No. 9 Michigan State beats Oakland 79-70 as Tom Izzo and Greg Kampe don custom holiday sweaters
Coen Carr scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half to help No. 9 Michigan State hold off Oakland for a 79-80 win on Saturday. The Spartans (11-1) have won three straight since losing their only game this season, a six-point setback to No. 3 Duke. The Golden Grizzlies (6-7) led for much of the first half and were ahead by as much as seven points before trailing the entire second half.
No. 16 Louisville’s winning streak continues with a dominant victory over No. 17 Tennessee
Jeff Walz and his Louisville Cardinals are heading into a holiday break on a roll. The 16th-ranked Cardinals have won six straight games, including an 89-65 rout of No. 17 Tennessee on Saturday at the Women's Champions Classic. This was the Cardinals' fourth consecutive win over Tennessee, with the previous one coming in the Sweet 16 of the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
Coen Carr sets career high in Michigan State’s 79-70 win vs Oakland
Michigan State basketball score today: The Spartans beat Oakland, 79-70, at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday, Dec. 20.
Mavericks not rushing new GM hire, reportedly will keep interim co-GMs through deadline
The Dallas Mavericks need to nail the hiring of their next general manager. Firing Nico Harrison was a fait accompli the moment he traded Luka Doncic to the Lakers, and while that played well with Dallas fans, the next GM hire needs to be someone who wins back their trust. More importantly, they have a franchise cornerstone in Cooper Flagg and can't blow that opportunity.
Which is why the Mavericks are taking their time and will not have a new full-time general manager in place before the Feb. 5 trade deadline, reports Christian Clark of The Athletic, adding that it will likely be "several" months before a hire is made.
That means Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi will continue as the Mavs' co-interim GMs and make any big moves at the deadline. The Mavericks reportedly are listening to trade offers for Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson and center Daniel Gafford (the most likely of the group to be traded before the deadline), as well as others.
Both Finley and Riccardi are in the mix for the job full-time, but Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont is looking for someone with experience as the lead executive of a team, reports Clark. That group likely includes former Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey (now with the Pistons), someone backed by former owner Mark Cuban, but Dallas has cast a much wider net than that, seeking the right fit. Whoever is hired needs time before the June draft and the offseason to establish themselves and prepare for a big sumer for the team.
Draymond Green ejected for shoving Suns' Collin Gillespie after blocking shot
Draymond Green ejected for shoving Suns' Collin Gillespie after blocking shot originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The last thing the struggling Warriors need is Draymond Green to have a short fuse.
But that’s what they got against the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night at Chase Center.
Green was ejected early in the second quarter after he shoved Suns guard Collin Gillespie during a sequence in which the Warriors forward recorded a blocked shot that led to a Steph Curry 3-pointer.
After Green blocked Gillespie’s shot, he had some words for the young Suns guard and eventually pushed him as they ran down the court.
The referees quickly assessed a technical foul to Green, and when he mimicked giving the ref a technical foul, the 35-year-old was hit with a second tech, earning himself an early shower.
Green had to be restrained by several members of the Warriors’ security team before he finally went to the locker room.
The ejection is Green’s first of the 2025-26 NBA season.
Green finished the game with four points, three rebounds, one assist and one block in eight minutes.
The Warriors will have to try to snap their three-game losing streak without their defensive leader, which is no easy task.
Los Angles Kings trade center Phillip Danault to Montreal Canadiens for second-round pick
Phil Danault’s decreasing role with the Los Angeles Kings led to the veteran two-way center getting an opportunity for a fresh start in a familiar setting after being traded to the Montreal Canadiens on Friday.
The Kings acquired a second-round draft pick while also freeing up salary cap space and ice time for other players in the trade reached just before the NHL holiday roster freeze began on Saturday. The draft pick the Kings landed is the one Montreal previously acquired in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Prompting the move for the Kings was the development of Quinton Byfield and Alex Laferriere, and the offseason additions of Joel Armia and Corey Perry. General manager Ken Holland also expressed a desire to provide more playing time for Alex Turcotte and second-year center Samuel Helenius.
“Phil’s role changed here, got reduced on the penalty killing and on the power play. It’s been a bit of a struggle here offensively for Phil since the start of the year,” Holland said on a Zoom call.
