Sports
Mike Trout Is Making Adjustments in His Latest Comeback Bid With Los Angeles Angels
Known for Hall of Fame-level offensive production, perhaps the most iconic image of Mike Trout came on defense, back when he was a rookie, with much of his upper torso above the center-field wall as if taking flight.
It was only fitting that a catch that would come to define Trout’s determination was made up against an advertisement for a major airline.
Takeoff. Flight. A perfect landing.
That was way back in 2012, at Baltimore’s Camden Yards, when Trout was sharing center-field duties and headed toward the American League Rookie of the Year Award. A home run-robbing catch of a drive from J.J. Hardy was a taste of what was to come.
Two seasons later, Trout would turn his all-around game into the first of three AL MVP Awards.
The first teammate to slap gloves in celebration with Trout after his memorable catch was then-right fielder Torii Hunter, a once-dynamic, home run-robbing center fielder himself, who had moved to right field to limit wear and tear in his later years.
This season, at age 33 and following a string of injuries that have limited him to no more than 82 games in three of the past four full seasons, Trout is the one moving to right field in the hope that his star can shine for an extended period once more.
Trout’s first game in right since 2012 came in a spring training game Monday that was uneventful, aside from a walk and a run scored at the plate. In three innings, Trout did not have a chance to make a play, but the short appearance served its purpose.
“It felt good,” Trout said afterward. “Just different angles, things you work on in BP. Just getting comfortable (and) trying to get a fly ball.”
The comfort level increased immediately with Trout hitting a home run in his second spring game Wednesday against the Cincinnati Reds. The 11-time All-Star said he made adjustments between his games Monday and Wednesday.
His first adjustment of 2025, he said, is to remember who he has been in the past and not chase pitches. Hammer the strikes and let the walks come if pitchers want to avoid the plate.
At 33, Trout is on the back nine of his career, but that doesn’t mean production has to wane. In his one month of action last season, Trout had an MLB-best 10 home runs over his first 29 games.
He is just 22 home runs from 400 in his career and 46 RBIs away from 1,000. He has a career .299 batting average and a .991 OPS that he built in 1,518 career games over 14 seasons.
A .410 career on-base percentage speaks to Trout’s desire to reach first by any means necessary.
If moving Trout to right field can help him get anywhere close to his elite-level offensive production, then everything will feel right again. Time is running out to savor Trout’s greatness, and the Angels’ lack of playoff appearances has kept him off baseball’s biggest stage since 2014.
Trout said he had found a mechanical adjustment to get his swing on track last season, and the adjustment will be put into play again this season. It’s a promising sign that he can look something like his MVP self, ideally for long stretches.
Trout also won’t take his move to right field for granted, saying he wants to work on getting reads off the bat. He will have less ground to cover in right, which will help put less stress on his legs, and there will be days when he serves as the designated hitter, even if the role goes against his desire to be an all-around player. Jorge Soler was brought in to be the primary DH.
Trout was the DH in Wednesday’s spring game and is scheduled to be back in right field Friday.
As Mickey Moniak and Jo Adell share center-field duties for now, Angels manager Ron Washington had one major directive for his younger players, and it is one that everybody can rally around.
“The only thing that I think that we’re concerned about, and we got with everyone, is the communication,” Washington said. “We don’t need nobody running into Mike Trout.”
Sports
Flyers strike in 3rd to snap Bruins' 8-game point streak
Feb 28, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers left wing Noah Cates (27) reaches for the puck against the Boston Bruins in the first period at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images The Philadelphia Flyers scored back-to-back goals to start the third period and held on to defeat the visiting Boston Bruins 3-1 on Saturday afternoon.
Travis Konecny and Jamie Drysdale both scored and assisted on each other’s goals for Philadelphia, which has won two of its three games since the Olympic break. Drysdale tallied the eventual game-winner with 8:05 left.
Sean Couturier added an empty-net goal with 55 seconds remaining, Christian Dvorak recorded two assists, and Dan Vladar was excellent with a 26-save performance to help the Flyers win.
Boston’s Charlie McAvoy extended his point streak to nine games with a third-period goal that cut the hosts’ lead to 2-1.
Jeremy Swayman made 14 saves for Boston, which entered on an eight-game point streak (5-0-3).
With the game scoreless through two periods, the Bruins looked to take a 1-0 lead 1:05 into the third as Hampus Lindholm’s point shot beat Vladar, but the goal was immediately waved off due to goaltender interference.
Instead, Konecny scored first at 3:41. After Dvorak’s shot into the zone hit a stanchion behind the net, he recovered the bounce and made a tight backhand feed to his oncoming linemate to bury into an open side of the net.
Drysdale doubled Philadelphia’s lead at 11:55 by slipping down the slot on a Konecny pass and firing an open wrist shot past Swayman’s blocker.
The Bruins found an answer from McAvoy 1:08 later. Pavel Zacha won the faceoff right to Hampus Lindholm, who found his fellow defenseman cutting to the net to make it a 2-1 game.
Swayman followed up that goal by stopping Konecny on a breakaway with 5:36 left, but Boston could not find an equalizer.
