Captain Marten de Roon didn’t shy away from the gulf in class after Atalanta BC fell 4-1 to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League—and his full quote captures both the frustration and admiration that defined the night:

“We have a lot to learn from this team. We tried to press them at home and that didn’t work, so we sat deeper, and they still scored four goals. We played against a truly extraordinary opponent. Italian teams have much to learn from these sides, in their movements and their pace. We are too static, too tactical, and even the referees in Europe let play flow much better without stopping and starting all the time,” De Roon told Amazon Prime (as captured by Football Italia via @iMiaSanMia). “Kane was playing as a striker, a right-back and a left-back at different times. You have to run so much to keep up. I think Bayern Munich are the favorites to win the Champions League, they impressed me so much tonight, and that was without Musiala, Olise and Kimmich. We’ve got to be as humble as they are.”

It was a candid assessment and one that speaks to more than just a single result. Atalanta tried multiple defensive strategies — pressing high and sitting deep — but Bayern Munich solved both with ease. That ability to dictate the game regardless of opposition approach is what separates elite teams from very good ones.

His observation about Kane is especially telling. Modern football at the highest level demands positional fluidity, and Bayern Munich exemplifies that. Kane drifting across the pitch isn’t chaos, it is calculated movement designed to disorganize defenses and create space for others.

De Roon’s broader critique of Italy’s tactical rigidity also stands out. While structure has long been a strength of Italian football, Bayern’s blend of pace, movement, and technical freedom shows where the modern game is heading.

Perhaps most impressive — and concerning for the rest of Europe — is that Bayern Munich delivered this performance without key figures like Jamal Musiala, Michael Olise, and Joshua Kimmich. Depth, dynamism, and discipline, Bayern Munich has it all.

In the end, De Roon’s final message may be the most important: humility. Recognizing the gap is step one. Closing it is an entirely different challenge.

If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…

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Since moving to Hi Corbett Field in 2012, Arizona has won more than 70 percent of its games and used that homefield advantage to lay the groundwork for four trips to the College World Series. Yet after Tuesday’s loss to New Mexico, the Wildcats are 4-6 at home this season including 0-3 in midweek matchups.

Being unable to defend its home field is just one of many things that have gone wrong this season for Arizona (7-13, 1-2 Big 12). The injuries continue to mount, leading to more and more freshmen getting meaningful playing time and getting put into high-leverage situations, and with that youth has come a lot of mistakes.

It’s also left coach Chip Hale searching for answers for how to turn things around as his team hosts Texas Tech (13-7, 2-1) in its first Big 12 home series of 2026. And it may mean taking an approach from his pro days that he hasn’t had to use since coming to Arizona.

“I’ve been through some really bad seasons in my career as a coach and a manager and head coach, so I just keep looking for ways to motivate them,” he said. “I’m not a big fear coach, but I think at some point guys have to understand if you’re not producing and you’re not playing the game the way we expect here at Arizona, that someone else is going to get an opportunity.”

Unfortunately, the options to make such changes keep dwindling. A fourth pitcher is likely out for the season, as Texas Tech transfer JT Drake is receiving a PRP (platelet-rich protein) injection in his arm. And freshman shortstop Cash Brennan is dealing with a high ankle sprain, joining three injured outfielders.

The position-player injuries have opened the door for younger players to see action, and many have capitalized on that. True freshman Caleb Danzeisen reached base three times on Tuesday, and on Friday at utah hit a 3-run home run with two out in the top of the 9^th to tie a game that Arizona won in 11 innings.

“I’ve never felt that way before,” Danzeisen said of his homer, the first of his career. “I love baseball for that reason. I can’t even put it in words.”

A catcher in high school and travel ball, Danzeisen has become the UA’s everyday right fielder. He’s hitting .288 in 17 games with 16 starts. He has a team-best .448 on-base percentage thanks to 14 walks and a hit by pitch against 12 strikeouts.

“I always knew I had a good chance (to play), but I worked my butt off,” Danzeisen said. “I got a great opportunity so I’ll take it any day.”

Hale said he expected Danzeisen to play a fair amount this season, he just didn’t know where. Catcher, first base and DH were all options but he said prior coaches felt outfield was where he’d end up in college.

