Sports
No. 12 Utah, No. 14 Oklahoma State meet for the first time since 1945
Oct 21, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Utah Utes quarterback Cam Rising reacts against the Southern California Trojans at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images It’s been 79 years since No. 12 Utah and No. 14 Oklahoma State have played a game of football.
Suffice it to say the sport’s changed a little since the school then known as Oklahoma A&M handed the Utes a 46-6 beatdown in Salt Lake City on Oct. 20, 1945.
When the programs convene again on Saturday in Stillwater, Okla., to open Big 12 Conference play, they’ll play a September game that could have December ramifications. Both Utah and Oklahoma State are 3-0 and expected to contend for the conference title. A win could give someone a leg up on reaching the new 12-team playoff, and a loss might keep someone out of the playoff.
“They’re all big, right? In college football now, every game matters,” said Cowboys coach Mike Gundy.
One reason this one matters more than most is the quarterback matchup. The Utes’ Cam Rising and Oklahoma State’s Alan Bowman are 25 and 24 years old, respectively. Their combined age is 49, or five years older than the combined ages of 22-year-olds Anthony Richardson and Caleb Williams, who will start in Sunday’s NFL matchup between the Colts and Bears.
It could be said that 25 is the new 20 in college football. Rising sat out Utah’s 38-21 win last week at Utah State but is aiming to return this week. He suffered a finger injury in the third quarter of a victory two weeks ago against Baylor.
“That’s all you ever dreamed of as a kid is just playing in big-time football games and this is a great Oklahoma State team,” Rising said. “So just chomping at the bit to get out there and get this thing going fine.”
In just over six quarters of action, Rising is 18 of 29 for 346 yards and seven touchdowns. Micah Bernard paces the ground game with 274 yards on 41 carries, while four receivers have already surpassed 100 yards of catches.
Bowman has put up some huge numbers in his team’s wins over South Dakota State, Arkansas and Tulsa. He drowned the Golden Hurricane last week for 396 yards and five touchdowns, matching a career high, during an easy 45-10 win.
In three games, Bowman has completed 67 percent of his passes for 967 yards, eight touchdowns and just two interceptions. De’Zhaun Stribling has been his favorite target, catching 17 balls for 295 yards and two scores.
The Cowboys haven’t gotten Ollie Gordon II, who ran for 1,732 yards in 14 games last year, going on the ground yet. He has only 216 yards and is averaging just 3.5 yards per carry in three games. Tulsa limited him to 41 yards on 17 carries last week, but Gundy isn’t too concerned.
“We ran the ball well Saturday when we had an equal number or half-man disadvantage,” he said. “We didn’t run the ball well when they had one or two extra people there. I could show you five or six plays real quick where we had really successful plays because Ollie went this way and eight guys chased him that way.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Knicks use third-quarter spurt to down Hawks in Game 1
Apr 18, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) is guarded by Atlanta Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (7) during the first quarter of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to start the decisive third-quarter run for the host New York Knicks, who pulled away for a 113-102 win over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference quarterfinal series Saturday night.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is scheduled for Monday night in New York.
Jalen Brunson scored 19 of his game-high 28 points in the first quarter for the third-seeded Knicks, who reached the Eastern Conference finals last year for the first time since 2000. Towns finished with 25 points and was 10 of 10 from the free throw line while Anunoby collected 18 points.
Josh Hart (11 points, 14 rebounds) posted a double-double while Mikal Bridges added 11 points.
CJ McCollum scored 26 points for the Hawks, who earned the sixth seed in their first trip to the playoffs since 2023. Jalen Johnson had 23 points while Onyeka Okongwu (19) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (17) each scored in double figures. Dyson Daniels had 11 rebounds.
The Hawks led by four in the first quarter but never led again after Anunoby’s free throw put the Knicks ahead 24-23 with 2:29 left. New York matched its biggest lead of the quarter when Brunson ended the period with a floater to put the hosts up 30-24.
The Knicks opened a trio of 11-point leads in the second before the Hawks mounted a 19-8 run to tie the score at 48-all on McCollum’s floater with 3:43 left. Anunoby answered with a dunk for New York, which ended the half with a 57-55 lead.
