v Page 869 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Precocious coaches get together as Texas Tech faces Drake
Grant McCasland is trying to steer Texas Tech to the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in the past seven NCAA Tournaments and the first time in his two seasons at the school.,Standing in his way is his best friend, Drake coach Ben McCollum.,Rest assured that the friendship will be on pause for a few hour...

Lightning continue key road stretch against Utah
The Tampa Bay Lightning continue their quest for an Atlantic Division title when they play their first-ever game in Salt Lake City on Saturday afternoon against the Utah Hockey Club.,It's the second game of a three-game Western road trip for Tampa Bay (40-23-5, 85 points), which is two points behind...

Panthers look to get back on track vs. Capitals
Alex Ovechkin is seven goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal record as the Washington Capitals go into their game against the visiting Florida Panthers on Saturday.,Ovechkin got his 888th career goal and 35th of the season in Thursday night's 3-2 home win over the Philadelphia Flyer...

Two of NHL's hottest teams face off as Canes visit Kings
The hottest team in the NHL will try to cool off another team that's beginning to boil when the Carolina Hurricanes visit the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday afternoon.,The Hurricanes (42-22-4, 88 points) have won eight in a row for the second time this season and surrendered two goals or fewer in eve...

Cooper Flagg returns, scores 14 as Duke blows by Mount St. Mary's
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Duke star freshman Cooper Flagg scored 14 points in his return to action after missing two-plus games and the Blue Devils blew out No. 16 seed Mount St. Mary's 93-49 in the NCAA Tournament's first round Friday afternoon.,Tyrese Proctor scored 13 of his 19 points in the first half, C...

Flames, Islanders desperate to keep playoff pushes going
Rare is the nonconference game that pits two teams who have as much at stake as the New York Islanders and Calgary Flames when the teams meet Saturday afternoon in Elmont, N.Y.,The Islanders and Flames were both off Friday after continuing their timely surges Thursday night. New York opened a four-g...

Padres RHP Yu Darvish (elbow) to open season on IL
San Diego Padres right-hander Yu Darvish will open the regular season on the injured list with elbow inflammation after he was shut down with arm fatigue earlier in the week.,The Padres face the Atlanta Braves at home on March 27 to begin the 2025 season.,San Diego right-hander Michael King already ...

Wild look to keep winning ways going vs. Sabres
Fresh off a pair of wins, the Minnesota Wild hope they've turned a corner offensively and will aim to keep it going when they host the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday in Saint Paul, Minn.,The Wild (39-25-5, 83 points) are coming off a 4-0 victory against the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday. They scored three...

Without Stephen Curry, Warriors set to face Hawks
The Golden State Warriors, who are trying to maintain the No. 6 spot in the Western Conference standings, will be without star Stephen Curry when they begin their six-game road trip against the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday.,Curry came away with a pelvic injury in Thursday's game against the Toronto Rap...

Pacers chasing back-to-back wins over slumping Nets
The Indiana Pacers look to stay perfect in their five-game homestand when they face the Brooklyn Nets for the second straight game on Saturday in Indianapolis.,The Pacers (40-29) won their third straight, fifth in the last six outings, and improved to 2-0 on the home stretch with a 105-99 overtime d...

Stars out to end disappointing trend against Flyers
The Dallas Stars have continued to tread water since the trade deadline and will try to escape their funk when they host the struggling Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday afternoon.,Dallas has gone 2-2-2 over the past two weeks and most recently lost 3-2 in a shootout to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thur...

Oilers' Connor McDavid to have MRI, ruled out vs. Kraken
Edmonton Oilers superstar captain Connor McDavid will undergo an MRI on Friday, one day after sustaining a lower-body injury in the second period of a 4-3 overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets.,McDavid appeared to get hurt after being bumped by Winnipeg defenseman Josh Morrissey in his pursuit of the p...

Agent: Lions sign CB Avonte Maddox to 1-year deal
The Detroit Lions signed former Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Avonte Maddox to a one-year contract, agent Jason Chayut confirmed Friday.,Maddox, who turns 29 on March 31, capped his seven-year tenure in Philadelphia with a victory in Super Bowl LIX.,Maddox played in all 17 regular-season games (thr...

Bigs center of attention as top seed Auburn clashes with Creighton
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The top seed in the NCAA Tournament received a wake-up call Thursday in its first-round game. ,Now, No. 1 Auburn strives to show up from the start when they play No. 9 Creighton in a second-round South Region game Saturday night at Rupp Arena., ,Auburn (29-5) led No. 16 seed Alabam...

Blues continue playoff push against bumbling Blackhawks
While the Chicago Blackhawks are freshly eliminated from postseason contention, the St. Louis Blues now find themselves in the middle of the Western Conference playoff chase.,The Central Division rivals on contrasting paths will meet Saturday afternoon at St. Louis.,The Blackhawks (20-40-9, 49 point...

Slipper-worthy McNeese primed for No. 4 seed Purdue
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Every March has a Cinderella, and on the first day of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, No. 12 seed McNeese completed an emphatic opening audition to become this tournament's lasting underdog story.,The two-time defending Southland Conference champions were the lowest seed to win on Thur...

Rangers' J.T. Miller gets reacquainted with Canucks in matinee
On Jan. 31, the New York Rangers acquired J.T. Miller from the Vancouver Canucks. The deal was intended to help the Canucks change the vibe in their locker room and aid the Rangers in a quest to reach the postseason.,Since then, both teams have produced middling results but will attempt to improve t...

Cal, Pitino in spotlight ahead of Arkansas-St. John's
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- One of the major storylines entering March Madness was the legendary coaching talent walking the sidelines in Providence.,A second-round matchup between second-seeded St. John's (31-4) and 10th-seeded Arkansas (21-13) pits two of the best in Rick Pitino and John Calipari.,The duo...

Wolves look to snap out of 2-game slump in Pelicans rematch
Something seems to be off with the Minnesota Timberwolves. That's the bad news.,The good news, veteran forward Julius Randle said, is that the Timberwolves still have time to snap back into shape as the regular season winds down.,"We've just got to get our energy back, man -- our swag," Randle said....

Josh Berry looking to start another streak at Miami
So apparently Christopher Bell will not win nearly every NASCAR Cup Series race after all.,First-year Wood Brothers Racing driver Josh Berry powered the iconic No. 21 Ford around Las Vegas Motor Speedway to break Bell's three-race stranglehold on the sport and give an enormous boost to NASCAR's olde...