San Antonio’s Dejounte Murray earned a permanent PG spot this season. For years, Russell Westbrook has rebounded like a big man. The first hints of a shifting landscape came early, with Ben Simmons out-rebounding Westbrook over the first month of the season, while Lonzo Ball became the youngest player
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Jordan Spieth has taken control at Augusta National. The 2015 Masters champion birdied five straight holes beginning at the 13th Thursday, pushing his score to 7 under before a wayward drive produced a bogey-5 at the 18th. Spieth carded a 6-under 66 and held a two-shot lead over Tony Finau and Matt Kuchar. Spieth already has three major titles on his resume, even though he won’t turn 25 until late July. He’s certainly off to a good start in his quest for No. 4. Finau made five birdies over 12 holes in the opening round and got to 4 under. He did it a day after dislocating his left ankle celebrating a hole-in-one in the Par-3 Tournament and popping it back into place. X-rays were negative, and Finau was diagnosed with a high ankle sprain. Tiger Woods shot a 1-over 73 in the opening round, failing to make up any ground on the four par 5s. Woods has feasted on Augusta National’s longest holes over the years, but parred each of them in his return to golf’s first major. He says, “That was the difference in the round.” The 42-year-old Woods has been away from golf for much of the last few years because of his four back surgeries. The Masters is his first major since playing the PGA Championship in August 2015. He was back in the Masters field for the first time in 1,089 days. Woods says he “definitely didn’t score as well as I played,” noting that he has to be better on the par-5s. The four-time Masters champion is far from concerned. He’s typically been a slow starter at Augusta, having shot under par just once (a 68 in 2010) in the opening round. Woods says, “This is a very bunched leaderboard, and by the end of the week, it’s going to be really crowded.” Meanwhile, defending champion Sergio Garcia made history — not the good kind. Garcia carded a 13 on the par-5 15th after hitting five shots into the water in front of the green. He matched the highest single-hole score in Masters history. Tom Weiskopf had a 13 at No. 12 in 1980 and Tommy Nakajima did it at No. 13 in 1978.
Will this at least help LeBron James defensively?
An eagle landed on Mariners starter James Paxton during the national anthem on Thursday at Target Field in Minneapolis.
METAIRIE, La. (AP) — The New Orleans Pelicans have brought back guard Jordan Crawford as the club tries to hang on to one of the final playoffs spots in the Western Conference.
ESPN report: Kyrie Irving out rest of season, playoffs Celtics star Kyrie Irving will miss the rest of the regular season and the playoffs, according to a report from ESPN. ESPN NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted Thursday afternoon that sources say Irving is out the rest of the regular season and
Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre, a native of the Dominican Republic, surpassed Rod Carew on Thursday to become the career leader in hits among Latin American-born players. Beltre’s second-inning double was his 3,054th hit.
The Hobey Baker Award — aka hockey’s “Heisman” — is given annually to the player who best “exhibits strength of character both on and off the ice.” How well do you know the history of college hockey’s greatest individual honor? Test your Hobey know-how.
Boston’s chances at a Finals run closed for good when Kyrie Irving’s knee surgery was announced. The question is, will they ever reopen?
What did Sergio Garcia have to say after going from defending Masters champion to battling just to make the cut? “I don’t know.”
