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Dodgers notes: Shohei Ohtani, Yu Darvish, Craig Kimbrel

During last year’s New York Baseball Writers’ Awards Gala, Shohei Ohtani was unable to attend the event despite being awarded his 2024 NL MVP plaque. This time around, in receiving his second consecutive NL MVP and third consecutive MVP, Ohtani was in person to present his acceptance speech. Just as he did when he accepted his second MVP award with Angels, Ohtani decided to present his speech in English with a bit of a comedic twist wrapped within.

“To all the writers who voted for me, thank you,” Ohtani said. “This MVP award is very meaningful, and winning it again means so much to me… To the ‘86 Mets team, I now know the feeling of what it’s like to become a world champion— and it’s great— so congratulations on your 40-year anniversary. Thank you to the Dodgers organization for believing in me and embracing my vision.”

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Former Dodger and current San Diego Padres right-hander Yu Darvish is at a crossroads in his playing career. Darvish only made 15 starts with San Diego this past season as he dealt with right elbow inflammation to begin the year. He will miss most, if not all, of the 2026 season after undergoing UCL repair surgery.

Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union Tribune reported that Darvish intended to retire and that he would forfeit the remaining three years and $43 million still left on his extension that he signed back in Feb. 2023. Darvish later refuted Acee’s claim by taking to his Twitter (X) account to announce that his retirement was a premature report. Should Darvish fail to complete his rehab, he will announce his retirement.

“You may have seen an article, and although I am leaning towards voiding the contract, there’s still a lot that has to be talked over with the Padres so the finer details are yet to be decided. Also I will not be announcing my retirement yet. Right now I am fully focused on my rehab for my elbow, and if I get to a point where I can throw again, I will start from scratch again to compete. If once I get to that point I feel I can’t do that, I will announce my retirement.”

Old friend Craig Kimbrel will try to play in his 17th big league season, as the reliever signed a minor league deal with the New York Mets. Jon Heyman of the New York Post was the first to report the signing.

Kimbrel most recently had a short-lived reunion with the Atlanta Braves that last all of an inning before spending the rest of the season with the Houston Astros. Between Atlanta and Houston, he posted a 2.25 ERA across 12 innings of work.

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Prep talk: Pete Crow-Armstrong, Jack Flaherty honored at Harvard-Westlake

Chicago Cubs All-Star center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong returned to Harvard-Westlake's baseball field.
Chicago Cubs All-Star center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong returned to Harvard-Westlake's baseball field with his parents on Saturday to see his jersey number hanging on the outfield wall. (Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

It was alumni day on Saturday at Harvard-Westlake's O'Malley Family Field, and the Wolverines unveiled a new way to honor their nine former players who made it to the major leagues. They have posted jerseys of the players on the outfield walls. Let's just say they might run out of room the way things are going.

"That's a good problem," coach Jared Halpert said.

Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and Detroit Tigers pitcher Jack Flaherty joined former major leaguers Nik Turley and Josh Satin in being honored before a winter baseball game.

Youth players were there seeking autographs, and lots of former Harvard-Westlake players showed up.

Jack Flaherty with his mother at O'Malley Family Field on Saturday.
Jack Flaherty with his mother at O'Malley Family Field on Saturday. (Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Halpert said two more former Harvard-Westlake players are close to reaching the majors and first-round draft pick Bryce Rainer of the Tigers will surely see his jersey on the wall one day.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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Chicago Cubs news and notes — Ballesteros, Horton, Steele, Wiggins

The gloves are still on. But the Cubs are ‘going for it’, and there aren’t so many kids playing. Maybe Kevin Alcantara breaks camp with the big kids. Otherwise, it’s pretty much a veteran squad. Jaxon Wiggins might change that some, but he isn’t expected any time soon.

He’ll be handled with the proverbial sartorial accessory until then. Matt Shaw and Kevin Alcántara likely make the cut — if they do, then they and Cade Horton can be the younger generation and have their say.

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Yankees Potential Free Agent Target: Eugenio Suárez

Not every big move is created equally. Sometimes necessity meets opportunity, and you get the ideal scenario for a deal, something we recently saw with Cody Bellinger and an agreement to return to the Bronx that made too much sense for every party involved. Other times, as a team like the Dodgers has routinely shown, a big market club can and should take advantage of opportunities that present themselves to upgrade their roster with an unexpected maneuver.

The best available bat on the market is Eugenio Suárez, and if we scroll through his likeliest suitors on any number of lists currently out there, the Yankees won’t feature. But if we stop and think about it, should that really be the case?

