Solo Ball injury update: UConn guard in walking boot ahead of national championship game

INDIANAPOLIS – Solo Ball's status forUConnin the men's basketballNCAA championship gameis in question after he sprained his left foot.

Ball said he is feeling "alright," and will leave a decision on his status for the game Monday, April 6, up to UConn's medical staff. He's wearing a walking boot and won't practice on Sunday, April 5.

"I'm doing everything I can to prepare for tomorrow," Ball said.

Michigan vs UConn prediction, spread:Who is favored to win national championship?

UConn coachDan Hurleyannounced Ball's injury earlier, saying his junior guard has "some type of foot sprain." Ball said the injury occurred in the first half when he got tangled up withTarris Reed Jron a ball screen.

"He stepped on first three of my toes, I guess. I tried to move and like pivot, and something happened or whatever," Ball said.

"I'm just listening to the medical staff," Ball said when asked if he'll play Monday night against Michigan. "I've been preparing and doing rehab already. So definitely just preparing the same way as (if) I'm playing."

Illinois vs UConn, title‑game pressure. See photos

He won't practice on the off day, and Hurley said they'd have a better idea of whether he can play later.

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UConn istrying to win its third title in four years. But it will have to get through a dominant Michigan team, which has scored 90 or more points in all five of its NCAA tournament games andblew out Arizona, the only other No. 1 seed left, by 18 points in the Final Four.

Ball will be key to that. He's UConn's third-leading scorer, at 12.9 points a game, and had 13 in theHuskies' win over Illinois in the Final Four.

"It's just a bump in the road, so you just got to keep moving forward," said Ball, who played through a wrist injury earlier in the season. "Pain is temporary, like people say. It pushes you through your toughest moment."

Meanwhile, Michigan is also dealing with an injury to a key playeras Yaxel Lendeborg was limited to 14 minutesin the Wolverines' Final Four win over Arizona on Saturday night after tweaking his ankle and knee in the first half.

When is national championship game?

• Date: Monday, April 6

• Times: 8:50 p.m. ET

• Location: Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis)

Stream men's Final Four with Sling TV

What TV channel is national championship on? How to stream Final Four

• TV channels: TBS/truTV

• Streaming options: NCAA March Madness Live | HBO Max | Sling TV

Every game remaining in the Men's NCAA Tournament will air on TBS and simulcast on truTV, with Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery and Grant Hill calling the game courtside and Tracy Wolfson reporting from the sidelines.

Streaming options include the March Madness Live app (with a TV login), HBO Max andSling TV.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Solo Ball injury: UConn guard status unclear for national championship game

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April 05, 2026

Solo Ball injury update: UConn guard in walking boot ahead of national championship game

INDIANAPOLIS – Solo Ball's status forUConnin the men's basketballNCAA championship gameis in question after he sp...

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Cubs' Cade Horton placed on 15-day IL, set for tests after leaving 2nd start with forearm discomfort

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cubs starting pitcher Cade Horton will return to Chicago for more tests on his right arm after being forced to leave his second outing of 2026 in the second inning.

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The Cubs placed Horton on the 15-day injured list with a strained forearm on Sunday, two days after he felt discomfort throwing a pitch.To take his roster spot, the team recalled left-hander Riley Martin from Triple-A Iowa.

Horton, who went 11-4 with a 2.67 ERA as a rookie last season, will see team doctors on Monday, manager Craig Counsell said before the Cubs played the Guardians in a tradition doubleheader on Easter.

Counsell said it would likely be a few days before the team has all the medical opinions on Horton. The 24-year-old looked to the dugout for assistance after throwing a 93.8 mph fastball — slower than normal — to Cleveland's Bo Naylor on Friday. Horton was pulled from the game for right-hander Colin Rea.

"I had some tightness in my wrist and as the game went on, it went into my forearm," Horton said following the game. "I wanted to err on the cautious side and not hurt anything else. I just wanted to be smart about it and make a smart decision."

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The Cubs also recalled right-hander Ethan Roberts as the 27th man for the doubleheader.

Martin will be making his first appearance for Chicago, which selected him in the sixth round in 2021 from Quincy University. The 28-year-old has worked his way up in the organization, going 6-2 with a 2.69 ERA for Iowa last season.

