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Sagstrom, Zhang break away in Founders Cup, dashing Korda’s bid for record win

Sat, 05/11/2024 - 17:17

CLIFTON, N.J. — Madelene Sagstrom and Rose Zhang left Nelly Korda and everyone else way behind Saturday in the Cognizant Founders Cup.

Trying to win a record sixth straight LPGA Tour event, Korda was 11 shots behind Sagstrom and 10 back of two-time NCAA champion Zhang with a round left at Upper Montclair Country Club.

After months of near-perfect play, Korda inexplicably hit bad drives, found bunkers from the fairway and missed short putts. She shot a 1-over 73.

“I think I’ve played really good golf the past couple months,” Korda said. “I’m human, so I’m going to have bad days. I’m not going to feel 100% out here mentally, physically, or whatever, but I’m going to give it my all. It was just one of those days where it felt like a constant battle and didn’t really play too well.”

Sagstrom, who has played well on this course the last three years, had a 66 to get to 19-under 197. Zhang, who won in her professional debut in New Jersey state a year ago, had a 67 after lipping out on a short birdie putt at No. 18.

Unless something unexpected happens, one of them will win their second LPGA Tour title. The 31-year-old Sagstrom has not won since 2020. The Swede who starred at LSU had a bogey-free round of six birdies, highlighted by three in a row on the last three holes on the front nine.

“I felt like this laser focus all week,” Sagstrom said. “I felt super, not super committed to everything, but I felt really in the moment. And that’s kind of the game I think I need to play tomorrow.”

The 20-year-old Zhang, who won the Mizuho Americas Open in Jersey City last year, had seven birdies and two bogeys.

Zhang and Sagstrom had a good time on the course, congratulating each other on good shots while sharing a couple of laughs.

“I think the most important thing for me is just to really try to relax, enjoy the moment, enjoy the shots that I’m hitting,” said Zhang, whose best finish was a tie for seventh in six events this year. “Even if I’m not hitting it great, just learning how to commit to everything is the most important.”

Korda, the world’s No. 1 ranked player, was tied for third at 8 under with Sei Young Kim of South Korea and Gabriela Ruffels of Australia, who each shot 67.

The 25-year-old Korda had three birdies and four bogeys, the first coming on the opening hole after finding a bunker from the fairway. She missed her drive right on No. 5 and needed two more shots to get on the green at No. 5 for her second bogey. A three-putt from 25 feet on No. 7 was her third, and the worst was hitting a 70-or-so-yard chip from the fairway right into a bunker at No. 9 for the fourth bogey.

“Yesterday was good in everything and today was poor in everything, so that’s just pretty much golf for you,” said Korda, who shot a bogey-free 66 Friday. “Just made too many kind of stupid, silly mistakes, which was unfortunate because they were playing so well. So now there is just a massive gap.”

The LPGA Tour record for the largest deficit overcome in winning a tournament is 10 shots. It has been done three times with Mickey Wright (1964). Annika Sorenstam (2001) and Louise Friberg (2008 ).

Korda came into the tournament having taken two weeks off after winning the Chevron Championship. It was her fifth straight title and tied her with Hall of Famers Sorenstam (2004-05) and Nancy Lopez (1978) for the tour’s longest winning streak.

Sagstrom called Korda’s streak incredible and it’s something every player on tour strives to do.

“I think, she’s really stepped up the attention on women’s golf lately and it’s really cool to watch,” Sagstrom said. “I think it’s really good for the game.”

It had to end sometime, and it’s not surprising it will probably happen this week the way Sagstrom and Zhang are playing. They’ve have done a Korda on Nelly.

Braves lose combined no-hitter bid on final out vs. Mets

Sat, 05/11/2024 - 17:09

NEW YORK — Atlanta’s Max Fried and two relievers combined for a no-hitter through 8 2/3 innings before New York’s J.D. Martinez homered to spoil the bid as the Braves beat the Mets 4-1 on Saturday.

“It’s something pretty special and something for a pitching staff to be proud of, especially when it’s combined,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “I was hoping for the guys that they could pull it off. It’s hard.”

Fried opened with seven no-hit innings and Joe Jiménez worked around a pair of walks in the eighth before Raisel Iglesias retired the first two batters of the ninth. Martinez homered just over the wall in right field on the next pitch off Iglesias.

“Giving it up with a homer is better than an infield single,” Braves catcher Travis d’Arnaud said with a grin.

Centerfielder Michael Harris II, who earlier preserved the gem by drifting back and catching a long fly by Martinez at the wall in the seventh, said he was hopeful the ball might stay in the air long enough for right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. to make the catch.

“(In) that right-center gap, there is a little opening where it had a chance to maybe stay in or Ronnie could have went up and brought it back or something like that,” Harris said. “But he hit it pretty good. Oh man, yeah he did it. He did his thing.”

D’Arnaud said Jiménez told him he didn’t know the Braves were working on a no-hitter. Nor did Iglesias.

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“I came back in the clubhouse and they asked me if I knew it was happening,” Iglesias said via an interpreter. “And the reality is, I didn’t.”

Iglesias walked Jeff McNeil and allowed an infield single to Harrison Bader before retiring Brett Baty on a fly to center.

The hits by Martinez and Bader allowed the Mets to avoid being no-hit for the eighth time in franchise history.

“We didn’t want to get no-hit,” Martinez said. “But in that situation, that moment, I don’t know — I’m just thinking about my plan and my game and what I’m trying to do in that at-bat and off Iglesias really. You can’t get caught up in all that.”

The Braves have not thrown a no-hitter since Kent Mercker’s gem against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 8, 1994. The no-hitter drought is the fourth-longest in the majors.

“It was almost Max Fried and Joe Jimenez and my guy ‘Iggy,’” Harris said.

The combined effort Saturday marked the fourth time since 2015 the Braves have lost a no-hitter in the ninth.

“It’s a really hard task and hard feat,” Fried said. “I thought it was a really great all-around team effort. Defence was obviously stellar.”

The Braves have the second-most wins and second-lowest ERA in baseball since 1994, a span in which Hall of Famers Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz pitched for the team.

