Sports
After pair of close losses, Kings host Blazers in search of first win
Oct 24, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (11) dribbles the ball up the court against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the first quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images One day after watching the Portland Trail Blazers accomplish the feat, the Sacramento Kings hope to break into the win column for the first time this season when the clubs meet Monday night in the California capital.
Both teams were off to 0-2 starts before the Trail Blazers got 28 points from Jerami Grant and 27 from Anfernee Simons in a surprisingly easy 125-103 home win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday.
The Pelicans beat the Trail Blazers 105-103 two nights earlier at the same site.
The Kings had Sunday off, still stinging from a pair of tight season-opening defeats, 117-115 at home to the Minnesota Timberwolves and 131-127 on the road against the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday.
Even though they were separated by 25 games in the Western Conference standings last season, the Kings and Trail Blazers played each other on relatively even terms. Overtime was needed to determine Sacramento’s 121-118 home win in November before the Trail Blazers ran up a 130-113 home victory in December. The Kings countered with a blowout of their own, 121-82 at home in April.
Actually, the biggest difference in the three meetings was Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson. He sat out both losses, sandwiching a 17-point, 11-assist performance in the home win.
Still just 20 years old, Henderson has been consistently good in Portland’s first three games this season. He has done a little of everything already — scoring 22 points in the season-opening loss to Golden State and amassing 15 points, six assists and three steals in the first New Orleans game before recording a plus-20 plus/minus off the bench Sunday with nine points, seven assists and five rebounds.
“He’s just getting better,” Grant said of his young teammate. “The more games he gets, the better he’ll be. He’ll figure out his pace, the pace that works. He figured it out (in Friday’s game). Hopefully he can keep re-creating that for the future.”
Meanwhile, the Kings believe they’ve played well enough offensively to be 2-0. But De’Aaron Fox missed an 18-footer that could have given Sacramento a two-point lead with 27 seconds left in the Minnesota defeat, and Anthony Davis drilled a back-breaking 3-pointer with 37 seconds left for the Lakers on Saturday, resulting in two rough defeats in three days.
Kings coach Mike Brown found a silver lining in the loss in Los Angeles after watching his team lead by as many as seven despite early.
“I thought our guys did some good things,” he said. “That first half, especially, I thought we came out, we really got some great looks. The guys moved the ball. The spacing was beautiful. The ball just didn’t go in. (If) we keep playing like that offensively, good things will happen.”
With Domantas Sabonis hitting 10 of his 14 shots en route to 29 points and DeMar DeRozan 9-for-12 shooting during a 23-point effort, the Kings shot 51.1 percent in the loss in Los Angeles.
Kevin Huerter chipped in with 14 points as did Keegan Murray on the eve of his fourth career head-to-head against twin brother Kris of the Trail Blazers.
Keegan won the individual battle all three times last year, outscoring the fellow Iowa alum 9-0, 5-0 and 12-9.
-Field Level Media
Sports
Jays' Addison Barger to have elbow surgery, out for season
Mar 18, 2026; Dunedin, Florida, USA; Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Addison Barger (47) hits a home run during the second inning against the Baltimore Orioles at TD Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Addison Barger will undergo surgery on his right elbow Monday and will miss the remainder of the season.
The Blue Jays announced the news on Friday for Barger, who played in just nine games this season.
After missing more than one month with an ankle injury, Barger injured his elbow in his return to the field on May 9. Per manager John Schneider, Barger’s injury was sustained after the outfielder threw a 101.2-mph throw to nail a tagging runner at the plate.
“It’s tough to lose the whole year of at-bats, reps and performance,” Schneider said. “We were counting on him to be a big part of our team. You can see how much we miss him, for sure. It’s also a dude starting his career and trending in the right direction who’s missing, basically, a full season. It’s frustrating for him and for us.”
Barger, 26, went 1-for-22 (.045) with two RBIs this season after hitting 21 homers with 74 RBIs in 135 games in 2025. He batted .367 (22-for-60) with three home runs and nine RBIs in 17 games during the 2025 postseason.
