📰🏟️ UNC coaching vacancy

Good afternoon. Today’s edition brings you the top news from around the sports world. Let’s get right to it.

—Kyle

1) North Carolina fires men’s CBB coach Hubert Davis

UNC fired Hubert Davis last night in the aftermath of the Tar Heels’ upset loss to VCU in the NCAA tournament, which marked North Carolina’s second consecutive first-round exit.

• Davis, who was promoted after the legendary Roy Williams retired in 2021, had a 125-54 record with UNC, including a run to the 2022 national title game as an 8-seed.
• Analysts say UNC’s wish list for Davis’ replacement includes some of the top names in basketball, including Bulls coach Billy Donovan, Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd, and Michigan’s Dusty May.

The top candidates to lead UNC

2) MLB opening week begins tonight

The 2026 MLB regular season kicks off tonight with the SF Giants hosting the NY Yankees in a game streamed exclusively on Netflix (7:05 pm CT). Play continues with 11 games tomorrow and eight Friday.

• After years of testing in the minors and Spring Training, this MLB season will be the first to feature automated ball-strike challenges (ABS), aka “robot umps.”
• Each team is given two ABS challenges per game, with that total only decreasing after an incorrect challenge.

All 30 MLB teams' chances this season

3) NBPA calls for 65-game award rule change

The NBA’s players association on Tuesday called for changes to the league’s new 65-game eligibility rule for awards like MVP or All-NBA, saying it unfairly disqualifies deserving players.

• The NBPA specifically cited Pistons G Cade Cunningham, who suffered a collapsed lung likely leaving him just a few games shy of qualifying for awards amid an MVP-caliber season.
• A slew of other star players, including MVP contenders Nikola Jokić and Victor Wembanyama, are also at risk of playing in fewer than 65 games and missing out on awards.

Inside the drama over NBA awards

4) House approves UFC-backed boxing bill

On Tuesday, the US House passed the Muhammad Ali Boxing Revival Act with bipartisan support, sending it to the Senate. 

If signed into law, the bill would eliminate the legal separation between promoters, who put on the fights, and sanctioning bodies, who handle rankings, titles, and matchmaking.

• Instead, new groups called Unified Boxing Organizations (UBOs) would handle all of those things, similar to how the UFC operates for mixed martial arts.
• The bill is supported by UFC CEO Dana White—and his Zuffa Boxing promotional group—along with the Association of Boxing Commissions. 
• Critics warn of the potential for wage suppression and monopolization tactics allegedly seen in the UFC.

For once, most of Congress isn't fighting

5) Mikaela Shiffrin can’t stop setting records

The most decorated Alpine skier in World Cup history secured a record-tying sixth women's overall World Cup title this morning, holding off emerging German rival Emma Aicher.

• It caps off another stellar season for Shiffrin, 31, who claimed the third Olympic gold of her career last month after dominating the slalom at the Milan Cortina Games.
• Shiffrin also won nine of the 10 World Cup slaloms this season, and holds a record 110 overall victories in World Cup events—by far the most of any man or woman. 

Breaking down Shiffrin’s greatness

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