Sports
Los Angeles Dodgers Eye Historic 117 Wins, But Repeat Title Is the Real Goal
A cool 100 mph is attainable for multiple members of a talented pitching staff that figures to be the key for reaching a triple digit of a different kind as the season moves toward its completion.
The MLB record for team wins in a regular season is 116 and was achieved twice, although neither of those teams grabbed the ultimate prize.
Already in 2025, the Dodgers have shown that getting to 116 wins and beyond is well within reach.
The Dodgers opened their season with a pair of wins on two different continents, improving to 4-0 at the start of a season for the first time since 1981, when they won the World Series.
The last time a club won 116 games in a regular season was in 2001, when the Seattle Mariners hit rarefied air. The only other time it happened was in 1906, when the Chicago Cubs pulled off the feat while playing just 152 games of their 154-game regular season.
For both, the regular-season achievement was as good as it would get. The Mariners lost in the American League Championship Series in 2001, while the Cubs lost the 1906 World Series.
For this year’s Dodgers, becoming the first team to reach 117 wins would merely be a side note, even with the history attached. Being the first team to win back-to-back titles since 2000 is the aim.
There are an abundance of reasons why repeating is so hard, but prevailing sentiment is that the hunger to dig a little deeper subsides. It’s natural. Another instinct is to go on the defensive as champion instead of taking charge.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts moved to address the latter concept in a team meeting when the team arrived at spring training. Be the hunter, Roberts stressed to his team, not the hunted.
Players have elected to make 2025 an extension of 2024, when they used their downtime between the regular season and the start of their playoff run to gather at Dodger Stadium for long hours each day.
There was work on the field taking place, but the team took it a step further by having catered lunches and dinners as a group each day. The idea was to stress that the road ahead would be a shared experience, not an individual one.
And while the San Diego Padres nearly derailed the Dodgers’ path in the National League Division Series by forcing their rival to win two consecutive games or go home, it was a mutual trust that got Los Angeles to its goal.
While it is a simplified version of events, the Dodgers believe their bonding week before last year’s playoffs made a difference. Never underestimate a group that believes it is on to something.
What the Dodgers and Roberts were able to do was turn a patchwork pitching staff into a winner by using just three starters and a procession of relievers to first get through the Padres before dispatching the New York Mets and New York Yankees.
Injuries left Roberts with limited starting pitching options, with the bullpen able to step up in a time of need. The Dodgers addressed both areas in the offseason, bringing aboard Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki to bulk up the rotation and Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates to fortify the bullpen.
At some point this season, the Dodgers could have as many as 10 working starters at their disposal, considering that three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw is expected to be back by mid-summer, Shohei Ohtani is in line to resume a pitching schedule as early as May, and All-Star Tony Gonsolin is making his way back soon. Young pitchers like Bobby Miller, Landon Knack and Justin Wrobleski could get a chance or two to start.
The Dodgers did win as many as 111 games in 2022 and have hit the century mark five times in the previous eight seasons—seven not counting the shortened pandemic season of 2020. The triple digit now in their sights is 117.
“We just don’t quit,” Roberts said after the Dodgers rallied for an 8-5 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Friday with five runs in the 10th inning. Mookie Betts hit two home runs after he nearly missed the series because of a two-week illness caused by a stomach virus.
“As bleak as it might look at times, we keep competing and put at-bats together,” Roberts said.
While the current season is young, the championship energy is evident. Keeping it through another six months will be a challenge, and there are some concerns, like a shaky bullpen, but so far, traffic on the road to 117 has been light.
Sports
Tre Carroll helps Xavier continue success over Georgetown
Feb 28, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Xavier Musketeers guard Roddie Anderson III (0) battles for the loose ball against the Georgetown Hoyas in the first half at the Cintas Center. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images Tre Carroll scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half, Roddie Anderson III added 21 points and Xavier powered past Georgetown 91-84 on Saturday in a Big East Conference game at Cincinnati.
Filip Borovicanin added 18 for Xavier (14-15, 6-12 Big East), which beat Georgetown for the eighth time in nine meetings while winning for just the third time in 11 games overall.
Georgetown (13-16, 5-13) dropped its sixth straight while playing its first game without its starting point guard and leading scorer KJ Lewis, who is out for the season with a left ankle injury that occurred in a loss to Marquette earlier in the week.
Kayvaun Mulready led the Hoyas with 19 points while Malik Mack added 17.
Jeremiah Williams replaced Lewis in the starting lineup and scored 10 points while making his second start of the season, and first since the Big East opener. Williams scored seven points and dished out four assists in the first half as Georgetown took a 39-38 lead into the break.
Xavier withstood a five-minute scoring drought in the first half and ended the first half on a 12-5 run that cut Georgetown’s eight-point advantage to one.
Borovicanin opened the second half with a 3-pointer and then a steal and a breakaway dunk on the next possession to cap off Xavier’s 10-0 run bridging the end of the first half and the end of the second half while putting the Musketeers up 43-39.
Following a Julius Halaifonua layup to bring Georgetown within one at 45-44, Carroll scored Xavier’s next 12 points. Isaiah Walker’s mid-range jumper broke the run but put Xavier ahead 59-53 with 11:34 remaining.
Anderson knocked down a 3-pointer with 8:08 left to put Xavier ahead 70-61 prompting a timeout from Georgetown head coach Ed Cooley.
