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Nurse takes some responsibility for Raptors' lack of offensive execution vs Heat
The Toronto Raptors appeared somewhat out of sorts against the Miami Heat and coach Nick Nurse shoulders a portion of the blame.
The Toronto Raptors appeared somewhat out of sorts against the Miami Heat and coach Nick Nurse shoulders a portion of the blame.
Sitting at 5-9 with a flawed roster and a whole lot of questions, Masai Ujiri and the Raptors need to figure out how to avoid being "trapped in the middle" again.
With COVID-19 spiking in Japan and public polling moving against holding the Tokyo Games, the IOC is standing its ground.
In another time, the Nets might have been perfect villains, forcing themselves into relevance — even ubiquity — by winning, by inspiring copycats. New eras beget new definitions. The Nets aren’t villains. They’re anti-heroes.
The answer to everything the Maple Leafs have done in the offseason might stem from their plans for their captain.
All eyes are on Patrick Mahomes ahead of the AFC championship.
Four different Jets scored as Winnipeg handed the Senators a 4-1 loss.
Which mid-career superstars, expiring All-Stars and aging duos could be the next on the trade block?
Jordan Eberle scored twice and Mathew Barzal had three points as the Islanders dropped the Devils on Thursday night.
Kevin Porter Jr. reportedly had an outburst in the Cavs' locker room last week, which prompted the team to find a way to deal him.
Less than a month after his dramatic exit from Washington, Dwayne Haskins is reportedly signing with the Steelers.
Nick Sirianni served as the Colts' offensive coordinator since 2018.
The Oilers are short on options in net, and it's only a matter of time before that catches up with them.
The former NFL star went skating with one of hockey's leading anti-racism advocates and the result was delightful.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Brayden Point scored 1:56 into overtime and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 on Thursday night for their third straight victory to begin the season. Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy and Columbus' Joonas Korpisalo traded great saves in extra time before Point tapped in a pass from Victor Hedman. Blake Coleman and Mathieu Joseph also scored for the Stanley Cup champions, and Vasilevskiy had 23 saves. Nick Foligno tied it for the Blue Jackets 47 seconds into the third period. Oliver Bjorkstrand also scored and Korpisalo stopped 34 shots as the Blue Jackets slipped to 1-2-2. BRUINS 5, FLYERS 4, SO BOSTON (AP) — Jake DeBrusk scored the lone goal in a shootout and Boston opened its home schedule with a victory over Philadelphia. DeBrusk flipped a shot over goalie Carter Hart just under the crossbar for the winner. Tuukka Rask made a glove stop on Claude Giroux to end the shootout. Brandon Carlo scored Boston’s fourth goal of the third, beating Hart on a shot from the point with 4:42 left to give the Bruins their first lead, but the Flyers tied it on James van Riemsdyk’s second goal of the game 1:10 later on a power play. Nick Ritchi, Jack Studnicka and Charlie Coyle added goals for Boston. Giroux and Travis Sanheim also scored for Philadelphia ISLANDERS 4, DEVILS 1 UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) — Jordan Eberle scored twice, Mathew Barzal had a goal and two assists and Semyon Varlamov made 30 saves in New York's victory over New Jersey. The Islanders improved to 3-1-0, while the Devils lost for the first time in regulation, falling to 2-1-1. Nathan Bastian ended Varlamov’s season-opening shutout streak at 142 minutes, 10 seconds, the eighth-longest in NHL history to begin a season. Brock Nelson also scored for New York. JETS 4, SENATORS 1 OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Connor Hellebuyck made 28 saves and Nikolaj Ehlers, Mark Scheifele, Adam Lowry and Blake Wheeler scored to help Winnipeg beat Ottawa. Winnipeg opened the three-game series Tuesday night with a 4-3 overtime victory in Ottawa. They will meet again Saturday night in Winnipeg. Chris Tierney ended Hellebuyck’s shutout bid with 2:57 left. The Associated Press
