The Crystal Palace manager cut his teeth in the Austrian and German Bundesligas, while a health scare helped form his approach to life
Siegmund Gruber didn’t take long to decide Oliver Glasner was his man. “We were convinced from the moment we met him,” says the chief executive of the Austrian club Lask. “Oliver started his presentation and it was like that scene in Jerry Maguire: ‘You had me at hello.’”
It was the summer of 2015 and the future Crystal Palace manager had been persuaded to leave SV Ried, where he had made more than 500 appearances and been named player of the century before taking over as manager the previous year, for their main rivals. What made things worse was that Lask, after going bankrupt under the previous owners and losing their stadium, had just been promoted from the third division, while Ried had finished mid-table in the Austrian Bundesliga.
The Washington Capitals have recalled goaltender Clay Stevenson from the Hershey Bears, it was announced Thursday.
Stevenson, a product of Drayton Valley, Alta., has split time this season between the Capitals and the Bears. In his lone NHL appearance, he collected the loss while putting up a 5.00 GAA and a .868 SP. In 33 appearances with Hershey, Stevenson put together a record of 18-8-5 along with a 2.94 GAA and a .888 SP. Stevenson has also seen one game for the Bears in the Calder Cup playoffs, putting up a 4.00 GAA and a .875 SP.
With this being his third full season of pro hockey, Stevenson has made a name for himself throughout his time in the Capitals organization. Across 72 regular season appearances with Hershey, where he has spent the majority of his time, Stevenson has put up a respectable 2.44 GAA and a .907 SP while going 45-18-7.
Although this season may not have been his best when it comes to stats, Stevenson got the opportunity to make his NHL debut and provides solid depth for the organization. Signed for two more years, Stevenson should see more NHL games next year and is a candidate to have a solid bounce back season in 2025-26.
Collapse of their league title defence and an early European exit mean Manchester City’s season rests on beating Palace
The measure of Manchester City’s class is that they have a chance of claiming the FA Cup in Saturday’s Wembley showpiece despite a troubled campaign featuring serial injury, an insipid title defence, Champions League playoff stage elimination by Real Madrid and the mid-season departure of the captain, Kyle Walker, on loan.
Oliver Glasner’s in-form Crystal Palace, who have lost two of their past 14 games, are in their way but Pep Guardiola’s garlanded team are favourites, the wounded deposed champions intent on not ending empty-handed for the first time since the Catalan’s opening 2016-17 term.
The 2025 NHL Draft is nearing. There are still a couple more rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs remaining, but draft day will be here before you know it. The Chicago Blackhawks are preparing to make the third overall pick.
The New York Islanders won the lottery, which allowed them to come up with the first overall pick. The San Jose Sharks fell to second overall with the Blackhawks sticking right behind them.
The assumption is that Michael Misa of the Saginaw Spirit and Matthew Schaefer of the Erie Otters will be the top two picks. The intrigue in the draft truly begins with the Blackhawks at three.
Unless they trade out of the pick or draft someone completely off the board, they will end up with one of these four players:
James Hagens - C - Boston College
Coming into the 2024-25 season, James Hagens was the consensus number one overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. He didn't have the freshman year at college that people were expecting, like Macklin Celebrini a year prior, but he still had a good campaign.
With Will Smith leaving Boston College, Hagens slipped right into his spot and didn't miss a beat centering a line with Ryan Leonard (Washington Capitals) and Gabe Perreault (New York Rangers).
In 37 games played with BC, Hagens had 11 goals and 26 assists for 37 points. Being a point-per-game freshman at a top NCAA program is not something to ignore. If he goes back in 2025-26, it may be something to behold.
Hagens also got some experience playing with Team USA at the World Junior Championships. He elevated his game in that tournament, scoring five goals and four assists for nine points in seven matches. Hagens was a big part of their Gold medal-winning run.
