Manchester City conquer the Bernabéu, Liverpool survive without Mohamed Salah and Atalanta find Chelsea’s flaws
• To say that Pep Guardiola and Real Madrid have history is to put it mildly. At Barcelona, Guardiola grew up amid an obsessive enmity on both sides, one deepened by his term as the Catalan club’s coach. They are highly familiar with Manchester City, too. City met Madrid for the fifth season in succession on Wednesday. Despite Madrid’s recent struggles under Xabi Alonso, winning at the Santiago Bernabéu is a huge result, a deserved win where City might have been out of sight by half-time. Rodrygo scored his habitual goal against City but one of Guardiola’s new generation in Nico O’Reilly equalised before a controversial penalty award, converted by Erling Haaland, decided the game. A player linked with a move to Madrid sometime in the distant future celebrated with a smirk; Jude Bellingham’s attempt to distract by trying to yank Haaland’s ponytail did not work. After the selection misstep that led to defeat to Bayer Leverkusen, Guardiola got it right in Madrid to leave a lifelong rival in flux. In acknowledging an opponent wracked by injury and infighting had made for an easier task than usual, high standards came to the fore. “I’ve been here [at the Bernabéu] many times in the last five years and we have played much better than today and not won,” Guardiola said. He talks – and his team plays – like he has his mojo back.
After losing their last two games and suffering sizeable defeats over the previous two weeks, the Montreal Canadiens called up Adam Engstrom, Owen Beck, and Jacob Fowler. After yesterday’s practice, Martin St-Louis downplayed the importance of the young goaltender’s being recalled, but given recent events, he wasn’t very successful.
The organization also announced that Jake Evans will leave the team for personal reasons and will rejoin before the team faces the New York Rangers on Saturday night. According to RDS’s Luc Gelinas, Evans has been playing with an injured foot since November 20 and must meet a doctor in Philadelphia. Interestingly, the team chose to evoke personal reasons rather than mention the injury.
The center’s absence has forced St-Louis to shuffle his lines. In Brossard on Monday morning, Zachary Bolduc was back with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield; Juraj Slafkovsky skated with Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen; and newcomer Beck was centring a new line featuring Alexandre Texier and Josh Anderson. Meanwhile, Joe Veleno, Jared Davidson and Brendan Gallagher were reunited.
On the blueline, Engstrom alternated with Jayden Struble on the second pairing alongside Lane Hutson. Struble didn’t have a great game against the Lightning, finishing his night with a minus-two rating and being easily beaten by Brayden Point, who was on his way to score the game’s opening goal. It wouldn’t be shocking if Engstrom were called upon, given the circumstances.
All eyes will be on the Canadiens’ net tonight. Jakub Dobes has started the last three games, Samuel Montembeault has been dealing with an illness and wasn’t exactly sharp in relief of Dobes against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and the coach has mentioned that he doesn’t even know if he’ll give a game to Fowler on the road trip.
If I were a betting woman, I’d put money on Fowler starting the first game of his career against the Pittsburgh Penguins nonetheless. Montembeault has a 2-3-1 record against the Pennsylvania outfit with a 3.72 GAA and a .880 save percentage, while Dobes has never taken on Sidney Crosby and co. Either way, since the three duels against them last season came before he was called up after the Christmas break.
As for the Penguins, goaltender Tristan Jarry has an 8-1-1 record against the Habs with a 2.50 GAA and a .911 SV. Meanwhile, Arturs Silovs has never taken on the Canadiens. The Latvian native has split the workload with Jarry this season and has a 4-4-5 record with a 2.98 GAA and a .900 SV.
Up front, the Canadiens will of course need to keep Penguins’ captain Sidney Crosby in check; the living legend has 69 points against the Habs in just 52 duels, including 25 goals. The Pittsburgh captain already has 18 goals this season and is on pace for 52 lamplighters, which would be a career high. He scored 51 goals in 2009-10. Unsurprisingly, Evgeni Malkin is not far behind him with 64 points in 52 games, and he’s also having a solid season; he’s got 29 points in 26 games, on pace for 74 points, but he’s currently on the injured reserve list. Defensemen Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang both enjoy taking on the Habs; the former Ottawa Senators captain has 42 points in 52 duels with the Habs, while the lifelong Penguins have 39 points in 47 games.
