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Tampa Bay Rays’ new stadium proposal: What we know so far

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — For many of the nearly 28 years since the Tampa Bay Rays held their inaugural game in St. Petersburg’s domed stadium, they have been looking for a bigger, better deal.

Tropicana Field’s location, across Tampa Bay from the much-larger population base in Tampa, attributed to low attendance through most of those years.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays began as the most recent of Major League Baseball’s expansion teams, along with the Arizona Diamondbacks. They eventually dropped Devil from the team’s name and have carved a fairly successful path as a small-market team despite a low payroll and poor attendance.

Every few years, talks of a new stadium to replace the aging Trop evolved and dissolved, including a failed proposal to move to Tampa’s Ybor City district and an effort to remain in St. Petersburg that seemed on track until Hurricane Milton in 2024 shifted local priorities. Last March the Rays withdrew from a $1.3 billion stadium deal with St. Petersburg.

Now stadium talks are back on, though few details have been released by the team, which has a new ownership group with new plans for the future.

The Rays signed a nonbinding memorandum of agreement last week with Tampa’s Hillsborough College to build a multiuse facility on a 113-acre site along Dale Mabry Boulevard. The site is across the street from Raymond James Stadium, where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play, and in the shadows of George M. Steinbrenner Field, which is the spring training home to the New York Yankees.

When would the stadium be built?

Few details about the stadium, including whether it will have a roof, have been released by the team. It has said it wants a roof, which is almost essential to avoid long delays during Florida’s rainy season and spare fans the sticky summer humidity.

The team is continuing talks with officials in Tampa to get the deal completed. The agreement with Hillsborough College includes a six-month window for negotiations.

The Rays had been negotiating with St. Petersburg and Pinellas County for a new ballpark to be built adjacent to Tropicana Field. But the team in March withdrew from a $1.3 billion project to construct the new stadium, citing the hurricane and delays that likely drove up the proposal’s cost.Playing at Steinbrenner Field, which has a capacity of 10,046, the Rays had 61 sellouts and drew 786,750, down from 1,337,739 in 2024, when they were 28th among the 30 MLB teams and ahead of only Miami and Oakland. In 2025, the Rays were 29th in attendance, edging out the Athletics, who are playing home games at a minor league ballpark in West Sacramento, California, while a new stadium expected to open in 2028 is built in Las Vegas. The As drew 768,464 fans in 2025.

What happened to Tropicana Field?

Hurricane Milton struck Florida’s Gulf Coast in October 2024, ripping Tropicana Field’s roof to shreds.

The significant damage forced the team to play the entire 2025 season at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, which underwent a 120-hour makeover following the Yankees’ final spring training game to prepare for the Rays’ opening day.

Meantime, repairs got underway at the Trop, and the team is expected to be back in St. Petersburg for the 2026 season. The Rays are under lease at the Trop through at least the 2028 baseball season.

The destruction caused by the hurricane and rising costs of repairs and new construction in part led Stuart Sternberg to pull out of a proposed stadium deal with St. Petersburg last year and sell the team.

The stadium opened in 1990 at an initial cost of $138 million and featured what the team said was the world’s largest cable-supported domed roof, with the panels made of “translucent, Teflon-coated fiberglass” supported by 180 miles of cables connected by struts.

Playing at Steinbrenner Field, which has a capacity of 10,046, the Rays had 61 sellouts and drew 786,750, down from 1,337,739 in 2024, when they were 28th among the 30 MLB teams and ahead of only Miami and Oakland. In 2025, the Rays were 29th in attendance, edging out the Athletics, who are playing home games at a minor league ballpark in West Sacramento, California, while a new stadium expected to open in 2028 is built in Las Vegas. The As drew 768,464 fans in 2025.

What do we know about the proposed stadium?

So far, not a lot. Nothing has been made public about how much money the team’s ownership plans to contribute, or how much or even what they are asking from the city, county and state.

The new Rays ownership wants to create an atmosphere similar to Truist Park, where the Atlanta Braves play, which features a mix of shops, dining, living and work space outside the stadium. Again, few details have been publicly shared.

The memorandum-of-understanding with Hillsborough College also calls for creation of new campus facilities for the college.

Rays CEO Ken Babby said there is still a lot of work to be done.

“What I can say with certainty is that we believe with conviction that we’re going to be able to create a world-class work-live-learn-play development here in Tampa Bay, and we’re very, very encouraged and pleased by today’s outcome,” Babby said.

The team said in a statement that there are parking and access challenges at the location, but they will work through a comprehensive and collaborative process with Tampa, Hillsborough County, local law enforcement and planning experts to prioritize parking and overall mobility.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has said the state will not help finance the stadium. But he agreed to help facilitate the relocation of a juvenile justice facility on the property and added that the state could likely help pay for sewers and roads around the area.

Who are the new owners of the Rays?

Last September, a group led by Florida-based real estate developer Patrick Zalupski finalized a deal to purchase the team from former owner Stuart Sternberg. Forbes estimates his net worth at $1.4 billion.

Zalupski, the CEO of Jacksonville-based Dream Finders Homes Inc., is the team’s control person and a co-chair along with Bill Cosgrove, who is CEO of Union Home Mortgage in Ohio.

The team’s new CEO is Ken Babby. Babby is CEO of Fast Forward Sports Group, which owns the Triple-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, a Miami Marlins affiliate, and the Double-A Akron RubberDucks, a Cleveland Guardians farm team.

