LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 10: Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) sits on the bench during the Minnesota Timberwolves vs Los Angeles Lakers game on March 10, 2026, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
LeBron James’ return to the Lakers lineup is still up in the air heading into Thursday’s game against the Bulls.
On Wednesday’s injury report, LeBron is listed as questionable yet again. He is still listed with both a right hip contusion and left foot arthritis.
The addition to the injury report is Marcus Smart, who is listed as doubtful with a right hip contusion.
Lakers’ injury report vs. Chicago tomorrow. Marcus Smart has been added and is listed as doubtful: pic.twitter.com/Yqi26K3QDy
LeBron has missed the last three games after initially injuring his elbow against the Nuggets. However, it’s his foot that has kept him out of recent games. The hip contusion is an entirely new injury that only surfaced during his absence.
Jaxson Hayes was a very late scratch for Tuesday’s game against the Wolves but looks set to return to the lineup. Maxi Kleber, however, is still listed as questionable with a back strain. He has also been dealing with back soreness for multiple games.
Smart’s addition is entirely new. After injuries in recent years that limited his availability, he has played in 41 of the Lakers’ last 42 games. In short, injuries have not been nearly as much of an issue this season.
Thursday’s opponent in the Bulls have been one of the worst teams in the league since the trade deadline. They did not win a game in February and have just three wins since late January.
But taking anyone lightly in the NBA can result in a loss, something the Lakers have learned firsthand this year. Fortunately, it’s not been a trait they’ve had of late, so regardless of who is available, the Lakers should be able to still take care of business.
Arizona State is parting ways with longtime men's basketball head coach Bobby Hurley, athletics director Graham Rossini announced on Wednesday, March 11.
"Bobby Hurley has made incredible contributions to the sport of basketball, and that certainly includes many memorable moments during his time as our head coach," Rossini said in a statement. "While we will not be extending his contract, we are so grateful for the 11 years that Coach, Leslie, Cameron, Sydney, Bobby Jr., and he spent with us at ASU.
"We wish Coach well moving forward and we are thankful for his leadership while at ASU."
According to multiple reports, Hurley is expected to be placed on administrative leave until his contract expires in June. He leaves as the second-winningest coach in program history behind only Ned Wulk with a 185-167 record in 11 seasons.
The announcement comes just hours after the Sun Devils were eliminated from the Big 12 tournament in a 91-42 blowout loss to No. 7 Iowa State.
Arizona State had a promising start to the season after finishing runner-up at the Maui Invitational and losing a closely contested game against Gonzaga. They couldn't find consistency from then on, however.
That was evident in January, where a pair of crucial conference wins at home against Kansas State and Cincinnati sandwiched a stretch of key losses to Houston, West Virginia and Arizona, none of which was particularly close.
The Sun Devils finished the season with a 17-15 record and entered the Big 12 tournament as the last place seed.
"I don't have any regrets," Hurley told reporters after the game. "I laid it out on the line the best I could every night."
A few days ago, Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said that his team is a power-hitting, not base stealing group when asked why he has slugging first baseman Nick Kurtz hitting leadoff. That was the case last year and will be again this year, evident by the 29 home runs the team has already hit this spring. This afternoon, the A’s powerful offense led the way, blasting five home runs in a 13-3 pummeling of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Diamondbacks scored first as A’s starting pitcher Luis Morales gave up a home run to the second batter he faced, second baseman Ildemaro Vargas. The A’s responded right away as their second baseman Andy Ibáñez hit his first home run in an A’s uniform, a two-run blast off Arizona’s pitcher Ryne Nelson in the top of the second inning.
Arizona continued the back-and-forth nature of the game’s early going by tying the game at two in the bottom of that inning, their rally aided by A’s third baseman Max Muncy’s third error of spring training.
The A’s took the lead for good the following inning courtesy of Shea Langeliers’ third Cactus League home run, a solo shot to left field. Muncy added a solo home run in the fourth inning, redeeming himself from the error he committed earlier in the game.
Muncy, who got three hits plus a walk, looks ready for Opening Day offensively. However, the natural shortstop’s defense at third base continues to be erratic. He will need to clean things up before the season, or his defensive mistakes could cost the A’s games this year.
