Reuters U.S. Sports Schedule at 2 PM EST on Friday, Feb. 27
Feb. 27 (Reuters) - Reuters U.S. sports schedule at 2 PM ET on Friday: - - - - The duty editor is Steve Ginsburg, 202-898-8427 - - - - NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE NFL Draft: 20 prime pro days Hundreds of scouts and dozens of coaches travel the country over the next 45 days, going campus-to-campus to evaluate prospects in preparation for the 2015 NFL Draft on April 30-May 2. Here are 20 sites that will be most popular. (FBN-DRAFT/, moved, The Sports Xchange, by Dane Brugler, 815 words) - - NFL putting up fight in Peterson case Stubbornly sticking with its shoot-and-run offense, the National Football League quickly reloaded an appeal to counter U.S. Superior Court Judge David S. Doty's ruling to overturn the suspension of Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson. (FBN-VIKINGS-ANALYSIS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, by Frank Cooney, 640 words) - - Sam invited to veteran combine Michael Sam, the first openly gay player in the NFL, is invited to the league's inaugural veteran combine on March 22. (FBN-NEWS/SAMCOMBINE, moved, The Sports Xchange, 310 words) - - Falcons release WR Douglas The Atlanta Falcons release wide receiver Harry Douglas. (FBN-FALCONS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 125 words) - - Dolphins part with WR Hartline With fellow wide receiver Mike Wallace on the block, the Dolphins make a surprising move, releasing Brian Hartline to save more than $3.15 million against the salary cap. (FBN-DOLPHINS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 155 words) - - NFL roundup News and notes from around the league. (FBN-NOTEBOOK/, expect by 7:45 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 400 words) - - - - NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION Bulls GM: Rose could be back in 4-6 weeks Following successful knee surgery, Chicago Bulls general manager Gar Forman says point guard Derrick Rose could play in late March or April. (BKN-BULLS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 500 words) - - NBA remembers pioneer Lloyd Earl Lloyd, the first African-American man to play in the NBA, dies at the age of 86. (BKN-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 600 words) - - - - Kirilenko's homecoming expected to boost CSKA BELGRADE - Six-time Euroleague winners CSKA Moscow are at home to Fenerbahce Istanbul and will be boosted by the return of NBA stalwart Andrei Kirilenko, back in his third spell with the Russian giants. (BASKETBALL-EUROLEAGUE/WRAPUP, expect by 6 PM ET, by Zoran Milosavljevic, 400 words) - - - - TSX covers all NBA games, highlighted matchup below - - Oklahoma City at Portland PORTLAND - The Oklahoma City Thunder, riding a seven-game winning streak as star Kevin Durant remains on the sideline with a foot injury, visit the Portland Trail Blazers, a club that Has won 24 of 30 games at the Moda Center this season. (BKN-TRAILBLAZERS-THUNDER-FIRSTLEDE-WRITETHRU/ (PIX), expect ASAP after the 10:30 PM ET scheduled tip-off, The Sports Xchange, 400-word first lede, 700-word writethru) - - Today's NBA schedule at a glance Cleveland at Indiana, 7 PM ET (PIX) Washington at Philadelphia, 7 PM ET (PIX) Orlando at Atlanta, 7:30 PM ET (PIX) Charlotte at Boston, 7:30 PM ET (PIX) New York at Detroit, 7:30 PM ET (PIX) Golden State at Toronto, 7:30 PM ET (PIX) Minnesota at Chicago, 8 PM ET (PIX) Brooklyn at Houston, 8 PM ET (PIX) Los Angeles Clippers at Memphis, 8 PM ET (PIX) Miami at New Orleans, 8 PM ET (PIX) Utah at Denver, 9 PM ET (PIX) San Antonio at Sacramento, 10 PM ET (PIX) Milwaukee at Los Angeles Lakers, 10:30 PM ET (PIX) Oklahoma City at Portland, 10:30 PM ET (PIX) - - NBA Roundup The latest moves and news from the NBA. (BKN-NOTEBOOK/, expect by 6 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 350 words) - - - - GOLF PGA Tour: Honda Classic, Palm Beach Gardens Herman heads strong field by one shot at PGA National PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. - American journeyman Jim Herman opens the second round in command at the PGA Tour's Honda Classic. World No. 1 Rory McIlroy trails by eight strokes. (GOLF-PGA/ (PIX), expect first lead by 3 PM ET, 400 words) - - Clarke misses cut as Coetsee grabs Jo'burg Open lead JOHANNESBURG - Just a week after the euphoria of being named Europe's 2016 Ryder Cup captain, Darren Clarke misses the cut at the European Tour's Jo'burg Open following a sloppy round of 72. (GOLF-EUROPEAN/, moved, 286 words) - - Lewis fires 64, leads LPGA Thailand by 3 shots American Stacy Lewis shoots an 8-under 64 to take a three-stroke lead heading into the weekend at the Honda LPGA Thailand. Lewis, ranked