Being a smaller forward is the biggest knock against Hagens. With Connor Bedard already in Chicago, they may avoid him for that reason, but there is no denying his ceiling offensively.
Porter Martone - RW - Brampton Steelheads
Porter Martone had a wonderful year for the Brampton Steelheads. While being a noticeable physical presence, he took his offense to the next level in 2024-25.
In 57 games played with the Steelheads, Martone scored 37 goals and had 61 assists for 98 points. With the offensive skills that he possesses, combined with his attributes away from the puck, an NHL team might be getting a difference maker in more ways than one if they select him.
Martone's skill set resembles that of a player who would fit in well with Bedard. If he reaches his physical and offensive ceiling once he plays in the NHL, he would create extra space for a star like Bedard to make plays.
Martone is more of a winger than a center, but Chicago could use young depth at all forward positions right now.
Anton Frondell - C - Djurgardens IF
Anton Frondell has inserted himself into the mix to be a top-five pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. Chicago has had plenty of success with players from Sweden, which is one of the many reasons that Frondell is a great candidate for them.
Frondell is one of those two-way centers who can create offense for himself and others around him. When he comes to the NHL, he could be one of those players who have nearly as many goals as assists.
In 29 games played during the regular season with Djugardens, he scored 11 goals and 14 assists for 25 points. Scoring is much harder in Swedish leagues than in North America, but he showed he can do it. When he comes to North America, he projects to be the kind of player who does it all to help a team win.
With Connor Bedard as the top-line center, they could use someone like Frondell down the middle on the second or third line.
Caleb Desnoyers - C - Moncton Wildcats
Another good center option, if they feel strongly about him through their scouting, is Caleb Desnoyers of the Moncton Wildcats. This is a player who will be drafted in the top six of the 2025 NHL Draft.
In 56 games played with Moncton, Desnoyers scored 35 goals and 49 assists for 84 points. He has an offensive ceiling worthy of being selected early in the draft.
The skills are there for him to continue developing into a center who can help at even strength and on the power play.
If the Blackhawks aren't going to select one of these four, they may as well consider moving down and adding other assets in the meantime.
If they go with one of these options, they will be adding another forward to work with their budding young core that projects to be great in the long term.
Philadelphia Flyers goalie Aleksei Kolosov dubiously disappeared following the conclusion of the 2024-25 NHL regular season, having not been assigned to the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms to play in the Calder Cup playoffs.
But, at long last, we have a Kolosov sighting, and it's a positive one!
As originally noted by Belarus Hockey, Kolosov, 23, has returned home to Belarus for the offseason and was recently spotted training with members of the Dinamo Junivers (Dinamo Juniors) 2015-born group.
Kolosov was joined in the training session by Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok, a fellow Belarusian and teammate of five years dating back to 2018.
Great emotions. I entered the arena, memories immediately came flooding back. Even the smell in the locker room was the same! And I had a great time with the kids, rode with them, suggested something, amused them," Kolosov was quoted as saying by Belarus Hockey via Dinamo's Telegram channel.
"The guys born in 2015 are great, fast, small. One crashed into me, I didn't even feel it. It was more interesting with the older ones in terms of noticing mistakes and being able to point out something, give advice. I talked to the goalkeeper coach, told him the things I was taught.
"The school is growing every year, both in terms of awards and training, how many specialists have been added, and opportunities, and time on the ice."
Kolosov, of course, was a graduate of Dinamo's youth program alongside Kolyachonok, subsequently becoming the first Belarusian goalie to appear in a game in NHL history after making his NHL debut for the Flyers against the Montreal Canadiens on Oct. 27.
The Flyers' former third-round pick finished his first season in the NHL with a 5-9-1 record, a 3.59 GAA, and a .867 save percentage in 17 total appearances.
