Olivier Rioux lumbered through the lane, caught a bounce pass from teammate CJ Ingram and dunked, sending Florida’s bench and the home crowd into a frenzy. Rioux barely left his feet to make it happen. “Pretty special, man,” Gators coach Todd Golden said.
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As ex-Colorado safety Shilo Sanders tries to get out of $11 million in debt, the trustee in his bankruptcy case continues to fight him about NIL funds
Panthers clamp down against Los Angeles to earn third straight victory
The Florida Panthers were back on home ice Wednesday night, looking to build on the momentum they gained during their recent road trip.
Florida hosted the Los Angeles Kings for their second and final meeting of the season and completed the two-game sweep, defeating LA by a final of 3-2.
The Kings opened the scoring while on the power play after Sam Bennett was called for a high sticking double minor.
Joel Armia got his stick on a point shot by Brandt Clark, deflecting the puck past Daniil Tarasov to give Los Angeles a 1-0 lead with 6:21 left in the opening period.
Florida tied things up in similar fashion, with a power play goal early in the second period.
Parked in front of the net, Anton Lundell got his stick on a point shot by Aaron Ekblad, deflecting the puck perfectly past the glove of Anton Forsberg to knot the score at one 2:14 into the middle frame.
Less than five minutes later, the Panthers took their first lead of the night.
The red-hot Sam Bennett line struck again, as Carter Verhaeghe scored his ninth goal over his past 11 games to give Florida a 2-1 lead at the 7:04 mark of the second period off assists from Jeff Petry and Brad Marchand.
Carrying a one-goal lead into the final 20 minutes, the Panthers quickly added some insurane to their scoring total.
Directly off the third period’s opening faceoff, Marchand made a perfect pass to a cutting Bennett, who deflected the puck right under the crossbar to double the Cats’ lead just 10 seconds into the period.
That goal came in handy after Florida was victimized by a crazy bounce that ended up in the back of their net.
Directly off a faceoff win in the Panthers’ zone, a Gus Forsling pass attempt that was intended for Marchand on a set ‘face-off win’ play went off skate of Kevin Fiala and somehow bounced back toward the net and past Tarasov.
The fluky goal cut Florida’s lead to 3-2 with 15:12 on the clock.
That’s as close as the Kings would get, thanks to some strong defensive hockey and a key penalty kill in the final minutes.
On to the Hurricanes.
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Photo caption: Dec 17, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett (9) celebrates after a goal by center Carter Verhaeghe (not pictured) against the Los Angeles Kings during the second period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
Ex-Oilers Forward Milan Lucic Signs With Overseas Club
Former Edmonton Oilers forward Milan Lucic has officially found his new team.
The Fife Flyers of the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) have announced that they have signed Lucic for the remainder of the 2025-26 season. With this, the former Oilers winger is officially taking his talent overseas.
Lucic signing with Fife comes after the veteran forward failed to secure a contract from his professional tryout (PTO) with the Springfield Thunderbirds of the AHL last month. He also had a PTO with the St. Louis Blues during training camp, but was injured during the preseason. Now, with this latest news, Lucic is set to play for an overseas club for the first time in his professional career.
Lucic played in five games this season with the Thunderbirds during his PTO, where he recorded zero goals, one assist, and a minus-7 rating.
Lucic spent three seasons with the Oilers from 2016-17 to 2018-19, where he posted 39 goals, 65 assists, 104 points, and 715 hits in 243 games. His time with the Oilers ended during the 2019 NHL off-season when he was traded with a third-round pick to the Calgary Flames for James Neal.
McNeil hits 11 3-pointers, scores career-high 47 to lead N.C. State over Texas Southern 108-72
Paul McNeil Jr. hit a program-record 11 3-pointers and had career highs with 47 points and 10 rebounds to lead North Carolina State to a 108-72 rout over Texas Southern on Wednesday night. McNeil broke the record with his 10th 3-pointer with 3:34 remaining. McNeil finished 12-of-18 shooting and 11 of 17 from distance, and he made all 12 of his free-throw attempts.
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World’s tallest teen dunks for first college field goal as No. 23 Florida routs Saint Francis
Xaivian Lee scored 18 points, Alex Condon added 14, and No. 23 Florida got a break from one of the toughest nonconference schedules in the country with a 102-61 victory against Saint Francis on Wednesday night. The Gators (7-4) never trailed while dominating every aspect of their first home game in nearly a month. Florida made 15 of its first 20 shots while building a 20-point lead and enjoyed enough of a cushion that coach Todd Golden was able to get his bench extended minutes.
