A Milwaukee Admirals top center will remain in the Nashville Predators system for at least one more season.
Monday, the Predators announced that they had signed center Jake Lucchini to a 1-year, two-way contract worth $850,000 for the 2026-27 season. His original 2-year, $1.55 million contract was set to expire at the end of this season.
Lucchini has been a force for the Admirals down the middle, recording 38 points (13G, 25A) in 48 games and logging a low 17 penalty minutes.
He's one of the many Admirals players who have deserved a call-up, but have not moved from Milwaukee for the entirety of the season. The signing could signal that Lucchini may spend more time in Nashville next season.
Put it in ink ✍️
We've signed forward Jake Lucchini to a one-year, two-way contract beginning in the 2026-27 season. pic.twitter.com/7XR50dfICE
The 30-year-old from Trail, British Columbia, went undrafted but signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins following his senior season with Michigan Tech in 2019.
He'd spend a season and a half with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins before being traded to the Montreal Canadiens in 2020. He played two seasons with the Laval Rocket before being traded to the Ottawa Senators prior to the 2021-22 season.
Lucchini played the bulk of the 2021-22 season with the Belleville Senators, but made his NHL debut with Ottawa the following season. He played 11 games and scored his first NHL goal on Jan. 1, 2023, against the Buffalo Sabres.
During the 2023-24 offseason, Lucchini signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Wild on a one-year, two-way contract. He played 30 games with the Iowa Wild and a career-high 40 NHL games with the Minnesota Wild, scoring five points (2G, 3A).
Upon his contract expiration, Lucchini signed a two-year contract with the Predators in July 2024. Last season, he played three games with the Predators, recording two penalty minutes.
The signing comes less than 24-hours after the Predators announced that forward Zach L'Heureux and Matthew Wood were called up from Milwaukee.
Perhaps the biggest, most anticipated weekend of one of the most thrilling men’s college basketball seasons in recent memory delivered.
The top four teams in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll faced off last Saturday, with No. 1 Michigan taking on No. 3 Duke in a neutral-site game in Washington, D.C. and No. 2 Houston hosting No. 4 Arizona.
Behind 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists from Cameron Boozer, the Blue Devils knocked off the top-ranked Wolverines 68-63, snapping Michigan’s 11-game win streak. Even without star freshman Koa Peat, Arizona went on the road and beat Houston 74-66, handing the Cougars their first home loss this season.
Others receiving votes: Wisconsin 47; Saint Mary's 30; Villanova 15; Miami 10; Utah State 8; NC State 7; SMU 4; Texas A&M 3; Iowa 3; UCF 3; High Point 2; Stephen F Austin 2; Navy 1
DENVER, CO - JULY 6: Kris Bryant sits on the bench in the ninth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Coors Field on July 6, 2025 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Colorado Rockies provided injury updates on Monday morning.
Two players — INF/OF Kris Bryant and RHP Jeff Criswell — are on the 60-day injured list. Bryant, of course, is dealing with lumbar degenerative disc disease while Criswell is continuing his throwing program on his way back from Tommy John surgery.
A new potential addition, though, is RHP Pierson Ohl, who was came to the Rockies from the Minnesota Twins with Edouard Julien. Ohl suffered a right UCL tear and will undergo Tommy John surgery.
The other notable injury is to OF Jared Thomas (No. 5 PuRP), who was a non-roster invitee. Thomas suffered a right hamate injury and underwent offseason surgery.
Otherwise, many Rockies are day-to-day with various injuries.
RHP McCade Brown is day-to-day with right shoulder inflammation. He is progressing in his throwing program.
RHP Brayan Castillo is undergoing treatment for right lat tightness. He is not throwing.
LHP Kyle Freeland is progressing with treatment for mid-back spasms and will begin throwing this week
INF/OF Tyler Freeman is day-to-day with a low back strain and is doing on-field work.
OF Mickey Moniak is taking live BP after suffering from right oblique tightness. He is scheduled to see game action this week.
Duke is now the No. 1 team. The Blue Devils received 27 of 31 first-place votes this week after upending previous No. 1 Michigan in one of those marquee clashes. The Blue Devils received 27 of 31 first-place votes. The lofty perch is not new for the Duke program, though this is the first No. 1 ranking of the current season for the Blue Devils.
Arizona claimed the remaining four No. 1 votes and is back up to second overall after a defeat of Houston. Michigan slips to No. 3, and Houston also slides two spots to No. 4. Iowa State moves up a spot to No. 5 as the Cyclones swap positions with Connecticut.
