HOUSTON, TEXAS - MARCH 08: Rowdy Tellez #44 of the Mexico in action during the 2026 World Baseball Classic Pool B game between Brazil and Mexico at Daikin Park on March 08, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images) | Getty Images
After the conclusion of tonight’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Jon Heyman reported that the Atlanta Braves have added veteran first baseman/designated hitter Rowdy Tellez on a minor league deal.
The left-handed hitting Tellez is an eight-year big league veteran who has posted double-digit home runs in every season since 2019, outside of the COVID-shortened 2020 season. He hit a career-high 35 homers with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2022.
Although is isn’t the right-handed hitting option the Braves could use as part of a DH-platoon, he could be an upgrade over Dominic Smith, who the Braves added during Spring Training as another left-handed hitting first baseman/designated hitter option.
Tellez, 31, was a teammate of Braves’ infield prospect Nacho Alvarez, Jr. on team Mexico during this year’s World Baseball Classic. He had not signed with a team this off-season after splitting 2025 between Seattle and Texas.
Feb 17, 2026; Surprise, AZ, USA; Texas Rangers pitcher Nathan Eovaldi during media day at Surprise Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Arianna Grainey-Imagn Images | Arianna Grainey-Imagn Images
Today, on the Spring Equinox, the Texas Rangers welcome a sliver of San Francisco Giants to Surprise for a Cactus League night game.
RHP Nathan Eovaldi makes what is surely his final appearance of the spring ahead of his Opening Day start next Thursday. San Francisco will counter with RHP Spencer Bivens for the split squad Giants.
Today’s Lineups
GIANTS
RANGERS
Drew Gilbert – CF
Brandon Nimmo – RF
Daniel Susac – DH
Wyatt Langford – CF
Will Brennan – LF
Corey Seager – SS
Victor Bericoto – RF
Jake Burger – 1B
Christian Koss – 2B
Joc Pederson – DH
Gavin Kilen – SS
Josh Jung – 3B
Buddy Kennedy – 3B
Josh Smith – 2B
Jesus Rodriguez – C
Evan Carter – LF
Charlie Szykowny – 1B
Kyle Higashioka – C
Spencer Bivens – RHP
Nathan Eovaldi – RHP
There will be a telecast of this one on the Rangers Sports Network, a radio broadcast via 105.3 The Fan, or you can follow along on Gameday. First pitch from Surprise Stadium is scheduled for 8:05 pm CT.
TALKING STICK, AZ - NOVEMBER 01: A general view of Salt River Fields ballpark prior to a game between the Scottsdale Scorpions and the Salt River Rafters pitches during the game between the Scottsdale Scorpions and the Salt River Rafters at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on Friday, November 1, 2024 in Talking Stick, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
As the heat island of Phoenix continues to fester, I wonder if this is going to become the way of things. By that, I mean Cactus League – and possibly, Fall League – games being moved from the afternoon to the evening, to avoid the worst heat. I’m a little surprised they moved today’s game, but left tomorrow and Sunday with the usual 1 pm starts. Saturday’s forecast high temperatures is 105 F, which would be almost indistinguishable from today, and destroying the all-time record for March 21, currently eight degrees below that. Maybe weekend attendees at the Cactus League are made of asbestos or something.
After Zac Gallen, we may expect to see LHP Philip Abner, RHP Kevin Ginkel, RHP Ryan Thompson, and RHP Andrew Hoffmann. All of those definitely have a shot at a bullpen spot. Abner has likely overtaken Brandyn Garcia after the latter’s recent struggles, but as noted earlier, Ginkel has had his problems too. As expected when spring started, the Arizona bullpen was always likely to be the area most subject to change on the team. We’re now down to less than a week before Opening Day, and perhaps half the bullpen spots are still up for grabs. We’ll talk about that more tomorrow though.
LAAX, Switzerland (AP) — Eileen Gu added another halfpipe title to her resume Friday, taking the first Snow League season championship by capturing gold in the circuit's last contest.
The victory came nearly four weeks after the 22-year-old capped off the Milan Cortina Olympics with a gold medal on the halfpipe, adding to a pair of silver medals she had won earlier in slopestyle and big air. Over two Games, Gu has captured a medal in all six events she's entered — the only freeskier to do that in the sport's history.
“I take a lot of meaning in being the first to do things,” Gu said after becoming the first champion crowned in Shaun White's new league that features halfpipe riding in skiing and snowboarding. “To be a part of this league means so much to me. ... I believe so much in the vision and the direction that it’s pushing the sport.”
