Sports briefs 3/3
Wild Things’ Ungar to White Sox
For the second time in less than a month, a player who was recently signed by the Washington Wild Things has had his contract transferred to a major league organization.
Outfielder Alex Ungar is signing with the Chicago White Sox.
Ungar played his college baseball the last two years at Sacred Heart. He spent last summer playing for the West Virginia Black Bears in the MLB Draft League.
Cal in PSAC tourney Wednesday
The men’s basketball team at California will begin play in the PSAC tournament on Wednesday when the Vulcans host either Shepherd or Lack Haven in the quarterfinals. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Convocation Center.
The Vulcans (19-8) are the No. 2 seed out of the West Division. Shepherd is the No. 3 seed in the East while Lock Haven is No. 6 in the East. The Rams and Bald Eagles played in the first round Monday.
If Cal wins, then the Vulcans will advance to the semifinals on Saturday. The PSAC Final Four will be played at the highest-remaining seed from the West.
In the NHL
The Edmonton Oilers are fortifying their defense ahead of the NHL trade deadline as they look to make another deep run in the playoffs.
The back-to-back Western Conference champions on Monday acquired dependable defenseman Connor Murphy from the Chicago Blackhawks for a 2028 second-round pick. Chicago is retaining half of Murphy’s $4.4 million salary as part of the deal finalized 93 hours before the deadline Friday.
The Oilers rank 26th out of the league’s 32 teams in goals against this season, including a couple of losses since the Olympic break ended that can be chalked up to shoddy defensive play. They got beat 6-5 by Anaheim on Wednesday and 5-4 by San Jose on Saturday, defeats to rivals in the Pacific Division that have threatened Edmonton’s precarious place in the standings.
Murphy, who turns 33 on March 26, is a reliable defender who should slot in on the blue line on the third pair. He’s averaging 16 1/2 minutes of ice time through 60 games with the Blackhawks this season, his 13th overall and 12th full one since making his debut in 2013.
He leads Chicago with 87 blocked shots.
In the NBA
Giannis Antetokounmpo is back for the Milwaukee Bucks after a calf strain that forced the two-time MVP to miss 15 games.
Coach Doc Rivers said during his pregame availability that Antetokounmpo would play Monday night against the Boston Celtics. Rivers said Antetokounmpo would be on a minutes restriction.
The 31-year-old Antetokounmpo hasn’t played since straining his right calf on Jan. 23 in a 102-100 loss to the Denver Nuggets. A right calf strain also had prevented him from playing for three weeks in December.
Antetokounmpo has missed a career-high 29 games this season, 23 of those because of calf issues. The Bucks are 15-15 with Antetokounmpo and 11-18 without him.
His return comes with the Bucks trying to work their way into the play-in tournament and secure a 10th straight playoff berth. The Bucks went 8-7 during this most recent stretch without Antetokounmpo.
In Olympic sports
U.S. women’s hockey gold medal-winning captain Hilary Knight revealed Monday in a television appearance that she played in Milan with a torn medial collateral ligament in one of her knees.
Knight, playing at what she said was her final Olympics at 36, tied the final against Canada with just over two minutes left in regulation.