Counsell appreciates Martin's rise from Division II ball to the majors. He's 24-13 with a 3.76 ERA in 174 minor league appearances.

"Riley is someone over the course of his career who has continued to get better and that puts you on the map," Counsell said.

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April 05, 2026

Cubs' Cade Horton placed on 15-day IL, set for tests after leaving 2nd start with forearm discomfort

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cubs starting pitcher Cade Horton will return to Chicago for more tests on his right arm after being for...

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Kathie Lee Gifford Left “Today” 7 Years Ago. Here's What the TV Legend Has Been Up to Since

Kathie Lee Gifford was a staple of morning live TV until stepping away from Today in 2019

NEED TO KNOW

• She has since returned to acting and writing, with her most recent novel published in March 2026

• Gifford is a grandmother of five, and cherishes watching her family grow

Kathie Lee Giffordis a TV legend.

Gifford started her career in soap operas, appearing inDays of Our LivesandAll My Childrenin the 1970s and 1980s. She joinedRegis PhilbinonThe Morning Showin 1985, which was later renamedLive! with Regis and Kathie Lee.

After 15 years, she left the show in 2000, then joinedTodayin 2008. Gifford andHoda KotbhostedToday's fourth hour, which was known for its light-hearted humor and morning glasses of wine.

After 29 years of marriage, Gifford's husband, former football proFrank Gifford, died in 2015. In 2019,she leftToday.

"It's an exciting time for me and I'm thrilled about all the projects that are coming up, but it's also hard," she said on-air. "I've been in this business for 120 years and never worked with a more beautiful group of people who just give, give, give every day."

She's since returned to acting and writing and is focused on being a grandmother to her five grandkids.

So where is Kathie Lee Gifford now? Here's everything to know about her life afterLive!andToday.

Gifford has made surprise appearances atToday

Gifford still swings byTodayon occasion.

In September 2024, Kotb announced she wasleaving the showto spend more time with her family. Her January 2025 farewell episode was filled with warm wishes, including apre-taped video from Gifford, who apologized for being too "busy" to attend.

She was pulling a fast one, of course, popping out from backstage to surprise her former co-host.

"So you fell for that?" Gifford teased. Along withJenna Bush Hager, Gifford toasted Kotb over glasses of white wine.

She's aNew York Timesbest-selling author

Gifford has co-written faith-based books likeThe Rock, The Road and the Rabbi, about her exploration of Israel, andHerod and Mary, about the biblical King Herod and Mary of Nazareth.

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In March 2026, she told PEOPLE she had just finished writing her 37th book. Her newest book,Nero and Paul: How the Gospel of Grace Defeated the Ruler of Rome, was an Amazon bestseller and part of her Biblical non-fictionAncient Evil/Living Hopeseries.

"These are thrillers," she said. "These are epic, epic stories, but in the Bible, they're like black and white tales, with no room for the details."

Gifford continued, "I'm an entertainer at heart, a filmmaker and a songwriter, so imagining the details is what I do. So this is a fun project for me."

Gifford has released multiple albums

Gifford has long worked on music alongside her TV career. After leavingToday, she released an album,The Way, in 2022.

The EP features songs telling stories from the Bible accompanied by music. She previously co-wrote a song, "He Saw Jesus," with country musician Brett James,performing it onTodayin 2017 in honor of her late husband.

Gifford has dated since her husband's death, but does not plan to remarry

Widowhood has been hard, Gifford has said, but she began dating again after her husband's death. However, she has no plans to marry again.

"You aren't supposed to marry everyone you fall in love with. AndI don't want to love easily," she told PEOPLE in May 2025. "I've been loved three times in my entire life. It's the people who have meant something deep and powerful in your life that are the hardest things to get over."

She's a hands-on grandmother

In 2021, Gifford hinted to PEOPLE that she would love children, saying, "One day, the Lord might bless us withlittle tiny feet running around."

By 2026, she had five. Gifford's daughter Cassidy and her husband Ben Wierda welcomed son Finn in 2023 and daughter Rosie in 2025.