Up by two through four innings, the A’s broke this game open by scoring five runs against Diamondbacks reliever Thomas Hatch in the fifth inning. Brent Rooker immediately followed Tyler Soderstrom’s three-run home run with a solo shot of his own.
Meanwhile, Morales settled down, turning in his best start of the spring so far. He allowed two runs — one unearned — over 4 2/3 innings while working in and out of trouble. In the second inning, he got Anderdson Rojas to ground into an inning-ending double play with runners on second and third and one out. The next inning, Arizona loaded the bases with one out before Morales struck out the next two batters to escape the jam and finished the day reaching 75 pitches. He should be well almost fully stretched out with just a couple weeks to go until Opening Day.
The A’s reserves added on late, scoring two runs in the seventh and eighth innings to make the game even more of a blowout. Today, the team went far down its bench, giving playing time to Carlos Pacheco, Breyson Guedez and Jose Ramos, three recent international signees who are much further away from MLB than the team’s top prospect Leo De Vries.
Unlike the past few games in which A’s relievers allowed the other team to make a comeback, they were nearly perfect this afternoon. Justin Sterner, Hogan Harris and non-roster invitee Nick Anderson all threw scoreless innings to wrap up a big win for the A’s. And now they’re rolling.
The Athletics will look to make it six wins in a row tomorrow at the Texas Rangers. Right-hander J.T. Ginn will make his fourth start of the spring, while the Rangers have yet to announce their scheduled starter for that game. Ginn allowed four runs, including two home runs, over three innings in his last outing against the Colorado Rockies. Look for Ginn to pitch better tomorrow as he vies for a spot on the A’s Opening Day rotation or bullpen.
Feb 22, 2026; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Kyle Leahy (62) delivers a pitch against the Houston Astros during the first inning at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
As Spring Training rolls on, the St. Louis Cardinals roster is starting to come into focus, but there’s still no obvious choice for what the back of the rotation will look like. Who do you think should be the 5th starter? The same question could be asked about who the 4th starter will be, too.
It’s all but a foregone conclusion that the Cardinals will have Dustin May, Matthew Liberatore and Michael McGreevy as the first three starters. That leaves Richard Fitts, Andre Pallante and Kyle Leahy with one of them being the odd man out assuming the Cardinals go with a 5-man rotation and that’s no certainty either. For the sake of discussion, let’s say St. Louis starts the 2026 regular season with a 5-man rotation. Here are the stats of the bottom of the order candidates so far in Spring Training:
Andre Pallante
Games: 3
Innings Pitched: 9.0
ERA: 3.00
Strikeouts : 7
WHIP: 0.78
Kyle Leahy
Games: 3
Innings Pitched: 8.2
ERA: 5.19
Strikeouts: 9
WHIP: 0.92
Richard Fitts
Games: 2
Innings Pitched: 4.2
ERA: 7.71
Strikeouts: 4
WHIP: 1.71
I’ve only seen a handful of Spring Training games, but I’ve seen impressive moments (and a few concerning ones) for all three of these players. The last game I saw Andre pitch, he was sharp. Kyle Leahy had a rough outing against Pittsburgh in his second Spring Training appearance, but his most recent game was solid. I saw many comments about Richard Fitts first game that said his fastball velocity was up. The second Fitts game was underwhelming. If the St. Louis Cardinals went with a conventional 5-man rotation, it would be a tough choice of which of these 3 would end up in the bullpen.
If I were forced to pick as of right now, I would have Pallante and Leahy as the 4th and 5th starters and have Fitts be the long reliever out of the bullpen, but I will admit I thought about Leahy having that role after the Pirates game. If you had to choose just 5 Cardinals starters, who would you go with and who goes to the pen? I know we’re only halfway through Spring Training, so the sample size is admittedly not large.
A few months ago, we explored the idea of the Cardinals going with a 6-man rotation and I’m starting to think that might be the right approach. If 2026 is the season where we find out who the future Cardinals core will be, what better way to figure out who the arms we can depend on will be than letting each of these pitchers get their chance at starting?