Sternberg took control of the team from founding owner Vince Naimoli in November 2005. He oversaw the rebranding of the team from the Devil Rays after the 2007 season.

The Rays won AL East titles in 2008, 2010, 2020 and 2021 and twice reached the World Series, losing to Philadelphia in 2008 and to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020.

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Nets fall to Suns, 106-104, after teams scuffle late in fourth quarter

PHOENIX (AP) — Mark Williams scored 27 points, Dillon Brooks had 26 and the short-handed Suns beat the Brooklyn Nets 106-102 on Tuesday night in a game that featured a scuffle late in the fourth quarter.

After Brooks put the Suns ahead 104-102 on two free throws with 1:23 remaining, a steal by the Suns’ Royce O’Neale led to a scramble for the ball in the paint. Brooks tried to wrestle the ball away from Ziaire Williams after the whistle, and the Nets’ Egor Demin pushed Brooks.

Several players started jawing at each other and assistant coaches from both sides gathered on the floor as officials tried to restore order. Demin, Mann and Michael Porter Jr. received technical fouls for the Nets, and the Suns’ Grayson Allen and O’Neale also got technicals. Brooks did not receive a technical after getting one earlier in the game.

Allen added 18 points for the short-handed Suns, who ended a two-game skid. Devin Booker missed his second straight game after rolling his right ankle in a loss at Atlanta on Friday night, and Jalen Green also sat with a nagging right hamstring injury.

Porter finished with a season-high 36 points for the Nets, who have lost six straight and 14 of 16. Demin added 15 points, but Brooklyn struggled to find secondary scoring.

When Porter made a 3-pointer with 9:47 left in the third quarter, he had 12 of the Nets’ 24 baskets for 27 points.

Phoenix led 91-81 midway through the fourth, but Brooklyn responded with a 19-5 run capped by Porter’s 3 for a 100-96 lead with 3:33 left. Williams scored four quick points for Phoenix and then Allen tied it at 102-all with 1:39 remaining.

Up next

Nets: At Denver on Thursday night.

Suns: Host Detroit on Thursday night.

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Knicks’ improved defense key during three-game winning streak

Call it a players only meeting, or don’t. 

Whatever it was, the message appears to have gotten through. 

The Knicks have suddenly turned things around following their brutally rough stretch, taking home their third consecutive victory on Monday night over the Sacramento Kings. 

Jalen Brunson was terrific late, but leading the way was the Knicks’ improved defense. 

Things were evened at 72 apiece through three quarters, but then Mike Brown’s shook up lineup turned things up and held Sacramento to just 15 points in the final frame.

Mitchell Robinson stayed in alongside Brunson, Miles McBride, Mikal Bridges, and OG Anunoby to close things out and the move worked tremendously. 

New York’s tenacious defense helped limit the Kings to just 40 percent shooting from the field and 16 percent from three-point land on the night. 

“It was an ugly game, but our defense stayed solid throughout,” Mike Brown said.

“We were able to grind it out and find a way,” Brunson added. 

The Knicks are now averaging just 87.3 points allowed during their brief winning streak, and they’ve held opponents under the triple-digit mark in two of those three games. 

So, what exactly has sparked this drastic turnaround?

Robinson said one of the biggest things has been their communication. 

Brunson, on the other hand, pointed in another direction.

“Our attention to detail, our focus, those are big components,” the captain said. “We have the ability to be a really good team if we do those things, the little things have to be important.” 

For New York to get where they hope this season, they’ll need to keep this up. 

The improved defense will have another very big test right away, as they head to Toronto to face the Raptors in a matchup of two of the Eastern Conference heavyweights in the second night of a back-to-back on Wednesday.  

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Suns beat Nets 106-102 after teams scuffle late in fourth quarter

PHOENIX (AP) — Mark Williams scored 27 points, Dillon Brooks had 26 and the short-handed Suns beat the Brooklyn Nets 106-102 on Tuesday night in a game that featured a scuffle late in the fourth quarter.

After Brooks put the Suns ahead 104-102 on two free throws with 1:23 remaining, a steal by the Suns' Royce O'Neale led to a scramble for the ball in the paint. Brooks tried to wrestle the ball away from Ziaire Williams after the whistle, and the Nets' Egor Demin pushed Brooks.

Several players started jawing at each other and assistant coaches from both sides gathered on the floor as officials tried to restore order. Demin, Mann and Michael Porter Jr. received technical fouls for the Nets, and the Suns' Grayson Allen and O'Neale also got technicals. Brooks did not receive a technical after getting one earlier in the game.

Allen added 18 points for the short-handed Suns, who ended a two-game skid. Devin Booker missed his second straight game after rolling his right ankle in a loss at Atlanta on Friday night, and Jalen Green also sat with a nagging right hamstring injury.

Porter finished with a season-high 36 points for the Nets, who have lost six straight and 14 of 16. Demin added 15 points, but Brooklyn struggled to find secondary scoring.

When Porter made a 3-pointer with 9:47 left in the third quarter, he had 12 of the Nets' 24 baskets for 27 points.

Phoenix led 91-81 midway through the fourth, but Brooklyn responded with a 19-5 run capped by Porter's 3 for a 100-96 lead with 3:33 left. Williams scored four quick points for Phoenix and then Allen tied it at 102-all with 1:39 remaining.

