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The World Anti-Doping Agency launches an independent review after 23 Chinese swimmers were cleared to compete at Tokyo 2020 despite failing drug tests.

Willie Mullins will look to clinch the British jump trainers' championship at Sandown on Saturday - and become the first Irishman to do so in 70 years.

1. Rhule discusses decision to make Spring Game an official visit weekend this time  247Sports
2. Matt Rhule outlines Nebraska Football Spring Game format  KOLN
3. Rhule Speaks on Spring Game, Draft Day - University of Nebraska - Official Athletics Website  huskers.com
4. Matt Rhule expects 'shootout' for Nebraska spring game  Lincoln Journal Star
5. Nebraska QB Dylan Raiola scrimmaged like he was at 'recess' — and Marcus Satterfield loved it  Omaha World-Herald

1. CBS Sports College Basketball 2023-24 All-Transfer Team: Dalton Knecht headlines hoops' top portal players  CBS Sports
2. Ranking the best players in the NCAA men's basketball transfer portal: Okpara to Tennessee  The Athletic
3. The latest Providence, Rhode Island, Bryant and Brown portal moves  The Providence Journal
4. Transfer Portal: The top players who entered on Wednesday  On3
5. NCAA Basketball: Jeremy Roach, Oumar Ballo among week's top transfer portal pickups  Busting Brackets

1. Code red: Heat had extra fuel against Celtics in Game 2, even series with fiery win  Yahoo Sports
2. Heat torch Celtics with 23 3-pointers to even series in Game 2  ESPN
3. Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla stymied by Heat coach Erik Spoelstra’s game plan  The Boston Globe
4. ‘Let’s make it a cage fight’: Miami Heat shock Boston Celtics to level first-round playoff series  CNN
5. Underdog Heat use strong second half to win Game 2 111-101, tie series with Celtics  Pounding The Rock

Chief technical officer Adrian Newey is leaving Red Bull Racing after 18 years, BBC Sport and Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport reported Thursday.

Newey has helped Red Bull win seven drivers’ championships and six constructors’ championships during his tenure with the team.

According to BBC Sport, Newey’s decision stems from allegations relating to team principal Christian Horner, who was accused of misconduct toward an employee.

Red Bull dismissed the allegations following an internal investigation and Horner has denied any wrongdoing.

BBC Sport did not say where Newey will be heading, but said he has been linked to Ferrari and had received an offer Aston Martin with others likely to draw interest now as well.

Prior to joining Red Bull, Newey designed championship-winning cars for Williams and McLaren during the 1990s.

Under Newey’s watch, Red Bull ascended to the top of F1 capturing four consecutive constructors’ championships and drivers’ championships with Sebastian Vettel from 2010-13.

The team has claimed the past two constructors’ championships and three drivers’ championships with Max Verstappen.

Red Bull dominated last year winning a record 21 of 22 races.

They’re off to another roaring start this season with Verstappen and Sergio Perez sitting 1-2 in the standings and holding a 44-point lead over Ferrari in the constructors’ standings. Verstappen has won four of five races so far with a brake issue in Australia preventing a clean sweep.

Newey wrote his memoir How to Build a Car in 2017.

West Ham striker Antonio responds to Roy Keane's criticism of current players who speak on podcasts, calling it a 'dinosaur mentality'

Is there a more clutch player in the Stanley Cup Playoffs right now than the Florida Panthers‘ Carter Verhaeghe?

Sure, in a Game 7 overtime draft, you’d probably take Connor McDavid ahead of him, or Nathan MacKinnon, or other marquee players who dazzle with their offensive impact night in and night out.

But Verhaeghe’s propensity to be the difference maker in the post-season’s biggest moments is something to behold. His latest example, scoring the Game 2 OT winner against Tampa Bay to give Florida a 2-0 series lead, placed Verhaeghe amongst some all-time greats. Now, only Joe Sakic (eight) and Maurice Richard (six) have more playoff OT winners in their careers than Verhaeghe, who is tied with Glenn Anderson, Patrick Kane and Corey Perry at five in their career.

