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2020 has been a tough year but despite the difficulties we’ve faced there have there have also been some incredible moments that have brought joy to our hearts. Here are some of our top picks.
2020 has been a tough year but despite the difficulties we’ve faced there have there have also been some incredible moments that have brought joy to our hearts. Here are some of our top picks.
The Penguins announced on Wednesday that two-time Stanley Cup-winning general manager Jim Rutherford is suddenly stepping down.
It was a perfect veteran move, and it was all the retribution the Leafs needed against Matthew Tkachuk.
George Springer says he's excited to be a part of a young, talented team like the Toronto Blue Jays, a club he believes has plenty of potential.
Eli Manning says that when they're together, Tom Brady still brings up the 17-14 Super Bowl loss from 2008.
Who are the tallest and shortest prospects at the game? Longest and shortest arms? Biggest and smallest hands? We've got all the crucial numbers.
Barry Sanders knows what it's like to leave the Lions with gas in the tank.
In response to a proposed lawsuit, the Alberta government says Edmonton police paused the processing of bail documents during some Oilers games in 2018.
Let's take a look at the state of the fantasy hockey landscape as we head into Week 3.
GENEVA — IOC president Thomas Bach hit back at the continuing speculation about whether the Tokyo Olympics may be cancelled or postponed again, saying Wednesday that such talk is damaging for the thousands of athletes preparing to take part this year. The International Olympic Committee and organizers in Japan have repeatedly insisted there is no Plan B for the Tokyo Games, which were already postponed by one year during the coronavirus pandemic. Last week, Japan’s government quickly and firmly dismissed a report that it had concluded the games would have be cancelled. However, talk about whether the games can go ahead refuses to go away. “All these speculations are hurting the athletes in their preparations,” Bach said after a monthly meeting of the IOC executive board. The Tokyo Games are scheduled to open on July 23, with 11,000 athletes competing in 33 sports. Bach noted that athletes don't need more distractions as they already have “to overcome the challenges in their daily training and competitions with all the restrictions they are facing.” “We want not to destroy any Olympic dream of any athlete,” the IOC leader said. The Times of London’s report last week quoted an anonymous senior official in Japan suggesting the country could focus on hosting in 2032. That’s the next available Summer Games after Paris hosts in 2024 and Los Angeles in 2028. “I want to say ‘good luck’ if you would have to discuss this with an athlete who is preparing for the Olympic Games 2021,” Bach said Thursday. Asked about vaccination programs, Bach repeated that athletes and workers at the Olympics are advised to be inoculated but it would not be mandatory to enter Japan. “We are not in favour of athletes jumping the queue,” he said. The 206 national Olympic bodies have been urged by the IOC to liaise with their governments about the place of sports in vaccination programs. The COVID-19 pandemic has also affected the other major gathering of Olympic officials this year. The IOC's annual meeting, where Bach is set to be re-elected unopposed as president, will now take place online instead of in a conference hall in Athens. Bach said the virtual meeting will keep its March 10-12 dates, and Athens will host the annual meeting in 2025. That is when the next president will be elected after Bach reaches the limit of 12 years leading the Olympic body. ___ More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Graham Dunbar, The Associated Press
OTTAWA — The Ottawa Senators have acquired forward Jack Kopacka and a 2022 seventh-round draft pick from San Jose in exchange for defenceman Christian Jaros. Kopacka was acquired by the Sharks from the Anahaim Ducks earlier Wednesday in exchange for defenceman Trevor Carrick. The native of Lapeer, Mich., had 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) over 37 games with the Ducks’ American Hockey League affiliate, the San Diego Gulls, in 2019-20. He added eight points (four goals, four assists) in five games with the ECHL's Tulsa Oilers. The 22-year-old was selected by Anaheim in the fourth round, 93rd overall, in the 2016 NHL draft after four seasons with the Ontario Hockey League's Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Jaros, from Kosice, Slovakia, had a goal and 12 assists over 76 career games with the Senators. He had been assigned to Belleville of the AHL at the start of the 2020-21 season. Jaros was selected by Ottawa in the fifth round, 139th overall, in the 2015 NHL draft. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 27, 2021. The Canadian Press
