London-born winger is rekindling his joy for the game in an unlikely location and is about to live out a lifelong dream with Zrinjski Mostar
At the end of last year Tyler Burey was playing out of position in defence for a team doomed to relegation from the Football League. Seven months later he is preparing to make his Champions League debut after leaving England behind, seeking to rediscover his love for the game in an unlikely location.
Burey moved to Igman Konjic, a club in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in January on a short-term deal and impressed to such an extent that the country’s title winners, Zrinjski Mostar, signed him on a two-year contract. On Tuesday they visit Virtus of San Marino in the opening leg of their Champions League first qualifying round tie, allowing Burey to live out a lifelong dream.
The Angels' Nolan Schanuel celebrates with teammates after a walk-off walk during the ninth inning against the Texas Rangers on Monday in Anaheim. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Associated Press)
Travis d’Arnaud knows Jacob deGrom better than any other catcher in baseball. He caught the hard-throwing right-hander 60 times when they played together with the New York Mets, the most frequent backstop the former Cy Young Award winner has thrown to in his career.
That familiarity did d’Arnaud and the Angels well en route to their 6-5 victory over the Rangers (44-47) on Monday night, in which Nolan Schanuel walked off their American League West foes in the ninth inning by drawing a bases-loaded, RBI walk.
The veteran catcher ambushed deGrom in the second inning for a two-run home run, just hitting the ball hard enough — 97.4 mph — over the left-field wall.
D’Arnaud’s home run broke deGrom’s Rangers franchise-record streak of 14 consecutive starts with two or fewer runs given up — and provided the Angels (44-46) with an early 3-2 lead.
“Getting lucky to hit a homer against any Cy Young winner is really special,” said d’Arnaud, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI.
Later, with deGrom in line for the win, d’Arnaud tied the score during a two-out rally in the sixth against relief pitcher Shawn Armstrong, lining a double to deep left-center field to score Luis Rengifo, who reached base on a single.
The Angels' Logan O'Hoppe douses Nolan Schanuel with a cooler of sports drink after he delivered a walk-off walk against the Texas Rangers Monday at Angel Stadium. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Associated Press)
“We were in every game right till the end, in every single game in Toronto, and so it showed we were still going to fight to the last out,” d’Arnaud said, when asked about not being able to come through as a team with three, one-run losses against the Blue Jays, “and today we were able to prevail, which is a huge step for us.”
A batter later, pinch-hitter LaMonte Wade Jr. channeled the “Throwback Week” theme at Angel Stadium, reverting to the clutch hitting that earned him the nickname “Late Night LaMonte” in San Francisco. The 31-year-old, wearing the '70s-style Angels uniform, singled to center to give the Angels a 5-4 lead.
Interim manager Ray Montgomery, who was ejected in the seventh innings arguing balls and strikes after Mike Trout looked at an inning-ending strike three call, said Wade waited for his opportunity to make an impact — even with limited at-bats after Jorge Soler’s return from injury creating a log jam in the outfield.
“Anytime off the bench you can get some sort of feeling and get some reps, it’s good, and you hope it carries over,” said Montgomery, who watched the remainder of the game from the clubhouse. “Huge at-bat by him.”
DeGrom didn’t flex the ace-caliber stuff he often tests foes with. On Monday, he gave up three earned runs and five hits across five innings, striking out five and walking two.
Yusei Kikuchi, coming off Sunday’s announcement that he earned an All-Star berth (his second of his career), didn’t live up to the pitcher’s duel billing either. The Japanese southpaw labored through an almost-20 minute first inning — in which he gave up a two-run home run to Corey Seager — and never settled down during his five innings.
“I didn't have my best stuff, but the team really picked me up today,” Kikuchi said in Japanese through an interpreter.
Before d’Arnaud’s tying double, Kikuchi was bound to be the losing pitcher, giving up four runs on six hits, struggling to accrue the same strikeout success he’d achieved as of late. He struck out just four, tied for the second-fewest he’d tallied in 2025 and the first time he’d done so since late May against the Yankees.
But none of that mattered when Schanuel came to the plate with the bases loaded, after Zach Neto was intentionally walked, washing away an 0-for-4 night with his walk-off walk.
“I didn't need a hit,” Schanuel said. “I put my pride aside.”
Reliever R&R
The Angels placed veteran right-handed relief pitcher Hunter Strickland on the 15-day injured list with right-shoulder inflammation on Monday afternoon. Strickland, who had pitched 22 innings in 19 games to the tune of a 3.27 earned-run average for the Angels, said he felt his arm get stiff before pitching against the Blue Jays on Sunday.
