Jason Collins, the 13-year NBA veteran player who became a league ambassador after his playing days — famously the first pro athlete to come out as gay while still playing in the NBA or any major American sports league — is battling a brain tumor, his family has announced.
His family released this statement through the league:
"NBA Ambassador and 13-year NBA veteran Jason Collins is currently undergoing treatment for a brain tumor. Jason and his family welcome your support and prayers and kindly ask for privacy as they dedicate their attention to Jason's health and well-being."
"I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay. I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, 'I'm different.' If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand."
Collins, 46, and his twin brother Jarron Collins dominated Southern California high-school basketball together at Harvard-Westlake — having twin athletic 7-footers on a high school team wins a lot of games — before choosing to attend Stanford together. There, Collins helped lead the Cardinal to the Elite Eight one season and the Final Four the next. Collins was the No. 18 overall pick of the Houston Rockets in the 2001 NBA Draft, then was traded on draft night with Richard Jefferson to the New Jersey Nets. Collins had a growing role with the Nets and was the starting center on the 2003 team that reached the NBA Finals with Jason Kidd at point guard (Collins was matched up with Hall of Famer David Robinson in those Finals, which the Tim Duncan Spurs won).
Collins earned his reputation as a physical, rock-solid defensive center who went on to play 13 NBA seasons for the Nets, Grizzlies, Timberwolves, Hawks, Celtics and Wizards (finishing his career with the Nets, who had moved to Brooklyn at that point).
After retiring from playing, Collins became an ambassador for the league, serving in that role at a number of events. Collins has long had a relationship with film producer Brunson Green, and the couple was married earlier this year.
EAST MEADOW -- While most of the attention at day one of New York Islanders rookie camp was on No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer, it was our first time getting a look at European free agent signing Maxim Shabanov.
The 24-year-old winger is a skating highlight reel, as seen in the film from the KHL. But to see him in person for the first time was something special.
"He's an amazing player," Schaefer said following day one. "He's a top prospect, so it's fun to go up against him. You've got to be on your A-game every time, because guys like him are going to make big plays."
Shabanov signed his one-year entry-level deal this summer and is likely to make the Islanders out of camp after playing four seasons in the KHL. He chose the Islanders because of the opportunity that presented itself.
When it comes to an "older" prospect, you want to see them stand out, and Shabanov surely made a good first impression.
"He's so skilled," Islanders prospect and NHL hopeful Calum Ritchie said. "I mean, you see some of his highlights, and then you see him out there. It's unreal. So it's a lot of fun to watch."
Shabanov's skating and creativity make you wonder how well he could fit on Mathew Barzal's wing, now that No. 13 is moving back to center and off Bo Horvat's line, at least to start the 2025-26 season.
It's evident that the talent is there. The biggest question is whether the 5'9, 167-lb forward can handle the NHL physicality.
"Everyone has seen his highlight tapes," third-year prospect Matthew Maggio told The Hockey News. "And even just being out here for a few days like he has, you can just see the skill so evident. The way he can control the puck...it's on a string, it looks like, and he's so shifty. I'm excited to see him in a game environment and see what he can do out there."
Stay updated with the most interesting Islanders stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News to never miss a story.
The NCAA is investigating potential violations of sports betting rules involving 13 former men’s basketball players who competed for six schools. Cases include athletes formerly associated with Eastern Michigan, Temple, Arizona State, New Orleans, North Carolina A&T and Mississippi Valley. The schools are not under investigation or at risk of being penalized.
Italian wins 12.2km time trial with time of 13 minutes
Almeida closes gap on overall leader Vingegaard
Filippo Ganna tore through the final third of Thursday’s shortened individual time trial to win stage 18 of the Vuelta a España in Valladolid, and third-placed João Almeida gained 10 seconds on the overall leader, Jonas Vingegaard.
