The party was planned months ago to celebrate Mathew Bowyer’s 50th birthday Friday with 140 family members and friends who stuck by him during his troubled times, and only those he still wanted to remain in his life.

This was not only going to be a lavish five-hour affair at the Bottega Angelina restaurant in Laguna Niguel, California but also a celebration of life and bringing closure to a dark chapter in his life.

It was the day, April 4, Bowyer was also going to be sentenced by the federal government for running one of the largest illegal bookmaking operations in the country, captivating the nation and all of Japan, with the ugly involvement of Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.

Bowyer’s sentencing has instead been delayed to Oct. 3, giving him more time to get his life in order, but also adding six more months of stress while thinking about his fate.

“I would have preferred to get this over with, man,’ Bowyer told USA TODAY Sports. “I know people have told me that the longer the delay, the better for sentencing. It’s just the anxiety of the unknown that sucks.

“I feel like I’m in a pickle between second and third base, but closer to second base.’

Bowyer, who pleaded guilty last August to running an illegal gambling business, money laundering and false tax returns, faces 18 years in prison, but says he expects receive a sentence of 17 to 37 months after cooperating with government officials. He’ll certainly receive a lighter penalty than the 57 months in prison that Mizuhara was sentenced for bank and tax fraud, and stealing nearly $17 million from Ohtani.

Mizuhara, one of more than 700 clients of Bowyer, placed at least 19,000 bets in excess of $300 million with Bowyer’s bookmaking operation from Sept. 2021 to Jan. 2024, gambling up to $100,000 a game.

It’s the Ohtani-Mizuhara relationship that has fascinated film producers and national media outlets. Bowyer says he has written a 87,000 word, 16-chapter book on his life called, “Recalibrate,’ that will also be published once he knows his fate.

“My life was like the ‘Wolf of Wall Street,’ but if Shohei’s name wasn’t involved in this,’’ Bowyer said, “nobody would give a [expletive] about me. You’re talking about the biggest athlete in the world. I don’t think we’ll ever see a player like this again in our lifetime.’

We may also spend the rest of Ohtani’s lifetime wondering just how much Ohtani knew about Mizuhara’s gambling addiction, and whether he had even the slightest involvement.

“I know the whole world wants to know,’ Bowyer says, “but to this day, I truly don’t know. They are the only two people in the world who really know the truth, Shohei and Ippei.

“I truly believe that Shohei doesn’t gamble, but I think he knew some area of demise with Ippei, just maybe not to that extent.’

The federal government and Major League Baseball believe Ohtani was nothing more than a victim of fraud. He was quickly cleared by federal investigators and MLB of having no knowledge that Mizuhara was stealing from his account, nor aware of any of the 19,000 bets Mizuhara placed with Bowyer for nearly 2 ½ years.

“It’s definitely possible Ohtani didn’t know anything, but plausible is a different answer,’ Bowyer says. “I gambled bigger than most. I hid my emotions better than most. But you can only hide so much when you’re in serious turmoil. And clearly, he was in serious turmoil.

“If this is true that Ippei was the guy, and gambling all by himself the whole time, I don’t know how you could hide that from your best friend, someone you were with almost 24 hours a day? They were inseparable.

“And if you really could hide that from his best friend for so long – then how could Shohei Ohtani not see $17 million gone from his account?’

While Mizuhara has been proven to be a degenerate gambler, there is not a shred of evidence he ever bet on baseball. Not a single bet involving was made with Bowyer involved baseball, Bowyer insists, which was supported by the federal government and MLB’s investigations.

Bowyer says MLB never interviewed him during its investigation, but a person with direct knowledge of the MLB investigation said an attempt to contact Bowyer was rebuffed by his attorney.

“My obligation was to the federal government,’ Bowyer says. “If we had wanted to talk, there was really no value in it for me.’

Considering the exorbitant amount of the wagers, Bowyer assumed all along that Ohtani was aware of Mizuhara’s gambling addiction, particularly with Ohtani’s name on multiple $500,000 wire transfers. Yet, he never met Ohtani. Never talked to Ohtani. Never once sought the truth.

“I never had a discission with Ippei directly on who’s making the bets,’ says Bowyer, who originally met Mizuhara at a private poker game in 2021 after an Angels-Padres game in San Diego. “People ask me all of the time, ‘Why wouldn’t you?’ I say, ‘Why would I?’ It’s not my business to pry into their business. How are they getting the money? Who’s betting for who? There comes a point where you don’t want the answer, and I was afraid of the truth.

“I didn’t do drugs. I didn’t harm people. I was just a businessman providing a service to people.’

Once Bowyer serves his time, he wants to prove a different type of service. He wants to help athletes avoid the gambling web that ensnared five minor league players last season, including Tucupita Marcano, a former San Diego Padres player who received a lifetime ban for placing more than $150,000 worth of bets on baseball games. Umpire Pat Hoberg, considered one of the game’s finest home plate umpires, was fired last season for his involvement with sports gambling. Atlanta minor leaguer David Fletcher, who placed smaller wagers on football games with Bowyer, still is being investigated by MLB.

