BOSTON — LeBron James has been pleading for weeks for the Lakers’ supporting cast to provide him and fellow All-Star Anthony Davis some help as they fight to keep pace in a tight Western Conference playoff race. With the two franchise cornerstones watching from the bench, they finally got their wish. Austin Reaves scored a … Read more
SUNRISE, Fla. — Matthew Tkachuk scored twice and the Florida Panthers defeated the Arizona Coyotes 6-2 on Wednesday night, in a game with two fights in the first seven seconds. Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Anton Lundell and Jonah Gadjovich also scored for the Panthers while Sergei Bobrovsky made 31 saves. “It was awesome,” Tkachuk said … Read more
STANFORD, Calif. — Stanford’s players formed a postgame circle and Kiki Iriafen offered her celebratory teammates a little perspective on their coach, Tara VanDerveer: “Tara’s been winning since our parents were kids.” Yes, pushing five decades. A head coach since her mid-20s and still doing it now at 70, VanDerveer tied Mike Krzyzewski as the … Read more
CALGARY, Alberta — Yegor Sharangovich scored a power-play goal in overtime to give the Calgary Flames a 3-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday night. The Coyotes were penalized for too many men at 3:03 of OT. Sharangovich, who was acquired in last summer’s trade with the New Jersey Devils for Tyler Toffoli, roofed … Read more
In the run-up to the Australian Open, defending champion Novak Djokovic’s right wrist was sore — hardly ideal for a tennis player who swings his racket primarily with that arm. Cam Norrie, the tournament’s 19th-seeded man, has been dealing with wrist pain, too. As has Brenda Fruhvirtova, one of a trio of 16-year-olds who reached … Read more
NEW ORLEANS — Derek Carr and the New Orleans Saints’ offense produced when they had to — and when they didn’t. In the end, they still missed the playoffs and were left answering questions about a late play-call that caused some hard feelings. Carr passed for four touchdowns to lift the Saints over the Atlanta … Read more
NEW ORLEANS — Saints running back Alvin Kamara has been ruled out for New Orleans’ regular-season finale on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons. Meanwhile, Atlanta ruled out quarterback Taylor Heinicke, who’d recently taken over as starter but injured his ankle last week and had been listed as questionable after practicing on a limited basis this … Read more
CLEVELAND — With uncommon vision on the basketball court, Ricky Rubio could make a basic pass look extraordinary. A true playmaker. After stepping away from his playing career — and the Cleveland Cavaliers — this season to address mental health issues that he’s still working on, Rubio said Thursday that his NBA career is over … Read more
HOUSTON — Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud returned to practice on a limited basis Wednesday, but the star rookie remains in the concussion protocol and his status for Sunday’s game against Tennessee is uncertain. “He’s in stage four of the concussion protocol, still has one more phase,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. Stroud has missed the past … Read more
TAMPA, Fla. — First, an ankle injury. Next, a concussion. Now, an injured shoulder. The durable Trevor Lawrence keeps getting banged up, and it’s costing the Jacksonville Jaguars. Lawrence, who cleared the NFL’s concussion protocol just in time to play Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, ended up leaving in the fourth quarter with a … Read more