Since making his major league debut in 2024, Barger is a career .223 hitter with 28 home runs and 104 RBIs in 213 games for the Blue Jays.
–Field Level Media
Sports
WNBA All-Star Game tickets soar to $340
May 9, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) passes the ball while Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (5) defends in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images Ticket prices for the WNBA All-Star Game continue to rise leading up to the tipoff on Saturday night in Chicago.
The get-in price at United Center escalated from $74 on June 19 to $118 on July 19 to $233 by Friday, according to ticket-tracking service TicketData.com. At 12:20 p.m. ET on Saturday, the price stood at $343.
The game is sold out, TicketData.com reported.
Chicago last hosted the WNBA All-Star Game in 2022 at Wintrust Arena, the 10,387-seat home of the Sky.
Per Front Office Sports, last year’s WNBA All-Star Game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis had a gameday get-in price of $71. And that was in a smaller venue than the United Center.
Gainbridge Fieldhouse fits about 17,200 fans. The United Center, home of the NBA’s Bulls and NHL’s Blackhawks, can seat more than 20,000 people.
The All-Star teams will be headlined by Paige Bueckers of the Dallas Wings and Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever, the leading vote-getters.
Bueckers’ team features three former UConn players — Bueckers, Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty and Gabby Williams of the Golden State Valkyries — in the starting lineup, along with Kelsey Mitchell of the Fever and Natasha Howard of the Minnesota Lynx.
Joining Clark in the starting lineup are her teammate, Aliyah Boston, rookie Olivia Miles of the Lynx, Jessica Sheapard of the Wings and Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson.
A four-time WNBA MVP, Wilson is leading the WNBA in scoring (25.5 points) and blocks (2.0) per game.
ABC will televise the game, which has an 8:30 p.m. ET tipoff.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Richard Carapaz, Tadej Pogacar stand tall at Stage 20 of Tour de France
Richard Carapaz of Ecuador is in action during Stage 20 of the Tour de France on Saturday. The race ends Sunday. Richard Carapaz of Ecuador won the stage and Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia all but wrapped up his fifth general classification title in seven years during a wild penultimate day at the Tour de France on Saturday.
The 33-year-old Carapaz capped a monumental week with his second victory in three stages, and third of his career, while also taking over the polka-dot jersey for top climber of the three-week stage race. He also finished third in Friday’s Stage 19.
Stage 20 unfolded in dramatic fashion as Sepp Kuss of the United States held a comfortable lead with just over 7 kilometers remaining in the 170.9-kilometer stage as it approached the finish at the resort town of Alpe d’Huez.
Kuss then crashed against a curb on the right side of the road while exiting a tunnel but got back on his bike and continued with the lead. Misfortune struck again when Kuss crashed against a left-side curb with 5.8 kilometers remaining.
Carapaz passed Kuss after his second solo crash and went on to the stage victory for the U.S.-based EF Education-EasyPost team. Remco Evenepoel of Belgium passed Kuss near the finish line to take second place, while Kuss made his way to the podium with a disappointing third-place finish.
Kuss was trying for his second career stage and stands as the last American man to win a Tour de France Stage when he reached the finish line first in 2021.
Race leader Pogacar finished fourth in the stage, while his UAE Team Emirates teammate Isaac del Toro of Mexico was fifth. The finish kept del Toro in the white jersey given to the top rider under 26 years old.
All that remains is Sunday’s mostly ceremonial final Stage 21. Barring major disaster, Pogacar will wrap up his third consecutive Tour de France title as he takes a 6-minute, 26-second lead over Evenepoel into the final day.
In third place overall is del Toro, who is 9:42 off his teammate’s pace. Paul Seixas, the 19-year-old sensation from France, is fourth overall and nearly two minutes behind del Toro for the white jersey. Seixas finished 10th in Stage 20.
The final stage into Paris on Sunday was cut from 133 kilometers to 89 kilometers because of nearby wildfires, with fans now treated to two extra circuits along the Champs-Elysees before a climbing finish on the nearby Montmartre loop.
–Field Level Media
Jays' Addison Barger to have elbow surgery, out for season
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