Sports
Pacers look to close out homestand with win over Raptors
Feb 25, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard RJ Barrett (9) controls the ball as Boston Celtics forward Sam Hauser (30) tries to defend during the third quarter at the Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images After facing Western Conference contenders in the first three dates of their four-game homestand, the Indiana Pacers close out the set on Wednesday with their struggling Eastern Conference counterparts, the Toronto Raptors.
Indiana began its challenging home stretch with wins over Memphis (127-113) on Thursday and a 129-111 rout of the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday. However, three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic’s 18-point, 19-assist effort contributed to red-hot Denver snapping a three-game Pacers winning streak on Monday in a 125-116 decision.
Indiana aims to bounce back against a Toronto team languishing in 13th place in the East. Despite the Raptors’ struggles, including dropping Tuesday’s leg of a back-to-back vs. Boston, 111-101, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle pointed to Indiana’s difficulties with Toronto in early-season matchups.
“Toronto’s a big, physical team that we’ve had a lot of problems with,” Carlisle said.
The Raptors won the two previous meetings: the first in November (130-119) and the second in December (122-111). Both were played in Toronto. RJ Barrett scored 39 and 29 points in the two previous encounters, while Scottie Barnes went for 35 points in the December meeting.
Barrett comes into Indiana with a five-game streak of scoring at least 20 points. He is averaging 21.9 points per game after Tuesday’s 22-point effort, but at 1-for-5 against Boston, had his worst 3-point shooting performance in the month of February.
“Sometimes you make shots, sometimes you don’t,” Barrett told reporters following the game. “They just didn’t drop today. I think even with that, we still played hard, and we still played well.”
Toronto has dropped seven of its last nine games with Tuesday’s loss, which followed a 127-109 rout of Phoenix on Sunday. The Raptors took Miami to overtime in a 120-111 loss on Friday.
Toronto currently is playing without Jakob Poeltl, a linchpin to the size that Carlisle said gave Indiana trouble. Poeltl’s status for Wednesday is uncertain due to a hip injury that has kept him out since last playing on Feb. 4. Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic told reporters before Tuesday’s game that the center is “very close” to a return.
Rookie Jonathan Mogbo made his fifth start since Feb. 7 in Poeltl’s void at center during Tuesday’s loss. Mogbo finished with four points, four rebounds, two steals and two assists.
Former Raptor Pascal Siakam leads Indiana’s efforts on the interior against Toronto. Siakam is averaging team-highs of 20.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game after his 19-point, nine-rebound showing vs. Denver.
On Sunday versus the Clippers, Siakam recorded his first double-double since Feb. 7, going for 12 points and 12 rebounds. His point of emphasis following Monday, however, was for Indiana to recover from an uncharacteristic 18-turnover night.
“That’s not us. We’ve got to fix it,” Siakam said.
The Pacers average the fifth-fewest turnovers per game in the league at 13.4. That number is in part a testament to the play of Tyrese Haliburton.
Although Haliburton’s assists per game are down from a season ago, when he averaged an NBA-leading 10.9 per game, now at 8.7, he is committing 1.8 turnovers a contest, down from 2.3 in 2023-24.
–Field Level Media
Sports
RFA Cole Sillinger signs 3-year deal with Blue Jackets
Oct 13, 2025; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets center Cole Sillinger (4) walking the blue carpet greeting fans before the game on opening night against the New York Islanders at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images Restricted free-agent forward Cole Sillinger avoided arbitration by signing a three-year, $13.875 million contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The deal, announced Saturday, spans through the 2028-29 season.
The move comes one day after the Blue Jackets avoided arbitration by signing goaltender Jet Greaves to a three-year, $15 million contract.
“Cole is a hard-working, reliable two-way forward who plays the game the right way, has outstanding character and continues to grow and improve,” said Don Waddell, Blue Jackets’ president of hockey operations and general manager.
“He has played a lot of games in this league at a very young age, and we are excited about his future and his contributions to our organization.”
Sillinger, 23, recorded 33 points (eight goals, 25 assists) and a plus-2 rating in 81 games last season with the Blue Jackets. He was playing in the last season of a two-year, $4.5 million contract.
Sillinger has totaled 140 points (51 goals, 89 assists) in 367 career games since being selected by Columbus with the 12th overall pick of the 2021 NHL Draft.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Super Bowl-winner Jordan Devey dies at 38
Sep 27, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; San Francisco 49ers offensive lineman Jordan Devey reacts against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Jordan Devey, a retired NFL offensive lineman who won a Super Bowl with the New England Patriots, died at age 38.
According to a GoFundMe page started to benefit his wife, Linsey, and their four young children, Devey “took his own life.” As of Saturday morning, the fund had collected more than $92,000 of its $200,000 goal.
Devey was the rare NFL player who didn’t play high school football, giving up the sport after junior high. Afflicted by a disease that causes knee inflammation and pain in children and teens, Devey played tuba in the school band.
After a two-year mission with the Church of Latter Day Saints, he enrolled in Snow College in Ephraim, Utah, and played two years of football since his knee issue had lessened. He transferred to Memphis for his final two seasons, then signed with the Baltimore Ravens after being unselected in the 2013 NFL Draft.
The Patriots signed the 6-foot-7 Devey to their practice squad that September and promoted him to the active roster in 2014 — the same season New England defeated the Seattle Seahawks to win Super Bowl XLIX.
He played with the San Francisco 49ers in 2015, appearing in a career-high 15 games (nine starts), then followed with stops with the Kansas City Chiefs, then-Oakland Raiders and Buffalo Bills through the 2020 season. In all, he played in 44 NFL games (21 starts).
Following his career, he volunteered as a coach of his kids’ teams and coached high school football coach in Idaho.
In an interview with Fox 13 in Salt Lake City, Leslie Devey said she believed the brain injury CTE contributed to her son’s death on Tuesday.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Jays' Addison Barger to have elbow surgery, out for season
Mar 18, 2026; Dunedin, Florida, USA; Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Addison Barger (47) hits a home run during the second inning against the Baltimore Orioles at TD Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Addison Barger will undergo surgery on his right elbow Monday and will miss the remainder of the season.
The Blue Jays announced the news on Friday for Barger, who played in just nine games this season.
After missing more than one month with an ankle injury, Barger injured his elbow in his return to the field on May 9. Per manager John Schneider, Barger’s injury was sustained after the outfielder threw a 101.2-mph throw to nail a tagging runner at the plate.
“It’s tough to lose the whole year of at-bats, reps and performance,” Schneider said. “We were counting on him to be a big part of our team. You can see how much we miss him, for sure. It’s also a dude starting his career and trending in the right direction who’s missing, basically, a full season. It’s frustrating for him and for us.”
Barger, 26, went 1-for-22 (.045) with two RBIs this season after hitting 21 homers with 74 RBIs in 135 games in 2025. He batted .367 (22-for-60) with three home runs and nine RBIs in 17 games during the 2025 postseason.
Since making his major league debut in 2024, Barger is a career .223 hitter with 28 home runs and 104 RBIs in 213 games for the Blue Jays.
–Field Level Media
RFA Cole Sillinger signs 3-year deal with Blue Jackets
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