Five-time major champion looks poised to become a fascinating test case for golf’s future after exiting Saudi-funded breakaway tour
It was portrayed as amicable when it felt so inevitable. News that Brooks Koepka will step away from LIV Golf in 2026 comes as no shock. This never felt a particularly sensible alliance; an individual who craves glory at the top level and a disruption regime that has grasped for relevance with only varying degrees of success.
Koepka has looked unhappy in his professional domain for some time. He has all but admitted he would never have joined LIV but for fears over a potentially career-threatening injury. Golf’s ultimate alpha male was the captain of LIV’s Smash GC team. The whole thing always seemed preposterous.
To put it plainly, the Detroit Red Wings are getting far more than they would have ever expected out of rookie forward Emmitt Finnie so far in his rookie campaign.
Finnie, Detroit's seventh-round pick (201st overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft, tallied his ninth goal on Tuesday evening as part of his club's 4-3 overtime win over the Dallas Stars at Little Caesars Arena, their ninth win in December.
Finnie scored a power-play goal in the third period, knotting the score at 2-2.
The Red Wings would eventually need to rally back from a 3-2 deficit, which they did on consecutive goals from Dylan Larkin late in regulation and then in overtime.
Larkin, who has skated alongside Finnie on the club's top line for much of the season, couldn't say enough of the impact that the rookie has had.
“It's unbelievable, I’ve talked about him a lot, and I could talk about him all day if you guys allowed me,” Larkin said of his rookie linemate with a grin. “He's such a great kid, and playing with him the majority of the (year) up until Christmas, he's such a good linemate."
This February will mark the first time that NHL players have participated in Olympic competition, and Larkin is a major contender to be included on the Team USA roster as he was last February in the Four Nations Face-Off tournament.
Larkin delivered a consequential endorsement of Finnie's style of play, saying that he would try and emulate that if he's ultimately chosen to represent the United States on the international stage.
"If I was able to go to the Olympics and play on the wing, I would probably try to play like Emmitt Finnie," Larkin said. "I’d be a good supporting player who digs out pucks and gets them to guys, and goes to the hard areas. He's a special player, and a special guy.”
"It's a great story."
Head coach Todd McLellan, who has been on the job in Detroit for exactly 363 days now, confirmed that Finnie has exceeded all expectations that the club could have had for him coming into the season.
"I'd be flat out lying to you if I said, 'Hey, we put his name on the board, and we popped him into the lineup right there and never thought twice about playing him against the League's best,'" McLellan explained. "But as Dylan said, he's earned a seat at the table with his teammates and the coaching staff....just the way he carries himself. He's done a real good job."
Finnie's nine goals are ranked third-most in the NHL among rookie players, trailing only Montreal Canadiens forward Oliver Kapanen and Anaheim Ducks forward Beckett Sennecke, who both have 11 goals each.
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The Phillies’ bullpen focus continued Monday with the signing of right-hander Zach Pop, pushing the club’s 40-man roster to 39 and reinforcing where much of its winter attention has been directed.
Bullpen additions shape outlook for 2026
At the Trade Deadline in July, the Phillies’ priority was finding a lockdown closer. They acquired Jhoan Duran, but inconsistent middle relief exposed weakness down the stretch and in the NLDS. Those struggles have informed much of the club’s offseason work.
Last week, the Phillies signed right-hander Brad Keller to a two-year, $22 million deal, adding a steady late-inning option.
“We love Keller,” president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said at Friday’s media availability. “We really think he’s one of the best in the business. We really like the way the bullpen now shapes up.”
Keller emerged as one of the league’s more reliable relievers in 2025, posting a 2.07 ERA over 69 2/3 innings. The 30-year-old was particularly effective in a setup role, facing 135 batters in the eighth inning, limiting opponents to a .135/.179/.189 slash line.
“All of our scouting work, our analytical work, our pitching people — between Caleb [Cotham] and the rest of the group — everybody thinks he’s a legit back-end type guy,” Dombrowski said.