Up next

Nets: At Denver on Thursday night.

Suns: Host Detroit on Thursday night.

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Yankees news: Aaron Judge named “The Show” cover athlete again

MLB.com | David Adler: All Rise, for the unveiling of the 2026 MLB The Show cover. Aaron Judge is this year’s cover athlete for the video game, appearing in both his Yankees pinstripes and his Team USA uniform. It’s the second time Judge has appeared on the cover of The Show, as he was chosen for the 2018 edition of the game following his superb Rookie of the Year campaign in 2017.

New York Post | Greg Joyce: The Yankees have named 44-year-old Mario Garza their new international scouting director. Garza will succeed longtime director Danny Rowland, whom the Yankees let go back in November after a string of poor showings on the IFA market. Garza has been with the Yankees for 16 years, most recently working as director of baseball development.

MLB Trade Rumors | Darragh McDonald: A new pitcher is on the Yankees roster, as New York claimed righty Dom Hamel off waivers from the Rangers. A third-round pick by the Mets out of Dallas Baptist in 2021, Hamel debuted in September 2025 but that stands as his lone career game thus far. The Orioles grabbed him off waivers shortly afterward and the Rangers were soon to follow with a waiver claim of their own. Hamel had a high ERA at Triple-A Syracuse in 2025, but the 26-year-old did fan over a batter per inning, so perhaps there’s something for the Yankees to work with there. To make room on the 40-man, they designated the recently-claimed Marco Luciano for assignment, as well as lefty Jayvien Sandridge, who cameoed in the 2025 Yankees bullpen.

New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: The Yankees signed 18-year-old pitcher Tijn Fredrikze as an international prospect at the end of 2025, the first time they’d signed a European-born player in 13 years. Phillips spoke to Fredrikze and Troy Williams, the scout who covers Europe, Africa, and the Middle East for the Yankees and uncovered Fredrikze. With so few prospects emerging from those areas, Williams was thrilled to secure Fredrikze, a player from the Netherlands that led the Dutch Major League in strikeouts last year. Fredrikze faces a long climb to the majors, but he sounds confident he can overcome the odds. “I want to be a Hall of Famer,” he said. “That’s my goal. My first goal was signing, and when I got close to that, my goals changed really fast. I just want to be the best out there.”

Newsweek | Jon Paul Hoornstra: Zach Monroe, a pitcher who played for the 1958 and 1959 Yankees, passed away at the age of 94 in his native Peoria, Illinois. He made 24 appearances in the majors in his career, all for the Yankees, posting a 3.38 ERA in the process. Monroe was part of the team that defeated the Milwaukee Braves in seven games in the 1958 World Series. He’s survived by four daughters, as well as many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. With Monroe’s passing, only four members of the 1958 champions remain: Tony Kubek, Bobby Richardson, Johnny James, and now-centenarian pitcher Bobby Shantz.

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George and Embiid lead 76ers to victory over Bucks

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Paul George scored 32 points, Joel Embiid had 18 of his 29 points in the first quarter and the Philadelphia 76ers rolled to a 139-122 victory over the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night.

Tyrese Maxey added 22 points for the 76ers, who were blown out a night earlier at Charlotte with Embiid and George sidelined.

Myles Turner scored 31 points for Milwaukee, which lost its third straight and sixth of seven. Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo sat out with a right calf strain that the team said will sideline him indefinitely.

George hit back-to-back 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter to help the 76ers extend their 11-point lead to start the period to 18 points. In their 130-93 loss to the Hornets, the Sixers trailed by 50 points entering the fourth.

The game at Charlotte was rescheduled to 3 p.m. EDT because of winter weather, but the Sixers still didn’t make it back to Philadelphia until after 1 a.m. Tuesday.

But the return of Embiid and George, who both sat Monday for injury management, provided a jolt of energy for the Sixers. Maxey found Embiid for an alley-oop dunk late in the first half and Maxey jumped up and down with excitement as both players smiled toward Bucks coach Doc Rivers, who led the Sixers for three seasons.

George made 11 of 21 shots, including 9 of 15 3-pointers. Embiid added nine rebounds and five assists.

Ryan Rollins scored 24 points for the Bucks, Bobby Portis had 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Kyle Kuzma also scored 17.

WIZARDS 115, TRAIL BLAZERS 111

WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Sarr had 29 points, 12 rebounds and six blocked shots, and Washington snapped a nine-game losing streak with a victory over Portland.

It was Washington’s first home victory over Portland since Jan. 16, 2017.

The Wizards led 112-106 when Shaedon Sharpe cut the lead in half with a 3-pointer. After Bub Carrington tossed up an air ball for Washington, Sharpe’s dunk with 20.5 seconds left cut the lead to one.

Kyshawn George made one of two free throws with 15.5 seconds to play, putting the Wizards up 113-111. After a timeout, Sharpe’s contested jumper missed, and Khris Middleton’s free throws made it a four-point game.

Sharpe scored 31 points for Portland, which lost despite a 69-46 advantage in rebounds. The Trail Blazers shot just 13 of 23 on free throws.

The 7-foot-1 Sarr attempted a career-high 29 field goals, making 11. It was quite a battle of young big men between him and 7-foot-3 Donovan Clingan, who had 14 points and 20 rebounds for Portland. Ex-Wizard Deni Avdija had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Blazers.

