Well, that didn’t stink.

How about March Madness? Does it ever disappoint?

Nope.

Thursday’s first round had the upsets we love, the close calls that nearly wreck brackets nationwide and memorable moments, like Nebraska’s NCAA Tournament long-awaited breakthrough.

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Armour: One day in and March Madness already it’s usual marvelous self

Can Friday top it?

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See best of March Madness 2026, from mascots and fans to celebrities

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Here’s a look at Friday’s full slate of games and TV listings:

March Madness today: NCAA Tournament schedule, TV listings for Friday, March 20

• 12:15 p.m.: No. 7 Kentucky vs. No. 10 Santa Clara, CBS (Fubo)

• 12:40 p.m.: No. 5 Texas Tech vs. No. 12 Akron, truTV (Sling TV)

• 1:35 p.m.: No. 1 Arizona vs. No. 16 LIU, TNT (Sling TV)

• 1:50 p.m.: No. 3 Virginia vs. No. 14 Wright State, TBS (Sling TV)

• 2:50 p.m.: No. 2 Iowa State vs. No. 15 Tennessee State, CBS (Fubo)

• 3:15 p.m.: No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 13 Hofstra, truTV (Sling TV)

• 4:10 p.m.: No. 8 Villanova vs. No. 9 Utah State, TNT (Sling TV)

• 4:25 p.m.: No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 11 Miami (Ohio), TBS (Sling TV)

• 6:50 p.m.: No. 8 Clemson vs. No. 9 Iowa, TNT (Sling TV)

• 7:10 p.m.: No 5 St. John’s vs. No. 12 Northern Iowa, CBS (Fubo)

• 7:25 p.m.: No. 7 UCLA vs. No. 10 Central Florida, TBS (Sling TV)

• 7:35 p.m.: No. 2 Purdue vs. No. 15 Queens, truTV (Sling TV)

• 9:25 p.m.: No. 1 Florida vs. No. 16 Prairie View A&M, TNT (Sling TV)

• 9:45 p.m.: No. 4 Kansas vs. No. 13 Cal Baptist, CBS (Fubo)

• 10 p.m.: No. 2 UConn vs. No. 15 Furman, TBS (Sling TV)

• 10:10 p.m.: No. 7 Miami vs. No. 10 Missouri, truTV (Sling TV)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: March Madness today: NCAA Tournament schedule, how to watch first round

The “Giant Labrador” moniker fits Arapaho perfectly as he bows out of racing.

With two Group 1 successes to his name, the gelding Arapaho has been retired by Bjorn Baker, who attributed the move to “wear and tear” ending the horse’s track tenure.

Baker shared the update Thursday, praising Arapaho as “an outstanding ambassador for our stable” and a “tough and genuine” athlete.

“The decision to retire him has been made with his best interests firmly in mind,” Baker commented via social media platform X.

“He is feeling a little wear and tear in his joints, and at nine years old, it’s the right call to step him away from racing rather than take any risk.”

From French origins, Arapaho joined Australian racing in 2021 and solidified his role in the stable over successive years.

His 2023 Tancred Stakes (2400m) win preceded another Group 1 at eight years old, dominating last year’s Sydney Cup (3200m).

Last seen midfield in the 2025 Melbourne Cup, Arapaho retires after 50 starts, 10 triumphs, 10 minor placings, and more than $4.3 million in prizemoney.

The horse was cherished at the stable much like a “giant Labrador”.

Jockey Rachel King, whose husband Luke Hilton manages racing for Baker, will care for Arapaho alongside her partner post-racing.

View racing betting markets for upcoming classics in the Sydney Cup mould.

Manchester United has said goodbye to one of its former staff members.

Silvino Louro, United’s former goalkeeping coach under Jose Mourinho, passed away yesterday.

Death

The club announced yesterday on their official website, “Manchester United is saddened to learn our former goalkeeping coach Silvino Louro has passed away at the age of 67.”

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They added, “our thoughts are with Silvino’s family and friends at this difficult time.”

One of his former clubs, Real Madrid also released a statement saying, “Real Madrid wishes to express its condolences and its love and affection to his family, his teammates, his clubs and all his loved ones.”

Former Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea also posted a photo on Instagram which simply stated, “rest in peace”.

Career

Louro played for numerous clubs across Portugal, most notably for SL Benfica between 1984 and 1994 and FC Porto from 1995 to 1997. He also won 23 caps for his country.