Bethell, Salt and Livingstone back in action for RCB
Starc and Curran among those opting to stay back home
Only eight days after the competition was suspended amid mounting hostilities along India’s border with Pakistan the Indian Premier League returns on Saturday, with most of the foreign players who scattered across the globe in the 48 hours after the competition collapsed now back in the country, their pursuit of runs and wickets having been temporarily replaced by the rapid accumulation of air miles.
The plug was in effect pulled on the tournament 10.1 overs into a game between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals in Dharamsala on 8 May, when as rockets landed only 80km to the west the floodlights went out, fans were told to leave and players rushed back to their hotel. That match has been rescheduled for 24 May in Jaipur; all the remaining games are to be played in only six venues, with Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata joining Dharamsala in being cut from the schedule.
Given that only 13 of 295 teams in NBA history have come back from a 3-1 playoff deficit (a 4.4 percent success rate) and that the Celtics just lost their best player, there’s no way Boston can join that exclusive comeback club… right?
Well, the Celtics took the first step Wednesday by winning Game 5 without Tatum at TD Garden. And ahead of Friday’s Game 6 at Madison Square Garden, there are a few stats that may make Knicks fans sweat a bit.
Consider these these stats for starters, courtesy of NBC Sports Boston stats guru Dick Lipe:
The Celtics are 9-2 in their last 11 elimination games (chance to lose the series). No other NBA team has more than four wins during that stretch.
Boston is 5-0 in its last five elimination games on the road.
The Knicks are 2-5 in their last seven closeout games (chance to win the series) and are 4-9 in closeout games since 2001.
New York is 0-5 in its last five closeout games at home.
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The obvious caveat here is that the Celtics don’t have Tatum, who delivered legendary performances in two of Boston’s most recent elimination-game wins. His 16 points in the fourth quarter of Game 6 against the Philadelphia 76ers in 2023 rescued them from an early exit, and he put the team on his back the previous year in Milwaukee with 46 points on the road in Game 6.
But this is a resilient Boston team that’s won without Tatum before; in fact, the Celtics are now 17-3 (including 2-0 in the playoffs) over the last two seasons when Tatum is sidelined. And while making a full comeback from down 3-1 is a steep challenge, the C’s have fared quite well in this particular spot:
Boston is 13-11 all time in Game 6 when trailing 3-2, and has won three of its last four Game 6s while facing a 3-2 deficit.
For Celtics fans, the biggest reason for optimism might be the pressure facing the Knicks. The storied franchise hasn’t reached the Eastern Conference Finals since 2000 and was in this exact spot last postseason (up 3-1 on the Indiana Pacers in the second round) before losing three straight, including Games 5 and 7 on their own floor.
The stars will be out at Madison Square Garden on Friday night with the hope of watching the Knicks finally get over the hump. But they’ll have plenty of ghosts to contend with if the Celtics can rally for another win.
Game 6 tips off at 8 p.m. ET, with NBC Sports Boston’s coverage beginning at 7 p.m. ET with Celtics Pregame Live.
Lakers coach JJ Redick, left, and basketball executive Rob Pelinka enter an offseason with questions about the roster, including who will be the team's next big man. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
One year ago, the seats at the bar and the tables near the coffee shop inside the Marriott Marquis hotel and the seats and concourse in the adjoining Wintrust Arena were filled with people wondering what in the hell was going to be next for the Los Angeles Lakers.
The team had fired its coach, Darvin Ham, after a second consecutive playoff loss to Denver and rumors were everywhere that the team had zeroed in on broadcaster JJ Redick. At the same time, LeBron James, his wife Savannah and their security team filed into the stands to watch Bronny James try to earn a spot in the NBA draft.
They were an inescapable topic of conversation, their position at the center of the NBA’s universe certainly annoying to the other 29 teams but inarguable.
This year, though, under those same roofs, the Lakers haven’t been the main event. They took their turn in the spotlight earlier this year when they traded for Luka Doncic. They’ve got their coach in Redick and Rob Pelinka has a promotion and a contract extension.
