v Page 744 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Panthers in search of speed in visit to Blue Jackets
The Florida Panthers find themselves scrambling to shore up their defense as they continue their six-game road trip against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.,Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov is deemed week-to-week after sustaining an apparent right arm injury in the first period of Florida's 4-2 setba...

Navy's Ed DeChellis retires after 29 seasons as a head coach
Navy coach Ed DeChellis announced his retirement on Wednesday after coaching 426 games over 14 seasons at the Academy.,DeChellis, 66, surpassed Ben Carnevale (417) for most games coached at the school earlier this season. He went 196-230 at Navy, including 15-19 this season.,"It has been a great hon...

Peter Malnati faces strong field in defense of Valspar title
Xander Schauffele headlines a surprisingly strong field at the Valspar Championship, the last leg of the PGA Tour's Florida swing that tees off Thursday in Palm Harbor, Fla.,Schauffele is the No. 3 player in the Official World Golf Ranking, one of seven top-20 players at Innisbrook Resort's Copperhe...

Avalanche D Josh Manson (upper-body) out 3-4 weeks
Colorado defenseman Josh Manson is expected to miss three to four weeks because of an upper-body injury, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said Wednesday.,Manson, 33, was injured in a 4-2 victory over the Calgary Flames on Friday, leaving late in the second period. He was listed as week-to-week and sat o...

Panthers D Dmitry Kulikov (upper body) week-to-week
The Florida Panthers have lost another blueliner for a while.,Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov is listed as week-to-week with an upper-body injury, Panthers coach Paul Maurice told reporters Wednesday.,Kulikov sustained the injury after colliding awkwardly at high speed with New York Islanders forward Anth...

Reports: EA Sports increases player payments for College Football 26
College football players are reportedly getting a raise for appearing in EA Sports' next video game.,The name, image and likeness payments will increase from $600 to $1,500 for Football Bowl Subdivision players who are included in the upcoming "College Football 26" release, per multiple reports.,Pla...

Racing Louisville F Bethany Balcer taking a break
Racing Louisville's Bethany Balcer announced Wednesday that she is taking a break from soccer to focus on herself.,"I've always preached that when soccer is no longer fun, and you don't find joy in doing it, something needs to change," the 28-year-old forward posted on Instagram.,Balcer has scored 4...

Vanderbilt takes aim at stingy Saint Mary's defense
East Region opponents Saint Mary's and Vanderbilt meet in the first round Friday in Cleveland, bringing squads of considerably different makeup but with a similar goal: reaching the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in more than a decade.,Seventh-seeded Saint Mary's (28-5) has...

Tom Izzo preps Michigan St. for late-night date with Bryant
Michigan State opens as the NCAA Tournament late show with no designs on going home early. ,The Spartans (27-6) won the Big Ten regular-season title and extended the program's streak to 27 consecutive appearances in the tournament. They were given the No. 2 seed in the South Region in Cleveland. The...

North Carolina battles Ole Miss after rout in First Four
MILWAUKEE -- The question of which team sixth-seeded Ole Miss would face in the first round of the NCAA Tournament South Region on Friday was emphatically answered by North Carolina.,The 11th-seeded Tar Heels (23-13), whose spot in the tournament was roundly questioned, advanced with a 95-68 rout of...

Kentucky vies to clear upset-prone tag; underdog asks 'Why not Troy?'
MILWAUKEE -- First-year Kentucky coach Mark Pope is extremely familiar with the Wildcats' NCAA Tournament legacy, but he's also well aware of the recent history of opening-weekend upsets.,The No. 3-seeded Wildcats face No. 14 seed Troy in the opening round of the Midwest Region on Friday in Milwauke...

Keeshawn Barthelemy, Oregon keeping Liberty in sight
Oregon and Liberty have never met on the basketball court and Ducks guard Keeshawn Barthelemy isn't buying into talk his team holds the advantage in the first-round matchup.,No. 5 seed Oregon raced to get up to speed on the 12th-seeded Flames, the Ducks' opponent in the East Region on Friday at Seat...

After 'heavy year,' reigning champ UConn takes aim at Oklahoma
RALEIGH, N.C. -- UConn openly embraces the opportunity for another chance to make something of the 2024-25 season.,Looking for a third consecutive national championship, UConn pushed its way into the NCAA Tournament and the eight-seeded Huskies (23-10) drew No. 9 seed Oklahoma (20-13) on Friday nigh...

Trey Townsend, Arizona keeping guard up vs. Akron
Trey Townsend is the perfect player to alert his Arizona teammates about what can happen if they don't fully prepare for first-round opponent Akron.,Townsend was one of the stars of the 14th-seeded Oakland team that took down No. 3 Kentucky in last year's first round of the NCAA Tournament.,After tr...

Seniors carry Marquette into matchup with New Mexico
Marquette spent the entire season in the Top 25, used the same starting five for all 33 games, and will journey to Cleveland for the first round of the NCAA Tournament with the same goal the team had in October: End the season in San Antonio to prolong the end of the season as long as possible. ,The...

Shuffling from underdog to favorite, Florida ready for Norfolk State
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Florida coach Todd Golden said his team embraced an underdog mentality while navigating its way through the power-laden Southeastern Conference.,The Gators (30-4) won't have that angle to use in their NCAA Tournament opener against Norfolk State (24-10) on Friday night.,Florida, the...

Derik Queen, Maryland face tourney-tested Grand Canyon
Bryce Drew knows all about shining moments in the NCAA Tournament. His task now is to create more.,Drew's buzzer-beating 3-pointer lifted No. 13 seed Valparaiso to a 70-69 victory over No. 4 seed Ole Miss in the first round of the 1998 NCAA Tournament, and Valpo rode that wave to the Sweet Sixteen.,...

No. 12 Colorado State looks to make statement vs. Memphis
Nique Clifford kept receipts.,The Colorado State star made sure everyone knew he knew how badly underrated his team was on Saturday when it won the Mountain West Conference tournament after it was rated seventh in the league's preseason poll.,Clifford and the 12th-seeded Rams have a chance to prove ...

Kings, minus Domantas Sabonis, look to extend Cavs' mini skid
The Sacramento Kings hope to turn a single success into a much-needed home winning streak when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.,The Kings (34-33) fell to .500 and into ninth place in the Western Conference over the weekend following a four-game losing streak that included 29-, 2...

Kraken aim to continue strong play against Wild
The Seattle Kraken will ride a four-game point streak into their Wednesday matchup against the Minnesota Wild in Saint Paul, Minn.,The Kraken (30-34-5, 65 points) defeated the host Chicago Blackhawks 6-2 on Tuesday, rallying from a 2-0 first-period deficit to improve to 3-0-1 over the past week.,Sha...