k Page 61 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

No. 6 UConn attempts to thwart No. 15 St. John's winning ways
The Big East regular-season title will hardly be settled, but St. John's or UConn can improve its chances at getting the top seed at the conference tournament when the rivals convene Wednesday in Hartford, Conn.,The 15th-ranked Red Storm hope to exit with a 1 1/2-game lead for first place while the ...

Jabari Smith Jr. puts up 31 as Rockets rumble past Jazz
Jabari Smith Jr. scored a game-high 31 points, Kevin Durant and Tari Eason chipped in double-doubles and the Houston Rockets rolled to a 125-105 victory over the visiting Utah Jazz on Monday.,Smith shot 12 of 17, drilled six 3-pointers and grabbed nine rebounds to ignite the Rockets, who won for the...

Magic, Desmond Bane carry hot streak into meeting with Lakers
The Orlando Magic will put their February revival to another road test on Tuesday when they finish a four-game trip against Western Conference teams with a matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers.,The Magic are 5-2 since Feb. 5 and 7-4 going back to Jan. 28 following a 111-109 victory over the Los An...

Auburn hopes to work itself off bubble with Oklahoma up next
Auburn is striving to build momentum and get away from the NCAA Tournament bubble.,Oklahoma is trying to make positive steps now that its only potential path to the NCAA Tournament figures to be an unlikely run through the SEC tournament. The Sooners host the Tigers on Tuesday in Norman, Okla.,Aubur...

Bucks host surging Heat in key East play-in race matchup
An important stretch of home games continues for the Milwaukee Bucks as they host an Eastern Conference rival, the Miami Heat, on Tuesday night.,Milwaukee entered Sunday on a hot streak, having won six of seven, but lost to the Toronto Raptors 122-94 to start the homestand.,It was the start of a 10-...

Knicks search for season sweep of red-hot Cavaliers
All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns has openly bristled about his decreased offensive production with the New York Knicks, but all involved are feeling better after a strong weekend.,New York, which is third in the Eastern Conference standings, travels to Cleveland to take on the fourth-place Cavalie...

Raptors try to sweep season series as Thunder visit Toronto
One team will emerge with a three-game winning streak Tuesday night when the Oklahoma City Thunder visit the Toronto Raptors.,The Thunder will also aim to avenge their 103-101 home loss to the Raptors on Jan. 25.,After entering the All-Star break with losses, the Thunder and Raptors have each won tw...

Finally off the schneid, Mavericks face struggling Nets
In the month that passed between their last two wins, the Dallas Mavericks tweaked their roster by dealing Anthony Davis and lost Cooper Flagg to a foot injury, but still finished games with the same frustrating result until Sunday night.,After ending a 10-game losing streak, the Mavericks hope to g...

Kentucky, in rare 3-game SEC slide, takes aim at South Carolina
Kentucky's roller coaster ride of a season reached a nadir on Saturday at Auburn.,The Wildcats lost in controversial fashion, falling 75-74 on a last-second tip-in by Auburn's Elyjah Freeman. The setback was the third in succession for Kentucky (17-10, 8-6 Southeastern Conference), its first such sk...

Oklahoma State, West Virginia each need a win to keep postseason chance
Oklahoma State's road map to the NCAA Tournament is pretty easy to follow. The team needs to win its last four regular-season games to have any chance at an at-large bid.,The Cowboys (16-11, 4-10 Big 12), who have lost five straight including three by double digits, will start this quest Tuesday whe...

Washington, Rutgers battle to avoid Big Ten tournament opening round
As they enter the home stretch of the Big Ten season, Washington and Rutgers share the same goal: avoid the opening round of the conference tournament.,The Huskies (13-14, 5-11 Big Ten) and Scarlet Knights (11-16, 4-12), who meet Tuesday in Piscataway, N.J., are currently in 13th and 14th place, res...

Cowboys 'lean toward' tagging WR George Pickens to prioritize defense
Tagging George Pickens is the most likely solution for the Dallas Cowboys to maintain long-term cap flexibility, keep the wide receiver and save some cash to address improving personnel on defense.,Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones laid out the scenario on Monday as the NFL Scouting Combine becom...

Report: WNBA’s Fire to add ex-sportswriter in front office role
Former basketball writer Ben Pickman is moving up from the journalism world into a WNBA front office role.,The expansion Portland Fire hired Pickman as a salary cap and strategy analyst, Front Office Sports reported Monday.,Pickman worked for Sports Illustrated from 2018-22 covering college and prof...

Youth movement leading Wizards into matchup with Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks continue their five-game homestand on Tuesday with the first game of a back-to-back series against the Washington Wizards.,The Hawks are coming off a 115-104 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday. Atlanta erased an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to collect the much-needed win and r...

Andy Roddick joining ESPN's Wimbledon, U.S. Open coverage
Andy Roddick signed a multi-year deal with ESPN to analyze Wimbledon and the U.S. Open as a match and studio commentator, the network announced Monday.,He will debut on air shortly before Wimbledon starts in late June.,Roddick, 43, reached three Wimbledon finals during his Hall of Fame tennis career...

Tigers ace Tarik Skubal plans to pitch just once for US in WBC
Two-time defending Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal will be making his World Baseball Classic debut next month for the U.S. with some caveats.,Skubal told reporters after his spring-training debut Monday that he plans on making just one start in WBC group play, which begins March 5, before returni...

President Trump invites men's hockey team to State of the Union, women decline
The United States men's hockey team was invited to Tuesday's State of the Union address and to the White House by President Donald Trump after winning the gold medal at the Milan Cortina Olympics, the program's first in 46 years.,The U.S. women's hockey team, which also beat Canada in overtime to wi...

Reports: Falcons using franchise tag on TE Kyle Pitts
The Atlanta Falcons are planning on using a franchise tag to retain tight end Kyle Pitts, according to multiple reports.,Pitts, 25, was set to be a free agent but now will be paid approximately $16.5 million for the 2026 season, an average of the top five salaries at his position.,Per NFL Network, t...

Three QBs with everything to gain at the NFL Scouting Combine
Quarterbacks are king in the NFL draft. Traits are king at the NFL Scouting Combine.,As the top of the draft comes into focus over the next several weeks, the position of No. 2 quarterback behind likely No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza is up for grabs in the Class of 2026.,Separation starts this week.,Qu...

Duke returns to familiar spot as No. 1 in AP poll
After a pair of marquee games among the top five teams in the country on Saturday, it was Duke that came out on the other side as No. 1 in the latest Associated Press men's Top 25 poll.,Playing as the nation's No. 3 team, Duke knocked Michigan from the top spot with a 68-63 victory in Washington, D....