James Maddison looks to Europa League to make a special season for Spurs

  • Spurs face Eintracht Frankfurt in last eight
  • ‘We’re a good team, the belief is definitely there’

James Maddison believes Tottenham are real contenders to win the Europa League and is hoping their victory over AZ Alkmaar can be the catalyst for Ange Postecoglou’s side to make it a “special season”.

Spurs overturned a 1-0 deficit from the first leg with a stirring 3-1 home victory over the Dutch side on Thursday to set up a quarter-final against Eintracht Frankfurt next month. Maddison was instrumental in the move that created Wilson Odobert’s winning goal, having earlier scored his 11th of the season to make it 2-0.

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Draymond achieves wild Warriors scoring feat for first time since 2016

Draymond achieves wild Warriors scoring feat for first time since 2016 originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Draymond Green achieved an incredible scoring feat with his 23 points in the Warriors’ 130-104 win over the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night at Chase Center.

For the first time since Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals, Green led Golden State in scoring, a streak of 627 starts.

The streak was the second longest in league history since the NBA-ABA merger, with Mark Eaton holding the record at 890 starts without leading his team in scoring.

Green was hot right from the beginning, nailing consecutive threes to start the game. He finished with a season-high 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting and was 4 of 7 from beyond the arc.

While Steph Curry’s 4,000th career 3-pointer was the main headline, Green headed a complete team effort that saw seven different Warriors score double digits.

On a night when Curry was held to 11 points, the performance from the 35-year-old forward was a welcome sight.

For long stretches of the 2024-2025 NBA season, opposing teams have menaced Curry, forcing the rest of Golden State to pick up the scoring slack. Fortunately for the Warriors, Green was happy to help his longtime running mate, giving him an early birthday present.

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Columbus Gets Shut Out By Vegas In Ugly Loss

The Columbus Blue Jackets were shut out by the Vegas Golden Knights 4-0 on Thursday night. 

Vegas Golden Knights left wing Brandon Saad (20) celebrates scoring against the against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the first period at Nationwide Arena (Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images

Elvis Merzļikins stopped 25 of 28 Vegas shots, but it was the Columbus offense that couldn't get anything going in the loss.

Elvis made some really good saves on Thursday, including a few show-stoppers. The first two goals he gave up weren't on him, as he did everything he could to keep the Jackets in the game against a very good VGK team. 

Vegas didnt even have a shot attempt until they scored their first goal with 8 minutes left in the first. Up to that point, shot attempts were 14-0 in favor of the CBJ. 

As for the rest of the game, and as former HC John Tortorella would say - "Burn the Tape!" 

Dean Evason said after the game that defenseman Jake Christiansen suffered an upper-body injury and has already been ruled out for Saturday. Christiansen had played every game of the season up to this point. 

Final Stats

CBJ vs. VGK via CBJ APP

Player Stats

  • Elvis Merzļikins stopped 25 of 28 Vegas shots.
  • Zach Werenski led the team with 4 shots and 27:53 of ice.

Team Stats

  • The CBJ PP went scoreless on three tries which included a double minor.
  • The Jackets PK stopped 2 of 3 Vegas power play's.
  • Columbus won 59.5% of the faceoffs.

What's Next: The New York Rangers visit Nationwide Arena on Saturday. 

How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be on FanDuel Sports Network. Steve Mears will be on the play-by-play. The radio broadcast will be on 97.1 The Fan, with Bob McElligott behind the mic doing the play-by-play.

Let us know what you think below.

Stay updated with the most interesting Blue Jackets stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News and never miss a story.  

Dodgers boast best MLB team. But in fantasy baseball, is it smart to draft them?

Bronx, New York, Monday, October 26, 2024 - Dodgers in the dugout stand during the seventh inning stretch as "God Bless America," is played during game three of the World Series at Yankee Stadium. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
Dodgers players stand in the dugout while "God Bless America" plays during the seventh-inning stretch of Game 3 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium on Oct. 26. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Poring over fantasy baseball player rankings can be jarring for diehard fans of a specific team who don't pay much attention to the other 29 clubs.