“He never bet on baseball, he just bet on sports,’ Bowyer said of Fletcher, who was also a golfing buddy. “I feel bad for him. This tarnished him. He did nothing wrong in my opinion. He was just doing what I think more than half of the athletes are doing.’

MLB, which is trying to balance its partnerships with legal sports betting companies while maintaining the integrity of the game, permits its players to bet on other sports, but only if it’s done legally in states where sports betting is allowed. California remains one of 12 states that has not legalized gambling.

Bowyer believes that about 50% of athletes gamble on other sports. Most of the gambling is legal, but there, of course, are outliers in all sports with Jontay Porter of the Toronto Raptors receiving a lifetime ban last year after providing confidential information to sport gamblers.

“Athletes are always going to bet on sports,’ Bowyer says. “They are competitive people. But at the end of the day, how do they control it? It’s really sad to see some of these guys ruin their lives over this. There’s a big problem here, I don’t know what the exact answer is, but they have to figure it out fast.’

Bowyer, who went from a Chevy’s restaurant waiter to a stock broker to purchasing $550,000 cars and flying on private planes and staying in presidential suites, details his life story in his book. He also opened social media accounts six months ago on X and Instagram.

Bowyer says he ‘wants to be hired by the NFL or MLB to come sit down and talk to these kids and tell them how to avoid these mistakes … I want to make them aware of making better choices, better decisions and avoiding these things.

“I’d like to save other people from taking the same footsteps and falling in the same mistakes I made.’

In the meantime, Bowyer awaits his sentencing. His court case will be presided over by the same judge who sentenced Mizuhara: U.S. District Judge John W. Holcomb.

Bowyer, who grew up a Boston Red Sox fan because of Roger Clemens, says he has cut all of the bad influences out of his life. He’s eager to see what lies ahead and says companies are vying to do a documentary. Video and podcast crews are already filming episodes with Bowyer to be released in the future.

“When you have $5 to $6 million on a football game,’ Bowyer says, “that adrenaline rush is really hard to replace. But you can still find it in something else, and in my case, its rebuilding my life. I have five kids to feed. I want to leave a legacy for them. I want them to see how their dad dealt with adversity.

“I don’t go hiding in a corner. I don’t resort to drugs and alcohol. I resort to rebuilding my life.’

Bowyer, who spoke for five minutes at his birthday party, thanking everyone for being part of his life, says he’s much more emotional than he’s ever been in his life. He no longer takes anything for granted. Not since that morning in October 2023 when federal agents raided his home.

“Everything is so heightened now,’ Bowyer says. “My freedom. Time with my family. Time with friends. I loved the gambling, the traveling, but sitting on a couch now, doing nothing, watching baseball games on my own, I’m enjoying it. I go to the beach now more than I have in 50 years, walking my dogs, watching my kids play volleyball, just enjoying life.

“I never wanted the FBI to raid my home, but you know, it’s been a blessing in a lot of ways.

“Truly, it gives me a chance to recalibrate.’

Around the basepaths

– While there was a rash of extensions this past week, no extension is more widely anticipated than the $500 million contract that Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is expected to receive, perhaps this week.

Despite Guerrero’s spring-training deadline of the start of spring training, the Blue Jays and Guerrero’s representatives continue to negotiate, exchanging figures and are expected to reach a resolution any day.

The deal will keep Guerrero in Toronto for at least 14 years, ending any ideas for the Boston Red Sox and New York Mets, who were atop of Guerrero’s wish list if he became a free agent.

– The Chicago White Sox, despite all of the rumors and speculation, are NOT being sold.

White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, 90, has made it perfectly clear to friends that he has zero interest in selling as long as he remains in good health.

He has rebuffed all of minority investor Justin Ishbia’s requests to purchase controlling interest of the team.

– In an informal survey of baseball executives and agents, Boston Red Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet received the best extension for a player, five years, $170 million, despite having only one full season as a starter.

The best team-friendly extension: San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill’s nine-year, $135 million contract extension. The idea of Merrill averaging just $15 million a year had lawyers from the players union strongly advising him to reject the offer.

– Ketel Marte received the third extension of his career since being traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks, bringing in $64 million in new money. Yet, not only is he deferring $46 million, but he has agreed to take a substantial paycut this season. He was scheduled to earn $19 million this year in his original contract, but has agreed to take a paycut to $14 million, while also deferring $5 million. It provides the D-backs $10 million in flexible spending after being stuck with starter Jordan Montgomery’s entire $22.5 million this season.

– The Minnesota Twins, who were asking interested parties to submit their bids by April 1, now are telling prospective owners they have another 45 days as they continue to seek $1.7 billion.

– Please, enough with the talk of the ‘torpedo bats.’

When Cubs manager Craig Counsell was asked if he was surprised that it took this long to manufacture this type of bat, Counsell said: “I’m curious how it took you guys so long to figure out we were using it.’’