Xavier led 73-63 on a Borovicanin three-point play with 6:58 left before Georgetown closed within 75-72 on a Vince Iwuchukwu three-point play with 4:38 left. Xavier built the lead back to 10 on a Borovicanin 3-pointer with 3:23 remaining.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Wolves, Nuggets each bring an edge into finale of season series
Jan 31, 2026; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) reacts during the fourth quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images The Minnesota Timberwolves wrap up a three-game road trip at the Denver Nuggets on Sunday afternoon with a chance to improve their seeding in the Western Conference playoff picture.
Minnesota has won the first two games of its trip and now faces a tough task against its Northwest Division rival.
Denver already secured the tiebreaker in the season series by winning the first three matchups. With both teams holding identical 37-23 records, the winner of Sunday’s game will have sole possession of fourth in the Western Conference standings.
The Nuggets have lost three of their first five games out of the All-Star break, including a 127-121 overtime setback at Oklahoma City on Friday night. Sunday’s game gives them a chance to get back some momentum.
The Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic appears to already have a postseason mindset after mixing it up with the Thunder during the loss.
Jokic was knocked down when Luguentz Dort hit him with his hip in the fourth quarter and then confronted the Oklahoma City forward. There was pushing and shoving before Dort was assessed a flagrant-2 foul and ejected.
Jokic, who leads Denver in points (28.7), rebounds (12.6) and assists (10.5), has a casual and deliberate demeanor on the court that belies his competitive nature.
“I think he was reacting to what was being done to him,” Denver head coach David Adelman said. “And his reaction’s not going to be to cower away. He’s competitive.”
Playing Minnesota again should keep that fiery spirit alive for Jokic and the rest of the Nuggets. The teams have forged a rivalry over the last four seasons, including two playoff series.
There is no question about the fiery nature and competitive spirit of Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards.
Edwards missed the first game against the Nuggets this season but is averaging 35.0 points in the two games between the teams. That includes a 44-point performance on Christmas night before he was ejected in overtime for arguing foul calls.
Edwards, who leads the Timberwolves in scoring at 29.6 points a game, doesn’t confine his arguments to opponents and officials. He got into a verbal exchange with head coach Chris Finch after hitting a 3-pointer to seal a 94-88 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday.
It is a feature of their relationship, according to teammates.
“They go at it. Honestly, they do,” Timberwolves guard Mike Conley said. “They go at it… They have days where they’re getting ready to fight, and then after the game they hug each other.”
Finch confirmed that in an interview on Fox Sports Radio.
“We’re both fiery competitors. It’s been part of our relationship since Day 1. … We say these things to each other and we move on,” Finch said. “We don’t take it personally.”
The task of stopping Jokic will fall mainly on Rudy Gobert, who leads Minnesota in rebounds (11.4) and blocks (1.7). Nobody could stop Jokic when the teams met on Christmas, with the three-time MVP recording a 56-point triple-double, including 18 points in overtime.
Jokic has averaged 36.0 points 15.7 rebounds and 12.0 assists in the three games against the Timberwolves.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cincinnati cruises past Oklahoma State with 3-point barrage
Cincinnati Bearcats forward Baba Miller (18) makes a basket from the two point line in the first half of a NCAA men’s basketball game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and Oklahoma State Cowboys, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati. Day Day Thomas heated up from long range, draining seven 3-pointers en route to a 26-point performance, Moustapha Thiam added 24 points and grabbed 15 rebounds and host Cincinnati rolled to a 91-68 home victory over Oklahoma State on Saturday afternoon.
The Bearcats (16-13, 8-8 Big 12), which entered No. 54 in the NET rankings, have won five of their last six. Jizzle James and Baba Miller each finished with 11 points for Cincinnati.
Oklahoma State (17-12, 5-11), playing its first game since losing big man Parsa Fallah to a torn ACL, was overwhelmed throughout. Vyctorius Miller led the team with 15 points, while Jaylen Curry and Kanye Clary both added 11 points. The Cowboys have lost six of their last seven games.
The Bearcats seized control early, going on an 11-2 run highlighted by 3-pointers from Thomas and Thiam to lead 12-4 less than four minutes into the game.
Those early minutes foreshadowed the rest of the game.
Cincinnati dominated from the start, leading 51-33 at halftime. The Bearcats shot 53.1% from the floor, made seven three-pointers and won the rebounding battle 20-15 in the first half. They finished with a two-handed dunk by Thiam. Miller was credited with an assist on the play as he found Thiam open underneath.
In the second half, the Bearcats pulled away. They went on an 11-2 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Thomas to lead 65-37 with just under 15 minutes remaining. Cincinnati continued to extend the lead, reaching as many as 32 points, with an 81-49 advantage after another 3 from Thomas at the 8:22 mark.
Cincinnati finished with 14 made 3s, dished out 24 assists, and had a 24-7 edge in second-chance points. The Bearcats also led for 39:24 of the 40 minutes and improved to 14-3 at home.
Both teams return to action on Tuesday. Cincinnati hosts No. 19 BYU, while Oklahoma State travels to UCF.
–Field Level Media
Tre Carroll helps Xavier continue success over Georgetown
Wolves, Nuggets each bring an edge into finale of season series
