UPDATE: The NBA has announced that the Spurs game in San Antonio vs. the Orlando Magic has been pushed back to 6:00 PM on Sunday after originally being scheduled for 3:00, so it sounds the Spurs are expected to get out of Charlotte in the morning. Forecasts show the snow lightening and ending in the next few hours.
Game ON for tomorrow. Switching from 3 pm to 6 pm CT!
A powerful winter storm that descended on the Carolinas this weekend has forced the San Antonio Spurs to remain in Charlotte overnight after their 111-106 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday, dramatically altering the team’s travel plans and raising questions about their Sunday afternoon game against the Orlando Magic at the Frost Bank Center.
The Spurs had hoped to fly home immediately after the game, but the wintry conditions shut down Charlotte Douglas International Airport for the night. Spurs play-by-play broadcaster Jacob Tobey provided a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, showing the heavy snow the airport and said the team was waiting on the tarmac for nearly two hours.
Update: we are not taking off tonight. Just under two hours on the tarmac and every brake test failed to try and open runways. The weather has gotten worse in Charlotte. TBD on how tomorrow’s game against the Magic, IN SAN ANTONIO, will be handled.
The storm, described as the most significant snowfall Charlotte has seen in nearly a decade, has brought heavy snow and dangerous travel conditions to the area. Snow accumulations at the airport are expected to reach over 6 inches by Saturday evening, with totals possibly climbing as high as 9 inches before the storm moves out. A winter storm warning remained in effect through early Sunday morning.
The news puts the Spurs’ schedule into further uncertainty. The team is slated to host the Orlando Magic at the Frost Bank Center on Sunday afternoon, but at the time of this report neither the Spurs nor the NBA have issued official word on whether the game will proceed as scheduled.
Charlotte’s winter conditions not only hampered the Spurs’ travel but also impacted the game itself. The game was moved up by three hours from its originally scheduled 3 p.m. ET afternoon start to noon, in an effort by the NBA to get both teams out of dangerous travel conditions before weather worsened.
While the Hornets capitalized on their home-court advantage and rallied for the win on the basketball court, for the Spurs the focus quickly shifted from basketball to logistics as winter weather proved once again that it can upend even the plans for professional athletes.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Ehis Etute scored a career-high 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Oregon in a 68-61 win over No. 16 Maryland on Saturday night.
Etute shot 10 of 15 from the field and 6 of 8 from the line. Sofia Bell added 16 points, hitting four 3-pointers.
The Ducks (17-7, 5-6 Big Ten) pulled ahead off an 11-0 run with 2:39 remaining. Addi Mack made a layup and made two free throws to get Maryland within two with 27 seconds remaining but Oregon made 5 of 6 free throws to seal the win.
The Terrapins (17-6, 5-6) finished the first half with a 14-0 run to lead 36-30. Oluchi Okananwa was 11-of-17 shooting and scored 27 points, 23 in the first half. Mack added 17. The loss is Maryland's fourth straight.
Up next
Oregon: Hosts Illinois on Wednesday.
Maryland: Visits No. 13 Michigan State on Wednesday.
PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) — Skye Belker and Olivia Hutcherson scored 20 points apiece, and No. 19 Princeton pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Cornell 72-61 on Saturday.
Princeton opened the final quarter on a 10-2 surge for a 58-48 advantage with 7:17 remaining. Ashley Chea's 3-pointer later stretched the Tigers' advantage to 65-53 with 4:44 to play. Belker made a 3-pointer and scored eight points in the fourth quarter, and Hutcherson chipped in with two layups.
Chea finished with 11 points for Princeton (18-2, 6-1 Ivy League), which rebounded from a 73-67 loss to Columbia on Friday that ended the Tigers' 15-game win streak.
