Tag: Sports transactions

Hurricanes have 5-goal 2nd, rout Devils 6-1 for 3-1 lead

[ad_1]

NEWARK, N.J. — Jordan Martinook had a goal and two assists and the Carolina Hurricanes scored five times in the second period to beat the New Jersey Devils 6-1 on Tuesday night for a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal.

Martin Necas scored twice and Brett Pesce, Jesper Fast and Brent Burns added goals as the Hurricanes routed the young Devils for the third time in four games. Frederik Andersen made 21 saves in a relatively easy game after giving up an early goal to Jack Hughes.

The Hurricanes have outscored New Jersey 17-3 in their three wins. The five goals in the second period were the most the Devils have given up in a period this season.

The Canes, who edged the Devils for the Metropolitan Division title, can wrap up the best-of-seven series Thursday night in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Despite being down 2-1, New Jersey seemed to have the momentum coming into Game 4. It posted a one-sided 8-4 win on Sunday and had things and the crowd going their way after Hughes’ early tip for his sixth goal of the postseason.

Things changed late in the opening period when Martinook set up Necas with a deft flip pass for shot in close that beat Vitek Vanecek.

Everything went the Hurricanes way in the second period. They got a couple of friendly bounces off Devils’ sticks, and then poured it on as a time out by New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff and later a goaltender change to first-round hero Akira Schmid didn’t change the luck.

Martinook, who didn’t score a point in the six-game first-round win over the Islanders, was at the center of things in the big second period, which featured the first four goals in a 5:20 span.

Necas put Carolina ahead at 7:26 when Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler deflected a cross-ice pass by Pesce and it went to the Carolina forward alone in front.

Martinook, who has nine points in this series, had a hand in the final two goals. He had the secondary assist on Burns’ first of the postseason at 12:46.

Martinook closed out the five-goal spree by beating Schmid on a break at 19:36.

Vanecek allowed five goals on 17 shots.

Hughes got the Devils on the board at 1:55, tipping Timo Meier’s shot between Andersen’s pads for his sixth goal. Necas tied at 17:40 in close.

NOTES: The Devils made no changes in their lineup after their one-sided win on Sunday. Ruff again used seven defenseman. … New Jersey D Ryan Graves missed his second straight game with an upper-body injury. … Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour made one changing, sitting Jesse Puljujarvi and inserting MacKenzie MacEachern on the fourth line. … Martinook has three goals and six assists in the series.

___

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

[ad_2]

Source link

May 9, 2023
Haase 2 HRs in twinbill, knocks in 6 as Tigers sweep Mets

[ad_1]

DETROIT — Eric Haase homered in both games of a doubleheader, driving in six runs, and the Detroit Tigers tagged Max Scherzer in his return from a suspension to sweep the New York Mets with an 8-1 victory Wednesday night.

Haase had five RBIs in the first game, including a go-ahead single in the eighth inning of a 6-5 comeback win, and then added one of Detroit’s two homers off Scherzer in the nightcap.

“I’ve watched him pitch a lot,” said Haase, who grew up a Tigers fan in Detroit. “I want to say that was just another homer, but it was obviously pretty cool.”

The slumping Mets have lost eight of 10. They were playing their second consecutive doubleheader in three days after getting rained out three times since Saturday.

“We’ve got to be a lot better than this, and it isn’t just about Max,” manager Buck Showalter said. “We only scored one run in the second game, which isn’t going to beat many teams.”

New York had gone 25 doubleheaders without getting swept, since Washington took both games from the visiting Mets on Sept. 26, 2020. That was the second-longest such streak of the expansion era. The New York Yankees went 30 doubleheaders without losing both games between 1996-2006.

The Tigers were hosting the Mets for the first time in seven years. The series opener was rained out Tuesday and rescheduled as part of a day-night doubleheader.

In the second game, Scherzer struggled against his former team. Detroit scored twice in the first inning, Haase homered in the second and Matt Vierling hit a two-run homer in the fourth.

“It’s always a good feeling when you can knock any starter out early,” Vierling said. “It doesn’t matter who it is — that’s going to give you some momentum.”

Scherzer (2-2) allowed six runs and eight hits in 3 1/3 innings. He was suspended for 10 games by Major League Baseball on April 20 after getting ejected for having a foreign substance on his pitching hand during his April 19 start against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“I was spraying the ball around, and I wasn’t good from the stretch,” Scherzer said. “That’s what you expect after a layoff.”

Michael Lorenzen (1-1) allowed one run in seven innings to get his first win with Detroit, which is 2-14 against the AL East and 10-3 versus everyone else.

“It’s just random,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “That’s just baseball.”

The Tigers trailed 5-4 in the eighth inning of the first game, but Vierling blooped a single with one out and Adam Ottavino (0-2) hit Javier Báez with a pitch. Riley Greene grounded to first for the second out, advancing both runners, and Haase hit a two-run single to right-center.

Tyler Alexander (1-0) got the win by retiring the last batter in the eighth. Alex Lange pitched the ninth for his fourth save.

With a strong wind blowing out to left field, the hitters had the advantage in the early innings. Detroit took a 3-0 lead on Haase’s first homer of the season in the first, but the Mets came back in the second with solo home runs from Tommy Pham and Mark Canha.

Báez made it 4-2 in the third with a long homer over the first section of seats above the Tigers bullpen in left — his first of the season — but the Mets took the lead in the fifth. Brett Baty singled, went to second on Greene’s error in center and then scored when Tomás Nido singled and left fielder Andy Ibanez threw wildly to the plate.

Starting pitcher Joey Wentz retired the next two hitters, but Francisco Lindor made it 5-4 with a long homer to left-center.

ROSTER MOVES

The Mets brought up RHP José Butto to serve as the 27th man for the doubleheader, and they activated Scherzer from the suspended list. Scherzer entered 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA against Detroit since leaving in 2015, striking out 34 batters in 17 innings without a walk.

The Tigers called up RHP Brendan White to be their 27th man.

WET SPRING

A cold rain fell off and on during the first game. The Tigers were playing their third doubleheader in their last three home series.

UP NEXT

The Tigers are scheduled to face another old friend in Thursday’s series finale. Justin Verlander is scheduled to make his Mets debut against Detroit LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (2-2, 2.21 ERA). Verlander has been sidelined all season with a muscle strain in his upper back.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

[ad_2]

Source link

May 4, 2023
New Mexico St player: ‘First it hurts, then it changes you’

[ad_1]

He came to New Mexico State to play basketball, maybe even live out a dream. On Wednesday, former Aggies basketball player Deuce Benjamin, flanked by his father and a former teammate, broke down as he shared the impact of his brief, troubling stay on the team.

“First it hurts, then it changes you,” Benjamin said, while choking back tears that eventually would start flowing. “There’s a part of me that hasn’t been the same.”

Benjamin and former Aggie Shak Odunewu held a news conference on the edge of NMSU’s campus in Las Cruces to discuss the lawsuit they filed alleging teammates ganged up and sexually assaulted them multiple times, while their coaches and others at the school didn’t act when confronted with the allegations.

The players, their attorneys and Benjamin’s dad, William, an Aggie Hall of Famer who also is a plaintiff in the lawsuit, spent nearly an hour detailing the ways the university failed the students.

“My child has been failed. My family has been failed,” said William Benjamin as he, too, paused to hold back tears. “And as a father, I feel like I failed my son for putting him in this situation.”

New Mexico State spokesman Justin Bannister released a statement saying the school “continues to regard this matter as extremely important.”

“The kind of behavior described in those allegations has no place on our campus,” Bannister said.

As much as rehashing the gruesome details alleged in the lawsuit, the news conference provided a chance to review all the other issues that have surrounded New Mexico State — and come up anew — because of it.

One was the five-year contract extension given to athletic director Mario Moccia. It was a deal signed on the last day of the tenure of outgoing chancellor Dan Arvizu, who himself has been roundly criticized for his leadership during the troubling times for the basketball program.

This week, the faculty senate will vote on releasing a letter, a draft of which was obtained by The Associated Press, voicing their concern with the contract extension, which the letter called “both astonishing and deeply disheartening.”

Another was the brushoff Benjamin got from Jason Hooten, the coach who replaced Greg Heiar, after Arvizu fired Heiar and canceled the rest of the basketball season when details of the assault first went public in February.

