Sports
Wild open up second round against high-scoring Avalanche
Apr 30, 2026; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov (97) and forward Vladimir Tarasenko (91) celebrate a series win against the Dallas Stars after game six in the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Grand Casino Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Wosika-Imagn Images The celebration Thursday was a decade in the making for the Minnesota Wild, but now the road gets tougher. Minnesota eliminated the Dallas Stars in six games to advance for the first time since 2015, and the reward is taking on the Colorado Avalanche, the Presidents’ Trophy winners, in the second round.
Game 1 is Sunday night in Denver.
The series will mark the fourth time the organizations will clash in the postseason, and each time the lower seed has prevailed. The Wild won two Game 7s in Denver (2003, 2014) and Colorado beat Minnesota in six games in 2008. They split their four games during the regular season.
The Wild were bounced in the first round in their previous eight playoff appearances but got by Dallas in a matchup of two of the best teams in the NHL. They go against a fresh Avalanche team that completed a sweep of the first-round series with Los Angeles a week ago.
While Colorado rested, Minnesota earned some valuable experience.
“I think you learn so much throughout those other playoff series. Not that I’m old, but I feel like I was young during those and didn’t know what to expect or what the expectation was and stuff,” Wild forward Matt Boldy said. “I think it was just a group of guys that were ready to take that step.”
Minnesota has the talent to compete with the Avalanche, who finished the regular season with a franchise-record 121 points. The Wild, led by Kirill Kaprizov’s 89 points in the regular season (45 goals, 44 assists), have depth in their top lines and a superstar defenseman in Quinn Hughes.
Colorado is arguably the deepest team in the league when healthy. Nathan MacKinnon led the NHL in goals with 53 and was third in points (127), and Martin Necas recorded the first 100-point season of his career (38 goals, 62 assists).
The Avalanche’s projected third line could be a first line on other teams. Nazem Kadri, Gabriel Landeskog and Nicolas Roy were impactful in the sweep of the Kings and can jump up when coach Jared Bednar sees a need for more offense.
Landeskog tied with MacKinnon for the scoring lead against Los Angeles with four points (two goals, two assists) and Roy contributed two goals — including one in overtime in Game 2.
“(Roy and Kadri) find areas to get the puck to the net, which is great, and they read off each other really well,” defenseman Cale Makar said.
Both teams are dealing with injuries. Minnesota defenseman Jonas Brodin, who missed Game 6 against Dallas, did not travel to Denver and will miss Game 1. Center Joel Eriksson Ek is questionable for Sunday. Brodin blocked a shot in Game 5, and Eriksson Ek lost an edge and slammed hard into the side boards right-leg first in the third period of Game 6.
Colorado defenseman Josh Manson (upper body) went through a full practice on Saturday and is likely to play.
The biggest key is in net, and both goaltenders are playing well. Scott Wedgewood allowed just five goals in the first round against the Kings, and Wild rookie Jesper Wallstedt had a 2.05 goals-against average in the first round series.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Caitlin Clark not on injury report for Fever's preseason finale
Apr 30, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) and Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (5) during an inbounds play in the first half at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images After limping off the floor in the third quarter of Thursday’s preseason game in Indianapolis, Indiana Fever All-Star guard Caitlin Clark is not listed on the team’s injury report as they face Nigeria on Sunday in their preseason finale.
Clark, who played in just 13 games a season ago due to a lingering groin injury, collided with Dallas’ Alanna Smith on Thursday while attempting a three-point field goal at the 7:51 mark of the third quarter and landed hard on her right kneecap. She then converted two of three free throws but left the game and did not return.
Clark said after the game, “I feel good. I just landed on my kneecap really hard.”
The two-time All-Star put up 21 points in 16 minutes versus the Wings in a 95-80 loss.
She is expected to dress against the Nigerian team.
Clark averaged 19.2 points and 8.4 assists and buried 122 3-pointers in her 2024 rookie season for the Fever, earning Rookie of the Year and All-WNBA First Team honors. Her scoring numbers took a hit in 2025, falling to 16.5 points per game before she sustained the season-ending injury.