Rachel Kaus scored 20 points, and Emily Pape added 14 for Cornell (8-12, 3-4). Clarke Jackson scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Princeton shot 51% (29 of 57) overall and hit 43% (9 of 21) from 3-point range, while Cornell shot 52% (25 of 48) and 44% (7 of 16) from distance, but the Tigers scored 19 points off 13 Big Red turnovers. Princeton had just five turnovers.
Up next
Cornell: hosts Columbia on Saturday.
Princeton: at home against Pennsylvania on Friday.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The latest collection of government files released on Jeffrey Epstein include emails from 2003 between Casey Wasserman, the head of the Los Angeles Olympics organizing committee, and Epstein's one-time girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Among the exchanges included Wasserman telling Maxwell “I think of you all the time. So, what do I have to do to see you in a tight leather outfit?”
There is also an email exchange about massages and one in which Maxwell asks whether it will be foggy enough during an upcoming visit "so that you can float naked down the beach and no one can see you unless they are close up?”
Wasserman responds, “or something like that."
In a statement released Saturday, Wasserman said “I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell,” which he said occurred “long before her horrific crimes came to light.”
“I never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. As is well documented, I went on a humanitarian trip as part of a delegation with the Clinton Foundation in 2002 on the Epstein plane. I am terribly sorry for having any association with either of them,” he said.
The documents were disclosed as mandated by a law passed requiring the government to open its files on the late financier and his confidant and onetime girlfriend, Maxwell. Epstein killed himself in a New York jail cell in August 2019, a month after being indicted on federal sex-trafficking charges.
Wasserman built a sports and talent agency that represents top players in football, basketball and baseball, along with big-name actors such as Adam Sandler and Brad Pitt.
He has grabbed more headlines recently as the frontman for the LA Olympic effort; his lobbying played a big role in bringing the Summer Olympics back to the U.S. in 2028. Los Angeles previously hosted in 1984 and this will be the first Summer Games in the United States since Atlanta in 1996.
In 2021, Wasserman divorced his wife of 20 years, Laura Ziffren Wasserman.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 30: De'anthony Melton #8 of the Golden State Warriors drives to the basket on Jalen Duren #0 of the Detroit Pistons in the second half at Chase Center on January 30, 2026 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/ (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Back in May, I wrote that bringing DeAnthony Melton back was essential for the Warriors’ 2025-26 season. The response was predictable: “He’s coming off an ACL tear,” “He’s 27 and might never be the same,” “The Warriors need to move on.” But here we are in January 2026, and Melton isn’t just back—he’s having a solid year, and the numbers tell a story of perseverance that deserves way more attention than it’s getting.
Let’s rewind to November 2024. Melton was cooking. Nineteen points and 10 rebounds against OKC, drilling five threes and looking like the perfect complement to Steph Curry’s brilliance. Two nights later against Dallas, he dropped 14 points in 26 minutes, helping the Warriors take down a legitimate contender. Steve Kerr had finally cracked the rotation code, calling Melton “really the perfect mix” of shooting and defensive versatility. Then, in that same Dallas game, his knee twisted, his ACL tore, and the season collapsed before it ever really started. Even in his injury absence, it was clear that the Warriors should bring him back over the summer.
De’Anthony Melton fit so well into the Warriors system last year while healthy that you can almost guarantee Golden State’s decision makers will put some thought into potentially bringing him back next year. Melton is an unrestricted free agent and is still only 27 years old.… pic.twitter.com/WvrgAk7N4B
Fast forward to January 2026, and Melton is back and not just surviving his return from major knee surgery. After an up-and-down December, he’s thriving in ways that make February look very appetizing for the Warriors.
In December, Melton shot 32.9% from the field and a ghastly 16.7% from three. His effective field goal percentage sat at .368, the kind of number that gets you benched or buried. He looked like a player still searching for his rhythm, still fighting through the mental hurdles that come with trusting a surgically repaired knee.
