NFL
Russell Wilson has agreed on a one-year contract with the New York Giants, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press. The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the signing hasn’t been finalized, said Wilson’s deal is worth up to $21 million with $10.5 million guaranteed. The Giants signed veteran Jameis Winston to a two-year contract last week and have the third pick in next month’s NFL draft. The 36-year-old Wilson joins his fourth team in five years.
The New England Patriots have signed free agent wide receiver Stefon Diggs. The signing gives quarterback Drake Maye a prime target as he heads into his second season. The person spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because it was not yet official. A four-time Pro Bowl selection with the Buffalo Bills, Diggs led the league with 127 receptions and 1,535 receiving yards in 2020. He is coming off an ACL injury that limited him to eight games last year in Houston.
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
On a night when Josh Hart broke a New York Knicks franchise record that stood for 56 years, he decided to give the game ball to a teammate who played three minutes. It was just one more unselfish play in a season full of them for the eight-year veteran. Hart broke the Knicks’ franchise record for single-season triple-doubles (9), which star player-turned-broadcaster Walt “Clyde” Frazier set in 1969, by posting 16 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in New York’s 128-113 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night. Hart’s historic performance was equaled by one from Karl-Anthony Towns as well. The duo became the first Knicks teammates to post triple-doubles in the same game in the franchise’s 79-season history.
Marcus Sasser scored a career-high 27 points in 26 minutes off the bench and the Detroit Pistons routed the San Antonio Spurs 122-96 for their second consecutive victory without injured star Cade Cunningham. Tobias Harris added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Pistons, who pulled within a percentage point of Milwaukee for fifth place in the Eastern Conference. Cunningham, averaging 25.7 points and 9.2 assists, missed his second straight game with a bruised left calf. Sasser has filled the scoring void, also providing 20 points in 26 minutes Sunday during a 136-130 win over New Orleans. Devin Vassell had 26 points for the Spurs, and rookie Stephon Castle scored 19.
Paolo Banchero scored 32 points, Franz Wagner had 26 points and the Orlando used a late run for a 111-104 win over the Charlotte Hornets. Orlando’s Wendell Carter Jr. had a game-high 11 rebounds. LaMelo Ball led the Hornets with 25 points and nine assists, while Josh Green and Nick Smith Jr. had 13 points each. The Magic ended the game on a 7-0 run. After Nick Smith Jr. tied it at 104-all with 2:18 to play, Anthony Black’s dunk with 1:58 remaining broke the tie and put the Magic ahead for good.
Bam Adebayo scored 27 points, Tyler Herro scored 20 and the Miami Heat spoiled Jimmy Butler’s return game with a one-sided 112-86 win over the Golden State Warriors. Alec Burks scored 18 for Miami, which never trailed. The Heat were 17 for 25 from 3-point range. Butler, in his first game back in Miami since a trade last month, had 11 points. Jonathan Kuminga scored 15, Brandin Podziemski had 14 and Gui Santos scored 13 for Golden State. The Warriors played without Stephen Curry, who is injured.
Jalen Green scored 32 points ahd had 11 rebounds and the Houston Rockets beat the Atlanta Hawks 121-114. Fred VanVleet shot 5 of 14 from the field, including 3 for 8 from 3-point range, and went 8 for 8 from the line to add 21 points. Tari Eason had 14 rebounds. Dyson Daniels led the Hawks with 19 points, eight rebounds, 10 assists and four steals. Trae Young added 19 points and 12 assists for Atlanta.
Desmond Bane scored 21 points, Jaren Jackson had 19 and the Memphis Grizzlies, playing without Ja Morant, used a dominant second half for a 140-103 win over the Utah Jazz. Isaiah Collier scored 21 for the Jazz, who have dropped 13 of 14 and played without several key players. After getting hit in the face, Jackson left the court and went directly to the locker room with 7:39 left in the third quarter but returned to the bench late in the game. He wasn’t needed as the Grizzlies outscored the Jazz 76-38 in the second half for their second win in their last six games.