That might be especially true for the legions of devoted, deliriously satiated Dodgers followers this year.

Isn't this the most talented roster in history? Don't the Dodgers have a star at nearly every position? Isn't their pitching staff stocked with more premium stuff than the renowned Thunderbolt bar a few blocks from Dodger Stadium?

Everyone knows the Dodgers' World Series championship was followed by lavish spending for talent during the offseason. With the Dodgers opening the season Tuesday in Tokyo against the Chicago Cubs, it's time for fantasy players to prepare.

Dodgers fans might be tempted to simply pick as many Boys in Blue as they can. But a team of all or even mostly Dodgers would be hard-pressed to win a fantasy league, which usually consists of 10 to 12 teams. Players from all 30 MLB teams are available in "mixed" leagues, the most common format, meaning that even a slap-dash fantasy team should have more talent than the best team of living, breathing humans.

Read more:'I haven't given my Japanese side its due': Dave Roberts reflects ahead of Dodgers' Tokyo opener

Scott Pianowski, a Yahoo fantasy analyst since 2008 and member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Hall of Fame, brought up another reason not to load up on Dodgers: Their best players might be rested frequently, the baseball equivalent of load management. Players need to be in the lineup to accumulate fantasy points.

"I've never seen a team so assured of a playoff spot than the 2025 Dodgers," he said. "They want their healthiest team ready for October. They might decide they used their regulars too much last year. They might back off on workloads, and not just with pitchers.

"My advice: Draft a Dodger, don't draft five Dodgers."

Fantasy gurus assign a number to where a player is projected to be taken, calling it his Average Draft Position. Regardless of whether league scoring uses old-fashioned rotisserie categories or head-to-head points, the ADP of the two most desirable Dodgers establish that it would be nearly impossible to draft both.

Shohei Ohtani is a near-consensus first overall fantasy pick because he's expected to add starting pitching to his prodigious offensive output as a designated hitter. However, a smattering of experts consider Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. a viable first pick as well. Pianowski points out that Ohtani likely will log far fewer than the 59 stolen bases he had last season to reduce the wear and tear on his body, especially if he is also in the starting rotation.

Read more:Analysis: Why Dodgers don't necessarily need Shohei Ohtani to pitch to start the season

Mookie Betts is a consensus top-10 pick because he qualifies as a shortstop as well as an outfielder (a player is eligible at a position he played in 20 or more games the previous season). In his fifth Dodgers season, Betts played 65 games at shortstop and 43 in the outfield. He also played 18 at second base, nearly becoming eligible at a third position.

Most drafts use a snake format in which the order of picks reverses each round. Whoever gets the top pick — say Ohtani — in a 10-team league wouldn't pick again until the Nos. 20 and 21 picks. Betts would be long gone and Dodgers first baseman and World Series hero Freddie Freeman — whose ADP is 19 with Yahoo and 22 with ESPN — also might be taken.

So let's say you had the No. 1 pick and landed Ohtani, missed out on Betts and took Freeman with the 20th pick to end the second round. Now you have the first pick of the third round and quickly realize that no other Dodger makes sense this early.

Among position players, outfielder Teoscar Hernández is projected as a sixth-round pick and catcher Will Smith a 10th-rounder by numerous fantasy prognosticators. Tommy Edman is draftable late because of his versatility. Same with Max Muncy because of his power. But that's it unless — like Pianowski — you consider new Dodgers outfielder Michael Conforto a sleeper whose home run production dipped during two years in the San Francisco Giants' cavernous AT&T Park, but last season he hit 17 homers on the road.

Want to mix in an Angel? How about Mike Trout? It wasn't so long ago that he was the no-brainer first overall selection in thousands of fantasy drafts. But after several injury-riddled seasons, the future Hall of Famer checks in as the 41st-best outfielder by ESPN. His Yahoo ADP is 93, an indication he'll be available in the ninth round.

