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4 min: A fairly shapeless start, actually. “The best pints are Thursday night.” Hello Ian McCourt, formerly of this parish. “Or about 1.30pm on a Friday.”
2 min: A mid-octane start to the game. No real shape yet, though it’s obvious that Palmer is prowling the left wing today, opposite to his usual beat.
Continue reading...Maxence Lacroix put Palace ahead before being sent off after conceding the penalty from which Bruno Fernandes equalised, then Benjamin Sesko headed the winner
We will, of course, be updating you on this afternoon’s other early games: Brighton v Forest and Fulham v Spurs, but here’s Carrick.
So where is the game? Well, United will have to adjust a little, given they’re starting with a centre-forward; with Palace likely to defend deep and centrally, a reference-point will probably be a help. I’d expect Mbeumo to step inside on to his left foot and try and pick him out with crosses to the back post, because if he times it, he’s almost unbeatable in the air. Otherwise, I’d expect them to play into Bruno, who’ll slip passes down the sides of the outside centre-backs, with the two wide players looking to hit the space behind the wing-backs.
Continue reading...As the second half began, a banner appeared in the Stretford End that read: “MUFC proudly colonised by immigrants.” If this was a riposte to Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s assertion that these shores have been overrun by those from overseas (for which the co-owner half-heartedly apologised), Manchester United needed their own reply to a listless opening period that left them trailing to Maxence Lacroix’s early header.
Eleven minutes after the restart, they did. First came Lacroix’s sending-off, issued by Chris Kavanagh after a pitchside monitor review for yanking over Matheus Cunha. The contact started before the 18-yard line but it continued into the penalty area, so the referee followed up awarding a spot-kick by showing his red card. Fernandes calmly beat Dean Henderson to the left of the Crystal Palace No 1, who guessed wrong.
Continue reading...
This morning, Atlanta Braves formally announce that infielder Nacho Alvarez, Jr. and reliever Hunter Stratton have been optioned to Triple-A and that non-roster invitees catcher Chadwick Tromp and reliever Javy Guerra have been reassigned to the minor league camp. Alvarez, Jr.’s option appeared on the team’s transaction page yesterday.
For Alvarez, Jr., Tromp and Guerra, this isn’t surprising as all three players will be playing in the World Baseball Classic for Mexico, Netherlands and Panama, respectively, and all three were likely to start the year in the minors baring an injury to those above them on the team’s depth chart.
Stratton, who pitched in 12 games out of the bullpen for Atlanta, also figured to start the year in Triple-A. He has pitched in parts of three seasons in the big leagues, all with the Pittsburgh Pirates prior to joining Atlanta during the 2025 season.
The Braves now have 62 players in camp.
The 2025 Orioles’ season was a demonstration in the fragility of success. GM Mike Elias took his foot off the gas pedal, banking on the roster he had already assembled in lieu of making upgrades from outside the organization. The gamble didn’t pay off; the Orioles instantly floundered as their pitching imploded and their young offense couldn’t make up the deficit. For a team which had finally returned to prominence the previous two years following such a long period of futility, the failure of 2025 was a stark reminder of how deadly complacency can become in one of the most competitive divisions in baseball.
This offseason, Baltimore bucked their recent trends, giving a large free agent contract to a veteran slugger in an effort to complement their young core. They’ve also hired a first-time MLB manager to oversee this talented group as they vie to return to the postseason. Now the question becomes, have the O’s done enough to stand out against a crowded AL East field?
Baltimore Orioles
2025 record: 75-87 (5th, AL East)
2026 FanGraphs projection: 84-78 (4th, AL East)
Obviously, the Orioles are still a team built around their cost-controlled young position players. Baltimore brings back every notable member of their homegrown assembly of hitters: Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Jordan Westburg, Jackson Holliday, Colton Cowser, and Coby Mayo. Holliday and Westburg will miss the start of the season, but as we’ll get into, this is just the beginning of the laundry list. Heck, even Ryan Mountcastle is still here. You’ll notice the vast majority of these players are infielders. And y’know who else plays the infield?
Why, that would be former Mets slugger Pete Alonso, the big splash signing the Orioles made this offseason. Hilarious, right? Mike Elias finally swallows his pride to give a big contract to somebody, and it’s a power-hitting first baseman who’s already over 30. Alonso is the exact kind of player a GM like Elias ordinarily wouldn’t be caught dead offering a contract, but these are strange times we inhabit. It’s a good thing they realized that making Camden Yards the worst park for right-handed power hitters in the league was a bad idea— otherwise Alonso wouldn’t have been caught dead signing in Baltimore, either. But here we are.
