By: Nick Kilcourse

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The South Florida women’s golf team looks to carry their spring momentum into Gainesville this weekend as they compete in the Gator Invitational, hosted by the University of Florida. The Bulls have posted their two best team scores this spring securing finishes of seventh and eleventh.

The 14-team field will consist of: Virginia (11), Ole Miss (15), Charlotte, Chattanooga, Eastern Michigan, Florida Atlantic, South Florida, Florida International, Florida, Jacksonville, Mercer, Michigan, South Alabama, Central Florida.

Junior Emma Kim enters her third consecutive tournament full of confidence aiming to build on her consistent performances this spring. After not competing in any fall events, Kim posted a score of 222 in both the PDI Intercollegiate and the Westbrook Invitational, improving her finish by 18 spots from the PDI to the Westbrook.

Both Leo Medeiros and Cherry Marley have been the consistent leaders for the Bulls throughout the season. They have combined for four top-10 finishes and seven top-25 finishes this season. With the strength at the top of the lineup and the emergence of the middle order, the Bulls have a promising recipe for success as they head into the latter part of the season.

The Bulls’ Gator Invitational lineup will consist of: Leo Medeiros, Cherry Marley, Alice Webb, Valentina Bosselmann and Emma Kim.

Stay up to date all weekend by following the action here. Be sure to follow the Bulls on Instagram.

ABOUT USF WOMEN’S GOLF
Tampa native AJ Newell, a former LPGA Tour Player and NCAA All-American, was named head coach of USF women’s golf by Vice President for Athletics Michael Kelly on June 3, 2024.

Newell will look over leadership of the Bulls’ program following a successful three-year stint as assistant coach at the University of Michigan, where she helped lead the Wolverines to three-straight NCAA Regional appearances, a 2022 Big Ten title, and the 2022 NCAA Championship Finals.

In the record-setting 2023-24 campaign, the Bulls won three times and finished in the top four in nine of 10 events. The three wins are the most in a season since four 2011-12. USF finished third in the American Athletic Conference Championship, which equals the best finish in the tournament in program history. In 2022-23 and 2023-24, the Bulls played in back-to-back NCAA Regionals for the first time since 2001-02. Senior standout Melanie Green, the AAC Conference Player of the Year in 2023-24, an all-conference performer in each of her four seasons, was named to the WGCA 2023-24 Division I All-American second team. Green qualified for the 2022 NCAA Regional as an individual and was named a 2023 All-American Honorable Mention. Green and the Bulls reached the NCAA Regional as a team in 2023, marking the program’s first postseason appearance in 11 years. Follow @USFWGolf on Twitter for the latest information concerning the program.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James is well on his way to rewriting every previous definition of basketball longevity, and the 40-year-old star is now racking up numbers the NBA has never seen before.

James became the first player to score 50,000 combined points in the regular season and postseason on Tuesday night, surpassing the mark with a 3-pointer early in the first quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers’ 136-115 win over New Orleans.

James finished with 34 points against the Pelicans after toppling another milestone in his unprecedented career.

“I mean, that’s a lot of points,” James said afterward, rubbing his beard in wonder. “Obviously, the first thing that comes to mind is where I’m from. Picking up the game when I was a little kid and having a love for the sport, and hoping that someday I’d be able to play at the highest level. I’ve been able to do that and really enjoy my career. So it’s definitely an honor. It’s pretty cool to see that.”

James already is the top scorer in NBA history in both the regular season and the playoffs. Maintaining a spectacular level of play midway through his record-tying 22nd season, he is pulling away from the other greats of the game: Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who played 20 seasons, is a now-distant second with 44,149 combined points.

James got his milestone 3-pointer off an assist by Luka Doncic, a trivia tidbit that pleased both superstars. Doncic’s arrival in last month’s seismic trade with the Dallas Mavericks has invigorated both James and the Lakers, who look like championship contenders with a seven-game winning streak and 17 victories in their last 20 games.

James got his milestone 3-pointer off an assist by Luka Doncic, a trivia tidbit that pleased both superstars. Doncic’s arrival in last month’s seismic trade with the Dallas Mavericks has invigorated both James and the Lakers, who look like championship contenders with a seven-game winning streak and 17 victories in their last 20 games.

“It’s amazing, watching him do this stuff at this age,” said Doncic, who had 30 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds against New Orleans. “It’s just unbelievable, that 50K points. I can’t even explain how insane that is. He might get to 70K. You never know.”

The Lakers recognized the milestone at the next timeout, with public address announcer Lawrence Tanter saying: “Ladies and gentlemen, we all have just witnessed history.” James acknowledged the standing ovation with several waves from the bench.

