NASCAR – Kyle Busch dies at 41 after being hospitalized with a ‘severe illness’
Kyle Busch, a two-time Cup Series champion who won more races than anyone across NASCAR’s three national series, has died. He was 41. The Busch Family, Richard Childress Racing and NASCAR issued a joint statement Thursday saying Busch died after being hospitalized. No cause of death was given. Busch’s family said earlier Thursday that he was hospitalized with a “severe illness,” three days before he was to compete in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Busch was testing in the Chevrolet racing simulator in Concord on Wednesday when he became unresponsive and was transported to a hospital in Charlotte, several people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because details have not been disclosed by Busch’s team or family.

MLB – Major League Baseball
Yesterday
Cleveland Guardians 3, Detroit Tigers 1
Cubs and White Sox were off

Guardians 3, Tigers 1 – Bailey, Cantillo lead Guardians to four-game series sweep with 3-1 win over reeling Tigers
Patrick Bailey hit a solo home run, Joey Cantillo threw 5 2/3 shutout innings and the Cleveland Guardians extended their winning streak to six games with a 3-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers. Brayan Rocchio had three hits, including two doubles, and scored a run. Daniel Schneemann and Jose Ramirerz drove in the other runs for the Central Division-leading Guardians, who completed a four-game series sweep. Cantillo (4-1) limited the Tigers to three hits while striking out six. Hunter Gaddis got the last three outs for his first save.  The Tigers have now been swept in a series for the fifth time, leading MLB. They’ve also lost 9 of the last 10 games against Cleveland.

Today
Houston (Arrighetti 5-1) at Chicago Cubs (Taillon 2-3), 2:20 p.m.
Detroit (Flaherty 0-5) at Baltimore (Bassitt 3-3), 7:15 p.m.       News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM 6:50p
Chicago White Sox (Martin 6-1) at San Francisco (McDonald 2-0), 10:15 p.m.

NBA – 2026 National Basketball Association Playoffs – Conf. Finals (Best of Seven)
Last Night
New York Knicks 109, Cleveland Cavaliers 93                          NYK leads 2-0

Knicks 109, Cavaliers 93 – Knicks move 2 wins from the NBA Finals with a 109-93 victory over the Cavs
Josh Hart scored a playoff career-high 26 points, Jalen Brunson had 19 points and 14 assists, and the New York Knicks moved halfway to their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999 by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-93. Mikal Bridges also scored 19 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Knicks, who won their ninth straight game. Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points and James Harden had 18 for the Cavaliers, who will have to climb out of a 2-0 deficit for the second straight round. They host Game 3 on Saturday.

Tonight
Oklahoma City Thunder at San Antonio Spurs, 8:30 p.m.             Series tied 1-1

NHL – 2026 National Hockey League Stanley Cup Playoffs – Conf. Finals (best of seven)
Last Night
Montreal Canadiens 6, Carolina Hurricanes 2                          MTL leads 1-0

Habs 6, Hurricanes 2 – Canadiens pounce on Hurricanes early in 6-2 win to open Eastern Conference Final
The Montreal Canadiens pounced for four first-period goals on slow-starting Carolina — coming off the longest postseason break in more than a century — and handed the Hurricanes their first loss of the playoffs with a 6-2 victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final. Cole Caufield and Phillip Danault scored in the opening four minutes, Alexandre Texier followed four minutes later, and Ivan Demidov finished a breakaway for a 4-1 lead midway through the period. That came against the Eastern Conference’s top seed, which hadn’t allowed more than two goals in an 8-0 playoff start. Juraj Slafkovksy scored twice in the third period for Montreal, the second on a late empty-netter, while Jakub Dobes had 24 saves. Game 2 is Saturday night.

Tonight
Vegas Golden Knights at Colorado Avalanche, 8:00 p.m.            VGK leads 1-0

WNBA – Women’s National Basketball Association
Tonight
Golden State Valkyries at Indiana Fever, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday
Minnesota Lynx at Chicago Sky, 1:00 p.m.

WNBA – WNBA warns the Fever for failing to report Caitlin Clark’s injury on time
The WNBA has warned the Indiana Fever for not properly reporting an injury to star guard Caitlin Clark. The warning confirmed to The Associated Press on Thursday came a day after Clark was a late scratch because of a back injury. Clark missed Wednesday’s 90-73 victory over Portland. The Fever disclosed Clark’s injury less than two hours before tipoff. She had not been listed on Indiana’s injury report a day earlier when she didn’t practice. The WNBA requires teams to list players who are injured on a report by 5 p.m. the night before the game. If a player’s status changes overnight or early in the day the team is supposed to update the injury report.

NFL –Matthew Stafford agrees to 1-year contract extension with Rams through 2027
Reigning NFL Most Valuable Player Matthew Stafford has agreed to a one-year contract extension through the 2027 season with the Los Angeles Rams. ESPN reported the deal is worth $55 million. The deal indicates that the 38-year-old Stafford is at least strongly thinking about staying with the Rams past the upcoming season. Stafford has been in a year-to-year mentality about his future ever since he led the Rams to a Super Bowl championship in February 2022, and the Rams surprised the league by drafting Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson with the 13th overall pick last month.

