WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Geno Auriemma soaked in the moment. The UConn Hall of Fame coach now stands alone atop the NCAA college basketball wins list. Auriemma broke a tie with former Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer, earning his 1,217th career victory with an 85-41 win over Fairleigh Dickinson last night. He has spent four decades building UConn into the standard for women’s basketball. The school celebrated those 40 years Wednesday night. Surrounded by the greatest players in UConn history, including Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Maya Moore and Rebecca Lobo, Auriemma and longtime assistant Chris Dailey took in the incredible achievement in a postgame ceremony.
UAlbany 73 Syracuse 70
College of Charleston 77 Iona 41
Holy Cross 75 UMass 70
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Xavier 80 Siena 55
West Virginia 86 Iona 43
NBA
Jalen Brunson scored 36 points, Karl-Anthony Towns added 34 and the New York Knicks beat the Phoenix Suns 138-122 for their fourth straight win. All five Knicks starters scored in double figures. Josh Hart had 19 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Devin Booker scored 33 points on 12-for-23 shooting and Jusuf Nurkic had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the injury-depleted Suns, who have lost five straight. New York never trailed, hitting its first eight shots, including four 3-pointers.
Jaren Jackson Jr. had 25 points, Desmond Bane added 21 points and 10 rebounds and the Memphis Grizzlies set a season-high with 19 3-pointers in a 117-111 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. Jaylen Wells added 14 points for Memphis as Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins became the winningest coach in franchise history with 215. Joel Embiid led the Sixers with 35 points and 11 rebounds, but Philadelphia lost its fifth straight. Rookie Jared McCain finished with 20 points, while Guerschon Yabusele added 17 points.
Ty Jerome scored 27 points in the first half and finished with a career-high 29 as the Cleveland Cavaliers never trailed in a 128-100 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. Jerome, starting in place of injured point guard Darius Garland, had 20 points in the second quarter and buried seven 3-pointers before halftime. Cleveland is off to the best start in franchise history at 16-1. Georges Niang added 20 points and first-round pick Jaylon Tyson had 16 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists in his first pro start for the Cavaliers. Jarrett Allen had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Rookie forward Antonio Reeves had 34 for the Pelicans.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 41 points, nine rebounds and eight assists as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Chicago Bulls 122-106. Brook Lopez scored 21 points, Damian Lillard had 20 points and 10 assists, and AJ Green added 18 points to help the Bucks win for the fourth time in five games following a 2-8 start. Zach Lavine scored 27 points to lead Chicago. Torrey Craig added 15, while Nikola Vucevic and Coby White had 14 each.
Keldon Johnson scored 22 points, Harrison Barnes added 20 and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 110-104 Tuesday night without Victor Wembanyama for their first victory in the Emirates NBA Cup. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 32 points and Jalen Williams added 27 points for Oklahoma City. The Thunder closed the game on a 27-12 run but were unable to score in the final minute. Spurs rookie Stephon Castle, who had 10 points and eight assists, blocked Gilgeous-Alexander’s layup with 22 seconds remaining and the Spurs leading 110-104.
Alperen Sengun had a season-high 31 points with 12 rebounds to lead the Houston Rockets to a 130-113 win over the Indiana Pacers Wednesday night. The Rockets used a big run in the third quarter to push the lead to 21 entering the fourth and cruised to their sixth victory in seven games. Jabari Smith Jr. added 23 points for the Rockets for his second 20-point game in the last four, and Fred VanVleet had 18 points and six assists. Quenton Jackson had a career-high 24 points on 10-of-12 shooting for the Pacers.
Andrew Wiggins scored 27 points, Stephen Curry added 23 points and eight assists, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Atlanta Hawks 120-97. Trayce Jackson-Davis finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Buddy Hield contributed 11 points off the bench. Jalen Johnson led the Hawks with 15 points and 14 rebounds, and Trae Young had 12 points and 11 assists. Draymond Green, who had made multiple 3-pointers in each of the past five games, went 0 for 4 from deep and had nine points, nine assists and seven rebounds for the Warriors.
