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'Be the best that you can be': Raptors reflect on Kobe Bryant's legacy
Several players on the Toronto Raptors talk about Kobe Bryant's influence on the NBA and how he changed the game with his intelligence, intensity and dynamic personality.
Several players on the Toronto Raptors talk about Kobe Bryant's influence on the NBA and how he changed the game with his intelligence, intensity and dynamic personality.
Pacers forward Domantas Sabonis beat Nikola Vucevic to win the Skills Challenge in the first contest of the night.
"I can only control what I can control."
Connor Murphy will likely become the latest player to meet with the NHL Department of Player Safety after landing a head shot on Tampa Bay's Erik Cernak.
The Nets are expected to sign the six-time All-Star after his buyout from the Pistons.
A vicious, intentional knee to the head of a downed Aljamain Sterling cost Petr Yan his bantamweight title on Saturday at Apex on the main card of UFC 259.
The Philadelphia 76ers stars had contact with a barber who is a likely COVID-19 positive, per reports.
This NHL season has gone all-in on complete and utter weirdness.
Each card set a record in the auction space.
A "small number" of U.S.-based NHLers are reportedly getting vaccinated as supply increases across the United States.
Success for Manchester United these days is being the spoiler as Manchester City goes on to eventually claim the league titles.
It seemed Walter Gretzky both knew what he had in his son, and how best to handle it. It’s one of many reasons why he was the ultimate hockey dad.
Watching Rasmus Ristolainen race Mat Barzal to a loose puck and then try to defend him 1-on-1 must be pure nightmare fuel for Sabres fans.
The Raptors face a lot of questions heading to the second half of the NBA season, including the futures of Masai Ujiri & Kyle Lowry.
The Champions League talking points ahead of the first set of second-leg matches in the round of 16 on Tuesday and Wednesday: JUVENTUS VS. PORTO (first leg: 1-2) Álvaro Morata is finding his best form at the right time for Juventus. Morata had not scored in the league since December and was sidelined recently with illness but the Juventus forward has scored three times in his last two matches -- including in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Lazio. Morata has scored six goals in this season’s Champions League, two more than teammate Cristiano Ronaldo. The 36-year-old Ronaldo was given some much-needed rest at the weekend and went on only for the final 20 minutes, which should leave him fresh for Tuesday's match against Porto. Juventus has been dealing with illness and injuries. Coach Andrea Pirlo hopes Giorgio Chiellini and Matthijs de Ligt will recover in time to play Porto. Forward Paulo Dybala is still sidelined, while Rodrigo Bentancur is also out after contracting the coronavirus. Porto also has some injury problems, including defender Pepe with a right leg ailment. DORTMUND VS. SEVILLA (3-2) Borussia Dortmund’s 4-2 loss to Bundesliga rival Bayern Munich at the weekend could leave its mark for Tuesday’s visit from Sevilla. Star striker Erling Haaland, who scored twice in Dortmund’s 3-2 win over Sevilla in the first leg, was taken off early with stud marks on the back of his right ankle after a nasty challenge from Jérôme Boateng. Although Haaland told Dortmund coach Edin Terzic “it wouldn’t be a big problem.” The loss in Munich marked the end of Dortmund’s four-game winning run across all competitions. The team was without Jadon Sancho, Raphaël Guerreiro and Gio Reyna. All three face a race to be fit for Tuesday. Sevilla has been struggling since the first-leg loss to Dortmund, losing three of its four matches since then. It is coming off a loss to relegation-threatened Elche in the Spanish league, and was eliminated by Barcelona in the semifinals of the Copa del Rey despite a 2-0 first-leg win. PSG VS. BARCELONA (4-1) Barcelona seems like a different team to the one which played so badly in the second half at home to PSG. Ronald Koeman’s lineup is 16 games unbeaten in the league and the defence appears to be considerably stronger now that he has ditched the ineffective 4-3-3 formation for a 3-5-2 system which offers his central defenders more protection. Veteran defender Gerard Pique is a doubtful starter for the game, however, after hurting his knee midweek. A lot will rest Wednesday on Barça’s French defenders Clement Lenglet and Samuel Umtiti, with PSG is almost at full strength. Goal-scoring winger Angel Di Maria is back from injury and Neymar is close to a return after getting back to training. PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino may see no valid reason to drop