He began a successful career as a goalkeeping coach at illustrious clubs such as Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Manchester United, all while working closely with Jose Mourinho.

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Louro joined United in 2016 and stayed at the club until late 2018. He worked closely alongside David de Gea, Sergio Romero, Sam Johnstone and Joel Pereira.

The former goalkeeping coach was also part of the team that won the FA Community Shield, League Cup and Europa League during his first year at the club.

He was instrumental in Vítor Baía, Petr Čech, and Júlio César winning the UEFA Best Goalkeeper award under his tutelage.

Portuguese newspaper A Bola, referred to him as “an unavoidable figure” in Portuguese football.

They reported that he finally “succumbed to a prolonged illness”.

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The 2026 NCAA Tournament is through its first 20 games with only 48 teams remaining now that the first round is onto its second day Friday. That’s right: 20 teams have already been eliminated from March Madness, leaving the remainder to continue competing for the 2025-26 national champion. Another 16 teams will see their postseason conclude by around 1 a.m. ET on Saturday as competition moves into the second round.

With 67 games set to be televised across CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV, fans will be able to keep up with all the action no matter when they tune in or how they choose to watch. There have already been multiple upsets and busted brackets, and No. 1 seeds Florida and Arizona enter Friday’s games attempting to ensure they remain in their respective driver’s seats with less pain than their conterparts experienced 24 hours earlier.

On the call for the NCAA Tournament this year are several notable voices, with Ian Eagle returning for the third straight year as lead play-by-play announcer and the voice of the Final Four alongside Bill Raftery, Grant Hill and reporter Tracy Wolfson.

Ernie Johnson hosts studio coverage for the Final Four with Nate Burleson, Adam Zucker and Adam Lefkoe also serving as hosts and Jamie Erdhal providing game updates throughout the NCAA Tournament. Studio analysts include Clark Kellogg, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Renee Montgomery in New York, and Bruce Pearl, Jamal Mashburn, Jalen Rose and Seth Davis in Atlanta.

Robbie Hummel is on site through the Regional Finals with Candace Parker and Wally Szczerbiak calling games for the first time as Brandon Gaudin and Jared Greenberg join the team.

CBS is leading the way, televising 21 games during the NCAA Tournament, including the Elite 8 and Sweet 16. TBS matches it by televising 21 games, including the Final Four, Elite 8 and Sweet 16, while truTV is airing or simulcasting 23 games and TNT is airing or simulcasting 15 games. In addition to the March Madness Live app, where you can watch every game, Paramount+ subscribers will be able to watch all the games televised by CBS, while HBO Max subscribers can catch the games on TBS, TNT and truTV.

From the Selection Show all the way until the playing of “One Shining Moment” after a champion is crowned, CBS Sports and TNT Sports will be bringing you the magic.

Let’s take a look at the 2026 March Madness announcing teams along with the complete schedule for the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

2026 March Madness announcing teams

Play-by-Play | Analyst(s) || Reporter
* Regional Weekend announce teams | ~ Final Four team

• Ian Eagle | Bill Raftery, Grant Hill || Tracy Wolfson*~
• Brian Anderson | Jim Jackson || Allie LaForce*
• Kevin Harlan | Robbie Hummel, Stan Van Gundy || Lauren Shehadi*
• Andrew Catalon | Steve Lappas || Evan Washburn*
• Brad Nessler | Wally Szczerbiak || Jared Greenberg
• Spero Dedes | Jim Spanarkel || Jon Rothstein
• Tom McCarthy | Candice Parker, Dan Bonner || AJ Ross
• Brandon Gaudin | Chris Webber || Andy Katz
• Rules analyst: Gene Steratore

2026 NCAA Tournament schedule, dates

First round

Friday, March 20
Benchmark International Arena (Tampa), Xfinity Mobile Arena (Philadelphia), Viejas Arena (San Diego), Enterprise Center (St. Louis)

Second round

Saturday, March 21
KeyBank Center (Buffalo), Bon Secours Wellness Arena (Greenville), Paycom Center (Oklahoma City), Moda Center (Portland)

Sunday, March 22 — 12:10 p.m. start (CBS, TBS, TNT, truTV)
Benchmark International Arena (Tampa), Xfinity Mobile Arena (Philadelphia), Viejas Arena (San Diego), Enterprise Center (St. Louis)

Sweet 16

Thursday, March 26 — 7:10 p.m. start (CBS, TBS)
Toyota Center (Houston), SAP Center (San Jose)

Friday, March 27 — 7:10 p.m. start (CBS, TBS)
United Center (Chicago), Capital One Arena (Washington, D.C.)