Her son Cody and his wife Erika Brown are parents of three — Frank, Ford and Faith — who were born between 2022 and 2025.

"I think that's one of the most joyful things in my life is watching my children be such amazing parents," she said during a January 2026 episode ofMaking Space with Hoda Kotb. "If Frank and I did anything right, it would be that."

Read the original article onPeople

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April 05, 2026

Kathie Lee Gifford Left “Today” 7 Years Ago. Here's What the TV Legend Has Been Up to Since

Kathie Lee Gifford was a staple of morning live TV until stepping away from Today in 2019 NEED TO KNOW She ha...

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Congo to receive third-country deportees from the US under new deal

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) —Congowill receive some migrants as part of a new deal under the Trump administration's third-country program, its government said Sunday, thelatest such African nationto receive migrants being deported from the U.S.

The deportees will start arriving in Congo this month, the Congolese Ministry of Communications said in a statement, without further details on the date or the number of deportees expected.

It described the arrangement as a "temporary" one that reflects Congo's "commitment to human dignity and international solidarity." It would come with zero costs to the government with the U.S. covering the needed logistics, it said.

The U.S. has struck such third-country deportation deals with at leastseven other African nations, many of them among countries hit the most by the Trump administration's policies that have restricted trade, aid and migration.

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The Trump administration has spent at least $40 million to deport about 300 migrants to countries other than their own, according to a report released recently by the Democratic staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Lawyers and activists have raised questions over the nature of the deals with countries in Africa and elsewhere. Several of the African nations that have signed such deals have notoriously repressive governments and poor human rights records — including Eswatini, South Sudan and Equatorial Guinea.

A key bone of contention in many such agreements is that they involve many migrants with protection orders from a U.S. immigration judge not to be returned to their home countries over major safety concerns.

Congo's government said no automatic transfer of the deportees is planned, adding: "Each situation will be subject to individual review in accordance with the laws of the Republic and national security requirements."

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April 05, 2026

Congo to receive third-country deportees from the US under new deal

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) —Congowill receive some migrants as part of a new deal under the Trump administration's third-co...

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Megan Rapinoe rips IOC's new policy to protect women's sports, rejects notion rule is based in science

Former U.S. women's soccer starMegan Rapinoeripped the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for implementing a new policy to ensure fairness across women's competitions.

The IOC said "eligibility for any female category event at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event, including individual and team sports, is now limited to biological females, determined on the basis of a one‑timeSRY gene screening."

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The organization added that the policy was "evidence-based" and "expert-informed." The testing can be conducted via saliva, cheek swab or blood sample.

A presentation at a World Athletics panel in Tokyo in September revealed that 50 to 60 athletes with male biological advantages have been finalists in the female category at global and continental championships since 2000.

The panel was led by the head of the World Athletics Health and Science Department, Dr. Stéphane Bermon, who said sex tests were necessary because of an "over-representation" of DSD (differences of sex development) athletes among finalists, per multiple reports.

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However, Rapinoe rejected the policy in the latest issue of her "A Touch More" podcast.

"Unfortunately, we have to say that all in the same breath as a really horrible rule came out from the International Olympic Committee," Rapinoe said as she praised the transgender community. "They announced a new policy that they're calling, I can't even believe that they're calling it this because it has nothing to do with protecting women, I feel like two people, who played at the very highest level for every competition that you possibly could, don't agree with this and never felt like this was an issue at all, 'The Protection of the Female [Women's] Category.'"

Rapinoe dismissed the notion that the policy was rooted in science and said the IOC was subjecting women to "invasive testing."

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Olympians React To The Ioc Policy Change To Protect Women's Sports

"We already know that biology, as much as we want it to be just nice and clean and tight and perfectly in one category and another, it's not," Rapinoe said. "We know that. So, now what we're doing is subjecting everybody, all women and all people who are identifying as women to this really invasive testing that only to me says like, 'Oh we're just trying to whittle it down to a certain type of woman.' Is that what we're doing? That's really the whole game here.

"They sort of lost the battle on gay marriage and lost the battle on all these things so it's just like, 'We're gonna have this whole campaign for all these years to just hate trans people,' which is such a small percentage of the population. It's actually on a single hand when we're talking about sports. And just like thread the absolute tightest needle thread that you possibly could."