By NBA standards, they’re operating fairly status quo.
This week at the NBA draft combine in Chicago, people have buzzed about the 2025 draft class led by Duke’s Cooper Flagg, the kind of sure-thing prospect that eliminates any suspense. Winning the lottery, termed by multiple people as an “all-time” crazy one, could help undo some of the goodwill the Mavericks surrendered when they dealt Doncic to the Lakers.
There’s been a lot of speculation about Giannis Antetokounmpo and his future in Milwaukee and where Kevin Durant will land, assuming his time in Phoenix is over. People have started to speculate how Boston will approach a season without Jayson Tatum and the ripple effects of that.
But it’s the Lakers and something will eventually break through.
When people have wanted to gossip, they’ve pointed to the Lakers’ strength and conditioning job posting that somehow carried an ESPN segment on “Get Up” earlier this week. (According to people with knowledge of the situation, the team routinely posts jobs like this on LinkedIn and TeamWork online and did so last summer when they were hiring an assistant strength and conditioning coach.)
The method of the job posting, more than anything else, caught some people in Chicago off-guard — “We’d never post a job like that,” one rival team executive said — most people have lost the general thread, which is the Lakers trying to reimagine their strength and conditioning program.
The Lakers and strength coach Ed Streit parted ways last week, people with knowledge of the situation told The Times. Streit, a well-liked presence in the organization, joined the team in 2019 as an assistant strength coach and earned a promotion in 2021.
Following the season, though, Redick said he felt the team needed to be in “championship shape” next season. The Lakers’ two biggest stars, like most, work with their own strength and medical teams. Whoever joins the Lakers’ staff will be leaned on to help the rest of the roster, most notably Austin Reaves, who is set for free agency next summer and in line for a massive raise.
A new voice around the weight room could jolt the team as it tries to get to a different level with conditioning.
People, including the Lakers’ scouts and executives here in Chicago, have openly spoke about the team’s needs at the center position — an obvious priority for Pelinka and Redick.
The team has shown no interest in using Reaves in a trade that nets them anything less than a top-tier big, and there really aren’t any of those available, with the two most common names linked to them in the earliest stages of the offseason — Brooklyn’s Nic Claxton and Dallas’ Daniel Gafford.
Neither is a lock for a variety of reasons.
In Claxton, the Lakers would have the prototypical rim-protecting, lob-catching center that’s tailor-made for Doncic. Claxton's due more than $66 million over the next three seasons and is two years removed from his most impactful stretch as a pro when he averaged 12.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.5 blocks on a league-best 70.5% shooting from the field. This season in 70 games, those numbers dipped to 10.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks with 56.3% shooting.
An optimistic read on the situation would point to the Nets’ losing as a reason for his dip in production. A pessimist would point to his narrow frame (just 215 pounds), the two straight years in which his numbers have slumped and the high salary.
Gafford, we know, is a surefire Doncic fit because of their time together in Dallas. He’s about to enter the final year of his deal and plays on a roster with Dereck Lively and Anthony Davis, making it unlikely that there’s more cash headed his way from the Mavericks.
The trouble, of course, is that people around the NBA wonder how it would look if Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison engaged Pelinka and the Lakers on another trade after the last deal between the teams was so unpopular that it caused protests.
All-Star guard Luka Doncic (77) and the Lakers need a big man with the departure of Anthony Davis in the trade. Will Austin Reaves or Dorian Finney-Smith be traded to acquire one? (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
According to rival scouts and executives, the Lakers best’ assets (minus Reaves) are their 2031 first-round pick, second year wing Dalton Knecht and a bunch of expiring contracts. Some combination of them would be a must in any deal the team would make for a center.
The free-agency options, like the in-season trade options, are considered to be pretty lean. Indiana center Myles Turner is set to be a free agent, but he was already out of the Lakers’ price range before the Pacers' current run to the Eastern Conference finals. Brook Lopez is 37 and already had a one-year stint with the Lakers before leaving to play his best basketball elsewhere. Clint Capela could be an option depending on how the market reacts, but there are questions around the league about whether he’s still a full-time starter.