KNICKS 103, KINGS 87

NEW YORK (AP) — Jalen Brunson scored 28 points and New York dominated the fourth quarter to beat Sacramento for its third straight victory.

Mikal Bridges added 18 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks, who outscored the Kings 31-15 in the final period after the game was tied at 72 after three.

DeMar DeRozan scored 34 points for the Kings, who lost their sixth straight. Russell Westbrook added 14 points, but he and DeRozan combined to go 3 for 16 from 3-point range on a night when Sacramento finished 5 for 30 (16.7%).

Mike Brown earned his first victory as Knicks coach against the team that fired him last season, two years after he was NBA Coach of the Year after leading Sacramento to the 2023 playoffs.

THUNDER 104, PELICANS 95

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points and short-handed Oklahoma City beat New Orleans to avoid its first three-game skid of the season.

Chet Holmgren had 20 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks for NBA-best Oklahoma City (38-10), which had lost back-to-back home games for the first time this season. Isaiah Joe added 17 points.

The Thunder were missing starters Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein and Cason Wallace and key reserve Alex Caruso with injuries.

Gilgeous-Alexander shot 8 of 22 from the field but went 13 of 14 from the foul line. He scored at least 20 points for the 118th consecutive game, the second-longest streak in NBA history.

Zion Williamson led New Orleans with 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting and 11 rebounds. Saddiq Bey added 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Pelicans, who had won two straight.

PISTONS 109, NUGGETS 107

DENVER (AP) — Tobias Harris scored 22 points, including two free throws with 2 seconds left, and Detroit held off a late Denver rally for the win.

Cade Cunningham had with 22 points and 11 assists for Detroit, which has won nine of 11 and leads the Eastern Conference by 5 1/2 games over Boston.

Jamal Murray had 24 points and 10 assists but missed two free throws in the final seconds. With the Nuggets down 107-104, Murray was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 4 seconds left and missed the first foul shot. Harris was fouled and made both free throws. Murray went to the line again with 0.7 seconds remaining but missed the second foul shot.

Jonas Valanciunas returned from a one-game absence to finish with 16 points and 16 rebounds for Denver, which had been scheduled to play at the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday. The game was postponed because of the winter storm that hit most of the country, and the Nuggets were stranded in Memphis until Monday morning.

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Blackhawks Squander 3-0 Lead, Lose To Wild 4-3 In Shootout

The Chicago Blackhawks needed a big road effort on Tuesday night if they were going to get back on track against a team as good as the Minnesota Wild. 

This was a much better game for the Hawks, especially being on the road, and they had a 1-0 lead 1:19 into the game thanks to a goal scored by Teuvo Teravainen. In his return to the lineup, skating on a line with Frank Nazar and Connor Bedard, Teravainen made his presence felt right away. 

"I thought that it was a good line," head coach Jeff Blashill said after the game. "[Bedard] and [Nazar], I haven't seen them play a lot together. I thought they were really good. They showed a lot of skill, they fed each other in good spots, had a lot of chances, and scored with [Teravainen]. I thought that was a real dynamic line."

Ryan Donato and Ilya Mikheyev helped build on the lead with goals of their own to make it 3-0 by the time the game was half over. 

The Blackhawks didn't totally collapse, but they allowed the Wild to crawl back. It started with Yakov Trenin scoring his fourth of the season to get them on the board. That 3-1 score held through two periods. 

Joel Eriksson Ek scored at 3:57 of the third period on a rebound created by Quinn Hughes. This gave the Wild the confidence they needed to begin their quest for a comeback. 

With the goalie pulled, Jared Spurgeon tied it up at 17:58. Spurgeon now has five goals in his last six games against the Blackhawks, and this one was as big as any of them. 

No scoring took place in overtime, and Kirill Kaprizov was the only scorer in the shootout, giving the Wild the comeback 4-3 victory. 

This was a mostly well-played game by the Blackhawks, but the Wild came back and found a way to win after going down 3-0. 

Mistakes and tough puck management in the late stages of the game allowed the Wild to slowly but surely get back in the game, but Minnesota had to work for this win. 

The penalty kill stayed hot, but they hardly had any work to do with just one kill. The power play, which is an entirely different story, continued its struggles with no goals on five tries. Jeff Blashill said after the game that he thought it did better at generating quality chances, but there were still no goals to show for it.

"I thought it was better," Blashill said. "We've walked away from other days where I just didn't feel it was dangerous at all. I thought we had a good number of chances [in this game]."

The power play needs a goal badly. If they keep drawing penalties and moving the puck the way they did against the Wild, eventually they will score. Once they get one, the unit as a whole may get back on track. A power play goal on one of their five tries would have likely won this game. 

Watch Every Chicago Goal

What’s Next For The Blackhawks?

The Blackhawks are back in action on Thursday night. They have a road date with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Steel City. 

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Knicks' Karl-Anthony Towns unbothered by recent lack of minutes in closing stretches: 'We've got to win'

It took three full quarters of sloppy play for the Knicks to exert expected dominance over the Kings on Tuesday night, and a huge 31-point fourth quarter that lifted them to a 103-87 home win was sparked by a pair of timely threes from Karl-Anthony Towns in the opening minutes.

But the veteran center didn't contribute to a closing 21-9 run that clinched a third straight victory for the team. Towns watched the final seven minutes of action from the bench, while a lineup featuring Miles McBride and Mitchell Robinson took the floor instead.