“With all the Hall of Famers running through and guys with electric stuff — they aren’t easy,” said Snitker, who said he has never witnessed a no-hitter.

Fried — who was born Jan. 18, 1994, 80 days before Mercker’s no-hitter — walked three and struck out five while throwing 109 pitches, one shy of his career high. The left-hander retired the first eight batters he faced before issuing consecutive walks to Tomas Nido and Brandon Nimmo. He then set down 11 straight before walking Pete Alonso with one out in the seventh, after which Martinez flew out to Harris.

“Frankly, I was not very good with my command at all,” Fried said. “I was just trying to keep us in the game as long as I possibly could.”

Orlando Arcia hit a two-run homer and Harris had three hits, including an RBI single for Atlanta.

Rookie right-hander Christian Scott (0-1), making his first home start for the Mets, gave up three runs and struck out eight in six-plus solid innings.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Braves: C Sean Murphy (left oblique) feels good, but is not ready to face live pitching. Murphy was injured in the season opener on March 29.

Mets: OF Brandon Nimmo (right intercostal irritation) left after the fourth inning. Nimmo was visited by a trainer during a second-inning at-bat and pointed to his right side before he took a practice swing. … LHP Brooks Raley (left elbow inflammation) is scheduled to visit Dr. Keith Meister on Tuesday. The Mets expected Raley to miss the minimum amount of time when he was placed on the injured list April 21, but he has continued to feel discomfort in his elbow. Raley said all options, including surgery, are on the table heading into the visit. … Manager Carlos Mendoza said RHP Kodai Senga (right shoulder) is battling his mechanics and may need a couple more bullpen sessions before the Mets begin planning his rehab appearances.

UP NEXT

The three-game series concludes Sunday night when Braves RHP Bryce Elder (1-1, 5.28 ERA) starts against Mets RHP Luis Severino (2-2, 2.93 ERA).

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MLB Highlights: Blue Jays 10, Twins 8

Sat, 05/11/2024 - 16:56

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Why Josh Manson continues to battle for his late mom Lana

Sat, 05/11/2024 - 16:55

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Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic help Mavericks hold off Thunder for 2-1 lead in West semis

Sat, 05/11/2024 - 16:35

DALLAS — Luka Doncic already had a balky right knee and an achy left ankle when he fell hard on his back while battling his primary defender, Lu Dort, for a loose ball.

Not only did Doncic win the ensuing jump ball, the NBA scoring champion tracked down the loose ball that followed with his Dallas Mavericks clinging to a late lead.

“Everything,” Doncic said when asked what hurt, a few minutes after walking gingerly to the locker room with Dallas having beaten Oklahoma City 105-101 on Saturday to secure a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals. “I’m just battling out there.”

The same could be said for plenty of others.

Kyrie Irving scored 22 points, including a running left-hander in the lane in the final minute to help the Mavs hold on.

Doncic also had 22 points to go with 15 rebounds, and P.J. Washington Jr. scored 27, just two shy of his playoff high from Dallas’ Game 2 victory.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 31 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks, but was called for a charge with Doncic defending on a drive with 29 seconds left and the Thunder trailing by five.

Chet Holmgren, who scored 13 points, also had four blocks as Oklahoma City finished with 10. But the Thunder were outrebounded 16-5 on the offensive glass by the scrappy Mavs, who had a 16-9 edge in second-chance points.

Top-seeded Oklahoma City has lost consecutive games after starting 5-0 in the playoffs. Game 4 is Monday night in Dallas.

“It’s extremely competitive,” Holmgren said. “Both teams really want it. If you take the result out of it, it’s everything that you want to be going through in a basketball game.”

Irving bounced back from just the third single-digit scoring game of his lengthy playoff career with 14 points in the second half, including six consecutive Dallas points in the fourth quarter that helped the Mavs to their biggest lead of the final period at nine.

The Dallas lead was three after a missed 3-pointer from Gilgeous-Alexander when Irving drove across the lane and hit a runner for a 104-99 lead with 39 seconds to go.

The eight-time All-Star, coming off just eight shots and nine points when Dallas evened the series in Oklahoma City, was 10 of 17 from the field and had seven assists to lead the team for the second game in a row.

“One of my coaches just came up to me and said I waited too long, so obviously I’ve got to be better on my end,” said Irving, who made all four of his fourth-quarter shots. “We’re going against a young team. So we just want to continue to do the things that get us these W’s, and it starts on the defensive end.”

Washington had a 19-point first half for the second consecutive game, once again finishing three points shy of the combined total before the break for Irving and Doncic. Washington was 3 of 6 from 3-point range in the first half and 5 of 12 for the game.

“He’s hooping,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We’ve got to turn that water off if we want to win this series, for sure.”

Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault decided to foul Dereck Lively II intentionally in the fourth quarter, and the rookie center missed three of the first four free throws. But he hit the next four in a row, the last putting Dallas up 100-95 with 3:06 to go.

Lively, who shot 51% from the line in the regular season and came in 11 of 21 in the playoffs, finished 8 of 12 on free throws and had 12 points and eight rebounds.

Mavericks center Daniel Gafford, who dealt with a dislocated pinkie finger in Game 2, exited in the second quarter after injuring his left shoulder in an inadvertent collision with Josh Giddey.

Gafford returned to the court for the second half with the shoulder in a large wrap, but took it off and was still in the starting lineup. He was limited to six minutes after the break, finishing with eight points.

Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams stayed down for almost 30 seconds of live action in the third quarter, ending in a 3-pointer by Irving, after injuring his left ankle. Williams went the locker room briefly but returned early in the fourth quarter and finished with 16 points and eight assists.

Isaiah Joe had his playoff career best for a game with 10 points before halftime, hitting a 3 just before the buzzer to give Oklahoma City a 52-51 lead at the break. Joe finished with 13.

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Blue Jays flip the script with impressive offensive outburst vs. Twins

Sat, 05/11/2024 - 16:27

TORONTO – By the time Carlos Santana’s three-run homer cleared the centre-field wall in the third inning to open up a 7-1 Minnesota Twins lead, this felt like a repeat episode of the 2024 Toronto Blue Jays show we’ve watched all season. Only four times beforehand had they scored more than six runs in a game. A struggling bullpen was in no shape to hold the game where it was and give the lineup a chance to rally. Even if it did, the offence hadn’t erased a deficit bigger than two runs all season long.

