Sports
Bulls take aim at Spurs after red-hot night of offense
Jan 4, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Coby White (0) gestures after making a three point basket against the New York Knicks during the first quarter at United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images Saturday’s ceremony honoring former MVP guard Derrick Rose admittedly inspired the host Chicago Bulls, who rode a third-quarter surge to rally past the New York Knicks.
“That meant a lot to us to win for him,” Chicago’s Coby White said. “He’s a local legend; he’s a legend in general. … We wanted to win for him, for sure.”
With the pomp and circumstance over and Rose’s jersey not set for retirement until next season, the Bulls will look for motivation in other places when the San Antonio Spurs visit Monday night.
Perhaps the thought of stopping — not saluting — a player clad in jersey No. 1 will do the trick. San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama, the top overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, comes to town in good spirits after posting a double-double of 20 points and 23 rebounds on Saturday, his 21st birthday.
“It feels good for sure to have everybody being kind, from the chef who saw me coming in and saying ‘Happy birthday,’ to the fans singing a little bit during warmups,” Wembanyama said. “Everybody is in a good mood, so it makes me in a good mood.”
Still, the vibe arguably would have improved had the Spurs prevailed against the visiting Denver Nuggets, who outscored San Antonio 14-3 in overtime to secure a 122-111 win.
Wembanyama didn’t add to his scoring or rebounding totals in the extra session.
“I should have done a better job of being more assertive and catching the ball,” he said.
If it’s any consolation, San Antonio showed collective tediousness on offense in the fourth quarter and OT, when the Nuggets boasted a combined 41-19 scoring advantage.
Acting Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said he “felt like we got a little stagnant in mud.” To Chris Paul, one way to fix that going forward is to work toward building a rhythm at both ends of the floor, especially in crunch time.
“You got to be able to score, get a stop, score again, get a stop, and that’s game over,” Paul said.
Chicago seemingly couldn’t stop scoring after halftime against the Knicks. The Bulls seized control with a 41-17 advantage in third quarter of their 139-126 victory to match a season high in points set Dec. 5 during a 139-124 win at San Antonio.
White was torrid from 3-point range, connecting on a career-best nine on 11 attempts. He matched Zach LaVine with 33 points.
With Ayo Dosunmu (calf) and Torrey Craig (lower leg) still injured, Bulls coach Billy Donovan has praised how the team’s veterans, led by LaVine, have helped keep the team afloat.
“I really, really appreciate the way (Zach) is playing,” Donovan said. “He’s really doing a terrific job of balancing himself and his teammates.
“One of the most underrated things about Zach’s game is in his unselfishness. He tries to help (Nikola Vucevic), he tries to get guys shots, he advances it on the break when he sees guys open. He really is an unselfish player and he’s playing offensively all the way round. He’s getting to the rim, he’s shooting 3s and he’s passing.”
Chicago has won five straight against San Antonio.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cherie DeVaux Makes History with Kentucky Derby Win at Churchill Downs
Cherie DeVaux made history on Saturday by becoming the first female trainer to win the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. However, with a horde of media surrounding her at her backside stable Sunday morning, she was quick to give the credit to jockey Jose Ortiz.
“It’s almost as if he could script it,” she said.
With an entry that’s known for being a closer, DeVaux said she did not mind Golden Tempo drawing an outside post. He got the 19th gate in the draw, but after scratches, he moved into the 16th. While a ways away from the rail, it helped the colt avoid much of the bumping between horses at the start as they work to get inside position.
DeVaux said she’s not one to give her riders many instructions before a race. She kept it simple: “Don’t overthink it. If you can get out, just get a clear path and make a run.”
Mission accomplished, even if the horse doesn’t quite live up to his name.
“Golden Tempo doesn’t really give Jose any help by just falling back so far,” she added.
While the early front-runners posted blazing quarter times, Golden Tempo ran last in the field for the first three-quarters of a mile. However, as the speed faded, Ortiz had an easy route to the outside, and down the final stretch, he chased down Renegade, the bettors’ second choice, to win by a neck.
Another issue that may have been in Golden Tempo’s favor was not having to load into the gate a second time. That’s something several horses had to do after racing officials scratched Great White at the last minute for dumping jockey Alex Achard and falling over backward while being led to the gate.
