c Page 231 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Maple Leafs, Panthers play out the string with youngsters
The Toronto Maple Leafs will host the Florida Panthers in something of an anticlimactic Saturday night bout.,The reigning Stanley Cup champion Panthers (37-38-4, 78 points) and their 2025 Eastern Conference semifinal victims find themselves at the bottom of the Atlantic Division with three games rem...

Birdie barrage gives Rory McIlroy largest 36-hole lead in Masters history
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Rory McIlroy's quest to become the fourth player to win consecutive Masters might turn into a 36-hole march toward history thanks to a late birdie barrage on Friday that gave him a record six-shot lead heading into the weekend at Augusta National.,McIlroy carded six birdies over his ...

Blue bloods Denver, Wisconsin clash in Frozen Four championship game
The first-ever Frozen Four played in Las Vegas culminates with historic blue bloods Denver and Wisconsin meeting for a national championship on Saturday.,The competitors have taken different paths to the ultimate game. Denver (28-11-3) carries 12-game winning and 16-game unbeaten streaks to be withi...

Rory McIlroy uses late birdie blitz to lead Masters by 6
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Rory McIlroy's quest to become only the fourth player to win consecutive Masters might have turned into a 36-hole march toward history thanks to a late birdie binge on Friday that gave him a six-shot lead heading into the weekend at Augusta National.,McIlroy carded six birdies over h...

Scorching-hot Habs look to squash Blue Jackets' playoff hopes
The free-falling Columbus Blue Jackets face a tall task to keep their playoff dreams alive during a road date with the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.,Columbus' hiring of coach Rick Bowness on Jan. 12 provided immediate dividends for the squad that was sitting in the bottom spot of the Metropolitan ...

Mirra Andreeva tops Sorana Cirstea to reach Linz semis
Top-seeded Mirra Andreeva served five aces while outlasting Romania's Sorana Cirstea 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-2 to reach the semifinals of the Upper Austria Ladies Linz on Friday at Linz, Austria.,Andreeva, 18, converted 5 of 7 break points against the fifth-seeded Cirstea, 36, who is in her last year on tou...

Buoyed by first playoff berth, Mammoth take on Eastern Conference-leading Canes
With a playoff spot locked up, the Utah Mammoth will look to extend their winning streak to six when they wrap up a three-game homestand against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday afternoon in Salt Lake City.,Nick Schmaltz and Dylan Guenther each had a goal and an assist, and Kailer Yamamoto and La...

Falcons pick up team option for star RB Bijan Robinson in 2027
The Atlanta Falcons exercised their fifth-year option for All-Pro running back Bijan Robinson for the 2027 season on Friday.,Robinson, 24, is coming off a stellar third season with the Falcons in 2025 when he set the franchise mark with 2,298 total yards from scrimmage, which led the NFL. He rushed ...

Bryan Reynolds' homer the difference in Pirates' defeat of Cubs
Bryan Reynolds hit a two-run home run, Carmen Mlodzinski threw 5 1/3 scoreless innings and the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 2-0 on Friday afternoon.,Facing Chicago starter Shota Imanaga, Pittsburgh didn't tally its first hit until the top of the seventh.,Cubs reliever Caleb Thie...

Tigers place Parker Meadows (arm) on injured list following outfield collision
The Detroit Tigers placed center fielder Parker Meadows on the 10-day injured list on Friday with a broken bone in his left arm sustained in a scary collision with a teammate during a loss at Minnesota on Thursday.,Meadows, 26, fractured the radius bone in his left arm as well as suffering a concuss...

Blues desperate for win over Blackhawks, help elsewhere to stay in contention
The St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks will each look to break out of a slump when the division rivals face off Saturday in Chicago.,The Blues (33-33-12, 78 points) have lost four of their past six games (2-3-1) after going 10-1-2 in their previous 13. That successful stretch saw St. Louis pull ...

Breaking bat: Mariners break Ichiro statue during reveal
An unveiling of their Ichiro Suzuki statue turned into a bad break for the Seattle Mariners on Friday. ,As a navy blue tarp was pulled back to reveal the bronze statue of Seattle's Hall of Fame right fielder, the bat in the right hand of the Ichiro likeness snapped just above the knuckles and remain...

Scottie Scheffler rues decision, poor swing that led to 74
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Scottie Scheffler had battled his way back from a poor start in the second round and was staring at a prime scoring opportunity on Friday when he made a decision that might have sunk his chances to win the 2026 Masters.,Scheffler dropped back to even par for the tournament with two b...

Five NHL teams could clinch playoff spots Saturday
Some further clarity about the NHL playoff picture could come Saturday.,Nine of the 16 postseason spots have been clinched. As many as five more could be clinched depending on results from the crowded slate of 15 games that kicks off the final weekend of the regular season.,In the Eastern Conference...

Reports: Kelsey Mitchell, Fever agree to $1.4M 'supermax' deal
Kelsey Mitchell carried the injury-ravaged Fever last season, and now Indiana is adding freight in the form of a landmark contract worth $1.4 million for the 2026 season, according to reports by ESPN and The Athletic.,Mitchell and the Fever, the only franchise she has played for since entering the l...

Broncos ownership buys reported 40% stake in Rockies
Denver Broncos owners Greg Penner and Carrie Walton Penner officially became minority owners of the Colorado Rockies on Friday.,Rockies chairman and CEO Dick Monfort and owner/general partner Charlie Monfort announced the agreement with the Penner Sports Group, a deal that has been approved by Major...

Justin Rose clubhouse leader at Masters; Rory McIlroy starts fast
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Justin Rose was one of several players to post strong rounds early in the second round Friday, with defending champ Rory McIlroy on the course and trying to put some distance between himself and his closest pursuers at the Masters.,Rose shot a 3-under-par round of 69 on Friday to tak...

Cal G Justin Pippen returns to Big Ten with transfer to Ohio State
Justin Pippen, the son of Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen, is transferring to Ohio State after a breakout season at Cal.,The guard announced the news on his Instagram account Friday. It's a return to the Big Ten on the opposite end of a rivalry for the rising junior, who signed with Michigan as a fresh...

Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner reach Monte Carlo semis
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner remained on a collision course with history-making victories in Friday's quarterfinals at the Monte-Carlo Masters.,Alcaraz cruised to a 6-3, 6-0 victory over No. 8 seed Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan in 63 minutes. It was the 300th career win for the top-seeded Spani...

Report: Aces finalizing 3-year deal with G Jewell Loyd
Three-time WNBA champion and six-time All-Star guard Jewell Loyd is close to signing a three-year contract with the Las Vegas Aces, ESPN reported on Friday.,Financial terms were not disclosed in the report.,Loyd, 32, played in a career-best 44 games in 2025 during her first season with Las Vegas, av...