Two hometown kids played the hero on Thursday night, lifting their teams to victory and into the Elite Eight.

New York — Kansas State 98, Michigan State 93 (OT): New York native Markquis Nowell had the performance of a lifetime, scoring 20 points and dishing out an NCAA Tournament-record 19 assists (!) in one of the best basketball games you'll ever see.

• 🍿 Highlight: With the game tied 92-92, Nowell threw a no-look alley-oop to a cutting Keyontae Johnson, who finished with a reverse dunk.
• Flashback: The Wildcats were picked to finish last in the Big 12. Instead, they'll play in their third Elite Eight since 2010.

Las Vegas — Gonzaga 79, UCLA 76: Vegas native Julian Strawther hit a deep three in the final seconds on a play inspired by Villanova's title-winning shot in 2016 to break UCLA's heart (again).

• Man of the match: Drew Timme (36 points, 16-24 FG) scored 20+ points in an NCAA Tournament game for the 10th time in his career, a new record.
• Flashback: The Zags beat the Bruins in similar fashion in the 2021 Final Four, with Jalen Suggs hitting a deep three at the buzzer. It's all revenge for that time UCLA made Adam Morrison cry.

Plus:

• FAU 62, Tennessee 55: Florida Atlantic is just the fourth team since the field expanded in 1985 to reach the Elite Eight after entering the year with no tourney wins, joining Gonzaga (1999), George Mason (2006) and Saint Peter's (2022).
• UConn 88, Arkansas 65: The Huskies are back in the Elite Eight for the first time since 2014. The last two times they got there, they won the national championship.

Professional soccer has become a global arms race. To compete on the world stage, leagues must invest abroad.

• Look no further than LaLiga, which has opened numerous international offices in recent years and placed delegates in over 40 countries.
• No country is more important to that strategy than the U.S., and LaLiga's robust North American operation reflects that.

The backdrop: LaLiga's efforts in the U.S. began in earnest in 2018 when it launched a 15-year joint venture called LaLiga North America with Relevent Sports, a group co-founded by Dolphins owner Stephen Ross.

• The crowning achievement so far was the eight-year, $1.4 billion deal it landed with ESPN — a huge upgrade from its previous deal with beIN Sports.
• The joint venture also brokered an eight-year, $560 million deal with Sky Televisa (Mexico/Central America) and built a content studio in Guadalajara.

Between the lines: In addition to its media efforts, LaLiga North America is also focused on building community. On Sunday, it hosted El Clásico watch parties at bars in seven cities:

• New York: Playwright Irish Pub, Smithfield Hall, Mercado Little Spain
• Los Angeles: Tom’s Watch Bar, L.A. Live Plaza
• Houston: Pitch 25
• San Diego: Novo Brazil Brewing
• Miami: 77 Sportbar
• Mexico City: Monumento a la Revolución
• Montreal: MVP Restaurant and Bar Sportif

The intrigue: LaLiga believes its natural connection to U.S. Hispanics gives it an advantage over other European leagues.

• More than 1 in 4 U.S. adults who identify as soccer fans are Hispanic, per Morning Consult.
• Roughly 60% of U.S. Hispanics are of Mexican descent, and LaLiga clubs have a rich history of Mexican stars.

Coming up: LaLiga clubs will tour North America this summer.

With 11 games left, the Bruins are on pace for the most wins in NHL history.

Driving the news: The Bruins beat the Canadiens, 4-2, on Thursday night for their 55th win of the season.

• That puts Boston (55-11-5) on pace for 63 wins, one more than the current record held by the 1995-96 Red Wings and 2018-19 Lightning.
• They'll need to win eight of their 11 remaining games to stake their claim as the greatest regular-season team ever.

Plus: The B's are also on pace to tie the record for most points in a season (132), set by the Canadiens in 1976-77.

Go deeper: Bruins record tracker (The Athletic)

💵 Tom, the owner: Tom Brady has acquired an ownership stake in the WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces.

🏳️‍⚧️ Trans ban: World Athletics has banned transgender women from elite competitions if they have gone through male puberty. World Aquatics made the same call in June.

🏀 Big 12 x Rucker Park: The Big 12 hopes to host men's and women's exhibition games at New York City's famed Rucker Park next summer, pending NCAA approval.

The four women's Naismith Trophy finalists were announced this week, and all four are still dancing, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes.

• Caitlin Clark, G (Iowa, Jr.): She leads the nation in assists (8.6 per game), is third in scoring (26.8), and grabs 7.3 rebounds a night for good measure.
• Aliyah Boston, F (South Carolina, Sr.): The reigning Naismith winner took a step back statistically this year but still has the Gamecocks four wins away from the first perfect season since 2016.
• Maddy Siegrist, F (Villanova, Sr.): She leads the nation in scoring (29.2 points per game) and is just the fifth woman ever to score 1,000 points in a season.
• Elizabeth Kitley, C (Virginia Tech, Sr.): She averages a double-double (18.2 points, 10.8 rebounds) and has the Hokies on the cusp of their first Elite Eight.

Go deeper: Top 25 players in the Sweet 16 (ESPN)

Shohei Ohtani's dominance at the World Baseball Classic did more than just cement his status as the world's best player. It also made him MLB's Instagram king, Jeff writes.

