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Winthrop coach Pat Kelsey understands his Eagles made the NCAA Tournament the hard way. The team was among a dozen schools who'd punched tickets to the 2020 NCAAs before COVID-19 ended the event last March. The Eagles are back this year, along with Gonzaga, Liberty and Utah State. The Zags are the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament and there was little chance they'd be absent this season. Not so for the rest who as part of mid-major conferences must rely on winning their league tournament or hoping to impress NCAA selectors. 

Just over two weeks before opening day, Francisco Lindor and the New York Mets have begun talking about keeping him in town beyond this year. The newly acquired All-Star shortstop said Tuesday that he's started negotiations with the team for a long-term contract. Lindor reiterated that he won't negotiate during the season. He's eligible for free agency after the season. The Mets obtained Lindor from Cleveland in January.  One of the players Cleveland got for Lindor, shortstop Amed Rosario, had a rough day in his debut at a new spot. Playing center field for the first time, Rosario made three errors against the Angels.

After Tokyo, President Joe Biden’s top diplomat and defense chief are traveling to South Korea after North Korea made sure it had their attention by warning the United States to refrain from causing trouble amid deadlocked nuclear negotiations. How to get North Korea to return to talks will be a major focus when Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin meet South Korean officials. It has been more than two years since nuclear talks stalled, and some experts say the United States and its allies should settle for a deal that would freeze North Korea’s nuclear program in return for relaxing sanctions _ and possibly leave Pyongyang’s already manufactured nuclear weapons in place. 

President Joe Biden says New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo should resign if the state attorney general’s investigation confirms the sexual harassment allegations against him. Biden made the remarks in an interview with ABC News that is scheduled to air Wednesday morning. When asked by anchor George Stephanopoulos if the investigation confirms the claims of the women, should Cuomo resign, Biden said “yes,” adding, “I think he’d probably end up being prosecuted, too.” Cuomo is facing allegations that he sexually harassed or behaved inappropriately toward multiple women, including several former staffers. He has denied touching any women inappropriately.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is warning ominously of a “scorched earth” landscape if Democrats use their new majority to bring an end to the Senate filibuster process. Senators have been considering changes to the decades-old rules that typically require 60 votes to advance legislation. With Democrats controlling the chamber that's evenly split 50-50, they're facing a tough time approving their priorities and President Joe Biden's agenda. McConnell unleashed the dire forecast Tuesday, implying that Republicans would grind business to a halt by refusing to give consent for routine operations. Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer dismissed the warnings as a “diversion."

More than two dozen faith leaders in the U.S. capital region have gotten vaccinated against the coronavirus in an event aimed at encouraging others to get the shot. Tuesday's interfaith event held before television cameras at the Washington National Cathedral targeted in particular Black, Latino and other communities of color, aiming to overcome vaccine reluctance among populations that have disproportionately hit by the pandemic. The “vaccine confidence” event also included health leaders such as Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s leading infectious-disease scientist and the public face of the nation’s fight against COVID-19.

Uber is giving its U.K. drivers the minimum wage, pensions and holiday pay, following a recent court ruling that said they should be classified as workers and entitled to such benefits. The ride hailing giant’s announcement Tuesday comes after it lost an appeal last month at the U.K. Supreme Court following a yearslong court battle, in a decision that holds wider implications for the country’s gig economy. Uber said it’s extending the benefits immediately to its more than 70,000 drivers in the U.K. The drivers who filed the case welcomed the news but said it’s not enough.

Former Republican congressman Doug Ose says he's entering the California recall election aimed at ousting Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. Ose (Oh-see) becomes the third established Republican to enter the race, joining former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and businessman John Cox. Ose is a businessman from the Sacramento area who says he's ready to work across party lines to get businesses and schools reopened. His announcement follows the kickoff Monday of Newsom's campaign. Recall organizers say they have enough signatures to place the election on the ballot, though county officials are still reviewing them. 

