The Florida Panthers entered the fifth game of their six-game road trip last Friday against the Carolina Hurricanes, feeling better about their hockey after winning two straight.
When the final buzzer sounded, the only feeling was one of dread and embarrassment. The Panthers found themselves tied 1-1 early in the second period, but they went on to allow six goals in the third period, losing 9-1.
Sergei Bobrovsky was in goal for all nine goals, finishing with a .743 save percentage, turning away just 26 of the 35 shots he faced. The Panthers’ penalty kill percentage took a significant blow as they allowed four goals on five opportunities.
When the Panthers travelled to Washington to take on the Capitals, Daniil Tarasov backed the Panthers, turning away 22 of the 24 shots he faced en route to a 5-2 victory.
Although Tarasov’s numbers are significantly better than Bobrovsky’s, Tarasov is still taking on very few starts, and prior to his start against Washington, it had been five games since he last played.
The 37-year-old Bobrovsky will be back in goal tonight against the San Jose Sharks, looking to slow down Macklin Celebrini and the rest of the young, high-flying forwards the Sharks dress. The Sharks are tied for third place in the Pacific Division with 51 points and a 24-20-3 record.
The Sharks average the 16th most goals per game (3.11), 29th most shots on goal (25.3), and the fifth-best shooting percentage (12.3 percent). Bobrovsky has at times shown he is the goaltender who backstopped the Panthers to consecutive Stanley Cup wins, but his inconsistency has plagued the Panthers.
The Panthers remain in the hunt for a playoff spot, but are now four points back of a wild card spot with two teams ahead of them. They are also eight points back of third place in the Atlantic Division, with three teams ahead.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
There is no result because the results were skewed. How skewed? When closing responses, there were 548 collected. 86.6% of people claimed Dante Nori was the team’s third best prospect. No disrespect to Nori intended, but there is a consensus among the scouting community who the team’s top three prospects are, so let’s just learn from this and move on.
There is a decent amount of pressure on Justin Crawford now. He’s taken the methodical route to the majors, the team preferring him to find success at levels over an entire season as opposed to being rushed to Philadelphia before he was ready. Many scouting gurus have talked about his swing not being conducive to major league success no matter how well he performed in the minors, yet perform well in the minors he has.
The time has come for him to show what he can do in the majors and it seems the Phillies are primed to do just that. Judging from their offseason moves, the runway has been cleared for his to hit in the bottom third of the lineup and play left field full time.
Offensively, we could pretty much cut and paste any report we’ve written about Crawford since he was drafted here. He still hits the ball on the ground way too much, he still runs like the wind, he still puts the ball in play a lot, and he still swings at way too many pitches for a guy who has what is otherwise a 1990s leadoff man profile. He made some real improvements around the edges of his very durable broad profile in 2025—he cut his chase rate by over five points year-over-year, which got it from catastrophic to merely bad, while turning a few grounders into line drives—but for the most part what you think about his offensive game still depends on whether you think his reliance on nine-hopper singles can sustain a plus-or-better hit tool outcome in the majors.
With each new post, we’ll reveal who won the voting for that particular slot, then post new players for you to vote on, adding another one to the list each time until we get to our final tally of 20. Once we get to 20 top prospects, we’ll do an honorable mention post at the end. If a player gets traded to another team, we’ll just chuck him right on outta here and all the players will move up a spot. If a prospect gets acquired, we’ll ask where he should go on the list.
Probably the most important thing about this whole process – please vote. Give us a few minutes of your time, just click a button and then we can discuss other players and things in the comment section, but don’t forget – VOTE!
Inspired by Mike Carlucci at Over the Monster (and, perhaps, an Instagram trend) I thought it would be a fun exercise to look back at Detroit Tigers teams from ten, twenty and thirty years ago and put myself in the shoes of the average fan in the winters just before those seasons.
Some of you here may be relative newcomers to the Tigers; in that case, welcome aboard, and just know that being a serious playoff contender isn’t always a frequent occurrence. But sometimes things line up just right – and, of course, a certain pizza-chain-owning mogul decides to blow his entire bank account on the team for which he once played in the organization.
Some of you have followed the Tigers for decades longer than others; in that case, feel free to fill things in for forty, fifty or more years in the past down in the comments. To that end, fifty years ago marked the debut of one of the singular sensations in baseball history, Mark Fidrych. He’d put together a good year across three minor-league levels in 1975 at age 20, capping things off with six very good starts at Triple-A Evansville (completing four of them; ah, different times, then). Did anyone see his 1976 coming? I doubt anyone would’ve, including Fidrych himself, may he rest in peace.
Anyway, on with the exercise at hand.
Ten Years Ago: 2016
A sense of dread hung over Tigers fans that offseason, as the window for a realistic shot at a World Series title appeared to have mostly snapped shut in the second year of Brad Ausmus’ tenure in 2015. Core stars like Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martínez were aging, Justin Verlander had re-emerged as one of the best pitchers in the league in the second half of the season but most weren’t yet convinced and they’d failed to build back around him, and it became clear that Ausmus was not the guy to reassemble the Tigers into anything ressembling a good team. Plus, Dave Dombrowski quit as General Manager and his longtime deputy, Al Avila, was expected to pilot the ship along roughly the same course as before.
And, let’s face it, the less said about Alfredo “Big Pasta” Simón’s season in Detroit, the better. Yikes. (How did that trade with the Reds turn out? I hope what’s-his-name turned out alright. You know, ol’ Jonathon Crawford.)