Ganna, the Italian time-trial specialist, repeated his success of two years ago in the same city but had an agonisingly long wait after the Ineos Grenadiers rider was fifth out of the gate, setting a time of 13 minutes.
The Buffalo Sabres should be in the market for an impact top-six forward after dealing winger JJ Peterka to the Utah Mammoth for defenseman Michael Kesselring and winger Josh Doan. The opening weeks of free agency did not provide GM Kevyn Adams with an opportunity to replace Peterka’s production, and with the two-year deal signed over the summer with defenseman Bowen Byram, Adams will have to try to acquire a scoring forward with younger players, prospects, and/or draft picks. With just a few weeks before training camp, the odds are that an addition like that will have to happen during the season.
New York Islanders center Jean-Gabriel Pageau is someone that could be a potential target for the Sabres into the season, if Buffalo is looking for a veteran to play up the middle, based on the inexperience of Jiri Kulich or as injury insurance for Josh Norris.
The 12-year NHL veteran played the first seven years of his career in Ottawa, and was traded at the 2020 deadline to the Isles, and has been remarkably consistent, scoring double figures in goals for 10 of the last 11 seasons. The 32-year-old has been part of three deep playoff runs with the Sens (2017), and New York (2020, 2021) and is entering the final year of a six-year, $30 million deal.
Pageau would likely be an extremely sought-after rental at the 2026 trade deadline for clubs needing to add up the middle, especially a right-handed pivot who has played special teams and is good on faceoffs(59.6%). Being in this pricy market would only be possible if the Sabres were in position to snap their 14-year playoff drought, which means Adams would have to be prepared to surrender his 2026 first round pick, and a significant prospect. With an aging Islanders blueline, a youngster like Ryan Johnson or Vsevolod Komarov would make sense. .
Follow Michael on X, Instagram, and Bluesky @MikeInBuffalo
On Wednesday, after a meeting with all the NBA owners, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver sounded cautious, patient and a little bit zen about the investigation into the Clippers trying to circumvent the salary cap with team sponsor Aspiration. "I'm a big believer in due process and fairness, and we need to now let the investigation run its course," Silver said. He said he wanted to see "substantial proof" of the Clippers' wrongdoing.
• In 2021, Kawhi Leonard signed a four-year, $28 million endorsement deal with Aspiration, a "green bank" company dealing in carbon credits (the company has since gone bankrupt, and its CEO pled guilty to bilking $248 million from investors). The way this endorsement paid out was $7 million a year, or quarterly payments of $1.75 million. At the crux of this controversy is the fact that Leonard did nothing for Aspiration to earn this money — no appearances, no marketing, not even a social media post. This was a "no-show" job. Employees with Aspiration said they were told not to question the Leonard contract, this was to help the Clippers circumvent the salary cap.
• Clippers owner Steve Ballmer had invested $50 million personally in Aspiration back in 2021 (prior to the Leonard endorsement contract), and it had become a $300 million sponsor of the Clippers. Ballmer and the Clippers have said that while they introduced Leonard and Aspiration — as is permitted under league rules — they had no details about his endorsement deal, and that the Clippers ended their relationship in 2023 with Aspiration after it defaulted on their obligations. Ballmer told ESPN, “I was duped” by Aspiration (as were many other investors).
• The latest PTFO reporting focuses on the final months of 2022: In September of that year, Aspiration missed a quarterly $1.75 million payment to Leonard as the failing company was coming apart at the seams. This had Dennis Robertson — "Uncle Dennis," Leonard business manager and uncle who had asked the Raptors for no-show endorsements during free agency in 2019, and asked the Lakers and Clippers for much more like a piece of the organization, a home, and use of a plane — hounding Aspiration for the money Leonard was owed (which flowed into a specially formed LLC for this endorsement money).
• Enter Dennis J. Wong — the vice chairman of the Clippers, a man who owns 1% of the team (Ballmer owns the other 99%). According to Aspiration bank records, on Dec. 6, 2002, Aspiration received a $1.99 million wire from Wong's investment LLP. That came at a time when the company was hemorrhaging money, was in default and was not a good investment, company employees told Torre. All of that was public and disclosed, and Wong should have known about it.