the 4-2-3-1 formation which worked so well in Spain, with Kylian Mbappe helping himself to three goals despite playing wide and not as the central striker. Even though PSG defends a big lead at Parc des Princes, there may be some nerves about facing Lionel Messi in top form once again. PSG went out after losing 6-1 in Spain in 2017 having won the home leg 4-0. But this Barcelona lineup is not as strong as the 2017 squad, and PSG is more resilient now. LIVERPOOL VS. LEIPZIG (2-0) The teams return to neutral territory at the Puskas Arena in Budapest with Liverpool's two-goal cushion perhaps not as commanding as it seems given the team's recent problems, particularly in its injury-hit defence. The pressure is on the soon-to-be-deposed English champions because winning the Champions League might be the most likely route back into the competition for next season. Juergen Klopp's squad currently sits outside the Premier League's top four. Leipzig is on a six-game winning run in the Bundesliga and briefly took over top spot on Saturday. Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann omitted Angeliño from the team that beat Freiburg 3-0, but dampened hopes the Spanish winger will return in time for Liverpool. Uncharacteristic defensive lapses helped Liverpool in the first leg. The game is again taking place in the Hungarian capital due to German restrictions on visitors amid the coronavirus pandemic. ___ More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports The Associated Press
RALEIGH, N.C. — Vincent Trocheck and James Reimer continued to torment their former team, lifting the Carolina Hurricanes to their fifth straight victory with a 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers on Sunday night. Trocheck, who was traded to Carolina just over a year ago, scored for the fourth time this season against the Panthers. Nino Niederreiter, Sebastian Aho and Warren Foegele also had goals for the Hurricanes, who have won eight of 10 home games (8-1-1) this season. Reimer, who made 21 saves, came to Carolina less two years in ago in a trade from Florida. He’s 3-0-0 since then against the Panthers. MacKenzie Weegar and Mason Marchment scored for Florida, which had a five-game points streak snapped. Chris Dreidger made 22 saves for the Panthers. ISLANDERS 5, SABRES 2 UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) — Anders Lee and Brock Nelson scored 62 seconds apart early in the second period and rookie Ilya Sorokin made 24 saves as the Islanders earned their fifth straight win. The victory was also the Islanders’ sixth straight over the Sabres this season. Casey Cizikas increased the lead to 3-0 at 16:56 with his fourth goal. Cal Clutterbuck, who also scored in Saturday’s 5-2 win over the Sabres, added his third of the season. Nelson scored his second of the game and ninth of the season into an empty net to complete the scoring. Sorokin, the 25-year-old netminder, earned his fourth win of the season as the Islanders improved to 10-0-2 at Nassau Coliseum. Jeff Skinner’s goal at 5:41 of the third period ruined his shutout bid. Colin Miller also scored for the Sabres, who are 2-10-1 since a forced two-week delay in their season during early February because of COVID-19 protocols. LIGHTNING 6, BLACKHAWKS 3 CHICAGO (AP) — Yanni Gourde, Ondrej Palat and Victor Hedman each scored a power-play goal in the second period, helping Tampa Bay win. Pat Maroon added his 100th career goal in the third period, giving Tampa Bay a season-high four goals with the man advantage. Gourde finished with two goals and two assists, and Alex Killorn scored for the third straight game. The Lightning improved to 3-0-1 on their season-long six-game trip and stretched their point streak to a season-high eight games. They took two of three in the series between Central Division contenders. Mattias Janmark had a goal and an assist for the Blackhawks. Philipp Kurashev and Pius Suter also scored. DEVILS 1, BRUINS 0 BOSTON (AP) — Scott Wedgewood made 40 saves, Kyle Palmieri scored out of a scramble with 4:37 left and the Devils snapped a five-game losing streak. Boston's Tuukka Rask made 24 saves and remained stuck at 299 career victories. The Bruins have lost four of six games. All four games between the teams have been decided by one goal, including one in overtime and another by a shootout. Palmieri scored about two minutes after Wedgewood robbed Craig Smith’s bid at the end of a Bruins’ power play. Boston pulled Rask and had the puck in the Devils’ zone for nearly all of the final 90 seconds, but Wedgewood blocked several good chances to preserve his fourth career shutout. ___ More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports The Associated Press
