Update on the latest sports
APHORSE RACING-PREAKNESS
Preakness day gets off to quiet start at Pimlico
BALTIMORE (AP) — The Preakness is back to its usual spot on the calendar in the middle of May but without the usual frenzy in the hours leading up to the race.
Attendance is limited to 10,000 — a fraction of the typical 100,000 that packs Pimlico Race Course for the second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown. The usually packed infield was replaced by a smaller, socially distanced gathering with musical acts that wasn’t set to open until 2 in the afternoon.
Those in the grandstand saw Market Cap unseat jockey Johan Rosado in the first race Saturday morning that The King Cheek won over Bob Baffert-trained favorite Hozier.
In the main event, Medina (meh-DEE’-nah) Spirit looks to give trainer Bob Baffert a record-breaking eighth victory in the race. The colt was cleared to run after passing three rounds of pre-race drug testing. Medina Spirit tested positive for the steroid betamethasone after winning the Kentucky Derby.
NBA-NETS LINEUP
Durant, Harden, Irving all starting for Nets against Bulls
NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving are in Brooklyn’s starting lineup Saturday for just the eighth time this season.
The Nets had their Big Three on the floor against Chicago for the first time since Feb. 13 at Golden State. Durant started a long injury absence in the next game and Harden later had his own, finally returning Wednesday against San Antonio.
He came off the bench in that game but reclaimed his starting spot against the Bulls.
The Nets are 5-2 in games with the three All-Stars. Coach Steve Nash said he probably wouldn’t determine until Sunday if they would play that night in the regular-season finale.
NHL-PLAYOFFS
One-of-a-kind NHL playoffs set to begin
UNDATED (AP) — A strange NHL regular season has given way to a one-of-a-kind playoff tournament for the Stanley Cup that starts Saturday night with the Washington Capitals hosting Boston.
For the first time in almost 30 years, the league’s four divisions will play it out for two rounds before four teams reach the semifinals. It’s a return to the divisional playoff format the NHL used from 1982-93.
But these four divisions were realigned only for 2021 in a way that meant teams never played anyone in the other three divisions. And for the first time in NHL history, the four champions that emerge will be reseeded for the next round.
After a 56-game regular season with fits and stops because of the pandemic and weather postponements, the playoffs will be another unique chapter. So unique that by the time Calgary and Vancouver finish their regular seasons, some first-round playoff series will be two games old.
The game that will kick off the playoffs Saturday will follow a regular-season game between Vancouver and Edmonton in the afternoon.
MLB-SCHEDULE
White Sox lefty Rodon tries to extend perfect start
UNDATED (AP) — White Sox left-hander Carlos Rodón tries to extend his perfect start when he faces Mike Minor and the Kansas City Royals.
Rodón is the first White Sox pitcher to win his first five starts since Chris Sale began the 2016 season with nine in a row. Rodón was slated to go on Thursday, but he was pushed back because of back and hamstring tightness. He tossed six innings of five-hit ball during a 3-0 win at Kansas City on May 7.
Minor is looking for his first win since April 23.
In other highlights of Saturday’s schedule:
— Adam Wainwright pitches for the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals at San Diego in a rematch of last year’s first-round playoff won by the Padres. Wainwright is coming off 8 1/3 innings of three-hit ball Sunday in a 2-0 win over Colorado, but the 39-year-old right-hander is 0-1 with a 6.52 ERA in two starts away from home this season. He allowed two runs and six hits in Game 2 of the first-round series at San Diego last year, getting a no-decision in the 11-9 loss. Chris Paddack takes the ball for a Padres team depleted this week by COVID-19 positives and contact tracing health and safety protocols.
— It’s an Anderson party in Milwaukee, where Braves right-hander Ian Anderson faces Brewers left-hander Brett Anderson. Ian Anderson is coming off a no-decision against Philadelphia, allowing three runs in six innings last weekend. Brett Anderson pitched three scoreless innings Sunday at Miami in his return from a strained right hamstring.
Pittsburgh also is sending an Anderson to the mound, with Tyler Anderson going against Johnny Cueto and the San Francisco Giants.