“I don’t think you’re supposed to hit the reset button and lump in victims with everyone you’re getting rid of,” William Benjamin said. “Deuce was going to be an Aggie if he was good enough.”

There wasn’t much doubt about that. Playing for his dad at Las Cruces High, Deuce Benjamin was a two-time player of the year in New Mexico whose dream was to follow in his dad’s footsteps.

“Growing up, I always wanted to be an Aggie,” Deuce said.

That almost certainly won’t happen, and Odunewu will be looking for other options, as well. Everyone involved agreed that navigating these players’ futures will be more difficult now, and the top priority won’t necessarily be hoops.

Odunewu was a redshirt freshman who said he endured the same assaults as Benjamin did. Odunewu said his Muslim faith made him hesitant to go public with his story because “there were people involved with this … and I was going to mess up their careers.”

“But it just got to a point where I just can’t bear anymore,” he said. “And it’s just sad my college experience had to go like this. … I hope me and Deuce will have the strength to move past this and become dominant in whatever path we choose.”

The state’s department of education is getting involved. Last week, it sent a letter to New Mexico State, asking it to investigate both the interaction between Deuce Benjamin and Hooten and the full athletic department in general.

Attorney Ramez Shamieh said the lawsuit has two missions: to find justice for the Benjamins and Odunewu and to effect change at a school where the basketball program alone has sparked no fewer than a half-dozen investigations.

“By putting pressure on the university to make changes to hold people accountable, there’s going to be change,” Shamieh said. “That’s what we’re trying to gain out of this. And then from a human standpoint, we want these kids to move on.”

___

AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

[ad_2]

Source link

May 3, 2023
Vierling drives in 4 as Tigers top Orioles 7-4 in DH opener

[ad_1]

Matt Vierling had three hits and four RBIs as the Detroit Tigers beat the Baltimore Orioles 7-4 in the first game of a doubleheader

ByDAVE HOGG Associated Press

DETROIT — Matt Vierling had three hits and four RBIs as the Detroit Tigers beat the Baltimore Orioles 7-4 in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday.

Zach Short homered and Eduardo Rodriguez pitched effectively into the sixth inning for the Tigers, who improved to 2-12 against AL East opponents this season.

Jorge Mateo hit a three-run homer, but Baltimore lost for only the second time in 11 games.

Rodriguez (2-2) allowed one run on four hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings, striking out six. He is 2-0 with a 0.68 ERA in his last four starts.

Alex Lange pitched the ninth for his third save.

Orioles starter Dean Kremer (2-1) gave up five runs on 11 hits and two walks in six innings.

The Tigers took a 3-0 lead in the first on an RBI single by Javier Báez and a two-run single by Vierling.

James McCann homered in the second, snapping Rodriguez’s 18-inning scoreless streak. It was McCann’s second home run for Baltimore, both against his former team.

Riley Greene made it 4-1 with an RBI single in the second, scoring Zach McKinstry for the second time on his 28th birthday.

Vierling added RBI doubles in the third and seventh.

McCann popped out with the bases loaded to end the sixth, but Mateo trimmed it to 6-4 with a three-run homer off Mason Englert in the eighth.

Short homered in the eighth to make it 7-4.

ROSTER MOVES

Baltimore added LHP DL Hall as the 27th man for the doubleheader. Hall allowed two runs and five hits over three innings of relief in his season debut.

Short was added as Detroit’s 27th man for the twinbill.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Tigers: Placed OF Kerry Carpenter (shoulder) on the 10-day injured list and selected INF Andy Ibanez from Triple-A Toledo.

UP NEXT

Orioles rookie Grayson Rodriguez (0-0) was scheduled to start the second game of the doubleheader against Tigers LHP Matthew Boyd (1-1, 4.26 ERA).

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

[ad_2]

Source link

April 29, 2023
After 13 years in the minors, Pirates’ Maggi makes MLB debut

[ad_1]

PITTSBURGH — After 13 years in the minor leagues, Drew Maggi was greeted with a standing ovation when he made his major league debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night.

The 33-year-old, who played 1,154 games in the minors, pinch hit for five-time All-Star McCutchen in the eighth inning with the Pirates ahead by seven runs. Maggi saw four pitches from Alex Vesia, striking out on a slider, in an at-bat that included a pitch-clock violation by the rookie batter.

“It’s the best strikeout I ever had,” Maggi said with a smile after the Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-1.

After making 4,494 plate appearances in the minors,Maggio was called up from Double-A Altoona on Sunday when outfielder Bryan Reynolds was placed on the bereavement list. Manager Derek Shelton didn’t find a spot to use Maggi during his first two games in Pittsburgh and Maggi was fearful of a repeat of 2019, when he was called up by Minnesota for a few days but didn not appear in a game.

Shelton, who was Twins’ bench coach then, was thrilled that he was able to get Maggi in.

“That was cool. That was really cool,” Shelton said. “I mean to be able to, as long as I’ve known him, to be able to be the person that was telling him (to pinch-hit) was just really cool.”

“This is it. This is the moment,’” Maggio remembered thinking.

He fouled a fastball deep down the left-field line and fell behind 0-2 on the clock violation as the crowd of 12,152 booed plate umpire Jeff Nelson.

After fouling another fastball to the right side, Maggi took a high-and-outside fastball before swinging over a pitch in the dirt. He ran to first, where catcher Austin Wynn’s throw to Freddie Freeman easily beat him for the out.

Maggi said he never had any regrets for spending more than a decade in the minors. However, he admitted Wednesday’s at-bat made all those years of chasing his dream worth it.

“I love baseball,” Maggi said. “I was grinding for 13 years but I was doing what I loved. The ultimate goal is the big leagues. Just kind of getting here, my name is in history. I put on a big league uniform, and I shared the field with the world’s greatest players.”

Maggi spent a few moments after the game visiting with family along the box seat railing. The magnitude of the moment hit him once he saw his parents, who had made the trip from Phoenix, and other family members.

“There were a lot of `I love you. We’re proud of you. You did it,!” Maggi said. “I saw my dad crying. I don’t think I ever saw him cry before. All those years, I wondered what I would say to my parents if that moment ever were to come. They’ve been right there with me. Hearing those words made it all worthwhile. I know the last 13 years have not been wasted.”

___

More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

[ad_2]

Source link

April 26, 2023
Avs’ Makar suspended for game vs. Kraken; Bruins can advance

[ad_1]

Colorado Avalanche star defenseman Cale Makar was suspended one game by the NHL on Tuesday for his hit on Seattle’s Jared McCann early in a Game 4 loss to the Kraken.

Makar, last year’s Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff MVP, will be a spectator for Game 5 on Wednesday night with the series tied 2-2. The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced the suspension after a hearing with Makar.

“Disappointing, but I really don’t have any thoughts on it besides that,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said after the team arrived in Denver.

Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said after the Kraken’s 3-2 overtime win Monday night that McCann would miss Game 5 and likely be out longer. He did not specify McCann’s injury.

In a video announcing the suspension, the league called it an improper “body check to a vulnerable player.”

“Makar finishes this hit well outside the allowable window to finish a check,” the league said. “In addition, it is clear that Makar knows McCann is not in possession of the puck when he decides to deliver this hit.”

The suspension is another blow for the Avalanche, who played the past two games without forward Valeri Nichushkin for personal reasons and have been beset by key injuries for much of the season.

Makar has led Colorado in ice time in the series, averaging 25 minutes, 15 seconds per game and he played nearly 27 minutes Monday night. He has one goal and two assists through the first four games.

Makar has no history of being fined or suspended since making his NHL debut in 2019.

“Just other guys stepping up. We’ve done it all year with different injuries and guys in and out of the lineup. Lots of roster fluctuations. Just got to move on,” Bednar said. “You’ve got to set your game plan and other guys will have to step up and play well. Obviously what he does has to be covered by committee, all six guys on the back end, just move forward, keep pushing forward.”

The hit happened midway through the first period as McCann had a short-handed breakaway attempt. His shot was saved by Colorado goalie Alexandar Georgiev with the puck going over the glass into the netting.

McCann appeared unprepared for the hit from Makar, which left Seattle’s leading scorer from the regular season on the ice for several minutes and needed help to get to the bench.

Makar said he was unaware where the puck was when he made the hit. He was originally given a 5-minute major penalty but it was reduce to a 2-minute minor for interference after a review.

