NFL
Jason Kelce has retired after 13 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. Kelce officially called it quits Monday at the Eagles’ NovaCare Complex. The 36-year-old ended a career in which he became not only one of the great centers of his era who played a key role in the franchise’s lone Super Bowl championship but a beloved Philly personality and popular podcast host. Kelce was a sixth-round pick in the 2011 draft. He ended his career by making 156 straight starts, and he earned six All-Pro Team selections. Kelce said it was always a goal to play his whole career in one city. He played 193 regular-season games for the Eagles.
The Denver Broncos told Russell Wilson on Monday they’re going to release him next week, just 18 months after signing the quarterback to a five-year, $242 million contract extension. Wilson went 11-19 in Denver. He had an awful first season under Nathaniel Hackett, but bounced back last season under Sean Payton. However, Payton benched Wilson for the final two games of the season. Wilson is 35 years old and is entering his 13th NFL season in 2024.
Police are praising former NFL player Braylon Edwards for stopping an attack on an 80-year-old man at a YMCA in suburban Detroit. Edwards says he was just minding his own business Friday when he heard a dispute about loud music at the recreation center in Farmington Hills. He says he heard a “thud,” turned around and saw a man being attacked in the locker room. That's when he stepped in. Farmington Hills Police Chief Jeff King says Edwards “absolutely saved that man's life.” The alleged attacker has been charged. Edwards spent eight seasons in the NFL, mostly for Cleveland and the New York Jets.
The NFL's annual scouting combine has evolved from hidden gem into the league's second-biggest offseason event over the past three decades because of new twists. This year it was the opt-outs. All-American receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. chose not to speak to reporters. Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams decided to skip the medical exams. Will the decisions of two players who do not have agents begin a trend? That may not be clear till next year when the combine returns to Indianapolis.
A person familiar with the deal says Tampa Bay receiver Mike Evans has agreed to a two-year, $52 million contract to remain with the Buccaneers instead of testing his worth in free agency. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the contract had not been finalized. ESPN first reported the agreement, saying it includes $35 million guaranteed. The 30-year-old Evans is the only player in NFL history to begin his career with 10 consecutive seasons with 1,000-plus yards receiving. He's also Tampa Bay’s career leader in receptions, yardage and touchdowns. He tied Tyreek Hill for the league lead in TD catches with 13, while finishing with 79 receptions for 1,255 yards, in 2023.
NBA
Luke Kennard scored a season-high 25 points and the Memphis Grizzlies snapped a five-game losing streak by beating the Brooklyn Nets 106-102. Jake LaRavia added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who outrebounded the Nets 50-33 and piled up 25 second-chance points to make up for all the offense they are missing because of injuries. Lamar Stevens chipped in 13 points. The Nets had won 111-86 in Memphis on Feb. 26, allowing their fewest points this season for their first victory under interim coach Kevin Ollie. They weren’t quite as good defensively and were much worse offensively, adding to their woes with a dismal 17-for-30 (56.7%) showing on free throws.
Damian Lillard scored 41 points and the Milwaukee Bucks overcame the absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo to rally past the Los Angeles Clippers 113-106 for their sixth straight victory. Antetokounmpo missed his third game of the season as he deals with left Achilles tendinitis. The Bucks are unbeaten since the All-Star break as they get ready to begin a four-game trip to California that starts Wednesday at Golden State and includes a rematch with the Clippers on Sunday. Bobby Portis scored 14 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter. He also had a season-high 16 rebounds.
Rudy Gobert had 25 points and 16 rebounds for his 43rd double-double of the season, Michael Conley added 19 points and seven assists, and the Minnesota Timberwolves completed a four-game season sweep of Portland, beating the Trail Blazers 119-114. With the win, Minnesota moved into a tie for first place in the Western Conference with Oklahoma City, which was playing the Lakers in Los Angeles later Monday. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 14 points, Anthony Edwards had 13, and Naz Reid added 12 points on 4-for-4 shooting from 3-point distance for Minnesota. Anfernee Simons had 34 points, 14 assists and five rebounds, and Duop Reath shot 5 for 6 from long distance and scored 26 points for Portland.
Jordan Clarkson scored a season-high 38 points, including a 12-0 run down the stretch, to boost the Utah Jazz over the Washington Wizards 127-115 on Monday night. Collin Sexton scored 29 points and John Collins added 17 points, 15 rebounds and a career-high six blocks for Utah, who had lost eight of nine. The Wizards led 113-111 with 5:21 to play but didn’t make another field goal the rest of the way and extended their losing streak to 15. Jordan Poole scored 32 points, Kyle Kuzma had 23 and Tyus Jones added 21 for Washington.
Coby White had a career-high 37 points and DeMar DeRozan scored 19 of his 33 in the fourth quarter as the Chicago Bulls rallied from 22 points down to beat the Sacramento Kings 113-109. White added seven assists and five rebounds, and Chicago outscored Sacramento 36-18 in the fourth quarter to snap a four-game losing streak against the Kings. Ayo Dosunmu scored 20 points and Nikola Vucevic had 10 points and 13 rebounds. De’Aaron Fox led the Kings with 20 points and 10 assists after missing two games with a bruised left knee. Domantas Sabonis had 18 points and 21 boards for his 43rd consecutive double-double before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.