Florida continues to climb the rankings after a rough non-conference start. The Gators move up four more places to check in at No. 7 this week, seemingly rounding into form in time to defend their NCAA title. Purdue, Gonzaga and Nebraska round out the top 10.
A pair of SEC contenders, No. 18 Alabama and No. 22 Tennessee, rejoin the poll this week. Clemson and Wisconsin drop out.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - SEPTEMBER 16: Ryan Yarbrough #33 of the New York Yankees pitches against the Minnesota Twins in the sixth inning of the game at Target Field on September 16, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Spring training keeps rolling on as we all get used to daily baseball back on our televisions. Today, the Yankees take the bus down to Bradenton to meet the sorta-trying Pittsburgh Pirates, who made a run at guys like Kyle Schwarber and Eugenio Suárez this offseason, but had to settle for their big coup being Ryan O’Hearn.
Ryan Yarbrough gets the start for the Yanks as he looks to get himself ready as the team’s next man up in the pitching rotation. Pitching injuries are inevitable, so it would not be a surprise if Yarbrough were in the Opening Day rotation. He should be fine in that role if he replicates his 2025 production, which saw the soft-tossing lefty post a 4.36 ERA in 64 innings across 19 games and eight starts, but if he has to start more than those eight games he did in 2025, there’s something very wrong.
We’ll get to see one of the more exciting young arms in baseball for a few innings today, as Bubba Chandler gets the start for the Pirates after his up-and-down 31-inning stint in the bigs last season. He still has rookie eligibility, so the 23-year-old flamethrower will look to refine his location with his four-pitch mix to get more whiffs and strikeouts. Chandler’s command is very mature for his age, walking just four batters in the majors last season across those 31 innings.
Ben Rice will make his spring debut for the Yankees, leading off and DHing. Jasson Domínguez bats second in left field, followed by Ryan McMahon, Paul DeJong, and Spencer Jones. The bottom of the order is full of Triple-A depth, with Max Schuemann in right field, Seth Brown at first base, Zack Short at second base, and Paxton Henry behind the plate.
Oneil Cruz will lead off for the Pirates and will be joined by fellow regulars Nick Gonzales, Bryan Reynolds, Ryan O’Hearn, and the newly-signed Marcell Ozuna. One-time top prospect Joey Bart will catch for the Buccos, and they round out their lineup with former late first-round picks Davis Wendzel and Alika Williams.
Fort Myers, FL - February 12: Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Connelly Early throws live batting practice. The Red Sox held Day 3 of Spring Training at JetBlue Park on February 12, 2026. (Photo by Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) | Boston Globe via Getty Images
Is it on TV?
No! What a crock! We’re all stuck at home under a foot and a half of snow and we can’t even get some spring training baseball to keep us emotionally warm. Listen to it on WEEI, sickos.
What’s the lineup?
What should we watch listen for?
The pop of the mitt on Connelly Early’s heaters, I guess?
The Chicago Blackhawks are expected to be among the league's sellers ahead of the 2026 NHL trade deadline. Because of this, let's look at two Blackhawks whom the Montreal Canadiens should consider pursuing in this latest edition of the Habs trade targets series.
Ilya Mikheyev, RW
The Canadiens could use a solid two-way forward who chips in offensively in their bottom six, and Ilya Mikheyev would have the potential to provide them just that. The 31-year-old forward is in the middle of a solid season with the Blackhawks, as he has recorded 11 goals, 12 assists, and 23 points in 52 games. This is after he had 20 goals and a career-high 34 points in 80 games for Chicago this past season.
With numbers like these, Mikheyev would give the Canadiens a bit more secondary offensive production if acquired. Yet, his strong defensive play is what could benefit the Canadiens the most, as he is a very effective penalty killer.
Jason Dickinson, C
While Jason Dickinson would not give the Canadiens an answer for their second-line center spot, he could still be a very solid addition to their bottom six. Like Mikheyev, Dickinson is well-known for being an impactful defensive forward, so he would also offer the Canadiens another option for their penalty kill if acquired.
In 43 games this season, Dickinson has six goals, seven assists, 13 points, and 45 hits. While he does not provide a ton of offense, his smart defensive play could make him a solid addition to Montreal's forward depth.
NORTH PORT, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 20: Nacho Alvarez Jr. #24 of the Atlanta Braves poses for a photo during Spring Training photo day at CoolToday Park on February 20, 2026 in North Port, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The first weekend of the Grapefruit League season for the Atlanta Braves has come and gone and now we’re starting to get into the swing of things (for lack of a better term) as routine starts to set in here in the early goings. The Braves are now in Sarasota with Garrett Baumann serving as the starting pitcher today for their clash against Cade Povich and the Baltimore Orioles.
