THURSDAY SPORTS, MAY 8, 2025
MITCHELL KERNELS
— Mitchell baseball will be in Yankton for two games on Friday at 6 pm. Mitchell ends the regular season with a home doubleheader vs. Rapid City Stevens on Saturday at 2 pm.
— Mitchell girls golf competes at the Huron Invite on Thursday at 10 am at Broadland Creek Golf Course.
— Mitchell boys tennis, 14-6 on the season, wraps up the regular season at Watertown on Friday at 11 am.
— Mitchell track and field competes in Yankton on Thursday at Noon.
— Mitchell Kernels softball travels to face Rapid City Stevens on Friday at 2:30 pm CST, followed by two games on Saturday vs. Sturgis at 11:30 am CST and at Spearfish at 3 pm CST.
DAKOTA WESLEYAN
— Dakota Wesleyan University volleyball has announced its 2025 schedule. The Tigers will open the season with 11 straight road games, beginning August 16 in Valley City, N.D., followed by tournaments in Sioux City, Iowa, and Salina, Kansas. DWU will start conference play on September 8 at home against Waldorf.
— Dakota Wesleyan Track and Field will compete at the Concordia Last Chance Meet on Friday at 11 am.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
— South Dakota State softball faces USD in the Summit League Tournament on Thursday at 1:30 pm in Brookings.
— South Dakota State baseball starts a three-game series at Omaha on Friday at 6 pm.
SUMMIT LEAGUE SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT – WEDNESDAY IN BROOKINGS
No. 3 USD 8, No. 6 Kansas City 6
No. 4 North Dakota 8, No. 5 North Dakota State 0
THURSDAY
No. 1 Omaha vs. No. 4 North Dakota, 11 am
No. 2 South Dakota State vs. No. 3 USD, 1:30 pm
Losers of both games, 4 pm
NBA
— Mikal Bridges scored all of his 14 points in the fourth quarter before making his second straight game-clinching steal as the New York Knicks overcame a 20-point deficit for the second straight game to beat the Boston Celtics 91-90 for a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Jalen Brunson scored 17 points for New York and made two free throws with 12 seconds left for a 91-90 lead. Josh Hart had 23 points and Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 21 points and 17 rebounds for the Knicks, who will host Game 3 on Saturday. Jaylen Brown and Derrick White scored 20 points apiece for the Celtics, who were 10 for 40 from 3-point range after going 15 for 60 in Game 1.
— Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder rolled past the Denver Nuggets 149-106 in Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinal series. Oklahoma City set an NBA playoff record for first-half points with 87 on its way to evening the series at a win apiece. The Thunder tied the record for points in any half of a playoff game. Milwaukee had 87 in the second half against Denver in 1978.
— The Golden State Warriors are planning to play without Steph Curry for at least the next three games of their second-round series against Minnesota, after an MRI exam on Wednesday confirmed a mild strain of his left hamstring. Game 2 is in Minneapolis on Thursday, before the series moves to San Francisco for Game 3 on Saturday and Game 4 on Monday. The earliest return for Curry appears to be Game 5 on May 14.
— A woman is suing former Los Angeles Lakers player and coach Byron Scott, accusing him of sexually assaulting her during a team event at her high school in 1987, when he was 26 and she was 15. The lawsuit first filed in December 2022 and amended on May 1 accuses Scott of sexual battery and false imprisonment. During a visit from the Lakers, the alleged victim was attending summer classes at Campbell Hall High in L.A. when “she was sexually assaulted by Byron Scott in a locked janitor’s closet in the high school gymnasium,” according to the court filing.
NBA PLAYOFFS – THURSDAY
Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Golden State Warriors, 7:30 pm on TNT, Golden State leads the series 1-0
STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS – TUESDAY
Toronto Maple Leafs 4, Florida Panthers 3 – Toronto leads the series 2-0
Dallas Stars 3, Winnipeg Jets 2 – Dallas leads the series 1-0
Washington Capitals vs. Carolina Hurricanes, 6 pm on ESPN, Carolina leads the series 1-0
Vegas Golden Knights vs. Edmonton Oilers, 8:30 pm on ESPN, Edmonton leads the series 1-0
— The Utah Mammoth, formerly known as the Utah Hockey Club, was officially unveiled as the franchise’s permanent name after a fan voting process that saw over 850,000 votes cast. The team revealed a logo featuring an ice age mammoth with nods to Utah’s state shape, mountain range, and the team’s blue, black, and white color scheme.
