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Alex Ovechkin scores 887th goal to move within 8 of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Alex Ovechkin scored his 887th career goal Saturday to move within eight of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record. Ovechkin deflected a shot from Martin Fehervary past Georgi Romanov with 9:06 remaining in the third period. Romanov is the NHL-record 182nd goalie that Ovechkin has scored on. The 39-year-old Russian star has 34 goals on the season. He remains on pace before the end of this season to pass Gretzky’s mark of 894 that long seemed unapproachable before the end of this season.

NCAA’s Gavitt: Duke, ACC tell selection committee Flagg will be available for March Madness

Top-ranked Duke and the Atlantic Coast Conference have informed the NCAA Tournament selection committee that freshman Cooper Flagg will be available for March Madness. That’s according to NCAA senior vice president for basketball Dan Gavitt. Gavitt made the comments on CBS in the lead-up to Sunday’s announcement of the field of 68 teams. Flagg sprained his left ankle during Duke’s win against Georgia Tech on Thursday in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinals.

Clayton scores 22 as No. 4 Florida beats No. 5 Alabama 104-82 in SEC semis

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Walter Clayton Jr. scored 22 points, and No. 4 Florida pulled away from No. 5 Alabama for a 104-82 victory in the Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinals. Alijah Martin and Will Richard each had 16 points for the 29-4 Gators in their fifth consecutive win. Next up for Florida is Sunday’s SEC championship game against No. 8 Tennessee, which beat No. 3 Auburn 70-65 in the first semifinal. The second-seeded Gators led the Crimson Tide 47-45 after a first half that featured 10 lead changes. But Clayton and company really turned up their play down the stretch. Chris Youngblood had 14 points for third-seeded Alabama.

No. 6 St. John’s beats Creighton 82-66 for 1st Big East Tournament crown in 25 years

NEW YORK (AP) — RJ Luis Jr. scored all but two of his 29 points after halftime and No. 6 St. John’s made 14 straight shots from the field in the second half to beat Creighton 82-66 for its first Big East Tournament title in 25 years. Zuby Ejiofor added 20 points for the top-seeded Red Storm, who reached 30 wins for the third time in program history. They earned the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, making 72-year-old Hall of Famer Rick Pitino the first coach to take six schools to the Big Dance. Pitino also became the first coach to win the Big East Tournament at two schools. Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 15 for Creighton.

No. 8 Tennessee downs No. 3 Auburn 70-65 to reach SEC Tournament championship game

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Zakai Zeigler scored 20 points as No. 8 Tennessee held off regular-season champion and third-ranked Auburn 70-65 to reach the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship for the first time since 2022. The fourth-seeded Volunteers got revenge both for their Jan. 25 loss at Auburn and their 2019 loss to the Tigers in this tournament’s title game. Tennessee will play fourth-ranked Florida, a 104-82 winner over No. 5 Alabama, on Sunday for the tournament title. The Vols and the winner of that semifinal likely wind up with No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers go home losers of three of their last four games.

Rising to the occasion, Shohei Ohtani hits 2-run HR in return to Japan against Yomiuri Giants

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese star Shohei Ohtani showed off some prodigious power in his return to the Tokyo Dome on Saturday night. In an exhibition game against the Yomiuri Giants, the three-time MVP belted a two-run homer 391 feet to right field in the third inning to give the Dodgers a 4-0 lead, setting off a roar from the roughly 42,000 fans in attendance. The Dodgers put on quite a power display in the third with Michael Conforto, Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández all going deep to give Los Angeles a 5-0 advantage.

J.J. Spaun takes the lead at The Players Championship on windy day that wrecked rounds

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — J.J. Spaun survived a wild, windy and round-wrecking Saturday at The Players Championship. His 25-foot par putt swirled all the way around the cup on the 18th hole for a 70 and a one-shot lead over Bud Cauley. Lucas Glover was three shots behind and his final hour about summed up the day. He went double bogey, eagle, double bogey. Trouble was everywhere on the TPC Sawgrass with 25 mph wind. Rory McIlroy was four behind after a birdie on the final hole. Two-time defending champion Scottie Scheffler bogeyed two of his last three holes and was seven shots behind.

Draper knocks off 2-time defending champion Alcaraz to reach Indian Wells final

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) — Jack Draper toppled two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz 6-1, 0-6, 6-4 on Saturday to reach the BNP Paribas Open final. The 13th-seeded Draper will face 12th-seeded Holger Rune on Sunday. Rune beat fifth-seeded Daniil Medvedev 7-6, 6-4 in the first semifinal for his 150th tour-level victory. In the women’s final Sunday, top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka will play 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva. They won semifinal matches Friday night in chilly conditions. Draper ended Alcaraz’s 16-match winning streak in the ATP Masters 1000 event in the California desert. The 23-year-old English left-hander — set to break into the top 10 in the world for the first time Monday — won last year in Vienna and Stuttgart for his lone tour titles. Alcaraz was seeded second.

Jimmie Johnson has texted Christopher Bell after his 3 victories this season. Bell wants a 4th text

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Christopher Bell geeks out when his phone lights up with a new congratulatory text message from Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson. The texts have come three weeks in a row and Bell hopes Johnson hits that send button again Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Bell has the chance to become the first driver since Johnson in 2007 to win four consecutive Cup Series races — an accomplishment that only eight drivers have achieved in the modern era of NASCAR that began in 1972.

Tonje scores 32 as No. 18 Wisconsin tops No. 7 Michigan St. 77-74 in Big Ten semis

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — John Tonje scored 32 points and grabbed seven rebounds to help No. 18 Wisconsin beat No. 7 Michigan State 77-74 in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. John Blackwell added 14 points as the 26-8 Badgers won for the third time in four days. They will play No. 22 Michigan for the tournament title on Sunday. Jase Richardson had 21 points and seven rebounds for the 27-6 Spartans. Jeremy Fears Jr. scored 14 points, but he had the ball knocked away in the waning seconds as he tried to tie the score with a heave from near the midcourt logo.