But this turned out to be a flip-the-script Saturday for the Blue Jays, who scored nine times in their final six turns at the plate, reached double digits for the first time this year and rallied for their timeliest and arguably most important win of the season, 10-8 over the Twins.

Losers in 11 of 15 coming in, with a daunting schedule ahead and Alek Manoah due to take the mound in Sunday’s series finale, the comeback provided a steadying moment. One game, no matter how thrilling, will not turn around a season, but save for a weird outing from Kevin Gausman, the Blue Jays performed as they were designed.

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“The last few days we’ve been talking about when we get punched in the mouth, things aren’t going our way, it’s really hard to turn it on and stay positive. And we’ve done that,” said Ernie Clement, who came through with an RBI single in the seventh that put the Blue Jays up 9-8. “We’ve done a great job of not counting ourselves out and staying in the fight and punching back when we get punched. Honestly, it started the last few games. We get punched in the mouth, we’re getting back up now. This team’s never going to be out of a ball game and I think you saw that today.”

A week ago, as the Blue Jays were barrelling toward an 11-8 loss to end a disappointing series in Washington and a 10-1 thumping from Philadelphia that prompted a team meeting afterward, a win like this was hard to imagine. But they stabilized themselves with a 5-3 win over the Phillies right afterward and even in Friday’s 3-2 loss to the Twins, when a Clement liner deflected off Griffin Jax’s butt right to first for the final out, stranding the tying run at third, their compete was several notches higher.

That carried over into Saturday, when the Twins seemed set for a 17th win in 19 games before the Blue Jays rewrote the finish.

“It was a conscious effort and a conscious decision from everybody in the locker room to shift our mindset a little bit because when we got down before, you could feel the energy get taken out of the room,” said Clement. “It’s been a while since we came back from down a couple runs. We got it out in the open, talked as a group and challenged ourselves to be better when things aren’t going our way. It’s a testament to the character in the locker room, for sure.”

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Contributions came from across the roster.

Zach Pop, Trevor Richards with two crucial innings, Erik Swanson with a much-needed clean frame, Yimi Garcia and Jordan Romano, handling the ninth for his sixth save, allowed just one run over six innings of work, none after Ryan Jeffers’ solo shot off Pop in the fourth.

And the offence, so frustrating and frustrated through the first month and a half of the season, was relentless, energizing a crowd of 35,069 that had Rogers Centre rocking.

Bo Bichette hit a solo shot in the second inning to get the Blue Jays on the board and the heavy lifting followed. Back-to-back doubles by Davis Schneider and Daulton Varsho plus an RBI single from Vladimir Guerrero Jr., his second of his four hits, made it 7-3 in the third. A solo shot by Schneider and a two-run homer from Danny Jansen in the fifth made it 8-6. Guerrero’s crucial two-run single tied it 8-8 in the sixth. Clement’s go-ahead RBI single and Schneider’s sacrifice fly in the seventh made it 10-8.

They might have scored more if not for a few at-‘em balls, too.

“I didn’t think we were out of it at all, but, when (Jansen) hit the home run, I was like, all right, we’re going to win this thing,” said Schneider, “just because we have the momentum, we’re putting up good at-bats, no one really kind of wavered.”

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Right in the middle of it all is Guerrero, who had his first four-hit game since July 24, 2022 and over his last 12 games, is 20-for-49 with a homer, three doubles and nine RBIs. He quipped that his only adjustment is that things are going well for him now, but he also conceded that he’s more under control at the plate, more locked in on what he’s hunting.

His at-bat in the sixth offered the most meaningful proof of concept, as rather than trying to force damage with the bases loaded and two out, he instead took a first-pitch strike and then lashed an inner-edge heater from Steven Okert to left-centre to tie the game 8-8.

“That at-bat was like the first three at-bats. I was just looking for my pitch and if I didn’t get my pitch, I wasn’t going to swing,” said Guerrero, who clapped his hands and pumped his fist emotionally at first base. “When it’s rough start team-wise and suddenly you have this big game, coming from behind, you don’t even think about it, that’s just emotions come out there, they kind of like explode. It feels good.”

Gausman, meanwhile, felt good that the bullpen and offence pulled the Blue Jays out of the hole he left for them, but was left shaking his head at another quizzical outing against the Twins.

Though he felt like he “had the best stuff the year” and that “it was honestly the first time I felt like myself going back to last year,” the Twins got to him for seven runs on 10 hits and two walks, the latest in a string of rough outings against them, including in Game 1 of the wild-card series last year.

This time, he was also left wondering as he gave up six hits with the count 0-2 or 1-2, five of them on fastballs. Santana’s double in the second and homer in the third both came on 1-2 heaters, among the reasons he and the Blue Jays will check if “maybe they had something on me, maybe a tip.”

“I definitely wonder about that,” he said. “I haven’t looked at the video, but, in my mind, I kind of know those 1-2, 0-2 pitches, I just didn’t execute. I did a really good job to get to those counts. But the put-away pitches were maybe just a little too high or not enough in or really trying to get in on a hitter and missing. And that’s why they were able to hit the ball towards left. Listen, they did a good job of putting the bat on the ball. You’ve got to give them credit.”

The same goes for the Blue Jays’ hitters, too.

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Scoring has been a grind. Comebacks aren’t easy. Six runs is a deep hole. And the Twins have been baseball’s hottest team. None of it mattered.

“Vladdy swinging the bat the way he is obviously helps,” said Schneider. “Those are really, really good at-bats by him. And I know we’ve been talking about it for a couple of weeks now, but these guys are better than what they’ve shown up to this point. A lot of those guys you can say that about. So the confidence hasn’t wavered. And hopefully this this type of win gets you rolling a little bit.”

That’s what it’ll take to go from flipping the script, to flipping the narrative.

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Rory McIlroy pulls within shot of Xander Schauffele in Wells Fargo Championship

Sat, 05/11/2024 - 16:25

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Xander Schauffele has gone 38 tournaments without a win on the PGA Tour.