Rapinoe added that the IOC only implemented the rule to appease PresidentDonald Trump'sadministration.

"This committee is framing it as based in science, which it's not," she said. "This will ultimately just prevent people from competing within the women's category that they feel like they have an unfair advantage. It's just really hateful. There's been so few athletes that are trans or competing as trans and it's so blatant on its face. It's a total acquiescence to the Trump administration and to really right-wing conservative politics that really is just bringing down so much hate against such a small percentage of people who are just trying to live their life. It's just horrible and I'm just sickened by it, really."

Conversely, several Olympians supported the IOC's decision.

Kaillie Humphries, a three-timeOlympic gold medalistfor the U.S. and Canada, was among them.

"Today is a great day for women's sports and a big win in the Olympic world," she told Fox News Digital last month. "By implementing the sex testing, it will allow for fair competition. It used to happen years ago, and by bringing it back it will protect the women's category. I think it's very fitting that LA28 will be the games to protect women's sports as it's something that our president has advocated for."

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Fox News' Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.

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Original article source:Megan Rapinoe rips IOC's new policy to protect women's sports, rejects notion rule is based in science

byCosmopolite

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April 05, 2026

Megan Rapinoe rips IOC's new policy to protect women's sports, rejects notion rule is based in science

Former U.S. women's soccer starMegan Rapinoeripped the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for implementing a new p...

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Hockey fan goes into labor, gives birth during Oilers game at Rogers Place

The Edmonton Oilers lost to the Vegas Golden Knights at home on Saturday,5-1. Jack Eichel tallied three points with three assists, and Brett Howden scored a goal with two assists. Evan Bouchard scored the lone goal for the Oilers.

However, that might not be the biggest story to come from Saturday's match at Rogers Place.

During the second period, a woman went into labor and eventually gave birth at the arena. Play-by-play broadcaster Jack Michaels revealed the news to viewers during the Oilers' telecast on SportsNet.

"Breaking news: We have word that someone has gone into labor here tonight," Michaels said on air. "There's a baby being born on the seventh floor at Rogers Place as we speak."

"So someone's going to have a great story to tell," he continued. "It would be nice to have the mother join us on 'After Hours' to describe what's happened but that could be asking a bit much."

Michaels was correct in that the new mother and child did not join the "Hockey Night in Canada" postgame show. But five games remain on Edmonton's regular-season schedule before the NHL playoffs, so there are still opportunities for the mother to join host Scott Oake for an interview.

At the end of the show, Oake announced that he is retiring after the season. What better way would there be for him to finish his television career than to talk to a woman who gave birth at an NHL hockey game?

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Sure, there will likely be big hockey games and results to talk about on the verge of the Stanley Cup playoffs. But this is a story that could grip a nation. (Two nations, if the interview is seen in the United States.) There are so many details to be revealed.

Was the baby an early arrival? Who helped with the delivery? Was the father on hand?

Did this happen in a suite? (Probably not, on the seventh floor.) In a row of seats? Somewhere in the concourse? Even with elevators and escalators, whose idea was it to make a pregnant woman go up seven floors? Or is that an indication of how serious a hockey fan she is? Is she even a hockey fan?

In an eventful night at Rogers Place, a fan was also hit by a puck in the stands,according to On3. (He was apparently all right, trying to fire up his fellow fans and pumping his arm as he left the seating area.) There was also a fight on the ice at the end of the game, but the scuffle was broken up quickly.

The Golden Knights are 3-0 sincefiring head coach Bruce Cassidyand replacing him with veteran coach John Tortorella. Vegas (seventh inthe Western Conference standings) could face the Oilers in the second round of the playoffs if both teams win their first-round series.

If a certain new mother is up for it, wouldn't she be a great candidate to drop the ceremonial puck before one of those games in Edmonton?

byCosmopolite

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April 05, 2026

Hockey fan goes into labor, gives birth during Oilers game at Rogers Place

The Edmonton Oilers lost to the Vegas Golden Knights at home on Saturday,5-1. Jack Eichel tallied three points with three...

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