Bill Murray cheers on coach son at thrilling UConn March Madness game

Comedy legend Bill Murray witnessed a scene of college basketball pandemonium on Sunday, cheering on his son's team to a miraculous March Madness victory.

The "Ghostbusters" and "Groundhog Day" star was spotted supporting his son, Luke Murray, an assistant coach at the University of Connecticut, as Duke and UConn faced off in a stunning Elite 8tournamentgame, resulting in UConn advancing to the Final Four.

Bill Murraysported a dark blue hat and navy blue shirt at the game, which took place at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.

After it seemed the Huskies' season was coming to an end, the team launched a miraculous second-half comeback, forcing a last-minute turnover before freshman Braylon Mullins launched a long-range three-pointer to advance UConn to the next round.

Videofrom the courtshowed Bill Murray celebrating with the UConn band after the game.

Luke Murray, the second son of Bill Murray and Margaret Kelly, has been an assistant coach at UConn since 2021, working under famed head coach Dan Hurley.

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On March 26,Luke Murray was named the head coach of the Boston College men's basketball team, starting next season, marking his first position as a head coach in college basketball.

"I am deeply honored and incredibly grateful to lead the Boston College Men's Basketball program," Luke Murray said in statement included in areleaseannouncing his hire. "Boston College alumni and fans will find our program defined by a standard of excellence, and our team will play an unselfish, tough, and highly competitive brand of basketball. I am excited to get to work to build this proud program. Go Eagles!"

Luke Murray has done rounds as a college basketball coach for nearly two decades, with stops at schools including Arizona, Towson, Rhode Island, Xavier, Louisville and more.

Bill Murray opened up about his son's successin an interviewwith The Big East Conference in 2023, during UConn's March Madness run that year.

"I'm very proud of this boy, and he's a wonderful kid, and he's worked very hard," he said at the time.

That same year, Luke Murrayposted a photoof him and his father standing side by side, celebrating an NCAA tournament win, along with photos of his children playing in the confetti.

Bill Murray is also a father to five other children.

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Bill Murray cheers on coach son at thrilling UConn March Madness game

Comedy legend Bill Murray witnessed a scene of college basketball pandemonium on Sunday, cheering on his son's tea...

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NBA power rankings: Thunder, Spurs stay hot, but who took the No. 1 spot?

We're down to the final stretch of the2025-26 NBA season.

No team has more than eight remaining games, and the 10 teams – five from each conference – that will miss the playoffs and Play-In Tournament are already determined.

Still, there's plenty at stake, where teams can mount late charges to improve their seeding. In the East, only one game separates the No. 5 team, theToronto Raptors, from the No. 7 squad, thePhiladelphia 76ers. The six-seed, an automatic playoff spot currently occupied by theAtlanta Hawks, is the prize everyone below is chasing.

Out West, theSan Antonio Spurssuddenly have a very real shot to catch theOklahoma City Thunderfor the No. 1 seed. OKC has been rolling lately, but its remaining schedule is the toughest in the NBA,according to Tankathon.com.

Here areUSA TODAY Sports' NBA power rankings after Week 21 of the 2025-26 regular season:

Oct. 26: The Brooklyn Nets' Michael Porter Jr. dunks in front of the San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama at Frost Bank Center.

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Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents

USA TODAY Sports NBA power rankings

Note:Records and stats through March 29. Parentheses show movement fromlast week's rankings.

NBA Week 22 power rankings: Top 10

1.San Antonio Spurs, 56-18 (+1)

2.Oklahoma City Thunder, 59-16 (-1)

3.Detroit Pistons, 54-20 (—)

4.Boston Celtics, 50-24 (—)

5.Los Angeles Lakers, 48-26 (+1)

6.Denver Nuggets, 48-28 (+1)

7.New York Knicks, 48-27 (-2)

8.Cleveland Cavaliers, 46-28 (+2)

9.Minnesota Timberwolves, 45-29 (—)

10.Houston Rockets, 45-29 (-2)

It might not be fair, in practice, to drop the Thunder down one spot, even as they've won 14 of their last 15. But the Spurs have been even hotter, and, with their 4-1 record this season over Oklahoma City, they look every bit like a legitimate title contender. Over the last nine games, the Spurs have posted the NBA's second-best offensive rating, scoring 123.9 points per 100 possessions.

The Lakers and Nuggets, who have been stellar recently, are each angling for the coveted No. 3 seed in the West and both have 48 wins.

The teams sliding here are the Knicks, who have been outperformed by Los Angeles and Denver, and the Rockets, who have lost five of their last 10.

