Sports

Oct. 27—As a four-star recruit coming out of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., it didn’t take long for players and coaches to start seeing the potential in true freshman R Mason Thomas.

TAMPA, Fla. — Everyone loves a perfect ending, whether it’s a game, a film or the storybook career of the NFL’s greatest quarterback.

For the second week in a row there is a football game of great significance in District A-5. This week, the unbeaten Hominy Bucks will play the Woodland Cougars Friday in a game between two teams who haven’t lost a district game.

Five takeaways from the Heat’s impressive 119-98 win against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night at Moda Center: This was the team that Heat management expected to see when it kept most of this cast together.

Jamal Murray raised his arms in relief. His fourth-quarter 3-pointer both snapped his cold streak and helped put the game on ice.

Through these initial eight days of the season, there has been one constant for the Charlotte Hornets: suitcases. Suitcases are an essential part of their equipment thanks to a road-heavy schedule, one that continued with their matchup with New York on Wednesday night.

Oct. 26—Here’s a look at six key matchups for the Oklahoma-Iowa State game (11 a.m. Saturday on FS1) and how the Sooners fare in each area: Rushing offense: Oklahoma Through all of the season’s ups and downs, the Sooners’ rushing offense has been mostly steady and very productive. They rank 14th nationally in rushing offense (227.6 yards per game) and are averaging a healthy 5.1 yards per carry. Running back Eric Gray has been one of the team’s standout players and is coming off a career-high 176 yards against Kansas. Jovantae Barnes has been solid filling in for the injured Marcus Major.

This is what playoff basketball looks, sounds — and if you ask either team — feels like. Bodies colliding.

Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak believes his team had a very good regular season. And he is not going to overreact to the disappointing finish to the postseason by shifting to a new organizational philosophy.