Meanwhile, Gallagher is the Canadiens’ top scorer against the Pens with 15 points in 31 games, followed by Suzuki with 11 points in 15 games, and Mike Matheson has 10 points in 19 games against his former team. Anderson is the only other Hab to reach double digits against the Pens; he has 10 points in 26 games. Meanwhile, Caufield, who just saw his 11-game point streak come to an end against Tampa, only has five points in 11 tilts.
Thursday night’s duel will be the first of three between the two teams this season, with the other two scheduled for December 20 and 21, just over a week from now. The Penguins have won seven of the last 10 duels, including the three from last season when they outscored the Habs 18-6.
The game is scheduled for 7:00 PM, and you can catch it on SN-PIT, TSN2, and RDS. The Canadiens don’t have a practice this morning, but there will be media availabilities at 11:45 AM at the team’s hotel. Will St-Louis show his hand, goaltending-wise, then? It remains to be seen.
The Boston Celtics do not have as much talent as they did last season.
That’s what happens when you lose Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford and Luke Kornet in one offseason. And they also have had to deal with losing a perennial first team All-NBA player in Jayson Tatum to an Achilles injury.
When you don’t have as much talent as some of the opponents you play, the work ethic has to increase. You have to outwork and outhustle the other team. You need to win every 50-50 ball, set good screens, rebound well, commit to tough defense, get to the free throw line, etc.
Playing hard means doing the little things well. For example, Boston leads the league with 9.2 screen assists per game. The C’s also rank No. 4 in box outs, No. 6 in defensive loose balls recovered and No. 10 in charges drawn.
The Celtics have been one of the hardest-working teams in the league, and it’s one of many reasons why they are 10-2 in their last 12 games — a run that has seen them rise up from the play-in tournament spots to sole possession of third place in the Eastern Conference standings.
“(Head coach Joe Mazzulla) just wants our guys to be the hardest playing team every night,” Celtics assistant coach Sam Cassell said on the latest episode of NBC Sports Boston’s Celtics Talk Podcast. “And sometimes it may not happen, but we have enough depth on our team that we — Joe’s going to find the pieces to play hard. It may not be for 48 straight minutes, and no team does that, but we want to get like 40 minutes or 42 minutes of hard-playing basketball.
“If we can do that, we don’t worry about guys making shots or missing shots. We worry about how hard we’re playing and if we’re competing. Joe just wants guys who can compete at a high level and bring some force. If you’re out there, make an impact doing something.”
Not only do the Celtics play hard, but the players are coached hard. Mazzulla and his staff are pretty demanding.
“If Joe Mazzulla is yelling at you, that means he really cares about you,” Cassell said. “He wants you to be better. He’s taking this time out to give you instruction and direction.”
This style of coaching has produced fantastic individual results, especially in regards to Jordan Walsh and Josh Minott — two key bench players for Boston.
Walsh has been a breakout star for the Celtics. The C’s are 10-2 since he entered the starting lineup, and he’s making a tremendous impact on both ends of the floor. Walsh is averaging 14 points on 76.5 percent shooting (63.6 percent from 3-point range) over the last five games.
“He just needed the opportunity,” Cassell said of Walsh. “He’s been in our system for three years now, and it hasn’t been easy for him at all. We coach him hard, and the thing I like about our team this year is they allow us to coach them hard.
“They allow us to get in their face and tell them they aren’t doing A, B or C. But when they do do things right we always congratulate them and we praise them. But the praise isn’t a lot. It’s like a second or two and then we gotta get back to work.”
Minott is an interesting case because Mazzulla seems to have taken a particular interest in coaching him hard during games. He is often seen giving detailed feedback and instruction to Minott during timeouts.
“He plays a tough role because of his versatility. He’s defending ball handlers, he’s defending screeners,” Mazzulla said after last Friday’s win over the Los Angeles Lakers. “They’re changing matchups on him. Just continuing to grow and execute, and he has a willingness to learn. He has an open-mindedness, and he wants to get better.
