Sports
High-octane Pistons look to stay hot vs. Clippers
Mar 3, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Detroit Pistons forward Ausar Thompson (9) dunks against the Utah Jazz during the second half at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images One of the NBA’s hottest teams will continue to test itself on the road when the Detroit Pistons face the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday at Inglewood, Calif.
The Pistons have won 10 of their past 11 games in a run that is second only to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who began their 11-game run with a 118-115 victory over Detroit on Feb. 5.
Since that game, the Pistons have won five in a row on the road, including a 134-106 victory at Utah on Monday. Cade Cunningham had 29 points with nine assists and Jalen Duren had 16 points with 12 rebounds versus the Jazz.
Detroit shot 55.4 percent from the floor, the ninth time in 14 games since the start of February that they have shot better than 50 percent in a game.
While Cunningham leads the Pistons with 25.3 points per game, Duren has averaged a team-best 10.3 rebounds to go along with 11.2 points. Duren has been especially effective since Jan. 16 with 14.1 points and 12.0 rebounds as he helps to fill the void left by Jaden Ivey, who has been out since Jan. 3 with a broken leg.
Not only have the Pistons failed to climb above .500 in any of the past five seasons, they had a franchise-worst .171 winning percentage a season ago when they finished 14-68. And yet so far, they seem unfazed by their recent success as evident by their 117-97 home victory over the defending-champion Boston Celtics last week.
“They’ve done a really good job of staying in the moment and that shows a ton of maturity,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “It shows the character of the guys. We don’t have big-headed guys. We have guys who live in reality and understand the ups and downs of the game, so that’s where they stay. It gives them an opportunity to stay who they are in good times, bad times.”
The Clippers just completed one of their most challenging stretches of the season with a brutal 119-117 road loss to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday. They led by 23 points in the third quarter and 19 in the fourth before the wheels came off.
Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue was asked how the team can avoid a reccurring habit of late-game collapses. The Suns used a 13-4 run to tie the game at 106-106 with 4:18 remaining then held the Clippers to one field goal over the final two minutes.
“Play through the game, play the game the right way,” Lue told reporters. “… Not force, not do dumb (expletive). It’s that simple.”
Ivica Zubac scored a career-high 35 points to go along with 10 rebounds for Los Angeles. Kawhi Leonard and James Harden had 21 points apiece as the team lost for the sixth time in seven games.
The Clippers went 2-6 on a stretch of eight consecutive road games that dated back before the All-Star break, with their most recent home game on Feb. 12 resulting in a victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Los Angeles was without Norman Powell again on Tuesday. The team’s leading scorer has missed six of the past seven games, first with a knee injury and now with a hamstring strain.
Ben Simmons (knee) did not play Tuesday and is not expected to play Wednesday.
–Field Level Media
Sports
MLS-best Earthquakes test mettle in rematch vs. Whitecaps
Apr 15, 2026; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Earthquakes head coach Bruce Arena watches the game against the Phoenix Rising FC during the second half of the US Open Cup at PayPal Park. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-Imagn Images The top two teams in the MLS bid to continue their historic starts when the Vancouver Whitecaps visit the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night.
The Earthquakes and Whitecaps are the only teams in MLS history to win eight of their first nine matches, and Vancouver’s plus-20 goal differential (26-6) is the largest in league history through 10 games. The Quakes are plus-19 (26-7) through 11 matches.
San Jose (9-1-1, 28 points) is in first place in the Western Conference thanks to a 1-0 road victory over the Whitecaps (8-1-1, 25 points) on March 21. Beau Leroux scored the lone goal in the second minute of first-half stoppage time.
“It’s two teams having unbelievable first parts of the season,” Whitecaps coach Jesper Sorensen said. “Combined with two losses for the two teams in (21) games and one of them is because we played each other.
“It should be an exciting game for the league. We’ll try to make it as exciting as possible.”
Earthquakes coach Bruce Arena isn’t sure the result of the first match matters when the teams convene on Saturday.
