Sports
Pelicans return home to take on Trae Young, Wizards
Mar 6, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) looks on against the Phoenix Suns during the second half at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images The New Orleans Pelicans return from a six-game road swing to begin a stretch of 6-of-7 at home, starting with Sunday’s matchup against the Washington Wizards.
Washington begins a four-game road trip with its visit to the Big Easy, trying to snap a seven-game losing skid following Thursday’s 122-112 home setback against Utah. The loss was noteworthy for marking Trae Young’s debut in the Wizards’ lineup.
Young, a four-time All-Star and 2021-22 All-NBA honoree, was traded to the Wizards in January for Corey Kispert and CJ McCollum. In 19 minutes, Young finished with 12 points, six assists, and two steals against the Jazz but shot just 1-of-5 from 3-point range in his first action since December.
“(I was) anxious all day and not (able to get) much sleep,” Young said of making his first appearance with Washington. “I was really looking forward to the day and shaking off whatever rust I would have just from missing a few months of basketball.”
A knee injury sidelined Young for all but 10 games this season prior to Thursday and limited him to averages of 19.3 points and 8.9 assists per game when active at the time of the trade — both his lowest marks since his rookie season.
Along with Young’s debut, Washington heads into New Orleans with some positive momentum despite its skid, with rookie Julian Reese coming off a historic performance.
Playing in just his third NBA game, the brother of WNBA star Angel Reese grabbed 20 rebounds to join Tim Duncan and Shaquille O’Neal as the only rookies to reach that milestone within their first five career outings.
The Pelicans, meanwhile, are coming off a 3-3 finish to their recent road swing, concluding with a 118-116 loss at Phoenix on Friday.
“Overall, it was a pretty good road trip; could have been better,” New Orleans coach James Borrego said. “Probably had two wins there we let slip from our fingertips. It’s a new group playing together, trying to find our way.”
Part of the Pelicans’ new look has been the integration of Dejounte Murray into the lineup for five of the last seven games. Murray has scored at least 13 points in each outing, including 17 points, nine assists, and four steals in a win over Utah on Feb. 26.
Murray joins a rotation that features Trey Murphy III and Zion Williamson as its pillars.
Murphy scored 22 points in Friday’s loss. It was his fourth contest since returning from a five-game absence with a shoulder injury, and Murphy’s third consecutive outing with at least 21 points.
Murphy is on pace to finish 2025-26 with a career-high scoring average, currently posting a team-leading 21.9 points per game.
Just behind Murphy is Williamson, who is averaging 21.5 points per game after his 19-point effort at Phoenix. Williamson also grabbed 10 rebounds, his most since pulling down 11 in a Feb. 2 loss to Charlotte.
Although the Pelicans sit in 13th place in the Western Conference, 10.5 games behind Portland for the final play-in spot through Friday, they are above .500 since the All-Star break at 5-4.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Contending Wings eye turnaround at home vs. lowly Flames
Mar 8, 2026; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Detroit Red Wings left wing Lucas Raymond (23) and New Jersey Devils center Nico Hischier (13) fight in the final seconds of the second period at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Salus-Imagn Images The struggling Detroit Red Wings are hoping a return home and a visit by the floundering Calgary Flames on Monday will be just the tonic needed to turn their fortunes.
The Red Wings hold the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card position, but after suffering a 3-2 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars on Saturday have lost five of their past six games (1-3-2) to put their perch in jeopardy.
“We’re so excited to get home to Detroit … and play in front of our fans,” said forward Lucas Raymond, who leads the Red Wings with 45 assists and is tied for the lead in points with 66. “We’ve had some stretches down the year where we’ve been pushing for a playoff spot and that just elevates the crowd.”
Detroit, which is pushing to avoid missing the playoffs for a 10th consecutive season, is in a tight battle.
The Red Wings are tied with the Boston Bruins, who hold the first wild-card spot but have played one fewer game. Detroit is also two points back of the Montreal Canadiens for third spot in the Atlantic Division, but only one point ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are just outside the wild-card spots.
The Red Wings have struggled without captain Dylan Larkin and fellow center Andrew Copp due to injuries, but did receive a boost with forward David Perron returning from injury against the Stars.
The Dallas clash ended earning the Red Wings a point in the standings, but was a wasted opportunity after they erased a two-goal deficit in the third period, but could not get a winning goal.
“A good battle back. Lots going on recently, obviously, but we found a way. We kept pushing,” Perron said. “It was nice to get rewarded as a group to have one point there.”
The Flames arrive after suffering a 3-2 loss of their own at the New York Islanders on Saturday.
Calgary, which is ahead of only the Vancouver Canucks in the overall standings and in the throes of a rebuild, trailed 3-0 before the end of the first period, but controlled play the rest of the way in a comeback that fell short.
Despite the end result, the Flames likely deserved a better fate, especially after firing 17 shots on net in the final period.
“When we made a mistake, they capitalized on it,” coach Ryan Huska said. “We also hit two crossbars and had a grade-A chance in front of the net. We progressively got better as the night went on.”