No. 3 in the world, birdied four straight holes on the front nine and had four more birdies on the back nine. (GLF-NEWS-LPGATHAILAND/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 375 words) - - - - MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL Wainwright to ease into camp after return St. Louis Cardinals right-handed ace Adam Wainwright is diagnosed with a mild abdominal strain and will take it easy for a few days before being reevaluated. (BBO-CARDINALS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 410 words) - - - - NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE TSX covers all NHL games, highlighted matchup below - - Calgary at New York Islanders UNIONDALE, New York - The surging New York Islanders can jump into sole possession of second place in the Eastern Conference if they can knock off the Calgary Flames, a club battling a host of teams for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West. (HKN-ISLANDERS-FLAMES-FIRSTLEDE-WRITETHRU/ (PIX), expect ASAP after 7 PM ET scheduled start, The Sports Xchange, 400-word first lede, 700-word writethru)I - - Today's NHL schedule at a glance Boston at New Jersey, 7 PM ET Calgary at New York Islanders, 7 PM ET (PIX) Washington at Carolina, 7 PM ET (PIX) Chicago at Tampa Bay, 7:30 PM ET (PIX) Colorado at Dallas, 8:30 PM ET Los Angeles at Anaheim, 10 PM ET (PIX) - - NHL Roundup The latest moves and news from the NHL. (HKN-NOTEBOOK/, expect by 6 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 350 words) - - - - AUTO RACING Weekend warriors at high risk minus track regulations NASCAR's too little, too late response to Kyle Busch's collision with an unprotected wall at Daytona is a reminder where the highest risk lies - with racing's weekend warriors. (CAR-COLUMN/, moved, The Sports Xchange, by Jonathan Ingram, 1,050 words) - - Car caper strikes, Kvapil out of Atlanta Travis Kvapil's orange stock car, the ride he intended to use for qualifying Friday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway, is stolen from his hotel parking lot along with a spare engine and the truck and trailer hauling it. (CAR-SPRINT-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 288 words) - - Atlanta notebook HAMPTON, Ga. - The latest news and notes from around the track at Atlanta Motor Speedway. (CAR-NOTEBOOK/, expect by 5:45 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, special from NASCAR Wire Service, 450 words) - - Folds of Honor Quick Trip 500 qualifying HAMPTON, Ga. - Live coverage of NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying for Sunday's 500-mile race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. (CAR-SPRINT-NEWS/, expect by 8:15 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, special from NASCAR Wire Service, 450 words) - - - - WOMEN AND CONCUSSIONS Women athletes have more concussions than men, new study shows WASHINGTON - While men's contact sports like football and ice hockey are most associated with concussions, women actually have them much more often than men, new research shows. And the symptoms are more acute. (US-SPORTS/CONCUSSIONS, moved, by Steve Ginsburg, 621 words) - - - - TENNIS Federer and Djokovic to meet in Dubai final DUBAI - World No. 1 Novak Djokovic beats Tomas Berdych 6-0, 5-7, 6-4 at the Dubai Championships to set up a dream final with Roger Federer. (TENNIS-DUBAI/MEN (UPDATE 2, PIX), moved, by Matt Smith, 495 words) - - Agassi: Djokovic close to scaling tennis's Everest LONDON - Novak Djokovic may never have a better chance to complete his career grand slam than at this year's French Open but those predicting the decline of claycourt king Rafa Nadal should be wary, according to Andre Agassi. (US-TENNIS-AGASSI-DJOKOVIC-NADAL/, moved, by Martyn Herman, 593 words) - - - - JURISPRUDENCE Hernandez sent urgent text on night of murder FALL RIVER, Mass. - Former National Football League star Aaron Hernandez texted a friend to "hurry" in the hours before prosecutors say the pair and another man murdered an associate in an industrial park in 2013, according to today's testimony. (USA-PATRIOTS/HERNANDEZ (PIX), moved; will be led, by Daniel Lovering, 395 words) - - - - OLYMPICS Head of 2018 Winter Games scotches claims of delays RIO DE JANEIRO - All venues for the 2018 Winter Olympics are on schedule and no events will be held outside host city Pyeongchang and nearby Gangneung, the head of the Games says as he refutes suggestions of delays. (OLYMPICS-WINTER/2018, moved, by Andrew Downie, 229 words) - - - - NORTH AMERICAN SPORTS Roundups of off-field developments in the major North American professional sports leagues. (Expect by 8 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words)