Jaxson Hayes, who started for the Lakers this season, is also a free agent, but the Lakers clearly had their doubts with him when they decided to bench him in the playoffs. You can assume that some bridges would need to be rebuilt if that were an option.
Another possibility or two could develop on draft night depending on how teams value this group of young bigs. A player such as Duke’s Khaman Maluach could be viewed as too good to pass up even if a team has a center on the roster, and that could create an opportunity for a player to unexpectedly hit the trade market.
Otherwise, the Lakers are looking for what every team in the NBA is looking for — versatility, toughness, athleticism and shooting.
Those markets are slowly starting to develop behind the scenes as agents meet with teams and as teams build out their offseason free-agency boards now that lottery has been settled.
The Lakers are working on all of this too. Just this time, it’s not what everyone is talking about.
Following the Warriors’ season-ending Game 5 loss to the Timberwolves on Wednesday night, TNT’s Charles Barkley addressed Kuminga’s situation.
“Man, the Kuminga thing is interesting, because the three old guys are making a lot of money, so you’re pretty much stuck with them for the next two years,” Barkley said on “Inside the NBA.” “The Kuminga thing, we’re in the back and we’re like ‘Damn. He either plays or he doesn’t play.’ But now you’ve got to make a decision. You’ve got to make a decision whether to pay him or not.”
"You can't go to war with three old guys against the West."
“Well, they made their decision,” Smith said. “They didn’t extend him and they don’t play him when Steph is there. Meaning, his contribution, they don’t feel helps when Steph is there. They’ve said it.”
Barkley, a long-time Warriors detractor, made the case that Kuminga helped balance the roster that features a 37-year-old Curry, and Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler, both 35 years old.
“And I’m going to disagree with you,” Barkley said to Smith. “He’s the only one on that bench that’s explosive and you can’t go to war with three old guys against the West. Like, he was the only guy out there, when you said, he can play with these Minnesota Timberwolves guys. But he’s a restricted free agent … I don’t want to make a comment because they know him better than we do. They didn’t extend him when all the other rookies got extended. So it tells me they don’t believe in him.”
Kuminga is a restricted free agent, so he can sign an offer sheet from another team and the Warriors have the right to match. Or they can work out a sign-and-trade with another team, giving the 2021 No. 7 overall draft pick a fresh start elsewhere.
But Kuminga showed his immense talent during several stretches this season. In 15 games from Dec. 3 to Jan. 4, he averaged 20.4 points on 48.2 percent shooting from the field. In back-to-back games on Dec. 27 and Dec. 28, he scored 34 points off the bench.
Then a severe ankle injury sidelined him for two months, and when Kuminga returned, Jimmy Butler was in the fold and took most of the minutes at power forward.
In his final 15 regular-season games, Kuminga averaged just 12.2 points and fell out of favor with Kerr, to the point that he wasn’t in the first-round rotation against the Houston Rockets.
Kerr had no choice but to turn to Kuminga when Curry went down with the hamstring strain, and the young forward stepped up, averaging 24.3 points in the final four games against the Timberwolves.
Kuminga’s performance in the Western Conference semifinals likely served as an audition for prospective teams, and if the Warriors decide a sign-and-trade is the best route, his potential could be tantalizing to rival general managers.
“I don’t know how those things go,” Kuminga told reporters during his end-of-season availability on Thursday at Chase Center. “I’ll learn more going through the summer. It don’t really matter. I’m going to let my agent handle things like that. I’ll just listen to what he’ll tell me.
“I just tell him to take his time. I’m going to take my time too, figure out what I’m going to do with my day because I’m bored.”
Barkley often isn’t spot-on regarding the Warriors, but concerning the Kuminga situation, he hit the nail on the head.