In addition to bringing Alonso, the Orioles traded away oft-injured pitcher Grayson Rodriguez to acquire Taylor Ward from the Angels. Ward is a big of a strange fit with the O’s, but it’s hard to scoff at adding a guy who hit nearly as many homers as Alonso last season. Tyler O’Neill, last year’s ‘major’ signing, is another guy who can hit a ton of homers, though he regressed badly in 2025.
I would be remiss to forget Samuel Basallo, another big-time prospect who will give Rutchman little margin for error lest he be usurped as the everyday catcher. And oh yeah, Dylan Beavers and Heston Kjerstad are in the mix for playing time too. For as often as the Yankees are accused of prospect-hugging, the Orioles appear committed to holding onto all of these guys. It doesn’t feel like it could possibly work long-term, though roster logjams like those tend to work themselves out.
Now let’s work our way over to the trouble spot for Baltimore: the pitching. After the Orioles declined to re-sign Corbin Burnes last offseason, their rotation fell off a cliff in the former Cy Young winner’s absence. De facto ace Kyle Bradish spent most of the year recovering from Tommy John surgery, and the O’s were forced to rely on a gaggle of unsteady veterans, including but not limited to Charlie Morton, Tomoyuki Sugano, and Zach Eflin.
The only major victory the O’s got out of their pitching last season was the career revival of Trevor Rogers, who posted startlingly good numbers upon returning to regular rotation duty in June. Ultimately, it was only a 109.2-inning sample, albeit a convincing one. The Orioles appear to be banking pretty heavily on what we saw from Rogers down the stretch sticking.
Rogers and Bradish are a solid top two — on paper — but the depth beyond them is questionable. Veteran Chris Bassitt has been dependable for many years, but just turned 37. Zach Eflin struggled badly but returns on a one-year deal. Rays castoff Shane Baz has looked good in camp, but has mostly existed in the realm of the hypothetical breakout for almost a decade. Additionally, their bullpen lacks a ton of high-upside guys beyond free agent signing Ryan Helsley — who struggled badly with the Mets after the trade deadline last year. Imposing closer Félix Bautista is still recovering from shoulder surgery after he tore his labrum last summer.
Lastly, the Orioles have a new manager entering this season. Craig Albernaz, who previously served as Steven Vogt’s associate manager in Cleveland, got the nod to hold this talented but young roster together. Like Aaron Boone, Albernaz is known for his ability to connect with his players, and that quality seems to be what got him the job in Baltimore. He’ll be tasked with keeping morale high over a long season in a gauntlet of a division; with the Yankees running it back, the Blue Jays reloading after their pennant win and the Red Sox still formidable in their own right, the margin for error will be slim.
Overall, the Orioles’ roster is more volatile than those aforementioned rivals. Pitching depth is rather slim, many of their best players have lengthy injury histories, and they may not be able to find enough playing time for all of their young players. But if they can get off to a good start, they’ll be one of the best-positioned teams to make midseason upgrades and raise their ceiling along the road to October.
The Grapefruit League schedule continues on Sunday with the Yankees visiting Clearwater. But there will be considerably less star power on hand, as several prominent players like Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and Brad Keller have departed for World Baseball Classic competition.
But the game shouldn’t lack for interest as it will feature the 2026 debut of pitcher Andrew Painter. We’ll get our first look at the righthanded prospect who is expected to open the season in the Phillies’ rotation.
The Yankees will counter with a young pitcher of their own in righthander Will Warren. As a rookie in 2025, Warren made 33 starts recording a 4.44 ERA.
Game time is 1:05 PM and will be televised on MLB.TV and locally on NBCSP.
Former MLB pitcher Daniel Serafini, 51, was sentenced on Friday, Feb. 27 to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of his father-in-law Gary Spohr and the attempted murder of his mother-in-law Wendy Wood during a 2021 burglary at the couple's home in Lake Tahoe, California.
Serafini was convicted in July 2025, with his sentencing coming more than six months after it was originally scheduled.
Serafini has maintained his innocence throughout, motioning for multiple re-trials, which have all been denied. The former left-handed pitcher had a sour relationship with his in-laws, but his attorneys argued the lack of physical evidence should have precluded a guilt verdict. Serafini claimed he was partying with his wife the night of the shooting.