It’s an amazing stat when you consider Verhaeghe is still 28, with lots of road ahead of him yet, and that this is just his fifth year in the post-season … and fourth as a regular. And it gets even more incredible when you consider how many games it took him to get those five OT goals compared to the others.

According to Chris Jastrzembski, a researcher for the NHL on TNT, Verhaeghe has scored his five OT markers in 47 playoff games, versus Sakic playing in 172, Richard in 132, Perry in 197, Kane in 143 and Anderson in 225.

“He’s got the clutch gene. He’s born with it,” Panthers defenceman Aaron Ekblad said after Game 2.

It’s fair to say no one predicted Verhaeghe would go on to become such an impactful player in the NHL early in his career. Verhaeghe didn’t even score 30 goals in the OHL until two years after he was picked by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the third round of the 2013 NHL draft. In his first two pro seasons, he wasn’t even able to stick in the AHL from beginning to end, getting bumped to the ECHL for 36 games.

Verhaeghe played two games with the Toronto Marlies, but before his first full pro season began the Maple Leafs, under GM Lou Lamoriello, traded him to the New York Islanders for Michael Grabner. Two years after that, without putting on an Islanders jersey, Verhaeghe was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning for goalie Kristers Gudlevskis. With the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, Verhaeghe quickly became a full-time, top-six AHL forward and led the league with 34 goals and 82 points in 2018-19.

When his NHL career finally began in 2019-20 at the age of 24, Verhaeghe was trying to break into a stacked Tampa Bay lineup on the cusp of its Stanley Cup years. He scored nine goals and 13 points in 52 games as an NHL rookie, numbers that don’t jump off the page at you, but have to be viewed within the context that he was largely a fourth-line player who was getting less than 10 minutes a game.

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If you knew where to look, you could see the potential Verhaeghe had if he could earn more ice time. At 5-on-5 in that rookie season, Verhaeghe was one of five Lightning players to average over one goal per 60 minutes of ice time, joining Nikita Kucherov, Alex Killorn, Steven Stamkos and Brayden Point.

But, after winning the Stanley Cup that season — Verhaeghe contributed two assists in eight games during the run — the Lightning felt the first pinch of the pandemic-induced flat cap. With core players taking priority, Verhaeghe ended up being one of the first cap casualties, an arbitration-eligible RFA who the Lightning decided to leave unqualified and walk away from.

Verhaeghe became a UFA that summer, and signed a two-year, $1-million AAV contract with the Panthers. The ascent began, with 18 goals in 43 games out of the gate and 24 goals in his second campaign. He earned a three-year extension with a $4.166 million AAV out of that and then became a 40-goal scorer for the Panthers.

Now one of Florida’s most important forwards, and perhaps its most clutch of all, Verhaeghe has been one of the best early stories of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. For more on Verhaeghe, where he gets his goals from and how the Panthers ended up with him, we turn to our scout, Jason Bukala.

SCOUT’S ANALYSIS

I recall when Verhaeghe was playing in the OHL for the Niagara Ice Dogs in his draft year. I have to be honest, he presented a skill component that could potentially translate to the pro level, but he was also a bit too “one and done” physically. He didn’t look like a player who was going to battle exceptionally hard in the trenches, or push back a ton. I needed him to provide more than he did at the time. I wasn’t convinced he had the necessary push through for his offensive element to impact the NHL game, and his defensive detail was barely adequate.

Fast forward to today, and Verhaeghe obviously figured out what was required of him to become a scorer at the NHL level and he has turned the corner defensively. But it took time and he had stops with the Leafs, Islanders and Lightning organizations before getting his chance with the Panthers.

Here’s a look at where Verhaeghe scored his 34 goals this season. He’s a threat from all quadrants, but especially around the crease and between the hash marks and middle of the ice.

I spoke with some former colleagues of mine who were still with the Panthers when they signed Verhaeghe in the fall of 2020. At the time, the staff was led by director of pro scouting Al Tuer, who is now a pro scout with the New York Rangers. He, and others on the staff, believed Verhaeghe had untapped potential and was worth taking a risk to sign.

