ew Page 85 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
As Pelicans visit, Raptors must stack wins to guarantee top-six playoff spot
The Toronto Raptors will play beyond the regular season for the first time since 2022.,That is all they know for certain. They could finish anywhere from fifth to 10th in the Eastern Conference, so every game -- beginning with the one against the visiting New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night -- is i...
Rangers focused on developing younger players in game vs. Blackhawks
The New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks are using the final weeks of lost seasons to gauge some of their youth.,Plenty of youth will be on display Friday night when the Rangers host the Blackhawks. New York is eliminated from postseason contention, while Chicago isn't far removed from that fate....
Lakers return home from successful trip to face spiraling Nets
The Los Angeles Lakers received a welcome day off on Thursday following a six-game trip that saw the team solidify its third-place standing in the Western Conference.,Winners of 13 of their last 15 games, the Lakers will begin a three-game homestand with a matchup against the Brooklyn Nets on Friday...
Blazers intent on improving playoff position in matchup vs. reeling Mavericks
The Portland Trail Blazers already have clinched a postseason berth for the first time in five seasons, even if it's just a spot in the play-in tournament.,Interim coach Tiago Splitter and his team want much more than that, however.,After winning five of its last six games to get back to .500 for th...
Nearly locked into play-in, Warriors try to improve seeding vs. Wizards
With a spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament almost a certainty, the Golden State Warriors will look to improve their positioning down the stretch, beginning with a Friday date against the Washington Wizards in San Francisco.,Golden State (35-38) pulled out of a recent tailspin in which ...
Brewers pitchers strike out 20 in demolition of White Sox
Sal Frelick and Jake Bauers homered and hard-throwing Jacob Misiorowski shook off a leadoff home run to strike out 11 over five innings as the Milwaukee Brewers routed the visiting Chicago White Sox 14-2 on Thursday in the season opener for both teams., ,Misiorowski (1-0), named to the All-Star team...
Penguins' Sidney Crosby exits with lower-body injury; severity unclear
Penguins coach Dan Muse had no substantive update about the condition of Sidney Crosby after the team captain exited Pittsburgh's Thursday road game against the Ottawa Senators due to a lower-body injury.,Crosby played the first 38 seconds of the second period, then exited for good in a game the Pen...
Nuggets look to extend home surge with visit from Jazz
The Denver Nuggets struggled to win at Ball Arena for most of the 2025-26 season, but they are now taking advantage of playing at home during the stretch run.,Denver (46-28) has won five in a row on its court after a 17-13 home start and can make it six in a row when the struggling Utah Jazz visit F...
Pepperdine hires Virginia assistant Griff Aldrich as coach
Pepperdine hired Virginia associate head coach Griff Aldrich as its new men's basketball coach on Thursday.,"The opportunity to build a championship-caliber program within a University that promotes faith, academics, and excellence is tremendously exciting for our family," Aldrich said in a statemen...
TGL franchise values rise; Alexis Ohanian buys women’s team for $20M
At the conclusion of its second season, TGL is growing in more ways than one.,One of the indoor golf league's franchises has sold a minority stake for $100 million, and other teams have sold stakes eclipsing $90 million, Sportico reported Thursday.,The season just wrapped this week with Los Angeles ...
Panthers' Rasheed Walker says gun charge getting dismissed
New Carolina Panthers left tackle Rasheed Walker told reporters during his introductory press conference Thursday that a gun charge against him from early this year is being dismissed.,Walker, 26, was arrested and charged with two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a firearm by New York ...
Boston College hires UConn assistant Luke Murray as next head coach
Boston College turned to a proven title-winning assistant Thursday, hiring UConn's Luke Murray as its next men's basketball head coach and placing a key member of Dan Hurley's staff in charge of a rebuild in Chestnut Hill, Mass.,Murray, 40, has been with the Huskies since 2021 and is widely credited...
Italy 1 win away from World Cup after blanking Northern Ireland
Italy finally cleared its first hurdle in the World Cup playoffs -- and now it has one more game to win to avoid missing the competition for the third straight time.,The four-time World Cup champions beat Northern Ireland 2-0 on Thursday night in Bergamo, getting a breakthrough goal from Sandro Tona...
Sweet 16 mainstays Tennessee, Iowa State target next steps
CHICAGO -- Playing without second-team All-American forward Joshua Jefferson for most of the NCAA Tournament has forced Iowa State to regroup.,As the second-seeded Cyclones prepare for Friday's Midwest Region semifinal against No. 6 Tennessee, they know they'll have to rebound -- whether Jefferson i...
Rockets hope listless Grizzlies are cure for their recent skid
When the Houston Rockets visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, it will be difficult to know which team feels worse.,The Grizzlies (24-48) have lost 12 of their last 13 and taken lopsided losses in back-to-back games.,The Rockets (43-29) have lost four of their past six, including a heart-wrenching ...
UConn, Michigan State muscle up in East Region semis
WASHINGTON -- Tom Izzo will attempt to coach Michigan State one step closer to his ninth Final Four when they meet a familiar UConn squad in Friday night's NCAA Tournament East Regional semifinal.,Izzo's third-seeded Spartans (27-7) have had a relatively comfortable trip through the tournament, easi...
Thunder look to keep pace in race for No. 1 seed vs. Bulls
The Oklahoma City Thunder are in a tight battle for the No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs heading into Friday's matchup with the Chicago Bulls at home.,"It's very important and not just in the West, in the whole playoffs," Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. "We needed Game 7 at home against...
WNBA draft to be held April 13 in New York
With the collective bargaining agreement signed and settled, the WNBA's league calendar is quickly coming into focus.,The 2026 WNBA Draft will take place April 13 at The Shed at Hudson Yards in New York, the league announced Thursday.,This comes one day after the league said its two-team expansion d...
Vinicius Junior: Brazil hasn't earned right to be World Cup favorites
Vinicius Junior said Brazil has not earned the right to be considered favorites to win the 2026 World Cup, and that the team does not want that tag.,Brazil has won a record five World Cups, but none since 2002. In the span since, Brazil has not finished better than fourth in 2014 and finished a disa...
Thriving Jayson Tatum leads Celtics into battle vs. Hawks
Jayson Tatum will attempt to take another step forward in his return from surgery to repair a ruptured right Achilles tendon when the Boston Celtics try to cool off the visiting Atlanta Hawks on Friday night., ,Tatum turned in what was arguably his best performance of the season during Wednesday's 1...