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NBA playoffs: Minnesota Timberwolves take advantage of Steph Curry’s absence to level series with Golden State Warriors

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The Minnesota Timberwolves made the most of Steph Curry’s absence to level their Western Conference semifinals series against the Golden State Warriors with a wire-to-wire 117-93 win in Game 2.

Minnesota opened the game on a 13-0 run as it took Golden State almost five minutes to register its first points. The lead quickly swelled to 22 points midway through the second quarter.

The Warriors reduced the deficit to seven in the third quarter on a Jonathan Kuminga three, Minnesota’s smallest lead since the opening minute of the game, but then went on a four-and-a-half-minute scoreless run that ended any hopes of a win.

“We made a really spirited run, got it to seven, and then we just kind of lost a little bit of composure,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said, per Reuters.

“We turned it over right out of that timeout a couple of times and gave up a couple threes where we lost connection defensively. But we learned a lot, and I think this game will help us figure out how to move forward.”

Julius Randle powered the Timberwolves to victory with a game-high 24 points to go with seven rebounds and 11 assists.

Star guard Anthony Edwards – who had to be helped to the locker room with an ankle injury in the second quarter, but later returned – and Nickeil Alexander-Walker both added 20 points

“We watched film yesterday,” Edwards said, per Reuters. “We saw that it wasn’t just that we didn’t make shots (in Game 1), it was more so our defensive pressure and intensity.

“We didn’t bring it. So, we knew we had to bring it today.”

Kuminga had a team-high 18 points for the Warriors off the bench, while Jimmy Butler added 17 points.

Trayce Jackson-Davis had 15 off the bench as Kerr used a 14-man rotation in an attempt to find a solution to Curry’s absence.

The Warriors said Curry has a strained left hamstring and will be reevaluated in a week, meaning he could possibly return for Game 5, which is scheduled for May 14.

Golden State struggled in Steph Curry's absence.

“Part of the game plan coming in was to play a lot of people and we did,” Golden State coach Kerr said, per the NBA. “We have to figure out what we’re going to be able to do in this series without Steph. We gave a lot of people a lot of chances and some guys really stepped up.

“We’ve got to figure out rotations and who we start, but they’re going to be a part of it. We’ve got to find some better ways to score.”

The series moves to San Francisco for Game 3 on Saturday.



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The Colorado Rockies are having a historically bad start to the season. They lost 21-0 in their latest defeat.

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With every game, the Colorado Rockies’ season seems to be getting worse.

Now at 6-33, they have endured the worst start to the season since the Baltimore Orioles in 1988. Before that, you must go back to before baseball’s modern era, back to the 1884 Kansas City Cowboys and 1876 Cincinnati Reds, to find another team with such a bad record at this point in the season.

And on Saturday, they had another historically bad night, succumbing to a 21-0 loss against the San Diego Padres at Coors Field.

It was the Rockies’ worst ever shutout loss, the Padres’ largest ever margin of victory and just one run shy of the largest shutout victory in the league since at least 1900.

Padres’ pitcher Stephen Kolek made history too on just his second-ever MLB start, equaling the record set by Red Ruffing in 1939 and Ed Siever in 1901 for the largest individual shutout.

“I’m actually feeling pretty good right now,” Kolek said afterward, as his teammates dumped a cooler of water on him in celebration. “Anything like this is amazing, I’m just grateful.”

San Diego Padres outfielder Jason Heyward celebrates his fourth inning three-run home run with Gavin Sheets and Jackson Merrill.

And it could have been even worse for the Rockies. At the top of the sixth inning, the Padres already had a 20-0 lead and were on course to challenge both the MLB record for runs in a game (30) and hits (33). As it was, San Diego finished with 21 runs and 24 hits.

“You feel for a lot of people, right?” Rockies general manager Bill Schmidt told reporters even before his franchise’s loss on Saturday, per MLB.com. “Because there are a lot of people that care. You keep trying to grind through it. That’s all you can do.

“I know we’re better than we’ve played. We’re not good right now. We’re going to have to battle through it and come out on the other side.”

The Rockies have been hobbled by injuries to key players like 2024 Gold Glove shortstop Ezequiel Tovar and former NL MVP Kris Bryant.

“We’ve got to get guys back. That’s the big thing. Try to withstand the storm,” Schmidt added.

Their losses this season have been so lopsided that they have allowed 134 more runs than they’ve scored, 65 worse than the next closest team in MLB.

The Rockies’ struggles come after the Chicago White Sox lost 121 games last season, setting the unwanted record of the most losses in a single season in baseball’s modern era. At the moment, the Rockies are on track to surpass even that tally though, of course, there is still a long way to go.



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Shedeur Sanders aiming to ‘prove himself right’ instead of other ‘people wrong’ as he begins NFL career

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Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders said his “job here isn’t to prove people wrong” but to “prove myself right” as he spoke to the media for the first time since his dramatic slide and fifth round selection during the NFL Draft.

The 144th pick is among the next generation of NFL players being put through their paces with rookie minicamps taking place across the league.

And, after being one of the main storylines during the NFL draft, the 23-year-old said he is grateful for the opportunity with the Cleveland Browns.

