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Hickman scores 20 points and No. 17 Gonzaga beats San Francisco 89-77 in WCC semifinal

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Hickman scores 20 points and No. 17 Gonzaga beats San Francisco 89-77 in WCC semifinal


LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nolan Hickman scored 20 points and No. 17 Gonzaga pulled away in the second half to beat San Francisco 89-77 on Monday night and extend its streak to 27 years of making the West Coast Conference Tournament title game.

The Bulldogs will play No. 21 Saint Mary’s on Tuesday night for the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, though the loser will make the 68-team field as an at-large team.

All five Gonzaga starters scored in double figures. Ben Gregg and Anton Watson each scored 17 points, and Ryan Nembhard had 16.

Gregg was especially hot in the second half. After scoring three points in the first half and missing all three 3-pointers, he made all four from long range after halftime and scored 14 points.

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His teammates “gave me all the confidence in the world to keep on shooting it,” Gregg said. “So I let it fly and finally made a couple and it was a good feeling.”

Malik Thomas led USF (23-10) with 22 points, and Marcus Williams scored 17.

“This is not what we signed up for,” Dons coach Chris Gerlufsen said of the loss. “I’m super proud of my team, though, the things they’ve done for our program this year. They’re not even cognizant of that, which is fine. By myself and our staff, just incredibly grateful to be their coach.”

Gonzaga will make its 30th appearance in the conference championship game and go for its 22nd title, fifth in a row and 11th in 12 years. Only Saint Mary’s in 2019 interrupted the run.

The Zags (25-6) also extended their national record of consecutive 25-win seasons to 17.

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They have won nine straight games this season and 14 of 15, quieting the early talk of what was wrong with a program that has advanced to at least the Sweet 16 of every NCAA Tournament since 2015.

Coach Mark Few said a number of factors led to the early start in which Gonzaga lost three games in December — a tough Maui Invitational field, incorporating a mix of new players into the lineup and learning to play without Drew Timme, last season’s WCC player of the year.

“I think what was a little bit underrated was how much change,” Few said. “We lost an icon of a player in Drew Timme in more ways than one. Just the swag he had carried us through a lot of moments, so we had to figure out ways not only offensively, but defensively.”

The numbers back up that the Bulldogs remain a dangerous team. Gonzaga entered this game leading the WCC in field-goal percentage, scoring margin, scoring, blocked shots and assists. The Bulldogs were in the top six nationally in three of those categories.

The Dons, however, put up a fight early. They took a 35-27 lead late in the first half before Gonzaga roared back with an 11-point run. Jonathan Mogbo’s bucket at the buzzer brought USF within a point at halftime.

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Gregg’s 3-point shooting helped Gonzaga separate itself in the second half. The Bulldogs’ 12-2 run put them up 63-47 with 13:35 remaining, and there was little mystery in the outcome after that.

Gonzaga has taken the drama out of this series in general, having beaten the Dons 30 consecutive times, including three times this season.

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USF: Gerlufsen said he played the percentages by focusing his defense on Gonzaga big man Graham Ike. The strategy worked to a degree. Ike entered the game averaging 16.9 points and 7.3 rebounds, but was held to 10 and four. The problem for the Dons is Gonzaga’s shooters stepped up to make 11 of 20 3-pointers, the Bulldogs’ third-highest total this season.

Gonzaga: The Bulldogs are a six-seed in the NCAA Tournament, according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, but a victory over Saint Mary’s can buttress their hard for a higher position. Gonzaga has a good case. The NCAA’s NET rankings places the Zags at No. 16, and they’re 15th in Kenpom.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball





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San Francisco, CA

Giants scratch Rafael Devers from lineup with tight hamstring

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Giants scratch Rafael Devers from lineup with tight hamstring


Friday, February 27, 2026 9:48PM

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The San Francisco Giants scratched slugger Rafael Devers from the starting lineup because of a tight hamstring, keeping him out of a spring training game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday.

The three-time All-Star and 2018 World Series champion is starting his first full season with the Giants after they acquired him in a trade with the Boston Red Sox last year.

Devers hit 35 home runs and had 109 RBIs last season, playing 90 games with San Francisco and 73 in Boston. He signed a $313.5 million, 10-year contract in 2023 with the Red Sox.

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He was 20 when he made his major league debut in Boston nine years ago, and he helped them win the World Series the following year.

Devers, who has 235 career homers and 747 RBIs, led Boston in RBIs for five straight seasons and has finished in the top 20 in voting for AL MVP five times.

Copyright © 2026 ESPN Internet Ventures. All rights reserved.



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San Francisco, CA

San Francisco court clerks strike for better staffing, training

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San Francisco court clerks strike for better staffing, training


The people cheering and banging drums on the front steps of San Francisco’s Hall of Justice are usually quietly keeping the calendars and paperwork on track for the city’s courts.

Those court clerks are now hitting the picket lines, citing the need for better staffing and more training. It’s the second time the group has gone on strike since 2024, and this strike may last a lot longer than the last one.

