Johnson’s final out of the 1969 World Series clinched the Mets’ first championship, and he then guided the Mets to their next and most recent title as manager in 1986.
The Mets will wear a patch to honor World Series champion manager Davey Johnson. Getty Images
He is the winningest skipper in franchise history (595), owns the best winning percentage (.588) and kept a steady hand from 1984-90, when his Mets clubs averaged more than 95 wins per season.
“Davey was a bold manager who led with a quiet confidence and an unwavering belief in his team,” Mets owners Steve and Alex Cohen said in a statement. “He cared deeply for his players both on and off the field. Some of the greatest players in our team history credit him for their successes.
“In the 40th anniversary of the 1986 championship, this is a fitting tribute to the man who guided the team to that title.”
Johnson’s family will be around for Thursday’s season opener at Citi Field and take part in the ceremonial first pitch.
Davey Johnson died last year at 82. Robert Sabo for NY Post
His widow, Susan, will escort Johnson’s stepson, Jeremiah Allen, and grandson, Kai Casebolt, to the mound.
Darryl Strawberry and Mookie Wilson, key members of the ’86 Mets, will catch the first pitches.
The 2024-25 season was undoubtedly a tough year for Buffalo Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. In 55 games during this past season with the Sabres, he had a 24-24-5 record, an .887 save percentage, and a 3.20 goals-against average.
While Luukkonen had a season to forget for the Sabres in 2024-25, he is certainly proving his doubters wrong in a major way this campaign for Buffalo.
Luukkonen has been one of many reasons for the Sabres' major step forward this season, and the truth is in his stats. In 28 appearances this season for Buffalo so far, he has a 17-8-2 record, a 2.54 goals-against average, and a .911 save percentage. With numbers like these, there is no question that Luukkonen has been enjoying an excellent bounce-back season with the Sabres.
Luukkonen has always been staying hot as the season rolls on. In his most recent appearance on March 21 against the Los Angeles Kings, he stopped 26 out of 27 shots he faced. This was after he recorded a 29-save shutout against the Vegas Golden Knights on March 17. With this, he has been thriving with the Sabres.
It will now be interesting to see how UPL finishes off this campaign from here, but it is clear that he has had a nice season for the Sabres in 2025-26.
We’ve officially reached the stage in the NBA’s regular season where you watch a game between two non-playoff teams and think to yourself, “who are these players?”
For the Utah Jazz, who are desperately trying everything in their power to raise their lottery odds and stay away from picks 9-16, the last few weeks have been filled with players that leave the viewer asking, “where did we get him from?”
But Ace Bailey, the Jazz’s 2025 No. 5 draft pick, is a name that everyone knows, and is one of the few reasons to tune into the Jazz. In the sea of two-way players, 10-day contracts, and jerseys made the day of, Bailey sticks out, and his recent play is giving hope that he will be a key piece for a healthy, competing Jazz team next season.
How well is Ace Bailey playing in March?
This month has been Bailey’s best statistical month in the NBA by far.
In 10 games, Bailey is averaging 21.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. That’s seven points better than his second-best scoring month in three minutes less a game. He is also shooting incredibly efficient from deep, at 43.3% on 9.7 attempts per game.
His confidence is a lot higher than in previous months too, scoring on a lot more isolation opportunities and not hesitating and catch-and-shoot threes.
In his last four games is where you really see the ceiling for Bailey, averaging 28.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.3 blocks per game.
Against the Raptors — albeit, in a blowout loss — Bailey scored 37 points and had one of the nastiest blocks of the season, pinning RJ Barrett’s layup against the backboard. Moments on defense where he showcases his athleticism and length didn’t come as often as I would’ve liked during his rookie season, but they’re not missing entirely. He has all the skills to be a decent defender in the NBA, and hopefully with the Jazz’s length across the starting lineup in 2026-27, he can dig into that more.
How real is this?
It’s always hard to tell in situations like these if a player’s late-season stats actually mean anything. Just two years ago, Kenneth Lofton secured a near 30-point triple-double for Utah, and now he plays for the Shanghai Sharks.