• On Dec. 15, Leonard got his $1.75 million fall quarterly payment from Aspiration. That same day, Aspiration laid off 10% of its remaining workforce.
• A finance executive with Aspiration said this to Torre about Wong's investment: "It is not a rational investment that someone would make. So it is very shocking to me that $2 million was made as an investment by Dennis Wong, who in my texts is identified as the 'Clippers' and Steve 'Ballmer's partner,' a week before $1.75 million was paid to Kawhi."
The NBA has hired an outside law firm to handle its investigation into Aspiration, the Clippers and the endorsement deal with Leonard. While the court of public opinion is in overdrive, Silver wants the league's investigation to be completed before he and the other owners discuss any punishment for the Clippers — and Silver wanted evidence beyond the circumstantial.
"We and our investigators look at the totality of the evidence... I would be reluctant to act if there was sort of a mere appearance of impropriety," Silver said. "I think that the goal of a full investigation is to find out if there really was impropriety."
Ballmer and the Clippers can again claim plausible deniability here: Wong made a small investment in a company where his daughter worked to help prop them up, neither he nor the team knew anything about late payments to Leonard or anything to do with the endorsement deal. If Silver is holding out for a paper trail — an email where Ballmer or Wong make sure money gets to Lonard and Uncle Dennis — that is not going to exist, Ballmer is too smart to have done so (there was this kind of paper trail in 2000 when the league came down hard on the Timberwolves for circumventing the salary cap with Joe Smith). The Clippers can argue that this is something Aspiration and Uncle Dennis cooked up and they knew nothing.
However, the tsunami of circumstantial evidence and the timing of all of it — including Wong's investment — is hard to ignore and brush aside as nothing. It's going to be difficult for the other owners — who are unhappy with the thought that the richest of them circumvented the cap, giving the league a black eye — to say nothing happened here.
This has become a story that is not going away and will carry into the start of the NBA season, a dark cloud the league will not be happy about.
The Buffalo Sabres have been considered to have one of the deepest prospect pools in the NHL, which is in part due to them selecting high in recent drafts because of their not qualifying for the playoffs. The Sabres have displayed an eye for talent, but the organization’s developmental model has not yielded enough results.
Leading up to the opening of training camp in mid-September, we will look at the club's top 40 prospects. All are 25 years old or younger, whose rights are currently held by the Sabres or are on AHL or NHL deals, and have played less than 40 NHL games.
The Buffalo Sabres once again had a top 10 pick at the 2025 NHL Draft, and after lengthy speculation that they might trade the pick for immediate help with GM Kevyn Adams entering a do or die season, the Sabres kept the ninth overall pick and selected Seattle Thunderbirds defenseman Radim Mrtka.
Mrtka offers an intriguing physical package at 6’6”, 218 lb. with excellent skating ability. After getting limited playing time in various levels in Czechia last season and playing for his country in the Under-18s, the big right hander came to North America to play in the WHL and posted 35 points (3 goals, 32 assists) in 43 games with the Thunderbirds, where he was teammates with current Sabres prospect Scott Ratzlaff.
"Mrtka (offers a) very unique package to be able to move the way he does at 6'6", (is) almost more agile with the puck, if that's possible," Sabres Asst GM Jerry Forton said before the draft. "A smart player at both ends. I was over in Czechia early in the year when he wasn't getting a lot of playing time in the men's league over there to see what he was willing to do to move to North America. He comes from a background where he has very little in the way of resources for hockey or anything outside hockey. He uprooted, high character kid, a huge ceiling."
The big 18-year-old will play in the 2025 Prospects Challenge this weekend and may get into an exhibition game or two before being sent back to the WHL, and is all but a shoo-in to play for Czechia in the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championships.