The lack of playing time for Towns down the stretch was curious. In spite of producing 17 points against the Kings across 27 minutes, he hasn't played more than 30 minutes in three straight games. It wasn't a matter of discipline on Tuesday -- Towns committed only two fouls.

When asked about the trend after the game, Knicks head coach Mike Brown didn't hint at any issue with Towns. He simply felt more comfortable with that rotation in a clear rhythm, causing the Kings fits.

"At the end of the game, we had a group out on the floor that was playing well," Brown said. "It's a tight ballgame, so I rode that group to the end of the game. We needed to get the win."

Towns, who played 20 minutes against the Nets last Wednesday and just 16 minutes against the 76ers last Saturday, wasn't miffed by Brown's decision or explanation. He trusted his coach.

"[Brown] saw what he saw. We've got to win," Towns said. "That's the most important thing. That's all I care about, New York cares about, this team cares about -- is wins."

While it's still unclear if the Knicks will attempt to make a blockbuster trade that involves Towns as a package headliner, he hasn't resembled a dominant force in January.

The five-time All-Star is averging just 16.6 points this month (12 games), and over his last six contests, he's actually logged more fouls (11) than assists and blocks combined (9).

Towns' minutes will be a topic of conversation again on Wednesday night, when the Knicks travel north of the border to face the Raptors.

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No. 24 Miami (Ohio) improves to 21-0 by holding off UMass 86-84

OXFORD, Ohio (AP) — Eian Elmer scored a career-high 30 points and No. 24 Miami (Ohio) improved to 21-0, rallying in the second half and then holding on for an 86-84 victory over UMass on Tuesday night.

Miami is one of two unbeaten teams in Division I after fifth-ranked Nebraska lost 75-72 at No. 3 Michigan earlier Tuesday night. Top-ranked Arizona is 21-0 following an 86-83 win over No. 13 BYU on Monday night.

The victory also tied the RedHawks with the 2001-02 Kent State squad for the longest in-season winning streak in Mid-American Conference history.

Elmer was 9 of 14 from the field, including 6 for 11 on 3-pointers. The junior shooting guard, who also grabbed seven rebounds, had 18 points in the first half.

Peter Suder added 13 points and nine assists. Freshman guard Justin Kirby also scored 13 as Miami improved to 9-0 in conference play.

Leonardo Bettiol had 22 points and 16 rebounds for UMass (13-9, 4-6), which had won four of five. Marcus Banks Jr. scored 18 and Daniel Hankins-Sanford added 16.

Miami extended its lead to 82-75 with 2:07 remaining before the Minutemen made one final charge. K'Jei Parker sank three free throws with 8.8 seconds remaining after getting fouled by Kirby at the top of the key.

Suder was fouled with 4.4 seconds left. He hit the first free throw, but missed the second. Bettiol grabbed the rebound and passed to Isaiah Placide, whose desperation shot from halfcourt went off the glass, allowing the RedHawks to earn another close win after prevailing in overtime in their previous two games.

UMass was up 65-60 midway through the second half before Miami went on an 8-4 spurt. Elmer's 3-pointer with 8:40 remaining gave the RedHawks a 69-68 lead, their first since the first minute of the game.

Up next

UMass hosts Eastern Michigan on Saturday.

Miami (Ohio) hosts Northern Illinois on Saturday.

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Huff, Eaglestaff help lift West Virginia past Kansas State 59-54

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Honor Huff scored 17 points and Treysen Eaglestaff scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds and West Virginia beat Kansas State 59-54 on Tuesday night.

Brenen Lorient scored 10 points for West Virginia (14-7, 5-3 Big 12), which has won three of four and six of its last nine games. It was the third fewest points scored this season for Kansas State.

P.J. Haggerty scored 16 points, David Castillo scored 15 points and Nate Johnson 13 for Kansas State (10-11, 1-7). The Wildcats have lost seven of their last eight.

West Virginia led 57-54 with 22 seconds left before the Jayhawks intentionally fouled Huff. He missed the front end of a one-and-one and Kansas State took possession.

Lorient blocked Haggerty's layup attempt with 14 seconds left. Kansas State maintained possession but Haggerty's 3-point attempt with 10 seconds left was off the mark.

Taj Manning fouled Huff and he made both foul shots with eight seconds left to seal the win.

Up Next

Kansas State: Hosts No. 8 Iowa State on Sunday.

West Virginia: Hosts Baylor on Saturday.

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Utah women never trail, beat No. 22 West Virginia 71-64

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — LA Sneed scored 15 points, Reese Ross had a double-double, and Utah never trailed in a 71-64 victory over No. 22 West Virginia on Tuesday night.

Sneed made three of the Utes’ 10 3-pointers. Ross scored 12 points to go with 10 rebounds and four assists. Lani White added 14 points and Chyra Evans scored 12 for Utah (15-6, 6-3 Big 12).

Jordan Harrison scored 18 points and had eight assists to lead West Virginia (17-5, 7-3), which ended a three-game win streak. Gia Cooke added 11 points and Carter McCray scored 10.

The Utes closed the second quarter on a 14-5 run for a 36-24 lead at the break. Sneed made two 3-pointers and scored eight points for the Utes, who hit six 3-pointers and shot 58% (15 of 26) in the the half.

