As the confetti falls on the hardwood floors of the Finals Fours in both Phoenix and Indianapolis, it will mark a bittersweet yet joyful moment.

UCLA took home its first women’s NCAA championship in program history on Sunday after a dominant 79-51 win over South Carolina. Michigan joined the Bruins on Monday night after defeating UConn 69-63 in the men’s championship game to cap off a tournament to remember.

March Madness produced plenty of stunning moments that defined the 2026 edition of the college basketball masterpiece, setting it apart from other NCAA tournaments in past years.

Multiple upsets, miscommunication and late-game mistakes. Nail-biting situations that were inches away from a bracket buster. And, of course, the fans who stood out with their main character energy in the stands for their team — or perhaps, multiple.

But as much as team personnel and fans yearn to reverse time to relive those priceless moments, there were lenses on the sideline that froze the excitement-filled seconds.

Relive the intensity of March Madness with a look back at some of the best tournament-defining moments through the lenses.

James Rodriguez‘s club have denied rumours the Colombia midfielder has a potentially fatal muscle-wasting condition.

The 34-year-old former Everton player was in hospital for three days after suffering with “severe dehydration” following his country’s friendly defeat to France in Maryland, United States on March 29.

Colombia’s football federation had revealed he had been in a US hospital for a problem “not related to musculoskeletal injuries” and not “linked to the development of his football activities.”

Rumours on social media claimed he was suffering from rhabdomyolysis, a rare condition which causes muscles to disintegrate and can potentially lead to fatal kidney damage.

But his club side Minnesota United said in a statement on Monday night: “The club and our medical professionals can unequivocally state there has been no clinical or laboratory evidence of rhabdomyolysis.

“We respectfully ask members of the media and the public to refrain from further speculation regarding James’ health. Any additional updates will be communicated directly by the club through official channels.”

Rodriguez was substituted in the 63rd minute of the defeat to France, with the Colombian Football Federation saying in a statement on April 2 he had “presented with severe dehydration” the day after the match and was in hospital for 72 hours “for preventative and recovery monitoring.”

Minnesota have added that James had IV fluid therapy before being discharged and was back at the club’s training ground on Monday for “a supervised return-to-activity session”.

The club statement added: “His reintegration into full team training will follow the protocols established by the club’s medical department and will be guided entirely by his clinical progress.”

Rodriguez’s career has include stops at Porto, Monaco, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, while he had a one-year spell at Everton for the 2020-21 campaign.

Rodriguez, who has played at two World Cups for his country, joined Major League Soccer side Minnesota United on a short-term deal in February.

The 27-year-old clocked 48.39 seconds to secure Australian Open title

Kyle Chalmers surges to 100m freestyle gold, setting sights on Olympic relay glory in 2028. Photo: REUTERS/FILE

SYDNEY:

Kyle Chalmers mowed down his rivals to take the 100 metres freestyle crown at the Australian Open swimming championships on Monday before revealing his desire to finally land an Olympic sprint relay gold in 2028.
The 27-year-old South Australian has only one Olympic gold in ‌his bumper collection of medals — the 100m title he won a decade ago as a teenager in Rio de Janeiro. The former world champion has two bronzes and a silver in the 4×100 relay from his three Olympics but would like nothing better than to stun hosts the United States in their own backyard in Los Angeles.
“I’d love a gold medal in a relay,” Chalmers told Code Sports ⁠after winning the blue riband sprint in 48.39 seconds.
“To go to a fourth Olympics and get a gold medal in that relay that would be, for me, the ultimate success at this point.
“And I say that truthfully and honestly, I love that relay and if we were able to win it, I think it would be amazing.”
Chalmers believes the inclusion of 50m world record holder Cam McEvoy on the Australia team would be a massive boost to their hopes of wresting away the title from the Americans, who have won it at the last three Games.
McEvoy has not swum relays for the last five years and Chalmers ‌said he ⁠would be prepared to give up the anchor leg if it would tempt the 31-year-old back into the team event.
“If it was to work out, I feel like we would be a very good chance of beating America at their home Olympics, which on night number one … would set the team up for an amazing week in the pool,” ⁠Chalmers added.
Most of the swimmers at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre are more immediately concerned with showing their form ahead of this year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the Pan Pacific Championships which follow in California.
World champion Mollie O’Callaghan took ⁠out the women’s 100m title in 52.66 seconds on Monday, while Olympic champion and world record holder Kaylee McKeown clocked two minutes, 5.66 seconds to win the 200m backstroke.
Former world champion Sam Short took out ⁠the men’s 400m freestyle in 3:42.53, nearly four seconds ahead of Paris Olympics silver medallist Elijah Winnington (3:46.36).
The championships continue until Wednesday. The Australian trials for the Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships take place from June 7 to 13 at Sydney’s Olympic Park.