During his outing, in which Strickland struck out one batter in a scoreless inning, the 36-year-old said the stiff sensation in his arm got worse, causing the IL stint. Cuban righty Víctor Mederos was called up from triple-A Salt Lake City in his place.
“We're just hoping for the best and see what they say,” Strickland said, adding that he will get an MRI on Tuesday.
Robert Stephenson (stretched nerve in right bicep) said he began throwing again on Monday — soft toss — after soft-tissue recovery helped “fully heal” the nerve.
“I don't think it's gonna be a quick process, but at least I can start building up,” said Stephenson, who is in the second year of a three-year, $33 million contract with the Angels.
Stephenson has thrown just one inning as a member of the Angels, hurting himself in his second appearance back from Tommy John surgery on May 30.
SAN DIEGO — Manny Machado of the San Diego Padres got his 2,000th career hit Monday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks with a sharp single off the glove of diving shortstop Geraldo Perdomo.
The milestone hit came off starter Zac Gallen leading off the fourth inning. Machado received a standing ovation from the crowd at Petco Park, where he's been a fan favorite since joining the Padres in 2019.
The All-Star slugger singled to left field in the first for his 1,999th hit.
Machado became the fifth active player and 297th all-time to reach the milestone. He is the 12th player to have 350 homers and 2,000 hits by his age-32 season.
Machado made his debut with Baltimore in 2012 and got 977 hits with the Orioles before being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 18, 2018. He had 73 hits with the Dodgers before signing as a free agent with the Padres on Feb. 21, 2019.
He has 950 hits with San Diego, which ranks fifth on the franchise list. Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn had 3,141 in his 20-season career.
Machado was voted the starting third baseman for the National League All-Star team this year.
On Monday, the Mammoth signed big forward Jack McBain to a five-year, $21.25 million contract extension to avoid arbitration. The contract's average annual value sits at $4.25 million and will run through the end of the 2029-30 season.
McBain, 25, registered 13 goals and 27 points for Utah last season. The 6-foot-4, 219-pound center also registered 78 penalty minutes and is known for his hard-hitting style and tendency to drop the gloves.
"I think the areas that you probably would see us spend more would be acquisition by trade, and then signing players that other teams might not be able to fit," Dubas said in his post-season presser. "I think the effect in free agency is probably going to be somewhat of a spike in salary, and so it’ll dry up the cap space rather quickly for us, and those players are mostly into that late 20-early 30 category.
"It could do two things. Number one, I think it's going to allow us to maybe trade for players that other teams can't afford that are restricted free agents, and then sign them longer range ourselves, using that cap space that way."
The Ottawa Senators' decision to trade down during the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft was, as everyone likes to say now, a nice piece of business.
GM Steve Staios traded the Senators' 21st overall pick to the Nashville Predators' for Nashville's 23rd and 67th picks. Basically, he got an early third-round draft pick for almost nothing. The only cost was waiting two more picks to get the player he was going to take anyway. Then, Staios flipped that third-round pick he got for almost nothing, along with a sixth-rounder, for Los Angeles Kings defenseman Jordan Spence.
With the pressure of the clock ticking down and top players quickly disappearing off the board, it's amazing that deals can get done at all. It would be intriguing to see all the inner workings and how a deal comes together in those circumstances.
The Senators announced on Monday that they'll be providing a behind-the-scenes look at the draft trade discussions that were going down in their NHL Draft Day war room 10 days ago in the premiere of season six of Breakaway. In the trailer they posted to social media today, you can hear a portion of the actual trade call between Staios and Nashville GM Barry Trotz, at least Staios' end of it.
The call that landed us the Sensler and then later Jordan Spence 📞
Go behind the scenes of the draft night trade in the premiere of season six of Breakaway presented by @bell debuting this Wednesday 📺 pic.twitter.com/q9ScdQfSJc
This year's draft was a unique one, sort of a throwback to COVID when big social gatherings were frowned upon. In what appeared to be a league-wide cost-cutting attempt, all teams drafted remotely from home. The Senators hockey operations team set up shop in the team dressing room, surrounded by the jerseys of many of their past first-round draft picks and made their selections remotely.
If you enjoyed the movie Draft Day with Kevin Costner, where much of the film takes place in the draft day war room of the Cleveland Browns, as Costner grinds out trades over the phone with rival GMs, you'll probably get a kick out of this episode. Mind you, no one in Ottawa gave up three years' worth of first-round draft picks like Costner did in the movie, which was a worse decision than plowing under his corn field.