“I think he’s gotten a lot better. It’s just a credit to him. He cares about the details. He cares about wanting to get it right, but he plays a unique role for us, where he’s seeing a bunch of different reads over the course of the game on both ends of the floor. The growth of him is to get to the point where he can just make those on his own consistently.
“He does a great job studying those things, but it’s just a communication and teaching. I really enjoy coaching him.”
Minott clearly enjoys the hard coaching from Mazzulla.
“I love it. You know why? Because it means he’s thinking about me,” Minott said after the Lakers game, per John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal. “Every time Joe yells at me, I love it because it’s like, I’m a priority in that moment … I’ll yell back. We love each other.”
Not every player likes or responds well to hard coaching. It’s up to the coaches to determine how best to reach their players and maximize their on-court production. It’s something that Mazzulla and his staff have done very well over the last few years, and the results speak for themselves.
Boston has developed a lot of good players in the three-plus years since Mazzulla took over as head coach.
Also in this episode:
Sam Cassell on his expectations heading into this season.
Cassell on the leadership of Jaylen Brown.
Cassell on watching Jayson Tatum work his way back to the court.
On Wednesday night, former New York Islanders forward Zach Parise, former Islanders assistant coach Scott Gomez, and Long Island native Bruce Bennett, the greatest hockey photographer of all time, were part of the 2025 Induction class into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.
Joe Pavelski and Tara Mounsey were the other two inductees.
Parise, who played 19 NHL seasons, two with the Islanders, sits ninth all-time in goals by an American, with 434.
A 19-season NHL career defined by leadership and elite play. Welcome to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, Zach Parise! pic.twitter.com/JshflbwSWt
He scored the tying goal in the 2010 Gold Medal game against Team Canada, before Sidney Crosby's infamous golden goal:
Gomez, who served as the Islanders' assistant coach from 2017-19, became the first Alaskan inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. He played 1,079 NHL games and was a two-time Stanley Cup Champion (2000, 2003) with the New Jersey Devils.
A Calder Memorial Trophy recipient, two-time Stanley Cup champion and the definition of a team-first competitor. Welcome to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, Scott Gomez! pic.twitter.com/c9HKg10wDx
Bennett, the Levittown native who, as an 18-year-old, began taking pictures during the New York Rangers' 1973-74 season, has photographed 45 Stanley Cup clinching moments and became the first-ever photographer to be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
Bruce Bennett has captured more than 5,600 games across 58 arenas, including 45 Stanley Cup clinching matchups. His lens has given us some of the most iconic images in our sport, and now he becomes the first photographer ever inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. pic.twitter.com/chU5ekpaoT
Ottawa Senators - 13-12-4 - 30 Points - 4-6-0 in the last 10 - Lost 3 straight - 7th in the Atlantic
Columbus Blue Jackets - 13-11-6 - 32 Points - 3-3-4 in the last 10 - 8th in the Metro
Blue Jackets Stats
Power Play - 18.9% - 16th in the NHL
Penalty Kill - 72.3% - 29th in the NHL
Goals For - 87 - 19th in the NHL
Goals Against - 102 - 26th in the NHL
Senators Stats
Power Play - 24.7% - 5th in the NHL
Penalty Kill - 70.7% - 31st in the NHL
Goals For - 87 - 17th in the NHL
Goals Against - 96 - 22nd in the NHL
Series History vs. TheSenators
Columbus is 19-20-2-3 all-time, and 12-7-1-2 at home vs. Ottawa
The Jackets are 8-1-2 against Ottawa in the last 11 home games.
The CBJ went 1-2 vs. the Sens last season.
Who To Watch For TheSenators
Drake Batherson & Tim Stützle both have 12 goals and 26 points to lead the team.
Jake Sanderson leads the team with 18 assists.
Goalie Linus Ullmark is 10-8-4 with a SV% of .877. His last start was on December 9th.
Leevi Meriläinen is 3-4-0 with a SV% of .876. His last start was on December 4th.
CBJ Player Notes vs.Senators
Zach Werenski has 19 points in 19 career games against Ottawa.
Kirill Marchenko has 5 points in 9 games.
Sean Monahan has 19 points in 31 games vs. the Sens.
Injuries
Erik Gudbranson - Upper Body - Missed 22 Games - IR - No timeline for a return
Boone Jenner - Upper Body - Missed 14 Games - IR - Could return this week
Mathieu Olivier - Upper Body - Missed 7 Games - IR- No timeline for a return
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 59
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After the Montreal Canadiens lost Tuesday night’s game 6-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning, the organization decided to call up three players from the Laval Rocket: Adam Engstrom, Owen Beck, and Jacob Fowler. It’s the goaltender’s presence amongst the recalls that raised more than a few eyebrows.
Media and pundits alike had previously operated under the assumption that Fowler, who is primarily seen as the Canadiens’ goaltender of the future, would be spending the entire season honing his skills and getting used to the pro level in the AHL. That assumption led them all to conclude that the move was a desperate move stemming from Samuel Montembeault’s and Jakub Dobes’ performances this season.
But after Tuesday morning’s practice, coach Martin St-Louis was a man on a PR mission. He said several times that the plan had always been to see what Fowler could do at the NHL level this year, and that now was as good a time as any, given the schedule, adding that he would have been surprised if the youngster didn’t get a game in the NHL this season.
When told that the move was primarily seen as a panic move because of the Habs’ current goalie predicament, St-Louis dismissed the idea. He argued that the situation the Canadiens find themselves in was caused by poor collective play, by the way the team played in front of the goaltenders, rather than by their own performances.
While he has a point about the team not consistently playing well in front of the masked men, taking the responsibility away from the goaltenders serves one specific purpose: to make it clear that Fowler is not coming in as the saviour of the team. This is a smart move, especially considering that the Montreal market is a pressure cooker for any player, but even more so for the netminders.
The coach added that he didn’t know if Fowler would play in the upcoming road trip, but that if he didn’t, he would still gain valuable experience just being around the team. Still, I believe the rookie will get a game sooner rather than later and hopefully, the rest of the team will play well in front of him, giving him a real chance to show what he can do.
Lakers guard Marcus Smart challenges Spurs forward Kelly Olynyk for a rebound during their NBA Cup game on Wednesday night at Crypto.Com Arena. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
LeBron James’ emphatic one-handed dunk brought the crowd at Crypto.com Arena to its feet. It left Luke Kornet shrinking under James’ intense glare and scream. It will live on in the soon-to-be 41-year-old’s highlight reel, but for this night, James wanted it to fade into the background.
Because even though the moment left his teammates jumping on the bench and gasping for air, it did nothing to stave off a Lakers loss.
“It was just a play,” James said after the Lakers lost 132-119 to the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday, getting eliminated from NBA Cup play and setting up a regular-season matchup at Phoenix on Sunday at 5 p.m. PST.
The Lakers (17-7) went 2-3 during a revealing five-game stretch against teams with winning records, and needed fourth-quarter heroics to squeeze out both of their wins that came by a combined seven points. The Lakers’ plus-1.5 scoring margin ranks 15th in the NBA after their last three losses came by an average of 16.3 points.
“We really got to look ourselves in the mirror and figure out what we're gonna do,” guard Marcus Smart said. “We're going to lay down and get punked or we're going to fight back. And I'm not the one that's going to lay down and get punked.”
Here are three takeaways from the loss:
Marcus Smart adds a spark
After missing six games because of a back injury, Smart returned to score a season-high 26 points in 27 minutes, going eight for 13 from three-point range with three rebounds and one assist.
Smart struggled with injuries while with Memphis and Washington after getting traded from Boston in 2023. He hoped that coming to the Lakers, with their eternal championship ambitions, could help him revitalize his career. He got off to an uneven start, missing two of the first five games while shooting only 25.4% from three-point range.
Then he hit his highest three-point total in a game since Jan. 5, 2024, on Wednesday.
“All I can do is control how I prepare, and that's to make the shot,” Smart said. “I've been doing it — everything right. Tonight was the night for me, and hopefully that starts a trend for me to start making some shots consistently.”
Playing his highest minute total since Nov. 14 against New Orleans, Smart said his back “felt good” during the game. His only physical shortcoming was getting his wind back after being sidelined for two weeks. Coach JJ Redick, who called Smart the team’s tone-setter on defense, commended Smart’s “care factor," even when the Lakers fell behind by 18 in the second quarter.
Smart didn’t score any points during a late second-quarter run that cut the Spurs lead from 17 to eight, but he played key roles on both ends of the court. His block on De’Aaron Fox's shot led to a Jaxson Hayes alley-oop dunk. Smart screened two Spurs players to clear the way for Luka Doncic on a driving layup with 1:51 remaining in the second quarter. Doncic immediately turned and pointed to Smart in appreciation.
“When he guards, when he talks to us, we listen,” said Doncic who finished with 35 points and eight assists, including three on Smart three-pointers in the third quarter. “Just got to be a little bit more of what he’s doing.”
Bench falls flat
Outside of Smart’s 26 points, the Lakers bench produced only five points. Three came from Dalton Knecht on a garbage time three-pointer.
The Lakers have prolific scorers on their bench. Jake LaRavia’s 27-point outburst in Minnesota made him a viral sensation and earned him a custom “Who is No. 12?” T-shirt designed by general manager Rob Pelinka. Gabe Vincent shot a sizzling 55.6% from three-point range during the preseason before he suffered a sprained ankle in the third game of the regular season.
But LaRavia and Vincent combined for only two shots Wednesday. The only other regular rotation player who scored off the bench was Hayes.
Redick credited some of the bench struggles to San Antonio’s defensive coverages. Despite not having Victor Wembanyama (calf), the Spurs used center Luke Kornet similarly to how Phoenix used Mark Williams to dare Doncic and Austin Reaves to shoot shots in the paint instead of letting the star guards play-make for others.
Reaves struggled offensively for the second consecutive game, shooting six for 16 from the field for 15 points. Reaves, who leads the team in total minutes while also ranking second in points per game with 28.4, has made nine of 32 shots in the last two games.
Even Rui Hachimura, who had scored in double figures in each of the previous three games and made the game-winning shot in Toronto, had just two shot attempts in the first three quarters Wednesday. He finished with a quiet eight points.
Redick has marveled at the way Hachimura can go long stretches of games without touching the ball then still make crucial shots. Teammates have asked him for his advice on how to stay ready when coming off the bench.
“[The ball is] gonna come eventually,” Hachimura said before Wednesday's game. “And then that time comes, you have to make some moves. You have to do something about it, so you don't want to be surprised when it gets [to you].”
No strings attached
The Lakers entered Wednesday’s game ranked 21st in defensive rating. They were the fifth-worst team in opponent three-point shooting percentage, allowing teams to shoot 38.2% from three. The percentage will get even worse after San Antonio (17-7) shot 44.7% from three on Wednesday.
Opponents have shot better than 40% from beyond the arc in six of the last seven games against the Lakers. The Pelicans and Celtics both shot better than 50% from three.
Without Wembanyama, the Spurs showcased their dynamic backcourt, led by Fox. The speedy guard who missed the last matchup against the Lakers had 20 points while Stephon Castle, last year’s rookie of the year, dropped 30 points to go along with 10 rebounds and six assists on the Lakers, who simply had no answers for the quick, athletic guards.
“Being able to contain the basketball is probably the most difficult thing for our team right now,” Redick said.
Doncic and Reaves have become the highest scoring duo in the league, but the guards will never be known for their defensive prowess. The soon-to-be 41-year-old James is well past his time of being a regular defensive standout. If the Lakers can compete defensively, it has to be as a unit, James stressed.
“Five guys being on a string,” James said. “Obviously, you can't do it individually by yourself. It has to be five guys on a string, communication, always at an all-time high.”
ORLANDO — The Giants headed to the Winter Meetings with two open spots in their rotation and left with two open spots in their rotation. But internally, they don’t want to view it as that straightforward.
If you ask members of the front office how many starters they need, they likely will give some variation of “as many as we can get.”
“We used 15 starters last year,” general manager Zack Minasian said this week. “To think we’re going to use five would be fooling ourselves. The more the merrier is kind of how I look at it right now.”
Buster Posey and Minasian are confident they will be able to add veterans through free agency, trades or both, but they also still feel good about the young depth that’s around. Some of it might be needed in deals — everyone is looking for young, cost-controlled pitching — but in Hayden Birdsong, Blade Tidwell, Trevor McDonald, Kai-Wei Teng, Carson Whisenhunt and others, they feel they have plenty of young pitchers who can fill cracks in the rotation or bullpen down the line, or even in the spring.