“It was a rough trip, everybody was all over the place,” said Luis Saez, who rode seventh-place finisher Commandment. “He ran pretty well and made a nice move, but it was just a tough race.”
Commandment, one of two Derby horses trained by Brad Cox, was the co-second choice in the morning line. At post time, he ended up being the fourth choice at 6-1. Cox’s other horse, Further Ado, ended up the slight favorite over Renegade, with both breaking at 5-1.
Renegade was the morning-line favorite, despite drawing the inside post – a position that had not produced a winner in 40 years. However, the Todd Pletcher-trained colt and Irad Ortiz Jr., Jose’s brother, did everything they could to make some history of their own.
“He got a little roughed and got pushed out of his position,” Pletcher said. “But he kept on going and made his run. He just didn’t get there today.”
With the Kentucky Derby having the largest field of any U.S. thoroughbred race, longshots often find their way to the winner’s circle. Since 2019, the lowest payout for a $2 win ticket was Sovereignty last year, and his bettors still won $17.96.
One of the other big surprises Saturday was the bettors’ interest in So Happy. While he and jockey Mike Smith won the Santa Anita Derby, the colt was given morning line odds of 15-1. That was due primarily to his being sired by Runhappy, who was an excellent sprinter.
Bettors made him the third choice at 5-1.
So Happy stayed among the front pack for the first mile but faded down the stretch to finish ninth.
“He just did too much early on, and we went too fast,” Smith said.
Sports
Wild D Jonas Brodin out for Game 1, F Joel Eriksson Ek also ailing
Apr 7, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Blackhawks center Tyler Johnson (90) moves the puck away from Minnesota Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin (25) and center Joel Eriksson Ek (14) during the second period at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images Minnesota Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin didn’t travel with the team to Denver and will miss Sunday night’s playoff series opener against the Colorado Avalanche.
Forward Joel Eriksson Ek is listed as questionable to play in Game 1 of the Western Conference second-round series.
Brodin, 32, sustained a lower-body injury during Game 5 of Minnesota’s first-round series against the Dallas Stars. He was hurt while blocking a shot by Dallas’ Mikko Rantanen during the second period.
Brodin missed the clinching Game 6 victory on Thursday. He had one assist in the series.
In the regular season, Brodin had four goals and 18 points in 62 games.
Eriksson Ek was hurt in Game 6 when his right leg smacked into the wall. He didn’t practice on Saturday.
Minnesota coach John Hynes was debating what to do about Ek’s spot with his status unclear.
“I’m kind of going through that a little bit right now,” Hynes said. “So, now you kind of go down that decision-making process of what would we do if he’s not ready.”
Ek, 29, had three goals and five points in the Dallas series. In the regular season, he had 19 goals and 51 points in 70 games.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cameron Young holds six-shot lead after three rounds in Miami
May 2, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Cameron Young makes his par putt on the 18th hole during the third round of the Cadillac Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Romance-Imagn Images Cameron Young shot 2-under-par 70 on Saturday to remain in control through three rounds of Cadillac Championship at Miami.
Young is up six strokes on a group of three golfers, including world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, at windy Trump National Doral’s Blue Monster Course.
Young, who’s at 15-under 201, will be looking for his second victory of the season and the third of his career on the PGA Tour during Sunday’s final round.
Scheffler shot 69 to move to second place by the time he finished the round. He’s joined in that position by South Korea’s Si Woo Kim (69) and Norway’s Kristoffer Reitan (69).
Young began the round with a bogey on the par-5 first hole but played the next 11 in 3 under.
Scheffler’s round was defined by birdies on three of the four par-5 layouts.
Matt McCarty (69), Ben Griffin (68) and Canada’s Nick Taylor (72) are at 8 under and tied for fifth place. Taylor bogeyed the final hole.
Jordan Spieth took a significant dive, shooting 75 and falling to a tie for 12th at 5 under. He was hurt by two double-bogeys — first on the par-3 fourth hole when he didn’t get into putting position until his fourth stroke and then on the 18th when his approach shot went into the water and he was forced to take a penalty.
Australia’s Adam Scott had the day’s best score with a bogey-free 6-under 66, leaving him at 3 under.
–Field Level Media
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