Rory McIlroy is doing his best to make sure Schauffele’s painful drought continues.

McIlroy shot a bogey-free 4-under 67 on Saturday on fast greens to pull within a stroke of Schauffele with 18 holes remaining in the Wells Fargo Championship.

Schauffele, who entered the day four shots ahead of McIlroy and Jason Day, scraped and clawed his way to a 70 to get to 12-under 201 as he looks to avenge last year’s runner-up finish here at Quail Hollow.

“I’m going to have to earn it tomorrow,” Schauffele said. “I’ve got Rory breathing down my neck. I’ll look at the leaderboard here shortly, but yeah, I think if I strike the ball the way I did today off the tee and just a little more focus coming into the greens, picking the spots and then going through my process a little better, should be in a good shape.”

He will be again paired with the steady McIlroy, who has shot 67-68-67.

Sungjae Im was four shots strokes back after holing out from the bunker on No. 18 to save par and shot 69. Sepp Straka matched McIlroy’s low round of 67 for the day and was alone in fourth at 7 under, while Day was fifth at 5 under — making five bogeys in a 73.

McIlroy birdied Nos. 9 and 10 to pull within two shots, then got to one when Schauffele bogeyed the 12th.

The crowd began chanting “Rory! Rory!” as the star from Northern Ireland stepped to the 13th tee.

Seizing the momentum, McIlroy rolled in another birdie putt on No. 14 to move into a tie, but Schauffele matched that with a long birdie putt of his own moments later. Schauffele fought off McIlroy the rest of the way to maintain the lead despite finding the sand eight times in the third round. He had five sand saves.

McIlroy caught a break on the difficult par-4 18th when his tee shot somehow avoided the creek on the left side of the fairway and came to rest sitting up in the tall grass. With a good lie, he found the edge of the green and two-putted for par to become the only player not to have a bogey on Saturday.

“Two straight bogey-free rounds, this is what it must feel like to be Scottie Scheffler,” McIlroy joked of the world’s No. 1 player and recent Masters champion, who is not playing this week.

Schauffele maintained the lead on the 18th when he got up-and-down from a bunker.

“Some sleepy wedges in there unfortunately, some really good up-and-downs, kind of a mixed bag,” Schauffele said. “Definitely made it harder on myself is what it felt like from being in some good spots in the fairway.

McIlroy averaged 338 yards off the tee on Saturday, outdriving Schauffele’ by an average of 23 yards.

“The driving is more just me committing to most of the time hitting that little cut that I’ve been hitting off the tee, and then having the freedom to just, every time I hit a good tee shot, the more confidence I get and then the more I want to just keep hitting it,” McIlroy said.

Straka has been a big surprise.

He’s had an inconsistent season that includes four missed cuts and four top-25 finishes. But he’s playing his best golf of the season following a fifth-place finish at the RBC Heritage Classic at Hilton Head, South Carolina.

“A good finish here would be great, being able to perform at a course that may not fit your eyes as well as some other courses is always great because that means something’s working well,” Straka said. “The last three rounds have been great, it’s been a lot of fun actually playing well here. Yeah, hopefully we keep it rolling.”

Day started the day with hopes to challenge for the lead but was 5 over for the day through the first 13 holes before rallying with three birdies in the final five holes.

Categories: Canada Sports News, Ontario Sports News, Pro Sports News

Knicks’ Anunoby out for Game 4 vs. Pacers with hamstring strain, Haliburton questionable

Sat, 05/11/2024 - 15:50

As expected, the Knicks will be shorthanded once again as they try to build on their series lead against the Pacers.

Forward OG Anunoby has been listed as out with a hamstring strain for Game 4 against Indiana on Sunday, the team announced Saturday.

He also missed Game 3 of the series, in what was a tight 111-106 win for the Pacers.

Anunoby came out of Game 2 on Wednesday at the 3:47 mark of the third quarter after running the fastbreak. He appeared to come up awkwardly after going for a lay-up and instead opted to toss the ball off the backboard. He wound up on the baseline, took some time to get up and went back to the team’s locker room.

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Anunoby was in the midst of the best post-season game of his career, as he scored 28 points in 27 minutes on 10-for-19 shooting from the field and four-for-seven shooting from three-point range. He also had four rebounds, three assists and a block.

Indiana Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton, meanwhile, has been listed as questionable for the seventh straight game. According to the team, he’s dealing with lower back spasms, a sacral (lower back) contusion and a right ankle sprain.

He was key to their Game 3 win, scoring a team-high 35 points and dishing out seven assists.

Forward Aaron Nesmith was also listed as questionable for the Pacers with a shoulder injury.

The Knicks are currently up 2-1 in the second-round series and will look to push Indiana to the brink before heading back to New York. Game 4 tips off at 3:30 p.m. ET / 12:30 p.m. PT on Sunday. You can watch the game on Sportsnet ONE or stream on Sportsnet+

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Pirates’ Paul Skenes strikes out seven over four innings in MLB debut

Sat, 05/11/2024 - 15:36

PITTSBURGH — Paul Skenes’ stuff was as electric as advertised.

A fastball that reached at least 100 mph 17 times. A slider that left major leaguers shaking their heads. An invention called a “splinker” that is a hybrid of a splitter and a sinker and dips and dives unlike any pitch anywhere in baseball.

Yet even at age 21, the Pittsburgh Pirates rookie knows all the “oohs” and “ahs” and knee buckles a ball that at times seems to explode out of his right hand can produce won’t matter if he can’t control it.

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So while there were some positive takeaways from his major league debut on Saturday — seven strikeouts over four-plus innings and much, much later a 10-9 victory over the Chicago Cubs — the top overall pick in last year’s draft understands there is more work to be done.

He needed 84 pitches to get 12 outs, issued a couple of walks, hit a batter and was charged with three runs. For a player whose workload will be closely monitored, that’s not nearly as efficient as he’d like.

Yes, there were moments of brilliance in front of a crowd of 34,924 that included his famous girlfriend, LSU gymnast and social media influencer Livvy Dunne.