Follow Michael on X, Instagram, and Bluesky @MikeInBuffalo
Red Wings breakout prospect Emmitt Finnie breaks down off-season plans, future goals and growing up with fellow prospect Nate Danielson in an exclusive interview with The Hockey News.
The Detroit Red Wings have several big name prospects that the fan base is aware of and are excited to see how they turn out as NHL talent. One name that many aren’t aware of is 20-year-old Emmitt Finnie, who Grand Rapids Griffins coach Dan Watson called a player to look out for this upcoming season.
The Red Wings’ 2023 seventh round pick has seen his stock continue to rise over the years as he’s continued to impress coaching staffs with his work ethic and solid offensive numbers. Last season in the WHL, Finnie posted an impressive 37 goals and 47 assists for 84 points in just 55 games.
His production surpassed that of several notable prospects, including 2023 14th overall pick Brayden Yager of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who recorded 82 points. To be outdoing the top prospect in another franchise is certainly impressive let alone Finnie also outpaced two 2025 first-round selections in Braeden Cootes, drafted 15th overall by the Vancouver Canucks with 63 points, and Lynden Lakovic, selected 27th overall by the Washington Capitals with 58 points.
"I think Emmitt Finnie is a guy, he's a seventh round pick, but every time I see him, he continually gets better and better, he gets bigger, he gets stronger," Watson explained "[Finnie] had a great Western Hockey League career, stepped in two years ago with us and played three games and wasn't expected to play any games but did quite well during his playing time."
The Hockey News recently got to speak with Finnie in an exclusive interview and asked him how the transition to pro hockey went last season and how he feels entering his first full season with the Griffins.
“With the Griffins, I'm hoping to have a pretty big role with them, I want to establish myself pretty early on as a key player on the team,” Finnie said ”The biggest thing I noticed was the speed and physicality of the players, coming to the AHL, you're the youngest guy, so everyone's just more developed, everyone's in better positions, defensively and offensively.”
The Lethbridge native did quite well through his first taste of pro hockey last season with a goal and four assists through ten AHL games. When asked what NHLer he models his game after, Finnie noted that he likes to watch a lot of a certain LA Kings winger.
"I would consider myself a 200 foot player, I like comparing myself to Adrian Kempe,” Finnie noted “The way he plays, he's a big center, he's a 200 foot player, he works really hard, he's not afraid to go to some dirty areas, so he's a player I like watching and kind of try to model my game after."
Finnie and Kempe are a good comparison as they are just an inch apart in height but are nearly the same weight and play with the same style of game as a gritty, hard-nosed winger that battles for pucks and isn’t afraid to dig the puck out of dirty areas.
It helps Finnie’s development that during the off-season, he gets to train alongside other notable prospects in the Red Wings organization like Nate Danielson, Axel Sandin-Pellikka and Michael Brandsegg-Nygård as the four all live in the same house in Michigan during the later portion of the off-season as the prospects come back to Detroit to start early training.
Finnie noted he and Danielson have close ties as Alberta natives that played against each other as kids and have grown into good friends along the way.
"I grew up playing hockey against Nate, so I knew him from that, and my brother played with him a little bit, so it was good to have a connection with him,” Finnie clarified “We always kind of talked here and there about playing against each other when we were younger, so I guess it's pretty cool to look back on stuff like that but he's a good buddy of mine, he's a great hockey player and a good guy too, so it's easy when you have someone like him here."
During the summer, Finnie travels to Langley, BC to visit and spend quality time with his family. He enjoys both playing and watching sports with them, especially pickleball, basketball, and golf. He mentioned that his siblings and other family members are involved mostly in basketball, so it's a sport he ends up playing quite a bit while he's there.
As the season approaches, Finnie is eager to get going once again and is focused on continuing his rise within the organization with a top-line left wing spot with the Red Wings on his mind.