Prosecutors argued Serafini hated his wife's parents and wanted their wealth. They also said that Serafini been heard telling his friends that he'd be willing to pay up to $20,000 to have them killed.
During the course of his six-week trial, multiple emails and text messages between Serafini and his in-laws were brought into evidence, showcasing Serafini's vitriol towards them.
Serafini's attorney argued that there was no physical evidence linking Serafini to the crime scene, and denied that his client had any motive to kill his parents despite their poor relationship.
Serafini will serve his life sentence at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Serafini was drafted in the first round (26th overall) in 1992 by the Minnesota Twins, making his MLB debut in 1996 for the same team. In seven MLB seasons, he had a career 6.04 ERA while playing for the Twins, Chicago Cubs San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and Colorado Rockies.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Daniel Serafini sentenced to life in prison after shooting in-laws
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The Winnipeg Jets continue their west coast road trip when they visit the San Jose Sharks this afternoon.
Kyle Connor has been on a heater since returning from the Olympics, and I’ll break down why the Winnipeg forward will find the back of the net again in my Jets vs. Sharks predictions and NHL picks for Sunday, March 1.
Jets vs Sharks best bet: Kyle Connor to score (+120)
Kyle Connor was a monster for the Winnipeg Jets in their 5-4 overtime loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Friday, tallying a goal and an assist while logging over 26 minutes of ice time and three shots on net.
The Jets forward has scored in three straight games and four of his last six, and he’ll extend his goal streak this afternoon vs. the San Jose Sharks.
San Jose has allowed 3.51 goals per game — the third-worst mark in the NHL — and the Sharks will have tired legs today, with this being their third game in four days.
Mark Scheifele has recorded at least one assist in five of his last seven games, and the Jets are 5-1 in their last six meetings against the Sharks.
Winnipeg should have the edge in net with Connor Hellebuyck starting, and the Jets will be the fresher team.
The Under is 12-4 in the last 16 meetings. Find more NHL betting trends for Jets vs. Sharks.
| Location | SAP Center, San Jose, CA |
| Date | Sunday, March 1, 2026 |
| Puck drop | 4:00 p.m. ET |
| TV | TSN3 |
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
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Tobias Myers had another solid outing yesterday, but it wasn’t enough to lead the Mets to victory against the Nationals.
While Myers’s exact role for the 2026 Mets continues to be unclear, he has looked and felt great thus far in spring.
Brett Baty played first base in yesterday’s game and spoke about the adjustments he is making at the new position.
Craig Kimbrel is hoping that a new pitch will help the veteran reliever make the Mets’ roster out of spring training.
Brandon Nimmo has once again opened up about his departure from the Mets.
MLB.com previewed the NL East race for 2026.
Top Phillies prospect Aidan Miller has a back issue that will cause him to miss an undetermined amount of time.
Spencer Strider made his spring debut yesterday as he seeks to bounce back from a rough 2025 campaign.
The injury bug has hit the Marlins, as Kyle Stowers will miss 1-2 weeks with a hamstring strain while prospect Aiva Arquette will be sidelined for 4-6 weeks after undergoing core muscle surgery.
The Nationals are hoping to catch lightning in a bottle with Rule 5 draft pick Griff McGarry.
Aaron Judge is determined to help lead the USA to victory in the World Baseball Classic.
An old friend has found a new home, as Starling Marte has agreed to a one-year deal with the Royals.
Konnor Griffin could join the short list of teenage major leaguers this year.
Dodgers starter Blake Snell does not expect to be ready for opening day.
Xavier Isaac is back in game action after undergoing brain surgery last summer.
Brian Salvatore and Chris McShane discussed some of the early spring training action on the latest episode of Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World Series.
I previewed the 2026 season of Carson Benge, in which he is likely to have a prominent role on the major league team sooner or later.
Linus Lawrence provided 2026 previews for Joey Gerber and Jonah Tong.
Tom Seaver demanded a new contract before reporting to camp—a signal of the tensions that would continue to linger between the two sides until their eventual divorce—on this date in 1976.
Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. announced today that the St. Louis Cardinals and manager Oli Marmol had agreed to a two-year contract extension with an option for a third year. BDW noted that Oli is in his 20th year in the Cardinals organization and knows what the Cardinals are about. The Chairman indicated that this announcement recognizes that people need to know he is their guy. He offered that they have been building to this moment for a while.
