MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant is expected to miss at least the next three weeks due to a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow.
The injury occurred Wednesday during the Grizzlies’ 124-122 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. The Grizzlies announced the severity of the injury Saturday and said the two-time All-Star would be re-evaluated in approximately three weeks.
This represents the latest setback in a tumultuous season for Morant, who had missed six games with an injured right calf before returning Sunday for the Grizzlies’ 126-109 victory over the Orlando Magic in London.
Morant has appeared in only 20 of the team's 43 games this season and has averaged 19.5 points, 8.1 assists and 3.3 rebounds amid trade speculation.
After Pep Guardiola dropped Erling Haaland and Phil Foden, Manchester City enjoyed a first Premier League win in four games. It handed Wolves a first defeat in six and was notable for the referee, Farai Hallam, on his top-flight debut, daring to stick with his decision not to award a penalty after being sent by video assistant referee for a pitchside review.
That was for a Yerson Mosquera handball and it infuriated Guardiola, though after City’s dire recent form a first three points since 27 December is what matters. The manager reiterated a long-held belief that City can receive unfair officiating and pointed to his 11 injured players as being needed to mitigate against this.
MLB Pipeline on Friday evening revealed its top 100 prospects heading into the 2026 season, including five Dodgers. Outfielders are the strength of the top of the Dodgers system, including their top four prospects at MLB Pipeline plus shortstop Emil Morales.
Josue De Paula is the top-ranked Dodgers prospect at MLB Pipeline, rated 15th overall, and either the third or fourth-ranked outfield prospect in baseball on the list. Konnor Griffin of the Pirates is the No. 1 prospect overall and has played both shortstop and center field, with more time at the former. Other outfield prospects ranked ahead of De Paula are Max Clark of the Tigers at 10th overall and Walter Jenkins of the Twins at No. 14.
Zyhir Hope was also promoted to Double-A in the final week of 2025, and like his fellow outfield teammate is heading into his age-21 season. Hope was ranked the No. 27 prospect by MLB Pipeline, up from 75th at the beginning of last season.
Eduardo Quintero is a year younger than De Paula and Hope, and was the top-ranked Dodgers prospect this week at Baseball America. Quintero checks in at 30th overall at MLB Pipeline after winning California League MVP last season before spending the last month and a half in High-A Great Lakes.
MLB Pipeline ranked outfielder Mike Sirota the 60th-best prospect in baseball, up from 66th last August.
Emil Morales is the only non-outfielder Dodgers prospect on this list, ranked 92nd overall by MLB Pipeline after hitting .314/.396/.515 with 14 home runs, 24 doubles, and a 141 wRC+ between rookie-level Arizona and Class-A Rancho Cucamonga before turning 19 in late September.
Morales moves well for his size — 6-foot-3 and at least 15 pounds stronger than his listed 191 — and is an aggressive runner with average speed. He’s not the rangiest shortstop but moves well and puts himself in position to make plays. His instincts, hands and arm help his chances of sticking at short, though he’ll wind up at third base if he loses any quickness as he continues to mature physically.
Logan Webb and Aaron Judge briefly appeared poised to be teammates a few years ago, but now the two MLB superstars will have the chance to play on the same squad for Team USA in the upcoming World Baseball Classic.
While Team USA is stacked with some of the game’s best players, Webb especially is looking forward to teaming up with the New York Yankees slugger and three-time American League MVP.
“Aaron Judge is probably obviously the main guy that I’m really excited to play with,” Webb told reporters at Giants Fan Fest in San Ramon Saturday. “I was involved in a lot of the Arson Judge situation, so I got to do the visit with him and I wanted to be his teammate then, and now I get to do it. So, it will be exciting. We’ve texted back and forth a little bit.
“It will be fun to just watch a lot of these guys take BP, let alone playing the game.”
Judge, who grew up a Giants fan, famously was linked to San Francisco during his free agency in 2022, when MLB reporter Jon Heyman tweeted “Arson Judge appears headed to the Giants” during the winter meetings, leading many to believe the franchise was on the cusp of landing one of the sport’s biggest stars.
