Sports

If Notre Dame’s opening drive equated to landing the first punch in the College Football Playoff championship game, then Ohio State connected on the next three — completely flipping the trajectory of the game in the Buckeyes’ near-perfect first half that ended with a 21-7 lead. Quarterback Will Howard completed 14-of-15 passes for 144 yards … Read more

Coco Gauff reacts during her Australian Open quarterfinal loss to Paula Badosa on Tuesday. (Ng Han Guan / Associated Press) Coco Gauff’s forehand and serve abandoned her in the worst way and at the worst time at the Australian Open on Tuesday, and the No. 3-seeded American was eliminated in the quarterfinals by No. 11 … Read more

For a fleeting moment considered the face of the Nets, Mikal Bridges is hoping for “good energy” as he returns to the Barclays Center on Tuesday for the first time since being traded across the Manhattan Bridge.  “It’ll be just good to be back,” Bridges said. “To see my teammates and the coaching staff that … Read more

Cam Payne was a spark plug off the bench as Tom Thibodeau expanded his bench in Monday’s 119-100 victory over the Hawks.  Payne had 10 points in just 12 minutes, with his four-point play in the third quarter serving as key to the game-altering run. Payne also picked up a technical foul during that sequence, … Read more

The Jets must pounce if they want to land Aaron Glenn, The Post’s Mark Cannizzaro writes. AP The Jets have never exactly been masters of great timing.  Consider team owner Woody Johnson’s ill-advised firing of head coach Robert Saleh after the team’s 2-3 start this past season and the disastrous collapse of the team that … Read more

Notre Dame didn’t waste any time before making a statement in the College Football Playoff title game. Entering as underdogs as the No. 7 seed against No. 8-seed Ohio State, the Fighting Irish proceeded to orchestrate an insane 18-play, 75-yard drive that ended with quarterback Riley Leonard’s 1-yard plunge into the end zone and drained … Read more

When Patrick Roy came to Long Island, a year ago Monday to the day, it felt like general manager Lou Lamoriello had pulled a rabbit out of the hat that could help resurrect a stagnant franchise. Roy — bombastic and emotional and one of the all-time greats as a player — was a thunderclap of … Read more

Nick Saban gave an impassioned defense of Ohio State head coach Ryan Day on “College Gameday” on Monday that seemed to come from an all too familiar place for the former Alabama coach.  Day took severe heat for the Buckeyes’ loss to Michigan in the final week of the regular season, which raised questions over … Read more

ATLANTA — The expanded College Football Playoff offers advantages to being in a conference: From the automatic bid for winning your league to receiving a bye as one of the four highest-ranked conference champions. But Notre Dame doesn’t sound ready to join a league despite those bonuses. “We’re comfortable that if conference championship games continue … Read more

Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp signs autographs before a wild-card playoff victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Jan. 13. Kupp’s future on the Rams remains uncertain. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) Cooper Kupp established himself as an important part of the Rams’ offense from the day general manager Les Snead selected him in the … Read more