Today the Texas Rangers continue their preparations for the upcoming season with a Cactus League matchup against the Anaheim Angels.
RHP Nathan Eovaldi will take the Surprise, AZ mound for Texas for today’s contest opposite RHP Victor Mederos, now under the tutelage of former Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux.
You can listen to this one via 105.3 The Fan or follow along on Gameday. First pitch from Surprise Stadium is scheduled for 3:05 pm CT.
Go Rangers!
A big slew of roster moves this afternoon, including some significant names.
The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves and have 47 players in camp.
Fernandez… Oh, J. Fernan… Um, I mean Jose Fernandez and Waldschmidt are probably the two names of most significance. Many were expecting Waldy to snag an Opening Day roster spot, given the absence of “true” outfielders on the 40-man roster. His spring numbers had merely been okay though: .240/.269/.480 for a .749 OPS, with a K:BB of 9:1. Fernandez had opened a lot of eyes, after being a surprising add to the 40-man roster. He was leading the team in spring home-runs, and a 1.148 OPS was impressive too. Most of the rest are fairly unsurprising, but I’d not be shocked to see at least some of these names at Chase Field later this year.
Bullpen day for the D-backs, though a switch in the “starting” pitcher, with Drey Jameson taking over from previously announced starter Kevin Ginkel. After Jameson, the list shows RHP Ginkel, RHP Shawn Dubin, RHP Junior Fernandez, RHP Taylor Rashi, RHP John Curtiss and LHP Spencer Giesting. Amusing that half of the position players optioned or re-assigned above, are in the Arizona starting line-up this afternoon – Troy, Waldschmidt and Groover – and three of the pitchers were similarly crossed off the list. Memo to self. The SB Nation system works on Eastern time, so remember to schedule this one for 4 pm Eastern, not 3!
Today’s game will be broadcast on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, with Chris Garagiola and Josh Collmenter running the broadcast.
The Los Angeles Lakers will be without LeBron James for a second consecutive night.
James, who had been listed as a game-time decision after missing the second night of a back-to-back on Friday against the Indiana Pacers, has been ruled out of Sunday's matchup against the New York Knicks with left elbow discomfort and left foot arthritis.
After surpassing yet another absurd NBA record, James took a hard fall in the fourth quarter of Thursday's loss to the Denver Nuggets and landed on his left elbow. ESPN's Dave McMenamin later reported that head coach J.J. Redick said James "was icing his left elbow after the game and that he was experiencing enough discomfort that it caused him to be unable to finish the game."
During the ESPN pregame show on Sunday, Malika Andrews reported that James sitting is "more the foot than the elbow," and that it'll be a day-to-day situation for him going forward.
James has had to battle through a few different injuries throughout his 23rd NBA season. His season debut was delayed until Nov. 18 due to sciatica, and his streak of 21 straight All-NBA selections officially ended in February after he missed his 18th game of the season, making him ineligible under the league's 65 games played requirement.
Luka Doncic stepped up in James' absence -- and Deandre Ayton and Maxi Kleber -- on Friday, leading a shorthanded Lakers squad with 44 points to a 128-117 over the tanking Pacers. The Lakers will likely need a similar performance from Doncic again on Sunday to get past the Knicks, the East's No. 3 seed.
Kleber is available to play against the Knicks.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LeBron James injury update: Lakers star ruled out vs. Knicks
After a pair of night games, it’s back to day games for a big for the Dodgers, who are in Mesa on Sunday to take on the Athletics.
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After the Ottawa Senators defeated the Seattle Kraken 7–4 on Saturday night, the Sportsnet panel got into a discussion about Senators defenceman Tyler Kleven and whether he should be suspended for cross-checking Seattle’s Jared McCann in the third period.
A couple of the panelists suggested Kleven might be looking at a suspension. They argued that “You can’t cross-check guys in the face.”
But there wasn’t much discussion about where the initial contact actually occurred.
Kleven’s stick appeared to make contact with McCann’s chest, and it only rode up higher because McCann was simultaneously delivering a cross-check of his own. As Kleven’s stick came up toward McCann’s chin, if it made contact there at all, McCann snapped his head back dramatically.
Tyler Kleven received a 5-minute major and a game misconduct for cross-checking on Jared McCann 😳 pic.twitter.com/pptY7PX7ca
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) March 8, 2026
After a review, Kleven was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct.
But the NHL Department of Player Safety didn't see enough there to warrant a suspension. Instead, the league fined Kleven $4,166.67 on Sunday, the maximum allowable under the collective bargaining agreement, essentially a reminder to Kleven to be more careful.
Kleven had already been in a foul mood since the second period, particularly after the Kraken cut Ottawa’s lead to 4–2. Seattle rookie Jacob Melanson celebrated the goal by getting directly in Kleven’s face, staring him down and yelling at him, “Let’s go!”
The two exchanged shoves and continued to smash into each other for much of the rest of the night.
Under normal circumstances, losing Kleven for any amount of time wouldn’t be ideal, but the Senators could probably manage. However, with Jake Sanderson leaving Saturday’s game with what looked like a right shoulder injury and no update yet from the team, Ottawa may now need Kleven to take on a larger role down the stretch.
It’s also worth noting that the Kleven incident wasn’t the first time McCann drew attention for a dramatic reaction in the game. Late in the first period, Shane Pinto was called for a cross-check along the end boards and immediately protested that McCann had embellished. Cameras later caught Pinto in the press box laughing as he watched the replay on the scoreboard.
The Senators return to action Monday night in Vancouver.
Steve Warne
The Hockey News
This article was first published at The Hockey News. Read more great Senators coverage and bookmark TheHockeyNews.com/Ottawa-Senators
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HOUSTON — Los Angeles Angels minor-league pitcher Najer Victor couldn’t sleep.
Really, he didn’t want to sleep.
His phone kept buzzing all night Saturday after his dramatic outing for Great Britain against the United States.
“What was it like to strike out three-time MVP Aaron Judge on that 85-mph cutter?"
“How did it feel blowing that 96-mph fastball past MVP Bryce Harper?"
"How cool was it throwing that 82-mph slider past Baltimore Orioles young star Gunnar Henderson?"
"Can you believe that you didn’t throw a single fastball to Boston Red Sox slugger Roman Anthony, and got him to swing through a 84-mph slider?"
And, oh, yeah: "What in the world did you say to make Team USA so angry?"
Mark DeRosa, manager of Team USA, said after their victory against Great Britain that Victor’s outburst and antics fired up their team entering the fifth inning, turning a 1-0 deficit into a 9-1 victory.
USA players say they couldn’t quite make out what Victor said, but were well aware that he yelled toward their bench strutting off the mound after striking out Henderson, and gesturing with his hands.
"When their reliever turned and looked in our dugout and had a couple of choice words," DeRosa said, "I think that lit the lineup up."
Victor, 24, who spent most of his childhood growing up in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands before moving back to Philadelphia, called his four-strikeout outing easily the greatest moment of his life.
And he called the verbal outburst one of his worst moments of his career, saying that he yelled, "You got to get louder than that!"
"I don’t know why I did that," he told USA TODAY Sports. "It was kind of a blackout moment. I didn’t mean to look at their dugout. It was for the crowd. They were all yelling, U-S-A, and that noise wasn’t fazing me. So, I was trying to get to the crowd, and I ended up turning to the dugout and it was like, 'Aaargh.'
"I mean, that got them fired up. That’s what the game is, showing emotions. But if I could do it all over again, I wouldn’t do that. I mean, I was not trying to show up any of the guys. I hope they know that.
"I was just trying to talk to the crowd, not to them."
While Victor prays his outburst will be soon forgotten, he hopes the memory of his dazzling outing will be remembered forever.
"That was the No. 1 moment in my career, no question," said Victor, who spent last year pitching 35 games in Class A for the Angels, going 1-6 with a 4.87 ERA, striking out 65 and walking 26 batters in 40⅔ innings. "I live in the moment, but it felt pretty sick when I thought about it afterwards."
So, of the four strikeouts against the star-studded lineup, just who was his favorite strikeout victim?
"I grew up a Red Sox fan," Victor said, "so the Roman Anthony once for me. But I do like that 3-and-2 slider to Gunnar Henderson. And, of course, Aaron Judge."
When Victor returns to Angels’ camp in Tempe, Ariz., this week, he’ll certainly have some stories to tell the boys in the clubhouse.
He also learned some valuable lessons from the WBC experience.
"This is a moment that will wake you up," Victor said, "but it’s also a moment you just can’t live off. So for me, it’s not my end goal, and I don’t see myself stopping right there.
"Hopefully making a name not only for myself, but for an island of 32 square miles. It’s not just for my island, but also other small islands."
And, who knows, maybe one day he’ll see those same stars again from Team USA, and let them know his outburst wasn’t personal, and certainly not directed toward them.
"Please, let them know," Victor said, "that’s not me."
Follow Bob Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: WBC moment leaves Najer Victor sleepless after big strikeouts
In Jayson Tatum’s second game back, he scored 20 points in 27 minutes after a big 12-point first quarter. However, this afternoon belonged to Jaylen Brown who scored 23 points with 9 rebounds and 8 assists. The Celtics beat the Cavaliers, 109-98 to improve to 43-21.
Nikola Vucevic is the only Celtic who missed this one with his right ring finger injury. Boston started Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Sam Hauser, Jayson Tatum and Neemias Queta. Donovan Mitchell returned for the Cavs after missing their last few games, they were missing Jarrett Allen, Max Strus and Tyrese Proctor. Along with Mitchell, they started James Harden, Sam Merrill, Dean Wade and Evan Mobley.
It was a bit of a slow start for the Celtics who were outscored 11-3 early in the game leading to a Joe Mazzulla timeout. Evan Mobley had 7 quick points for Cleveland.
1-6 (1-3) vs 4-5 (1-2) how do we think it's going
— Dan Greenberg (@StoolGreenie) March 8, 2026
Jayson Tatum looked like Jayson Tatum in the first quarter. He scored 12 points on 4/6 from the field as Boston finished the quarter on a 32-15 run to lead 35-26.
The 2nd quarter got off to a fast start for the Celtics with both Tatum and Brown on the bench. In the past Boston would crumble in those minutes but they’ve been playing those minutes all season and winning them by a lot. They outscored the Cavs 7-2 by the time that the Jays checked back in.
you kinda forget the celtics have been playing non tatum/brown minutes all season and winning them.
— jack (@janderson22_) March 8, 2026
The 2nd quarter really belonged to the Celtics defense. Over the first 8:31 of the quarter, Boston held the Cavs to 7 points, 2 of which came off of a Mobley fast break dunk.
Cleveland finished with just 10 points in the quarter, 4/25 from the field and 0/14 from three. The Celtics led 56-36. Jayson Tatum led the team with 14 points while Jaylen Brown chipped in 11 of his own.
Cleveland opened the first 3:07 of the game on an 11-3 run.
— Justin Turpin (@JustinmTurpin) March 8, 2026
Since then, 53-25 #Celtics. https://t.co/hdu1sgxvts
Cleveland got going in the 3rd as they scored more points in the first 4:25 of the quarter (14) than they did in the entire 2nd. Joe Mazzulla called a timeout as the C’s lead was cut to 12 points.
Jaylen really got it going in the third quarter, he had 9 points in the first 7 minutes of the quarter, making 4 of his first 6 shot attempts in the period.
The Celtics bounced back well, taking a 25-point lead but an 8-0 Cavs run to end the quarter cut the Boston lead to 86-69. Brown led the team with 20 points while Sam Hauser had 15 and Baylor Scheierman had 13 of his own.
That carried over to the 4th quarter as the Cavaliers cut the Celtics lead to 91-81 on a 12-5 run in the first 3 minutes of the quarter.
JT cooled down after a hot start, with a stretch of 7 straight missed shots after his big 12 point first quarter. You can see he looks great; he just needs the conditioning to comeback. That will take some time.
A big pair of Payton Pritchard buckets settled the Celtics offense back down before a Jayson Tatum layup made it a 14-point game again. Then after Cleveland cut the lead back to 9, Jayson Tatum hit a big three to make the lead 12 once again.
That was the dagger as Cleveland missed back-to-back threes at the end of the game, allowing the Celtics to pull out the 109-98 win.
The bench gave big contributions too as Payton Pritchard scored 18 points and Baylor Scheierman scored 16. The Celtics shot 44% from the field and 39.5% from three while the Cavaliers shot 41% from the field and 29% from three. The Celtics next game is against the Spurs in San Antonio on Tuesday at 8 EST.
CLEVELAND — Not much went right for the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday afternoon. They couldn’t make a shot, struggled to stay with the Boston Celtics’ stars on the perimeter, and were outhustled all afternoon. This all led to a 109-98 loss to the class of the Eastern Conference that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score would indicate.
For as badly as things ended, the game started well for the Cavs. Evan Mobley took advantage of mismatches early on as he scored nine of the team’s first 13 points. This led to Cleveland taking a brief five-point lead at the start of the game. That was as good as it would get.
Boston controlled the remainder of the quarter thanks to a strong opening from Jayson Tatum. He poured in 12 points on 4-6 shooting in the first to give his team a nine-point advantage after one.
Things went from bad to worse in the second.
The Cavaliers couldn’t buy a basket in the second quarter. Boston cut off lanes to the basket and made them a jump-shooting team, which proved to be the right strategy this afternoon. The Cavs failed to convert any of their 14 three-point attempts in the quarter and went just 4-25 from the field overall. This led to them scoring just 10 points in the quarter.
Boston didn’t take advantage as much as they should’ve. They scored just 21 points of their own, going 5-20 from the field (20%). But the 20-point advantage they took into the break was enough to cruise to the stress-free victory.
The Cavs were able to make the game more respectable in the second half. They cut Boston’s lead to eight midway through the fourth quarter, but it never really felt like they had a chance to actually win the game.
Anything bought from the links helps support Fear the Sword. You can buy the Let ‘Em Know shirt HERE. You can also shop all of Homage’s Cavs gear HERE.
The Cavaliers were led by Donovan Mitchell. He scored 30 points on 9-18 shooting with five assists in his return to the lineup after missing four games with a groin injury.
Mobley added 24 points and eight rebounds in the loss.
James Harden struggled to find his shot. He didn’t have his most efficient night from the floor, going 6-16, and he wasn’t able to make up for it by getting to the free-throw line. He ended the day with 19 points and 10 assists.
The Celtics were led by Jaylen Brown’s 23 points and eight assists. Tatum provided 20 points in his second game back from injury.
Payton Pritchard supplied 18 points, with each seemingly coming every time the Cavs were starting to turn the momentum of the game around. He has a knack for making back-breaking shots against the Cavs.
This was a disappointing loss for a Cleveland team that had really established good momentum over the last few weeks. They had big wins over the other top teams in the conference, the New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons, in the James Harden Era. The Celtics could be a different story. Even though the Cavs didn’t play up to their skill level, the Celtics present a lot of problems for the Cavs with their wings and spaced-out offense.
The Cavs will be back in action Monday evening when they host the Philadelphia 76ers. Tip-off is at 7 PM.
The Royals are back in action this afternoon against divisional foe, the Chicago White Sox. The Royals are coming off a victory over the Reds on Saturday, by a final score of 6-2.
Left-handed pitcher Noah Cameron will get the start today for the boys in blue. With the World Baseball Classic just getting going, a decent number of regular Royals remain out of the lineup. So, here is the guys going behind Cameron this afternoon.
The Royals record in Spring Training is currently 6-7-1. Haha, 6-7. Anyways, we inch closer to the real deal, and the excitement of the WBC continues to pick up. So yay!
I have alarming news. Somehow, while I wasn’t looking, we passed the halfway point of spring training. Counting today’s game, only 15 games remain between Opening Day and [gestures at the smoking ruin of the 27-6 blowout against San Diego] whatever this is. It’s been a weird spring, with so many regulars gone with their WBC teams, but it is quickly drawing to a close. Yikes!
As a reminder, Arizona doesn’t do Daylight Savings time, but now the PNW is all synced up with Arizona, so games start at 1 o’clock PT now.
Lineups:
Also slated to pitch for the Mariners: Josh Simpson, Yosver Zulueta, Troy Taylor, Nick Davila, Gabe Mosser.
Injury updates:
Victor Robles is expected to get 3-4 at-bats today as he works back from lingering shoulder soreness.
Bryce Miller threw a “touch and feel” bullpen today of 25 pitches and spoke to the media after. Bryce said he was at 80% effort and he’s trying to be very mindful, having talked to other players who have been through an oblique injury, not to try to do too much too soon. He’s planning another bullpen midweek next week, aiming for higher intent and the same number of pitches. “It’s kind of boring, because I like to just let it rip, but I’m trying to be smart with it.”
Roster moves:
The Mariners optioned RHP Ryan Loutos to Triple-A Tacoma. Loutos came into yesterday’s game and cleaned up a mess, throwing one pitch and getting a double play, much to the delight of his personal cheering squad.
Also, the Mariners re-assigned three players to minor-league camp yesterday: LHP Austin Kitchen, OF Victor Labrada, and RHP Teddy McGraw. Both Labrada (oblique) and McGraw (biceps tendinitis) are currently battling injuries.
Game information:
Game time: 1:10 PT
TV: no
Radio: 710 AM Seattle Sports, the Seattle Sports app, or Gameday
During the Montreal Canadiens’ west coast trip, Martin St. Louis tweaked his lines, and it benefited some of his players. Juraj Slafkovsky took to the first line like a fish to water; it’s like he never left it. As for Kirby Dach, he has looked better on the third line alongside Jake Evans and Zach Bolduc, which is largely due to the Trois-Rivieres native.
After being scratched for one game when Alex Newhook returned to the lineup, Bolduc has bounced back nicely. Playing with more drive and intensity. On Friday night against the Anaheim Ducks, he spent nearly 16 minutes on the ice and had an assist on Alex Carrier’s goal on top of taking two shots, blocking one, and landing five hits. The physicality he brings makes up for the fact that on most days, Dach isn’t very physical; it’s not in his DNA to fight those board battles for the puck.
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Then, on Saturday night, against the Los Angeles Kings, Bolduc used his speed to keep up with Lane Hutson on the zone entry, skated along the boards, and swung the puck around to Dach, who then fed it to Evans, who was at the blueline covering for Hutson and took a shot that beat Kuemper. That’s two goals in two games coming from the third line, and in 13:39 of ice time, Bolduc added another two hits to his season total. He’s second in that department on the team with 129, 15 behind team leader Arber Xhekaj.
This is the kind of game Bolduc needs to play. As Martin St-Louis often says, some things aren’t fun to do on the ice, like forechecking, but doing those things will lead to opportunities to do the fun things like producing offensively.
Of course, when the Canadiens traded for Bolduc, they wanted more than strong forechecking and hits, but he’s still only 23 years old, and you can’t learn to play the St-Louis brand of hockey overnight. The Habs’ bench boss asks a lot of his players when it comes to reading the play and making the right decisions, rather than putting them in a predetermined, strict system.
With 26 points in 62 games, Bolduc is on pace for 35 points. Last season, he put up 36 points with the St. Louis Blues, but he did it in 72 games. That’s far from alarming totals for a player who had to adapt to a new way to play and who’s seen his power play production cut in half (12 power play points with the Blues last season and six with the Habs so far), playing on the Canadiens’ second unit.
If Bolduc keeps playing that way, he shouldn’t be a healthy scratch again anytime soon. On Saturday night, someone like Brendan Gallagher looked like a much more likely candidate for the chop, despite what he can bring in leadership and his chase for 1,000 games with the Canadiens.
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4:30 on a Sunday would seem more normal a start time for a Boston-Pittsburgh game in the NFL, but here we are!
The Bruins and Penguins face one another for the second time this week, with Tuesday’s Bruins win coming at TD Garden.
While the Penguins appear to be in relatively comfortable playoff position at 3rd in the Metropolitan Division, they’re only three points ahead of Columbus.
The Pens have also lost three games in a row and four of five, so the Bruins should be facing a pretty desperate team today.
Is today the day David Pastrnak ends his goal drought? I say yes, but I don’t know anything.
Bruins! Penguins! LIIIIIIIIIIIIVE FROM PENNSYLVANIA!