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 27: Manager Tony Vitello #23 of the San Francisco Giants talks to manager Dave Roberts #30 of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the umpires prior to the spring training game against the San Francisco Giants at Scottsdale Stadium on February 27, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Jeremy Chen/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Giants fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
The 2026 MLB season is about to start, and the San Francisco Giants have high hopes of returning to the postseason for the first time since 2021. But it won’t be easy, as the National League West projects as one of the more challenging divisions in baseball.
There’s a clear hierarchy in the NL West. At the top sits the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, who boast an embarrassment of riches. At the bottom sits the Colorado Rockies, who are just a standard embarrassment. And in the middle are the Giants, San Diego Padres, and Arizona Diamondbacks, who are jockeying for position in the division, with sights set on a playoff berth.
It’s no guarantee where anyone will end up. No one thought the Giants had a chance of catching the Dodgers in 2021, but catch them they did. Still, it seems overwhelmingly likely that they end up in either second, third, or fourth place in the division. So what’s your pick?
MESA, ARIZONA - MARCH 06: Charlie Condon #66 of the Colorado Rockies looks on from his dugout at Hohokam Stadium prior to a game against the Athletics on March 06, 2026 in Mesa, Arizona. (Photo by Kyle Cooper/Colorado Rockies/Getty Images)
There were no postgame interviews today as the Colorado Rockies beat the Seattle Mariners 11-7.
(Taco’s anyone?)
However, please enjoy seven minutes of game highlights. (Spoiler: There’s a lot to see.)
As the 2025-26 season wraps up, one storyline that has emerged is Evander Kane's quest for his 1,000th regular-season game. The 34-year-old is nine games away from the milestone, meaning he will have to play in half of the remaining 18 games to hit 1,000 for his NHL career. Kane was originally drafted in 2009 and is in his 16th NHL season.
The topic of Kane hitting the milestone has come up recently as he is currently battling an upper-body injury. After missing Monday's game, Kane was back on the ice on Wednesday, where he was skating alongside Elias Pettersson and Drew O'Connor. After practice, Head Coach Adam Foote was asked about Kane closing in on 1,000th games and if it was already on his radar.
"I want to see him get that," said Foote. "You know, I mean, that's something. Who knows what Kanner is going to do moving forward? I'm talking about what he wants to do. If he wants to continue to play after this. I'm sure he does. But he just, you always want a player to reach those goals, for sure. So that's a great, you know, it's a great thing to hang your hat."
Mar 2, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Evander Kane (91) skates in warm up prior to a game against the Dallas Stars at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
If Kane stays in the lineup, he is scheduled to play game 1,000 on March 30 in Vegas. Players who hit the 1,000-game mark are rewarded with a silver stick to commemorate reaching the milestone. Other players who have played their 1,000th game this season include Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Brenden Dillon and Roman Josi.
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
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OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA - MARCH 7: Kristaps Porzingis #7 of the Golden State Warriors handles the ball while being defended by Luguentz Dort #5 of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half at Paycom Center on March 7, 2026 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 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 Joshua Gateley/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Golden State fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
The Golden State Warriors have a serious decision to make this offseason: should they re-sign Kristaps Porziņģis? The former All-Star has looked brilliant when on the court with the Dubs, following a deadline deal that sent Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield to the Atlanta Hawks.
But staying on the court has been an issue. He’s appeared in just three games in his month-plus with the team, and has now had an issue suiting up every year for the last decade. The talent is tantalizing, and there’s no doubt that he’s an excellent fit with the team. But is he worth committing to beyond this year, especially if his All-Star talent drives up his price? Let us know how you feel!
NBA fans have been paying very close attention to this draft because of three names in particular: Darryn Peterson, Cam Boozer, and AJ Dybantsa, with the occasional Big Board having UNC’s Caleb Wilson thrown in the mix. Rightly so; all four of them have had incredible seasons, but juuuuuust outside of all of that hype there are a few guys who have had really great seasons in their own right.
