NFL

• Commanders place franchise tag on DL Daron Payne
  • Payne broke out in a big way in 2022, registering 11.5 sacks for Washington, so this decision makes sense, especially considering that the Commanders didn’t have any other great options for the tag.

NBA

• Hornets 117, Pistons 106
  • The Hornets’ 15-43 start was a bit of an underachievement for the team. Water has started to find its level, as Charlotte has now won five in a row. Unfortunately, LaMelo Ball fractured his ankle in this contest, leaving his status for early next season hanging in the balance. The Hornets will need a healthy Ball next season to get back into the playoff mix.
  • The Pistons’ best young big, Jalen Duren, didn’t play in this game, but Detroit has to be happy with the performances it received from both James Wiseman and Marvin Bagley. The young duo combined for 44 points and 19 rebounds last night.
• Heat 101, 76ers 99
  • Tobias Harris’ lack of consistency this season has hindered Philadelphia. The forward scored just four points yesterday — not nearly enough for the 76ers to top a solid team like the Heat.
• Knicks 109, Celtics 94
  • At this point, there’s enough evidence to admit the Knicks are probably for real. Sitting at 36-27, New York has won six straight games, and has plenty of key pieces that fit well together. The Josh Hart trade has paid immediate dividends for Tom Thibodeau’s team.
  • The Celtics are the best team in the NBA, but this sort of result can happen when Jaylen Brown isn’t in the lineup and Jayson Tatum limps to a 6-18 performance.
• Magic 101, Pelicans 93
  • Sure, Zion Williamson has, per usual, missed tons of time, but there’s no reason New Orleans should be two games below .500. After a surprisingly solid rookie season, Herbert Jones hasn’t taken a step forward. Brandon Ingram has been a slight disappointment as well, as the forward is turning the ball over much more than he did a season ago. Williamson has a huge impact on winning, so the Pelicans need him back sooner rather than later.

NCAAB

• Queens 61, Florida Gulf Coast 55
  • Queens, in the first year of its transition to Division I, isn’t eligible for the NCAA Tournament. That’s a shame, because the Royals have a decent chance of taking down top-seeded Kennesaw State tonight.
  • Florida Gulf Coast in recent years has had a penchant for creating madness in postseason play, but that wasn’t the case in this contest.
• Bellarmine 76, North Florida 74
  • Bellarmine plays a terrific, fundamental brand of basketball. That won’t work tonight though, as the Knights don’t have enough firepower to keep up with Darius McGhee and Liberty.
  • Jarius Hicklen scored 25 points in this game and did all he could to prevent North Florida from being upset, but it wasn’t enough.
• North Carolina 77, Florida State 66
  • The Tar Heels nearly blew this game late, which would have been devastating for their at-large chances. A massive game looms for Hubert Davis’ program on Saturday against Duke. Pete Nance has played well the last two games, which should give him confidence heading into Saturday’s affair.
• Baylor 74, Oklahoma State 68
  • Dale Bonner hasn’t been utilized quite as much as I expected this season, but he was needed yesterday in wake of Keyonte George’s injury. The senior scored 15 points and was flanked by the solid backcourt duo of Adam Flagler and LJ Cryer.
• West Virginia 72, Iowa State 69
  • Iowa State is moving in the wrong direction at a bad time. Nearly unbeatable at Hilton Coliseum earlier in the season, the Cyclones have lost their mojo and their NCAA Tournament seed will surely drop because of it. Caleb Grill has been invisible of late, and Iowa State needs to get its senior guard back on track.
• Wyoming 80, Nevada 71
  • The good Hunter Maldonado showed up last night, registering 25 points on just 11 field goal attempts.
  • Oof. Nevada is, as of now, still fine in terms of its NCAA Tournament standing, but this is a bad loss, regardless of the fact that Wyoming is starting to show signs of life. The Wolf Pack is pretty dependent on its starting five, but two bench points across 44 minutes aren’t enough to win.
• Montana State 79, Eastern Washington 74
  • It might be time to start monitoring things in Cheney, as Eastern Washington has now lost two in a row — its first two losses in league play.