NBA Week 22 power rankings: Nos. 11-20

11.Atlanta Hawks, 42-33 (+4)

12.Toronto Raptors, 42-32 (+2)

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13.Phoenix Suns, 41-33 (—)

14.Los Angeles Clippers, 39-36 (+2)

15.Philadelphia 76ers, 41-33 (+2)

16.Orlando Magic, 39-35 (-5)

17.Miami Heat, 39-36 (-5)

18.Charlotte Hornets, 39-36 (—)

19.Portland Trail Blazers, 38-38 (+1)

20.Golden State Warriors, 36-39 (—)

There's movement all over the middle of the pack. The Hawks have maximized new acquisitions, and no one has been better than point guard CJ McCollum. The Hawks don't miss Trae Young, and his absence has allowed Jalen Johnson to fully take over as the star point-forward of the team. Headed into its game Monday against the Celtics, Atlanta has gone 12-2 in March, best of all teams in the East.

Though there's probably too much ground for them to make up, the Clippers have won five consecutive and could be a lurking threat out West, especially after they struggled to start the season.

Two teams plummeting down the rankings are the Magic and the Heat, who have each gone 1-7 in their last eight games. Miami's defense, which had been a strength most of the season, has been a recent liability. The Heat rank 27th in the league over the last eight games with a defensive rating of 125.5. A loss Sunday, March 29, against the Pacers – one in which Miami scored 11 points in the fourth quarter – at this point in the season, is inexcusable.

The Magic aren't doing much better, with a defensive rating over that span of 125.4.

NBA Week 22 power rankings: Nos. 21-30

21.Milwaukee Bucks, 29-45 (—)

22.Chicago Bulls, 29-45 (—)

23.Memphis Grizzlies, 25-49 (—)

24.Dallas Mavericks, 24-50 (-1)

25.New Orleans Pelicans, 25-51 (—)

26.Utah Jazz, 21-54 (—)

27.Sacramento Kings, 19-57 (—)

28.Brooklyn Nets, 18-57 (—)

29.Washington Wizards, 17-57 (—)

30.Indiana Pacers, 17-58 (—)

There are 10 teams currently eliminated from playoff and play-in contention. Each of them is in this bottom third. Theseteams have, by and large, shut down star players and are playing to lose. It's a common tactic in the NBA and shouldn't even carry some moral judgment. But it's also not worth spending a lot of time dissecting the recent play of these teams, as they build for the future.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:NBA power rankings: San Antonio Spurs, OKC Thunder battling for No. 1

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NBA power rankings: Thunder, Spurs stay hot, but who took the No. 1 spot?

We're down to the final stretch of the2025-26 NBA season. No team has more than eight remaining games, and ...

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NBA approves $4.25B sale of Trail Blazers to group led by Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon

The NBA announced on Monday that it's approved the sale of the Portland Trail Blazers to a group led by Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon.

Per the league, the sale is expected to close this week. Dundon will serve as the team's governor.

Dundon reached an agreement to purchase the teamfrom the estate of late owner Paul Allen in August. Per multiple reports, the team is being sold at a $4.25 billion valuation.

Allen, who co-founded Microsoft, previously owned the Trail Blazers from 1988 untilhis death in 2018. Hepurchased the team for $70 millionin 1988. The team has since been run by his his estate, which is managed by his sister, Jody Allen.

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Allen's will dictatedthat the team be sold after his death and for the proceeds to go toward philanthropic ventures. Now that sale is final and approved by the NBA. It's not clear what philanthropic efforts the proceeds will support.

Who is Tom Dundon?

Dundon, 54, purchased a majority stake in the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes in 2018, and the franchise has experienced success under his leadership.

The Hurricanes have made the playoffs in each year from 2019-25, making the conference finals three times. Prior to the 2018-19 season, the Hurricanes missed the playoffs for nine consecutive years.

Per the Oregonian, Dundon built his fortune in the supbrime auto lending industry as the co-founder and eventual CEO of Drive Financial, which later became Santander Consumer USA. Heleft the company in 2015 with more than $700 millionand nowruns the Dallas-based investment firm Dundon Capital Partnersin addition to his sports ownership ventures.

Dundon is also majority owner of Major League Pickleball and the PPA Tour.

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NBA approves $4.25B sale of Trail Blazers to group led by Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon

The NBA announced on Monday that it's approved the sale of the Portland Trail Blazers to a group led by Carolina Hurr...

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Trump tells aides he is willing to end Iran war without reopening Hormuz, WSJ reports

March 30 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald ‌Trump told ‌aides he is ​willing to end the military campaign against Iran ‌even ⁠if the Strait of Hormuz ⁠remains largely closed and ​leave ​a ​complex operation ‌to reopen it for a later date, the Wall Street Journal ‌reported on ​Monday, ​citing ​administration officials.

