Injury-hit Real Madrid snatch victory at Celta Vigo
Bayern Munich extend their lead at top of Bundesliga
Monaco opened up the Ligue 1 title race by inflicting a first home defeat of the season on the defending champions, Paris Saint-Germain on Friday night.
Maghnes Akliouche had Monaco ahead at half-time, with Aleksandr Golovin and Folarin Balogun scoring after the break for the visitors, while Bradley Barcola grabbed a consolation for PSG, who are still four points clear of second-placed Lens in the standings. Lens, however, have a chance to cut into that lead when they host bottom-placed Metz on Sunday.
Call it the changing of the guard, if you will, again.
Having gone through a similar experience in 2023 when the St. Louis Blues traded away their core assets from winning the Stanley Cup in 2019, they shed a pair of veteran players on Friday into assets they may use for the future or as trade assets.
One of them is a leftover from the Stanley Cup days when the Blues first traded their captain, forward Brayden Schenn, to the New York Islanders, then not long after, flipped defenseman Justin Faulk to the Detroit Red Wings on trade deadline day.
In trading the 34-year-old Schenn, the Blues acquired a 2026 first-round pick (which belongs to the Colorado Avalanche), a 2026 third-round pick (the New Jersey Devils pick), winger Jonathan Drouin and goalie prospect Marcus Gidlof, and right before the deadline time of 2 p.m. (CT), they moved the 33-year-old Faulk for a 2026 first-round pick, a 2026 third-round pick (belonging to the San Jose Sharks), veteran minor league defenseman Justin Holl and 2022 second-round pick Dmitri Buchelnikov.
It turns out to be quite the haul for the Blues, who know the situation they're in at 23-29-9 heading into a Friday night game against the San Jose Sharks, 30th in the NHL standings and virtually no chance of reaching the Stanley Cup playoffs.
"I'd like to start off by thanking Justin Faulk and Brayden Schenn for their services with the St. Louis Blues," Armstrong said. "Obviously 'Schenner' and myself go way back, prior to our Stanley Cup and then our Stanley Cup and him being a captain. A great St. Louis Blue and good friend. And Justin Faulk is someone we had gotten in and had some success with. I wished them nothing but the best in the new areas. It seems to be a turning of the page to move forward with some younger players and acquired some draft picks and move forward."
The Blues, who didn't make rumored deals for Jordan Binnington, Robert Thomas (which I still found odd) and Jordan Kyrou, among other players who could have been made available due to a floundering season, are ready to turn over a new leaf after not being able to double down off the hope of building off last year's finish.
"We're excited where we're at," Armstrong said. "Obviously we now have [Philip] Broberg and [Dyllan] Holloway with [Joel] Hofer and [Jake] Neighbours. We have some younger players that we're going to start to continue to build around. We've added a lot of draft picks over the last three seasons, first round picks. So we're in a good spot. We've moved our veteran players obviously to create space to create opportunity. We were functioning on a retool. I wouldn't say this is a rebuild in a sense that we don't have quality players that are going to compete, but we no longer have that veteran presence that maybe we had five hours ago.
"We have some good, young players that are taking big roles. [Logan] Mailloux coming in, I've seen his growth. I've seen growth from Broberg from last year to this year moving forward. Holloway has had an up-and-down season due to injury. Jake Neighbours has taken a big role, Hofer's taken a bigger role. We have [Otto] Stenberg and [Theo] Lindstein, first-round picks from a couple years ago that are in the American Hockey League having good years t hat will get some opportunities. Are are putting younger players into our group. We have veteran players around here still. Obviously Jordan Binnington is a rock solid goaltender that has been here a long time with Kyrou and [Pavel] Buchnevich and Thomas, still relatively young in NHL standards, they're now more of the veteran players on our team. This is a great opportunity for people who expand their leadership roles, expand their playing roles. It's a good time."
As for the capital acquired on Friday, it certainly gives the Blues options, and really, if they want to expedite where they're at now, they have the ability to either flip these picks for NHL-ready capital at the upcoming draft or perhaps even package picks to move up, if they're able to.
