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Good afternoon. The top-five sports stories of the day are at your fingertips. Just keep scrolling.

• But first, a crazy NBA tanking stat: The bottom 10 teams are currently on a collective 44-game losing streak.

—Kyle

1) World Baseball Classic is underway

The 2026 WBC, featuring athletes from 20 of the world’s top baseball-playing countries, officially began late last night in Tokyo with Australia beating Chinese Taipei 3-0.

• The 20 rosters in the tournament collectively include 78 MLB All-Stars, with over a quarter of that total appearing on the US squad (22).
• Team USA is the odds-on favorite to win the entire tournament (-110, or 52% implied odds) followed by the reigning champs Japan (+350; 22%).
• The Americans’ first game is tomorrow night against Brazil, while the overall tournament runs through March 17.

Here’s everything you need to know

2) Patriots to release star WR Stefon Diggs

New England informed the 4x Pro Bowler they plan to release him next week, after a season in which Diggs, 32, led the Patriots in receiving as the team made it to the Super Bowl.

• The catalyst for the move is Diggs’ contract signed last March, which was set to raise his salary cap charge from $10.5M to $26.5M for the upcoming season.
• Diggs is also facing felony strangulation and other criminal charges stemming from an alleged dispute with his personal chef, to which he has pleaded not guilty. 

Can the Patriots Digg out of a WR hole?

3) CFB coaching legend Lou Holtz passed away

Lou Holtz, the legendary CFB coach who spent 33 seasons on the sideline and won the 1988 national title at Notre Dame, passed away at 89.

• Holtz had a 249-132-7 record over his head coaching career with six schools: William & Mary, NC State, Arkansas, Minnesota, South Carolina, and Notre Dame (where had the team’s “Play Like a Champion Today” sign installed).
• He also coached the New York Jets for the 1976 season, finishing 3-10, and later worked as a TV analyst for over a decade.

Explore Holtz’s extensive CFB legacy

4) Women’s CBB brawl injures ref, eight ejected

A brawl broke out in a women's Sun Belt Tournament matchup between S. Alabama and Coastal Carolina yesterday, leading to eight player ejections—seven from S. Alabama—with minutes left in the game. (Video)

• During the scrum, a Coastal player appeared to hit a ref in the head/neck and knock them to the ground, where they stayed until receiving medical attention (and were later released).
• S. Alabama eventually won the game, 80-70, but they’ll be shorthanded for the next round after three players received one-game suspensions.
• The Coastal player involved was suspended for the rest of the 2026 postseason.

Players tried to win a different kind of Belt

5) Pro women’s hockey league sells out MSG

The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) game between the NY Sirens and Seattle Torrent on April 4 has sold out Madison Square Garden, the league announced.

• The projected sell-out crowd of 18K+ is expected to set a new all-time attendance record for a pro women’s hockey game in the US.
• The PWHL’s Boston Fleet also announced their first-ever sell-out of TD Garden this morning, which hosts 17.8K+ fans.
• PWHL officials say the league is currently “riding the wave of the Winter Olympics” with a spike in interest, after the US women—led by PWHL stars—won an OT thriller over Canada to earn Olympic gold.

Inside the PWHL’s rising popularity

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