Defense attorneys, prosecutors and judges agree that court clerks are the engines that keep the justice system running. Without them, it all grinds to a slow crawl.

“You all run this ship like the Navy,” District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder said to a group of city clerks.

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The strike is essentially a continuation of an averted strike that occurred in October 2025.

“We’re not asking for private jets or unicorns,” Superior Court clerk employee Ben Thompson said. “We’re just asking for effective tools with which we can do our job and training and just more of us.”

Thompson said the training is needed to bring current employees up to speed on occasional changes in laws.

Another big issue is staffing, something that clerks said has been an ongoing issue since October 2024, the last time they went on a one-day strike.

Court management issued their latest statement on Wednesday, in which the court’s executive officer, Brandon Riley, said they have been at an impasse with the union since December.

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The statement also said Riley and his team has been negotiating with the union in good faith. He pointed out the tentative agreement the union came to with the courts in October 2025, but it fell apart when union members rejected it.

California’s superior courts are all funded by the state. In 2024, Sacramento cut back on court money by $97 million statewide due to overall budget concerns.

While there have been efforts to backfill those funds, they’ve never been fully restored.

Inside court on Thursday, the clerk’s office was closed, leaving the public with lots of unanswered questions. Attorneys and bailiffs described a slightly chaotic day in court.

Arraignments were all funneled to one courtroom and most other court procedures were funneled to another one. Most of those procedures were quickly continued.

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At the civil courthouse, while workers rallied outside, a date-stamping machine was set up inside so people could stamp their own documents and place them in locked bins.

Notices were also posted at the family law clinic and small claims courts, noting limited available services while the strike is in progress.

According to a union spokesperson, there has been no date set for negotiations to resume, meaning the courthouse logjams could stretch for days, weeks or more.



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San Francisco, CA

Which San Francisco Giants Prospects Are Real Depth vs. Marketing Names

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Which San Francisco Giants Prospects Are Real Depth vs. Marketing Names


The San Francisco Giants are likely to break camp with one of their top prospects on the 26-man roster. But they’re all getting plenty of work in camp.

The thing is, just because a prospect doesn’t make a 26-man opening day roster doesn’t mean they can’t help a Major League team at some point in the season. Others, for now, are working on developing talent.

In this exercise, five prospects that are part of Major League camp were selected to determine if they’re real depth this season or if they’re marketing names — for now. Marketing names can become real depth before one knows it, such as the first Giants prospect listed.

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Bryce Eldridge: Real Depth

San Francisco Giants Bryce Eldridge | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
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Eldridge has nothing left to prove at the minor league level after he was selected in the first round in the 2023 MLB draft. Back then, he was the classic example of a marketing name, one that creates buzz in the organization and with fans.

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But, after more than two years of development and a taste of the Majors, he’s real depth. He’s expected to make the opening day roster and share time at first base and designated hitter with Rafael Devers, one of the game’s most established sluggers.

On Wednesday, he hit his first spring training home run, one of three in the 13-12 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

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Blake Tidwell: Real Depth

Tennessee pitcher Blake Tidwell | Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Tidwell was acquired from the New York Mets in July in the Tyler Rogers trade. He only pitched in four games for the Mets, so he still has prospect status. But that MLB service time, combined with his early impressions in camp, make him real depth for a team that only has one or two spots available on the pitching staff.

Tidwell may not make the team out of camp for opening day. But he’s one of those prospects that could make his way to San Francisco during the season due to injury or underperformance. It’s an example of using the time in spring training wisely and paving the way for a future promotion.

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Will Bednar: Real Depth

Mississippi St. Bulldogs pitcher Will Bednar. | Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images
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The Giants have been waiting for their first-round pick in the 2021 MLB draft to pay off, and this might be the year that Will Bednar finally makes the jump to the Majors. He’s in Major League camp and he’s been converted into a reliever in the past couple of seasons.

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He went 2-3 with a 5.68 ERA in 38 games, his full season as a reliever. But he’s impressed the new coaching staff during camp and there’s enough buzz around him to consider him a potential call-up during the season. He’s in his fifth professional season so the Rule 5 draft is a consideration this coming offseason.

Parks Harber: Marketing Name

For now, the young third baseman is going to create a lot of buzz in the farm system in 2026, but he isn’t a threat to anyone’s job yet. Picked up in the Camilo Doval trade, he only has 102 minor league games under his belt after he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the New York Yankees. He got his first spring training hit on Wednesday. His career slash of .312/.413/.528 is encouraging but he hasn’t played higher than High-A Eugene.

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Bo Davidson: Marketing Name

San Francisco Giants left fielder Bo Davidson. | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images
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The Giants signed Davidson as an undrafted free agent and he’s starting to generate real buzz in spring training as a non-roster invitee. He’s not quite real depth yet because he has yet to play above Double-A Richmond. But the way he’s playing in the spring he should be at Sacramento sometime this season, which puts him in the position to be real depth.

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He’s hit well at every stop, but he showed off more power than ever last season. He hit a career-best 18 home runs and 70 RBI as he slashed .281/.376/.468. He played 42 games at Richmond last season.




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