“I’m just thankful for the opportunity. Things could have been a lot worse, but I’m here smiling in front of you all at this facility right now.”

Such was the discussion around Sanders’ slide down the draft, US President Donald Trump even posted on social media in support of the former Colorado star.

Sanders said Saturday he was “truly thankful” for the support from the president, as well as “other fans, people in barber shops, just lots of fans.”

He added that “other people’s opinion of you is gonna be based off their own.”

“Ninety-nine percent of hatred is towards pops and then I’m just his son, so it really just comes from that. And I’ve told him that too,” he said, laughing.

Sanders is the son of Colorado Buffaloes head coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders.

“It’s the older generation that do it to me rather than the younger people because when I come in person there’s no negativity I see,” he added. “But it’s all over online.”

Elsewhere at Browns practice, No. 5 pick Mason Graham was seen vomiting in his helmet after a workout.

Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski joked that he may have had too many wings before practice.

“He did, that was gross,” Stefanski told reporters, confirming Graham’s struggles. “I think he ate too much. The cooking in the kitchen was too good, a few less wings next time.”

It’s clear that Graham is going to leave it all on the field for the Browns, but the defensive tackle will be hoping for easier days in the future.

Mason Graham left it all on the field during practice.

The top two picks in the 2025 NFL Draft have also been refining their skills in their rookie minicamps.

Cam Ward, the No. 1 overall pick, has been training with the Tennessee Titans looking to get sharp ahead of the new season.

Ward had an impressive college career, most recently at the University of Miami, and will be hoping his collegiate performances carry over to the NFL.

One of the most exciting picks of the 2025 draft was the No. 2 overall selection, Travis Hunter.

Hunter has the rare ability to play on both sides of the ball and anticipation has been growing as to whether he can do this in the NFL.

Fans will be eagerly waiting to see if the Heisman Trophy winner does play both offense and defense in practice and then in games as the season gets underway.

The schedule for the 2025 NFL season is released on May 14 and these rookies will be hoping to be game ready for the season opener.



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Jannik Sinner has ‘remarkable’ return to tennis at Italian Open after doping ban

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Jannik Sinner enjoyed a winning return to tennis on Saturday after serving a three-month doping ban, as he defeated Mariano Navone in front of a rapturous crowd at his home Italian Open.

The Italian still holds the world No. 1 spot despite his enforced absence from the sport and he lived up to that mantle, overcoming an impressive Navone 6-3, 6-4 in Rome.

But it was the reaction from his home crowd who gave him a standing ovation that “means much more than any result,” he told reporters.

One fan held up a sign that read “Bentornato Jannik (Welcome back Jannik),” others dressed in orange, referencing Sinner’s ginger hair, or hung over the railings while he practiced to take photos of him.

The crowd in Rome gave Sinner a warm welcome.

Sinner was playing in his first match since returning from a three-month ban having twice tested positive for the banned substance Clostebol, an anabolic steroid, in March last year.

The three-time grand slam champion previously escaped a ban when the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) ruled that he wasn’t at fault for the positive tests, accepting that the contamination was caused by a physio applying an over-the-counter spray.

However, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) subsequently lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), leading to Sinner accepting a suspension from February 9 to May 4.

The saga around Sinner has shone the spotlight on the current anti-doping protocols in tennis, with several players raising concerns about possible preferential treatment for the top stars.

As he returned from that ban, just in time for the French Open which begins later this month, Sinner notched up a 22nd consecutive tour win, picking up where he left off after winning the Australian Open in January.

“I’m happy about the win today. It has been very difficult,” he said afterward in his on-court interview. “He is such a great player, especially on this surface. I tried to move around the ball.

“At times it went very well, at times it could be better, yes, but in any case, it doesn’t matter about the result today. It has been a remarkable day for me, so I’m very happy.”

He took the first set with relative ease, producing 11 winners as his typical hard-hitting at times forced Navone off the court. The second set seemed to be unfolding in a similar fashion as Sinner once again broke Navone early on but the Argentine fought back, breaking the world No. 1 as he snatched at a forehand that went into the net.

Sinner will now play Jesper de Jong in the tournament’s third round on Monday.

Elsewhere in the Italian Open, American Danielle Collins upset world No. 2 Iga Świątek, who has dominated this tournament recently, winning it three of the last four years as she has been almost invincible on clay.

Collins, the No. 29 seed, ultimately cruised to a comprehensive 6-1, 7-5 win over Świątek who endured a poor serving display and was broken five consecutive times during the match.

Danielle Collins upset Iga Świątek at the Italian Open.

Following the loss, Świątek will lose her world No. 2 ranking, ending a remarkable run of more than three years when she has occupied one of the top two spots in the world.

For Collins, the result marked just her second win over Świątek in nine meetings and means she will progress to the fourth round where she will face Elina Svitolina.

“After losing to Iga so many times, you obviously learn from those experiences, matchups,” she said afterwards, per the WTA. “Even though the last couple times we’ve played she’s beaten me, I’ve played some of my best tennis in those matches.

“So that gave me confidence.”



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