It will be interesting to see how far inside the episode takes us, or whether they include the botched video conference call between the Sens brass and first-rounder Logan Hensler. When the audio didn't work and Sportsnet pulled the plug, owner Michael Andlauer looked disappointed on the video stream and probably had some things to say afterward.
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto looks on during a brutal first inning against the Brewers Monday in Milwaukee. (Aaron Gash / Associated Press)
Yoshinobu Yamamoto was one pitch away from a clean first inning Monday night.
Instead, it devolved into a sudden, unstoppable nightmare.
In the shortest start of his MLB career, and in an outing that somehow rivaled his disastrous debut in the majors last March in South Korea, Yamamoto missed one chance after the next to escape the bottom of the first against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field — an inning which poor defense, questionable pitch calling and bad batted ball luck all also contributed to his 41-pitch collapse.
By the time it was all over, the Brewers were leading by five runs, manager Dave Roberts was summoning a reliever just two outs into the game, and the Dodgers were well on their way to a fourth consecutive defeat, never coming close to a comeback in a 9-1 loss to open a six-game road trip.
“This is a time,” Roberts said afterward, as the Dodgers matched their longest losing streak of the season, “for us to kind of look at ourselves and be better.”
They certainly won’t want to look back on what transpired in the first inning Monday night.
Sal Frelick hammered a hanging curveball for a leadoff double. William Contreras drew a walk when Yamamoto couldn’t locate his splitter near the zone. And the two outs that followed — a fly ball from Jackson Chourio and grounder from Christian Yelich — proved to be only a temporary reprieve.
The pivotal moment came during the next at-bat when newly acquired Brewers slugger Andrew Vaughn came to the plate in his first game with the team. He got three straight sliders from Yamamoto to start, fanning on the first before laying off two that missed the zone next. Then, after a called strike on a fastball at the knees evened the count 2-and-2, catcher Will Smith dialed up another curveball from Yamamoto.
“I think we went to the well one too many times with the slider,” Roberts said, later adding: “He hits in-zone spin really well, medium-speed. And he sees four of them in an at-bat.”
Yamamoto’s execution of the pitch didn’t help.
What was supposed to be down and on the outside corner instead fluttered up and above the zone. What could have been a whiff to end the inning instead ended with Vaughn connecting on a mighty upper-cut swing. And what had been a scoreless early ballgame suddenly became a 3-0 Brewers lead, with Vaughn going deep to left to christen his Brewers debut with a home run.
“I think the [first] three sliders I threw were located pretty good,” Yamamoto said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda. “But that last one, I elevated it. It got away from me.”
Somehow, the inning would only get worse from there.
Despite entering the night coming off a first-career All-Star selection, and leading the majors in road ERA at 1.57, Yamamoto failed to settle down.
In a 1-and-2 count against Isaac Collins, he left a fastball down the middle that was hammered for a single. After falling behind 3-and-0 to Brice Turang, Yamamoto worked the count full only to miss badly with a fastball and issue an inning-extending walk. Suddenly, his pitch count was climbing out of control. And with the Dodgers stuck on two outs in the inning, Roberts began to get the bullpen to stir.
“My tempo wasn’t really good, I couldn’t get my rhythm,” said Yamamoto, whose overall ERA on the season rose to 2.77. “That was on me.”
Yamamoto appeared to finally find an escape route against Caleb Durbin, inducing a grounder with a splitter that was hit straight to shortstop Mookie Betts. But, in a rare defensive lapse at his new position, Betts spiked a throw to first that Freddie Freeman couldn’t corral. Collins came racing around from second to score. The inning stayed alive when it once again should’ve ended.
“I can't make an error right there,” said Betts, who has had a couple misplays in recent weeks after making just one error in a 61-game stretch from mid-April to late June. “Regardless of the situation, I need to make that play."
Yamamoto’s leash finally ran out on pitch 41, when Andruw Monasterio lobbed a bloop RBI single down the right-field line in the next at-bat. As another run scored, Roberts came walking out of the dugout to give the team’s season-long ace an unimaginably early hook.
“He’s usually pretty good about finding his way out of it, or minimizing some damage to kind of reset and get back out there and give us a little bit more length,” Roberts said of Yamamoto. “But today it just didn’t happen.”
The two teams played the final eight innings. But the result already seemed well in hand.
Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani reacts negatively during an at-bat against the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday in Milwaukee. (Aaron Gash / Associated Press)
The Dodgers’ lineup was shorthanded, missing Teoscar Hernández with a bruised foot and Tommy Edman with a pinky toe fracture (both are expected back in the lineup by Wednesday). Before the game, Kiké Hernández was also put on the injured list with an elbow injury that had been bothering him since he made an awkward slide in Cleveland in late May, and flared up to the point of requiring a cortisone shot this past weekend. Not to be forgotten, Max Muncy also remains sidelined by his bum knee.
In their places the Dodgers started James Outman in center field (who was called up from triple A pregame), Miguel Rojas at third base and Hyeseong Kim at second against Brewers All-Star right-hander Freddy Peralta.
The outcome was predictable: Six innings of shutout ball in which the Dodgers managed only five hits, one walk and struck out seven times.
“We got to pitch better, we got to defend better, we got to take more competitive at-bats,” Roberts said. “And we’re just not doing any of those things right now.”
The Detroit Red Wings have already brought in a key reinforcement between the pipes, acquiring goaltender John Gibson from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Petr Mrazek, a 2027 second-round pick, and a 2026 fourth-round pick.
Following the emergence of Lukas Dostal in Anaheim, who also recently re-signed former Red Wings goaltender Ville Husso, Gibson was the odd-man out but has several years of hockey left in him at just 31 years old.
There still remains a chance that Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman could make additional trades, but this time to supplement their forward or defensive units.
"We have plenty of cap space to do a lot of different things,” Yzerman said last week. “The most important thing is to find players that fit."
Currently, the Red Wings have just over $12 million of available salary cap space after the acquisition of Gibson, the contract extension for Patrick Kane, and free agent signings of James van Riemsdyk, Mason Appleton, Jacob Bernard-Docker, Ian Mitchell, and John Leonard.
Detroit would love to add a top-six forward who can immediately make an impact for them. But which names would make the most sense for them to add up front?
Jason Robertson
Perhaps the most obvious name making the rounds amongst Red Wings fans is Jason Robertson of the Dallas Stars.
The Stars are facing a salary cap crunch after the massive extension Mikko Rantanen, and would love to shed salary. Robertson, who is only two seasons removed from scoring 46 goals, has still been heavily involved in recent trade rumors.
Jason Robertson scores three goals in the second period for his first hatty of the season! 🌟
Not only would Robertson be an instant offensive impact player for the Red Wings (35 goals in 2024-25), but they'd easily be able to fit him under their current salary cap situation. He's under contract for another season with a $7.75 million cap hit, and can become a free agent in the summer of 2026.
It also doesn't hurt that Robertson is from Northville, about 30 minutes outside of downtown Detroit, and also played for both Little Caesars and the Detroit Kings AAA team as a youngster.
Getting a deal done involving Robertson between Yzerman and Stars GM Jim Nill, who was Detroit's assistant general manager for several years, wouldn't be a difficult proposition.
Bryan Rust
Speaking of players with Michigan connections, current Pittsburgh Penguins forward Bryan Rust hails from Pontiac and played for the Detroit Honeybaked Hockey Club while growing up a fan of the Red Wings.
Rust, who helped the Penguins become the first club since the 1997 and 1998 Red Wings to win the Stanley Cup in consecutive seasons (2016, 2017), is coming off a season in which he scored a career-high 31 goals.
He's scored no less than 20 goals in each of his last six seasons, and could also soon be on the move from the rebuilding Penguins. He would also give the Red Wings another forward with a right-handed shot.
Rust has three seasons remaining on his deal which carries a $5.25 million cap hit.
Rickard Rakell
Another player that the Penguins have been rumored to be willing to part ways with is Rickard Rakell.
Like Rust, Rakell is a right-handed shot and also reached a new career-high in goals scored in the 2024-25 NHL season, lightning the lamp 35 times. His previous career-high was 34 goals in 2017-18 as a member of the Ducks.
Rakell is often utilized on the power play, and has been known throughout his career for his quick release.
His contract, which carries a $5 million cap hit, has three years remaining.
SAN FRANCISCO – On a typically chilly summer night in the Bay Area, it was hoped that there wouldn’t be much action going on in the Phillies bullpen. Not that the work wouldn’t have kept the relievers warm, with Taijuan Walker once again thrusting into the starter’s role for Tuesday’s game in which he will see limited innings.
