OLYMPICS:
There were a couple of golden moments for the United States during Thursday morning action at the Beijing Games.
Nathan Chen has joined an exclusive club of U.S. Olympic men's figure skating champions, capping a four-year journey that started after his medal hopes were dashed at the Pyeongchang Games. The 22-year-old’s win in Beijing will make him the seventh U.S. men’s skater to step atop the podium.
Chen delivered a rousing performance of his “Rocketman” free skate, drawing cheers from the limited crowd of spectators.
Chen’s score easily outdistanced his closest pursuers, Yuma Kagiyama and Shoma Uno of Japan.
American Chloe Kim has won gold in the women’s halfpipe, turning in a strong opening run as she easily defended her Olympic title. No one was matching Kim’s height or demanding array of tricks after an opening performance that featured a variety of different spins and rotations, including a front and backside 1080.
Kamila Valieva has practiced in Beijing hours after reports that she tested positive for a banned substance. The 15-year-old Russian superstar is expected to deliver her nation its third straight Olympic gold medal in women’s figure skating.
The Russian newspaper RBC reported that she tested positive for a banned heart medication before the Beijing Games. The sample was reportedly obtained before Valieva won the European championship last month in Estonia.
It’s unclear if Russia is appealing or fighting the result.
Her appearance at practice implies that the federation isn’t accepting the ruling. A positive test could cost Russia the gold medal from the team competition and threaten Valieva’s chance to win the individual competition that starts Tuesday.
The drug is used to to treat angina and is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency as a stimulant. It is unclear whether Valieva has any heart problems.
NBA:
The Cleveland Cavaliers picked up their 12th win in 15 games, doing it with a returning All-Star and a new guard.
Darius Garland scored 27 points in his return from a back injury, helping the Cavaliers top the Spurs, 105-92.
Garland missed the past four games with a sore lower back. He made 12 of 15 shots and finished with six assists and five rebounds.
San Antonio trimmed a 23-point deficit to seven in the fourth quarter before Garland hit a jumper and Caris LeVert fed Jarrett Allen for a layup. LeVert had 11 points in his Cavs debut.
Rookie Evan Mobley had 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Allen added 15 points and 14 boards.
Checking out Wednesday’s other NBA action:
The Warriors’ nine-game winning streak has ended with a blowout loss to the Jazz, 111-85. Bojan Bogdanovic dropped in 23 points and Donovan Mitchell just missed a triple-double as Utah continues to play without center Rudy Gobert. Mitchell finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in a bid for Utah’s first triple-double in 14 years.
DeMar DeRozan dropped 36 points and Zach LaVine had 27 as the Bulls dealt the Hornets their sixth straight loss, 121-109. Nikola Vucevic added 18 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists to help Chicago get within one game of the Eastern Conference-leading Heat. LaMelo Ball had 33 points and nine rebounds for Charlotte, which made just 13 of 43 3-point attempts and is shooting 27.6% from downtown during the skid.
The Raptors own a seven-game winning streak after Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet led them to a 117-98 win at Oklahoma City. Siakam shot 13-for-17 and delivered 27 points and 16 rebounds, while VanVleet made six 3-pointers and added 21 points. Siakam had 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting in the first nine minutes.
Anfernee Simons scored 29 points and the Trail Blazers snapped a six-game losing streak with a 107-105 victory over the Lakers. Jusuf Nurkic added 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Blazers, who kept it close through the first three quarters before rallying in the fourth. LeBron James had 30 points for the Lakers, who didn’t have Russell Westbrook because of lower back tightness.
Domantas Sabonis had 22 points and 14 rebounds in his Kings debut, a 132-119 decision over the Timberwolves. Harrison Barnes scored 30 points and De'Aaron Fox added 27 as Sacramento ended Minnesota's four-game winning streak. D’Angelo Russell had 29 points and 10 assists for the Wolves.
NBA:
The Portland Trail Blazers acquired injured veteran forward Joe Ingles from the Utah Jazz as part of a three-team trade with San Antonio.
