d Page 56 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Canadiens attack stuns Hurricanes in Eastern finals opener
Juraj Slafkovsky scored twice in a three-point outing as the visiting Montreal Canadiens rode a four-goal first period to beat the Carolina Hurricanes 6-2 Thursday in Raleigh, N.C., in the opening clash of the Eastern Conference finals.,Cole Caufield and Phillip Danault both scored once and added an...

Knicks ride third-period explosion to 2-0 lead over Cavaliers
Josh Hart bounced back from a quiet series opener by scoring nine of the New York Knicks' 18 consecutive third-quarter points Thursday night, when the hosts took a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals by beating the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers 109-93.,Hart finished with 26 points in Game 2 for...

Valkyries dominate Liberty, continue hot start to season
Golden State held host New York to a season-low in points as the Valkyries defeated the Liberty 87-70 on Thursday night.,The game was a matchup between the WNBA's top-scoring team (New York, 100.0 average) and the league's best defensive squad (Golden State, 76.0). In four previous games, New York's...

Patrick Bailey, Brayan Rocchio help Guardians sweep Tigers
Patrick Bailey had a solo homer while Brayan Rocchio had three hits, including two doubles, as the visiting Cleveland Guardians won their sixth straight game, a 3-1 triumph over the slumping Detroit Tigers on Thursday.,Daniel Scheemann and Jose Ramirez knocked in the other runs for the Guardians, wh...

Braves' Ronald Acuna Jr. leaves game with pain in thumb
The Atlanta Braves pulled right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. in the sixth inning of their Thursday game against the Miami Marlins due to a thumb injury.,The Braves posted on social media that Acuna was taken out "as a precaution with pain in his left thumb.",Prior to being replaced by Eli White, Acuna w...

Rams reward Matthew Stafford with 1-year, $55 million extension
The Los Angeles Rams signed quarterback Matthew Stafford to a one-year extension on Thursday, according to multiple reports.,The Rams now have the NFL's reigning Most Valuable Player under contract through the 2027 season. The 38-year-old's new deal is reportedly worth $55 million and can increase t...

Surging division leaders clash when Dodgers visit Brewers
The visiting Los Angeles Dodgers will turn to left-hander Justin Wrobleski to slow down the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday in the opener of a three-game series between surging division leaders.,Wrobleski (6-1, 2.49 ERA) will be opposed by right-hander Logan Henderson (1-1, 3.50 ERA) in the first meetin...

Golden Knights 'not fazed' by favored Avs, bidding for 2-0 series lead
The Vegas Golden Knights did what Los Angeles and Minnesota couldn't in the first two rounds of the playoffs -- beat the Colorado Avalanche on their ice.,Vegas stole Game 1 of the Western Conference finals with a 4-2 win Wednesday night. The Golden Knights will try to sweep the road trip when the te...

Banged-up stars in focus as Thunder, Spurs prepare for Game 3
It has been just two games, but the Western Conference finals between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder have turned into a battle of attrition.,The Spurs came into the series without starting point guard De'Aaron Fox, who suffered an ankle sprain in Game 4 of the conference semifinal s...

Report: Status for Thunder's Jalen Williams (hamstring) is game-to-game
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jalen Williams' status in the Western Conference finals is game-to-game while he is evaluated daily for a left hamstring injury, ESPN reported on Thursday.,Williams is getting treatment after a second injury to the same hamstring in less than a month. He started but playe...

Scott Hend, vying for statement Champions win, leads in Morocco
Australian Scott Hend is off to another strong start on the PGA Tour Champions, shooting a 7-under-par 66 to take the first-round lead at the Trophy Hassan II on Thursday in Rabat, Morocco.,Hend finished the front nine at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam with four straight birdies after holing a birdie at No...

Five-star recruit Kameron Mercer picks Cincinnati
Five-star basketball recruit Kameron Mercer announced on Thursday his commitment to play for his hometown Cincinnati Bearcats and also reclassify for the Class of 2027.,The 6-foot-5 sophomore wing, who led Princeton High School this past season to an Ohio state championship, plans to graduate a year...

ATP roundup: Tommy Paul, Aleksandar Kovacevic make Hamburg semis
Americans will comprise half the semifinals of the Hamburg Open, as No. 6 seed Tommy Paul defeated Germany's Daniel Altmaier 6-2, 7-5, and lucky loser Aleksandar Kovacevic extended his run in a three-set win over Argentina's Camilo Ugo Carabelli on Thursday.,One day after upsetting top-seeded Felix ...

Jarren Duran heats up for Red Sox going into home series vs. Twins
After both teams banked series wins earlier this week, the Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins open a three-game set in Boston with a battle of young left-handed pitchers on Friday night.,The Red Sox return home with momentum following their second series sweep of the season and this month, taking al...

WTA roundup: Victoria Mboko beats Leylah Fernandez in all-Canadian affair
Top-seeded Victoria Mboko converted 24 of 29 first-serve points (82.8%) to record a 6-4, 6-4 victory over No. 7 seed Leylah Fernandez in an all-Canadian affair to reach the semifinals of the Internationaux de Strasbourg on Thursday in France.,Both players had serving issues as Mboko had five double ...

McLaren CEO expects Red Bull, others to be interested in Oscar Piastri
Although Oscar Piastri has a long-term contract with McLaren Racing, Red Bull would pursue the 25-year-old driver if four-time champion Max Verstappen departs at the end of this season, Autosport reported earlier this month.,That a team would have interest in Piastri, who is in his fourth F1 season,...

Patrick Bailey, Brayan Rocchio help hot Guardians best Tigers
Patrick Bailey had a solo homer while Brayan Rocchio had three hits, including two doubles, and the visiting Cleveland Guardians won their sixth straight, a 3-1 triumph over the slumping Detroit Tigers on Thursday.,Daniel Scheemann and Jose Ramirez knocked in the other runs for the Guardians, who co...

Braxton Ashcraft, Pirates hold down Cardinals
Braxton Ashcraft matched a career high with nine strikeouts in a 6-2 win for the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday in the rubber match of a three-game set against the host St. Louis Cardinals.,Right-hander Ashcraft (3-2) held St. Louis to one run on four hits over seven innings. Marcell Ozuna went 2-fo...

Georgia president Jere Morehead: '24-team playoff is a mistake'
Georgia president Jere Morehead doesn't think expanding the College Football Playoff to 24 teams is a good idea.,In fact, he said this to The Athletic: "A 24-team playoff is a mistake.",With the Southeastern Conference meetings set for next week in Destin, Fla., Morehead doesn't feel the Big Ten has...

Germany lure Manuel Neuer, 40, out of retirement for World Cup roster
Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann had a surprise inclusion with 40-year-old goalkeeper Manuel Neuer making the 26-man World Cup roster announced on Thursday.,Neuer retired from international play after the 2024 European Championship and the Bayern Munich legend said just last month that he did not int...