NHL – National Hockey League
Last Night
Tampa Bay Lightning 5, Detroit Red Wings 1
Lightning 5, Red Wings 1 – Killorn, Lightning beat Red Wings 5-1 for 3rd straight win
Alex Killorn had a goal and an assist, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Detroit Red Wings 5-1 for their third consecutive win. Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, Anthony Cirelli and Brayden Point also scored for Tampa Bay, which remained unbeaten in five home games this season. Anthony Mantha scored for Detroit, which dropped their seventh straight game, including two OT losses.
Tonight
Carolina Hurricanes at Chicago Blackhawks, 8:00 p.m.
NBA – National Basketball Association
Last Night
New York Knicks 107, Chicago Bulls 103
Milwaukee Bucks 130, Indiana Pacers 110
Knicks 107, Bulls 103 – Randle scores 27 as Knicks hold off Bulls 107-103
Julius Randle scored 27 points, helping the New York Knicks edge the Chicago Bulls 107-103. New York outscored the Bulls 34-17 in the first quarter. The Knicks withstood a huge run in the fourth and came away with the win after losing two nights earlier in Chicago. Elfrid Payton added 20 points and eight rebounds. RJ Barrett scored 17, and the Knicks picked up the win after dropping five of six. Zach LaVine led Chicago with 24 points.
Bucks 130, Pacers 110 – Antetokounmpo gets triple-double as Bucks top Pacers 130-110
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 21 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists despite sitting out the fourth quarter and the Milwaukee Bucks routed the Indiana Pacers 130-110. The reigning two-time MVP shot 7 of 8 from the floor and 7 of 8 from the line in a remarkably efficient performance. Milwaukee never trailed and shot 21 of 48 from 3-point range in its last home contest before beginning a six-game trip.
NBA – NBA: Zero new players tested positive for virus in past week
The NBA says no additional players have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last week, after nearly two dozen games had to be called off in the past month because of virus-related issues. It’s also a good two-week trend: After 27 players were positive in results released between Jan. 6 and Jan. 19, only one player has been positive since. “Baby steps,” Washington coach Scott Brooks said after the league announced Wednesday’s weekly number of zero.
NCAAMBB – Men’s College Basketball
Last Night
Western Michigan 76, Bowling Green 70
(4) Michigan at Northwestern, PPD
Bucks 130, Pacers 110 – Lee lifts W. Michigan over Bowling Green 76-70
Greg Lee posted 16 points and 12 rebounds to lead Western Michigan to a 76-70 win over Bowling Green, snapping the Broncos’ seven-game losing streak. Justin Turner led the Falcons with 25 points and six rebounds.
NCAAWBB – Women’s College Basketball
Last Night
Ball State 69, Central Michigan 66
Miami (OH) 73, Western Michigan 64
Toledo at Eastern Michigan, PPD
Tonight
Illinois at Michigan State, 6:00 p.m.
Minnesota at (13) Michigan, PPD
NFL – Lions add D-line coach Todd Walsh to Dan Campbell’s staff
The Detroit Lions have hired defensive line coach Todd Walsh, adding another veteran assistant to new coach Dan Campbell’s staff. Walsh was with the Jacksonville Jaguars the previous eight years. He also was an assistant in Seattle and Tampa Bay during his 15-year coaching career in the league. The Lions also hired assistant wide receivers coach Seth Ryan along with defensive assistants Kelvin Sheppard and Brian Duker. Detroit is retooling mode under Campbell and first-year general manager Brad Holmes. The team plans to trade quarterback Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams next month for quarterback Jared Goff and draft picks.
NFL – Fauci warns against Super Bowl parties to avoid virus spread
The nation’s top infectious disease expert doesn’t want Sunday’s Super Bowl to turn into a super spreader. Dr. Anthony Fauci is cautioning against big Super Bowl watch parties, saying people should “just lay low and cool it.” He said during TV interviews Wednesday that big events like Sunday’s game in Tampa, Florida, between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are always a cause for concern over the potential for virus spread. “You don’t want parties with people that you haven’t had much contact with,” he told NBC’s “Today” show. “You just don’t know if they’re infected, so, as difficult as that is, at least this time around, just lay low and cool it.”
NFL – Super Bowl could be farewell for several pending free agents
It’s unlikely Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady will have their same receiving corps next season. Kansas City and Tampa Bay have several starters, including some notable pass catchers, scheduled to become free agents next month. With the NFL salary cap going down for the first time since 2011 teams will have difficult decisions to make in the coming weeks. So the Super Bowl between the Chiefs and Buccaneers will serve as a farewell for several players with their current team. Will Shaq Barrett and Chris Godwin be back in Tampa? What about Sammy Watkins and Demarcus Robinson in Kansas City?
NFL – Officials: no Super Bowl threat amid rise of white supremacy
Law enforcement officials say there is no specific threat of an attack connected to the Super Bowl and related events despite concerns about the rise of white supremacist extremism. The FBI has made several arrests in the Tampa area of people who allegedly took part in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. But the chief of the Tampa FBI office said no links have been found indicating something similar might occur surrounding Sunday’s game.
NFL – NFL: Concussions down about 5%, masks limited flu cases
Playing a season through a pandemic did not take the NFL’s attention off other health issues, specifically concussions with the league finding those dropped about 5% in 2020. NFL Executive Vice President of Communications, Public Affairs and Policy Jeff Miller said Wednesday that 2020 is the third consecutive year when the NFL has had a reduction in concussions or about 25% down from previous years. Miller calls that progress not success as the NFL continues working to reduce concussions. League officials gave an update on efforts to reach this game, including that masks usage helped the NFL have almost no flu cases.
Olympics – No cheering, no bars, less intimacy to ensure safe Olympics
Ground rules to help ensure a safe Tokyo Olympics during the pandemic have been detailed. They include no cheering for athletes. No visits to bars and restaurants in Tokyo. Less intimacy in the Olympic village. Bring enough masks for the entire stay in Japan but avoid wearing one with an unofficial sponsor logo. Do not use public transport without permission. The IOC and local organizers published all this in a 33-page document on Wednesday. It’s a guide for thousands of Olympic and Paralympic athletes and others coming to Japan in July to September. The so-called Playbooks will be updated.
WNBA – Study: WNBA again earns high grades for diversity hiring
A study finds the WNBA continuing to earn the highest marks of all professional leagues when it comes to racial and gender diversity in hiring. The report card from The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport issued an A-plus for the league’s overall, racial and gender grades in the 2020 season. The numerical scores were all up from the previous year. The league has gone 16 straight years earning at least an A in all three of those overall categories. Institute director and lead report author Richard Lapchick calls the WNBA “the standard among the pro leagues we cover.”