However, I think back to earlier in the season when Lauri Markkanen and Keyonte George were playing night in and night out, and how Bailey was slowly but surely starting to mesh with the rest of the team. Making the right passes, cutting at the most opportune times, using his length as a good weak side defender.
Combine the slow process of getting him acclimated to the NBA game in November with the pure numbers that he’s putting up in March, and I think he could be a real impact player for a playoff-level Jazz team next season
CLEVELAND, OHIO - SEPTEMBER 26, 2023: Joey Votto #19 of the Cincinnati Reds walks off the field during the second inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on September 26, 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
Just when you thought Joey Votto had retired to a quiet beach somewhere, content to read Verne and Hiaasen and learn four new languages, he has popped back up on the radar of the Cincinnati Reds once again.
In typical Votto fashion, he did so with brilliant, understated style. According to MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon, he gifted the Reds a custom made Verdin clock that was installed outside Great American Ball Park, a ‘thank you to the club for his 22 years in the organization.’
Not only is it the absolute perfect addition from a guy like Joey, but locals obviously know that the Verdin Company has been a Cincinnati stalwart dating back to 1842. Joey himself sent a message along with the clock, which the Reds relayed to the masses on Twitter.
The man deserves a statue, a spot in the team’s Hall of Fame, a number retired, and a spot in Cooperstown as a first ballot Hall of Famer. He’s truly one of the absolute gems of the sport, and we were all lucky to have been able to follow him so closely for so long.
Sep 25, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Detroit Tigers right fielder Wenceel Perez (46) celebrates his solo home run in the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images
Switch-hitting outfielder Wenceel Pérez entered camp this spring needing to make a strong case for an Opening Day outfield slot. He failed to do so, putting up ugly numbers all spring. Yet even in the final game of spring camp, he launched a pair of home runs, including one at 108.5 mph, illustrating why he still has a role on the 40-man roster and could prove more important to the Tigers chances this spring that it might appear at the moment.
While Matt Vierling returned from an injury plagued 2025 season and raked all through camp, and Parker Meadows caught fire in recent weeks, the 26-year-old Pérez floundered. For an established player that doesn’t matter, but with Pérez, Meadows, and Vierling all pretty evenly matched, it left him the odd man out to start the season. Even so, the Tigers are probably going to need him this season, and while his overall profile isn’t likely to change much at his age, there are still elements in his game that could use a little polish, and doing so would seriously increase his chances of helping the Tigers in 2026.
Pérez is a career .243/.304/.405 hitter across parts of two seasons and 808 total plate appearances. That’s essentially league average. Job number one is just to become a little more selective at the plate. Profiling as a contact and speed guy, Pérez has struck out just a bit too much, at a 22.2 percent rate for his career, and walked 7.8 percent of the time. Those numbers are basically league average, but because he’s not really built to hit 25 homers a year, he’s got to do a little better job just getting on base. The simplest way is to do a bit better job waiting for his pitch early in counts. He’s shown a tendency to slash at the first pitch he can reach, and as a result, he puts the ball in play a good amount, but doesn’t make as much hard contact as he should.
His 30.4 percent chase rate tells the tale of his discipline, while his better than average 9.9 percent whiff rate on swings speaks to his good hands and compact swing. He got a little free swinging last year, and while that led him to some modest power gains he’d like to retain, his game at the plate still needs to be balanced around contact, walks, and just slightly better swing decisions.
Even so, Pérez has a career 98 wRC+ compared to Parker Meadows’ 94 wRC+ mark. Pérez has matched him as a hitter, and has overall been more consistent as well, while Meadows erratic performance features wilder hot and cold stretches. Where Meadows has him is defensively, and that’s an area that hopefully Pérez will continue to get chances to work on in Toledo. Max Clark will presumably play CF most days, and Trei Cruz might fight for some of those reps, but Clark needs to work in RF some as well to improve his versatility. On those days it would be great if Pérez got the CF reps. He didn’t play there that much in the minor leagues, converting almost directly from second base in the minors to becoming a major league outfielder to get his bat and speed on the roster. While Pérez consistently grades out above average in right field, getting used to having to read the curve of the baseball off the bat in center field is a different beast. If he can get some more time out there in Triple-A, it would be good for him, and good for the Tigers should Meadows fall on his face at the plate.