Playing in the Big 12 (which is widely regarded as the third best basketball league in the world) is no small feat. Playing on a team in the Big 12 that has winning culture and finished 2nd in the Big 12 standings is also no small feat, but to do all of that AND lead that team in scoring as a true Freshman seems impossible… but here we are. Kingston Flemings has demonstrated that he does have the ability to be great at the next level, but will he? Let’s talk numbers.
Hardware: First-Team All-Big 12, Big 12 All-Freshman Team
Triumphs
What cannot possibly be denied is his ability to put the ball in the hoop. He scored 27 against TCU, he scored 22 against a juggernaut in Iowa State, and he had a career high 42 against Texas Tech. He’s also a great facilitator as he was fifth in the Big 12 for assists per game and the ONLY Freshman in the Big 12 to average more than 5 a game.
His shooting percentages should be mentioned as well; not everyone can come in at 18/19 years old and shoot 37% from deep, albeit on limited attempts per game. His defensive metrics can’t be overlooked either: in the Big 12 he ranks 5th in Defensive Win Shares (2.3), 3rd in defensive box plus/minus (5.8), and 14th in defensive rating (97.4).
His other highly coveted skill is his ability to be THE engine of a team. He finished the Big 12 regular season with a Usage Percentage of 26.3% so he had the ball in his hands all the time. While constantly having the ball could lead to a high turnover rate, that isn’t the case with Flemings as he has a 2.8 assist/turnover ratio. He finished 16th in Big 12 Offensive Rating (124.3), 11th in Points Produced Per Game (16.8), and 7th in Offensive Box Plus/Minus (6.8). There is quite literally nothing that he can’t do on the basketball court. However…
Shortcomings
Flemings does have one fatal flaw in my opinion, and that is his consistency. While he does have the ability to go off for 40, he also has multiple single digit scoring games this year including 7 against Cincinnati in 30 minutes, 4 against Utah in 29 minutes, and a grotesque 1 point against Notre Dame in 22 minutes earlier in the year. His field goal percentage also fluctuates: for every 60% game on high shot volume, he has a 15% on similar attempts. For every hyper efficient game on limited attempts he also has a 0-4 night.
Something that I’m also concerned about is his frame at the pro level. He’s 6’4” which is a decent height, but with the NBA is shifting to taller ball handlers (or allowing your Center to be the playmaker in the case of Nikola Jokic and Alperen Sengun), the “smaller” guard is becoming more of a novelty. There are exceptions, obviously: Payton Pritchard is 6’1” and Steph Curry is 6’3” but the a huge difference between those two and Flemings is my other concern which is his weight. He’s listed at 190 lbs but he is a skinny 190. I do want to give credit where credit is due; he put on 10 lbs of muscle prior to the start of the season, so this is something that he is aware he needs to work on, but I think that early in his career his frame will hinder him from being as physical as he needs to be in the NBA.
Is He Worth The Pick?
I think that I approach drafts and draft picks a little differently than most. In my view scouting is both very difficult and kind of a crapshoot. I made a video over a year ago detailing how rare it is to find a superstar in any one draft. In my view the draft kind of goes like this…
Picks 1-3: You are expecting a future superstar
Picks 4-14: You are expecting a high production role player
Picks 15-60: You are PRAYING for a role player
There are obvious outliers in that framing as Giannis and Jokic come to mind, but for the most part if you can secure a lottery pick and they turn into a solid role player you have to count it as a win. When you don’t have a chance to select a consensus “top guy” in the draft you’re best suited to select a positional need.
I think that Kingston Flemings has the ability to be really good in this league one day. He can put the ball in the hoop, he is a more than capable defender, and he has shown the ability to be the engine for a team. For the Utah Jazz specifically? I’m not sure that the juice is worth the squeeze.
I don’t think that he’s a great roster fit for us at this stage in our development. Keyonte George is on track to win the Most Improved Player Award and his playmaking ability has taken a huge leap. Isaiah Collier, while mostly playing a backup role, has also shown great strides in his playmaking. With two above-average playmaking guards on the team I’m not sure that having another one would be super beneficial. Now, I’m higher on Collier than most (I even bought a Collier jersey to celebrate me becoming a contributor to this great site and community) so I’m willing to entertain the idea of moving on from Collier to get a guy like Flemings but if we end up with the 5th pick in the NBA Draft, and we truly feel like we need to get another do-it-all guard, I think that there is at least one better option at our disposal (be on the lookout for that piece soon).