The metrics support that confidence. Keller’s average fastball velocity jumped 3.4 mph from 2024 (93.7) to 2025 (97.1). That coincides with his shift from the rotation to the bullpen in a full-time capacity.
“I wouldn’t say I expected a four-mile-per-hour jump,” Keller said during his introductory press conference Monday. “But I did feel like I worked really hard, cleaned up mechanical things and started focusing on using my lower half.”
The bullpen has continued to evolve. The Phillies traded left-hander Matt Strahm to Kansas City for right-hander Jonathan Bowlan, then acquired left-hander Kyle Backhus from Arizona later that same day. The result is a deeper, more diverse group built around matchups and versatility at Rob Thomson’s disposal.
Update on Realmuto
The Phillies remain without a definitive everyday option behind the plate.
Entering his age-35 season, a three-year contract would be rare. Per MLB Trade Rumors, only two catchers have signed deals of that length entering that age season: Carlos Ruiz (three years, $26 million in 2013) and Yadier Molina (three years, $60 million in 2017).
Ruiz posted a .670 OPS and averaged 1.4 WAR over that span. Molina produced a .738 OPS with an average 1.5 WAR. Since joining the Phillies in 2019, Realmuto has averaged 3.6 WAR per season.
Whether Philadelphia ultimately meets Realmuto’s price or looks to an alternative, his value — both offensively and in managing a pitching staff — remains significant. Any contingency plan would more likely come via trade than from a thin free-agent catching class.
Where the payroll stands
The Associated Press tracks payroll figures for all 30 clubs each season.
Last season, the Phillies’ payroll was reported at $264,314,134, representing an increase of more than $50 million year over year. Whether the club reallocates money via trade or adds Realmuto as the final 40-man spot remains to be seen.
Harper commits to World Baseball Classic
Bryce Harper’s 2026 campaign will begin early.
The Phillies’ first baseman announced on Instagram that he intends to represent Team USA in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
“Put the colors on my chest for the first time when I was 15,” Harper wrote. “No other feeling like it. I’m excited to announce I will be representing Team USA this year in the WBC.”
Harper, 33, joins Kyle Schwarber, who announced his commitment moments before he re-signed with the Phillies. The tournament runs from March 5–17 during Spring Training.
Team USA manager Mark DeRosa had a need at first base. He found his answer.
"Just buying into it, what we're trying to do…" Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said when asked what was different in those wins. "Kawhi getting into a healthy state, James (Harden) being healthy... Just stay in the course. We hit a rough patch, and it's been a rough season, with all the injuries, the ups and downs, losing close games. But just stay the course. And so I give our guys credit."
Behind 41 from Leonard and 29 from Harden, the Clippers pulled away for a comfortable win over the Rockets, 128-108. This was the first time the Clippers have won back-to-back games since their second and third games of the season, back in October.
That comes at the expense of a Rockets team that is scuffling, having lost five of their last seven games, with the 27th-ranked defense in the NBA over that stretch. The Rockets struggled from 3-point range in this game (9-of-30), but what was more concerning was that they just kept making the kind of sloppy mistakes one expects from a young team — the kind of mistakes the Rockets thought they had outgrown.
The Rockets need to find themselves in the next 48 hours, before a big Christmas Day game across town against the Lakers.
While the Rockets struggled on defense, the Clippers' defense looked as good as it has all season.
"Outside that first quarter, I thought defensively, we really locked in…" Lue said. "I thought we took care of the basketball, and we did a good job of moving the basketball, making quick decisions."
"Probably the biggest things that we've done is the consistency in our communication — and obviously just the want, the need to play hard," said John Collins, who shot 3-of-3 on his way to 13 points. "I feel like we're all at that feeling we have our backs against the wall, and we just want to continue to improve and obviously change the course of the season."