2025 Statistics: 159 games, 657 PA, .228/.298/.526, 49 HR, 118 RBI, 125 wRC+, -3 Outs Above Average, 3.8 fWAR

2026 FanGraphs Depth Charts Projections: 147 games, 637 PA, .230/.306/.449, 33 HR, 89 RBI, 108 wRC+, 2.6 fWAR

As things currently stand, the Yankees will start the season with Ryan McMahon as the team’s primary third baseman. McMahon is, by all accounts, a solid player and a better defender than Suárez, but still a below league-average hitter—that’s not even contemplating a comparison with Suárez, one of the better power bats in the big leagues over the last five seasons. In the most basic of analyses, there shouldn’t be a situation in which the Yankees completely exclude themselves from checking in on what would be a significant improvement to their lineup.

If we start to peel back the layers a little more, you have the potential advantages of using McMahon as a depth piece, particularly when we acknowledge the Yankees have lacked reliable bench options in the last however many years, with infield depth a particular problem. Beyond that, look no further than the DH role, where you have Giancarlo Stanton as the projected starter—even removed from fielding obligations, Stanton is very likely to not deliver a full season, which will inevitably open up a decent chunk of at-bats to be spread around. Suárez could fill that role occasionally with McMahon at third whenever you want to prioritize defense.

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Are the Yankees already a good offense without Suárez? Yes. Do they particularly need him? Not really. Would he make them better right now? Definitely. There is no way you could reasonably argue that the Dodgers needed Kyle Tucker, but they signed him anyway, exercising their position of financial strength, to make it happen. Signing Suárez would have an impact, but it’d hardly represent an unreasonable ask. With his age and a market that isn’t as open with other big names having already signed, Suárez might be more inclined to take a shorter deal with a higher AAV.

When it comes to assessing Suárez the player, he comes with a great track record of health, with 143 games being his single-season lowest mark since establishing himself as an everyday player back in 2016. While Suárez is not necessarily the world beater he seemed to be with the Diamondbacks for the first half of 2025, he is one of the biggest locks to hit 30+ bombs in any given season. Dating back to the start of the 2022 season, Suárez has a 119 wRC+. For the most part, we’re talking about a proven commodity. Why not be aggressive?

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Mason Marchment Has Hat Trick, Blue Jackets Stop Lightning's 15-Game Points Streak

Cole Sillinger(6), Mason Marchment(10,11,12-ENG), Adam Fantilli(13), Dmitri Voronkov(17), Charlie Coyle(11-PPG), and Sean Monahan(8-ENG) torched the Lightning for eight goals, and Jet Greaves stopped 25 of 30 Tampa Bay shots to beat the Bolts 8-5 on Saturday night. 

This one wasn't pretty, and there was no better example than when Jet Greaves tried to clear a puck in front of his net and accidentally sent it into Isac Lundestrom's skate and into his own net. 

That play could have been a back breaker, and if we're being honest, a month ago, it probably would have been. But less than a minute later, Mason Marchment would score his first goal of the night to take the lead right back. From there, the game turned into a shootout, with Marchment and the CBJ getting the better of Tampa on this night. 

With the win, Columbus will win the three-game season series against the Lightning since 16-17. 

Team Notes Per CBJ PR

  • Columbus (2-0-0) has won the season series over Tampa Bay (0-2-0) with one game left on the schedule (Mar. 10 at Tampa Bay).  It’s the third time in club history CBJ have won the season series over the Lightning (multiple games) after going 3-0-0 in 2016-17 and 2-1-0 in 2013-14.
  • The eight goals scored by the Jackets tonight were the most tallied in the all-time series against the Lightning, besting the previous seven scored on Nov. 21, 2024 (7-6 OTW).
  • The Blue Jackets snapped the Lightning’s 15-game points streak, the second time the club broke an opposing team’s double-digit points streak this season (Jan. 3 vs. Buffalo, ended 10-game win streak).  According to NHL Stats, it’s the second time in CBJ history in which the club has snapped multiple opponents double-digits points streaks.  The other campaign was 2016-17 (Minnesota’s 13-game points streak; Montreal’s 10-game points-streak and Pittsburgh’s 10-game points streak).
  • Columbus has won six of its past seven games overall since Jan. 11 (6-1-0) as well as collected points in six of its last seven played at Nationwide Arena dating back to Jan. 3 (5-1-1).
  • The four goals scored by the Blue Jackets in the first period was tied for the most tallied by the club in a single period this season (2x before – MR: 2nd period on Dec. 6 at FLA).
  • The club scored the first goal of the game for the 30th time this season and for the 15th time in the past 20 outings.  The Jackets are 20-6-4 when scoring first overall and 12-4-1 when doing so at Nationwide Arena.
  • The Jackets scored in the opening 10 minutes of the game for the fourth-straight game with Sillinger’s goal 5:47 into the first period.  The team has scored in the first 10 minutes in seven of the last nine outings.

