The NBA has introduced a new program this season, sending referees to training camps to officiate scrimmages. This initiative aims to give officials extra practice and help teams understand how games will be called. Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers and others have praised the program, saying it helps build relationships between players, coaches, and officials in a less competitive environment. Coaches like Washington's Brian Keefe and Portland's Chauncey Billups have called it a great idea. The league believes this approach fosters respect for the game and improves communication. Coaches and players seem to appreciate the effort.

Fan favorite Alex Pereira dethroned Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 320, taking the light heavyweight championship with a first-round stoppage Saturday night. Pereira (13-3-0) floored Ankalaev (21-2-1) after hurting him with a huge right hand and quickly went to work using thunderous elbows during a ground-and-pound before referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the bout at the 1:20 mark. Pereira brought an end to Ankalaev’s 14-match unbeaten streak, while exacting revenge for a loss in the fighters’ first meeting in March.

The Atlantic Coast Conference is bringing TV viewers somewhere they've never been before: inside live replay reviews during college football games. The league and broadcast partner ESPN are now airing audio feeds of the in-game conversations between officials at the stadium and at the league's replay command center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The ACC has used it in seven games so far. It also will be used in Saturday night's matchup between No. 3 Miami and No. 18 Florida State on ABC. ESPN vice president of sports production Bryan Jaroch says he hopes to expand this to other conferences.

Aces coach Becky Hammon expressed frustration over the physicality in the WNBA playoffs semifinal series against the Fever. On Tuesday, the Aces won 90-68, evening the series. Hammon criticized the officiating, saying the physical play is out of control. Fever coach Stephanie White also voiced concerns, noting the high number of fouls disrupted the game's flow. Despite injuries, the Fever remain competitive. Hammon was also annoyed about using a challenge on an out-of-bounds call, saying it should have been an easy decision for the officials.

Major League Baseball will use robot umpires to call balls and strikes as part of a challenge system next season.

Caitlin Clark said referees couldn’t stop her Indiana Fever. The WNBA made her pay for it. The Fever’s star guard, who is sidelined for the postseason with a right groin injury, posted on social media that she was fined $200 for tweeting “Refs couldn’t stop us” after Indiana’s Game 2 win over Atlanta in the first round of the playoffs. Clark’s post was then quoted by fellow injured Fever teammate Sophie Cunningham, who was quick to offer her support to the young star. The WNBA typically doesn’t post when players are fined. The Fever open their best-of-five semifinal series against the Aces in Las Vegas on Sunday.

Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton sounded content to let others debate Sunday’s leverage call against linebacker Dondrea Tillman. Payton wanted no part of it. And neither did the rest of the Broncos. Tillman was flagged for leverage on a missed 60-yard field-goal attempt by the Colts' Spencer Shrader. The penalty allowed Shrader to kick again from 45 yards with no time left and the Colts won 29-28. Quarterback Bo Nix says the Broncos made plenty of mistakes that put the game in officials' hands. Payton didn't dispute that Tillman committed the infraction, which involves using another player to vault into the air.

At least 60 people were killed in an overnight rebel attack in eastern Congo, an official says.