“So I found a trading partner, and I think it’s going to be good for Phil,” he added. “He gets to go back to a city where he had a lot of success. And we get a second-round pick and obviously we see some cap space to use going forward.”
Danault was in the fifth season of a six-year, $33 million contract he signed with Los Angeles in the summer of 2021.
The 32-year-old Danault, who topped 40 points in each of his first four seasons with the Kings, has been limited to just five assists in 30 games this year, while missing the past four with an illness. Holland said he consulted with Danault and his agent in opening trade discussions before landing what he believed was the best offer.
Danault, who is from Victoriaville, Quebec, returns to Montreal where he spent six seasons and established himself as one of the league’s better defensive-minded forwards.
He had 54 goals and 194 points in 360 games with Montreal over a stretch that ended with the Canadiens reaching the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, which they lost in five games to Tampa Bay.
Danault was selected in the first round of the 2011 draft by Chicago, and spent his first two seasons with the Blackhawks before being traded to Montreal.
The Canadiens add a 12-year veteran to a young, up-and-coming team that reached the playoffs last year for the first time since 2021, and is in the thick of a tightly packed race this year. At 18-12-4, Montreal enters Saturday sitting eighth in the Eastern Conference standings with eight points separating the last-place Columbus Blue Jackets and second-place Washington Capitals.
The Kings, meantime, are in a similar situation in the West. At 15-10-9, they’re seventh in the standings, with eight points separating the 10th-place St. Louis Blues and fourth-place Vegas Golden Knights.
The trade comes after the Kings ended an 0-2-2 skid with a 2-1 win at Tampa Bay on Thursday night.
Holland acknowledged the Kings need more offensive production in currently ranking 28th in the NHL in averaging 2.56 goals per outing. But he’s pleased with the team’s defensive play and goaltending, with Los Angeles ranking third in allowing 2.5 goals per outing.
“Certainly we need more goals,” he said, noting the Kings are a combined 5-9 in overtime and shootout results. “I’m hoping that some of the people that have scored in the past will start to score here going forward.”
Holland also backed third-year coach Jim Hiller by noting how the Kings are no different than a number of NHL teams approaching the midway point of the season.
“If we’re in a malaise, then 25 teams are in a malaise. Like, the whole league’s packed together,” Holland said. “Jim’s done a good a good job, and our team is playing very structured and competes every night.”
Pittsburgh Penguins At Montreal Canadiens Preview: Lineup Changes, Where To Watch
The Pittsburgh Penguins will finish their two-game trip in Montreal against the Canadiens on Saturday night, hoping to snap their seven-game losing streak.
The losing streak reached seven after the Penguins got blanked by the Ottawa Senators 4-0 on Thursday night. The Penguins were lethargic all game and didn't really threaten the Senators with many prime scoring chances. They did have one goal called back for goaltender interference, but other than that, there wasn't much in the form of offensive creation.
They'll face a Canadiens team that is 18-12-4 and is coming off a 4-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday. The Canadiens beat the Penguins 4-2 back on Dec. 11 in Pittsburgh and will try to win the season series at home on Saturday before the two teams play again on Sunday in Pittsburgh.
Penguins head coach Dan Muse is making some lineup changes after Thursday's 4-0 loss. Tommy Novak will be back on the top line with Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust, while Rickard Rakell will center the second line. Anthony Mantha and Justin Brazeau will be Rakell's linemates.
The "kid" line will also be back, and Brett Kulak will be paired with Kris Letang on the second pair. Stuart Skinner is set to start in goal for the Penguins.
Sidney Crosby is also looking to make history since he's one point away from tying Mario Lemieux for the most points in the Penguins' franchise history and two away from breaking the record.
Here are the full expected lines and pairs:
Forwards:
Novak-Crosby-Rust
Brazeau-Rakell-Mantha
Koivunen-Kindel-McGroarty
Dewar-Hayes-Acciari
Defensive pairs:
Wotherspoon-Karlsson
Kulak-Letang
Shea-Clifton
Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh and fans can also listen to the game on 105.9 'The X.'
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Tom Izzo lands on ‘Naughty List’ during annual Michigan State-Oakland Christmas sweater game
Izzo and Greg Kampe renewed their annual tradition on Saturday.