BURNLEY, England — Burnley twice came from behind to claim a 3-2 victory over Aston Villa on Wednesday and push further clear of relegation danger in the Premier League. Burnley ended Liverpool’s long unbeaten run at home in the Premier League last week but was outplayed in the first half by Villa, which only had Ollie Watkins’ 10th goal of the season to show for its dominance. Burnley capitalized as Ben Mee converted Ashley Westwood’s corner in the 52nd minute. And although the excellent Jack Grealish restored Villa’s lead in the 68th, the visitors were left stunned as a lucky goal from Dwight McNeil and a header from Chris Wood sealed a comeback for the hosts. McNeil was attempting to cross but his ball into the area trickled into the net, before the winger provided the assist for Wood in the 79th as Burnley scored three goals for the second game in a row. However, its 3-0 win at Fulham came in the FA Cup and Burnley had only scored five times at home in the league this season before Villa arrived. The last time it netted three in a top-flight game was last February. Burnley moved onto 22 points and has breathing space to the bottom three. Villa has now won just one of its last five league games. ___ More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports The Associated Press
D.J. Smith knows what the data suggests. NHL players strapping on their gear for a morning skate seven or eight hours before a game probably isn't the best use of energy. But in an abbreviated, pandemic-condensed season where practice time is limited and days off priceless, the Ottawa Senators head coach sees benefits in a hockey tradition that, for many in recent years, has come to be viewed as nothing more than an archaic nod to the past. And he's not alone. "Science says to not skate on the day of a game," Smith said. "But there's so little teaching time ... you have to use every opportunity." One of the sport's staples from a bygone era, morning skates that see players handle the puck for roughly 15 or 20 minutes were often used as a kind of roll call to make sure everyone was out of bed and in the right frame of mind. In a 56-game campaign brought on by COVID-19 where teams might suit up for as many as five games in seven nights — with travel mixed in — those brief on-ice sessions could be more important than ever as coaching staffs look to find a balance between rest and instruction. "They're going to have value," Calgary Flames bench boss Geoff Ward said. "We have to use them as practices." Schedule changes due to coronavirus outbreaks in various locker rooms across the league have already compressed things even further. For example, the Florida Panthers will play 54 games in 102 days, while the Dallas Stars, who previously had 17 players test positive, have the same number of contests stretched over 104 dates. "You may see that there's going to be some teaching and some structure (the morning of a game)," Ward said. "You could see it in terms of reviewing one or two things on top of what you normally want to accomplish in a morning skate, just to prepare yourselves because practice time is going to be at such a premium." A creature of habit and routine like most hockey players, Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares is a fan of hitting the ice in the hours before puck drop during a normal season, but also acutely aware of the other side. "Morning skates are something that have been around for a long time and have been so integrated in the game," he said. "A lot has been looked at in terms of the volume (of work) you're putting yourself through — sports science has become a big part of that. "When you're playing four games a week, having to put your gear on again and have meaningful stress on the body, when you're preparing yourself, sometimes it's going to be necessary. But other times you're going to be in such a rhythm of the season that I'm sure it will still be a balance of trying to find what's best and keeping players fresh and healthy." Edmonton Oilers winger Zack Kassian said it's crucial NHLers manage their energy levels, especially in a season that's been likened to a sprint. "Morning skates are important," he said. "Are they beneficial? Depends who you ask. Some guys like to go out and feel the puck. Some prefer to stay off the ice and do a lot of stretching." Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said his philosophy on what he wants out of pre-game workouts will depend on the schedule. "If we don't have a practice (the previous day), that's when you would see us have a full team skate," he said. "A little more teaching and little bit more structure-based rather than just getting them out and getting a little bit of a sweat. "We'll adapt to it." New York Rangers head coach David Quinn agreed schedules will play a role, but added in general, morning skates should hold more weight in 2021. "Without question I think they are going to be more important," he said. "When you do use them, you're going to have to use them from a teaching standpoint — work on some of the things you wouldn't normally work on at a pre-game skate." But not everyone is one board. Philadelphia Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault has never been a fan of morning skates, and doesn't expect that opinion to change or his teaching to increase. "I think players need to touch the ice once in between games," he said. "That should permit them to have their timing and their energy level right." Smith, whose roster is sprinkled with young players still getting their feet wet in the NHL, expects to use morning skates as a tool all season long. "Some people believe in them, some don't," he said. "But with a team like ours, I think we've got to be practising and be teaching all the time." — With files from Gemma Karstens-Smith in Vancouver and Donna Spencer in Calgary. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 27, 2021. ___ Follow @JClipperton_CP on Twitter Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
Chad Wheeler was arrested Saturday after allegedly assaulting his girlfriend.