The Blazers also got Elijah Hughes and a second-round pick from the Jazz, who received Nickeil Alexander-Walker from Blazers and Juancho Hernangomez from the Spurs. Portland sent Tomas Satoransky to San Antonio, which also got a 2027 draft pick from Utah.
James Harden will miss a fourth straight game tonight when Brooklyn visits the Washington Wizards on Thursday — assuming he is still on the Nets.
Coach Steve Nash has said the Nets won’t trade the All-Star guard before the trade deadline on Thursday afternoon, though there continues to be speculation Brooklyn could weigh a deal with Harden able to become a free agent this summer.
The Nets have lost nine straight games and Harden has missed the last three with left hamstring tightness. He battled hamstring trouble late last season and in the playoffs.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL:
Another top-10 men’s basketball team has fallen this week.
Houston’s 12-game winning streak is over after SMU rallied from 15 points down to beat the sixth-ranked Cougars, 85-83. Kendric Davis scored 22 points, including a pair of free throws that put the Mustangs ahead, 83-81 with 40.6 seconds remaining. Michael Weathers added a foul shot and scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half.
The Mustangs shot well from downtown, going 12-for-23.
Kyler Edwards, Taze Moore and Josh Carlton each had 17 points for Houston.
In other top-25 action:
Umoja Gibson shot 8-for-11 from 3-point range and delivered a season-high 30 points as Oklahoma surprised No. 9 Texas Tech, 70-55. The transfer from North Texas had 13 points by halftime, but Oklahoma still trailed by five going into the locker room.
Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua scored 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting as 10th-ranked Baylor beat Kansas State, 75-60. The Bears also got 15 points from James Akinjo and 10 from Adam Flagler in reaching the 20-win mark for the 13th time in 15 years.
Rutgers closed on a 10-0 run to shock No. 16 Ohio State, 66-64. Geo Baker had 25 points, including the go-ahead free throws with 18.8 seconds left.
No. 19 Tennessee outscored Mississippi State 11-2 in the final three minutes for a 72-63 victory. Josiah-Jordan James and Kennedy Chandler each scored 18 points as the Vols improved to 8-3 in the SEC.
Jared Rhoden scored 25 points to lead Seton Hall past No. 25 Xavier 73-71.
In men’s college basketball, Maine defeated UAlbany, 73-63, Vermont outscored Binghamton, 82-51, George Washington downed UMass, 77-68, and UMBC held off Hartford, 68-64. On the women’s side, Maine topped UAlbany, 64-55, Vermont defeated Binghamton, 47-34, UMass took down St. Bonaventure, 78-59, Villanova squeaked by UConn, 72-69, and UMBc held off Hartford, 51-48.
NFL:
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell says the league will deal with discrimination in a serious way if he finds that teams violated that principle.
Goodell says “we won’t tolerate racism. We won’t tolerate discrimination.”
There are five minority head coaches on the 32 teams: two Black, one biracial, one Hispanic and one Lebanese.
Asked if the process is flawed, from how interviews are conducted to who might be conducting them, Goodell said the league already is looking into that. He said the league could look into changes in the Rooney Rule that requires interviews of minority candidates for coaching and executive jobs, or a new rule entirely.
Elsewhere around the NFL:
The league has moved quickly to take over an investigation into alleged sexual harassment by Commanders owner Daniel Snyder. The Commanders say the team has hired an outside investigator to look into allegations by former team employee Tiffani Johnston. She told Congress that Snyder groped her thigh at a team dinner and pushed her toward his limousine with his hand on her lower back years ago.
Bengals coach Zac Taylor says tight end C.J. Uzomah likely will work at practice Thursday with the team taking advantage of having three days of work left to see where the veteran is. Uzomah played only nine snaps in the AFC championship game before hurting his knee. He caught 49 passes for 493 yards and five touchdowns in the best season of his career, and he has 13 catches for 135 yards this postseason.
