Jenson Brooksby has eliminated No. 2 seed Casper Ruudin four sets in the second round of the Australian Open. This upset comes a day after Mackenzie McDonald beat defending champion and No. 1 seed Rafael Nadal. So a pair of 20-something Californians have knocked out the top two players in the men’s bracket at Melbourne Park. The 22-year-old Brooksby Brooksby is ranked 39th and is making his debut at the Australian Open. Ruud was the runner-up at the French Open to Nadal last June and at the U.S. Open to Carlos Alcaraz last September. American men Michael Mmoh, Ben Shelton, J.J. Wolf and Tommy Paul also advanced. But the highest seeded man from the U.S., No. 8 Taylor Fritz, lost.
Rafael Nadal's manager says the 22-time Grand Slam champion injured his left hip flexor during his loss at the Australian Open and could need about six to eight weeks to fully recover. Nadal had an MRI exam at a hospital in Melbourne under his doctor’s supervision on Thursday. That was a day after Nadal got hurt during a straight-set exit against Mackenzie McDonald in the second round at Melbourne Park. Nadal was the defending champion and seeded No. 1 in Australia. The 36-year-old now will head home to Spain to rest.
Coco Gauff continues her quest for a first Grand Slam title when she plays her third-round match at the Australian Open. The 18-year-old takes on another American, Bernarda Pera. Gauff reached her first major final at last year’s French Open before losing to Iga Swiatek. Gauff is trying to become the youngest winner of the Australian Open since Martina Hingis won the first of three straight titles in 1997 at age 16. The top-seeded Swiatek and No. 3 Jessica Pegula will look to move a step nearer to a semifinal showdown by winning matches Friday.
NBA
Kyle Kuzma scored 27 points, Bradley Beal had 18 in his return from a five-game absence and the Washington Wizards never trailed in a 116-105 victory over the New York Knicks. Kristaps Porzingis finished with 22 points, 11 rebounds and five assists against his former team, helping the Wizards get off a fast start and play from ahead all night. Kuzma, who scored a season-high 40 points in a loss to the Knicks last Friday, had 13 rebounds and seven assists. He didn’t need to score as much this time thanks to the return of Beal, Washington’s leading scorer who had been sidelined by a strained left hamstring.
Dejounte Murray scored 30 points, Trae Young had 18 points and 12 assists in another matchup with Luka Doncic and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Dallas Mavericks 130-122. John Collins added 19 points as the Hawks won a season-best fourth consecutive game to get over .500 for the first time since Dec. 27. Doncic scored 30 points but fell to 4-3 in head-to-head meetings with Young. They were traded for each other as top-five picks on draft night in 2018.
Chris Ford, a member of the Boston Celtics 1981 championship team, a longtime NBA coach and the player credited with scoring the league’s first 3-point basket, has died at the age of 74. His family announced his death in a statement issued by the Celtics. No official cause was given, but the statement said Ford died Tuesday. The Press of Atlantic City reported he died in Philadelphia after suffering a heart attack earlier this month. Ford was voted the team’s MVP in his first season with Boston. He retired following the 1981-82 season and was an assistant coach for the Celtics for seven seasons from 1983 to 1990, helping coach former teammates Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish to two titles in 1984 and 1986.
The Detroit Pistons are playing a game in Paris on Thursday night. But two nights before the game, the Pistons were the spectators and the City of Lights played for them. The Pistons had a team party at the Paris Opera House to highlight their trip to France's capital for a game against the Chicago Bulls. It’s been a midseason immersion into French cuisine, wine and culture for both teams. Everybody saw the Eiffel Tower, everybody saw the Champs-Élysées, but both teams decided they couldn’t come to Paris and not make every effort to enjoy the opportunity.
NHL
Defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Derek Forbort scored in the second period, and the Boston Bruins beat the New York Islanders 4-1. Brad Marchand and Trent Frederic also scored for Boston, and Charlie Coyle had two assists. Linus Ullmark had 25 saves in his 100th career win, improving to 24-2-1 on the season. The Bruins earned their third straight victory. The NHL’s only 30-win team improved to 7-1-0 in 2023. Zach Parise scored and Semyon Varlamov made 20 saves for the Islanders, who lost for the sixth time in seven games.
Brady Tkachuk scored 25 seconds into overtime, and the Ottawa Senators beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4. Alex DeBrincat, Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson and Shane Pinto also scored for Ottawa, which went 4 for 9 on the power play. Tkachuk also had three assists, and Cam Talbot stopped 16 shots. Evgeni Malkin had a goal and two assists for Pittsburgh, and Sidney Crosby had three assists. Jason Zucker, Mark Friedman and Rickard Rakell also scored, and Casey DeSmith made 35 saves.
NFL
The Bills and Bengals can refocus on their next matchup now that Buffalo's safety Damar Hamlin has shown remarkable signs in his recovery some three weeks after collapsing on the field in Cincinnati. Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and needed to be resuscitated in the first quarter of Buffalo's since-canceled game against Cincinnati on Jan. 2. The teams meet in Buffalo on Sunday in the AFC divisional round of the playoffs. Bills coach Sean McDermott says his team has been uplifted by the sight of Hamlin starting to make regular visits to the team's facility this week.
For the first time in 13 years, neither Tom Brady nor Aaron Rodgers reached the divisional round of the playoffs. No problem. The NFL still has plenty of exciting football this weekend featuring Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Dak Prescott and many other stars. The action kicks off Saturday with the Jacksonville Jaguars visiting the Kansas City Chiefs. Jaguars coach Doug Pederson faces his mentor, Chiefs coach Andy Reid. Pederson played for Reid and coached under him in Philadelphia and Kansas City. He also beat him to a Lombardi Trophy. The No. 1 seed Chiefs are coming off a bye and aiming for their fifth straight trip to the AFC championship game.
Patrick Mahomes has never failed to reach the AFC championship game in four years as an NFL starting quarterback. To make it five straight, Mahomes will have to lead the Kansas City Chiefs past the Jacksonville Jaguars in the divisional round on Saturday. The All-Pro quarterback is coming off perhaps the finest season of his career, breaking his own franchise record for yards passing while leading the league in touchdown throws. And he's fueled by a frustrating overtime loss to the Bengals the last time he stepped on the field in the postseason in last year's AFC title game.
Brandon Staley’s status that he would remain coach of the Los Angeles Chargers was a source of debate among fans and commentators during the past two weeks. Staley though said during his season-ending press conference on Wednesday that he was aware of the speculation, but wasn't worried. The Bolts improved from 9-8 in Staley’s first campaign in 2021 to 10-7 and the franchise’s first trip to the playoffs since 2018 this season. Both years though have ended in disappointing fashion in which decisions by Staley backfired. The Chargers blew a 27-point lead last Saturday against Jacksonville in the AFC wild-card round and lost 31-30.