“I’m not sure it applies to this match a whole lot,” Arena said. “We played real well against a good team. We scored a great goal and we hung on for a one-goal victory. What I take away from that is if we have a better feel for their team that we did going into that game but that doesn’t mean we’re going to be better off this time around.”
San Jose had won six straight MLS matches before playing to a 1-1 tie against host Toronto FC last Saturday. Leading goal scorer Preston Judd scored the tying goal in the 13th minute, his seventh of the season.
Judd saw how Vancouver advanced to the MLS Cup final last season before losing to Inter Miami and believes the Earthquakes can make a similar push.
“Yeah, I think at this point in the season, it’s a big game for us,” Judd said. “We’ve shown that we’ve exceeded the expectations others set for us, and this is another opportunity to make a statement and show that we’re a real contender. We’re going to challenge for the Cup this year.”
Vancouver had a four-match MLS winning streak snapped last Saturday when it tied the host Los Angeles Galaxy 1-1. Mathias Laborda scored the equalizer in the 81st minute.
Now comes the rematch against the Earthquakes, with the Whitecaps highly motivated to return serve.
“It’s going to be tough but it’s supposed to be tough,” Sorensen said. “That’s how it is. We’re ready to go there and play the way we always try to play.”
Brian White leads the Whitecaps with eight goals.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Reds activate LHP Nick Lodolo ahead of 2026 debut
Mar 12, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Cincinnati Reds pitcher Nick Lodolo against the Los Angeles Dodgers during a spring training game at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images The Cincinnati Reds activated left-hander Nick Lodolo off the injured list for the first time this season and he will start in Friday’s home game against the Houston Astros.
In a corresponding move, the Reds optioned right-hander Jose Franco to Triple-A Louisville.
Lodolo, 28, had the start to his season delayed by a blister on his left index finger. His return to the major leagues comes as the Reds are on a seven-game losing streak.
In 29 appearances (28 starts) for Cincinnati last season, Lodolo was 9-8 with a 3.33 ERA and finished the season with two complete games and one shutout. Over four seasons with the Reds, he is 24-22 with a 4.06 ERA in 76 appearances (75 starts). He finished sixth in National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2022.
Franco, 25, made his major league debut March 30 and has a 4.30 ERA in eight relief appearances.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Reports: Jets sign RB Breece Hall to 3-year, $45.75M extension
Dec 14, 2025; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; New York Jets running back Breece Hall (20) runs with the ball during the first quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images The Jets stayed true to their commitment to keep Breece Hall in New York, signing the running back to a three-year deal, according to multiple reports Friday.
The deal is worth a total of $45.75 million with an annual payout of $15.25 million, making him the third-highest paid player at his position, per NFL Network, behind the Philadelphia Eagles’ Saquon Barkley at $20.6 million annually and the San Francisco 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey at $19 million.
Hall, who turns 25 on May 31, acknowledged the deal on X, re-posting the news and writing, “Shoutout everyone in my corner. Lot of work left to do. God Bless.”
The Jets had applied the non-exclusive franchise tag to Hall in early March but also said at the time that a long-term contract was the priority for both sides.
The non-exclusive version of the tag guaranteed Hall $14.293 million for 2026 but meant Hall could negotiate with other teams, and a transition franchise tag would have paid Hall $11.323 million for one season but would have made him more attractive to another team considering an offer sheet.
“Ideally, we’d find a way to get a deal done and keep Breece around,” Jets General Manager Darren Mougey said at the NFL Scouting Combine in late February. “I think I’ve said that for the last year since I’ve got here. Breece is a good player. We want to find a way to keep him around.”
Hall has rushed for 3,398 yards and 18 touchdowns in his first four seasons since the Jets selected him in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft out of Iowa State.
He amassed a career-high 1,065 yards in 2025, becoming the first Jets player since Chris Ivory in 2015 to surpass 1,000 rushing yards.
Hall also has 188 receptions for 1,642 yards and nine scores in 56 NFL games (50 starts).
–Field Level Media
MLS-best Earthquakes test mettle in rematch vs. Whitecaps
Hurdle hints and answers for May 9, 2026