"We've added Detroit's first-round pick in 2026, Colorado's first-round pick in 2026, New Jersey's third-round pick in 2026, San Jose's third-round pick in 2026, a player that we had 20th on our list a few years ago in Buchelnikov, a second-round pick from the Red Wings and a goaltender that we liked from a couple years ago too," Armstrong said. "We've added depth to our group. Those picks can he used as selections, they can be used for trades and then we've added experienced players in Drouin and Holl to help with that transition moving forward. When you look at the three first-round picks we had a few years ago, since then we've taken [Adam] Jiricek and [Justin] Carbonneau and three more this year, we're hoping to build a solid stable that can grow together."
I don't spend a lot of time on trades that didn't happen. Players negotiate their trade right based on their status on the team and in the league and some players have full no-trade clauses, some players have partial no-trade clauses. The Blues are at the lower end at the full no-trade clauses and right about the middle of the no-trade partials combined. We're an average average team to sign those players to provide those types guarantees. I respect when players ... if they decide to invoke the right that they've earned, that's great and that means they want to be here and that's exciting. We've asked players to waive, like Brayden Schenn. With the direction that we were going and the way we explained it to him, he was excited for a new opportunity to go to an upstart Islander team with the most exciting young player with Schaefer and Celebrini, these are the next generation of stars and he has an opportunity to play with him.
Any time there's a trade leak, I find it very disappointing. For the people that know me, we run a pretty tight ship as far as communication coming in and out. We did some due diligence as soon as that happened. We checked the phone records of all of our staff, texts and emails and everybody passed the test not surprisingly. So I was disappointed it got out. I know it didn't come from us.
I probably won't share much. One of the things is when you're in the situation that we're in the league as a team, you have to explore everything. That's part and parcel of the position that the St. Louis Blues organization was in. It's an unfortunate time because there's more non-truth out there than there is truth. I think ... I would say a lot of that stuff was fictional, but I guess it makes for good clickbait for the people.
When we brought in Broberg and Holloway, we thought we were going to navigate through it quicker. This year we couldn't do that and I wouldn't say change direction. We haven't moved young players to make this work and try to expedite it. We've stayed consistent and now we've taken another step today by bringing in first-round picks, third round picks, young drafted players that are going to fit into the age bracket. Obviously going into the season, I was hoping this was going to be a very smooth sail for my last year as a manager. We'd be competing in a playoff spot and jockeying and adding players. It didn't work that way so we reacted to the reality of where we are as an organization.
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CLEVELAND, OHIO - MARCH 16: Max Strus #1 and Jarrett Allen #31 help Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Cleveland Cavaliers during the third quarter against the Orlando Magic at Rocket Arena on March 16, 2025, in Cleveland, Ohio. The Magic defeated the Cavaliers 108-103. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Cleveland Cavaliers are in the midst of a rare four-day break between Tuesday’s game against the Detroit Pistons and Sunday’s game against the Boston Celtics. That layoff is coming at a good time, as it may provide an opportunity for some of the injured Cavaliers, including Donovan Mitchell, to return to the lineup.
This is encouraging. Atkinson mentioned that Mitchell’s injury wasn’t expected to be a “long-term thing” and that if Tuesday’s game against the Pistons was a playoff game, Mitchell could’ve gone.
Mitchell has missed the Cavs’ last four games. They’re 2-2 in that stretch. On the season, Mitchell is averaging 28.5 points and 5.8 assists per game.
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Atkinson also said that Max Strus — who is yet to play this season as he’s recovering from a Jones fracture in his foot he suffered during an off-season workout — was at “90%” participation and “could’ve gone more,” but they didn’t want to push it.
There isn’t a timetable yet for Strus to make his season debut, but Atkinson has said that he anticipates that happening in the regular season, which has just over a month left. He’s excited about what Strus could add as a connector offensively and believes that bringing him back will be like adding a free agent to this team.
The Cavaliers have also been without Dean Wade for the past three games due to an ankle injury. Along with Mitchell, he was also a full participant in practice on Friday.
Wade is averaging 5.8 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.
Jarrett Allen was removed from Tuesday’s game in the third quarter with a knee injury. He was not a participant in Friday’s practice, but he did do cardio work and received treatment. Atkinson did say that Allen’s injury was “not long-term at all.”
Allen is averaging 15.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game this season.
The status for all four players ahead of Sunday’s matchup is unknown at this time, but there is a chance that Mitchell, Wade, and Allen could be available.