LONDON — Thomas Tuchel’s first game in charge of Chelsea ended in a 0-0 draw at home to Wolverhampton in the Premier League on Wednesday. The German coach was hired on Tuesday as the replacement for the fired Frank Lampard, giving him just one training session to get his methods over to the players. Tuchel shook up the team he inherited from Lampard by changing formation — to a 3-4-2-1 — and his desire for a more possession-based approach was evident from the start, but Wolves played defensively and proved a stubborn first opponent at Stamford Bridge. The point moved Chelsea up to eighth but the result highlighted the task facing Tuchel as he seeks to get the team back into the top four and qualify for next season’s Champions League, a minimum requirement for the club owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. Tuchel’s new tactics included deploying winger Callum Hudson-Odoi as a wing back and playing two No. 10s, in Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech, behind lone striker Olivier Giroud. Timo Werner stayed on the bench, where he was in the final days of Lampard’s tenure, and was joined there by midfielder Mason Mount — virtually an ever-present this season — and American winger Christian Pulisic. While Mount and Pulisic came on, Werner was an unused substitute. Chelsea’s players monopolized possession — it was 86% in their favour in the opening 15 minutes and 79% by the final whistle — but struggled to break through or get behind a packed Wolves defence. Indeed, the visitors came closest to scoring a winner when Pedro Neto bundled his way into the area, only for his scooped shot to soar over Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and hit the top of the crossbar. Chelsea peppered Wolves’ goal in the final 10 minutes, with Mateo Kovacic curling a long-range shot against the outside of the post and Hudson-Odoi bringing a flying save out of goalkeeper Rui Patricio. In the last action of the game, Havertz’s goalbound header was deflected wide of the post and the German had his head in his hands as the final whistle blew. Chelsea has won just two of its last nine games. ___ More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports The Associated Press
The Crimson Tide haven't played in Gainesville since 2011.
There's no All-Star Game on the calendar for 2021, but there will still be All-Star voting.
VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Whitecaps have signed defender/midfielder Andy Rose to a one-year extension. Rose returns for his third season with the Whitecaps and seventh in MLS. The 30-year-old product of Bristol, England has made 39 appearances across all competitions with the Whitecaps, including 32 starts. Rose started his MLS career with a four-year run with Seattle in 2012. The UCLA graduate then played with Coventry City in England and Motherwell FC of Scotland before joining the Whitecaps. Rose, who has also earned his UEFA A Licence and UEFA A Elite Youth Licence, will also work with Nick Dasovic as the new Whitecaps FC MLS Academy U-19 boys team assistant coach, subject to the extension of his work permit. "I couldn’t be more excited to continue my career here in Vancouver," Rose said in a statement. "I'm really enthusiastic about the path we're on as a team and am motivated to give our fans a season they can get behind." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 27, 2021. The Canadian Press
Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford, a Hockey Hall of Famer who helped lead the team to a pair of Stanley Cup titles, resigned abruptly on Wednesday. The 71-year-old Rutherford cited “personal reasons” in making the decision. He was under contract through the 2021-22 season. The club promoted assistant general manager Patrick Allvin to serve as general manager on an interim basis while the club searches for a permanent replacement. Rutherford arrived in Pittsburgh in the summer of 2014 following the team's second-round flameout against the New York Rangers. Following an uneven first season in which the Penguins made little headway under head coach Mike Johnston, Rutherford's rebuild picked up steam in December 2015 when he replaced Johnston with Mike Sullivan and created a roster around stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin built on speed. The Penguins won consecutive Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017, the first team in a generation to successfully defend its championship. Rutherford's resignation comes with Pittsburgh off to a solid 4-2-1 start. “It has been a great honour to serve as general manager of the Penguins, and to hang two more Stanley Cup banners at PPG Paints Arena,” Rutherford said in a statement. “I have so many people to thank, beginning with the owners, Ron Burkle and Mario Lemieux, and team president David Morehouse. There always has been so much support from everyone involved with the Penguins, both on the hockey and business staffs, and, of course, from a special group of players led by Sidney Crosby.” Morehouse, the Penguins president and CEO, called Rutherford, a journeyman goaltender during his 13-year NHL career before becoming one of the most successful executives of the 21st century “an amazing representative of the Pittsburgh Penguins and he’ll always have a special place in our team’s history, his own legacy.” The ebullient and relentlessly upbeat Rutherford joined the Hartford Whalers in 1994 and was general manager in 2006 when the franchise — which relocated from Hartford to Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1997 and became the Carolina Hurricanes — won its only Stanley Cup in 2006. Rutherford moved to Pittsburgh in June 2014, tasked with trying to reverse the Penguins' fortunes. Crosby and Malkin guided the Penguins to the Stanley Cup Final in 2008 and 2009, losing to Detroit in '08 before edging the Red Wings in a rematch the following year. The success, however, faded and the team parted ways with general manager Ray Shero and replaced him with Rutherford. Early in his tenure Rutherford raised eyebrows by putting a timetable on his involvement. He quickly walked it back, however, and Pittsburgh sprinted to a pair of championships with a group built on speed and grit, much of it developed in the farm system or via trade under Rutherford's watch. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019. Allvin has been a fixture in the Penguins organization since 2006, beginning as a scout before eventually serving as the director of scouting from 2017-20 before being promoted to assistant general manager last November. ___ More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Will Graves, The Associated Press
Rookies continue to make more of an immediate impact. Our analysts each reveal their dream landing spot for one prospect in the upcoming 2021 class.
IOC president Thomas Bach insists the Tokyo Olympics will happen this summer, despite growing concern in Japan over the coronavirus.