OTTAWA — The Winnipeg Jets delivered their most complete effort of the young season on Thursday night, using a balanced attack and steady goaltending for a 4-1 win over the Ottawa Senators. Four different players scored and netminder Connor Hellebuyck nearly earned a shutout as Winnipeg improved to 3-1-0. "Lots of quickness," said Jets head coach Paul Maurice. "It was a well-managed game and a really well-played game by our team." Nikolaj Ehlers, Mark Scheifele, Adam Lowry and Blake Wheeler scored as the Jets controlled most of the game. Ehlers and Scheifele also had an assist apiece. Kyle Connor had two assists. "Everyone was connected and we moved as a unit," Hellebuyck said. "There was no one slacking. Everyone wanted to play and everyone was in it early." Chris Tierney scored Ottawa's lone goal with 2:57 left in regulation. Ottawa (1-2-1) picked up the pace a bit in the third period after a flat showing over the first 40 minutes. The Senators made too many careless mistakes and Winnipeg made them pay. The Jets were coming off a 4-3 overtime win over Ottawa on Tuesday night, also at Canadian Tire Centre. Ehlers opened the scoring at 11:50 with a low wrist shot from the high slot. The puck went between the legs of netminder Matt Murray, who was partially screened. Ehlers helped make it a 2-0 game early in the second period. He made a pass from the corner to Connor, who directed it to the side of the goal for Scheifele to sweep in at 4:22. Scheifele took advantage of some lax defending by Thomas Chabot, who was a team-worst minus-3 on the night. The Jets pulled away with two more goals later in the stanza. Derek Forbort made a crafty bank pass off the side boards to spring Trevor Lewis, who deked Murray but watched the puck hit the post. Lowry banged it in at 7:05. An Ottawa timeout did little to stem the momentum. Moments later, Connor knocked down a poor clearing attempt by Chabot and flipped it to Scheifele for a one-time pass to Wheeler, who made it 4-0 at 13:55. "They came out with their A-game and we were caught on our heels a little bit," Murray said. Hellebuyck, meanwhile, was steady when needed. One of his best stops came early in the third period when he stacked the pads to deny Connor Brown on a breakaway. "He's quite the luxury to have back there," Wheeler said. "We certainly feel he's the top goaltender in the league." Netminder Marcus Hogberg played the final 20 minutes for Ottawa. Each team had 29 shots on net. Centre Colin White was back in the lineup after being scratched in two of Ottawa's first three games. Defenceman Ville Heinola made his season debut for Winnipeg. Ottawa rookie Tim Stutzle and Winnipeg sniper Patrik Laine were out with injuries. Winnipeg centre Nate Thompson suffered a lower-body injury in the game and is day to day, Maurice said. The teams will face off again Saturday at Bell MTS Place. It will be the opener of a seven-game road trip for the Senators. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 21, 2021. The Canadian Press
Martin Mayhew returns to the franchise where he won a Super Bowl while Marty Hurney will take on a different executive role.
PHILADELPHIA — Nick Sirianni's success working with various quarterbacks with different styles comes in handy in his new job. The Philadelphia Eagles are nearing a deal to hire Sirianni to be their head coach, according to two people familiar with the decision. Both people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because the team hasn’t officially announced the hiring. Sirianni was the offensive co-ordinator for the Indianapolis Colts the past three seasons. He worked under coach Frank Reich, who was offensive co-ordinator in Philadelphia when the Eagles won the Super Bowl three years ago. The 39-year-old Sirianni previously served as an assistant coach with the Chiefs and Chargers. The Eagles fired Doug Pederson following a 4-11-1 season, less than three years after he led the team to the franchise’s only Super Bowl title. Sirianni worked with Andrew Luck, Jacoby Brissett and Philip Rivers in Indianapolis and coached Rivers in San Diego and Matt Cassel in Kansas City. Now he's tasked with figuring out how to get Carson Wentz back to his 2017 form. Wentz finished third in NFL MVP voting that season and helped the Eagles earn the No. 1 seed in the NFC. He tore two knee ligaments in Week 14 and watched Nick Foles lead the team to victory over New England and earn Super Bowl MVP honours. Wentz is coming off the worst season of his five-year career and was benched for rookie Jalen Hurts for the final four games in 2020. Wentz's $128 million, four-year contract kicks in this year, making it difficult for the Eagles to trade him. Sirianni's top priority has be to solving the quarterback dilemma. Sirianni began his NFL coaching career as offensive quality control coach in Kansas City in 2009. He also served