playoffs Page 2 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Oddsmakers favor Presidents' Trophy-winning Avs to win Stanley Cup
The Colorado Avalanche, out to end the miserable postseason history for Presidents' Trophy winners, are the unanimous favorite to lift the Stanley Cup with the playoffs about to start.,The regular season concluded Thursday night, and the final two first-round playoff matchups were confirmed.,The Edm...
Stanley Cup playoffs to open with Saturday tripleheader
The Stanley Cup playoffs won't have every seed finalized until later Thursday night, when the final batch of Western Conference games sorts out three remaining teams. But the NHL has revealed how the postseason will start.,Game 1 between the Ottawa Senators and Eastern Conference top seed Carolina H...
Stars coach: Roope Hintz out of Games 1, 2 vs. Wild
Dallas Stars forward Roope Hintz will not play in the first two games of the Western Conference first-round series against the Minnesota Wild due to a lower-body injury, head coach Glen Gulutzan announced.,Hintz has been sidelined since sustaining his injury while jostling along the boards with Colo...
After dominant regular season, Thunder big favorite to hold onto NBA crown
Oddsmakers really like Oklahoma City Thunder to continue their reign over the NBA and successfully defend their championship.,The Thunder, who concluded the regular season on Sunday with the league's best record at 64-18 (.780), are the clear favorite to keep the Larry O'Brien Trophy at a range of +...
Five NHL teams could clinch playoff spots Saturday
Some further clarity about the NHL playoff picture could come Saturday.,Nine of the 16 postseason spots have been clinched. As many as five more could be clinched depending on results from the crowded slate of 15 games that kicks off the final weekend of the regular season.,In the Eastern Conference...
Lakers add big-ticket courtside seats for playoffs
The Los Angeles Lakers are making room for more movers and shakers -- and celebrities -- this playoff season.,The team announced Thursday the availability of additional floor seats, where Jack Nicholson, Denzel Washington, Will Ferrell, Ice Cube, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kim Kardashian and fellow celebrit...
Oilers' Leon Draisaitl might not be ready for playoff opener
Out with a lower-body injury since March 15, Edmonton Oilers star forward Leon Draisaitl might miss the beginning of the Stanley Cup playoffs, coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters on Monday.,"Leon is going to be on the ice this week and I don't anticipate him playing any games in the regular season, ...
MLS Cup 2026 final scheduled for Dec. 18
The 2026 MLS Cup will take place on Friday, Dec. 18, the league announced Monday.,The game will be hosted by the team with the better regular-season record.,This is the final full season before MLS switches to a summer-spring calendar for 2027-28. The league also will have a short 14-game transition...
Tiger Woods not ready to play in key TGL regular-season finale
Tiger Woods will not be in the lineup for his TGL team, Jupiter Links GC, when it plays its regular-season finale Tuesday against The Bay Golf Club.,Jupiter sits in fifth place in the six-team standings, one point out of the playoff cut line. A win against Bay would be enough to advance.,But the lin...
US through to mixed doubles curling semifinals with win over Sweden
CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy -- Britain's Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat beat Italy to ensure top spot in the round-robin stage of the mixed doubles curling at the Milan Cortina Games, though the defending Olympic champions still reached the playoffs despite the loss, along with the U.S. and Sweden.,Bri...
US, Italy win to boost curling playoff hopes
CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy -- Olympic champions Amos Mosaner and Stefania Constantini of Italy edged closer to qualifying for the mixed doubles curling playoffs at the Milan Cortina Games on Sunday, while Britain had their winning run ended by Switzerland.,Reigning Olympic and world champions Italy de...
NBC, ESPN set network records for divisional-round games
NBC and ESPN/ABC followed CBS' lead by drawing record numbers for their respective NFL divisional-round games.,On Thursday, NBC announced that it averaged 45.4 million viewers for the Los Angeles Rams' 20-17 overtime victory over the Chicago Bears.,That number from Sunday's game represented an 8% in...
Broncos win OT thriller over Bills, advance to AFC title game
Wil Lutz hit a 23-yard field goal, his fourth of the game, to give the host Denver Broncos a 33-30 overtime victory over the Buffalo Bills on Saturday to advance to the AFC Championship Game.,The Broncos will host the winner of Sunday's game between the New England Patriots and Houston Texans next S...
Rams layer up, pack their own LaFleur to visit Bears, 'Iceman'
Any skeptics left doubting the merit of Caleb Williams' nickname might look to the mercury for confirmation on Sunday night when the Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Rams stage the finale of a four-game NFL Divisional Playoff weekend.,Williams' late-game heroics and growing legend for cool under pressu...
All NFL divisional playoff matchups, TV details finalized
The NFL announced finalized playoff pairings with television designations Monday evening following the conclusion of the Houston Texans' 30-6 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.,Houston, the No. 5 seed, will travel to the second-seeded New England Patriots in the 3 p.m. ET AFC divisional game on Sunda...
NFL Playoffs: Texans-Steelers Preview, Props, Prediction
The first round of the NFL postseason concludes with what should be a defensive slugfest with the Houston Texans visiting the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night.,The Steelers (10-7) were the last team into the postseason when they survived a missed field goal by Baltimore on the final play of the r...
Niners-Seahawks set for Saturday of divisional round; game times TBA
The San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks will play for the second time in 14 days on Saturday, while the Chicago Bears will host the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday in the NFL divisional round, the league announced Sunday evening.,While the time slots and network designations for next weekend's actio...
Packers-Bears in prime time anchors NFL wild-card weekend
The Green Bay Packers will take their Super Bowl dreams into Soldier Field and battle the rival Chicago Bears in the only intra-division matchup of the NFL's wild-card weekend.,The Bears (11-6) landed the No. 2 seed in the NFC from Sunday's Week 18 results, while the Packers (9-7-1) were locked into...
Packers-Bears locked into NFC wild-card game; Broncos top AFC picture
The Green Bay Packers will take their Super Bowl dreams into Soldier Field and battle the rival Chicago Bears in the only intra-division matchup of the NFL's wild-card weekend.,The Bears (11-6) landed the No. 2 seed in the NFC from Sunday's Week 18 results, while the Packers (9-7-1) were locked into...
CFP first round: What to know about Alabama at Oklahoma
College Football Playoff First Round,No. 9 Alabama (10-3) at No. 8 Oklahoma (10-2),Friday, Dec. 19, 8 p.m. ET,Norman, Okla.,Consensus odds: Oklahoma -1.5, Total 41.5,Oklahoma and Alabama square off in the first round of the College Football Playoff, but the Southeastern Conference rivals need no int...