A year ago, Posey spoke often about the organization’s collection of young pitchers. Landen Roupp broke through as the No. 3 starter and Kyle Harrison brought Rafael Devers to town, but overall, the group disappointed.
How many can be part of the solution in 2026?
“I’d say that’s up to them. It’s up to them with how they perform,” Posey said on Thursday’s “Giants Talk” podcast. “We certainly hope that there’s a handful of them that we’re saying ‘we need this guy in the rotation or we need him in the pen,’ but ultimately it’s going to boil down to how they perform.”
The group underwhelmed in the second half last year, but there’s hope internally that a new coaching staff can find the right adjustments. There will be three new faces on the pitching front — Frank Anderson, Justin Meccage, Christian Wonders — and during their interviews they were asked about ways they could help specific pitchers in that group.
Birdsong has the highest ceiling and Tidwell pitched for Tony Vitello and Anderson at Tennessee, but it might be Trevor McDonald who leads that pack at the moment after two eye-opening starts at the end of the season. The right-hander allowed just three earned runs in 15 innings in September and had an eye-opening start at Dodger Stadium.
Posey asked about McDonald often last season in his conversations with player development leaders Randy Winn and Kyle Haines and Triple-A manager Dave Brundage.
“He really settled in to hone in on his sinker and slider late and said this is going to be my bread and butter,” Posey said at the Winter Meetings. “Early on it seemed like the feedback was he was being a little too cute with trying to get his usage to look a certain way instead of just attacking with the top end of his arsenal. I’m excited for him. He’s got to feel confident going into the offseason.”
Honors For Everyone
Brad Grems (home clubhouse) and Gavin Cuddie (visiting) were named the Clubhouse Manager of the Year in their respective categories. It marked the first time that one organization took home the awards on both sides.
Grems took over for the legendary Mike Murphy, who got an even bigger honor in November. “Murph” was part of the initial six-man class for the MLB Clubhouse Managers Hall of Fame, along with longtime Athletics clubhouse manager Steve Vucinich and Eddie Logan, who worked for the New York and San Francisco Giants and ran the home clubhouse at Candlestick Park before Murphy. Murphy and Vucinich flew to Cooperstown earlier this offseason to see their plaque.
Also, this week, executive assistant Karen Sweeney won the Katy Feeney Leadership Award, which honors exceptional female employees in the industry. When it came to awards — a big part of the Winter Meetings for behind-the-scenes employees — the Giants just about came away with a clean sweep. Earlier in the week, Matt Chisholm was honored for excellence in media relations. There was also Jeff Kent’s induction into the Hall of Fame, of course.
Who Wins Out?
The trade for Rule 5 pick Daniel Susac gave the Giants a second young right-handed catcher to compete for the job behind Patrick Bailey. Susac, a former first-rounder, likely will enter camp with an edge over Jesus Rodriguez, since he has to make the Opening Day roster or else be offered back to the A’s, but there still will be a competition in the spring.
The organization is extremely high on Rodriguez, who came over in the Camilo Doval trade with the New York Yankees. He hit .322 in Sacramento and is a .309 hitter in the minors, and while Susac has much more power, Rodriguez might be better suited to hit big-league pitching right now. The main concern heading into the spring is the lack of reps he has gotten defensively.
“We’re really excited about his future,” Posey said. “I think what excites me is when I hear our manager or a coach on the staff in Triple-A talk about his makeup and how well he has worked with the pitchers and his desire to get better defensively. At least from the games that I’ve watched, he’s a guy that’s going to encourage a pitcher throughout the game. If he needs to tell a pitcher, like, ‘Hey, you need to get that breaking ball further outside,’ he’s going to be willing to do that.
“But having said that, we have to look and see what other options might be out there because he has been pretty limited in the amount of games he has caught so far.”
The Giants will at some point need both the 24-year-old Susac and the 23-year-old Rodriguez. It’s also possible they go with three catchers at times if the two are playing well and there’s a roster need; Rodriguez has a lot of first base and DH experience in the minors and Wilmer Flores, a key right-handed bench bat, won’t be back.