But, like all good baseball movies, the aging veterans surely had to have one last turn in the Sun in them, right? Besides, J.D. Martinez had a great season with 38 home runs and 33 doubles, and while he wasn’t so hot with the glove, you could stick him in right field and have him occassionally DH, you could get away with some suspicious defence now and again. Al Alburquerque and his amazing slider could baffle hitters in the late innings, and Bruce Rondón was going to be the Closer of the Future.
While the 2016 Tigers finished with 86 wins – short of a Wild Card spot after a wretched August and September in which they went 23–32 – it was pretty clear that the extended run of consistently good teams, stretching back to 2011, was over. Ausmus was kept around for another year in which the Tigers struggled, traded away all the veteran they could, including Verlander, and finished last. Things look pretty bleak for years afterwards.
Twenty Years Ago: 2006
I’ve always felt that Alan Trammell got a raw deal as manager of the Tigers for three years in the early 2000s. He was handed a truly horrible team in 2003 and, unsurpsingly, they did terribly; nearly-historically-terribly, as it turned out. When your starting lineup features Dmitri Young as, by far, its most valuable hitter (with a nice 3.4 bWAR but a glove as strange as you’ll ever see), and a starting rotation in which one starter had an ERA below 5 (Nate Cornejo, ladies and gentlemen), there’s only so much you can do.
Since things can’t stay that bad for that long, they won 29 more games in 2004 than they did the year before: no pitcher lost twenty games, Iván Rodriguez and Carlos Guillén were solid free-agent pickups, and Dombrowski had a full season on the job to build the kind of team we’d desperately wanted for years. With high hopes and an interesting young rotation, what would 2005 bring?
A slight regression, as it turned out. They won one fewer game, the bullpen was a mess (although they managed to get rid of Ugueth Urbina just in time and flip him for the impossible-to-whiff Plácido Polanco), and while the young starters stayed healthy and ate up a whole lot of innings, they didn’t take the huge step forward that many were hoping for. They had a 61-62 record near the end of August, but the bottom fell out and that was that.
Thus, ol’ Tram “got the ziggy,” and Jim Leyland was brought in to scream and yell and occasionally cry and the room you were sitting in sure got a little dusty when that happened for the 2006 season. As we all know, the Tigers got a Wild Card after skidding backwards into the playoffs, losing the AL Central title to Minnesota, but they made it all the way to the World Series in a run that none of us could have truly predicted. Breakout or standout seasons were all over the place, and some young punk kid named Verlander decided he’d go out and win himself seventeen games as a 23-year-old rookie. Not bad at all.
Thirty Years Ago: 1996
Here’s where a lot of us start to have slightly fuzzy memories, myself included.
Sparky Anderson retired at the end of the 1995 season. He’d been the manager in Detroit since mid-1979, which is the kind of managerial tenure you rarely see in baseball. He’d turned a boatload of ridiculously talented prospects into a World Series winner and kept things going for a while as those prospects aged into veterans. But the strike in 1994, and management asking him to possibly guide replacement players in 1995 (before the strike was resolved) suggested to Sparky that it might be time to hang ‘em up.
Lou Whitaker also retired at the end of 1995, but Trammell decided he had one more season in him as Travis Fryman was clearly going to be the starting shortstop going forward. Kirk Gibson had also squeezed one final campaign out of his body and reitred a Tiger, after memorable seasons in Los Angeles (and not-so-memorable ones in Kansas City and Pittsburgh). Chad Curtis looked to be a solid pickup from the Angels, but the less said about him the better, too, as it turned out.
Add Mike Moore’s name to the list of fresh retirees, too: he’d lost 15 games in the Tigers rotation in 1995, and at age 35 and after fourteen seasons, he probably figured he’d had enough. The rotation in ‘95 had Felipe Lira and José Lima, two promising young pitchers, and the Tigers picked up Omar Olivares as a free agent; he’d had some good seasons in St. Louis. Gregg Olson was brought in to be their closer, and he’d had a nice run in the early-’90s in Baltimore. Could this patchwork pitching staff get the Tigers some wins, picking up the slack for a questionable starting lineup?
Nope. The Tigers in 1996 had the worst team ERA in American League history, they lost 109 games under Buddy Bell, and it kicked off a ten-season stretch in which they wouldn’t win 80 games in a season, and indeed only cracked 75 wins twice. Bobby Higginson sure deserved better than this.
Again, feel free to add your recollections of any of these past offseasons, a decade apart – or if you’re of a more refined vintage, something from a previous ending-in-six offseason.
Signed by the Mets on the January 15, 2025, Peña was the organization’s crown jewel for the 2025-2026 international free agent signing period. Considered one of the best position players available in the class, and potentially the best position player available, the Mets and Peña agreed to a $5 million dollar signing bonus, shattering the prior organizational record (Yovanny Rodriguez, $2.85 million) and eating up the majority of the $6,261,600 that the team had in their 2025-2026 pool.
Assigned to the Dominican Summer League, Peña has had an interesting start to his career so far. The 17-year-old shortstop started his career on June 2 for the DSL Mets Orange and went 0-2 with a strikeout and a hit-by-pitch. He would go 0-fer for roughly two weeks before logging his first professional hit on June 14th, going 1-3. After finally getting over that hurtle, Peña hit an incredible .351/.467/.635 over the course of the rest of the season. In total, he ended up hitting .292/.421/.528 in 178 at-bats over 55 games with 13 doubles, 1 triple, 9 home runs, 21 stolen bases in 25 attempts, and drew an even 36 walks to 36 strikeouts. Not just once, but twice, Peña hit three home runs in a single game; on June 26 when he went 4-5 with a double and three homers, and on August 18, when he went 4-5 with a single and three homers.
