Sports
No. 23 Ole Miss seeking first SEC road win at Arkansas
Jan 4, 2025; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Chris Beard (right) talks with forward Jaemyn Brakefield (4) during the second half against the Georgia Bulldogs at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images After drastically different results in their league openers, No. 23 Ole Miss and Arkansas meet Wednesday night in a Southeastern Conference contest in Fayetteville, Ark.
The Rebels (12-2, 1-0 SEC) moved up one spot in this week’s Associated Press poll following Saturday’s 63-51 home win against Georgia.
As it did in several previous games, head coach Chris Beard’s squad started slowly, trailing 28-26 at the half before stepping it up after the intermission.
Defense was key as the Rebels limited the visiting Bulldogs to just 29.3 percent shooting overall (17 of 58) and 11.1 percent from 3-point range (2 of 18). Mississippi collected 10 steals and 10 blocks.
Matthew Murrell and Jaemyn Brakefield scored 15 points apiece to lead the Rebels.
“The second half was pretty clean basketball,” Beard said. “You beat them by 14, we scored 37 and held the ball late. We didn’t have any special performances tonight. … We just played really hard as a team and played some great defense.”
Sean Pedulla paces Ole Miss with 14.1 points per game followed by Jaylen Murray (12.5), Murrell (12.0) and Dre Davis (10.8).
Meanwhile, Arkansas head coach John Calipari is looking for his squad to rebound — literally — following Saturday’s 76-52 setback at No. 1 Tennessee.
Arkansas could not do much well on either end of the court against the Volunteers, but Calipari was absolutely astounded by his Hogs’ inability to rebound the basketball in the lopsided contest.
“I can’t remember the last time I had a team get beat by 30 rebounds,” said Calipari, though the 52-29 margin was not quite that amount. “And so we’ve got to do some soul-searching. … Aren’t you like, ‘How did you only get beat by (24)?’ It could’ve been 50.”
That rhetorical question seemed to nag the Arkansas bench boss, who admitted he probably made a mistake by not having a pre-game shootaround. The Razorbacks finished 6 of 29 from deep (20.7 percent).
“They had more offensive rebounds (24) than we had (defensive) rebounds (20),” Calipari said. “All I kept saying in the second half was, ‘Let’s get it to single digits.’ We do something good, they get an offensive rebound. … It has nothing to do with anything but rebounding.”
Calipari warned it would be a tough road ahead.
“We’ve got work to do,” he said. “We know we’re not as good as the No. 1 team in the country. In this league, every game you play is going to be a hard game. Every one.”
Adou Thiero tops the Razorbacks with 16.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. Boogie Fland averages 15.6 points and 5.9 assists and D.J. Wagner contributes 10.4 points per contest.
Wednesday’s matchup will be the only regular-season meeting this season.
Arkansas is 52-34 all-time against Ole Miss and has won nine of the past 11 games. The Rebels rolled to a 77-51 win last January in Oxford, Miss.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Flyers' Noah Cates (lower body) out for rest of series vs. Canes
Apr 27, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers left wing Noah Cates (27) watches for the puck drop on a third period face-off against the Pittsburgh Penguins in game five of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Trailing the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0 in the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Philadelphia Flyers will be without versatile two-way center Noah Cates for the remainder of the series due to a lower-body injury.
Cates, 27, has four points (one goal, three assists) in eight playoff games following the best offensive season of his career, when he posted 47 points (18 goals, 29 assists) in 82 games.
“I mean, he’s been Mr. Consistency all year. Does a lot of things for us,” coach Rick Tocchet said Wednesday. “But like I said, it’s no different than other teams. Next man up. You’ve heard the drill before.”
Cates averages 16:15 in ice time and is one of the league’s top defensive forwards, as the Flyers averaged only 1.67 goals against per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 during the regular season with him on the ice.
Despite losing Cates, Tocchet is confident in the Flyers’ centermen, including 20-year-old rookie Denver Barkey, who has received more time at the position. Trevor Zegras will return to center as a move “to get him going,” Tocchet said.
Veteran Sean Couturier is a reliable option at the position along with Christian Dvorak, who is expected to play in Game 3 despite an undisclosed injury.
With the Flyers limited to two goals over the first two games, Tocchet is encouraging his players to have a “shot-first mentality” to overcome the Hurricanes’ defensive aggressiveness.
“I think to help some guys out that are struggling against Carolina, they’ve got to have a shot-first mentality,” he said. You’ve got to be able to make a play around them. I think some guys are overpassing and that’s the one thing Carolina’s good at. They make you overpass. But if you throw pucks at the net, beat their aggressiveness, you’re going to get chances.”
The best-of-seven series resumes Thursday night with Game 3 in Philadelphia.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Dodgers RHP Tyler Glasnow (back) exits after one inning
May 6, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow (31) delivers a pitch against the Houston Astros during the first inning at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images
Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow was removed after pitching one inning against the host Houston Astros on Wednesday with low back pain.
Glasnow allowed a first-inning home run to Brice Matthews and attempted to return in the second. After several warmup pitches, Glasnow, 32, motioned for trainers, who along with manager Dave Roberts removed him from the game.
Glasnow’s first-inning strikeout of Yordan Alvarez was the 1,000th of his career.
A 2024 All-Star with Los Angeles, Glasnow was 3-0 with a 2.56 ERA entering his seventh start this season. He signed a five-year, $136.5 million contract before the 2024 season.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo to skip Preakness
Trainer Cherie DeVaux, in red jacket at left, helps lift the Kentucky Derby trophy with Daisy Phipps Pulito (representing Phipps Stable) and Vincent Viola (of St. Elias Stable) after Golden Tempo won the 2026 Kentucky Derby. May 2, 2026. For the second consecutive year, the Kentucky Derby winner will not run in the Preakness Stakes, as Golden Tempo trainer Cherie DeVaux announced Wednesday the horse will skip the second leg of the Triple Crown and compete in the Belmont Stakes next month.
“Golden gave us the race of a lifetime in the Kentucky Derby, and we believe the best decision for him moving forward is to give him a little more time following such a tremendous effort,” DeVaux wrote in a statement posted to X.
Golden Tempo was a 23-1 long shot on Saturday but made a late charge down the stretch to edge out favorite Renegade. The victory made DeVaux the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner.
Last year, Sovereignty passed on the Preakness, and many trainers feel is too close to the Kentucky Derby — two weeks apart — and makes it difficult to keep a horse healthy for big races in the summer and fall.
The Preakness will be held May 16 at Laurel Park south of Baltimore, due to Pimlico undergoing a grandstand renovation. Pimlico is scheduled to host the 2027 Preakness.
As of Wednesday afternoon, none of the 19 horses who participated in the Kentucky Derby have committed to compete in the Preakness.
The Belmont is slated for June 6 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., due to ongoing construction at the main Belmont Park facility on Long Island, N.Y.
–Field Level Media
Flyers' Noah Cates (lower body) out for rest of series vs. Canes
Dodgers RHP Tyler Glasnow (back) exits after one inning
