ORIGINAL STORY: Would the Cavs be willing to send Kyrie Irving to their biggest Eastern Conference rival? We may soon find out. The Cavs and Celtics are discussing a potential trade involving Irving and Boston star Isaiah Thomas, according to The Vertical’s Shams Charania. The talks have become “serious,” according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. A trade between the No. 1 and 2 seeds in last year’s Eastern Conference playoffs would be peculiar, to say the least....

The 26-year-old star asked New Orleans to move him in late January and he’s reportedly “highly unlikely" to reconsider his demand despite the team winning the 2019 draft lottery. The Lakers reportedly made multiple offers for Davis before the deadline, but no deal was ultimately reached. The teams, however, could revisit those negotiations this offseason, according to Andrew Lopez of the Times-Picayune. Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry is intrigued by some of Los Angeles’ assets, including guard Lonzo Ball, the report says....

He totaled 20 points in the final 12 minutes. The Hawks managed only 17. That scoring outburst turned a two-point Hawks advantage into a comfortable 11-point Bucks victory that didn’t feel close in the final minute. MORE: Does Damian Lillard want out of Portland? Middleton recorded a game-high 38 points while shooting 57.7 percent from the field. He struggled in the first two games of the conference finals, averaging 15 points on 33....

The new regulations, calling for an extra foot of open space on both sides of the basket stanchion, were sent to teams Tuesday by league president of operations Rod Thorn and executive vice president of team marketing and business operations Amy Brooks in a memo that was obtained by The Associated Press. Thorn says clearing the congestion behind the playing area was planned even before Indiana’s Paul George broke his right leg when he crashed into the stanchion last month during a USA Basketball exhibition game....

With an eye toward being as efficient as possible in situations like this, the NBA will experiment with a 44-minute game on Oct. 19, when the Brooklyn Nets play against the Boston Celtics at Barclays Center. This measure does not come out of the blue. MORE: In defense of preseason | Sixers rebuild on track | Coach contracts “At our recent coaches’ meeting, we had a discussion about the length of our games, and it was suggested that we consider experimenting with a shorter format,” said NBA President, Basketball Operations Rod Thorn....

The NBC broadcast cut away from the incident, but fans and photographers at the game captured the moment. The celebration was dubbed as ‘poopdown’ because, well, it should be obvious. The Seahawks wideout later said the vulgar celebration was targeted at a group. MORE: Must-see photos from Super Bowl XLIX | Defending Pete Carroll | Wilson attending spring training Those watching the game on television didn’t see the celebration thanks to John Howard, NBC’s technical director for the Super Bowl....

On Thursday, the team discovered it will play that game -- and the entire season -- without head coach Henry Frazier. Frazier was fired Thursday. Dwayne Foster, an assistant coach on the staff, will step in as interim head coach. MORE: Heisman watch | UNC’s Renner ready for SEC | SN All-Americans According to WNCN, Frazier was suspended Tuesday after being charged with violation of a domestic violence protective order where his ex-wife lives....

“Cry more, lib,” Cawthorn wrote in a tweet after the state’s 11th Congressional District was called on Tuesday night by the Associated Press at 9:20 p.m. ET. Cawthorn’s projected victory on Tuesday came over Democrat Moe Davis, a 62-year-old retired Air Force colonel and former Guantánamo Bay prosecutor. Newsweek reached out to Davis for comment. North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District was previously represented by Republican Mark Meadows, who left the House to take on the role as White House chief of staff....

The idea of canceling the tournament, once considered unthinkable, gained traction this week as several sports leagues and conferences either canceled, postponed or limited access to competition. Hall of Famer and Turner Sports commenter Charles Barkley said on Thursday that canceling or postponing March Madness is “the right thing to do.” The NCAA — which makes $771 million annually in TV deals tied to March Madness — told Sporting News on March 2 it would monitor COVID-19, but otherwise expected to move forward with the tournament as planned....

But championship basketball is not just about the players on the floor who pour their hearts and souls into a 40-minute contest to decide a winner. It’s a fickle, funny game, with factors that are impossible to prepare for. Factors that are uncontrollable, and out of the hands of the contestants. Gonzaga learned this on Monday night in its first ever national title game. MORE: 10 compelling stats from UNC’s win over Gonzaga...