Gu, who was born in the United States but competes under the flag of her mother's homeland, China, earned $75,000 for the victory — $50,000 for winning the contest and another $25,000 for capturing the season crown. Fifteen of Gu's 20 World Cup titles have come on the halfpipe.
Luke Harrold of New Zealand took home $75,000 for winning both the event and the season title on the men's side.
The snowboarders will close the league's first season Saturday, with Olympic gold medalist Yuto Totsuka trying to wrap up the title; he holds a slim lead in the standings over Olympic bronze medalist Ryusei Yamada.
Luis Gil looked dominant in five strong innings as he looks to grab a spot in the Yankees' rotation, as New York took down the Baltimore Orioles, 3-1, on Friday night in Tampa.
Gil was pumping in heaters early and often and surrendered just one hit and one walk while tallying seven strikeouts on 69 pitches (46 strikes).
It was a rough night for Aaron Judge in his first game back from the WBC as he went hitless in three at-bats with three strikeouts. O’s starter Zach Eflin got him twice, as the right-hander was just as good as Gil, retiring the first 14 Yanks he faced and getting 15 of 16 batters.
The two teams combined for two hits (both doubles) entering the home half of the eighth inning when the Yanks took advantage of a Baltimore youngster with four doubles in a five-hit frame to win the game.
Here are the takeaways...
- Gil got two quick outs to start the first before blowing a 99 mph fastball off the inside corner past the bat of Pete Alonso. The righty picked up where he left off: beating Coby Mayo on a 93 mph changeup in on the hands and blowing a 99 mph fastball past Leody Taveras in a perfect second. More of the same in a 12-pitch third as Gil blew a 98 mph fastball past Luis Vazquez and a 99 mph fastball past Jose Barrero.
After retiring the first 11 straight, including a sixth strikeout, blowing a 97 mph fastball above the zone past Taylor Ward, Gil surrendered a ground-rule double deep to left off Alonso's bat. (The ex-Met smoked a 97 mph heater at the top of the zone, 110.3 mph off the bat.) Gil recovered by getting Mayo swinging at a wicked 91 mph slider off the outside corner.
Gil closed his book in the fifth, getting around a one-out walk with a 6-4-3 double play. Gil pitched like he had something to prove and seemed amped up, averaging 96.8 mph on his fastball (up 1.5 mph), 93.2 mph on his changeup (up 2.4 mph), and 88.6 mph on the slider (up 1.9 mph)
- Judge, in his return for the WBC, went down swinging on a curveball in and at the knees and was caught looking at a 3-2 two-seamer that ran back right over the plate in the fourth against Eflin.
The slugger had a big chance with one out in the sixth with runners on first and second against reliever Dietrich Enns. In the eight-pitch at-bat, which included an error by O's catcher Samuel Bassallo that put both runners in scoring position, Judge waved at a 3-2 change-up below the zone to finish 0-for-3 with three strikeouts.
- Ryan McMahon, getting the start at short, popped out in foul territory to third after a nine-pitch battle to start the third and went down looking at a sinker to strand a runner at second to end the fifth. McMahon lined a changeup from O's minor leaguer Cohen Achen the other way for a double that one-hopped the wall (106.3 mph, 334 feet), to finish 1-for-3.
- Oswaldo Cabrera, playing third, went down looking at a cutter on the corner his first time up, but knocked in the game's lone run, muscling a 3-1 fastball up the middle for an RBI single scoring McMahon from second, to go 1-for-3.
- Jazz Chisholm Jr. notched the first Yanks’ hit in the fifth with a two-out bloop into left-center and took advantage of some lackadaisical defense, hustling into second for a double. He went 1-for-3.
- Out of the bullpen, David Bednar got two strikeouts swinging on the splitter below the zone in a 13-pitch, 1-2-3 sixth inning.
Left-hander Tim Hill issued a walk to start the seventh, and after getting Alonso to fly out to center, induced a 5-4-3 double-play. After Hill's 14-pitch effort, PaulBlackburn outdid him with a 1-2-3 eighth on just seven pitches. Blackburn made things interesting in the ninth, allowing a one-out triple down the third base line, aided by the left fielder falling over on the warning track, and a two-out Bassallo RBI double off the base of the wall in right. But after walking Maverick Handley, the righty got Anderson De Los Santos looking to end it.