Then January happened and his stats were night and day. His field goal percentage jumped to 48.3%, which is a 47% improvement. His three-point accuracy exploded from 16.7% to 37.3%, more than doubling his efficiency. His effective field goal percentage skyrocketed to 56.9%, a leap that signaled he was attacking with confidence. He went from making 6 threes in December to 25 in January. His assists quadrupled from 12 to 44. This wasn’t just regression to the mean; this was a player rediscovering who he is.
“He’s been out basically for the most part in two years, so we're going to keep doing what we're doing, bring him off the bench, keep his minutes climbing.”
By month’s end, Melton had become the Warriors’ third-leading scorer at 14.7 PPG, trailing only Curry and Jimmy Butler. He posted the team’s highest plus-minus for January at +10.3. He was second on the team in paint points with 88—just six behind Butler—and 46% of his scoring came in the restricted area, a higher rate than Gui Santos, Brandin Podziemski, Draymond Green, and Quinten Post. He wasn’t just spotting up for threes; he was attacking closeouts, finishing through contact, and playing with the two-way aggression that made him so valuable before the injury.
At 27 years old, Melton is posting career-high numbers (11.7 PPG on the season) and evolving into a legitimate two-way weapon. He’s not a role player filling minutes, instead he’s a core rotation piece that the Warriors can’t afford to lose again. The December struggles? Those were the final stages of a player rebuilding trust in his body. January was him remembering he belongs.
Steve Kerr on De’Anthony Melton emerging as a scoring option off the bench after a season-high 23 points tonight:
“You can see the confidence is rising. He’s a really dynamic player. Explosive athlete and really skilled… the guys have total confidence in him.” pic.twitter.com/Edx5mqMEq0
I said it in May: the Warriors needed to bring Melton back. They did. And now, watching him transform from December’s cautious comeback player to January’s confident two-way force, it’s clear this wasn’t just a good signing. It was essential. The ACL injury in November 2024 derailed what could’ve been a special season. But Melton’s January 2026 performance proves he’s not coming back from injury; he’s arriving as the player the Warriors always needed him to be.
The NBA rumor mill does not stop for the weekend, and plenty of Giannis Antetokounmpo chatter is still going on. Here is the latest on a possible Antetokounmpo trade before the Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline
Warriors willing to trade Draymond Green?
If Giannis Antetokounmpo is going to be traded by next Thursday's NBA trade deadline, the Golden State Warriors — who can offer four first-round picks — are the most likely destination. To make that trade work, it was assumed that Jimmy Butler would be the big matching salary going back to Milwaukee. Because the Warriors wouldn't trade Draymond Green, right?
Wrong. Maybe. It could be the Warriors' defensive icon Green sent out if the trade happens.
Golden State would put Green in the trade if it had to, NBC Sports' Monte Poole said in an interview on 95.7 The Game in the Bay Area.
"From what I'm hearing, the only Warrior that's off the table is Steph Curry. That means Draymond Green is also available for the right package. They don't want to, but they're willing to."
Butler, who will be out until the middle of next season recovering from a torn ACL, "is unlikely" to be part of the trade, reports Jake Fischer at The Stein Line.
Does that bother Green? Not in the least, he told Anthony Slater.
Draymond Green as the trade deadline approaches: “I’ve been here for 14 years. I have no reason to sit and worry about leaving. But if I’m traded, that’s part of the business.”
If you're looking for a long shot to trade for Antetokounmpo, look to the Pacific Northwest.
Portland has reached out to Milwaukee and expressed interest in an Antetokounmpo trade, reports Stein and Fischer at The Stein Line. Yes, the Trail Blazers understand it would be an incredible long shot that they could convince Antetokounmpo to re-sign and stay with them, but Portland is expressing some interest anyway.
There has been some speculation that another team might be willing to try with Antetokounmpo what the Toronto Raptors did with Kawhi Leonard — trade for him for one season and take their chances. The difference was that Toronto was a team considered at least a fringe title contender, one that had won 50+ games in the three previous seasons and made the second round of the playoffs each time. Toronto bet that Leonard could take them to the next level — and he did, they won the franchise's lone championship. The Raptors did everything right, and Leonard still left to go home to Southern California and the Clippers.