Final Stats

CBJ APP
CBJ APP

Player Stats

  • Cole Sillinger scored his 6th goal and had 2 shots. He scored the 200th goal of his NHL career (200-316-516, 1,001 GP) alongside collecting two assists for his fifth performance of at least three points this season (1-2-3). Tonight marked the second three-point game in his last six contests (Jan. 13 vs. CGY, 2-1-3) and he has tallied 5-3-8 in his past seven overall.
  • Mason Marchment scored three goals, an assist, and was a plus-2. He registered the third hat trick in his NHL career and first since Dec. 31, 2023 at Chicago (3-1-4) with his three goals and assist tonight against Tampa Bay (3-1-4). Marchment has picked up points in seven of his nine games as a Blue Jacket since making his debut on Dec. 20 (8-3-11, 3 multi-point efforts) to tie Zach Werenski (9 GP) and Artemi Panarin (9 GP) for the second-fewest games to 10 points with the franchise. He also became the third player in Blue Jackets history to record a hat trick prior to their 10th game (Nylander, 5 GP and Filatov, 6 GP). He has now tallied 7-5-12 in 15 career contests against Tampa Bay, with goals in back-to-back matchups and has posted points in six of his last seven home contests against the club (6-4-10).
  • Adam Fantilli scored his 13th goal and had 2 assists. He has points in four-straight games against Tampa Bay (2-4-6) and has 2-5-7 in six career games overall.
  • Dmitri Voronkov scored his 17th goal. Voronkov scored his first goal since Jan. 11 and has now collected 2-4-6 in eight career matchups against the Lightning, with points in four of his last five contests overall (2-3-5). With 58-54-112 in 199 career games played, he has tied Kristian Huselius for the eight-most goals score by a Blue Jacket prior to their 200th game with the franchise.
  • Charlie Coyle scored his 11th goal, had 2 assists and was a plus-3.
  • Sean Monahan scored his 8th goal. He also has posted 9-7-16 in 21 career games, with points in six of his last eight home games (4-5-9).
  • Kirill Marchenko had two assists. He recorded his third multi-assist – and seventh multi-point – game of the season with two helpers (0-2-2) and has picked up 2-6-8 in his last seven games. He now has points in nine of his 10 career matchups against Tampa Bay (6-7-13) and points in all five career games at Nationwide Arena (2-5-7).
  • Zach Werenski had two assists. He recorded two helpers for his 18th multi-point (8th multi-assist) game of the season and has picked up points in six of his past seven contests (3-6-9) as well as 15 of his past 17 (10-15-25). With 0-2-2 in the second period, he posted his 15th career multi-assist period to tie Rick Nash for the most in franchise history. Werenski improved to 8-15-23 in 26 career contests against Tampa Bay, including posting points in 13 of his last 15 games overall (7-13-20) and points in eight of his last nine played at Nationwide Arena (4-9-13).

Team Stats

  • The Jackets power play went 1/2.
  • The Columbus PK allowed one goal on two Tampa power plays.
  • Columbus only won 39% of the faceoffs - 23/59
  • The Blue Jackets had 27 hits and 15 blocks.

Up Next: Columbus is back at home on Monday to take on the Los Angeles Kings. 

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What the Rockets should do with the absence of Steven Adams

After Steven Adams left the game Sunday versus the New Orleans Pelicans with an apparent ankle injury, fans began speculating on the severity. Well, it was confirmed earlier this week that Adams has a grade-three ankle sprain, so fans should not be expecting him back anytime soon, as a grade-three ankle sprain can take up to nine weeks or more. The nine-week timeline would mean that it is possible Houston would not see Adams return until mid to late March, which would be right before the playoffs. It’s even possible he misses the season.

However, one benefit this Rockets team has is its depth, as Houston would be able to deploy numerous other players at center without even considering Alperen Sengun. If Houston wanted to continue to use the double-big lineup, Ime Udoka could utilize Clint Capela. Afterall, Houston did sign Capela as a way to ensure that with or without Steven Adams, the Rockets would be able to play big and dominate the glass. There is a definite drop-off from Capela to Adams, but Capela can still fill his role nicely.

However, Capela is not the only option, as Houston could turn away from the double big lineup and go for a small ball approach. In this case, two players come to mind as options: Kevin Durant and Jabari Smith Jr. Every Rockets fan is unfortunately familiar with the Golden State Warriors dynasty. Durant played a lot of small-ball center when Golden State would roll out their death-ball lineup, especially in the 2017-2018 playoffs. Additonally, Jabari Smith Jr. also has experience playing the five, but his overall skills are much more limited, but perhaps he will receive some opportunities to help aid his development.