- Trent Grisham was called out looking at a two-seamer on the inside corner and was robbed of a hit to start the fourth when Taveras ranged to his left in center to flag down a sharply hit (103.8 mph) sinking-liner. He finished 0-for-2 with a walk.
- Cody Bellinger, playing left field, grounded out to the right side of the infield three times, all of which ended innings and the last of which stranded two in scoring position in the sixth, to go 0-for-3.
- Ben Rice went down swinging at a 2-2 curveball below the zone in his first at-bat. He finished 0-for-3.
- Giancarlo Stanton, getting the start in right field where he didn't see any action, swung through a sweeper off the outside corner in his second at-bat. He finished 0-for-2.
- J.C. Escarra grounded out to first and walked. He went 1-for-2 on ABS challenges behind the plate.
- Oddity that may not interest anybody: The Yanks closed the first, second, and third innings by grounding out to first with Alonso tossing it to Eflin covering the bag.
Feb 24, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez against the Cleveland Guardians during a spring training game at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
The Dodgers’ final night game in Arizona has them hosting the San Diego Padres.
This time, he is just a few days away from Opening Day.
Judge returned to Yankees camp on Thursday and was in the lineup on Friday night for the first time since he captained Team USA to the World Baseball Classic final on Tuesday, when it fell to Venezuela in dramatic fashion.
“You’re still thinking about the last couple games, the whole tournament, stuff like that — you’re mad about that,” Judge said before Friday’s game against the Orioles at Steinbrenner Field. “But once I came back here, get a chance to be around the boys and throw on the pinstripes, now it’s time to get back to what we’re doing with the Yankees and build towards a championship again.
Aaron Judge reacts during Team USA’s game against Venezuela on March 17. Getty Images
“First couple hours weren’t great, but now that I’m back here around the guys, we’re ready to roll.”
Judge posted a .845 OPS with two home runs across seven games in the WBC, though he finished with a sour taste, going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in the final against Venezuela.
Still, he already wants in for the next time Team USA plays — potentially in the 2028 Olympics, if not the next WBC — and said he had a “blast” sharing a clubhouse with the game’s best and playing in front of raucous crowds.
“I wish the crowds and the energy were like that every single night, but it’s tough to do in 162 games, I know that,” he said. “It was just a fun environment. Elimination games from the very beginning, even in pool play, which was great. Just seeing the passion of players that usually I play against that don’t show a lot of emotion, all of a sudden they’re showing emotion, so it was cool.”
Speaking of those emotions, Team USA caught some flack for appearing to take a more businesslike and buttoned-up approach than most teams during the tournament that was full of flair and fun.
Judge said he heard about that from friends and family, but took issue with the narrative.
“Everybody’s different, every culture’s different,” Judge said. “I love everything what Mexico was doing, what Great Britain was doing, what the [Dominican Republic], how they celebrated the game, how their fans celebrated the game, that was amazing.
“If they’re gonna say we don’t have the passion, my passion’s grinding in this cage when nobody’s watching, grinding as a 6-year-old in the backyard with my dad. That’s where our passion came from as kids. So if I don’t show it outwardly like that, it doesn’t mean I don’t love the game.
Aaron Judge connects on a home run during the Yankees’ Feb. 21 spring training game. Getty Images
“Everybody in that clubhouse, you can ask every single one of those guys, that was probably the most fun they’ve ever had playing the game, the past few weeks, myself included.”
Judge, who indicated he would be in favor of the WBC moving to midseason so there would be fewer restrictions on pitchers building up, also caught some heat during the tournament when he said the atmosphere for the WBC was “bigger and better” than playing in the World Series.
Aaron Judge is pictured during Team USA’s game against Venezuela on March 17. Imagn Images
On Friday, he mentioned the bands playing in either corner of the outfield during the WBC and different chants echoing through the domes where USA played.
“World Series games, a lot of the passionate fans, they can’t afford those tickets sometimes,” Judge said.
Alas, Judge will have to wait seven months for a chance to get back in front of crowds like that, now turning his attention to helping the Yankees get back to that stage.
After Judge built up quickly early this spring to be ready for the WBC, Aaron Boone now plans to back off him a bit in the final days of camp.
After DHing on Friday night, Judge is scheduled to play in right field on Sunday and then start Monday’s exhibition against the Cubs in Arizona ahead of Wednesday’s opener.