Shortly thereafter, Judge re-signed with the Yankees, inking a nine-year $360-million dollar contract, extinguishing any hopes Webb had of having the superstar slugger as his Giants teammate.
Now Webb gets the opportunity to play with Judge while also having the honor of representing his country on baseball’s biggest world stage, a privilege he’s not taking lightly.
“It was something I wanted to do a couple years ago, something that just I feel like any time you get a chance to play for your country, I mean for all these guys,” Webb said. “Listening to [Jung Hoo Lee] talk about playing for the Korean team is really cool and I feel the same way about the USA team.
“I think [Team USA manager Mark DeRosa] texted me a lot over the last few years and I just kind of, I was actually with David Ross and Pat MacAfee when I was like ‘all right, I’ll do it.'”
With the World Baseball Classic running between March 5 to March 17, Webb will have a bit of an unorthodox offseason ramp up before his eighth MLB season. While Webb is trying to stick with the status quo with his preparation, he knows things will be different as he toes the rubber for Team USA.
“I’m excited about it, I’m trying to treat this offseason as normal as possible, but I definitely know there’s going to be more adrenaline going into spring time,” Webb explained.
ELMONT, NY -- The New York Islanders have recalled defenseman Isaiah George from Bridgeport of the American Hockey League. Defenseman Cole McWard has been loaned back to the AHL after playing three games, serving as a healthy scratch for the last six games.
Defenseman Ryan Pulock is day-to-day with an upper-body injury and will not play against the Buffalo Sabres at 1 PM on Saturday.
"We're excited to see Georgy," Islanders head coach Patrick Roy said. "He's been playing really well. I mean, every time we had a call-up, unfortunately for him, he was hurt. So we're excited to have him come here right now. And as you see, we rotate the guys who played in Bridgeport. We had Mitchell come in play some games. We had Warren playing some games, and then McWard and Georgie today. So, I mean, we love our young guys, and we trust them, and I think it's a good opportunity for him to play. Played so well last year at first when he came up last season. Unfortunately, he had a concussion, I think, against Toronto with Domi, and it was a little tougher after that, but I'm confident that he's going to play really well."
George, 21, played 33 seasons with the Islanders in 2024-25, recording five points (one goal, four assists), averaging 15:39 minutes per game.
"He's a really good skater," Islanders head coach Patrick Roy said. "He's got that ability to get the puck out on his own."
This season in Bridgeport, in which he sustained two longer-term injuries, one upper and one lower, the Oakville, Ontario native has recorded 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in 24 games.
He's looked tremendous since returning from his latest injury.
After dropping a game they couldn’t afford to fall against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night, the Montreal Canadiens have another important divisional battle on Saturday night, this time against the Boston Bruins, at TD Garden. It will already be the third duel between the two sides this year, with each team bagging a win so far. Boston won the initial matchup 3-2 in November, while Montreal grabbed a 6-2 triumph right before the Christmas break.
Boston has been on fire since the start of the year; however, they are 8-2-0 in the last 10 games and won their previous game on Thursday against the Vegas Golden Knights. It has allowed them to surge up the standings, and they are currently hanging on to the second wildcard spot with 60 points, just three points away from the Canadiens, who have a precarious hold on the Atlantic Division’s third-place. Meanwhile, the Habs are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games.
It will be interesting to see if Martin St-Louis chooses to make some lineup changes. When the two teams last met, the Canadiens received 32 penalty minutes and the Bruins 36, after Josh Anderson and Tanner Jeannot dropped the gloves after three seconds of play, and Arber Xhekaj and Nikita Zadorov did the same after eight and a half minutes of play. The gritty defenseman has been a healthy scratch for the last two games, and Jayden Struble has not looked excellent in those two tilts.
if i tell that i'm literally OBSESSED with zadorov and xhekaj fighting yesterday, at the point of it's looping on my head, can you believe it? seriously, look how AMAZING those moves are. gods, i wish i could see this more often in nhl games.pic.twitter.com/XIXRiCcGBy
Alexandre Texier could also be ready to return since he’s currently day-to-day with a lower-body injury, and if he is, someone would need to come out of the lineup. Kirby Dach has played the last two games on the first line, but it has proven to be quite a challenge for him after sitting out for so long, while Zachary Bolduc got some shifts alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield in the last game. The Canadiens are set to practice at 11:30 AM in Boston, and we should know more then.