With snubbed All-Star Cristopher Sánchez on the mound, that didn’t appear to be an imminent problem against the San Francisco Giants on Monday. But when Sánchez was already at 59 thrown pitches through three innings, and had to continuously work out of precarious situations, many had to wonder what the immediate future may hold for the pitching staff.
In a game filled with defensive miscues, a ball careening off an infield cutout for a double, a run-saving ground-rule double, a run scoring on a wild pitch and a bunch of umpire missed calls, Sánchez pushed all that aside and settled in for a gutty, grinding and outstanding performance through seven innings. Erratic pitching from Orion Kerkering and very questionable calls from the home plate umpire led to a 3-1 loss for the Phillies in the opener of a six-game road trip.
“In the second inning, where they loaded the bases, he did a great job getting out of that with just one run,” said manager Rob Thomson. “Just getting behind guys early. I thought he was really good and battled through a couple of rough jams and I didn’t think there were that many balls hit hard off him. He got a lot of swings and misses, a lot of soft contact, ground balls. I thought he did a great job getting through seven.”
Sánchez allowed just one run in the second, though he gave up consecutive singles and a walk to begin the inning. A strikeout, a run-scoring fielders’ choice and a groundout ended what could have been worse.
Then in the third, a fly ball to short right with one out somehow landed between an incoming Nick Castellanos and an outgoing Bryson Stott. An out later, Matt Chapman hit a rocket to center that turned Brandon Marsh around twice before bouncing over the shortest part of the outfield wall for a ground-rule double. With runners on second and third, Sánchez struck out Wilmer Flores to end that threat.
From there he settled into the form that should have been All-Star rewarded, retiring 12 of the next 15 batters he faced, racking up 105 pitches and saving strain on a bullpen that will almost certainly have just that on Tuesday.
But the Phillies offense couldn’t reward him with much support, as the lone run they scraped across came when Bryson Stott led off the inning with a double, moved to third on a ground out and scored on a wild pitch by starter Landen Roupp.
“I think it went well,” said Sánchez. “I was sticking to the plan that we had to attack hitters early on. It was teamwork with J.T. (Realmuto) tonight, too. That motivates me a lot (not being named to All-Star team). We might not be going through our best stretch hitting right now so that motivates me a lot too, to have my team’s back and hold on and throw as many scoreless innings as I can to get games close and give our team a chance to win.”
Adding to the strangeness of the night were two horribly called strikes on Bryce Harper by home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi. The first came with a man on in the fifth on a ball clearly above the strike zone. The second on an 0-1 pitch in the eighth with a runner on and no outs. That totally changed Harper’s approach and led to a ground out to the pitcher.
Then Kerkering, after hitting leadoff batter Willy Adames, appeared to strikeout Matt Chapman not once but twice on pitches clearly in the zone, but Cuzzi saw otherwise, setting up the winning half inning where the Giants scored twice with just one ball leaving the infield, courtesy of a pair of fielders’ choices.
“I feel like anytime I complain it’s pretty obvious,” said Harper of the missed calls. “He knows he missed them. Sometimes that happens. Umpire took over the game. I couldn’t say much more, I didn’t want to. I barely said anything to him when I walked off the first time on the strike three that was up. I respect Phil, I like Phil a lot. But obviously that doesn’t help us in that situation. He’s got to do better.”
As for his night, in which he had a hit and a walk in four plate appearances, Harper is feeling better after striking out five of his last six at-bats. “I felt confident today, felt really good where I was,” he said. “That’s going to be in for some good counts and be in some good situations.”
His manager agreed. “I think he got a couple of swings off that I really liked,” said Thomson. “It looked normal. He was balanced and a lot of bat speed. Nice to see him get a base hit his first at-bat, walks, hopefully we’re making strides here.”
During all the craziness of the game, there were some positives to be taken. Kerkering’s work in the eighth, however, was not one of them.
“I haven’t seen the pitches yet, I haven’t looked at the tape, but he (Kerkering) was having trouble gripping the ball, for whatever reason, the ball was a little bit slick,” said Thomson. “It was more on his slider than his fastball.
More than any other sport, you have to live to play another day in baseball. Sánchez’ effort allowed the Phillies to do just that.
Walker with a rested bullpen is the best case scenario Thomson could have asked for. Well, that and a win on Monday. But, sometimes, you just have to take what you can get. No matter the strange form in which it comes.
“Every time I’m on the mound I’m just thinking about going as late as I can in the game so we don’t have to go to the bullpen as often,” Sánchez said. It was certainly needed last night.