“He’s built up, ready to go,” Boone said, “so a couple days backing off hopefully serves him well.”
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (AP) — Ohio State scored four goals in the final 10 minutes of the first period, and the No. 1 overall seed Buckeyes beat fifth-seeded Northeastern 5-0 on Friday in the first of two semifinals Friday night at Pegula Ice Arena.
Ohio State (36-4-0), which set the program's single-season wins record with 36, advanced to its fifth straight national title game to improve to 14-4 in the NCAA Tournament and 7-4 in the Frozen Four.
Northeastern (29-9-1) was making its fourth Frozen Four appearance in program history and first since 2023 when Ohio State defeated the Huskies 3-0. The Huskies dropped to 5-7-0 in the NCAA Tournament.
Five different players scored for the Buckeyes and 10 players recorded a point.
Joy Dunne, a Patty Kazmaier top-10 finalist, scored on a rebound 10 minutes into the game for her 27th goal of the season. Then Kaia Malachino and Sanni Vanhanen scored a minute apart for a 3-0 lead.
Emma Peschel beat the first-period buzzer with a slap shot to make it 4-0 and Sara Swiderski sent a shot from the blue line that deflected into the goal in the third.
Hailey MacLeod recorded her fifth shutout this season with 15 saves — five coming in the first 10 minutes. She ended a breakaway chance five minutes in and finished the frame with eight saves.
Northeastern goaltender Lisa Jönsson made 37 saves.
Up next
The Buckeyes will face the winner of the second semifinal between No. 2 Wisconsin and No. 3 Penn State.
Nathan MacKinnon orchestrated Colorado’s attack with surgical precision, racking up three assists as the Avalanche crushed the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 on Friday night. With the victory, Colorado became the first NHL team to punch their ticket to the 2026 playoffs, solidifying their dominance in the Western Conference.
Martin Nečas was electric, tallying a goal and two assists, while Kadri, Nelson, and Nichushkin also found the back of the net, ensuring the Avs’ offense was firing on all cylinders. The league-leading Avalanche (45-13-10) now hold a four-point cushion over rival Dallas for the top spot in the West.
Simplicity made a huge difference in today's game.
The Avalanche’s power play, once dormant, has suddenly become a major weapon. They went 2-for-4 with Nečas and Kadri each scoring on the man advantage, while Mackenzie Blackwood turned aside 19 shots to backstop the victory.
AVS ARE THE FIRST TO CLINCH 🏔️
The @Avalanche are headed to the #StanleyCup Playoffs for the ninth straight season!
Chicago’s lone goal came from Wyatt Kaiser, but it was little consolation. Arvid Söderblom faced a barrage of 45 shots, standing tall amid Colorado’s relentless pressure. The Blackhawks were further hampered by the absences of defenseman Louis Crevier and forward Andrew Mangiapane, both sidelined with injuries sustained Thursday in a 2-1 win at Minnesota.
Colorado, coming off a rough stretch in which they lost four of five, made a statement Friday: don’t sleep on this team.
First Period
Over five minutes into the opening frame, Hawks forward Tyler Bertuzzi burst onto a breakaway, gliding toward the net with dangerous speed. But “Manimal” Josh Manson wasn’t having it. The veteran defenseman tracked him relentlessly, forcing Bertuzzi to hesitate and look for help that never came. In a flash, the puck was stripped away, leaving Chicago’s best chance of the period nullified.
The Avalanche answered by asserting dominance early. In the first seven minutes alone, Colorado fired eight shots, leaving Chicago scrambling just to keep pace. “The Tasmanian Devil” line—Parker Kelly, Jack Drury, and Joel Kiviranta—was relentless, cycling hard, crashing the net, and trying to jam every loose puck past Söderblom. The trio whirled around in perfect chaos, their energy and pace a constant nightmare for the Hawks’ defense.
Colorado’s urgency was clear. Coming in with just four goals over their last three games, the Avs were determined to set the tone. Sam Malinski launched two vicious wrist shots, both of which the goalie somehow managed to smother, keeping the game scoreless.
With roughly 8:45 remaining, Andre Burakovsky, a member of Colorado’s 2022 Stanley Cup-winning team, broke free for Chicago on a dangerous breakaway. But Blackwood slid across the crease to rob the winger and preserve the deadlock.
