📰🏟️ NBA expansion

Good afternoon. Welcome back to another week full of top sports stories. Let’s get you up to speed.

—Kyle

1) NCAA First Four tips off tonight

March Madness officially begins tonight with the men’s First Four, where the final bubble teams and lowest-ranked seeds battle to advance into the 64-team bracket that tips off Thursday.

• Tonight’s action features #16-seeds Howard vs. Maryland-Baltimore County, along with #11-seeds Texas vs. NC State.
• The First Four wraps up tomorrow with #16-seeds Lehigh vs. Prairie View A&M and #11-seeds Miami (OH) vs. SMU.

Predicting every single March Madness game

2) Team USA to face Venezuela in WBC final

The Americans defeated the Dominican Republic 2-1 on Sunday, while Venezuela beat Italy 4-2 last night to set up the World Baseball Classic championship game tonight at 7 pm CT.

• Mets SP Nolan McLean will take the bump for Team USA, who won the coin flip to decide the home team.
• He’ll face Diamondbacks SP Eduardo Rodríguez for Venezuela, who’s seeking their first-ever WBC championship.
• Team USA has now made three straight WBC finals, and is seeking their second title overall.

Who’ll be crowned World Baseball Champion?

3) NBA to vote on franchise expansion

Next week, NBA owners will reportedly hold a vote on whether to move forward with adding two new expansion teams: one in Seattle (likely the SuperSonics), and the other in Las Vegas.

• The vote is currently trending towards approval, per ESPN’s Shams Charania, with expansion plans needing support from 23 of the 30 team owners to pass.
• It marks the first step towards expansion, with a positive result setting up a final vote later this year.
• The NBA is targeting the 2028-29 season for the debut of both new franchises following an expansion draft in the offseason.

Inside the NBA’s plan for 32 teams

4) ‘Bama star arrested on felony ahead of March Madness

G Aden Holloway, the second-leading scorer on the Alabama men’s CBB team, was arrested yesterday on felony drug charges after police discovered over a pound of marijuana at his home.

• Holloway, who posted bond, has been removed from campus and suspended from the team pending a school investigation, according to officials.
• #4-seeded Alabama faces Hofstra in Friday's first round of March Madness, with analysts saying Holloway is unlikely to play.

Can ‘Bama overcome the low Tide?

5) NFL offseason moves continue

The Dolphins traded star WR Jaylen Waddle to the Broncos in exchange for their 1st- and 3rd-round picks in this year’s draft, as well as a 4th-round pick swap.

• The Jets traded QB Justin Fields to the Chiefs for a 6th-round pick.
• The 49ers reportedly signed veteran WR Christian Kirk to a 1-yr deal, adding to a receiver room that includes new free agent Mike Evans.
• TE Dallas Goedert signed a 1-yr deal to return to the Eagles, while veteran CB Darius Slay officially retired after 13 seasons.

The best and worst moves this offseason

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