d Page 445 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

SMU avoids collapse, holds off No. 17 Arizona at Holiday Bowl
T.J. Harden ran for two touchdowns, Kevin Jennings amassed 278 yards through the air and SMU defeated No. 17 Arizona 24-19 to win the Holiday Bowl on Friday night in San Diego.,SMU (9-4) was ahead 24-0 at halftime and had to overcome Jennings' three second-half interceptions to pick up its first bow...

Contending for NFC's No. 2 seed, Eagles seek familiar sweep of Commanders
The NFC East champion Philadelphia Eagles will attempt to sweep the visiting Washington Commanders for the sixth time in nine seasons on Sunday afternoon.,The Eagles (11-5) won both meetings with Washington (4-12) in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2023 and registered a 29-18 victory two weeks ago in Lan...

Ebuka Okorie nets 28 as Stanford upsets No. 16 Louisville
Ebuka Okorie scored 28 points for host Stanford, which scored its first win over a ranked opponent in more than two years Friday with an 80-76 upset of No. 16 Louisville in an Atlantic Coast Conference showdown., ,Held to just seven points in a disappointing 47-40 loss to Notre Dame on Tuesday, the...

Deni Avdija scores 34 as Blazers extend Pelicans' misery
Deni Avdija scored 34 points and dished 11 assists, and the Portland Trail Blazers sent the host New Orleans Pelicans to a sixth consecutive loss with 122-109 decision on Friday.,Avdija buoyed the Blazers for much of the first half, having scored almost half of Portland's points deep into the second...

Matas Buzelis' all-around effort boosts Bulls past Magic
Matas Buzelis scored 21 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished seven assists as the host Chicago Bulls defeated the Orlando Magic 121-114 on Friday.,Kevin Huerter added 20 points and Nikola Vucevic and Jalen Smith both notched double-doubles for Chicago, which won its second game in a row and impr...

Late second-half spurt pushes Oregon past Maryland
Missing one of its top scorers and floor general, Oregon posted a 64-54 win over Maryland on Friday night in College Park, Md., picking up its first Big Ten win of the season.,A late second-half 7-0 run was key for the Ducks (8-6, 1-2 Big Ten) in building a 10-point lead with 4:04 to play. Takai Sim...

Wizards breeze past Nets as win streak reaches 4
Justin Champagnie scored 20 points off the bench on Friday to help the Washington Wizards coast to a 119-99 victory over the visiting Brooklyn Nets.,Alex Sarr had 19 points and five blocks, CJ McCollum added 17 points and Tre Johnson and Marvin Bagley III chipped in 12 points apiece for Washington, ...

QB returnees: CJ Bailey remaining at NC State for 2026 season
Quarterback CJ Bailey is returning to North Carolina State for his junior season in 2026, he announced Friday on social media, becoming the first of several starting quarterbacks to reveal their intention of sticking with their current teams.,Longtime Kansas State starting quarterback Avery Johnson ...

'It's on now': Minnesota locking in for Big Ten play, faces Northwestern
Minnesota coach Niko Medved does not have to worry about giving a big pep talk to his team heading into this weekend.,That's because the calendar has flipped to 2026, and every game from now on will come against a Big Ten Conference opponent.,"It's on now," Medved said. "We're playing the best leagu...

Islanders face Maple Leafs yearning for more good news
The second day of 2026 went much better than the first for the New York Islanders.,The Islanders hope their second game of the calendar year goes better than the first on Saturday night, when New York faces the Toronto Maple Leafs in a battle of Eastern Conference rivals in Elmont, N.Y.,Both teams w...

Steven Stamkos, Predators take aim at rising Flames
Though Steven Stamkos was held off the scoresheet in the Nashville Predators' 4-1 road loss to the Seattle Kraken on Thursday, he has looked more like his old self recently.,Going into the Predators' game at the Calgary Flames on Saturday night, Stamkos has 10 goals and five assists in his last 11 g...

Hurricanes dealing with "obvious" deficiencies as Avalanche arrive
The Carolina Hurricanes will hit the regular season's midway point Saturday night with a good number of concerns going into a matchup with the Colorado Avalanche in Raleigh, N.C.,While the Hurricanes boast one of the Eastern Conference's best records at 24-13-3, there have been recent malfunctions. ...

Union transfer defensive stalwart Kai Wagner to Birmingham City
After seven seasons anchoring Philadelphia's back line, the Union transferred defender Kai Wagner to Birmingham City in the EFL Championship on Friday.,Wagner, a 28-year-old Germany native who stacked up eight goals and 56 assists during his Union tenure, helped Philadelphia finish first in the MLS ...

Texas, Mississippi State need to show improvement in SEC play
Based on their NET rankings through nonconference play, both Texas and Mississippi State need to do significant work in the SEC if they intend to return to the NCAA Tournament.,The Longhorns (9-4) and Bulldogs (8-5) look to get their SEC campaigns started on the right foot when they square off on Sa...

Colorado, Arizona State both in mini-funks entering Big 12 play
Colorado and Arizona State enter Saturday's Big 12 opener at Tempe, Ariz., with both teams coming off consecutive losses, including humbling defeats at home in their last outings.,Colorado (10-3) lost to Stanford 77-68 in Phoenix on Dec. 20 before falling to Northern Colorado 86-81 on Sunday in Boul...

Brayden Schenn's late dagger helps Blues down Golden Knights
Brayden Schenn scored the winning goal with 1:33 left to lift the St. Louis Blues past the visiting Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 on Friday afternoon.,Alexey Toropchenko and Oskar Sundqvist had a goal and an assist for the Blues, who snapped a two-game losing streak.,Justin Faulk also scored for St. Loui...

Could James Nnaji's debut come when Baylor visits TCU?
All eyes will be on James Nnaji when Baylor travels to TCU to open Big 12 play on Saturday in Fort Worth, Texas.,The Bears (10-2) created a stir when they signed Nnaji, the 31st overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, on Christmas Eve. Coach Scott Drew did not specify when Nnaji would be available but i...

Texas State romps past Rice at Armed Forces Bowl
Brad Jackson threw for 173 yards and accounted for four touchdowns as Texas State walloped Rice 41-10 in the Armed Forces Bowl on Friday in Fort Worth, Texas.,Jackson completed 17 of 24 passes with three scores for the Bobcats (7-6), who finished the season with a four-game winning streak. He added ...

Devils, Mammoth look to build off wins for early 2026 momentum
The Utah Mammoth look to start 2026 with two straight wins as they visit the New Jersey Devils for a Saturday matinee in Newark, N.J.,Dylan Guenther tallied four points and his first NHL hat trick as the Mammoth, who ended 2025 with two straight losses, cruised to a 7-2 victory against the host New ...

Lightning reward D Charle-Edouard D’Astous with 1-year extension
The Tampa Bay Lightning signed defenseman Charle-Edouard D'Astous to a one-year, one-way contract extension worth $875,000 on Friday.,A 27-year-old rookie, D'Astous has totaled three goals and 13 points in 33 games while averaging 19:05 in ice time.,D'Astous originally signed with the Lightning in M...