Kevin Durant will miss at least two weeks with a fractured rib on his right side
Jourdan Lewis Jersey , joining fellow All-Stars Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson on the injury list for the defending champion Golden State Warriors.
An MRI exam Friday for the NBA Finals MVP revealed the incomplete fracture, and the Warriors said Durant would be re-evaluated in two weeks. Durant said he
got hit in the ribs at Minnesota last Sunday and initially thought it was just a
bruise, but he was sore the next couple of days. He played Wednesday night
against the Lakers and felt it again when he hustled to close out on the wing
and ”felt something stretch and pull.”
”It was a little sore the next couple of days but not something I was worried about,” Durant said before Golden State’s 98-93 loss to Sacramento.
He worked out Thursday and it took him longer to loosen up. By Friday morning, he experienced significant discomfort. It’s an injury Durant has never
had previously.
”Hopefully it gets better in the next week or so and see what happens,” said Durant, who missed time down the stretch last season with a left knee injury
before a dazzling postseason to capture his first career title. ”Just recovery,
no procedure and see how it feels. It’s a different type of pain than I’ve felt
before so I didn’t really know what it was and I’m just glad I got it looked
at.”
Curry missed his fourth straight game Friday after re-injuring his troublesome right ankle. He will be re-evaluated Tuesday, while Thompson has a
fractured right thumb and will be examined again next Thursday.
TENNIS
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) – Daria Kasatkina upset Venus Williams 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 to reach the final of the BNP Paribas Open.
Naomi Osaka made much quicker work of top-ranked Simona Halep, routing her 6-3, 6-0 in 64 minutes to set up a final between two 20-year-olds on Sunday.
Kasatkina was two points from defeat, trailing 4-5 and 0-30 in the third set when Williams committed four straight errors as the Russian tied it at
5-all.
Williams won just two more points as Kasatkina took the last two games to close out the match in 2 hours
Dan Bailey Jersey , 48 minutes. Kasatkina dropped her racket near the baseline and covered her face with her hands as she walked to the net.
Osaka put away Halep on her third match point when the Romanian netted a backhand.
Ranked 44th, Osaka opened the tournament by beating Maria Sharapova in the first round. She beat No. 31 Agnieszka Radwanska and No. 5 Karolina Pliskova on
her way to the final, dropping just one set in six matches.
NHL
DENVER (AP) – The Nashville Predators didn’t break out the bubbly or anything rowdy like that after becoming the first NHL team to clinch a playoff spot this
season.
”Business as usual,” defenseman Ryan Ellis said of the low-key celebration that included some pizza. ”Back to work.”
Colton Sissons and Filip Forsberg each scored twice, backup goaltender Juuse Saros stopped 33 shots and the Predators secured their postseason berth by
beating the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 on Friday night.
The streaking Predators are 13-0-1 in their last 14 games and haven’t lost in regulation since Feb. 17 against Detroit.
”The guys knew with a win tonight we would clinch and I think they fought hard for it,” coach Peter Laviolette said. ”I really liked our game
tonight.”
Starting goalie Pekka Rinne was given the night off after helping Nashville to a win Thursday at Arizona. The team didn’t miss a beat with Saros in net.
Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog had the goals for a Colorado team that returned home after earning two straight road wins, including Thursday in St.
Louis. The loss snapped Colorado’s string of nine straight games with a point.
The squad still remains in the thick of the playoff chase.
NFL
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) – Sam Bradford has arrived in Arizona, acknowledging his difficult history with injuries but saying he feels fine now as he prepares to
start at quarterback for the Cardinals under new coach Steve Wilks.
”There has been, definitely, some dark times,” Bradford said at his introductory news conference. ”You fight through that process and every time you
turn that corner and you’re able to get yourself back on the field. I feel like
I’ve come back mentally tougher and mentally stronger than I was the time
before.”
The Cardinals called Bradford’s deal a two-year contract, although the second is a club option. He can earn up to $20 million next season, with $15 million
guaranteed.