“It’s unfortunate. I never want to injure guys. Hopefully he’s all right,” Makar said after the game. “I didn’t feel like I tried to finish him that hard, but I feel like if I was in that scenario they would have done the exact same thing. I’m not trying to hurt anybody.”

It is the second suspension of the 2023 playoffs. Toronto’s Michael Bunting was given three games for an illegal check to the head of Tampa Bay’s Erik Cernak in the teams’ series opener. Cernak remains out for Game 5 on Thursday night, while Bunting is eligible to return.

PANTHERS at BRUINS, Boston leads 3-1 (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)

The Bruins are getting stronger as they try to eliminate the Panthers on Wednesday night.

Captain Patrice Bergeron returned to practice Tuesday after missing the first four games of the series with an unspecified upper body injury. The Bruins will likely still be waiting for forward David Krejci. Coach Jim Montgomery said Krejci might be ready to come back for Game 6.

The Panthers are also getting healthy. Coach Paul Maurice said defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who left Friday’s game with an unspecified injury and missed Sunday’s, will be back. Forward Anthony Duclair, who missed Game 4 as well, is also expected to return as Florida tries to stay alive.

___

AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno and AP Sports Writers Pat Graham and Jimmy Golen contributed to this report.

___

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

[ad_2]

Source link

April 25, 2023
Warriors in rare territory, trail Kings 2-0 in NBA playoffs

[ad_1]

SAN FRANCISCO — Klay Thompson pondered the Golden State Warriors’ current playoff situation and expressed some relief. In years past under the old best-of-five format, the defending champions would have been on the brink of elimination trailing 2-0.

Thompson, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green have never been in the hole like this, down by two games — and this is a group that has practically seen it all over the past decade while capturing the franchise’s first championship in 40 years with the 2014-15 title and three more since, reaching the NBA Finals in five straight seasons from 2015-19 along the way.

But the upstart Sacramento Kings, coached by former top Warriors assistant Mike Brown, who helped Golden State accomplish so much as a top assistant, are coming to Chase Center on Thursday night for Game 3 of the best-of-seven first-round series with some serious momentum.

“Luckily, it’s first to four. It’s not the old format where it’s first to three,” Thompson said, “that would be not so much fun.”

The Warriors had gone 27 consecutive playoff series during the Curry era without falling behind 2-0. Steve Kerr hadn’t seen it, either, since he began coaching the team in 2014-15. Now, this group will need a mighty comeback and will perhaps have to do it without emotional leader Green after he stomped on Domantas Sabonis during the fourth quarter of Monday night’s 114-106 defeat at Golden 1 Center.

Sabonis was called for a technical foul for grabbing Green’s leg and Green received a flagrant-2 foul that led to an automatic ejection and possible discipline by the league. There was no announcement as of Tuesday night but often the NBA waits until a day before the next game.

Green has always walked a fine line with the officials and even his own team. He began the season with a short leave of absence after punching teammate Jordan Poole in the face during training camp.

Green has been called for six flagrant fouls and 27 technical fouls in 147 career playoff games. He was ejected from a playoff game against Memphis last season.

Green was suspended for a crucial Game 5 loss to LeBron James and the Cavaliers in the 2016 NBA Finals for accumulating too many flagrant fouls in the playoffs that season. The Warriors wound up losing in seven.

He’s hardly the only concern right now.

So far this series, Golden State has misfired from 3-point range — a team featuring three shooters with 200 or more 3-pointers in Curry, Thompson and Jordan Poole and Thompson with an NBA-best 301 — and has been sloppy taking care of the ball.

After Monday’s game, Curry challenged the Warriors to be smarter on both ends.

“You do this as long as we have, whatever it is, 28 series or whatever, we’ve never been in this situation, so you got to stay together and stay locked in on things we need to do better,” Curry said of the deficit. “Embrace the challenge of protecting our home court, which we’ve been great at all year. And at the end of the day, all we got to do is win one game here, somehow, some way, whatever game it is.”

Only 26 of 334 teams that fell behind 2-0 have ever rallied to win in a best-of-seven series — a .078 percentage, according to Sportradar.

This also marks just the fifth time a defending champion has trailed 2-0 in a first-round series and all the others went on to lose. The 2012 Mavericks were swept by the Thunder 4-0; the 2007 Heat lost all four matchups to the Bulls; the 1984 76ers fell 3-2 to the Nets and the 1957 Philadelphia Warriors lost 2-0 to the Syracuse Nationals.

“The way our guys fought, they showed what they’re made of,” Kerr said. “So now it’s a matter of going home and licking our wounds a little bit. We get a little rest with a couple of days in between games and we go home and take care of our home court.”

And with Curry, Green and Thompson’s experience, they never count themselves out on the big stage.

“It’s a new challenge. After the game I was thinking about that, thinking like, ‘Man, I think this is one we haven’t seen yet,’” Green said. “We’ve conquered all the rest of them so why not go conquer this one. It’ll be a lot of fun.”

This is a group that has regularly been challenged before and bounced back — even during this topsy-turvy regular season and its struggles. The Warriors dealt with injuries and Andrew Wiggins’ extended absences for a personal matter to avoid the play-in game and earn the sixth seed from the Western Conference.

“It’s unfamiliar territory, but we’ve been down 3-1. We’ve been up 3-1. We’ve been through everything. So we rely on our experience,” Thompson said. “We take a great off day and we recollect ourselves, and do what we do, and that’s play well at home — always.”

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

[ad_2]

Source link

April 18, 2023
Leonard scores 38 to lead Clippers past Durant, Suns 115-110

[ad_1]

PHOENIX — Kawhi Leonard scored 38 points, including a pair of late 3-pointers, and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Phoenix Suns 115-110 in the opener of their Western Conference playoff series on Sunday.

Eric Gordon added 19 points and hit a late 3 that kept the Clippers ahead. Russell Westbrook shot just 3 of 19 from the floor for Los Angeles but made a pair of free throws with 17.7 seconds left for a three-point lead, then blocked Devin Booker’s layup attempt at the other end and swatted the ball off Booker to give the Clippers the ball with 10.1 seconds remaining.

Kevin Durant scored 27 points for the Suns, who lost for the first time with him on the floor. Phoenix acquired the two-time NBA Finals MVP from Brooklyn in February and injuries limited him to eight games — all Suns wins.

Devin Booker added 26 points for Phoenix, which will try to avoid falling into a 2-0 hole at home on Tuesday.

The Suns trailed 109-103 with 1:33 remaining but scored the next five points. The Clippers grabbed multiple offensive rebounds on the ensuing possession before Westbrook made his critical free throws. He finished with nine points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, three blocks and two steals.

Los Angeles led for much of the evening until midway through the third quarter. Torrey Craig made back-to-back buckets, including one on a powerful fast-break dunk, to push Phoenix ahead 70-68.

It was part of a 15-0 run that put the Suns up 77-68. The Clippers, led by Leonard’s 12 points in the third, recovered to tie the game at 81-all heading into the fourth.

Leonard — a two-time Finals MVP playing his first playoff game since June 14, 2021 — did much of his damage from the mid-range, but moved behind the 3-point arc in the game’s late moments. He hit a 3 with 2:36 left and another at the 2-minute mark, finishing 13 of 24 shooting from the field.

The Clippers were missing one of their best players in eight-time All-Star Paul George. He sprained his right knee last month and it’s unclear if he’ll be able to play in this series.

Gordon scored 12 points as the Clippers jumped to a 30-18 lead after one quarter. The Suns shot just 31.8% from the field in the first quarter and Durant was held scoreless.

Durant missed his first five shots from the field before finally connecting on a mid-range jumper early in the second quarter. That seemed to shake the nerves and the 34-year-old poured in 17 points before the break, helping cut the Clippers’ lead to 59-54.

TIP-INS

Clippers: George hasn’t played since March 21. … Ivica Zubac had 10 points and 11 rebounds in the first half.

Suns: G Cam Payne (low back soreness) was not available. He was hurt in the next-to-last game of the regular season. … Were playing their first home playoff game since a 33-point loss to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 7 of last year’s Western Conference semifinals.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

[ad_2]

Source link

April 16, 2023
Wild beat Blues 5-3 to keep pace in Central Division

[ad_1]

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Ryan Hartman and Sam Steel scored short-handed goals 20 seconds apart in the first period and the Minnesota Wild earned two key late-season points by beating the St. Louis Blues 5-3 on Saturday night.

