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Despite the circumstances, Celtics won’t make excuses for nail-biting loss to Bulls

Before being welcomed by Chicago’s freezing nine-degree temperatures on Saturday, the Celtics had their work cut out for them.

There wasn’t much room for rest after Friday’s trip to the city that never sleeps. It took two overtime periods to overcome the Nets, leaving less than 24 hours to prepare to do it all over again against the Bulls. Fatigue predictably surfaced at various points throughout the night, especially considering the Celtics had four players — Jaylen Brown, Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, and Anfernee Simons — log close to 40 minutes in Brooklyn.

However, the locker room isn’t giving itself a pass following Boston’s 114-111 loss in Chicago.

“Obviously, those things can play a factor, but we’re not gonna give ourselves any of those types of excuses,” Simons told reporters, per NBC Sports Boston.

Boston failed to defend the perimeter, as the Bulls connected on 21 3-pointers — a stark contrast from Chicago’s average of 14.6 made threes per game this season, and tied for the most allowed by the Celtics all year. That’s typically not an issue for coach Joe Mazzulla’s team, and it hasn’t been in recent seasons. Only nine times this season have the Bulls hit 20 or more threes in a game, making it a rare, albeit dangerous, occurrence that showed up against Boston at the worst possible time.

Chicago’s leader in made threes, Colby White, hit four of his five makes either off the dribble or by pulling up in transition. White challenged Boston’s ability to switch and fight through screens, and he wasn’t the only one. Matas Buzelis, Isaac Okoro, and Ayo Dosunmu were among the others who actively hunted 3-point makes in motion, too, either in transition or off the dribble. And several times, the Celtics found themselves either late or lost as the Bulls collected clean look after clean look, establishing a theme that stuck until the end.

It was clear that outshooting Chicago wouldn’t work as Boston finished 15 of 47 (31.9%), but luck really proved to forsake the Celtics once the closing seconds arrived.

The Bulls missed seven consecutive 3-point attempts in the final 5:09, bringing the game to a 111-111 tie with 24 seconds remaining. Odds suggested that another three wouldn’t be Chicago’s most favorable option, but it was the exact option that crumbled Boston’s defense — one final time. Kevin Huerter settled in the left corner — the same spot where Hugo González hit his clutch overtime three in Brooklyn — and sank the go-ahead basket, leaving Boston almost no time to respond.

In Brooklyn, it was an all-or-nothing three that gave the Celtics new life; in Chicago, the exact same look drained the life right out of them.

Boston went from the energized team refusing to come up short against the Nets to watching the Bulls play an UNO Reverse card, flipping the energy and drive in their favor.

The situation wasn’t a favorable one for Boston, and even though missing a doctor-recommended seven-plus hours of sleep might have factored in, the team couldn’t care less. The standards Mazzulla’s locker room holds itself to won’t change, no matter the circumstances. Blaming tiredness or the uncontrollable NBA schedule isn’t their forte — in fact, it’s the opposite. The Celtics have prided themselves on flipping the script all season, from the offseason to Jayson Tatum’s injury to questions about the organization’s priorities and intentions to compete.

The Celtics aren’t going to feel sorry for themselves, even if it were warranted.

“We know we came here to play a game, and we came here fully expecting to win, no matter the cost, no matter what obstacles we had to go through before the game — the night before, it doesn’t really matter,” Simons told reporters. “We’ve got to come together and win a ballgame. That’s the attitude we have. Even in our meeting today, we were like, ‘We don’t care about any circumstances we had to deal with. We just want to come in here and find a way to win.’”

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Recap: Geekie’s mystery goal gives B’s 4-3 win over Montreal

In an entertaining, back-and-forth game at TD Garden, one that featured a Montreal hat trick and about 493 power play goals, the game-winning goal almost didn’t happen at all.

Morgan Geekie’s second goal of the game with just under six minutes to go in the third period gave the Bruins lead they wouldn’t relinquish, with the B’s skating off TD Garden ice with a 4-3 win.

Geekie’s mystery goal was originally thought to be a puck out of play, with the officials unsure of where the puck went.

It wasn’t until David Pastrnak started hopping up and down, pointing at the net, that everyone realized Geekie’s shot had beaten Samuel Montembeault and gotten lodged in the sash at the back of the net.

MYSTERY GOAL!

Geekie’s goal gave the Bruins their first lead of the night, as they had to overcome deficits of 1-0, 2-1, and 3-2 to earn the win.