Read more:Why Angels manager Ron Washington thinks 'things can go way better than you think'

Other Angels? In the 20th round or so, go ahead and choose between outfielders Taylor Ward and Jorge Soler or infielders Zach Neto, Luis Rengifo and Nolan Schanuel. In a 10-team league, they all might be available.

Drafting starting pitchers is just as eye-opening. The Dodgers' acquisitions of two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell and Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki combined with the renewed health of Yoshinabu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw and Dustin May give them undeniable depth and experience.

Yet the top Dodgers pitcher in the projections is Snell, whom ESPN ranks as only the 12th-best MLB starter with an ADP of 44. Next are Yamamoto with an ADP of 51 and Glasnow at 91. Sasaki is projected as a 10th-rounder. Kershaw, May, Tony Gonsolin and Bobby Miller? All are either recently recovered or still recovering from an injury. It's buyer beware.

Dodgers relievers are modestly valued as well because it's unclear who will accumulate the bulk of the saves. Newcomer Tanner Scott has an ADP of 166, despite notching 22 saves and a 1.75 earned-run average last season with two teams. Kirby Yates has an ADP of 193, despite posting 33 saves and a 1.17 ERA with the Texas Rangers.

Decorated Dodgers bullpen pieces Michael Kopech, Evan Phillips, Blake Treinen and Alex Vesia? Your choice in the final rounds. Or you could grab former Dodger and new Angels closer Kenley Jansen, whose Yahoo ADP is 236 even though his ninth-inning role is a given.

Read more:'This kid is special.' Kenley Jansen eager to help Angels' Ben Joyce reach next level

The usage of pitchers has evolved in recent years, impacting fantasy values. Starters pitcher fewer innings, no longer accumulating wins and strikeouts in abundance. More than one reliever will be trusted in save situations, depending on matchups. Catastrophic injuries to pitchers are commonplace.

"The Dodgers probably will use a six-man rotation, so the sneaky value might be their relievers," Pianowski said. "Non-closing relievers are much more valuable. More wins are distributed to the bullpen. If I'm an owner in a deep mixed league, I would draft any of those Dodgers relievers."

Crunching these numbers unearths one irrefutable truth about drafting a fantasy team: Don't be a homer. See more than Blue.

Miss out on the first pick and Ohtani? Fantasy experts say stick with hitters in the first round: Witt, Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Elly De La Cruz, José Ramírez and Gunnar Henderson are solid picks.

Or, diehard Dodgers fans, go ahead and grab Betts.

Read more:MLB offseason winners and losers: Dodgers conquered. Here's how other teams fared

Angling for a starting pitcher in the second round? The ADP's of Paul Skenes, Tarik Skubal and Zack Wheeler merit a pick that high. Otherwise, the numbers point to grabbing another hitter.

Everybody wants to identify sleepers late in the draft. Some leagues even allow drafting minor league players. If that's the case, revisit your Dodgers devotion by taking Dalton Rushing. Then smile.

Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

How Celtics can clinch playoff spot vs. Heat

How Celtics can clinch playoff spot vs. Heat originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The NBA playoffs are still a full month away, but the Boston Celtics are on the verge of punching their official postseason ticket.

The defending champions can lock in a top-six seed in the Eastern Conference Friday night. They would need to beat the Heat in Miami and get some help from the Los Angeles Clippers in Atlanta.

Celtics secure top-six seed in East if:

The Celtics (47-19) sit 15 games ahead of the Hawks (32-34), who are currently at the top of the play-in bracket as the No. 7 seed in the East.

Both teams only have 16 games remaining in the regular season, but the Hawks could pass the Celtics in the standings since they own the tiebreaker over Boston with a 2-1 advantage in the season series.

Now, clinching a playoff spot is a mere formality for the Celtics at this point. Not only are they a virtual lock for the postseason, but they are becoming increasingly locked into their seeding.