As far as pitching goes, Arizona’s weekend starters have been as advertised even if Owen Kramkowski has had a few rough outings. It’s the bullpen that has been the issue, and a lot of that has been due to injuries and having to overuse many arms so early in the season. Corey Kling, Patrick Morris and Benton Hickman combined for six innings of relief against New Mexico, and five relievers apiece have already logged at least eight innings or appeared in seven or more games.

“It’s not just the usage, it’s their stuff,” said Hale, who has considered looking into cancelling some midweek games. “It’s impossible to pitch that much and your stuff stay good.”

Hickman had his best outing of the year with three perfect innings on Tuesday. Fellow freshmen Jack Lafflam and Andrew Jacobs haven’t gotten as much action but figure to see more with fewer and fewer available arms.

“I thought Hickman was a big plus for us,” Hale said. “We have a lot of trust in him. If he just throws strikes and gets ahead he’s tough to hit.”

Today the Texas Rangers have hopped the bus for a trip over to Phoenix, AZ to have a Cactus League quarrel against the Milwaukee Brewers.

LHP Jacob Latz will take the mound for Texas as the battle for the final spot in the rotation — of which Latz remains a competitor — nears a conclusion. Milwaukee will counter with RHP Brandon Woodruff.

You can listen to the game via 105.3 The Fan or follow along on Gameday. First pitch from American Family Fields of Phoenix is scheduled for 8:10 pm CT.

Go Rangers!

After missing the NCAA Tournament the last three years, the Ohio State basketball team used a late surge in the regular season to be a part of all the March Madness this year. Unfortunately for everyone clad in Scarlet and Gray, the run ended abruptly with a heartbreaking 66-64 loss to TCU in a game where the Buckeyes showed a lot of fight to come back from a big deficit in the second half.

Head coach Jake Diebler met with the media after the game and was very proud of his team’s effort. He talked about the players’ growth through the season, what TCU did to disrupt the Ohio State offense in the first half, what this year means for the program going forward, and more.

We have Diebler’s complete postgame press conference, thanks to the WBNS 10TV YouTube channel for your viewing pleasure below.

Ohio State will now go into offseason mode and look to build on the momentum it has from this year’s improvement.

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.

This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Ohio State vs. TCU: Jake Diebler reacts to NCAA tournament loss

SAN DIEGO – Much like Deion Sanders in football, Rick Pitino has developed a bit of a reputation for himself in this new era of men’s college basketball.

He’s a Hall of Famer who pioneered the art of flipping a team roster and becoming king of the transfer portal, following a blueprint similar to the one used by Sanders, the football coach at Colorado.

The big difference so far is sustained results. Pitino has revived St. John’s with three straight winning seasons, including a second straight NCAA Tournament appearance, this time as a No. 5 seed here against Northern Iowa on Friday, March 20.

“We don’t build through the high school ranks,” Pitino said Thursday. “We build through the portal. And we keep the ones we want coming back, and the ones that want to leave should leave.”

More: How Rod Strickland took LIU from college basketball’s worst team to March Madness

If that sounds familiar, Sanders said something like it when he was hired at Colorado in December 2022. He told his inherited players to “go ahead and jump in that portal” to make way for change.  

Pitino effectively did the same when hired at St. John’s in March 2023. He brought in 10 transfer players and two freshmen on a roster of 14 that finished with a 20-13 record but fell short of the NCAA Tournament.

Check him out now. He revived a dormant program and could make a run in the tournament at age 73, largely due to this peculiar roster-building strategy.

How Rick Pitino built his St. John’s roster

Pitino has landed one of the nation’s top-five transfer classes the past two years, including the nation’s No. 1 transfer class with seven players in 2025-26, according to 247Sports. One of them was Ian Jackson, a guard who ranked second in the team in scoring at North Carolina (11.9 points per game) before transferring to St. John’s.

“I came here to learn,” Jackson told USA TODAY.

That’s a common refrain among transfer recruits. Pitino has won more than 900 games in college, in addition to having coached in the NBA.

“When I came on my visit, I was star-struck, like I was meeting a celebrity, which I pretty much was, 100%,” said senior forward Dillon Mitchell, a transfer from Cincinnati.

The end result is a 15-player roster this season that lists nine transfers, four freshmen and two returning sophomores from Portugal and Greece. The team is led by Big East Conference player of the year Zuby Ejiofor, a senior who transferred from Kansas in Pitino’s first class in 2023 and now leads the team in four categories: 16.3 points per game, 7.1 rebounds per game, 119 assists and 73 blocks.

