Sports
Brittney Griner, Rickea Jackson ejected as Mercury top Sparks
Jul 7, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; The LA Sparks logo at midcourt at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images The Phoenix Mercury held on to beat the host Los Angeles Sparks 85-81 on Tuesday night in a game marred by an altercation late in the first half that led to the ejections of Brittney Griner and Rickea Jackson.
Griner and Jackson were thrown out with 18.8 seconds remaining in the half with the Sparks leading 43-36 during a free-throw attempt by the Mercury’s Celeste Taylor.
Griner raised her elbow close to Jackson’s face and Jackson took a swipe at Griner.
Griner finished with 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field and Jackson was 2-of-11 from the floor and scored eight points.
Los Angeles rallied in the fourth quarter despite trailing by as many as 15 points. After the Sparks cut their deficit to 79-74, Herbert Harrigan made a 3-pointer just before the shot clock expired to push the Mercury’s lead to 82-74 with 1:38 remaining.
Kia Nurse made a 3-pointer with 14.3 seconds remaining to cut the lead to 84-79.
Sophie Cunningham made one of two free throws with nine seconds left before the Sparks’ Stephanie Talbot closed the scoring with a jump shot in the lane as time expired.
The Mercury (19-20) conclude their regular-season schedule Thursday at home against the Seattle Storm. Phoenix will enter the playoffs as the No. 7 seed.
Los Angeles (7-32) lost its eighth straight game in its final home game of the season. The Sparks wrap up their regular season on the road against the Minnesota Lynx on Thursday.
Cunningham had 14 points and Diana Taurasi and Natasha Cloud each had 13 points for the Mercury. Cloud also had 12 assists.
Dearica Hamby had 21 points and nine rebounds to lead the Sparks. Li Yueru contributed 19 points and 12 rebounds off the bench in the loss.
The Sparks, who led by as many as 10 points in the first half, went into halftime with a 44-36 lead.
Phoenix opened the second half on a 12-2 run, which was capped by a layup by Cunningham as the Mercury took a 48-46 lead with 6:59 left in the third quarter.
Phoenix outscored Los Angeles 28-10 in the third quarter behind Taurasi’s 10 points. The Sparks were 4-of-18 from the floor and committed nine turnovers in the quarter.
Mercury guard Kahleah Copper missed her third straight game with a back injury.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Orioles 2B Jackson Holliday (hand) suffers setback
Sep 20, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday (7) looks on during the first inning against the New York Yankees at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday will have an MRI following another setback in his recovery from a right hand injury.
The former No. 1 overall draft pick was removed from Triple-A Norfolk’s game against Memphis on Tuesday after he experienced discomfort during a swing.
Holliday, 22, has been working his way back to the majors since fracturing a hamate bone in batting practice in February. This is the second time in a week that he has experienced soreness in his hand and wrist.
“We’re getting him up to Baltimore for an MRI,” Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said following the team’s 6-5 loss at Kansas City on Tuesday.
Holliday played 11 rehab games at Norfolk from March 27 to April 12 and two games at High-A Fredericksburg on April 18-19 before returning to Norfolk on Tuesday. He is batting a combined .176 (9-for-51) with no homers and four RBIs in 14 games.
Holliday, the top pick in 2022 and the son of seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday, batted .242 with 17 home runs, 55 RBIs and 17 stolen bases in 149 games with the Orioles in 2025.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Steelers owner has Ravens' fan seating moved at Pittsburgh draft
Apr 21, 2026; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; A general overall aerial view of Acrisure Stadium, the site of the 2026 NFL Draft. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Brotherly love is not in the air in Pittsburgh, where Steelers owner Art Rooney II ceases to give the franchise rivalry with the Baltimore Ravens a day off.
Rooney surveyed the stage and draft layout ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft in his home city and was surprised to find the chart called for Ravens fans to be seated in front of the hometown Steelers fans positioned outside of Acrisure Stadium.