By the numbers: Before the WBC began, Ohtani ranked third among MLB players with 1.7 million Instagram followers. Now, he has over twice as many as anyone else.

Top 5:

1. Ohtani: 4.8M followers
2. Mike Trout: 2M
3. Bryce Harper: 1.7M
4. Aaron Judge: 1.6M
5. Javier Báez: 1.5M

By the numbers: Top five by league…

• NBA: 1. LeBron James (149M), 2. Steph Curry (50.2M), 3. Russell Westbrook (21.9M), 4. Kyrie Irving (18.8M), 5. Lonzo Ball (16.4M)
• NFL: 1. Odell Beckham Jr. (17M), 2. Patrick Mahomes (5.6M), 3. Russell Wilson (5.5M), 4. Joe Burrow (3.8M), 5. JuJu Smith-Schuster (3.4M)
• NHL: 1. Alex Ovechkin (1.6M), 2. Connor McDavid (1M), 3. Auston Matthews (799K), 4. Evgeni Malkin (721K), 5. Mitch Marner (584K)

Speaking of athletes with huge Instagram followings…

LISBON, Portugal — Cristiano Ronaldo played in his 197th match for Portugal on Thursday, breaking a tie with Kuwait's Bader Al-Mutawa for the most international appearances ever.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Lionel Messi scored his 800th goal for club and country (672 for Barcelona, 99 for Argentina, 29 for PSG). The only other player to do that? Ronaldo.

🇦🇷 Watch: Incredible atmosphere in Buenos Aires (Twitter)

The NCAA Tournaments are nearing their endgame. By Sunday night, the men's Final Four will be set and the women's will be halfway there.

• Friday men's (Sweet 16): No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 5 San Diego State (6:30pm ET, TBS); No. 1 Houston vs. No. 5 Miami (7:15pm, CBS); No. 6 Creighton vs. No. 15 Princeton (9pm, TBS); No. 2 Texas vs. No. 3 Xavier (9:45pm, CBS)
• Friday women's (Sweet 16): No. 4 Villanova vs. No. 9 Miami (2:30pm, ESPN); No. 2 Utah vs. No. 3 LSU (5pm, ESPN); No. 2 Iowa vs. No. 6 Colorado (7:30pm, ESPN); No. 5 Louisville vs. No. 8 Ole Miss (10pm, ESPN)
• Saturday men's (Elite Eight): No. 3 Kansas State vs. No. 9 FAU (6:09pm, TBS); No. 3 Gonzaga vs. No. 4 UConn (8:49pm, TBS)
• Saturday women's (Sweet 16): No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 2 Maryland (11:30am, ESPN); No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 4 UCLA (2pm, ESPN); No. 2 UConn vs. No. 3 Ohio State (4pm, ABC); No. 1 Virginia Tech vs. No. 4 Tennessee (6:30pm, ESPN2)
• Sunday: Two men's and two women's games.

More to watch:

• 🏒 Men's hockey: NCAA Tournament regionals (Fri-Sun, ESPNU/ESPN2/ESPNews) … Frozen Four will be set by Sunday.
• 🏀 NBA: Pacers at Celtics (Fri. 7pm, NBA); 76ers at Warriors (Fri. 10pm, NBA); Bucks at Nuggets (Sat. 9pm, NBA); Grizzlies at Hawks (Sun. 6pm, NBA)
• 🏒 NHL: Lightning at Bruins (Sat. 1pm, NHL); Capitals at Penguins (Sat. 8pm, ABC); Maple Leafs at Predators (Sun. 6pm, NHL)
• ⛳️ PGA: WGC Match Play (Fri-Sun, ESPN+/Golf/NBC)
• ⛳️ LPGA: Drive On Championship (Fri-Sun, Golf/Peacock)
• ⚽️ MLS: 14 games (Sat. 4:30-10:30pm, Apple TV) … Six games are free to watch.
• ⚽️ NWSL: Six games (Sat-Sun, Paramount+/CBSSN) … Opening weekend.
• ⚽️ Nations League: USMNT vs. Grenada (Fri. 8pm, TNT) … Group stage.
• 🏁 NASCAR: Austin (Sun. 3:30pm, Fox)
• 🏈 XFL: Week 6 (Sat-Sun, ABC/FX/ESPN+)
• 🎾 Tennis: Miami Open (Fri-Sun, Tennis)
• ⚾️ Spring training: Padres at Angels (Fri. 4pm, MLB); Yankees at Phillies (Sat. 1pm, MLB); Twins at Red Sox (Sun. 1pm, MLB)
• 🏀 Athletes Unlimited: Week 5 (Fri-Sat, WNBA League Pass/CBSSN) … Final week of the season.

Gonzaga will make its fifth Elite Eight appearance since 2010.

• Question: Name the only three schools with more appearances since 2010.
• Hint: SEC, ACC, Big 12.

Answer at the bottom.

Source: Giphy

The spiral walkways outside of San Siro — home to both AC and Inter Milan — create an optical illusion when in use, making it seem as if the entire structure is rotating. Science!