NFL
The Buffalo Bills have agreed to trade their top receiving threat, Stefon Diggs, to the Houston Texans. The Bills acquired the Texans’ second-round pick in the 2025 draft, which Houston acquired in a trade with Minnesota. Houston also acquired Buffalo’s sixth-round pick in this year’s draft, and a fifth-rounder in 2025. Diggs’ departure from Buffalo leaves quarterback Josh Allen without his favorite target, and breaks up a tandem that has re-written the team’s passing records since the receiver’s arrival in a trade with Minnesota in March 2020. For the Texans, Diggs gives the offense another playmaker to team with Nico Collins and Tank Dell.
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice says he is taking “full responsibility” for his part in a wreck involving speeding sports cars in Dallas. The chain-reaction crash on a Dallas highway Saturday ultimately involved six vehicles and resulted in minor injuries to four people. Rice was leasing a Lamborghini that police say was speeding along with a Corvette on the North Central Expressway when the crash occurred. Police have not said whether Rice was driving or provided information about the other people involved. The occupants of the vehicles left the scene without providing information or checking to see whether anyone needed medical attention.
Voter rejection of a stadium sales tax plan for the Kansas City Royals and Chiefs has raised questions about what happens next. They're not the first teams to face such questions. Public finance professor Geoffrey Propheter, of the University of Colorado Denver, has tracked stadium referenda. Since 1990, he found voters approved 35 stadium plans and defeated 22. Some teams move after voters reject stadium subsidies, but that's rare. More often, teams regroup and eventually win public funding for stadiums. Many teams sidestep voters altogether by getting approval straight from local or state lawmakers.
MLB
Christian Walker hit a three-run homer, Zac Gallen threw six sharp innings and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the New York Yankees 7-0 to end the Yankees’ season-opening winning streak at five games. It was only the fourth time in franchise history that New York started the year with five wins in five games. Arizona is off to a 4-2 start this season. The D-backs took a 3-0 lead in the first after five of the first six batters reached base against Nestor Cortes. Blaze Alexander, Eugenio Suárez and Gabriel Moreno all had RBI singles. Walker made it 6-0 in the seventh with his three-run homer.
Nick Pivetta combined with four relievers on Boston’s second shutout of the series, Enmanuel Valdéz hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning and the Red Sox beat the Oakland Athletics 1-0 to complete a three-game sweep. The A’s drew 6,436 for the finale of an opening homestand in which they went 1-6 and dropped to an AL-worst minus-29 run difference. A total of 45,068 fans attended the seven games. The team has announced plans to move to Las Vegas for the 2028 season and it is uncertain where the A’s will play in 2025.
Bryce Harper homered for his first three hits of the season, including a grand slam, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Cincinnati Reds 9-4. Brandon Marsh also connected for Philadelphia, which bounced back nicely after dropping the series opener on Monday. Spencer Turnbull struck out seven in five effective innings. Harper went 0 for 11 with a walk while playing in three of the Phillies’ first four games, but he broke out in a big way against the Reds. The two-time NL MVP hit a solo shot in the first and fourth innings against Graham Ashcraft. He capped Philadelphia’s five-run seventh against Brent Suter with his seventh career grand slam.
Joey Gallo emphatically ended an 0-for-12 season-opening drought with an upper-deck homer that traveled 447 feet and two other hits to help the Washington Nationals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3. The loss on Wednesday night was Pittsburgh’s first defeat of 2024 after a 5-0 start. Luis García Jr. doubled three times and scored twice for Washington, CJ Abrams had a pair of RBIs, and Trevor Williams allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings. Gallo homered in the second inning and added a single and a double to raise his batting average from .000 to .188. Pirates manager Derek Shelton was ejected in the seventh inning.
Nathan Eovaldi struck out eight in seven shutout innings. Corey Seager homered and the Texas Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1. Eovaldi (1-0) scattered four hits and walked one, throwing 103 pitches. After going 5-0 during the Rangers’ postseason run to last year’s World Series title, the 34-year-old right-hander has allowed two runs in 13 innings this season for a 1.38 ERA. Seager broke a scoreless tie with a leadoff homer in the sixth off Aaron Civale and Josh Smith added a two-run single during a three-run ninth against Garrett Cleavinger.
James McCann had a two-out, two-run single in the ninth inning and the Baltimore Orioles emerged from a five-hour rain delay to beat the Kansas City Royals 4-3 on Wednesday night. Baltimore trailed 3-0 in the eighth before scoring twice against the Kansas City bullpen, which wasted a masterful performance by starter Cole Ragans. It was 3-2 in the ninth when Royals closer Will Smith (0-2) walked Ryan Mountcastle and gave up a single to Anthony Santander. After a sacrifice bunt, an intentional walk to load the bases and a strikeout, McCann lined a single into left to end it. The deciding matchup in the three-game series was supposed to start at 1:05 p.m., but didn’t get under way until early evening.