– The Major League Baseball Players Association have boosted their staff and compensation the past four years, according to the LM-2 reports filed.

Their total of employee disbursements has gone from $12.1 million in 2021 to $15.9 million to $16.4 million to $26.3 million this past season.

Executive director Tony Clark is the highest-paid executive with the union at $3.25 million, which is actually $840,000 less than a year ago. It’s a higher salary than NFL executive director Lloyd Howell (2.062 million), but pales in comparison to former NFL union chief DeMaurice Smith ($9.3 million).

– MLB still has not formulated any formal expansion plans, but one owner insists it won’t come until 2031, with Salt Lake City and Nashville the favorites.

– The Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles and Chicago Cubs are the favorites to be selected as the three host cities for the MLB All-Star game the remainder of the decade after Atlanta this year and Philadelphia in 2026.

– Atlanta, who spent most of their money on outfielder Jurickson Profar this winter with a three-year, $42 million contract, now have to wonder if they were scammed.

Profar was popped for using PEDs, drawing an 80-game suspension while being banned from the playoffs.

The question now is how will he look when he returns. He hit .280 with a career-high 24 homers and an .839 OPS last season with the Padres, but was it simply a byproduct of PEDs?

– The Arizona Diamondbacks will face the San Diego Padres in a two-game series next year in Mexico City.

– It’s almost eerie how close Aaron Judge’s stats in his first 1,000 games is to Babe Ruth’s first 1,000 games with the Yankees.

Ruth: 321 HRs in 4,455 plate appearances: 1 HR every 13.88 plate appearances.

Judge: 321 HRs in 4,355 plate appearances: 1 HR every 13.57 plate appearances.

Ruth played his 1,000th game of his Yankee career in Pittsburgh.

Judge played his 1,000th game in Philadelphia.

Ruth was 32 years, 113 days old at the time of his 1,000th Yankee game.

Judge was 32 years, 343 days old.

– Just how surreal has Judge been in his last 162 games entering Saturday?

Batting average: .328
On-base percentage: .460
Slugging percentage: .731
HRs: 64
RBI: 161
Runs: 133
Walks: 134

And he comes at just half the price of Juan Soto with his 9-year, $360 million contract.

– In Terry Francona’s last season in Cleveland, the Guardians lost three, 1-0 games all year.

In Francona’s first week in Cincinnati, the Reds lost three 1-0 games in a row, going 34 innings without scoring, their longest drought since 1946.

– Pittsburgh Pirates owner Bob Nutting was greeted by fans chanting “sell the Team!’ on opening day at gorgeous PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

– Fabulous response by Phillies All-Star Bryce Harper when asked about the Dodgers and their payroll: “I don’t know if people will like this, butt I feel like only losers complain about what they’re doing. I think they’re a great team. They’re a great organization.’’

– While all of the attention for Japanese pitchers has been on Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Rōki Sasaki of the Dodgers, let alone Shohei Ohtani, Cubs starter Shōta Imanaga continues to pitch better than all of them. Imanaga is 2-0 with a 0.98 ERA in his first three starts this season after going 4-0 with a 0.98 ERA through April last season.

– The Cactus League was without two of its biggest attractions for a bulk of March, but despite the absence of the Dodgers and Cubs, the Cactus League posted its highest attendance since 2019 with 1.695 million fans – averaging 7,200 – a fourth consecutive spring increase.

– While the Yankees were striking out 13 times against Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen, the front office was drooling. Gallen will be a free agent after the season, and loves life back East growing up in the Philadelphia area.

The Diamondbacks would love to have him back, but it’s unrealistic to believe they can afford two $200 million pitcher on their staff with Corbin Burnes signing a six-year, $210 million contract last winter.

– The Cleveland Guardians, which has had primarily a right-handed starting rotation over the past decade, have an all-lefty rotation at Triple-A Columbus.

– Remember when the Angels manager Ron Washington banned cell phones in their clubhouse during spring training.

Well, they’re back.

“I put it in; they police it,” Washington told the Orange County Register. “If I walk through that clubhouse and I see it’s out of control, I’ll bring it up again.”

– There are 66 players who will earn at least $20 million this year, including 15 earning at least $30 million.

– You want a true ace?

No need to any further than Zack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies.

He has now made 13 consecutive starts in which he has pitched at least six innings and allowed two or fewer runs. It’s the longest streak by a Phillies pitcher since 1912, and one only 19 pitchers to achieve the feat.

– The Dodgers have the oldest roster in baseball, while the Marlins are the youngest (and cheapest).

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

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Editor’s note: Follow UConn vs. South Carolina live updates from the women’s NCAA championship game.

TAMPA, Florida — Whether she wins a national title or not, Paige Bueckers will sleep just fine.

There is a tendency to demand that transcendent players check all the boxes. They have to dominate. They have to break records. They have to win titles. They have to change the game. At last year’s Final Four, one of the storylines was whether Caitlin Clark needed a title to cement her GOAT status.