“I don’t think I’ve enjoyed coaching a player as much since 1987, when I coached Billy Donovan (at Providence),” Pitino said of Ejiofor. “And I’m going to miss him terribly. And I’m just going to appreciate him while I have him.”

Rick Pitino interviews each transfer recruit

Pitino’s success has reignited the college basketball scene in New York, where the Red Storm play in Madison Square Garden.

Before Pitino, St. John’s had sunk to as low as an 8-24 finish in 2016 and hadn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2019. Pitino’s first-round NCAA tournament victory last year against Omaha was the school’s first since 2000, which also helped erase memories of his own scandal-plagued past at Louisville before he moved on to Iona.

Such a quick turn of events is easier these days with the transfer portal, where new coaches can remake a roster overnight, unlike before 2021, when transfer players were required to sit out a year before playing at their new schools.

But few have been as good at it as Pitino. Sanders, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, took over a football team that was 1-11 at Colorado in 2022 before he flipped the roster in 2023. He brought in more than 45 transfer players out of a roster limit of 85 and finished 4-8 in Year 1. He then finished 9-4 in 2024 and 3-9 in 2025.

In Pitino’s case, he’s changed his portal strategy a bit and got a big return on his investment this year.

“This year we just went after culture guys, guys that we felt were really going to play for the name on the front, not worried about stats or making it somewhere else,” Pitino told USA TODAY Sports Thursday. “Just totally bought in. And we spent so much time interviewing and researching every individual from Dillon Mitchell, to (forward) Bryce Hopkins, to (guard) Dylan Darling, to (guard) Oziyah Sellers. Every single guy we did our homework and beyond that. And we got great culture guys. And it’s paid off very well for us.”

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What does Rick Pitino have in common with Deion Sanders? Portal madness

Move over, Tiger King. The newest Netflix star is the home run king.

Netflix announced Thursday that Barry Bonds would be a special guest studio analyst for their telecast of the season opener between the San Francisco Giants and New York Yankees Wed., March 25. Bonds will join Albert Pujols and Anthony Rizzo as part of the pregame and postgame shows, a panel that combined for 1,768 home runs. Much like chicks, Netflix digs the long ball.

Bonds won’t be the only legendary Giants outfielder who will be part of the broadcast. Hunter Pence will be in the booth, alongside Matt Vasgersian and Hall of Fame pitcher CC Sabathia, giving each of the teams an alumni voice in color commentary.

Netflix had teased the announcement of Bonds, originally only announcing that a “Special Guest” would join the broadcast. However, John Shea reported that the streaming giant would be filling McCovey Cove with 73 red kayaks bearing the Netflix logo in honor of the 25th anniversary of Bonds’ record-breaking 73-homer season in 2001. So there was a strong chance the secret unannounced studio guy would indeed be Bonds.

In fact, who were the other possibilities? Brandon Belt would have only agreed to join the crew if he could be the studio captain. Huey Lewis specializes in national anthems, not baseball analysis. Tim Lincecum is shy. Barry Zito would bring an acoustic guitar. Brandon Crawford would only get on board if the Cheese Steak Shop was a sponsor. Gavin Newsom would blow Netflix’s entire hair and makeup budget. Aubrey Huff might be banned from even having a Netflix account, much less appearing on a Netflix show.

If it goes well, we’d like to humbly suggest some more SF Giants Netflix programming”

“Lou Seal In Paris”

The cuddly seal with the amorphous body moves to Paris in order to school European mascots in American-style clownery and his signature “belly bump” move. Lou struggles with driving his golf cart on the correct side of the road, wins over a squad of soccer hooligans and finds love with his downstairs neighbor, a Cirque du Soleil acrobat who is also an otter.

“Jake Paul vs. Hunter Strickland”

Hunter Strickland loves starting fights. Jake Paul loves scheduling fights. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound former Giants closer has a size advantage over Paul, but Paul has more experience. As for punchable faces, they’re about even. However, Michael Morse and Jeff Samardzija are not allowed to intervene!