MARYVALE, AZ - FEBRUARY 23: A general view during a game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago Cubs on Friday, February 23, 2018 at the Maryvale Baseball Park in Maryvale, Arizona. (Photo by Alex Trautwig/MLB via Getty Images) | MLB via Getty Images
Record 7-7. Change on 2025: +0.5. 5-inning record: 4-9-1.
The D-backs found themselves swept on both sides of today’s split squad double-bill, with fairly weak line-ups in both games. Starting off at Salt River Fields, a pair of three-run homers did all the damage as the White Sox blanked the D-backs 6-0. They were allowed by Landon Sims and Joe Ross; the latter came in to relieve Daniel Eagan with two outs and two on in the second, and didn’t. The best of the relievers for Arizona was likely Andrew Hoffman who struck out three batters in a scoreless seventh. The Diamondbacks were held to four hits and two walks: Angel Ortiz had the only extra-base hit, a double, as the team went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
Over in Maryvale, the team did at least pick up a five-inning win, leading 2-1 at that point. But the Brewers scored five unanswered runs to beat the D-backs 6-2. Mitch Bratt started, and walked four over 2.2 innings, but gave up just one run on one hit, with two strikeouts. Bryce Jarvis tossed two scoreless, but Juan Burgos, John Curtiss and Taylor Rashi allowed five runs on six hits and two walks, over their three frames. Gavin Conticello and Demetrio Crisantes each went 2-for-3, while DH Manuel Pena had a homer and drew a walk. LuJames Groover drove in Arizona’s other run with a groundout.
Tomorrow, it’s back to one game: that comes at Salt River Fields against the Giants, with a 1:10 pm first pitch, and Kohl Drake starting for the Diamondbacks.
As the Mets continue camp this spring, here are the latest moves as New York cuts their roster to 26 active players ahead of Opening Day...
March 6, 6:10 p.m.
The Mets have made another move prior to Friday's game, optioning Dylan Ross to Triple-A.
Ross' early departure certainly comes as a surprise.
The hard-throwing right-hander finished with a 2.17 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and 80 strikeouts in just 54 innings of work across three different levels of the minors last season.
He earned a call-up to the majors at season's end, but never appeared in a game.
Ross was viewed by many as one of the up-and-coming arms who could potentially crack the Opening Day bullpen, but instead, he's sent back down without appearing in a spring game.
New York is now down to 67 players in camp.
March 4, 4:45 p.m.
The Mets announced their second wave of cuts, optioning LHP Nate Lavender and C Chris Suero to minor league camp.
Lavender, of course, was picked up by the Rays after being left exposed to the Rule 5 Draft last offseason.
The southpaw wouldn't appear in a game all year, though, as his recovery following internal brace surgery didn't quite go as planned and he was returned to the Mets this winter.
Back with the organization, he'll look to prove that he can stay healthy to start the year.
Suero, one of the up-and-coming prospects in the organization, impressed during his time in big-league camp.
The 22-year-old reached base three times over four games, including a homer.
March 1, 4:50 p.m.
The Mets have optioned RHP Alex Carrillo to Triple-A.
Additionally, LHP Anderson Severino and LHP Matt Turner have been reassigned to minor League camp.
Colby Thomas drove in three runs today in the A’s loss to the Colorado Rockies. | Getty Images
The A’s were at home today at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Arizona to face off against the NL West’s Colorado Rockies in Cactus League play. J.T. Ginn got the start against Chase Dollander for the Rockies.
Ginn got off to a rough start giving up his first earned run of the season on a three-run homer to Brett Sullivan in the bottom of the first inning. But the A’s bounced back in the bottom of the inning with a Shea Langeliers double followed by a Max Muncy single. Muncy followed with a stolen base, his first of the spring, but was stranded on second.
In the second, Ginn gave up a Chad Stevens homers to center field to make the score 4-1, in favor of Colorado. Ginn ultimately pitched three full innings giving up four earned runs on four hits (two of them homers), two walks while striking out three Rockies. While it’s still early in the spring, only his third outing, I’m sure Kotsay was hoping for more from Ginn.
Luis Medina relieved Ginn in the fourth and promptly gave up two hits and his second earned run in as many innings. There will likely be more wiggle room for Medina since he missed all last year after his Tommy John Surgery and the fact that he’s out of minor league options.