"We're going to see here in training camp, who separates themselves, but looking forward to having a competitive training camp and trying to work my way up in the organization's ranks, and hopefully see myself there in the future,” Finnie said.
Welcome back to another Vancouver Canucks 2025–26 season series preview. In this article series, The Hockey News - Canucks site previews Vancouver’s team series matchups for the season in chronological order. Last time, we looked at what the Canucks will face in the Utah Mammoth. Today, let’s preview their season matchups against the Detroit Red Wings.
The Red Wings made headlines even before the 2025 free agency period began, as they were part of a big NHL draft day trade that involved a goaltender swap. Long-rumoured trade bait from Anaheim, Gibson, was dealt to Detroit in exchange for Petr Mrazek, a 2026 fourth-round selection, and a 2027 second-round pick. As well as a crop full of contract extensions completed on June 30, one of which being former Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane, Detroit also brought in James Van Riemsdyk, Jacob Bernard-Docker, and Mason Appleton. They also signed 2025 first-round draft pick, Carter Bear, to his entry-level contract.
Detroit was one of the more unpredictable teams during the 2024–25 regular season. They finished the year with a top-five ranked power play as well as the worst penalty kill in the NHL. Along with the Montréal Canadiens, Columbus Blue Jackets, and both the New York Rangers and New York Islanders at times, they were within contention for a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. It’ll be tough for the team to improve on last year’s efforts while in such a competitive division, especially with many of their opponents making notable additions or regaining key players.
Vancouver and Detroit split their season series in 2024–25, with both games ending in overtime. These two teams finished in similar positions within their conference — close to playoffs, but allowing them to slip out of reach towards the end. Detroit’s biggest addition that the Canucks will need to keep an eye on is Gibson, who will likely take a starting role and allow Talbot to back him up. While Vancouver and Detroit had time to wait between their two matchups last year, in 2025–26, they’ll play each other on December 8 in Vancouver and on January 8 in Detroit.
2025–26 Games Against Vancouver
Game 1: December 8, 7:00pm PT @ Rogers Arena
Game 2: January 8, 4:00pm PT @ Little Caesars Arena
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
Given how appealing humans find metric milestones and closure, there exists a nice thought about an awful story. Adelaide finished this year on top of the ladder, with a second shot at a preliminary final if they can get past Hawthorn this Friday night. Ten years since former coach Phil Walsh died in 2015, the Crows are a chance of a flag. It would not heal any principal hurts, but it would mean something to some.
The mid-season death of a coach would have shaken the club whatever the circumstances, especially after losing assistant coach Dean Bailey to cancer the year before, but Walsh’s case was even harder to fathom given it came from a domestic tragedy: a father fatally injured while his son suffered a psychotic episode. Given that any coaching role has a parental aspect, such a tragedy within a family felt obscenely unfair on all involved.
The NCAA ruling on CHL-player eligibility last November turned the junior hockey landscape upside down. Prior to the November ruling, any player who joined a CHL team became ineligible to play NCAA hockey. The change created an environment where the CHL is now a viable destination for elite young players who want to preserve the option to secure an education while they develop as hockey players in the NCAA.
Ottawa native Thomas Vandenberg is one of the players profiting from the change as he no longer needs to decide between his educational interests and playing hockey at an elite level for his hometown team.
Ottawa 67’s GM James Boyd described taking Vandenberg in the fifth round of the 2024 OHL Priority Selection as a strategic choice.
“[Vandenberg] was a key player on his Myers team when we drafted him … He really would have been a much higher pick in the OHL if he was committed to the league at the time,” said Boyd. “He went down to Cedar Rapids, and we had a chance to watch him a few times. What really stood out is his skating and poise with the puck.”
As mentioned by Boyd, the 2008-born center decided to take his talents to the Cedar Rapids Roughriders in the USHL in order to protect a potential future in the NCAA. Like the majority of young hockey talents, Vandenberg wanted to play at the highest level possible; however, he and his family also placed a premium on education.