Philadelphia had a 7-6 shot advantage in a scoreless first. Swayman made one of his best early saves halfway through as Trevor Zegras fired a turnaround shot from the slot.
Vladar made two close-range stops on Morgan Geekie within the first eight minutes of the second period, including one early in Boston’s second power play. The first stop occurred when David Pastrnak set up Geekie for a one-timer in the slot at the 5:00 mark.
Less than a minute after Vladar’s second stop on Geekie, Swayman returned to the highlight reel at the other end of the ice. Konecny’s wraparound put the puck on goal before Swayman robbed Dvorak with the glove on a rebound effort coming to the doorstep.
After Boston’s first man advantage came up empty, Vladar made another big save as Sean Kuraly separated from the Flyers’ defense for a breakaway with 5:43 left in the second.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Heat rally in 4th quarter to take down Rockets
Feb 28, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) argues with Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) during the first quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Bam Adebayo posted a double-double, and Andrew Wiggins ignited a fourth-quarter rally after returning from an in-game injury to lead the Miami Heat to a 115-105 victory over the visiting Houston Rockets on Saturday.
Adebayo paired 24 points with 11 rebounds to help the Heat snap a two-game skid. Pelle Larsson (20 points) and Tyler Herro (18) contributed to the balanced scoring attack for the Heat, who also received double-digit efforts from Jaime Jaquez Jr. (14 points) and Kel’el Ware (13 points and a game-high 15 rebounds) off the bench. The Heat shot 50% overall from the floor.
But it was Wiggins, who took an elbow to the jaw from Rockets center Alperen Sengun and needed stitches in his cheek to close the gash, who led a critical fourth-quarter surge. He assisted on a Ware alley-oop and a Larsson 3 to put the Heat ahead 100-92 before his transition dunk resulted in a three-point play and a 111-103 lead with 2:24 remaining.
Wiggins finished with 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and three blocks.
Kevin Durant scored a game-high 32 points and added eight assists for the Rockets. Amen Thompson (20 points, 11 rebounds) and Tari Eason (10 points, 11 boards) added double-doubles, while Reed Sheppard chipped in 14 points and five assists for Houston.
The Rockets turned an early run, capped by a Sheppard 3, into a 14-4 lead, only for the Heat to respond with an 8-0 rally. Adebayo hit a 3-pointer to give Miami a 27-26 lead, and the Heat carried a 32-28 advantage into the second quarter after hitting 6 of 13 from beyond the arc in the first.
Miami extended its lead to double digits on a Ware tip-in, and led 41-28 before the Rockets scored their first basket of the second quarter with an Aaron Holiday 3-pointer at the 7:07 mark. That ended a 19-2 run by the Heat and sparked another Houston rally, featuring Sheppard and Durant combining to hit three 3-pointers and tie the game at 48.
The Rockets led 52-51 at the intermission after Miami missed 7 of 8 3-pointers in the second.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Braeden Carrington explodes for 32 points as Wisconsin routs Washington
Feb 28, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard Braeden Carrington (0) shoots a three point shot over Washington Huskies guard Zoom Diallo (5) during the second half at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images Braeden Carrington came off the bench Saturday to score a career-high 32 points and Wisconsin knocked down 17 3-pointers to earn a 90-73 Big Ten Conference road win over Washington in Seattle.
Nick Boyd added 22 points, nine rebounds and five assists for the Badgers (20-9, 12-6 Big Ten), while Nolan Winter chipped in 13 points and nine rebounds. Wisconsin canned 44.7 % of its 38 3-point attempts, with Carrington going 9 of 15.
Freshman Hannes Steinbach led the Huskies (14-15, 6-12) with 22 points and 11 rebounds, his 18th double-double of the season and the most by a Big Ten player since Jared Sullinger of Ohio State collected the same total 29 years ago. Zoom Diallo scored 21 points.
Washington made 46% from the field but simply couldn’t mute the Badgers’ potent perimeter game. Bouncing back from an 85-71 upset loss Wednesday night at Oregon, Wisconsin earned a 39-35 edge on the boards and committed only six turnovers.
The final margin flattered the Huskies a bit. The Badgers led by as many as 28 points in the second half and cleared the bench by the time Washington scored the final seven points to make the margin more respectable.
Wisconsin set an early tone by stepping up its defense from the loss at Oregon. It held the Huskies without a field goal for a 6:04 stretch of the first half and opened up a 17-4 lead with 13:28 left when Carrington converted a 3-pointer.
Steinbach made two foul shots with 6:51 left to pull Washington within 22-14 but the Badgers pulled away when Carrington hit a 3-pointer and fed Winter for a layup and a 27-14 cushion.
With Boyd canning a short jumper from the baseline, Wisconsin went into halftime with a 36-21 advantage. The Huskies made only 7 of 28 field goals in the first 20 minutes and were outrebounded 25-17.
Boyd led the charge with 14 points in the half, sinking 7 of 14 shots from the field.
–Field Level Media
Flyers strike in 3rd to snap Bruins' 8-game point streak
Moon phase today: What the Moon will look like on March 1