Freddy Gaudreau, Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin also scored to help the Wild end a three-game skid, its longest in two months. Filip Gustavsson made 37 saves. Back after missing 13 games with a lower-body injury, Minnesota All-Star Kirill Kaprizov was kept off the score sheet, but still leads the team with 39 goals and 72 points.

With 100 points, Minnesota pulled into a tie with Colorado, two points behind Central Division-leading Dallas. However, the Avalanche have five games left, including at Los Angeles later Saturday, while the Stars and Wild each have three left.

“You want to be rolling going into playoffs. We didn’t love our performance the last couple games,” Steel said. “I thought we played really good for the most part. We had a couple lapses, but the two points is the most important thing.”

Pavel Buchnevich, Sammy Blais and Jake Neighbours scored for the Blues, and Justin Faulk had two assists. Jordan Binnington finished with 24 saves. St. Louis, out of playoff contention, is 6-3-1 in its past 10 games.

Down 4-1 entering the third period, Neighbours and Buchnevich got the Blues within one with 12 minutes to play, but Brodin added an empty-net goal for Minnesota to seal the win.

On March 15, Binnington was ejected and later suspended for two games without pay for hitting Hartman in the face with his blocker following Hartman’s goal. Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury skated down to fight Binnington but was held back by an official.

Down 1-0 midway through the first period, Hartman quickly energized the crowd. Forcing a turnover in the neutral zone, the Wild center chased the loose puck across the St. Louis blue line. Binnington raced out and made a belly slide to get to the puck first, but Hartman was a split-second quicker poking the puck to the left of the goalie, chasing it down and scoring into an open net. He then gave a finger wag toward the crowd.

“We were down a goal, so it was nice to get a quick jumpstart. I wasn’t thinking about anything besides trying to win a game,” Hartman said.

“What we’ve liked about Hartzy for a while now is his ability to get up the ice,” Wild coach Dean Evason said. “He’s skating extremely well. Shows obviously on the two shorthanded goals how he separated. He moves his feet like he’s a very good player. Hard to handle.”

Twenty seconds later, Hartman laid a big hit on Kasperi Kapanen, corralled a loose puck and fed Steel in the slot for a quick backhand-to-forehand move and a 2-1 lead. Hartman’s two short-handed points in 20 seconds or fewer was last done by Colorado’s Peter Forsberg — 11 seconds on Dec. 3, 1995.

The two short-handed goals — quickest in the league since Boston scored twice in 15 seconds on April 10, 2010 — pushed the Wild season total to 13, tying the franchise record set in 2000-01. Only Edmonton (17) and Vancouver (14) have more this season.

“Obviously, can’t be giving up two on one power play and expect to win a hockey game, said St. Louis center Brayden Schenn.

Gaudreau made it 3-1 with a second-period power-play goal and Spurgeon scored with 34.5 seconds left in the middle frame.

ROSTER UPDATES

Acquired from Columbus on Feb. 28, LW Gustav Nyquist (shoulder) had two assists in his Wild debut. … Wild C Oskar Sundqvist did not play after leaving Thursday’s game with a lower-body injury. … St. Louis C Robert Thomas was back after missing five games with an upper-body injury. … Wild C Mason Shaw, who tore his right ACL for the second time April 1, said he’ll have reconstructive surgery next week. He’s also torn his left ACL twice.

UP NEXT

Blues: Home to Dallas on Wednesday night.

Wild: At Chicago on Monday night.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

[ad_2]

Source link

April 8, 2023
Lakers beat Suns to keep hopes alive of avoiding play-in

[ad_1]

LOS ANGELES — Darvin Ham gets briefed every morning on where his team could end up in the Western Conference playoff race. While the various scenarios are enough to warp the mind of any fan, the Los Angeles Lakers’ coach knows the only thing he can do is make sure his team keeps on winning.

The Lakers kept their hopes alive of avoiding a spot in the play-in tournament with a 121-107 victory over the resting Phoenix Suns on Friday night.

“However it falls, we need to take care of what we need to do,” Ham said after the Lakers improved to 42-39 with their eighth win in the last nine games.

Even with the win, Lakers remained the seventh seed and in a play-in spot in the Western Conference after Golden State’s victory over Sacramento.

On a night when LeBron James and Anthony Davis were held to a combined 30 points, it was two players acquired at the trade deadline that helped propel the Lakers. DeAngelo Russell led Los Angeles with 24 points and Malik Beasley had 21.

Austin Reaves, who has emerged as Los Angeles’ most improved player this season, scored 22.

“Nobody can key in on just AD and me. When you have Beasley shooting the way he was, Russell shooting at a high rate and Reaves playing exceptional it keeps the defense always out there,” said James, who had 16 points on 6-for-19 shooting.

Russell and Beasley also combined to make 10 of the Lakers’ 18 3-pointers as they pulled away in the fourth quarter.

“We’re not going to always shoot the ball tonight. LeBron and I struggled tonight but we have a complete team. The depth on our team is strong to where we had a very convincing win,” said Davis, who finished with 14 points and 21 rebounds.

The Suns, who are locked into the fourth spot in the West, rested starters Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton. It was the second game of a back-to-back set after Phoenix beat Denver on Thursday.

Torrey Craig led Phoenix with 18 points, Jock Landale had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Josh Okogie scored 16 points.

Suns coach Monty Williams did not say if he would sit his core four starters again in Sunday’s regular-season finale against the LA Clippers.

“We’ll evaluate tomorrow and do what’s best for our guys. Thankfully, we’re in a position where we’ll have time to play next week and get the conditioning level where it needs to be,” he said.

It was tied at 96 early in the fourth quarter before the Lakers scored 11 straight points as part of a 13-2 run. James had seven points during the spurt and Rui Hachimura added four.

“I thought we played great, we just couldn’t make a shot in the second half,” Williams said. “They made 18 3s and a lot of them happened at the end of plays. We had a lot of open shots we just couldn’t convert and that happens on a back-to-back.”

TIP INS

Suns: Phoenix had a pair of injuries occur during the second quarter. Bismack Biyombo injured his right knee after a collision with Anthony Davis. Earlier, Cameron Payne tweaked his lower back in a hard fall.

“It’s one of the reasons why you’re cautious this time of the year. We’re grateful that they weren’t worse,” Williams said. “We’ll wait to get all the images and official stuff done before we make anything from an announcement standpoint.”

Lakers: Beasley scored 11 points in the second quarter. … Davis had eight rebounds during the third quarter.

UP NEXT

Suns: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday in what could be a first-round preview.

Lakers: Host Utah on Sunday.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

[ad_2]

Source link

April 8, 2023
Bane’s late burst leads Grizzlies past Trail Blazers 119-109

[ad_1]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Desmond Bane scored 30 points and keyed a fourth-quarter rally, Ja Morant added 23 points and nine assists and the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the short-handed Portland Trail Blazers 119-109 on Tuesday night.

Luke Kennard added 20 for Memphis, converting 6 of 10 3-pointers.

Skylar Mays, who signed a 10-day contract with Portland last weekend, led the Trail Blazers with 24 points and seven assists. Shaedon Sharpe added 20 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Jabari Walker finished with 16 points.

Portland held the lead with nine minutes left, but Bane connected on a trio of 3-pointers over a four-minute stretch midway through the fourth. That was part of a 22-2 Memphis run to put away the feisty Trail Blazers.

“We tied it up, and we went on a nice run,” Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said of the fourth quarter when Memphis outscored Portland 23-14. “Des (Bane) helped spark that.”

As it has in recent games, Portland played without key pieces, such as leading scorers Damian Lillard (32.2 points a game), Anfernee Simons (21.1 points) and Jerami Grant (20.5 points), along with top rebounder Jusuf Nurkic (9.1 boards per game).

That left a number of reserves to carry the Trail Blazers, who are out of the playoff hunt. But Portland coach Chauncey Billups praised his team for their fortitude in a hostile environment.

Justin Minaya, the 24-year-old son of former New York Mets general manager Omar Minaya, was signed to a 10-day contract and made his NBA debut. He scored eight points, had four rebounds and two assists in 17 minutes. Minaya had played 27 games for Mexico City in the NBA G League.

Memphis not only won its 50th game of the year, but finished the season 35-6 at home, clinching the best home slate in the league.