Additonally Dorian Finney-Smith, Tari Eason, and Jeff Green could also fill in as centers, but due to Finney-Smith and Eason’s potential lack of ability, I doubt that will be explored as often. As for Jeff Green, so far this season, he has not been getting many minutes at all outside of garbage time, and it is clear Capela has likely supplanted him as that reserve center option.

Houston is back in action Monday at home versus the Memphis Grizzlies for Steven Adams and Reed Sheppard bobblehead night. Tip-off is at 7:00. As always, be sure to check back here at The Dream Shake for pre- and post-game coverage of the game.

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Canadiens Lose In Heartbreaking Fashion

If the Montreal Canadiens lost an important game against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, they lost an even more important one on Saturday night against the Boston Bruins. After the Sabres had leapfrogged over them thanks to a Saturday afternoon matinee win, the Canadiens almost played a perfect road game but came up just short.

While playing on the road and without the last change, the Canadiens looked surgical on the ice for most of the game. After 40 minutes of play, the Bruins had only been able to take 13 shots on net, including only two in the first frame. Six of their 13 shots had come on the power play as well.

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Mr. Saturday Night

Not so long ago, that nickname belonged to Carey Price in Montreal, but nowadays, it refers to sniper Cole Caufield. With a hat trick against the Bruins, the sniper has now taken the lead in goals scored on Saturday night with 11, two ahead of Nathan MacKinnon and three ahead of Connor McDavid.

What’s even more impressive is that he also leads the league in most game-tying and go-ahead goals with 20, that’s 69% of his goals that have been determinant. Caufield doesn’t score the seventh goal in a 7-2 blowout; he’s in the trenches early on and scores when his team needs him the most.

Since being left off the Team USA roster, Caufield has 10 goals and 14 points in 13 games. I think it’s fair to say that the snub has motivated him. In the end, Bill Guerin and co. might have given both the Canadiens and the Canadians a hand there. Caufield is playing insanely well for his team and won’t hurt Team Canada at the Olympics, the best of both worlds.

A Big Scare

For a minute, it looked like we may not get any fights in this traditional rivalry matchup, until Kirby Dach and Jonathan Aspirot dropped the gloves 15:33 into the first frame. Yes, you read that right, Dach dropped the gloves.

After the tilt, he skated right to the rook and needed some repairs on a lacerated finger. The 25-year-old was lucky in his misfortune, as his first punch got nothing but a helmet; he could have broken a hand or a thumb on that play. Skating away with just a cut was a blessing.

Don’t tell the coach that’s not something Dach should be doing, though; he didn’t want to hear it after the game.

Lack Of A Killer Instinct

For much of the third period, the Bruins couldn’t get near the net. With less than seven minutes to go in the game, Boston only had 15 shots, but when you only have a one-goal lead, you’re playing with fire.

The Habs had the perfect opportunity to put the game away when Brendan Gallagher drew a penalty, but Montreal was unable to put the final nail in the Bruins’ coffin; they could only muster one shot on goal on that power play.

With just over 6 minutes left in the game, Fraser Minten scored with a backhand shot to tie the score. Seconds later, Alexandre Carrier took a holding penalty, and on the ensuing draw, which Phillip Danault lost, the Bruins set up Morgan Geekie for a slap shot, and he didn’t miss. The puck flew by Montembeault so quickly that nobody but Geekie knew that it was in the back of the net. Two goals in 15 seconds and the game flipped on its head. After the match, Martin St-Louis said that Geekie’s shot deflected off Evans’ leg, and that’s why it got past the goalie.

It’s another four goals on just 21 shots, which gives Montembeault an .810 save percentage on the night, but given the fact that three goals were scored on the power play, it’s hard to blame the goaltender. Still, the masked man is paid to do a tough job and to win games, you need your goaltender to make the big save.

With that loss, the Canadiens are now in the first wildcard spot, a single point ahead of the Bruins. Meanwhile, the Sabres are now third in the Atlantic, and while they have the same number of points as the Canadiens, they have a game in hand. With just five games to go before the Olympic break, the Habs find themselves in some troubled waters, and they must find a way to win some games in a hurry. Next Saturday, they will once again be playing against the Sabres in what will truly be a do-or-die affair.

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Panthers aim for perfect road trip, wrap up back-to-back set with matchup in Chicago

The Florida Panthers are continuing their chilly road trip in another place they have struggled in recent years.

On Thursday, the Panthers picked up a gritty 2-1 shootout win over the Winnipeg Jets. It was Florida’s first win in Winnipeg under Head Coach Paul Maurice, who is in his fourth season behind the Cats’ bench.

