Sports

Last chance time: Hawks-Heat, Grizzlies-Mavericks to decide final NBA playoff spots on Friday

Klay Thompson has played in 33 NBA Finals games. Been to the playoffs nine times. Has four championship rings in his collection. He knows how the big stage feels. Don’t tell him the play-in tournament doesn’t matter. The play-in tournament ends Friday night with a pair of elimination games, win-or-go-home matchups that will have a Game 7 feel to them. In the Eastern Conference, it’s Miami going to Atlanta and in the Western Conference, Thompson and Dallas visit Memphis. The winners go to the playoffs. The losers are finished.

Lee Corso to retire from ESPN’s ‘College GameDay’ after four-decade run

Lee Corso’s nearly four-decade run on ESPN’s “College GameDay” is coming to an end. Corso, the longtime ESPN broadcaster and former coach widely known for his endearing expressions and elaborate headgear picks, is set to retire after a career with the show that began in 1987, ESPN announced. His final broadcast will be Aug. 30 — Week 1 of the 2025 college football season — the network said, adding that additional programming to celebrate Corso is also planned.

Picking a team from bars to beam and hoping for 10s: Fantasy leagues in gymnastics are a thing

WASHINGTON (AP) — Interest in gymnastics traditionally peaks with the Olympic cycle, but the sport is popular all year round on the “gymternet,” an online global community for devoted fans. At the college level, major growth in name, image and likeness deals, viewership and streaming availability has been accompanied by a surge in fantasy leagues, too. This year, over 7,000 women’s college gymnastics devotees have found their way to the Gymlytics and GymCastic fantasy platforms — all within the last few years.

Nats pitcher Jorge López suspended 3 games for throwing at Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutchen’s head

Major League Baseball says Washington Nationals pitcher Jorge López has been suspended three games and fined for throwing at Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutchen. López was ejected from Wednesday night’s game against the Pirates after a high pitch near McCutchen’s head led to the benches briefly clearing in the seventh inning. The right-hander has filed an appeal of the suspension, which was set to begin Thursday but will not take effect until that process is done. Nationals manager Dave Martinez received a fine and one-game suspension because of the incident.

Kings and GM Monte McNair agree to part ways. Scott Perry is hired as replacement, AP source says

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Sacramento Kings and general manager Monte McNair have agreed to part ways, two years after McNair helped end the longest playoff drought in NBA history. The two sides reached the decision shortly after the Kings’ season ended with a 120-106 loss to Dallas in the play-in tournament. Ranadive immediately found a replacement, hiring former New York Knicks general manager Scott Perry for the role, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because a deal hadn’t been announced. Perry spent three months in the Kings’ front office in 2017 before being hired by the Knicks.

NCAA panel gives final OK to rule designed to discourage football players from faking injuries

The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel gave final approval to a rule designed to discourage football players from faking injuries to stop the game clock. If medical personnel go onto the field to evaluate a player with an apparent injury after the ball is spotted for the next play, that player’s team will be charged a timeout. If the team has no timeouts remaining, a 5-yard delay-of-game penalty will be assessed. Feigning injuries, sometimes at the coach’s instruction, had become a concern of the Football Rules Committee in recent years.

QB Cam Ward of Miami is the Titans’ likely pick at No. 1 overall in the NFL draft

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans need a quarterback, hold the No. 1 pick overall and have spent the offseason turning over every stone, rewatching tape and looking at Miami’s Cam Ward up close and personal as much as possible. Signing two journeyman sure makes Ward’s name likely the one written on the card the Titans give NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to kick off the first night of the draft April 24 in Green Bay. If not, Tennessee has done one of the best jobs possible ginning up a trade market to slide back and add picks to fill holes for a franchise mired in three straight seasons.

NY Rangers’ Panarin, MSG made settlement payments after employee sexual assault allegations: report

NEW YORK (AP) — The NHL says the New York Rangers kept it apprised of an independent investigation into sexual assault allegations by a team employee against player Artemi Panarin and considers the matter closed. The Athletic reported that Panarin and Madison Square Garden Sports, which owns the Rangers, paid financial settlements to a former employee last year after she alleged Panarin sexually assaulted her. Messages sent to MSG and Panarin’s agent were not returned. Panarin was New York’s leading scorer again this season and is in the sixth season of a seven-year, $81.5 million contract signed in 2019.

What to know about the first-round matchups in the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs

It took until the penultimate night of the regular season, but all the matchups are set for the first round of the NHL playoffs. The reigning champion Florida Panthers open against the cross-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators face off in the first Battle of Ontario in over two decades. Out West, the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche collide in a matchup of titans of the Central Division. And Connor McDavid’s Edmonton Oilers open the postseason against the Los Angeles Kings for a fourth year in a row.

The final four: What to know about the Champions League semifinals

Four teams are left in the Champions League. Arsenal meets Paris Saint-Germain in a semifinal between teams who have never lifted the iconic European Cup trophy. Barcelona faces Inter Milan. They have eight combined European titles yet the most recent were 10 and 15 years ago, respectively. The two-leg semifinals play out from April 29 to May 7. The winners head to Bayern Munich’s stadium on May 31 for the final of the most coveted and toughest title to win in club soccer.