Again, this is a road game early on in spring training which means that we’re going to see more of the organizational depth rather than the guys who you’d expect to see plenty of during the regular season. Ben Gamel will be looking to build off of his impressive performance on Saturday and we’ll also be seeing familiar faces like Chadwick Tromp and Nacho Alvarez Jr. making appearances as well. Dominic Smith will be making his spring debut with the Braves after signing a minor league deal around a week ago.
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown has been a great player for a while. He has multiple All-Star appearances, a second-team All-NBA selection, an Eastern Conference Finals MVP and an NBA Finals MVP on his resume.
But this season has been different.
Brown has taken his performance to a much higher level, and it has helped the Celtics defy some of the most optimistic expectations entering the 2025-26 campaign — one that many people thought would be a gap year because of Jayson Tatum’s Achilles injury.
But this has been no gap year. The Celtics entered Monday in second place in the Eastern Conference standings with a 37-19 record after dismantling the Los Angeles Lakers on the road Sunday night.
Brown scored 32 points with eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals. It was an MVP-caliber showing for Brown.
The last Celtics player to win league MVP was Larry Bird in the 1985-86 season. It was the third of his three straight MVPs.
Could Brown end that drought and win the award this season? Oddsmakers aren’t giving him much of a chance. Some sportsbooks have Brown at +3500 (35-1) odds to win MVP, well behind favorites Nikola Jokic (+270) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (-140).
Other people in the basketball world, including rival players and the media, feel differently about Brown’s candidacy.
Let’s look at what they’re saying about Brown’s MVP chances.
LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
James is the most notable active player to comment on Brown’s MVP case.
“This whole MVP thing, I don’t understand why his name is not getting talked about some as well,” James told reporters after losing to the Celtics on Sunday. “Like, nobody gave them a shot to start the season. And he’s averaging what, 30? Just under 30? It’s a popularity contest sometimes, I tell you.”
James added: “I think he just used the motivation of a lot of people just saying that they’re going to have a down year. The whole championship team pretty much is kind of revamped, and he used it as motivation to keep them afloat. They’re playing great basketball, and it’s because of him and the rest of those guys. He’s taken that next step.”
James is a four-time league MVP, and he probably should have won a few other times.
Brown appreciated the praise he received from James.
“It’s an honor for LeBron, who’s arguably the best player to ever play the game, giving me some high praise,” Brown said. “So, I’m just grateful.”
“Well, when I look around the NBA, and for me the criteria is how productive are you for your team, how impactful are you for your team, the leadership you provide, what are you when you play against the other MVP (candidates),” McGrady said.
“What he had to go through losing Jrue Holiday, losing Al Horford, (Kristaps) Porzingis, Jayson Tatum is out, and then you bring in a new cast of guys in and try to get them acclimated with everything you guys are doing. (He’s) playing both sides of the ball and averaging 29 points, (the team is) third in the Eastern Conference.
“When I look at that landscape, look at Shai, I look at Jokic, these guys have missed time but they have their respective teams, their core guys are coming back.”
Charles Barkley, Hall of Famer/ESPN analyst
Barkley won league MVP in the 1992-93 season when he led the Phoenix Suns to the best record in the league before losing to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Finals.
He views Brown and Detroit Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham as the top MVP candidates right now.
“First of all, we have this stupid argument every year,” Barkley said on Inside the NBA. “Who’s the best player? The MVP never goes to the best player. It’s a dog fight right now between Jaylen Brown and Cade Cunningham. If one of them two guys don’t win MVP, it would to me it’ll be like – and I don’t have a vote – but Cade Cunningham and Jaylen Brown, them boys, they are 1 and 1A for MVP.”
Kendrick Perkins, ex-Celtics center/ESPN analyst
Perkins, who spent eight-plus seasons with the Celtics and was the starting center on their 2007-08 championship team, would vote for Jaylen Brown if the MVP race ended today.
“If I had to pencil in an MVP, Jaylen Brown is getting my vote,” Perkins said Monday on ESPN show Get Up. “He is doing more with less. And I say that respectfully to guys like Payton Pritchard and Derrick White. What (Brown) is doing on both ends of the floor — no other person in the league is doing it at this level. He’s the best two-way player in the game. … Jaylen Brown is answering all the questions to the test. Can he lead a team? Can he be a franchise guy? He is showing you he is more than that.”
Cousins, who made four All-Star and two second-team All-NBA appearances in 11 seasons, recently put Cade Cunningham and Jaylen Brown at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in his MVP rankings. He sees those two players as a tier above the rest.