D’Angelo Russell hit five 3-pointers while scoring 26 points, and Anthony Davis added 24 points and 12 rebounds in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 116-104 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. LeBron James had 19 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in the Lakers’ 10th victory in 14 games. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 20 points, ending his streak of eight consecutive 30-point games for the Thunder. Davis was able to sit out the entire fourth quarter when the Lakers hit six 3-pointers in quick succession, boosting their lead to 25 points.
Los Angeles Clippers guard Russell Westbrook has undergone surgery on his fractured left hand. The Clippers describe his status as week to week. Westbrook broke his hand Friday in the Clippers’ 140-115 victory over the Washington Wizards. The 2016-17 MVP and nine-time all-NBA performer appeared to suffer the injury while trying to poke the ball away from Washington’s Jordan Poole. The 35-year-old Westbrook had played in every game for the Clippers this season before breaking his hand.
Never say never. There’s a chance that one day someone will join LeBron James in the NBA’s 40,000-point club. A tiny chance, anyway. James crossed the 40,000-point mark on Saturday night. That milestone shot — and every other he’ll make for the rest of his career — extended the NBA all-time scoring record that he claimed from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar last season.
NHL
Pavel Zacha scored twice to help the Boston Bruins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1. Jake DeBrusk had a goal and an assist for the Bruins, who had dropped four of five. Morgan Geekie also scored, and David Pastrnak had three assists. Jeremy Swayman made 32 saves for the Bruins, who are eight points ahead of the Leafs for second in the Atlantic Division. John Tavares scored for Toronto, and Joseph Woll stopped 23 shots. The teams play again Thursday in Boston.
Ryan Lomberg scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period, Sam Reinhart scored twice and the Florida Panthers beat the New York Rangers 4-2 in a matchup of first-place teams. Anton Lundell also scored, Aleksander Barkov and Gustav Forsling each had two assists as the Panthers won their fifth straight and 11th in the last 12 games. Florida leads the NHL with 42 wins and 88 points. Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves to improve to 31-11-2 this season, including 15-6-1 on the road. Will Cuylle and Chris Kreider scored for Metropolitan Division-leading New York, which lost for the third time in four games after a 10-game winning streak. The Rangers also had their six-game home winning streak snapped. Igor Shesterkin finished with 25 saves.
Pavel Buchnevich and Jake Neighbours scored in the shootout, and Kevin Hayes had a goal against his former team as the St. Louis Blues beat the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1. Jordan Binnington made 40 saves and had several key stops in the shootout for St. Louis, which won its second straight game. Scott Laughton scored in regulation and Sam Ersson had 24 saves for Philadelphia, which entered in third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Alexander Nylander posted his first career hat trick, Daniil Tarasov made 37 saves and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Vegas Golden Knights 6-3 on Monday night, posting back-to-back wins for the first time in more than three months. Justin Danforth, Erik Gudbranson and Yegor Chinakhov also scored for the last-place Blue Jackets. Mason Morelli, William Karlsson and Chandler Stephenson scored for Vegas, and Adin Hill had 27 stops.
Nathan MacKinnon extended his home point streak to 30 games with two goals and two assists, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-0. Jonathan Drouin, Cale Makar and Zach Parise also scored for the Avalanche, who improved to a league-best 24-6-0 at home this season. Justus Annunen stopped 37 shots. MacKinnon’s home point streak is the second-longest to start a season in NHL history, trailing only Wayne Gretzky’s 40-game run in 1988-89. Chicago was blanked by Annunen for a second time in less than a week. It was the Blackhawks’ 22nd straight loss on the road.
Jared McCann had a goal and an assist to help the Seattle Kraken beat the Calgary Flames 4-2 for their third win in four games. Yanni Gourde, Oliver Bjorkstrand, and Adam Larsson also scored for Seattle, which is 6-2-1 in its last nine. Philipp Grubauer stopped 35 shots as the Kraken pulled even with the Flames in the Western Conference playoff chase, seven points back of idle Nashville for the second wild card. Andrei Kuzmenko scored twice for Calgary, which snapped a five-game winning streak. Jacob Markstrom finished with 26 saves.
The New Jersey Devils have fired coach Lindy Ruff and named assistant Travis Green as the interim replacement for the rest of the season. General manager Tom Fitzgerald made the surprising move with just over 20 games left to play. The Devils have lost five of seven to fall further out of playoff contention. Ruff was in his fourth season with the club. The Devils reached the second round of the playoffs last year. Green was in his first year with the team as an associate coach on Ruff’s staff. He spent parts of five seasons as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks.
MLB
N.Y. Yankees 3 Miami 2
Detroit 2 Boston 1
Toronto 5 Philadelphia 2
Minnesota 4 Atlanta 3
Pittsburgh 7 Tampa Bay 3
Chicago White Sox 5 Arizona 2
Cincinnati 15 Oakland 8
Minnesota 7 Baltimore 2
L.A. Angels 3 Texas 2
Washington 1 St. Louis 0
San Diego 2 Chicago Cubs 1
Colorado 12 San Francisco 10
Zack Wheeler and the Philadelphia Phillies agreed on a $126 million, three-year contract for 2025-27, the fourth-highest average salary in baseball history at $42 million. Wheeler gets $23.5 million this year in the final season of a $118 million, five-year contract. Wheeler’s average trails only Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani ($70 million), Texas pitcher Max Scherzer ($43.33 million) and Houston pitcher Justin Verlander ($43.33 million).
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