Caitlin Clark, who had just become the all-time leading scorer in all of major college basketball, forever changing the way society sees women’s sports and the athletes who play them in the process.

So it is with Bueckers, one of the purest all-around players the game has seen. As UConn meets South Carolina in the national championship Sunday, there are some who would argue there is still a ‘hole’ in Buecker’s considerable resume.

Bueckers, however, isn’t one of them.  

“I’m not worried about that at all,” she said Saturday. “The thing I take great joy and great pride in is the relationships, the experiences, the journeys we’ve gone on throughout the team. Just the bonds I’ve been able to create with my teammates, the memories, the close-knit stuff that you can’t really experience without sports. How it’s brought us all together and how much we’ve grown as individuals, grown as a team. All the stuff we’ve been through and how much it’s made us stronger.

“Really, the journey is the reward for me. Talk of legacy and whatever, that’s not up to me. All I can worry about and control is who I am every single day and who we are as a team.”

That isn’t to say Bueckers doesn’t want to win. Of course she does. She didn’t come to UConn to star in a comedic duo with coach Geno Auriemma, entertaining as their back-and-forths are. She is well aware it’s been almost a decade since UConn won its last title, an unfathomable “drought” at the premier program in women’s basketball.

But there is a difference between want and need, something Bueckers’ star-crossed career has taught her all too well.

The Huskies reached the Final Four her freshman year, but they were too young to have a realistic shot at the title in a year turned upside down by the COVID pandemic. She missed most of her sophomore year with a knee injury but returned in time to lead UConn to the title game — in her hometown no less — only to have the Huskies derailed by injuries and illness.

She missed her entire junior year with a torn ACL. Last year, UConn was so riddled with injuries the Huskies were being held together with paper clips and bubble gum by the time they reached the Final Four.

When Bueckers says she is grateful just to get one more game in a UConn uniform, she is not spouting a cliché.

“I think everything in life has kind of taught me not to take things for granted,” she said. “Being in the national championship game, it’s extremely hard to get to and extremely rewarding to be a part of.”

For those of us on the outside, though, it’s hard not to want the fairytale ending, to see Bueckers leave the game with confetti in her hair and a trophy in her hand.

Bueckers hasn’t just inspired a generation of players with her slick passes and ability to flip a game on a dime. She has used her platform for good, shining her spotlight on the women of color who came before her and paved the way for her success. She has championed her teammates, with her words and with her game.

“Paige doesn’t need anything to change her life to make her life better. She’s got a life that most people would dream about,” Auriemma said. “But for someone who’s invested so much into the University of Connecticut, the community, the team, her teammates, and loves the game so much, she deserves to go out as a national champion.

“But so do a bunch of kids at South Carolina that have done the exact same thing,” he added. “That’s why whoever doesn’t get the opportunity to (win), it stings, it hurts. It’s going to take a long time to get over that. But at the same time, it’s not going to be your defining moment.”

Because a legacy is never just one item on a resume. It’s the sum total of a person’s career, not just what they’ve accomplished but how they’ve done it.

By that measure, Bueckers is leaving UConn a winner. Regardless of what happens Sunday.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will host Toronto FC on Sunday Night Soccer, but how much will Messi play tonight? 

Inter Miami will end MLS Matchday 7 this weekend in the MLS and Apple TV’s Sunday showcase. As one of the best teams in the league, they’re going to face a team near the bottom of the standings. And it’s imperative they play efficiently without injury with heir eyes set on a big match Wednesday. 

After Inter Miami hosts Toronto, they’ll host LAFC in the second leg of their Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal matchup. LAFC leads 1-0 on aggregate score after the first leg last Wednesday. The tournament is one of five trophies Inter Miami will compete for this year. 

Messi was unable to convert on three free kick opportunities during the first LAFC match, showing signs he may not be quite as sharp as he’s been in his legendary career, coming off a recent adductor strain in his left quad. 

Messi could use some work against Toronto, whether he starts and plays about 60 minutes or comes off the bench to play the final 30 minutes. But it’s unclear how much Messi will play tonight. 

What time does Inter Miami vs. Toronto match begin? 

The match starts at 7 p.m. ET (8 p.m. in Argentina).

How to watch Inter Miami vs. Toronto live stream? 

The match is available on MLS Season Pass and Apple TV+.

Is Messi playing tonight? 

Messi’s status will be confirmed about an hour before the game when Inter Miami announces its starting lineup. 

Messi shares MLS Season Pass free trial 

Before the Toronto match, Messi shared a one month free trial to MLS Season Pass via his Instagram account. Use Messi’s personal link to redeem the one-month offer: apple.co/MessiGift. 

Inter Miami vs. Toronto preview

Inter Miami enters the match after its first loss and its first 10 games of the year across all competitions, following the 1-0 defeat at LAFC last Wednesday. Inter Miami is unbeaten in MLS play and in second place (13 points) in the Eastern Conference after Columbus Crew (15 points) leapfrogged them in the standings following a 2-1 win against Montreal on Saturday. Toronto is 14th among 15 teams in the standings with just two points from two draws and four losses to start the season. 

How are Inter Miami, MLS teams doing in Champions Cup?

Major League Soccer has four teams remaining in the Champions Cup: Inter Miami, Los Angeles FC, reigning MLS Cup champion Los Angeles Galaxy and the Vancouver Whitecaps. 

The Galaxy will visit Tigres on Tuesday in Monterrey (9 p.m. ET on FS1), after a scoreless draw at home in the first leg. Vancouver will visit Pumas on Wednesday in Mexico City (10:30 p.m. ET on FS1), after a 1-1 draw in the first leg last week.

Liga MX’s Club America and Cruz Azul will settle their scoreless quarterfinal in Leg 2 on Tuesday (11:30 p.m. ET on FS1).

Inter Miami/LAFC would meet the Vancouver/Pumas winner in the semifinal, while Galaxy/Tigres will see America/Cruz Azul. 

Messi, Inter Miami upcoming schedule

Wednesday: Inter Miami vs. LAFC, 8 p.m. ET (Concacaf Champions Cup)
April 13: Chicago vs. Inter Miami, 4:30 p.m. ET (MLS)
April 19: Columbus vs. Inter Miami, 4:30 p.m. ET (MLS)
April 26: Inter Miami vs. FC Dallas, 7:30 p.m. ET

Oregon State’s Jade Carey, Florida’s Leanne Wong and Oklahoma’s Faith Torrez are among the stars leading their teams at today’s NCAA women’s gymnastics regional finals.

Regional finals in Alabama and Washington will determine which teams join LSU, Michigan State, Utah and UCLA in the NCAA championship in Fort Worth, Texas.

LSU and Michigan State were the first teams to get through, finishing 1-2 in the Pennsylvania regional Saturday. Out of the Utah regional, the host Red Rocks advanced along with UCLA.

Here’s a look at today’s regional finals:

NCAA gymnastics schedule

Alabama regional final

No. 3 Florida, No. 6 Cal, No. 11 Alabama, No. 14 Oregon State

Where: Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa

When: 6 p.m. ET Sunday, April 6

Streaming: ESPN+

Florida’s Leanne Wong helped lead the Gators to the regional final, scoring a 9.950 on beam Friday night, tied for the top mark along with Jade Carey of Oregon State. Wong was second in the all-around with a score of 39.775 behind Carey (39.85). Wong, who has been a member of the U.S. senior and junior national teams, was the 2024 NCAA co-champion on uneven bars.

Washington regional final

No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 7 Missouri, No. 15 Auburn, Arizona

Where: Seattle

When: 8 p.m. ET, Sunday, April 6, 2025

Streaming: ESPN+

Oklahoma’s Faith Torrez scored a perfect 10 of her career on beam Friday night to lead the Sooners to a 198.025 victory. Auburn was second with a score of 196.950 to also advance to the Seattle regional final. Torrez claimed four titles in the all-around, bars, beam and floor. She was co-champion on bars with teammates Jordan Bowers and Audrey Davis.

OU’s Faith Torrez and the perfect 10

Oklahoma junior Faith Torrez scored a perfect 10 on beam at regionals on Friday, the first of her career in the event. Her first perfect 10 this season came on a floor routine in February as the Sooners hosted Florida.

In February, Torrez’s 10 gave the Sooners a 49.775 on floor, and the Sooners went on to claim their 90th consecutive victory at home.

Last season Torrez scored her first perfect 10 on floor to win the Big 12 title.

In one of the most thrilling Final Four games in recent memory, Houston basketball completed a six-point comeback with under 40 seconds remaining against Duke on Saturday.

The Cougars at one point had only an 8.4% chance of winning when down 67-61 with possession late in the second half. Of course, that meant Duke was heavily favored to win, based on win percentages at that point of the game.

The March Madness social media account chronicled the Blue Devils’ plummeting win chances as crucial plays unfolded down the stretch of the Cougars’ 70-67 comeback.

Duke’s chances fell from 91.6% to 84.7% after Emanuel Sharp’s 3-pointer made the score 67-64 Duke with 32.4 seconds remaining. Houston’s chances rose to 34.2% after forcing a steal on the ensuing inbounds pass, with Joseph Tugler reducing the Cougars’ deficit to 67-66 on the putback dunk after a 3-point miss.

A controversial foul on Duke’s Cooper Flagg then put J’Wan Roberts at the free-throw line, and Roberts nailed both shots to give Houston a 68-67 lead with 19.6 seconds left. Roberts’ free throw makes then gave Houston a 60.2% chance to win, according to the video, after Duke held a 65.8% chance before the free-throw shots.

Flagg missed the ensuing potential game-winning shot, which flipped Houston’s chances all the way to 84.7% as the Cougars held possession with under nine seconds remaining. Houston made its two free-throw attempts after Duke fouled, and Duke couldn’t get a 3-pointer up after the full-court heave from the opposing baseline.