James Harden scored 24 points and the Los Angeles Clippers won their sixth game in a row at their new arena, beating the Orlando Magic 104-93. Harden shot just 5 of 14 from the field, but he made 11 of 12 free throws to go with seven rebounds and five assists. Ivica Zubac added 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting and 12 rebounds. Anthony Black scored 17 off the bench to lead Orlando. The Magic's six-game winning streak was snapped after they held every opponent under 100 points during that span. The Clippers pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring the Magic 30-21 to take an 87-75 lead into the fourth.
NHL
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 24 shots, Jason Zucker scored the game’s only goal, and the Buffalo Sabres beat the Los Angeles Kings 1-0. Luukkonen had six saves in the first period, six in the second and 12 in the third to get his first shutout of the season in his return after being sidelined for two games because of a lower-body injury. The Sabres have won five of seven. David Rittich made 18 saves for Los Angeles, which has lost three of four. With the game scoreless after two periods, Zucker scored 38 seconds into the third on the power play by redirecting Rasmus Dahlin’s shot past Rittich.
Sebastian Aho had a goal and an assist and the Carolina Hurricanes scored three times in the opening minutes of the third period to break it open and defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1 on Wednesday night. Aho’s wrist shot that squeezed through Philadelphia goalie Ivan Fedotov at 1:03 into the third period. Jordan Staal and Jack Roslovic scored 55 seconds, leading Carolina to their third consecutive victory. Pyotr Kochetkov made 18 saves. Jalen Chatfield scored his first goal of the season, 30 seconds into the game. Ryan Poehling scored the lone goal for the Flyers. Ivan Fedotov finished with 33 saves for Philadelphia.
Fraser Minten scored his first NHL goal as the injury-ravaged Toronto Maple Leafs blanked the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 on Wednesday night. William Nylander scored his 13th of the season at 3:01 of the third on the power play. Pontus Holmberg added an empty-net goal. Joseph Woll stopped all 31 shots he faced for his first shutout of the season. Adin Hill got the start for Vegas and made 23 saves. Toronto has won six of its last seven. Vegas has lost two straight as coach Bruce Cassidy seeks his 400th career victory.
Jason Robertson scored for the first time in 10 games and had two assists for his first multipoint game since Oct. 19 as the Dallas Stars beat the San Jose Sharks 5-2. Roope Hintz also had a goal and assist, and Wyatt Johnston, Jamie Benn and Evgenii Dadonov also scored for the Stars. Jake Oettinger made 20 saves, improving to 7-0-0 at home while allowing 10 total goals. Mikael Granlund had a short-handed goal and added an assist for the Sharks. Jake Walman also scored, and Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 26 shots. After Walman pulled the Sharks within one with 6:35 left in the third period, Hintz and Dadonov had empty-netters in the final 90 seconds to seal the Stars’ win.
Joey Daccord stopped 24 shots for Seattle’s first shutout of the season as the Kraken beat the Nashville Predators 3-0. Daniel Sprong, Brandon Montour and Yanni Gourde scored for the Seattle, which has won five of its last six games. Daccord had six saves in the first period, eight in the second and 10 in the third for his fourth career shutout — first since March 26 against Anaheim. Juuse Saros finished with 33 saves for Nashville, which has lost four of five (1-2-2).
MLB
Atlanta’s Chris Sale and Detroit’s Tarik Skubal have each won their first Cy Young Award. The left-handers were honored Wednesday night after sharing the MLB lead with 18 wins while leading their respective leagues in strikeouts and ERA. Sale went 18-3 and topped the National League with 225 strikeouts, while his 2.38 ERA in 29 starts was the best among all major league qualifiers in his first season with the Braves. The 35-year-old was an All-Star for the eighth time and won his first Gold Glove this year. Skubal, who turned 28 on Wednesday, went 18-4 with a 2.39 ERA and a big league-best 228 strikeouts in 31 starts to take the American League prize in a unanimous vote.
