Youth stocks NHL All-Stars

TAMPA, Fla. — Steven Stamkos, Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, P.K. Subban, Connor McDavid, John Tavares, Henrik Lundquist, Marc-Andre Fleury. Most of the biggest names in hockey will be center stage today in the NHL All-Star Game. So will Auston Matthews and a wave of other young American-born players energizing a league benefiting from an infusion of speed and skill. Matthews, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 draft, is just 20 years old and already a two-time All-Star. Jack Eichel, the second pick in 2015, is a first-time All-Star at age 21. Noah Hanifin, 21, and Conner Hellebuyck, 24, are making their debuts as well, while 20-year-old Brock Boeser is the lone rookie joining the party at Amalie Arena. “It’s crazy. … This is my 10th year, I’ll be 28 in the next couple of weeks, and I feel like an old guy,” said Stamkos, a five-time All-Star voted captain of the Atlantic Division team vying for $1 million in a winner-take-all, threegame tournament played in a three-onthree format.

BASKETBALL

› METAIRIE, La. — The New Orleans Pelicans held the first practice of their new, more challenging reality Saturday — less than 24 hours after losing All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins for the rest of the season because of his Achilles’ tear. The question now is what happens to a team that has won seven of eight and was coalescing around its somewhat unconventional lineup featuring Cousins and fellow All-Star big man Anthony Davis. The offense has largely run through Cousins, who will miss his first game this season when New Orleans hosts the Los Angeles Clippers today. He was injured while hustling downcourt with 12 seconds to play in Friday’s 115-113 win against the Houston Rockets.

FOOTBALL

› MOBILE, Ala. — Kyle Lauletta more than held his own in elite quarterback company. A standout at Football Championship Subdivision program Richmond, Lauletta threw three second-half touchdown passes and Texas-San Antonio’s Marcus Davenport scored on a 19-yard fumble recovery to lead the South team to a 45-16 victory over the North in the Senior Bowl on Saturday. Lauletta capped the weeklong audition for NFL teams in strong fashion, thriving amid more heralded passers from the North team. That group included Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield from Oklahoma and Wyoming’s Josh Allen, a potential No. 1 overall draft pick.