Other nations danced for joy at the World Baseball Classic. Team USA played toy soldiers

On the morning of the World Baseball Classic final between the United States and Venezuela, the headline of the New York Times daily briefing read, “America, alone,” in reference to the unwillingness of the country’s traditional allies to join the war with Iran. The revived rhetoric of America First, once a restoration of the isolationist, often Nazi-sympathetic sentiments of the 1930s, has coalesced into current policy, status, attitude: America by itself, making its own rules, intent on largely playing alone by them.Venezuela won the final, thrillingly, 3-2 over Team USA, but not before the hosts extended that isolationism with a sourness that produced a comically vapid extension of American bravado, and nearly undermined a tournament that in its 20th year is at last becoming one of baseball’s great successes.The WBC was a two-week block party. Canada, fresh off the Toronto Blue Jays’ American League pennant, reached the quarter-finals for the first time

The Spin | ‘It was a crazy time’: why big auction paychecks don’t always equal superstardom

“Some people do recognise me occasionally and it’s always nice to have a chat about cricket.” Graham Napier has a few minutes between appointments. As a fire safety officer in Suffolk the 46-year-old former Essex all-rounder “goes everywhere, schools, cafes, barbershops, churches …” to install and service fire extinguishers. It’s not lost on him that as a player he was often the one responsible for pyrotechnics.On a June evening in 2008 Napier blasted 152 not out off 58 balls for Essex in a televised T20 Blast match against Sussex

Are unbeaten superteams like the UConn Huskies bad for basketball?

Fans love watching an underdog cause an upset. The problem is that unbeaten teams are unbeaten for a reasonA classic narrative, dating back to the classic matchup of David v Goliath, is the underdog v the favorite.The only problem is that the underdog is an underdog for the reason. Sure, everyone loves it when a David wins, but Goliath usually swats him away with predictable ease and then pounds him into the dirt. Which leads to a problem: who, other than devoted fans of the team in question, roots for the perennial champions? Isn’t that a bit like watching Hoosiers and rooting for the big kids to beat Gene Hackman’s scrappy underdogs? Or watching Rocky IV and rooting for Drago?In women’s college basketball, 12 Division I teams have finished the regular season and conference tournaments undefeated since 2009

March Madness 2026 men’s predictions: who will cut down the nets in Indianapolis?

Who are the players to watch? Which Cinderella team could break your bracket? Our contributors pick the winners, sleepers and upsets for this year’s men’s NCAA TournamentThe annual bevy of trivia that accompanies an NCAA Tournament. Have you heard there are two Miamis? Did you know Nebraska have never won a men’s tournament game? Are you aware that the Queens Royals have a “spirit animal” called Buddy the Street Dog? Even more importantly, I’m looking forward to watching enough basketball over the next three weeks to crack 68/68 on the Sporcle quiz of this year’s mascots. EBThat first Thursday and Friday remain two of the great days on the American sports calendar: noon-to-midnight hoops, four games on screen at a time, buzzer-beaters detonating out of nowhere and a campus or small college town you’ve never heard of suddenly becoming the center of the basketball universe. (And, to no one’s surprise, billions in lost productivity.) The NCAA Tournament still trades in the romance that anything, and anyone, can take over March

Joy of chess keeps dark times in check | Brief letters

Flicking through the paper, I remarked that it was all bad news and upsetting items. Then I came across the centrefold photograph taken in Erzurum, Turkey and found myself close to tears. Young and old chess players together in a coffee house. What a great picture.Carol TaylorDarley Dale, Derbyshire Regarding unusual measurements (Letters, 15 March) my Scottish mother used to send me to the local Co-op to purchase a forpit of potatoes: a fourth part of a stone, ie three and a half pounds

‘I was struggling to feel my hands’: Aston Martin’s problems laid bare by Alonso’s woe in China | Giles Richards

The next round of the Formula One world championship in Japan will be the home race for the Aston Martin team’s engine manufacturer, Honda, at the Suzuka circuit. A celebratory affair, however, is not expected amid painful days for Honda, whose return to F1 has been marked by a failure to make the grade.Its engine’s shortcomings were exposed for the second successive race at the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday. Fernando Alonso retired after 32 laps because the vibration from the engine was so severe he was losing feeling in his hands and feet. Hit teammate Lance Stroll had retired after 10 laps with a battery problem, an element of the hybrid engine that has plagued the manufacturer from day one