(Another pesky player the Panthers added on the advice of Tuer was depth energy forward Ryan Lomberg, who plays quick, provides relentless compete and never backs down physically.)

One of the interesting things that came out of my conversations was the fact the Panthers have established an internal strategy to “aggressively find” under the radar players who have identified NHL upside, but have been toiling at the minor pro levels worldwide. With this strategy, they’ve been able to fill out their roster with the likes of Gustav Forsling, Tobias Bjornfot, Josh Mahura, Kevin Stenlund and Jonah Gadjovich.

Today, the Panthers have one of the largest scouting staffs in the NHL, and GM Bill Zito has done an outstanding job expanding his group. The results speak for themselves when it comes to utilizing the waiver wire and signing affordable depth free agents.

Verhaeghe is the most notable find today, but there are several players on this year’s roster who found the best version of themselves after joining the Panthers.

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OTTAWA — You can bet on almost anything these days. 

I wagered a million dollars that the sun would come up and am rolling in dough today. 

(Sun-rising metaphors are fitting in Ottawa, where it has been dark to NHL playoff hockey since 2017).

Now, if you were in charge of placing odds on the future location of Ottawa’s NHL arena, how would you lay them out? Would it be 5/2 in favour of LeBreton Flats and 8/1 on a downtown site? Or something else. 

Certainly LeBreton Flats — a tract of land west of Parliament Hill presided over by the National Capital Commission, a crown corporation — has the inside track as an established candidate for a new Senators arena. But, as often happens in an election, later candidates to the scene can win the day. 

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, for one, is a proponent for looking into sites even more central than LeBreton, in downtown Ottawa. 

Earlier this week, Senators CEO and president Cyril Leeder was speaking to a building summit organized by the Ottawa Board of Trade. Unintentionally, he garnered some headlines for the arena project by stating a simple fact – that LeBreton is currently the one location officially on the docket.  

“The only site we’re really focused on right now has been LeBreton Flats,” Leeder said. “Obviously there are other sites in the city. We’ve looked at a number of those. Probably too early to say definitively where the arena’s going to go, but at this point the only site we are really serious with is LeBreton Flats.”

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True enough, representatives of the NHL club, including Leeder and Erin Crowe, executive VP and CFO, have been meeting with the NCC every couple of weeks to discuss LeBreton. 

The meat on the table — the Senators, under previous management, signed a Memorandum of Understanding agreement with the NCC to negotiate a lease for building an arena on LeBreton Flats. That arena site would be part of a larger project in the area, building homes and retail space on a vacant area near the War Museum. 

With new majority team owner Michael Andlauer coming on the scene last September, that MOU was extended by a year, meaning that time is running out to get something done before the MOU expires. 

As Leeder noted this week, there is a lot of heavy lifting to be done before anything is settled on the arena front, citing “shortcomings” in the memorandum of understanding, as far as the hockey club perceives it. 

Diplomatically, both Leeder and the NCC are on the record as saying these sorts of issues that remain outstanding are part of a normal business negotiation. But now the onus is on the NCC to come up with a plan that works. To those of us anticipating summer, September seems a long way off. But considering we have been talking about a new arena and the LeBreton site in particular for about a decade, four months is not much time. 

Tick. Tock. 

“Whatever we do with the NCC has to lead to a viable project,” Leeder said. “Something we can finance, something we can build that will work for us in the long term. It’s got to work for us and our fans.”

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Following a recent NCC meeting, CEO Tobi Nussbaum reiterated that he hopes to have an agreement in place with the Senators by the fall. 

“There’s no question that there will be a point at which we’ll have to have a lease or not,” Nussbaum told reporters last week. “I can’t say with 100 per cent certainty when that is. Is it September? I certainly hope so. That’s our hope that we can get all the work done by then.”

If the arena concept for LeBreton falls through, Nussbaum notes that the NCC has a ‘Plan B’ for the site. 