We’re also in the middle of a contentious Tankathon against the Pacers, Wizards, Kings, Nets, and Pelicans right now, and I think that Flemings could benefit the most from going to a team like the Nets; a team that isn’t going to compete in the immediate future and can allow someone like Kingston the time and grace needed to adjust to the NBA game. After the moves the Jazz made this Trade Deadline Season it’s clear that the front office is tired of being at the bottom of the standings and they’re ready to start competing for potential Playoff spots. I’m not sure that we’ll be in the business of drafting a guard that will have this much of a learning curve at the start of their career.
If I’m wrong, I’m wrong. If we wake up in 6 years and Flemings is an All-Star already I’ll eat my words, but now that it seems like we’re trying to take steps forward instead of laterally I think that we’d be better off selecting someone else with that potential pick, selecting a truly needed archetype like a volume 3 point shooting wing, or to trade the pick and get even more assets as Trader Danny is prone to do.
Where do you land on Flemings? How do you think Houston will do in March Madness? Sound off in the comments!
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 05: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the New York Knicks in action against Jusuf Nurkic #30 of the Utah Jazz at Madison Square Garden on December 05, 2025 in New York City. The Knicks defeated the Jazz 146-112. 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 Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The New York Knicks (41*-25) face the Utah Jazz (20-45) tonight at Delta Center in Salt Lake City. Josh Hart is OUT for New York with left knee soreness, while Utah is missing Lauri Markkanen (hip), Walker Kessler (shoulder), Jusuf Nurkic (nose), and Jaren Jackson Jr. (knee), and lists Keyonte George as questionable (illness).
Tip off is 9 p.m. EST on MSG. This is your game thread. This is SLC Dunk. Please don’t post large photos, GIFs, or links to illegal streams in the thread. Have fun. And go Knicks!
* Should be one more, but NBA Cup finals are temporary tattoos.
I’m going to throw some numbers at you and let you decide whether or not I’m completely making them up.
Matt McLain, the resident 2B of the Cincinnati Reds and likely #2 hitter in the lineup everyday, is 17 for 28 so far in Cactus League play in 2026. Seventeen for twenty-eight, or a .607 batting average.
He is Joey Votto now, roughly – he has walked 5 times so far in spring games while only owning a pair (2!) strikeouts across 10 games played.
He’s hit 5 dingers. He has 3 more home runs than he has strikeouts.
He is slugging 1.179. Over the final 11 seasons of Barry Bonds’ career, his OPS was 1.173.
Matt McLain, after homering again on Wednesday afternoon against the Milwaukee Brewers as part of a 3 for 3 day (that featured a pair of runs scored and a stolen base), is now hitting .607/.667/1.179, numbers that are so ridiculous they quite frankly ruin the triple-slash format because they’re so good.
He has a 1.846 OPS at the moment. That’s the best in all of spring training baseball across MLB right now.
In fact, he’s atop the spring MLB leaderboard in runs, hits, home runs, RBI, average, OBP, and SLG. He leads every Major League Baseball player in all of those.
Here’s the leaderboard. You can look at it yourself. You can look at it yourself, but you cannot unsee Matt McLain, because he’s literally the first name listed on pretty much any category you choose to sort.
He does not lead all of Major League Baseball in height, but that doesn’t matter.
None of these spring stats really matter, either, and they’ll all reset to .000 the moment the regular season begins in two weeks. The hope is, though, that McLain has fully turned the corner from his shoulder troubles and struggles from a year ago, and that the ridiculous dude we’ve had the chance to follow this spring is the guy who’s capable of being a really, really good big leaguer showing out in the best manner possible.
My brain typically ignores spring stats the moment spring training ends, and I honestly don’t recall anyone doing anything of note – bad or good – this side of Dave Sappelt. This McLain spring, though, may just be so ridiculous that I have a hard time forgetting it.