Florida has had similar results when visiting the Chicago Blackhawks.

Under Maurice, Florida has lost three straight games in the Windy City by a combined score of 12-5.

We’ll see if the Cats can exorcise their recent demons in Chi-town and continue a recent run of strong play.

Overall, Florida arrives in Chicago with wins in five of their past seven

The interesting thing about those five wins is that they all came on the road.

It’s also worth noting that the Panthers are as healthy at forward as they’ve been all season.

Both Matthew Tkachuk and Brad Marchand have joined Florida’s lineup over the past week, each having an instant impact on Florida’s ability to earn victories.

Tkachuk has picked up three points over his past two games, including a pair of primary helpers, while Marchand logged two goals and an assist, including the overtime winner, Saturday night in Minnesota.

Now Florida will try to wrap up a perfect road trip and pick up a third win in four nights when they face the Blackhawks.

Similarly to the Panthers, Chicago is scratching for every point they can get in order to keep pace in a busy playoff race.

Both teams are five points behind the second Wild Card spot in their respective conference, but while Florida has two games in hand and only one team to climb over, the Blackhawks have played one more game than San Jose and have three other teams they’d need to leapfrog.

Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Saturday’s battle with the Blackhawks:

Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Brad Marchand

A.J. Greer – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk

Carter Verhaeghe – Evan Rodrigues – Sam Reinhart

Sandis Vilmanis – Luke Kunin – Mackie Samoskevich

Gus Forsling – Aaron Ekblad

Niko Mikkola – Uvis Balinskis

Tobias Bjornfot – Jeff Petry

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Photo caption: Jan 22, 2026; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Florida Panthers players celebrate their victory over the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre. (James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images)

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Open Thread: Spurs rate their wardrobe choices

I found this on Instagram:

The video is called “Flex Check.”

In it Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, and Harrison Barnes rate some of their game day outfits they wore on their way to the arena.

Vassell, one of the most stylish members of the Spurs, saw himself in some a hoodie, beanie, andTimberlands heading in from the cold. He appreciated his color combination and gave the outfit an 8.5.

Keldon gave himself a 10 for a combo he got at the Luis Vuitton store. For a baller normally seen in boots and a cowboy hat, he certainly looks dapper and red carpet ready.

Harrison Barnes described his stylish suit as a “clean fit” but gave himself an 8 for passing on a button down shirt for a t-shirt.

Hopefully there will be additional installments with the other members of the Silver & Black. It’d be great to hear what Victor, Stephon, Dylan, and Luke think of their entrances.

Welcome to the Thread. Join in the conversation, start your own discussion, and share your thoughts. This is the Spurs community, your Spurs community. Thanks for being here.

Our community guidelines apply which should remind everyone to be cool, avoid personal attacks, not to troll and to watch the language.

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4 Things to Watch for as the Mavericks Visit the Bucks

The Dallas Mavericks (19-27) travel to Milwaukee to play the Bucks (18-26) after losing to Luka Doncic’s Lakers on Saturday. The Mavs had their four-game win streak snapped by the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday. After a quick turnaround, they hope to regroup as they enter Sunday’s showdown with the Antetokounmpo-less Bucks, who are coming off a home loss to the Denver Nuggets. Here are three things to think about as Dallas looks to get back on track in Milwaukee.‘

How tired will they be?

The Mavericks did not get to leave Dallas on Saturday night.

Teams always try to travel the night before so players can get some rest and acclimate to the the area they’re playing in. The Mavericks will try to come in hot and eek out a win despite being low on any reasonable amount of energy.

Antetokounmpo Out with Calf Strain

The misery of the Milwaukee Bucks’ season deepened on Friday night after Giannis Antetokounmpo left the game against the Denver Nuggets with 34 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. It was later revealed he suffered a right calf strain, the same injury that kept him sidelined three weeks earlier this season. He’ll miss 4-6 weeks this time around.

Despite the disappointing year for Milwaukee, Antetokounmpo has played like his MVP self. In 30 games, he’s averaged 28.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 2.3 stocks (steals + blocks). He’s the fifth most efficient scorer in the NBA at 64.5% from the floor. In November’s 116-114 win over Dallas, Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 30 points on 11/18 from the floor and eight rebounds. No Antetokounmpo leaves a big hole in the middle. If the Mavs want to keep their win streak alive, they’ll have to expose the paint on both ends of the floor and Milwaukee’s lack of a true big man.

