Reuters Sports News Summary

Twelve teams have never won a Super Bowl and three - Lions, Bills and Houston Texans - play in this weekend's divisional round where a win takes them into the conference finals and a step closer to Las Vegas, site of the championship game. NHL roundup: Oilers rally past Kraken for 12th straight win Warren Foegele scored twice and Leon Draisaitl had a goal and three assists as the Edmonton Oilers rallied from a two-goal deficit to defeat the visiting Seattle Kraken 4-2 on Thursday and extend their franchise-record winning streak to 12 games.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Rugby-World Rugby partners with USA Rugby and MLR in new expansion club

USA Rugby, Major League Rugby (MLR) and World Rugby announced a partnership on Friday to launch a new expansion club to promote the development of the game in the U.S. as the country prepares to host the Rugby World Cup. The new club Anthem Rugby Carolina (RC), mainly featuring young Americans, is to be based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and will join the 2024 MLR season, playing at the American Legion Memorial Stadium.

Not leaving Las Vegas: Raiders hiring Antonio Pierce as head coach

Interim head coach Antonio Pierce isn't leaving Las Vegas just yet. The Raiders are reportedly in agreement with Pierce to make him the 23rd head coach in franchise history following a trial run as Josh McDaniels' in-season replacement. According to multiple reports, a four- or five-year deal between Pierce and the Raiders is expected to be formally announced as soon as Friday night.

No. 12 Arizona aims to speed up play vs. UCLA

Emotions and nostalgia will run high when No. 12 Arizona hosts UCLA for the final time in Pac-12 play on Saturday afternoon in Tucson, Ariz. The best basketball rivalry in the West for decades is winding down -- there is one more scheduled game in Los Angeles in March -- but Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd is in no mood to dwell on the past.

Armed with snow shovels, 'Bills Mafia' comes to NFL team's rescue

When it comes to handling extreme winter weather, the western New York city of Buffalo may be in a league of its own.

With its football stadium buried under snow just two days before a big playoff game, the National Football League's Buffalo Bills put out a call for help on Friday, after parts of the Buffalo area received up to 5 feet (1.5 meters) of snow this week.

Surfing-Moore to take break from competition after Olympic title defence

American Carissa Moore, the current Olympic gold medallist and five-time world champion, said she would step away from competitive surfing following her defence of the title in this year's Paris Olympics. The 31-year-old Hawaiian native told The New York Times on Friday that she planned to dedicate time to starting a family with her husband but had left open the possibility of returning to competitive surfing in the future.

Gustav Nyquist scores deciding goal as Predators edge Kings

Ryan O'Reilly had a goal and an assist for the visiting Nashville Predators in a 2-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night. Gustav Nyquist also scored and Juuse Saros made 33 saves for the Predators, who have won six of nine.

NFL-Detroit and Buffalo super motivated in divisional playoffs

The Detroit Lions against the Buffalo Bills would not be the sexiest Super Bowl match-up but no teams and their long-suffering fans are more deserving of a moment in the gridiron spotlight than the two blue collar Rust Belt cities. Twelve teams have never won a Super Bowl and three - Lions, Bills and Houston Texans - play in this weekend's divisional round where a win takes them into the conference finals and a step closer to Las Vegas, site of the championship game.

NHL roundup: Oilers rally past Kraken for 12th straight win

Warren Foegele scored twice and Leon Draisaitl had a goal and three assists as the Edmonton Oilers rallied from a two-goal deficit to defeat the visiting Seattle Kraken 4-2 on Thursday and extend their franchise-record winning streak to 12 games. Zach Hyman had a goal and an assist and Evander Kane added two helpers for the Oilers. Goaltender Stuart Skinner made 25 saves.

Dakota Joshua nets game winner as Canucks beat Coyotes

Dakota Joshua scored the game-winner as the host Vancouver Canucks edged the Arizona Coyotes 2-1 on Thursday. Elias Pettersson had the other goal for Vancouver, while Thatcher Demko, who was playing in his 200th career NHL game, made 20 saves to improve to 11-1-1 in his last 13 games.

Short-staffed Pacers hold off Kings

Ben Mathurin had 25 points and T.J. McConnell 20 in a balanced attack and the Indiana Pacers, playing short-handed after their big trade with the Toronto Raptors, survived a frantic finish to turn back the host Sacramento Kings 126-121 on Thursday night. The win came as Indiana awaited the Pacers debut of Pascal Siakam, acquired in a trade from the Raptors in a three-team deal in which the Pacers gave up Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora, two first-round picks and a conditional third first-rounder to Toronto.