DETROIT — On Saturday, the Detroit Lions had the city in the palm of their hands. Nearly everyone at Little Caesars Arena wore Honolulu blue in preparation for the Lions' divisional playoff contest against the Washington Commanders. Even All-Star guard Devin Booker had his mind on the Lions' postseason run, confirming to The Detroit News that ...Read more

ATHENS, Ga. — The scene at Stegeman Coliseum on Saturday has become routine lately. Georgia students were lined up around the corner more than an hour before the game, waiting to get in. Bulldogs football coach Kirby Smart was in the building. They came to see the Bulldogs treat No. 1 Auburn like they did then-No. 6 Kentucky and No. 17 ...Read more

MIAMI — Friday night was not the end, even with Jimmy Butler’s seven-game unpaid Miami Heat suspension drawing to a close.

Instead, based on Butler’s postgame comments, as the Heat turned from Friday night’s loss to the Denver Nuggets to Sunday’s visit by the San Antonio Spurs, the page has merely turned to the next chapter in the ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — With a little more than five minutes left in the game, a total of 162 points had been scored.

And it was all tied up.

The first SEC battle between Kentucky and Alabama lived up to expectations Saturday afternoon in Rupp Arena, which hosted two of the most explosive offenses — and two of the best college basketball teams, ...Read more

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Four minutes, 30 seconds of game time.

That’s how long it took for the Kansas State Wildcats to score a point on their in-state rival, as the Kansas Jayhawks scored the first 14 points of Saturday’s meeting in Allen Fieldhouse.

The Jayhawks led by as many as 16 on Saturday, never trailing in an 84-74 win over the ...Read more

STORRS, Conn. — Hassan Diarra attempted to draw a foul on his potential game-tying 3-point shot with eight seconds left in UConn’s 68-63 loss to Creighton in Gampel Pavilion Saturday. The foul was called as he went into his shooting motion, but the officials deemed it on the floor, not granting any free throws for the Huskies point guard. ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — It is impossible to watch Joel Embiid not play meaningful basketball for the 76ers without remembering the last time he played meaningful basketball. It was last summer, at the Paris Olympics, and what stands out now, in the hindsight of his and the Sixers’ miserable season, is not just how he played but what he said.

Embiid�...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The time had come, the Los Angeles Lakers decided, to make a choice.

Since trading for D’Angelo Russell and playing him with Austin Reaves, the two guards largely alternated in the spotlight surrounding LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The touches, the shots, the responsibility — it usually always was split.

But gradually ...Read more

NEW YORK — Friday’s matchup between the Timberwolves and Knicks lost a healthy dose of its intrigue just before the game when Karl-Anthony Towns, who came in as a game-time decision because of a thumb injury, sat out his second consecutive game. There will be no other rematches this season between Towns and his former team.

The Wolves were ...Read more

BOSTON — It was always going to be an uphill battle for the Magic without three starters and three key reserves against the Celtics on Friday night.

But on a night when Orlando was without Franz Wagner (return to competition reconditioning), Jalen Suggs (low back strain), Goga Bitadze (concussion protocol), Gary Harris (left hamstring strain)...Read more

MIAMI — This is when reality further hit home for the Miami Heat.

Mediocre without Jimmy Butler.

Mediocre with Jimmy Butler.

And, so, a 20-20 Miami Heat record one game from the midpoint of their season, even with Butler back after missing seven games due to a team suspension for “conduct detrimental to the team.”

With Butler offering ...Read more

NEW YORK — When Julius Randle signed with the Knicks in the summer of 2019, he joined a team that had just suffered its sixth consecutive losing season.

The Knicks were fresh off of a 17-win campaign that matched the worst season in franchise history.

Days earlier, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving had spurned them for the crossborough Nets.

It...Read more

He's back, baby.

Dick Vitale, the most-recognizable voice in college basketball broadcasting, will return to the airwaves Saturday, Jan. 25, for the Duke-Wake Forest game, ESPN announced Friday.

It will be Vitale's first game since April 3, 2023. He has battled multiple forms of cancer for the past three and a half years, and received word ...Read more

MIAMI — Ahead of Friday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets at Kaseya Center, Erik Spoelstra offered an opening comment about the return of forward Jimmy Butler from his seven-game team unpaid suspension.

That also included acknowledging that Butler would be returning to the team’s starting lineup.

“Look, we work in a league of ...Read more

CHICAGO — The three-year anniversary of Lonzo Ball’s ill-fated knee injury passed without fanfare Tuesday night.

For the past two years, the anniversary served as an ominous reminder of the depth of uncertainty surrounding the Chicago Bulls point guard’s future in the sport. When the first year passed, it felt foreboding. The second year ...Read more

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida coach Todd Golden encouraged “people not to rush to judgment” in the wake of sexual assault allegations against Gators assistant and national championship-winning point guard Taurean Green.

Under investigation himself for sexual harassment and stalking, Golden also questioned the university’s Title IX process...Read more