Yahoo Sports AM: The Gr8 Chase is complete

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⚾️ Half a billion for Vladdy: The Blue Jays have signed superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to a 14-year, $500 million extension. It’s the third-largest contract in MLB history and could effectively keep him in Toronto for the rest of his career (he’ll be 40 when the deal expires in 2039).

🏀 Class of 2025: Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Billy Donovan and “The Redeem Team” (2008 USA Olympic Men’s Team) headline the Naismith Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025, which will be enshrined in September.

⛳️ Spaniard wins Augusta: 21-year-old Carla Bernat Escuder of Spain won the sixth edition of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. The Kansas State senior finished one shot ahead of 16-year-old American Asterisk Talley.

⚽️ USA 2, Brazil 0: Eight months after beating Brazil by one goal in the Olympic final, the USWNT did one better, beating Brazil by two goals in Saturday’s friendly in Los Angeles. The two sides will play again tomorrow in San Jose.

⚾️ Ohtani takes the mound: Shohei Ohtani threw a 25-pitch bullpen session on Saturday as he moves closer to his eventual return. The ultimate plan is to have him ready for the postseason, but he could join the Dodgers’ starting rotation long before then.

(Henry Russell/Yahoo Sports)

On April 6, 2004, the Capitals won the NHL draft lottery and the right to select Russian phenom Alex Ovechkin with the first overall pick. Exactly 21 years later, Ovechkin scored his 895th career goal — all with Washington — to break Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record.

Ovechkin: 895 goals in 1,487 games
Gretzky: 894 goals in 1,487 games

Historic moment: Ovechkin’s record-breaking goal fittingly came on the power play, where the 39-year-old has made a living for the past two decades. It also fittingly came against the Islanders, just like Gretzky’s goal in 1994 that moved him past Gordie Howe.

(Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Passing the torch: The game was paused for a brief ceremony to honor the occasion. There on the ice was Gretzky, who exchanged hugs and a handshake with the man he’s been following around for the last week. Like Howe, Gretzky held the record for 31 years. Should that pattern continue, Ovi will be crowning the new goal-scoring king in 2056. See you then!

(Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Ovechkin: “What a day, huh? Like I always said, it’s a team sport. And without my boys, the whole organization, the fans, the trainers, coaches, I would never stand here,” said “The Great Eight,” who dove to the ice to celebrate his goal and was immediately mobbed by teammates. “Fellas, thank you so much. I love you so much.”

The ageless wonder: Gretzky’s record was long considered unbreakable — partly because nobody thought Ovechkin, or anyone, could score this many goals this late into a career. But like Tom Brady, LeBron James, Serena Williams and other contemporaries who thrived late into their 30s (and early 40s), Ovi has redefined what’s possible.

Gretzky averaged 20.7 goals per season from age 32 until retirement. Since Ovechkin turned 32, he’s averaged more than double that number (42.1 goals per season), and he isn’t slowing down. In fact, he’s currently averaging a career-best 2.3 goals per 60 minutes. At 39!
That’s what made the “GR8 CHASE” so great: Ovechkin isn’t some washed up veteran padding his stats on a hopeless roster; he’s a legitimate superstar playing a leading role for the Eastern Conference’s best team.

Consider this: Ovechkin’s 42 goals this season are fourth-most in the league, and the three players ahead of him (Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl, Toronto’s William Nylander and Buffalo’s Tage Thompson) were all nine years old or younger when he made his NHL debut.

How many goals can he score? “Is 1,000 a possibility?” asked Michael Phelps. To which I say: Probably not, Michael Phelps. While the sky appears to be the limit for the Russian goal-scoring machine, Ovi recently divulged that next season will likely be his last with the Caps, and he has said that he’d like to finish his career with his hometown team, Dynamo Moscow.

🎙️ Worth a watch: Ovechkin was mic’d up for his record-breaking moment … Longtime Capitals announcer Joe Beninati called Ovi’s first career goal, and his 895th.

(Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

UConn destroyed South Carolina, 82-59, on Sunday in Tampa to win its 12th national championship, surpassing the UCLA men for the most all-time in D-I basketball.

A return to glory: Sunday’s victory ended a nine-year title drought for Geno Auriemma’s powerhouse program, which has now cut down the nets in four consecutive decades.

Huskies titles:

Curtain call: After five years of pain and disappointment, Paige Bueckers finally got her storybook ending and exited Sunday’s game to a round of applause — and a big hug from Auriemma. “He told me he loved me and I told him I hated him,” joked the UConn legend. “Nah, I love that man more than words can describe.”