Portland, even with Antetokounmpo, is not a contender. The Trail Blazers control some of Milwaukee's future picks, which is why they have been mentioned as a potential third team in a trade that would send Antetokounmpo to New York.
But it sounds like Portland would rather trade for Antetokounmpo themselves and try to keep him.
Will Antetokounmpo be traded before deadline?
League sources NBC Sports have spoken to consistently say to expect the Giannis Antetokounmpo drama to drag out past the Feb. 5 trade deadline and into the offseason. The Ringer's Zach Lowe, appearing on NBA on Prime, says it is more of a 50-50 proposition.
Zach Lowe on Giannis:
"I think its a coin flip he gets moved between now or the deadline because these things tend to move when they get out there so publicly. If you see a team like Miami who has two trade and that aint enough, if theres a move they turn some player into a… pic.twitter.com/Dej15cs9Wa
In that same discussion on NBA on Prime, Lowe said the Bucks right now are in "digest mode."
"They're not even really being proactive. They're just waiting for teams to show them on a platter, like here's what we're willing to offer you for Giannis. And teams are trying to figure out, are they listening? Are they going to come back to us and really start negotiating? Or is this something that's actually going to come in the offseason when you guys mentioned that contract extension is going to be offered to him and then more teams might join the fray."
The smart money is still on this being a summer trade — if it happens at all — but these things have a momentum of their own. It's going to be a wild few days.
The Calgary Flames snapped their five-game losing streak on Saturday afternoon, edging the San Jose Sharks 3–2 in a tightly contested matinee at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
Special teams, timely scoring, and a heavy shot advantage powered Calgary to the victory as they controlled long stretches of play and capitalized when it mattered most.
San Jose struck first on the power play, as Will Smith finished off a cross-seam feed from Alexander Wennberg, snapping the puck past Dustin Wolf to open the scoring.
Calgary answered with a man-advantage goal of their own. Matt Coronato’s shot produced a rebound, and Morgan Frost wasted no time ripping it past Alex Nedeljkovic to tie the game. After twenty minutes, the teams headed to the room deadlocked 1–1.
The Sharks came out strong in the middle frame, applying sustained pressure. Wolf made a pair of stops, but a loose rebound bounced into traffic and Adam Gaudette pounced, burying his 13th of the season to restore San Jose’s lead.
Calgary pushed back and found the equalizer thanks to Matvei Gridin. Set up by Frost at the top of the circle, Gridin blasted a one-timer past Nedeljkovic for his second career NHL goal, pulling the Flames even at 2–2 heading into the third.
The deciding moment came courtesy of a fortunate bounce shorthanded. A puck caromed off the end boards and landed on Joel Farabee’s stick, and the Flames winger made no mistake, finishing it off to give Calgary its first lead of the game.
From there, the Flames leaned on their shot volume and defensive structure to close it out, securing the 3–2 win.
Joel Farabee’s game-winner marked his third shorthanded goal of the season, moving him into a tie for second-most in the NHL. Calgary now sits tied for the league lead with seven shorthanded goals as a team.
2. Special Teams Tilt the Ice
Both clubs scored on the power play, but Calgary’s shorthanded strike proved to be the difference. Winning the special-teams battle ultimately decided a one-goal game.
3. Shot Volume Tells the Story
The Flames poured 42 shots on goal compared to San Jose’s 25, consistently generating pressure and wearing down the Sharks over sixty minutes.
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 17: Ronald Acuña Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves celebrates with teammates after winning the game between the Atlanta Braves and the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on Wednesday, September 17, 2025 in Washington, District of Columbia. (Photo by Alyssa McDaniel/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
We’re officially one sleep away from entering into February, which means that spring training will be here before you know it. Excited yet? I know, it’s just spring training but that’s one step closer to the regular season so every little bit needs to be celebrated at this point, right?