Brooks Kriske replaced Luis Medina in the top of the fifth and he too gave up a home run, a two-run shot to center field to Kyle Karros bringing the score to 7-1.
Cade Marlow hit his first homer of the spring, his seventh hit in twenty at-bats, to tighten the score to 7-2 in the bottom of the sixth, but TJ Rumsfeld got that run back with the Rox fourth homer of the afternoon, this one off rookie reliever Kade Morris.
Colby Thomas got his first hit of the day in the seventh, a double driving in two runs to tighten the score to 8-5.
Morris continued to pitch three innings, giving up just that one earned run on two hits and a walk. He also struck out two Rockies. The Rockies tagged on two more runs in the ninth off Cole Miller, making his spring debut for the A’s. It was an inauspicious start, giving up three earned runs on two hits and two walks while not registering an out.
The A’s scored one last run in the bottom of the ninth on Thomas’ second hit and third RBI of the day. That brought the final score to Rockies 11- A’s 6.
TAMPA, FL - FEBRUARY 20: Cam Schlittler #31 of the New York Yankees during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field on February 20, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Hey everyone! It’s good to be back. Speaking of back, so are the Yankees, and they’ll be looking to wash away the aftertaste of yesterday’s 15-0 drubbing at the hands of the Twins. Their opponents today will be the Rays, with Cam Schlittler making his spring debut against Joe Boyle.
It’s hard to overstate the impact that Schlittler made as a rookie last year with the Bombers — and he only debuted in July! In his 14 regular season starts, Schlittler threw 73 innings of 2.96 ERA ball, with very good peripherals to boot. However, he saved his best work for the postseason, posting eight shutout innings with 12 strikeouts over the Red Sox in the winner-take-all Game 3 of the Wild Card Series. Though his next postseason start—Game 4 of the ALDS against Toronto—didn’t go as well, he still earned the admittedly dubious distinction of being the only Yankee starter to post a quality start in that series. This will be Schlittler’s spring debut, and I’m hoping it will be the harbinger for a strong sophomore campaign for the big guy.
Schlittler will duel against Joe Boyle, whose accolades include eight Oscars, all won for his 2008 film Slumdog Millionare, though die-hards still swear by his 1996 classic Trainspotting — oh wait, wrong Boyle. The Boyle starting today is less decorated than Danny, but that doesn’t mean he’s a pushover. Selected in the 12th round of the 2020 draft by the Reds, he made his MLB debut in 2023 with the Athletics, posting a 1.69 ERA over three starts. After a rough 2024, he was shipped to the Rays as part of a package for Jeffrey Springs and Jacob Lopez, where he split time in Triple-A, where he was an International League All-Star, and the majors, where he posted a 4.67 ERA (4.19 FIP) and 58 strikeouts over 52 innings. Armed with premium stuff, the next step for Boyle is finding the strike zone with consistency. If he does, he’ll be a thorn in the Yankees’ side for the next few years.
The top of the Yankees’ lineup tonight features their big guns, sans Aaron Judge (leading Team USA tonight against Brazil in their WBC opener). Trent Grisham is in center field leading off, followed by Ben Rice at first, Cody Bellinger in left, and Giancarlo Stanton at DH. Ryan McMahon and Paul DeJong will be at third base and second base, batting fifth and sixth. Making his spring debut will be Oswaldo Cabrera—we love you Oswaldo!—coming back after a left ankle fracture ended his 2025 season in May. Max Schuemann will hit eighth and start in right field, and Payton Henry will don the tools of ignorance in the nine spot.
How to watch
Location: George M. Steinbrenner Field — Tampa, FL
Among the outstanding pitchers on Friday Noah Schultz was most dominant, needing just 25 pitches to get seven outs. | (Photo by Mike Christy/Getty Images)
If you are going to produce few hits, might as well make them count.
The White Sox chased a morbid offensive effort on Thursday night with one not much better on Friday. The difference? Two of the hits left the yard, and with the sacks close to packed. Or, in other words: Five-hit games don’t result in wins very often — but six-run games sure do.
The key blow came early, as Oliver Dunn stepped to the plate with two on and two out in the second inning. Facing reliever Landon Sims fresh in from the pen, Dunn drove a center-cut, 92.3 mph fastball on 1-0 out 429 feet to right. Anyone questioning the strangeness of batting your designated hitter ninth in the lineup (uh, not me, no way) can pack those three runs home in their pipes and smoke ’em.