The Celtics have a 99.8% chance of landing the No. 2 seed in the East, according to Basketball Reference’s Playoff Probabilities Report. They trail the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers (55-10) by 8.5 games and are 5.5 games ahead of the No. 3 New York Knicks.

The Hawks are listed as the most likely first-round opponent for the Celtics, as they have a 38.9% chance of becoming the No. 7 seed for the playoffs, according to Basketball Reference’s Playoff Probabilities Report.

Next up: The Orlando Magic (31-36) have a 29.1% chance of becoming the East’s No. 7 seed, while the Heat (29-36) have a 22.5% chance of earning the No. 7 seed and creating a potential first-round rematch with the Celtics.

The Detroit Pistons (37-30, 4.4% chance at No. 7 seed), Chicago Bulls (28-38, 3.2%) and Indiana Pacers (36-28, 1.2%) also have slims chances of becoming Boston’s first-round foe.

Even if the Celtics do not clinch a playoff berth Friday night, they could get another crack at it on Saturday against the Brooklyn Nets during the second end of a road back-to-back.

Can Steph open 5K 3-pointer Club? Don't bet against Warriors star

Can Steph open 5K 3-pointer Club? Don't bet against Warriors star originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – Steph Curry defies high definition. He’s 4K – a step above, creating new records as he goes. 

On his fourth 3-point attempt in the Warriors’ 130-104 win against the Sacramento Kings, Curry gave Golden State a nine-point lead Thursday night at Chase Center a few minutes into the third quarter, giving him 4,000 3-pointers for his career.

Club 4K only has one member: Curry. 

So did Club 3K when Curry first established it. 

Steph opened its doors as a late Christmas gift to himself on Dec. 28, 2021. All he needed was three years and a little more than two months to upgrade to a doper spot down the block. How far can Curry keep pushing the 3-point barriers? 

“Eight thousand?” Steve Kerr semi-jokingly responded. “Who knows? Who knows? It just seems like it was not too long ago that he broke the record. And what was that? Less than 3,000. (Kerr is told 2,974)

“He just keeps going. The way that he keeps himself in shape, in condition, in rhythm – he’s going to make another thousand, for sure. That’s what I would guess, but who knows.”

Curry’s two threes while being face guarded and top locked for all 94 feet puts him at 253 in 57 games this season. He’s making 4.4 threes per game, and he hasn’t missed a game since Jan. 28. Bilateral knee tendinitis had a treatment plan called Trading For Jimmy Butler

Assuming he plays every game the rest of the season, though Kerr would love to give him a rest or two if the playoff picture ever becomes clearer, Curry’s 3-point rate would have him finish his 16th regular season with around 324 threes. That puts him at 4,071 for his career. 

Shooters know shooters. They share a secret language, and Curry holds the passcode to where everybody wants to be but know it’s a place out of their reach. 

“Very special,” Buddy Hield said to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Kerith Burke in response to Curry reaching 4,000 career threes. “Growing up, you never think that mark will be in reach. But every year, every game, Steph always amazes people. It just shows his true dedication to the game of basketball and he’s been tremendously blessed.

“I just hope he gets to 5,000. I think he can do it.”

Say it again, Buddy. Five thousand? 

“I think so,” Hield said, doubling down. “I was doing the math the other day. … If he makes, what, 330 threes the next three years, I think he’s good for it. Nothing’s impossible for him.”

Those last four words beat math. Curry beat the system. He altered the game. Hield, as someone who joined Club 2K this season, should be heard. 

Curry’s current pace has him a few threes shy of Hield’s calculation. That’s questioning a couple of games of Curry going berserk behind the 3-point line. As history shows, that option always has to be considered. 

Giving him 330 threes this season now moves his career mark to 4,077. Curry’s current contract has two more years on it after this season ends, running through the 2026-27 season. Hield has Curry making 660 total threes in the final two years of his contract, now adding up to 4,737. Or, 263 short of 5,000.

But Curry said the day before he reached 4,000, two days before he turns 37 years old, he’s already eyeing to play past the 2026-27 season. 

“I know how my contract’s lined up, and I would like to outplay that for sure,” Curry said on 95.7 The Game’s “Steiny & Guru” after Warriors practice Wednesday. “But how long that goes? I have no idea.”

What about just one more season? Can Curry, in what would be his 19th season, make 263 threes? In a final campaign where he would turn 40 with one month left in the regular season? 

If Curry were to play 62 games and miss 20 in his age-39 season, one year longer than his current contract goes, he’d have to average 4.3 threes made per game to get to 5,000.

Doubt him at your own risk. Look where that has got him: Standing on a mountain nobody once dared to climb. 

“This is a really cool milestone,” Curry said, walking back to the Warriors locker room. “Let’s see how far we can push this thing.”

Don’t look now, but the competitor inside Curry is already drawing blueprints to Club 5K.

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Sun, fun and a favourite son: Melbourne makes a full-throttle return to the top of the F1 calendar

Grand prix fans thronged into the heaving Albert Park with renewed zeal, abuzz at the prospects of local hero and title contender Oscar Piastri

As Formula One prepares to open a season the sport hopes will be a spectacular battle royale, it surely could not ask for a finer venue than Melbourne’s Albert Park to see things off in a suitably splendid fashion.

The true form for the year ahead has yet to be discerned from the opening day of practice in Australia. But with the cars fizzing with intent round the glorious circuit in the parkland in the heart of the city, it was a pleasure to welcome Australia back as the opening race of the season for the first time since the Covid pandemic brought proceedings to a desultory close here on the Friday before the race in 2020.

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Admiring Steph's attitude, gratitude, greatness on his 37th birthday

Admiring Steph's attitude, gratitude, greatness on his 37th birthday originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The NBA was the unloved brother of American sports 45 years ago when Magic Johnson and Larry Bird showed up with cleanser, polish and charm. Elite talents and extreme competitors bound by the kind of racial dynamic that enthralls this nation, they rescued the league.

Michael Jordan came along a few years later and his flair for the spectacular, along with the global technology boom, turned the NBA into the league heard around the world.

With those Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers in their 60s, Stephen Curry, who celebrates his 37th birthday Friday, has bundled their best attributes and taken the league to another level. 

It’s more than being the first player to reach 4,000 career 3-pointers, from all areas of the court, which has accorded Steph one-name status and the title of “greatest shooter ever.” That’s only the beginning, for there is no more dazzling showman in the NBA and no more committed ambassador for basketball – or, perhaps, American sports in general.

“Steph is something like we’ve never seen,” says Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, a Hall of Fame guard and NBA champion who has spent the past 27 years in various capacities within the NBA.

Billups is not wrong. Fans around the globe – all ages, faiths, genders and skin tones – are bewitched by a superstar that radiates Magic’s exuberance but sprinkles it far beyond the lenses of cameras. By someone who has Larry’s gift for scoring and sensation but has expanded it to the outer edge of creativity. By someone who has Michael’s broad appeal but with a smoother exterior and expressing a more generous heart.

If Curry were someday to run for political office – and he declines to rule it out – his resumé would offer a comprehensive thread of humanity, benevolence, kindness and common sense too often missing in 2025 America. He’s a glorified soul with a basketball, a year-round Santa bearing gifts to the unprivileged. A hooper faithful to peace, justice and compassion.

“He might be the greatest human being …,” former teammate Andre Iguodala said recently, “after that Guy.”

And yet, Curry continues to play basketball at an ultra-high level even while peeping toward retirement. He’s invested in the tech sector and is a patron saint of the golf program at Howard University. He owns a piece of the Under Armour sports attire company and, along with his wife Ayesha, donates meals, books and playgrounds to Oakland Public Schools. He conceived his own international amateur golf program, Underrated Golf, sort of a DEI program for young people in the BIPOC community.

“For him to combine his love of golf with his understanding how important golf can be in a business sense for minorities who have been historically excluded from golf – and, thus, excluded from business opportunities,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “What an incredible project.”

