v Page 37 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Struggling Heat eager to get right vs. woeful Wizards
Hoping to finish strong, the Miami Heat will play host to the Washington Wizards on Saturday afternoon.,The Heat (40-37) have clinched a spot in the play-in round. They entered play on Friday in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, but they have five games left in the regular season and could move ...

Duke freshman Cameron Boozer named AP Player of Year
Cameron Boozer's dominating freshman season at Duke earned the power forward the Associated Press' men's college basketball Player of the Year Award.,Boozer, 18, averaged 22.5 points with 10.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 38 games (all starts) for the Blue Devils, who finished the season with a 35-3 ...

West's best winning streaks collide as Spurs visit Nuggets
San Antonio's first dynasty ended when Tim Duncan retired with five NBA titles over 19 seasons. Ten years later, the Spurs are hoping to build another one behind Victor Wembanyama.,San Antonio (59-18) still is in the hunt for the top seed in the Western Conference and faces a tough challenge when it...

Illinois basks in Final Four moment, intent on clipping UConn
INDIANAPOLIS -- Forgive Brad Underwood if he takes an extra beat to appreciate the novelty of his weekend surroundings as Illinois returns to the Final Four for the first time since 2005.,Ready and waiting, perhaps unimpressed by the pomp and circumstance on the periphery of a third trip to the Fina...

Rays place LHP Garrett Cleavinger (calf tightness) on IL
The Tampa Bay Rays placed reliever Garrett Cleavinger on the 15-day injured list Friday with right calf tightness.,The move is retroactive to Tuesday for the 31-year-old left-hander, who is 1-1 with a 7.71 ERA in three appearances.,Cleavinger is 14-17 with eight saves and a 3.25 ERA in 193 career ga...

Red Wings visit Rangers in quest for critical points
The Detroit Red Wings continue their quest for a playoff berth when they visit the New York Rangers for a Saturday matinee. ,It is the third and final game between these Eastern Conference foes. New York won the first meeting on the road 4-1 on Nov. 7, while Detroit pulled out a 2-1 road victory on ...

Former Big 12 foes Baylor, Oklahoma clash in Crown semifinals
Former Big 12 rivals Oklahoma and Baylor will square off in the College Basketball Crown semifinals on Saturday in Las Vegas.,Both were members of the Big 12 for 28 years before the Sooners bolted for the Southeastern Conference ahead of the 2024-25 season.,Oklahoma and Baylor came to the tournament...

Senators continue final push toward playoffs against Wild
The Ottawa Senators hold their playoff destiny in their hands as they head into their game Saturday afternoon against the visiting Minnesota Wild.,The Senators moved into the second wild-card spot from the Eastern Conference with a 4-1 win against the Sabres on Thursday night, which also prevented B...

Rapids visit Toronto FC for clash with former coach
There will be reunions on both sides of the pitch when the Colorado Rapids visit Toronto FC on Saturday afternoon.,Last week, Toronto traded defender Kosi Thompson to the Rapids for up to $400,000 in General Allocation Money. ,"The thing I love about Kosi is his versatility," Colorado coach Matt Wel...

Jackets D Damon Severson (shoulder) out for season
Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Damon Severson will miss the rest of the season following shoulder surgery, the team announced Friday.,Severson, 31, had the procedure Thursday. He sustained the injury after absorbing a check from Zachary Bolduc in the third period of a 2-1 loss to the Montreal Cana...

Timberwolves to retire Kevin Garnett's number next season
Kevin Garnett's reunion with the Minnesota Timberwolves will include the long-awaited retirement of the Hall of Fame forward's No. 21 jersey.,The team announced Friday that Garnett will make his first appearance at Target Center in eight years on April 12, part of fan appreciation night for the regu...

Dominic Smith, Braves try for encore in rematch vs. D-backs
When Dominic Smith signed a minor league deal with the Atlanta Braves in mid-February, it was hard envisioning him having much of a role with the team.,After all, Smith's best defensive position is first base and the Braves feature Matt Olson at that spot, and Olson hasn't missed a single game in fo...

Mets turn to Nolan McLean vs. Giants in bid to end skid
The task for right-hander Nolan McLean in his 10th major league start will be much like the task in his first nine outings: save the New York Mets from spiraling further out of control.,McLean again will look to serve as a stopper on Friday night when he takes the mound as the Mets visit the San Fra...

Two of West's worst face off as Pelicans visit Kings
The New Orleans Pelicans will visit the Sacramento Kings on Friday night with an opportunity to complete a three-game season sweep. ,New Orleans (25-52) arrives in California's capital city on a six-game losing streak, playing the second leg of a back-to-back set after a 118-106 loss in Portland on ...

Key cogs remain in question as Timberwolves visit 76ers
The Minnesota Timberwolves and 76ers could be without star players on Friday night when the teams meet in Philadelphia for an important late-season clash.,Philadelphia (42-34) sits in sixth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race, although there isn't much separation between fifth and 10th plac...

Hornets eager for rookies to continue strong play in matchup vs. Pacers
The Indiana Pacers and Charlotte Hornets have something in common -- they're both playing at perhaps their highest levels of the season.,It's just that the Hornets will have much more at stake when the teams meet Friday night in Charlotte, N.C.,The Hornets (41-36) have won seven of their last nine g...

Christian Yelich, Brewers ride potent offense into series opener vs. Royals
After a stellar homestand, the Milwaukee Brewers will take their high-octane offense on the road for the first time this season when they face the Kansas City Royals on Friday night.,Milwaukee won five of its first six games by averaging 7.5 runs per contest. The Brewers' 45 total runs are tied with...

Flyers, Islanders in 'must-win' mode amid playoff chase
The Philadelphia Flyers will look to inch closer to a playoff spot when they visit the New York Islanders on Friday in Elmont, N.Y.,The Flyers (37-26-12, 86 points) fell 4-2 to the visiting Detroit Red Wings on Thursday, keeping them two points back of the second wild card in the Eastern Conference ...

Rays, Twins out to shake off subpar starts to season
The start of the season has been far from perfect for the Minnesota Twins.,But manager Derek Shelton sees reason for optimism ahead of Friday's home opener against the Tampa Bay Rays.,"The one thing we're learning about this club," Shelton said, "is they fight.",After playing their first six games o...

Braves belt 4 homers in 17-2 rout of Diamondbacks
Matt Olson, Dominic Smith and Mauricio Dubon all hit solo homers and the Atlanta Braves hit four overall while cruising to a 17-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday night in Phoenix.,None of the homers came in an eight-run fifth inning that allowed Atlanta to turn its first road game ...