, Stanford — Okorie was a four-star prospect and the No. 100 overall player in the 2025 recruiting class but quickly outperformed that ranking with the Cardinal during an incredible freshman campaign. His scoring average of 22.8 points per game ranked seventh nationally during the regular season, headlined by seven 30-point efforts and one 40-point outing against Georgia Tech. Okorie was a shoo-in to earn first-team All-ACC honors after scoring at least 10 points in 28 of 30 appearances. 3. Plenty of teams with marquee wins on their résumés In addition to the aforementioned, high-profile victories amassed by Oklahoma, there are several other teams in this year’s field that showed — on any given night — they can hang with some of the better teams in the sport: — Minnesota, which finished 15-17 overall and 8-12 in the Big Ten, scored wins over then-No. 19 Iowa, then-No. 10 Michigan State and UCLA to finish comfortably in the middle of the conference pack. — Stanford, which finished 20-12 overall and 9-9 in the ACC, knocked off then-No. 16 Louisville, then-No. 14 North Carolina, SMU and NC State to finish .500 or better in league play for a second consecutive season. — Creighton, which finished 15-17 overall and 9-11 in the Big East, defeated Villanova and trounced then-No. 2 UConn in one of the most stunning results of the conference season. 4. A chance for young talent to develop Rutgers finished 14-19 overall and only won six conference games this season, but there is one stat that shouldn’t be ignored when thinking about what Steve Pikell’s team might develop into by next season: Out of 18 teams in the Big Ten, there was only one — Penn State — with less Division I experience on the roster than the Scarlet Knights, according to KenPom. Rutgers ranked 17th in the conference and 205th overall with an average of just 1.36 years of experience per player. Why does that matter? In an era when roster retention is harder than it’s ever been before thanks to both NIL inducements and the transfer portal, the Scarlet Knights are in position to be one of the most cohesive teams in the Big Ten next season if Pikiell can hang onto key pieces. None of Rutgers’ seven leading scorers from the 2025-26 campaign were seniors, meaning all of them could return. And four of those players were sophomores or younger. A nucleus built around junior guard Tariq Francis (16.9 points), sophomore forward Dylan Grant (9.8 points), junior guard Darren Buchanan Jr. (8.4 points) and junior guard Jamichael Davis (7.2 points) should give fans plenty to be excited about in the coming months. The experience those young players will gain in a tournament format at the College Basketball Crown can be highly valuable. 4½. What’s next? Three teams who participated in the inaugural event last spring catapulted themselves from Las Vegas into this year’s NCAA Tournament. Nebraska, which won the College Basketball Crown, went on to enjoy the best regular season in school history and earned a No. 4 seed in the Big Dance. The Cornhuskers are now chasing the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament win. UCF, which fell to Nebraska in the championship game, was among the more pleasant surprises in college basketball this season by starting 17-4 and racking up 21 wins overall. The Knights exceeded 20 victories for the first time since the 2018-19 season. They’re now a 10-seed in the NCAA Tournament. And Villanova, which reached the semifinals, identified Maryland head coach Kevin Willard as the right successor to Kyle Neptune, who was fired after the 2024-25 campaign, and amassed 24 wins while finishing third in the Big East. The Wildcats, now an 8-seed, are back in the Big Dance for the first time in four years.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports