Dolphins to release Tagovailoa; Raiders, Ravens agree to Crosby trade; Bracketology

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🤝 Five things to know Monday

1. The Miami Dolphins tell QB Tua Tagovailoa on Monday morning that they are releasing him when the new league year begins Wednesday, making him a free agent. The NFL’s legal tampering period begins today — expect a ton of movement and follow CBS Sports for all the latest.
2. The Raiders are trading Maxx Crosby to the Ravens. Two first-round picks comprise the return package for one of the NFL’s top pass rushers. That haul makes it an A-grade transaction for the Raiders, and even though the Ravens are paying a steep price, it’s a much-needed addition to their defense. That was one of two significant moves from the Raiders, who also released Geno Smith, clearing the way for projected No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza and allowing Smith to compete for a starting role elsewhere. Two other teams also agreed to a trade over the weekend. The Bears are set to acquire center Garrett Bradbury from the Patriots in exchange for a fifth-round pick, giving them a replacement for Drew Dalman following his retirement. And Trent McDuffie reportedly agreed to an extension with the Rams that makes him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history.
3. Charles Oliveira upset Max Holloway for the BMF title, and Dana White announced the UFC White House card. To say Saturday was a big day in the UFC would be an understatement. Not only did Oliveira defeat Holloway via unanimous decision to headline UFC 326, but the promotion also revealed the card for the June 14 event at the White House. Ilia Topuria will face Justin Gaethje for the lightweight championship while Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane will fight for the interim heavyweight title at the highly anticipated celebration. The UFC also announced that the UFC 248 Zhang Weili vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk fight will be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
4. Team USA is 2-0 in the World Baseball Classic. It took a while for them to pull away from Brazil, but the Americans eventually broke things open for a 15-5 win in the opener. Then it was a Kyle Schwarber home run in Team USA’s second game that erased a Great Britain lead and helped the host nation roll to a 9-1 victory. United States vs. Mexico tonight at 8 p.m. ET should bring an electric environment to Daikin Park in Houston. The biggest question for the host nation moving forward is whether Tarik Skubal will pitch again.
5. Caleb Wilson is out for the season with a broken thumb. Just as North Carolina was gearing up for their star freshman to return from a fractured hand, he broke his thumb in a non-contact drill in practice to bring his campaign — and all but certainly his Tar Heel career — to an end. UNC is 5-1 without Wilson, but his absence could be a serious blow to its chances of making a deep NCAA Tournament run.

🏒 Do not miss this: NHL trade deadline winners, losers

A relatively calm NHL trade deadline has come and gone, and while it was light on volume, a couple of needle-moving deals put the Mammoth in a great spot heading into the playoff push and set the Blues up with immense draft capital. Both teams came away from the deadline as winners, according to Austin Nivison.

On the losing side, the Sabres failed to upgrade while giving up multiple draft picks and a promising prospect. And the Hurricanes made just one move to bolster their depth instead of going all-in ahead of a potential Stanley Cup run.

• Winners: Mammoth, Blues, Nick Foligno, Avalanche
• Losers: Sabres, Hurricanes, those wanting chaos

We saw a flurry of moves in the final hours before the trade window closed, and Nivison graded three of the biggest transactions from Friday.

• Islanders receive Brayden Schenn (B-); Blues receive first-round pick, third-round pick, Marcus Gidlof, Jonathan Drouin (A-)
• Red Wings receive Justin Faulk (B); Blues receive first-round pick, third-round pick (A)

Avalanche receive Nazem Kadri, fourth-round pick (A-); Flames receive first-round pick, second-round pick, Victor Olofsson, Max Curran (B+)

🏀 Men’s NCAA Tournament bracketology

The first six tickets to the men’s NCAA Tournament have been punched. High Point, North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, Queens and Tennessee State won their conference tournaments and Long Island was awarded the NEC’s bid because Mercyhurst is ineligible due to its ongoing transition to Division I. So now who will join them? We’ll know the rest of the 68-team field in less than a week.

Most league tournaments have yet to tip off but will get underway over the next few days. The weekend brought a conclusion to the regular season for everyone that had not already embarked on tournament play, and it delivered a few notable results including No. 1 Duke’s 76-61 rout of No. 17 North Carolina and No. 19 Miami (Ohio) getting a 110-108 overtime win over Ohio. The RedHawks’ pursuit of a perfect regular season is complete at 31-0, and Matt Norlander declared them locks to make the Big Dance.