“I wanted to go to college,” said Vandenberg when discussing his decision. “Economics is big for me, that’s the main thing I wanted to go for. Going to the USHL allowed that, as well as being a great league with great development, so it all piled together into one, and it ended up being a good decision.”
In 55 games with Cedar Rapids, the speedy forward scored nine goals and nine assists, finishing tenth on the team in scoring.
While assessing options at the end of last season, he had 67’s goaltender Jaeden Nelson attempting to sway him towards returning to Ottawa.
“I don’t take all the credit, there are people who get paid a lot of money to do that,” said Nelson, who is also an Ottawa native. “His draft year, we were in high school math class together, so I was in his ear the whole time wanting him to come play for us … After the rule change, I got right back on him again trying to get him here.”
Coming home to Ottawa comes with benefits beyond hockey. In going to the USHL, Vandenberg had no choice but to move away from his family. At the age of 15, the idea of moving to the United State alone must have been daunting. Thomas’ father, Pat Vandenberg, mentioned that while his son faced challenges in moving away from home at such a young age, he and his wife Carolin hope that he’s grown from the experience. This year, he will be able to play hockey while enjoying the comforts of his home and family.
“The hometown opportunity for Thomas is pretty much a no-brainer because we know this is an excellent program and Thomas seems really ready for this opportunity,” said Pat. “As parents … it’s very hard for your 15/16-year-old to leave. It’s quite nice to have that opportunity for your youngest to come back home … We’re excited about that. Very much so.”
Vandenberg, who said he models his game after Boston Bruins legend Patrice Bergeron, played extremely well at Ottawa’s training camp, showing a lot of chemistry with returning players like Nic Whitehead and Kohyn Eshkawkogan. He made full use of his poise and skating skills as he blew past defenders on two occasions to create scoring opportunities.
While he will undoubtedly need time to adjust to the OHL, he will have plenty of opportunity to shine on what will be a younger 67’s squad. After missing the playoffs last year, Ottawa retooled during the offseason, adding young talent like 2025 third-overall pick Brock Chitaroni and second-round pick Jack Johnson.
The CHL changed its Import Draft rules this summer allowing teams to roster three import players rather than two. As a result, Ottawa scooped up Czech defender Ondrej Ruml with the eighth-overall pick in the draft before taking Finnish forward Jasper Kuhta in the second. They will play alongside Swedish star forward Filip Ekberg, Ottawa’s third import player.
In terms of returning players, the 67’s faithful should look for Ekberg to have a big season. The second-year man was selected in the seventh round of the 2025 NHL Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes. Prior to the draft, he led the U-18 World Junior Championship with 10 goals and eight assists on the way to winning a silver medal and simultaneously breaking the Swedish record for most points scored at the tournament.
Both Kohyn Eshkawkogan and Nathan Amidovski seem to have taken a step forward. Eshkawkogan looked silky smooth during training camp, using his dazzling hands and skating ability to dance through opponents, while Amidovski consistently created opportunities using his size and puck protection skills. Amidovski has goals in both of Ottawa’s opening preseason games, a positive sign for a player who struggled at times during his rookie campaign.
Make sure you bookmark THN's OHL site for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, be sure to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum.
It was fitting that Jamie Vardy was given an audience at the Violin Museum in Cremona, because at least they had access to a very small one to play for the striker about having to finish his career in picturesque Lombardy rather than the East Midlands. He is also a classical showman but, aged 38, some suspect that the former England international is a spent force. Vardy has been doubted from Stocksbridge Park Steels to the Champions League, though, and has always delivered. “It is up to me to disprove the predictions,” he chirped. “Age is just a number. I always listen to my legs. At the moment I still feel great. During my whole career I have been underestimated and I worked to prove everyone wrong, and I have succeeded in doing that.”
ARLINGTON, Texas — Jacob deGrom is excited to be going back to where his career began, the home stadium where he made 109 of his 245 starts in the big leagues and had back-to-back Cy Young Award-winning seasons with the New York Mets.