JSerra makes historic hire by selecting Verbum Dei grad Hardy Nickerson as its new football coach
Bishop O'Dowd coach Hardy Nickerson will become the first Black head football coach in the Trinity League since it was formed in 2008.
Golden Knights To Miss Two Key Players For Wednesday's Home Game
The Golden Knights be without star center Jack Eichel and defenseman Shea Theodore in Wednesday’s home game against the New Jersey Devils, per coach Bruce Cassidy.
Eichel is out with an illness that forced him out of the second half of Tuesday's practice. Theodore. who missed the entire practice, is nursing an upper-body injury.
Cassidy wouldn't speculate if either injury is short- or long-term, only that both are considered day to day.
The Knights are back for just one game after a successful five-game trip that saw them earn a point in each game. They'll depart after Wednesday's game to play a back-to-back set over the weekend against the Calgary Flames on Saturday and Edmonton Oilers on Sunday.
Cassidy will throw his lines in the proverbial hockey blender, as Ivan Barbashev will skate with Tomas Hertl and Pavel Dorofeyev, while Braeden Bowman will skate with Brandon Saad and Reilly Smith.
Smith will shift to center, as Saad will returns to the lineup after being healthy scratched in Columbus on Saturday.
It marks the first time Eichel will miss a game this season. The first-line center leads the Knights with 41 points in 31 games.
Theodore, who will also miss his first game this season, leads Vegas' defensemen with 20 points.
PHOTO CAPTION: Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Yegor Chinakhov (59) skates for the puck against Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (9) in the third period at Nationwide Arena.
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Luka Doncic gifts more than 100 e-bikes to Lakers players, staff
Luka Doncic was back at it again, this time surprising the Lakers and staff members with more than 100 e-bikes for Christmas gifts.
Doncic, who took his teammates to a Porsche Driving Experience in October as a way to bond, gave the gifts away Tuesday after practice.
"I just wanted to give everybody something," he said. "Everybody works hard, even the people you don't see in the back, so I want to do something for them too."
Said teammate Jake LaRavia: “Shout-out to Luka, man. What a guy.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Michigan interim president extends Sherrone Moore investigation
Michigan interim president Domenico Grasso said the university is investigating the entire athletics department after the firing of Sherrone Moore.
Lakers want Luka Doncic, LeBron James to engage more on defense
They saw how “contagious” it was when playing defense at a high level against the Suns and how Jarred Vanderbilt lit the fuse to ignite things for the Lakers in their last victory over Phoenix.
And for the Lakers to maintain that defensive mindset, stars Luka Doncic and LeBron James also have to be committed to that end of the court.
That was the message from Lakers coach JJ Redick to Doncic and James.
"Yeah, it was good," Doncic said. "We talked about a lot, not just that, but he was right. You got to get a little big more, especially from the star players. So that's on us. That's on me. And we just got to give more, especially at the start of the game. We got to start the game better. But I think in Phoenix, we did a pretty good job. The plan was focused on ourselves and [our] defensive mentality, so I think we did a pretty good job."
The Lakers will be tested again on defense by the Utah Jazz Thursday night in Salt Lake City.
The Jazz have a developing star in Lauri Markkanen, a difficult matchup at 7-foot-1 who is ninth in the NBA in scoring at 27.8 points per game, and a young talent in guard Keyonte George, who is averaging 23.5 points and 6.8 assists.
Read more:Luka Doncic gifts more than 100 e-bikes to Lakers players, staff
Utah is fourth in the league in pace (102.98), ninth in scoring (119.0), second in assists (29.8). The Jazz are fifth in rebounds (45.7), eighth in offensive rebounds (12.6), and 12th in field-goal percentage.
"The way we play, we got to approach every game the same," Doncic said. "In the NBA, every team is dangerous, so at some point somebody can go for 40. They have Markkanen, and then George. They can go for 40 on any night. So we just got to work on ourselves and approach the game, make everything the same."
The all-out energy and effort by Vanderbilt off the bench was the catalyst for the Lakers against the Suns.
In his 15 minutes of action, he had seven points, seven rebounds, two steals and one blocked shot.
Vanderbilt had played only three minutes and eight seconds over a 10-game stretch prior to that point.
“Vando's minutes were huge,” Gabe Vincent said. “He came in and does what we all know he's very capable of doing and being disruptive on the defensive end, crashing the glass, getting extra possessions for us, all of which we desperately needed. You know what I mean? So his spark off the bench was huge for us."