Just two innings later, it was Jarred Kelenic blasting another three-run shot, his first long ball with the White Sox. And even in the hot air of Arizona and Spring Training pitching always just one meltdown from defeat, Kelenic’s shot put the game away.
The game was over before its midpoint thanks to some outstanding pitching, as the White Sox arms put forth their best efforts thus far in 2026: Anthony Kay, Tanner McDougal and Noah Schultz took on all but two outs and combined to stifle the Diamondbacks on just four hits. None of the three had dominant K stuff rolling, but the White Sox defense backed each up on balls in play, keeping the game scoreless and the Dbacks frustrated.
Schultz in particular was outstanding, needing just 25 pitches to pocket seven outs. His removal with one out in the ninth rang a bit odd, but perhaps leaving right at 25 tosses meant the White Sox are working off a hard cap of 25-30 throws for the tall lefty rebounding from knee issues in 2025.
With the rout, the White Sox got back to better than .500, at 8-7, and return home tomorrow to take on Seattle in a CHSN/WMVP broadcast game. Leigh Allan (yes, undefeated on his four-game coverage season so far) will have your coverage.
Right after the game, the White Sox announced one demotion to Triple-A and nine other reassignments from MLB camp, none of them surprising:
MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid scored with a deflected shot in the 94th minute to win 2-1 at Celta Vigo on Friday and close the gap on La Liga leader Barcelona to one point.
Madrid was seeking to avoid a run of three successive losses for the first time since 2018 and needed a massive dose of luck to secure all three points.
It went ahead after 11 minutes when Aurélien Tchouaméni’s shot from just inside the penalty box left the Celta keeper flatfooted.
Celta’s experienced striker Borja Iglesias equalized for the home side with his third goal in four games after 25 minutes, and strike partner Iago Aspas was unfortunate to see his shot come back off the post with two minutes remaining as both sides pushed for a winner.
But a massive stroke of luck in the dying seconds gave Madrid victory.
Federico Valverde’s shot from outside the box took a wicked deflection that left keeper Ionut Radu with no chance.
“It hurts because it was right at the death,” Iglesias said. “It’s a bit frustrating.”
Barcelona plays its game in hand against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday. Madrid has 63 points while Barcelona has 64.
ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 30: Reynaldo López #40 of the Atlanta Braves looks on during the game between the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on Monday, September 30, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
One of question marks for López after coming off a significant injury was whether he could get his velocity back. Back in 2024, when he arguably had his best season of his career, he averaged 95.5 MPH on his fastball. López was already hitting 94 MPH back on February 19th.
López has had positive results in spring thus far. He has pitched 5.0 innings while surrendering zero runs, only two hits and accumulating five strikeouts to only two walks. Of course, odds are it will be hard to replicate this over an entire season, but it is most certainly a positive sign.
Reynaldo Lopez consistently sat around 93 mph and hit 94 mph during the second inning of today’s live BP. He seems to be where he needs to be in February. He’s proven he can be effective at 94-95 with the ability to dial up 98 when necessary
It should also be noted that there is a fun stat on Baseball Reference that measures the opponent quality. It ranges from one being rookie ball to ten being a full MLB squad. So far López has a score of 7.0, which is equivalent of AA opponents.
It could be guessed before the lineup was dropped, but since the Braves are playing away from home, the lineup is largely full of players that will have minimal playing time in the regular season. Red hot Dominic Smith will get the start at 1B looking to boost his hopes for a roster spot now that Profar is done.
The Braves will face an outside-of-the-box trade option for them in Bailey Ober. Ober will be making his spring debut for the Twins who are already down a few rotation arms this year. It will be interesting to see if the Twins decide to go into a full rebuild mode this season.
The Twins’ lineup will feature former top prospect Royce Lewis, as well as old friend Orlando Arcia.
The Ducks acquired Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson in a trade on Thursday night ahead of the NHL trade deadline on Friday. (Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
The Ducks proved they are all-in for a push to their first playoff berth in eight years by acquiring defenseman John Carlson ahead of Friday’s NHL trade deadline. The Kings, meanwhile, started building for the future, making acquisitions and trades to address their depth and bolster their number of draft picks.
