Breaking News

National Sports

LaMelo Ball punches team mascot Hugo twice after Hornets knock Heat out of play-in tournament

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — LaMelo Ball was so excited after delivering a knockout blow to the Miami Heat in Tuesday night's electric 127-126 play-in tournament win that he carried it over to his victory celebration, delivering two right-hand jabs to the oversized head of Hugo, the Charlotte Hornets' mascot. In a wild sequence, Ball avenged two critical mistakes just seconds earlier by scoring on a driving right-handed layup with 4.7 seconds left, and Charlotte prevailed after Miles Bridges blocked Davion Mitchell's layup attempt on the other of the court as time expired. That set off a wild ...

Goldeneyes keep slim playoff hopes alive with 4-1 win over Torrent

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Hannah Miller scored early in the second and the Vancouver Goldeneyes kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a 4-1 win over the Seattle Torrent in a battle between two expansion teams on Tuesday night. Sarah Nurse, Anna Meixner and Madison Samoskevich also scored for Vancouver, which snapped a three-game losing streak. Defenseman Ashton Bell added two assists. Miller's goal was her fourth of the season and 50th career PWHL point. Mikyla Grant-Mentis scored for Seattle, which was eliminated from the playoff hunt. The Goldeneyes have 30 points ...

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert says league is looking to play overseas in 2027

NEW YORK — As the WNBA is racing through free agency, Commissioner Cathy Engelbert is already looking overseas. Engelbert said before the draft Monday night that the league is looking to play a game outside North America for the first time in 2027. The WNBA expanded to Toronto this season, its first franchise outside the United States. "We're heavily looking at that," Engelbert said of playing either an exhibition or regular-season game overseas. "Obviously this year we have the FIBA World Cup. Next year we expect that we'll do something outside of North America as a true global ...

Maika Hamano scores to give Japan 1-0 win over USWNT

SEATTLE — Maika Hamano scored and Japan beat the U.S. women's national team 1-0 in a friendly on Tuesday night to snap the Americans' 10-game winning streak. The loss was the first for the U.S. since Oct. 23, 2025, a 2-1 setback to Portugal, and marked the first time the Americans lost in ...

Sabres ending their NHL-record playoff drought inspires joy beyond Buffalo

BUFFALO, N.Y. — When Taylor Hall signed with the Sabres several years ago, the 2018 MVP summed up a belief shared by many around the NHL by saying the league is better when Buffalo is competitive. It has been a long time since that was the case. After numerous rebuilds and coaching and ...