That leads us to the final point, which is that Pérez should be running aggressively in Toledo, trying to improve his reads and jumps off of pitchers at the Triple-A level. He appeared in 100 games in 2025, but he only stole 8 bases. Pérez has certainly lost a step since his days as a skinny, slap-hitting prospect. Adding the muscle that makes him a 15-20 HR threat presumably came with a trade-off. Pérez and Colt Keith both grade out with the same Statcast sprint speed, just modestly better than average. However, Pérez naturally gets better jumps and has a good deal more base stealing experience. He averaged about 20 steals a year through most of his minor league career. If he can work on this and get back to being a little more of a stolen base threat, that would also add another boost to his game.
Pérez has proven better than Meadows so far, though the margins are slim, as a hitter. It’s Meadows edge as a plus center fielder and a little more of a stolen base threat that keeps Pérez in second fiddle position. Hopefully, rather than being disappointed for too long, the 26-year-old continues to work on the finer points of his game under manager Gabe Alvarez.
In the long run, Max Clark is coming to take over. His debut is likely to come in June or July as needed. Meadows himself needs to get it in gear this season or he might end permanently relegated to defensive specialist mode. Pérez’s better contact ability gives him an element Meadows lacks, even as Meadows defensive superiority keeps Pérez in Toledo for now. Both are reaching a point in their career where they need to clean things up and play a more consistent, bankable brand of ball to remain viable as full-time major league players.
With one option remaining after this year, Pérez doesn’t need some breakthrough, but if he can make some subtle improvements, he’s more likely to impress in whatever time he earns this year. Meadows’ defense will always give him that edge, but should he fail at the plate, Pérez could still prove an important player for the Tigers by filling the gap from Meadows to Clark by playing a mix of center field and right field. With an injury prone Kerry Carpenter on the roster, and Mesdows still a big question mark at the plate, odds are good that the Tigers will need them some Wenceel Pérez this year.
At this point, Pérez is too old for his underlying skills to improve much, but he has plenty to work with already. The trick is squeezing every last bit of production out of his tools. A league average switch-hitter, with some power, some stolen base ability, and the chops to play an average center field is a pretty polished profile if he can improve his routes, steal a few more bags, and show just a little more discipline at the plate. Those are small asks individually, but tougher as a group. Maybe his time in the organization runs out this year, and maybe not, but if he takes the demotion as a challenge and can make some subtle gains, there are going to be a lot of teams around the league interested in his services. Hopefully Pérez is up the challenge, because there’s still a path to a long career as a major league outfielder there for the taking.
Mar 19, 2026; Tampa, Florida, USA; New York Yankees left fielder Jasson Dominguez (24) slides into second base at the end of the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images
Spring training is over! The Yankees wrapped up the exhibition portion of their season with a big win over the Cubs down in Arizona — 8-3 is your final. Let’s talk about it so we can turn our attention to the stuff that will matter in pursuit of #28.
Gerrit Cole had a power pitcher’s outing today, striking out Pete Crow-Armstrong and Michael Busch to start the game, Alex Bregman took him deep, and then sitting down Ian Happ to end the first inning. He would get two outs in the second before being replaced by Harrison Cohen (???), for a total of 26 pitches, 17 of them strikes, a crisp 65 percent strike rate.
While we don’t have video of his outing, Statcast still tracks nontelevised games. Cole was red hot in the first, sitting 96mph and getting it up to 98, before taking a little off in the second and sitting 94-95. I said in the gamethread that this phase of Cole’s rehab is built around balancing his velocity and command, and I think that’s reflected in how he approached his start today. The first inning was proof positive that his fastball can still pop, which is encouraging to see given how hard he was throwing in his first Grapefruit League game last week. The second inning was briefer — just four pitches — but the pitch plots and tick down in velocity indicates to me he was trying to locate better, and two outs off contact help show that side of his recovery seems to be going well.