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Chicago White Sox catcher Kyle Teel has a right hamstring strain and is expected to miss four-to-six weeks, general manager Chris Getz told reporters on Wednesday.
Teel, 24, injured his hamstring playing for Italy during its 8-6 upset of the U.S. on Tuesday night in the World Baseball Classic. On a double down the right-field line, Teel appeared to tweak his hamstring while rounding first base. He left the field under his own power with athletic trainers.
Teel, acquired from Boston in the Garrett Crochet trade during the 2024 offseason, appeared in 78 games for the White Sox last season. Teel hit .273 with eight home runs, 11 doubles and 35 RBIs while walking 37 times in 297 plate appearances.
Edgar Quero, who appeared in 111 games for Chicago last season, is expected to handle the bulk of the catching innings with Teel sidelined. Quero hit .268 with five home runs, 17 doubles and 36 RBIs in 403 plate appearances last season.
DENVER — Let’s start with the obvious: Tuesday night’s matchup between the Edmonton Oilers and the Colorado Avalanche was a tightly contested hockey game. The Oilers capitalized on their chances, executed when it mattered most, and ultimately earned the victory.
That much is straightforward.
What is far less straightforward, however, is the officiating that unfolded throughout the night.
Regardless of which team you support — whether it’s the Oilers, the Avalanche, the Dallas Stars, the Detroit Red Wings, or anyone else — every rational fan ultimately wants the same thing: a sport where the rules are enforced competently and consistently. Tuesday’s game unfortunately provided another example of how far the NHL still has to go in that department.
Credit: DNVR. Jared Bednar was furious about MacKinnon's ejection.
Nathan MacKinnon has received a five-minute major following a scary collision with Connor Ingram.
The first moment that raised eyebrows came with a hooking penalty assessed to Brett Kulak. The call was extremely ticky-tack and, in my view, didn’t truly meet the standard for hooking.
The Oilers did what good teams do — they took advantage. They converted on the ensuing power play and made the Avalanche pay.
And to be fair, bad call or not, you still have to play the game and keep the puck out of your net. The Avalanche have been one of the league’s better penalty-killing units all season, so that is one situation where Colorado still needed to be better regardless of the circumstances.
But consistency matters.
Later in the game, Evan Bouchard appeared to clearly hold Valeri Nichushkin’s stick against the boards. The play developed seemingly right in front of the officials, yet no penalty was called.
From a consistency standpoint, that sequence looked far more like a textbook penalty than the one Kulak had been assessed earlier in the night.
That observation alone shouldn’t be controversial.
The MacKinnon Ejection
The real controversy came late in the second period, when Nathan MacKinnon was ejected from the game after being assessed a major penalty for goaltender interference — resulting in the first game misconduct of his NHL career.
The play occurred while Colorado trailed 2–1 and was on the power play.
MacKinnon entered the offensive zone with speed before receiving an east-to-west pass from Martin Necas. His shot sailed wide of the net, and as he pursued the rebound along the goal line, Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse closed in from behind.
Nurse made contact with MacKinnon’s left hip, subtly but significantly altering the Avalanche star’s path just as he attempted to avoid the crease.
With his skates angled left in an effort to steer clear of goaltender Connor Ingram, MacKinnon instead lost his lane and collided with the goaltender along the goal line. The impact forced Ingram from the game.
First and foremost, everyone hopes Ingram is okay. No one wants to see a player get injured in that fashion — regardless of team allegiance.
But even a basic understanding of physics makes the situation easier to interpret. When a 6-foot-4, 215-pound defenseman like Nurse makes contact with a player moving at high speed just inches from the crease, the margin for avoiding a collision becomes extremely small. Add in the fact that Ingram was leaning forward to play the puck, and the window for MacKinnon to escape the situation essentially disappears.
If that interpretation sounds reasonable, it’s because it’s not just fans saying it.
John Wroblewski — head coach of the U.S. women’s Olympic gold medal-winning team — joined the PuckAroundPod and offered his perspective on the play:
"Mack was going to the net as hard as he could legally," he explained. "I thought his route was going to take him above the paint and I thought he got nudged, hit by an extremely sturdy D, Darnell Nurse, who's one of the biggest frames in the league. That doesn't take much to, you know, to knock a train slightly off the rails.
