Morning sports update: Celtics ‘on another level’ as they seek top seed
The Celtics continued their winning ways Sunday evening at TD Garden, the NCAA men’s basketball Final Four is set, and the rest of the sports news to start your Monday.
Celtics hold off Heat, now tied with Cavs atop East: On Sunday, the Celtics reached a mile marker that is at once notable and somewhat insignificant. With their 112-108 win over the Heat, they pulled into a virtual tie with Cleveland for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. (Boston Globe)
UNC’s Luke Maye hits last-second shot to beat Kentucky, book trip to Final Four: Luke Maye hit a jumper with 0.3 seconds left and top-seeded North Carolina held off Kentucky 75-73 to earn the Tar Heels’ second straight trip to the Final Four, winning a showdown of college basketball’s elite in the South Regional. (Boston.com)
South Carolina headed to Final Four, beats Florida 77-70: The school of Frank McGuire, Kevin Joyce, Brian Winters, Mike Dunleavy and Alex English is going to the Final Four for the first time. (Boston.com)
70 years ago, Holy Cross won the NCAA tournament: Holy Cross, going 27-3 that season, won the school’s first (and so far only) NCAA men’s basketball championship on March 25, 1947. (Boston.com)
Joe Thomas: NFL teams view Colin Kaepernick as unworthy distraction: Joe Thomas, the Browns’ Pro Bowl left tackle and part-time Twitter analyst, has offered a possible reason, saying NFL teams no longer look at Kaepernick as an elite QB, and his political stance of taking a knee during the national anthem in 2016 was too much for a player who was neither a starter nor a star.(ESPN)
Hanley Ramirez’s shoulder keeping him away from first base: Farrell’s tone Sunday, and Ramirez’s actions, suggested the plan to have Ramirez play first base against lefty starters might be put on hold to start the regular season. “When he’s first ready,” Farrell said. “I would hope that would still happen in spring training. His play and availability at first is one of the keys to how our roster can function at its best. But until he’s ready to go out there, I can’t put him on the field.” (WEEI)
Sale hurls five shutout innings, Sandoval has two hits in 7-2 Red Sox win: Chris Sale threw five shutout innings and Pablo Sandoval continued his torrid spring with two more hits as the Red Sox routed the Twins, 7-2, Sunday at the Twins’ Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers. (CSNNE)