ESPN NBA analyst Brian Windhorst believes there is a pathway to the Warriors acquiring Antetokounmpo but there’s a big BUT involved in any hypothetical trade.
“Yes, there is a package that the Warriors could use,” Windhorst said on “Get Up” on Friday morning. “They have some future draft picks. They have interesting young players. Like last year, Brandon Podziemski was off limits. Who knows if that’s going to be the case this year? But they can’t win a bidding war.
“First off, I just want to say Giannis has not let it be known he certainly wants out of Milwaukee, so I do not think we should assume that. If we do reach that point where Giannis was going to look around, he will have agency in this. He has two years left on his contract. The Bucks don’t have to listen to him. But if he were to come to Milwaukee and say, I want to play with Steph [Curry], there could be a deal worked out. The same would apply, in my view, to the [New York] Knicks or [Los Angeles Lakers], if he says I want to be a Knicks, send me to New York or I want to be a Laker. These are big ifs. Those trades can get worked out. But if it’s just an open market, none of those three teams, in my opinion, could win a bidding war with the Bucks.”
.@RealJayWilliams poses a way for Steph Curry and the Warriors to get back to the biggest stage.
"There is a world in which Giannis says, 'I want to be a part of this team.'" pic.twitter.com/sGGke2aKpV
As “Get Up” host Mike Greenberg and analysts Chiney Ogwumike and Jay Williams discussed how Antetokounmpo’s Warriors fit and how the 30-year-old might convey to the Bucks where he wants to go, Windhorst doubled down on his earlier statement.
“If you’re asking, can the Warriors get Giannis?” Windhorst said. “The answer is yes. But, and it’s the but that is going to be a big thing that’s going to define this offseason.”
The Warriors have been linked to Antetokounmpo in previous offseasons, but nothing ever came close to materializing.
Now, with Curry’s NBA title window closing, the Warriors might be inclined to push for Antetokounmpo to get the four-time NBA champion a fifth ring.
As Windhorst alluded to, other NBA teams have more coveted trade assets to send to the Bucks. But if Antetokounmpo tells Milwaukee he only wants to go to the Warriors, the sides must try to work out a deal.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks noted that the Warriors have four tradeable future first-round draft picks in 2026, 2028, 2030 (if picks 1 through 20) and 2032, and Golden State can offer first-round pick swaps in any of the next seven years.
To make the money work, the Warriors almost assuredly would have to include Draymond Green or Jimmy Butler in an Antetokounmpo trade, but Golden State publicly is committing to the core of Curry, Green and Butler.
Nikola Jokic led the scoring for the Denver Nuggets [Getty Images]
Nikola Jokic scored 29 points and recorded 14 rebounds as the Denver Nuggets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 119-107 to force a decisive seventh game in their Western Conference semi-final series.
Denver headed into Thursday's match 3-2 down in the series after squandering late leads in games five and six, but fought back after half-time to earn a trip to Oklahoma City for Game seven on Sunday, 18 May at 14:30 local time (20:30 BST).
"To win that [fourth] quarter, after what's happened the last two games, says a lot of our guys and the fact that they can bounce back from anything - I keep saying that," said Denver interim coach David Adelman. "We just keep finding our way."
Jamal Murray shook off an illness to produce 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, while Christian Braun added 23 points and 11 rebounds, and Julian Strawther came off the bench to score 15 points, his postseason career high.
The Nuggets needed a seventh game to eliminate the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points for the Thunder, who ended the regular season top of the Western Conference with a 68-14 record.
Chet Holmgren wound up with 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Luguentz Dort, Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace scored 10 points apiece.
The Minnesota Timberwolves await either Denver or Oklahoma City in the Western Conference final - last year they defeated the Nuggets in game seven of the Western Conference semi-finals.
