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Bruins offseason priorities: Trade Lohrei? Extend Minten? Check in on Tkachuk?
The Boston Bruins are no longer under the radar. Making the playoffs, perhaps ahead of schedule, will do that to a franchise. It would be painful to take a step back in 2026-27.“This team gave me a lot of hope of getting better and better and better,” coach Marco Sturm said. “I can’t guarantee you anything about points or wins for next season. It’s going to be even harder. But there’s a lot of hope and excitement that I can see moving forward.”
Taylor Hall brought his 'B-minus game' to Hurricanes' Game 2 win, but it was enough
RALEIGH, N.C. — Taylor Hall knows pretty goals. You don’t score 302 times over 16 NHL seasons without mixing in plenty of them. So he was not expecting the bit of work he did in Tuesday night’s fourth period to fit the bill.Then, after he and the Carolina Hurricanes left the ice with a 2-0 series lead over the Philadelphia Flyers after a 3-2 win, Hall watched the replay of himself forcing his way to the slot, tumbling to the ground on his initial shot, then regaining his footing and batting the...
The Knicks' offense is achieving basketball nirvana in the playoffs
NEW YORK — Think of your favorite song.Surely, there’s a crisp snare following a thumping kick drum. A melody that rides over both like a wave does the ocean floor. Vocals cutting through to provide perspective to the backdrop of the track. All together it evokes an emotion.Harmony.The Knicks’ offense is in that level of flow state. It’s vinyasa with a basketball, synchronized swimming on the hardwood.Advertisement
Nationals fan survey results, Pt. 2: 80 percent of readers say Lerners should sell
WASHINGTON — It appears that the goodwill the Washington Nationals ownership group earned in the 2010s is mostly gone.In the aughts, with Ted Lerner at the helm, they supported expensive rosters and built winners. Over the last six years, spending has dwindled, clear direction has been hard to come by, and the losses have followed.Advertisement
With UDFAs, Eagles add to safety competition, return to rugby well
The Philadelphia Eagles have a history of making full use of their rookie allocation. Franchise pillars were found in the late rounds: Harold Carmichael, Jason Kelce, Jordan Mailata. Undrafted rookies have also carved out long-term roles. Reed Blankenship, the most recent example, rose from the ranks of the undrafted and became a full-time starting safety. That the Eagles are seeking to replace Blankenship, who signed a three-year, $24.75 million deal with the Houston Texans, makes analyzing thi...
Our experts pick preseason All-WNBA teams: Paige Bueckers, A'ja Wilson, Caitlin Clark
A new season is almost here, and the WNBA’s 30th anniversary promises to be a landmark year.Players are already in the spotlight for their increased salaries. Big moves between teams have been made. Young talent is brimming in the league and ready to shine.The Athletic’s women’s basketball reporters — Annie Costabile, Brian Hamilton, Chantel Jennings and Sabreena Merchant —have cast their votes to assemble our preseason All-WNBA teams. From their points of view, expect the veterans to dominate t...
Joe Maddon: These are the 3 best leaders I managed in MLB
This story is part of Peak, The Athletic’s desk covering the mental side of sports. Sign up for Peak’s newsletter here.Joe Maddon managed for 17 seasons in Major League Baseball. He was a three-time Manager of the Year and won the 2016 World Series with the Chicago Cubs. These are the three best leaders he managed.Advertisement
'An easy call': Ducks fume after icing wave-off leads to Golden Knights' winning goal
LAS VEGAS — Ivan Barbashev had just put the puck into an open net for his latest clutch playoff goal for the Vegas Golden Knights. Anaheim Ducks coach Joel Quenneville was furious and his players were mystified.In Anaheim’s view, the game-winning play in Vegas’ 3-1 victory in Game 1 on Monday night should never have happened.Advertisement
John Chayka has a divisive reputation. Can he and the Maple Leafs overcome it?
It’s fair to say that Monday’s news conference announcing the Toronto Maple Leafs’ new general manager is going to be remembered and talked about for a long, long time in this city.We’ll see if it’s for wrong the reasons.Word that John Chayka was in the running to be the Leafs’ next top hockey executive first hit my inbox at the start of April. A source with longstanding connections to the team sent over an article from a site I hadn’t heard of that stated Chayka had talked to the team about a p...
Why Drake Baldwin could raise the bar for catcher salaries, plus more MLB notes
Joe Mauer received the biggest guarantee for a catcher, $184 million in 2010. Buster Posey received the next-biggest, $167 million in 2013.Recent history suggests those numbers will not be topped, and the market for catchers will remain depressed. But Drake Baldwin might be an interesting test case, if the Atlanta Braves engage him on an extension.Advertisement
Detroit Pistons vs. Cleveland Cavaliers: How to watch every game in playoff series
The Detroit Pistons are seeking their first conference finals berth since 2008. The Cleveland Cavaliers have yet to get that far in their post-LeBron James iteration. One of them will end that drought as top-seeded Detroit takes on star-laden Cleveland in a second-round playoff series.Both sides arrive at this matchup on the heels of inspiring Game 7 victories. Cade Cunningham’s Pistons bring revved motors and staunch physicality. Donovan Mitchell, James Harden and the Cavs counter with sleek bu...
