Sports briefs
By NewsPress Now
NCAA women’s title game make it most-watched hoops game in five years
BRISTOL, Conn. | South Carolina’s victory over Caitlin Clark and Iowa in Sunday’s women’s NCAA championship game had a preliminary audience average of 18.7 million on ABC and ESPN. The only sporting events in the United States to draw a bigger TV audience since 2019 have been football, the World Cup and the Olympics.
The audience numbers are expected to increase when Nielsen releases its final numbers on Tuesday. Nielsen says the audience peaked at 24 million.
It’s the most-watched basketball game since 2019, when the men’s NCAA title game between Virginia and Texas Tech averaged 19.6 million on CBS.
Monday night’s men’s final between UConn and Purdue was being shown on TBS and TNT. It’s possible that this will be the first year the women’s title game has a bigger audience.
The 2015 Final Four game between Wisconsin and Kentucky on TBS is the only college basketball game on cable to draw over 18.7 million. That game averaged 22.63 million.
The 2022 men’s final, which matched Kansas and North Carolina on TBS, averaged 18.1 million.
Clark and Iowa have the three biggest audiences for women’s college basketball. The Hawkeyes’ victory over UConn Friday night averaged 14.2 million, and their April 1 victory over LSU in the Elite Eight, a rematch of last year’s title game, drew 12.3 million.
Clark noted the audience total on X, posting “18. 7 MILLION” with a fire emoji.
The audience for the national title game was up 89% over last year, when Clark and Iowa fell to LSU. And it was 285% bigger than the viewership for the Gamecocks’ title two years ago, when they beat UConn.
The last NBA game to draw at least 18 million was Game 6 of the 2019 Finals between the Toronto Raptors and Golden State Warriors (18.34 million).
The women’s final also had the biggest audience for a Sunday afternoon sporting event on ESPN and ABC since Jan. 10, 2021, when an NFL playoff game between the Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans averaged 24.82 million. (ESPN and ABC don’t have the rights to Sunday afternoon NFL games throughout the season, which routinely draw audiences exceeding 25 million on CBS and Fox.)
Injuries continue to pile up for the Cincinnati Reds
CINCINNATI | Cincinnati Reds infielder Jonathan India was scratched Monday after he was hit by a batted ball during batting practice, adding another issue to the team’s long list of injuries.
The Reds also announced that reliever Tejay Antone is going to have season-ending surgery on his right arm, likely on Friday. Antone departed Sunday’s 3-1 loss to the New York Mets after throwing one pitch and grabbing at his right elbow.
An MRI on Monday showed significant damage.
“The tendon has torn away from the bone and the ligament has a tear in it,” manager David Bell said. “He sounded really positive and encouraged about what’s in the future. As far as the details on that, he needs some time.”
Antone had Tommy John surgery in April 2017 and August 2021. The 30-year-old right-hander missed the 2022 season and returned to the Reds last September. He made five appearances with the big league club before he was shut down because of elbow discomfort.
Antone made the team out of spring training this year and allowed one earned run in two innings over four appearances. He was placed on the 15-day injured list before the opener of a four-game series against Milwaukee, and right-hander Carson Spiers was recalled from Triple-A Louisville.
India was in the leadoff spot in the lineup against the Brewers as the designated hitter. But he was taking fielding practice near the first-base line when a ball off Nick Martini’s bat hit his left leg.
India went to the ground in pain before leaving the field with team trainer Tomas Vera. X-rays were negative and India is considered day to day.
The Reds halted batting practice after India’s injury. When BP resumed, India took some swings and did some running.
After India met with Bell, the decision was made to remove the 2021 NL Rookie of the Year from the lineup with what the club said was a left leg contusion.
Cincinnati opened spring training with one of baseball’s deepest infields, but that depth has been tested already. Matt McLain is out after he had left shoulder surgery, and highly touted prospect Noelvi Marte has been suspended for 80 games for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.
Cincinnati also is playing without outfielder TJ Friedl, who broke his right wrist on a diving play in spring training.
India is a versatile piece for the Reds. He can play first, second, third and right field.
Cincinnati is expected to get one key player back on Saturday when Nick Lodolo makes his first start of the season against the Chicago White Sox. The left-hander is coming back from a calf injury.
Angels put starting pitcher Chase Silseth on 15-day injured list
ANAHEIM, Calif. | The Los Angeles Angels placed right-hander Chase Silseth on the 15-day injured list Monday with right elbow inflammation.
The 23-year-old starter has been hit hard in his first two appearances this season, yielding six runs on eight hits and four walks over eight innings for a 6.75 ERA. He gave up three runs on three hits and two walks with seven strikeouts over five innings Sunday in a loss to Boston, and he reported elbow pain to the Angels’ training staff Monday.
Silseth (0-1) earned the fifth spot in the Angels’ rotation during spring training to begin his third year in the big leagues. He is 5-5 with a 5.06 ERA in 25 major league appearances, including 17 starts.
José Soriano will take Silseth’s turn in the rotation starting Wednesday in Los Angeles’ series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays. Soriano made his major league debut last season, earning a regular role as a setup reliever for the Halos.
Soriano was a starter in the Angels’ minor leagues from 2016 to 2019 before having Tommy John surgery in 2020. He had a second Tommy John surgery in 2021, but recovered and pitched his way into the big leagues as a reliever.
NBA fines Knicks $25,000 for violating injury reporting rules
NEW YORK | The NBA fined the New York Knicks $25,000 on Monday after Mitchell Robinson was listed as out on an initial injury report and then played in a game against Toronto.
Robinson’s 50-game absence because of a left ankle injury ended in the Knicks’ 145-101 victory over the Raptors on March 27. The 7-foot center scored eight points in 12 minutes.
Robinson has played in six of seven games since returning from the longest injury absence of his six-year career. The 26-year-old started the first 21 games before sustaining a stress fracture in his ankle during a Dec. 8 loss to Boston.
The Knicks were punished three days after the NBA fined Philadelphia $100,000 for the same violation over center Joel Embiid’s return. Embiid had missed 29 games following left knee surgery.
—From AP reports