NFL
— The Pittsburgh Steelers traded wide receiver George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and a fifth-round pick in 2027. Pickens, a 24-year-old former second-round pick from Georgia, has had a mix of productive play and immaturity over his first three NFL seasons, struggling with on-field behavior issues.
— The Jacksonville Jaguars released wide receiver Gabe Davis on Wednesday, just 14 months after signing him to a three-year, $39 million contract in free agency. The decision came after the 26-year-old Davis continued to recover from a torn meniscus in his left knee and would have likely started the season on the physically unable to perform list.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
— The NCAA’s $2.8 billion settlement plan is undergoing a revision to address concerns about roster limits and provide relief for athletes who lost their spots on teams. Under the new proposal, athletes who were cut from teams in anticipation of the settlement or had their scholarships rescinded can now return to compete for roster spots without counting against the new team limits. These exemptions will last for as long as the athletes have eligibility.
— Scott Frost received a five-year, $22 million contract upon his return to Central Florida and will have it automatically extended a year if the Knights appear in a bowl this season. An executive summary of Frost’s contract was obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday through an open records request. UCF rehired Frost in December after Gus Malzahn left after four seasons to become offensive coordinator at Florida State. Frost led UCF to a 13-0 record in 2017 before leaving for his alma mater in Nebraska. Frost took over at Nebraska in 2018 and went 16-31. He was fired three games into the 2022 season.
MLB
— Byron Buxton homered for a third straight game and Harrison Bader had a pinch-hit homer to give the Minnesota Twins to a 5-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles for their fourth consecutive win. The Twins go for the three game sweep of Baltimore at 12:10 pm this afternoon.
— Bobby Witt Jr. hit a two-run homer to give Michael Wacha all the support he needed as the Kansas City Royals defeated the Chicago White Sox 2-1. Wacha allowed just three hits in seven innings.
— Robbie Ray pitched six innings and Wilmer Flores had three hits as San Francisco beat the Chicago Cubs 3-1. Ray allowed one run and three hits.
— Spencer Torkelson hit a go-ahead double in the 10th inning as the Detroit Tigers beat the Colorado Rockies 8-6 in extra innings to give A.J. Hinch his 900th win as a big league manager.
— Freddie Freeman singled twice and hit a bases-loaded triple as the Dodgers beat the Miami Marlins 10-1. Freeman drove in four runs and went 8 for 13 in the series with six RBIs and two home runs.
— TJ Friedl hit two home runs as Cincinnati beat Atlanta 4-3 despite losing right-hander Hunter Greene to a right groin injury after only three innings. Greene struck out six batters and allowed only two hits in three scoreless innings. He was unable to complete his warmup before the fourth inning.
— Yankees pinch-hitter J.C. Escarra came through with a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning as New York, held hitless into the seventh, rallied past the San Diego Padres 4-3. Cody Bellinger homered with one out in the seventh for New York’s first hit off Padres starter Dylan Cease, who exited moments later with a cramp in his right forearm.
— The Phillies Cristopher Sánchez allowed one hit over six innings, while Trea Turner, Bryson Stott and Bryce Harper each drove in two runs as Philadelphia beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-0.
— Boston’s Alex Bregman hit a tiebreaking two-run single and had a solo homer, while Wilyer Abreu added two solo HR’s as the Red Sox beat the Texas Rangers 6-4.
— Sonny Gray pitched seven shutout innings of two-hit ball as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-0 for their fifth straight victory.
— Framber Valdez pitched seven innings for Houston and Jeremy Peña homered and drove in four runs as the Astros defeated Milwaukee 9-1.
— Carlos Santana kick-started an eight-run sixth inning for Cleveland with a bases-clearing double, as the Guardians beat Washington 8-6.
— Juan Soto homered in consecutive at-bats and Kodai Senga pitched six scoreless innings as the Mets beat Arizona 7-1.
— Jorge Soler lined a double into the left-field corner with the bases loaded to drive in three runs in the ninth inning to lift the L.A. Angels to a 5-4 win over the Toronto.