LOCAL SPORTS
U15 AA: The provincials continue in Antigonish. On Friday, the Bulldogs tied twice: 2-2 against the Pictou County Crushers, and 2-2 against the West Hants Warriors. The Crushers also lost to the Warriors 2-1. The CB West Islanders had a pair of wins, defeating the Strait Richmond Pirates 4-0, and the Truro Bearcats 3-1. The Pirates also lost to the Junior Lumberjacks 3-2. This morning, play begins with the Crushers against the Axemen at 8:30 at the Antigonish Arena, followed by the Islanders vs Yarmouth at 10. At the Keating Centre at 10, it’s the Bulldogs vs the Pirates. Afternoon games include the Islanders & Axemen at the Arena at 1 pm, the Crushers & Pirates at 1 pm at the Keating Centre, and the Bulldogs & Mariners at the Keating Centre at 2:30.
NS Junior: The Bulldogs and Eskasoni Junior Eagles tangle in Game 3 of the Sid Rowe Division Final tonight – the Bulldogs lead 2-0 in the series. Puck drops at the Antigonish Arena at 7:30.
U16 AAA: Cabot Highlanders host the Kings in Game 1 of their playoff series at Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre. Puck drops 6 pm.
U18 Major: The Weeks Majors look to take a 3-0 lead in the league final series against the Wolfpack. Game time is 7:15 tonight in Cole Harbour.
Rural League: Game 1 of the finals was taken by Heatherton, 3-0 over St Croix. Game 2 goes Sunday night at 7 at the Arena.
NATIONAL SPORTS
There were only three games in the N-H-L, all of them close. Boone Jenner scored 40 seconds into overtime as the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the visiting New York Islanders 5-4. Alex Tuch scored twice, including a power-play goal late in the second period as the Buffalo Sabres tripped the visiting New Jersey Devils 5-4. And in Colorado, Cale Makar and J-T Compher scored midway through the third period to snap a 1-1 tie and give the Avalanche a 3-1 win over the visiting Arizona Coyotes.
The chase for the worst mark in the N-H-L is up for grabs with three weeks left in the season. The team with the lowest spot has higher odds of winning the N-H-L’s draft lottery and a chance to draft generational talent Connor Bedard. Columbus currently has the lowest amount of points with 51, followed by San Jose with 53, Chicago with 54 and Anaheim with 56.
Jenny Shin of South Korea, Maddie Szeryk of London, Ontario, and Moriya Jutanugarn of Thailand share the lead at 12-under par after two rounds of the L-P-G-A Drive on Championship in Gold Canyon, Arizona. Szeryk pieced together a round that included an eagle and six birdies, including one on her final hole at Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club. Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Quebec, is tied for 65th at 3-under par.
Luke Kennard made a franchise-record 10 3-pointers to match his career high with 30 points, Desmond Bane added 25 points as the Memphis Grizzlies clinched an N-B-A playoff spot after building a 31-point halftime lead and coasting to a 151-114 victory over the Houston Rockets. Ja Morant scored 18 points and had eight assists in his second game after serving an eight-game league-imposed suspension. The Grizzlies won their 11th straight at home. Tari Eason had 21 points to lead Houston.
March has gone from madness to unprecedented. With Miami’s win over Houston and San Diego State’s takedown of Alabama, the N-C-A-A men’s tournament will not have a Number 1 seed in the Elite Eight for the first time since seeding began in 1979. Purdue, Kansas, Houston and Alabama are all gone, ensuring the Final Four will not have a Number 1 team for the first time since 2011 and the third overall. The four teams deemed by the N-C-A-A to be the best in the country combined to win only five tournament games this year.
Miles Mikolas is sticking with the St. Louis Cardinals. The right-hander signed a 55.75-million-dollar, three-year contract today that will carry through the 2025 season. The new deal replaces a 68-million-dollar, four-year contract signed in February 2019 that covered the 2020-23 seasons and was set to pay 15.75-million this year. Mikolas is scheduled to make the second opening-day start of his big league career next Thursday when the Cardinals host the Toronto Blue Jays. Mikolas went 12-and-13 with a 3.29 E-R-A last season.
