Trivia answer
Before leading N.C. State to an improbable NCAA title in 1983, Jim Valvano led sixthseeded Iona past 11 seed Holy Cross in the 1980 tourney. Iona lost to Georgetown in the second round.
Ever since Dallas Seavey became the youngest musher to win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 2012, he’s been bombarded by questions on whether he would eventually get five race titles, the most ever by a musher.
“I think it was probably 10 minutes after I won that first race that somebody mentioned five,” he told The Associated Press before this year’s race. “At that point, I said I got to worry about No. 2 first. I may be homeschooled, but I know that much, two comes after one.”
Now Seavey, a 34-year-old considered by many to have the potential to become the race’s great champion, will have to start fending off questions about No. 6. Seavey on Monday collected his fifth Iditarod title, winning the pandemic-shortened race by more than three hours over second-place musher Aaron Burmeister.
He matched the record of five wins by Rick Swenson, known as the King of the Iditarod for picking up those titles from 1977-91.
“It’s a big deal,” Seavey said at the finish line after a race official checked to make sure his sled was complete with a sleeping bag, axe, dog booties and other mandatory gear. His 5 a.m. finish was televised statewide.
Boxing
Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury signed on for two fights to unify the world heavyweight titles, Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, said. With terms of the deal set on Saturday, Hearn’s company, Matchroom, and Fury’s promoter, Top Rank, have 30 days to find a site and a date for the first fight in June or July. Joshua and Fury will reportedly split proceeds 50-50 from their first fight, with the victor taking a 6040 cut for the rematch.
Colleges
Cameron Leonard of the UC San Diego baseball team was named the Big West Pitcher of the Week. Leonard pitched 51⁄3 scoreless innings to earn the win in a 3-1 victory over Santa Clara.
• The Atlantic Coast Conference has eliminated its rule requiring athletes to sit out a season if they transfer within the league. The move is the latest across college sports to loosen restrictions on transferring athletes so they can switch schools and play right away. The NCAA is moving toward making the so-called one-time exception available for all athletes.
Soccer
Wolverhampton goalkeeper Rui Patricio was carried off on a stretcher with a head injury after more than 10 minutes of treatment late in his team’s 1-0 loss to Liverpool in the English Premier League. Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo gave a positive update on Patricio’s condition after the game, saying: “He’s OK. He is conscious, he remembers what happened.”
• D.C. United captain Steven Birnbaum will miss the first two to three months of the MLS season after undergoing a second surgery on his left ankle, club officials said.
• Valencia midfielder Yunus Musah, 18, has committed to the U.S. national team program, four months after making his American national team debut. Musah also was eligible to play for England, Italy and Ghana.
Tennis
Richard Gasquet defeated
Marco Cecchinato 6-4, 6-2 in the first round of the Dubai Championships for his 550th career victory. French compatriot Jeremy Chardy recovered from a set down to upset the ninth-seeded Alex de Minaur 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Golf
Former U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland was among three players who withdrew from the Honda Classic on Monday after testing positive for the coronavirus. The tour said Scott Piercy (San Diego State alum) and Doc Redman also tested positive.
• Jim Furyk played in his final Ryder Cup in 2014, and he was captain in 2018. Now he gets to play both roles next year with a new PGA Tour Champions event that brings together the best from around the world. The World Champions Cup will begin in the fall of 2022. Taking a page from the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, it will feature nine-hole matches twice a day among Team USA, Team Europe and Team World.
Also
The pandemic-delayed 2021 Boston Marathon will have space for 20,000 entrants, race organizers announced. The Boston Athletic Association said the smaller field was necessary to allow for social distancing during the Oct. 11 event — especially at the start and finish. More than 30,000 runners had signed up for the 2020 race, which was first postponed and then canceled because of the COVID outbreak.
• Breakaway rider Mads Wurtz Schmidt won a five-man sprint to take the sixth and penultimate stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico race, and the overall lead of Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar remained unchanged.