Harrison Waylee ran for a touchdown, Chandler Morris threw for 198 yards and No. 20 Virginia edged 25th-ranked Missouri 13-7 in the Gator Bowl on Saturday night.
Former Flyers Star Claude Giroux Hits Big Milestone
Former Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux has hit a new career milestone, as he played in his 1,300th career NHL game during the Ottawa Senators' matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Dec. 27.
While Giroux is now 37 years old and in his 19th NHL season, there is no question that the former Flyer is still a very impactful player. In 37 games so far this campaign with the Senators, he has posted seven goals and 26 points. These are solid offensive numbers from Giroux, and he is a key part of the Senators' forward group because of it.
Giroux is now just the 76th player in NHL history to play in 1,300 career regular-season games. That is certainly a big accomplishment for the former Flyer.
Giroux was selected by the Flyers with the 22nd overall pick of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. The Hearst, Ontario native played 1,000 of his career NHL games with the Flyers, where he recorded 291 goals, 609 assists, 900 points, and a plus-27 rating. The seven-time All-Star also served as the Flyers' captain from 2012-13 until he was traded to the Florida Panthers during the 2021-22 season.
Rangers shut out by Islanders for second time this season after 2-0 loss
NEW YORK (AP) — David Rittich made 27 saves for his ninth career shutout, Anders Lee scored less than a minute into the game, and the New York Islanders blanked the New York Rangers 2-0 on Saturday night.
Lee’s unassisted goal 58 seconds in extended his point streak to five games as the Islanders won their second straight. Simon Holmstrom added an empty-netter with 16 seconds left in the game.
The Islanders’ Bo Horvat returned to the lineup after missing the previous five games with a lower-body injury.
Igor Shesterkin finished with 24 saves, but the Rangers were shut out for the seventh time this season.
Rangers defenseman Carson Soucy turned the puck over behind Shesterkin, allowing Lee to capitalize for his 10th goal of the season.
Rittich denied Will Cuylle on a two-on-one opportunity midway through the first period to preserve the one-goal advantage. He also stopped Artemi Panarin on a breakaway in the second to keep the Rangers off the scoreboard.
Soucy was awarded a penalty shot after Cal Ritchie slashed him on a breakaway, but Rittich turned aside the attempt in the third period.
The Islanders went 0 for 5 on the power play.
The Islanders placed starting goaltender Ilya Sorokin on injured reserve before the game, but the Russian netminder is expected to travel with the team on the upcoming two-game road trip to close out the calendar year.
Up next
Rangers: Visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night.
Islanders: Visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday to open a two-game road trip.
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Lakers 'recalibrate' after Austin Reaves injury, three-game losing streak
After the Lakers’ third straight loss Thursday, JJ Redick promised things would get “uncomfortable.” The second-year coach, frustrated after the team delivered a lump of coal in a Christmas Day blowout by the Houston Rockets, said he couldn’t stand to rewatch the same tired story. Leaning his elbow on the table at his postgame news conference, Redick called out players who don’t give enough effort on defense or play hard.
Two days later he stood in front of reporters with a different tone.
“Recalibration,” Redick said calmly of the message he delivered during Saturday’s team meeting. “Reconnection.”
Redick has cooled, but the Lakers still are under fire. Not only are they trying to snap a season-high three-game losing streak at home Sunday against the Sacramento Kings (6:30 p.m.), but also the Lakers (19-10) still are looking for their first home win in December and must navigate this defining moment without guard Austin Reaves.
Reaves was diagnosed with a grade 2 strain in his left calf Friday and will be reevaluated in four weeks. The latest setback comes less than two weeks after he was sidelined because of a “mild” strain in the same calf that kept him out for three games.
Reaves is averaging career highs in points (26.6), assists (6.3) and rebounds (5.2) and his ascent from undrafted rookie to potential first-time All-Star was one of the team’s feel-good stories of the season. Reaves scored a career-high 51 points against Sacramento in October, rescuing the Lakers in a game without LeBron James or Luka Doncic and showing Reaves’ potential in a starring role.
Read more:Lakers guard Austin Reaves out for at least a month because of calf injury
Now without their second-leading scorer, the Lakers are looking for their supporting cast to step up.
“We just need our guys to be stars in their roles,” Redick said. “Certainly from a top-end talent standpoint, it diminishes that. But it doesn't change the non-negotiables or how we're trying to play.”
After losing the last three games by an average of 20.7 points per game, the Lakers needed to get reacquainted with their non-negotiables during Saturday’s meeting. The session was uncomfortable in the way confronting truth can be uncomfortable, Redick said. It wasn’t just coaches lecturing, but also players speaking up.
The top priority was creating more clarity, Redick said. The team needed to get back to building its defensive fundamentals after so many lineup changes because of injuries. The Lakers have used 16 different starting lineups in 29 games and have to readjust their rotation again in Reaves’ absence.
“Togetherness is going to have to be emphasized to where it looks like an exaggeration,” center Deandre Ayton said, “where it becomes a habit. And that's what winners do. And it's pretty easy for this team. It's just that there's always a different group out there and we're going to get it for sure.”
Forward Rui Hachimura said coaches reminded players of the team’s three pillars that again were displayed on a screen in the practice gym Saturday — championship habits, championship communication, championship shape.
Read more:'We don’t have it right now.' Takeaways from the Lakers' third straight loss
“We just talk about everybody, players, coaches, we just gotta kind of tighten up,” Hachimura said. “We had a good stretch in the beginning and now we kind of, I don't know, we relaxed or we kind of got tired of winning, you know, but we just stopped doing what we're supposed to do.”
The Lakers are 29th in the NBA in defensive rating in the last 15 games, giving up 122.2 points per 100 possessions. It’s a significant drop from their rating of 113.7 in the first 14 games in which they went 10-4.
Since James returned from, the Lakers’ preferred starting lineup — Doncic, Reaves, James, Ayton and Hachimura — has a net rating of minus-19.9 in seven games.
Offensively the Lakers have lacked organization since James came back, Redick acknowledged. James declined to speak to reporters after practice.
“Too many random possessions,” Redick said. “That's on me.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
College football bowl winners and losers: BYU enjoys the Pop-Tart spoils thanks to 15 fourth-quarter points
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Jeff McNeil says goodbye to Mets following trade to A’s: ‘It has been an incredible run’
Jeff McNeil’s time in the Big Apple officially came to an end earlier this week.
McNeil joined the Mets as a 12th-round pick in the 2013 MLB Draft out of Long Beach State University.
After grinding through the minors, he finally received his shot in the bigs during the 2018 campaign.
He would establish himself as a regular in New York’s lineup with his versatile glove and slap-hitting ways.
McNeil finished his Mets tenure with a .286 average, 193 doubles, 80 homers, 367 RBI, and a .779 OPS in 923 games.
He also racked up a pair of All-Star appearances, a Silver Slugger, and a batting title.
The 33-year-old took to social media to say goodbye to the organization on Saturday night.
“New York will always be part of my story,” McNeil wrote. “The Mets organization is all I've ever known since being drafted, and it has been an incredible run. I'm incredibly thankful for every moment, every lesson, and every memory along the way.
“I'm especially grateful for the fans who welcomed me and my family and made New York feel like home for so long. Thank you to Steve and Alex Cohen, the coaching staff, and my teammates who made this journey so meaningful," he continued.
"With so much gratitude, it’s time to turn the page and embrace the next chapter in green and gold."
Senators At Toronto: Battle Of Ontario Makes Season Debut Saturday Night
Even in the heart of the Christmas holidays, a Saturday matchup in the Battle of Ontario will rarely be a Silent Night.
The Ottawa Senators are in Toronto to face the Maple Leafs for the first meaningful get-together since Toronto defeated the Sens in six games during last spring’s Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The game will mark a pair of milestones for the Senators. Veteran Claude Giroux will play in his 1,300th career game, while hot on his heels, just 1,299 behind, is Xavier Bourgault, who finally suits up for his first NHL game.
Bourgault was called up from the Belleville Senators on Saturday morning. He's had a fine start to his AHL season with 27 points in 32 games, which is more than he had all of last season when he put up 26 points in 61 games.
As for Giroux, gigantic round numbers like 1,300 will always conjure up discussions about Hall of Fame candidacy. With 372 goals and 1,141 points, his numbers are already reminiscent of Daniel Alfredsson's, and given that he's on pace for over 50 points this season, G doesn't look at all like a player ready to retire.
The Senators enter the day just one point behind the Florida Panthers for the final Eastern wild card spot and just two points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for third place in the Atlantic.
Things are a bit more dire for the Leafs. They enter play with 37 points, five out of the wild card and six out of third place in the East.
Going back two years to the day, the Sens have had the Leafs' number in the regular season, winning the last five regular-season meetings.
Toronto's veneer of confidence began to crack this week when they fired assistant coach Mark Savard and replaced him days later with another former NHL star in Steve Sullivan. Savard ran Toronto's power play, which was shockingly bad (and still is), ranking dead last in the NHL. Ottawa's power play is now fourth-best in the league.
Here's how Travis Green and Craig Berube will align their chess pieces on Saturday.
Senators projected lineup
Brady Tkachuk -- Tim Stutzle -- Fabian Zetterlund
David Perron -- Dylan Cozens -- Drake Batherson
Michael Amadio -- Ridly Greig -- Claude Giroux
Xavier Bourgault -- Stephen Halliday -- Nick Cousins
Jake Sanderson -- Artem Zub
Thomas Chabot -- Jordan Spence
Nick Jensen -- Nikolas Matinpalo
Linus Ullmark
Leevi Merilainen
Maple Leafs projected lineup
Bobby McMann -- Auston Matthews -- Max Domi
Matias Maccelli -- John Tavares -- William Nylander
Dakota Joshua -- Scott Laughton -- Steven Lorentz
Mathew Knies -- Nicolas Roy -- Nicholas Robertson
Morgan Rielly -- Philippe Myers
Jake McCabe -- Troy Stecher
Oliver Ekman-Larsson -- Chris Tanev
Joseph Woll
Dennis Hildeby
By Steve Warne
Read more Ottawa Senators news and features at The Hockey News:
Top Ottawa Senators Prospect Suits Up Again At World Juniors
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Steve Warne is the Ottawa Senators site editor at The Hockey News. Steve has covered the Senators since day one, first as Sports Director for Rogers Radio in Ottawa on AM 1310 and FM 105, then as the long-time host of the morning show at TSN 1200 radio, the Sens' flagship station. Steve is also the owner and host of the popular Sens Nation Podcast.
Follow Steve on Twitter/X @stevewarnemedia
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