The Yankees got that Bregman dinger back quickly, with Jasson Domínguez appearing eager to win back a roster spot on the big-league team. The Martian singled to lead off the second, stole a base, advanced on a groundout and came home on Ryan McMahon’s sac fly, a nice bit of Big Fundamental baseball and a hustle run that will help him get more MLB time at some point in 2026. Domínguez followed that up a couple innings later with a more traditional source of offense, as he and Randal Grichuk hit back-to-back solo shots in the fourth.
Ben Rice had given the club the lead an inning earlier, blasting his second home run of spring in a highlight that probably would have been cool to see. With just a .771 OPS Rice hasn’t had the best results in Grapefruit League play, but he’s still one of the players I’m most looking forward to watching when the games count for real.
Four-slot in the rotation Ryan Weathers also had himself a decent enough day, working five innings and allowing just a solo home run to Miguel Amaya. Weathers managed four strikeouts over that stretch, and after a bit of a rough patch in camp, he ended exhibition play on a high note and we can be reasonably optimistic that this four-man rotation to open the year will be able to hold up.
Reliable bench option Amed Rosario added on to the lead, driving in a pair of runs in the sixth on the back of two Duke Ellis stolen bases. This is the last time I’ll have to give spring training caveats for an entire year, but it does feel as though the Yankees, at the MLB level and within the org, present more threats on the bases than we’ve seen in years past. Spencer Jones also swiped a bag, his fourth of camp. Rosario himself was brought around on an RBI double off Paul DeJong’s bat.
The boys in the dugout now go their separate ways, some heading to San Francisco, some Scranton or Somerset or Tampa. The real work begins tomorrow, and we’ll have plenty of coverage ahead of Opening Day against the Giants — remember, first pitch is at 8:05pm Eastern, exclusively on Netflix.
A month ago, I wrote about Moses Moody seizing his opportunity. The timing felt right. The stats were backing the eye test that the Golden State Warriors, battered and shorthanded, had found something real in their 23-year-old wing, something they could finally trust.
He was no longer auditioning, we were witnessing the rise of a performer.
Last night in Dallas, Moody stole the ball from Cooper Flagg with 1:13 left in overtime, got out in space for what looked like a wide-open dunk to seal the win, planted his left foot, and the floor grotesquely gave out beneath a season that had finally started to mean something. Torn patellar tendon…season over.
Golden State Warriors guard Moses Moody has been diagnosed with a torn patellar tendon in his left knee, sources tell ESPN. Moody's career-best season is over and a lengthy rehab will be required. pic.twitter.com/A8IqhgbXIL
The cruelty isn’t just in the injury. It’s in the return. Moody had missed the previous ten games with a right wrist sprain. He came back Monday and gave the Warriors everything he had: 23 points, three steals, playing that swarming defense Dub Nation is getting accustomed to. Moody changed the game for them; then they wheeled him off on a stretcher while Steph sat on the bench with his head in his hands.
That image isn’t leaving anytime soon.
This is what stings beyond any box score. Moody was the living argument for the Two-Timeline strategy actually working. The Warriors drafted him 14th overall in 2021 believing Golden State could compete for championships in the present while developing a player to carry the franchise into its next chapter. That bet looked shaky for stretches. Jonathan Kuminga, the other cornerstone of that draft class vision, is now in Atlanta. The timeline got complicated, as timelines tend to when rings are on the line and patience runs out.
But Moody stayed. Moody grew. In his fifth year, starting 49 of 60 games and averaging career highs across the board, he was becoming exactly what this roster needed: a reliable, versatile two-way wing who could guard the league’s best perimeter scorers and make sound decisions with the ball when there was no veteran safety net beneath him.
And this team needed him badly. Curry has been out 22 consecutive games with a persistent right knee issue. Butler tore his ACL in January. Horford is down with a calf strain. This team has been running a relay race through the injury report, handing the baton to whoever’s still standing. Moody was supposed to be one of the last men standing. That was his whole arc this season.
