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.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone spoke to the media following Monday's workouts in Tampa…
Carlos Lagrange 'excellent' in first live BP session
The first full-squad workout of camp began with rising prospect Carlos Lagrange on the mound for live batting practice, and he turned some heads with fans in attendance.
Facing the heart of the Yankees' lineup, Lagrange showcased his triple-digit velocity, inducing strikeouts of Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger across a 49-pitch session.
While the appearance wasn't flawless for the right-hander -- he served up a monstrous home run to Judge on a fastball down the middle -- he ultimately got revenge by fanning the Yankees' captain on three pitches. The third-strike fastball reached 102 mph.
Lagrange also forced Giancarlo Stanton to ground out and pop out in at-bats before walking off the field with a changing-speeds punchout of Bellinger. The performance was met with cheers.
"I thought he was excellent. First one to go out there on first full-squad day," Boone said. "The crowd's full, he's facing the big boys. What I liked is, he was filling up the zone with it too. The stuff obviously jumps off the page at you. Thought he held his stuff, most importantly held his strike throwing. February, but really good to see him out there."
Lagrange, the No. 79 prospect on MLB Pipeline's latest Top 100 rankings, logged a 3.22 ERA with 104 punchouts over 78.1 innings in Double-A Somerset last season. Boone has compared the 22-year-old to former Yankees reliever Dellin Betances, based on his 6-foot-7 frame and blistering fastball.
The next step for Lagrange is to develop the "next layer" of strike throwing, according to Boone, but his overall makeup and leadership traits have grabbed the coaching staff's attention. Lagrange's composure against Judge and other Yankees sluggers was lauded, too.
"That's a big thing to walk in to, for a guy who hasn't been over here," Boone said. "It didn't seem like a big thing to him. He was just out there executing... After the homer, he really came back and executed. The chanegup is special. I thought the sweeper was a good pitch for him, got a lot of outs with it. Fun to watch all that unfold."
The Yankees will begin Grapefruit League action on Friday against the Orioles, and Boone said Lagrange has a very strong chance of starting the game in Sarasota.
Positive updates on Cam Schlittler, Anthony Volpe
Anthony Volpe took the next step forward in his recovery from offseason shoulder surgery, starting a hitting program on Monday that included some dry swings, per Boone.
With the expectation of Volpe missing at least all of April while rehabbing, utilityman Jose Caballero should see ample playing time at shortstop and create some in-season competition.
Meanwhile, Cam Schlittler is scheduled to throw off the mound on Tuesday, less than a week after revealing a minor back issue.
The right-hander was never shut down completely -- he threw on flat ground over the weekend and neither Schlittler nor Boone expressed actual concern about the mild injury.
"He was built up pretty good and we didn't shut him down at all," Boone said. "I don't think we thought it was a big issue, but more of one we wanted to get out in front of, just in case."
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.
And this time, it’s for something that has nothing to do with The King.
Following the abysmal showing from the contestants at the Slam Dunk Contest during NBA All-Star Saturday night, which was won by Heat forward Keshad Johnson, the ESPN personality let loose on James during his Monday morning segment on First Take.
Feb 14, 2026; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Miami Heat forward Keshad Johnson (16) dunks over rapper E-40 in the slam dunk contest during the 2026 NBA All Star Saturday Night at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
When asked about the contest, Smith didn’t hesitate to talk about how unengaged he was.
“I didn’t think about the contest,” he said. “I want to applaud Keshad Johnson for winning. Pat Riley standing up and applauding him… but we all know it was terrible because there were no star power. The reality is that we are going to bring it home to where the GOATS can get it.”
Smith then took a turn and blamed James for how far the contest has fallen in recent years, despite James never once competing.
“I’m going to blame LeBron James, Smith spouted. “Now I’ve sat here for months and I’ve applauded his greatness and all the things he had done and he has meant to the NBA, but I’ve said it and I’m going to be very consistent… the person who really is the provocateur to ruin the slam dunk contest is him.”
Stephen A. Smith at SiriusXM on Radio Row at Super Bowl LX on February 06, 2026 in San Francisco. Getty Images for SiriusXM
It’s clear that Smith has no actual evidence as to why James is to blame and this is simply one person’s opinion, but blaming James because he never competed is an atrocious take.