The starting netminders have yet to be confirmed, and after Samuel Montembeault gave up three goals on just 16 shots (the 17th shot was in an empty net) on Thursday, one can certainly wonder if the Canadiens will opt to turn to Jakub Dobes. The Czech netminder also gave up three goals in his last start, on 19 shots, and he has 15 wins this season compared to Montembeault’s nine. The Becancour native has a 3-7-1 record against the Bruins with a 3.78 goals-against average and a .880 save percentage. He was in the net for the Habs’ defeat against Boston in November. Meanwhile, Dobes has yet to face Boston but has a 15-5-3 record this year with a 3.01 GAA and a .887 SV.
At the other end of the ice, Jeremy Swayman has played the two games against the Habs this season and has a 10-2-1 record against Montreal with a 2.92 GAA and a .894 SV. Meanwhile, backup Joonas Korpisalo has an 8-2-0 record, a 2.49 GAA, and a .916 SV.
Up front, Brendan Gallagher is the Habs’ biggest points producer against the Bruins with 30 points in 45 games. Captain Nick Suzuki is second with 16 points in 20 games, while Josh Anderson and Noah Dobson both have 13 points in 22 games. Suzuki and Cole Caufield are both on a four-game point streak, having recorded a matching seven-point record in that span. The center has two goals and five assists, while the sniper had five goals and two assists.
As for the Bruins, David Pastrnak is still the player to watch; he has 45 points in 34 games against the Habs, including three in the first two meetings this season, on top of being on a five-game point streak. Elias Lindholm comes in second place with 25 points in 36 games, and Charlie McAvoy wraps up the top three with 16 points in 25 games.
Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM, with Jake Brenk and Brian Pochmara officiating, while Brandon Grillo and Scott Cherrey will serve as linemen. After the game, the Canadiens will return home, where they will play their last two home games before the Olympic break this week, against the Golden Knights on Tuesday and the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday.
The second round was a much closer race this time around between left-handers Jamie Arnold and GageJump. Arnold came out on top though with roughly 60% of the vote, taking the second overall spot in this year’s Community Prospect List. The 11th overall pick in the draft just this past year, Arnold is further away compared to the team’s other top prospects but he could end up being the best of the bunch. The side-armer has drawn plenty of comparisons to another stud lefty in Chris Sale and the A’s would be ecstatic to see Arnold take that same career trajectory. The 21-year-old has yet to get his professional career officially started but that should be coming soon, likely at Single-A with a quick promotion on the table.
The next nominee to join the list will be left-hander Wei-En Lin. The Taiwanese lefty was previously ranked fairly moderately last year but has absolutely shot up the ranks of the A’s system thanks to a vast repertoire that looks like it could propel him into the starting pitching mix near the end of the year. Lin could be yet another left-hander that the A’s develop alongside Arnold and Jump, but will he be able to jump the line this coming year?
The process for this public vote is explained below. Please take a moment to read this before participating:
Please only vote for one. The player with the most votes at the end of voting will win the ranked spot. The remaining four players move on to the next ballot where they are joined by a new nominee.
In the comments, below the official voting, the community will nominate players to be put onto the ballot for the next round. The format for your comment should be “Nomination: Player Name”.
If a prospect is traded, his name will be crossed out, and all other players will be moved up a space. If a prospect is acquired, a special vote will be put up to determine where that player should rank.