The start of this game was a fun trip down memory lane, showing the old guys still have it. Kevin Durant scored 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while Leonard scored 18 on 8-of-12 shooting. In what had been a back-and-forth game, the Clippers led 63-58 at the half thanks to better shooting from 3-point range (45.5% to 31.3%) and more bench scoring behind Nicolas Batum (six points) and Kobe Sanders (seven).
The Clippers took charge of the game in the third quarter with a 13-2 run in the third to take a 92-75 lead, doing it with their best stretch of defense this season. Los Angeles won the third quarter by a dozen and led by 16 entering the fourth. In the final frame, the Rockets had no answers.
The Rockets have a lot of questions to answer before a big showcase game on Christmas.
"I feel like we just weren't locked in defensively today, I mean me," Amen Thompson said. "I feel like I could have been a lot better. Um, just set down my matchup."
Durant led Houston with 22 points, while Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson both added 19 points.
The LA Clippers feel like they may be finally finding a few answers. Tyronn Lue challenged his team a couple of days ago to go 35-20 the rest of the way, which would get them to .500 by the end of the season. It's a goal they looked like they could reach on Tuesday night, if they can just stay healthy.
"If we get out of this situation we're in, it's gonna take all of us, and so it starts with (Leonard and Harden). They're our best players," Lue said. "And they responded the last couple of games. We got to continue to keep building days, like I said, just keep stacking days and getting better and better."
Seattle's Jordan Eberle, left, scores past Kings goaltender Pheonix Copley in the second period of the Kings' 3-2 loss Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena. (Luke Hales / Getty Images)
January has traditionally been the harshest time of the year for the Kings, who haven’t had a winning record in that month the last three seasons. But winter grew dark and gloomy a little earlier than usual because December has hardly been a walk in the park.
With Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken, the Kings head into the NHL’s three-day Christmas break having lost six of their last seven. And things aren’t getting easier any time soon: when the team returns to the ice Saturday, it will play host to the Ducks, who lead the Pacific Division in wins, before closing out 2025 Monday on the road against the Colorado Avalanche, who lead the NHL in wins.
“It's not going the way we all want to,” forward Kevin Fiala said. “But you know, that's going to happen for everybody. So it's us who have to do something about it. Who can pull us out of it? Nobody else.
“I'm not worried. Like, I'm sure we're gonna get out of this. But it's not acceptable right now.”
And if it doesn't change right now, the rest of the season will be as cold as a winter frost for the Kings.
It’s not just that the team is losing, but how it's losing that is most concerning. The Kings (15-12-9) are 31st in the 32-team NHL in scoring, 30th on the power play and have scored more than two goals just twice in 11 games this month. That’s negated a defense that is second in the league in goals allowed.
“Sometimes it’s difficult to make sense of things,” coach Jim Hiller said when asked to explain a slide that has dropped the Kings into the middle of the division standings. “We just feel like we haven't had a good run of games where we felt like, win or lose, we really like how we're playing.
“That's something that we'll keep driving towards. We just haven't had it yet.”
Last season, Hiller’s Kings tied franchise records for wins and points in the regular season and had the best home mark in team history. This season, they’re 4-8-4 at Crypto.com Arena, the second-worst home record in the Western Conference. And that has general manager Ken Holland answering questions about Hiller’s future behind the bench.
“I expect him to be here the rest of the season,” said Holland last week, not exactly a full-throated vote of confidence.
Yet for all their struggles, December has just been a continuation of the things that have plagued the Kings all season.
“We all have high expectations for ourselves,” Hiller said. “We just haven't hit our stride yet. That's the part that we're chasing. That's what we have to focus on. We have to hit that stride.
“It’s a difficult time right now, for sure.”
On Tuesday, Hiller tried to shake things up by mixing up his lines, most significantly pairing Fiala and Andrei Kuzmenko with center Alex Turcotte. And while Fiala and Kuzmenko both responded with goals, they didn’t come until the Kraken had taken a 3-0 lead.
The first goal came from Jordan Eberle, who was left alone in front of the Kings’ net, giving him plenty of space to settle a pass from Matty Beniers before lifting the puck around goaltender Pheonix Copley and under the crossbar for his 13th goal of the season. It was the fourth power-play goal the Kings had allowed in the last two nights and the sixth in four games.