Then, with 6:41 left, Nečas made the game feel inevitable. MacKinnon carried the puck with authority through the neutral zone and into the offensive end, executing a slick spinorama pass just past the blue line to Nichushkin. In one fluid motion, Nichushkin shifted from backhand to forehand and found Nečas alone in the slot. Nečas didn’t hesitate—he ripped a shot past Söderblom, giving Colorado a 1-0 lead and marking his 32nd goal of the season. The precision and timing of the play were textbook Avalanche hockey: speed, skill, and chemistry in perfect harmony.
Just 2:03 later, the lead doubled. On the power play, Makar’s wrister from the point deflected off Nelson and into the net while Dominic Tominato served a slashing penalty on Toews. For Nelson, it was his 31st goal of the season and his first since February 25. Colorado’s top line was asserting dominance, and the Hawks were being forced to dig in early.
With just over three minutes remaining, Drury went to the penalty box for hooking, but Colorado’s penalty kill held strong, keeping Chicago off the board and finishing the period with momentum firmly on their side.
Second Period
Blackwood opened the second under immediate pressure—and he rose to the occasion. Connor Bedard slipped past Makar with his trademark speed and unleashed a shot with his elite release, but the goalie’s glove snapped up in perfect timing, robbing the superstar and keeping Colorado’s two-goal lead intact.
At the close of the first, the Avalanche had asserted total dominance: a 2-0 lead and a staggering 19-5 edge in shots.
However, the Hawks clawed back six minutes and 48 seconds into the frame. Kaiser beat the defense and buried a clean shot five-hole, cutting the lead to 2-1. Moments earlier, Chicago had nearly scored when a drop pass from Brindley left the puck exposed in open ice, resulting in a post hit—but the Hawks capitalized on the chaos this time around.
With 5:09 remaining, Nelson went to the penalty box for hooking Bedard, sending the Hawks on their second man advantage of the game. Kiviranta and the Avalanche penalty kill unit were relentless, clearing multiple pucks and keeping Chicago off the board yet again.
Third Period
Thirteen seconds into the final frame, Drury drew a penalty in style. After toe-dragging past Donato and faking him out of position, Donato swung his stick in desperation, tripping Drury and handing Colorado a power play.
MacKinnon took full advantage. Receiving a pass from Makar in the left circle, he spun and delivered a cross-ice feed to Kadri, who rifled the puck into a wide-open net just 23 seconds into the advantage, extending the lead to 3-1. It was Colorado’s second power-play goal of the night, and the Avs were asserting full control.
At the four-minute mark, Rinzel gave Colorado another man advantage by shooting the puck out of his own zone, resulting in a delay-of-game penalty. Though the Avs failed to convert, they were now 2-for-3 on the night with the extra man.
Then, at 8:34, Nichushkin added some insurance. MacKinnon forechecked hard, forced a turnover in front of the net, and used his body to create space and time. Nichushkin swooped in, gained possession, and fired a shot past Söderblom to make it 4-1. It was his 15th goal of the season, and Colorado’s dominance was undeniable.
Shortly after, Toews went to the penalty box for interference, giving Chicago another chance with the man advantage. Chaos ensued on the Hawks’ power play. Levshunov attempted to lift Nelson’s stick but instead struck him in the face, drawing a four-minute double minor. After some tense four-on-four hockey, Colorado went on their fourth power play of the period with 2:07 to work with.
Even then, the Hawks tried to fight back. Levshunov sprinted out of the box and accepted a long breakout pass, racing in on a breakaway—but Blackwood stood tall, turning away the chance and preserving Colorado’s commanding lead.
By the final buzzer, the Avalanche had shown the full force of their speed, skill, and depth. Between “Manimal” Manson’s defensive heroics, the relentless pressure from the “Tasmanian Devil” line, MacKinnon’s playmaking wizardry, and Nichushkin and Nečas finishing clinically, Colorado’s 4-1 win was a masterclass in offensive and defensive balance.
NORTH PORT, FL - MARCH 13: Austin Riley #27 of the Atlanta Braves reacts after getting a base hit during the spring training game between the New York Yankees and the Atlanta Braves on March 13, 2026 at CoolToday Park in North Port, FL. (Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Atlanta’s bats continued to make some noise here in the Grapefruit League as the Braves slugged their way to yet another win during spring training action.