In keeping with a recurring theme, the Flames, who are the league’s lowest-scoring team, could not find the equalizer, which left them with only five wins in their last 17 games (5-10-2).
Despite their offensive struggles — the Flames have gone four games without a power-play goal, and only two man-advantage markers in 10 outings — they continue to battle in close games.
The message as they prepare for the final outing of a five-game road trip is to ignore the standings and keep battling for wins.
“There’s no quit from anyone here,” said captain Mikael Backlund, who moved ahead of Kent Nilsson with his 230th career goal and into fifth spot on the franchise’s all-time list. “All the guys are fighting hard. It doesn’t matter the score. We keep trying until the end. So I’m really proud of the guys.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Team USA, Paul Skenes face prolific Dominican Republic in WBC semifinal
Mar 9, 2026; Houston, TX, United States; United States pitcher Paul Skenes (30) walks off the field in the second inning against Mexico at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images MIAMI – It will be power arm against power bats when Team USA takes on the Dominican Republic in a World Baseball Classic in a high stakes semifinal on Sunday night.
Pittsburgh Pirates ace and reigning National League Cy Young winner Paul Skenes will be tasked with trying to slow down the Dominican Republic’s power lineup, which has already hit 14 home runs in five WBC games.
Skenes will oppose Athletics starter Luis Severino in Sunday’s matchup. The winner advances to Tuesday’s final, also in Miami.
New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells’ walk-off homer in the bottom of the seventh inning secured a 10-0 quarterfinal victory for the Dominican side over Korea and tied the 2009 Mexico squad for the most home runs in a Classic.
Although Sunday is not the final, the semifinal will undoubtedly have a championship feel with two star-studded rosters set to clash.
The United States is seeking its second WBC championship and first since 2017 while the Dominican Republic is coming off a disappointing early pool-play exit in 2023 and is hoping to win its first title since 2013 and second overall.
The Dominican Republic has outscored its opponents 51-10 during their five consecutive victories in this year’s Classic. Juan Soto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Junior Caminero, Oneil Cruz, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Wells have each hit two home runs during the tournament.
“This is something special for us because we are a very united team, compact team,” Caminero said after beating Korea on Friday. “You can feel the emotion, the energy in the clubhouse. We work as a team. This is something very special to us. We cannot fake about being defeatless or not. Now we have to focus on the next rival on Sunday, and to continue playing like we have been doing so far.”
The United States hopes Skenes can perform to the level that has led him to a dominating start of his career.
Skenes allowed only one hit and one walk over four scoreless innings in his lone outing of the Classic against Mexico in pool play.
“I like any game that Paul Skenes pitches,” said reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge, following the United States’ 5-3 quarterfinal win over Canada on Friday. “It’s just incredible stuff. Watching him work on his craft the past couple weeks has been incredible. Seeing him in that game against Mexico, where it’s an electric environment, he just toed the slab and went out and took care of business. It was really impressive.”
“Looking forward to seeing him get out there and do his thing. And then we hand it over to the bullpen of ours, it’s going to be a tough fight. But definitely looking forward to seeing him get back on the mound.”
Severino has a challenge of his own on Sunday as he looks to quiet a USA lineup, which also has been prolific.
Two of the biggest contributors in the United States’ lineup have been Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and Milwaukee Brewers’ second baseman Brice Turang. Crow-Armstrong has gone 5-for-13 with two home runs and six RBIs, while Turang is 7-for-15 with four doubles, which is tied for the most in this year’s Classic with Venezuela’s Luis Arraez entering Sunday’s games.
Severino struck out five and allowed one run on three hits over four innings in his previous start this past Sunday — a 12-1 mercy-rule win over the Netherlands.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tournament finals roundup: UMBC tops Vermont to win America East
Feb 26, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; A NCAA logo flag at the Hall of Champions at the NCAA National Office. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images DJ Armstrong Jr. scored 33 points as top-seeded UMBC beat second-seeded Vermont 74-59 on Saturday in Baltimore to earn its first America East Conference tournament title since 2018 and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
UMBC (24-8) ended the contest on a 26-8 run to post the third conference tournament title in program history.
Armstrong Jr. went 9 of 11 from the field, including a championship-game record seven 3-pointers, to earn the Most Outstanding Player honors in the tournament while he averaged 17.6 points per game and shot 64% from the floor.
Jose Roberto Tanchyn grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and Ace Valentine added 13 points for the Retrievers, who have won 12 straight games.
UMBC led 30-28 at halftime against Vermont (22-12), which got a team-high 17 points off the bench from TJ Long plus 11 apiece from Gus Yalden and TJ Hurley.
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Bryce Harris had 14 points with 10 rebounds and Cedric Taylor III finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds to lead top-seeded Howard to a 70-63 victory over No. 3 seed North Carolina Central in the title game at Norfolk, Va.
The Bison (23-10), who have won eight games in a row, advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time. Their most recent appearance was in 2024.
Dionte Johnson had a team-high 14 points for the Eagles (14-18).
–Field Level Media
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