There were also moments when the Cubs offered a reminder that for all his talent, Skenes is still a rookie who has been a full-time pitcher for less than two years. And it will take more than testing the limits of the radar gun to succeed at baseball’s highest level.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton blamed Skenes’ inconsistency on the kind of nervous energy every player feels when he reaches the majors. Skenes, who posted a 0.99 ERA in seven starts for Triple-A Indianapolis before being called up this week, declined to get into specifics.

“You can chalk it up to a number of things,” Skenes said. “But it just wasn’t as sharp as it’s been.”

Skenes still became the first Pirates pitcher aged 21 or younger to record at least seven strikeouts in his major league debut since Nick Maddox fanned 11 against the St. Louis Cardinals in 1907 — 95 years before Skenes was born.

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Maddox played just four seasons. Expectations are decidedly higher for Skenes.

The Pirates teased his call-up on Wednesday and his highly anticipated arrival gave PNC Park a playoff-like atmosphere, or at least as much as it can feel like October in mid-May for a team that hasn’t reached the postseason since 2015.

Fans lined up two and three deep behind the Pirates’ bullpen beyond the center field fence to try and catch some of Skenes’ pregame routine. Nearby, the team store under the left field bleachers did a brisk business, with some ponying up $200 for jerseys with Skenes’ No. 30 stitched on the back.

It’s been a dizzying rise for Skenes from somewhat anonymous Air Force Academy cadet to College World Series MVP at LSU to a record $9.2 million signing bonus to possible franchise cornerstone. And yet he looked plenty comfortable.

Skenes, black socks pulled up high against his white pants, confidently strolled out of the dugout and bounded over the third-base line to start what he has likened to the end of one portion of his life and the beginning of another.

A significant portion of the crowd stood while Skenes warmed up as “Cue Country Roads” by Charles Wesley Godwin blared over the speakers.

Then Chicago designated hitter Mike Tauchman stepped into the batter’s box, and hype gave way to reality. Skenes unfurled his 6-foot-6 frame and with his funky delivery fired a 101 mph fastball to Trautman that plate umpire Paul Clemons called a ball.

Six pitches later, Trautman was walking back to the dugout after swinging at another fastball — 100.9 mph this time — that he tipped into catcher Yasmani Grandal’s mitt for Skenes’ first strikeout.

His second followed three pitches later.

Cubs right fielder Seiya Suzuki took a pair of called strikes — the second an 87 mph slider that left Suzuki shaking his head — before flailing at another slider.

Chicago center fielder Cody Bellinger worked a walk, but only after taking a ball that registered 101.9 mph, the fastest by a Pirates pitcher since Major League Baseball began tracking pitch speed in 2008.

Skenes worked out of the inning by getting Christopher Morel to fly out to deep center. A walk, a hit batter and a single in the second loaded the bases with one out. No matter. Yan Gomes struck out looking at a fastball and Tauchman grounded out to second.

The next two innings were more of the same, with Skenes — who retreated to the tunnel behind the dugout when the Pirates were hitting — mixing triple-digit fastballs with offspeed stuff that remains a work in progress. Hoerner went deep on a hanging first-pitch slider.

Tauchman led off the fifth with a double and Suzuki followed with an infield single. Shelton then made his way to the mound to take Skenes out, while many fans rose to their feet.

Skenes spent the next several hours — including a 2-hour, 20-minute rain delay — trying to decompress. He hung out in the dugout with a few of his teammates, some of whose big league careers began when he was in grade school.

On Sunday, he’ll wake up and try to slip into the rhythm of the season and begin preparing for his next start, likely a rematch with the Cubs at Wrigley Field late next week. There will be considerably less buzz. And hopefully fewer jitters.

“It’s gonna be nice to get into a routine for sure,” he said. “I’m big on routines, so the last week has been tough. But the bottom line is you have to go out there and pitch.”

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UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Nascimento complete results

Sat, 05/11/2024 - 15:12

The UFC returned to St. Louis for the first time since 2018 with an action-packed Fight Night card headlined by the UFC’s all-time knockout leader Derrick Lewis, who took on heavyweight up-and-comer Rodrigo Nascimento.

Lewis promptly reminded fight fans why he’s the “knockout king” of the UFC, sleeping his Brazilian opponent for a record 15th KO.

Meanwhile, St. Louis’s own Joaquin Buckley, fresh off a stoppage win over Vicente Luque, extended his win streak in the co-main event, earning an ovation from his hometown crowd for a dominant performance.

Complete results below:

UFC Fight Night

Watch UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Nascimento on SN360 and Sportsnet+, with coverage beginning at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT on Saturday.

UFC Fight Night on Sportsnet

MAIN CARD

Derrick Lewis defeats Rodrigo Nascimento via KO at 0:49 of Round 3

Lewis, who owns the UFC record for most KO/TKOs, reminded fans why he’s the knockout king when he landed a combo that sent Nascimento to the ground for good. He remains a lethal gatekeeper for the heavyweight division.

Joaquin Buckley defeats Nursulton Ruziboev via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 29-28)

Buckley made sure hometown fighters walked away undefeated on Saturday as he pushed Ruziboev beyond a second round for the first time in his UFC career before dismantling the Uzbekistani for a dominant victory.

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Carlos Ulberg defeats Alonzo Menifield via KO at 0:12 of Round 1

Ulberg punched his way into the light heavyweight rankings on Saturday when he knocked out Menifield, the division’s No. 11 fighter, in a matter of seconds while extending his win streak to six.

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Diego Ferreira defeats Mateusz Rębecki via TKO at 4:51 of Round 3

Ferreira flipped the script after getting sent to the canvas in Round 1, dominating the latter rounds before finishing things with a ground-and-pound assault and snapping Rębecki’s 16-fight MMA win streak (3-1 in UFC).

Sean Woodson defeats Alex Caceres via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Woodson joined Johnson as a hometown victor on Saturday, taking down Caceres while extending his unbeaten streak to six consecutive fights.

Waldo Cortes-Acosta defeats Robelis Despaigne via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

Cortes-Acosta not only snapped Despaigne’s six-fight win streak in MMA, he also became the first opponent to take the Cuban knockout specialist beyond a first round, dominating the matchup with exhausting ground control.