Tottenham v Liverpool: Premier League – live
Despite their numerical superiority on the scoreboard and in terms of personnel, Liverpool made extremely heavy weather of seeing off their hosts
Liverpool: Curtis Jones has revealed Mo Salah apologised to the Liverpool squad for the fallout from his interview criticising the club and Arne Slot before hightailing it to Morocco for Afcon. Andy Hunter reports …
Tottenham Hotspur: Thomas Frank has asked for time and patience from Tottenham fans who are increasingly frustrated by his team’s stodgy performances. Whether or not he is given either could well hinge on the performance of his team in tonight’s match, whatever the result. David Hytner reports …
Continue reading...Kirill Kaprizov And Matt Boldy Eye History As Wild Face Oilers
ST. PAUL, Minn - The Minnesota Wild's (21-9-5) is back in action today against the Edmonton Oilers (17-12-6) for a day game.
Here are today's news and notes for the game.
Minnesota is 64-33-10 all-time against the Oilers and 33-17-3 on home ice. The Wild’s 64 wins and 31 road wins all-time against the Oilers are its most against any team and the Wild’s 33 victories at home are the second-most against any franchise (COL, 35).
Connections:
President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Guerin recorded 79 goals, 82 assists, 161 points and 354 PIM in 211 games with Edmonton in parts of four seasons.
Defenseman Jared Spurgeon is from Edmonton.
Forward Tyler Pitlick was selected by Edmonton in the second round (No. 31 overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft and collected 11 goals, three assists and 14 points in 58 games across parts of three seasons (2013-15, 2016-17) with the club.
Stats:
Mats Zuccarello leads Minnesota with 28 points in 25 career contests vs. Edmonton. Newly acquired defenseman Quinn Hughes owns 27 points in 29 games against the Oilers and RW Vladimir Tarasenko leads the Wild in goals with 13. He has 23 points as well in 31 career games.
Filip Gustavsson starts for the Wild. He is 2-2-0 with a 4.41 GAA and a .880 SV% in four career starts vs. Edmonton.
Forward Connor McDavid (26 GP) is tied with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (40 GP) with 32 points against the Wild. Leon Draisaitl leads the team in goals with 16 and also has 31 points in 27 games against the Wild.
Calvin Pickard will start for Edmonton. He is 4-4-0 with a 2.58 GAA, a .917 SV% and one shutout in eight games (seven starts) against Minnesota.
Milestones:
Gustavsson posted his third shutout of the season against the Washington Capitals for his 14th of his career. He is one shy of tying Dwayne Roloson (15) for third most shutouts in franchise history.
Joel Eriksson Ek owns an active six-game point streak (4 goals & six assists), which is tied for the third longest of his career. He was named the NHL’s Third Star of the Week for the period ending 12/14 after collecting three goals and seven points to help the team to a 4-0-0 record.
Kirill Kaprizov is currently tied for second in franchise history with 145 power-play points (70-75=145).
Per NHL Stats, Kaprizov is the only player among all 32 NHL clubs to hold the franchise record (outright or tied) for all three scoring milestones: goal streak, assist streak and point streak.
Kaprizov and Matt Boldy can each extend their goal streaks to four games. There’s been one instance in Wild history of teammates with a simultaneous four-game goal streak: Pavol Demitraand Marian Gaborik from Feb. 10-18, 2007.
Both Boldy and Kaprizov have 20 goals this season. They are the only team in the NHL to have multiple players hit that mark.
Records:
Since the start of the 2010-11 season, Minnesota is 20-5-0 in 25 games at Edmonton, including an eight-game win streak (2/21/13-1/31/17) – the longest road win streak in team history.
Minnesota has won six of its last eight games against Edmonton at Grand Casino Arena dating back to 10/22/19.
The Wild won 17 straight games against the Oilers in Saint Paul (2/25/07-10/13/11) - the longest home win streak against an opponent in franchise history.
Minnesota is 21-9-5 which is third in the Central Division and fourth in the NHL.
Minnesota is 7-2-1 in its last ten games and 18-3-2 since Nov 1. ranking first in the NHL in wins, points (38), team GAA (1.75) and team SV% (.940) while ranking second with a plus-34 goal differential in that span.
Minnesota has won six consecutive games, the longest active streak in the NHL, the team’s second-longest of the season.
Edmonton is 17-12-6 which is third in the Pacific Division and 15th in the NHL.