Okongwu hit a 3-pointer 1:48 into the third to tie the score for the final time at 58-all before Towns and Anunoby drained their 3-pointers to spark a decisive 15-5 run that ended with a Bridges dunk with 5:31 left. The Hawks got within five once before New York concluded the quarter ahead 83-74.
The Hawks inched no closer than seven in the fourth, when the Knicks went on a 10-0 run to expand their lead to 106-87 with 4:36 remaining. Atlanta scored the next 11 points, but the teams traded empty possessions before Towns’ layup gave New York a double-digit lead again with 48 seconds left.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Rockets open series vs. Lakers without star Kevin Durant (knee)
Apr 10, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) warms up before the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant was ruled out for the playoff series opener against the host Los Angeles Lakers because of a right knee injury, coach Ime Udoka said before the game on Saturday.
“He bumped a knee in practice on Wednesday,” Udoka said. “Hopefully, it’s a one-game thing, but he tried it out just (a) short (time) ago and didn’t feel good enough.”
At age 37 and in his 19th season, Durant averaged a team-high 26.0 points as well as 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists. Perhaps most impressive of all was his 78 regular-season games played, his most since 2018-19.
The teams play Game 2 of the Western Conference first-round, best-of-seven series in Los Angeles on Tuesday. The Rockets started forward Jabari Smith Jr., center Alperen Sengun and guards Josh Okogie, Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard in Game 1. When Durant last started a game on April 10 against Minnesota, Sheppard came in off the bench.
Udoka said that no structural damage was revealed in medical imaging on Durant’s knee after he was hurt.
“It’s very tender, tough to bend certain ways,” Udoka said of Durant’s knee. “He hit it in a very awkward spot, I guess, more than anything. If he had a regular bumped knee, I think he could kind of play through that. But right above the knee, the patellar tendon area, up there, it’s just very tender and sore.
“Pain tolerance is one thing, but actually limited movement is more the cause (of Durant being out).”
Durant is a 16-time All-Star, the 2013-14 NBA Most Valuable Player, the 2007-08 Rookie of the Year and a six-time first-team All-NBA selection with two league championships (Golden State in 2017 and 2018) to his credit.
He has career averages of 27.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.0 steals, 1.1 blocks and 36.7 minutes in 1,201 regular-season games (1,198 starts).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Nashville SC maintains early East lead with road shutout of Atlanta
Apr 18, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Nashville SC forward Cristian Espinoza (7) kick the ball towards the goal against Atlanta United defender Enea Mihaj (4) during the first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images Cristian Espinoza and Abdul Shakur Mohammed each scored second-half goals – both assisted by Hany Mukhtar – for Nashville SC, who defeated host Atlanta United 2-0 on Saturday night.
Despite missing leading scorer Sam Surridge (seven goals) to a hamstring injury for the second straight match, Nashville (6-1-1, 19 points) extended its win streak to three matches across all competitions while maintaining its lead atop the Eastern Conference standings. It also improved to 3-1-1 on the road in MLS play.
Atlanta (1-6-1, 4 points) saw its winless streak in MLS play reach four matches (0-3-1).
Nashville pulled ahead in the 61st minute after Atlanta’s Emmanuel Latte Lath lost possession in the attacking half.
After the ball reached Mukhtar on the resulting counterattack, his pass near the scoring area found the foot of Espinoza, whose shot sailed past Lucas Hoyos and just inside the left post to make it 1-0. It was Espinoza’s third goal of the season.
Nashville grabbed an insurance goal in the first minute of second-half stoppage time when Mohammed made it 2-0, his first goal in MLS.
Atlanta and Nashville played an even first half, though Nashville had a couple of opportunities to pull ahead late in the period.
In the 39th minute, Hoyos turned aside a header from Daniel Lovitz. Then, in the 41st minute, Mukhtar found himself one-on-one with Hoyos, but was denied by the goalkeeper for the go-ahead goal.
Ultimately, Nashville SC pulled away in the second half while keeping its fourth clean sheet in MLS play. Brian Schwake was credited with three saves in the win. Hoyos finished with six saves.
Atlanta United fell to 1-3-1 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium with the loss. They also entered Saturday’s match without Miguel Almiron, who was dealing with a knee injury sustained during the team’s win over Chattanooga FC in Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup Round of 32.
–Field Level Media
Knicks use third-quarter spurt to down Hawks in Game 1
Rockets open series vs. Lakers without star Kevin Durant (knee)
