Sports
WNBA playoffs begin with four games on Sunday
Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray (15) looks to shoot Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, during a game between the Indiana Fever and the Atlanta Dream at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Fever defeated the Dream in overtime, 104-100. The Atlanta Dream claimed the WNBA’s final playoff spot on Thursday night to complete the league’s postseason field.
Eighth-seeded Atlanta will face the top-seeded New York Liberty in the best-of-three first-round series, which begins Sunday in New York.
The three other matchups also will begin Sunday. The second-seeded Minnesota Lynx drew the seventh-seeded Phoenix Mercury, the third-seeded Connecticut Sun face the sixth-seeded Indiana Fever and the fourth-seeded Las Vegas Aces battle the fifth-seeded Seattle Storm.
The higher-seeded team hosts Games 1 and 2. The lower seed would host Game 3, if necessary.
Two-time defending champion Las Vegas was in the running for the No. 3 seed on Thursday before Connecticut clinched the spot with an 87-54 rout of the Chicago Sky.
Las Vegas is looking to become the first team to win three straight titles since the Houston Comets won four in a row (1997-2000).
Atlanta secured the final spot with a 78-67 upset of the Liberty. The Dream edged out the Washington Mystics, who posted a 92-91 home win over the Indiana Fever.
“This year is special. This has definitely been the toughest year for us with everything that has gone on,” Dream coach Tanisha Wright said afterward. “I’m really proud of our athletes for continuing to fight and never giving in because I think it’s easy to give in after the season that we’ve had.”
Sunday’s game between the Caitlin Clark-led Fever and Sun will be aired on ABC. The three other games that day will be televised on ESPN.
Games 2 and 3 of the Atlanta-New York and Seattle-Las Vegas series are slated for Tuesday and Thursday, pending whether a Game 3 is necessary. The Indiana-Connecticut and Phoenix-Minnesota series are scheduled for Wednesday and Friday games, again depending on whether Game 3 is needed.
The best-of-five semifinals are slated to begin Sept. 29.
The WNBA Finals, also a five-game series, will begin Oct. 10. A Game 5 would be held Oct. 20, if necessary.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Yankees place LHP Max Fried (left elbow bruise) on 15-day IL
May 13, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Max Fried (54) delivers during the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images The New York Yankees placed left-handed starting pitcher Max Fried on the 15-day injured list on Friday, after an MRI exam and CT scan revealed a left elbow bone bruise.
After getting off to a brilliant start in 2026, Fried (4-3, 3.21 ERA) struggled in May, allowing 11 earned runs and 17 hits in 14 1/3 innings over three starts. He left Wednesday’s start in Baltimore after only three innings, permitting three earned runs in 61 pitches.
Fried, 32, was 4-1 with a 2.09 ERA through seven starts (47 1/3 IP) in March and April.
After spending eight years with the Atlanta Braves (2017-24), Fried signed an eight-year, $218 million contract with the Yankees prior to the 2025 campaign. He made his third All-Star team with New York, posing a 19-5 record with a 2.86 ERA in 32 starts.
Fried is 96-44 in 210 appearances (194 starts) with a 3.04 ERA in 10 major league seasons.
There is no timetable for Fried’s return. He is slated to undergo repeat imagining in a few weeks or when asymptomatic to determine when he can resume throwing.
As of Friday afternoon, the Yankees have not announced a corresponding move.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Familiar times for Orlando City, Atlanta United over 4-day span
May 13, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando City SC goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau (71) controls the ball Philadelphia Union FC in the second half at Inter&Co Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images Orlando City will face visiting Atlanta United in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday. However, before that comes a Saturday night MLS encounter, the first of two meetings in four days between the two Southeastern rivals.
The first match, not the one on Tuesday, is the focus for Orlando interim head coach Martin Perelman.
“It’s true that we have two games in a row against them. We’re just focused on the first one. And we go one game at a time,” Perelman said. “Always, the most important game is the next one. That’s it. In that way, we prepare.”
Orlando (4-8-1, 13 points) saw a 3-1 lead over the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday turn into a 3-3 match with 11 minutes remaining in regulation, but Martin Ojeda’s team-high ninth goal in the 90th minute rescued a 4-3 win for the Lions.
“Even though we know we need to address some things within the group … since we were up 3-1 and are not happy at all to let two goals as (easily) as it happened, (we are) also happy that we managed to turn that momentum around to get three points,” Orlando captain Robin Jansson said.
Atlanta (3-8-1, 10 points) saw its three-match win streak across all competitions end with a 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy on May 9.
“The biggest difference is we want to play the way that we played for the first 70 minutes, but what we have to correct are the errors,” Atlanta head coach Tata Martino said through an interpreter. “In terms of how we want to play and the way that we want the team to attack, the result doesn’t change. We just need to clean up the mistakes.”
Martino said Miguel Almiron, who missed the past month due to knee irritation, is “doing better.”
“I would say he’s probably 85 to 90 percent, but we’re being cautious and evaluating him every day,” Martino said.
Atlanta is 11-7-6 all-time against Orlando in MLS play, but has lost its last two matches at Inter&Co Stadium.
In its last six matches across all competitions, Orlando has scored three or more goals on four occasions.
–Field Level Media
Sports
NHL docks Golden Knights 2026 draft pick for media policy violations
May 1, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Vegas Golden Knights head coach John Tortorella addresses the media after game six of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Utah Mammoth at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images The NHL reacted swiftly and harshly to the Vegas Golden Knights’ “flagrant violations of 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs media regulations,” announcing on Friday that the franchise will forfeit a second-round selection in the 2026 NHL Draft.
Head Coach John Tortorella did not meet with the media as prescribed by league policy after his squad eliminated the Anaheim Ducks in Game 6 of their Western Conference semifinal series in Anaheim on Thursday night.
Moreover, the locker room remained closed to media.
In addition, Tortorella, who took over head coaching duties from Bruce Cassidy on March 29, has been fined $100,000.
“The Golden Knights are aware of today’s announcement from the NHL regarding the postgame media availability following Game 6 in Anaheim,” the team said on social media. “The organization will have no further comment.”
The NHL imposed these penalties after previous warnings to the Golden Knights regarding its media regulations and other associated policies. Vegas may appeal these penalties to the Commissioner’s Office in person next week in New York.
The Golden Knights will take on the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Finals, beginning in Denver on Wednesday.
–Field Level Media
Yankees place LHP Max Fried (left elbow bruise) on 15-day IL
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