It took a while for the bats to get going but once they did, a couple of the Braves regular made their presence felt in a loud manner. Jorge Mateo did deliver an RBI single in the second inning but the fifth inning was when things got pretty loud. With a runner on first and one out, Matt Olson appeared to have gotten all of a changeup from Pirates pitcher Nick Dombkowski. Olson crushed it with an EV of 109-mph with a 27 degree launch angle but it only ended up landing at the fence (386 feet away from home plate, to be exact) for an RBI double. Drake Baldwin scored a run on the play as the Braves went ahead in the contest.
Austin Riley came up to the plate right afterwards and he proceeded to earn bragging rights in the dugout by hitting a pitch from Dombkowski over the fence for a two-run dinger. Now granted, Riley’s batted ball was “softer” at 102-mph and shorter at 368 feet but the idea is to hit the ball over the fence and that’s what Riley did for the fourth time this spring. That gave the Braves a three-run inning as the middle of the lineup continued to look solid with the regular season looming.
While this was going on, José Suarez ended up throwing 75 pitches across 5.1 innings. He did a very solid job of keeping the Pirates lineup quiet in this one and it wasn’t like the Pirates sent a lineup full of organizational depth to North Port, either. Suarez finished with just one run allowed on two hits, two walks and six strikeouts as well. Suarez’s strikeout victims included Marcell Ozuna (twice), Oneil Cruz and Mississippi State baseball legend Jake Mangum, so it wasn’t like the strikeouts were coming against lesser competition, either. This certainly helped Suarez’s case for leaving North Port and heading to Cobb County instead of Gwinnett County.
Joel Payamps entered the game in the sixth inning in relief for Suarez and he ended up going 1.2 innings while striking out a pair of batters as well. That set the stage for Raisel Iglesias to enter the game in the eighth inning and he tossed his third scoreless inning in five spring training appearances so far. While Iglesias did give up a hit, he did strike out two batters along the way so as long as he’s doing that once the season is underway then people around here will be pretty happy about that. Robert Suarez ended up closing out the game with a scoreless inning and two strikeouts of his own, so it was nice to see the set-up man and closer both clicking in this one as well.
Going back to the regulars at the plate, Drake Baldwin and Dominic Smith each picked up hits in this one. 2026 World Baseball Classic champion Ronald Acuña Jr. was greeted with a very nice ovation upon his return to Braves camp and while he didn’t get a hit, he did make his presence felt by reaching base twice via walks. Meanwhile, Cal Conley hit a double, stole third base and scored on an RBI single, so that’s pretty encouraging. Luis Guanipa drove in Kevin Kilpatrick Jr. with an RBI single of his own and Jorge Mateo’s aforementioned RBI single was his only knock of the day.
If you’re the type who’s encouraged by spring training results then you have to be pleased to see the Braves currently at the top of the Grapefruit League standings. While nobody’s ever hung a banner for winning the Grapefruit League pennant, it’s still nice to see the Braves continuing to click out there as they get ready for the games that will actually begin to count by this time next Friday. Are y’all excited yet?
NEW YORK — Baseball is changing at a dizzying speed in 2026 with the arrival of robot umpires, the return home of the Tampa Bay Rays and an alphabet soup of networks televising games in perhaps the last season before a labor shutdown.
Much has transpired in the 4 1/2 months since the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied in World Series Game 7 to beat Toronto in 11 innings and become the first repeat champion since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees.
There was the usual free agent musical chairs that saw Kyle Tucker wind up with the Dodgers, Bo Bichette with the New York Mets, Alex Bregman with the Chicago Cubs and Pete Alonso with the Baltimore Orioles.
Venezuela became a first-time champion of a World Baseball Classic with record attendance and television viewers.
But looming above the usual excitement for opening day on Wednesday is the possibility of no games in a year.
Tony Clark was forced to resign as players’ association head and replaced by Bruce Meyer as talk intensified about a possible management salary cap proposal the players’ association vows to fight. Major League Baseball is likely to lock out players on Dec. 2, leaving 2027 in limbo.
Cy Young Award winners Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal are on the eight-man executive subcommittee that directs collective bargaining.
“We need people that are invested and kind of have status among players and within the game to go into the negotiations and be comfortable going toe to toe with the owners,” Skenes said. “It’s not something that I sought out. Some guys nominated me for the position and that’s not something you say no to.”
Send in the robots
Following testing that started in the minor leagues in 2019, MLB decided last September to use the Automated Ball-Strike System in the regular season.
While human umps call every pitch, each team has the ability to challenge two calls per game, retaining the challenge if successful, and have the possibility of at least one more in each extra inning.