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Reuters ‌could not immediately ​verify ​the report.

(Reporting by Fabiola ​Arámburo ‌in Mexico City; ​Editing by ​Himani Sarkar)

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Trump tells aides he is willing to end Iran war without reopening Hormuz, WSJ reports

March 30 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald ‌Trump told ‌aides he is ​willing to end the military campaign against Iran ‌e...

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'You know the drill': Iran takes on Trump on social media

America's poster-in-chief has a new challenger.

While most Iranians are barred from the internet, one of the country's rising hard-line figures is using social mediato take on President Donald Trump.

Parliament SpeakerMohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, 64, is adopting an increasingly Trumpian approach to wartime communication, posting English-language snark and memes in an apparent attempt to counter Trump's influence on news coverage and financial markets.

Ghalibaf, who is a decade and a half younger than Trump, favors a snappier, less all-caps style than Trump, who has posteda staggering 6,800 Truth Social messagesin the past year.

Iran and its supporters are making a wider push in a growing information war, flooding the internet with memes and AI-generated content faking attacks on American bases. State media has even got in on the act, taunting Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"Heads-up," Ghalibaf told his almost half-million followers Sunday on X. The "pre-market so-called 'news' or 'Truth' is often just a setup for profit-taking," he said, his latest accusation thatTrump's posts on Truth Social are a concerted effort to move markets, eitherfor profitor to stem the war's impact on surging energy prices.

The U.S. government has strongly denied allegations ofinsider trading.

Ghalibaf urged followers to "do the opposite" of what Trump's messages indicate if they, too, want to turn a profit.

"If they pump it, short it. If they dump it, go long," he said. "You know the drill."

In a more succinct caption, Ghalibaf posted a picture earlier Sunday, was geolocated by NBC News, that shows an American airborne warning and control system (or AWACS) aircraft with its rear blown off at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.

Alongside the picture of the ruined plane, Ghalibaf wrote: "sustained only minor damage," with three emojis conveying the "just a little bit" pinching hand gesture. Initial reports had indicated the plane sustained minor damage in an Iranian attack.

Ghalibaf has risen to greater prominence afterthe assassinations of a phalanx of his fellow top officialsin Israeli-U.S. airstrikes. Among them was the late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, creating a power vacuum largely filled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a powerful paramilitary, political and economic group.

Ghalibaf came through the ranks of the guard himself and is believed to be among the inner circle ofMojtaba Khamenei, the ayatollah's son and successor. The younger Khamenei has not appeared in person after Iran said he too was injured in strikes.

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According to Trump, it was Ghalibaf who allowed 20 oil tankers to pass through the blockaded Strait of Hormuz. "He's the one who authorized the ships to me," Trump told the Financial Times newspaper.

But in public, Ghalibaf has been far more hostile to Trump and his forces.

In a message Sunday marking 30 days since the start of the war, he said Iran was "waiting for American soldiers to enter on the ground so they can set them ablaze."

Meanwhile, he has accused Trump of trying to "jawbone" the oil market, using public statements and social media to reassure investors and prevent further price rises.

Other posts included his likening the "No Kings" marches across American cities this weekend to the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

"Welcome to the party we started 47 years ago," he wrote. "This is the people of Iran, and we approve this message."

And he has ridiculed Trump's apparently shifting war aims, suggesting that his goals have now narrowed to reopening the Strait of Hormuz — which was the case before the U.S. and Israel started bombing.

"They're playing 6D chess again!" Ghalibaf wrote alongside three clapping emojis.

Trump has been more active than ever on social media in his second term, including posting lengthy all-caps screeds offering vacillating updates on the war.

Not long before markets were due to open Monday, Trump hailed what he said was "great progress" in talks, though he also threatened to obliterate Iran's civilian water and energy infrastructure if a deal isn't reached soon. Ghalibaf and other Iranian officials have frequently denied such progress.

Though Ghalibaf is seen as a relative hard-liner, he has never been afraid to adapt his message to his audience.

"Ghalibaf exhibits a dual posture — pragmatic when engaging pragmatic counterparts and hard-line when confronting hard-line adversaries," Ali Alfoneh, a senior fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute, a Washington-based think tank, told NBC News last week.

He is among 1% of Iranians currently able to use the internet, according to the monitoring group NetBlocks.

Only "regime apparatchiks are allowed online," NetBlocks said.

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'You know the drill': Iran takes on Trump on social media

America's poster-in-chief has a new challenger. While most Iranians are barred from the internet, one of th...

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