"It was completely out of character for MacKinnon to run a goalie and isn't in his brand. I'm chalking the whole thing up to inadvertent contact. The whistle gets blown. The (concussion) spotters did a great job getting Connor the help that he needed. And the faceoff should have been outside the zone with no penalty assessed."
Retired goaltender Tuukka Rask, who played for 15 years in the NHL, all with the Boston Bruins, stated on TNT that he didn't agree with the five-minute major assessed to MacKinnon.
"I don't think so," he stated. "I'm all about protecting the goalies; this is just the perfect storm. Ingram's in a tough spot, stretching, Nurse is cutting the pass off on one knee basically.
"MacKinnon, I feel like he wants to get out of the way, but then he runs into Nurse, and then it's just a perfect storm. Sucks for Ingram getting hurt like that."
A League-Wide Consistency Problem
Beyond the specific ruling Tuesday night, the play highlighted a much larger issue that has quietly grown into one of the NHL’s most frustrating officiating problems: goaltender interference has become wildly inconsistent.
Night after night, similar plays are judged completely differently.
To see how confusing the standard has become, it’s worth revisiting a moment from last season.
On January 2, the Avalanche defeated the Buffalo Sabres 6–5 at Ball Arena in one of the most chaotic games of the year. During that contest, Parker Kelly made contact with Zach Benson near the crease. The bump caused Benson to tumble directly into the right leg of Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood, knocking him violently to the ice.
Wedgewood immediately went down in visible pain and remained sprawled in the crease.
Despite the fact that the goaltender was clearly injured and unable to defend the net, play continued. No whistle was blown. Moments later, Benson circled behind the net and scored on a wraparound while Wedgewood was still incapacitated.
Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar pressed the officials for an explanation. The reasoning he received was that the whistle was not blown because the collision had been caused by an Avalanche player.
That explanation is exactly why Tuesday night’s ruling raises so many questions.
Using that same logic, the play involving MacKinnon and Ingram should have resulted in a whistle and a faceoff — not a major penalty and an ejection. MacKinnon’s path into the crease had clearly been altered by contact from Nurse of the Oilers.
Instead, the result was the first game misconduct of MacKinnon’s career.
When Inconsistency Becomes the Story
Hockey is a fast sport. Officials are human, and mistakes are inevitable over the course of an 82-game season.
But there’s a difference between the occasional missed call and a pattern of inconsistency that leaves players, coaches, and fans genuinely unsure about how the rules are being interpreted.
When blatant slashes — like the one delivered by Zach Hyman on Brock Nelson — go uncalled, or when goaltenders like Tristan Jarry can slash players such as Parker Kelly skating to the net without consequence, it becomes increasingly difficult to defend the standard being applied on the ice.
And to be clear, this isn’t about blaming the Oilers. Any team in the league would take advantage of lenient officiating if it’s clear certain plays are going to be ignored.
The responsibility lies with the league.
The NHL Can’t Afford to Ignore This
From the standpoint of the NHL and the sport as a whole, the expectation should be simple: the rules need to be enforced with as much consistency as possible.
No one is asking for perfection.
But when major penalties, game misconducts, and injury-related plays are involved, the margin for error becomes extremely small — especially with the postseason approaching.
The last thing the NHL wants is a blown call, an inconsistent interpretation, or an avoidable officiating mistake deciding an entire playoff series.
Or worse, the Stanley Cup Final.
Because in today’s era of instant replay, viral clips, and nonstop social media discussion, moments like that don’t just disappear. They linger. They get dissected from every angle. And over time, repeated controversies like these begin to chip away at something far more important than a single game result: fan trust.
And that’s something the league simply cannot afford to lose.
Those guys, of course, aren’t likely going to be playing for the Cubs this year, though Kingery might wind up at Triple-A Iowa as infield insurance.
Before that happened, the teams combined for seven home runs and the Cubs wound up batting in very weird sequences in the seventh and eighth innings. I’ll get to the latter, but let’s begin at the beginning.
