Sports
With Big East title in sight, No. 7 St. John's visits Butler
Feb 23, 2025; New York, New York, USA; St. John’s Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino signals in the second half against the Connecticut Huskies at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images No. 7 St. John’s will look to extend its winning streak to four games on Wednesday night when the Red Storm travel to Indianapolis to take on Butler.
This is a key game for the entire Big East, as the Red Storm (24-4, 15-2) can clinch a share of the conference regular-season title with a victory. They also can do so with a Creighton loss to DePaul on Wednesday.
St. John’s, which has won 13 of its past 14 games, has not secured a share of the Big East title since 1992 and has not won the conference outright since 1985.
“We want this Big East crown badly,” coach Rick Pitino said. “Not only for the players but also for the fans who came back.”
The Red Storm are coming off one of their better wins of the season as they dominated UConn 89-75 at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
The win allowed St. John’s to sweep UConn in the season series for the first time since 2000. It also improved the Red Storm to 17-0 at home.
“This was our best game offensively and defensively all season,” Pitino said. “I think they get better every day and every game.”
Zuby Ejiofor and Kadary Richmond each led the way with 18 points, with Ejiofor also collecting nine rebounds and six assists.
Butler (13-14, 6-10) is playing well as of late, having won four of its last five games, including an 84-72 victory on the road at DePaul on Saturday night.
Pierre Brooks recorded 24 points and seven rebounds for the Bulldogs, who closed the game on a 17-4 run.
Jahmyl Telfort boasts team-leading averages in points (16.1) and assists (3.5). Andre Screen leads down low with 6.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per night.
RJ Luis Jr. leads St. John’s with 17.4 points per game. Ejiofor averages a team-high 8.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks, while Richmond averages 5 assists and 2 steals.
On the injury front, Richmond is playing through pain for St. John’s.
“Kadary Richmond is more injured than any player I’ve coached right now, he’s got double groin pulls, got problems all over his anatomy, and he played and played hard. He needs time off, as much as we can give him.”
His status has not been decided for Wednesday. Jaiden Glover (wrist) and Brady Dunlap (hand) will miss the rest of the season for St. John’s while Evan Haywood (illness) is questionable for Butler.
St. John’s leads the all-time series 14-11, with all but one of those matchups taking place after 2014. The Red Storm have taken the last four and will look for their eighth win over Butler in the last nine matchups.
The last matchup was tight, with St. John’s surging ahead late to win 70-62 at Carnasecca Arena on Jan. 4. Luis Jr. led St. John’s with 20 points and 11 boards, while Brooks paced Butler with 17 points.
At the top of the list for the Bulldogs going into this one will be turnovers. They committed 21 in the last matchup, leading to 19 points for St. John’s. The Red Storm had 27 fast-break points as well.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: A's sign LHP Dallas Keuchel to minor league deal
Jul 7, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Dallas Keuchel (60) throws during the second inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images The Athletics signed former American League Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel to a minor league contract, ESPN reported Saturday.
The 38-year-old left-hander, a two-time All-Star, last pitched in the majors for the Milwaukee Brewers on July 13, 2024.
He has 13 years of major league experience, most prominently with the Houston Astros (2012-18). In 2015, he went 20-8 with a 2.48 ERA and 216 strikeouts, en route to winning the AL Cy Young Award.
The veteran will now attempt another comeback with the Athletics. Per ESPN, he will report to Triple-A Las Vegas.
With the Astros, Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins and Brewers, Keuchel is 103-92 with a 4.04 ERA and 1,254 strikeouts in 282 games (267 starts).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Magomed Ankalaev puts away Bogdan Guskov at UFC Abu Dhabi
Oct 4, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, UNITED STATES; Magomed Ankalaev (red gloves) reacts after the fight against Alex Pereira (blue gloves) during UFC 320 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images After a slow-paced, grueling affair that drew boos from the Etihad Arena crowd, No. 1-ranked former UFC light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev finally put away No. 9 Bogdan Guskov with fifth-round ground-and-pound at 2:41 to cap off Saturday’s UFC Fight Night event in Abu Dhabi.
The main event was a slog for the first 15 minutes. The opening frame saw very little action, and the second round was largely uneventful aside from Ankalaev (22-2-1, 1 NC MMA) securing a clinch and landing a few knees. The lack of output continued into the third, prompting the restless Abu Dhabi crowd to loudly voice their frustration and shower both men with boos as they returned to their corners.
Ankalaev shifted gears in the championship rounds, immediately taking Guskov (18-4-1 MMA) to the mat to open the fourth. He worked his way to full mount before settling into half guard, eventually threatening with a rear-naked choke that Guskov managed to defend to survive the frame.
Guskov, who landed just 42 strikes throughout the entire fight, nearly pulled off a miracle head-in-arm choke early in the fifth round. Ankalaev calmly escaped the sudden submission threat and eventually took Guskov’s back. Despite a brief reversal from Guskov in a desperate scramble, Ankalaev regained top position and unleashed a vicious barrage of ground-and-pound to force the stoppage.
