World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start the season opener for the Dodgers at home

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) —World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamotowill start another season opener for the Los Angeles Dodgers, just like he did last year when they went on to win their second consecutive championship.

Dodgers Giants Spring Baseball

Manager Dave Roberts told reporters at spring training Monday that Yamamoto will start the March 26 opener at home against Arizona.

Yamamoto was the first and last pitcher used by the Dodgers last season, when he got the final eight outs in their 11-inning World Series Game 7 clincher at Toronto. He also won both of his World Series starts, acomplete game in Game 2and then threw 96 pitches over six innings in Game 6, a night before throwing 34 pitches to close out the series.

The Dodgers began last season in Tokyo, with Yamamoto allowing one run over five innings in his home country in a4-1 win over the Chicago Cubs.

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He pitched for Japan in the World Baseball Classic, giving up a leadoff home run to Ronald Acuña Jr. in an8-5 quarterfinal loss to Venezuela.

The 27-year-old right-hander is going into the third season of his record $325 million, 12-year contract for a pitcher. He is 19-10 with a 2.66 ERA in 48 regular-season starts for the Dodgers, and 7-0 with a 2.25 ERA in 10 playoff games (nine starts).

Only three other pitchers have won Games 6 and 7 of the same World Series: Randy Johnson in 2001, Harry Brecheen in 1946 and Ray Kremer in 1925.

AP MLB:https://apnews.com/MLB

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March 16, 2026

World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start the season opener for the Dodgers at home

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) —World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamotowill start another season opener for the Los Angeles Dodgers, ju...

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Dick Vitale and Charles Barkley will call their first NCAA Tournament game together

Dick Vitale previously declined a standing invitation from CBS and TNT Sports to call anNCAA Tournamentgame.

An assist from Charles Barkley is finally making it happen this year.

Vitale and Barkley will call Tuesday night's second First Four matchup in Dayton, Ohio, between Texas and N.C. State on truTV with Brian Anderson and Jenny Dell. It will be the second game this season that Vitale and Barkley have worked together, after theIndiana-Kentucky gamein December.

"This is happening because he (Barkley) worked a game on ESPN. Now I'm doing back the favor and giving them a game on their network," Vitale said. "I had been offered chances in the last few years. Sean McManus (the retired chairman of CBS Sports) would call and say, 'You shouldn't end your career without doing an NCAA game, and we'll let you do it on CBS.' I appreciated it so much, but I told him the one thing I wanted on my resume was that I worked my entire career at ESPN. He was surprised but said he respected that."

Vitale served as a studio analyst for ESPN's NCAA Tournament coverage from 1980 through 1990. CBS took over the entire tournament in 1991 and began its partnership with TNT Sports in 2011.

Barkley has been a studio analyst for the NCAA Tournament and Final Four on CBS and TNT Sports since 2011. This is the first year he has appeared on ESPN; "Inside the NBA" airs on the network while being produced by TNT Sports.

"One of my goals for 10, 12 years was to call a game with Dick, and they (their bosses) would never let us do it," Barkley said. "It was awesome to do Indiana and Kentucky, and I think it's going to be even better this time. I've said this before, other than the Olympics, March Madness is the most impressive thing I have been a part of. It's incredible."

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The longtime friends jelled quickly during the Dec. 13 game at Rupp Arena, which Kentucky won 72-60. The stakes will be higher for this game, though, with the winner facing sixth-seeded BYU in aWest Region first-round matchupin Portland, Oregon.

Vitale said the Kentucky game with Barkley was one of his five greatest moments since becoming a television analyst in 1979. He called ESPN's first college basketball game on Dec. 5, 1979.

"The thing is, it's a lot of quick things that you aren't prepared for," Vitale said. "We just react to the situation. That's what I like: It's not scripted at all."

Barkley — who has contributed to Vitale's Pediatric Cancer Fund — also appreciates that Vitale has come back to the airwaves afterfour fights with cancer in three years.

"One of the reasons I want to work with him is because we're all so lucky because of basketball, and there's never been a bigger cheerleader of college basketball than him. Basketball has given me everything in my life, so it's pretty special," Barkley said. "Sunday was exciting because the bracket was announced, but Tuesday is the official kickoff when the games begin."

AP March Madness bracket:https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracketand coverage:https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

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March 16, 2026

Dick Vitale and Charles Barkley will call their first NCAA Tournament game together

Dick Vitale previously declined a standing invitation from CBS and TNT Sports to call anNCAA Tournamentgame. A...

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Patrick Mahomes injury update: Will Chiefs QB return for Week 1?

The road to recovery is long and winding.

