From The Sports Desk: Venezuela shows why World Baseball Classic matters

Before we turn our full attention to March Madness, baseball had its own knockout tournament to settle this week, the World Baseball Classic.

Before we turn our full attention to March Madness, baseball had its own knockout tournament to settle this week, the World Baseball Classic. In the final last night, Venezuela upset Team USA 3-2 on a ninth-inning double from Eugenio Suárez.

Our Rohan Nadkarni also evaluated six players — three men and three women — who could come to define this year’s NCAA Tournament. The first-round games start tomorrow, and we’ll be live-blogging all the action, from the 12:15 p.m. tipoff through the nightcap, so come back for our real-time analysis at NBC News.

Eugenio Suárez #7 of Team Venezuela reacts after hitting an RBI double against Team U.S. during the ninth inning at loanDepot park on March 17, 2026 in Miami, FL.Megan Briggs / Getty ImagesAaron Judge, the Yankees star and Team USA captain, sparked an online debate this week when he said the World Baseball Classic was “bigger and better than the World Series,” given the “passion that these fans have, representing their country.” (Other players later echoed similar sentiments.)

Lots of people weighed in, including Derek Jeter, the former Yankee captain who said on Fox, “I think the people that say ‘it’s bigger than the World Series’ never played in a World Series.”

Don’t tell that to Venezuela.