The Kraken doubled their lead on a quirky goal less than eight minutes later, with Copley misjudging a deflected shot from Seattle’s Frederick Gaudreau, allowing the puck to knuckle off his glove then trickle through his legs for the goal.
Ben Meyers extended Seattle’s lead to 3-0 with less than four minutes left in the second before the Kings finally got on the board with an unassisted goal from Fiala, his 13th of the season, 11 seconds later.
Kings coach Jim Hiller watches from the bench during the second period of a 3-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Luke Hales / Getty Images)
Now the Kings will have three days to think about that, although Fiala said he’d gotten over the game by the time he finished showering.
“If you win five in a row or lose five in a row or whatever, it's forgotten. It's in the past,” he said. “I think we take the good things with us and the bad things we hopefully analyze and get better at.”
For Hiller, the break couldn’t come at a better time. Or a worse time since the team’s current seven-game slump is its deepest since the winter of 2023-24. That one cost coach Todd McLellan his job.
“I hope the players are able to relax and refresh themselves,” Hiller said. “It's been from September till now, with the schedule and how busy it is. And 85% of our games, we’ve been playing within one goal.
“It's taxing physically and mentally. So I'm sure those guys need a break.”
CHICAGO - With a break looming, the Chicago Blackhawks welcomed in the Philadelphia Flyers for a tilt at the United Center on Tuesday night.
Losers of six straight games, all in regulation, the Blackhawks entered this game in last place in the entire National Hockey League. A couple of key injuries are contributing to the struggles, but the Blackhawks are looking for a win in any way that they can get it.
Without Connor Bedard and now Frank Nazar, the Blackhawks are a team struggling to gain the offensive zone cleanly, make plays offensively if they do find possession in the zone, and, of course, perhaps most important, score goals.
By the time the game was half over, the Hawks were down 2-0 thanks to goals scored by Travis Konecny and Noah Cates. Going down 2-0 is never a recipe for success, but it gets even harder when the team down is already struggling to find the back of the net.
With 1:30 remaining in the middle frame, however, Ryan Donato threw one into traffic, and it found twine. This 4-on-4 goal put the Blackhawks back within one heading into the third period.
The confidence seemed to be back in their game during the third, as they controlled play for a large portion of it. They were never able to find the back of the net again, though, and a Flyers empty net goal sealed the deal. This 3-1 defeat is the Blackhawks' 7th straight loss.
Spencer Knight did his job keeping the Blackhawks in it, but the team in front of him didn't provide enough on the scoresheet to make an impact. He finished the game with 23 saves on 25 shots. One of the goals he gave up was at even strength, and one was a power play goal.
This was a much better game played for the Blackhawks as they defended better and didn't give up nearly as much as they did during their eastern Canadian road trip, but the slump continues due to poor execution on offense.
The Chicago Blackhawks, along with the rest of the National Hockey League, will observe a three-day break on December 24th, 25th, and 26th. Action will resume on Saturday, December 27th. The Blackhawks will head down south to take on the Dallas Stars.
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In a season filled with scoring woes, the New York Rangers flipped the switch on Tuesday night, scoring five goals in the third period against the Washington Capitals, en route to a 7-3 win.
Going into this matchup, the Rangers were coming off a 2-1 loss to the Nashville Predators, where the team displayed a lack of pride, as Vincent Trocheck described it.
The first 20 minutes of play were relatively even with the Capitals holding a 6-5 edge in shots on net, but it was Taylor Raddysh who scored the only goal, which was his first goal since Oct. 30.
“It's always in the back of your mind,” Raddysh said of his scoring drought. “You want to contribute as much as you can, whether it's offensively or defensively. For me, it has obviously been a few games since I scored my last one, so to get one there and right here before the break, just to kind of relax and get ready to go for the second half.”