Read more:Lakers blow 20-point lead but survive when Dillon Brooks and Suns go supernova
Now it’s about sustaining that defensive intensity, the Lakers say. And about playing with that physicality, the Lakers say.
“Yeah, when you guys asked me this the last time, it’s effort,” Jake LaRavia said. “If we just go out there and we give that kind of effort every night…We got a lot of guys on the team. Some guys might not be having it and, like you said about that contagious word, that really helps out. [Marcus] Smart does it sometimes. Vando does it sometimes. I would say I do it just being a contagious type of person to help lead the team and just being extra physical.”
The Lakers are ranked near the bottom of the league in some defensive categories, which means there remains room for improvement.
They are ranked 17th in the league in points allowed (116.7), 24th in field-goal percentage (48.1%) allowed and 28th in three-point shooting (38.1%) allowed.
“You just got to go out there and do it,” LaRavia said. “It’s not anything a coach can say. It’s not anything a player can tell another player. Yeah, it’s like the individual player’s job to go out there and give effort on defense and that’s contagious. It just goes around.”
Deandre Ayton wins award
Lakers center Deandre Ayton on Wednesday was named by the NBA and the National Basketball Players Assn. as the winner of the Bob Lanier Community Assist Award for November. Ayton was recognized for his philanthropic work across the Bahamas, which is his home country, Jamaica and Los Angeles through the Ayton Family Foundation. Ayton will miss the game at Utah on Thursday because of left elbow soreness.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
3 Injured Penguins' Forwards Skate Before Team Practice Wednesday
The Pittsburgh Penguins are mired in their worst stretch of the 2024-25 season, having lost six consecutive games. There doesn't seem to be much going their way.
But that could change relatively soon.
Prior to the Penguins' full team practice, injured forwards Evgeni Malkin, Blake Lizotte, and Filip Hallander all skated together on the main rink at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry, Pa. They didn't join the team practice, but it is still a sight for sore eyes and signals that they are at least progressing toward a return.
Head coach Dan Muse said that there was no status update on Malkin or Lizotte and that this represented just another day in their recovery process.
"No change of status," Muse said. "They've been out there. This isn't the first day. They've had some opportunities where they can skate a little bit, but no change of status."
Regardless, the Penguins could sure use at least one of these guys back as soon as possible.
Since Malkin went on injured reserve (IR), the Penguins are 0-2-4, and they are 0-2-3 without Lizotte. Both centers headed to IR on Dec. 9, and the Penguins have been forced to deploy a rotating cast of characters at the center position.
Report: Penguins Sold To New Ownership GroupAccording to a report, the Pittsburgh Penguins are set to be sold. At the time of his injury, Malkin was the team's leading scorer with eight goals and 29 points in 26 games. They are also missing him on the power play, which is now limited on shooting options from the right side of the ice.
They are also missing Lizotte, who is putting together a really solid season for the Penguins. Beyond his three goals and five points, he has been arguably their best defensive forward, logging important minutes in defensive zone starts, on the penalty kill, and in six-on-five situations.
Hallander - also a center - was placed on long-term injured reserve on Nov. 7 when he was diagnosed with a blood clot, and he was expected to miss approximately three months. He left the lineup with a goal and four points in 13 games on the season.
Takeaways: Penguins Drop Sixth Straight On Milestone Night For Oilers' DraisaitlThe biggest story going into the Tuesday matchup between the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a> and <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/">Edmonton Oilers</a> was the goaltending battle, which featured two netminders in Tristan Jarry and Stuart Skinner who were <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/players/we-re-ripping-off-the-band-aid-right-away-skinner-jarry-to-square-off-against-former-teams">swapped in a trade between the teams on Friday</a>.
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Michigan signed new special teams coach week of Sherrone Moore’s firing
Special teams coordinator Kerry Coombs signed his deal with Michigan on Dec. 6, per records. Four days later, Sherrone Moore was fired.
Raymond van Barneveld sunk by Swiss star Stefan Bellmont at PDC worlds
Bellmont: ‘This is great for all Swiss people’
James Wade cruises past Ryusei Azemoto
The five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld was left stunned after falling to a straight-sets defeat by Switzerland’s Stefan Bellmont in their first-round clash at Alexandra Palace.
Bellmont produced the performance of his career to become the first Swiss player win a match at the World Darts Championship. The 36-year-old from Cham hopes that his success will inspire a wave of darts enthusiasts in his home country.
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