Listed a 5’11”, 170-pounds, Peña is almost certainly a little bigger and heavier than that now. He stands slightly open at the plate, holding his hands at the shoulders and wrapping his bat behind his head angled at 10:30. He swings with a slight leg lift but no real load or weight shift, primarily pulling the ball right now at a 48.5% rate and going back up the middle and to the opposite field at a 22.1% and 29.4% rate, respectively. His swing has natural uppercut and is designed towards putting the ball in the air, but was a bit slow and stiff according to scouts and evaluators early on in the season; whether it was just because he was still getting accustomed to professional baseball or not remains to be seen.
Despite the current lack of explosivity, Peña still makes loud contact, with a high-water exit velocity mark of 99.8 MPH as per public broadcasts of DSL contests where data is available. He does not expand the zone much, either. Peña was marketed as a hitter with his advanced pitch recognition and plate discipline for his age, and while that may be true broadly, the level of pitching he has been facing so far may simply be too embryonic to really get a good gauge on whether or not he actually is, or whether or not he only is currently for his cohort, relative to their current pitching abilities.
Peña’s lower half has thickened since first being scouted professionally, and he seemingly is still far from being physically maxed out. Defensively, he has the tools and ability to play shortstop but may be better suited at third base in the future depending on how quick-twitch athletic he remains. His range at shortstop is not currently an issue, but it may be taxed if he slows down in the future. His plus arm, smooth hands, and strong instincts work at either position.
2026 Mets Top 25 Prospect List
14) Zach Thornton 15) Nick Morabito 16) R.J. Gordon 17) Chris Suero 18) Dylan Ross 19) Ryan Lambert 20) Antonio Jimenez 21) Edward Lantigua 22) Eli Serrano III 23) Randy Guzman 24) Daiverson Gutierrez 25) Boston Baro
Nathan MacKinnon leads the NHL in goals with 36, but he hasn’t scored in three straight games, tying his season-long dry spell.
My Capitals vs. Avalanche predictions expect MacKinnon to find the back of the net while leading the charge for a Colorado team looking to rebound from a pair of losses.
Let’s dive into my NHL picks for Monday, January 19.
Capitals vs Avalanche prediction
Capitals vs Avalanche best bet: Nathan MacKinnon anytime goal (+100)
Nathan MacKinnon has filled the net at an incredible pace this season, scoring at least one goal in 54% of his appearances, and 57% at home.
He has often led the charge in winning efforts, scoring in 64% of the Colorado Avalanche’s wins. That’s certainly noteworthy as the Avalanche are 19-1-3 at home and more than -200 favorites against the Washington Capitals in this game.
Also working in his favor is rest. The Avalanche have had a couple of days off, and they’ve been borderline unstoppable when that’s the case.
Colorado is 12-1-1 following 2+ days of rest. They've scored 3+ goals in all 14 games and are averaging 4.57 in that span — absurd production.
As you’d expect, MacKinnon has played a huge part in that. MacKinnon has scored in four of the last five games following two off days, potting six goals in that span.
He is the tone-setter for the Avalanche, and he’s undoubtedly licking his chops to get back out there after suffering a pair of losses in a row.
The Capitals haven’t defended all that well of late, either.
They rank 22nd in expected goals against at 5-on-5 and on the kill over the last 10 games. They’ve also played at the 10th-highest pace, which MacKinnon and the Avalanche will certainly welcome at altitude.
Capitals vs Avalanche same-game parlay
Sam Malinksi is playing a much larger role in the absence of Devon Toews, averaging just over 20 minutes spanning the past five. His numbers reflect the spike in usage, with Malinski producing 3.0 shots on 6.2 attempts per game in that span.
The Avalanche have won by 2+ goals in nine of 12 victories following at least two days off. They’ve only lost multiple games in a row two different stretches this season, and exited both of them with eight-goal performances.
Capitals vs Avalanche SGP
Nathan MacKinnon anytime goal
Sam Malinski Over 1.5 shots on goal
Avalanche -1.5
Capitals vs Avalanche odds
Moneyline: Washington +175 | Colorado -215
Puck line: Washington +1.5 (-130) | Colorado -1.5 (+110)
Over/Under: Over 6.5 (-105) | Under 6.5 (-115)
Capitals vs Avalanche trend
The Avalanche have covered the Puck Line in 17 of their last 25 games at home (+10.30 Units / 37% ROI). Find more NHL betting trends for Capitals vs. Avalanche.
How to watch Capitals vs Avalanche
Location
Ball Arena, Denver, CO
Date
Monday, January 19, 2026
Puck drop
4:00 p.m. ET
TV
TNT, HBO Max
Capitals vs Avalanche 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
Kevin Durant described Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki as "somebody I looked up to, I idolized," and then went out and, with a fourth-quarter free throw, moved past Mavericks legend into sixth on the NBA's all-time scoring list.
Durant finished the game with 31,562 points, two more than Nowitzki (31,560). Next up on the scoring list for KD is Michael Jordan at 32,292.
"To be up there with Dirk, somebody I looked up to, I idolized, I competed against," Durant said postgame, via the Associated Press. "We had some great battles. He always was supportive of my career and my game. So, you know to be up there with a legend like that, it's just insane. And be right under Michael Jordan, it's crazy, man. I want to continue to keep stacking, keep climbing up the charts, just see how I finish. It's been amazing so far."