The Ducks (34-24-3), who entered Friday second in the Pacific Division, just a point behind Vegas, haven’t had a winning record since 2018. But general manager Pat Verbeek signaled the team’s long rebuild is over, trading first- and third-round draft picks — the kind of picks he has long hoarded — to Washington late Thursday for Carlson, 36, an offense-minded blue liner who led the Caps with 36 assists and is the franchise's all-time leading defenseman scorer.
“What we've been doing the last three years is adding assets,” Verbeek said. “I looked at giving this group another extra push and helping us make this push to where we want to go. And so ultimately if we get into the playoffs and we can have a nice run, it's worth it. It's worth it to give this group experience, give them a chance to make the playoffs and to do well in the playoffs.
“I think we have enough draft picks. We have enough prospects coming. Is it worth it to give up a conditional first-rounder? Yes it is to get the quality of player [like] John Carlson, it made sense.”
The move could prove to be a gamble, though, since Carlson, in the final year of his contract, may be nothing more than a short-term rental. Verbeek said he didn’t start talking to Washington about a deal until this week but the negotiations progressed quickly. Carlson said he was asleep when he was traded but a cousin heard about it and called to tell him he was headed to Anaheim.
“The middle of the night is not the best way to find out some very altering news like that,” said Carlson, who is expected to join the team Saturday. “It’s been a crazy day packing, getting ready, saying good-byes. It’s getting more and more exciting.”
In addition to adding Carlson, the Ducks also sent center Ryan Strome to Calgary. Strome, 32, had three goals and six assists in 33 games with the Ducks this season. The Ducks will get a seventh-round pick in 2027 in return.
Toronto Maple Leafs center Scott Laughton skates with the puck during a game against the Dallas Stars in December. (LM Otero / Associated Press)
The Kings didn't make any moves to substantially improve their roster. Although they signed forward Mathieu Joseph, a Stanley Cup winner with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and acquired center Scott Laughton from the Toronto Maple Leafs, they also unloaded forwards Corey Perry and Warren Foegele in exchange for draft picks.
Joseph, 29, comes to L.A. after recording two goals and 11 points in 39 games with the St. Louis Blues before agreeing to have his contract terminated Thursday. He had been assigned to Springfield of the AHL, where he appeared in two games.
Laughton, 31, had eight goals and four assists for Toronto and joins the Kings as a depth piece following the losses of Perry and Foegele. In return, the Maple Leafs will get a third-round pick, which will become a second-round pick if the Kings make the playoffs.
For the Kings, the trade deadline came down to asset management: The contracts of Joseph and Laughton expire at the end of the season while the Foegele deal clears $3.5 million from the payroll next season. The team also protected its young talent while adding two draft picks.
Perry, 40, the former Ducks winger who signed with the Kings as a free agent last summer, went to Tampa Bay on Friday in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2028 draft while Foegele, 29, the third King to request a trade this season, was shipped to Ottawa on Thursday for a second-round pick in this summer’s draft and a conditional swap of third-round picks.
The Kings (25-22-14), who lost to Edmonton in the first round of the playoffs in each of the last four seasons, started Friday sixth in the eight-team Pacific Division but just three points behind Seattle for a wild-card berth.
General manager Ken Holland made a splash just ahead of the 18-day Olympic break by acquiring forward Artemi Panarin from the New York Rangers and signing him to a two-year $22-million extension. But then the team lost Kevin Fiala for the rest of the season to a fractured leg in the Olympic tournament and saw winger Andrei Kuzmenko undergo surgery last week to repair torn meniscus in his right knee, hampering an offense that ranks 28th in the 32-team league in goals.
Holland followed those two events by firing coach Jim Hiller last Sunday and replacing him on an interim basis with assistant D.J. Smith. The Kings have gone through five coaches and three general managers since the end of the 2016-17 season and haven’t won a postseason series since 2014, the last time they won the Stanley Cup.
FORMER CUBS IN PADRES CAMP: Jason Adam, Jeremiah Estrada, Nick Castellanos.
CUBS STAT LEADERS: (minimum 10 AB): OPS, Dansby Swanson (1.750). BA: Swanson and Dylan Carlson (.500). OBP: Carlson (.652). SLG: Swanson (1.100). HR: Swanson, Jefferson Rojas and Carson Kelly (2). SB: Scott Kingery and Pedro Ramirez (4).