Multiple reports have suggested the Phoenix Suns are very close to reaching a waive-and-stretch buyout deal with Bradley Beal, who has two years and $110.8 million left on his contract (Zach Lowe at The Ringer and Fred Katz at The Athletic are just two of the names reporting the deal is close). This is a negotiation because Beal has to give back approximately $13.8 million of his contract for the Suns to be able to waive and stretch him (thanks to a little-discussed provision of the CBA). He appears willing to do that to get out of Phoenix and to a playoff team in a city where he wants to be.
Which appears to be the Los Angeles Clippers.
Los Angeles trading away Norman Powell — a sharpshooting, ball-handling wing, a role the Clippers need filled next to James Harden — is seen as a precursor to the Beal signing, league sources told NBC Sports. While Beal could start in place of Kris Dunn in the Clippers' backcourt, for defensive purposes, the better fit would be for Beal to come off the bench with a second unit that includes John Collins (unless Collins starts and Derrick Jones Jr. comes off the bench), Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Brook Lopez. The Clippers can offer Beal either the remaining portion of their mid-level exception (estimated to be approximately $5.3 million) or the room exception ($5.1 million).
Beal also "has thought about" the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks, reports The Athletic's Katz. While Miami and Beal have had a flirtation in the past, they do not appear to be a potential landing spot now.
Whether one of those other teams steps up with a deal or Beal chooses the Clippers, this appears close to happening. It will be the second nine-figure waive and stretch of the NBA season, behind only the $115 million the Bucks waived to move on from Damian Lillard and sign Myles Turner.
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is 4-0 with a 3.43 ERA this season and became the 20th pitcher to reach 3,000 career strikeouts last week. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
But no selection surprised him quite like this year’s.
Included on the National League All-Star team as a “Legend Pick” by Commissioner Rob Manfred in recognition of his career accomplishments, Kershaw did not get any advance warning from Manfred or anyone in the league office that he would be in the "Midsummer Classic."
When manager Dave Roberts gathered his Dodgers team to announce the club’s All-Star selections on Sunday, Kershaw forgot that the “Legend Pick” — which has been used in the past for players such as Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera — was even a thing.
Thus, when Roberts announced Kershaw’s name, the 37-year-old was caught more than a little off-guard — having made just nine starts this season since returning from offseason toe and knee surgeries.
“Obviously, I don’t deserve to get to go this season, haven’t pitched very much,” he deadpanned. “I don’t know if Doc was going for the surprise factor or not. But I had no idea until he said it.”
But by Monday, the meaningfulness of what he described as a “tremendous honor” had also set in, with Kershaw expressing gratitude for what will be his 11th career selection, tied for the most among active players with Mike Trout.
“You never take for granted getting to go to an All-Star Game, regardless of the circumstances,” Kershaw said. “At the end of the day, it’s weird but cool, so I’m just going to enjoy it.”
While Kershaw’s limited workload would normally not warrant an All-Star selection, his stats haven’t been too far off that pace this year: A 4-0 record, 3.43 ERA and 1.254 WHIP in what is the 18th season of his future Hall of Fame career.
“I think there’s some good and some bad,” Kershaw said of his season so far. “I wouldn’t say happy, but I wouldn’t say disappointed either. I would say kind of right in the middle.”
The highlight of the campaign, of course, came in Kershaw’s last start, when he became the 20th pitcher in MLB history to record 3,000 career strikeouts.
But at this stage of his career, Kershaw’s real satisfaction has been with his health — finally past the various back, elbow, shoulder, knee and toe injuries that had plagued him over the last several seasons.
“I think the biggest thing is just the mental toll [that takes on you],” Kershaw said. “Anyone that has been dealing with stuff, I think it’s always in the back of your head. You wake up and you test it and you move around and you test it to see if it hurts, see how bad it hurts. [Now], instead of wondering if you can pitch, it’s just a matter of how you’re going to pitch. I don’t think I took into appreciation the mental toll that takes over time. So to just worry about pitching is nice, for sure.”
It has also allowed Kershaw “to get the reps and go back out and be able to feel OK in between starts to work on some stuff,” he said. “Figure out some different things mechanically and pitch-wise and stuff.”
Long-term, Kershaw still hasn’t decided if this will be his final season.
“I don’t know what is going to happen in the future,” he said. “I really have no idea when it comes to the years beyond this one. So I’m just trying to enjoy it, be part of a really good team this year.”