Elite 8

Saturday, March 28 — 6:09 p.m. start (TBS)
Toyota Center (Houston), SAP Center (San Jose)

Sunday, March 29 — 2:15 p.m. start (CBS)
United Center (Chicago), Capital One Arena (Washington, D.C.)

Final Four

Saturday, April 4 — 6:09 p.m. start (TBS)
Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis)

National Championship

Monday, April 6 — 8:50 p.m. (TBS)
Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis)

As Opening Day approaches, the Brewers are making their final tune ups before the start of the season. With Brandon Woodruff’s status still uncertain, he made a crucial start this evening. It ended up being the offense that dominated the game, as the Brewers defeated the Rangers 11-4.

The Brewers got on the board quickly. Sal Frelick led off the game with a walk, stole second, and scored on an Andrew Vaughn single. In the next inning, back-to-back home runs from Gary Sánchez and Luis Rengifo added two more runs. David Hamilton set up another run with a single and steal, and Joey Ortiz drove him in with a single. After two innings, the Brewers had a 4-0 lead.

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In the fourth inning, the Brewers unleashed a barrage of runs. Vaughn led off the inning with a single, then Garrett Mitchell reached on a fielding error. Sánchez drew a walk after that to load the bases. After Rengifo flew out to center, Brandon Lockridge continued his strong spring with an RBI double, driving in two. Hamilton followed that up with another RBI double to bring in another two runs. That chased Rangers starter Jacob Latz from the game, and Dane Acker entered in relief. After a Frelick groundout and Ortiz walk, Christian Yelich punctuated the inning with a three-run home run. After the first three innings, the Brewers had scored 11 runs.

Meanwhile, Woodruff started the night with two 1-2-3 innings, striking out two. That started to unravel in the third inning. The Rangers got their first run from a Tyler Wade single and Alejandro Osuna RBI double. Woodruff recovered with strikeouts of Jonah Bride and Joc Pederson, but walked Evan Carter between them. Joe Corbett finished out the inning for Woodruff, striking out Danny Jansen to end the inning.

Woodruff returned for the fourth inning, but promptly allowed back-to-back home runs to Ezequiel Duran and Mark Canha. He got Sam Haggerty to line out, but that was it for his day. In total, he pitched a combination of three innings over the course of the first four innings. He allowed three runs and four hits, two of those going for home runs. He also struck out four and walked one while throwing 62 pitches. While he did get the four ups that he wanted in the game (his goal was to start four innings to get warmed up and pitch), his velocity was noticeably down at the end of his start. After the game, Woodruff said that despite the velocity, he felt great.

Curt Hogg (@CyrtHogg) on X

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Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) on X

After the fourth, both bullpens buckled down for the rest of the game. Trevor Megill pitched the fifth inning and struck out two, but recorded four outs after Canha reached on a wild pitch swinging strikeout. Abner Uribe made his first appearance after returning from the World Baseball Classic, allowed a leadoff single but retired the next three in order, striking out one.

Jared Koenig got into some trouble in the seventh by starting the inning with back-to-back singles. He got two outs thanks to a double play from the defense, then a fly out from Canha ended the inning. Grant Anderson walked one in the eighth inning, but that was it in a scoreless inning of work. Stiven Cruz finished out the game for the Brewers, walked two but held the Rangers scoreless to end the game.

Vaughn and Hamilton each had two-hit days for the Brewers’ offense. Yelich had three RBI from his second home run of the spring, and Lockridge and Hamilton added on two RBI each. Ortiz also reached base twice with a hit and a walk, and also drove a run in. As a team, the Brewers had nine hits — three of those home runs — and four walks.