James is tied with Vince Carter for the most seasons played in NBA history. But while nearly every other NBA player who lasted to his late 30s finished at a fraction of his peak powers, James shows no signs of decline in his 40s.

He was named the NBA’s Western Conference player of the month earlier Tuesday after he averaged 29.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.2 steals in February while playing more than 35 minutes per game for the Lakers, who went 9-2 to surge into second place in the West.

With their victory over the Pelicans, the Lakers improved to 11-2 since acquiring Doncic.

James has played in 1,548 regular-season games, trailing only Robert Parish (1,611) and Abdul-Jabbar (1,560). If he stays healthy and elects to return for a record 23rd season, he will likely surpass Parish next winter.

James has also played in 287 postseason games, the most in NBA history. He became the league’s career playoff scoring leader on May 25, 2017, when he surpassed Michael Jordan’s total of 5,987 during the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Eastern Conference finals game at Boston.

James then became the top scorer in regular-season history on Feb. 7, 2023, when he topped Abdul-Jabbar’s record of 38,387 points during the Lakers’ game against Oklahoma City.

James’ prolific scoring is due in large part to his metronomic consistency. With his performance against the Pelicans, he has scored at least 10 points in 1,278 consecutive games since Jan. 6, 2007 — by far the longest such streak in NBA history.

James’ player of the month award for February was his 41st, extending his own league record. He is also the oldest player to win the award, surpassing a 37-year-old Karl Malone in November 2000.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Mets led the major leagues in spending for the third straight season in 2024 and have totaled $1.36 billion in payroll and luxury tax over four years under owner Steve Cohen, exceeding what the Marlins, Pirates and Rays each have spent on players in the past 21 seasons.

The Mets established a $333.3 million regular payroll record, according to figures finalized by Major League Baseball this week and obtained by The Associated Press. That topped the previous mark of $319.5 million set by the Mets in 2023, when they became the first team to exceed $300 million.

New York totaled $430.4 million last year in payroll and luxury tax ($97.1 million) to set a cost record. The Mets paid $420 million the year before, including a $100.8 million tax.

Since Cohen bought the team from the Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz families in November 2020, the Mets have totaled $1.13 billion in payroll and $228.7 million in tax. And that was even before he lavished a record $765 million, 15-year contract on outfielder Juan Soto that starts this season.

“One thing I’ve learned a long time ago, if you want something that’s amazing, it’s going to be uncomfortable,” Cohen said in December.

The Mets became the first team to lead in payrolls in three straight seasons since the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2014-17.

The Yankees were second among regular payrolls at a team record $310.9 million. The World Series champion Dodgers were third at $270.8 million and Philadelphia fourth at $249.1 million.

Ten teams topped $200 million, down from a record 11 in 2023. A record-low four teams were below $100 million, a decrease from six in 2023.

Because $68 million of his $70 million salary is deferred until from 2034-43, Shohei Ohtani totals $28.2 million in salary toward payroll plus $1.03 million in non-cash compensation.

Oakland had the lowest payroll at $66.5 million in its final season before moving to Sacramento for at least three seasons before a planned shift to Las Vegas. Pittsburgh was 29th at $87.3 million.

Oakland, Pittsburgh and Tampa are the only teams never to finish with a $100 million payroll.

The 12 teams that reached the postseason combined to spend $2.37 billion, 46% of payrolls, including $1.02 billion (19.9%) for the four teams in the League Championship Series. The Dodgers and AL champion Yankees combined for $644.2 million (12.5%).

Adding payroll and luxury tax, the four LCS teams combined for 23.5% of total spending ($1.29 billion of $5.47 billion) and the Yankees and Dodgers for 13.7% ($747.3 million).

Arizona raised payroll the most, by $48 million to $177 million after winning the NL pennant, and the Chicago Cubs were the second-most, by $34 million to $230 million.

San Diego cut payroll by $85 million to $172 million in 2024 following the death of owner Peter Seidler. The Los Angeles Angels dropped $51 million to $179 million and Minnesota by $34 million to $133 million.

Regular payrolls are based on 2024 salaries, earned bonuses and prorated shares of signing bonuses and non-cash compensation for 40-man rosters. Deferred salaries and bonus payments are discounted to present-day values, and termination pay, option buyouts and cash transactions among clubs are accounted for.

MLB calculated the average salary at $4,592,147, while the players’ association, using a slightly different methodology, pegged it at $4,655,366.

Luxury tax is based on payrolls with average annual values that include benefits and the pre-arbitration bonus poo l.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb