England’s Tommy Freeman has revealed the extent of his mental struggles after the victorious British & Irish Lions tour of Australia at the end of a season when he exceeded the player welfare limits for the number of appearances.
Freeman played in 34 games last season – 19 for Northampton, nine for England and six for the Lions – and has spoken of a “built-up anxiety” as a result of the workload. The mandated limit is 30, but players were given dispensation for the Lions tour on the proviso they were allowed five weeks off on returning from Australia and missed the first two rounds of the 2025-26 season.
Jaylen Brown, left, with Jalen Duren, center, and Kawhi Leonard, during the NBA All-Star Game at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
NBA star Jaylen Brown had a public spat with the Beverly Hills Police Department Saturday night after police shut down a brand event he was hosting.
Brown, who signed a $285-million contract with the Celtics in 2023, was in Los Angeles for the National Basketball Assn.'s All-Star festivities.
He told ESPN that the event was hosted at Oakley founder Jim Jannard's house. Brown is sponsored by Oakley.
The event took place in the Trousdale section of Beverly Hills and was shut down about 7 p.m. In a video posted on Brown's Instagram account, the NBA star could be seen arguing with a BHPD officer who was shutting the party down.
"The owner didn't say we needed a permit," Brown told the officer in the video. Brown claimed the event was not a party, but rather a panel on culture.
"300k down the drain," Brown wrote in a post on X after the incident, tagging the Beverly Hills Police Department.
"An event permit had been applied for and denied by the City due to previous violations associated with events at the address," BHPD said in a statement.
"Despite the fact that the permit was denied, organizers still chose to proceed with inviting hundreds of guests knowing that it was not allowed to occur," the statement continued.
Brown plays for the Boston Celtics, a historic rival of the Los Angeles Lakers, but added that he was surprised at his treatment by the city of Beverly Hills.
"I feel like we're being targeted right now," he said in a video posted to Instagram.
With a little bit of help and guidance from Vladislav Gavrikov, Artemi Panarin pinpointed the Los Angeles Kings as the team he wanted to be traded to.
Panarin and his agent, Paul Theofanous reportedly, spoke to multiple teams about a potential contract extension as the New York Rangers made their intentions not to re-sign Panarin public with the hope to trade him before the March 6 NHL Trade Deadline.
It was Panarin's full no-move clause that allowed him to dictate exactly where he wanted to play and treat this process almost as if he were already a free agent.
Eventually, Panarin gave the Rangers the green light to trade him to Los Angeles, and a deal was finalized with the Kings on February 4.
It’s unclear exactly why Panarin specifically wanted to play for the Kings, but he admitted that conversations with Gavrikov, who played for the Kings from 2023-2025, helped sway his decision.
“I tried to find a team for myself, where I want to be, so it was kind of about feeling,” Panarin said. “Obviously, you look at the players, and then I spoke with Gavrikov the last couple days a lot.
“He introduced me to a great organization, great teammates in there and obviously a great spot to live. I just want to play for these guys, for that organization. Other teams were on the list too, but I actually never wanted to go anywhere else.”
While Gavrikov’s high praise of the Kings organization may not have been the deciding factor in Panarin’s ultimate choice to sign a two-year, $22 million contract extension with the Kings upon being dealt, it certainly helped guide the 34-year-old forward in the direction of Hollywood.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - SEPTEMBER 20: Zak Kent #61 of the Cleveland Guardians pitches against the Minnesota Twins in the ninth inning of game two of a doubleheader at Target Field on September 20, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Righthanded pitcher Zak Kent has been claimed off of waivers by the St. Louis Cardinals, it was announced today. The Rangers had designated Kent for assignment a few days ago to clear a 40 man roster spot for the newly signed Jordan Montgomery.
This is the second time this offseason that the Cardinals have claimed Kent, who was originally drafted by the Texas Rangers in 2019, and then traded to Cleveland for international bonus pool money at the end of spring training 2024 when the Rangers were opening 40 man roster spots for Jared Walsh, Wyatt Langford and Jose Urena.
Kent made his major league debut for Cleveland in 2025, but was placed on waivers in December, with St. Louis claiming him. The Cardinals then waived him in January, and Texas claimed him. Now he’s back with St. Louis, and I would wager he’ll be placed on waivers again towards the end of spring training when the Cards need a 40 man roster spot and teams are flooding the waiver wire with similar guys, making it more likely he goes unclaimed and can be outrighted.
Mar 2, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Josue De Paula against the Chicago White Sox during a spring training game at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Eric Longenhagen, Brendan Gawlowski, and James Fegan wrote up the prospects, a list that was expanded from 100 to 110 to account for the prospects with a Future Value rating of 50 (on the 20-to-80 scouting scale) or higher.
Three outfielders lead the Dodgers contingent represented here, with Josue De Paula ranked 17th, Zyhir Hope 41st, and Eduardo Quintero 43rd.
De Paula is ranked between 14th and 24th on prospect lists at FanGraphs, Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, ESPN, The Athletic, and MLB Pipeline, with an average ranking of 18.5. Says FanGraphs of his future: “De Paula’s combination of present raw power and long-term physical projection give him a great shot to develop 40-homer raw power at peak, though it’s debatable whether his hitting skills are the kind that will allow him to actualize all of that raw thump in games.”
Other Dodgers to show up on the list at FanGraphs are shortstop Emil Morales ranked 61st and pitcher River Ryan at 107th coming back from Tommy John surgery. De Paula (48th) and Ryan (101st) are the only Dodgers returning from last year’s preseason ranking at FanGraphs.
If Skinner passes through unconditional waivers unclaimed, he will then become an unrestricted free agent (UFA) and have the chance to look for a new home elsewhere.
Skinner had become the odd man out in the Sharks' forward group, as he has been the subject of several healthy scratches. His last appearance as a member of the Sharks was back on Jan. 11 against the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Sharks signed to a one-year, $3 million contract during this past off-season. This was after the Toronto, Ontario native posted 16 goals, 13 assists, and 29 points in 72 games during this past season with the Edmonton Oilers.
In 32 games with the Sharks this season, Skinner recorded six goals, seven assists, 13 points, and a minus-8 rating. Overall, the six-time 30-goal scorer had a pretty quiet stint with the Sharks.
Fans of the Detroit Red Wings have every reason to feel excited about what lies ahead, thanks to their intriguing tandem of goaltending prospects, Sebastian Cossa and Trey Augustine.
Augustine, who is playing in his junior season with the Michigan State Spartans, ranks near the top of the NCAA in all major goaltending statistical categories, including wins, goals-against average, save percentage, and shutouts.
Meanwhile, Cossa continues to have a stellar campaign for the Grand Rapids Griffins in the AHL, helping them set multiple records for the best start in AHL history.
Coreau, who previously played at Northern Michigan, signed with the Red Wings as an undrafted free agent and spent several seasons with both the Griffins and the ECHL affiliate Toledo Walleye before making his NHL debut with Detroit during the 2016–17 season.
He would ultimately post a record of 5-4-3 with a 3.46 goals-against average and a .887 save percentage, along with two shutouts in his first taste of NHL action.
He appeared in just 21 NHL games during his career, which continued primarily in the AHL with multiple clubs before he eventually moved overseas to play in Austria, Slovakia, and Sweden.
While Coreau was not viewed as a potential long-term goaltender of the future for the Red Wings, both Cossa and Augustine carry that potential, and their performances could be a strong indicator of even greater things ahead.
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA - SEPTEMBER 24: St. Louis Cardinals second base Thomas Saggese (25) makes a play at first during the MLB professional baseball game between the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants on September 24, 2025 at Oracle Park in San Francisco, CA. (Photo by Bob Kupbens/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Thomas Saggese has proven that he is a versatile player, but does he have the skill set to transition to the outfield? There are reports that the St. Louis Cardinals are at least considering it.
I came across this story from MLB Trade Rumors over the weekend that says the St. Louis Cardinals are exploring internal options for its outfield and right-handed bat needs. In their report, they refer to a story by Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch saying the Cardinals have not been seriously engaged with Randall Grichuk and that Austin Hays had chosen the White Sox over the Cardinals due to playing time expectations. Their conclusion was that the St. Louis Cardinals were considering Jose Fermin and/or Thomas Saggese for outfield playing time. The Post-Dispatch just shared video today of Chaim Bloom saying Saggese in the outfield is a possibility.
Jose Fermin has already played a handful of MLB games in the outfield, but Saggese hasn’t played in the outfield since he was a 10-year-old kid. As we have shared here previously, Thomas Saggese has solid defensive numbers at 2nd and 3rd base with less impressive metrics at shortstop. Speed plays a much larger role in the outfield than it does the infield and Baseball America rates Thomas as having average to below-average speed rated to around 45 on a 20 to 80 scale. With his work ethic, I don’t question that he can adapt and learn a corner outfield position, but his natural skill set doesn’t seem to be a comfortable fit.
The concept for possibly transitioning Saggese to the outfield would allow him more playing time since his primary infield positions will be filled by Gorman, Winn and likely Wetherholt. If he could earn outfield playing time, that would get his right-handed bat into the lineup, but that’s not the thump many of us were hoping for. My initial impressions of Thomas Saggese was that he was a scrappy hitter similar to David Eckstein. That’s not a bad thing since he did end up being a World Series MVP, but David was known as a slap hitter with limited power. To be fair to Thomas Saggese, his performance in the minors in 2023 and 2024 show he does have some pop with 26 homers in 2023 and 21 in 2024. As I recall, David Eckstein only had 35 home runs over his 11-year career.
We’re still at the genesis of Spring Training so it’s too early to know if the St. Louis Cardinals envision Thomas Saggese as a middle infielder primarily and an outfielder only on rare occasions, but it’s obvious that the team would really love for him to be able to take on the super-utility role that Brendan Donovan excelled at. Does the thought of Thomas Saggese in the outfield make you nervous or is this a brilliant use of an already versatile right-handed bat? No matter what your opinion on Saggese in the outfield is, here’s something that is guaranteed to brighten your day as shared by the St. Louis Cardinals this morning.
With the preliminaries now over and the number one seed secured, Team Canada will now sit back and watch Czechia and Denmark duke it out on Tuesday in the Olympic Qualification Playoff round.
The good news for the winner of that game? They get to advance to the quarterfinals, where they'll be one win away from the semis and a chance to play for an Olympic medal. The bad news? They'll have to play the very next day against a well-rested, powerhouse Canadian team.
But lest we forget, Czechia and Denmark have both given Canada trouble in the recent hockey past.
THN's Steve Warne and Gregg Kennedy both agree the Olympic tournament format could use some work.
At the World Juniors, Czechia has been up in Canada's face for three years now, eliminating them in each of the last three tournaments, while the Czechia men's national team won the World Hockey Championships in 2024.
And don't sleep on Denmark either.
Many of the current Canadian Olympians, like Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Macklin Celebrini and Jordan Binnington, were on the Canadian team that fell to the Danes 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the 2025 World Hockey Championships.
Ottawa Senators veteran Lars Eller wasn't a member of that Denmark team, but as the only Danish player ever to win a Stanley Cup, he knows a thing or two about big games.
Eller was also Denmark's captain during Olympic qualification in 2024 when they defeated Norway, Great Britain and Japan to get to Milan for just the second Olympic appearance in their history. Eller led the Danes with two goals and two assists through those three games. In these games, he has one assist, along with 4 penalty minutes and a -2 rating.
The 36-year-old was joined on the team by Belleville Senators goalie Mads Sogaard, who played 51 minutes against the Americans before leaving the game with an injury. He made 33 saves on 38 shots in a 6-3 loss.
He and Eller are two of only six players on Denmark's roster who've played NHL games this season. The others are Nikolaj Ehlers, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Oscar Moelgaard, and starting goalie Frederik Andersen.
Frank Dichow has never played in the NHL, but he was in goal for last spring's quarterfinal shocker against Canada, and is also available for what the Danes hope will be a back-to-back situation this week.
If they do get to the quarters, the Danes will be badly outmatched, playing on short rest, and because of last spring's historic upset, there won't be a single player in Canada's locker room looking past them. Being on the wrong end of one of the greatest upsets in hockey history isn't something you soon forget.
As he prepared to make his Olympic debut earlier this month, Eller fondly recalled his childhood, watching the NHL's return to the Olympics in 1998 all the way to the 2010 games in Vancouver, when he was breaking in with the AHL's old Peoria Rivermen.
“Every Olympics is pretty memorable," Eller said in an interview with Senators writer Andrew Wilimek. "You remember flashes and players from those eras, so that’s pretty cool to think back on that, and now you’re going to be on that stage yourself.”
Meanwhile, if Canada's opponent is to be Czechia (1-1-1), which will be the favourite in Tuesday's Qualification Playoff matchup with Denmark, the Czechs bring a lot more NHL experience to the table, not to mention two former Senators.
Filip Chlapik, Ottawa's 2015 second-round draft pick, is Czechia's second-leading scorer with two goals and an assist. They also have forward Dominik Kubalik, one of the players acquired from Detroit in the Alex DeBrincat trade. Kubalik was ineffective in his one season in Ottawa and hasn't done much yet in his two games.
But the Czechs, despite their 5-0 loss to Canada, do have serious NHL game breakers in David Pastrnak (3 pts) and Martin Necas (5 pts). They also have Tomas Hertl, Ondrej Palat, Filip Hronek, Radko Gudas, and a solid goaltending tandem of Dan Vladar and Lukas Dostal.
On paper, Canada should be able to handle either nation in Wednesday’s quarterfinal (10:40 a.m. ET), but single-elimination hockey has a way of ignoring the script.
Steve Warne The Hockey News
This article was first published at The Hockey News-Ottawa. Read more Senators features and articles from THN Ottawa here:
MIAMI, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 27: Josh Simpson #66 of the Miami Marlins pitches against the New York Mets at loanDepot park on September 27, 2025 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Calvin Hernandez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Three days ago, ESPN published a tongue-in-cheek article called “Why Your Team Didn’t Do What You Wanted This Winter.” In a spectrum that ran Dodgers-to-Rockies, the Mariners were thankfully much closer to the Dodgers side of things, but Bradford Doolittle, the author, did question why the Mariners didn’t get another lefty bullpen arm to help Gabe Speier, saying some not-so-nice things about Jose Ferrer in the process and giving minimal attention to Robinson Ortiz, one of the Mariners’ early moves this winter. I’m not sure that today’s move of bringing in Josh Simpson from Miami to take Logan Evans’ spot on the 40-man will make Doolittle feel like the Mariners Didmore to address their lefty bullpen issues, but there is now another lefty in the mix along with Speier, Ferrer, and Ortiz.
Simpson got dumped right before Valentine’s Day as the Marlins DFA’d him on Thursday, allowing the Mariners to swoop in and acquire the Columbia product, who has so far spent his entire career in the Marlins organization after being drafted in the 32nd round in 2019. Simpson has had some injury issues in his career, missing a year in between his sophomore and junior seasons at Columbia with TJ. After being drafted he made steady progress through the Marlins system, dominating at the lower levels; but in 2023, he struggled with both injury (shoulder impingement) and throwing strikes at Double-A. 2024 wasn’t kinder on the injury front, as Simpson missed most of the season with “left elbow ulnar neuritis,” also known as cubital tunnel syndrome; you might recognize that as the thing that sidelined flamethrowing Angels pitcher Ben Joyce.
Simpson’s fastball comes in about ten miles slower than Joyce’s, so that’s not the concern with him; it’s more keeping him on the field, which he was able to do in 2025, and throwing strikes, which he was not as able to do. Simpson has enormous strikeout potential thanks to a deep repertoire and ability to spin a breaking ball; his sweeper is a whiff-machine, especially effective against lefties, and when he has a feel for his changeup, it’s deadly:
But there is a troubling amount of his highlight film titled “Josh Simpson escapes a jam,” because he often found himself in jams due to poor command.
There is a lot of raw material to work with for the 28-year-old, who might benefit from a different set of developmental eyes on him. He doesn’t have an overpowering fastball, coming in around 94 and depending more on weak contact than whiffs, and he pairs that with a sinker that is supposed to be a weapon against lefties but winds up in the middle of the plate too often. The Mariners, despite popular perception, don’t tend to make a ton of mechanical adjustments with their pitchers, but just from watching a couple pitches our John Trupin suggested there’s a lack of front-side consistency with Simpson that could be addressed. Then there’s the issue of being able to consistently land his curveball, sweeper, and changeup, which seems like a big ask for a pitcher who’s struggling to throw strikes, so perhaps some selective arsenal editing could be helpful. There’s also the injury aspect to consider, although Simpson is coming off a healthy 2025.
The question in Doolittle’s article still stands; if Ferrer and Ortiz don’t merit much mention, Simpson, at this stage at least, is a tick down from either of those two. But there are a lot of interesting components here that hearken back to the previous lefty duo of Speier and Tayler Saucedo, with Speier raining down hellfire and Saucedo—when he was on—coaxing ugly swings and weak contact. It’s a good lefty one-two punch, in theory; the Mariners’ job this spring will be to find Speier the right sparring partner, and now a new contender has entered the ring.
Bainbridge's JR Ritchie pitches against North Kitsap at Bainbridge High on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. Sports Recap 2022 Ritchie 01
With real baseball games just around the corner FanGraphs released their Top 100 Prospect List for 2026. Only two Braves prospects make the list this year with JR Ritchie leading the way coming in at No. 68 overall, while Didier Fuentes comes in at No. 90 on the list. This is the highest we’ve seen JR Ritchie come in on a list this pre-season, and the first one that has Fuentes on it at all.
Coming into his age 22 season Fangraphs has JR Ritchie at 68 overall, with a future value of 50 – a significant value that pretty much gives him a legitimate starting pitcher grade.
Here’s a little bit of what FanGraphs had to say about JR and it’s definitely worth the click to read the full breakdown.
Ritchie touches 97 with both of his fastballs, and after years of sitting 91-93, he added a tick and change in 2025, when his heater averaged 93.9 mph. While not a seismic breakout, it’s a meaningful step forward for a strike-thrower with a change and good feel to spin, one who has been on the 45/50 line in previous evaluation cycles. The extra velo gives him more wiggle room in the zone, and his ability to command the ball to both sides of the plate suggests he’ll fully leverage it.
Despite the rough stint in the majors for Didier last year, one that many have noted was a bit rushed, FanGraphs also gave him a 50 future value grade. Here’s a little of what they had to say about Didier.
Fuentes is advanced beyond his years. His delivery is simple and repeatable, with a quick and clean arm stroke and moderate effort throughout his delivery. He’s primarily a fastball/sweeper guy, and will sprinkle in a curve and splitter. He’s adept at spotting the fastball to the glove-side corner and the top rail of the zone, where mid-90s velo, plus extension, and a low release height all help it play as an above-average weapon.
Once again – it is definitely worth the click to read the full breakdown of Didier, one that might ease some of the concerns that have made their way around social media. With the Braves already facing several starting pitcher injuries there is definitely the real possibility that both find their way in Atlanta this year – sooner than later.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JANUARY 22: Alperen Sengun #28 and Kevin Durant #7 of the Houston Rockets talk during the second half against the Philadelphia 76ers at Xfinity Mobile Arena on January 22, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Arwen Clemans/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Thanks to another deal with the Thunder, one you can spend plenty of time arguing over on this very blog, the Sixers are now in control of the Houston Rockets’ first-round pick in this upcoming draft. So, every week we’ll be checking in on the Rockets to see how they’re doing and where the Sixers’ pick might fall as a result.
That’s far from set in stone, as the Rockets are just a half game up over the Los Angeles Lakers and only two games up in the loss column over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the West. In terms of league-wide standings for draft order, the Cleveland Cavaliers are right in that bunch as well with a 34-21 record.
With how bunched up the middle of the pack is, there could be a ton of movement between now and the end of the regular season and a Houston slump to help the Sixers out is not impossible.
Going 6-4 in their last 10 games, the general vibes around the Rockets seemed a bit off after they’ve come down to earth from a scorching start. The vibes there may now be in utter chaos thanks to another potential Kevin Durant burner account saga.
The Sixers won’t be counting ping pong balls in the lottery like last year. Their process to acquire this Rockets pick may come back to bite them, but at the same time, they might have picked the perfect team for their fans to hate-watch for the rest of the regular season.
The Obamas took over the NBA All-Star Game over the weekend.
Former President Barack Obama, a known basketball fan, and first lady Michelle Obama were met with a burst of cheers from the crowd at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California on Sunday, Feb. 15.
NBA legend Julius Erving sat next to them on the court. People gushed over their appearance, and videos of the duo went viral on social media.
Here are photos of the Obamas' date night at the NBA All-Star game.
After the 126-113 road win at the home of the Golden State Warriors last week, I spent most of the two hour public transit ride home flipping back and forth between these two views of the standings:
The best thing about this successful season is that there are no more instances of Warriors-loving friends sending me smack-talk pregame or postgame. This was the type of game that previous Spurs squads may have just accepted their fate and taken the deflating loss. However, San Antonio never seemed too far out of it this time — despite the sizable deficits — and was able to pull even with and away from the Warriors.
A Warriors fan behind me kept asking the Spurs fan to my left why he kept recording everything on his phone, and the young man turned around and simply said “These guys don’t make it out our way very much.” <conversation finished>
One of the benefits over the last decade-plus of living in the Bay Area is being able to see San Antonio visit Golden State and Sacramento at least twice a season for most years. Here are some of the highlight plays that I captured after the very sluggish start (there was a group of people that had more alcohol to drink during the game than I had consumed water that entire day, so the angles of the videos got increasingly higher and higher to minimize invasive scalp appearances):
2nd Quarter Hustle Plays
Carter Bryant seems to have found his way into the Bruce Bowen corners, like Keldon has, in order to find some offense:
This Fox to Wemby lob that was volleyballed in makes me think of how hard it was in previous seasons for the guards to feed the big man these types of ‘rewards’ for his great defense:
It fun win to watch in a place where the Spurs don’t always get them, so hopefully they can repeat it when they visit again on April 1 — and possibly even a few weeks later if a thing or two changes in those standings.