“He was a superstar who put on a dunk contest every night in the layup line, particularly when he knew there was momentum swelling for him to participate, and he never did. He even teased that he was going to participate one year.”
After having done so much for growing the game of basketball and being one of the top two players to ever suit up, it’s not James’ responsibility to save the dunk contest.
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Steph Curry isn’t shying away from the Dillon Brooks comparisons tied to his new animated film “GOAT.”
In fact, he’s fully embracing it.
While discussing the movie — in which Curry voices Lenny Williamson, a giraffe “roarball” player — the Warriors star laughed when the conversation turned to the film’s rival character, Mane Attraction, and whether the on-court antagonist drew inspiration from Brooks.
“See? People are taking from the movie what they’re supposed to take,” Curry said. “I love it.”
“GOAT” marks Curry’s animated film debut as both a voice actor and producer. The movie follows teenage goat Will Harris, voiced by Caleb McLaughlin, as he pursues greatness in roarball, a fictional basketball-like sport.
While the Mane Attraction comparison was made jokingly, Brooks’ history with Golden State adds context to the theory.
The outspoken forward has been at the center of multiple heated moments against the Warriors, most notably during the 2022 Western Conference semifinals when he was assessed a Flagrant 2 foul and ejected after striking Gary Payton II on a fast-break layup attempt. Payton fractured his elbow on the play, and Brooks was suspended the following game as the Memphis Grizzlies went on to lose the series in six.
And in last season’s opening-round NBA playoff series between the Warriors and Houston Rockets, Curry and Brooks got into it during Game 4.
More recently, Brooks — now with the Phoenix Suns — was called for a Flagrant 1 foul in December 2025 after striking Curry in the chest during the final minute of a one-point Warriors loss.
Curry, though, appears to be taking the villain comparisons in stride.
And if audiences see a familiar rivalry reflected in roarball form, he seems more than happy to lean into the humor.
Corey Seager attempted to defuse questions surrounding what has been described this winter as a “toxic” relationship with Marcus Semien, leading to his double-play partner’s offseason trade from Texas to the Mets.
The poor relationship between their shortstop and second baseman prompted the Rangers to take back Brandon Nimmo and $5 million from the Mets to shed the final three years and $72 million left on Semien’s deal, according to a Jan. 23 report by The Post’s Joel Sherman.
“I mean, I think that’s things that I heard in-house that people don’t know about, right, that’s just all speculation,” Seager said Monday at the Rangers’ spring-training facility in Surprise, Ariz. “Me and Marcus had a fine relationship, we both respected each other, we were both professional and we knew how to go about our business and try to accomplish a goal, and we did that in ’23, so like I said, you can’t take that away from us.”
Marcus Semien #2 of the Texas Rangers talks with Corey Seager #5 against the Cleveland Guardians. Diamond Images/Getty ImagesMets infielder Marcus Semien fields grounders during Spring Training. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
The middle infield duo teamed up with the Rangers via free agency ahead of the 2022 season, with Seager leaving the Dodgers for a 10-year contract worth $325 million and Semien bolting the Blue Jays for a seven-year deal worth $175 million. Texas captured the franchise’s first World Series title in 2023, but the team has posted a combined record of 159-165 the past two seasons, including a .500 finish last year.
The 31-year-old Seager, the MVP of the ’23 Series win over the Diamondbacks, was limited to 102 games in 2025 due to season-ending appendectomy surgery in August.
The 35-year-old Semien, a three-time All-Star, endured a down year offensively with 15 homers, 62 RBIs and a career-worst .669 OPS.
Still, the former shortstop also earned the second Gold Glove award of his career — both as a second baseman — with only two errors and a .996 fielding percentage. Semien’s defense was attractive to the Mets, who sought to improve their run prevention in the offseason.
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.
England survived a scare to qualify for the Super Eights at the T20 World Cup on Monday (Tuesday AEDT) as Italy’s swashbuckling chase of 203 fell agonisingly short in a pulsating match in Kolkata.
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
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