Nowitzki had nothing but praise for Durant after the milestone.
Houston went on to beat the Pelicans 119-110 behind seven 3-pointers and 32 points from Jabari Smith Jr., plus 21 points and eight rebounds from Alperen Sengun.
Week 13 has come and gone, and fantasy managers can go confidently to the waiver wire to add some more quality options.
A young Utah player is lighting up the scoreboard, while a Bulls backup big man continues to show off his versatility. High-scoring guards are getting it done in Dallas and Golden State, while Indiana can officially say that it’s found a starting center.
Cleveland’s premier role player has filled in for numerous injured Cavs this season, and after dominating in Friday’s narrow win over Philadelphia, he’s got at least another week in the starting five.
Here are the top fantasy basketball waiver wire adds for Week 14.
Priority Adds
1. Jaylon Tyson
2. Jordan Miller
3. Jay Huff
4. Brice Sensabaugh
5. Jalen Smith
6. Naji Marshall
7. Brandon Williams
8. Sam Hauser
9. De’Anthony Melton
10. Sandro Mamukelashvili
Since joining the starting lineup, Marshall has posted 18.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.0 triples across 30.9 minutes. In those seven games, he’s ranked 66 in per-game fantasy value, yet he’s widely available in Yahoo! leagues. Dallas continues to deal with injuries across the roster, and Marshall has taken full advantage of his new opportunities. With Anthony Davis on the shelf indefinitely, Marshall has the runway to be a useful fantasy option for the rest of the season.
Brice Sensabaugh, Utah Jazz (27 percent rostered)
Sensabaugh has been on a roll, averaging 25.6 points and 2.6 triples across his last five games while shooting efficiently from the field and from the charity stripe. Sensabaugh has scored 25+ in four of his last five, and three straight, including a monstrous 43 points on Wednesday against the Bulls. He won’t stay this hot all season, but Utah should be incentivized to get him more playing time, and Lauri Markkanen has a well-documented history of being unavailable.
Over the Bulls’ last four games, Smith has averaged 13 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.8 steals, 1.0 blocks and 2.0 triples across 29.8 minutes. Chicago has deployed a double-big lineup in two of those, with Smith starting alongside Nikola Vucevic. Smith’s minutes will surely trend down once Josh Giddey is back in action, but he’s proven to be a capable backup big man who can deliver meaningful production off the bench.
Tyson is enjoying a breakout campaign, and his strong production was on display Friday night when he delivered a career-high 39 points against the Philadelphia 76ers. In the final seconds of a tied game, Tyson drove baseline and dished to Evan Mobley who converted the game-winning dunk. He’s a top-90 player on the season and a top-50 guy over the last week. Darius Garland (toe) is going to be re-evaluated in 7-10 days, which means Tyson should have at least four more starts on the horizon. It’s preposterous that he’s still available in 80% of Yahoo! leagues, and Tyson is this week’s top add off the wire.
Huff has provided top-100 value to fantasy managers over the last month, and he’s been a third-rounder over the last two weeks. Across his last seven games, the big man has turned 22.9 minutes into 13.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.0 steals, 1.6 blocks and 2.0 triples. A guy who can hit triples and block shots while limiting turnovers and shooting efficiently will always have a place on fantasy rosters.
Across his last three games, B-Will has posted 20 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.7 blocks. He’s been highly efficient from the field and mildly efficient from the charity stripe. He ranks inside the top 120 in per-game fantasy value over the last three weeks, and he should see plenty of run down the stretch for the injury-riddled Mavericks.
Sandro Mamukelashvili (11 percent rostered)
Collin Murray-Boyles has been the more productive backup center for Toronto in recent contests, but CMB left Sunday’s loss to the Lakers early with a thumb injury. Mamu stepped up and delivered a 20/6/2/1/1 line across 24 minutes. Toronto plays a back-to-back on Tuesday-Wednesday to kick off its upcoming road trip, and if Murray-Boyles and Jakob Poeltl (back) remain sidelined, Mamukelashvili could be in line for big minutes.
Hauser has started each of his last seven appearances for Boston, and he’s offered strong numbers to fantasy managers. Across his last four outings, Hauser has averaged 18.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 5.0 triples. He went off for 30 points and 10 treys in Saturday’s win over the Hawks, becoming the first player in Celtics history to record at least 10 three-pointers in multiple games.
Sam Hauser was LETHAL from downtown in the @celtics' road win tonight!
30 PTS
10 3PM
It's his second career game with 10+ 3PM, making him the only player in Celtics history with multiple such performances! pic.twitter.com/cZOt2tWMHA
Jordan Miller, Los Angeles Clippers (9 percent rostered)
Miller ranks as a third-rounder over the last week, averaging 14.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.7 triples across 35.7 minutes in his last three outings. Miller has seen increased run with Bogdan Bogdanovic and Derrick Jones Jr. sidelined, but Kawhi Leonard is also set to miss at least two more games after sitting out Friday against the Raptors. Though Kobe Sanders has started the Clippers’ last two games, Miller has been far more productive.
De’Anthony Melton, Golden State Warriors (8 percent rostered)
Melton still isn’t ready to play both games of back-to-back sets, so he’ll sit out Monday. Prior to Monday’s absence, he appeared in seven straight games with averages of 15.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.6 blocks and 2.4 triples across 22 minutes. He’s a top-100 player in that span, and he’s become a regular part of Golden State’s rotation, making him a worthwhile waiver wire addition.