as an assistant quarterbacks coach and wide receivers coach during four seasons with the Chiefs. Sirianni held the same positions during five seasons with the Chargers from 2013-17. He joined the Colts when Reich left Philadelphia to take over as head coach in 2018. The Colts finished top 10 in points and yards in two of Sirianni's three seasons as offensive co-ordinator. They were top 10 in rushing offence the other season. “He’s great. Hope he does really well,” former Eagles and current Colts tight end Trey Burton said about Sirianni in a text message. The Eagles were one of seven teams looking for a head coach during this hiring cycle and so far only the New York Jets did not pick a white man. The Jets hired Robert Saleh, the son of Lebanese parents. Houston still has an opening for a head coach. The NFL has just four minority coaches: Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin, Washington’s Ron Rivera, Miami’s Brian Flores and Saleh, who is the first Muslim coach in the league. “Biggest thing is there’s only 32 jobs and they’re going to hire personal preference,” said Buccaneers defensive co-ordinator Todd Bowles, who interviewed with Philadelphia. “It’s really an offensive league right now the way things are going. ... There’s a lot of qualified guys that deserve chances to be head coaches that are African American.” ___ More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL Rob Maaddi, The Associated Press
BOSTON — Jake DeBrusk scored the lone goal in a shootout and the Boston Bruins won their home opener with a 5-4 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night. In a wild game, the Flyers (3-1-1) led 2-0 and 3-2 but the Bruins (2-1-1) scored four times in the third period. DeBrusk flipped a shot over goalie Carter Hart just under the crossbar for the game-winner. Tuukka Rask made a glove stop on Claude Giroux to end the shootout. Brandon Carlo scored Boston’s fourth goal of the third, beating Hart on a shot from the left point with 4:42 left in regulation to give the Bruins their first lead, but the Flyers tied it on James van Riemsdyk’s second goal of the game 1:10 later by scoring on the power play with his wrister from the right circle. Rask made the highlight save of overtime, sliding across to rob Kevin Hayes with a right-pad stop. Philadelphia’s Travis Sanheim had Jakub Voracek’s shot deflect off his right skate from the slot just over five minutes after the Bruins rallied with two goals 70 seconds apart early in the third period to tie it 2-all. But Nick Ritchie’s power-play goal tied it again with 6:38 left in the third. Jack Studnicka scored his first NHL goal, slicing it to 2-1 just 57 seconds into the third period. It was Boston’s first 5-on-5 goal of the season. Charlie Coyle’s turnaround shot from the left circle tied it. Playing their first home game in TD Garden since March 7, the Bruins created an atmosphere — as best they could without fans — of an opener by introducing their coaching staff and players, including those who were sidelined and dressed in suits. The last time the Bruins played at the Garden they were rolling with the NHL’s best record. Since then, they lost in the second round of the playoffs to eventual Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay and saw Zdeno Chara, their 14-year captain, leave via free agency and sign with Washington. NICE TOUCH National anthem singer Todd Angilly sang a socially distanced version that was taped outside the home of Stephen A. Cipolla of Somerville, a 42-year season-ticket holder who died recently from complications of COVID-19. SOUNDS AND SIGHTS Music blared — as usual — during stoppages, but with the empty black seats as a backdrop it was the sounds of sticks, pucks banging off the boards, calling for passes and even a few complaints about penalty calls or non-calls that echoed around the arena. BUSY NIGHT Hart had 38 saves in regulation and OT, and Rask stopped 22 shots. WHAT’S NEXT Flyers: Face the Bruins again Saturday night in their second of a four-game road trip. The final two will be in Newark, New Jersey, against the Devils. Bruins: Saturday’s game against Philadelphia will be their second of a three-game homestand. ___ More AP NHL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Ken Powtak, The Associated Press
Jennifer King spent last season as a full-year intern under Ron Rivera in Washington.
J.T. Realmuto continues to garner attention in free agency, plus Tim Anderson lands on the R.B.I Baseball cover on this edition of FastCast