PRELIMINARY CARD

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Chase Hooper vs. Viacheslav Borshchev via submission at 3:00 of Round 2

Borschev somehow survived Hooper’s onslaught and first UFC career knockdown in Round 1, but his luck wore out soon after as the 24-year-old locked in a D’Arce choke that forced Borschev to tap, albeit questionably.

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Esteban Ribovics defeats Terrance McKinney via KO at 0:37 of Round 1

It took Ribovics just 37 seconds to earn the first KO of the night and seventh of his MMA career as he caught McKinney with a head kick that ended things immediately.

Tabatha Ricci defeats Tecia Pennington via unanimous decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

Ricci, the No. 10 women’s bantamweight, narrowly avoided the first losing streak of her UFC career in a back-and-forth contest against Pennington, who was fighting for the first time since 2022.

Trey Waters defeats Billy Goff via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Both welterweights came in looking to follow up impressive debut wins, and Waters made it happen (despite getting away with an illegal knee) in what was as an absolute slugfest through all three rounds.

Charles Johnson defeats Jake Hadley via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Johnson put on a show for his hometown, downing Hadley with a jab and nearly knocking out the Englishman before the second-round bell nullified what looked to be an early finish.

Veronica Hardy defeats JJ Aldrich via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Hardy dominated the flyweight bout from the opening bell, drawing blood in the first round and nearly landing a triangle choke moments later as she swept the judges’ scorecards for a third win in a row.

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Blue Jays’ Kevin Gausman roughed up by Twins again

Sat, 05/11/2024 - 14:46

The Minnesota Twins clearly have Kevin Gausman figured out.

Entering Saturday’s game, Gausman owned a 6.35 ERA over 11 career starts against the Twins, and that doesn’t include the three runs they hung on the Toronto Blue Jays ace in Game 1 of last year’s wild card.

So perhaps unsurprisingly, Minnesota chased the 33-year-old early once again.

Gausman allowed seven runs — six earned — and 10 hits while walking two over three innings. He did manage to strike out six, but was replaced in the fourth inning by Zach Pop.

The Twins put up three runs in the first, taking advantage of four singles and an error by Davis Schneider in left field to immediately put the Blue Jays on their heels. They added a run in the second before Carlos Santana launched a three-run homer in the third.

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All in all, Gausman threw 86 pitches and got 12 whiffs, but his fastball got hit by the Twins. Eight of the 10 hits he surrendered came on the fastball, including Santana’s home run.

The outing further added to Gausman’s uneven start to the season, bumping his ERA to 4.95. After finishing third in AL Cy Young voting a year, he had a delayed start to spring training, only pitching in-game for the first time in Toronto’s last Grapefruit League game.

He has now allowed six or more runs in three of his eight starts in 2024.

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Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime advances to third round at Italian Open

Sat, 05/11/2024 - 14:35

Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime continued his successful run on clay with a 6-1, 7-6 (8) win over Dutch qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp in second-round action Saturday at the Italian Open.

Auger-Aliassime had four breaks in the match that went just under two hours five minutes, including a crucial break to cut van de Zandschulp’s lead in the second set to 5-4.

Down 6-5 later in the set, Auger-Aliassime fought off set point to hold and force a tiebreaker. The 23-year-old Canadian won the back-and-forth tiebreaker after taking a point on return to go up 7-6, then converting match point on serve to improve his career record against van de Zandschulp to 3-1.

Auger-Aliassime had a much easier time in the first set, reeling of five straight wins after the players opened with a hold each.

Auger-Aliassime, ranked No. 20 in the world, is looking for another deep run at an ATP 1000 clay court event after advancing to his first ever Master final last week in Madrid.

He will next face ninth-seeded Australian Alex de Minaur. Auger-Aliassime is 2-0 at the senior level against de Minaur, including a victory in the final tie as Canada beat Australia to claim the 2022 Davis Cup.

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Canucks’ Nikita Zadorov takes shot at Edmonton: ‘Nothing to do in that city except watch hockey’

Sat, 05/11/2024 - 14:19

Nikita Zadorov‘s time playing in Vancouver and Calgary obviously hasn’t lent itself to a favourable view of Western Canada’s third NHL city.

As the Canucks’ second-round series against the Edmonton Oilers heads east all tied up, the six-foot-six defenceman delivered a back-handed compliment to the fans residing in the “City of Champions.”

“It’s fun. They have good fans. Diehard fans,” Zadorov told reporters about playing in Edmonton. “Pretty much nothing else to do in that city except watch hockey. So I like what they’re doing, that’s why they love their team and support them so hard.

“It’s been fun. I’ve only had good experiences there, for sure.”

Zadorov has been a difference-maker for the Canucks so far in the series against Edmonton, scoring a goal and registering an assist in both of the first two games. The 29-year-old now has four goals through eight post-season games with Vancouver, after finding the back of the net just six times during the regular season.

He is no stranger to playing in Edmonton as he has spent the past nine seasons of his 11-year career playing in the Western Conference.

So as the intensity ramps up between the Canadian rivals, Zadorov is embracing the tone the series has taken on.

“It’s getting competitive. It’s a 1-1 series going back to Edmonton. It’s only going to get (chippier),” he said. “There’s competitive guys on both sides, a lot of physicality and lots of guys who play with the edge. So that’s what we expect.”

Asked about elevating his play while being in the spotlight, Zadorov said it’s what he’s aimed for his whole career.

“It’s awesome. That’s what I’m playing for,” he said. “Competition on the highest level you can possibly find in hockey, main stage, Canada, Sportsnet and all that. You get the energy all the time and you’re just feeding from that energy and you’re trying to bring your best every night.”

You can watch Game 3 of the series Sunday on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+. Puck drop goes at 9:30 p.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. PT.

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‘Be more assertive’: Canucks’ Garland on bounce-back keys vs. Oilers

Sat, 05/11/2024 - 13:46

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PWHL New York makes change, head coach Howie Draper leaving

Sat, 05/11/2024 - 13:45

ELMONT, N.Y. — PWHL New York is changing coaches after reaching a mutual agreement with Howie Draper, who decided to step down and return to his former job coaching the University of Alberta women’s hockey program, the league announced Saturday.