Logan Allen scattered four hits over 6 2/3 shutout innings, Steven Kwan had three hits and scored three times in his first three at-bats, and the Cleveland Guardians continued their hot start with an 8-0 win over the Seattle Mariners. The Guardians continued to thump opposing pitchers, battering Seattle starter George Kirby for a career-high eight earned runs, although he wasn’t helped by his defense. But Cleveland hit the ball hard against Kirby and stacked together three big innings to take its second straight series. Allen struck out six and walked three and picked up his second win of the season on Wednesday.
Josh Hader faltered in his first opportunity with his new team, dropping to 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA. Davis Schneider’s two-run homer off the All-Star closer with two outs in the ninth inning lifted the Toronto Blue Jays over the Houston Astros 2-1. Not what Houston was hoping for after agreeing to a $95 million, five-year contract. A night after Ronel Blanco threw the first no-hitter of the season in Houston’s 10-0 win, Toronto saw its scoreless streak stretch to 19 innings. The Blue Jays trailed 1-0 entering the ninth.
Taylor Ward homered, Nolan Schanuel extended his career-starting consecutive on-base streak to 35 games and the Los Angeles Angels beat Miami 10-2, sending the Marlins to their first winless seven-game homestand and worst start in franchise history. Angels starter Patrick Sandoval struck out seven over 5 2/3 innings on Wednesday. Sandoval limited Miami to two runs and four hits. Schanuel extended his streak when he was hit by a pitch in the ninth inning. Ward had three hits and two RBIs. Zach Neto had two hits and two RBIs. Josh Bell and Jake Burger hit RBI singles for the Marlins.
Jackson Chourio became the youngest player in six years to hit a home run but it wasn’t enough for the Milwaukee Brewers, who lost to the Minnesota Twins 7-3 as Ryan Jeffers hit a tiebreaking three-run drive to cap a five-run seventh inning. Rhys Hoskins also went deep for the Brewers, who lost their first game after a 4-0 start. Minnesota’s Alex Kiriloff went 4 for 4 with two singles, a double and a triple. Jeffers had four RBIs for the Twins. Chourio led off the fifth by connecting on Daniel Duarte’s 1-1 slider for a 402-foot drive.
Kyle Higashioka caught two baserunners stealing and homered in the same inning to help Joe Musgrove and the San Diego Padres beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 and avoid a three-game sweep. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Higashioka became the sixth catcher since 1961 to catch multiple runners stealing and hit a home run in the same inning. Higashioka was one of five players obtained from the New York Yankees on Dec. 6 for Juan Soto and Trent Grisham. He was making just his second start of the season.
Seiya Suzuki homered in his second straight game and drove in four runs and the Chicago Cubs regrouped to beat the Colorado Rockies 9-8 after blowing a six-run lead. The Cubs as if they were on their way to another easy win with an 8-2 lead in the sixth. Colorado made a big push, scoring a run in the seventh and five in the eighth to tie it. Pinch-hitter Miles Mastrobuoni reached on a wild pitch by Nick Mears (0-1) as he struck out leading off the bottom half. He took third on a single by Ian Happ and beat the throw home on Suzuki’s fielder’s choice grounder to third baseman Ryan McMahon to put Chicago back on top, 9-8.
Shohei Ohtani hit his first home run for the Los Angeles Dodgers, a solo drive in the seventh inning in a 5-4 win over the San Francisco Giants that finished a three-game sweep. Playing his ninth game for his new team, Ohtani pulled a 93.2 mph sinker from left-hander Taylor Rogers on the upper, outer portion of the strike zone into the right-center field pavilion. The home run came in the 41st plate appearance for the two-time MVP, who left the Los Angeles Angels after last season as a free agent and agreed to a record $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers.
Detroit at N-Y Mets 3:40 p.m. (Postponed) due to rain and will be made up as part of a double-header starting at 12:10 this afternoon.
Atlanta at Chi White Sox 4:10 p.m. (Postponed) due to rain and snow and will be made up as part of a double-header on June 27th.
NBA
Cam Thomas scored 27 points, rookie Noah Clowney had a career-high 22 and the Brooklyn Nets outlasted the Indiana Pacers 115-111 on Wednesday night to split a home-and-home set. The Nets were eliminated from postseason contention when Atlanta beat Detroit at home to wrap up at least a spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament. Brooklyn last missed the playoffs in 2017-18. Mikal Bridges added 17 points, and Nic Claxton had 14 points and 13 rebounds. The Nets had lost their previous two games, the last a 133-111 loss in Indianapolis on Monday night. Pascal Siakam scored 26 points and Tyrese Haliburton had for Indiana. The Pacers had won three in a row.