The Maple Leafs are on the clock with Auston Matthews
John Chayka equated his first few weeks as general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs to “trying to catch a moving train,” but even that might have been selling his challenge short.This looks a lot more like “Mission: Impossible.”Chayka’s surprising second chance in the NHL comes from an ownership group that has no interest in a rebuild and expects him to immediately rebound an aging 28th-place team back into its competitive window. This, while inheriting a cupboard woefully short on assets, in...
Reds' Chase Petty finds pain and peace in first start of 2026
CHICAGO — About three hours before he was scheduled to take the mound in his first big-league start of the year, Cincinnati Reds right-hander Chase Petty walked down the 49 steps from the visitors clubhouse, took a left before walking the length of the batting cage, a right toward the dugout and then up another set of steps to the dugout at Wrigley Field. Petty, 23, was going to make his third career big-league start for a team that needed everything he could give them to stop a three-game losin...
With little time to reset, 76ers get run over by the Knicks' freight train
NEW YORK — There are multiple truths to be found in the Philadelphia 76ers blowout loss to the New York Knicks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Monday.The Sixers were a fatigued group. They just went seven long, emotional and grueling games with the Boston Celtics, with Saturday night’s Game 7 win at TD Garden qualifying as one of the best in the careers of Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. The quick turnaround against the well-rested Knicks was likely going to make for a difficult...
RFU backs Steve Borthwick to lead England for 2027 World Cup after Six Nations review
England suffered four defeats in dismal Six NationsBill Sweeney says improvement not ‘one simple answer’Steve Borthwick and his coaching staff are to remain in charge of England’s men’s team despite the squad’s worst Five or Six Nations for 50 years. The Rugby Football Union has opted to back Borthwick and his lieutenants through to next year’s Rugby World Cup in Australia having completed what it described as “a detailed and robust review” of England’s latest campaign.Despite having lost four F...
Michael Penix and the 6 biggest questions facing the Falcons after the NFL Draft
With the NFL Draft complete and rookie minicamp just around the corner, the Atlanta Falcons still have plenty of questions to address as Kevin Stefanski’s first season as head coach approaches.Today, let’s look at six of the most interesting among them.When will James Pearce Jr. be back?Let’s get this one out of the way first. The short answer is we don’t know. The pretrial intervention program Pearce entered in hopes of having his three felony charges dismissed will extend into October, and the...
RFU backs Borthwick but flags multiple Six Nations failings
RFU backs Borthwick but flags multiple Six Nations failingsImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Steve Borthwick was appointed in December 2022, taking over from Eddie Jones, and led England to the 2023 Rugby World Cup semi-finalsByMike HensonBBC Sport rugby union news reporterPublished5 minutes ago2 CommentsHead coach Steve Borthwick has been backed to turn around England's form after a Rugby Football Union review blamed a lack of discipline, accuracy and cutting edge, among other facto...
What's at stake in the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery? Top prospects, team needs, more
The 2026 NHL Draft class doesn’t feature a clear talent at its apex like Connor Bedard or Macklin Celebrini. However, what it lacks in a surefire No. 1 prospect, it makes up for with a remarkably strong top 10. Defensemen are the story here, with four ranked in my top six. There are also prolific wingers available in Penn State’s Gavin McKenna and Frolunda’s Ivar Stenberg, and while there is a lack of a truly elite center prospect, teams are very high on Caleb Malhotra and Tynan Lawrence.Adverti...
How the Cubs’ hitting coaches are guiding rookie Moisés Ballesteros’ fast start
CHICAGO — As yet another line drive rocketed off Moisés Ballesteros’ bat during spring training, Cubs manager Craig Counsell was business as usual as he turned to the club’s hitting coaches assembled in the dugout: We need to talk.Serious in tone, and with a straight face that comes naturally for the buttoned-up skipper, Counsell delivered the message in the middle of a Cactus League game, trying to keep Ballesteros’ best interests in mind.Advertisement
Buffalo Sabres vs. Montreal Canadiens 2026 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs preview
This is new. The last time the fight for the Atlantic Division crown didn’t feature a team from Florida was 2019. Add Boston to that and it’s 2017.This indeed feels like a changing of the guard: Two future powers emerging from a rebuild ready to prove they’re next — and dispatching a member of the old guard along the way.Advertisement