Posts

Posted on

NBA fines Pacers' Myles Turner, Andrew Nembhard and Nets Trendon Watford for altercation

The Brooklyn Nets and Indiana Pacers play again on Saturday night, but before that happens, the league handed down fines from when these teams played on Thursday night.

The Pacers' Andrew Nembhard was fined $20,000 for "initiating the altercation," while his teammate Myles Turner, as well as the Nets' Trendon Watford, were fined $35,000 for escalating the situation, the league announced.

The fourth-quarter altercation started away from the play as Indiana's Bennedict Mathurin drove for a layup.

Watford began to run back up court and bumped into Nembhard, and those two engaged in some relatively mild pushing and shoving. That's when Turner jumped in and escalated everything by shoving Watford, who pushed back, and things quickly escalated.

Nembhard and Watford were handed double technical fouls for their exchange, and the same is true for Turner and Watford for their escalation. That was two technicals for Watford, so he was ejected from the game.

Tonight's officials for the Pacers and Nets know what happened and may end up calling a tighter game to keep a lid on things.

Posted on

Celtics sale price of $6.1 billion could turn NBA attention back toward expansion

The NBA got the number it was hoping for in the sale of the Boston Celtics—a $6.1 billion valuation for the franchise, an NBA record by more than $2 billion (the Phoenix Suns sold at a valuation of $4 billion when Mat Ishbia purchased the team).

That sale was one of the things the NBA league office was waiting for before turning its attention to expansion. The league wanted a new, higher baseline for franchise values, allowing it to set a higher price for an expansion franchise. The league got the number it wanted.

Now, momentum toward expansion may pick up again.

While there has been plenty of talk about the NBA expanding — by two franchises, one in Seattle and the other very likely in Las Vegas — there has been no meaningful action on that front. In fact, expansion talk around the league has been very quiet. At the All-Star Game in February it was not a topic around the weekend, nor did it come up when NBA Commissioner Adam Silver spoke to the media. The last time Silver said anything publicly about expansion was in November before the NBA's games in Mexico City.

"There’s no specific date set for expansion..." Silver said at the time. "The process has begun internally at the league office right now. It’s something that we’re continuing to model, to understand the economics of what it would mean to have additional teams."

Previously, the NBA had been waiting for both a new CBA and the new media deals to be in place before bringing up expansion to the Board of Governors (the body of NBA owners). With those locked in, there were some discussions in broad strokes, but the league wanted to see where the sale price of the Celtics fell.

Now the league might slowly turn its attention back to expansion, but this will not be a fast process. It's at least three years, and likely a couple more than that, by the time the league approves expansion, gets new owners in place, gets franchises and arenas built, and gets teams playing on the court.

Is the new asking price for an expansion team $6 billion? It's one thing to pay that figure for one of the largest sports brands in the NBA and the world, the Celtics, it's quite another to pay that just as an entry fee into the league, before adding in the expenses of building an arena and an organization. The NBA's ultimate fee for expansion may be lower than $6 billion, but the reality is the NBA will ask for as much money as someone is willing to pay to buy equity in the league (which is essentially what the new owners would be doing). That expansion fee money is split among the existing 30 owners (for example, two teams coming in at $5 billion each would lead to a $333 million payout to each franchise, money that does not get split with the players but goes straight into owners pockets).

That's a lot of money, which is why momentum toward expansion may pick up again.

Posted on

Blues Will Host Blackhawks On Four-Game Winning Streak

Image

The Chicago Blackhawks have lost six straight games, and their vibes have been down because of this bad streak. They know that they need a gritty win to break the losing skid, and they will try to do that on the road against the St. Louis Blues. 

The Blues have been the exact opposite of the Hawks lately in terms of how good they’ve been playing. Winners of four straight, they are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. 

St. Louis’ winning streak has propelled them into a playoff position going into Saturday. They still have a lot of work to do, but they are trending in the right direction. 

This will be the third and final meeting between the two in 2024-25. The first was a Blues blowout in the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field. The second was a wild shootout win for St. Louis at their home barn. Chicago would like to get one win over St. Louis this season. 

Chicago has put their lines in a blender once again. This is how they project to line up against their big rival: 

Mikheyev - Nazar - Bedard 

Teravainen - Dickinson - Foligno 

Veleno - Donato - Bertuzzi

Slaggert - Reichel - Maroon

Vlasic - Kaiser 

Del Mastro - Murphy 

Martinez - Levshunov

Soderblom

Once again, Connor Bedard will skate on Frank Nazar's wing on the top line. It looks like it’s Ilya Mikheyev’s turn to be with them. 

