MLB
Jazz Chisholm Jr. was ejected from the New York Yankees’ 6-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays, then appeared to violate Major League Baseball’s social media policy when he posted in-game criticism online. Chisholm was ejected in the seventh inning by plate umpire John Bacon for arguing after a called third strike on a full-count pitch from Mason Montgomery that appeared low, his fifth career ejection and first with the Yankees. He posted on his X account, “Not even ... close!!!!!” with a profanity mixed in, then deleted it. MLB regulations ban the use of electronic devices during games and its social media policy prohibits “displaying or transmitting content that questions the impartiality of or otherwise denigrates a major league umpire.”
Mark Vientos hit his first homer of the season to spark a four-run second inning, and the New York Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-1 in the opener of a four-game series. Brett Baty and Francisco Lindor had RBI singles in the second, which ended when Tyrone Taylor scored as Lindor got caught in a rundown between first and second. Lindor had three hits. Griffin Canning, pitching two days after he was scratched from an outing at Minnesota because of illness, allowed one run and three hits in six innings.
Darryl Strawberry says Major League Baseball needs to focus on developing and marketing the game within the inner cities in order for the percentage of Black players to rise substantially. Speaking at Citi Field before what the Mets marketed as their "Black Legacy Game” against the St. Louis Cardinals, Strawberry lamented that some baseball fields have disappeared from the Los Angeles area he grew up in. Black players comprised 6.2% of the opening-day rosters this season — up from 6% last season and down 18% from 1991, the first year The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at Central Florida conducted its annual study.
Cristopher Sánchez struck out a career-high 12 over seven innings, and the Philadelphia Phillies scored five runs in the first as they beat the San Francisco Giants 6-4 for a four-game split. Sánchez allowed three runs — two earned — four hits and one walk, getting 11 of his strikeouts on changeups. His previous strikeout high was 10 on three occasions. After Matt Chapman hit an RBI single in the first, the Phillies went ahead in the bottom half as their first five batters reached base on four singles and a walk.
Randy Arozarena hit a game-tying home run in the ninth inning then added a two-run double during a four-run 10th and the Seattle Mariners rallied past the Cincinnati Reds 11-7. In the 10th, designated runner Dylan Moore advanced to third on a fielding error by pitcher Graham Ashcraft then scored on J.P. Crawford’s infield single to put Seattle ahead 8-7. Jake Fraley’s grand slam off Eduard Bazardo put the Reds ahead 7-5 in the eighth.
Tyler Soderstrom hit his major league-leading ninth home run, helping the Athletics to an 8-0 win and a three-game sweep of the struggling Chicago White Sox. Lawrence Butler, JJ Bleday and Brent Rooker also homered for the A’s, who have won four of five and improved to 9-10. Soderstrom hit a solo homer in the seventh for a 5-0 lead and is batting .315 with 18 RBIs. Chicago dropped to a major league-worst 4-14, losing its fourth straight game and for the 12th time in 14. The White Sox lost a post-1900 record 121 games last year.
Ryan O’Hearn hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the third inning and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Cleveland Guardians 6-2 for their first series win in six tries this season. Gunnar Henderson added his first homer of the season and Heston Kjerstad also connected off Guardians ace Tanner Bibee as the Orioles won consecutive games for the first time. Tomoyuki Sugano allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings, falling behind 2-1 when Daniel Schneeman and Austin Hedges hit consecutive homers starting the third. Bibee gave up six runs, five hits and four walks in 5 2/3 innings.
Riley Greene broke out of an extended slump with three hits and two RBIs to lead the Detroit Tigers to a 6-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals. The Royals lost their fourth straight game and have dropped six of seven. Greene, who had one hit and 18 strikeouts in his previous 32 at-bats entering the game, popped out to short in the first inning before RBI singles in the third and fifth innings. He added an infield single in the seventh. Spencer Torkelson had two hits and drove in three runs for Detroit, which had lost three of four.
Kumar Rocker, a first-round pick in both the 2021 and ’22 drafts, found his way into the major league win column for the first time Thursday night. Rocker struck out a career-best eight in a career-long seven innings as the Texas Rangers beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-3 to complete a three-game series sweep. Rocker (1-2) threw a career-high 78 pitches and allowed three runs on five hits without a walk. “It feels great, it felt real good,” Rocker said. “And I’m happy it happened.”