The crazy end to the game resulted in Houston’s first national championship appearance since 1984, as the Cougars and coach Kelvin Sampson pull off the upset over the perceived favorites of the men’s NCAA Tournament.

Houston now shifts its focus to Florida, where it’ll aim to bring that same can’t-give-up mentality in the final game of the season.

About six months ago, Aidan Hutchinson shattered his leg. It was a brutal moment. Because you don’t want to see that happen to any human being. But also, Hutchinson is one of the bright young defensive stars in the game, and it was natural to wonder what the Detroit Lions’ season (especially the postseason) would have looked like with him still on the roster? Would the Lions have lost to the Washington Commanders in the divisional round? Would they have made the Super Bowl?

We’ll of course never know, but that’s how good Hutchinson has been in the NFL. That’s the kind of impact Hutchinson has had. He had 9½ sacks as a rookie in 2022, 11½ sacks in 2023, and last season he led the league in sacks with 6½ before his injury. Hutchinson is a force. A defensive storm. He’s a fairly unique talent.

When Hutchinson originally broke his leg, the team was devastated.

“It’s tough,” Lions defensive tackle DJ Reader said then. “Especially for someone who’s been there before. Not necessarily that injury, but you’ve been on your back with your eyes looking at the ceiling. You kind of get emotional, because you know what it takes. You don’t know what kind of fight you’re in for. 

“But I know as team, (shoot), it’s been our whole lives. Like we can go out to practice and people get injured. In games, it happens. So, it’s one of those things you can click back in. I think there’s a time to be human during the game. So, we understand how to be human, then process it and get back to what we need to do.” 

The human part … more on that in a moment.

Hutchinson since then has been steadily rehabbing. There was video from February of Hutchinson rehabilitating about four months after the injury:

Then came video this week of Hutchinson six months post-injury and it was, well, stunning:

I’ll leave the mechanics of injury rehab to the experts, thank you very much. I want to talk about the human component of this.

So many times we think of NFL players as drones. We still don’t see them as human beings as much as we should. We don’t realize (enough) just how staggeringly violent the sport is and how players not just survive, but prosper in this environment.

No, NFL players aren’t fighting in a war, and yes, they get paid well to do this. None of that negates what they do. None of that negates the extraordinary amount of work it must have taken Hutchinson to reach this point in his recovery.

A few things to focus on:

As you watch that video, keep in mind that Hutchinson is 6-foot-7 and 260-something pounds. Just that fact itself is remarkable. Not sure how fast he’s going but it looks darn fast. The fact someone that big can run like that just months after shattering his leg, again, remarkable human stuff.
The difference a few months in rehab makes is equally stunning. In the first video, you see a noticeable hitch. It’s gone in the second one. That leap in movement alone must have taken a gargantuan amount of effort. People who have had catastrophic injuries like this one likely have some idea of what Hutchinson went through to make that leap, but most of us who have never experienced that cannot.
Hutchinson is far from alone in coming back from a debilitating injury. We have seen this before. Alex Smith’s leg injury was extremely severe and the injury was complicated by an infection. Smith also documented his recovery the way Hutchinson is. There’s something equally striking about Hutchinson because we are getting peeks (not wholesale looks) at his comeback. We’re seeing leaps in Hutchinson’s recovery in real time.

More than anything, remember the humanity of what Hutchinson is doing. We are getting a nice window into what it takes to not just be an NFL player, but what it takes when one tries to return from something devastating.

We’re seeing a human being be human. We shouldn’t forget this is what being an NFL player is, too.

After trailing by 14 points in the second half, L.J. Cryer and No. 1 Houston went on an incredible late run to stun No. 1 Duke, 70-67, and advance to the men’s national championship game. 

Monday night’s title game will now feature Houston against No. 1 Florida.

Duke led 59-45 with just over eight minutes left in the game and the Blue Devils looked to be headed to their first national championship game since 2015. But Cryer, who was a major reason the Cougars remained in striking distance, sparked a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to four points with five minutes left. 

Even as the Blue Devils found their rhythm again, Houston didn’t give up. Emanuel Sharp hit a 3-pointer to make it a three-point game with 32 seconds left, and a steal and a bucket made it a one-point game with 20 seconds remaining.

Houston fouled Tyrese Proctor and he couldn’t make the front end of the one-and-one. On the rebound, Cooper Flagg was called for an over-the-back foul to send J’Wan Roberts to the free throw line. He nailed both shots, and Flagg missed a shot in the lane on the ensuing possession. A pair of free throws from Cryer, who finished with a team-high 26 points, secured the win when Proctor’s wild shot from 3 at the buzzer missed. Houston finished the final 80 seconds on an 11-1 run.

‘Don’t sleep on Houston,’ head coach Kelvin Sampson said afterwards on the CBS broadcast.

Despite the loss, Wooden Award winner Flagg had another signature night for Duke. He had a game-high 27 points, 19 of which came in the second half. His 3-point shot with about three minutes left in the game ended up being the last field goal Duke would make.

