Cal, Stanford scheduled for Super Bowl Sunday
The Pac-12 Conference moved the Cal-Stanford men’s basketball game, originally scheduled for the weekend of March 6 or March 7, to Sunday, Feb. 7, otherwise known as Super Bowl Sunday.
The game will tip at 7 p.m. at Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz and be televised on FS1.
The change was made in order to free up the final week of the regular season to allow for previously postponed games to be played at that time.
Cal and Stanford will now clash twice in a fourday span in early February; the teams’ first meeting is scheduled for Feb. 4 at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley. ALABAMA LEAPS TO NO. 9 IN AP TOP 25 » Gonzaga and Baylor remained 1-2 in the Associated Press Top 25 college basketball poll for the 10th straight week, while Alabama vaulted into the top 10.
Undefeated Gonzaga and Baylor are followed by Villanova (10-1) at No. 3. Michigan (13-1) moved up three spots No. 4, and Texas (11-2) held firm at No. 5, despite not playing last week because of COVID-19 issues among their opponents.
Women’s basketball
LOUISVILLE, NC STATE REMAIN ATOP POLL, STANFORD SIXTH » Louisville and North Carolina State both survived upset bids by unranked teams to remain the top two teams in the Associated Press women’s basketball poll.
The No. 1 Cardinals needed a late basket from Dana Evans to stave off Wake Forest on Sunday while the second-ranked Wolfpack had to rally from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Virginia Tech a few hours later.
Golf
MCILROY COMMITS TO FIRST PHOENIX OPEN » Rory McIlroy has committed to play in next month’s Waste Management Phoenix Open for the first time, according to Golfweek.
It won’t be the usual raucous environment, with tournament chairman Scott Jenkins saying earlier this month that daily attendance will be capped at 5,000 people due to the coronavirus pandemic. The tournament, scheduled for Feb. 4-7, regularly welcomes more than 200,000 fans for the weekend rounds in typical years
SOUTHERN HILLS TO REPLACE TRUMP NATIONAL FOR ‘22 PGA »
The PGA Championship is headed back to Southern Hills next year, the Oklahoma course that gets its eighth major championship earlier than expected after the PGA of America cut ties with former President Donald Trump.
The 2022 PGA Championship originally was to be played at Trump National in Bedminster, New Jersey. The PGA voted to terminate that contract, signed in 2014, after the Trump-fueled riot at he U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 as Congress was certifying the election victory of President Joe Biden.
Baseball
MLB, USA BASEBALL START COMBINE AHEAD OF PUSHED-BACK DRAFT » Major League Baseball and the U.S. Baseball Federation will hold a showcase for prospects ahead of the amateur draft, which has been pushed back to July 11-13 and will hold its first night in Atlanta.
The first MLB draft combine will be held at the USA Baseball training complex in Cary, North Carolina, from June 20-28. The top 88 high school prospects will be invited to play eight games from June 20-26, ending in bronze and gold medal games.
Soccer
MLS TO OPEN SEASON ON APRIL 3 »
Major League Soccer will open the next season on April 3 and conclude with the MLS Cup title game on Dec. 11. Teams will be allowed to start preseason camps on Feb. 22.
NO SENTIMENTALITY AS ABRAMOVICH FIRES CHELSEA GREAT LAMPARD »
Frank Lampard was fired by Chelsea halfway through his second season in charge after being unable to replicate his success as the club’s record scorer in his first Premier League managerial job.
Chelsea has lost five of its last eight Premier League games and dropped to ninth place, despite Lampard benefiting from nearly $300 million spent on new players for this season.