It's a path thatPatrick Mahomescontinues to travel as the NFL offseason rolls along. While theKansas City Chiefsquarterback has his sights set on playing in Week 1, even the best GPS doesn't guarantee arrival time. Sometimes there are detours and delays along the road.

The Chiefs appear to be well aware of that, striking adeal on March 16 with the New York Jets to acquire Justin Fields. He figures to play a backup quarterback role for Kansas City. More importantly, Fields provides the team some insurance in the event that Mahomes isn't ready for opening day.

In the meantime, Fields can play the QB1 role during the offseason, with a chance to start when the games really count.

JUSTIN FIELDS TRADE:Grades for Chiefs, Jets in QB deal

Of course, there is no quarterback competition for Andy Reid's Chiefs, but injuries can be fickle. Here's the latest on Mahomes as he continues to work his way back from injury.

OT Tytus Howard: Traded to Cleveland Browns (previous team: Houston Texans)

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> CB Trent McDuffie: Traded to Los Angeles Rams (previous team: Kansas City Chiefs)

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> RB David Montgomery: Traded to Houston Texans (previous team: Detroit Lions)

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> WR DJ Moore: Traded to Buffalo Bills (previous team: Chicago Bears)

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

2026 NFL offseason tracker: Player signings, trades

OT Tytus Howard:Traded to Cleveland Browns(previous team: Houston Texans)

Patrick Mahomes injury update

Mahomes continues to rehab from atorn ACL that he suffered in Week 15 of the 2025 NFL season.

The quarterbackunderwent surgery for the injury on Dec. 15, with the expectation that he would be sidelined for 9-12 months. That puts Mahomes' timeline at about September, at the earliest.

Reid gave an update on Mahomes when he met with reporters on Feb. 20.

"He's around here all the time,"Reid said, via ESPN. "He spends a ton of time here, seven hours a day. He's in there cranking away and making progress every day. It's great to see. [Athletic trainer Julie Frymyer] grinds on him and makes sure he stays on task and challenges him. He keeps showing up. That's about half the battle on these things when you have these injuries.

"It's not going to be a pleasant thing. Every day, you've got to fight through it and you've got to attack the challenge of the workout and rehab. He's doing a great job with that."

That echoed the thoughts of Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, who said he saw Mahomes going through rehab at the team's facility. He spoke about the situation during an appearance on"Good Morning Football" on Jan. 27.

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"I was with Patrick a couple days ago in our training room, watching him go through the work that he's doing to get back on the field with the rehab," Hunt said. "And nobody works harder than Patrick."

The owner added that he wouldn't doubt Mahomes' ability to make it back for Week 1.

"He certainly has a goal to be back for the beginning of the season," Hunt said. "I wouldn't put it past him. He's somebody in the past who has healed very quickly and, again, his work ethic, I think, gives him a huge advantage in getting back and being ready to play in 2026."

Will Patrick Mahomes be ready for Week 1?

Mahomes hopes to be ready forWeek 1 as he told reporters on Jan. 15.

"Obviously, I think the long term, I mean I want to be ready for Week 1," he said. "The doctor said that I could be, but I can't predict what's gonna happen throughout the process. But that's my goal, and so I'll try to prepare myself to be ready to play in that Week 1 and have no restrictions – you know, you want to be out there healthy and giving us the best chance to win."

The quarterback gave an update on his rehab progress a month after the surgery, when he seemed pleased with the results.

"Rehab's going great so far – just hitting all the checkpoints that the doctor wants you to do and getting the strength and the range of mobility back," Mahomes said.

"The doctor kind of gives you like goals to get to. I just try to maximize those – they hold me back, because I always want to go a little bit further."

There have been no reports of any setbacks in the process, which should be a good sign as Mahomes works towards his return. He will have to prove he can handle contact during practices and games before suiting up again.

The Chiefs have a little extra motivation to turn it around this season after a disappointing 2025 that saw them miss the playoffs for the first time in the Mahomes era.Travis Kelce will return for another season, meaning expectations will remain sky-high in Kansas City.

Now it's just about making sure the quarterback is cleared to join his teammates on the redemption tour.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Patrick Mahomes injury update after Chiefs trade for Justin Fields

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March 16, 2026

Patrick Mahomes injury update: Will Chiefs QB return for Week 1?

The road to recovery is long and winding. It's a path thatPatrick Mahomescontinues to travel as the NFL off...

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Blizzards. Tornados. Near-record warmth. Why the weather whiplash?

The wild swings of weather the central and eastern United States has endured recently – from blizzards and bitter cold to severe thunderstorms and near-record warmth – are typical for March as the seasons transition from winter to spring, forecasters said.