Anyways, I hope y’all are staying safe and warm out there. Here’s a random clip:
The Detroit Red Wings wanted to give the sellout crowd at Little Caesars Arena something to cheer for in what would be their final home game until early March, thanks to the upcoming Olympic break.
Their opponent on Saturday afternoon was the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche, who clearly had other plans.
The Avalanche looked every bit the top-ranked club in the League, handing the Red Wings a frustrating 5-0 setback in the first of a two-game home-and-home series that concludes on Monday evening in Denver.
It wasn't the way the Red Wings wanted to close out their three-game home stand, which yielded only a single point out of a possible six up for grabs. Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features.
However, team captain Dylan Larkin explained that Monday evening will be an opportunity for his team to prove that Saturday's loss was an anomaly.
"We've got two really big games (left before the break)," Larkin explained afterward. "Every team is going through it, playing the same schedule. We've played a lot of hockey, and you get bumps and bruises, illnesses, you're going through it."
"It (the break) is coming at a good time, and I think it'll be huge for our team, but the beauty of this is that we get to play these guys again."
The Avalanche had experienced a few setbacks of their own in recent games, dropping contests to both the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens, both of whom are chasing Detroit in the tightly-packed Atlantic Division standings.
"They're the number one team in the League, but they're not the best team ever," Larkin said of the Avalanche. "It's not like we're playing against guys that can't be beat, so we have to go into their building with something to prove and start a big two-game swing for us."
While the Red Wings maintained their second-place status in the Atlantic, the teams behind them have crept even closer in their rear-view mirror.
As of Saturday, the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres each have 67 points, just three behind Detroit's 70 points, and they play one another later that evening, meaning one of them will be within a point of Detroit by night’s end.
Following Monday's rematch against the Avalanche, the Red Wings will face the Utah Mammoth in their second-ever trip to Delta Center in Salt Lake City, which will then be followed by the Olympic break.
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PITTSBURGH — The Rangers continue to slide into the Olympic break.
In their second-to-last contest before the NHL pauses for 19 days, the Blueshirts didn’t show up until the third period of what turned out to be their 14th loss — 6-5 at the hands of the Penguins — in their last 18 games Saturday evening.
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A reprieve can’t come soon enough for this Rangers team, which looked like it wanted to be anywhere but the PPG Paints Arena ice for 40 of 60 minutes.
“You score five goals and lose the game,” captain J.T. Miller said. “I guess the only positive today is that we didn’t quit, kept pushing, came down to the wire. When you have to score six times, it’s pretty hard to win the game. I like that we didn’t quit. That’s about it.”
Getting up for games has clearly been a struggle amid the organization’s public plans to retool the roster, but the lack of focus, execution and motivation early on in games has been a recurring issue since last season.
The fact that it’s only worsened amid a lost campaign paints a disconcerting picture for the foreseeable future.
Their current situation should not preclude the Rangers from skating with pride.
And yet opponents have feasted on their insecurities, costly mistakes and slow starts on a game-to-game basis.
The Penguins have been one of the hottest teams in the NHL since the end of December.
After members of the 2016 Stanley Cup-winning team were honored in a pregame ceremony, which included Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan and the currently injured Conor Sheary, the energy in the building was palpable from puck drop to the final whistle.
J.T. Miller’s shot is stopped by Stuart Skinner during the second period of the Rangers’ 6-5 road loss to the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Jan. 31, 2026. Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Entering the matinee matchup on a five-game win streak, Pittsburgh picked up where it left off and scored on two of its first four shots.
The multigoal lead was built just over six minutes into the contest, leaving the Rangers in what has been a familiar position this season: chasing from behind.
At a time when attention has shifted to the Rangers youth, the first period was concerning in more ways than one.
Noah Laba, who missed three games earlier this month with an upper-body injury, absorbed a hit in the corner and was slow to the bench.
After trying to skate it off during the TV timeout, Laba reached for his shoulder and headed to the locker room.