Darius Garland had 27 points and eight assists to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 122-111 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night. Ty Jerome scored 25 points off the bench and Evan Mobley had 21 points and 12 rebounds in the win. Portland’s Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe each had 18 points in the loss. The Cavaliers were without star guard Donovan Mitchell, who is managing a left groin injury.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to their seventh straight win and 60th of the season with a 121-105 victory over the Sacramento Kings. Chet Holmgren added 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Alex Caruso scored 15 to give the NBA-leading Thunder their 14th win in 15 games. Keegan Murray scored 28 points with nine 3-pointers and Zach LaVine added 19 to lead the Kings. Sacramento has dropped four straight games.
Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard will likely be sidelined indefinitely, with the team announcing Tuesday night that he has deep vein thrombosis in his right calf and is taking blood-thinning medication. The Bucks provided the update on the seven-time all-NBA guard’s status without offering a target date for his potential return. Lillard has missed the last three games for the Bucks, who close a five-game trip Wednesday at Denver. Thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel. The Bucks said Lillard’s medication has stabilized the thrombosis and that he will continue with regular testing.
NHL
Kevin Fiala scored twice, Darcy Kuemper stopped 22 shots, and the Los Angeles Kings beat the New York Rangers 3-1. Phillip Danault also scored as the Kings extended their home point streak to 15 games (12-0-3). Los Angeles is the second team in the NHL to have a home streak of at least 15 games, joining Washington (11-0-5). J. T. Miller scored for New York, and Igor Shesterkin finished with 30 saves. The Rangers have lost four of their last five games.
Humbling as it is, Buffalo's Lindy Ruff didn't spend much time celebrating after becoming the NHL's second coach to win 600 games with one franchise. The Sabres coach in his second stint in Buffalo is already looking ahead to next season and finishing the job of transforming the Sabres into winners. Ruff described his first season back in Buffalo a disappointment with the Sabres all but assured of extending their NHL-record playoff drought to a 14th season. With a 3-2 win over Ottawa, Ruff trails only Al Arbour, who won 740 games with the New York Islanders.
William Nylander and John Tavares each had two goals and two assists, and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Philadelphia Flyers 7-2. Bobby McMann, David Kampf and Max Domi also scored for Toronto, and Matthew Knies had two assists. Anthony Stolarz made 17 saves. Ryan Poehling and Sean Couturier scored for Philadelphia, which lost its sixth straight. Samuel Ersson had 23 saves.
Nazem Kadri scored his second goal of the game 3:58 into overtime, sending the Calgary Flames to a 4-3 victory over the Seattle Kraken. Adam Klapka and Rasmus Andersson also scored for the Flames, who earned their fourth consecutive comeback win. Matt Coronato had two assists. Calgary is four points behind streaking St. Louis for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, with three games in hand. Jaden Schwartz had a power-play goal and an assist for the Kraken, who lost their third in a row. Tye Kartye and Jordan Eberle also scored. Eberle’s ninth goal with 1:30 remaining in regulation tied it 3-all.
Luke Evangelista scored twice, Juuse Saros stopped 34 shots in his 200th career win, and the Nashville Predators beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1. Michael Bunting also scored for the Predators, who won for just the second time in seven games. Taylor Hall scored for the Hurricanes, who lost their second straight after an eight-game win streak. Pyotr Kochetkov had 13 saves.
Philip Broberg and Robert Thomas each had a goal and three assists, and the St. Louis Blues beat the Montreal Canadiens 6-1 to extend their active NHL-best winning streak to seven games. Broberg recorded four points in a game for the first time. Coupled with Minnesota’s home loss to Vegas, St. Louis is now two points back of the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The Canadiens lost their third in a row.
Alex Ovechkin is now six goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record after scoring the 889th of his career in the Washington Capitals’ 3-2 OT win Tuesday night at the Winnipeg Jets. Ovechkin beat two-time Vezina Trophy winner and current favorite Connor Hellebuyck to tie the score at 2 with 4 minutes left in regulation. The Capitals lost 3-2 in overtime. The 39-year-old is on pace to pass Gretzky's mark of 894 on April 15 at the New York Islanders.
Philip Broberg and Robert Thomas each had a goal and three assists, and the St. Louis Blues beat the Montreal Canadiens 6-1 to extend their active NHL-best winning streak to seven games. Broberg recorded four points in a game for the first time. Coupled with Minnesota’s home loss to Vegas, St. Louis is now two points back of the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The Canadiens lost their third in a row.
Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and an assist, Jonathan Drouin and Martin Necas had two assists apiece, and the Colorado Avalanche rolled past the Detroit Red Wings 5-2 on Tuesday night. Devon Toews had a goal and two assists, and Cale Makar, Valeri Nichushkin and Logan O’Connor also scored for the Avalanche. J.T. Compher, who played for Colorado from 2016-23, and Austin Watson scored for the Red Wings. Mackenzie Blackwood saved 21 of Detroit’s 23 shots on goal.
Nazem Kadri scored his second goal of the game 3:58 into overtime, sending the Calgary Flames to a 4-3 victory over the Seattle Kraken. Adam Klapka and Rasmus Andersson also scored for the Flames, who earned their fourth consecutive comeback win. Matt Coronato had two assists. Calgary is four points behind streaking St. Louis for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, with three games in hand. Jaden Schwartz had a power-play goal and an assist for the Kraken, who lost their third in a row. Tye Kartye and Jordan Eberle also scored. Eberle’s ninth goal with 1:30 remaining in regulation tied it 3-all.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
There will be more than one Pitino in the Big East next season. Xavier hired Richard Pitino, the son of St. John’s coach Rick Pitino, as its basketball coach on Tuesday night. The school had an opening after Sean Miller left to accept the Texas job on Monday. Richard Pitino takes over the Xavier program after four years at New Mexico, where he led the Lobos to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. New Mexico went 27-8 this season and was eliminated by Michigan State in the second round of the NCAAs on Sunday. The younger Pitino was the Mountain West Coach of the Year this season after the Lobos won the conference’s regular-season title. He went 88-49 at New Mexico and has an overall mark of 247-186.
If Southern California wants to win its first women's national championship in 41 years, the Trojans will have to find a way to get it done without star guard JuJu Watkins. She was lost to a season-ending knee injury in the first quarter of USC's 96-59 win over Mississippi State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Now the Trojans are headed to the Sweet 16. They have a deep and talented roster that will be called upon to contribute in Watkins' absence. Three of USC's freshmen scored in double figures against the Bulldogs. Graduate transfer Kiki Iriafen scored 36 points and had eight rebounds.
BASEBALL
Figuring out a cause for the skyrocketing number of arm injuries among pitchers is easy. Finding a solution could prove much more challenging. Major League Baseball issued a 62-page report in December that showed how the focus on throwing with increased velocity and using maximum effort on every pitch was a likely cause for the skyrocketing number of arm injuries. The study provided numerical data backing a thesis already supported by conventional wisdom.
There almost certainly won’t be a $700 million deal for any player in the baseball’s next free agency class, nothing like the record contracts for two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani and four-time All-Star slugger Juan Soto the past two winters. Still, plenty of talented players are going into their final seasons before potentially becoming free agents for the first time. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., five-tool player Kyle Tucker and starting pitchers Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez and Zac Gallen could all become available to other teams after this season. Three-time batting champion Luis Arráez could also be a first-time free agent.
WORLD ATHLETICS
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe says the track and field’s governing body has approved the introduction of cheek swabs and dry blood-spot tests for female athletes in order to maintain “the integrity of competition.” The planned changes include reinstating a version of chromosome testing that was discontinued in the 1990s, requiring athletes who compete in the female category to submit to a cheek swab or dry blood-spot test for the presence of a gene that indicates whether the athlete has a “Y” chromosome present in males. Coe says athletes will have to take the test just once during their career. No timeline for the introduction of pre-clearance testing has been officially announced.
WOMEN’S SKIING
Italian ski racer Federica Brignone wrapped up the season-long giant slalom title at the World Cup finals in a race won by Lara Gut-Behrami of Switzerland. Brignone needed to finish just 13th or better in the final run to clinch the discipline crown and wound up second. She finished 0.14 seconds behind Gut-Behrami’s winning combined time of 2 minutes, 10.01 seconds. Sara Hector of Sweden was third. The 34-year-old Brignone entered the day 20 points behind Alice Robinson of New Zealand in the last World Cup giant slalom race of the season. Robinson struggled with a gate, veered off course and didn’t finish, paving the way for Brignone.
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