Sunday’s sports calendar is chalk full of can’t miss events.  The final round of The Players Championship closes one of golf’s biggest non-major tournaments at TPC Sawgrass. NASCAR’s Cup Series heads to Las Vegas for its fifth points race of the season. College basketball reaches Selection Sunday, with the men’s field revealed at 6 p.m. Eastern and the women’s bracket at 8 p.m. Eastern. Baseball adds an international elimination game with the United States facing the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic semifinals, while the NBA and NHL both feature games with direct playoff implications.

The Players Championship Final Round
The first stop belongs to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, where The Players Championship wraps up at TPC Sawgrass. This tournament carries a $25 million purse and sits near the top of the PGA Tour calendar every year, which is why its Sunday finish takes priority on a March sports schedule. Ludvig Åberg entered the final round at 13-under, three shots ahead of Michael Thorbjornsen, and the last pairing is scheduled to tee off at 1:40 p.m. Eastern. NBC and Peacock carry the main television window from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern, with ESPN+ streaming earlier coverage beginning at 7:30 a.m. Eastern.

What is on the line is straightforward: one of the biggest titles outside the majors, a signature payday, and momentum heading toward Augusta. NBC Sports noted that Rory McIlroy is the defending champion and that Scottie Scheffler won this event in 2023 and 2024, the first consecutive champion in tournament history. Even with Åberg starting Sunday in front, the board still includes major names and late pressure at one of the tour’s most demanding finishes.

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NASCAR Cup Series at Las Vegas
The second marquee event is the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. NASCAR lists the race for 4 p.m. Eastern on FS1, HBO Max, PRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Las Vegas is the first traditional 1.5-mile track on the 2026 Cup schedule, giving teams an early measuring stick before more intermediate-track races arrive later in the season. Christopher Bell starts on pole after qualifying at 187.156 mph, with Joe Gibbs Racing sweeping the top three spots through Bell, Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs.

Why it matters on a league-wide level is that this is still the early phase of the Cup season, when contenders are sorting out speed that can translate for months. NASCAR’s own preview frames Las Vegas as the first of nine traditional 1.5-mile races, which makes Sunday more than another weekly stop. Results here help establish who has sustainable pace on a track type that remains central to the championship chase.

Selection Sunday and Conference Title Day
College basketball owns the evening. The NCAA will announce the men’s 68-team bracket at 6 p.m. Eastern on CBS, and the women’s bracket follows at 8 p.m. Eastern on ESPN. That alone makes Sunday one of the most consequential dates on the sport’s calendar because it decides seeds, matchups, bubble outcomes and travel paths for the national tournaments.

Before the reveal shows, there are still conference championships to settle. Michigan and Purdue meet in the Big Ten Tournament final at 3:30 p.m. Eastern at the United Center in Chicago on CBS. Dayton and VCU play for the Atlantic 10 title at 1 p.m. Eastern at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, also on CBS. Those games matter because conference trophies are at stake and, for some teams, automatic bids remain the cleanest path into the NCAA field.

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World Baseball Classic Semifinal
Baseball’s biggest game Sunday is not in spring training. It is the World Baseball Classic semifinal between Team USA and the Dominican Republic at 8 p.m. Eastern on FOX. FOX Sports lists the game in Miami, and Reuters confirmed the matchup after the United States advanced past Canada and the Dominican Republic reached the semifinals by beating Korea.

The stakes are simple and immediate: a trip to the championship game. That is enough on its own, but this matchup also carries major-star weight. FOX’s preview centers the U.S. lineup around Aaron Judge and the pitching assignment around Paul Skenes, while the Dominican side arrives as one of the deepest rosters in the tournament. For baseball fans, this is the clearest must-watch event on Sunday night.

NBA Games With Seeding Pressure
The NBA’s top game this afternoon is Minnesota at Oklahoma City. ESPN lists the tip at 1 p.m. Eastern on ABC from Paycom Center. The Thunder enter at 52-15 and have won seven straight, while the Timberwolves arrive at 41-26 and sit in the crowded West playoff picture. The season series favors Minnesota 2-1, which gives Sunday’s meeting added value as a late-season seeding game.

Tonight, Golden State visits New York at 8 p.m. Eastern at Madison Square Garden on NBC and Peacock. ESPN shows the Knicks at 43-25 and third in the East, with the Warriors at 32-34 and ninth in the West. That puts two separate postseason races in play at once: New York is protecting home-court position near the top of its conference, and Golden State is trying to avoid slipping further in the play-in picture.

NHL Games to Track
The NHL’s most relevant afternoon matchup is St. Louis at Winnipeg at 3 p.m. Eastern on NHL Network. Winnipeg’s win over Colorado on Saturday moved the Jets within five points of a Western Conference wild-card berth. Sunday’s game matters because the Jets are still in the race and the Blues are part of the same conference traffic.

Later, Toronto visits Minnesota at 7:30 p.m. Eastern on TNT, truTV and HBO Max. Toronto has lost nine of its last 10 games while playing through the fallout from Auston Matthews’ injury. Minnesota, meanwhile, remains in the stronger position in the standings, so the game carries different forms of urgency for each side.

 

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