Isles’ Barzal out indefinitely
Islanders center Mathew Barzal is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury, the team announced Monday, a devastating blow to its playoff pursuit.
He was injured on a hit from Boston’s Craig Smith early in a 6-2 loss at the Bruins on Saturday. Barzal appeared to take a kneeon-knee hit and left the ice immediately.
Barzal, 25, is second on the team with 51 points. The Islanders hold the second and final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with less than two months to go in the regular season.
The Islanders last month acquired center Bo Horvat from the Canucks and signed him to a $68 million, eight-year extension.
EX-VIKINGS OWNER MCCOMBS DIES
A former owner of two NBA teams and an NFL franchise, longtime Texas businessman, Billy Joe “Red” McCombs has died at his home in San Antonio, according to a statement from his family on Monday.
McCombs was 95 and preceded in death by his wife, Charline, in 2019.
“The entire McCombs family is heartbroken to announce that our father, grandfather and great-grandfather, Red McCombs passed away Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023,” according to the statement that called McCombs “a Texas icon.”
“Red was a visionary entrepreneur who touched many lives and impacted our community in immeasurable ways,” the statement said. “But to us he was always, first and foremost, ‘Dad’ or ‘Poppop.’ ”
McCombs owned more than 400 businesses during his lifetime, according to the McCombs Enterprises website, and the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin is named for him.
He twice owned the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs and between those two ownership stints owned the Denver Nuggets and later the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL.
WESTBROOK TO CLIPPERS
Russell Westbrook was waived by the Jazz on Monday and the nine-time All-Star is expected to sign with the Clippers, according to a published report.
The 34-year-old guard was acquired by the Jazz from the Lakers on Feb. 10. He averaged 15.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists in 28.7 minutes per game in a rocky tenure with the Lakers.
ESPN reported that Westbrook’s agent, Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports, told the outlet he will sign with the Clippers after completing a contract buyout on the remaining $47 million he’s owed on his expiring deal.
Meyers Leonard is getting another chance at the NBA, nearly two years after he used an anti-Semitic slur while playing a video game that was being livestreamed.
A person with knowledge of the negotiations said Leonard and the Bucks have agreed on a 10-day contract, opening the door for the 7-foot center to play in an NBA game for the first time since January 2021.
Kevin Love wasted no time. He’s officially a member of the Heat.
The five-time All-Star and 15-year NBA veteran cleared waivers on Monday afternoon, then signed a contract to join the Heat for the remainder of the season not long afterward.
HOUSTON NO. 1 AGAIN
Houston returned to No. 1 in the AP men’s college basketball poll on Monday for the third time this season, while Northwestern and Texas A&M barged into the rankings after each notched a pair of impressive wins last week.
The Cougars, riding a seven-game winning streak, jumped over Alabama and back into the top spot, where they spent two weeks in November and December and had another two-week stint last month. They picked up 48 first-place votes from the 62-member national media panel to lay claim to No. 1 with just two weeks left in the regular season.
UNBEATEN S. CAROLINA STILL ON TOP
South Carolina survived one of its stiffest tests of the season to remain No. 1 in The Associated Press women’s college basketball poll released Monday.
The Gamecocks (27-0) topped Mississippi in overtime on Sunday to win their 33rd consecutive game and secure the top spot in the poll for a 35th consecutive week. That is the third-longest run atop the poll, with UConn (51 weeks) and Louisiana Tech (36) having had longer streaks at No. 1.