When it comes to next week’s All-Star Game, he isn’t even sure if he’ll pitch in the showcase exhibition, which will be held at Truist Park in Atlanta.
“I’d love to pitch but I don’t want to take an inning away from somebody who’s never done it before or this is their first year or whatever,” he said. “I’ll enjoy just to hang or pitch or whatever.”
On Monday, Kershaw’s focus was instead on his final start of the first half: A scheduled Tuesday outing against the Milwaukee Brewers and their 23-year-old rookie starlet, Jacob Misiorowski.
Kershaw, 14 years Misiorowski’s senior, laughed when asked what it’s like to be the elder statesman in such high-profile matchups now.
“I saw a couple highlights [of him], know he throws hard,” Kershaw said. “But so does everybody. Except me.”
Paolo Banchero is getting a maximum contract extension to stay in Orlando.
This is not a surprise — the 22-year-old All-Star was a lock to get the max — and the Magic and Banchero's representatives reached the deal, with some perks for Banchero, a deal broken by Shams Charania of ESPN and since confirmed by other reports. Banchero got a player option in the final year of that contract, something rarely given in rookie extensions (the last ones were Luka Doncic and Trae Young).
This is a five-year, $239.3 million contract, but it can increase to $287 million if Banchero makes an All-NBA team next season (a distinct possibility, as he would have made it this past season if he had stayed healthy and played enough games). Banchero will play one more season under his current contract at $15.3 million, then that will jump to at least $41.3 million for the 2026-27 season.
Last summer, the Magic signed Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs to five-year extensions (which kick in next season), and the recently acquired Desmond Bane's contract runs through the summer of 2029. That means the Magic have locked up their core — a group that won 47 games last season and was the No. 5 seed despite injuries. This team is poised to make a leap next season.
The 2023 Rookie of the Year averaged 25.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game last season, but only played in 46 games due to an oblique injury that sidelined him for months. If he and the rest of the Magic core can stay healthy this coming season, Orlando should be hosting a playoff round, at least.
Braeden Cootes is known for a multitude of sharp hockey skills. It’s why he was picked 15th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2025 NHL Draft. The Seattle Thunderbirds captain has been widely discussed for his leadership qualities, even drawing comparisons to former Canucks captain Bo Horvat for his character and two-way play. While his leadership and ability to play up and down the ice are essential, there’s another aspect to his game that Cootes also likes working on.
“I love to shoot pucks,” he said after the first day of the Canucks’ development camp last week. “It’s a pretty fun thing to work on, that’s for sure. Back in my gym and in Edmonton, we’ve got a pretty nice shooting area there that I like to work on a lot.”
Cootes’ appreciation of shooting practice is evident in the player he models his game most after — Brayden Point. The Tampa Bay Lightning forward has scored more than 40 goals in the past three seasons including a 51-goal season back in 2022–23. Even so, Cootes has more than just Point whose game he looks up to. A crop of the NHL’s youth also skate at the same place that Cootes does. The Canucks draft pick listed Olen Zellweger (Anaheim Ducks), Kirby (Montréal Canadiens) and Colton Dach (Chicago Blackhawks), and Kaiden Guhle (Montréal Canadiens) as a few who he has shared the ice with.
“There’s a lot of guys that are good players that you can, even just from a distance, look at how they’re shooting, how hard they work,” he said. “A lot of good players that I can learn from and watch them.”
Watching other players work on their skills has been beneficial for Cootes, who broke out offensively for the Thunderbirds in 2024–25 by scoring 26 goals and 37 assists in 60 regular season games. Fans got to see his skills firsthand at development camp last week, when he scored on a partial break during Thursday’s prospect scrimmage. When it comes to working on these skills, particularly in preparation for the NHL-level, Cootes cited a couple of things he’s been utilizing.
“Deception, different ways, watching video,” he explained. “I haven’t really shot on an NHL goal yet, but I’m sure I will in a couple months, and I’ll get a good standard on what that’s like, obviously, and then kind of go from there as well. Just trying to learn different things, new things, to score more.”
Cootes credits watching other players — skaters and goaltenders — as part of the process he uses to develop his shot. One particular thing he likes to be aware of are “trends” in how some of the NHL’s goals are scored.
“You look at [Connor] Hellebuyck, about six-foot [four] — it’s pretty hard to shoot high sometimes. Goalies don’t want to go down either, it’s a lot more effort. If you show a little bit of deception, or you can freeze them for a bit, and then go five-hole. But that low glove, low far side, that’s a pretty new common thing in the NHL, where guys are shooting. Just trying to pick up on different trends that you can learn from.”
