Top News:
Paul Sullivan / Chicago Tribune:
DeMar DeRozan scores a season-high 50, rallying the Chicago Bulls to a huge OT win over the LA Clippers — The Chicago Bulls faced off against the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night at the United Center to begin a stretch of five straight home games, trying to put themselves in good position for a playoff run.
Discussion:
Bleacher Nation, The Athletic, Boston Herald and Sportsnet.ca
Jonas Shaffer / Baltimore Sun:
Injuries knocked the Ravens off course in 2021. Here's how they're addressing ‘priority one.’ — PALM BEACH, Fla. — In mid-January, Ravens coach John Harbaugh held a four-hour meeting with his sports performance staff. The team was coming off maybe the most injury-marred year in recent NFL history …
Discussion:
Orange County Register
RELATED:
Stefan Bondy / New York Daily News:
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks topple Nets in overtime — Giannis Antetokounmpo hit his most important shots. Kevin Durant missed his. — A tense and physical battle boiled down to the stars in crunch time, and also the referees, who gave the visiting defending champion Bucks a favorable whistle …
Discussion:
CBS News, Mercury News, New York Post, The Athletic and Sportsnet.ca
Jeff Passan / ESPN:
New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom to miss significant time because of stress reaction in shoulder — New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom will miss Opening Day after an imaging test showed a stress reaction in his right scapula. — In a statement on Friday, the Mets said deGrom won't throw for up to four weeks and then will be reevaluated.
Discussion:
Sports Illustrated and MLB Trade Rumors
Stefan Bondy / New York Daily News:
Knicks could be eliminated from playoffs as early as Thursday — The Tragic Number is one. — With the Knicks' 125-114 defeat to the Hornets on Wednesday, elimination from the playoffs could be sealed as early as Thursday if the Hawks beat the Cavaliers.
Discussion:
Denver Post and New York Post
Andrew Marchand / New York Post:
Yankees will have 21 games only available on Amazon Prime — MORE FROM: — If you are a Yankees fan, you will need Amazon Prime Video to see all your team's games. — This season, 21 Yankees games can only be viewed on the gigantic e-commerce company's streaming service.
Discussion:
Sports Illustrated, Pinstripe Alley, Bleacher Nation and The TV Answer Man!
Associated Press:
MLB, players' association agree to keep automatic runners in extra innings for 2022 — NEW YORK — Major League Baseball finalized the rules change Thursday to bring back automatic runners in extra innings for a third straight season. — Despite an easing of pandemic restrictions …
Doug Smith / Toronto Star:
Kyle Lowry's message for Raptors fans: ‘I think I appreciate them more than they appreciate me’ — In an exclusive conversation with the Star, the former Raptor spoke about his return to Toronto, his expected ovation at Scotiabank Arena, and why he'll always call Canada home.
Discussion:
Boston Herald and Sportsnet.ca
DJ Bien-Aime II / New York Daily News:
Jets film study: Breaking down tape with D.J. Reed — New Jets cornerback D.J. Reed agreed to break down some film with the Daily News, giving a unique look at a couple plays from the 2021 season. Reed had a breakout season with Seattle before joining the Jets; here, he explains …
Discussion:
Boston Herald
Tim Tucker / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Braves' Terry McGuirk discusses payroll plans, Freddie Freeman exit — After starting last season near the middle of MLB teams in player payroll, the Braves will open this season among the top 10 spenders and intend to stay there, the team's top executive said.
Discussion:
Battery Power and FanSided
Scooby Axson / USA Today:
MLB umpires to use microphones to announce replay decisions — Starting this season, Major League Baseball umpires will use a microphone to announce decisions made by the replay booth, the league announced Friday. — MLB says that training has been held in Arizona and Florida this spring in anticipation of Thursday's season openers.
Discussion:
Sports Illustrated and NBCSports.com
Andy McCullough / The Athletic:
Cashman: Yankees' WS drought due to Astros' actions — The Yankees are entering the 2022 season chasing their 28th World Series title, and general manager Brian Cashman is still talking about 2017. He didn't mince words about the Yankees winning the World Series that season had it not been for the Astros cheating.
Discussion:
ESPN, The Crawfish Boxes, New York Post, MLB Baseball News …, Bleacher Nation, Sports Illustrated and FanSided