Steve Kerr postgame on Moses Moody:
"I just saw his leg buckle and I saw him go down in a heap in pain. We don't know what it is, but it sure looked bad and just hoping for the best. Whatever the best case scenario is, that's what we're all hoping for, but it looked bad . . . Mo… pic.twitter.com/bWYeXs4eLN
The patellar tendon recovery is long. Typically nine months to a full year before a player is back at full competitive form. Moody will miss the rest of this season and likely the opening stretch of the next. He’s in year one of a three-year, $39 million extension the Warriors gave him because they believed in who he was becoming. Nothing about last night changes who he’s becoming.
The Warriors made a bet on a timeline and Moses Moody was the proof it could work. That proof isn’t gone, rather it’s just delayed, same as everything else beautiful this franchise keeps being asked to wait for.
The Cubs’ final spring training game was a clunker, an 8-3 loss to the Yankees at Sloan Park. So this is going to be a very short game recap, as the team’s focus turns to the 2026 season opener Thursday at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs scored both of their runs on solo homers.
That was Bregman’s fourth of the spring and his second in as many days. Of course, spring stuff doesn’t usually carry over to the season, but let’s hope Bregman hits the ground running beginning Thursday.
Personally, I think Amaya is ready to have a breakout year, presuming he can stay healthy. That would be a huge bat to have, along with his good defense.
Edward Cabrera started this one, his final tuneup of the spring. It wasn’t a great outing, as he served up three home runs to Yankees hitters over 4.1 innings. Ben Rice took Cabrera deep twice. Hopefully this is just a one-off and Cabrera will also hit the proverbial ground running, whenever his first start is (I suspect it will be against the Angels in the season’s second series). Here’s more on Cabrera’s outing [VIDEO].
All the starting players in this game had a couple of at-bats and then left for the late afternoon flight to Chicago.
Attendance watch: 13,880 attended this afternoon’s final spring game of 2026 at Sloan Park. The Cubs again led the Cactus League in attendance, with the season total at 239,459, or 13,303 per date.
The Cubs open the 2026 season Thursday at Wrigley Field against the Washington Nationals. Matthew Boyd will take the mound for the Cubs, his third Opening Day start (also twice with the Tigers) and Cade Cavalli will go for the Nats. Game time is 1:20 p.m. CT, TV coverage is via Marquee Sports Network… and the temperature is forecast to be in the 70s!
The Yankees socked three home runs, including a long drive by Jasson Dominguez, and GerritCole struck out three as New York scored an 8-3 win over the Chicago Cubs in Mesa, Arizona, in the final game of spring training on the eve of Opening Day.
Here are the takeaways...
- Cole got another turn in the spring as he continued his rehab from Tommy John, with May as his target return date. And the right-hander looked good to start, getting the first two batters on 97 mph heaters at the knees, first Pete Crow-Armstrong swinging and Michael Busch looking.
With two down, Alex Bregman got a 1-0 sinker at the bottom of the zone and launched it 413 feet to center for a home run. Facing a third lefty in the inning, Cole got a familiar result, with a 97 mph 3-2 fastball on the inside corner freezing Ian Happ to strike out the side.
Cody Bellinger made a nice play in the gap to give Cole an out to start the top of the second on a ball off Nico Hoerner's bat. The Yanks' ace allowed another hard-hit ball on a hanging knuckle-curveball as left fielder Dominguez ran down a sharp liner (105.2 mph off the bat) from Dansby Swanson. That was the end of the day for Cole after two pitches found the middle of the zone and were hit well, his final line: 1.2 innings allowing just the one run on the homer with three strikeouts on 26 pitches (17 strikes).
- Dominguez, who will begin the season at Triple-A, opened the top of the second by cracking a sharply hit single to left (105.2 mph). He didn’t stay at first for long, swiping second with a head-first dive and came around to score two batters later.
In the fourth, Dominguez got a slider on the inner-half of the plate and turned on it for a 434-foot homer to right, just clobbering it 109.1 mph. He grounded into a fielder’s choice and was caught trying to steal second in the fifth. The left fielder finished 2-for-4.
- Randal Grichuk, likely the final man on the Opening Day roster, made it back-to-back homers to start the fourth, driving a 2-1 fastball deep to center field for his first home run of spring. He went 1-for-2 with a walk in his final time up in the sixth.
