#playoff-contention

#playoff-contention

Jak was responsible for like 10 of my points. He just sets great screens, bigs got to worry about him...His screening and rolling set a lot of things up, especially for me when I'm coming off screens like that. He's getting rebounds, blocking shots, doing everything. So, it's a great thing to have Jak back.

I think we've earned the right these last three games to have a big game on the road tomorrow night. - Erik Spoelstra

I'm proud of our guys. We fought. Obviously, you want to win, but I'm extremely proud of everyone in this locker room getting good looks at the end like that against the championship team.

To start with the big picture: this organization still has something a lot of teams can dream of-a loyal fanbase and stability. They know who they are. The Kings play structured, responsible hockey. The team doesn't usually get blown out, they don't chase offense recklessly, and when they're on, they drag games right into their comfort zone: tight, controlled, and sometimes downright suffocating.

Junior guard Zaire Rasshan of Damien knows football. His father, Osaar, was a backup quarterback at UCLA from 2005-09. Rasshan played quarterback his freshman season at Damien until deciding basketball was his No. 1 sport. So when Rasshan looked up at the scoreboard Thursday night at Etiwanda in the first quarter and saw the Spartans up 24-0, he had to think football.

The Buffalo Sabres are the hottest team in the NHL. Coming into the 2025-26 season nobody expected those words but it is in fact true. The Sabres have climbed back into the playoff conversation, riding a league-high nine-game winning streak. This comes at a great time as the Atlantic Division is up for grabs this season. Buffalo is no longer at the bottom of the Atlantic Division and now sits fifth place.

Corbett thought he might have taken away that hope late in the first quarter when he stepped on Bryce Young's bothersome right ankle late, leaving the quarterback temporarily on the ground in pain. "Shoot, gosh dang-it, I owe you dinner, sorry a whole lot," Corbett said with a smile, trying not to give away exactly what he said with one of his young sons standing within earshot.

"No matter what our record was, whether we were undefeated right now or didn't have a win, I was gonna do everything to be out there," St. Brown said. "Just to be out there for my guys. "I feel like availability is your best ability at the end of the day, so my job is to go out there and make plays and be on that field. It's what they pay me to do, so I was gonna do whatever it takes to be out there."

Things looked pretty bleak after a modest 2-4 start in October, raising doubts about their winning prospects. However, they flipped the script dramatically, starting November with three straight wins before a tough loss to the 76ers on November 8. That setback was followed by nine consecutive victories, which definitely put the Raptors on the NBA map as a team to watch -though for some, it only deepened questions about whether Toronto is a true contender.

We never lost faith, said head coach Danny Jones. If we look at the scores of games, we're battling our (butts) off. We knew the football team that we were and what we were capable of, and it's wonderful to be able to put it together and to see it for four quarters on both sides of the ball. We have one game left in the season. If we win, we're in the playoffs.

"We never lost faith," said head coach Danny Jones. "If we look at the scores of games, we're battling our (butts) off. We knew the football team that we were and what we were capable of, and it's wonderful to be able to put it together and to see it for four quarters on both sides of the ball. "We have one game left in the season. If we win, we're in the playoffs. I feel so good about whatever bracket they want to put us in, whether that's the D2 or the D3 bracket. I feel like the schedule we've played all year long, we're hardened and we're battle-tested and we're a physical football team."

The NHL technically considers the Utah Mammoth an "expansion team" even though for all intents and purposes they are the relocated Arizona Coyotes. So technically this "expansion team" is entering its second season. The last NHL expansion team the Seattle Kraken also made the playoffs in their second season. In 2022-2023 the Kraken finished with a record of 46-28-8 for 100 points. As their broadcasters said during the playoff clinching win they rose from the depths of the Pacific Division to the playoffs.