“First is Cade Cunningham, then it’s Jaylen Brown, then it’s everybody else,” Cousins said on FanDuel TV’s Run It Back show.
“I was really shocked that Pete would leave New York for Baltimore,” Strawberry said Monday at spring training. “Pete could have broken all the records and could have been on top of every offensive category for this organization and then sometimes when you don’t see that and realize how important that is, one day he is going to wake up just like I did and regret you didn’t stick where you are at.”
Strawberry, who left the Mets through free agency to join the Dodgers after the 1990 season, said Alonso — who received a five-year contract worth $155 million from the Orioles — should have never opted out from his contract after last season. Alonso would have received $24 million this season from the Mets if he didn’t opt out.
After his opt-out, Alonso never received an offer from the Mets. According to sources, the team was expecting him to circle back after exploring the market, but the length of the Orioles’ offer made it a moot point.
Pete Alonso stretches before the Orioles’ spring training game against the Yankees on Feb. 20, 2026. Charles Wenzelberg / New York PostDarryl Strawberry speaking at Citi Field last season. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
“The biggest mistake I saw was after they lost in Miami he opted out,” Strawberry said, referring to the Mets’ final game last season. “I think if he just waited and said, ‘OK, I’ll stay at that, but give me a four-year deal, something like that, they could have worked it out.’”
Strawberry was asked if the Mets should have fought harder to keep Alonso.
“I think it’s a combination,” Strawberry said. “I think they both could have fought harder in that situation.”
Alonso last season eclipsed Strawberry’s previous franchise record of 252 homers. Like Strawberry, he was a homegrown Mets player.
“He worked his way up to become the player that he was,” Strawberry said. “He deserved all the credit for that and what he accomplished. I just don’t leave New York to go to Baltimore. Don’t get me wrong, I am not getting on Baltimore. But I am saying, this is New York, come on. Baltimore is a good place, but it’s not New York.”
This Vote represents the last in our series this year, as we are into Spring Training and also now bumping right up against the Top 100 countdown. Our voters play an important role in almost half of that list, but it doesn’t make much sense to be voting on players who are already showing up in the Top 100 profiles.
And in fact, this year’s Vote went longer than any other we’ve run under “normal” circumstances. (In 2020, we ran the Vote to 50 rounds given there was no baseball being played/minors season cancelled outright, and in 2018 we ran the Vote well into the regular season as a first-time effort.)
It was a fitting, even poetic, end to the polling, as Reudis Diaz finally advanced, on his 33rd ballot. That is doubtlessly an all-time record span on the ballot for our Prospect Vote.
Diaz in fact won this round with authority, outpacing fellow long-balloter Aldrin Batista by 18 votes. Making an enormous jump of five spots on the ballot and 23 total votes, Diaz routed the rest, with 28 of 71 (39%) votes:
This was Diaz’s first time in our voting. Perhaps next year he won’t have to linger so long on the ballot.
Diaz also become the fourth right-handed reliever to advance, as well as the third RHRP in the last six results:
Here’s the overall breakdown of our readership winners: one catcher, three second basemen, two third basemen, four shortstops, one left fielder, three center fielders, four right fielders, seven right-handed starting pitchers, nine left-handed starting pitcher, four right-handed relievers and one left-handed relievers. There were no first basemen voted forward this year.
Overall, that’s 21 of 37 winning prospects being pitchers, and 16 of 37 winners being starting pitchers.
South Side Sox Top-Voted White Sox Prospects for 2026
Round 24 of voting was the last of 2023 (we did not do an actual wrap for the voting, but Jordan Sprinkle ended up being our final pick), and the full archive.
Following the Los Angeles Lakers’ 111–89 loss to the Celtics at Crypto.com Arena, LeBron admitted to being irked by the way Brown spoke about his son during an NBA Summer League game back in 2024.
“Our relationship has been pretty respectful,” LeBron said when asked how he and the Boston superstar have gotten along over the years.
“You know, besides the s–t he said about Bronny in Summer League. But other than that, you know, we’ve been all right.”
LeBron James and Jaylen Brown battled it out during Sunday’s Lakers vs. Celtics game. Afterward, the Los Angeles star admitted the Boston wing’s old comments about son Bronny James irked him. Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
While courtside at a July 2024 preseason matchup in Las Vegas, Brown was caught on camera appearing to tell WNBA players Kysre Gondrezick and Angel Reese that he didn’t “think Bronny is a pro.”
He later added that he believed Bronny would make the Lakers’ main roster and not be sent to the G-League during his rookie year “because of his name.”