“You want get the egregiously wrong calls fixed and you want make sure you get it right in a big spot,” three-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander said.
ABS won’t be used for a two-game series between Arizona and San Diego in Mexico City on April 25-26, for the Philadelphia-Minnesota game at the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa, on Aug. 13 or the Atlanta-Milwaukee matchup in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on Aug. 23.
Finding where a game is televised is more complicated than ever.
Regular-season national broadcasts are split among Fox/FS1, TBS, ESPN, NBC/Peacock, AppleTV and Netflix. NBC’s networks take over the Wild Card Series from ABC/ESPN.
In addition, MLB will produce and distribute the local telecasts of 14 teams following the financial problems of Main Street Sports Group, which operates the regional FanDuel Sports Network stations.
When the New York Yankees play the MLB season opener at the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday, the game will be exclusively on Netflix.
Dodgers go for three-peat
After becoming the first team to win consecutive championships since the 1998-2000 Yankees, the Dodgers try to become just the fifth group to win three in a row, joining those Yankees, five by the 1949-53 Yankees, four by the 1936-39 Yankees and three by the 1972-74 Oakland Athletics.
“When you’re a Dodger, people want to take us down. They want to beat us,” manager Dave Roberts told players in his spring training speech. “It’s a Game 7. So I think that we’ve got to look ahead and say that this is going to be harder than it’s ever been and we got to work even harder. And so my ask as a team, as an organization is to push ourselves even more. We already got the talent. There isn’t any more talent in a major league clubhouse than in this room.”
Coming off his fourth unanimous MVP award, Shohei Ohtani is expected to be a two-way player over a full season. He returned to the mound last June 16 following his second major elbow surgery on Sept. 19, 2023.
Back at the Trop
Tampa Bay returns to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg after a season playing home games across the bay at Steinbrenner Field, the spring training home of the Yankees.
Damage to the Trop caused by Hurricane Milton in October 2024 has been repaired. The Rays were 41-40 at Steinbrenner last year, their lowest home winning percentage since 2016. They drew 786,750 for an average of 9,713, selling out 61 games.
“There is genuine, authentic excitement to get back to the Trop,” manager Kevin Cash said. “We’ve played well in the Trop. We’ve had a lot of success in the Trop. And I think we’re going back to something that’s probably going to be a little bit newer, a little better than maybe as we left it because they had to do so many repairs.”
Milestone watch
Four players could reach 400 career home runs this year.
Manny Machado starts the season at 369, followed by Freddie Freeman at 368, Aaron Judge at 367 and Bryce Harper at 363.
CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Louis Crevier and forward Andrew Mangiapane missed Friday night's 4-1 loss to Colorado because of unspecified injuries.
Crevier and Mangiapane got hurt during Thursday night's 2-1 victory at Minnesota.
“I don’t think it’s anything long, long term for either guy, but certainly not available tonight,” coach Jeff Blashill said before the matchup with the Avalanche.
Forward Dominic Toninato skated for more than nine minutes after he was recalled from the minors earlier in the day.
Crevier, a seventh-round pick in the 2020 draft, has become a steady performer for Chicago in his third NHL season. The 6-foot-8 Crevier has a career-high five goals and 12 assists in 65 games.
Mangiapane was acquired in a March 4 trade with Edmonton. He has one goal and one assist in seven games with Chicago.
The Blackhawks are still awaiting immigration clearance for Sacha Boisvert after announcing a three-year contract for the forward prospect on Monday. Boisvert, a Quebec native who turned 20 on Tuesday, was the No. 18 pick in the 2024 draft.
The delay could push Boisvert's NHL debut back to the team's upcoming four-game road trip.
“I love gold!” the infamous “Austin Powers” character once said.
Evidently, so do the Dodgers.
On Friday morning, the team revealed its 2026 “Gold World Series Championship” jerseys and hats. Instagram / @dodgersnationThe new merchandise features gold trim wrapped around the name and numbers like a crown.
The new merchandise features gold trim wrapped around the name and numbers like a crown, while the iconic “Dodgers” script across the chest gleams with the weight of October still clinging to it.
The iconic Dodgers hat looks like it was dipped in dominance, with the Dodger blue elevated by a gold LA logo, a solid gold brim, and two stars on either side rest like badges of honor.
The Dodgers will wear the newly released jerseys and hats when they take the field against the Diamondbacks on March 26 for Opening Day at Dodger Stadium.