The voting continues! Who will take third place? Here’s a quick rundown on each nominee— the scouting grades (on a 20-to-80 scale) and scouting reports come from MLB Pipeline.
Jump’s fastball is difficult for opposing hitters to pick up with an arm angle that creates some deception. The heater sits about 92-94 mph and can reach up to 97 with good carry up in the zone. His upper-70s curveball has significant downer break, and his low-80s slider has cutting action. His fading low-80s changeup is used far less than his other three offerings.
Listed at 6-foot, Jump lacks the size of a typical starter, though his growth since the surgery and ability to generate his stuff with arm speed helps his potential outlook as a long-term starter. The ceiling of a mid-rotation starter is there, though some scouts believe he might be better suited in a bullpen role. To start out, the A’s will develop him as a starter and look to see him maintain good health and strike-throwing ability.
Bolte is a tooled-up athlete who continues to fill out his big 6-foot-3 frame. His impressive raw power continues to show up in the Minors, though there is still a real concern over his swing-and-miss and high strikeout rate as he continues to struggle with offspeed stuff out of the zone. The A’s have worked with him to revamp his swing in order to improve his bat path and cover more of the zone, which has produced slight improvements in those areas, though there is still plenty of work to be done.
Another shining tool for Bolte is his near-elite speed, which was on display last season as he swiped 46 bags. That speed also comes in handy on defense, combining that with a strong arm that makes him a solid outfielder at all three spots. Further refining is required, but he remains an exciting talent with a very high ceiling who continues to steadily advance through the system.
While working around the injuries, Nett has continued to show stellar velocity, touching as high as 99 mph in the Minor Leagues last season. He typically sits 95-97 mph and gets swing-and-miss up in the zone thanks to ample carry. He also throws a tight 81-84 mph slider that ran a 38 percent whiff rate in ’24 and a sharper 90-92 mph cutter that can catch hitters off guard. He’ll mix in an upper-70s curveball with more vertical drop and he’s scrapped a low-80s splitter in favor of a much more effective 88 mph kick-change that really neutralizes lefties.
Nett has some effort in his delivery, and the 2025 season (pre-trade) was the first time he’d posted a walk rate below 13 percent at any Minor League stop. Combine that with the early injury concerns, and it’s easy to think he could be a reliever eventually. But his arsenal is deep enough, and his stuff is promising enough — when combined with strides taken this season — to keep landing him in a starting role in the upper Minors.
It’s not often that teenage prospects launch home runs. But Colome has a tendency to get to that jumpy pop with frequency, consistently leveraging his swing well – so well in fact, that one evaluator mentioned the most recent occasion on which he saw an international prospect continually get to their launch point in such a manner was Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Colome is a right-handed hitter with explosive hands and a solid contact rate, although he has been known to be a tad aggressive in the box as a means of getting to said power.
Something of an athletic marvel at 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds at age 16, Colome is an agile athlete who shows a lot of lateral quickness. The fluidity of his movements and strong arm led to a Manny Machado comparison being hung on him defensively. Much like the seven-time All-Star, Colome may move off short as his frame fills out, but he’s a tremendously dedicated worker and has the feet, soft hands and instincts to stick at the premium position.
A 6-foot-2 left-hander, Lin has a combination of feel for as many as five pitches and projection to his frame. Right now his fastball averages just 91 mph, but it tops out at 95, and it’s easy to see that his frame has tremendous room to add good strength, with more consistent velocity to come. It already had the makings of a quality heater, thrown from around a 5.9-feet release height and with more than 18 inches of carry to it, helping it to miss a good amount of bats. His changeup has been his best secondary offering to date, with huge whiff rates during his debut. His short curve is his go-to breaking ball thus far, though he has a harder, shorter slider. He’ll also employ a splitter for another offspeed possibility.
It’s been a small sample size so far in his first full season, but Lin looks like he has the makings of being an extreme strike-thrower, showing particularly good command of his fastball and curve. If the teenaged southpaw is able to fill out and throw harder, the A’s could have a very interesting left-handed starting pitcher prospect on their hands.