Kristaps Porzingis had 27 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks, helping the Boston Celtics power past the Oklahoma City Thunder 135-100 to secure the best record in the NBA and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. Jayson Tatum finished with 24 points and Jaylen Brown added 23 points and seven rebounds for Boston, which won its 11th consecutive home game and improved to 60-16 on the season. The Celtics trailed for only 62 seconds in the game. Leading by 10 after three, the Celtics opened the fourth with a 12-4 run to stretch their lead to 105-87. Josh Giddey led the Thunder with 17 points. Luguentz Dort added 15 points. OKC played without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who sat with a bruised right quadriceps.
Scoot Henderson had 22 points and 10 assists and the Portland Trail Blazers beat Brandon Miller and the Charlotte Hornets 89-86 in a matchup of two of the league’s top three draft picks. Henderson, the third overall pick, shot 9 of 17 from the field as the Trail Blazers snapped a 10-game losing streak. Deandre Ayton had 24 points and 16 rebounds and Jabari Walker had 14 points and 22 rebounds. Miller finished with 21 points to lead the Hornets, but struggled from long-range finishing 1 of 8 from 3-point range.
Anthony Davis scored 19 of his 35 points in the first quarter and had 18 rebounds, helping the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Washington Wizards 125-120 on Wednesday night for their eighth victory in nine games. LeBron James had 25 points and nine assists, and Rui Hachimura scored 19 points for the Lakers against his former team. Jordan Poole led Washington with 29. The Lakers are ninth in the Western Conference, meaning they’d have to win twice in the play-in tournament to make the main playoff bracket. But they’re making a push to move up. Los Angeles trailed Phoenix and Sacramento by 1 1/2 games entering Wednesday. The Wizards are a loss shy of matching the franchise record of 63.
Jalen Johnson had 28 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists for his first career triple-double and the Atlanta Hawks overcame a 50-point effort by Detroit’s Malachi Flynn for a 121-113 win over the Pistons that clinched a berth in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament. De’Andre Hunter scored 26 points and Dejounte Murray finished with 24 points and 11 assists for the Hawks, who have won six of their last seven games. Flynn, whose previous career high was 27, was 18 for 25 from the floor and 9 for 12 at the line. The 50 points was a franchise record for a reserve.
Anthony Edwards scored 28 points, Naz Reid added 23 and the Minnesota Timberwolves routed the short-handed Toronto Raptors 133-85 to move into a tie for first-place in the Western Conference. The Timberwolves began the day tied with Oklahoma City for second in the West, one-half game behind first-place Denver. Minnesota’s win moved it into a tie with the idle Nuggets with six games remaining for both teams. Rudy Gobert had 11 points and 15 rebounds for Minnesota, whose 48-point win marked its largest margin of victory this season. Immanuel Quickley, Gradey Dick and Javon Freeman-Liberty all had 16 points for Toronto, which last 15 straight since its last win on March 3rd.
Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 35 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to an 111-101 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks lost for the fourth time in their past five games as they’ve faltered while trying to hold on to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Jackson dominated in the second half, scoring 25 of his points while lifting the Grizzlies to their fifth straight victory over Milwaukee. Brook Lopez paced the Bucks with 25 points and 10 rebounds while Giannis Antetokounmpo added 21 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. Bobby Portis had 19 points and Malik Beasley 10.
Devin Booker scored 40 points, Kevin Durant added 32 and the Phoenix Suns beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 122-101. The Suns have won six of their past eight, moving up to the No. 6 spot in the Western Conference playoff race, which would allow them to avoid the play-in tournament. Booker shot 13 of 25 from the field, including 5 of 9 from 3-point range. Durant shot 13 of 23 and added seven assists. Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell played against the Suns, one night after resting the sore left knee that’s caused him to miss much of March. The five-time All-Star finished with 24 points.
Paolo Banchero scored 32 points and the Orlando Magic defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 117-108 in a game that saw Zion Williamson limited by a finger injury. Williamson scored 15 points but played just 29 minutes, sitting out much of the fourth quarter. Pelicans coach Willie Green says he doesn't have a diagnosis on Williamson's finger yet. Franz Wagner scored 24 and Moritz Wagner added 18 points for the Magic, who’ve moved a half game ahead of the idle New York Knicks for fourth place in the Eastern Conference. CJ McCollum had 36 points and 10 rebounds for New Orleans, which has lost three straight and has slipped from fourth to sixth in the Western Conference.