Oneil Cruz hit a leadoff home run, Andrew Heaney pitched 7 1/3 innings and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Washington Nationals 1-0. Cruz hit a grand slam in Wednesday’s 6-1 win and has four home runs this season. Pittsburgh won 1-0 on a leadoff homer for only the second time since 1900 after Carlos García’s drive off the Marlins’ Chris Hammond on Sept. 14, 1993, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Heaney gave up all five National hits, walked two and struck out four. Ryan Borucki and Dennis Santana preserved the Pirates’ first shutout this season, with Santana earning his second save.
Pavin Smith and Josh Naylor hit solo homers and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Miami Marlins 6-4 for their fifth straight win. Smith drove in two runs as did Geraldo Perdomo. Naylor hit three of Arizona’s nine homers in the three-game sweep. The Diamondbacks stole five bases, three by Corbin Carroll. Eduardo Rodriguez got the win despite giving up 10 hits over 5 1/3 innings. A.J. Puk earned his fourth save with a scoreless ninth. Edward Cabrera started and went four innings, giving up five runs and four hits and three walks.
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred met this week at the White House with President Donald Trump. MLB says “President Trump is a longtime fan of baseball” and adds "as he has done in the past, Commissioner Manfred was pleased to visit the White House again to discuss issues pertaining to baseball with the president.” A lawyer for Pete Rose has applied for the late career hits leaders to be reinstated from his permanent ban. Trump said he plans to pardon Rose, who pleaded guilty in 1990 to two counts of filing false tax returns and served a five-month prison sentence.
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.
NHL
Mika Zibanejad scored twice and Igor Shesterkin made 27 saves as the New York Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0 in the regular-season finale for both teams. Vincent Trocheck and Chris Kreider also scored for the Rangers, who missed the playoffs a year after winning the Presidents’ Trophy as the league’s best team. The Lightning host the defending-champion Florida Panthers in the first game of a first-round Stanley Cup playoff series on Tuesday. The shutout was the sixth this season for Shesterkin, who finished with a career-worst 27-29-5 mark. Lightning netminder Jonas Johansson made 19 saves.
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 did not comment on the matter after Thursday night's game. 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.
Ryan McLeod scored a goal and added two assists, and Lindy Ruff became the NHL’s fifth coach to reach 900 wins in the Buffalo Sabres 5-4 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in each team’s season finale. Alex Tuch, JJ Peterka and Jack Quinn had a goal and assist each, and Peyton Krebs scored a short-handed goal for Buffalo. James Reimer made 21 saves for his eighth win in 10 starts. Flyers rookie Matvei Michkov snapped a six-game goal drought by scoring twice. The loss secured Philadelphia finishing last in the Eastern Conference standings for the second time in team history.
Cole Sillinger and Zach Werenski each had a goal and an assist and the Columbus Blue Jackets routed the New York Islanders 6–1 on Thursday night in the final game of the season for both teams. A season that began with heartache over the death of Johnny Gaudreau left the Blue Jackets in the most unlikely of positions. A preseason pick to finish 31st in the NHL, they instead battled through all 82 games for the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot that went to Montreal with the Canadiens’ win over Carolina on Wednesday. Dante Fabbro, Dmitri Voronkov, Sean Kuraly and Adam Fantilli also scored for the Blue Jackets . They won six straight to end the season. Hudson Fasching scored for New York.
Scott Laughton scored 56 seconds into overtime and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 on Thursday night in the regular-season finale for both teams. Auston Matthews, Philippe Myers and Chris Tanev — with 1.8 seconds left in regulation —also scored for Toronto (52-26-4). Joseph Woll stopped 30 shots, and Mitch Marner had two assists. The Maple Leafs won the Atlantic Division and will host the Ottawa Senators in Game 1 on Sunday. Justin Holl had a goal and an assist against his former team and Austin Watson and Alex DeBrincat also scored for Detroit (39-35-8). Cam Talbot made 16 saves. The Red Wings missed the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season.
Drake Batherson scored the tying and go-ahead goals in the third period and the Ottawa Senators tuned up for the playoffs with a 7-5 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night in the regular-season finale for both teams. Brady Tkachuk returned to Ottawa’s lineup after missing eight games because of an upper-body injury, then took a stick to the face in the second period and didn’t return. Adam Gaudette also scored twice, Dylan Cousins, Shane Pinto and Tim Stutzle added goals, and Linus Ullmark made 28 saves. Ottawa will open playoffs at Toronto on Sunday. Skyler Brind’Amour, the son of Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour scored his first NHL goal. Carolina will open the postseason Sunday at home against New Jersey.
Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin put on a show in the regular-season finale, showcasing their greatness in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals. Ovechkin finished his record-breaking season by netting his 897th career goal in the second period. Crosby, meanwhile, finished his 20th season in the NHL with a goal and an assist to push him past the 90-point barrier for the ninth time. The Capitals begin the quest for the franchise’s second Stanley Cup on Monday against the Montreal Canadiens. Bryan Rust scored twice for Pittsburgh to finish the season with a career-best 31 goals and Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 18 shots for the Penguins.
Sam Morton and Zayne Parekh scored in their NHL debuts, Nazem Kadri had two goals and the Calgary Flames beat the playoff-bound Los Angeles Kings 5-1. Taylor Ward also scored in his NHL debut for the Kings, whose four-game winning streak ended with only their fifth loss in 22 games since the trade deadline. Los Angeles failed to set new franchise highs for points and victories, instead matching the 2015-16 team’s 48 wins and the 1974-75 team’s 105 points. Aydar Suniev and Hunter Brzustewicz also made their NHL debuts for the Flames, who were eliminated from postseason contention Wednesday.
NBA
There was Toronto in 2019, the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, Milwaukee in 2021, Golden State in 2022, Denver in 2023 and Boston in 2024. Six different seasons, six different champions. A run of parity like none other in NBA history. And now the Celtics get their turn at bucking that trend. The Boston Celtics will try to win back-to-back NBA titles, something no franchise has managed since Golden State did it in 2017 and 2018. The NBA playoffs start Saturday with four Game 1s, continue Sunday with four more Game 1s and just like that a 16-team, two-month journey will be off and running.
Luka Doncic has been with the Los Angeles Lakers for 2 1/2 months now, and he’s feeling fairly comfortable in his new home. The playoffs begin this weekend, and the Lakers know they’re about to see yet another side of their Slovenian superstar. Doncic is one of the top playoff performers of his generation, and he is just one year removed from his remarkable effort in carrying the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals despite significant injuries to his right knee, left ankle and chest. Doncic has LeBron James on his side this spring when the third-seeded Lakers begin the first round against the surging Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1.
GOLF
Justin Thomas found just the right tonic for his post-Masters week. He has tied the course record at Harbour Town with a 61 to lead the RBC Heritage. Thomas made 11 birdies and nearly had the course record all to himself until missing a 5-foot birdie chance at the end. He leads by three shots over defending champion Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley. Scheffler played without stress. He only got out of position once and only one other time had to scramble for par in his round of 64. The weather was ideal and so was the start for Thomas.
NFL
Aaron Rodgers is in no rush to make a decision about his future. The free-agent quarterback said during an appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Thursday that he is “not holding anybody hostage” as he weighs whether to return for a 21st season. Rodgers was released by the New York Jets in March. The 41-year-old four-time NFL MVP has visited the Pittsburgh Steelers and talked with the Minnesota Vikings in recent weeks. Rodgers said he will keep the lines of communication open, but added that there are certain things going on in his personal life that are currently taking precedence over anything related to football.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
The opening of the college football transfer portal has created a dash for cash. The delay in a judge approving the House v NCAA antitrust settlement has extended the window of there being no limits on the amount of money players can receive from their schools’ NIL collectives or from third-party endorsement deals. More than 400 players have entered the portal since it opened Wednesday. Athletes have until April 25 to enter, and they clearly have leverage until the settlement is approved. Sports attorney Mit Winter says schools have a free pass to pay athletes as much as they want.
Deion Sanders offered hugs and handshakes as a way to soothe any hard feelings over the recent announcement that Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders skipped the line to have their jersey numbers retired this weekend. The Buffaloes ruffled some feathers of past players and alumni when they announced that Hunter’s No. 12 and Sanders’ No. 2 would be retired before the spring game. They’re the fifth and sixth players in Colorado’s 135-year history to receive that honor. Hunter is coming off a Heisman Trophy campaign. Sanders won the Johnny Unitas award as college football’s top QB. Both are expected to be high selections at the NFL draft.
FORMULA ONE
Ahead of Sunday's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, this Formula 1 season is looking like McLaren vs. McLaren. Still, defending champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull says he hasn’t lost hope. McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are the only one to consistently be on the pace through the first four rounds of the championship. Norris has a three-point lead but Piastri is the driver with momentum after winning in Bahrain last week. Verstappen says he isn't considering the championship picture this early in the season.
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