RALEIGH, N.C. — Vincent Trocheck and James Reimer continued to torment their former team, lifting the Carolina Hurricanes to their fifth straight victory with a 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers on Sunday night. Trocheck, who was traded to Carolina just over a year ago, scored for the fourth time this season against the Panthers. Nino Niederreiter, Sebastian Aho and Warren Foegele also had goals for the Hurricanes, who have won eight of 10 home games (8-1-1) this season. Reimer, who made 21 saves, came to Carolina less two years in ago in a trade from Florida. He’s 3-0-0 since then against the Panthers. MacKenzie Weegar and Mason Marchment scored for Florida, which had a five-game points streak snapped. Chris Dreidger made 22 saves for the Panthers. Trocheck scored just eight seconds into the Hurricanes’ first power play of the game. At that point with 4:05 to play in the opening period, Carolina had as many goals as the Panthers did shots on goal. Niederreiter took a pass from Martin Necas and beat Dreidger, who had been under siege early in the second period. Niederreiter has 11 goals, posting at least one against every Central Division team except for Tampa Bay. The Panthers got on the scoreboard when Weegar blasted the puck between Reimer’s pads with 9:19 left in the second period. Aho posted the team’s second short-handed goal of the season 38 seconds into the third period. Foegele extended the lead to 4-1 slightly more than three minutes later. Florida won 6-2 at Nashville on Saturday, while the Hurricanes hadn’t played since Thursday night. MILESTONE MOMENT Panthers defenceman Keith Yandle appeared in his 1,000th career game. He’s in his 15th season in the league and his fourth season with the Panthers. His accomplishment was recognized with an announcement during a break in the first period. Yandle has played 890 consecutive games for the longest active streak in the league and the third-longest stretch in NHL history. HIM AGAIN Trocheck has scored in each of Carolina's four matchups with Florida this season. He’s the first player in the Carolina (and former Hartford) organization to score in his first four games against his ex-team following a trade since the NHL began tracking that information in 1991-92. Trocheck, who has a goal in four of the last five games, has a team-leading 13 goals this season. Florida doesn’t have a player with a double-digit goal total. MORE TIME OFF Hurricanes winger Teuvo Teravainen missed the game for undisclosed reasons. He had returned from a seven-game absence because of a concussion to play Thursday night in a victory against Detroit. He logged 14 1/2 minutes in that game. UP NEXT Panthers: Play at Columbus on Tuesday and Thursday. Hurricanes: Stay home for games Tuesday and Thursday vs. Nashville. ___ More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Bob Sutton, The Associated Press
BOSTON — Scott Wedgewood made 40 saves, Kyle Palmieri scored out of a scramble with 4:37 left and the New Jersey Devils snapped a five-game losing streak with a 1-0 victory over the Boston Bruins on Sunday. Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask made 24 saves and remained stuck at 299 career victories. The Bruins have lost four of six games. All four games between the teams have been decided by one goal, including one in overtime and another by a shootout. Palmieri scored about two minutes after Wedgewood robbed Craig Smith’s bid at the end of a Bruins’ power play. Wedgewood came out to cut down the angle on Smith's shot from the right circle. Boston pulled Rask and had the puck in the Devils’ zone for nearly all of the final 90 seconds, but Wedgewood blocked several good chances to preserve his fourth career shutout. Coming off a pointless, five-game homestand that closed with a sloppy 6-3 loss to the Rangers on Saturday, the Devils looked determined and disciplined from the start, bottling up the neutral zone and limiting Boston’s chances. Wedgewood made two nice stops on David Pastrnak; the second came with 4 1/2 minutes left in the second period when the star forward shifted around defenceman Sami Vatanen and fired a wrister from the slot that the netminder stopped with his right pad. In the opening period, Wedgewood slid across the crease to rob Pastrnak’s close bid from near the left post after he collected a pass from Charlie McAvoy. New Jersey looked for long, breakout passes in the second period and nearly converted when Pavel Zacha went in on a semi-breakaway, but he had his backhander turned aside by Rask’s left-pad save. New Jersey had two power-play opportunities in the opening period but was limited to a few relatively harmless shots. HORROR FILM Devils coach Lindy Ruff had his team watch video Sunday morning of