- Ben Rice got the green light on a 3-0 pitch in his second at-bat and smashed the center-cut 97 mph fastball 431 feet to center field off Chicago starter Edward Cabera. The ball was just tattooed, 111.4 mph off the bat, and was a no-doubter. The first baseman finished 1-for-2.
- Bellinger, after going down swinging on three pitches in his first at-bat, singled up the middle on a sharply hit ball (106.9 mph) in the third, finishing 1-for-2.
- Ryan McMahon had a sac fly to right to score the Yanks' first run in the second. He lined out on a sharply hit ball (110.1 mph) to center his second time up, finishing 0-for-2 with a strikeout swinging on a slider in the sixth.
- J.C. Escarra ripped a two-out triple with a smashed liner (112.2 mph) off the first baseman's glove in the fourth. The catcher went 1-for-4 with a strikeout swinging.
- Spencer Jones, who will also begin the season at Triple-A, worked a walk, stole second, and came around to score on minor league catcher Payton Henry’s single to right with one out in the fifth. The big outfielder went hitless in his next two times up.
- Amed Rosario added a two-RBI single to right, going with a pitch for a two-out single in the sixth. He went 1-for-3 with a hard-luck lineout in his first at-bat.
- Some other notable Yanks: Jazz Chisholm Jr. went 0-for-1 with a walk, Paul Goldschmidt went 0-for-2 with a strikeout swinging, and Jose Caballero went 0-for-2 with a strikeout swinging.
- Out of the bullpen: After Harrison Cohen got Moises Ballesteros looking to end the second, Ryan Weathers put two men on in the home half of the third with a one-out double and a two-out walk, but kept the Cubs off the board. The left-hander had a 1-2-3 fourth, but got tagged for the longest homer of the day, 446 feet by Miguel Amaya, on an over-the-plate slider in the fifth.
Weathers, facing Cubs minor leaguers, retired six straight after the home run with two strikeouts before a one-out single in the seventh. His final line: 5.0 innings, one run on four hits with a walk and four strikeouts on 80 pitches (57 strikes).
What's next
They count for real beginning tomorrow as the Yankees open the 2026 MLB season in San Francisco. Left-hander Max Fried gets the Opening Day start and will face off with Giants righty Logan Webb. First pitch is set for 8:05 p.m. ET.
After an impressive sweep of a three-game road trip, the Flyers failed to build on it.
They lost to the Blue Jackets, 3-2, Tuesday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
In a meaningful game, it was another disappointing home loss for the Flyers.
Sean Couturier and Jamie Drysdale scored the club’s goals. Drysdale’s marker came late in the third period as the Flyers emptied their net for the extra attacker.
The Flyers (34-24-12) again couldn’t win four games in a row. They haven’t won more than three straight in over two years. The last time they did it was Feb. 6-12 of the 2023-24 season.
“There’s still a lot of hockey left, we still believe in our group,” Couturier said. “We’re going to refocus, get ready for next game, move on and try to get another winning streak going.”
Rick Tocchet’s club dropped to seven points back of the Blue Jackets (38-22-11), who took over second place in a tight Metropolitan Division. The Flyers went 0-2-1 against Columbus this season.
“It’s not like we were going to win out the rest of the year,” Travis Konecny said. “We lost one game against an opponent that was above us, it’s frustrating. But it is what it is. You just regroup. There’s nothing else you can do.”
• Dan Vladar made 16 saves on 19 shots.
The Flyers spoiled a strong first period by surrendering two goals in the opening 2:28 minutes of the second period.
“Couple of mistakes and now you’re chasing the game,” Tocchet said. “But the first period was great, it should have been 3-0.”
It looked like the Flyers had a poorly-timed line change on Mathieu Olivier’s game-tying goal. Zach Werenski handed the Blue Jackets the 2-1 lead when he skated through the slot untouched for a wide-open look.
“You come out for the second, you’ve got to be ready to play the same way and the same style that was working for you in the first,” Travis Sanheim said. “We got away from that and the structure.”
Mason Marchment dealt the Flyers a blow 4:38 minutes into the third period as he cushioned Columbus’ advantage. At that point, the Flyers were in a real hole and the energy in the building was gone.