The victory gave Ankalaev his 13th UFC win, the most among active light heavyweights.
“I want to say thank you to Bogdan (Guskov) for coming in here and saving the fight,” Ankalaev said. “I feel good. Thank you.”
Watching the grueling affair cageside was reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Carlos Ulberg, who is currently sidelined recovering from a torn ACL. With the stoppage victory, Ankalaev likely solidified his position as the next challenger for Ulberg once the champion is cleared to return to the Octagon.
Flyweight Ramazan Temirov (20-3 MMA) secured his 12th consecutive victory in spectacular fashion, thoroughly dominating former title challenger Steve Erceg (14-5 MMA) en route to a first-round knockout.
Temirov set the tone early with a spinning back attack to begin the bout. Later in the frame, he unleashed a barrage of punches before putting the finishing touches on the performance. The final sequence began with a right hand before Temirov dropped and flatlined Erceg with a single punch to end things at the 4:21 mark.
Following the spectacular finish, Temirov used his post-fight interview to call out reigning UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van for a future title fight.
“I’m ready for everyone,” Temirov said. “Whoever is champion, I’m ready.”
Lightweight Magomed Zaynukov (9-0 MMA) leaned on highly effective striking and mixed combinations to secure a unanimous decision victory (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) over Damian Rzepecki (10-1 MMA). After a slow-paced opening frame, Zaynukov found his rhythm and dictated the action down the stretch, opening noticeable cuts over Rzepecki’s nose and eyes to cruise to the win.
Heavyweight Rizvan Kuniev (14-3-1 MMA) wore down an incredibly game Tyrell Fortune (18-4 MMA), ultimately securing a TKO victory with a devastating knee to the head at the 1:12 mark of the third round. Kuniev nearly finished the bout in both the first and second frames with a barrage of knees and elbows, but Fortune showed immense toughness, surviving the early onslaught and continuing to fight despite a severely compromised right rib.
In the main card opener, Abubakar Vagaev (25-4 MMA) leaned on a balanced attack of striking and timely takedowns to secure a unanimous decision victory (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) over Saygid Izagakhmaev (22-4 MMA).
Saturday’s main card was unexpectedly reduced from six fights to five just three hours before the event began. The UFC announced that Islam Dulatov was forced to withdraw from his scheduled welterweight bout against Wellington Turman due to an illness, prompting a last-minute cancellation.
Heavyweight Valter Walker (16-1 MMA) made history on Saturday’s preliminary card, securing his fifth consecutive submission victory to tie former middleweight title challenger Demian Maia for the longest submission streak in modern UFC history. Walker finished Thomas Petersen (11-5 MMA) via first-round calf slicer — an incredibly rare finish that marks only the fourth of its kind ever successfully executed inside the Octagon.
Saturday marked the UFC’s 23rd event in Abu Dhabi since 2010. The promotion also announced during the broadcast that it will make its 24th trip to the United Arab Emirates on Oct. 24 for UFC 333.
The UFC returns to action next Saturday, kicking off August with a trip to Serbia for UFC Fight Night.
–Field Level Media
Sports
WTA roundup: Anna Bondar goes overtime, reaches Hamburg final
May 25, 2026; Paris, France; Anna Bondar of Hungary reacts during her first round match against Elina Svitolina of Ukraine on day two at Stade Roland Garros. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-Imagn Images No. 4 seed Anna Bondar of Hungary outlasted Elina Avanesyan of Armenia 7-6 (3), 4-6, 7-6 (2) in a three-hour, 29-minute match on Saturday to advance to the final of the MSC Hamburg Ladies Open in Germany.
Bondar will face fifth-seeded Tamara Korpatsch of Germany, who advanced in her semifinal match when Mayar Sherif of Egypt retired in the second set with an injury. Bondar reached the final at Hamburg for the second consecutive year.
Bondar was down 5-3 in the opening set against Avanesyan before rallying then taking the final four points of the tiebreaker for the set. Bondar also lost serve to fall behind 2-0 in the deciding set then won the first five points of the tiebreaker to advance.
Korpatsch dominated the opening set 6-1 then went up 2-0 in the second set before Sherif was forced to bow out. Sherif was coming off her first title in four years at the Iasi Open in Romania.
Prague Open
Lilli Tagger of Austria pulled off an upset of No. 2 seed Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and earned her way into the final with a 6-7 (5), 6-3, 7-6 (4) semifinal victory.
Both semifinalists from the Czech Republic fell in their home country with No. 5 seed Tereza Valentova losing 7-6 (4), 6-3 to No. 8 seed Daria Snigur of Ukraine.
After losing the opening set, Tagger rallied by breaking Krejcikova’s serve to go up 4-2 in the second set. She broke serve again in the fourth game of the final set then won the final three points in the tiebreaker to win the match.
Snigur and Valentova each broke serve twice in the opening set before Snigur won the final four points of the tiebreaker. Snigur then broke Valentova’s serve twice in the second set, including once to take a 5-3 lead before serving for the match.
–Field Level Media
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Report: A's sign LHP Dallas Keuchel to minor league deal
