Author: Michael

There is ‘a chance’ Blue Devils’ backup center plays
Thursday night; plus other news and notes about Duke before its Sweet 16 game

Maliq Brown, middle, stretches his injured shoulder during the open segment of Duke’s practice on Wednesday. Conor O’Neill/Devils Illustrated

NEWARK, N.J. – Maliq Brown has missed the allotted four games and so naturally, his return must be imminent.
No, obviously, nothing is that simple.
But there’s at least some precedent, if not coincidence, when it comes to Duke’s defensive wizard.

Ohio State’s NFL-bound players worked out on the indoor practice field at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center for the last time together Wednesday at OSU’s pro day. Reminders of what they accomplished were above them.
The 2024 national championship banner was one wall. Across from it were three large photos of the Buckeyes celebrating their title.
“During the stretch run, we kept talking to them about how these are the (previous) national championships right here, and we need a banner right there,” OSU coach Ryan Day said, gesturing to the wall.

Charles Oliveira is looking at the world through gold-tinted lenses. (Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect / Reuters

Charles Oliveira and Ilia Topuria are all-in on the Islam Makhachev sweepstakes.
After Topuria announced that he was done making the weight cut to 145 pounds and vacated his belt in February, the now-former featherweight champion appeared to be heading directly toward a lightweight title shot against UFC champion Makhachev.

© Chris Jones-Imagn Images

West Virginia officially hired Ross Hodge as their next head men’s basketball coach on Wednesday. Keenan Cummings and Wesley Shoemaker of WVSports.Com discuss the move and all the parts surrounding it on their newest edition of the WVSports.Com Podcast.
Listen on Apple Podcasts
Listen on Amazon
Listen on Spotify

———-
• Talk about it with West Virginia fans on The Blue Lot.
• SUBSCRIBE todayto stay up on the latest on Mountaineer sports and recruiting.
• Get all of our WVU videos on YouTube by subscribing to the WVSports.

Small but mighty Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane made headlines Tuesday night when he shoved teammate Santi Aldama during a timeout in their game against the Utah Jazz. 
The incident sparked buzz on social media, with some suggesting Bane was challenging Aldama to step up his defense against a struggling Utah team. Memphis ultimately dominated, beating Utah 140-103.
Aldama, a valued reserve for Memphis, fell back into his seat after the shove but quickly stood to defend himself. Teammates stepped in to diffuse the in-team quarrel before it escalated further.

Duke’s Maliq Brown, out since the ACC tournament with a shoulder injury, could possibly play for the Blue Devils in their Sweet 16 game against Arizona on Thursday, according to coach Jon Scheyer.

LeBron James opened up about the current relationship between him and Michael Jordan as part of a long-ranging interview that aired Wednesday on “The Pat McAfee Show.

Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah says J.J. McCarthy earning the starting quarterback is what the team wants, but he also wouldn’t rule out future talks with free agent Aaron Rodgers.

2024 World silver medalist Isabeau Levito shine

Watch as Alysa Liu makes it look easy at the Wo