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has determined that a large earthquake — which is expected to occur again in the Pacific Northwest sooner or later — could cause the spillway gates of a dam in Oregon to buckle, resulting “in a potentially catastrophic flood.” The Corps says it will try to minimize the danger by reducing the maximum height of the lake by five feet. The move comes as Oregon and the wider Pacific Northwest are coming to grips with “the big one” that experts say is coming. Last week, an earthquake early warning system was launched in Oregon.

Rutgers is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 30 years. Drexel snapped a 25-year tournament drought. Appalachian State has only two previous NCAA appearances and ended a 21-year absence. Oral Roberts is part of March Madness for the first time since 2008, Cleveland State returned for the first time since 2009 and Morehead State snapped a streak that dates to 2011. UC Santa Barbara made consecutive NCAA tournaments as a No. 15 seed in 2010 and 2011 and is back as a 12 seed. Georgia Tech is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010.

For people wondering where is all the free-agent quarterback movement as the NFL’s “legal tampering” period enters its second day, Washington stepped into that breach by agreeing to terms with the very well-traveled Ryan Fitzpatrick. The 38-year-old “FitzMagic” joins his ninth franchise (Rams, Bengals, Bills, Titans, Texans, Jets, Buccaneers and Dolphins). He started seven and played in nine games last season for Miami, throwing for 2,091 yards, 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Incredibly, Fitzpatrick never has been on a playoff team in his 16 pro seasons. 

This week's world ranking determines the 64-man field for the Match Play. Now it's a question of how many more players get into the field. Tiger Woods won't be playing because of his injuries from a car crash. Adam Scott says he won't play. Brooks Koepka and Justin Rose are recovering from different injuries and haven't decided. The most curious case is Gary Woodland. He tested positive for the coronavirus and his return from isolation is right about the time the tournament starts. Dustin Johnson will be there. The Masters champ revealed details on what happens when he gets nervous.

A bipartisan group in Congress is urging the federal government not to remove 144 cities from being designated as metropolitan areas. They say reclassifying them as “micropolitan” could put key federal funding at risk. The request comes after The Associated Press reported this month that the federal government wants to raise the population criteria for core cities in metro areas from 50,000 residents to 100,000 residents. Doing so would reclassify more than a third of the 392 current metro areas as “micropolitan” statistical areas. The statisticians say the change is long overdue for a classification that was introduced in 1950. 

NEW YORK (AP) — Grammy producers avoided the Zoom awkwardness of other pandemic-era awards shows and gave music-starved fans performances by the industry's biggest stars. And viewers still stayed away. CBS' Grammys telecast reached 9.2 million — television and streaming…

There will be fans in the stands when the NCAA Tournament tips off this week. The NBA and NHL have been filling arenas to limited degrees since their seasons began earlier this winter. Getting people back inside sports venues has taken some time during the pandemic because of evidence of how the coronavirus spreads. Experts in epidemiology, ventilation, engineering and architecture say it's very low risk to attend indoor sporting events because of how big arenas work to move and mix air. That is as long as capacity limits allow for physical distancing and masks are still worn properly.

Collin Morikawa, Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas are off to flying starts on the road to the Masters. Each have won big tournaments on the Florida swing. It's enough to whet the appetite for Augusta National, which is just over three weeks away. But it's not that way for everyone. Rory McIlroy says he got caught up trying to swing hard like DeChambeau and needs to get out of those habits. He missed the cut last week. Johnson has finished a combined 36 shots out of the lead his last two starts. Both would like to find their games quickly.

Six officials won’t be working the NCAA Tournament after one tested positive for COVID-19. The other five were deemed close contacts after arriving in Indianapolis. NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt says there are enough officials available for the tournament that begins Thursday and ramps up over the weekend. Gavitt says there have been five positive results out of 2,300 overall completed tests so far. He cautioned those positives didn’t necessarily involve team personnel. Georgia Tech reported a positive test, but did not provide specifics.