Colin Rea allowed a run in the first inning on a triple and an error by Nico Hoerner, and then the Cubs got to work in the second. With two out, Carson Kelly and Dylan Carlson singled and Matt Shaw was hit by a pitch.
Gotta tell you, I am really impressed with Ramirez. He turns 22 on April 1, plays solid infield defense and has hit well this spring. Granted, spring, granted, small sample size but this is a player to keep an eye on.
So it’s 5-1 Cubs, but Rea gave that all back by allowing three home runs in the third and fourth innings. The 5-5 tie stuck until the seventh, with Caleb Thielbar and Hunter Harvey throwing efficient scoreless innings, then Hoby Milner gave up a homer to give KC a 6-5 lead in the top of the seventh.
The Cubs scored a pair in the bottom of the inning and I swear to you, they batted out of order. Now, that doesn’t really matter in Spring Training but take a look at this part of the boxscore:
What happened here was this: Rojas had replaced Hoerner in the top of the seventh and should have led off the inning. Instead, Moisés Ballesteros led off and singled. Then he was replaced by Joan Delgado as a pinch-runner. THEN Rojas batted, and struck out.
Don’t ask me why. That’s what I saw. It broke Gameday for quite some time, eventually the above is what they went with. Th Cubs scored two runs, one on an RBI single by Brett Bateman, one on an RBI single by Kingery. The Cubs led 7-6 going to the eighth.
Jacob Webb gave up an unearned run thanks to an infield popup that was dropped by Halbach. In fairness, there was a bit of wind that blew the ball near the mound. That tied the game. A homer off Gavin Hollwell in the ninth gave KC the lead, then the Cubs won the game in the ninth. Justin Dean challenged a pitch that was called strike three, and it was overturned. Given another chance, Dean doubled. He scored the tying run on Kingery’s single and then Halbach won it with his double.
This might have been a meaningless spring result, but right there you can see how an ABS challenge can help change the result of the game. You can be sure the Cubs are filing that info away for future reference.
Attendance watch: 12,026 attended this Wednesday afternoon affair at Sloan Park. That makes the season total for 11 dates 132,824, or 12,076 per date.
The Cubs will host the Seattle Mariners at Sloan Park Thursday afternoon. Edward Cabrera will start for the Cubs and Emerson Hancock will go for Seattle. Game time is 3:05 p.m. CT. No TV Thursday, but the Mariners flagship station Seattle Sports 710 AM will have a radio broadcast.
NORTH PORT, FL - MARCH 09: Atlanta Braves pitcher Hayden Harris (79) throws a pitch against the Minnesota Twins on March 9, 2026, at CoolToday Park at North Port, Florida. (Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Earlier this afternoon, the Atlanta Braves optioned reliever Hayden Harris to Triple-A and reassigned starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco and relievers Elieser Hernández and James Karinchak to their minor league camp.
Harris is a mild surprise given his stand-out performance this Spring, having struck out 12 batters in five innings. His ability to be optioned – combined with Atlanta starting the season with 13 consecutive games – made his fit on the Opening Day roster a tight one barring a roster move with other relievers. Much like his 2025 minor league performance, he put himself in the position to make the team, soomething that could still happen with two weeks left until the start of the regular season.
Karinchak, the former Cleveland reliever, has also pitched well in camp as he tries to return to the big leagues for the first time since 2023 due to injuries. He has struck out nine across four innings pitched.
Mark Bowman of MLB.com believes that Karinchak will likely be with Atlanta by early April, citing the schedule as a factor in why the Braves would opt for a multi-inning reliever during the season’s first few weeks.
Here’s some clarity to yesterday’s Karinchak vs. Suarez debate. Playing 13 straight days to open the season creates reason to carry a long relief option, especially if you want to give your top starters an extra day of rest those first two weeks. Karinchak will be up soon enough.… https://t.co/dBgY81deys
Carrasco, who made his MLB debut back in 2009, made three starts with Atlanta last year and returned on a minor league deal despite his struggles in 2025. Hernandez is another veteran pitcher, who has 99 games of big league experience, but didn’t pitch in the majors last season.
The moves bring the current camp roster to 50 players.