Shohei Ohtani runs the bases after hitting a three-run homer against the Athletics in the third inning. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
As is typically the case when a team wins 19-2 like the Dodgers did against the Athletics on Thursday night, plenty of hitters in the team’s star-studded lineup aligned to have monster nights.
Shohei Ohtani homered twice in a six-RBI performance, tying the major league lead with 15 long balls this season. Max Muncy, Andy Pages and James Outman also went deep, helping the club set a season-high for runs. Hyeseong Kim reached base all five times. Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts also combined to get aboard five times before being removed after the third inning, the lead at that point already 11 runs.
All of those accomplishments, however, paled in personal significance to what the Dodgers’ starting catcher did.
Making his major league debut after being called up in a major roster move the day prior, top prospect Dalton Rushing walked in his first at-bat, singled in the next and went two-for-four while navigating a pre-determined bullpen game behind the plate — a strong showing for a 24-year-old slugger with so much potential, the Dodgers cut longtime backup catcher Austin Barnes to get him on the roster.
“He’s very comfortable, I think, in a good way,” manager Dave Roberts said of Rushing, a second-round draft pick in 2022 who has blossomed into one of the most highly touted prospects in baseball. “I think he thought he was ready [for the majors] when he signed.”
Rushing’s rise wasn’t that quick, requiring the University of Louisville product to climb through the farm system over four minor-league seasons. But after batting .277 with 54 home runs, 185 RBIs and a .931 OPS as a farm hand, the Dodgers decided their minor league player of the year award-winner from last season was finally ready.
As far as first impressions go, Thursday was a good start.
"He just didn't look like a player that was making his debut,” Roberts said.
In the second inning, Rushing got a three-run rally started by drawing a leadoff walk. In the third, he worked a full count before blasting a belt-high sinker through the infield at 110 mph off the bat, the first domino in what became a seven-run outburst. In the eighth, he tacked on another base hit when a ground ball to first was deflected.
“It's been something that obviously I wanted to do at a very young age,” Rushing said. “Never in a million years did I imagine it would come with a team like this. So that just makes it that much more special … And getting here and being able to scratch a couple across like that, get them out of the way, now it takes a little pressure off your shoulders.”
The Dodgers have been contemplating when to bring Rushing to the majors for a while, long ago convinced his bat was ready to handle big-league pitching.
It’s part of the reason why, during the second half of last season, they experimented with him in left field; a position where, at the time, he had a clearer pathway to regular playing time.
This offseason, however, the club decided to rededicate his focus to his duties behind the plate, “challenging him,” as president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman put it, to improve his defensive fundamentals, pitching-calling during games and ability to build rapport with members of the pitching staff.
Dalton Rushing is congratulated by first base coach Chris Woodward after his first major league hit. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
“He’s continued to improve and get better,” Friedman said. “When we drafted him, he was new to catching. So there were a lot of areas to improve upon. But his work ethic is off the charts. And he really cares about being great. Each challenge we’ve given him, he’s met that challenge. And the success he’s had, there’s also an important element of having our finger on the pulse of that with guys, in terms of moving them up.”
And over the last couple weeks, the ways Rushing could potentially impact the club’s MLB roster became increasingly more clear.
Two weeks ago, the Dodgers sorely missed a left-handed bat like his off the bench in a May 4 loss in Atlanta, a game that ended with Barnes and fellow soft-hitting veteran Miguel Rojas recording outs in tough right-on-right matchups against Braves closer Raisel Iglesias.
In Barnes’ final Dodgers start last Saturday in Arizona, his weakened throwing arm was also exposed, the Diamondbacks stealing three bases in a game Barnes one-hopped one throw to second base and airmailed another to the outfield.
Perhaps, if the Dodgers weren’t facing the prospect of a tight division race in this year’s talented National League West, such problems would have been more tolerable. But, with the team’s MLB-best 29-15 record affording them just a one-game division lead so far this year, it’s already become clear that fine margins could matter this season.