“Our first hope was to have a major attraction, a major event centre there, but should that not happen, there is a Plan B for those parcels within LeBreton Flats,” he said. “There’s a great need for housing and mixed use development in the city so, if, at some point, the two sides are not able to come to an agreement or the Senators make a decision that they’re not going to build there, then yes, absolutely, we’ll have to move to our second option.”

As much as Leeder sparked discussion on LeBreton with his talk with the Board of Trade, he confirmed in a text that nothing has really changed. LeBreton is the only site currently up for discussion. Other sites could become candidates but have not to this point. 

Recently the federal government announced plans to reduce its office space by 50 per cent over the 10 ten years. 

That prompted Ottawa mayor Sutcliffe to suggest it could represent an opportunity for a new arena more central than LeBreton. 

“Maybe we can have a new park downtown, maybe we can have other attractions downtown and maybe we can have a conversation about a downtown arena,” Sutcliffe told Ottawa sports radio station TSN 1200 last week. 

“If the Senators are interested in exploring a downtown option, I think it would be great for the downtown core,” said the mayor. 

None of this is new to Leeder. 

Eight years ago, when Eugene Melnyk owned the team, Leeder represented the Senators in a winning proposal to build a new arena on LeBreton land. That project, known as RendezVous Lebreton, provided about 50 acres of land to the RendezVous group, which included the Senators and Trinity Developments – Trinity had a major housing and retail proposal included in the deal.

After the Trinity-Senators partnership dissolved in a spate of lawsuits, the RendezVous proposal died and the NCC moved on to a more piecemeal approach of developing LeBreton. That 50-acre parcel is no longer available and instead, the team is being offered six to seven acres of land on which to build. 

As much as the location is tied into rapid transit stations in the area, the Senators want room for cars to park and even more vitally, a lively space around the rink for restaurants and bars, typical of other centrally located NHL arenas.

While Nussbaum has repeatedly said the NCC is “flexible” on the size of the parcel, is there enough flexibility to satisfy the Senators and their needs?

What are the odds of getting this deal done by September?

And the odds of the Senators going elsewhere with their new rink?

Bets on the table, everyone. 

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Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery isn’t yet ready to commit to backing off his long-standing goaltender rotation for Game 4 of the team’s first-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs, but it sure sounds like he’s considering it.

Asked if Jeremy Swayman‘s recent impressive record against the Leafs will factor in his decision, Montgomery pointed to another aspect of the Bruins’ 4-2 win in Game 3.

“Sometimes I don’t think that (head-to-head records matter) but when (Max) Domi goes off the bench and bumps him on purpose, makes me think that maybe he’s in their head a little bit,” Montgomery said.

During a break in play in the second period, Domi made contact with Swayman as he skated off the bench.

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Swayman was in net for Boston’s two wins in the series. Over the past two seasons, Swayman is 6-0-0 against the Maple Leafs, with a .959 save percentage and 1.31 goals-against average. He also has had four 30-save performances.

Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe, however, isn’t buying Montgomery’s theory.

“I sense zero frustration,” he said. “I think it’s playoff hockey and things are happening all over the ice. With that logic, you would say every time they bump into one of our guys, maybe we’re in their heads.”

There is now an extra day off between games, with the teams returning to action Saturday in Toronto.

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Swayman and Linus Ullmark, the Vezina Trophy winner last year, have been on a rotation most of the season. Swayman hasn’t started two games in a row since Feb. 19-21.

“I mean we’re going to have more rest,” Montgomery said. “The rotation’s been so good for us, so it’s a hard decision.”

Watch Game 4 on Saturday on Sportsnet or Sportsnet+ at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.

England make two injury-enforced changes to face France in their Grand Slam decider on Saturday in Bordeaux.

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According to multiple sources, William Nylander’s absence from the Toronto lineup has to do with a migraine so severe that team doctors tested to see if he suffered a concussion. One of the reasons for the secrecy around his situation is that an actual diagnosis has been hard to come by, whether it is a migraine, a concussion or something else that could affect that area.

That secrecy led to wild speculation — even by Toronto standards — as to why Nylander missed the first three games of the Boston series. It’s believed Nylander first indicated an issue Thursday, the day after the Maple Leafs ended their regular season in Tampa Bay. He played all 82 games in 2023-24. 

