Bill Ballou has covered baseball for the Telegram and Gazette for more than three decades, and in December, he explained why he was not voting for Yankees closer Mariano Rivera — or anybody else, out of respect for Rivera. Ballou believes that the value of closers doesn’t match that of other positions, which is hardly
HOUSTON — On a night when James Harden scored 48 points, which almost qualifies as ho-hum by the standards of the historical tear he’s on, Eric Gordon played the hero role for the Houston Rockets. Gordon scored 16 of his 30 points in the final two minutes of regulation and overtime of Houston’s 138-134 comeback
12:15 AM ET Malika AndrewsESPN CHICAGO — Dwyane Wade might have spent only one up-and-down season playing for the Chicago Bulls, but he will be remembered as one of Chicago’s most revered players. The Robbins product and future Hall of Fame guard played his final game in the United Center on Saturday, drawing a standing
DURHAM, N.C. — Zion Williamson delivered the highlight because this was Duke’s biggest game of the season, and it wouldn’t have felt right without the freshman doing something jaw-droppingly incredible. And so he pulled down a rebound, dribbled coast to coast, weaved his way through four Virginia defenders, and, while Virginia’s Jay Huff slashed his
DURHAM, N.C. — In the run-up to Duke’s showdown with Virginia on Saturday, Mike Krzyzewski left it open-ended enough to drum up hope point guard Tre Jones could play. Afterward, the Blue Devils‘ coach admitted Jones — out with a separated shoulder — wasn’t close. “He wasn’t going to play,” Krzyzewski said after Saturday’s 72-70
BOSTON — Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask suffered a concussion on a hard collision with New York Rangers forward Filip Chytil and was helped off the ice late in the opening period Saturday night. Rask gave up a goal to Chytil, who came charging down the right wing. After he flipped the puck over Rask at
PASADENA, Calif. — It might not seem the most vexing of losing streaks, the eighth NFL Players Association Collegiate Bowl being an all-star game, but after the American team knocked off its National counterpart 10-7 on Saturday at the Rose Bowl, the players celebrated as if they had slain an age-old demon. “You could see
PITTSBURGH — The Steelers‘ big free-agent signing of 2018 says one year in Pittsburgh is enough, as veteran safety Morgan Burnett has said he would like to be released from his contract. Burnett told NFL Network on Saturday that a release would help him return to his natural position of safety instead of the dime
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Brett Rypien and Easton Stick each threw a touchdown pass to help the West beat the East 21-17 in the East-West Shrine Game on Saturday. Rypien, a Boise State product and nephew of Super Bowl MVP Mark Rypien, was 10 of 14 for 134 yards. Stick, from North Dakota State, completed
The NFL significantly reduced the fine Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield received for a gesture he made on the sidelines during a December win over Cincinnati, according to a source. The NFL handed Baker Mayfield a fine of $10,026 for unsportsmanlike conduct, the result of an apparent lewd gesture he made toward Browns offensive coordinator