During his first couple seasons coaching the Warriors, Kerr often wondered if Curry was burning himself out with so many off-court objectives that required his time and energy. The coach eventually realized that Curry is energized by the challenge that comes with managing his life.

“There’s so much more that’s going on off the court that can try to drag you down a little bit or distract you,” Curry told NBC Sports Bay Area in November. “Trying to battle that is great. The league has changed so much, and trying to reimagine what it would look like for Golden State Warriors in the [2024-25] season to win a championship is totally different than even ’22. It’s totally different than ’17 or ’18 or ’15.”

Curry thrives on doing what others believe he cannot. Been that way since childhood, when recruiters shunned him and wrote him off as too scrawny and fragile. Was that way after the 2009 NBA Draft, when he watched point guards Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn selected ahead of him. Was that way early in his Golden State career when he was battling Acie Law for minutes.

Even now, 16 years later, Curry still carries that chip, on and off the court, like a security blanket.

The game still comes first. Well, after family. The Currys have four children, two boys and two girls, and dad racks up the FaceTiming minutes when the Warriors are on the road. Not at the cost of his fitness. Yes, the man who has his own bourbon brand, Gentleman’s Cut, still pours himself into a regimen devised by longtime personal trainer Brandon Payne.

That’s before and after games. After mesmerizing audiences at home and across the NBA with his pregame workout routine, he signs autographs before heading to the locker room – and often signs more after the game. Crowds holding signs and Sharpies – or merely hoping for a glimpse of Curry – are not unlike the adoring galleries that followed Tiger Woods in the prime of his golf career.

“I was thinking to myself that the NBA is lucky because this man’s going into every arena putting on the show,” longtime teammate Draymond Green said. “It sounds like it’s a home game every time he does it. We’re all lucky to watch him operate the way he operates, playing the game the way he plays the game.”

Golden State rookie Quinten Post grew up in the Netherlands. The 24-year-old center grew familiar with Curry’s name and game while the Warriors were on their dynastic run almost a decade ago. Now as Curry’s teammate, he’s awestruck at his following.

“I had an expectancy,” Post said this week. “But after what he did in these Olympics and what I’ve seen traveling with him, it’s insane how we turn almost every away arena into a home game. And then, seeing him move from the bus to the hotel, there’s always people there.

“What I’m learning is that not every team deals with that. What I’m also learning is that those people are not there for me. They’re there for Steph. And that’s awesome.”

All superstars are subjected to the whims of a public that can be divided in its opinion. Curry has detractors because that’s part of the story with any accomplished life. Not everybody loves, or even likes, Steph. 

But the search for someone who “hates” him would be prolonged and conclude with one of two things. Questioning that person’s motives or nothing at all.

“One of my favorite qualities about Steph is that he understands his power and then he uses it productively,” Kerr said. “But it’s always done in the spirit of giving. There’s never a thought of ‘How can I make myself look better?’ It’s authentically kind and generous.

“He knows he can make an impact, and he does it out of the goodness of his heart. He’s an amazing human being.”

The world would benefit immensely if it had Curry for 37 more years. And another 37 after that.

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Bristol City’s Liam Manning: ‘Losing Theo will be a hole in my heart for the rest of my life’

Manager opens up on losing his baby son, how close he came to quitting and the Premier League promotion push

After victory at Middlesbrough in October, Bristol City’s players headed towards the pocket of the Riverside Stadium housing their supporters. As the away fans sang on loop the name of their head coach, Liam Manning, the squad unravelled a giant red and white banner displaying the words “Fly High Theo” in block capitals. Manning, on leave after the death of his baby son eight days earlier, was watching from a rural cottage 300 miles south, on a much-needed getaway. “I sent a long message to the lads about it afterwards … yeah, lump in the throat,” he says. “The celebrations epitomised everything. It was above football.”

It is not the only heavy moment in a raw and moving conversation but the one thing Manning stresses, as he discusses the hardest episode of his life in an interview for the first time, is that this is not a sob story. He takes huge pride in sharing Theo’s name.

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