Blue Jackets netminder Jet Greaves stopped 24 of the Flyers’ 26 shots.
In the first period, he denied Owen Tippett on a breakaway and Noah Cates on a penalty shot to keep the game scoreless.
But Couturier later put the Flyers ahead 1-0. He did an excellent job to win a puck race and keep the Flyers in the offensive zone before being rewarded with the goal.
The Flyers, though, let the momentum go early in the middle stanza.
“I think we just didn’t execute the first five minutes of that second, it cost us the game,” Couturier said. “Other than that, I thought we played a good game, it was tight game out there. It was just a bad couple of minutes there to start the period and it cost us.”
• The Flyers have too often come up short in big games on home ice.
They gain some steam, but then they lose it.
This month, they’ve dropped four of five games (1-3-1) at Xfinity Mobile Arena and have scored just 1.80 goals per game.
“You’ve got to embrace it, get the crowd on your side,” Tocchet said. “Don’t be nervous. I think especially the first period, I thought they were cheering for us, we were getting pucks on net, we had breakaways. That’s the stuff I think you get fans excited about; you’ve just got to sustain it.”
The Flyers had a chance to gain ground in the standings because a lot of scores went their way on a busy Tuesday night around the league. They’re five points back of the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot and six back of third place in the division.
“We’re in a fun spot, we’re playing in high-pressured games,” Konecny said after morning skate. “We know that there’s a good chance that if we keep playing the way we do, we could actually get in. At this point, we know that the teams ahead of us have the pressure and we’re chasing them. Just keep applying it, keep putting it on them and just enjoy the games.”
• Couturier (upper body), Denver Barkey (upper body) and Luke Glendening (lower body) all returned to the lineup after missing the last two games with injuries.
Tyson Foerster, while wearing a non-contact jersey, participated in morning skate and had rehab work after it. The 24-year-old winger is recovering from surgery he had on his arm in December.
Tyson Foerster, wearing non-contact jersey, getting in rehab work after participating at morning skate.
Foerster is recovering from arm surgery, which has him out for the rest of the season. But it looks like he’s making good progress. pic.twitter.com/0mCLvBYm3q
The Detroit Red Wings are once again proving their impact on the NHL’s growing popularity, setting another major benchmark in television viewership. For the second time this season, Detroit has played a central role in delivering one of the league’s most-watched games.
Saturday night’s matchup between the Red Wings and the Boston Bruins drew an average of 1.3 million viewers and peaked at 1.5 million. That audience made it the third-most watched NHL game of the season, continuing a trend of strong national interest when Detroit is in the spotlight.
The Red Wings were already responsible for the previous season high earlier this month, when their game against the New Jersey Devils brought in 941,000 viewers. That broadcast stood as ESPN’s most-watched NHL game in five years, excluding Opening Night and outdoor showcase events.
ABC delivered the 3rd most-viewed #NHL game this season
In a statement, ESPN highlighted the league’s broader growth across its platforms. NHL on ABC viewership is up 51 per cent compared to last season, while NHL games across ESPN networks are averaging 800,000 viewers through 37 broadcasts, which is a 26 per cent increase year over year.
Detroit’s role in those gains is no surprise as they've been long considered one of hockey’s marquee franchises, the Red Wings continue to show that when the team is competitive, fans across the continent pay attention.
That momentum could carry into another major audience draw on Tuesday night, when the Red Wings face the Ottawa Senators in a game loaded with playoff implications. With postseason stakes rising, Detroit may once again find itself at the center of one of the NHL’s most-watched broadcasts as the race intensifies.
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The National Basketball Players Association had some words to say about Cade Cunningham’s award eligibility.
Cunningham has played 61 games this season, but a collapsed lung might hold him from reaching the 65-game threshold required to be considered for major awards like MVP and the All-NBA team.
ESPN reported last week that the injury could sideline him for an “extended period of time” and that he’d be re-evaluated in two weeks.
Cade Cunningham has played 61 games this season, just short of the threshold for MVP. Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images
He also narrowly misses the 62-game injury exception for season-ending injuries, which goes into effect if players play more than 85 percent of their team’s games before the injury and reach 62 contests.