Game notes:

Freshman sensation: Sarah Strong had 24 points and 15 rebounds on Sunday and finished with 114 points in six March Madness games, breaking Tamika Catchings’ record for most points by a freshman in a single NCAA tournament.
South Carolina’s nemesis: The Gamecocks are 72-4 over the past two seasons. Two of those losses came at the hands of this year’s Huskies, who blew them out by 28 points in February and 23 points on Sunday.

Why we love sports: In a society obsessed with winning and losing, sports are the ultimate form of meritocracy. Yet at their very core is a shared sense of respect and understanding between both sides. That’s the beauty of it, as Auriemma explained:

“[Paige Bueckers] deserves to go out as a national champion, but so do a bunch of kids at South Carolina that have done the exact same thing. That’s the beauty of it: Only one of those is going to get to be able to do that.”

(Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

The 2025 Men’s Final Four didn’t just feature four No. 1 seeds; it featured four of the best teams in recent memory. Saturday’s semifinals delivered on that promise with two highly entertaining games, one miracle comeback and 15.3 million average viewers (most since 2017).

Houston 70, Duke 67: Up six with less than a minute left, Duke was oh-so-close to a title game berth and a chance to match UNC with six national championships. Instead, the Blue Devils’ dream season turned into a nightmare in a stunning loss to the Cougars, who went on a 11-1 run in the final 74 seconds to win their 18th straight game.

(Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Florida 79, Auburn 73: The Tigers took an eight-point lead into halftime of the first all-SEC Final Four showdown. But the Gators took command in the second half behind Walter Clayton Jr. (34 points), who became the first player with back-to-back 30-point games in the Elite Eight and Final Four since Larry Bird in 1979.

(Joe Sargent/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

⚾️ 321 home runs

Babe Ruth hit 321 home runs in his first 1,000 games as a Yankee. Aaron Judge did the exact same thing, smashing home run No. 321 on Friday in his 1,000th game. The 21st century “Sultan of Swat” is off to a red-hot start this season: He leads both leagues in homers (6) and his 17 RBI through New York’s first seven games tied an MLB record.

⛳️ 96 golfers

The field is set for the 2025 Masters: 96 golfers, representing over 20 countries, will tee off this week at Augusta National in the first major of the season. It’s the eighth-largest field in the 89-year history of the tournament.

🏀 1,394 threes

The Celtics have made 1,394 three-pointers through 78 games (17.9 per game). That’s already the most ever in an NBA season, surpassing the mark previously held by the 2022-23 Warriors, who splashed home 1,363 triples in 82 games (16.6 per game).

France’s Sasha Zhoya celebrates after winning the men’s 100m race. (Ricardo Makyn/AFP via Getty Images)

Kingston, Jamaica — Grand Slam Track, a new racing series created by former Olympian Michael Johnson, held its debut event this weekend in the Caribbean. The next three Slams will be stateside: Miami (May 2-4), Philadelphia (May 30-June 1) and Los Angeles (June 27-29).

(David Rogers/Getty Images)

Toulouse, France — Tragedy was narrowly avoided on Sunday when a parachutist crashed into the awning of Stadium de Toulouse on his way to deliver the match ball. He was left hanging helplessly about 100 feet off the ground before being rescued by the local fire brigade.

(Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Suzuka, Japan — Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix with a masterful drive. It was his fourth straight victory on the Suzuka circuit and snapped McLaren’s two-race winning streak to start the season.

(Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports)

Who will cut down the nets in San Antonio? We’ll find out tonight (8:50pm ET, CBS) when Florida (-1.5 at BetMGM) and Houston meet in the NCAA tournament’s grand finale.

The Gators and Cougars have three combined losses since the end of January, and two of those three losses came on February 1.
Florida holds the edge in national titles (2-0), while Houston holds the head-to-head advantage (2-0), with both wins coming in the 1970s.

The intrigue: These teams like to play very different styles of basketball, which should make for a fascinating matchup. Houston has the nation’s No. 1 scoring defense (58.5 points allowed per game), while Florida has the No. 3 scoring offense (85.3 points per game).

More to watch… Honestly, not much else today aside from two NBA games, five NHL games and 11 MLB games. There’s also two hours of coverage from the Augusta National practice area (12-2pm, CBSSN) for all you golf sickos.

Hakeem Olajuwon is hugged by teammate Alvin Franklin after Houston beat Virginia to advance to the 1984 title game. (AP Photo)

This is Houston’s third trip to the title game and the first since the Cougars lost back-to-back appearances (1983-84) during the “Phi Slama Jama” era.

Question: Which schools beat Houston in the 1983 and 1984 title games?

Hint: ACC, Big East.

Answer at the bottom.

(Yahoo Sports)

Watch all 13.

Trivia answer: NC State (1983) and Georgetown (1984)

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Yahoo Sports AM: The Gr8 Chase is complete

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