ew Page 1183 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Pistons, on verge of winning season, face East beast Cavs
The Detroit Pistons will try to end two long streaks in one night when they host the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.,Detroit hasn't posted a winning season since it finished 44-38 in 2015-16. The Pistons (41-32) can end that eight-season drought as early as Friday.,Th...

Spokane Region 1: NC State seeks different outcome in LSU rematch
When Spokane Region 1 No. 2 seed North Carolina State and No. 3 seed LSU last met, the locale was much different -- but that is not the only deviation in their rematch on Friday in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.,LSU (30-5) won the championship game of the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo tournament in Nassau, ...

Rangers hungry for wins as Ducks up next
The New York Rangers will look to break out of their funk when they continue their California road trip on Friday against the Anaheim Ducks.,Despite only one win in five outings, the Rangers (34-32-6, 74 points) sit just outside the Eastern Conference's second wild-card position in what has become a...

No. 1 Houston tunes out 'home' advantage of underdog Purdue
INDIANAPOLIS -- Kelvin Sampson and Houston are tuning out nostalgia and naysayers with a goal of tunnel vision when the top-seeded Cougars take the court against Purdue at Lucas Oil Stadium on Friday night in a semifinal matchup in the Midwest Region.,A late-night game Friday (10:07 p.m. ET schedule...

Top seed Auburn sees high stakes against Michigan
ATLANTA -- No. 1 Auburn was the team to beat throughout the regular season, even earning the NCAA Tournament's top overall seed after entering Selection Sunday losers in three of its last four.,Now in the South Region semifinal, the Tigers (30-5) tangle with No. 5 seed Michigan (27-9) on Friday nigh...

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka cruises into first Miami final
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus never lost her serve en route to a 6-2, 6-2 win over No. 6 seed Jasmina Paolini of Italy on Thursday, securing her first trip to the Miami Open final.,Reaching her 12th career WTA 1000 final, Sabalenka - a three-time Grand Slam champion - never trailed against ...

Birmingham Region 2: Maryland next to try stopping South Carolina's title defense
As defending national champion, No. 1 seed South Carolina was guaranteed to get opponents' best shot through the Women's NCAA Tournament. Friday's Sweet 16 matchup in Birmingham Region 2 with No. 4 seed Maryland should be no exception.,The Gamecocks (32-3) rallied from a sluggish first half and one-...

Sidney Crosby sets NHL point-per-game record
Sidney Crosby scored a first-period goal for the Pittsburgh Penguins, his 80th point of the season, against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night, assuring the superstar of his 20th season averaging a point a game and breaking the record he previously held with Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky.,Trialing 2...

Novak Djokovic advances to Miami Open semifinals
Pursuing his record-breaking seventh title at the Miami Open, No. 4 seed Novak Djokovic took down No. 24 seed Sebastian Korda 6-3, 7-6 (4) on Thursday in a quarterfinal match postponed from Wednesday.,Djokovic, who became the oldest ATP Masters 1000 semifinalist at 37 years and 10 months, will face ...

Suns, Timberwolves turn focus to defense ahead of matchup
Defense will be top of mind for both the Minnesota Timberwolves and Phoenix Suns when the teams tip off Friday night in Minneapolis.,Minnesota (41-32) will return to the court after a three-day break. The Timberwolves spent some of that time in practice sessions watching film of recent defensive bre...

Jets face Devils with NHL's top spot in clear view
The Winnipeg Jets have locked up a playoff spot and will proceed toward securing the top spot in the Central Division and the Western Conference when they host the New Jersey Devils on Friday.,The Jets (49-14-4, 102 points) clinched a postseason berth for a third straight season and the fourth time...

NBA teams with FIBA to explore European league
The NBA and FIBA will jointly explore the creation of a new professional league in Europe, NBA commissioner Adam Silver and FIBA secretary general Andreas Zaglkis announced on Thursday. ,Silver and Zaglkis made the announcement after the NBA board of governors meeting in New York and the FIBA execut...

NHL fines Bruins rookie D Michael Callahan maximum for crosschecking
The NHL has fined Boston Bruins rookie defenseman Michael Callahan $2,018.23 for crosschecking Anaheim forward Jansen Harkins during the Ducks' 6-2 home victory on Wednesday.,The fine, announced Thursday by the NHL's Department of Player Safety, is the maximum allowable under the collective bargaini...

NBA abandons All-Star tourney format
It's unclear what next year's NBA All-Star Game will look like, but commissioner Adam Silver said the league is "a bit back to the drawing board" as it moves away from the three-game mini-tournament that was implemented this season.,Speaking to reporters on Thursday following a board of governors me...

Yankees start with power display, hold off Brewers in opener
Carlos Rodon pitched effectively into the sixth inning and was backed by two early homers as the host New York Yankees hung on for a 4-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in the season opener for both teams on Thursday.,Austin Wells hit a leadoff homer three pitches into the home half of the first ...

Tyler O'Neill extends record by hitting HR for sixth straight Opening Day
Baltimore Orioles outfielder Tyler O'Neill hit a three-run homer in the third inning on Thursday to extend his major league record of homering on Opening Day to six in a row.,O'Neill's blast to right field came against right-hander Jose Berrios of the Toronto Blue Jays and gave Baltimore a 5-0 lead....

Top prospect Aaliyah Chavez commits to Oklahoma
Aaliyah Chavez, considered the top women's high school recruit, committed to Oklahoma.,The five-star point guard also considered LSU, South Carolina, Texas, Texas Tech and UCLA.,The 5-foot-9 National Gatorade Player of the Year scored 4,796 career points with 1,279 rebounds and 771 assists in 150 ga...

MLB.tv whiffs with early-inning error on Opening Day
MLB.tv subscribers looking forward to watching some Opening Day baseball took to social media Thursday afternoon to express their outrage at the app's outage.,Problems reportedly began during the streaming of the day's two earliest games -- the Milwaukee Brewers at the New York Yankees and the Balti...

Hot Golden Knights look to soar past Blackhawks
A four-game winning streak is nothing new to the Pacific Division-leading Las Vegas Golden Knights, who tote their fifth surge of at least that many games into Friday's visit to the Chicago Blackhawks.,A varied attack, however, has been novel for Vegas since the 4 Nations Face-Off, as the club has a...

Bucks to face off against Knicks with stars missing
Two top-six teams in the Eastern Conference, both missing key stars, face off Friday night as the Milwaukee Bucks host the New York Knicks.,New York saw its two-game win streak come to an end on Wednesday as the visiting Los Angeles Clippers came back to win 126-113.,"They were fresh on two days of ...