Let’s make a deal

No, we’re not talking about yesterday’s Selection Sunday bracket reveal (though we’ll have more on both NCAA basketball national tournaments later this week). We’re talking about the WNBA collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations, which continued over the weekend.

• Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said it’s urgent to reach a deal by, erm, today, in order to avoid delaying the season calendar. Luckily, both sides have reported progress as negotiations continued into the wee hours of the morning. Needless to say, watch this space.

🇨🇦 Cross-country skier Natalie Wilkie and curler Mark Ideson led Team Canada into the Paralympic Closing Ceremony yesterday, a well-deserved honor after Wilkie’s four-medal performance (two gold, one silver, one bronze) and Ideson’s gold medal–clinching heroics.

🥇🥌 Speaking of, Ideson’s final stone thrown with just 2.8 seconds left capped off Saturday’s dramatic 4–3 win over China, earning Canada its first gold in the event since 2014. Now that’s how you take it to the house.

🥈🏒 Team Canada settled for para ice hockey silver yesterday, giving it their all in a 6–2 loss to Team USA. It’s the Americans’ fifth straight Paralympic gold in the event, and the third consecutive year Canada’s lost in the final.

🥉🎿 So nice, skier Kalle Eriksson did it thrice. Alongside his guide Sierra Smith, the 21-year-old Canadian won bronze in the men’s visually impaired slalom event yesterday, the tandem’s third medal of the Games. Not bad for a Paralympic debut.

🏅 Canada’s 15 medals — three golds, four silvers, and eight bronze — placed them sixth in the final medal count. The Canucks’ most successful sport? Alpine skiing, where they had five podium finishes.

• Yes, it’s short of their 25-medal haul in Beijing, but it’s worth noting that Canada set a national record for top-five finishes at these Paralympics, a Games that saw the return of Russian athletes who accounted for eight golds.

💸 Now, for the elephant in the room: money. Prime Minister Mark Carney has committed to revamping funding for Canadian Olympic and Paralympic athletes over the next six months, along with providing additional financial support for grassroots sports across the country. Yes, please.

It was a two-horse race for the women’s top overall seed, but the undefeated Huskies’ perfect résumé was too much for UCLA to overcome. The Bruins slot in as the No. 2 overall seed (and the No. 1 seed in Region 2) with Texas and South Carolina earning the other two No. 1 seeds. As for the men, Duke’s joined by Arizona, Michigan, and Florida as No. 1 seeds.

• Meanwhile, Miami Ohio fans can breathe a sigh of relief. The RedHawk men are going dancing for the first time since 2007 despite dropping their first game all season in the MAC quarter-finals.

• With all 136 teams named, including a handful of first-time dancers, we officially have a pair of brackets. Madness, loading.

Just 19 years and 202 days old, Antonelli became the youngest pole sitter in F1 history after Saturday’s qualification. And the Italian prodigy rode that pole to a victory yesterday, crossing the line 5.5 seconds ahead of his second-place teammate George Russell and 25 seconds before Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton. Notably, it’s Hamilton’s F1–record 203rd career podium and first for Ferrari.

• In other news, F1 confirmed on Saturday that they won’t hold grands prix in Saudi Arabia or Bahrain in April, citing safety concerns due to the conflict in the Middle East. Rescheduling is challenging, so the season will likely consist of 22 races, the fewest since 2023.

The U.S. are through to their second straight WBC championship game after hanging on to beat the stacked Dominican Republic 2–1 in last night’s controversy-filled semifinal. Led by starting pitcher Paul Skenes, the red, white, and blue defense the moment, holding the explosive DR lineup to just one run.

• The Americans’ opponent? The winner of tonight’s 8 p.m. ET semifinal featuring espresso-fueled underdog Italy vs. Team Venezuela, who stunned reigning WBC champs Japan in Saturday’s quarter-final. So seated.

The PGA’s PLAYERS Championship and tennis’ Indian Wells Open aren’t among their respective iconic four majors, but the honorary fifth majors didn’t disappoint yesterday. World No. 15 golfer Cameron Young triumphed on a perilous course, using pinpoint accuracy on the trickiest hole of the final round to complete the comeback.

• On the court, the world’s best women’s tennis player Aryna Sabalenka authored a comeback of her own, topping archnemesis world No. 2 Elena Rybakina in three sets, before men’s No. 2 Jannik Sinner emerged victorious after a thrilling battle vs. No. 11 Daniil Medvedev.