Commanders safety Deshazor Everett faces a charge of involuntary manslaughter after an investigation found he was speeding when his car slammed into trees and rolled over. The 29-year-old NFL player was seriously injured and his passenger was killed. The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office says Everett was driving his Nissan GT-R at more than twice the 45 mph speed limit before the crash on December 23.
The NFL will play a regular-season game in Munich, Germany, for the first time next season. The league has expanded its horizon in Europe after years of only playing games that count in England.
NHL:
The Dallas Stars are off to a good start as they play eight straight games against Central Division rivals.
Jason Robertson tipped in shots from John Klingberg twice on power plays before Luke Glendening scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period of the Stars’ 4-3 win over the Predators. Roope Hintz had his team-leading 21st goal in helping Dallas win for the sixth time in eight games.
Matt Duchene scored his 22nd for the Predators, who erased one-goal deficits with each of their goals.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
Alex DeBrincat had a goal and two assists as the Blackhawks handed the Oilers the eighth loss in their last 11 home games, 4-1. Brandon Hagel, Dylan Strome and Kirby Dach also scored to back Marc-Andre Fleury, who stopped 40 shots.
The Flames rolled to a 6-0 win over the Golden Knights behind Mikael Backlund’s goal and three assists. Jacob Markstrom stopped 28 shots for his league-leading eighth shutout and Calgary’s sixth win in its last seven games.
The Islanders' meager offense erupted for five goals in the first period of a 6-3 victory at Vancouver. Casey Cizikas and Anders Lee each had a goal and an assist to back Ilya Sorokin, who stopped 34 shots in New York's first road game since January 18th.
Detroit handed Philadelphia its 14th loss in 16 games as five Red Wings collected two points in a 6-3 win over the Flyers. Robby Fabbri, Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond and Lius Suter each had a goal and an assist, while Moritz Seider set up two tallies.
Nick Schmaltz scored twice including a clinching empty-net goal in the final minute of the Coyotes' 5-2 verdict over the Kraken. Phil Kessel and Anton Stralman both scored as Arizona built a 3-1 lead, and Alex Galchenyuk added an empty-net goal with 1:37 left after Seattle pulled to 3-2.
The winningest goaltender in Boston Bruins history is calling it a career.
Citing an inability of his body to respond after his recent return to the ice following offseason hip surgery, Tuukka (TOO’-kah) Rask has announced his retirement.
Rask ends his career with a franchise-best 308 career wins and 14,345 saves. His .921 save percentage and 2.28 goals against average are also the best among former Bruins goalies with at least 30 starts.
In other hockey news:
Bruins forward Brad Marchand has received a six-game suspension from the league for roughing and high-sticking Pittsburgh goalie Tristan Jarry in the Penguins’ 4-2 win at Boston on Tuesday. It is Marchand’s eighth career suspension and second this season.
Dominique Ducharme has been fired as head coach of the Montreal Canadiens with the team dead last in the NHL with 23 points. The dismissal came less than 24 hours after the Habs were beaten by the Devils, 7-1, ending New Jersey’s seven-game winless skid. Martin St. Louis takes over behind the bench.
The Blues have announced a three-year contract extension with coach Craig Berube. He was a finalist for the Jack Adams Awards in 2019 when he led the Blues to the first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.
MLB:
Major League Baseball and its locked-out players agreed to resume negotiations Saturday after an 11-day break.
The session in New York will follow three days of owners’ meetings in Orlando that end Thursday and three days of players’ association sessions in Arizona and Florida. It will be just the fifth negotiating session on core economics since the lockout started in early December.
There is virtually no chance spring training workouts can start as scheduled on Feb. 16, a casualty of baseball’s ninth work stoppage, its first since 1995.
Former major league outfielder Jeremy Giambi, died Wednesday at his parents’ home in Southern California, police said. He was 47.
A police spokesman says officers responding around 11:30 a.m. to reports of a medical emergency found Giambi dead at the residence in Claremont, east of Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office will determine the cause of death, according to the spokesman.
All contents © copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved