SUNDAY SPORTS

It looks like Olympic hockey teams will be using amateurs next year.

Speaking at league All Star festivities in Los Angeles, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly says league owners are still leaning against allowing their players to participate in the upcoming Winter Games in South Korea.

Daly flatly said the NHL Board of Governors doesn’t want to shut down the league to allow its players to compete in Pyeongchang unless something dramatic occurs in negotiations with the International Ice Hockey Federation.

The league and the IIHF don’t have a firm deadline to decide whether NHL players with participate. The NHL has participated in the last five Winter Olympics.

—

The NHL held its skills competition on the eve of the All-Star game, and the big winners were Edmonton forward Connor McDavid, Nashville blueliner Shea Weber and Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby.

McDavid was the fastest skater, beating Colorado speedster Nate MacKinnon during their head-to-head race. The NHL scoring leader fell just short of Dylan Larkin’s speed record during the second lap.

Weber had the hardest shot in the All-Star field for the third consecutive season. And Crosby took the Accuracy Shooting competition.

The Atlantic Division won the overall competition and chose to face the Metropolitan Division on Sunday in the second semifinal period. The game was changed last year to a 3-on-3 tournament among teams from each of the NHL’s four divisions.

—

Isaiah Thomas had 37 points, and Jae Crowder scored four of his 20 points on free throws in the final 28 seconds of overtime to help the Boston Celtics beat the Milwaukee Bucks 112-108. Boston won its third straight after squandering a 16-point second-half lead.

—

Steph Curry scored 25 of his 43 points in the third quarter to lead Golden State over the Clippers 144-98 for the Warriors ninth win in 10 games. And Karl-Anthony Towns had 37 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 129-109 victory over Brooklyn. Andrew Wiggins added 23 points for the Wolves.

—

Patrick Rodgers had a clean scorecard to match a picture-perfect day at Torrey Pines. Rodgers shot a 5-under 67 to share the lead with defending champion Brandt Snedeker in the Farmers Insurance Open. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B-C, shot a 74 to fall to 4 under. He was tied for second place after the second round yesterday.

(CP/AP)