Ben Brown will start for the Cubs. Other Cubs pitchers scheduled today: Ethan Roberts, Ryan Rolison. Jack Neely, Collin Snider and Grant Kipp.
Germán Márquez will start for the Padres. Other Padres pitchers scheduled today: Marco Gonzales, Adrian Morejon, David Morgan and Jeremiah Estrada.
Today’s game will be televised by Padres TV. It will also be on MLB Network (no blackouts). There will be a radio broadcast via the Padres station KWFN 97.3.
Please visit our SB Nation Padres site Gaslamp Ball. If you do go there to interact with Padres fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.
As we have done in the past, we’ll have a first pitch thread at five minutes to game time and one overflow thread, 90 minutes after game time. For today, that will be 7:05 p.m. CT and 8:40 p.m. CT.
These threads will not post individually onto the front page; instead, you can find links to them in the box marked ”Chicago Cubs Game Threads” at the bottom of the front page. There will also be a StoryStream on the front page with all the game thread links, as well as the recap after the game is over. The pitcher photos and regular-season stats will return on Opening Day.
DALLAS, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 03: Cooper Flagg #32 of the Dallas Mavericks is defended by Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics during the second half at American Airlines Center on February 03, 2026 in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Dallas Mavericks (21-41) play their third road game in four nights, this time visiting the Boston Celtics (41-21). Dallas lost a painful one to the Orlando Magic on Thursday, falling on a last-second scramble where they gave up a dunk to seal the game. Boston got drubbed by the streaking Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday, so they’ve had a day to think about that loss.
Here’s the main things you need to know:
WHO: Dallas Mavericks vs Boston Celtics
WHAT: Becoming one with road games.
WHERE: TD Garden, Boston, MA
WHEN: 6:00 pm CST
HOW: ESPN
The injury report for this game is a bit painful for Dallas but what else is new. Both Marvin Bagley and Daniel Gafford are each listed as doubtful as of this writing, which means they aren’t going to play. The three two-way players are questionable but I believe Moussa Cisse has to play unless Dallas is content with only Dwight Powell as a big. Klay Thompson and Brandon Williams are each questionable and I believe both will play. Cooper Flagg is not on the report and we’ll see if he has a minutes restriction.
The Celtics have a pristine injury report, because team health feels like a skill at this point. Heck even Jason Tatum is off the report, so he’s playing!
This is going to be a massive narrative game. On the Dallas side, all we will hear about is how Cooper Flagg is from this region of the country, how his mom is a Celtics fan and he grew up as one as well. It’s all low-hanging fruit meant to provoke we sensitive Dallas fans. But the Celtics side will be thick with narrative: Tatum returns to a team playing great led by Jaylen Brown. How do they figure out roles?
We know Boston may nuke Dallas from three. I don’t expect this one to be close, but we’ll see!
Be sure to chime in with your predictions in the comments!
Consider joining Josh and me on Pod Maverick live after the game on YouTube, we should start LATE. Thanks so much for spending time with us here at Mavs Moneyball. Let’s go Mavs!
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WOLVERHAMPTON, England (AP) — Andy Robertson scored for only the second time this season and set up Mohamed Salah for another goal as Liverpool beat Wolverhampton 3-1 on Friday to move into the quarterfinals of the FA Cup.
Scotland captain Robertson rifled in a low shot from outside the penalty box 10 minutes into the second half to put Liverpool ahead and then Salah crashed home his enticing cross two minutes later.
Curtis Jones added a third for the visitor 16 minutes from time before Hwang Hee-Chan scored a stoppage-time consolation for Wolves.
Defender Robertson’s only other goal this season came in September when Liverpool beat Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. His leading role in Friday’s win was a welcome one after Wolves had humbled Arne Slot's team 2-1 in the Premier League three days ago.
“(That was a) bit more like it,” Robertson told the BBC. “We know we let ourselves down on Tuesday … it was up to us to go and put it right. The FA Cup is do or die.”
The quarterfinals take place on the first weekend in April. The other seven contenders will be decided in matches to be held over the next few days.
“We are trying to fight on all fronts,” Robertson said. “We are still in two cup competitions. If we play like we did tonight, then nobody wants to play against us. We have to start showing that consistency. It is one step forward and two steps back.”
