l Page 171 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

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 ...

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...

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...

Cardinals match Rays' sixth-inning uprising with their own, win 9-7
Alec Burleson capped an eight-run sixth inning with a two-run homer to help the St. Louis Cardinals rally for a 9-7 victory against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays in the season opener for both teams on Thursday afternoon.,Burleson's home run came after the Rays had scored six runs in the top half of th...

Mike Trout blast leads Angels to rare Opening Day road win over Astros
Mike Trout homered, walked three times and stole a base, and Jose Soriano struck out seven over six shutout innings to lead the visiting Los Angeles Angels to a 3-0 victory over the Houston Astros on Thursday afternoon in the season opener for both teams., ,It was the 405th career home run for Trout...

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...

Christopher Sanchez fans 10 as Phillies top Rangers in opener
Cristopher Sanchez struck out 10 batters over six scoreless innings and Kyle Schwarber and Alec Bohm each homered, fueling the host Philadelphia Phillies to a 5-3 win over the Texas Rangers on Thursday in the season opener for both teams.,Signed to a six-year contract extension on Sunday, Sanchez (1...

Puka Nacua sued, accused of biting women, making antisemitic remark
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua is being sued for allegedly biting two women and making an antisemitic statement during a New Year's Eve gathering.,Plaintiff Madison Atiabi and her attorney allege that Nacua said "f-- all the Jews" during a dinner on Dec. 31 in Los Angeles. This made Atiab...

Cavaliers see good process in bad result entering Heat rematch
The return of small forward Norman Powell to the starting lineup helped the Miami Heat end their five-game losing streak and move into sole possession of eighth place in the Eastern Conference.,A second consecutive road game against the fourth-place Cleveland Cavaliers is next for the Heat on Friday...

Michigan in familiar environs, wants different result vs. Alabama
CHICAGO -- Top-seeded Michigan occupies the same United Center locker room for the NCAA Tournament as it did during the Big Ten tournament two weeks ago.,Eager to eradicate bad memories of a loss to Purdue in the conference title game, the Wolverines players changed locker assignments ahead of Frida...

Healthier Duke takes on resurgent St. John's in Sweet 16 showdown
WASHINGTON -- Naismith Award favorite Cameron Boozer and Duke will continue their pursuit of the program's sixth national title and first since coach Mike Krzyzewski's retirement when they face Rick Pitino's resurgent St. John's in Friday night's East Regional semifinal.,Boozer posted his 20th and 2...

Trevor Rogers, O's get by Twins in manager Craig Albernaz's debut
Trevor Rogers pitched seven shutout innings and the Baltimore Orioles broke through on offense late to beat the visiting Minnesota Twins 2-1 and give Craig Albernaz a victory in his big-league managerial debut Thursday in the season opener for both teams.,Rogers limited the Twins to three hits and f...

Newcomer Joey Wiemer helps Nationals roll past Cubs
Joey Wiemer, Jacob Young and Brady House homered and the bullpen provided 5 1/3 innings of one-run relief to boost the visiting Washington Nationals to a 10-4 Opening Day victory against the Chicago Cubs on Thursday.,Wiemer went 3-for-3 to spark a 11-hit attack in his club debut, which also marked t...

Yandex, Tundra kick off ESL One Birmingham playoffs with wins
Team Yandex and Tundra Esports advanced to the upper-bracket final of the ESL One Birmingham event with victories Thursday in England.,Yandex defeated Team Spirit and Tundra topped Aurora Gaming, both by 2-1 scores, to get one step closer to the grand final. The losing sides are not out of the runni...

Bennedict Mathurin returns as surging Clippers visit Pacers
Looking to take advantage of a golden opportunity to bolster their play-in tournament status, the Los Angeles Clippers begin a two-game Eastern Conference road trip on Friday against the fading Indiana Pacers at Indianapolis.,Los Angeles (37-36) was all but written off in late December after beginni...

No softy, Michigan State's unapologetic Tom Izzo doesn't 'give a damn' about critics
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Tom Izzo rants and raves, delivers corrective messaging to players nostril-to-nostril, and the Michigan State Spartans are in the Sweet 16 for the 17th time despite a sideline demeanor critics might find less than endearing. ,Go ahead and write those feelings on his dry-erase boa...

Skater Ilia Malinin takes big lead after Worlds short program
Ilia Malinin, a heavy favorite who didn't medal in men's figure skating at the Milan Cortina Olympics, skated a personal best in the short program to take a big lead at the World Championships in Prague on Thursday.,In his first competition since the Olympics last month, Malinin registered 111.29 po...

Duke's Caleb Foster game-time decision vs. St. John's
Duke point guard Caleb Foster has a chance to play Friday in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament against St. John's.,Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer said Thursday that Foster will be a game-time decision before No. 1 overall seed Duke meets Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino and his No. 5 Red S...

Pirates RHP Paul Skenes departs after shortest start of career
Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes had the shortest start of his young career when he did not make it out of the first inning of Thursday's season-opening game at the New York Mets.,Skenes recorded just two outs before he was removed by Pirates manager Don Kelly. Poor defense led to Skenes ...

Postseason wear and tear leaves mark on Dodgers' Opening Day roster
The Los Angeles Dodgers will be paying the bill for their 2025 playoff run with three contributors to their World Series title opening this season on the injured list.,Left-hander Blake Snell and utility player Tommy Edman went on the injured list leading up to Opening Day and Enrique Hernandez went...