Colton Dach hurt his arm during the last game, and it is day-to-day. It doesn’t sound like he is going to miss all that much time for the Blackhawks. With the NHL season winding down, the AHL club will need him healthy. 

Arvid Soderblom will start in net for the Blackhawks against the Blues. Spencer Knight, the new number-one goalie, will go on Sunday at home against the Philadelphia Flyers. Both guys deserve a start in this back-to-back situation. 

If ending a bad losing streak while simultaneously hurting the playoff chances of their biggest rival isn’t enough motivation for the Blackhawks to play well, what would be?  

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

Posted on

Three Possible Options For The 2026 NHL All-Star Game

Frank Vatrano and Auston Matthews take the face-off in the 2024 NHL All-Star Game. (Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images)

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman indicated at the conclusion of the GM meetings in Florida on Wednesday that the league is reevaluating the format of the 2026 All-Star Game at UBS Arena next February, which will be just prior to the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina. Bettman did not specify what exactly the league has in mind in terms of changes, but here are three possible options:

Expanded Skills Competition 

One undeniable fact that resulted from the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off was how injuries that occurred in the tournament (such as the loss of Charlie McAvoy, Shea Theodore and Matthew Tkachuk) affected NHL clubs after the break. With the likelihood of two weeks of hard-fought competition in Italy, the league may want to minimize the workload and risk of injury in the All-Star Game. One way that they could do that – while increasing the entertainment value of the weekend – is to eliminate the game altogether and expand the number of events in the skills competition, which fans seem to find more interesting than a no-contact game of shinny. 

Teams Based On Nationality, Not Division

The game in recent years has been a round-robin of teams made up by division. With all eyes looking forward to the Olympics, the NHL should want to take advantage of that and have teams made up of individual countries. In this instance, you could have as many as eight separate squads (Canada, United States, Finland, Sweden, Czechia, Slovakia, Switzerland and Germany) playing in a skills competition or round-robin.   

Teams Based On Age Range

The most exciting team at the 2016 World Cup was Team North America, made up of players aged 23 or younger. Squads could be assembled by age range, 18-24, 25-31, and 32 and older, which would allow youngsters like Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini to participate since the odds of them making Team Canada are slim. The All-Star Game may be the only opportunity for Alex Ovechkin to play, since Russia will likely be prevented from participating due to the IIHF ban.

Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.

Posted on

Hamilton hits out at ‘yapping’ critics after sprint race success at Chinese GP

  • ‘People underestimated steep climb of joining new team’
  • Piastri takes first pole ahead of Russell and Norris

Feisty, confident and feeling vindicated, Lewis Hamilton will, to an extent, be at ease with how he fares in Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix. After his victory in the sprint race on Saturday, the seven-time champion was energised and assured he is on the right path with Ferrari and even a tough day in Shanghai will not detract from the sense he has seized the reins.

A long road lies ahead, but his condemnation of the “yapping” of criticism after a striking victory was the fighting talk of a man who feels he is just beginning to land some blows.

Continue reading...
Posted on

Ex-Blackhawk Seth Jones Has Troubling Start With Panthers

Seth Jones (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)

The Chicago Blackhawks' big trade deadline move was trading Seth Jones to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Spencer Knight and more. This trade has set the Blackhawks up nicely for the future, and while Jones came in at the perfect time to Florida with Aaron Ekblad missing the rest of the regular season, Jones' numbers have been troubling.

The eye test hasn't looked as bad as what Jones' numbers really are. Since joining the Panthers, he has been on the ice for one goal for and six against at 5-on-5. Every single other Panther defenseman to play for them this season, no matter how long, other than Adam Boqvist (on the ice for eight goals for and nine against) has at least been on the ice at 5-on-5 for as many goals for as against. Jones' difference is big through just eight games.

It's not like Jones' has gotten unlucky either. His expected goals for percentage is the lowest among Panthers d-men to suit up for them this season as well with 44.97%. Again, only Boqvist was close to him, but still better.

There are many more poor analytics to support the struggles in Florida so far. The Panthers' shooting percentage when Jones is on the ice at 5-on-5 is 1.61%. The lowest team shooting percentage when any other Panthers defenseman is on the ice is 7.69%. This is too big of a gap to be more than a fluke.