Here is where things stand with the NCAA Tournament picture after the pivotal weekend:

• Bracketology storylines: Duke boosted its case for the No. 1 overall seed. Florida has the inside track for the final No. 1 seed after its win at Kentucky. Houston is in line for a top-two seed, which would allow it to play quasi-home games in the South Region. Most of the bubble teams lost. Bid thieves are lurking in the MAC, Mountain West and Atlantic 10. The SEC could send 10 teams to the dance. Injuries will be factors for Texas Tech, North Carolina and BYU.
• Bubble watch: Do this year’s bubble teams actually want to make the tournament? It sure didn’t look like it over the weekend. SMU, California, Auburn, New Mexico, Indiana, Virginia Tech, NC State and Missouri all suffered losses.
• Last team in: Our college basketball writers debated which of California, Indiana, New Mexico and Auburn is most deserving of the 68th and final spot in the bracket. The takeaway? The Tigers can probably expect to watch the tournament from home.

🏀 Women’s NCAA Tournament bracketology

Nine of the 31 automatic bids in the women’s NCAA Tournament are accounted for, including each of the Power Four. Duke, Texas, UCLA and West Virginia are in the field — not that they needed auto bids to get there, though. There are takeaways to be had from each of the conference tournaments (and you can read them here), but most of the big storylines emerged from the Big Ten and SEC.

Here’s what we learned from the Big Ten:

And here’s what the SEC taught us:

👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest

• Jayson Tatum returned from his torn Achilles in grand fashion, nearly posting a triple-double in his first game back. What lies ahead could redefine his career, especially if he leads the Celtics to a championship.
• The same day Tatum returned, the Celtics lost Nikola Vučević for at least a month due to a hand injury.
• Two coaching changes are underway in the ACC. Boston College fired Earl Grant after five seasons without an NCAA Tournament berth, and Georgia Tech moved on from Damon Stoudamire on the heels of a 12-game losing streak.
• A non-call on Nikola Jokić left LeBron James with a hurt elbow, and Luka Dončić picked up his 15th technical foul in the same game.
• The Big East fined Dan Hurley $25,000 but did not suspend him for confronting an official.
• Hours after the Suns‘ 105-103 loss to the Bulls on Thursday, Dillon Brooks was arrested on suspicion of DUI.
• Lionel Messi scored as Inter Miami defeated D.C. United in front of a record crowd.
• The USWNT reclaimed the SheBelieves Cup title with a 1-0 victory over Colombia and put the finishing touches on a perfect tournament for the United States, which won its eighth cup in 11 years.
• Akshay Bhatia won the Arnold Palmer Invitational via playoff for his third career PGA Tour victory, each of which have come in playoffs. He takes home $4 million in prize money. Earlier in the tournament, Rory McIlroy withdrew for the first time in 13 years due to a back injury.
• Sherrone Moore pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor charges in the home invasion case that followed his firing at Michigan.
• Changes are coming to the NBA Draft lottery system next year, Adam Silver said amid the push to curb tanking.
• Alabama star receiver Ryan Williams will change his name and number for the 2026 season.
• Jon Rahm snapped a year-long winless streak with a victory at LIV Golf Hong Kong.
• Cody Rhodes defeated Drew McIntyre to win the undisputed WWE title and secure a spot in WrestleMania 42.
• USMNT defender Sergino Dest suffered an apparent hamstring injury and will be “out for a little while” with the World Cup approaching.
• Jai Opetaia defeated Brandon Glanton by unanimous decision for the inaugural cruiserweight belt at Zuffa Boxing 04, but IBF will strip him of that federation’s title because of his Zuffa participation.
• AC Milan defeated Inter Milan 1-0 in the Derby della Madonnina and still have hope in the Serie A race.
• Arike Ogunbowale allegedly punched a nightclub security worker, leading to her arrest.
• Wrexham took Chelsea to extra time in the fifth round of the FA Cup but fell just short of the upset.
• Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou is a free agent after his release from PFL.
• Celtic and Rangers supporters clashed during a pitch invasion at a heated Scottish Cup rivalry match.

📺 What we’re watching Monday

⚾ World Baseball Classic: Dominican Republic vs. Israel, Noon on FS1
⚾ Spring training: Orioles at Cardinals, 1:05 p.m. on MLB Network
⚽ FA Cup: Brentford at West Ham, 3:30 p.m. on ESPN+
⚾ Spring training: Dodgers at Brewers, 4:10 p.m. on MLB Network
⚾ Spring training: Marlins at Mets, 6:10 p.m. on MLB Network
⚾ World Baseball Classic: Cuba vs. Puerto Rico, 7 p.m. on FS1
🏀 Nuggets at Thunder, 7:30 p.m. on NBC Sports Network
⚾ World Baseball Classic: Mexico vs. United States, 8 p.m. on Fox
🏀 Knicks at Clippers, 10 p.m. on NBC Sports Network