Florida captures first SEC title since 2014

NASHVILLE, Tenn. >> Walter Clayton Jr. scored 22 points and fourth-ranked Florida won its fifth Southeastern Conference Tournament title and first since 2014, beating the No. 8 Tennessee Volunteers 86-77.

The Gators (30-4) lost in this game a year ago. This time, they made sure to finish their 12th appearance in this game all-time to add another title to the list that started with three straight between 2005-07.

Will Richard added 17 points for Florida. Alex Condon had 13, Thomas Haugh 11 and Alijah Martin 10.

Jordan Gainey led the Vols with a career-high 24 points. Zakai Zeigler had 23 and Chaz Lanier added 11 before fouling out.

Michigan surges late, defeats Wisconsin for Big 10 crown

INDIANAPOLIS >> Tre Donaldson and Vladislav Goldin each scored 11 points and No. 22 Michigan closed the Big Ten Tournament championship game on an 11-2 run to beat No. 18 Wisconsin 59-53 and claim its first tourney crown since 2018.

Donaldson also had eight assists one day after driving the length of the court for the winning layup with less than a second to go in the semifinal round.

Michigan (25-9) won three games in three days to give coach Dusty May a title in his first season in Ann Arbor.

Newcastle tops Liverpool to win English League Cup final

London >> Newcastle ended its 70-year-wait for a major domestic trophy by beating Liverpool 2-1 in the English League Cup final.

Dan Burn and Alexander Isak scored either side of halftime to seal victory at Wembley.

Substitute Federico Chiesa pulled a goal back for Liverpool in added time, to set up a tense finish, but Newcastle held on.

Newcastle’s last major domestic trophy was the FA Cup in 1955 and this was its first piece of silverware since being bought by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund in 2021.

American cyclist Jorgenson defends Paris-Nice title

American cyclist Matteo Jorgenson won the week-long Paris-Nice race for the second straight year.

On a good day for U.S. cycling Jorgenson, who rides for the Jumbo-Visma team, finished runner-up in the eighth and final stage claimed by his countryman Magnus Sheffield of the Ineos-Grenadiers team.

Jorgenson became the 10th rider with consecutive titles in the Race to the Sun, joining the likes of cycling greats Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx and Raymond Poulidor. Sean Kelly holds the record for most consecutive wins — seven from 1982 to 1988.

Meillard wins WC slalom, closes in on Kristoffersen

HAFJELL, Norway >> World champion Loic Meillard won the season’s penultimate men’s World Cup slalom as the Swiss skier boosted his chances of taking the discipline title.

Meillard overcame a big mistake early in his final run and held on to his first-leg lead as he beat Atle Lie McGrath of Norway by 0.21 seconds. Henrik Kristoffersen, who leads the discpline standings, won both the GS and the slalom at the previous tech weekend in Slovenia two weeks ago.

On Sunday, the Norwegian placed fifth and saw his advantage over Meillard reduced to 47 points with only the season-ending race remaining at the World Cup finals in Sun Valley, Idaho on March 27.

Betts dealing with illness; status for opener in doubt

Tokyo >> Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts is still struggling to recover from an illness, with manager Dave Roberts pessimistic that the eight-time All-Star will be ready for opening day against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday in Japan.

Betts was able to go through a light workout on Sunday, but became tired quickly.

Roberts said Saturday that Betts started suffering from flu-like symptoms in Arizona, the day before the team left for Japan. He still made the long plane trip, but hasn’t recovered as quickly as hoped.

• Joey Gallo is planning to try pitching after the Chicago White Sox announced that they had released the two-time All-Star. Gallo posted on social media that he was done with the outfield and he was going to start pitching. Gallo went 2 for 20 in nine Cactus League games with Chicago in spring training, striking out 11 times.

• Manager Joe Espada told reporters that Framber Valdez will make his fourth consecutive opening-day start for the Houston Astros against the New York Mets.

Vikings say former receiver Paul Flatley has died at 84

EAGAN, Minn. >> Paul Flatley, the 1963 Associated Press NFL rookie of the year for the Minnesota Vikings who piled up more than 3,000 receiving yards over five seasons, has died at the age of 84, the team announced Sunday.

The team said he died Saturday, but no additional details were provided.

Shifting from halfback to flanker at Northwestern, Flatley was a fourth-round pick (44th overall) by Minnesota in the 1963 draft, joining a team in just its third season. He had five catches for 72 yards in the season opener and started all 14 games in his debut season, finishing with 51 catches for 867 yards and four touchdowns.

He ranked eighth in the league in receiving yards and was the only rookie to land in the top 10. He won the AP honor over Baltimore tight end John Mackey.