“The Blanco Lotus”

See what happens and who gets murdered at a luxury hotel in Venezuela run by former Giants outfielder Gregor Blanco, his twin brother Gregory Blanco, and his little brother, Gregson Blanco. Unlike that other Lotus show, these three brothers won’t have any inappropriate contact with each other.

“Bay Bridgerton”

Tony Vitello struggles to learn etiquette in the complicated society of major league baseball, all while dealing with malicious gossip published by “Lord Whistledown” (Joe Maddon).

“Squib Game”

Luis Arraez competes in an intense, life-or-death game show where players face a series of dangerous challenges that mainly require putting a baseball in play, no matter how softly. If his BABIP drops too low, the Giants offense dies.

“Danny Ozark”

Giants manager Danny Ozark has to launder money for a Mexican drug cartel, all while trying to keep the 1984 Giants out of last place in the National League West. Starring J.K. Simmons as Ozark and Pete Rose, Jr. as Pete Rose, Sr.

Congratulations to Mr. Bonds! Let’s hope Hall of Fame voters aren’t all watching Paramount Plus instead.

We got a night game folks! The Athletics are set to play host to their division rivals the Seattle Mariners tonight in one of the final games of spring, a sold-out crowd that is ready to see our A’s take the win. With about a week to go before Opening Day things are going to start getting really ramped up here over the next few games. A’s fans should be seeing plenty of the regulars getting their at-bats in, the pitchers getting their final tune-ups, and the bullpen arms making their final cases for a ticket to Toronto. Should be an intense week and one that’ll also feature the Athletics’ Breakout game on Sunday afternoon. Gear up and prepare for the last exhibition contests before games begin to count.

The A’s have veteran right-hander Aaron Civale taking the ball for the club in what’ll be just his third appearance this spring. The 30-year-old veteran of seven big league seasons likely didn’t need much time to ramp up and be ready for Opening Day though. His first outing saw him allow a pair of runs on 60 pitches. His most recent appearance didn’t yield great results (six runs on nine hits) but he did get all the way up to 75 pitches. That’s probably been his biggest goal since arriving to the A’s at the last possible moment but it seems he’s going to be stretched out enough to take his spot in the Opening Day rotation, which has all been assured to him by the team. We’ll be hoping to see him produce better results tonight but as long as he gets his pitches in everything should be smooth sailing for the righty until the regular season. From there however we’ll need to start seeing results.

Here’s the Athletics’ lineup for tonight’s contest:

No surprise that manager Mark Kotsay is trotting out most of the regulars tonight. In fact, dare I say that this looks like the probably Opening Day lineup? I don’t want to start an argument about Nick Kurtz and Shea Langeliers’ spots in the lineup. No matter how you feel about it, the Athletics are going to prioritize getting them the most at bats possible this coming year. We’ll see if it lasts for six months but this is how the A’s will likely stack up next week in Toronto against their right-handed ace Dylan Cease.

We have Lawrence Butler back in the lineup but not manning right. While he’s been behind the rest of his teammates during camp as he completes his rehab for a torn patellar tendon, Butler’s been getting in his at-bats in controlled settings and finally made it into a game earlier this week. He’s yet to fully get right field under his belt much during camp, which is the final step in his rehab. He’s DH’ing tonight so that’s a positive, but the hope is that we see him out on the outfield grass a few more times before games start to really count.

The Mariners kept their cards close to the chest all afternoon, only announcing their starter a couple hours before first pitch. Seattle will counter Civale with right-hander Randy Dobnak. The 31-year-old is with the M’s on a minor league deal after spending the previous five years with the Minnesota Twins. He’s unlikely to make their Opening Day roster but could be an option for them later in the season if Seattle’s vaunted rotation suffers any injuries. Shouldn’t be too hard of an assignment for the A’s starting nine tonight but you never know!

And here’s how the M’s lineup breaks down for tonight’s game:

While the A’s are sending out their expected regular starting lineup the Mariners have more replacements than everyday guys in today’s starting nine. Civale needs to be careful with first baseman Josh Naylor but other than him he should try to be aggressive against Mariners batters this evening.

The A’s are 12-14 during camp and with five games left there’s still time to finish at or above .500. I know, meaningless, but still would be nice to break camp with a winning record. Let’s go A’s!

Everyone loves an NCAA Tournament upset, unless you’re on the wrong side of the result. For Greg Gard and Wisconsin, they were the latest high-seeded team to get bounced in the first round.