The Bucks’ Offensive Struggles

The Bucks are a .500 team with Antetokounmpo, but are dreadful without him. In the 14 games he’s missed this season, Milwaukee is 3-11. The Bucks are 27th in the NBA in offensive rating this season at 111.9 points per 100 possessions. With Antetokounmpo, they have an offensive rating of 116.3 points, which would be fifth in the NBA. Without him, they sit dead last in the NBA with an offensive rating of 108.0 points, just behind the Brooklyn Nets. Without Antetokounmpo’s gravity, it’s challenging for Milwaukee to find consistent good looks at the basket. 

The next two big men in line for the Bucks are Myles Turner and Bobby Portis, who both spend a lot of time on the perimeter, along with power forward Kyle Kuzma. Without the main cog in the wheel, Milwaukee will try to rely on its shooting to bail them out. They are second in the NBA in three-point shooting percentage at 39.2%.

Milwaukee has scorers, having seven players who average double digits in points: Antetokounmpo (28.0), Kevin Porter Jr. (16.8), Ryan Rollins (16.1), Bobby Portis (13.1), Kyle Kuzma (12.5), Myles Turner (12.4), and A.J Green (10.5). The Bucks’ second-best scorer in Kevin Porter Jr. is out due to an oblique strain. One silver lining for Milwaukee this season has been the growth of guard Ryan Rollins. The 44th overall pick in the 2022 draft by the Warriors found his way on the Bucks roster last season and has propelled himself to a potential future cornerstone. Expect him to have the ball in his hands a lot.

The Mavericks’ Offense Has Been Rolling

On the Dallas side, they’ve been one of the best paint-scoring teams in this recent stretch of good basketball, getting to the rim at will. The Mavs’ quickness on the perimeter with Brandon Williams, Ryan Nembhard, and Max Christie has allowed them to have their way against opponents inside. Add in the craftiness and ability to get to their spots of guys like Naji Marshall and Cooper Flagg, and defenses have their hands full. Dallas sits at sixth in the NBA in points per game scored in the paint at 53.3. Attacking and finishing against this Bucks defense should be a top priority for the Mavs.

Although the Mavs haven’t been great this season from beyond the arc, they have been better as of late, making double-digit threes in five consecutive games: 10, 13, 15, 18, and 19. Max Christie continues to shoot the lights out as the league’s seventh-best three-point shooter at a scoring 45.7%. Klay Thompson has been on a heater in January as well. In his last five games, he’s 20/42 from distance, 47.6%. Dallas will need to keep knocking down deep shots if it wants to get back in the win column.

How to Watch

Tipoff is 6 PM and you can watch on KFAA-TV, Mavs.com, or NBA League Pass.

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Game Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Vancouver Canucks 1/25/2026

Who: Pittsburgh Penguins (25-14-11, 61 points, 2nd place Metropolitan Division) @ Vancouver Canucks (17-29-5, 39 points, 8th place Pacific Division)

When: 6:00 p.m. ET

How to Watch: Locally broadcast on Sportsnet Pittsburgh, SN and TVAS in Canada, streaming on ESPN+

Pens’ Path Ahead: There’s another extended break after this one for the Pens, who don’t play again until a home game next Thursday against the Chicago Blackhawks. After that there are only two home games (against the New York Rangers and Ottawa Senators) and two road games (at the New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres) before the Olympic break.

Opponent Track: The Canucks have been spiraling down the NHL standings pretty much ever since trading star defenseman Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild on Dec. 13. Vancouver won a Wednesday matchup with the Washington Capitals, but that’s the team’s only victory in their last 12 games.

Season Series: Conor Garland was the only player who scored for the Canucks in a 5-1 loss to the Pens back at PPG Paints Arena in October.

Getting to know the Canucks

Projected lines 

FORWARDS

Evander Kane – Elias Pettersson – Jake DeBrusk

Drew O’Connor – Filip Chytil – Brock Boeser

Liam Ohgren – Teddy Blueger – Conor Garland

Nils Hoglander – Max Sasson – Linus Karlsson

DEFENSEMEN

Elias Nils Pettersson / Filip Hronek

Zeev Buium / Tyler Myers

Marcus Pettersson / Tom Willander

Goalies: Kevin Lankinen, Nikita Tolopilo

Potential Scratches: Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Aatu Raty

IR: Thatcher Demko, Marco Rossi, Derek Forbor

  • Thatcher Demko hasn’t played since Jan. 10, and it’s unclear whether he’ll be able to return for the Canucks this season, Patrick Johnston reported Saturday for The Province. General manager Patrick Allvin has said Demko is receiving opinions from medical professionals regarding his injury. The Canucks are expecting an update on his status within the next few days, per Johnston.
  • The Canucks recalled AHL goaltender Nikita Tolopilo on an emergency basis Saturday while sending down backup Jiri Patera. Tolopilo has made six appearances for the Canucks this season, most recently taking a shelling in a 6-0 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Jan. 17, while Lankinen has made a team-high 27 appearances.
  • The Canucks are a team stacked with former Penguins including Drew O’Connor, Teddy Blueger and Marcus Pettersson. (P.O. Joseph will likely be scratched from the lineup).
  • O’Connor has been one of the most productive Canucks as of late. He and his linemate Brock Boeser have contributed for five total goals and seven total points over the Canucks’ last five games.
  • Elias Pettersson made an impressive empty-net save during Friday’s loss to the New Jersey Devils.