“I thought we definitely played hard,” said Walker, who was 6 of 11 from the field, including a trio of 3-pointers. “We were in it the whole game, and that speaks volumes to all the guys, how competitive we are and how much heart we have.”

The Trail Blazers chipped away at a 19-point Memphis lead in the first half when the Grizzlies became lackadaisical with the ball. That, and a much more focused Portland defense, led to Memphis holding a slim 66-62 lead at the break.

“We just went to old habits,” Morant said of the lackluster play in the game’s middle stages. “Just no energy. That was pretty much it. We weren’t taking them lightly at all. We’d seen what they’ve done the last couple of games.”

At the start of the third quarter, Portland’s intensity continued, and the Trail Blazers not only pulled even, but took the lead. They were still tied until Bane and the Grizzlies pulled away with the late burst.

“For us to be able to stay together and come back and get a win was big-time,” Morant said.

TIP-INS

Trail Blazers: Portland was one of the few visiting teams to defeat the Grizzlies this season, winning 122-112 on Feb. 1. … Portland already had eight players listed as “out” with the early injury reports. By the time Billups got to the podium for his pregame comments, three more previously listed as questionable were not available. That left nine Trail Blazers in uniform. … Jeenathan Williams, the rookie out of Buffalo signed by Portland on Saturday, started his first game and finished with four points.

Grizzlies: F Dillon Brooks took the night off with right hip soreness. Kennard started in Brooks’ spot. … The win snapped a four-game losing streak to Portland at FedExForum.

KENNARD ACCURACY

Kennard started the game hitting all four of his 3-pointers before finishing 6 of 10 from outside the arc. He has made better than 50% of his 3-pointers since joining the Grizzlies in a trade deadline deal in February. Morant told Kennard to keep shooting when he is on that kind of streak. “Whatever shot he likes, we love,” Morant said.

UP NEXT

Trail Blazers: Play Thursday at San Antonio against the Spurs.

Grizzlies: Play the Pelicans in New Orleans on Wednesday.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

[ad_2]

Source link

April 5, 2023
Horton-Tucker’s career-high 41 lead Jazz past Spurs 128-117

[ad_1]

SAN ANTONIO — Talen Horton-Tucker scored a career-high 41 points and the Utah Jazz defeated the Spurs 128-117 on Wednesday night in what could have been coach Gregg Popovich’s final home game in San Antonio.

Utah snapped a four-game skid to keep its fading playoff hopes alive in its first season under Will Hardy, who served five seasons under Popovich as an assistant coach.

“I’m probably not the right person to ask and, at this point, I’m not sure he’s the right person to ask either,” Hardy said about Popovich’s possible retirement.

Popovich has given no indication that he is retiring or even that he will return for his 28th season. The annual speculation has intensified, though, especially since the 74-year-old coach allowed his expected induction this summer into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame after years of refusing to even be nominated.

The Spurs have two home games remaining, but those will be played 73 miles away in Austin’s new Moody Center.

“It’s something that is real, but I try not to think about it too much,” Spurs point guard Tre Jones said. “I feel like he has time left, for sure, coaching. I don’t see him stopping anytime soon, but honestly, nobody really knows. Obviously, I hope he will be back coaching us next year.”

Popovich has overseen a young roster that has struggled with injuries, consistency, and defense — and that continued against Utah.

San Antonio (19-57) lost its fifth straight in its worst season since 1997, the year it drafted Tim Duncan with the No. 1 overall pick.

Rookie Malaki Branham led San Antonio with 21 points. Jones, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Devonte’ Graham each added 17.

The Jazz were without Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, Jordan Clarkson and Rudy Gay, while the Spurs were without starters Keldon Johnson, Jeremy Sochan and Devin Vassell.

“It’s pretty much been like that all year, so we’re kind of used to it,” Popovich said. “As long as they’re giving effort, they’re all learning. They’re making mistakes, but overall, that’s what we’re trying to do. No matter who’s out, no matter who’s not playing, other guys are happy to get minutes.

“So, trying to get to learn how to play is what this is all about.”

Horton-Tucker responded by shooting 15 for 25 from the field, including 6 for 11 on 3-pointers.

“Just trying to get out in transition and get easy buckets,” Horton-Tucker said. “Usually when we have Lauri or JC (Clarkson) playing, (I’m) hitting them early in transition, getting them baskets. But, also for me, getting downhill early in the clock is something I feel is hard to guard for certain teams.”

Kris Dunn added 17 points and Udoka Azubuike had 12 points, both off the bench for the Jazz.

Utah remains in 12th place in the Western Conference, a half-game behind Dallas for 11th and 1 1/2 games behind Oklahoma City for the final berth in the play-in tournament.

TIP-INS

Jazz: Former Spurs first-round pick Luka Samanic had nine points and nine rebounds in his first NBA game since May 12, 2021. Utah recently signed Samanic to a 10-day contract.

Spurs: Veterans Doug McDermott and Gorgui Dieng were both active but did not play as Popovich opted to give his younger players extended minutes.

MIC DROP

While Johnson and Sochan did not play, the team’s starting forwards addressed the crowd before the game during the Spurs’ Fan Appreciation Night.

After thanking Spurs fans for their support, Sochan said: “And any Utah fans here, you’re about to lose tonight. Go Spurs, go!”

The Spurs joked about Sochan’s bold words after the game.

“I don’t think we should ever do that again,” Jones said, laughing. “When he mentioned the other team, I was like ‘Oh, God. Where is this going?’”

UP NEXT

Jazz: At Boston on Friday.

Spurs: At Golden State on Friday.

—

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

[ad_2]

Source link

March 29, 2023
AP source: Texas reaches deal with Terry as full-time coach

[ad_1]

A person with knowledge of the deal says Texas has reached an agreement with Rodney Terry to be the Longhorns’ full-time head basketball coach

ByJIM VERTUNO AP Sports Writer

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas has reached an agreement with Rodney Terry to be the Longhorns’ full-time head basketball coach, taking the interim tag off his title after he led the program to the Elite Eight following the midseason firing of Chris Beard, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press.

Texas was knocked out of the NCAA Tournament by Miami on Sunday, ending its longest postseason run since 2008. Terry and Texas officials reached the agreement Monday, according to a person with knowledge of the deal who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Financial terms of the deal were not immediately available.

Terry took over the Longhorns as acting head coach when Beard was first suspended on Dec. 12 after a felony domestic violence arrest. Terry was giving the title of interim head coach when Beard was fired Jan. 5.

Texas won the Big 12 Tournament championship and questions about Terry’s future with the program were amplified as the Longhorns kept winning in the postseason. Texas fans wondered what more he needed to prove and Longhorns players publicly advocated for him to get the job.

Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte had praised Terry’s job handling the team in crisis and gave him a raise, though only through April. He’d also noted Terry inherited a veteran roster and strong staff of assistants built by Beard.

___

AP March Madness coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

[ad_2]

Source link

March 27, 2023
Grizzlies clinch playoff berth with 151-114 rout of Rockets

[ad_1]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Luke Kennard made a franchise-record 10 3-pointers to match his career high with 30 points, Desmond Bane added 25 points and the Memphis Grizzlies clinched a playoff spot after building a 31-point halftime lead and coasting to a 151-114 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday night.

Kennard, acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers in a trade deadline deal Feb. 9, connected on 10 of 11 shots from outside the arc — only the second player in NBA history to score 30 points all on 3-pointers. Bane was 5 of 7 from 3-point range as Memphis made 25 3-pointers to set a franchise mark.

“When you start hitting a couple in a row, usually about three for me, I start feeling it a little bit,” Kennard said. “It’s the kind of thing where once it leaves your hand, you think it’s going in. So, it was pretty fun.”

Ja Morant scored 18 points and had eight assists in his second game after serving an eight-game league-imposed suspension after he posted a video in which he is shown waving a gun at a Denver-area strip club. Morant, as he did in his first game back Wednesday also against the Rockets, again came off the bench. He entered with 5:08 left in the first quarter.

Jaren Jackson Jr. also scored 18 points and had seven rebounds and two blocks for Memphis, which had the second-most points in franchise history. The Grizzlies won their 11th straight at home and moved within three games of idle Denver, which holds the top spot in the Western Conference.