Brown took to his X page shortly after his remarks went viral, and while he didn’t exactly apologize, he was very complimentary of LeBron James and his son.
It’s a flex to have your son alongside you in the nba it reflects greatness and longevity !Bronny has all the tools around him to be successful I look forward to watching his growth https://t.co/qO4muFSvrn
“It’s a flex to have your son alongside you in the nba it reflects greatness and longevity,” Brown wrote. “Bronny has all the tools around him to be successful I look forward to watching his growth.”
LeBron James indicated the statement helped to repair the damage the video caused, but still, it wasn’t hard to tell mixed feelings still linger.
Bronny James has played in 29 games for the Lakers this season. Getty Images
“We’ll be all right,” LeBron James said. “We’ll be all right. He went on social media and said something about it. It’s all good. But Bronny’s got a long way to go. But that’s another story.”
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - FEBRUARY 22: Tyrese Maxey #0 of the Philadelphia 76ers smiles in the second quarter of the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center on February 22, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 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 David Berding/Getty Images) | Getty Images
There’s never a bad time to snap a four-game losing streak, but the Sixers 27-point win over the Minnesota Timberwolves felt like one of their most needed of the season.
Not only were they reeling, but with Joel Embiid suddenly missing five straight games with various sore body parts, Paul George suspended, and no additions made at the trade deadline all emphasized the fact that there was no help on the way either.
On top of all that, the All-Star break coming in the midst of this losing streak made it linger longer than a typical four-game skid would, with the Sixers going over two calendar weeks in between wins.
They looked rather helpless going into that game against Minnesota as well. Not only was it the second night of a back-to-back, but they were coming off what head coach Nick Nurse called the worst loss of the season, a second half collapse to the lowly New Orleans Pelicans.
With their backs against the wall they turned in one of their best offensive performances of the season, with their reeling backcourt leading the way. Both Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe had been showing signs of wear and tear due to their heavy workloads. They looked recharged in Minnesota, with Maxey dropping an efficient 39 points while Edgecombe put up 24 thanks to a new career-high six made three-pointers.
In the walk-off interview for NBC Sports Philadelphia, Maxey pointed out a return of positive energy. As watching the previous four games wasn’t enough, there were plenty of signs off the court that the vibes were off, from Embiid’s trade deadline plea being thoroughly rejected to Maxey voicing confusion of his role. It felt like the lowest point of the season spirit-wise as well, and its departure was noticed in the win over the Wolves.
“We got back to playing with a little bit of spirit, you seen guys smiling a bit,” he told Kate and Alaa before praising the individual performance of Quentin Grimes.
If anything this win may have showed just how tall of an order it is for the Sixers to keep themselves afloat with Embiid out of the lineup just as much as the losing streak did. They need both Maxey and Edgecombe to be unconscious to give themselves a chance.
What’s made this stretch even tougher is that they’ve had to go through that a really demoralizing trade deadline as well. Despite the best player on the team begging for a serious deadline, all they did was dump a fan favorite player and add one guard who was playing Europe on the buyout market.
The reality that there were no reinforcements on the way was intensified during the losing streak. They weren’t just losing games, but they looked hopeless in doing so. Their only way through is to power through but in Minnesota, they were able to channel that in a positive direction.
“We didn’t have a choice, we don’t got an option man,” Maxey told the broadcast when asked how the team flushed the New Orleans loss so quickly.
Embiid’s return is the only tangible on-court change this team has left up its sleeve. The losing streak has shown the flaws in this roster and the deadline to try to improve them has come and gone. They have one intangible up their sleeves though and that is a positive spirit.
They’ll certainly need to sustain for more than one game and of course nothing is as good for the spirit as winning ball games. The only other change the Sixers can make though finding good vibes again and blowing out the Timberwolves was a step in the right direction.
Aug 5, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Jose Berrios (17) pitches in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
No Bo in the Mets’ lineup, which is normal for a road spring game. Teams tend to let veterans skip bus trips.
The Jays have set their pitching rotation for the week:
Blue Jays upcoming Grapefruit League starters
Tues vs NYY— TBD, likely a minor leaguer Weds @ DET — Cody Ponce Thurs vs MIA — Kevin Gausman Fri @ TBR — Eric Lauer Sat vs PHI (SS) — Dylan Cease Sat @ NYY (SS) — Jose Berrios
Today it is Jose Berrios’ first time on the mound since last September, before he went on the IL and then was left off the playoff roster. I’m sure he feels he has something to prove this spring.
As always, don’t read anything in a Spring Training batting lineup. Veterans progress in their own ways in spring. George Springer is planning to have his first game on Thursday