Jones has a 46.02 Corsi For %, 46.2 Fenwick For %, 48.06 Shots For %, 43.7 Scoring Chances For %, and 42.59 High Danger Chances For %. All of these are the lowest among the nine d-men to play for Florida this season.

The numbers should get better, but it is not encouraging for the Panthers who just invested a lot into having Jones on the team for a number of years. Meanwhile, in Chicago, the Blackhawks might not be winning, but there are plenty of talented young d-men who are developing in the AHL and NHL and haven't been overpaid and underperformed yet.

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game day coverage, player features, and more.

Posted on

Mets make flurry of roster moves, including sending Jakson Reetz and Donovan Walton to Triple-A

With Opening Day quickly approaching on March 27, the Mets made a handful of roster moves on Saturday morning.

Manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters from the dugout at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie that Jakson Reetz, Donovan Walton, José Ureña, Chris Devenski, Génesis Cabrera did not make the roster and are being sent to Triple-A Syracuse.

That bodes well for Luisangel Acuña and Hayden Senger's chances to make the team out of camp, but that has not officially been decided yet. It's possible New York could add other players over the next couple of days with many veterans opting out of deals before the start of the season.

Mendoza then clarified that relief pitchers Reed Garrett, José Buttó, and Danny Young were told they've made the Opening Day roster.

Dedniel Núñez, who missed the end of last season due to injury, didn't make his spring debut until March 17 and could need some more time to get ready. Therefore, the Mets bullpen would likely beEdwin Diaz, A.J. Minter, Reed Garrett, Ryne Stanek, Jose Butto, Danny Young, Max Kranick, and Paul Blackburn.

Posted on

Islanders Rising, Rangers Reeling: The Battle for the East’s Final Wild-Card Spot

Alexander Romanov and Matt Rempe fight for the puck during the third period. (Brad Penner-Imagn Images)

The NHL’s Eastern Conference race for the final wild-card berth is coming down to a select few teams, and two of those teams are headed in different directions: the New York Rangers, who have lost their last three games and are 3-5-2 in their past 10 games, and their arch-rivals, the New York Islanders, who have won three straight games and are 6-3-1 in their past 10 games. The Rangers look to be out of gas as they attempt to edge out the Montreal Canadiens for the final wild-card spot. At the same time, the Islanders are one spot closer to ousting the Canadiens, sitting an identical two points behind Montreal but with a superior point percentage to the Rangers.

Not all the news is good news in the Isles’ favor. As per Tankathon, the Islanders have the fifth-toughest remaining schedule, while the Rangers have the 14th-toughest schedule. But it’s the way the Rangers have lost of late that is so disheartening for Blueshirts fans. The Rangers have generated just five goals in their past three losses to Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto, and their loss to the Maple Leafs came on the second night of a back-to-back series of games for the Leafs. The Rangers were rested and in their home building against Toronto, but they came out flat and unable to take advantage of the Leafs. And while they’re only two points behind Montreal, the Rangers don’t look like a team that believes in itself right now.

The Islanders, on the other hand, have beaten the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Canadiens in their current win streak. And the Isles have scored four goals in each of their past three wins – a good harbinger of what they’re capable of as they try to sneak into the playoffs for the second-straight season.

There are others still in the race for the final wild-card spot, but like the Rangers, they’re all struggling to be at their best currently. The Columbus Blue Jackets are 2-7-1 in their past 10 games, the Detroit Red Wings are 2-8-0 and the Boston Bruins are 3-6-1. None of those teams look like they’re hungry enough and focused enough to rise through the ranks and land the last wild-card berth. And that’s why it could prove to come down to the Rangers and Islanders.

The NHL’s schedule-maker has set the table for what could be a season-defining game between the Rangers and Isles. On April 10, the Islanders and Rangers square off against each other at UBS Arena – and considering the Isles have a 0-3-0 record this season against the Rangers, you’d think the Rangers would have the psychological advantage heading into that game. But if the Rangers continue to falter in the games leading up to that final showdown, that game may not matter.

In any case, the wild-card race could come down to the final week of the regular season. And while it could be a case of someone – maybe the Islanders or Rangers – backing into a wild-card berth, there could be a team that seizes the opportunity now before them and finds a way to thrive the rest of the way this season en route to a playoff spot.

Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.