North American

Top Seeds Kentucky, Kansas Advance, Georgetown Loses on First Day of NCAA The Big East has a big headache halfway through the first round of the men’s national college basketball tournament.

Rafael Nadal Defeats Berdych, Reaches Semifinal at Indian Wells Tennis Third-seeded Rafael Nadal of Spain advanced to the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) win over Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic.

Mets, Marlins to Play 3-Game June Series in Puerto Rico's Bithorn Stadium The New York Mets and Florida Marlins will play a three-game Major League Baseball series in June at Puerto Rico’s Hiram Bithorn Stadium.

Norway's CEOs Race Inmates in `Dead Hard' Annual Cross Country Ski Event The Birkebeiner, Norway’s annual cross-country ski race, is attracting a record turnout, with chief executive officers and prison inmates lining up among tomorrow’s 16,150 participants.

Tiger Woods Masters Windfall Nets AT&T, IBM 43% Gain in Advertising Punch Tiger Woods’s return to golf at the Masters Tournament will give sponsors like AT&T Inc. an unexpected boost from their ad dollars, lifting the value of their TV spots by 43 percent, according to a media analyst’s estimate.

Today's NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Results The scoreboard for today’s first round of the National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament:

New York Rangers-New York Islanders NHL Game to Be Telecast in 3-D The New York Rangers and Islanders will become the first National Hockey League teams to face off in 3-D at Madison Square Garden on March 24.

Janitor Jock Proud to Mop Floors He Once Ruled: Scott Soshnick Commentary Syracuse University boasts an impressive collection of distinguished alumni. Politicians, authors, journalists and, yes, athletes.

Merrill Intern Skips Brackets to Take NCAA Basketball Court for Vanderbilt Joe Duffy is a budding financial adviser with no intention of participating in any college basketball tournament pools. He’s playing instead.