Fellow Fever star Aliyah Boston is expected to dress for the first time during the brief preseason. The fourth-year pro, who has averaged 14.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in her three years in Indiana, suffered a leg injury at the end of the Unrivaled season and the team has slow-played her return.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Magic can't sulk over Game 6 as Game 7 approaches with Pistons
May 1, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) dribbles the ball against the Detroit Pistons in th fourth quarter during game six of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images One game remains, and suddenly all the pressure has shifted.
After staring down elimination just days ago, the top-seeded Detroit Pistons forced a winner-take-all Game 7 on Sunday against the visiting Orlando Magic, putting themselves on the brink of history.
Only 13 teams in NBA history have rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win a playoff series, a reminder of both the rarity of Detroit’s push and the opportunity still in front of Orlando. The winner will face either Cleveland or Toronto in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Detroit’s 93-79 victory in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference first-round series on Friday flipped the series on its head, erasing what once looked like a commanding Orlando march after the eighth-seeded Magic built and then squandered a 24-point lead.
“It’s going to be a war,” said Detroit’s Duncan Robinson. “It’s pretty much what every game has been so far this series — super physical.
“They got a lot of pride in their locker room too. We expect them to come out swinging on Sunday. We’re super excited to get back and have a game seven on our home floor in front of our fans. So, it’s going to be a great challenge.”
The Pistons were able to force the decisive game by mounting a furious, defensive-ignited comeback in the second half. The Magic missed 23 consecutive shots, including 27 of their final 28 shots, and were outscored 55-19 during that span.
“Hopefully we start the game like we finished the game,” said Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff. “That’s going to be extremely important for us.
“I expect us to do what we do, and that’s keep swinging.”
The Magic are looking to avoid their second 3-1 collapse in franchise history. In 2003, they blew a 3-1 advantage over the top-seeded Pistons in their NBA first-round series. The Pistons haven’t won a playoff series since 2008, while the Magic haven’t since 2010.
Magic coach Jamahl Mosley was asked what his team has to do in Game 7 to bounce back from the stunning defeat.
“You got to wash it, you got to learn from it, you got to go get Game 7,” Mosley said. “You got to get it the hard way.
“We’ve been in Game 7 before, and we understand what it looks like on the road, the magnitude of it, what we know we’re capable of doing in this situation.”
Orlando will need to move past its 1-of-20 fourth-quarter shooting performance, including a combined 1-of-15 effort from Paolo Banchero, Desmond Bane and Jalen Suggs, while also preparing for the likelihood of being without forward Franz Wagner, who has missed the last two games with a calf injury.
“It’s the playoffs and this series has been a slugfest,” Banchero said. “Series ain’t over. They’ve clawed their way to tie it at 3-3. You don’t have time to hang your head about this. Obviously, it was a bad loss. Got to chalk it up. There’s nothing we can do about it at this point.”
The Magic will also need to figure out how to cool off Detroit’s Cade Cunningham who has scored 77 points over the last two games, including 32 in Game 6.
“He’s their engine,” Banchero said of Cunningham. “He does a lot of their scoring and facilitating and so, yeah, we got to make it hard on him, try to make others beat us, just do whatever we can to win the game.
“It’s one game. It’s all that matters is just one game. So, I think we got to just do whatever it takes.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Carson Hocevar rides the wave to NASCAR Cup pole at Texas
May 2, 2026; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Spire Motorsports driver Carson Hocevar (77) is interviewed after winning the pole position in the qualifying session for the 2026 Wurth 400 Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images FORT WORTH, Texas — In a manner of speaking, Carson Hocevar called his shot at Texas Motor Speedway–and wound up on the pole for Sunday’s Wurth 400 Presented by LIQUI MOLY (3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Before Saturday’s time trials at the 1.5-mile track, Hocevar said he hoped to capitalize on his last-in-the-order qualifying position–a benefit of his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory at Talladega Superspeedway last Sunday.