No. 12 High Point defeated No. 5 Wisconsin 83-82 on Thursday, March 19, in Portland, Oregon, to win its first March Madness game. It’s a disappointing end to the season for the Badgers, who lost to Michigan on a game-winning 3-pointer in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament after beating No. 3 seed Illinois in the previous round.

‘Nobody would play us’: High Point coach gives fiery interview after Wisconsin upset

Gard has led Wisconsin to 73 combined wins in three seasons, although it hasn’t surpassed the first weekend in any of the past three years. It defeated No. 14 seed Montana State last season in the first round but was upset by No. 6 BYU 91-89 in the second round. The season prior, Wisconsin was upset by No. 12 James Madison in the first round in a similar situation to Thursday’s game.

Although Wisconsin won games over Michigan, Illinois (twice), Michigan State and Purdue this season, all it has to show for it is a first-round exit.

While Gard likely isn’t on the hot seat following Wisconsin’s regular season success in recent seasons, here’s a look at what he’d be owed on his contract if the Badgers decide their recent March Madness blunders are enough to move on from their longtime coach:

Greg Gard buyout

Gard would be owed $8 million from Wisconsin if the school were to fire him before May 31, 2026, according to his contract obtained by USA TODAY Sports.

Greg Gard contract

Gard’s base salary for 2025-26 is $3.85 million, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network. His salary is set to raise to $3.95 million in 2026-27, $4.05 million in 2027-28, $4.15 million in 2028-29 and $4.25 million in 2029-30.

He has a myriad of on-court salary incentives, which ranges from $75,000 for a conference tournament win to $1.7 million for winning a national championship.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Greg Gard buyout: What to know of Wisconsin coach’s contract

NEW YORK (AP) — WNBA players are having information sessions over the next day or two to learn more about the new collective bargaining agreement that was agreed to in principle early Wednesday morning.

Through zoom calls and one-on-one conversations, the players are hearing about some of the details of the transformational new deal that will last for the next seven years with an opt-out after six, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. The person spoke to The Associated Press on Thursday on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the discussions.

Lawyers on both sides are finalizing the term sheet, which should be done in the next day or so. It will then get put to a vote of the players with a majority needed to ratify the CBA. The league’s Board of Governors will then need to approve the deal before it becomes official.

The deal came after the two sides spent the past eight days in intense in-person negotiations that lasted for more than 100 hours. They came to the agreement about 2:20 a.m. Wednesday after spending more than 10 hours of discussions on Tuesday.

“This is historical for women’s sports. I told Cathy it’s not just for the players that are entering the league or the players that aren’t already here,” union president Nneka Ogwumike said of her conversations with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “We’re just really grateful to be able to come to a deal. We’re proud of ourselves.”

Here are a few key points from the CBA.

Salary cap

The salary cap for the 2026 season is expected to be $7 million with average salaries more than $585,000, according to the person. Top players can make over $1 million for the first time in the league’s history with a supermax salary close to $1.4 million. The cap could grow up to $11 million in 2031 if revenue projections go well. The salary cap can change a maximum of 10% in either direction each year with the exception of after the first season when it could up or down 13%.

The minimum salary for this year would be around $300,000 as the league enters its 30th season. This would increase salaries fourfold from last season. The average salary, which was about $125,000 last year, should be around $584,000 before revenue sharing in 2026.

“For the first time, player salaries are tied to a truly meaningful share of league revenue, driving exponential growth in the salary cap, increasing average compensation beyond half a million dollars and raising the standard across facilities, staffing and support,” Ogwumike said after the verbal agreement Wednesday morning.

The average revenue share over the length of the deal will be around 20%, according to the person. It’s still unclear whether its the gross revenue the players asked for or the net revenue the league pushed for.

Housing

Teams will continue to pay for housing for the first three years of the deal according to the person. In 2029 and 2030, teams will pay for housing for players earning $500,000 or less. After that, teams will only pay for the housing of developmental players.

Rookies contracts

Rookie contracts will remain for four years with a bump in pay for all players still on rookie contracts. Players who earn All-WNBA honors can get the maximum salary in the fourth year of their contract if they stay with their team. So far Caitlin Clark would be eligible for that in 2027, Paige Bueckers in 2028 and Aliyah Boston this season.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball