Victor Wembanyama will travel with the Spurs to Portland but his Game 3 status remains uncertain
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Victor Wembanyama will travel with the San Antonio Spurs to Portland but his status for Game 3 against the Trail Blazers remains uncertain. Spurs coach Mitch Johnson stopped short of saying Wembanyama will play. The team was scheduled to travel to Portland on Thursday afternoon. Game 3 is on Friday and Game 4 is on Sunday. Wembanyama suffered a concussion in the Spurs’ Game 2 loss to Portland on Tuesday night. He left the game in the second quarter. There are very specific steps that players have to clear before being removed from the league’s concussion protocol.
NFL teams are almost on the clock as draft night in the Steel City has arrived
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Put aside the mock drafts because it’s time for the real deal. The NFL draft is here in the Steel City. A total of 257 players will live out a dream and hear their name called over the course of the next three days, culminating a long journey that required a ton of hard of work and plenty of sacrifice. The first round kicks off Thursday night when NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell takes the stage inside the main theater outside Acrisure Stadium and announces the Las Vegas Raiders’ selection with the No. 1 pick. Fernando Mendoza, the Heisman Trophy winner who quarterbacked Indiana to its first national title, is the consensus favorite for the Raiders.
Patriots coach Mike Vrabel is seeking counseling and will miss Day 3 of the NFL draft
New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel is seeking counseling and will not be with the team for Day 3 of the NFL Draft on Saturday, following the publication of photos of the coach and longtime NFL reporter Dianna Russini at an Arizona resort. Vrabel told ESPN he will start counseling this weekend. The Patriots confirmed Vrabel will miss the third day of the draft. The photos of Vrabel and Russini were taken before the annual NFL meetings that began in Phoenix on March 29, according to the New York Post. The NFL said it is not investigating Vrabel’s behavior. Vrabel and Russini are both married. Russini resigned from The Athletic.
Italy dismisses replacing Iran at the World Cup after suggestion by Trump official
ROME (AP) — Four-time champion Italy is not interested in replacing Iran at the upcoming World Cup in North America following a suggestion to that effect by U.S. special envoy Paolo Zampolli. Iran has not withdrawn from the World Cup, and the team is preparing to play its group stage games in California and Seattle as planned in June. Italy failed to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup. Italy Sports Minister Andrea Abodi says “first of all it’s not possible. Secondly, it’s not a good idea.” Zampolli told The Financial Times he suggested the swap to President Donald Trump and FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
Falcons’ James Pearce Jr. agrees to enter pretrial intervention program to resolve 3 felony charges
ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta Falcons edge rusher James Pearce Jr. has agreed to enter a pretrial intervention program which his attorneys say will allow him to resolve three felony charges stemming from what police called a domestic dispute on Feb. 7 with his ex-girlfriend Rickea Jackson, a WNBA player. The attorneys released statements on Thursday saying Pearce would enter the six-month diversion program and “is focused on moving forward” and rejoining his teammates. The Falcons did not immediately respond to an inquiry about Pearce’s status with the team.
Players say MLB’s robot umpires are shrinking the strike zone
PHOENIX (AP) — The new Automated Ball-Strike system has contributed to a spike in the Major League Baseball’s walk rate so far this season. The 9.8% walk rate through Tuesday’s games is the highest rate since 1950. The ABS system has made the strike zone more uniform throughout baseball, using the width of home plate and the height of the batter. It remains to be seen whether pitchers can adjust to the tighter zone and bring the walk rate down. Recent rule changes in baseball have created a lasting effect. A new MLB rules package in 2023 caused a big jump in stolen bases and the rate remains high in 2026.
Slumping Phillies release high-priced righty Taijuan Walker and recall Nolan Hoffman
CHICAGO (AP) — The slumping Philadelphia Phillies released veteran right-hander Taijuan Walker before Thursday’s game against the Chicago Cubs and recalled righty Nolan Hoffman from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Walker exited the Phillies clubhouse a couple of hours before Thursday’s contest. He’s in the final year of a four-year, $72 million contract. The 33-year-old Walker was an All-Star with the New York Mets in 2021 and peaked with a 15-6 record and 4.38 ERA with Philadelphia in 2023. But he’s slid ever since, starting 2026 at 1-4 with a 9.13 ERA in five games, and has a combined 9-19 record with a 5.67 ERA over the past three seasons.
AJ Dybantsa officially declares for the NBA draft and is a top candidate to be the No. 1 pick
AJ Dybantsa is entering the NBA draft. The BYU forward made the announcement Thursday. He is widely expected to be a top candidate to be the No. 1 pick. Dybantsa led the nation by averaging 25.5 points per game in his lone college season, along with 6.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. He’s the first player to have a season with all those averages and be named a consensus All-American since Larry Bird did it for Indiana State in 1978-79. Dybantsa says “now the work starts again, all over again.”
It’s Arsenal-Lyon and Bayern-Barcelona in the Women’s Champions League semifinals
BERLIN (AP) — Trophy-holder Arsenal faces eight-time champion Lyon and Barcelona is bidding to reach the Women’s Champions League final for the sixth straight year. Bayern Munich is the only semifinalist that hasn’t appeared in a final but it seems only a matter of time before it does. The German powerhouse wrapped up a fourth successive Bundesliga title on Wednesday after an almost flawless campaign. Bayern hosts Barcelona on Saturday in the first leg of their semifinal and will hope to make amends after Barcelona romped to a 7-1 win in their last meeting in the first game of the league phase. Arsenal hosts Lyon on Sunday. The French champion has won on each of its five previous visits to London.
Yamal to miss rest of Barcelona season but be fit for World Cup with Spain
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona says forward Lamine Yamal will miss the rest of the club season but should be healed from a leg injury in time to play for Spain at the World Cup. Barcelona says 18-year-old Yamal will miss the remaining six La Liga games for the leaders as he heals a muscle injury in his left leg that he picked up on Wednesday. He hurt himself converting a penalty in a 1-0 win over Celta Vigo. The club adds in a statement that its doctors “foresee that (Yamal) will be available for the World Cup.”
