Three teams that earned top-six seeds in the playoffs a season ago will take part in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament this week.
The Heat, Raptors and Bulls are all making their first appearance in the tournament, which will decide the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds in the conference. The Hawks are familiar with the process after they won two play-in games in 2022 to punch their ticket to the postseason.
The way it works is the No. 7 seed (Miami) hosts the No. 8 seed (Atlanta) and the winner advances to face the No. 2 Celtics in the first round.
Author: Michael
Sprint car driver Justin Owen has died after sustaining injuries in a crash during a qualifying race Saturday night, the U.S. Auto Club announced. He was 26 years old.
The incident occurred during the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship event at Lawrenceburg Speedway in southeastern Indiana. Owen’s car hit the outside wall in turn three at the 3/8-mile dirt oval and flipped multiple times. USAC then announced the rest of the race was canceled.
Apparently, NFL tight end Zach Ertz and PGA Tour player Jon Rahm are close friends. Who knew!? So close, in fact, Ertz felt comfortable texting Rahm right before the Masters started.
What did that text say, according to Rahm?
“I’m gonna paraphrase here, but it said ‘that first green looking like a walk in the park,’” Rahm said after his win.
Of course, Rahm famously four-putted on the first hole of the tournament, carding a double-bogey to begin his round.
Even Watson was speechless when Rahm missed his bogey on one pic.twitter.
U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal suffered a broken leg during Saturday’s UConn championship parade in downtown Hartford, and he has since been discharged from the hospital after surgery on Sunday.
During the parade to celebrate the school’s national championship in men’s basketball, a cameraman was walking backward and ran into the Connecticut Democrat. They both fell on the street after the collision. Blumenthal proceeded to get back up and finish the parade route despite the injury.
The 77-year-old tweeted an update on his injury status Saturday night hours after the parade.
The Pelicans are set to face the Thunder in the NBA play-in tournament, but they will be without Zion Williamson as he continues to nurse a hamstring injury.
According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the former No. 1 pick’s absence is expected to extend beyond the play-in and into the first round of the playoffs, should the Pelicans advance that far.
During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Monday, Charania indicated that Williamson remains well away from returning to action.
Likely MVP Joel Embiid and the No. 3 Sixers open the playoffs against the No. 6 Nets, a team that looks nothing like it did at the start of the season.
Being a home plate umpire in Major League Baseball is a difficult job. Pitchers these days are throwing some really nasty stuff that dances all over the place, which has to make it tough to call balls and strikes.
But every now and then an ump misses a call so badly that all we can do is scratch our heads and wonder how they could have ever made such a blatant mistake.
That happened over the weekend when San Francisco Giants closer Tyler Rogers threw a pitch that never came near the strike zone but still somehow was called a strike by home plate umpire Dan Iassogna.
Dwayne Haskins was drugged on the night of his death as part of an alleged “blackmail and robbery conspiracy” against the former NFL quarterback, according to a lawsuit filed by his family.
Timberwolves big man Rudy Gobert has been hit with a one-game suspension by the team, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, and will not play in Tuesday’s play-in game against the Lakers.
Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz had surgery for a fractured fibula and ligament damage to his left ankle and is not expected to return for four months.