“It holds a special place in my heart,” deGrom said. “I pitched a lot there, and Mets fans were always good to me. So taking the mound in front of that crowd was always a fun experience.”
Now the lanky right-hander will find out if that holds true when pitching against them.
DeGrom is set to face the Mets on Friday night for the first time since leaving in free agency after the 2022 season and signing with the Texas Rangers. The teams contending for playoff spots in their respective leagues open a three-game series at Citi Field.
“With what he did for the Mets, how much time he spent there, I’m sure he’s probably going to have some memories and emotions even before he pitches,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “He’ll be well-received, no doubt. But it’s going to be a big game, so there may be some scattered boos in there.”
Comeback season
The 37-year-old deGrom (11-7, 2.78 ERA) was the only All-Star player from the Rangers this season. His 27 starts and 155 2/3 innings are the most since his last Cy Young Award in 2019, before the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and then a series of injury-plagued years with New York and Texas.
“The main thing coming into this year was try to take the ball as many times as I can. I didn’t know how many times that would be. ... The goal is to just keep it going,” deGrom said this week.
“He looks great, he does. I’m really pleasantly surprised at how well this has gone for him this year because, you know, you don’t know,” Bochy said. “This is a lot of work for him after that surgery and not pitching for a couple of years, almost three. ... Yeah, it’s gone very well.”
Earlier this season, deGrom set a Rangers franchise record with 14 consecutive starts going at least five innings and not giving up more than two runs. That same span was the longest streak by any traditional starter (not including openers) in the modern era since 1900 of not allowing more than six hits and two runs in a game, according to STATS. He also came the closest he ever has to a no-hitter when allowing only a leadoff single in the eighth inning June 25 at Baltimore, a month after the only start in his career without a strikeout.
Missing the Mets
When Texas played the Mets each of the past two seasons, deGrom both times was recovering from the Tommy John surgery he had after only six starts in his Rangers debut. They went to New York late in the 2023 season before winning their first World Series championship that fall, and hosted a three-game series in Arlington last year.
In his last start at Citi Field, deGrom had 13 strikeouts in five innings without a decision in the Mets’ win over Pittsburgh on Sept. 18, 2022. His major league debut was also there, when he went seven innings and allowed the lone run in a 1-0 Subway Series loss to the Yankees on May 15, 2014.
Injury woes
DeGrom had a 1.08 ERA over 92 innings through 15 starts in 2021, but didn’t pitch in the All-Star Game and missed the rest of that season with right forearm tightness and a sprained elbow. He was shut down during spring training in 2022 after a stress reaction in his right scapula, then was 5-4 with a 3.08 ERA in 11 starts over the final two months of that season before becoming a free agent.
The five-year, $185 million contract deGrom signed with Texas included a conditional sixth-year club option for 2028 that was triggered because of the time missed after Tommy John surgery. That option is worth at least $20 million, and could be up to $37 million depending on his total innings pitched and if finishing top five in Cy Young voting.
Playoff chase
Texas (77-70) has won 15 of its last 20 games and is seven games over .500 for the first time this season. The Rangers will go from New York to Houston for three games against the AL West-leading Astros, and are also trying to get past division foe Seattle for the American League’s final wild card.
The Mets are unlikely to catch Philadelphia for the NL East title, but are trying to stay ahead in the NL wild-card race.
“All these games for us are very important. Same for them,” deGrom said. “So it’s gong to be fun. We’ve got to win, they’ve got to win. It’s going to be a playoff atmosphere.”
![Thomas Vandenberg skating for the Ottawa 67's during this year's training camp. The speedy forward showed instant chemistry with multiple returning players while showcasing his skill and intelligence [OTTAWA 67s Denielle Gaudette].](https://media.zenfs.com/en/the_hockey_news_articles_331/11aeea1f41003efdd37cdf83945bae16)
