Missouri holds off Alabama
In a showdown of the two surprise teams in the Southeastern Conference, No. 18 Missouri stayed alive in the league race Saturday, becoming the first SEC team to take down No. 10 and first-place Alabama in a 68-65 victory at Mizzou Arena.
But it was anything but easy in the closing minutes.
A game the Tigers led by 22 points midway through the second half became a one-possession heart-stopper in the after a 12-0 Alabama surge. But that’s when fifth-year backup forward Mitchell Smith became the hero. Smith swatted Herb Jones’ potential go-ahead basket in the final seconds, setting up a pair of Xavier Pinson free throws for a three-point lead. The Tide had one more look at a game-tying 3 but couldn’t get off a clean look from the corner at the buzzer.
Mizzou held on despite not scoring a field goal in the game’s final six minutes.
With their third straight win and third this season over a top-10 opponent, the Tigers proved they can play at Alabama’s electrifying pace mixed with relentless defense for the game’s fist 35 minutes.
Until the late meltdown, Mizzou seemingly beat the Crimson Tide to every loose ball, dominated in the paint and revved up their transition game to beat Alabama down the floor.
Boxing: Former heavyweight champion Leon Spinks Jr. has died after battling prostate and other cancers. He was 67. Spinks died Friday night, according to a release from a public relations firm. His wife, Brenda Glur Spinks, and a few close friends and other family members were by his side when he passed away. Spinks won gold at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. But he rose in prominence when he beat Muhammad Ali for the heavyweight title in 1978. Spinks had only seven professional fights under his belt when he got into the ring with Ali. The St. Louis native also was outweighed by Ali by more than 25 pounds.
Golf: A day after saying he needed to be patient about results, Jordan Spieth matched his career best with a 10-under 61 on Saturday for a share of the third-round lead with Xander Schauffele in the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Winless since the 2017 British Open, Spieth is trying recapture the form that carried him to 11 PGA Tour victories — three of them majors — in his first five seasons on the tour. The 27-year-old Texan raised the volume considerably at TPC Scottsdale, drawing the biggest roar of the week from the limited crowd on the par-3 16th when he curled in a 36-footer for birdie and the outright lead. He followed with a fan-thrilling 30-footer for birdie on 17.
MLB: Veteran infielder Elvis Andrus was traded to the Athletics on Saturday, just over two months after the Rangers said the only player remaining from their only two World Series appearances would no longer be the starting shortstop after 12 seasons in that role. Texas sent the 32-year-old Andrus, catcher Aramis Garcia and $13.5 million to the A’s for designated hitter Khris Davis, catcher Jonah Heim and right-hander Dane Acker. ...
Now that he’s locked in to the Atlanta Braves, Marcell Ozuna couldn’t resist a good-natured poke at general manager Alex Anthopoulos. “Alex, I have a question for you,” Ozuma said to Anthopoulos as the two took part in a Zoom call Saturday. “Why didn’t you sign me at the end of the season?’”
Instead, the Braves waited until a couple of weeks before the start of spring training to reach a four-year, $65 million deal with a slugger who just missed out on the National League’s Triple Crown during the abbreviated 2020 season.
The return of Ozuna ensures the Braves, who have won three straight NL East titles, will remain one of the top championship contenders heading into a new season. They came up one win short of the World Series a year ago, losing to the eventual champion Los Angeles Dodgers in a sevengame series. Atlanta led the series 3-1 before Los Angeles recovered.