Season stats
via hockeydb

  • The Canucks followed up the Hughes trade by sending Kiefer Sherwood to the San Jose Sharks. Given their spot in the standings, it seems likely the team would like to sell off a few more players down the stretch. Per PuckPedia, Evander Kane, Blueger and David Kampf are all pending free agents this season.
  • Getting decent return value for that trio could be difficult, for a variety of reasons. The Athletic’s Thomas Drance reported earlier this month that Kane’s trade market is “lukewarm.” Blueger has missed almost the entirety of the season amid a three-month absence with a lower-body injury, and Kampf struggled this fall. If they can pick up play heading into the Olympic break, however, the Canucks could look to move them both to get some draft capital and clear roster spaces for young players down the stretch.
  • Speaking of young players getting more playing time down the stretch in Vancouver: rookie defenseman Zeev Buium played almost 24 minutes during Friday’s loss to the Devils, one of his highest ice times of the season, and he’s been bumped up to the Canucks top power play unit.

And now for the Pens

Projected lines 

FORWARDS

Rickard Rakell – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust

Egor Chinakhov – Tommy Novak – Evgeni Malkin

Anthony Mantha – Ben Kindel – Justin Brazeau

Connor Dewar – Blake Lizotte – Noel Acciari

DEFENSEMEN

Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson

Brett Kulak / Kris Letang (?)

Ryan Shea / Jack St. Ivany

Goalies: Arturs Silovs and Stuart Skinner

Potential Scratches: Kevin Hayes, Ilya Solovyov, Connor Clifton

IR: Filip Hallander, Caleb Jones

  • The Penguins could potentially have both Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang back for this one after Letang joined Saturday’s practice as a full participant, although coach Dan Muse stopped short Saturday of committing to Letang’s availability.
  • If Letang is able to return, it looks like Connor Clifton could be headed back to the bench after a seven-game stretch in the lineup.
  • This will mark Arturs Silovs’ Vancouver homecoming for the first time since his trade to the Pens last summer. He celebrated Saturday by receiving his Calder Cup Championship ring from his win with the Abbotsford Canucks last June.
  • The Carolina Hurricanes refused to give up ground on their division lead with a Saturday night win over the Ottawa Senators. The Islanders were shut out 5-0 by the Buffalo Sabres, however, keeping them— at least for now— from climbing any closer to the Pens in the standings.

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Phillies news: Justin Crawford, Opening Day, Jose Ramirez

Settle in, folks. Things around here gonna be cold for a while.

But enough about the team’s offseason!!!

On to the links.

Phillies news:

MLB news:

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Polar Bear says there’s a “New Oriole Way” coming this year

Hello, friends.

There are now 60 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day. WBC-participating pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota in just 15 days. I don’t normally derive much excitement out of spring training is approaching milestones but in the midst of the current snow/ice and with the possibility of not seeing above-freezing temperatures for several days, the idea of approaching baseball does bring a certain mental warmth, if not physical warmth. I hope that if you are in the path of this weather, that it goes by with minimal inconvenience and no harm.

The aforementioned snow has deprived us of the chance to have any kind of fresh Birdland Caravan-related stuff to talk about today. The team acted with perhaps an excessive amount of caution in canceling the entire Saturday lineup of activities. It seems like at least the first wave of planned things could have gone off. I figure that was driven as much by the players wanting to get out of the area ahead of the arrival of the weather as it was by any safety concerns about having local fans on the road. I can’t really blame them if that’s the case, but anyone who is disappointed to miss out on unique opportunities to see the players outside their uniforms and open to fans is totally fair to feel that way.

What we’ve got instead is the same leftover stuff that came out at Friday’s round of events, where Pete Alonso talked about setting a “New Oriole Way” and where Gunnar Henderson said he’s healed from the recently-revealed shoulder impingement he was going through last season and is looking forward to a healthy season.

Henderson further explained that this happened at some point early in the season when diving for a ball and it also caused inflammation, which caused him to use a sub-optimal swing plane for driving the ball. This all remains a plausible story for why Henderson only hit 17 homers last year and why he could be poised for a monster bounce-back. I got burned believing in a coming Adley Rutschman revival this time a year ago. We’ve heard more specifics from Henderson himself than we ever did about Rutschman, so it’s probably not as crazy to believe in that one, but still… I’ve heard all this before and sometimes it amounted to nothing.