He asked the NFL to do something about it.
“On the normal seating chart, I noticed that the Ravens fans were sitting in front of the Steeler fans in one section of the draft theater,” Rooney said in a radio interview with WDVE 102.5 FM. “So I asked (the NFL) to make that change — and they agreed to make that.”
The Steelers and Ravens both changed head coaches in the offseason but the rivalry remains intense.
Baltimore lost a virtual division championship game in the stadium where the draft is held starting Thursday and will pick 14th overall. The Ravens attempted to trade that pick and more to the Las Vegas Raiders for Maxx Crosby, but general manager Eric DeCosta backed out of the deal for what he claimed were concerns with Crosby’s physical.
Pittsburgh has pick No. 21 in the first round Thursday but will be readily apparent Friday during a stretch in the second and third rounds in which the Steelers hold four picks between selections Nos. 53 and 99.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Led by CJ McCollum, Hawks look to seize series lead vs. Knicks
Apr 20, 2026; New York, New York, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard CJ McCollum (3) and New York Knicks guard Jose Alvarado (5) are separated by referee Zach Zarba (15) during the third quarter of game two of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images CJ McCollum is filling the exact role the Atlanta Hawks had in mind when they acquired him in January. The veteran is not only scoring plenty of points, but he’s also providing an experienced presence for a young team.
McCollum scored 32 points on Tuesday to spark Atlanta’s fourth-quarter comeback and 107-106 road win against the New York Knicks. The best-of-seven first-round series is tied 1-1 and shifts to Atlanta on Thursday for Game 3.
“I really liked CJ’s leadership as much as the shot making,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “CJ’s leadership was really good with the ball in his hands.”
The Knicks had been 40-1 in the postseason since the advent of the shot clock in 1954-55 when leading by 12 or more points after three quarters. The only loss was when Reggie Miller scored 25 points in the fourth for Indiana in Game 5 of the 1994 Eastern Conference finals.
“It’s something that we’ve talked about over the course of the last couple of months,” Snyder said. “It’s a different type of leadership in my mind than he’s had at other times, because he’s got to find a balance of communicating and talking to the guys but still not losing his aggressiveness scoring the basketball.”
The mild-mannered McCollum also stepped into an unfamiliar role as villain. The crowd at Madison Square Garden, turned their vitriol — formerly directed at ex-Hawk Trae Young — toward McCollum. He just shrugged it off.
“I ain’t no villain, I’m a nice guy with two kids and a wife,” McCollum said. “I think it’s admiration. Great passionate fans in a really hostile environment. It’s fun, it’s basketball, it’s the playoffs.”
The Knicks lost the game despite 29 points from Jalen Brunson. He scored 10 of the team’s 15 fourth-quarter points when New York shot just 5-for-22 from the floor.
“We got the ball in the right people’s hands down the stretch and we didn’t convert,” New York coach Mike Brown said.
Brunson has been outstanding in both games. He scored 28 in the series opener. But Karl-Anthony Towns, who scored 25 in the first game, scored only 18 — and none in the fourth quarter in Game 2. Brown blamed 14 turnovers, which led to 18 Atlanta points, and shooting 63 percent (17-for-27) at the line.
“At the end of the day we’ve got to lock in at the free-throw line, and we’ve got to take care of the ball,” Brown said. “And in that fourth quarter you could tell they were playing with a level of desperation. They got three of four 50-50 balls in the fourth quarter, which is what we use to measure the level of aggression in a game. In that fourth quarter their aggression stepped up.”
The competition between the teams has been close all season. New York won the first playoff game 113-102, the most lopsided score this year. The Knicks won two of the three regular-season games by three points, while Atlanta had a two-point win.
“Atlanta did what they wanted to do. They came in here and took one from us at home,” Brown said. “In my opinion, you’ve got to be able to win on the road if you expect to get where you want to do. So, for us, we’ve got to go win on the road.”
–Field Level Media