Utah had its largest lead, 48-30, with 5:11 to play in the third quarter. West Virginia scored the first seven points of the fourth to pull to 55-49 with 6:30 left but didn't get closer.

Up next

West Virginia: Host No. 14 Baylor on Sunday.

Utah: At BYU on Saturday.

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Kane ties Modano as highest-scoring American-born NHL player in Red Wings loss to Kings

DETROIT (AP) — Anton Forsberg made 26 saves and the Los Angeles Kings beat the Red Wings 3-1 on Tuesday night as Detroit winger Patrick Kane moved into a tie with Dallas’ Mike Modano as the highest-scoring American-born players in NHL history.

Kane matched Modano by recording his 1,374th point on an assist on a goal by Alex DeBrincat late in the third period. He accomplished the feat just a couple of months after turning 37, while Modano was 40 when he scored a goal to register point No. 1,374. For his career, Kane has 500 goals and 874 assists in 1,341 NHL regular-season games. Modano retired in 2011 with 561 goals and 813 assists in 1,499 games.

Samuel Helenius, Andrei Kuzmenko and Corey Perry scored for the Kings, who won their third straight game.

Detroit’s John Gibson made 19 saves and had his eight-game win streak halted, surrendering a goal midway through the second period and a power-play score early in the third.

The Kings have earned points in their last six games (3-0-3). The Red Wings lost for just the second time in six games and third time in their last 11.

JETS 4, DEVILS 3

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Mark Scheifele scored his 26th goal of the season, reigning MVP Connor Hellebuyck stopped 26 of the 29 shots he faced and Winnipeg ended its two-game skid by beating New Jersey.

The Devils have lost back-to-back games after winning three in a row at the start of their Western Conference road trip. They traded veteran winger Ondrej Palat to the New York Islanders in a deal that was consummated before he left the arena prior to warmups and finalized during the first period.

Winnipeg, which entered the night eight points back of the second and final wild-card spot in the West, won for just the second time in five games. Scheifele got the Jets on the board 1:33 in, then Gabriel Vilardi, Cole Koepke and Nino Niederreiter scored in the second.

Hellebuyck, who is in line to be the U.S. starter at the upcoming Olympics, was sharp in bouncing back from allowing four goals in a 5-1 home loss to Detroit on Saturday.

New Jersey got goals from rookie Lenni Hameenaho and Swedish Olympian Jesper Bratt, and captain Nico Hischier scored with 1:46 left to make things interesting, but the offense couldn’t quite make up for a series of mistakes. Hours after coach Sheldon Keefe credited defensive commitment and “giving up way less on the rush” for his team’s recent success, all four goals against came on odd-man rushes.

BRUINS 3, PREDATORS 2, OT

BOSTON (AP) — David Pastrnak scored 15 seconds into overtime and Boston beat Nashville.

Pastrnak tipped a pass from Charlie McAvoy past Juuse Saros for the winner as the Bruins held on after Nashville rallied from a 2-0 deficit to force overtime.

Pastrnak scored his 22nd goal and had an assist, extending his point streak to eight games one night after becoming the sixth Boston player to reach 900 career points. Pastrnak has 10 assists in his last six games.

Morgan Geekie scored his 30th of the season and Hampus Lindholm also scored for Boston after being added to Sweden’s Olympic roster earlier in the day.

Jeremy Swayman stopped 28 shots for the Bruins, who improved to 8-1-1 in their last 10 games.

Roman Josi and Nick Blankenburg scored for Nashville, which has lost four of five since a three-game winning streak. Steven Stamkos had an assist and Saros finished with 25 saves.

Blankenburg’s goal at 13:17 tied it and ended up forcing the overtime, which didn’t last long.

CANADIENS 3, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 2, OT

MONTREAL (AP) — Jake Evans scored at 3:58 of overtime, leading Montreal to a victory over Vegas.

Cole Caufield, with his 30th goal of the season, and Phillip Danault also scored for Montreal, as the Habs halted a two-game losing skid.

Mike Matheson ran his point streak to a season-long five games with an assist on Caufield’s goal.

Jakub Dobes made 32 saves in his first career start against Vegas. The 24-year-old boasts a 6-0-1 record over his past seven games, with his last regulation loss coming against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Dec. 9.

Pavel Dorofeyev scored both goals for the Golden Knights, who lost their third straight game against Montreal, dating back to last season.

Akira Schmid stopped 23 shots in the losing effort. The Swiss netminder lost for the second time in as many starts against Montreal this season.

MAMMOTH 4, PANTHERS 3

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Mikhail Sergachev scored in the third period to put Utah ahead to stay in a win over Florida.

Nick Schmaltz, Sean Durzi and Barrett Hayton also scored goals for the Mammoth, who have won nine of their last 11 games and played without top goal-scorer Dylan Guenther, who has a lower-body injury. Vitek Vanecek made 25 saves and Durzi also had an assist.

Sandis Vilmanis, Cole Schwindt and Carter Verhaeghe scored goals and Sergei Bobrovsky made 16 saves for Florida, which had a three-game winning streak snapped.

Sergachev’s goal with 8:55 to play gave Utah a 3-2 lead and Hayton made it 4-2 with an empty-netter with 56 seconds to play. Verhaeghe scored with 16 seconds left to pull the Panthers within 4-3, setting up a frantic final few seconds.