Tari Eason had 21 points to lead Houston, while Kevin Porter Jr. and Jabari Smith Jr. each had 20. Porter also had seven assists and six rebounds. Smith grabbed eight boards.

Unlike Wednesday night’s game between the teams that was closely played, Memphis put this one out of reach in the first half. The Grizzlies shot 60% overall in the half, connected on 14 of 25 from outside the arc and built the advantage to as many as 31 with an 83-52 lead at the break.

“We weren’t physical with them. They were physical with us,” Rockets coach Stephen Silas said. “We were just letting them run around wherever they wanted. Obviously, Kennard got going and we were just late (defending the 3-point line).”

While Memphis isn’t normally known for its 3-point shooting, Silas noted that Kennard and Bane combined to make 15 long-range shots.

“Kennard was 10 for 11. The guy was going,” Silas said.

For Kennard, it was the best game for Memphis since the trade. Soon after he arrived, he was reluctant to take shots as he became more comfortable with his new team. From coaches to players, all have encouraged him to take his shot.

“Obviously, he’s coming out talking about how we’ve been on him, his teammates have been on him talking about being more aggressive,” Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said. “You see his confidence building one game at a time.

“This is why we made the trade for him.”

TIP-INS

Rockets: Kenyon Martin Jr., who has connected on 59% of his shots since the All-Star break, was 4 of 6 from the field. … Houston has lost five straight in the series, the longest losing streak of either team. … The Rockets are 1-5 in their last six road games.

Grizzlies: Dillon Brooks returned and started after serving his second one-game suspension for technical fouls. Brooks has 18 this season. The next threshold for another one-game suspension is his 20th technical. … Memphis went undefeated at home against the Southwest Division. Their only two division losses — to Dallas and New Orleans — both came on the road. … Bane passed Rudy Gay for fifth in franchise history for 3-pointers made. … The previous record for 3s in a game was nine, twice by Mike Miller and once by Jackson Jr.

UP NEXT

Rockets: Continue a five-game road trip in Cleveland on Sunday.

Grizzlies: At Atlanta on Sunday to face the Hawks

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

[ad_2]

Source link

March 24, 2023
College hoops staffs specialize to meet roster, NIL demands

[ad_1]

Kelvin Sampson has been around college basketball long enough to remember when preseason practices started in October following a true offseason, teams remained largely intact for multiple seasons and players weren’t permitted to pursue endorsement deals.

It might as well be a different planet now.

The way Houston’s coach sees it, the top-tier programs must evolve to better manage recruiting, the transfer portal and roster demands, and athlete compensation deals.

“Absolutely, you have to,” the 67-year-old Sampson said as March Madness headed to Sweet 16 weekend. “To (manage) those kinds of things, you’ve got to have specialization on your staff.”

That means bolstering support staffs, much like how analysts and quality control staffers have become common across college football. Specialized roles for recruiting, scouting or analytics. Adding special assistants to aid head coaches, general managers to navigate the new era of players profiting from use their name, image and likeness (NIL), even creative-content staffers to pump out videos or social media to promote the program’s brand.

If anything, staffs are starting to resemble their counterparts in the pros.

“I’ve got three – I guess there are four of them now – former (graduate assistants) and managers that work in the front office at the (NBA’s) Phoenix Suns,” Kansas State first-year coach Jerome Tang said before clinching a Sweet 16 appearance. “Those guys told me that the four guys that are on the bench across the country are probably the same. It’s the next level that separates you.”

March Madness resumes Thursday, and there are examples of these increasingly specialized staffs on teams still chasing a national title.

Six teams — Houston, Xavier, Texas, Arkansas, San Diego State and Florida Atlantic — have an assistant or special assistant to the head coach, often designed as catch-all helpers who shoulder administrative duties while potentially taking on tasks such as breaking down film. Tang and Michigan State’s Tom Izzo each has a chief of staff.

Top overall seed Alabama has a director of scouting and analytics. Fellow Southeastern Conference team Tennessee has someone overseeing analytics.

Titles vary. The goal doesn’t.

“I have people on my staff in charge of something with one of our kids 24 hours a day,” Sampson said. “And it’s all built around relationships. You know, these kids can transfer today and not even have to tell the coach. They can just go to the compliance office. … So in order to combat those kinds of things, it’s more and more important that you’re involved in their daily lives.”

Kevin Sutton joined Kansas State’s staff as director of strategies, working with game plans, scouting and film review. He is part of a broader effort to deal with roster management in the portal era, when rosters change dramatically from one year to the next.

“It’s the college version of free agency and it’s something that goes on all the time and it continues to grow on a daily basis,” Sutton said. “We have to retain our players. … So having a larger to staff to be able to be involved in the current players’ lives and then have an eye on what’s happening outside of your program in terms of the transfer portal.”

Juggling that with the core goal – winning games — isn’t easy, either.

For Arkansas coach Eric Musselman, that meant stopping game-prep work last year for recruiting Zooms on the eve of beating No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga to reach a second straight regional final.

“I think it was five, maybe four (Zooms), before we played Gonzaga the night before, up until maybe 11:15, 11:30 at night doing Zooms when you are trying to make an Elite Eight, playing in a Sweet 16 game,” he said.

Musselman, whose team is fresh off beating 1-seed and reigning national champion Kansas, has a 14-person support staff beyond his three assistants and the goal of being “at the forefront of analytics.” That includes a director of internal operations, director of scouting, recruiting coordinator, assistant director of recruiting and scouting, and seven graduate assistants.

Consider it the trickle-down of NBA influence into college ranks.

“Players watch the NBA guys, they want to be like them, play like them, be in an offense like them,” said Baylor coach Scott Drew, whose team reached the tournament’s second round. “Then you look at staffs. And as universities try to keep up and provide the best for their student-athletes, then you’re getting into analytics. You’re getting into nutrition. You’re getting into player development.”

That has included the very-pro-sounding role of GM, arriving at Duke and DePaul as an NIL resource to players.

Daniel G. Marks fills a similar role as the first chief program strategist at Howard, which reached the NCAA tourney for the first time since 1992. He spent nine seasons with the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks, including the 2020-21 championship season.

Marks said he is coming with an open mind to work with coach Kenny Blakeney.

“Even when coming up with a title for my job, it’s like: What’s a title that other people are going to say, ‘Oh, that’s interesting, what does he do?’” he said. “(Blakeney) wants programs across the country to look at Howard and say … ‘How can we learn that and emulate that?’”

Those were all things Duke’s Jon Scheyer considered in building his first staff to replace retired Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski. Notably, the 35-year-old added former Elon head coach Mike Schrage as special assistant to provide experience, then hired former Nike and NBA staffer Rachel Baker as general manager.

Guard Jeremy Roach said the setup gave players “so many people who can help us out.” And it helped Duke win an Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title before falling in the NCAA second round.

The challenge for Scheyer and his peers? Be ready for whatever comes next.

“Communication’s really important and just being current,” Scheyer said. “I’m not even talking age. I’m talking current in terms of understanding what these guys are going through, their families.

“It’s so much more than it used to be. … We have the staff to do that. We’ve done an amazing job while still getting a feel for each other. So that’s something where we have to be better next year, because it can be all different next year.”

___

AP Sports Writers Dave Campbell, Stephen Hawkins and Eric Olson contributed to this report.

___

Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at https://twitter.com/aaronbeardap

___

AP March Madness coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

[ad_2]

Source link

March 21, 2023
Coyotes beat Blackhawks 4-2, push points streak to 8

[ad_1]

TEMPE, Ariz. — Juuso Valimaki broke a tie with 3:12 left and the Arizona Coyotes beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 on Saturday night.

Valimaki also assisted on Arizona’s first two goals to help the Coyotes extend their points streak to eight games.

Clayton Keller scored his 32nd goal of the season to tie it six minutes into the third period. Keller also had two assists, giving him 43 for the season. He has scored in eight straight games.

Barrett Hayton — who has points in each of his last seven games — connected for Arizona in the second period, and Matias Maccelli scored into an empty net with 38.3 seconds to go.

“It’s not always pretty but when you’re confident like we are right now we found a way,” Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said.

Ivan Prosvetov, making his third start of the season, stopped 32 shots for Arizona to improve to 3-0. The Coyotes have won four straight, all at home, and are 20-11-3 at Mullett Arena.

“There’s no secret, the whole team is playing very well,” Prosvetov said about his record. “I definitely put some work in during the summer and I still do now.”