Friday’s Scoreboard
NHL
Colorado 3 Arizona 1
Columbus 5 N.Y. Islanders 4 (OT)
Buffalo 5 New Jersey 4
NBA
Toronto 118 Detroit 97
Boston 120 Indiana 95
Washington 136 San Antonio 124
Memphis 151 Houston 114
Charlotte 117 Dallas 109
Milwaukee 144 Utah 116
Chicago 124 Portland 96
Golden State 120 Philadelphia 112
Sacramento 135 Phoenix 127
L.A. Lakers 116 Oklahoma City 111
NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament – Regional Semifinals
San Diego St. 71 Alabama 64
Creighton 86 Princeton 75
Miami 89 Houston 75
Texas 83 Xavier 71
NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament – Regional Semifinals
Iowa 87 Colorado 77
Louisville 72 Mississippi 62
Miami 70 Villanova 65
LSU 66 Utah 63
MLB Spring Training
Toronto 6 Philadelphia 3
Minnesota 6 N.Y. Yankees (ss) 4
N.Y. Mets 11 Tampa Bay 2
Chicago White Sox 12 Oakland (ss) 0
Milwaukee (ss) 6 L.A. Dodgers 6
Kansas City 3 San Francisco 0
Chicago Cubs 5 Texas 3
Cincinnati 7 Arizona 4
Colorado 9 Milwaukee (ss) 4
San Diego 3 L.A. Angels 0
Boston 9 Atlanta 8
Baltimore 7 N.Y. Yankees (ss) 6
St. Louis 7 Washington 1
Pittsburgh 6 Detroit 6
Miami 3 Houston 2
Cleveland 5 Chicago Cubs (ss) 3
Seattle 15 Oakland (ss) 3
Saturday’s Games (All times Eastern)
NHL
Detroit at Philadelphia, 1 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Boston, 1 p.m.
Seattle at Nashville, 2 p.m.
San Jose at Calgary, 4 p.m.
Winnipeg at Los Angeles, 4 p.m.
Buffalo at N.Y. Islanders, 5 p.m.
Chicago at Minnesota, 5 p.m.
N.Y. Rangers at Florida, 5 p.m.
Columbus at Montreal, 7 p.m.
Ottawa at New Jersey, 7 p.m.
Toronto at Carolina, 7 p.m.
Vancouver at Dallas, 7 p.m.
Washington at Pittsburgh, 8 p.m.
Vegas at Edmonton, 10 p.m.
St. Louis at Anaheim, 10:30 p.m.
NBA
Indiana at Atlanta, 5 p.m.
Brooklyn at Miami, 8 p.m.
Milwaukee at Denver, 9 p.m.
Philadelphia at Phoenix, 10 p.m.
Utah at Sacramento, 10 p.m.
New Orleans at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.
NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament – Regional Finals
at New York
Kansas St. vs. FAU, 6:09 p.m.
at Las Vegas
Gonzaga vs. UConn, 8:49 p.m.
NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament – Regional Semifinals
at Greenville, S.C.
Maryland vs. Notre Dame, 11:30 a.m.
South Carolina vs. UCLA, 2 p.m.
at Seattle
UConn vs. Ohio St., 4 p.m.
Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee, 6:30 p.m.
MLB Spring Training
Atlanta (ss) vs. Minnesota (ss) at Fort Myers, Florida, 1:05 p.m.
Boston vs. Tampa Bay at St. Petersburg, Florida, 1:05 p.m.
Miami vs. St. Louis (ss) at Sarasota, Florida, 1:05 p.m.
Minnesota (ss) vs. Atlanta (ss) at North Port, Florida, 1:05 p.m.
N.Y. Yankees vs. Philadelphia at Clearwater, Florida, 1:05 p.m.
Kansas City vs. L.A. Dodgers at Phoenix, Arizona, 3:05 p.m.
Milwaukee vs. Oakland at Mesa, Arizona, 3:05 p.m.
San Diego vs. Texas at Surprise, Arizona, 3:05 p.m.
Chicago Cubs vs. L.A. Angels at Tempe, Arizona, 3:10 p.m.
Seattle (ss) vs. San Francisco at Scottsdale, Arizona, 4:05 p.m.
Arizona vs. Seattle (ss) at Peoria, Arizona, 4:10 p.m.
Houston vs. Washington at Palm Beach, Florida, 6:05 p.m.
Baltimore vs. Pittsburgh at Bradenton, Florida, 6:05 p.m.
Detroit vs. Toronto at Dunedin, Florida, 6:07 p.m.
St. Louis (ss) vs. N.Y. Mets at Port St. Lucie, Florida, 6:10 p.m.
Chicago White Sox vs. Cincinnati at Goodyear, Arizona, 9:05 p.m.
Cleveland vs. Colorado at Scottsdale, Arizona, 9:40 p.m.
MLS
LA Galaxy at Portland, 4:30 p.m.
New York at Charlotte FC, 7:30 p.m.
Atlanta at Columbus, 7:30 p.m.
New England at D.C. United, 7:30 p.m.
Chicago at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
Orlando City at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.
Vancouver at Minnesota, 8:30 p.m.
Colorado at Austin FC, 8:30 p.m.
New York City FC at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Seattle at Sporting Kansas City, 8:30 p.m.
Cincinnati at Nashville, 8:30 p.m.
Saint Louis City SC at Real Salt Lake, 9:30 p.m.
FC Dallas at Los Angeles FC, 10:30 p.m.
Toronto FC at San Jose, 10:30 p.m.