"Wide temperatures swings are normal as you get into meteorological spring, which starts on March 1," said AccuWeather senior meteorologist Courtney Travis in an e-mail to USA TODAY. "It's during this time that you'll start to see enough warm and cold air present in North America to get those larger temperature changes."

No other month experiences such dramatic temperature swings, and these wild fluctuations aren't random chaos. They're the result of two fundamentally different air masses fighting for control while neither has a clear advantage, according toweather-daily.com.

And while the eastern United States has seen wild swings from hot to cold, it's big-time heat that's the story this week in the West, with all-time record March heat possible in some locations.

Lightning, tornadoes and wild storms: See these incredible weather photos

Why are we having these wild swings of weather in the East?

The wild swings in temperature across the East are thanks to an active storm track over the past few weeks, Travis explained.

"The wind direction surrounding these storms is able to pull warm air from the Gulf northward, leading to warmer than historical average conditions, and then bring cold air southward from Canada, leading to cooler than historical average conditions," she said.

The jet stream, the river of air above our heads that helps guide storms and air masses across the country, has been quite amplified in recent weeks, meteorologists told the Associated Press.

Some recent scientific research has linked unusual jet stream and polar vortex activity to Arctic sea ice reductions and anthropogenic (human-caused) climate change.

What's the forecast for the rest of the week in the East?

Following the line of severe weather and rain moving through the East Coast through Monday night, temperatures will drop significantly, leading to snowfall across parts of New York and Pennsylvania Monday and early Tuesday.

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High temperatures across the East on Tuesday afternoon are forecast to be 15-25 degrees lower than that on Monday afternoon.

"The southeastern US is expected to be mostly dry for the remainder of the week, but another quick clipper or two is forecast to move across the Midwest and Northeast this week, bringing showers and perhaps a few more snowflakes," Travis said.

What's going on in the West?

A strengthening heat dome will send temperatures soaring into the 90s and past 100 degrees across the Southwest, threatening records, accelerating snowmelt and raising wildfire risk now, then water supply concerns later, AccuWeather warned.

High temperatures will be some 20 to 30 degrees above normal, the National Weather Service said. Some locations could reach all-time high temperatures for the month of March, especially Phoenix, Las Vegas, Sacramento, and San Jose.

Parts of the Desert Southwest may experience their earliest 100-degree temperature on record.

Heat stays in the western half of US

"The large-scale weather pattern across the country will keep most of the heat locked up across the western half of the country through late in the month," saidAccuWeathermeteorologist Renee Duff in an email to USA TODAY.

Overall, she said thepattern through the first week of Aprilis likely to be cool and wet in the East, while remaining warm and dry in the interior Southwest.

"A slower transition to persistent spring warmth can occur from the northern Rockies to the Northeast," AccuWeather long-range expert Paul Pastelok told USA TODAY.

Doyle Rice is a national correspondent for USA TODAY, with a focus on weather and climate.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Severe weather, wild temperature swings hit US

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March 16, 2026

Blizzards. Tornados. Near-record warmth. Why the weather whiplash?

The wild swings of weather the central and eastern United States has endured recently – from blizzards and bitter cold to...

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Brazil's Bolsonaro moves out of intensive care unit after condition improves, wife says

SAO PAULO (AP) — Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was transferred to a semi-intensive care unit after his medical condition improved in the last 24 hours, his wife said Monday.

Michelle Bolsonaro said on Instagram that tests showed the 70-year-old right-wing politician had reduced inflammation since he was placed in the Brasilia hospital's intensive care unit on Friday for pneumonia.

"We remain confident he will overcome this moment too," Michelle Bolsonaro said.

The hospital DF Star said on Sunday thatBolsonaro's kidney function had improved, although he was to stay in intensive care because of pneumonia. The hospital did not mention his transfer to a semi-intensive care unit.

Bolsonaro, who governed between 2019 and 2022, was taken to the hospital on Friday from the prison where he is serving a 27-year sentence for leading a coup attempt in 2023.

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The embattled ex-leader wastransferred from the local federal police headquarters to a larger cellin January. His family and allies have repeatedly asked Brazil's Supreme Court to allow him to carry out his sentence under house arrest.

The right-wing leader has been hospitalized multiple times since being stabbed at a campaign event before the 2018 presidential election.

His son Flávio Bolsonaro, a senator, is expected to run for president later this year against incumbentLuiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Jair Bolsonaro was also convicted on charges that include leading an armed criminal organization and attempting the violent abolition of the democratic rule of law. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean athttps://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

byNeo

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March 16, 2026

Brazil's Bolsonaro moves out of intensive care unit after condition improves, wife says

SAO PAULO (AP) — Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was transferred to a semi-intensive care unit after his medica...

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