Cole Caufield carried the Canadiens on the evening, with the American forward recording the second hat trick of his NHL career, but it wasn’t enough for Montreal.

Along with Geekie, the B’s got multi-point nights from Fraser Minten (an assist and the game-tying goal in the third) and Charlie McAvoy (three assists).

Jeremy Swayman made 22 saves.

The highlights:

View Link

Game notes

  • The win moved the Bruins to within a point of Montreal in the Atlantic Division, with the Habs actually falling out of the top three and into a wild card spot with the loss. Buffalo (?!?!?) is currently third in the Atlantic.
  • This game was not exactly a penalty killing master class, with the teams combining for five power play goals. On the night, the B’s and Habs went a combined 5-for-7 on the man advantage, which won’t help those team PK percentages.
  • The Bruins got some good fortune in the third period with Nikita Zadorov returning from what looked like a potentially ugly lower-body injury. Marco Sturm noted after the game that Zadorov wasn’t 100% after returning, but hopefully the fact that he was able to continue means he avoided serious injury.
  • The Geekie Mystery Goal has overtaken the “Bring the Rangers Back from the Locker Room” goal as the weirdest of the season thus far, but there’s still plenty of time for more.

The Bruins will face those same Rangers in Manhattan on Monday night.

I believe they actually traveled to New York either late Saturday night or early this morning to avoid the coming snowfall, with the team scheduled to practice at Madison Square Garden at 2 PM.

That practice time is likely not a coincidence, with the B’s getting a skate in just in time to watch the AFC Championship.

Stay safe in the snow!

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Devin Vassell’s absence revealed how important he is to the Spurs

The Spurs have gone 8-5 without Devin Vassell. Is Vassell’s absence the main reason for their recent (relative) struggles, or are there other important factors that have been overlooked?

Marilyn Dubinski: I wouldn’t say he is THE reason, but it was certainly a contributing factor.  A big problem for a while was all three guards (De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper) were all in a shooting slump at the same time, and they were missing that relief valve that they could pass out to, either to shoot a three or create his own shot. Vassell is one of a few players on the team who can do both, so hopefully his return will help unclog the offense when it gets bogged down, leading to more consistency.   

Mark Barrington: It’s definitely a factor, but there’s more going on. They miss having shot creators in the starting lineup, which results in a lot of Castle drives into a crowd at the basket. Steph is improving a bit on passing the ball out of a crowd, but he still ends up swallowed up at the hoop more often than he should be. I think the biggest factor is probably fatigue, which could also partially be due to Devin’s absence, but mostly because they haven’t had more than one day between games in January, except for two occasions near the beginning of the month and a few at the end.

Devon Birdsong: I think Vassell’s absence has simply brought focus to how thin the shooting on the roster is. In my opinion, their non-shooting guards become a much bigger issue with someone like Vassell out. I think it would be the same issue if Champagnie or Barnes were out for an extended stretch. I’m pretty confident that at least one of Castle and Harper will improve in that arena, but it has placed a lot of focus on the shooting that the Spurs need at other positions on the roster. Power-forward most of all. I think the addition of those two young guards may actually have been the kiss of death for poor Jeremy Sochan. The Spurs could have adjusted to his lack of shooting if those two could both shoot reliably from long-distance, but with all three of them in the fold, one is going to get left out, and by default, that’s probably Sochan. It’s not a commentary on his potential as much as it is an argument that the other two just have more potential than he does. Really tough break. 

Jesus Gomez: Several players having a slump at the same time played a part in some of the losses. The grueling schedule was also a factor, and the Spurs dropped games to the Rockets, Thunder, and Timberwolves in that stretch, all great teams. But Vassell has definitely been missed. He’s one of the few guys on the team whose shot defenses respect, so even when he doesn’t get touches, he’s helping on offense. Plus, he looked friskier on defense before his injury. The Spurs need all the shooting they can get, and every team can use a wing who can defend and create in a pinch. While he might not always do all that consistently, Vassell has a skill set that not many others on the roster have. 

The Spurs’ four regular starters with Champagnie in Vassell’s place have outscored opponents by a preposterous 21.6 points per 100 possessions, more than doubling the numbers of the four other starters plus Vassell. Should the Spurs consider bringing Vassell off the bench?

Dubinski: I don’t think the sample size of Vassell plus the other four main starters is large enough to take too seriously, considering the amount of time Wemby has missed or come off the bench.  I also don’t think we can sit here and claim Julian Champagnie is THAT much better of a defender than Vassell to the point that it’s worth benching him. None of this is to say Vassell has to start or Champagnie has to return to the bench, but I’m not ready to take this stat too seriously until we see more of the team completely healthy.  