Discuss.
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Sarah Fillier and Taylor Girard each scored twice and the New York Sirens defeated the Ottawa Charge 6-2 on Sunday in the PWHL.
The Sirens won at home against the Charge for the first time in the last five meetings at the Prudential Center and took a 2-1 advantage in the season series.
In an explosive first period between two of the higher-scoring teams in the league, the Sirens came away with a 3-1 lead. Maddi Wheeler, Fillier and Girard scored to give New York a 3-0 lead before Brianne Jenner connected for Ottawa.
Jenner's goal was her ninth of the season, tied for fourth in the league. Kristýna Kaltounková of the Sirens leads with 11.
After a scoreless second period, Ottawa closed to within 3-2 when Gabbie Hughes found the back of the net three minutes into the third period.
New York then clicked again on offense, getting goals from Girard, Ally Simpson and Fillier.
Fillier had an assist on Girard's first-period goal.
In the net, Kayle Osborne made 16 saves for New York (8-0-3-8, 27 points) and Gwyneth Philips stopped 26 for Ottawa (5-5-1-8, 26 points).
The game drew a Sirens-record attendance of 8,264. Among New York's promotions was #23HourPlay for International Women's Day, which was shortened by one hour due to the switch to Daylight Saving Time.
Ottawa: at Vancouver on Saturday.
New York: at Minnesota on Sunday.
___
AP Women’s Hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey
Today’s spring training matchup pits the Brewers against the Seattle Mariners, who finished one win shy of the World Series last season.
On the mound for Milwaukee tonight is lefty Kyle Harrison, acquired from the Red Sox this offseason in exchange for a package headlined by infielder Caleb Durbin. As I wrote about a few weeks ago, and as Curt Hogg wrote about this week, Harrison has worked on a kick change over the offseason that should be on display today.
Also scheduled to pitch for the Brewers are RHP Jacob Misiorowski and LHP Jared Koenig. Starting for Seattle is 2023 American League All-Star George Kirby.
Milwaukee’s lineup today features a good number of players expected to play a role with the big league club this year. Garrett Mitchell, Jake Bauers, and Christian Yelich make up the top third of the lineup. Andrew Vaughn, who enters today’s game with a 1.085 OPS this spring, is batting cleanup. Vaughn is followed by David Hamilton (playing shortstop today), Blake Perkins, and prospect Brock Wilken. Rounding out the order are Jeferson Quero and non-roster invitee Ethan Murray, playing second today in the absence of Brice Turang.
In other roster news, the Brewers optioned RHP Coleman Crow to Triple-A Nashville and reassigned LHP Tate Kuehner and Drew Rom to minor league camp.
If you want to tune into today’s game, you can catch the broadcast on 620 WTMJ and the Brewers Radio Network. First pitch is scheduled for 3:10 p.m. CT.
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Padres fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
The San Diego Padres have some positions still in question and have plenty of options to fill those positions. With a handful of Padres regulars competing in the World Baseball Classic, it means players competing for roster spots with San Diego will have opportunities to win or lose a job. In the case of some players, it may not be an opportunity to win a job, but an opportunity to show they should retain a roster spot they already hold.
In this week’s Padres Reacts Survey on Gaslmap Ball, readers were asked which player could benefit most from extra reps at the expense of WBC players. The majority of respondents said Sung-Mun Song would benefit most, which makes sense considering he is making the transition from the Korean Baseball Organization to MLB.
Song has shown himself to be a capable defender and seems to have adjusted to the higher velocity of pitches in MLB much quicker than his fellow countryman Ha Seong Kim when he made the jump from the KBO to MLB. Song blasted his first homerun, a 430-foot shot to right field off Seattle Mariners starter Luis Castillo, earlier this week in a 27-6 Padres win. The problem was not long after his homerun he left the game. It was reported that Song aggravated the oblique injury that he suffered in the offseason.
It would benefit Song to get back as fast as possible with Manny Machado playing for Dominican Republic and Xander Bogaerts playing for Netherlands in the WBC. The additional reps and trying to get acquainted with shortstop would be critical to his development, but he can only go as fast as his body and the Padres medical staff will let him.
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