NHL:
In the NHL playoffs, Montreal tripled up Tampa Bay 6-2, the Lightning lead the series 3-1 and it was Chicago over Minnesota 4-3 to advance to the Western Conference finals with a 4-0 series sweep.
The New York Rangers are on the brink of elimination from the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Washington Capitals lead the series 3-1 and can eliminate the Rangers in Game 5 tonight in New York. The Rangers have vowed to feed off the home crowd to stave off elimination.
NCAA:
In the NCAA Lacrosse tournament, the UAlbany men’s team will face off against No. 8 Cornell tomorrow at 9 p.m. in Ithaca. Today at 2 p.m. the UAlbany women’s team will go head to head with Penn for the spot against No. 4 Syracuse.
MLB:
In baseball, in the American League, the Yankees edged Baltimore 4-3 while Alex Rodriguez passed Willie Mays for fourth on the career home run list, connecting for Number 661. Detroit beat the White Sox 4-1, Kansas City topped Cleveland 7-4, Minnesota won against Oakland 6-5, Texas defeated Tampa Bay 5-4, and it was Houston over the Angels 3-2. Boston starts a series tonight at 7 p.m. against Toronto.
The last-place Boston Red Sox have fired pitching coach Juan Nieves. The move came after Justin Masterson walked six batters in 4 1/3 innings in Wednesday night's 5-3 loss to Tampa Bay. It was Boston's fifth loss in six games. The team has not named a replacement.
In the National League, Pittsburgh beat Cincinnati 7-2, St. Louis bested the Cubs 5-1, the Dodgers topped Milwaukee 14-4, Arizona shut out San Diego 11-0, and it was Miami over San Francisco 7-2.
NFL:
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady says the scandal surrounding his use of deflated footballs during the NFL playoffs last season hasn't detracted in any way from his Super Bowl title. Brady declined to discuss his thoughts last night about the NFL's findings that he was at least aware two team employees were breaking rules by deflating footballs for him.
The New York Jets have signed linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin, quarterback Bryce Petty and defensive tackle Deon Simon. They were all drafted last weekend, and all have signed four-year deals. Rookie minicamp begins today.
WNBA:
The woman once at the center of a sexual harassment lawsuit involving Isiah Thomas is criticizing Madison Square Garden for rehiring the former NBA star. Anucha Browne Sanders won a suit against Thomas, the Garden and chairman Jim Dolan in 2007, and agreed to a settlement of $11.5 million. Thomas, the former Knicks president and coach, was hired this week by Dolan as president of the WNBA's New York Liberty.
The Minnesota Lynx have signed WNBA MVP Maya Moore to a new multiyear contract. The former UConn star has fulfilled the considerable promise she had as the Number 1 pick in the 2011 draft. She helped the Lynx to three straight WNBA Finals, including championships in 2011 and 2013.
Golf:
Charley Hoffman carded eight birdies in grabbing a share of the first-round lead in the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. The string of birdies offset a triple-bogey on the first hole and left him at 5-under 67, tied with David Hearn, Kevin Na and Hideki Matsuyama (math-soo-YAH'-mah). Rory McIlroy is just two strokes back after winning the Match Play Championship last weekend.
AHL:
Curtis Hamilton scored 16 seconds into the fourth overtime to give the Oklahoma City Barons a 2-1 victory over the Utica Comets early Friday morning in Game 1 of the American Hockey League's Western Conference semifinals. Richard Bachman made 56 saves for Oklahoma City, the Edmonton Oilers' farm team. Jacob Markstrom stopped 65 shots for Utica, affiliated with the Vancouver Canucks. Kent Huskins opened the scoring for Utica in the first period, and Connor Jones tied it in the second. At 120 minutes, 16 seconds, the game fell more than a period short of the AHL record of 142:58 set in Philadelphia's 3-2 victory over Albany in five overtimes in Game 5 of the 2008 East Division semifinals.
Hockey - World Championship:
The United States has been beaten by Belarus 5-2 at the ice hockey world championship. It was the first time Belarus had defeated the Americans after five straight losses and the first loss for the U.S. in the tournament. Belarus built a 3-0 second-period lead before Brock Nelson got the Americans on the board.
Belarus tops Group B after four games with 10 points, one ahead of the U.S. and Russia. The top four teams in each of the two groups of eight will advance to the quarterfinals.
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