their loss to the Rangers. “Today was all video, all review, all real hard honestly about how poorly we played,” he said during a pregame videoconference. “Those meetings are 95% head coach because ultimately I feel responsible for how the team played. That’s on me.” CARLO UPDATE Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said Sunday morning that defenceman Brandon Carlo “is feeling better” and home after a head hit into the glass by Washington’s Tom Wilson sent him to the hospital in an ambulance Friday night. “He’s obviously going to be out for a while,” Cassidy said. Wilson was suspended seven games by the league. WHAT’S NEXT Devils: At the Capitals on Tuesday night, the second of a three-game road trip. Bruins: At the Islanders Tuesday. Boston has lost all three meetings against them this season. ___ More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Ken Powtak, The Associated Press
OCALA, Fla. — Austin Ernst won the Drive On Championship on Sunday for her third LPGA Tour title, pulling away to beat fellow former NCAA champion Jennifer Kupcho by five strokes at Golden Ocala. Tied for the lead with Kupcho after each of the first two rounds and a stroke ahead entering the day, Ernst closed with a 2-under 70 to finish the wire-to-wire victory at 15-under 273. “I think it’s just really cool to be in the heat of it all week and to be able to perform the way I did,” Ernst said. “To hit the shots I hit, and to shoot the scores I shot, I think it’s just kind of testament to me, that I can do this week in and week out and just if I have a little belief myself kind of what I can do.” Kupcho, coming off a closing eagle Saturday, had a double bogey and three bogeys in a 74. Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., finished in a tie for 44th place at 2-over 290. Calgary's Jaclyn Lee finished in a tie for 62nd after shooting a 7-over 295. Following sisters Jessica and Nelly Korda in the first two events of the year, Ernst gave the United States three straight victories to open a season for the first time since 2007. “I think the difference this week even just the last week was I just fully committed to believing in what I do and that it’s good enough,” said Ernst, who missed the cut last week in the Gainbridge LPGA with rounds of 75 and 72. “I think this week proved that it’s more than good enough. It was fun to walk up and know that I was going to win. I haven’t had that yet, so that was fun.” The 29-year-old former LSU star from South Carolina, showing her school spirit Sunday with a purple shirt, also won the 2014 Portland Classic and the 2020 NW Arkansas Championship. She won the NCAA title in 2011. With brother Drew — a former player at Coastal Carolina — working as her caddie, Ernst birdied Nos. 4-7 to get to 17 under, but dropped back with bogeys on Nos. 12 and 13. “Walked to 14 and Drew just told me, `Hey, you’re playing great. Just keep doing what you want to do and let’s just make a few birdies coming in,'" Ernst said. “Didn’t make any birdies, but played well coming in, and that made it easy.” Kupcho birdied 10 and 12 to pull within three strokes of Ernst, then bogeyed 14, made the double bogey on the par-3 15th and bogeyed 17. She played most of the back nine in the opening round Thursday with a migraine that blurred her vision. “I set myself up after 12 to be able to make a little bit of a move,” Kupcho said.” I just missed a pretty easy up-and-down, honestly, on 13, and obviously missed the putt on 14. ... But I didn’t really think it was over until I hit the tee shot on 15. Everyone hits bad shots. It’s just unfortunate that’s when mine came for the week.” Winless on the tour, the former 23-year-old former Wake Forest star from Colorado won the NCAA title in 2018 and the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur in 2019. “Just work on getting stronger and continuing to focus on my game,” Kupcho said. “Pretty much the same thing I did over the off-season. I think it will be nice to have a little bit of a break for sure for a couple days.” Jenny Coleman made it a 1-2-3 U.S. finish, closing with a 71 to get to 8 under. “It helps boost my confidence and know I have the game to be out here and I deserve to be out here,” the 28-year-old former Colorado player said. In Gee Chun of South Korea was fourth at 7 under after a 69. Switzerland's Albane Valenzuela was another stroke back after a 73. Nelly Korda, tied with Ernst and Kupcho for the first-round lead, had weekend rounds of 76 and 75 to tie for 28th at even par. Jessica Korda shot a 71 to tie for eighth at 4 under. The Associated Press
A clutch Joshua Langford 3-pointer on senior day vanquished rival Michigan and likely secured an NCAA bid for the previously written-off Spartans.