So, once the Dodgers returned home from their 10-game trip this week, the front office decided to pull the trigger.
“Rush has obviously been on our radar for a long time in terms of when and how to introduce him to the major league team,” Friedman said. “I think with the improvements we’ve seen year over year, coupled with being in a tight division race … I think it falls in line with our consistent message of doing anything and everything we can to win.”
That didn’t mean cutting Barnes, who was in his 11th season with the Dodgers and won two World Series with the club, wasn’t difficult.
“Obviously Austin has been a huge part of this organization for a long time, he’s been in the middle of a lot of really big moments for us,” Friedman said. “His impact has been significant. So it was one of the harder decisions.”
Barnes’ departure sent ripples around the rest of the clubhouse, as well.
"I think everybody was surprised,” Clayton Kershaw said when asked of Barnes, whose 68 games behind the plate for the future Hall of Famer trails only A.J. Ellis for most in Kershaw’s career.
Max Muncy is greeted at home plate by Freddie Freeman after his two-run homer. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
“It's sad. Barnesy's one of my best friends on or off the field. You won't find a guy that competes better than Austin Barnes. He wants to win more than anybody, and he always found a way, and he came up with some big moments for us throughout the years. I think a lot of people forget he was starting a lot of playoff games and winning a lot of games for us, getting big knocks. It's sad to see someone like that go who's been here that long, and I think we all kind of feel it.”
“It's no disrespect to Dalton,” Kershaw added. “I know he deserves it, and he's going to be a great player. It's just for me, personally, I think for a lot of guys on the team, it was disappointing to see [Barnes] go."
As the door on Barnes’ Dodgers career closes, however, a new one is opening for Rushing.
And one night in, the early results were promising.
“The last mile of his development is helping lead a major league staff,” Friedman said. “We felt like now is the right time to give him that opportunity, and for us to learn some things about him that you can’t know until they’re at the major-league level, and for him to experience the speed of game here, which will be insightful for all of us in terms of the next set of things to work on.”
May 15, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27) and center Nikola Jokic (15) and guard Christian Braun (0) in the fourth quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder during game six of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
This series had to go seven. Basketball fans deserved it. Denver vs. Oklahoma City has been too close, too back-and-forth, and just too entertaining not to go seven.
That Game 7 takes place on Sunday because Nikola Jokic got the help he lacked in a Game 5 loss two nights earlier. Jamal Murray, playing through an illness that had him listed as doubtful earlier in the day, scored 25, while Christian Braun added a career playoff-high of 23 points and 12 rebounds.
The game was tied 80-80 in the later stages of the third quarter when Denver went on a 10-0 run, and held on from there. The Nuggets won 119-107 to force a Game 7 on Sunday back in Oklahoma City.
This is the second straight series Denver will have to go seven games. The Nuggets comfortably beat the Clippers at home in the last Game 7.
“We just keep finding a way,” Nuggets interim coach David Adelman said of forcing a second Game 7.
Who found a way was little-used forward Julian Strawther. He sparked the Nuggets’ third-quarter run and finished with a career playoff-high 15 points, all of them coming in the second half.
Julian Strawther stepped up BIG-TIME off the bench in the @nuggets Game 6 W
Denver's biggest concern out of the night was Aaron Gordon, who was seen grabbing his hamstring at points in the fourth quarter and seemed slowed for that stretch. Gordon said postgame he was fine and that recovery for him started immediately.
The advantage they have is two days off in a series that has been every other day up until this point. The older, thinner Nuggets, in particular, were clearly excited about having a couple of days off to rest between games.
The MVPs did their part in this game, with Jokic scoring 29 points with 14 rebounds and eight assists. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 32 points, with 18 of those coming in the second half despite him having four fouls by halftime.
SGA did not get enough help. Jaylen Williams scored six points on 3-of-16 shooting — he has to be better on Sunday if OKC is going to advance. Chet Holmgren poured in 19.