NFL – Lions sign All-Pro linebacker Jack Campbell to 4-year contract extension
The Detroit Lions have signed All-Pro linebacker Jack Campbell to a four-year contract extension that runs through the 2030 season. The Lions locked up Campbell after they declined his fifth-year option for the 2027 season last month, when they picked up Pro Bowl running back Jahmyr Gibbs’ option. Detroit drafted both players in the first round in 2023 and they have helped the franchise win 36 games, two NFC North titles and reach a conference championship game. In his third NFL season, Campbell became the first NFL player in seven years to have 150-plus tackles and at least five sacks and three forced fumbles.

NFL – Bears reiterate Chicago stadium plans are ‘exhausted,’ look at suburbs, NW Indiana
The Chicago Bears have reiterated their plans to leave Chicago and are considering stadium sites in suburban Illinois or Hammond, Indiana. The team stated Thursday that it has exhausted all options to stay in the city. Arlington Heights and Hammond are the only sites under consideration. The Bears have played at Soldier Field for over 50 years. Indiana lawmakers are trying to attract the team with plans for a domed stadium in Hammond. Meanwhile, Illinois legislators are offering tax breaks to support a complex in Arlington Heights. The Bears have been in Illinois since their founding in 1920.

Golf – Brooks Koepka is 1 back at the Byron Nelson, with Scottie Scheffler lurking
Scottie Scheffler won’t be the wire-to-wire winner of his hometown CJ Cup Byron Nelson again this year. For now, the world’s top-ranked player is chasing a leaderboard that includes Brooks Koepka, who is looking for his first victory since returning to the PGA Tour from LIV Golf. Koepka shot 8-under 63 and trailed first-round leader Taylor Moore by one at the revamped TPC Craig Ranch. Jesper Svensson also tied with Koepka. Scheffler was at 66 playing with Koepka and Si Woo Kim, one of seven players at 64.

MWL – Midwest League Baseball
Last Night
South Bend 7, West Michigan 1
Lake County 11, Lansing 1
Wisconsin 14, Great Lakes 5

Tonight
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers at Great Lakes Loons, 6:05 p.m.
South Bend Cubs at West Michigan Whitecaps, 6:35 p.m.
Lansing Lugnuts at Lake County Captains 6:35 p.m.

AHL – American Hockey League – Calder Cup Playoffs – Round 2 (best of 5)
Last Night
Chicago Wolves 3, Grand Rapids Griffins 2                             CHI wins 3-1

MHSAA – Michigan High School Athletic Association
Yesterday
Girls Soccer – District Quarterfinals
Division 4 at Our Lady of the Lake (1st round at local sites)
Bridgman 3, Eau Claire 0

Division 4 at Kal. Christian (1st round at local sites)
Hartford 3, Watervliet 0

Baseball
Battle Creek Lakeview 4, St. Joseph 3 – Game 1
St. Joseph 1, Battle Creek Lakeview 0 – Game 2
Kalamazoo Central 15, Dowagiac 0 – Game 1
Kalamazoo Central 7, Dowagiac 3 – Game 2
Coldwater 11, Otsego 1 – Game 1
Otsego 5, Coldwater 2 – Game 1
Allegan 11, Comstock 1 – Game 1
Allegan 16, Comstock 1 – Game 2
Watervliet 7, Decatur 2 – Game 1
Decatur 14, Watervliet 12 -Game 2
Gobles 8, Bloomingdale 7 – Game 1
Bloomingdale 13, Gobles 1 – Game 2
Coloma 11, Lawton 0  Game 1
Coloma 10, Lawton 0 – Game 2

Softball
Battle Creek Lakeview 11, St. Joseph 0 – Game 1
St. Joseph 9, Battle Creek Lakeview 6 – Game 2
River Valley 12, Michigan Lutheran 1 – Game 1
Michigan Lutheran 13, River Valley 10 – Game 2
Portage Central 15, Portage Northern 5 – Game 1
Portage Central 7, Portage Northern 6 – Game 2
Coldwater 5, Otsego 1 – Game 1
Coldwater 8, Otsego 6 – Game 2
Allegan 15, Comstock 5 – Game 1
Allegan 16, Comstock 5 – Game 2
Gobles 15, Bloomingdale 0 – Game 1
Gobles 20, Bloomindale 5 – Game 2
Cassopolis 6, Lawton 5 – Game 1
Cassopolis 9, Lawton 5 – Game 2

Tonight
Girls Soccer – District Quarterfinals
Division 2 at Plainwell (1st round at local sites)
Wayland at Otsego, 6:00 p.m.

Division 3 at South Haven (1st round at local sites)
Kentwood Grand River at Allegan, 6:00 p.m.

Division 4 at Our Lady (1st round at local sites)
Watervliet at Our Lady of the Lake, 5:00 p.m.
Marcellus at Brandywine, 5:00 p.m.

Division 4 at Saugatuck (1st round at local sites)
Bangor at Saugatuck, 6:00 p.m.

Baseball
Constantine at Berrien Springs, 4:15 p.m. (DH)
Kalamazoo Hackett at Three Rivers, 4:30 p.m. (DH)
South Haven at Holland, 4:15 p.m. (HD)
Marcellus at Martin, 4:30 p.m. (DH)
Stockbridge at Bangor, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Lawrence at Centreville, 4:30 p.m. (DH)

Softball
Bridgman at Gobles, 4:30 p.m. (DH)
Three Rivers at Harper Creek, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Bronson at Brandywines, 4:30 p.m. (DH)
Mendon at Kalamazoo Christian, 5:00 p.m.
Marcellus at Martin, 4:30 p.m. (DH)
Stockbridge at Bangor, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Lawrence at Centreville, 4:30 p.m. (DH)