ORLANDO, Fla. — The long ball helped Bryson DeChambeau outlast Lee Westwood on Sunday to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational, only the key shots were as much with his putter as his driver. DeChambeau holed a 40-foot birdie putt on the front nine and a 50-foot par putt early on the back nine. He closed it out with a nervy 5-foot par putt for a 1-under 71 and a one-shot victory over the 47-year-old Westwood. It matched the low score of the day, one of only three rounds under par in the toughest final round at Bay Hill in 41 years. Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., stayed in the mix until the very end. The Canadian holed a 15-foot eagle putt on the 16th to get within one shot, only to find a bunker on the par-3 17th and miss a 6-foot par putt. With a bogey on the final hole, he shot 74 to finish alone in third. DeChambeau and Westwood were never separated by more than one shot over the final 15 holes, a fascinating duel of generations that came down to the last shot. For the second straight day, DeChambeau revved up thousands of fans on the par-5 sixth hole by smashing driver over the lake and leaving himself 88 yards away on the 565-yard sixth hole. Westwood was 168 yards behind him, and raised both arms to jokingly mimic DeChambeau's reaction from the day before. They both made birdie. DeChambeau appeared to be in trouble on the 11th when he narrowly missed going in the water off the tee, caught a plugged lie in the front bunker and gouged it out to 50 feet. He made that for par to stay ahead by one. Westwood tied him with a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-5 12th, only to give it back with a three-putt on the 14th. The tournament turned on the par-5 16th, where it was Westwood who had the advantage. DeChambeau's drive went up against the lip of a bunker and he had to lay up short of the water. Westwood had 158 yards and hit a poor short iron that came up short of the green. He chipped nicely, except that it rolled out 6 feet by the hole on the lightning-quick greens and he missed the birdie for a chance to tie. DeChambeau took the one-shot lead to the 18th and hit his most important drive of the day — in the fairway. Westwood's tee shot settled in a divot, and he did well to get it on the green and two-putt from 65 feet. DeChambeau's birdie putt slid by some 5 feet and he shook his arms in celebration when the par putt dropped. Westwood closed with a 73, not a bad score considering the average of 75.49 was the highest for a final round since 1980. Jordan Spieth was part of a four-man race on the front nine and briefly tied for the lead with a birdie on the par-5 sixth. That turned out to be his last birdie of the day. He took bogey on three of his last four holes for a 75, dropping him into a three-way tie for fourth with Andrew Putnam (71) and Ricky Werenski (73). For Spieth, it was his third top-five finish in his last four events. DeChambeau said he received a text Sunday morning from Tiger Woods, who is recovering from serious leg injuries from his car crash in Los Angeles. He said Woods, an eight-time Bay Hill winner, told him to “keep fighting.” He also considered the words from Arnold Palmer to “play boldly.” He needed all of that with the fight Westwood gave him, and the test Bay Hill provided. “It's been quite a battle this whole entire time,” DeChambeau said. DeChambeau rose to No. 6 in the world with his ninth PGA Tour victory, and he became the first player this season with multiple victories, to go along with his U.S. Open title in September. It matched the longest it took for a multiple winner on the PGA Tour since 1969. Nick Price won his second title in the 21st week of the season in 1994. Rory McIlroy, who started four shots out of the lead, was never in the mix. He came undone on the par-5 sixth, where he hit two tee shots into the water and then hit the fairway, green and made the putt to salvage double bogey. He shot 76. Doug Ferguson, The Associated Press