SABRES 7, MAPLE LEAFS 4

TORONTO (AP) — Rasmus Dahlin had the first hat trick of his NHL career to go along with two assists and Buffalo beat Toronto.

Tage Thompson, with a goal and an assist in his 500th NHL game, Josh Doan, Alex Tuch and Jack Quinn also scored for Buffalo, which has won four straight.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen allowed two goals on five shots before leaving with a lower-body injury in the first period. Colten Ellis made 16 saves in relief. Mattias Samuelsson added three assists.

Auston Matthews and Max Domi each had a goal and two assists for Toronto. Bobby McMann, with a goal and an assist, and Matthew Knies also scored. Joseph Woll stopped 24 shots.

The Maple Leafs came home last week off a successful road trip, but finished their disastrous five-game homestand with a solitary point (0-4-1) and have dropped seven of eight overall.

STARS 4, BLUES 3

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Thomas Harley’s goal with just over a minute left short-circuited a late rally by St. Louis and lifted Dallas to a win.

Matt Duchene scored a pair of goals for his first multigoal game since Feb. 8. Roope Hintz also scored and Jake Oettinger made 23 saves, as the Stars won for the third time in their last four games and improved to 10-2-1 against St. Louis going back to Nov. 28, 2022.

Brayden Schenn scored twice and Robby Fabbri also scored in the third period as St. Louis attempted to rally from a 3-goal deficit. Jordan Binnington made 20 saves for the Blues, who dropped their fifth straight game.

Duchene’s power-play goal for the Stars at the 3:20 mark of the second period broke a scoreless tie.

Duchene recorded his seventh of the season 40 seconds later with the help of a lucky bounce to make it 2-0. Duchene threw the puck in front of the net, where it deflected off Blues defenseman Logan Mailloux, who was tied up with Jamie Benn in the crease.

WILD 4, BLACKHAWKS 3, SO

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Kirill Kaprizov scored the shootout winner as Minnesota defeated Chicago.

Kaprizov was Minnesota’s second shooter and beat Spencer Knight with a wrist shot. Wild goalie Jesper Wallstedt stopped all three shootout attempts as the Wild came back from a 3-0 deficit to beat Chicago for the 17th time in 18 games.

Yakov Trenin, Joel Eriksson Ek and Jared Spurgeon scored for Minnesota. Wallstedt stopped 29 of 32 shots.

Teuvo Teravainen, Ryan Donato and Ilya Mikheyev scored for Chicago. Knight made 20 saves.

The Blackhawks took a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Teravainen and Donato.

Mikheyev made it 3-0 nearly six minutes into the second period, when he beat Wallstedt with a wrist shot.

Trenin began the Minnesota comeback when he broke in alone and beat Knight with a wrist shot at 12:33 of the second.

Minnesota cut the Chicago lead to 3-2 early in the third when Quinn Hughes fired a shot that hit Marcus Johansson’s skate and deflected to Erikson Ek, who got his stick down in time to tap it into the net.

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Thunder's Lu Dort, Pelicans rookie Jeremiah Fears scuffle late in game

Well, these two won’t want to see each other any time soon.

Chippy, physical play between Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort and New Orleans Pelicans rookie guard Jeremiah Fears bubbled throughout Oklahoma City’s 104-95 victory on Tuesday, Jan. 27 before a shoving match erupted after regulation.

As the Pelicans were trying to score a late basket in garbage time, Fears collected an offensive rebound and tried to put up a scoop layup before he drew contact from Dort. Fears immediately turned to face Dort, who shoved Fears twice, first lightly, and then with more force once Fears didn’t back down.

Eventually, both players clasped the other’s jersey in balled fists and were trying to shove the other backward before teammates, assistant coaches and officials stepped in to try to deescalate the situation.

At its height, around 40 people were in the scrum, trying to separate each side. Dort and Fears continued to jaw toward each other, though players and assistants did a good job of separating the two, until Fears broke free and continued to chase Dort down the floor.

Dort eventually walked toward the locker room, while Fears was ushered toward the New Orleans tunnel by two staffers.

There had been another altercation, a minor one, prior to the one between Dort and Fears. During an inbounds play with 1:18 left in the game, Pelicans forward Saddiq Bey and Thunder forward Jaylin Williams shoved each other as they were battling for positioning.

“Good guys, good (officiating) crew, but I thought they lost control of the game in the final minutes,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said after the game. “I thought that altercation at the end started well before that.

“The second thing is: I think that’s a foul on Dort,” Daigneault continued, speaking about the last shot attempt Fears took in the final seconds. “And if it was, they should put a whistle on that play regardless of the score and the time, because, if they do that, everybody stops playing and you can legislate the situation as you normally would.”

As Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was sinking a pair of late free throws to ice the game, he said he overheard Fears and Dort jawing at each other during the dead ball.

“I wasn’t too sure what happened,” Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters after the game. “I had heard them going back and forth after they made the last two free throws, but I wasn’t sure what happened. And then, I turned around and they were face-to-face. I’m sure it was nothing crazy, though. Typical basketball scuffle.”

Fears scored 7 points on 3-of-9 shooting and added 3 steals, 2 rebounds and 1 assist.

Dort, a defensive-minded player whose physicality often pushes the limits of what’s acceptable, scored 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting and had 8 rebounds and 3 assists.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lu Dort, Jeremiah Fears scuffle after Thunder vs. Pelicans game

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Purple Row After Dark: Jake McCarthy makes his Rockies (Fest) debut

Rockies Fest must have been weird for Jake McCarthy.