“My first couple games were good, but I couldn’t control some of the rebounds. I saw the puck better and killed some chaos in front of the net.”

Valimaki’s goal was just his third of the season. He has 28 assists, behind only Keller and Maccelli on Arizona.

“I saw a penalty coming, and just made a pass and broke through,” the defenseman said of the go-ahead goal. “Some of those plays those guys are making right now, it’s unbelievable. All of a sudden the puck was on my stick and it went in.

“We’re a really tight group. It’s just really fun right now. Everyone’s playing really well and we’re pretty confident in our game.”

The Blackhawks, though last in the Central Division, were coming off wins at home against league-leading Boston on Tuesday night and at Nashville on Thursday night.

“I thought we skated pretty well, similar to the way we’ve played lately,” Chicago coach Luke Richardson said. “We didn’t make many (turnovers), but we made them at the wrong time.”

Chicago took a 2-1 lead at 4:14 of the third on Caleb Jones’ power-play goal.

Chicago’s efforts to defuse the home-ice edge paid off quickly, as the Blackhawks scored 35 seconds into the game. Jujhar Khaira tipped in a shot by Jarred Tinordi for his fourth goal of the season. The Coyotes tied it with 2:12 left in the second period on Hayton’s 14th goal.

Alex Stalock made 17 saves for Chicago.

WELCOME TO THE CLUB

Chicago defenseman Wyatt Kaiser made his NHL debut Saturday night.

The 20-year-old signed a three-year entry-level contract earlier this week. A third-round pick in 2020, Kaiser played as a junior this season at Minnesota-Duluth.

Kaiser played 15:40 and blocked one shot.

“Tough way to (lose), but I had a blast,” Kaiser said. ”After the first shift, I’m just playing hockey. I made a few iffy plays, but I’m still learning.”

ICE CHIPS

Blackhawks: LW Andreas Englund (hamstring) missed his sixth straight game. … RW Cole Guttman had right shoulder surgery earlier this week.

Coyotes: RW Nick Schmaltz returned after missing three games with an upper-body injury. … D Josh Brown missed his second straight game with an undisclosed injury. … G Karel Vejmelka didn’t dress for the game as Arizona wanted to get ice time for Prosvetov.

NEXT

Blackhawks: At Colorado Monday.

Coyotes: At Winnipeg Tuesday. ___

More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

[ad_2]

Source link

March 19, 2023
Capitals’ playoff hopes take another hit with loss to Blues

[ad_1]

WASHINGTON — Sammy Blais scored twice, Joel Hofer made 33 saves in his season debut and the St. Louis Blues dealt the Washington Capitals a significant blow in their long-shot bid for a playoff spot with a 5-2 victory Friday night.

The Capitals missed an opportunity to make up ground in the race for an Eastern Conference wild-card spot against an opponent long out of it in the West. They trail the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders by five points with 12 games left to play.

“We have no wiggle room,” winger Conor Sheary said. “The fact that we weren’t able to come out and be ready for this one and try to move up the standings is unfortunate. So, at this point, we got to get rolling, and if we don’t it’s going to end quickly for us.”

Their odds of making it would have been even slimmer if not for a comeback victory in a shootout against Buffalo on Wednesday, but each regulation loss makes the climb more difficult. Coming up empty in a listless, mistake-heavy loss to St. Louis does just that.

“Sometimes you get a nice comeback like last game, but it’s too hard,” center Nicklas Backstrom said. “It’s too hard in this league to just chase every game. It’s not doable.”

There was plenty of blame to go around for Washington.

Trade deadline pickup Rasmus Sandin — one of two additions amid a selloff — was on the ice for four goals against, and some poor puck management all around gave the Blues quality chances. Darcy Kuemper allowed at least one soft goal among the four he gave up on 21 shots behind a defense missing Nick Jensen because of injury.

At the other end, the Capitals got third period goals from Martin Fehervary and Nicklas Backstrom against Hofer, a rookie playing just his third NHL game after starter Jordan Binnington was suspended for throwing a punch in the Blues’ last game.

“It was fun. I had a blast out there,” Hofer said. “There’s obviously a lot of uncertainties with being in the (American Hockey League) all year and the first game in a long time, but I thought the guys played really well in front of me and kind of kept them to the outside. It’s super nice to get the win.”

St. Louis again got contributions from all three reclamation projects acquired in deals prior to the deadline: the goals from Blais and one from Kasperi Kapanen and an assist from Jakub Vrana on Jordan Kyrou’s team-leading 31st of the season. Brayden Schenn sealed it with a long-distance empty netter with 1:39 left.

Vrana, who was drafted by the Capitals and helped them win the Stanley Cup in 2018 and was traded to Detroit in 2021, has five points in six games since joining the Blues from the Red Wings earlier this month.

Now with six goals since going back to the Blues from the New York Rangers, Blais has outscored longtime Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko since the trade.

“It’s been feeling good being back here and finding my confidence back a little bit,” Blais said. “Just happy it’s been working out well.”

UP NEXT

Blues: Host the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday night.

Capitals: Visit the Minnesota Wild on Sunday afternoon.

___

Follow AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

[ad_2]

Source link

March 17, 2023
HBCU commissioners working together on NIL, sports growth

[ad_1]

When Jacqie McWilliams sat at a table with other college sports leaders three years ago to discuss name, image and likeness, she thought about what the life-changing legislation would look like for historically Black colleges and universities.

With less government funding and fewer resources than Power Five schools, historically Black schools have a harder time recruiting top athletes. NIL, with little uniformity in how it is enforced across states, schools and regions, has widened that gap.

So, the commissioners of the four major HBCU conferences — the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) — recently agreed to work more closely together in partnering with professional sports leagues including the NBA and NFL to increase the value of HBCUs and send more athletes to the pros.

“We are doing it in collaboration knowing that we have strength as a collective,” said SIAC Commissioner Anthony Holloman. “We know when we play our conferences, compete, it’s a game, but on all other days we are rooting for each other.”

McWilliams, who is in her 10th year as commissioner of the CIAA, a league composed of 12 HBCUs in Division II, has seen NIL make way for schools to help student athletes turn their creativity into money.

The Gulf Coast Athletic conference (GCAC), an HBCU league in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, partnered with the NIL marketing company Athlyt and the media company Urban Edge network to create NIL deals for student athletes.

“That’s helping us to now enhance a lot of things, our conference operations,” said GCAC Commissioner Dr. Kiki Barnes, “and what we’re able to do for our student athletes.”

They’re now finding those opportunities amid the backdrop of unprecedented attention for HBCUs.

Men’s basketball athletes from HBCUs Texas Southern and Howard will compete on the NCAA’s national stage this week.

The Tigers, who won the SWAC’s conference tournament, will face Fairleigh Dickinson in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament Wednesday evening, with the winner advancing to face No. 1 seeded Purdue in the first round. Howard, winner of the MEAC conference tournament, will take on another No. 1 seed in Kansas on Thursday. Norfolk State’s women’s basketball team defeated Howard in the MEAC conference tournament to advance and face overall No. 1 South Carolina Friday.

Deion Sanders, now Colorado’s coach, helped fuel a resurgence of HBCU popularity when he was at Jackson State University in Mississippi.

Dr. J. Kenyatta Cavil, a professor at Texas Southern who focuses on HBCU athletics, said Sanders’ star power, coupled with the racial reckoning following the 2020 murder of George Floyd, allowed more resources to pour into Black schools.

“Some people have their popularity, but (Sanders) openness to provide his thoughts, a sound bite, which everybody was driven to see ‘What does this mean?’” Cavil said. “And it really shot HBCU programs into this atmospheric rise.”

The SWAC conference, which plays in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), leads all HBCU conferences in total NIL earnings, ranking 21st in athlete compensation, according to data compiled by the NIL technology and marketing company Opendorse.

Jackson State’s popularity is a big reason for that. The school led the FCS in attendance last season, drawing over 42,000 attendees per game.

Sanders’ son Shedeur, formerly Jackson State’s starting quarterback before he transferred to Colorado, became the first HBCU athlete to land a partnership with the sports fuel drink Gatorade last year.

“Obviously we haven’t gotten into the collectives that some of the major institutions have been able to garner,” said SWAC Commissioner Dr. Charles McClelland, “but it levels the playing field at least slightly, knowing that a student athlete could come to one of our HBCU institutions and still benefit from the name, image and likeness process.”