Despite returning for one shift in the second period, Laba was ruled out for the remainder of the game with an upper-body injury.
Pittsburgh players celebrate Noel Acciari’s goal during the first period of the Rangers’ road loss to the Penguins. NHLI via Getty Images
There was no immediate update on the 22-year-old after the game.
Injury aside, it was a particularly tough opening frame for Scott Morrow.
The Rangers rookie defenseman committed a costly turnover that led to the Penguins first of two goals from Anthony Mantha before getting called for a late penalty.
Matt Rempe was also on the ice for the first two Penguins goals.
On the second one, Penguins forward Blake Lizotte took the puck right off Rempe’s stick. After that, Sullivan only deployed Rempe for one more shift in the first period.
“Some of it is just the way the flow of the game goes and we’re looking for certain matchups,” Sullivan said. “I try to utilize him in the situations where I think sets him up for success. Those are some of the plays I’m talking about, about execution and decision making. Sometimes, you just got to gain a zone or gain a line. I thought we had opportunities — that was one of them — where we could have got the puck out.”
The Rangers didn’t get on the board until there were just over 1:30 remaining in the second period, but it came on the first of their two total shots in the middle frame.
Pittsburgh, however, scored twice in the span of 20 seconds less than two minutes into the third period.
Not even a four-goal showing over the final 20 minutes was enough for the Rangers to climb out of the hole they dug.
“You can’t. You just can’t. You can’t let up two goals in 20 seconds,” said Vincent Trocheck, who — along with Alexis Lafrenière — led the Rangers with three points (one goal and two assists). “We have to be paying more attention to detail. We were in the right spots a lot of times too, like we’re where we’re supposed to be. We’re just not executing our job. We just have to be better at that. It’s the same giving up six goals, giving up two in 20, you just can’t do it.”
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Mark Scheifele scored the go-ahead goal with 4:14 remaining, lifting the Winnipeg Jets to a 2-1 win over the sliding and short-handed Florida Panthers on Saturday.
Winnipeg was 1-18-2 in games where it trailed entering the third period going into the game, and was down 1-0 with 20 minutes left against the Panthers. But the Jets scored twice in a span of just over seven minutes to take command.
Cole Perfetti scored with 11:26 left to tie the game, then Scheifele got his 27th of the season for what became the game-winner.
Eric Comrie stopped 27 shots for the Jets, including one with 37.1 seconds left on a shot by Matthew Tkachuk. Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett got shots to the net after that as well for the Panthers, but neither got by Comrie and the Jets prevailed for just the third time in their last nine games.
Eetu Luostarinen got the goal for Florida, which has dropped three straight and ended the game eight points back of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Panthers — who have been without Aleksander Barkov all season — played Saturday without Brad Marchand, who is day to day, along with Anton Lundell and Seth Jones, among others.
It was the first time this season that Florida took a lead into the third period and failed to get at least one point out of a game. The Panthers were 17-0-1 in such situations entering Saturday, the fifth-best record in the league.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 19 shots in the Florida net.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Anthony Mantha and Noel Acciari scored two goals apiece, and the surging Pittsburgh Penguins held off the New York Rangers 6-5 on Saturday for their sixth straight victory.
Mantha and Acciari beat Jonathan Quick twice in a span of just over three minutes early in the first period to give the Penguins an early cushion. Mantha made it 3-0 with an easy tap-in in the second period. Acciari and Rickard Rakell scored 20 seconds apart early in the third to push Pittsburgh’s advantage to 5-1 on a night the franchise celebrated the 10th anniversary of the 2016 club that won the Stanley Cup.
Erik Karlsson became the 12th defenseman in NHL history to reach 700 career assists when he picked up the secondary helper on Rakell’s 10th goal of the season 1:20 into the final period. The other 11 defensemen to reach the 700-assist plateau are in the Hall of Fame.
Stuart Skinner improved to 8-1 in his last nine starts but nearly let a four-goal third period get away.