“Cade Cunningham’s potential ineligibility for [end of] season awards after a career-defining season is a clear indictment of the 65-game rule and yet another example of why it must be abolished or reformed to create an exception for significant injuries. Since its implementation, far too many deserving players have been unfairly disqualified from end-of-season honors by this arbitrary and overly rigid quota.” the NBAPA’s statement read, as first reported by The AP.
Cunningham is averaging 24.5 points, 9.9 assists and 5.6 rebounds per game this season while shooting 46.1 percent from the floor and 34.6 percent from 3-point range
“Cade has delivered a first-team All-NBA season,” Cunningham’s agent, Jeff Schwartz, told ESPN. “If he falls just short of an arbitrary games-played threshold due to legitimate injury, it should not disqualify him from recognition he has clearly earned over the course of the season. The league should be rewarding excellence, not enforcing rigid cutoffs that ignore context. An exception needs to be made.”
His success has helped the Pistons to a 52-19 record, the best team in the Eastern Conference. Detroit sits five games ahead of the No. 2 seed Celtics in the conference and eight games ahead of the Cavaliers in the Central Division.
But Cunningham’s injury could hamper the Pistons as they finish out the regular season.
Cade Cunningham is averaging the second-highest points per game in his five-year career. NBAE via Getty Images
“Obviously, it’s tough,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said Thursday. “Tough for Cade to go through what he’s going through now. How important he is to the team, how important being with his team is to him doesn’t make it easy. He’s a huge part of what we do from a leadership standpoint.”
Across five years with the Pistons since being drafted with the first overall pick in 2021, Cunningham has proved his worth.
He’s averaging 22.6 points for his career, including a career-high 26.1 mark last season. He also snagged his first two All-Star selections in the last two years while finishing seventh in MVP voting in 2024-25.
Now, potentially his best season yet could result in no recognition.
MIAMI, FL - MARCH 19: Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers handles the ball during the game against the Miami Heat on March 19, 2026 at Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via 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 Lakers fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
Even by Luka Dončić’s standards, the run he’s been on recently has been something special.
Luka has been named Western Conference Player of the Week for back-to-back weeks, and with the Lakers now sitting at No. 3 in the West, he is being discussed more as an MVP candidate.
But with only a couple of weeks left, is it too late for him to make a run at the current favorite, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander?
For our SB Nation Reacts survey this week, we asked if you think Luka should be in the conversation for MVP and where he finishes in MVP voting.
Luka has a strong case as an MVP candidate. He’s an All-Star, the NBA’s leading scorer and undeniably the best player on a contending team.
The pushback he could face is that his defensive numbers don’t make a compelling case for him, and if the Lakers fall to fifth or sixth in the standings, critics will say he’s a great player on a mediocre team.
Still, voting hasn’t happened yet, so Dončić could still win. Also, if he keeps playing at this high a level the rest of the way, he could continue garnering support.
The KIA MVP Ladder has Luka at No. 2 in the MVP race, behind only SGA, and Nikola Jokić is third.
All three players have great cases. With the Thunder as defending champions and SGA having another great season, his individual reward might be another MVP.
Jokić remains the engine that keeps Denver running and he’s set to finish the year once again averaging a triple-double. Over the past five seasons, he’s won the MVP three times and the worst he’s finished in voting is second.
Can Luka make a push here and finish as a top vote getter in MVP voting or even win the award?
Share your opinion by voting and letting us know down below!
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 27: A general view of a Los Angeles Dodgers logo is seen before the game against the Detroit Tigers on Opening Day at Dodger Stadium on March 27, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) | Getty Images
After 32 exhibition games over the last five and a half weeks, things get real on Thursday for the Dodgers, who host the Arizona Diamondbacks on opening day at Dodger Stadium.
Los Angeles stalwart Keith Williams Jr. will sing the national anthem on Thursday, and Magic Johnson will throw the ceremonial first pitch. The opening ceremonies start at 4:45 p.m., and will include traditional opening day player introductions, plus the raising of the championship flag and 2025 World Series emblem at the stadium.