Other options:Jake LaRavia (20%), Ace Bailey (20%), Keldon Johnson (19%), Ryan Kalkbrenner (18%), Miles McBride (17%), Egor Dëmin (17%), Klay Thompson (16%)
See below for additional information on how to watch the Mavs v Knicks game and all of the NBA action on NBC and Peacock. Peacock will feature 100 regular-season games throughout the course of the 2025-2026 season.
The Mavs beat the Utah Jazz 138-120 on Saturday night, headlined by three 20-plus point scorers. Klay Thompson led the way for Dallas with a team-high 23 points, sinking six 3-pointers, all off the bench. Brandon Williams got the start and recorded 22 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists. Max Christie finished with 22 points.
Despite recent team injuries, Dallas has won its last two games, and are 3-2 in its last five contests.
Rookie forward Cooper Flagg, averaging 18.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.2 assists on the season, is questionable after missing the last two games with a left ankle sprain.
Dallas is 17-26, currently in 12th place in the Western Conference, only 2 games behind the 10th-placed Memphis Grizzles.
The Knicks lost to the Phoenix Suns 106-96 on Saturday night. Karl-Anthony Towns and Miles McBride each scored 23 points in the loss. Towns also finished with 11 rebounds.
Guard Jalen Brunson, ninth in the league in scoring (28.2 ppg), is questionable after missing the last two contests with a right ankle sprain.
New York has gone 2-8 in its last 10 games, and is currently on a three-game losing streak.
Tonight's game is the second meeting between the Mavs and Knicks this season. New York won the first contest back on November 19, 2025, 113-111.
Peacock NBA Monday will stream up to three Monday night games each week throughout the regular season. Coast 2 Coast Tuesday presents doubleheaders on Tuesday nights throughout the regular season on NBC and Peacock. On most Tuesdays, an 8 p.m. ET game will be on NBC stations in the Eastern and Central time zones, and an 8 p.m. PT game on NBC stations in the Pacific and often Mountain time zones.
Check local listings each week. Both games will stream live nationwide on Peacock. NBC Sports will launch Sunday Night Basketball across NBC and Peacock on Feb. 1, 2026. For a full schedule of the NBA on NBC and Peacock, click here.
How to sign up for Peacock:
Sign up here to watch all of our LIVE sports, sports shows, documentaries, classic matches, and more. You’ll also get tons of hit movies and TV shows, Originals, news, 24/7 channels, and current NBC & Bravo hits—Peacock is here for whatever you’re in the mood for.
NBA on NBC 2025-26 Schedule
Click here to see the full list of NBA games that will air on NBC and Peacock this season.
Could the Yankees’ starting catcher have caught wind of a major departure?
Austin Wells replied to Cody Bellinger’s latest Instagram post with a crying face emoji as rumors swirl about the star’s looming free agency decision.
The eight-picture post, which shows Bellinger working out, was the two-time All-Star’s first Instagram activity since he shared photos of himself exercising at the same facility in late November.
Bellinger and the Yankees remain engaged about a possible reunion. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Bellinger and the Yankees remain in talks about a reunion, but the years offered remain a sticking point.
The Yankees have reportedly offered the 30-year-old outfielder/first baseman a deal worth $155 million over five years.
The Post’s Jon Heyman reported last week that the Yankees are willing to include multiple opt-outs to address Bellinger’s concerns about the contract length.
The two-time All-Star’s latest Instagram post yielded a bevy of pleas for him to re-sign with the Yankees – and a concerning crying face emoji from Austin Wells.
Bellinger is coming off a platform season entering free agency, slashing .272/.334/.480 with 29 home runs and 98 RBIs in 152 games with the Yankees.
Bellinger’s 5.1 WAR was his best mark since he notched a league-best 8.7 total during his NL MVP-winning campaign with the Dodgers in 2019.
The Yankees have reportedly not budged off their five-year offer to Bellinger.
After Bo Bichette signed with the Mets and Kyle Tucker joined the Dodgers on a historic deal, Bellinger remains the top available hitter on the market.
The scene in the home locker room was not an unusual one after the Sixers fell to Cleveland on Friday night, 117-115. Reporters milled about the center of the oval-shaped room. Attendants, dressed all in black, scurried here and there, cleaning up after the players.
Veteran guard Eric Gordon, who did not play for the 34th time in 40 games this season, dressed quickly and headed for the door. Jabari Walker and Kyle Lowry lingered at their lockers. Tyrese Maxey and Trendon Watford, long-time friends and next-door neighbors in this space, commiserated at theirs. And Jared McCain, the slumping sophomore guard (also a non-participant on this night, and soon to be assigned to the G-League), was still in uniform as he sat and stared at his phone.
At the far end of the room, next to the door leading to the areas that are off-limits to civilians, an illuminated message board listed the menu for the players’ postgame spread: Meatloaf (with sweet, tangy glaze, crispy onions) … Honey-glazed chicken … Blackened barramundi (and Cajun remoulade) … Collard Greens … Hoppin John’s (rice and black-eyed peas) …
Somehow home cooking has not agreed with the Sixers this season. Somehow they are 10-11 within Xfinity Mobile Arena (and 12-7 outside it), a troubling trend for a team that at the very least has playoff aspirations.
They are the only team in the league that is above .500 overall, and below it at home. Moreover, they have never in their history finished above the break-even mark while losing more than they’ve won in their own gym.