McClelland said the introduction of NIL coupled with the rise of the transfer portal has brought more athletes to his league, which is also comprised of popular HBCU Grambling State and in 2021 added Florida A&M and Bethune Cookman University.

Texas Southern, for example, has several transfers on its men’s basketball roster, including its second-leading scorer John Walker III. Walker, who averaged 12.6 points this season as a graduate student, transferred to the Tigers after spending his freshman season at Texas A&M.

“Even if you decide to go to a Power Five school straight out of high school, and you change your mind to say, ‘Hey, I think I want to play immediately … I want to have these opportunities as a freshman or as a sophomore.’ The transfer portal now allows student athletes to do so,” McClelland said.

Some HBCU conferences haven’t been able to dedicate as much time to NIL.

MEAC Commissioner Sonja Stills said her conference has partnered with influencers to educate athletes on the responsibilities of signing marketing deals, but overall, her focus is on upgrading facilities, providing more athlete scholarships and being able to fully fund Olympic sports teams.

“It’s other things that we need to prioritize before we prioritize name, image, and likeness,” Stills said.

Stills added that her league doesn’t have the financial capital to compete in the NIL space in the same way as bigger schools anyway, which she sees as a negative affect for recruitment.

“We don’t call up the alumni and say, ‘Hey, I want $12 million for all the student athletes for NIL,” Stills said. “We can’t do that. So it’s the difference of widening that gap. Student athletes look at where they want to go to school based on what the NIL deal could be at that particular school. So it definitely puts us at a disadvantage.”

McWilliams doesn’t believe it’s necessarily a goal for HBCUs to compete monetarily with their Power Five counterparts, adding that the playing field will never be completely even anyway.

Holloman said the transfer portal is one of the toughest aspects in college sports to navigate because it has made it much easier for schools with larger budgets and better facilities to pluck the talent that they develop at smaller schools.

But that is a reality that is not new for HBCUs.

“The NIL, the transfer portal, who will it benefit the most, and who will it hurt the most?” McWilliams said. “It could help us. But it could hurt us. But we’ve been dealing with that for a hundred and sixty-something years.”

___

AP March Madness coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

[ad_2]

Source link

March 15, 2023
Zibanejad, Kane lead Rangers to 5-3 win over Capitals

[ad_1]

NEW YORK — Mika Zibanejad scored twice in the first period and the New York Rangers beat the short-handed Washington Capitals 5-3 on Tuesday night.

Patrick Kane had a goal and an assist, Jacob Trouba and Jimmy Vesey also scored and Vincent Trocheck had two assists for the Rangers, who are 3-0-1 in their last four games and 5-2-1 in their past eight. Igor Shesterkin made 28 saves to help New York win the opener of a five-game homestand, its longest of the season.

Matt Irwin had a goal and an assist, and Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Nic Dowd also scored for a Capitals team minus star left wing Alex Ovechkin (lower-body injury). Darcy Kuemper finished with 31 saves as Washington lost for the third time in four games.

The teams were skating 4-on-4 early in the third period after Washington’s Tom Wilson and New York’s Barclay Goodrow were called for roughing penalties. About 38 seconds later, the Rangers’ Artemi Panarin was whistled for holding, putting the Capitals on their third power play of the game. Shortly after the first two penalties expired, Shesterkin snatched a high shot from Washington’s Dylan Strome to preserve New York’s two-goal lead.

Just six seconds after another Capitals power play expired, Dowd knocked in the rebound of his own shot in front to pull Washington to 4-3 with 8:12 left.

The Capitals pulled Kuemper for an extra skater with about 2 1/2 minutes to go, and Vesey scored an empty-netter to give the Rangers a two-goal lead with 2:11 remaining.

Zibanejad got the Rangers on the scoreboard first as he converted a give-and-go with Vladimir Tarasenko and fired his return pass past Kuemper from between the circles at 4:09 of the first period.

Aube-Kubel tied it with 5:31 left in the first as he beat Shesterkin from the right circle for his fourth of the season.

Zibanejad put the Rangers right back ahead 16 seconds later with his second of the night and team-leading 34th. Shesterkin made a long pass to Panarin, who brought the puck up the left side, skated around defenseman Alexander Alexeyev, cut toward the net and passed to Zibanejad, who was driving toward the front and put a backhand past Kuemper. Shesterkin was credited with an assist, his first of the season.

Kane pushed the Rangers’ lead to 3-1 with 1:14 left in the first as he got the puck from Adam Fox on a power play and fired a shot through traffic for his 19th of the season and third in six games since coming to New York from Chicago before the trade deadline.

Trouba made it a three-goal lead as he took a cross-ice pass from Trocheck in the left circle and fired a shot past Kuemper at 4:09 of the second. It was his seventh.

Irwin pulled the Capitals to 4-2 with 7:52 left in the middle period as he scored from the left circle for his second.

NO OVECHKIN, NO WIN

It was the sixth time the Capitals played without Ovechkin this season, including four games last month following the death of his father. Washington has lost all six without him and the last nine dating to last season. The Russian left wing has 36 goals and 26 assists in 62 games this season.

50 ASSISTS

Fox’s assist on Kane’s goal gave him 50 for the season, joining Panarin (54) as the only Rangers with at least that many this season. It also made the Rangers the third team with multiple players in the 50-assist club. Edmonton (Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins) and Vancouver (Quinn Hughes, Elias Pettersson) are the other two.

UP NEXT

Capitals: Host Buffalo on Wednesday night in the first of two straight at home.

Rangers: Host Pittsburgh on Thursday night in the first of two straight against the Penguins at Madison Square Garden.

___

Follow Vin Cherwoo at http://www.twitter.com/VinCherwooAP

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

[ad_2]

Source link

March 14, 2023
Red Wings beat Bruins 5-3, a day after losing to NHL’s best

[ad_1]

DETROIT — Dylan Larkin scored to help his team take a four-goal lead, then the Detroit Red Wings held on to beat the Boston Bruins 5-3 on Sunday.

The Red Wings were ahead 4-0 late in the second period, but the NHL-best Bruins pulled within a goal midway through the third.

Boston pulled backup goaltender Jeremy Swayman with 2:23 left to add an extra skater. Detroit’s Andrew Copp put the puck into the empty net with 23.1 seconds left to seal the win.

Detroit’s Alex Chiasson broke a scoreless tie midway through the first period on a power play. Moritz Seider had a short-handed goal and Larkin scored with an extra skater midway through the second period, putting the Red Wings ahead 3-0.

Adam Erne gave Detroit its four-goal lead late in the second. Ville Husso finished with 31 saves for the Red Wings, who won for just the second time in nine games — and a day after losing to the Bruins 3-2.

Swayman stopped 21 shots for the Bruins, who had won 11 of their last 12 games.

Matt Grzelcyk scored with 3:08 left in the second period, and the Bruins pulled within two goals early in the third when Jake DeBrusk’s wrist shot beat Husso on a breakaway.

Larkin had a chance to restore a three-goal lead on a breakaway, putting the puck between Swayman’s pads only to see it bounce off the left post. Soon after, David Pastrnak scored to cut the deficit to a goal.

Boston beat Detroit 3-2 on Saturday to take over the record for quickest number of games to reach 50 wins. The Bruins reached the milestone in their 64th game, beating the previous mark by two games set by the 1995-96 Red Wings and 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning.

FAMILIAR FACE

Boston winger Tyler Bertuzzi faced his former team for the first time at Little Caesars Arena, and was warmly welcomed when his return was recognized on the videoboards. Bertuzzi, drafted by Detroit a decade ago and traded earlier this month, responded by tapping his stick on the ice and waving to the fans.

ONE-TIMERS

Boston scratched D Hampus Lindhom with a swollen foot, but expects him to miss only one game. … Chiasson signed a contract with the Red Wings to bolster their depth up front after trading Bertuzzi, Jakub Vrana, Oskar Sundqvist and the 32-year-old winger scored his second goal in five games. … The Bruins assigned Jakub Lauko to the AHL’s Providence Bruins after the 22-year-old forward had three goals and five points in 12 games.

UP NEXT

Bruins: Play at Chicago on Tuesday.

Red Wings: Play at Nashville on Tuesday.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

[ad_2]

Source link

March 12, 2023