UNC seeks major hire after firing Hubert Davis; MLB season preview; Mohamed Salah leaving Liverpool

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🐏 Five things to know Wednesday

1. Hubert Davis is out at North Carolina. Arguably the best job in college basketball is now open. UNC fired Davis, according to Matt Norlander, last night on the heels of a first-round exit from the NCAA Tournament in which the Tar Heels squandered a 19-point lead. The school owes Davis a $5.3 million buyout due to his early termination and is now tasked with finding a successor who can take this storied program back to the mountaintop. The biggest names in the sport figure to receive calls as premier active coaches headline the top candidates. This firing also sets the stage for UNC to look outside the “Carolina family” for the first time since 1961.
2. Mohamed Salah will leave Liverpool after this season. One of the greatest players in club history will be on the move after Salah and Liverpool agreed to ax the final year of his contract. The two-time Premier League champion, who boasts four Golden Boots as the all-time leading scorer among foreign-born players, faced questions about his future all season — especially after his three-game benching in December — and is set to seek a new home for the first time since his arrival from Roma in 2017. Where will that be? Some of the top clubs in the world figure to be in play as ideal landing spots.
3. The Cubs extended Pete Crow-Armstrong through 2032. Just in time for Opening Day, the six-year, $115 million extension will keep PCA on the North Side well into his prime. It’s the second-largest contract in major league history for a player who is at least five years away from free agency, and it ensures that last season’s breakout star (who clubbed 31 home runs, swiped 35 bags and won a Gold Glove) will anchor the Cubs’ lineup for the foreseeable future as one of the game’s most well-rounded players.
4. Lavonte David called it a career. The three-time All-Pro linebacker hung up his cleats after a 14-year run with the Buccaneers. David enters retirement as the No. 7 leading tackler in NFL history and will be an eventual candidate for the Hall of Fame. His legacy includes a Super Bowl victory, which etched his name into Tampa Bay lore as a pillar of the franchise.
5. Los Angeles Golf Club spoiled Tiger Woods’ return with a victory in the TGL finals. LAGC swept the best-of-three series against Jupiter Links Golf Club to hoist the trophy in the second season of TGL. Woods’ return to competitive golf following his seventh back surgery was not enough of a boost for Jupiter Links, but it was a significant step forward for the legend who has not yet ruled out participation in the 2026 Masters.

⚾ Do not miss this: 2026 MLB season preview

As winter thaws into spring, another baseball season blossoms. The road to October starts now.

Last season saw the Dodgers become the first repeat World Series champion since the Yankees rattled off three straight from 1998 to 2000. Two of the five voters on our panel of baseball experts foresee an inevitable third title for Dave Roberts‘ club, but last year’s AL champion and runner-up also got some love in the 2026 World Series picks.

• Dodgers: 2 votes
• Mariners: 2 votes
• Blue Jays: 1 vote

Julian McWilliams is responsible for the lone Toronto selection, and he explained his thought process.

• McWilliams: “The Blue Jays were two outs from a title last year and it’s hard to see a path where they don’t push through this time. Yes, I know it’s hard, but they have the experience, the veterans, the youth and the hunger to bring it all together.”

Here’s everything else you need to get ready for Opening Day:

• Bold predictions: We made one aggressive projection for each team, like the guess that White Sox newcomer Munetaka Murakami will emerge as the Home Run Derby champion.
• Best bets: While Aaron Judge is the odds-on favorite to lead the majors in home runs and runs batted in, there’s value in picking a couple of longshots. 
• Rules refresher: Get ready for the major-league debut of the ABS challenge system, which allows players to appeal ball/strike calls. Here’s how it works.
• Fantasy outlook: Our fantasy baseball experts have questions for all 30 teams. Some answers will come more quickly than others.

🏀 March Madness refresh ahead of Sweet 16

The NCAA Tournament is alive and well. More college basketball fans tuned into the first round of the men’s tournament across CBS, TNT, TBS and truTV than ever before, obliterating viewership records. It’s hard to complain with the on-court results, too. We witnessed a couple of first-round upsets, but not at the expense of fantastic matchups deeper into the bracket. The drama, like the viewership, was off the charts.

Here’s to hoping the Sweet 16 (Thursday and Friday) is as thrilling as the first two rounds. Get ready for another dose of madness with these three excellent pieces from our college basketball writers.

• Re-seeding the field: If the selection committee had to redo the seeding process for the next round, it may very well replace Duke with Arizona as the No. 1 overall seed.
• One reason to root for every team: Want to see history? Cheer for Nebraska, which is making its first Sweet 16 appearance. Or maybe you like redemption stories, in which case reigning national runner-up Houston is the team for you.
• NBA Draft stock watch: It’s hard to watch Darius Acuff Jr. and not imagine him commanding offenses at the next level. He’s one of the biggest risers on draft boards this March.

The women’s tournament has been quite chalky thus far, but Virginia made itself the story of the first two rounds with its Cinderella run as the first team to roll from the First Four to the Sweet 16. Isabel Gonzalez explained why the Cavaliers were undoubtedly the biggest winners of the first weekend.

• Gonzalez: “They are the only team in NCAA women’s tournament history to win overtime games in the first and second round. Kymora Johnson had a game-high 28 points against Iowa and somehow played all 50 minutes.”

The No. 1 seeds remain unbeaten and won each of their first eight combined games by at least 19 points. No. 9-seed USC took the brunt of that steamrolling in a 40-point loss to South Carolina, but don’t let that fool you; the Trojans’ future is bright.

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

📺 What we’re watching Wednesday

🏀 Hawks at Pistons, 7 p.m. on ESPN
🏒 Rangers at Maple Leafs, 7:30 p.m. on TNT
⚾ Yankees at Giants, 8:05 p.m. on Netflix
🏀 Rockets at Timberwolves, 9:30 p.m. on ESPN
⚽ Portland Thorns FC at San Diego Wave FC, 10 p.m. on CBS Sports Network