President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom added his own thoughts, reflecting on the trusting relationship he had built with Oli beginning with his first visit into St. Louis in 2024. Bloom offered that he saw a lot of benefit in being able to build a relationship with Oli during his first two years without the burden of being POBO, allowing for a free flow of thoughts back and forth. Bloom emphasized Oli’s strong player development background and articulated a belief that the game itself is evolving to emphasize more development at the MLB level, and that the manager’s role is changing right along with that. Development doesn’t stop when you get to the MLB was his theme.
Oli himself expressed appreciation to ownership, front office and especially the many players gathered in the room for the press conference. Oli described the initial roster he inherited with guys like Wainwright, Yadi, Albert, Nolan and Goldy as a way of illuminating the stark transition this organization has undergone in the last 4 years. He drew a distinction with the roster he has in 2026 and expressed his excitement has never being higher than it is right now. He acknowledged that his role sometimes involves difficult conversations, going both ways and he appreciates the trust and openness he has been able to develop with the players and others in the organization.
Tradition and stability long have been watchwords with the Cardinals and this announcement certainly doesn’t contradict that aspect of their culture. A nuance that I sense from this press conference and other interactions is that additional terms begin to gain strong traction – alignment, development, trust. Not necessarily new terms, but perhaps ones with different emphasis. For the front office, Oliver Marmol embeds each of these attributes in a unique way that makes him their guy.
Good morning, folks…
Shawn McFarland has Three Observations from the Rangers’ 7-6 win over the Dodgers on Saturday.
Jack Leiter had a frustrating outing, but says he understands it is all about the process at this point.
Rule 5 pick Carter Baumler threw 1 2/3 scoreless against the Dodgers, continuing to strengthen his chances of making the Opening Day roster.
Tim Cowlishaw looks at the contrasts between the Dodgers, who have won the last two World Series, and the Rangers, who won the World Series in 2023.
The Texas Rangers want Josh Smith to seize the starting second base job.
Josh Jung and Justin Foscue each have injuries that will keep them out for the next 10 days or so.
Evan Grant’s livestream Q&A talks about NRIs with a chance of making the team and Carter Baumler’s prospects.
The DMN’s list of the top 30 Rangers prospects continues with #24, Ben Abeldt.
David Laurila has his Sunday Notes column up at Fangraphs.
The Florida Panthers will look to bounce back from a frustrating defeat their last time out when they kick off a challenging road trip on Sunday.
Florida has won one and lost one since exiting the NHL’s Olympic pause, dropping Friday’s matchup with the Buffalo Sabres on a night where the Cats were extremely frustrated with a challenged goal that was allowed, leading to a 3-2 defeat.
Now the Panthers are set to begin a four-game, six-day road trip when they face a strong New York Islanders squad at UBS Arena.
The Islanders have won four straight games, including each of the two they have played since the league resumed following the Olympic break.
Their most recent victories have come on the road, with the Isles battling back from 2-0 deficits in both to claim a pair of overtime wins.
Entering play Sunday, New York is holding onto third place in the Metropolitan Division, clinging to a four-point edge over the Washington Capitals who are out of the playoff spot at the moment, one point behind the Boston Bruins, who hold the final Wild Card spot.
A big reason for the Islanders success this season has been the play of goaltender Ilya Sorokin.
He’s 10-3-0 since the calendar flipped to 2026, picking up three of his six shutouts during the month of January.
Florida, meanwhile, remains eight points behind Boston for that last Wild Card spot.
There is hope that sometime during their road trip, defenseman Dmitry Kulikov and forward Tomas Nosek may come off the injured list and re-join the squad.
For Nosek, he will be making his season debut whenever he gets the green light while Kulikov will be seeing his first action since he suffered a shoulder injury during the second game of the season.
Additionally, Florida is also expecting to have injured defenseman Seth Jones and ailing forward Jonah Gadjovich ready to return in the near future as well, though whether either comes back during the road trip has yet to be determined.
Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Sunday’s showdown on Long Island:
Carter Verhaeghe – Evan Rodrigues – Sam Reinhart
Mackie Samoskevich – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Brad Marchand
A.J. Greer – Luke Kunin – Sandis Vilmanis
Gus Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Uvis Balinskis
Tobias Bjornfot – Jeff Petry
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Photo caption: Dec 7, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers left wing A.J. Greer (10) moves the puck against the New York Islanders defenseman Tony Deangelo (77) during the second period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
After experiencing the first week plus a day of spring training to exhaust the February portion of the Cactus League schedule, the Dodgers open March with a Sunday home game against the Angels.