The Cougars return to the national championship game for the first time since 1984. This is the third time Houston has made the final, but it’s still seeking its first title. The Cougars are 35-4, extending the school record for most wins in a season and their nation-leading win streak to 18 games. The Cougars also got revenge on Duke after the Blue Devils eliminated Houston in the Sweet 16 last season. 

Sampson now has 799 career wins and 299 at Houston; win Nos. 800 and 300, respectively, would finally get him that elusive national championship.

Saturday’s game started out how Houston wanted: physical while controlling the offensive glass. While it got plenty of second-chance opportunities early, it struggled to put the ball in the net. Meanwhile, Flagg and Kon Knueppel got the offense going quickly as Duke took a nine-point lead midway through the first half.

Houston shook off the cobwebs and cut the deficit to three, only for the Blue Devils’ award-winning freshman to get back to scoring. A stellar and-one play from Flagg extended the lead to 12 points late in the first half.

Three-point shots started to hit for Houston as the second half began. The only problem was Duke matched it to maintain a double-digit lead. Flagg completely took over Duke’s offense and the Blue Devils led by as many as 14 points before Houston ended the game on a 25-8 run over the final eight minutes. Duke only made one of its last nine field goal attempts and turned it over five times during that stretch.

Houston’s defense ended up getting the better of Duke’s high-powered offense. Saturday was the sixth time Duke was held to under 40% field goal percentage in a game and the 67 points was the second-lowest amount Duke scored this season. Houston keeps its perfect record going at 33-0 when holding opponents to less than 70 points.

This story has been updated with new information.

SAN ANTONIO – You think you know heartbreak? Try being a Houston fan.

Imagine being on the wrong end of the most famous finish in men’s NCAA Tournament history, with Lorenzo Charles steering the ball in the basket and Jim Valvano running across the court; a forever moment of torture replayed every March from 1983 to eternity.

Imagine creating a run so unique and special in college basketball history, with Hall of Famers like Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, only to be remembered for coming up empty at three straight Final Fours.

Imagine decades of irrelevance, only to return to the NCAA Tournament in 2018 – and lose on Jordan Poole’s improbable, off-balance, buzzer-beating three to send Michigan to the Sweet 16.

Imagine believing you’re on your way back to the Final Four last year, only to watch your best player, Jamal Shead, sprain his ankle.

These are the things that Houston fans have lived through, have suffered through, have internalized over so many years.

“We’ve had a lot of close calls that never went our way, a lot of close finishes that led to heartbreak,” Houston’s most-prominent fan and alum, CBS Sports announcer Jim Nantz, said late Saturday night in the middle of an Alamodome still buzzing with disbelief about what had just happened. “Tonight, we got one.”

A big one.

And if Houston wins the national championship on Monday night against Florida, maybe the one that makes up for all the rest.

Somehow, against all logic and evidence compiled over 37 minutes of a basketball game, the Cougars defeated Duke, 70-67, and authored arguably the greatest night in the history of their proud and historic program.

“I felt like if we could just hang in there, even when we were down 14,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. “Just hang in there.”

They did, long enough for Duke’s offense to completely melt down. Long enough for game pressure to encroach on a young team that hadn’t played very many close games down the stretch of the season. Long enough for Houston’s players to believe that even some horrible mistakes and missed shots wouldn’t doom them, as long as there was still time on the clock.

And when it was over, after future No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg’s mid-range jumper came up short inside the final five seconds and Houston iced it at the free-throw line, pandemonium broke out in the Cougars’ section of the stadium.

Nantz hugged his kids and wiped away tears. Justine Ellison Sharp, the mother of Cougars guard Emanuel Sharp, jumped over the railing and a row of press tables to embrace her son. Some people were high-fiving and hugging; others were shaking.

And nobody could quite believe what they had just seen.

“Against that team?” said Nantz, who has been a constant presence at Houston games since stepping down last year as the voice of the Final Four. “Our guys are so resilient. Our guys have been like this all year. Everybody says, ‘you’re really good … but.’ But they don’t know how to quantify the size of the heart of that team.’

There are some games in every sport where you can see a comeback or a meltdown developing, almost before it happens. This wasn’t one of those times. From the opening tip and for the next couple of hours, Duke was better. Duke was in control. Duke was oh so close to running away with this thing. With 8:17 remaining, it was a 14-point game and Houston wasn’t doing much to suggest it still had a run up its sleeve. That’s supposed to be that.

“Never once did I feel like we could blow Houston out, even with the lead,” he said. “They were in the same position at Kansas (the Jayhawks blew a six-point lead with 20 seconds left and lost to Houston in January). I watched that game a few days ago. You never feel like they’re out of it.”

Sampson talks a lot about culture, which often comes across like one of those buzzwords coaches like to use without any tangible idea of what it means.

Well, on Saturday, we saw exactly what it means.

Houston kept guarding, kept rebounding, kept chipping away at a lead that bled from 14 to 10 to eight and then finally 59-55 with 5:03 remaining. Brand new game.