Strange, no?
When asked point-blank why they can’t win at home, veteran forward Kelly Oubre Jr. playfully recoiled.
“Oooh, that’s a hard-hitter right there,” he deadpanned, before saying that the Sixers are prone to “lapses where we’re up, the (opposing) team gets momentum, goes on runs and we get a little bit frantic.”
Certainly the team’s spate of ill health has played a part in its home struggles. Paul George and Joel Embiid have each missed nine games in Xfinity, while Oubre sat out 12 (and 19 overall) after suffering a knee injury in mid-November. Watford also had an extended absence.
Coach Nick Nurse was not eager to pin the problem on injuries, though he is hard-pressed to explain it otherwise.
“But I would say that the prep has been great here at home,” he said. “The guys have been great as far as their concentration, the way they’re approaching the practices in the morning, all those kinds of things.”
Still, they have dropped nine of their last 14 home games, including four of their last five, after going 5-2 to start the season. Nurse said he and his staff have mulled lineup changes, changes to the group opening the second half and strategic tweaks.
“Hopefully,” he said, “it will just be one of those funky things we can just turn around. We need to, because we’ve got a lot of games coming up at home.”
There are four this week — Monday against Indiana, Tuesday against Phoenix, Thursday against Houston and Saturday against New York. There are also home dates against Sacramento, Milwaukee and New Orleans the last week of the month.
Friday’s game, the Sixers’ second straight against the Cavaliers in South Philly, was a study in frustration. While the Sixers got off to a slow start in Wednesday’s 133-107 drubbing, they faltered down the stretch in this one, frittering away an 11-point fourth-quarter lead and ultimately losing on Evan Mobley’s dunk with 4.8 seconds left, off a feed from Jaylon Tyson.
Tyson, a second-year wing, was brilliant all game long, with a career-high 39 points, including seven three-pointers in nine attempts. As Oubre said, “He had a halo over him tonight. He was shooting to God’s net.”
Tyson rescued the Cavs on a night when their leading scorer, Donovan Mitchell, missed nine of 13 shots and settled for 13 points, nearly 17 beneath his average.
“We made someone else beat us, and (Tyson) did,” Maxey said.
There were other oddities on Cleveland’s side of the ledger. Philly native De’Andre Hunter, who seemingly can’t make a shot against anybody else this season, lit up his hometown team for the second straight game, scoring 16 off the bench. Another Cavs sub, Tyrese Proctor, came in shooting 29.5 percent from the arc, but nailed three of five triple tries while scoring 13.
Embiid poured in 33 points to top the Sixers. Maxey added 22 but shot 9-for-23 from the floor against Tyson’s sticky defense.
Then there was VJ Edgecombe, the prize rookie. Somehow he took only five shots, making four. Nurse acknowledged that Edgecombe could have been more aggressive, especially in the open court. At the same time the coach said it was “just one of those games where the ball didn’t find him much.”
Little things like that added up. Quentin Grimes missed a layup and Maxey came up empty on a corner three, either of which could have stanched the bleeding when Cleveland went on a game-tying 13-2 flurry midway through the final period.
The Sixers recovered and went up seven, but Tyson sandwiched his last two bombs around Hunter’s fast-break dunk over Embiid, leading to a hectic final two minutes. Cleveland ultimately won it when Tyson collected Lonzo Ball’s inbounds pass against a fronting George, drove the baseline from left to right and shoveled a pass to Mobley, who was left unattended when Embiid came with defensive help.
And just like that, the home fans were left disappointed. Again.
“They were just kind of in their own rhythm and their own flow,” Oubre said of the Cavs, “and we’ve got to disrupt that. We could be more disruptive throughout the game and be more physical and tough with our play – not being dirty, but just going out there and letting the other team know that we’re here to stand in front of you. We’re not going to let you get what you want.”
That’s correct in a larger sense, too. The Sixers need to make a stand on their own court, need to find a recipe for success. Otherwise the home cooking is going to continue to be unsatisfying, no matter how much tangy glaze or Cajun remoulade is added to it.
The Carolina Hurricanes (30-15-4) have been on fire over their last two games and they are looking to continue that level of play this afternoon at 1:30 PM against the Buffalo Sabres (26-16-5) at home.
After dominating the Florida Panthers 9-1 on Friday, including six third period goals, the Canes blew past the New Jersey Devils 4-1 on Saturday thanks to an Andrei Svechnikov hat trick. There’s a lot to be excited about as Carolina currently sits with a seven point lead atop the Metropolitan Division.
The same reigns true on the other side of this matchup, too. Ever since the firing general manager Kevyn Adams on December 15, the Sabres have completely turned things around. In that span, Buffalo has gone 12-2-1, including a seven game winning streak. The Canes and Sabres have split the season series so far, but it’s safe to say this isn’t the same Buffalo team from October and November.
Tage Thompson has led the way for the Sabres over that stretch, netting nine goals and 21 points in that span. On the year, Thompson leads Buffalo in goals and points, with 25 and 50 in 47 games. Alex Tuch and Josh Doan have been effective complimentary goal scorers, with the pair netting 17 and 15 goals this season.
On the defensive end, Rasmus Dahlin is still showing why he was the first overall pick in the 2018 draft and one of the top defenseman in the league. Dahlin has 34 points in 43 games so far this year to lead Buffalo’s defensive core.