If UConn had won Sunday in the American Athletic Conference championship game, it would have sent the Huskies into the general at-large field, even though they would have been the last team in the bracket. That’s because the only automatic qualifiers that can be sent to the First Four are No. 16 seeds. According to ESPN, though, the committee may consider changing that rule and putting what it considers the last four teams into the field, regardless of whether they were automatic or at-large qualifiers, into the First Four....

The NCAA Division I Council has voted to allow FBS conferences to pick the two teams that will play in the conference championship as opposed to going by division winners. The decision will be finalized later Wednesday. Four of the Power 5 conferences — the ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC — have divisions, with the winners of each playing in the conference championship, but that setup might not last for much longer....

The targeting rule was implemented by the NCAA last season. When a player was flagged for targeting an opponent's head with a hit, he was disqualified from the game and his team penalized 15 yards. The foul was reviewed by replay officials and the ejection could be overturned — but the 15-yard penalty stood. This confused players, coaches and fans. The football rules committee last month passed a proposal to no longer enforce the 15-yard penalty when the ejection is overturned, as long as another foul has not been committed....

The APR for Division I men’s basketball programs increased by four points, while football programs saw a five-point rise. MORE: Most bizarre NCAA violations in history Every Division I sports team calculates its APR each season and creates an average of the past four seasons. If a program falls below the 930 standard, which represents roughly a 50-percent graduation rate, it cannot compete in postseason play. For the 2015-16 season, 21 teams will be ineligible for postseason action, a sharp drop from 42 a year ago....

In the NCAA president’s first public comments since Friday’s ruling, Emmert told ABC’s “This Week With George Stephanopoulos” that college sports’ largest governing body found a lot in the decision that was “admirable” and some parts they disagreed with so strongly that they could not let it go unchallenged in court. “Yes, at least in part we will,” Emmert said when asked whether the NCAA planned an appeal. “No one on our legal team or the college conferences’ legal teams think this is a violation of antitrust laws and we need to get that settled in the courts....

The Jayhawks were the No. 2 seed in the South region, after all, and No. 2 seeds rarely lose their first game in the NCAA Tournament. Stanford wasn’t making that leap, though. MORE: Live scoreboard | Box score | Play by play “Nobody really has mentioned Kansas,” Cardinal junior center Stefan Nastic said. “Whoever we play, that’s the team we’re looking forward to playing. Whoever it is, you’ve got to respect all the great teams in the tournament....

MORE: Biggest round of 64 upsets | Best tourney social media photos How did it come to this? No one had doubted Mercer’s worthiness to enter the tournament. The Bears were champions of the Atlantic Sun Conference in both the regular season and the tournament, and in most leagues this year that proved to be as difficult a double as winning "American Idol" and a U.S. Senate seat. If you thought Mercer was going to win Friday afternoon, though, you probably arrived at PNC Arena dressed in orange....

How many times have you heard the complaint “Aw, man. I’m never picking Duke again. They always lose in the first round?” How can you be sure it won’t happen again? Well, you can’t. But you can take a look at how confident you should be about your picks by analyzing a team’s recent performances. MORE: Field of 68 predictions | How Vegas would seed the tourney | Print your bracket...

NCAA Tournament bracket picks: Midwest Region Best story line Michigan survived a plane crash to get here. That’s a fact. The plane on which they were traveling to the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday abandoned its takeoff attempt because of high winds, could not brake in time to stop on the runway and then went through a fence, across a road, over a ditch and into a field. No one was hurt....

Kami Mueller wrote Monday night that said the NCAA should be more “concerned about the women who were raped at Baylor” instead of attacking North Carolina’s law that restricts the civil rights of gay, bisexual and transgender people. MORE: Patriotism, politics and sports Mueller also wrote: “Under the NCAA’s logic, colleges should make cheerleaders and football players share bathrooms, showers and hotel rooms” and called the NCAA’s decision “an assault on female athletes across the nation....