Edmonton is 7-2-1 in its last ten games and 12-8-3 since Nov 1. Ranks 12th in the NHL in that span. They have a 32.8 percent power play since then which ranks second in the NHL. Minnesota's PK (87.9) ranks second in the NHL since Nov 1.
Since Dec 1, the Oilers lead the NHL in goals scored with 38. The Wild are first in fewest Goals Allowed per game in that span.
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Mets outright LHP Brandon Waddell to Triple-A after clearing waivers
The Mets have outrighted Brandon Waddell to Triple-A after he went unclaimed off waivers.
New York brought Waddell back on a one-year major league deal this offseason and received a spot on the 40-man roster, but was DFA'd earlier this week to make room for C Drew Romo.
Waddell will remain with the organization and figures to begin the year with Syracuse, but could come up and contribute in the big leagues if needed.
The lefty pitched well in 11 outings with the Mets last season, putting together a 3.45 ERA in 31.1 innings.
Dave Chisnall crashes out of PDC world darts in thriller against Pietreczko
Chisnall out despite hitting 11 180s in 3-2 defeat
Dirk van Duijvenbode and Motomu Sakai bow out
Dave Chisnall was dumped out of the PDC world championship by Ricardo Pietreczko despite hitting 11 180s in an Alexandra Palace thriller. Chisnall, the No 21 seed, paid the price for double trouble and missed a match dart in the final set when it seemed the Englishman would complete a remarkable recovery.
Pietreczko capitalised on Chisnall’s poor finishing to win the first two sets, but the 2021 semi-finalist stormed back to level with some extraordinary scoring. Chisnall took a 2-1 lead in the final set with a 113 finish but then missed double 16 for a match-sealing 143 checkout.
Continue reading...Winners of 4 straight, Panthers to complete back-to-back set against visiting Blues
The Florida Panthers will look to run their season-long winning streak to five games when they complete the second leg of a back-to-back set on Saturday in Sunrise.
Fresh off Friday night’s exhilarating comeback victory over the Carolina Hurricanes, Florida will welcome the St. Louis Blues for their only visit to Amerant Bank Arena this season.
The Panthers have been playing some solid hockey over the past several weeks, and the results are showing in the standings.
Entering play Saturday, Florida had risen all the way to second place in the Atlantic Division, their 19-13-2 record good for 40 points.
There are actually three teams with 40 points in the division, but Florida has more regulation wins (16) than both Montreal (11) and Boston (14), and the Carts have also played one less game than the Bruins and the same amount as the Canadiens.
That’s what happens when you win four straight games and seven of eight in an extremely tightly packed Eastern Conference.
Now they’ll try to keep the good times rolling when they face former Bruins coach Jim Montgomery and the Blues.
To this point, the season has been a struggle for St. Louis.
The Blues have yet to recover from a 3-7-2 start, currently holding a 13-15-8 mark that has them three points back of San Jose for the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.
St. Louis arrives in South Florida with points in two straight (1-0-1) but only two wins over their past six games overall.
In goal, the expected matchup will be Joel Hofer for the Blues and Daniil Tarasov for Florida.
Hofer has received the bulk of the work for St. Louis of late, including each of their past two wins, while on the Florida side, starter Sergei Bobrovsky was in goal for the Cats’ epic comeback on Friday so it makes sense that Tarasov would get the nod on the second night of a back-to-back.
Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Saturday’s battle with the Blues:
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Brad Marchand
Mackie Samoskevich – Evan Rodrigues – A.J. Greer
Jesper Boqvist – Noah Gregor – Luke Kunin
Gus Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones
Uvis Balinskis – Jeff Petry
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Photo caption: Dec 17, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers left wing Noah Gregor (18) celebrates with goaltender Daniil Tarasov (40) after the game against the Los Angeles Kings at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
Erling Haaland double sinks West Ham as Manchester City put heat on Arsenal
Manchester City were denied top spot for Christmas Day by Arsenal’s win at Everton in one of Saturday’s late games, but there is a forbidding relentlessness to Pep Guardiola’s side that should scare Mikel Arteta’s team as they seek to end the sequence of three consecutive runners-up finishes.
Erling Haaland scored twice and Tijjani Reijnders once as West Ham were swatted aside, losing to City for the seventh time in a row after conceding at least three goals in the past six meetings.
Continue reading...