* * *
Programming Note: Each CPL vote will run for around 48 hours, so don’t delay making your selections!
Logan Webb knows the Giants’ roster construction is out of his hands, but he can’t help but acknowledge the moves other NL West teams have made this offseason.
Such as … the reigning and back-to-back World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers — aka San Francisco’s longtime rivals.
“It’s not my job to add guys or do anything,” Webb told reporters Saturday at Giants FanFest in San Ramon. “It’s our job to just go out there and try to compete. Obviously, yeah, it’s not fun for me to watch the team that won it and the team that kicked our ass a lot last year go out and get some really good players just to make it more difficult.
“But at the end of the day, you just got to play better and be better. Hopefully we do that.”
Meanwhile, the Giants, led by president of baseball operations Buster Posey, have focused on pitching depth and minor league additions rather than big offseason splashes. San Francisco signed RHP Tyler Mahle to a one-year deal and RHP Adrian Houser to a two-year deal that includes a club option for 2028.
But does Webb believe that’s enough?
“At the end of the day, we just got to go out and play better,” he said. “Those types of things are not my job. I’m not the GM. I’m not the owner. My job is to go out there and pitch every five days. It’s our job in the clubhouse to just try to maximize our potential and value.”
The Giants certainly addressed an area of concern, but they’ll need to do more to stay afloat with the Dodgers and San Diego Padres in the NL West.
The Giants faced the Dodgers 13 times during the 2025 MLB season, losing nine of those contests. Over the past four seasons, Los Angeles has held a 40-18 regular-season record against San Francisco.
At this point, it’s safe to say that any annoyance Webb — or any Giants player or fan — seems reasonable.
The Montreal Canadiens will visit the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Saturday, January 24, for a classic matchup between these two Atlantic Division rivals.
My Canadiens vs. Bruins predictions and NHL picks suggest yet another thrilling offense-driven game between the two Original Six teams.
Canadiens vs Bruins prediction
Canadiens vs Bruins best bet: Alexandre Carrier Over 1.5 blocked shots (-180)
Since January 7, no one has blocked more shots than Montreal Canadiens defenseman Alexandre Carrier. He ranks one ahead of his teammate Noah Dobson despite playing significantly fewer minutes.
The Quebec City native has 27 blocked shots over his last nine games, and has scored four goals during that time for good measure.
He trails only Mike Matheson among Habs defensemen in shorthanded ice time, and will be largely entrusted to fend off the Boston Bruins' fourth-ranked power play. He's in line to hit the Over for blocked shots once again.
Canadiens vs Bruins same-game parlay
Nick Suzuki was recently named to Canada's Olympic roster, and deservedly so, as the 26-year-old leads the team in points (57) and ranks 11th in the NHL in assists (41). He has helpers in four consecutive games and 10 in his last 10 games.
With Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman underperforming thus far, it's worth noting Montreal has put up at least four goals on Boston in three of their last five meetings — including potting six behind Swayman just over a month ago.
Boston has won seven of the last 10 meetings, but has lost two of the last three. Find more NHL betting trends for Canadiens vs. Bruins.
How to watch Canadiens vs Bruins
Location
TD Garden, Boston, MA
Date
Saturday, January 24, 2026
Puck drop
7:00 p.m. ET
TV
NESN, Sportsnet
Canadiens vs Bruins latest injuries
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here
In this episode of the Royals Rundown Podcast, Jacob Milham and Jeremy “Hokius” Greco take a comprehensive look at the Kansas City Royals’ infield and prospect pipeline as the offseason unfolds. The hosts break down infield rankings, examine what a “down year” really means for Bobby Witt Jr., and discuss why players like Maikel Garcia, Jonathan India, and Michael Massey have pivotal seasons ahead—especially as lineup depth and health come into sharper focus.
The conversation expands into a deep dive on the Royals’ prospect rankings, evaluating names like Peyton Wilson, Warren Calcagno, and Daniel Vazquez, while also placing Kansas City’s strategy in context with major MLB moves such as the Dodgers’ acquisition of Kyle Tucker and the Mets landing Bo Bichette. From player development and injury timelines to trade speculation and roster-building philosophy, this episode offers a clear-eyed look at where the Royals stand—and where they still need to go to compete.
So, what do we know about this photo? The Cubs are playing the Giants. Again, as in the last photo, it has to be between 1978 and 1981, because the Chicago Sting soccer clock is below the board. (The Sting played at Wrigley from 1978-84, but after 1981 Tribune Co. put a message board beneath the scoreboard.)
No. 34 is the starting pitcher for the Cubs. Ray Burris wore that number in 1978 and 1979 and Randy Martz had it in 1980 and 1981. The No. 35 relief pitcher is no help, as the Cubs had pitchers with that number in 1978 (Woodie Fryman) and 1979-81 (Doug Capilla).
So I methodically looked at Burris’ and Martz’ game logs for the years in question. Burris wasn’t a match.
Martz was, and therein lies a tale. This game was played Thursday, June 11, 1981. That’s a significant date, because the 1981 players’ strike began the next day.
The Cubs had been an absolutely terrible team to begin 1981. They started 1-13, then were 4-19, 5-26 and 10-36 before winning five of their last six before the strike. Just getting hot, right?
The Cubs scored four in the first inning of this game, with RBI hits from Steve Dillard, Mike Lum and Ken Reitz (read those names and you’ll understand why the Cubs were so bad that year). Later, Jody Davis and Hector Cruz homered. Martz allowed five hits and one run in seven innings and the Cubs won the game 6-1.
Specifically, what we are seeing here: There are two out in the top of the eighth and No. 31 is batting for the Giants. That’s Enos Cabell, who was in his only year with the Giants after several good seasons in Baltimore and Houston. He’s down 0-1 in the count and eventually grounded to short.
Here is the full photo:
The third-base umpire visible is Steve Fields and off in the distance, the Cubs center fielder is Jerry Morales. And as you can see, there wasn’t much of a crowd — just 5,017 paid to see that game.
Neil Allen had a perfectly nice 11-year career as a major-league pitcher, mostly out of the bullpen. Parts of three of those seasons came with the Yankees, across two different stints. He was generally pretty solid, albeit on teams that fell short of the postseason, despite over-.500 records. After his playing career, he went into coaching, including for the Yankees, where we can give him credit for at least one notable thing.
Today also happens to be his 68th birthday. In honor of that, let’s look back at the career of Mr. Allen.
Neil Patrick Allen Born: January 24, 1958 (Kansas City, MO) Yankees Years: 1985, 1987-88
Born and raised in Kansas City, Neil Allen was a standout athlete in a couple sports growing up. He was planning on attending Kansas State University on a football scholarship, when scouts took notice of him when he was pitching opposite Terry Sutcliffe — brother of 1984 NL Cy Young Award winner Rick — in a high school baseball game. Initially wanting to stick with football, Allen was convinced into baseball by his father, who told him, “Neil, you’re not a rocket scientist and you don’t have the discipline to sit down and do the academic work. Plus, if you play football and get beat up and have your shoulder ruined, then you don’t have either.”
The Mets would select him in the 11th round of the 1976 draft, and Allen would sign with them.
Considering that he was drafted out of high school, Allen rocketed through the minor leagues and was called up to the majors in 1979, when he was just 21 years old. He made his debut on April 14th and threw six OK innings against the Phillies. However, he mainly struggled after that and then suffered an injury in late May. Upon his return to the majors, Mets’ manager Joe Torre decided to use Allen out of the bullpen. Allen excelled in that role, and from June 25th on, he put up a 2.07 ERA and a 2.67 FIP in 69.2 innings. By the end of the season, Torre had even moved Allen into the closer role, and he recorded eight saves.
After spending the next two seasons in the bullpen, Allen struggled to start the 1983 season, losing the closer role to Jesse Orosco. Allen returned to the rotation for a bit, where he showed some better signs, although he was beginning to deal with alcohol addiction issues behind the scenes. The Mets eventually did decide to trade him, sending him out to St. Louis alongside fellow righty Nick Ownbey at the then-June Trade Deadline in 1983 in exchange for first baseman Keith Hernandez. That deal worked out quite well for the Mets.
While he wasn’t awful, Allen could never quite find his footing in St. Louis, never mind when you factor in what Hernandez would go on to become for the Mets. Allen eventually returned to the bullpen. After struggling badly to start 1985, the Cardinals moved on from him, selling his contract to the Yankees. Under manager Billy Martin, Allen performed much better, posting a 2.76 ERA in 29.1 innings down the stretch for the ‘85 Yankees. The team just narrowly missed the postseason, finishing two games behind the AL East-winning Blue Jays.
Despite that, the Yankees then traded Allen to the White Sox that offseason. Chicago tried to move him back to the rotation, and while that went okay in 1985, he again really struggled in ‘86. The White Sox released him in August, and he returned to the Yankees for the rest of the season, putting up a 3.65 ERA in 24.2 innings. That led to the Yankees bringing him back for 1988, and he was again pretty decent. Working as a long reliever, he put up a 3.84 ERA (103 ERA+) in 117.1 innings.
However, Allen’s aforementioned addiction issues were beginning to take a toll. Rickey Henderson went public with a claim that he had to help Allen back to his hotel room after the pitcher had passed out while on a night out on the road, with Henderson saying the team’s drinking culture in general cost the team the pennant. This revelation actually helped Allen admit his problem, although he would continue to battle it off and on.
Allen played 1989 with Cleveland and spent 1990 in the Reds’ organization before retiring. He would get into coaching and returned to the Yankees’ organization in 2000. He spent a couple seasons as a pitching coach for various Yankees’ minor league affiliates and was the bullpen coach for their 2005 AL East champions. Per Sports Illustrated, Allen was credited with teaching Chien-Ming Wang the sinker, which became the future Yankees’ big leaguer’s best pitch when he broke through to the majors:
Fourteen starts into his professional career, Wang blew out his shoulder and sat out the entire 2001 season following surgery. He was told by the Yankees that he had to bag his out pitch, the slider, to ease the stress on his arm. In the summer of ’04 he learned the pitch that would change his career. During a bullpen session shortly after his promotion to Triple-A Columbus, Clippers pitching coach Neil Allen approached him with a suggestion. “Try this,” Allen said to Wang, holding the ball with his index and middle fingers along the seams that framed the ball’s sweet spot. “Push harder here,” he said, tapping his index finger against the ball. Wang began throwing and, he recalls, “the ball started to drop.”
For a guy who has a career ERA below average and no All-Star appearances or any other award votes or anything, Neil Allen has had quite the run in baseball. Here’s hoping that he has a happy 68th birthday.
See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.
The official dropped the puck, and Glass snapped it back to his teammate and New Jersey Devils defenseman, Simon Nemec. The 21-year-old’s shot was blocked by Marcus Pettersson.
The puck took a bounce off the boards behind Vancouver Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen, and Devils rookie Lenni Hämeenaho pounced.
Only 1:41 into the game, New Jersey held a 1-0 lead at Rogers Arena. Glass was the first of Hämeenaho’s teammates to celebrate the winger’s first career NHL goal.
“It was a great feeling," Hämeenaho told NJD.TV of scoring, "Something you kind of don’t know before it happens, so it was great, a great feeling.”
It was a backhand shot that beat Lankinen, who was born a little over six hours south of Hämeenaho’s hometown of Kajaani, Finland.
It took seven periods of play at the NHL level for Hämeenaho to score. A player who historically has taken time to get comfortable in new situations, whether it was the rookie tournament or the start of the season in the American Hockey League (AHL), has adjusted quickly to the NHL, never looking out of place.
"We have been kind of building towards this," head coach Sheldon Keefe told NJD.TV. "Obviously, Lenni’s development in Utica in particular is something that we have been monitoring and waiting and feeling like we would get a look like this when he was ready for it.
“As I spoke about this morning, Glass’s progression, his game in the last month or six weeks, he has been hot in scoring, but his overall game has been very, very solid,” Keefe continued. “Because of that, I think he is now able to help carry a line, and Gritsyuk has helped. Now you get Lenni involved, and you can move (Brown) around, and you can get more from your group that way. That is kind of what we have been waiting for. But Lenni’s development and the patience that we have shown to allow him to find his game and to come up when he is ready has really served us well in the early going.”
His offensive contributions continued in the second period as he picked up his first NHL assist on Glass’ 12th goal of the season at 3:14, giving the Devils a 3-0 lead.
The middle frame was a back-and-forth period with Nico Hischier and Connor Brown additionally scoring. Unfortunately, the Devils surrendered three goals to Canucks’ Linus Karlsson, Teddy Blueger, and Zeev Buium.
Entering the third period, the Devils held a 4-3 advantage over the Canucks. It was Glass, Hämeenaho’s linemate, that extended New Jersey’s lead to 5-3, securing the team’s third consecutive victory.
“There was a lot of chaos in the game, some that we created ourselves, particularly at the end of the game, but it is a lot better to learn inside the chaos after a win, there is no doubt about that,” Keefe said.
On Saturday night, in his third NHL game, Hämeenaho celebrated the first multi-point game of his career. By comparison, it took him 14 games with the Utica Comets (AHL) for him to have a two-point game.
The Devils will conclude their roadtrip on Sunday afternoon with one final stop at Climate Pledge Arena to face the Seattle Kraken.
"It’s been a really good road trip for us,” Keefe said. “I think as much as you don’t love some of the things that happened today, giving the game back a little bit in that second period, giving them life and hope at the end of the game, some of that can serve as a nice little jolt on this road trip to keep us focused and keep us improving along the way.”
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It’s a relatively busy evening across the National Hockey League, with nine games on the schedule. My NHL player props will include Ryan O’Reilly, Ivan Demidov, and Nikita Kucherov.
Ryan O’Reilly is having a nice campaign for the Nashville Predators, scoring 18 goals and assisting 32. He’s been on fire as of late, cashing the Over in helpers in six consecutive appearances. During that span, the veteran has registered eight assists.
In a victory over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday evening, O’Reilly had three assists. On Tuesday, he also had a pair of goals and a helper. The Preds welcome the Utah Mammoth to town this afternoon, and O’Reilly has compiled 17 assists in 27 games in Nashville.
Also, he’s tallied a pair of helpers in two meetings with Utah in 2025-26. O’Reilly will stay hot.
Ivan Demidov has already notched 32 assists for the Montreal Canadiens this season, serving as one of their top playmakers. He’s a dangerous weapon offensively. The Russian has cashed the Over in helpers in two of his last three outings, compiling three assists during that span.
While Demidov didn’t get in on the action on Thursday evening against the Buffalo Sabres, he did set up a pair of goals on Tuesday in a victory against the Minnesota Wild. The Habs hit the road tonight for a classic matchup with the Boston Bruins, and Demidov has played well away from the Bell Centre.
On the road, the 20-year-old has 15 assists in 25 games. He’s also tallied an assist in two meetings with the Bruins this season.
Nikita Kucherov is an absolute beast, sitting top-15 in the league in goals with 25 to his name. The veteran has scored 12 across his last 15 appearances, and he’s found the back of the net in four of his previous seven games.
Kucherov just scored on Friday evening against the Chicago Blackhawks, and he’s bagged 16 of his goals on the road. The Tampa Bay Lightning happen to be in Columbus this evening to face the Blue Jackets.
He scored once in three meetings with the Blue Jackets last season, and Kucherov is clearly thriving as a goal scorer when he’s away from Benchmark International Arena. He’ll produce the goods.
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