The world of soccer throws up no shortage of questions on a regular basis. In today’s column, we endeavor to answer three of them
Lionel Messi is a MLS Cup winner. That might rank lowly on the GOAT’s list of career achievements, but it was clear in the Argentine’s celebrations after the 3-1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps in Saturday’s championship game just how much this meant. Even for Messi, this was more than just another trophy. This was a ‘mission accomplished’ moment.
No one knows what the future holds for Jonathan Kuminga, not even his own coach.
Fresh off a DNP-CD (Did Not Play – Coach’s Decision) in the Warriors’ win over the Chicago Bulls on Sunday, Kuminga’s role with Golden State — once again — is in question moving forward. A two-year, $48.5 million contract resolved a months-long standoff this past offseason between Kuminga’s camp and the Warriors. However, his fluctuating minutes and being in and out of Kerr’s rotations — as he has been over the last four years with Golden State — reintroduce some questions and concerns.
Kerr, speaking to reporters after practice Wednesday, shared that the offseason contract saga isn’t affecting things on his end, but the coach could see it lingering over Kuminga.
“It’s not impacting anything for us. So you’d have to ask him. I can imagine it’s not easy for him, and we’ve talked about the situation. My desire for JK is to become the best player he can possibly be, regardless of where he ends up, whether it’s here or elsewhere.
“I tell my guys a lot, there’s so few players who end up playing for one team their entire career. It rarely happens. I played for six different teams. None of us know what’s going to happen with JK or pretty much any of our guys, although I would advise Mike [Dunleavy] not to trade Steph [Curry].”
Kuminga’s DNP-CD in Chicago was his first of the 2025-26 season, and just the latest bump of his up-and-down Warriors tenure.
Kerr later explained the reasoning behind his decision to bench Kuminga, frankly stating that the young wing hadn’t been playing well at that time.
Almost instantly, trade rumors began to fly as ESPN’s Anthony Slater reported that the Warriors are expected to explore Kuminga’s trade market in the coming weeks, with the possibility of a divorce before the NBA’s Feb. 5 trade deadline remaining “strong.” One of Kuminga’s offseason trade interests, the Sacramento Kings, reportedly still are open to continuing negotiations with Golden State.
“But this is part of being in the league,” Kerr told reporters. “I’ve talked to Moses [Moody] about this, I’ve talked to JK about it. I’ve talked to most of our guys, really. It’s a really weird league. It’s a weird business to be in because you have to fully commit to the team that you’re playing for, knowing full well that that team may trade you or cut you. And that’s a really hard thing to reconcile as a player. But the sooner guys can recognize it, the better. The guys who end up playing for a long time figure that out, and they understand that you can’t just say, ‘Fine, I’ll be a mercenary’ either.
“You really do have to commit to whatever group you’re with. But if you’re getting moved around, it’s not easy to deal with, especially if you’ve never been traded. That first one is weird and difficult. And I can speak from experience. It’s not an easy situation, but nobody knows what’s going to happen. My goal is to get JK to play at the highest level that’ll help us win that he can.”
The Warriors host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday, and it’s evident there will be extra eyes on how — and if — Kerr plugs Kuminga back into his rotation or not.
The Athletics bolstered their bullpen with a veteran arm.
Right-handed relief pitcher Mark Leiter Jr. agreed to a contract with the Green and Gold, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported Thursday, citing a source.
Free-agent reliever Mark Leiter Jr. in agreement with Athletics, source tells @TheAthletic.
The contract is for one year and around $3 million, ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reported shortly after, citing sources.
As others have reported, free agent pitcher Mark Leiter Jr is in agreement with the A's on a contract. It's for 1-year at around $3 mil, sources tell ESPN.
The 34-year-old Leiter, whose uncle is former MLB All-Star pitcher Al Leiter, is a six-year veteran who pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees from 2017-2025.
In 270 career appearances (15 starts), Leiter Jr. posted a 4.60 ERA with 396 strikeouts and 131 walks in 352 1/3 innings pitched.
Now he joins an Athletics bullpen that ranked 24th with a 4.53 ERA last season.