Between the pipes, starter Alex Lyon has missed the last nine games due to injury. In 21 games this season, Lyon has posted a 2.82 GAA and .906 save percentage.
Lyon practiced on Sunday for the first time since the injury, but it should be backup Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen getting the nod this afternoon. Despite the Sabres recent surge, Luukkonen has not been strong in net, posting a 3.40 GAA to go along with a .896 save percentage over his last five games.
Getting pucks to the net and generating good offensive chances will be key to coming out on top today for Carolina.
It is not clear whether Shayne Gostisbehere will suit up today. The defenseman has missed the last two games and is still listed as day-to-day. William Carrier, who has missed the last four games due to injury, is also listed day-to-day.
In net, the most likely option looks to be Brandon Bussi, who stopped 15 of 16 shots in his last start on Friday in the 9-1 win over the Panthers. Bussi will be looking for 18th win of the year.
After winning two straight, the Canes are looking to carry their recent momentum into today’s matchup against a red-hot Sabres team.
Here’s how to catch this afternoon’s game:
Time: 1:30 PM
TV: TNT
Streaming: HBO Max
Radio: 99.9 The Fan
Odds: Hurricanes -196 Moneyline, Hurricanes -1.5 at +120
Is it to constantly pursue new goals, to push ourselves towards our best possible selves? Is it to contemplate the horrors of the indifferent universe in the face of mass human suffering? Is it to gain control over our feeble existence, or simply to delude ourselves into thinking we can ever control anything, let alone ourselves?
However sad, however existentially depressing or brutally nihilistic your answer is, I promise mine is worse. Because right now, the meaning of my life… is to figure out what the heck is going on with this Celtics season.
I’ve often used philosophy — particularly the existential variety — to explain important concepts in Celtics discourse. Existentialism, and its component branches, are (to me) the extension of human reason to try to explain things that resist understanding. Sports, while played by humans, is a lot like that, given that, despite mountains of “understanding” about it, we are for some reason still unable to predict the results of sporting events. Isn’t that crazy?
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – DECEMBER 26: Head coach Joe Mazzulla of the Boston Celtics looks on against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on December 26, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. 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 Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
So philosophy has been my outlet for Celtics thoughts that never had real-world applications, and the 2021-2025 arc was perfect for that. It was a four-year microcosm of life itself, complete with failures, triumphs, self-doubt, perseverance, intrigue, boredom, and then… conclusion. Glorious conclusion! No more hope, only recollection and blissful finality.
But right now… things have unconcluded themselves. Right now philosophy is FAILING me and I don’t know what to do guys. Please help me I’m scared and the darkness is closing in and I’ve stared so long into the void it’s now staring back at me.
It was over! Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis were gone. Jayson Tatum was out for the year. This was a gap year. I was moving on. I had astral-projected myself from this mortal coil and begun to see things big picture, biding my intellectual time until there was something concrete to dissect, something serious to discuss and get emotionally invested in.
But Jaylen Brown said no, Payton Pritchard and Derrick White said no. Lately, Anfernee Simons has been saying no. Hugo Gonzalez and Luka Garza have repeatedly been saying no. Neemias Queta won’t stop saying no!
BOSTON, MA – DECEMBER 22: Xavier Tillman #26 celebrates with Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics during the game against the Indiana Pacers on December 22, 2025 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)
They all, in one voice that sounded a lot like Joe Mazzulla, said “no, you are REQUIRED to believe in us. You are required to hope that Jayson Tatum comes back this season because you are required to think we can win a championship THIS year.”
And faced with this ultimatum, I have officially blinked.
The Celtics are the two seed right now, and barring a truly unfathomable collapse, they will make the playoffs outright and avoid the Play-In. In point of fact, they might be in the EXACT SAME SITUATION THEY WERE IN LAST YEAR going into the playoffs: two seed, careening towards the Knicks in the second round. What?
I don’t think society is adequately discussing how ridiculous this is, so let me break down this blueprint for success very slowly for us:
Step 1: Lose your best player to an Achilles tear, get eliminated from the playoffs
Step 2: Use that as the excuse to gut your roster of expensive contracts, salary-dump two All-Stars
Step 3: Do not make any significant additions in Free Agency besides castoff journeymen, rely on unproven wings and bigs for massive rotational minutes
Step 4: Every single player on the team gets simultaneously better all at once, while the Eastern Conference gets simultaneously worse
Step 5: Profit
Existentialism is the extension of human reason onto the unknowable, but that is irrelevant when human reason dictates that the Celtics cannot possibly be succeeding at this level. But they are… and you can check this piece out if you want my efforts to explain why.
Because beyond the why are the implications of this whole shabang. Sports discourse is primarily driven by two things: groupthink and reactive takes. Most people in the regular person world will say what they hear other people around them saying, it’s a safe bet, and that is generally a reaction to explain why of course that happened I mean it’s so obvious for reasons x, y, z, and yada yada yada.
But find me who said x, y, or z OR yada yada yada before said thing happened! You cannot, because the people brave enough to actually try to predict the outcomes of things have to use flimsy things like logic and analytics and evidence-based argumentation rather than simply reacting to narratives and saying things will happen to sustain them.
That’s why this Celtics season is freaking me out. Because unless you said something like, “I think Jaylen will go up a level” (no prior evidence to suggest he would, his efficiency had been decreasing year over year) or “Pritchard can become a three-level scorer playing 30+ minutes” (he’d never been anything close to that) or “I think we’re primed for a Luka Garzassaince” (are you kidding me, bro?), then you should be as shocked as I am. But I don’t feel like people are sufficiently shocked.