The move comes a week after the Professional Women’s Hockey League closed its inaugural season with New York finishing last in the six-team standings with a 9-12-3 record.

As part of the agreement, Draper will remain involved with New York in a special advisory role with the scouting department. He returns to an Alberta program where Draper spent 26 seasons and holds the Canadian university women’s hockey record with 667 career coaching wins.

This marks the league’s second coaching change after Charlie Burggraf cited family reasons for his decision to step down from his job with Minnesota in late December, less than a week before the start of the season. He was replaced by former NHL defenceman and former U.S. women’s national team coach Ken Klee.

“I’ve been blessed to have been a part of PWHL New York this past season,” Draper said in a statement. “It was an honour to have worked alongside this outstanding group of staff and athletes. I look forward to the opportunity to remain involved in the continuing growth of the program.”

New York won the PWHL’s inaugural game with a 4-0 victory at Toronto on Jan. 1 and opened the season 6-4-1 before going on an 0-5-2 skid. The team was eliminated from playoff contention with three games left in its season.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to have gotten to know Howie both personally and as a coach,” New York general manager Pascal Daoust said. “His contributions will forever be a part of this team’s foundation, and I feel privileged to have worked alongside him.”

New York also faced adversity in having difficulty finding a home and generating support in the tri-state area. After splitting home games between Bridgeport, Connecticut, and the New York Islanders’ home in Elmont, N.Y., the team closed its season with two games at the New Jersey Devils’ home in Newark, N.J.

Categories: Canada Sports News, Ontario Sports News, Pro Sports News

‘Is this real life?’: Romano still loving dream come true with Blue Jays

Sat, 05/11/2024 - 12:54

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An elite two-way forward, Ron Ellis brought life to an aging Leafs dynasty

Sat, 05/11/2024 - 12:33

Ron Ellis looked around the dressing room beneath the stands at Maple Leaf Gardens and quickly realized that one of these guys just didn’t belong. It was 1964 and the Leafs had won three straight Stanley Cups. The team was a dynasty, stacked with stars like Dave Keon, Red Kelly and Frank Mahovlich. Ellis was just 19 years old, a rookie among legends. His success scoring goals in junior meant nothing now.

“All these guys were stars on their junior team,” Ellis recalled when I spoke to him back in 2012. “For me to have a career and not just a cup of coffee, I was going to have to diversify my game.”

Over the next two decades, Ellis became one of the best two-way forwards in the NHL.

“I knew I wasn’t a Bobby Hull. I knew I wasn’t a Jean Béliveau,” he said. “I knew where I fit in.”

As a winger, he averaged more than 20 goals a season, while backchecking with such tenacity that Johnny Bower considered him one of the most valuable assets on the team.

Ellis died at the age of 79 Saturday and was recently the recipient of the NHL Alumni Association’s Keith Magnuson Man of the Year Award for his countless contributions to his community and the hockey world.

His career began as a standout 13-year-old centre for the Melville Dodgers. He was playing in the Ottawa Auditorium when a Leafs scout noticed his speed and scoring touch. That season Punch Imlach and King Clancy flew to Ottawa to convince Ellis’s parents to let him move to Toronto to join the Leafs organization. They agreed, and Ellis spent three seasons with the Toronto Marlboros. In his final season with the Marlies, coach Jim Gregory had him switch from centre to right wing, knowing that the Leafs were stacked up the middle.

The Marlies went on to win the Memorial Cup that season, with Ellis leading the team with 46 goals.

When he joined the Leafs, he instantly brought life to an aging dynasty. Fans nicknamed him “Ronnie the Robot.” He scored 23 goals in his first season, tying Mahovlich for most on the team.

But his most memorable moment came two seasons later, when Ellis again led the team with 22 goals. The Leafs limped through that 1966–67 season, but managed to fight their way into the Stanley Cup Final against Montreal. In Game 6, halfway through the second period at Maple Leaf Gardens, Kelly broke into the Montreal zone and fired a shot on Gump Worsley as Ellis rushed to the net and ripped the rebound into the corner. It was the first goal of the game, giving the Leafs the advantage en route to a 3–1 victory to win the Stanley Cup.

It was the end of an era for the Leafs, but it was still just the beginning of Ellis’s career. In 1968, Mahovlich was traded to Detroit for Paul Henderson and Norm Ullman, two forwards with a tendency to gamble on offence. They were a perfect tandem to play with Ellis.

“He was one of the most conscientious defensive hockey players who ever played in the NHL,” said Henderson. “He could put the puck in the net, too.”

They became one of the league’s best lines. Ellis scored a career-high 35 goals in 1969–70.

As a veteran, Ellis was a mentor to rising stars like Lanny McDonald.

“He was helpful in trying to explain what I needed to be successful,” McDonald said. “Even though he knew I would end up taking over his spot and his ice time. But that’s the kind of guy he was.”

Ellis retired in 1975, after years of being worn down by the grind of professional hockey and dealing with what he’d later discover to be a lifelong struggle with depression. He returned in 1977, playing three more seasons before being unceremoniously cut from the team by Imlach partway through the 1980–81 season, at age 35.

He was the last player remaining from the 1967 team — a staple through two eras of Leafs hockey. And though his name is often overshadowed by Hall of Famers like Keon, Mahovlich and McDonald, Ellis was no less of an icon for Leafs fans. That humble kid in the locker room found a way to skate with legends.

Categories: Canada Sports News, Ontario Sports News, Pro Sports News

Former Maple Leafs forward Ron Ellis, dead at age 79

Sat, 05/11/2024 - 11:11

Ron Ellis, who played over 1,000 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and was a member of Canada’s team at the 1972 Summit Series, has died at age 79.

The Maple Leafs confirmed his death on social media Saturday and a cause of death was not given.

Ellis played his entire 15-season NHL career in Toronto and had 640 points (332 goals, 308 assists) over 1,034 games. He was a four-time all-star and member of the last Maple Leafs team to win the Stanley Cup in the 1966-67 season.

“We mourn the loss of Ron Ellis, a lifetime Leaf whose legacy is woven into the fabric of the blue and white,” the Maple Leafs said in a statement.