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Tomorrow features a doubleheader of action for the Brewers. The day will start out with the first of two Spring Breakout games for the Brewers’ prospects, as the Mariners’ Prospects travel to face them in Phoenix. That game will take place at 4:10 p.m. and be broadcast on MLB Video. Then, at night the Brewers travel to face the Diamondbacks, with first pitch set for 8:10 p.m. That game will have an audio broadcast available on MLB.com.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) shared the training schedule with all the Pakistan Super League (PSL) teams despite the ongoing tensions in the region. Although the Pakistan-Afghanistan conflict has escalated massively in the past few days, a report in The Express Tribune stated that no foreign player, including the Australians, has informed their franchises about their unavailability. The opening match of PSL 2026 is scheduled to take place between defending champions Lahore Qalandars and Hyderabad Kingsmen at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The report claimed that PCB officials have made it clear that the event will take place on time and the team practice sessions will take place on March 24 and 25.

In the past, the PCB has considered United Arab Emirates (UAE) as aa backup venue but according to the report, the PCB has not considered shifting the matches to another country. The players will reportedly be provided security equivalent to that of a head of state and the final of the competition is scheduled to take place on May 3.

Meanwhile, the participation of Bangladesh cricket team players in the upcoming Pakistan Super League (PSL) faced a major roadblock in light of the ongoing regional tensions.

Six players, Mustafizur Rahman, Parvez Hossain Emon (Lahore Qalandars), Shoriful Islam, Nahid Rana, Tanzid Hasan Tamim (Peshawar Zalmi), and Rishad Hossain (Peshawar Zalmi), were granted No Objection Certificates (NOC) by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) after they were picked in the auction. However, the board has now decided to seek government approval before allowing the players to travel, according to Cricbuzz.

“Of course, we will seek permission from the government before sending our cricketers for the PSL. Under normal circumstances, these things are not required. We provide clearance, they go, play, and return. But since the situation is not normal and there is a risk element concerning the players, obviously we will discuss it with the government,” BCB cricket operations chairman Nazmul Abedin told Cricbuzz.

“We will seek to know from the government whether it will be safe to travel or not, and based on that government decision, we will have to take the ultimate call on whether the players will go or not,” he said.

“Because it is not actually possible for us to understand the situation there. It is possible for the government to know. The government will know, and if the government tells us that it is safe to go and the players can travel, then the players will go. But, in principle, we have decided that we will give the NOC and they will go to play. But it depends on the situation at that time,” Nazmul added.

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has raised concerns over Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) death bowling options for IPL 2026, which begins on March 28. In a major development on Thursday, March 19, Sportstar reported that Nathan Ellis will miss the upcoming season due to a hamstring injury.

Speaking on his YouTube channel on Friday, March 20, Pathan questioned who would handle the death overs for the franchise. He noted that Anshul Kamboj is an option, having made his Test debut last year. However, Pathan pointed out that while Kamboj can bowl yorkers, the team needs a more reliable option in such situations. He also mentioned that Matheesha Pathirana, who used to perform this role for CSK, was released after the 2025 season. He said:

“You have Anshul Kambhoj as an option, but he is still a bit new. He has played international Test cricket, and he has faced some criticism, but we have seen that he has good seam and can bowl very well with the new ball. He can also bowl yorkers. But under pressure, you need a solid bowler. Pathirana used to perform this role for many years, but when he went to the auction, due to injuries and inconsistent performance, you let him go. Now Chennai no longer has him. So who will fill that role? This is a very big question.”

The 41-year-old further pointed out that while Khaleel Ahmed is an excellent new-ball bowler, if he delivers three overs upfront and one at the death, it still leaves a gap. He questioned who would handle the remaining overs, noting that no clear specialist for the death overs comes to mind. He said:

“But when we look at the bowling, when you talk about a proper death bowler, that name doesn’t really come to mind. You have Khaleel Ahmed, a top-quality new-ball bowler. He performed very well last year, and you want to get three overs out of him there. But if he bowls one over, then who will bowl the remaining overs at the end?”

CSK will begin their campaign on March 30 when they face Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Guwahati.

“Nathan Ellis’s absence will be a big concern” – Irfan Pathan on Australia star missing IPL 2026 for CSK

In the same video, Irfan Pathan noted that Nathan Ellis’s absence will be a concern for CSK, as the right-arm seamer was a key option in the death overs, and without him, the bowling unit appears weaker. He said:

“Nathan Ellis’s absence will be a big concern because he was the kind of bowler I was watching who could comfortably bowl four overs, especially in the final parts when he would bowl during the death overs. Now, looking at their bowling unit, it seems there is a bit of weakness.”

Ellis has played 17 IPL matches, picking up 19 wickets at an average of 28.73, with a strike rate of 19.8 and an economy of 8.66, including best figures of 4/30.