v Page 227 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Drivers anticipating 'out of control' action at Darlington
It's bad enough to roll into Darlington, S.C., less than 10 miles off Interstate 95, and realize a tough weekend lies ahead at the 1.366-mile facility dubbed "The Track Too Tough to Tame.",Now it will be tougher.,Small changes have occurred at Darlington Raceway, NASCAR's distinguished, oldest super...

UFC Fight Night 270: Fight-by-fight preview, Odds & Trends
The UFC returns to London's The O2 Arena with a Fight Night card highlighted by a fight between top featherweight contenders Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy on Saturday night.,The winner of the battle of unbeatens could be set up for a shot at the title against Alexander Volkanovski.,The 32-year-old...

Spurs look to extend winning streak while hosting hapless Pacers
The San Antonio Spurs carry a four-game winning streak as they continue their hunt for the top spot in the Western Conference while hosting the hapless Indiana Pacers on Saturday.,The Spurs (52-18) have captured 20 of their past 22 games, most recently a 101-100 decision at home over Phoenix on Thur...

Cavs rounding into form down the stretch, but feisty Pelicans await
The Cleveland Cavaliers can complete a perfect three-game road trip as their trek for higher seeding in the NBA playoffs continues on Saturday in New Orleans vs. the Pelicans.,Heading into the final 12 games of the regular season, Cleveland (43-27) already has clinched no worse than a spot in a play...

Avalanche clinch playoff spot with convincing win over Blackhawks
Martin Necas had a goal and two assists to lead the Colorado Avalanche to a 4-1 win over the host Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night.,Brock Nelson, Nazem Kadri, Valeri Nichushkin also scored for the Avalanche (45-13-10, 100 pts.), who became the first team this season to clinch a playoff spot. Natha...

No. 11 seed VCU embraces underdog role, eyes upset of third-seeded Illinois
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- VCU has been comfortable in this uncomfortable position for weeks. The Rams had to win the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament just to clinch a spot in the NCAA Tournament.,VCU (28-7) then had to dig out of a 19-point hole against North Carolina on Thursday, rallying for an 82-78 o...

Women's NCAA Sacramento 4 roundup: Michigan State evades Colorado State upset bid
Grace VanSlooten and Kennedy Blair combined for 36 points and 16 rebounds to help No. 5 Michigan State stave off No. 12 Colorado State's upset bid in a 65-62 victory Friday night in the first round of the NCAA Women's Tournament at Norman, Okla.,VanSlooten had 18 points and 10 rebounds and Blair 18 ...

Luka Doncic takes high-scoring act on the road as Lakers visit Magic
Riding Luka Doncic's dominant stretch, the Los Angeles Lakers look to extend their winning streak to nine games when they visit the struggling Orlando Magic on Saturday night.,Los Angeles (45-25) has won 11 of its last 12 games and can make it nine consecutive victories for the first time since winn...

Blues need every point possible as they face lowly Canucks
The St. Louis Blues will look to bounce back from a disappointing effort when they close out a three-game road trip with a visit to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.,The Blues (27-30-11, 65 points) are coming off a 2-1 shootout loss to the Calgary Flames on Wednesday, their second straight defeat a...

Jerami Grant hits clutch 3s to lift Blazers past Timberwolves
Jerami Grant scored 26 points on 10-for-16 shooting and the Portland Trail Blazers escaped with a 108-104 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night in Minneapolis.,Deni Avdija added 25 points and eight rebounds for Portland, which won its third game in a row. Donovan Clingan registered a d...

Jared McCain helping on both ends as rolling Thunder take on Wizards
Coming off a season-high 26-point performance, it's easy to focus on the offensive side of Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jared McCain.,Heading into Saturday's road matchup with the Washington Wizards, however, Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault is focusing more on the defensive side of McCain's game ...

Logan Thompson stops 30 shots as Capitals nip Devils
Logan Thompson made 30 saves for the Washington Capitals in a 2-1 win against the visiting New Jersey Devils on Friday.,Ryan Leonard and Aliaksei Protas scored for the Capitals (35-27-8, 78 points), who are 3-0-1 in their past four games.,Jesper Bratt scored and Jake Allen made 26 saves for the Devi...

After surviving scare, No. 1 Duke turns to history-chasing No. 9 TCU
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Duke admits it wasn't ready to take upset-minded Siena seriously in the first round of the East Region on Thursday. ,After surviving that challenge, Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer are sporting a different attitude heading into Saturday., ,Duke (33-2) escaped with a 71-65 win ...

Women's NCAA Sacramento 4 roundup: Olivia Miles' triple-double helps TCU overwhelm UCSD
Olivia Miles assembled her sixth triple-double of the season and Taylor Bigby added a career-high 27 points to help No. 3 seed TCU coast to an 86-40 win over No. 14 seed UC San Diego during Sacramento 4 region first-round play in Fort Worth, Texas.,The Horned Frogs (30-5) will host No. 6 seed Washin...

Michigan State, Louisville meet in March again with Sweet 16 on the line
Tom Izzo is no stranger to high-stakes games between Michigan State and Louisville.,"We had a couple with them -- ‘09, ‘19. We've played them in Elite Eight games," said Izzo, who is in his 31st season coaching the Spartans. "One of my first games was against Louisville when Denny Crum was there. Th...

No. 9 Utah State outlasts No. 8 Villanova, advances to face Arizona
SAN DIEGO -- MJ Collins Jr. scored nine of his 20 points in the final four minutes as No. 9 seed Utah State topped eighth-seeded Villanova, 86-76, in the second of Friday's West Region first-round matchups in San Diego.,Utah State (29-6) capped a crucial, 9-0 run late in the second half when Mason F...

Atlanta welcomes D.C. United following breakthrough win
Atlanta United hope to build on some newfound confidence when they face visiting D.C. United on Saturday evening ahead of the FIFA international break.,Miguel Almiron assisted on all three goals last Saturday as Atlanta (1-3-0, 3 points) beat the Philadelphia Union 3-1 to win for the first time this...

Stars set sights on another win vs. top division opponent at Wild
The Dallas Stars already knocked off one of the best teams in their division this week.,Now, the Stars will try to go 2-for-2.,Dallas will aim for back-to-back victories when it faces off against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday afternoon in Saint Paul, Minn. The Stars are looking to build upon a 2-1 ...

Deadlocked Bruins, Red Wings face off in major matchup
While the Boston Bruins have won 14 of their last 15 home games, holding onto one of the final Eastern Conference playoff spots will require an improved effort on the road.,The Bruins (38-23-8, 84 points) play seven of their final 12 games away from the comforts of TD Garden, including a massive one...

Islanders, Canadiens lock horns after painful losses
The New York Islanders find themselves in a strange position as they conclude a three-game road trip with a visit to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.,Following a last-minute 3-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, New York is out of playoff position for the first time since Dec. 4. ,Th...