Alex Lafreniere scored twice for the Rangers. Vincent Trocheck, Vladislav Gavrikov and Will Cuylle all scored during a late rally, but it wasn’t enough for the Rangers to fall to 2-10 since goaltender Igor Shesterkin was lost indefinitely with a lower-body injury.
Until the late surge, New York coach Mike Sullivan — who guided the Penguins to consecutive Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017 during a decade-long run as head coach before trading Pittsburgh for New York last summer — watched his team spend most of the afternoon putting up little fight against the surprising Penguins.
Pittsburgh moved into second place by itself in the Metropolitan Division with the victory despite being without veteran defenseman Kris Letang, who will miss at least a month with a fractured left foot sustained in a win over Chicago on Thursday. The 20-year veteran was wearing a protective boot on the foot during a pregame ceremony honoring the 2016 club.
Up next
Rangers: Off until Thursday night, when they host Carolina in the final game before the Olympic break.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 22: Iván Herrera #48 of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrates his two-run home run against the San Francisco Giants in the top of the fifth inning at Oracle Park on September 22, 2025 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
As we prepare to head into a transitional season for the St. Louis Cardinals, one of the bigger projects will be to determine if Ivan Herrera can become the team’s regular catcher. The question is if you have confidence that Ivan can make the changes needed after his time behind the plate last season was less than inspiring and do the Cardinals really need him to be a catcher long-term?
In 2025, Ivan Herrera caught a grand total of only 14 games. We know that he battled elbow issues that limited him resulting in his move to DH where he appeared in 89 games. At the Winter Warmup, Ivan was very positive about how his elbow feels now. He also elaborated on how his elbow was a key factor into his efforts as a catcher. “Yeah, I mean…I basically couldn’t straighten my elbow”. The surgery has created one issue he’s never had to deal with before and that’s the fact that he hasn’t been able to do his typical off-season workout.
There’s more to Ivan and his development as a catcher than just his elbow issues. President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom has said that he believes that Herrera was “not set up for success”.MLB.com quoted manager Oli Marmol as saying ““There’s a real curriculum that’s been put together for him to follow and build upon,” Marmol said. “It’s a very hands-on approach” that will be led by catching coordinator Ethan Goforth that will work with Ivan and help him develop the workflow he needs. Herrera said that he and Goforth have been meeting every week of the off-season going over his defensive approach as he’s just now been able to start ramping up his physical activities.
I will admit that I initially balked at the idea of the Cardinals trying to give Ivan another shot at being the team’s catcher especially after the dumpster fire of the Willson Contreras catching situation. The Cardinals wanted Contreras to be the regular catcher for the same reason they want Herrera behind the plate. They want/need that bat in the lineup and the team is much better if their catcher is also a positive offensive contributor. My knee-jerk reaction is don’t try to turn a player who isn’t a natural catcher into one, but I’m now completely on board for several reasons with only one big picture reservation.
As was mentioned by Jake Wood a few days ago, the St. Louis Cardinals really benefit if Ivan Herrera is the catcher. I’ve also had to adjust my thinking from approaching the season as an expected contender to understanding the St. Louis Cardinals have really shifted to an emphasis on development. I would never want to enter a season with a question mark at the catcher position if the St. Louis Cardinals were a serious playoff contender. That being said, the team really has nothing to lose with Ivan Herrera being given a shot and turning his development as a catcher around. We have Pedro Pagés, Jimmy Crooks and Yohel Pozo to fall back on if this new attempt at making Herrera a reasonable defensive catcher falls short.
The only question that remains in my mind is if we really need Ivan Herrera as catcher with top prospects Leonardo Bernal and Rainiel Rodriguezwaiting in the wings? If either or both players are ready for the majors either sometime in 2026 or 2027, wouldn’t Herrera be a block to their progression? I understand you can never have too many great catchers as any one of them would be prime trade candidates. What do you think? Do the St. Louis Cardinals need Ivan Herrera to be a catcher or are we about to create a problem we don’t currently have?