The new collection celebrates and honors the Dodgers’ seven-game victory against the Blue Jays last October. It is available at Fanatics now.
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PHILADELPHIA, PA — If there is one thing about March Madness that is consistent on a yearly basis, it is the rallying love from men's college basketball fans for the mid-major programs that are included in the 68-team field.
But it isn't necessarily love from the high-level programs when it comes to non-conference scheduling. It's something that fourth-year Miami (Ohio) head coach Travis Steele said needs to change from an analytical standpoint.
"A lot of it's analytically driven. There needs to be adjustments made," Steele said after Miami (Ohio) fell to 6-seed Tennessee on Friday at Xfinity Mobile Arena in the first round of the Midwest Region. "... I don't know when's the last time that they made an adjustment to it or if they have. But fans want to see those games. Our fans do. Their fans do. They want to see brands. It stinks."
RedHawks senior guard Peter Suder agrees with his coach on why high-major programs won't schedule mid-majors.
"I wouldn't say they're afraid. It's a numbers thing, an analytical thing," said Suder, who scored a team-high 27 points on Friday against the Volunteers. "We would like to play them. It's a great opportunity for the mid-majors to go out there and prove they're just as good. It's more of an analytical thing.
Steele and Studer's comments come less than 24 hours after High Point coach Flynn Clayman spoke on the matter after his team knocked off 5-seed Wisconsin in Portland on Thursday. Clayman's emotion in his postgame interview came a few days after Miami (Ohio)'s metrics were once questioned ahead of Selection Sunday because the RedHawks did not have a single Quad 1 win until their First Four win over SMU.
"It looks pretty obvious to me that high-majors need to play mid-majors during the season," Clayman said. "Because they said we ain't played nobody? We played somebody now."
The conversation of Miami (Ohio)'s resume and metrics started well before Selection Sunday for the RedHawks, who are now No. 91 on KenPom and No. 86 on Bart Torvik, two analytical websites, after Friday's win. The RedHawks entered the day as a Quad 2 game for Tennessee, with their No. 64 ranking in the NCAA's NET system.
"Most of the scheduling's done on the phone, and it's frustrating," Steele said.
Steele said he knew back in June of last year that his team would be "in trouble" with its non-conference schedule.
"We didn't finish our schedule until mid-October. We played two weeks later, which is ridiculous, especially in today's college landscape," Steele said. "It sounds crazy to me, but again, I get why they don't want to play because you want to stay away from Quad 2 or Quad 3 games. It does nothing for you.
While the good news is that Detroit Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond has produced at a point-per-game pace this season with 67 points in as many games played, the not-so-good news is that he's hit a bit of a scoring snag.
Raymond has one goal and an assist in his last seven combined games, several of which have been when the Red Wings were missing both Dylan Larkin and Andrew Copp, their top two centers.
There’s no question about Raymond’s offensive talent, but his recent production hasn’t matched what the Red Wings need from one of their top scoring threats during such a critical point in the standings race.
On Thursday evening, the Red Wings picked up one of their best wins of the season, rebounding from a 1-0 deficit in the third period against the Montreal Canadiens to earn a 3-1 victory.
Early in the first period, Raymond maneuvered around a Canadiens defenseman and found himself all alone in the slot with a perfect opportunity at a high-danger scoring chance.
Instead, he passed up on the shot and tried to feed the puck to David Perron, who was tied up at the side of the net.
Head coach Todd McLellan, who recently said Raymond’s shot totals are lower than they should be, explained that while he would have liked to see a shot in that situation, he understands that Raymond’s hockey instincts may have led him to pass.
“The easy answer for me is to say yes," McLellan said afterward. "We watched it live… for some reason in that moment, he read something or saw something and chose not to (shoot). Would we like him to shoot? Yes, but I’m not going to crucify the young man because he chose to move the puck over."
“Would I like to see him shoot there? Yes, but he’s playing the game, and his instinct told him to go somewhere with it."
Raymond, who finished the game with a single shot on goal, has shown so far in his career that he possesses one of the more elite releases amongst NHL forwards.
Now more than ever, with the standings ultra-tight and with team captain Dylan Larkin still unavailable because of a lower-body injury he sustained earlier in the month, Detroit needs Raymond to put more pucks on net - because when he does, good things usually follow.
"We do need him shooting the puck, because he can fire it," he said.
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