When Flagg hit a three with 3:03 remaining, to put Duke back up 64-55, it should have been over. But that shot masked the reality that Houston had completely thrown sand in the gears of Duke’s offense.

“It took us awhile to become who we are,” Sampson said. “But at some point if you have a culture … quitting isn’t part of the deal. We’re just going to play better.”

Did Duke help the Cougars out a little? Of course. As the game got closer and the pressure grew, the Blue Devils responded by trying to bleed clock. They seemed tentative, even afraid to shoot open shots they were letting fly earlier in the game. Duke made just two baskets over the final 13 minutes of the game, both from Flagg.

He could only do so much.

“Now there’s game pressure once it’s down to three,” Sampson said. “It’s a lot easier to finish the game when you’re up 20.”

The rest of it was a blur. Duke turned it over against pressure on an inbounds play. Tyrese Proctor, the Blue Devils’ typically steady point guard, missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Flagg committed an over-the-back foul going for an offensive rebound with 19 seconds left that put J’Wan Roberts at the foul line with a chance to finally give Houston the lead.

As Roberts, a career 59 percent foul shooter, calmly made them both, it was like decades of bad Houston karma on the big stage was coming back around in real time.

Finally.

“Whether it was losing to North Carolina State, I was there,” Nantz said. “Whether it was losing in the Cotton Bowl to Notre Dame (35-34 in 1979), I was there. The hard-core Houston fans know we’ve dealt with heartache a lot of times. Tonight …”

He paused.

“It soothes a lot of wounds.”

SAN ANTONIO – Here came the inevitable question about Walter Clayton Jr., and the array of spin moves and contested jumpers and lightning-quick drives past the defense that was designed to stop him.

Bruce Pearl, the Auburn coach whose team had spent two-plus hours flailing and failing to slow down the single most dominant player in this NCAA Tournament, closed his eyes, tilted his head back ever so slightly and let out a deep breath.

“I guess you could say all things were kind of equal,” Pearl said. “And he was the difference. Just flat out the difference.”

Despite the conference standings that showed Auburn as the SEC’s regular-season champion, Florida was the best team in the conference this year. It went 2-0 against the Tigers, blew through the SEC tournament and is the only team with a chance to give the league its first national title since Kentucky in 2012.

It also proved what we’ve long known: That Clayton was the SEC’s best guard, and maybe its best player, even though he didn’t take home the hardware.

But even with all the recognition Clayton has earned down the stretch of the season and during this NCAA men’s basketball tournament, you don’t ever expect to leave the arena talking about something that hasn’t happened since Larry Bird.

Yet Clayton, the zero-star recruit who climbed all the way from Iona to the biggest stage in the sport, put himself in that category Saturday with a truly special performance: 34 points, 5-of-8 threes and 7-of-7 free throws in a game that showcased his entire offensive arsenal and a knack for hitting a huge shot in the clutch.

And combined with his 30-point performance in the Elite Eight against Texas Tech, Clayton became the first player to hit that mark in those two rounds of the tournament since Bird did it during Indiana State’s run to the 1979 finals.

“I feel like everybody sees it,” guard Will Richard said. “He’s poised, calm and collected and confident in himself, and we have that confidence in him. We see him practice, we see his work ethic and we’re glad everybody else is getting to see him doing it.”

It is hard, and maybe impossible, to rank the best individual performances we’ve seen in a Final Four without succumbing to recency bias. But one of Clayton’s earliest memories of the NCAA Tournament came in 2011 when he was just 8 years old, watching Kemba Walker take UConn on a legendary run to the title, and he’s doing his best to recreate some of those vibes.

“Kemba on one of the biggest stages was just calm, you know, cool and collected,” Clayton said. “So just watching that, I admired it. He was able to just show out and play his game.”

Though Walker may have been an inspiration, it almost looks at times like Clayton is doing a Steph Curry imitation. Since the start of the postseason, including the SEC tournament, Clayton is averaging 23.1 points while making 49 percent of all his shots and his three-pointers. It’s simply ridiculous efficiency when you consider the high degree of difficulty on so many of his looks, the majority of which he’s creating for himself.

Clayton’s willingness to shoot and talent to make shots from tough positions, with hands in his face and incredible pressure on the scoreboard, got Florida through games against UConn and Texas Tech in which they trailed with only a few minutes left on the clock.

But against Auburn, Clayton slammed the door shut late with a series of drives, blowing by big man Dylan Cardwell, who got caught up on a switch for a layup with 2:15 remaining. Then he got to the rim again with 1:33 left for a basket plus a foul, which pretty much felt like the basket that ended Auburn’s chances.

Clayton credited his teammate, big man Thomas Haugh, for making a three early in the game that forced Auburn to respect him just enough to open some space to drive.

“The guys around me making plays allows my game to open up, and I appreciate it,” Clayton said.

Maybe not as much as Florida fans appreciate the ride he’s taken this program on in the last part of the season. If he can carry the Gators to their third championship, it will go down as the greatest individual performance in program history and one of the all-time NCAA Tournament runs.