In September 2022, Nylander told reporters he switched to a tinted visor because of migraines he’d suffered the previous season.

There is hope he will play Game 4, with Boston leading the series 2-1. A little more unclear is the status of the useful Bobby McMann, who suffered a lower-body injury in Game 80 versus Detroit. His timeline was expected to be longer than Nylander’s, although he hasn’t been ruled out of the series.

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When MLB teams are said to be built around pitching and defence — a label that undoubtedly applies to the Toronto Blue Jays — the second part of that description tends to overshadow the first.

Pitching and defence co-exist in a way that makes them difficult to separate at times, but when teams hang their hat on run suppression the pitchers soak up much of the glory. That’s not completely unfair, either. 

Strikeouts, walks and home runs are the domain of the men on the mound — and some have a talent for meaningfully impacting contact quality on balls in play. There are rare teams whose defence is so strong it becomes the club’s best run-suppression weapon despite its inability to affect every at-bats.

While the Blue Jays experienced a costly, high-profile defensive blunder on Tuesday, they appear to be one of those teams. Toronto’s fWAR (1.1), which is based on fielding-independent pitching numbers, ranks 26th in the majors, but the team allowed a middle-of-the-pack 4.32 runs per game — good for 14th in MLB. 

Some of that has come from fairly mistake-free fielding as only 10 clubs have committed fewer errors than the Blue Jays, but the driving force of their success has been consistently turned likely hits into outs.

Last season, the Blue Jays were an excellent defensive team that ranked seventh in Statcast Fielding Run Value(+19) — a metric that combines Outs Above Average with catcher fielding statistics to summarize a team’s whole defensive output. 

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On a per-game basis that group turned 1.65 balls with an expected batting average above .500 into outs. This year, that number sits at 2.12. 

That’s 53 total balls that easily could’ve been hits that found mitts, often via highlight-reel plays:

Expected Batting Average: .917

Expected Batting Average: .832

Expected Batting Average: .831

It’s not a surprise to see Daulton Varsho feature prominently among the best plays, considering he leads the majors in OAA (+7) after ranking 20th last year.

Much of what we’ve seen thus far makes sense, given the track record of Toronto’s position players. Kevin Kiermaier’s strong start is far from shocking considering he’s won four Gold Gloves, including one last year. Alejandro Kirk ranks fourth on the framing leaderboards, which makes sense considering he was a 95th percentile framer in 2022 and ranked in the 79th percentile last year.

While much of Toronto’s defensive success has come from returning players building on their already-stellar reputations, others have also chipped in. Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ernie Clement have been nearly flawless at third base, combining for +2 OAA with both players also performing well at other positions.

Davis Schneider is still inexperienced in left field, but he’s handled himself OK, and Cavan Biggio has bounced around the diamond less than usual, primarily playing his best position: second base. With Kiermaier on the IL, left field may not be a position of strength, but it shouldn’t be a disaster, either.

The only two regulars with negative defensive numbers are Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Bichette took a step forward last season but remains inconsistent defensively. Guerrero is at a low point coming off Tuesday’s error, but he looks more athletic this season — and his sprint speed has gone from 27th percentile last season to 54th this year. If he’s moving better overall, he could be in for a stronger defensive season. 

With a combination of some of MLB’s best defensive performers and relatively few liabilities, the Blue Jays defence has been outstanding and the club’s Statcast Fielding Run Value, or FRV, of +12 leads the majors. Since the beginning of the Statcast era in 2015, no team has topped a FRV of +59 in a season and the Blue Jays are on pace for +77.8.

It’s unfair to expect them to reach that number as defensive numbers are volatile and any kind of unprecedented pace is likely to regress to the mean a bit. Even if that happens, there’s plenty of room for this group to slow down and remain extraordinary.

Considering the Blue Jays sit fourth in the American League East, rank 22nd in scoring, and have a negative run differential, it’s easy to see them as an unremarkable outfit. While there’s plenty of season to play, that description may end up being accurate — but their defence gives the Blue Jays one indisputably elite quality.

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