“Hopefully we can roll out last and take advantage of it,” Hocevar said. “Start up front, which is super important here. Pit stops are going to be important. Get a good pit selection and really keep the momentum rolling.”
It took a monumental lap for Hocevar to achieve that objective. Streaking around the speedway in 25.222 seconds (191.240 mph), he edged Spire Motorsports teammate Daniel Suarez (191.320 mph) for the top starting spot by 0.003 seconds.
The Busch Light Pole Award was the second of Hocevar’s career, with the first coming at Texas a year ago.
“Maybe going to (sponsor) Chili’s last night it weighed the car down just a little bit more, and I had a little more left-side weight,” joked Hocevar, who also won Friday night’s NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at TMS. “I don’t know where those three thousandths (of a second) are, but I’m glad I had ‘em in the bank.
“My lap felt pretty good. It wasn’t quite key it up on the radio and (say)… ‘If they beat that, they can have it,’ and they don’t get beat. It wasn’t quite doing that, but I was coming off Turn 4, and I was like, ‘If this isn’t fast, I’m going to be disappointed.’ It felt good.”
Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Chris Buescher qualified third at 190.981 mph in the only Ford that cracked the top 10. Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe tied for fourth at 190.786 mph, with Hamlin getting the nod for the higher starting spot on an owner points tiebreaker.
Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell, series leader Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman and Ty Gibbs completed the top 10 on the grid. Defending Cup champion Kyle Larson will start 11th.
Austin Dillon and Bubba Wallace did not make qualifying attempts and will start from the rear of the field on Sunday. Dillon’s team changed the engine in the No. 3 Chevrolet. Wallace crashed in practice will start the race in a backup car.
“It was on edge, just like Texas is,” Wallace said of the accident. “Just trying to find the right balance for us and our team. So it was going to be a good debrief to figure out if we can get some more speed, but just have to rely on our teammates and go get it tomorrow.
“This is a very unforgiving place. So like I said, it (the No. 23 Camry) was around before I even knew it.”
NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying — Wurth 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY
Texas Motor Speedway
Fort Worth, Texas
Saturday, May 2, 2026
1. (77) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 191.340 mph.
2. (7) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 191.320 mph.
3. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford, 190.981 mph.
4. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 190.786 mph.
5. (19) Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 190.786 mph.
6. (8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 190.611 mph.
7. (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 190.456 mph.
8. (45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 190.416 mph.
9. (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 190.382 mph.
10. (54) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 190.168 mph.
11. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 190.067 mph.
12. (88) Connor Zilisch #, Chevrolet, 189.940 mph.
13. (2) Austin Cindric, Ford, 189.860 mph.
14. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 189.780 mph.
15. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet, 189.693 mph.=
16. (1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 189.427 mph.
17. (67) Corey Heim(i), Toyota, 189.341 mph.
18. (35) Riley Herbst, Toyota, 189.228 mph.
19. (71) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 189.155 mph.
20. (60) Ryan Preece, Ford, 189.129 mph.
21. (43) Erik Jones, Toyota, 188.950 mph.
22. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 188.772 mph.
23. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 188.692 mph.
24. (21) Josh Berry, Ford, 188.686 mph.
25. (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 188.442 mph.
26. (16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 188.403 mph.
27. (41) Cole Custer, Chevrolet, 188.311 mph.=
28. (4) Noah Gragson, Ford, 188.193 mph.
29. (51) Cody Ware, Chevrolet, 187.983 mph.
30. (97) Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, 187.905 mph.
31. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 187.800 mph.
32. (34) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 187.682 mph.
33. (42) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 187.669 mph.
34. (38) Zane Smith, Ford, 187.285 mph.
35. (10) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 185.350 mph.
36. (66) Chad Finchum(i), Ford, 176.396 mph.
37. (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 0.000 mph.
38. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
— By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service
Caitlin Clark not on injury report for Fever's preseason finale
Magic can't sulk over Game 6 as Game 7 approaches with Pistons