In the second period, the Capitals provided some pushback and put the Blueshirts on their heels.
With the score tied 1-1, Igor Shesterkin robbed Dylan Strome with an improbable glove save. However, after replay review, it was determined that Shesterkin’s glove was across the red line, so it was called a goal in what was a bizarre sequence.
“Yeah that was pretty insane to even think he had a chance of making that save,” Raddysh said. “That's the only thing that sucks about cameras. You can't really hide from anything. That one, I guess, just crossed the line, but it was a heck of a save by him.”
During the middle frame, New York struggled to generate offense and was outplayed by the Capitals, who had a 15-5 edge in shots while dominating time of possession.
If the Rangers were going to rally back in the nation’s capital, they would have to show pride and learn from their blunder in Nashville just two nights before.
The Rangers truly put on a scoring barrage on display in the third period with the team scoring five unanswered goals from Raddysh, Alexis Lafrenière, Artemi Panarin, and two from Trocheck, including one empty-net goal.
It felt like the floodgates broke wide open for the Rangers. As the goals continued to pile up, the Rangers began to play more loosely and with a newfound sense of confidence.
It’s been a long and grueling stretch for the Rangers. They’ve played four games, and on top of it all, injuries and a highly contagious case of the flu have plagued this team.
The Rangers showed their character in an identity defining period. Now it’s about maintaining this momentum and finding an element of consistency to their game moving forward.
“I was happy for the players,” Mike Sullivan said. “They've worked so hard to try to generate more offense. It's nice to see the puck in the net for them. I thought we responded really well in the third obviously, just scored as many goals as we did…
“I was happy for our guys and proud of our guys for how we competed and just hung in there. I'm real happy for the players. I know that we've played a lot of hockey. We've dealt with whether it's illnesses or injuries, whatever it may be. These guys don't look for excuses. They're just trying to find ways to win every night. I'm happy for them that they were able to score some goals tonight.”
The Rangers will be back in action on Saturday night against the New York Islanders.
The Colorado Avalanche face off against the Utah Mammoth for the second time this season. The Avalanche is looking for some revenge after losing 4-3 in overtime on Oct. 21. While it wasn’t the prettiest game, the Avalanche's strong performance and Scott Wedgewood's strong performance helped secure the 1-0 shutout win.
Period 1:
It wasn’t the prettiest first period for the Avalanche, but ten minutes in, they led in shots at 6-5, creating quite a few chances that are just now showing on the board, as the Mammoth are doing quite a good job blocking some attempts.
JJ Peterka is called for interference, but the Avalanche can’t capitalize on their first power-play opportunity of the game. The Mammoth gets their own power-play opportunity when Artturi Lehkonen is called for holding, but the Avalanche penalty kill continues to stand strong. Martin Necas almost opens the scoring as he receives a great outlet pass from Gabriel Landeskog to create a breakaway opportunity, but his shot just rings off the crossbar and out.
Period 2:
Devon Toews is called for a two-minute high-sticking penalty, but the Avalanche penalty kill stands strong once again to kill it off. It's Samuel Girard who opens the scoring as he steals the puck in the neutral zone and, on the breakaway, finishes with a backhand shot to open the scoring, 1-0. Nathan MacKinnon is called for tripping, but the Avalanche kills off a third power play opportunity.
Despite leading 1-0, the Avalanche haven’t looked that great. The Mammoth are all over their opportunities, disrupting plays, but it's Scott Wedgewood who has been making massive save after massive save to keep them in the game. Dylan Guenther is called for tripping, but the Avalanche can’t capitalize on their second power play opportunity. Wedgewood’s crucial play shows his importance, as once the power play ends, Guenther gets a breakaway chance, but Wedgewood robs him.
Wedgewood just moments later robs Clayton Keller as he follows through on his own rebound shot, flashing the glove at the last second to keep the game 1-0. Though the referees gathered to see whether the glove crossed the line on the save, the review determined it did not, and the call stands as 1-0.
