The Washington Capitals will keep star goaltender Braden Holtby on the bench to open the Stanley Cup playoffs. Instead, former back-up Philipp Grubauer will take the starting assignment against the Columbus Blue Jackets in their first-round showdown. The highly-skilled Capitals are favored to win the series. Grubauer was 15-10-3 with a 2.35 goals-against average this […] More
Jordan Spieth came hard for Patrick Reed Sunday at the Masters. Rickie Fowler gave chase, too, and Rory McIlroy stayed in his face. “Patrick has got a three-shot lead,” McIlroy told reporters Saturday. “I think all the pressure is on him . . . He’s got that to deal with and sleep on tonight.” But […] More
It looks like Mother Nature plans to muddy up the Masters competition this weekend. Saturday is called “Moving Day” at Augusta National, given the traditional sorting that occurs in the third round. But golfers might come up with some new names while bracing for potentially nasty conditions. The weather forecast is ominous. Heavy rains could […] More
Goaltender Brian Elliott could return for the Philadelphia Flyers against the Carolina Hurricanes, which is a very big deal. Elliott earned the starter’s role after arriving with the Flyers as a free agent for this season. He suffered a lower-body injury Jan. 23, returned for three games in early February and aggravated that injury. Overall […] More
The historic NHL careers of Vancouver Canucks forwards Daniel and Henrik Sedin will end this week. The 37-year-old twins made that announcement Monday morning, ending speculation about whether they would return to Canucks next season or a move on together to another organization as free agents. They arrived as first-round picks in 1999 and they […] More
Based on everything we have seen in this NCAA Tournament, Villanova should roll to the national title. This is not to demean Michigan, which continued its title quest with a nice comeback against surprising Loyola-Chicago. The Wolverines struggled to settle into their offense — which was odd for a Jim Beilein-coached team — but they […] More
Loyola Chicago is not the first No. 11 seed to reach the Final Four. LSU earned that distinction, followed by George Mason and VCU. Although the Ramblers remain underdogs — Michigan is favored to win their semifinal game — don’t dismiss them as a hopeless long shot. They are equipped to succeed where the other […] More
Kansas coach Bill Self has had deeper and more well-rounded teams during his tenure with the Jayhawks. But has he ever done a better coaching job? Kansas battled through a fair amount of adversity to reach the Final Four and its semifinal showdown against Villanova. This may be Self’s signature effort. The Jayhawks overcame the […] More
The powerful Nashville Predators will become even stronger with the addition of high-scoring forward Eeli Tolvanen, who completed his Kontinental Hockey League season Saturday. A clause in Tolvanen’s KHL contract allows him to leave after one season with Jokerit. He is free to sign with the Predators and is expected to join the team shortly. […] More
It appears you can add Calgary Flames center Sean Monahan to the list of players shutting down for repairs with their team out of the playoff hunt. The Calgary Sun reported Friday that Monahan was done for the season. Flames coach Glen Gulutzan confirmed that Monahan has been playing hurt. “I don’t know how much […] More
Kentucky coach John Calipari was none too pleased back on Selection Sunday. Not only did his Wildcats end up with a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but the selection committee sent them across the country to Boise, Idaho. That was out of easy reach for their army of blue-clad fans. Also, Kentucky’s bracket […] More
Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Matt Murray could be back in goal tonight against the New York Islanders. For the moment he is healthy again after coming back from his latest injury, a concussion suffered in practice. He seems likely to start, but the Penguins don’t announce their starting goaltender until closer to game time. For some […] More