Four of the Dodgers’ seven games this week are at Camelback Ranch, including an exhibition game Wednesday against Mexico as part of a build-up for the World Baseball Classic starting later this week. Friday and Saturday against the Royals and Rockies, respectively, are the Dodgers’ first two night games this spring.
To that end, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto have already left to join Team Japan in Tokyo, and Hyeseong Kim is also headed to Pool C in Tokyo while playing for Korea in the WBC. Dodgers catcher Will Smith and closer Edwin Díaz will join the United States and Puerto Rico, respectively. The first World Baseball Classic game on the schedule involving a Dodgers player is Kim and Korea taking on Czechia on Thursday at 2 a.m. PT.
Here is the Dodgers’ schedule for the next week, plus WBC pool play games as well. All times are in the Pacific Time Zone.
Dodgers vs. Angels, 12:05 p.m. (SportsNet LA, AM 570)
Dodgers at Rockies, 12:10 p.m. (SportsNet LA)
Dodgers at Guardians, 12:05 p.m. (SportsNet LA)
Dodgers vs. Team Mexico, 12:05 p.m. (SportsNet LA)
WBC: Korea vs. Czechia, 2 a.m. (FS1)
Dodgers at Reds, 12:05 p.m. (SportsNet LA, ESPN)
WBC: Japan vs. Chinese Taipei, 2 a.m. (FS1)
WBC: Puerto Rico vs. Colombia, 3 p.m. (FS1)
WBC: United States vs. Brazil, 5 p.m. (Fox)
Dodgers vs. Royals, 5:05 p.m. (SportsNet LA)
WBC: Japan vs. Korea, 2 a.m. (FS1)
WBC: Puerto Rico vs. Panama, 3 p.m. (FS1)
WBC: United States vs. Great Britain, 5 p.m. (Fox)
Dodgers vs. Rockies, 5:05 p.m. (SportsNet LA, AM 570)
Happy Sunday everyone! It’s becoming a bit of a pattern for the Sunday links to prominently feature Kade Anderson. I wonder if that will end next week. I honestly hope not. The kid is so electric he has me wondering about other undeniable spring standouts and which of them ended up turning out the best for bygone Mariners teams. Which Mariners have had Spring performances that made you think they were headed for absolute greatness?
There’s a term that you hear tossed around baseball circles a lot, especially this time of year: Quad-A player. This means someone who is probably better than Triple-A talent but isn’t necessarily cut out for the majors, either. There tends to be subsets of Quad-A players, including but not limited to the defensive whiz who can’t really hit a lick but is phenomenal with the glove, the pitcher whose movement plays on the farm but not under the bright lights, and the corner guy with power.
Jose Rojas is a corner guy with power in the model of Val Pascucci, Nick Evans, Mike Hessman, and other remnants of the 2008-2013 Mets. Rojas has all the markings of this type: a few seasons of slugging over .500, success in Asia, multiple stints in various latin winter leagues, and limited opportunities and even more limited success on the big stage.
On the surface, this is yet another depth signing, an opportunity to squeeze a little juice out of a player that may not have a ton more to give. But for the Mets, there’s a little more here because of their particular roster construction. While not his primary position, Rojas actually has the second most minor league reps at first base of anyone in camp behind Ryan Clifford, and has one more major league game at first as does the Mets’ probable Opening Day first baseman, Jorge Polanco, with two.
On top of that, Rojas’s 2025 season, spent with the Yankees’ Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre club, was his best in six years. Rojas put up a .287/.379/.599 line with 32 home runs and 105 RBIs while logging time at three infield positions (not shortstop) and the corner outfield spots.
Does any of this add up to a likely spot on the major league roster? No, it doesn’t. In terms of long term solutions, the club would probably want to have Mark Vientos or Brett Baty fill in at first if Polanco can’t cut it or is hurt. Similarly, if the aforementioned Clifford is having a strong year in Syracuse, he would be a candidate to log innings there.
All of that is to say that for Rojas to be an impact player on the roster a lot would have to go wrong, or he would have to have an offensive season the likes of which he’s never had before to force his way onto the roster. Save for that, Rojas is likely to be a quality bat at Triple-A, ready for a brief call up if the need arises.