MLB
Aaron Judge became the third-fastest New York Yankees player to reach 500 extra-base hits with a three-run homer in the first inning of a 9-7 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, trailing only Joe DiMaggio and Lou Gehrig. Judge lined a 1-1 fastball from Merrill Kelly to the opposite field and into the Yankees bullpen for a 3-0 lead. The two-time AL MVP has five homers and 15 RBIs in six games this season. Judge has 320 homers, 175 doubles and five triples in 999 games. DiMaggio reached 500 extra-base hits in 853 games and Gehrig in 869.
Torpedo bats drew attention over the weekend when the New York Yankees hit a team-record nine homers in one game. Using a strikingly different model in which wood is moved lower down the barrel after the label and shapes the end a little like a bowling pin, the bat has become baseball's latest fad. All-Star and even amateur hardball players all want to take their swings with the bat. The torpedo bat took the league by storm in only 24 hours, and days later, the calls and orders, and test drives -- from big leaguers to rec leaguers -- are humming inside Victus Sports. The company is the official bat of MLB and has seen sales and interest spike in the bat.
Alex Bregman, Kristian Campbell and Triston Casas all hit two-run homers, and the Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-4 to take two of three in the series. Cedric Mullins led off the bottom of the first with a home run for Baltimore, but Charlie Morton allowed five runs in five innings in his home debut for the Orioles. Morton struck out 10, but the two home runs he yielded each followed a walk. Bregman went deep in the first for his first RBIs of the season.
Taijuan Walker pitched six scoreless innings, Kyle Schwarber homered and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Colorado Rockies 3-1. Walker, who was pulled from the Phillies rotation in 2024 because of his ineffectiveness, was making his season debut as a starter filling in for the injured Ranger Suárez. He allowed three hits and struck out four. Schwarber homered off Luis Peralta to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning. It was Schwarber’s fourth home run in six games this season.
Christian Walker and Jeremy Peña homered and Brendan Rodgers had three hits and three RBIs to lead the Houston Astros to a 5-2 win over the Minnesota Twins. Hunter Brown (2-0) gave up two runs in the first and shut down the Twins the rest of the way, allowing five hits and no walks with eight strikeouts in six innings. Bryan King, Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader pitched scoreless innings in relief. Hader earned his third save. Twins starter Joe Ryan (0-2) allowed five runs on five hits and struck out six over five innings.
Nestor Cortes bounced back from his dreadful Milwaukee Brewers debut by allowing just one hit over six innings in a 1-0 victory over the slumping Cincinnati Reds. The Reds lost 1-0 for a third straight game after falling by that score to the Texas Rangers each of the previous two days. According to Sportradar, the Reds are the first team to lose 1-0 in three consecutive games since the Philadelphia Phillies in May 1960. Cortes was pitching five nights after allowing homers on each of his first three pitches in a 20-9 loss to the New York Yankees, his former team.
NBA
Anthony Edwards shook off an injury scare and finished with 28 points to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves past the Brooklyn Nets 105-90 for their fourth straight win. Edwards, who also added five rebounds, appeared to avoid serious injury when he briefly left the game after he stepped backward onto the foot of Nets coach Jordi Fernandez while making a 3-pointer late in the second quarter. Edwards was helped off the court, but returned for the start of the second half. Rudy Gobert added 21 points and 18 rebounds. Nic Claxton had 18 points and Dariq Whitehead 17 for Brooklyn.
Giannis Antetokounmpo became the first player in NBA history to have 35 points, 17 rebounds and a career-high 20 assists as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 126-113. Brook Lopez scored 17 points, Kyle Kuzma had 16 and AJ Green hit four 3-pointers for 12 points for the Bucks. Rookie Adem Bona led the 76ers with a career-high 28 points on 13-for-15 shooting. Quentin Grimes had 24 points with 10 assists, and Guerschon Yabusele added 22 points.
Paolo Banchero had 33 points, a career-high 18 rebounds and eight assists, and the Orlando Magic defeated the Washington Wizards 109-97. Franz Wagner added 27 points for the Magic, who won their second straight and sixth of eight to move a game ahead of Atlanta for the top Eastern Conference play-in tournament spot. Orlando has beaten Washington 10 straight times. Rookie Bub Carrington scored a career-high 32 points and had nine rebounds for the Wizards in their second-to-last home game. Carrington shot 12 of 18 overall and made a career-high seven of his 10 3-point attempts.
Shaedon Sharpe scored 36 points to lead the Portland Trail Blazers past the Toronto Raptors 112-103 on Thursday night. Sharpe, from London, Ontario, was in an all-Canadian backcourt with Toronto’s Dalano Banton as Portland (34-43) won back-to-back games to keep its Western Conference postseason hopes alive. Sharpe added six rebounds and five assists. Banton added 23 points. RJ Barrett, of Mississauga, Ontario, had 18 points, five rebounds and four assists for Toronto (28-49). Orlando Robinson added 14 points.
Ja Morant made a 12-foot jumper in the lane as time expired, lifting the Memphis Grizzlies to a 110-108 win over the Miami Heat and giving interim coach Tuomas Iisalo his first victory with the team. Morant finished with 30 points for Memphis, which snapped a four-game slide. Desmond Bane had 17 points and 10 rebounds, Scotty Pippen Jr. added 17 while Jaylen Wells and Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 13 apiece for the Grizzlies. Tyler Herro scored 35 points for Miami, which had its six-game winning streak snapped.
Stephen Curry scored 37 points, Brandin Podziemski added 28 and the Golden State Warriors defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 123-116 for their fourth win in a row in a potential first-round playoff preview. LeBron James had 33 points and nine assists to lead the Lakers. Austin Reaves added 31 points, including nine 3-pointers, Rui Hachimura had 24 points and Luke Doncic had 19 points, missing all six of his 3-point attempts. Podziemski had a career-high eight 3-pointers on a night when Curry was 4 of 11 from long range.
It was the sort of moment that Ja Morant craves. He hit a game-winning jumper at the buzzer to lift the Memphis Grizzlies past the Miami Heat, then skipped down the court listening to the silence he created. He was the villain. And he doesn’t mind. Morant has certainly spent plenty of time in that role. His ability to take over games was on display Thursday night; the game-winner capped a 30-point night and helped Memphis snap a four-game losing streak. That could have been the story. It wasn’t. At least, not the whole story.
NHL
Nick Suzuki and Brendan Gallagher each had a goal and an assist, Sam Montembeault made 18 saves and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins 4-1 on Thursday night for their third straight victory. Christian Dvorak and Cole Caufield also scored for Montreal. The Canadiens hold the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of the New York Rangers. Suzuki assisted on Caufield’s goal for his 80th point of the season, then added an empty-netter for his 26th goal of the season. He’s the second Canadiens player in the past 25 years to reach the 80-point mark, joining Alex Kovalev (84 in 2007-08). Elias Lindholm scored for Boston. Last in the Eastern Conference, the Bruins have lost seven in a row.
Linus Ullmark made 31 saves, Shane Pinto and Jake Sanderson scored and the Ottawa Senators beat Tampa Bay 2-1 on Thursday night, with the Lightning wrapping up a playoff spot after the game when Colorado beat Columbus. Pinto opened the scoring for the Senators with 6:15 left in the first period, and Sanderson made it 2-0 on a power play at 5:17 of the second. Brandon Hagel got one back for Tampa Bay at seven minutes of the second with his 34th of the season. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 17 shots for Tampa Bay, playing the second game of a four-game trip. The Lightning had won four in a row. Ottawa holds the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Cale Makar scored to become just the ninth NHL defenseman with 30 goals in a season and the Colorado Avalanche clinched a playoff berth with a 7-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Makar also had two assists while Charlie Coyle, Nathan MacKinnon and Devon Toews also had a goal and two assists each for the Avalanche, who scored five straight goals after falling behind 3-2. Miles Wood, Parker Kelly and Brock Nelson also scored for Colorado while Mackenzie Blackwood made 27 saves. Sean Monahan, Zachary Aston-Reese and Boone Jenner scores for the Blue Jackets and Elvis Merzlikins made 21 saves before being lifted.
Jake Oettinger made 28 saves and the Dallas Stars beat the Nashville Predators 5-1 on Thursday night for their seventh straight victory. Mikael Granlund, Mason Marchment, Roope Hintz and defenseman Lian Bichsel scored for Dallas. The Stars are second in the NHL behind Western Conference and Central Division rival Winnipeg. Stars captain Jamie Benn sat out, with coach Pete DeBoer saying before the game it was for “maintenance.” Stuck on 399 career goals for nearly a month, the 35-year-old Benn had played 371 consecutive games. Steven Stamkos scored for Nashville. The Predators have lost five in a row.
Robert Thomas scored a power-play goal in overtime and the St. Louis Blues tied a franchise record with their 11th consecutive win, 5-4 over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Jake Neighbours scored twice and Pavel Buchnevich and Jordan Kyrou also scored for the Blues. Joel Hofer made 24 saves as St. Louis set a franchise record with its 10th straight home win. Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell and Rutger McGroarty each had a goal and an assist and Connor Dewar also scored for the Penguins. Tristan Jarry made 14 saves as Pittsburgh lost its fourth straight road contest.
Kevin Fiala and Trevor Moore scored in a 44-second span early in the third period and the Los Angeles Kings beat the Utah Hockey Club 4-2 on Thursday night for their third straight victory. Fiala gave Los Angeles — second in the Pacific Division — a 2-1 lead at 4:06 with a snap shot for his 29th goal. Moore added his 18th at 4:50, beating Karel Vejmelka with a backhander. Adrian Kempe scored his 33rd of the season for Los Angeles and Drew Doughty added an empty-netter. Darcy Kuemper made 28 saves. Lawson Crouse and Jack McBain scored for Utah. Vejmelka made 15 saves in his 19th straight start.
Blake Coleman scored twice, Dustin Wolf made 26 saves and the Calgary Flames beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-1 on Thursday night. Yegor Sharangovich and Kevin Rooney also scored for Calgary. Olen Zellweger scored for Anaheim, which was eliminated from the playoff race with the loss. Ducks goalie John Gibson left after the second period because of a lower-body injury.
Backup Eric Comrie made 26 saves for his second shutout in two months as the Winnipeg Jets beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-0 in a matchup of Western Conference divisional leaders. The Jets took a step toward securing the Central Division and home-ice advantage for the Stanley Cup playoffs. They have three more points than Washington in the race for the Presidents’ Trophy and four more than Dallas in the Central. Mark Scheifele, Adam Lowry, Colin Miller and Cole Perfetti scored goals. Adin Hill stopped 16 of 19 shots while playing the first two periods for the Golden Knights before he was replaced by call-up Akira Schmid.
Jeff Skinner tipped in the tiebreaking goal late in the second period and the Edmonton Oilers overcame an injury to Leon Draisaitl and beat the San Jose Sharks 3-2. Skinner scored just a few minutes after Draisaitl went to the locker room with an undisclosed injury. He never returned to the game. Connor Brown and Viktor Arvidsson also scored to give the Oilers their third straight win. Calvin Pickard made 27 saves. Jack Thompson and Tyler Toffoli scored for San Jose.
NFL
The New England Patriots have agreed to trade quarterback Joe Milton III to the Dallas Cowboys. Milton confirmed the trade via a social media post. ESPN, which first reported the deal, said that the Cowboys will receive Milton, along with a seventh-round pick in exchange for a fifth-round pick. The acquisition of the 25-year-old Milton, who the Patriots drafted in the sixth round in 2024, gives the Cowboys a young backup behind starting quarterback Dak Prescott after Cooper Rush signed with Baltimore in free agency. Rush started eight games for the Cowboys last season while Prescott was injured.
FORMULA ONE
The Japanese Grand Prix is only the third Formula 1 race of the season, but several storylines are developing that promise a few twists. And they could be as fleeting as the cherry blossoms seen all over Japan at this time of the year. Watch McLaren, which has won the first two races of the season. Keep an eye on Lewis Hamilton as he chases his first win with Ferrari. And Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda will be the crowd favorite as he drives for Red Bull's main team for the first time.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
The championship match will be decided tonight when top seeds South Carolina and Texas play at 7 p.m. and top seed UCLA plays #2 UConn at 9:30. The championship is 3 p.m. Sunday in Tampa.
The men’s final four will be pared down to two Saturday in all-top-seed matchups when Auburn plays Florida at 6:09 Saturday night and Houston goes against Duke at 8:49. The championship is 8:50 Monday night in San Antonio.
A decade ago, Bruce Pearl of Auburn and Kelvin Sampson of Houston were looking to resurrect their careers after being handed show-cause penalties by the NCAA for recruiting violations. This week, they’re coaching at the Final Four. Their return is a sign of the success they’ve enjoyed since their comebacks but also the shifting priorities that have overtaken college sports. These days, when coaches go job hunting, they need the school to not only be able to pay them, but the players they hope to land for their rosters.
JuJu Watkins, the sensational sophomore who led Southern California to its best season in nearly 40 years, is The Associated Press women’s college basketball Player of the Year. Watkins, whose Trojans won the Big Ten regular-season title for their first conference crown in 31 years, received 29 votes and Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo got the other two. Watkins is the first USC player to win the award and just the fourth to do it as a sophomore, joining Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris and UConn stars Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart.
GOLF
President Donald Trump arrived at his Doral resort Thursday for a LIV Golf event, shortly after reiterating to reporters aboard Air Force One that he wants to see the two men’s professional tours united. The president has spoken out on the subject before, and Trump has been involved in some of the talks that may eventually unify the PGA Tour and Saudi-funded LIV. Those talks have gone on for at least a year and how — or if — a deal can be struck is unclear. Trump told reporters that “having them merge would be a great thing.”
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