Bradford, the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner at Oklahoma and the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 draft
Jordan Mills Jersey , is known for his strong and accurate arm, but he has struggled with injuries.
After being named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2010, Bradford tore his left ACL in the 2013 and 2014 seasons. He was traded to Philadelphia in
2015.
Bradford signed with Minnesota in 2016 and started 15 games, completing 71 percent of his passes for 3,877 yards and 20 touchdowns with five interceptions.
But he missed most of last season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn
meniscus.
”I feel good right now,” he said. ”Obviously, last year was difficult, but after the procedure I had in November I was able to rehab and get myself back in
position to play and was able to suit up the two playoff games in
Minnesota.”
Ryan Tannehill dropped back to pass and the pocket quickly collapsed, making it just like old times.
An onrushing end merely waved as he went by because Wednesday’s drills involved no contact, which spared Tannehill a blow. Instead, he scooted away on
his reconstructed left knee toward the sideline and encountered a linebacker,
who also pulled up at the last moment.
The hits will come soon enough, but for now Tannehill is healthy and optimistic about leading a turnaround by the Miami Dolphins.
He’s practicing this week for the first time since a torn left ACL in training camp ended his 2017 season before it began. A serious injury to the
same knee forced him to miss the final four games in 2016, meaning he hasn’t
played in nearly 18 months.
”It was a long year, some dark times
Demaryius Thomas Jersey ,” Tannehill said, speaking publicly for the first time since he was hurt last August.
Tannehill has received medical clearance without limitations and isn’t even wearing a knee brace this week, although he plans to wear one in games.
”It’s purely to prevent what started the whole train wreck,” he said.
Tannehill said his return to practice stirred painful memories of watching workouts last year while sitting inside the team complex, his injured leg in a
brace and propped on a chair.
”It feels amazing to be back out there,” he said. ”It has been a lot of work to put a helmet back on and step on the grass again. I was just telling the
guys, I can remember sitting in the cafeteria looking through the glass like a
little kid that’s not allowed to go outside and play.”
Also back were linebacker Raekwon McMillan and cornerback Tony Lippett, both of whom missed the entire 2017 season because of injuries. The entire roster was
on hand, although 35-year-old running back Frank Gore was on the field only
briefly and won’t be involved in drills much this spring to keep him
healthy.
Tannehill, a starter since his rookie season in 2012, has never played in the postseason. But he and the Dolphins are optimistic he can regain the form he
showed in 2016, when he enjoyed the best stretch of his career and helped put
the team in playoff contention before his injury.
”I feel like I kind of went on a run there,” Tannehill said. ”I felt like I was finally starting to play really good football, being in command of the
offense and understanding what we were trying to accomplish with every play
call.”
With Jay Cutler as an emergency replacement for Tannehill, the Dolphins slipped to 6-10 last year. Gase is so confident about Tannehill that they didn’t
draft a quarterback last month.
”It’s great to have him back out there
John Franklin-Myers Jersey ,” Gase said. “As long as we don’t have a setback, I feel good. We’re in a good place. I’ve seen him move around just as
well as he ever has.”
Newcomer Josh Sitton, a four-time Pro Bowl guard, offered an endorsement of his new QB after just two practices together. Sitton took particular note of one
strike Tannehill threw.
”He rolled out after a play action and was running to his left,” Sitton said. ”I thought, `That’s pretty impressive.”’
Tannehill didn’t miss a game in his first four NFL seasons, enduring 212 sacks behind a leaky line without serious injury. He said he’s not worried about
his knee holding up, and won’t be thinking about it on the field.
The knee probably won’t be tested with contact until the preseason in August.
”I’m never eager to get hit,” Tannehill said with a chuckle. ”I’d be sadistic. But I don’t think about it any different than I would any other season
going into a new season. It’s a physical game, and I love that.”
—
Devonte Graham Jersey