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts speaks on stage to fans during Dodgerfest at Dodger Stadium on Saturday. (Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)
An anonymous pitcher whose entire life changed with four innings is standing in a crowded Dodger Stadium bullpen in the middle of winter when he hears a voice from the stands.
“Will, thank you so much!” shouts a fan, and underneath his thick beard, the pitcher blushes.
“This is something I’ve never had before,” said Will Klein.
And this is ruining baseball?
On a crowded concourse in the middle of a Saturday morning two months before the start of the season, fans are chugging beers, scarfing Dodger dogs, and even doing a line dance.
The queue at the elevator is endless. The screams from the crowd are constant. Blake Snell is walking along one of the barriers giving every nearby fan — every one — a fist bump.
The Dodgers officially opened their doors for the 2026 season Saturday, holding an annual DodgerFest that has sent a clear message to a landscape of whiners.
This is what winning looks like.
This is why winning is worth it.
The baseball owners will likely lock out the players after this season in hopes of installing a salary cap that will curb the sort of spending that has fueled the Dodgers’ consecutive championships.
They don’t get it. In hoarding their revenue-sharing money, the owners don’t realize the benefits of reinvesting that money in the players and, by extension, the fans.
The Dodgers do that more often, and more effectively, than anyone.
The result Saturday was a mid-winter party that felt different than any of their previous bashes. Some years they spent this day apologizing for their playoff collapses. Last year they spent the afternoon tentatively talking about going back-to-back.
Fans pack into Dodger Stadium for DodgerFest on Saturday. (Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)
This year the constraints were off, the party was on, and they all spoke freely of becoming the first time in National League history to win three consecutive World Series titles.
”I don’t mind the ‘three in the air’ as a carrot,” said manager Dave Roberts, adding, “There’s a challenge we’re not going to run from.”
And so the players showed up brandishing hope for this summer while sweetly admitting the emotion that still lingers from last fall.
Klein, who came out of nowhere to rescue the Dodgers with four scoreless innings in the marathon Game 3 of the World Series, was still pinching himself about being recognized in public.
“A guy told me I looked like me,” he said. “I said, ‘Thank you.’”
”The most important part is that everybody continues to say that is the best moment that they have in their life, the best moment of sports they watched,” said Rojas. “That makes me feel really good, because we were part of something bigger than just a home run.”
And Rojas said he hears that a lot.
“I waited 20 years in professional baseball to have that moment ... something different happened to my life,” he said. “I’m walking around Rome, I’m seeing Dodger fans saying thank you for that home run. It’s crazy, it’s overwhelming.”
Equally overwhelmed was Freddie Freeman, who grew tearful on the stage when talking about hitting the winning homer in the 18th inning of the World Series Game 3 and the impact of winning two titles in his four years here.
“I’m home playing baseball in front of the best fans day in and day out,” he said. “I couldn’t even wrap my mind around coming back and signing here and being part of this. This has blown me away.”
Even the struggling players seemed thrilled to be here, Tanner Scott acting amazingly relaxed when asked for his 2026 goals.
“Not being as bad as last year,” he said. "I was terrible."
OK, then.
Bottom line, on a midwinter day when most of this country’s major-league baseball stadiums were empty, Chavez Ravine was full of life and wonder and winning.
“Today we see a lot of fans and that really gets me going,” said Shohei Ohtani.
And this is ruining baseball?
“This organization is never ready to be done ... they continue to add players, they continue to add talent, that is a good thing,” said Rojas. “We push ourselves ... we believe we can always get better.”
Like he said, a good thing.
“I like winning,” said Klein. “People are always going to be jealous of teams that try to win when they feel like others aren’t. Everybody can go out and do the same thing.”
Spring is here, the haters are out, and the Dodgers are ready.
Seeing players here, seeing their energy, obviously seeing the energy of the fans, its certainly time,” said Roberts.
