Sports and sports news go beyond the score: there’s always something going on in the stands, on the bench, and on the field. This column looks beyond the score, so you can learn more about your favorite leagues and athletes.
A Mad March
Spring marks new beginnings, sunny days, and lots of basketball. March Madness is one of the most iconic times in college sports, with 68 men’s and 68 women’s basketball teams battling it out in the most iconic single-elimination tournament in college sports — all to find the national champion.
The men’s tournament started with the Arizona Wildcats seeded at No. 1, with expectations high after finishing the regular season at the top of the Big 12 conference. While the Wildcats are expected to make a deep run, they may have some heavy competition from the University of Michigan, Duke University, and the University of Houston.
The women’s tournament has been somewhat dominated by March Madness dynasties, with the University of South Carolina, University of Texas, University of Connecticut, and University of California, Los Angeles once again clinching the top seeds of the tournament.
As both tournaments move into the Sweet 16 rounds, more and more highly anticipated matchups will take us into the Final Four matchups, with the men’s games scheduled for April 4 and 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and the women’s final four on April 3 and 5 in Phoenix.
The World’s Pastime
Long touted as “America’s Pastime,” baseball gains global attention every few years, as the regular Major League Baseball (MLB) season is preceded by the search for global glory in the World Baseball Classic (WBC). From March 15-17, the top baseball players from the MLB and around the world suit up to represent their country in the WBC.
While some notable MLB stars are missing, each team brings its own storylines to the table, with America, Japan, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela usually touted as the powerhouses of the tournament. This WBC saw early exits and unexpected upsets when three-time WBC Champion Japan fell to Venezuela in the Quarterfinals.
Team Italy may not have won the tournament, but they did manage to make the Americans nervous following their 8-6 win over Team USA. Italy’s later win over Mexico helped keep Team USA in the tournament, ultimately leading to a final between Team Venezuela and Team USA. Venezuela came out on top, winning 3-2 in their first WBC championship.
Gold Looks Good on Us
With the Olympic and Paralympic Games wrapping up mid-March, the counts are in, and it was a shiny winter indeed. At the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, USA took home 12 gold medals out of 33 total. American Paralympians didn’t disappoint either, taking home 13 gold medals out of a total of 24 earned.
Olympic golds came off the ice for Team USA, with women’s hockey retaking the gold medal after eight years and men’s hockey making history by winning gold for the first time in 46 years. Figure skater Alysa Liu also brought in another highly anticipated gold medal in women’s singles figure skating, being the first American woman in 24 years to take the gold medal in the event.
Paralympic athletes continue America’s timely hockey dominance, winning their fifth gold medal in a row in sled hockey. American multiple-time medalist Oksana Masters of Para Nordic Skiing added an impressive four medals to her career count, bringing her personal total to 24 medals. Paralympic Snowboarder Brenna Huckaby left her third Paralympic appearance as the most decorated Paralympic snowboarder to ever grace the slopes.
While we can’t win everything, American sports are all over the global stage, showing game after game that we came to win. From college to professional sports, each team gave its best to show how sports have gotten them to a national or global stage.
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