NHL
Chris Kreider scored a power-play goal late in the third period and the New York Rangers rallied to beat the New Jersey Devils 4-3 in a game that started with a 10-player brawl. Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere each had a goal and an assist, and Kaapo Kakko also scored for the NHL-leading Rangers. Igor Shesterkin finished with 17 saves as New York won for the sixth time in seven games and 11th in its last 14. Nico Hischier, Ondrej Palat and Brendan Smith scored in the second period for the Devils, and Kaapo Kahkonen stopped 37 shots. New Jersey has lost three straight and remained six points behind Washington for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 28 saves as the Tampa Bay Lightning topped Toronto 4-1 on Wednesday despite Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews adding to his NHL lead with the sniper’s 63rd goal of the season. Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, Brayden Point and Nicholas Paul scored for Tampa. Nikita Kucherov, who entered the night tied with Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon for the league lead with 127 points, added three assists. Joseph Woll stopped 21 shots for Toronto, which saw a three-game winning streak snapped.
The Los Angeles Kings snapped their three-game skid while eliminating Seattle from the Stanley Cup playoff race with a 5-2 victory over the Kraken. Trevor Moore scored three goals in his second career hat trick, and Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala also scored. Cam Talbot made 21 saves for the Kings, who pulled within one point of Nashville for the top wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Andre Burakovsky and Brian Dumoulin scored in the third period for the Kraken, who will miss the playoffs for the second time in their three seasons of existence.
Jake Oettinger stopped 35 shots for his second consecutive shutout, Radek Faksa scored early and assisted on two of the four Dallas goals in the second period, and the Stars beat Edmonton 5-0 to set a franchise record with their eighth win in a row. The winning streak has put the Stars atop the Western Conference standings with 105 points. Wyatt Johnston and Sam Steele each also had a goal and an assist for Dallas. Tyler Seguin added a power play goal and captain Jamie Benn scored. It is the first time Oettinger has had consecutive shutouts.
Jonathan Marchessault had a goal and two assists and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Vancouver Canucks 6-3. The defending Stanley Cup champions have won three straight and six of seven since a 6-10-1 slide that dropped them into the second slot in the wild-card race. Anthony Mantha, Jack Eichel, Noah Hanifin, William Karlsson and Brett Howden also scored for Vegas, while Logan Thompson stopped 27 shots to win his sixth straight start in his 99th career game. Quinn Hughes scored twice and Nils Hoglander added one goal for the Canucks. Casey DeSmith made 24 saves.
NCAA
Defending national champion UConn had a tough time getting off the ground on the way to the Final Four. The Huskies finally took off from Bradley International Airport near Hartford at about 1:30 a.m. THIS MORNING Thursday after the plane they were supposed to take experienced mechanical issues getting to the East Coast. After the five-hour flight, the team was expected to arrive at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix at about 3:30 a.m. MST. The flight was originally scheduled to leave Wednesday at about 6 p.m. EDT, but a mechanical issue kept the plane that was supposed to be used from arriving at Bradley, the school said.
Bayou Barbie is WNBA bound. LSU star Angel Reese formally declared for the WNBA draft less than two days after the Tigers’ season ended with a loss to Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the Elite Eight round of the women’s NCAA Tournament. Reese made her announcement via a photo shoot in Vogue, saying she was inspired by tennis great Serena Williams retiring in similar fashion in 2022. Reese acknowledges having made her decision to turn pro before March Madness began. She says “I like to do everything big” and adds “I didn’t want anything to be basic.”
Long before Caitlin Clark broke records, packed arenas across the country like Taylor Swift in sneakers and inspired young girls to be like her, women’s basketball looked very different than it does today. Clark, who will lead Iowa in this week's Final Four in Cleveland, had her path paved by pioneering players who helped make the game what it looks like today. Clark's assault on the NCAA record books this season has illuminated some of the greats — women like Nancy Lieberman, Ann Meyers Drysdale, Pearl Moore and Lynette Woodard — who often played in empty arenas with little fanfare.
The financial fates of college basketball and football will have an outsized impact on America’s ability to field successful Olympic teams beyond this summer’s Paris Games. NIL compensation, potential player salaries, conference realignment, TV deals and tournament expansion can all have an effect. Hundreds of non-revenue sports programs on campus feed the U.S. Olympic teams and if they need to make cuts, it will likely affect how well America does at the games.
GOLF
Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau will be the in the same place next week, when they head to Augusta National for the Masters. They’re saying the same things this week, albeit a golf world apart. Sounding an alarm going into the year’s first major, McIlroy and DeChambeau were among players from both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf League on Wednesday speaking out — perhaps a bit more forcefully than before — on a need for the game to somehow reunite or risk further eroding its fanbase.
CHAMPIONS CUP
Jorge Rodríguez scored the go-ahead goal in the 89th minute as Mexico’s Monterrey rallied past Inter Miami — playing without Lionel Messi — for a 2-1 win in the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal. Messi was sidelined for a fourth straight game as he deals with a right hamstring injury. He has not played since March 13 and also missed Argentina’s exhibitions last month against El Salvador and Costa Rica. It isn’t yet clear when he will return. The teams are scheduled to play the second leg of the quarterfinal in Mexico on April 10.
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