It is possible that the meaning of sports — not unlike the meaning of life — is the perceived throughline between a collection of completely random events. Because if you stop and actually dissect the reasons for all the things happening, you’re probably going to find more questions than answers.
In short, this Celtics season has taught me the folly of sports prediction in general. If I call something exactly — like when I said we should trade for Jrue Holiday or when I unironically said the Bucks would trade Khris Middleton and a swap for Kyle Kuzma a month and a half before it happened — am I actually smart? If I’m demonstrably wrong about something — like I was with this entire Celtics season — am I actually dumb? Or is this just one big cumulus cloud of randomness swirling around and I just think it looks like a seahorse?
We can draw a line of best fit only after we have all the data, but we can’t possibly predict the data itself. Reactive takes in sports work because that’s just the best we can do. If every take was proactive, we’d have a bunch of losers like me claiming credit when I was right when I was really just lucky.
I use philosophy to talk about the Celtics, and other stuff, because I have a desire to understand the world. But these Celtics have taught me that sometimes it’s okay not to understand things, but to just embrace what’s going on anyhow. In the weirdest possible way, this is me officially embracing them.
Danny Rohl has re-energised Ibrox by instilling a winning mentality while "carrying himself like a Rangers manager should", says former midfielder Charlie Adam.
The former Sheffield Wednesday boss took over the Govan club during a period of turmoil following Russell Martin's calamitous tenure.
With 11 wins in 14 league games, the German coach has dragged the Ibrox side back into contention for the Scottish Premiership title.
Former Rangers player Adam says Rohl has not won matches by playing the best football, but by adjusting and understanding the predicament the club were in when he arrived.
"Danny's done a brilliant job," said Adam. "He's understood where Rangers are [and] he's carried himself like a Rangers manager should.
"I think you have to be a certain type to be the Rangers manager - how you carry yourself, how you speak to the media. I think he's done that really well.
"Has he played the best football? Probably not, but he's got results. That's key and that's the important bit. He's done that quickly.
"Now there's a lot of good feeling around the club and the supporters and the owners are trying to do the right things."
With leaders Hearts welcoming Celtic to Tynecastle on Saturday, Rangers could be presented with the chance to further close the gap at the summit when they host Dundee.
Adam, who was a Rangers player between 2003 and 2009, added: "Inside the club and inside that dressing room, they'll know that there's an opportunity to really kick on for the end of the season.
"A couple of signings from now to the end of the January window will help them, and as long as you come out of the window better than you started, it will give you an opportunity for the last part of the season."
Danny Rohl has re-energised Ibrox by instilling a winning mentality while "carrying himself like a Rangers manager should", says former midfielder Charlie Adam.
The former Sheffield Wednesday boss took over the Govan club during a period of turmoil following Russell Martin's calamitous tenure.
With 11 wins in 14 league games, the German coach has dragged the Ibrox side back into contention for the Scottish Premiership title.
Former Rangers player Adam says Rohl has not won matches by playing the best football, but by adjusting and understanding the predicament the club were in when he arrived.
"Danny's done a brilliant job," said Adam. "He's understood where Rangers are [and] he's carried himself like a Rangers manager should.
"I think you have to be a certain type to be the Rangers manager - how you carry yourself, how you speak to the media. I think he's done that really well.
"Has he played the best football? Probably not, but he's got results. That's key and that's the important bit. He's done that quickly.
"Now there's a lot of good feeling around the club and the supporters and the owners are trying to do the right things."
With leaders Hearts welcoming Celtic to Tynecastle on Saturday, Rangers could be presented with the chance to further close the gap at the summit when they host Dundee.
Adam, who was a Rangers player between 2003 and 2009, added: "Inside the club and inside that dressing room, they'll know that there's an opportunity to really kick on for the end of the season.
"A couple of signings from now to the end of the January window will help them, and as long as you come out of the window better than you started, it will give you an opportunity for the last part of the season."
The Florida Panthers are getting one of their top forwards back in the lineup.
On Monday, the Panthers held a morning skate at the Baptist Health IcePlex in Coral Springs ahead of their matchup with the San Jose Sharks.
Injured forwards Matthew Tkachuk and Brad Marchand were both on the ice, but only Tkachuk was taking regular line rushes, skating on the right side with Evan Rodrigues and Mackie Samoskevich.
Following the skate, Tkachuk told media members in the locker room that he would in fact be making his season debut against the Sharks.
Tkachuk has not played since Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final last June when he helped the Panthers win their second straight championship.
He then underwent surgery on a torn adductor and sports hernia in July, and has been working his way back to health in the weeks and months since.
Tkachuk joined his Panthers teammates for regular practices back in December, but it took him a couple weeks to shed his non-contact jersey, and couple weeks after that for him to work his way back to game shape and get clearance from the medical staff.
We’ll have to wait and see how the Panthers make it work financially, having to fit Tkachuk’s $9.5 million AAV (average annual value) underneath the salary cap.
Remember, the start time to Monday’s matchup with San Jose was moved up an hour to 6 p.m. due to the Miami Hurricanes playing the CFP Championship Game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens at 7:30 p.m.
Photo caption: May 9, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) looks on against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the third period in game three of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
Matthew Tkachuk to make season debut for Panthers against San Jose on MondayAfter a long recovery, Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk is set to return to the ice, ready to rejoin his teammates against the Sharks.
Kurt Helin
Raphielle Johnson
