NHL:
On the road to the Stanley Cup, the Islanders edged Florida 5-4, Washington blanked Philadelphia 2-0, Dallas shut out Minnesota 4-0, and it was San Jose over Los Angeles 4-3.
The New York Rangers have recalled goaltender Magnus Hellberg from Hartford of the American Hockey League while star Henrik Lundqvist deals with a facial injury suffered in a Game 1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night. Lundqvist sat out the final two periods of the 5-2 defeat after teammate Marc Staal's stick wedged between the bars on Lundqvist's mask.
The Boston Bruins are sticking with coach Claude Julien for another season despite missing the playoffs two years in a row. General manager Don Sweeney says Julien is the right coach to guide the team through a "bumpy transition." Sweeney says the team has work to do and has started to assess areas where they want to improve.
MLB:
Major League Baseball is celebrating the 69th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s first game with the Brooklyn Dodgers. But the biggest news comes in the form of an apology from the MLB for how the City of Philadelphia treated Robinson at the beginning of his career.
In baseball, in the American League, Toronto doubled up the Yankees 4-2, the White Sox beat Minnesota 3-1, Cleveland shut out Tampa Bay 6-0, Texas won against Baltimore 6-3, and it was Kansas City over Houston 6-2.
In the National League, Philadelphia beat San Diego 3-0, St. Louis blanked Milwaukee 7-0, Colorado blasted San Francisco 11-6, Washington tripled up Atlanta 6-2, the Cubs defeated Cincinnati 8-1, and it was the Dodgers over Arizona 5-2.
In interleague play, Detroit beat Pittsburgh 7-4.
After undergoing treatment for oral cancer, former All-Star pitcher Curt Schilling has recorded a public service announcement on the dangers of smokeless tobacco. The 60-second spot was produced by Major League Baseball and the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society. It will air on the MLB Network and be shown on scoreboards at big league stadiums.
Phillies reliever Daniel Stumpf has received an 80-game suspension from Major League Baseball after testing positive for a banned performance-enhancing substance. The rookie left-hander tested positive an anabolic steroid used to increase speed and strength. Stumpf made his major league debut April 7 and has a 40.50 ERA in three appearances, allowing three runs in two-thirds of an inning.
NBA:
Phil Jackson wants to work with a coach he knows, and he'll take some time before deciding if that's Kurt Rambis. Jackson says Rambis will be interviewed for the New York Knicks' coaching job after he finished the season as the team's interim coach. Jackson says he hasn't taken or made any calls about the position, which Rambis held since Derek Fisher was fired in early February.
NFL:
The first overall pick in the upcoming NFL draft now belongs to the Los Angeles Rams, who acquired it from the Tennessee Titans. Tennessee swaps the No. 1 choice to the Rams along with its picks in the fourth and sixth round for the 15th overall selection, two second-round selections and their third round pick in the draft. The Titans also will receive the Rams' first- and third-round picks in 2017. Tennessee now has six of first 76 picks in the draft, which begins April 28.
The NFL season will begin the way the last one ended, with the Denver Broncos playing the Carolina Panthers in a rematch of Super Bowl 50. It is the first such rematch on opening weekend since 1970, when Minnesota beat champion Kansas City 27-10. Among the highlights for opening weekend is the Rams' return to representing Los Angeles as they visit San Francisco in the nightcap of a Monday night doubleheader. Pittsburgh is at Washington in the first game. Also facing off in Week 1 will be the Patriots and Cardinals at Arizona on Sunday night, Sept. 11.
NCAA:
UAlbany star women’s basketball player, Shareesha Richards, went undrafted in the WNBA draft. It comes as a shock to many as she was a top prospect at the end of this year after the UAlbany Great Danes went to the second round in the NCAA tournament.
Meanwhile Siena’s men’s basketball coach Jimmy Patsos is getting a two year extension on his contract. The Times Union reports that he will add two years onto the remaining three years on his contract, keeping him on the team through the 2020-21 season.
Memphis has hired men's basketball coach Tubby Smith as the program tries to return to the NCAA tournament. The Tigers lured Smith away from Texas Tech with a five-year contract worth $15.45 million. He and Lon Kruger are the only two coaches to guide five different schools to the NCAA Tournament, and he just led the Red Raiders to the tourney.
Louisville football coach Bobby Petrino has agreed to a new seven-year, $30.6 million contract through 2023, a deal that could pay an annual base salary of $4.375 million if incentives are met. The 55-year-old coach is 58-18 in two stints with the Cardinals, including a 17-9 mark with two bowl appearances in Petrino's current tenure. Petrino is 100-39 overall as a college coach, including stops at Western Kentucky and Arkansas.
Boston Marathon:
Boston is marking the 3rd anniversary of the deadly 2013 marathon bombings with a subdued remembrance. Survivors will lay a wreath at the marathon finish line on Friday morning. Then at 2:49 p.m., the city will observe a moment of silence marking the time when the first of two pressure cooker bombs detonated.
Golf:
Luke Donald and Branden Grace share the first-round lead at the opening round of the RBC Heritage golf tournament at Hilton Head. Donald fired a 32 on the back nine to tie Grace at 5-under 66. They hold a one-shot edge over Jason Day, Matt Kuchar, Jason David Lingmerth and Tony Finau. Jason Bohn shot a 3-over 74 in his first round since suffering a heart attack two months ago at the Honda Classic.
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