Despite Wedgewood’s performance, credit needs to go to Vitek Vanecek for the breakaway goal that made it 1-0. He has stopped everything else the Avalanche have thrown his way, but their problem is that they can’t get through Wedgewood. Vanecek is pulled with two minutes left in the period, but the Mammoth can’t find the tying goal as the Avalanche win 1-0, despite being outshot 12-4 in the third period and 32-26 in the game.
The Avalanche are back in action after the holiday break on Dec. 27 against the Vegas Golden Knights.
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But that doesn't mean Crosby will stop reaching milestones with relative frequency. And, in fact, he reached another one on Tuesday during a 6-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
With an assist on a Bryan Rust goal in the first period, Crosby registered the 1,080th assist of his career, which made him surpass Adam Oates to give him sole possession of eighth on the NHL's all-time assists leaderboard.
He will need 30 more assists to surpass Joe Thornton, who is currently seventh all-time.
Crosby, 38, has 645 goals and 1,725 points in his storied NHL career, and - with another point-per-game season - he has the chance to climb to sixth all-time in NHL scoring. Crosby could also land at sixth all-time in assists this season if all continues to go at his current pace.
Right now, Crosby has 20 goals and 38 points in 36 games this season.
Lakers star Austin Reaves shields the ball from Phoenix Suns guard Jordan Goodwin during the first half of the Lakers' 132-108 loss Tuesday night. (Rick Scuteri / Associated Press)
Austin Reaves returned from a left calf strain that sidelined him for three games, but the Lakers’ second-leading scorer did nothing to fix the team’s most glaring weakness.
The Lakers' defense collapsed in a 132-108 loss to the Suns on Tuesday at Mortgage Matchup Center, giving up a season-high field goal percentage (59%), tying their mark for most points allowed this season. Led by a combined 17-for-29 shooting from star guard Devin Booker (21 points) and Dillon Brooks (25 points), the Suns easily eclipsed the 56.5% they shot against the Lakers on Dec. 1.
The Lakers (19-9) lost consecutive games for the first time and limped into a marquee Christmas Day matchup against the Houston Rockets with a multitude of injuries.
Playing without Luka Doncic, who is day to day with a left leg contusion he sustained Saturday against the Clippers, LeBron James led the Lakers with 23 points on seven-for-14 shooting. Deandre Ayton had a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double while Reaves came off the bench for the first time in two seasons and scored 17 points with two assists and three turnovers.
Coach JJ Redick said Reaves was not on an official minutes restriction after his weeklong absence, but that the team would monitor his workload “in real time.”
Calf injuries, even the most minor, have been major concerns for the NBA since three stars suffered Achilles tendon tears during last season's playoffs. Reaves, who carried the team during the early part of a season that has featured injury absences from James and Doncic, led the team in minutes per game. His 775 minutes entering Tuesday were second-most on the team behind Rui Hachimura. The Japanese forward missed his second consecutive game with right groin soreness.
Lakers star Lebron James puts up a shot against the Suns on Tuesday night. James finished with 23 points. (Rick Scuteri / Associated Press)
When asked whether Reaves needed a physical reset after carrying such a large load, Redick admitted a break may have been necessary.
Reaves looked out of sorts when he entered with 5:23 remaining in the first quarter. He fumbled the handoff on his first touch coming off a screen. When he tried to thread bounce passes through tiny windows, the ball was kicked away or deflected. He got attacked on defense and gave up consecutive driving layups to Suns guard Jamaree Bouyea.
Bouyea had 14 points off the bench, including a layup over Marcus Smart, who failed to draw a charge call, in the third quarter. While Smart laid in the key appealing to officials, Bouyea didn’t hesitate to leap over the Lakers' guard and score. The Lakers fell behind by as many as 29 in the third quarter, and Redick quietly waved the white flag with 5:22 remaining in the third when he put reserve forward Maxi Kleber and rookie Adou Thiero onto the floor.
The Phoenix crowd started to file out in bunches with seven minutes remaining when the lead reached 30.