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Two-time Stanley Cup champion Tyler Johnson announced his retirement from the NHL at 34.
The center played a combined 863 regular-season and playoff games in 13 NHL seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins. He was part of the Lightning’s back-to-back Cup wins in 2020 and 2021.
“I’m filled with gratitude as I reflect on a journey that began as a kid in Spokane, Wash., dreaming of hockey,” Johnson said in a statement posted to his social media. “I can feel the crisp air of Eagles Ice Arena, where my mom, Debbie, taught me how to skate, and the countless hours my dad and grandpa spent coaching me, urging me to push harder.
“A short kid from a small town, I saw my chances of playing in the NHL were very slim. But my family – my parents, Ken and Debbie, and my grandparents – believed in me when doubt clouded my mind. Their unwavering faith turned that dream into reality.”
In fact, Johnson has won championships in the WHL, world juniors, AHL and NHL during his hockey career. He won the WHL’s Ed Chynoweth Cup, playoff MVP honors and the Memorial Cup in 2007-08, his first year in major junior hockey. The season afterward, he won gold with Team USA at the world juniors and was named a top-three player on the squad.
“From ages 17 to 20, playing for my community, surrounded by friends and family, was an honor I’ll cherish forever,” Johnson said.
After four seasons with the Spokane Chiefs, Johnson went undrafted and played two seasons in the AHL before entering the NHL. He won the Calder Cup with the Norfolk Admirals in 2012.
Following that season, he played 62 games for the Syracuse Crunch before the Lightning called him up for 14 games to end the 2012-13 season.
Johnson’s best years were with the Bolts, including a career year in 2014-15. In 77 appearances, he recorded 29 goals and 43 assists for 72 points. He finished eighth in Selke Trophy voting that season, the highest he’s ranked for any award in his career.
“In the Lightning organization, I found my place,” Johnson said. He said Tampa was also where he met his wife, Megan.
His career ended with a short stint in Boston. He played nine games for the Bruins, recording two assists while averaging 13:05 of ice time. His tenure in Boston didn’t last, as his contract was mutually terminated after he made the roster through a PTO.
Johnson signs off with a total of 193 goals and 433 points with an average of 16:24 of ice time and a plus-19 rating. In the playoffs, he scored 32 goals and 65 points in 116 appearances, averaging 15:49 of ice time and a plus-seven rating.
“Now, after a lifetime devoted to hockey, I’m ready for what’s next,” Johnson said. “I’m thrilled to focus on starting a family and exploring new paths. This moment is bittersweet, but I leave the game with no regrets – only gratitude for the rinks, the teammates, the fans and a sport that will always ignite my soul. Thank you all for being part of my journey.”
The Mets' reinforcements are coming. After battling without a handful of their regulars for a significant stretch this season, the Mets are hopeful that they’ll be able to get some big pieces back in action this week.
Jesse Winker is first on the list. The lefty slugger has been sidelined since May 4 with an oblique injury, but he played back-to-back games down in Syracuse this past weekend and could rejoin the team for the three-game set in Baltimore.
Winker will be evaluated before anything is confirmed, but he is coming off a strong showing in his potential final rehab appearance. He reached base three times and launched a two-run homer Sunday in Triple-A.
Getting him back in the mix would be a huge boost for this offense, especially as Starling Marte deals with a knee issue that flared up late in Sunday’s Subway Series finale.
Later in the week, Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea could return. Senga was a bit rusty during his rehab appearance Saturday in Double-A, but he said that he felt fine afterwards and, as long as everything comes back well the rest of the week, could rejoin the rotation in Kanas City.
The same goes for Manaea, who is still looking to make his season debut. The lefty has been dealing with elbow and oblique issues since spring training, but he is expected to make one final rehab appearance Tuesday in Syracuse, before potentially rejoining the team for the first-half finale.
He has allowed 12 runs (10 earned) while striking out 18 over 15 rehab innings.
"Getting them back is huge," Carlos Mendoza said. "It’s exciting."
"It’s almost like a trade deadline acquisition," Francisco Lindor added. “Those are some really good guys we definitely need and miss. That being said, the guys here have done a fantastic job stepping in while they were out.
"The way they’ve maneuvered through lineups, the way they have stuck together, it’s been really good to see. It’s adversity -- whenever somebody goes down, someone else has to step up and get the job done, and that’s what the guys have done."