Hal Steinbrenner wants his relationship with Juan Soto to be similar to his friendship with Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole, and the New York Yankees owner emphasized the team’s commitment to continually improve its roster if the star free-agent outfielder stays in the Bronx. Steinbrenner said the Yankees delegation at Monday’s meeting included team president Randy Levine, general manager Brian Cashman, manager Aaron Boone and senior adviser for baseball operations Omar Minaya. Asked how confident he was about keeping Soto, Steinbrenner said: “No idea. We’ll be in the mix. I’ll leave it at that.”
Freddie Freeman’s historic walk-off grand slam ball from Game 1 of the World Series is hitting the auction block. The Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman homered in the 10th inning against the New York Yankees last month, giving the Dodgers a 6-3 victory. They went on to win the Series in five games and Freeman was named MVP. A 10-year-old boy named Zachary Ruderman corralled the ball in the stands. It will be part of a sale run by SCP Auctions from Dec. 4-14. Company president David Kohler says he believes the Freeman ball is “easily worth seven figures.”
Major League Baseball will test robot umpires as part of a challenge system during spring training at 13 ballparks hosting 19 teams, which could lead to regular-season use in 2026. MLB has been experimenting with the automated ball-strike system in the minor leagues since 2019 but is still working on the shape of the strike zone. An agreement for big league use would have to be reached with the Major League Baseball Umpires Association, whose collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says: “I would be interested in having it in ’26."
NFL
Donald Trump and the National Football League had an adversarial relationship during his first term in the White House. Now, players are breaking out the ‘Trump dance’ to celebrate sacks and scores. It involves swaying one's hips slowly and swinging the arms back and forth like Trump has long done on the campaign trail. The celebrations began two weekends ago when Nick Bosa hit the Trump dance following a sack only days after he was fined for wearing a “Make America Great Again” cap on TV after a game. On Sunday, four players made the Trump dance the centerpiece of their celebrations.
On Thursday Night Football, the Pittsburgh Steelers are in Cleveland taking on the Browns at 8:15.
CAR RACING
There’s never been a faster 180-degree turn than the one Max Verstappen took a year ago at the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix. The Dutchman hated the event before he arrived. By the time he crossed the finish line for his 18th win of the season, he was singing “Viva! Las Vegas!” on his radio. Just like that, the race that seemed on a crash course for failure was stamped as one of the best of the 2023 season. The second Las Vegas Grand Prix is coming up on Saturday night and Verstappen could clinch a fourth consecutive title.
MAUI INVITATIONAL
Residents of the Hawaii town devastated by last year's wildfire are awaiting the return of one of the nation's most prestigious basketball tournaments with mixed feelings. Fans are excited about the Maui Invitational bringing high-caliber competition to Lahaina. And they welcome the economic boost Lahaina will get from the thousands of travelers eating in restaurants and staying in hotels. But there’s also a fear that travelers might show disrespect by wandering into the burn zone and taking photos of the devastation. And there is worry tourists might trigger unpleasant memories with questions about that catastrophic day. Residents say feelings are still raw.
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
Sometimes opponents think players on Gallaudet’s women’s volleyball team are trying to distract them by using their hands and arms to talk in American Sign Language. They’re happy to let them think that because the team made up almost entirely of deaf and hard of hearing athletes is 30-4 this season. Gallaudet is back in the NCAA Division III Tournament, succeeding in silence in a sport usually predicated on verbal communication. A victory would be the program's first in the tournament since 2006.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Much has been made about the stakes for unbeaten Indiana in Saturday’s top-five showdown with Ohio State. Don’t forget what this game means for the Buckeyes. Ohio State hasn’t won a Big Ten championship since 2020. That also was the last time the Buckeyes made the College Football Playoff. Ohio State has had its last three seasons ruined by Michigan in the final regular-season game. Imagine the noise in Columbus if Indiana is the spoiler this year. Buckeyes coach Ryan Day says every game has been a must-win situation for his team since its loss to Oregon.
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