“Ron played his entire NHL career for Toronto. He was one of only five Maple Leafs to skate in more than 1,000 games for the club while also scoring the fifth most goals in team history. Ron was a true gentleman of the game who will be deeply missed.”

A consistent offensive threat, Ellis had 11 seasons with 20 or more goals and surpassed the 30-goal mark twice.

Ellis received a rare tribute in 1968 when Leafs legend Ace Bailey asked the club to bring his No. 6 out of retirement so Ellis could wear it. Ellis, who was wearing No. 8 at the time, wore Bailey’s number for the final 11 seasons of his career.

Internationally, Ellis played all eight games in Canada’s Summit Series win over the Soviet Union on a line with Bobby Clarke and Paul Henderson.

Ellis, from Lindsay, Ont., played junior hockey with the Toronto Marlboros of the Ontario Hockey Association, winning a Memorial Cup in 1964.

He played one game for the Leafs in the 1963-64 NHL campaign before joining the team full-time the next season. He has 23 goals and 16 assists in 62 games in his rookie season in 1964-65.

He had 22 goals and 23 assists in 1966-67 before helping the Leafs win the Stanley Cup in six games over Montreal. He had two goals in the playoffs, including the opener in Toronto’s Cup-clinching 3-1 victory over the Canadiens.

After putting up a career-high 61 points (32 goals, 29 assists) in 1974-75, Ellis retired at age 30 during training camp the following season.

After representing Canada at the 1977 world hockey championship, he returned to the Leafs and played four more seasons.

After retiring a second time, Ellis ran his own sporting goods store in Brampton before joining the Hockey Hall of Fame as a director of public affairs and assistant to the president.

Ellis was candid about the wear-and-tear hockey took on his body. He wrote candidly of his battles with clinical depression, which he attributed to head injuries sustained while playing, in his autobiography “Over the Boards: The Ron Ellis Story”

“I had my share of concussions and my doctors believe it led to some problems with depression I’ve had later in life.” Ellis said in a 2014 interview.

Categories: Canada Sports News, Ontario Sports News, Pro Sports News

Bruins, Panthers debate Sam Bennett’s hit on Brad Marchand

Sat, 05/11/2024 - 11:06

After Brad Marchand left Game 3 of the Boston Bruins‘ series against the Florida Panthers Friday night, the hit he received from Sam Bennett in the first period became a talking point between the two teams on Saturday.

On the play, Bennett passed the puck ahead before getting the best of Marchand as the two players collided. The Bruins captain went to the bench in pain but was able to make it to the end of the second period. He didn’t come out for the third, which the team said due to an upper-body injury.

“There’s a history there with Bennett. There’s clearly evidence of what went on,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters Saturday. “People can say it wasn’t intentional. We have our view of it.”

Bennett has received two suspensions in his career, one in the 2021 playoffs for a hit on Blake Coleman and one for a hit to the head of Cedric Paquette in the 2021-22 regular season.

Last post-season, he was fined for cross-checking Michael Bunting in the Panthers’ second-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Reporters asked Panthers head coach Paul Maurice if Bennett threw a punch at Marchand on the play.

“No. It was just a collision,” he said. “In a perfect world, every team has everybody healthy. Nobody likes to see him get hurt.”

Marchand is considered day-to-day ahead of Game 4 on Sunday. The Bruins will try to avoid falling behind 3-1 in the series after Friday’s Game 3 loss put the Panthers ahead in the series.

In nine games this post-season, Marchand has three goals and 10 points, including two assists this series.

Game 3 was Bennett’s first game of the series. He had been out since Game 2 of Florida’s first-round series win over the Tampa Bay Lighting after taking a shot off his hand.

You can watch Game 4 on Sportsnet or Sportsnet+ on Sunday. Coverage starts at 6:30 p.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. PT.

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Lightning’s Victor Hedman wants to get contract extension handled before next season

Sat, 05/11/2024 - 10:11

As one of the pillars of the Tampa Bay Lightning‘s most successful run in franchise history, it would be hard to envision Victor Hedman putting on another jersey in 2025.

The Lightning defenceman will be entering the final season of his contract in the 2024-25 season and believes his best days are still ahead of him.

“The way my body feels and the way my mind feels,” Hedman told Joe Smith of The Athletic. “I feel like I’ve got a lot of good hockey left in me.”

Tampa Bay had to rely on Hedman heavily last season, especially with the team dealing with major injuries. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy missed the opening of the season as he recovered from a back operation, then defenceman Mikhail Sergachev was sidelined after he broke his left tibia and fibula in early February.

The Lightning have been feeling the salary cap crunch the past few seasons, and they have a tough situation to navigate this off-season with captain Steven Stamkos. General manager Julien BriseBois wanted to wait until the end of the season before offering a deal.

That left Stamkos frustrated about not having clarity on his future and that’s something Hedman is hoping to avoid.

“This is all we know,” Hedman said in the team’s end-of-season availability. “We’ve been here from day one and I’ve been here for almost half my life. I couldn’t picture anything else. It’s a process. It’s a business. And just moving forward here, my thought process is on next season and hopefully I won’t be in the same position as Stammer, but you never know. My plan is to retire a Bolt, and I hope that will come true.”

BriseBois says getting a new contract for the six-time Norris Trophy nominee is a priority, which is a different approach to what the team did with Stamkos.

It’s easy to see why the Lightning want to make an extension for Hedman a priority. The 33-year-old saw his defensive usage increase as he started 40.6 per cent of his shifts in the defensive zone, the highest he’s had since the 2019-20 season.

Part of Hedman’s motivation to continue playing at a high level is his desire to be a part of Sweden’s roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics. He is currently playing in the 2024 IIHF Men’s World Championship in Czechia.

At the same time, Hedman believes there is more to be accomplished in Tampa Bay despite having two Stanley Cups, a Norris Trophy and a Conn Smythe Trophy to his name.

“You reach the mountain twice, but you always want to do it more,” he says. “It’s something you taste one time and you want to taste it again. You want to do it for the guys next to you who haven’t had that opportunity. It’s what drives us. We want to lift the Cup again, just try to be as good as you can for as long as you can.”

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