Just over two weeks ago, the Colorado Rockies traded for him, and last Saturday, he found himself in a Rockies jersey answering questions from a very Rockies crowd on a very cold day in Denver.

Still, McCarthy, like any good baseball player, showed up and did his job.

First, he appeared on a panel with other positions players during afternoon. In that panel, he was funny and shared that his walk-up song had been Kurt Angle’s WWE song; that at least it’s easy for him to turn right rather than left at the Salt River Fields Training Facility; and that he’s eager to start playing with the Rockies.

After Rockies Fest ended, he along with Hunter Goodman and Kyle Freeland met with media.

Here’s a clip from that session courtesy of Guerilla Sports:

Below are some highlights of McCarthy’s conversation with media.

On playing at Coors Field

I was initially very excited. I’m so excited. I always loved coming to play here. Obviously, it’s a beautiful park. The fans are good. But, you know, when you talk about the big outfield, the elevation, I do think that plays to my game pretty well. And I think this team, especially, too, it’s very athletic team. . . . So I’m just excited to be a part of it. Whatever that role looks like, I just want to make an impact offensively, defensively, on the base paths, and put my game on display.

On changes the Rockies are making

It’s super exciting to be a part of something new. . . . I just think a lot of people in this building are hungry, and I have a lot of respect for this organization. I’ve been here, played against the Rockies at all the levels of the minor leagues up to this point, so I’ve got a lot of respect for the coaches and players that I played against for so long. And again, I’m really excited to be a part of it, really, really happy to be a part of what’s ascending here.

On making adjustments

I honestly can’t tell you what the adjustment of life is going to be so far because I’m just going to the same building in a different door. . . . I just go a little further to go into a different gate in the building. So that’s pretty convenient spring training part of it. But I think this team has played against me a lot, so I’m sure they have a lot of evaluations, but they traded for me, and I’m really grateful for that, and I want to make them really look good in this trade. And again, I’m just grateful for an opportunity here to sort of go out and [get a] fresh start just making my own impact here and helping this team. So I keep repeating myself, but I’m just really excited.

On what he worked on during the offseason

I think getting back to what makes me go as a player, and I think it could be dynamic, and I think that means getting on base for guys like this guy to the left of me [Goodman] and playing good defense, especially in a field like this. So, I think there were parts of last season that maybe I got away from that a little bit. So again, just eager to kind of get back on track.

On getting comfortable at Coors Field

I’ll say I’ve always sort of bounced around all three outfield positions, and there’s been no communication of like, exactly what the role will be, but I’m totally okay with doing that, and I’ve always done it. I take pride in playing all three outfield positions, and then, yeah, it’s a big outfield, whether it’s left, right, center, it’s a lot of lot of room to cover. So I’m looking forward to the challenge, and I’m excited to play alongside other good defensive outfielders, and I’m excited to sort of make that a reputation of us playing the outfield really well.

On Warren Schaeffer

I just met him for the first time in person five minutes before this. But he seems like a go-getter. Seems like the right guy to put this organization going in the right direction. And, you know, I love it. I love a straightforward manager, a guy who’s just going to shoot you straight and try to win some ball games. So I think that’s the type of guy we need, and I’m excited for it.

After the session ended, McCarthy found himself surrounded by Denver media introducing themselves to him. He smiled, shook everyone’s hand, and said, “Sorry, but I’m not going to remember your names.”

It was a drinking-from-a-fire-hose kind of day, but McCarthy handled it with grace.

Now to see how it plays on the field.

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Hammond, Bedford help Virginia Tech hold off Georgia Tech 71-65

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Ben Hammond scored 20 points and Jailen Bedford scored 14 points and Virginia Tech nearly squandered a double-digit lead late and held on to beat Georgia Tech 71-65 on Tuesday night.

Reserve Christian Gurdak scored 11 points and Tobi Lawal 10 before fouling out. Surprisingly, the Yellow Jackets outshot Virginia Tech 44% to 34%, but the Hokies (16-6, 5-4 ACC) made up for the shooting deficit and outscored Georgia Tech 24-9 from 3-point range.

Jaeden Mustaf posted a double-double and scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Baye Ndongo scored 14 points, Lamar Washington added 12 points and Kam Craft had 11 for Georgia Tech (11-10, 2-6).

Lawal made two foul shots to give Virginia Tech a 65-50 lead with 4:26 remaining before Georgia Tech went on an 11-0 run to get within four points after Washington drove the lane uncontested for a layup with 1:09 left.

Neoklis Avdalas made 1 of 2 foul shots for a 66-61 lead before Ndongo reduced the deficit to three with a layup with 29 seconds left.

Bedord made 1 of 2 for a 67-63 lead, Washington followed with a layup with 19 seconds left and the Yellow Jackets never got closer.

Hammond and Bedford each made two foul shots to seal it.

Hammond's 3-pointer with 13:59 remaining gave the Hokies their first double-digit lead at 50-40. He followed that 23-foot shot with a 24 footer less than a minute later to stretch the lead to 13.

Up Next

Georgia Tech: Hosts 16th-ranked North Carolina on Saturday.

Virginia Tech: Hosts fourth-ranked Duke on Saturday.

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