On Friday night, another one of the big top prospect lists released its preseason top 100 for the year. That was MLB Pipeline, freshly updated for 2026 with three Orioles on its top 100. They’ve got Samuel Basallo high on the list at #8, Dylan Beavers at #69, and last year’s breakout outfielder Nate George at #93. Those three were also on the recent Baseball America top 100 prospects list, with BA also ranking two pitching prospects, Trey Gibson and Luis De León, who were left off the Pipeline list.

Orioles stuff you might have missed

Pete Alonso says there’s a ‘New Oriole Way.’ What might that be? (The Baltimore Banner)
Beat writer Andy Kostka digs into Alonso’s remark. The slugger did not offer any specifics so we are left to guess.

Orioles players have been getting to know the new skipper, and they also know that it’s time to win (Steve On Baseball)
Steve Melewski observes that the Birdland Caravan events offered some players the chance for face-to-face interaction with new manager Craig Albernaz and what seemed to come out of some of that.

Albernaz on 2026 Orioles: ‘I feel good about this club’ (Baltimore Baseball)
It might not end up meaning anything that he says this, but I’m reminded again that if Albernaz got a bad vibe about the Orioles, he could have told them to take a hike and that he’d look for open manager’s jobs next year.

Why Basallo, Beavers being ranked top 100 prospects again matters (The Baltimore Sun)
The Sun reminds us of the Prospect Promotion Incentive draft pick potential, for which Basallo and Beavers are now officially qualified after being on both the BA and Pipeline lists.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

Nothing of particular note in Orioles history is recorded for this day. I don’t imagine Mike Elias, trapped by the snow, is going to change that in 2026.

There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 1998 two-game pitcher Richie Lewis, 1989 infielder Francisco Meléndez, and 1963-68 pitcher Wally Bunker. Today is Bunker’s 81st birthday, so an extra happy birthday to him.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: mathematician Joseph-Louis Lagrange (1736), author Virginia Woolf (1882), President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (1978), musician Alicia Keys (1981), and actress/musician Ariana DeBose (1991).

On this day in history…

In 750, rebels fought against the reigning Umayyad Caliphate in the Battle of the Zab in modern-day Iraq. The victory by these rebels led to the overthrow of the Umayyad, which was replaced with the Abbasid Caliphate. The Abbasids ruled in Baghdad until the Mongols arrived close to 500 years later.

In 1858, at a wedding between Princess Victoria of England and Friedrich of Prussia, Felix Mendelssohn’s Wedding March was played; this piece remains a recognizable staple at weddings to this day.

In 1945, during World War II, the Battle of the Bulge came to an end about a month after the surprise German attack on Allied lines, with the German offensive being repelled and turned back.

In 1971, Charles Manson as well as four members of his so-called “Family” were found guilty of a series of eight murders across two nights in August 1969.

A random Orioles trivia question

I received a little book of Orioles trivia questions for Christmas. I’ll ask one question in this space each time it’s my turn until I run out of questions or forget. The book is multiple choice but I’m not providing the choices because it would be too easy.

Who led the Orioles in home runs during the 1970 season?

**

And that’s the way it is in Birdland on January 25. Have a safe Sunday.

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Warriors reportedly among teams interested in Miles Bridges trade with Hornets

Warriors reportedly among teams interested in Miles Bridges trade with Hornets originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Warriors appear to have some interest in a veteran wing.

With approximately two weeks until the NBA’s Feb. 5 trade deadline, Golden State is one of the teams expressing interest in Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges, The Athletic’s Sam Amick reported, citing league sources, in a story published Friday.

“As for Hornets that might be on the move, veteran forward Miles Bridges is drawing significant interest, league sources told The Athletic,” Amick wrote. “The Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns are all known to be among the interested parties, though it remains to be seen if any team can compel the Hornets to give Bridges up.

Amick also quoted a league source, who believes Charlotte is seeking at least one, and potentially two, first-round draft picks in a potential deal for Bridges.

In 45 games this season, Bridges is averaging 18.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game on 44.5-percent shooting from the field and 33.4 percent from 3-point range.

Selected by the Los Angeles Clippers with the No. 12 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, Bridges, 27, has played seven seasons with Charlotte, but missed the entirety of the 2022-23 season and the first 10 games of the 2023-24 season due to a suspension for his role in a 2022 domestic violence case.

Bridges pleaded no contest to a felony charge in Nov. 2022, resulting in three years of probation and no jail time.

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