Barrington: That’s a no from me. I definitely think they can bring Champagnie off the bench and find him minutes by staggering the minutes of the other starters. I’m a big fan of Harrison Barnes, but he would probably benefit from playing fewer minutes early in the game and saving his energy for crunch time, which would free up more Sam Penny* minutes. I don’t think it’s that significant who is in the starting lineup, so long as Julian plays 25 minutes or more, which is about how much the starters play. Keldon Johnson has been playing as many minutes as the starters, and I think that Julian has earned a similar spot in the rotation.

 * I watch the games with closed captioning turned on, and that’s how his name is spelled in the closed captions.

Birdsong: Taking into consideration his current slump, I think it’s actually Barnes who should probably go to the benchfor now. Champagnie’s been playing great defense, and he’s also been going off with regularity, and Vassell’s defense and shooting have also been important in that lineup. Both of them on the court would make up for any loss of Barnes. Realistically, though, Vassell is probably coming off the bench as the Spurs ease him in, because that’s just how they do things. I’d really like to see them stagger Castle more, so that you can get the occasional Fox-Vassell-Champagnie-Barnes-Wemby lineup, because I think that could be lethal, but I’ll be happy just to have another shooter back in the game. 

Gomez: Lineup numbers are tricky because the Spurs tend to play a lot of different units even when healthy and a lot more when not, so groups rarely get enough minutes to allow for definitive conclusions. I do think there’s something to the starters plus Champagnie, though. It adds more size, and Champagnie is a low-usage player who doesn’t need the ball, which fits the rest of the unit. Vassell off the bench could get opportunities to create while also bringing a steadying perimeter presence next to the Harper-Castle duo. But there’s just not enough evidence to suggest he should come off the bench permanently. We’ll know more as the games go by.  

Carter Bryant has been showing some signs of progress recently. Should the Spurs play him more minutes even with Vassell back, or should they continue to bring him along slowly in the small bench role he currently plays? 

Dubinski: He’s just now starting to look comfortable as an NBA player, but I was surprised it took them as long as it did to send him to the G League for some development, and then it was just for one game.  That being said, if he truly is turning a corner, there’s no reason to halt his progress.  What they’re doing now is fine, with about 10 min per game, but I also wouldn’t hesitate to pull him if he’s having an off night.

Barrington: I’m a big fan of Carter Bryant. I think they should play him until he gets tired every single game that remains in the regular season. You can see already how much he’s improved in limited minutes, and I think he’s going to be a really good player. The way you find out about that is by playing him. Of course, Coach Mitch needs to hold him accountable and pull him from the game for instruction when he makes mistakes, which could be quite often, but he’s growing by leaps and bounds, and I just want to watch him play. Even when he messes up, it’s fun to watch. When playoff time rolls around, the coaching staff could limit his minutes, but it all depends on how much he develops in the remaining half of the season. He has very little experience playing basketball at a high level, and he’s probably a year or two away from being anywhere near his potential, but he’s going to get there quicker if he can gain experience on the court.

Birdsong: The basketball IQ on that kid is high, which is hardly a surprise based on what the Spurs draft for, and I think he’s starting to acclimate quickly after adjusting to the speed and spacing of the pros, but I don’t think forcing more minutes is in the cards. He’s averaging 13 minutes over the last 5 games, and I think that’s the right amount, considering Harper is averaging 21 minutes. It looks like he’s soaking up some of the minutes that Olynyk and Sochan would be getting, and that’s the right call if you’re not going to play them, unless more size is needed. Barring an injury, I say let him get used to playing in those spurts. If Barnes or Champagnie goes down, though, I think he’s the one who should see the uptick in minutes (unless Sochan’s going to get some run). 

Gomez: I’ll admit Bryant has been better, but he’s gone from eliciting “why is Carter Bryant playing?” responses to being semi-competent in low minutes. It’s not meant to be too strong a criticism of him, since he’s extremely young and raw, with limited experience playing high-level basketball, as Mark pointed out. It was overly optimistic to expect him to be good as a rookie. The other problem is that even if the coaching staff wanted to expand his role, it would be tough to do so because the Spurs have a solid nine-man rotation when everyone is healthy. So who gets fewer minutes? There might be some spare if they bring Vassell along slowly, but I don’t see how they can give Bryant more playing time without making themselves worse.  

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The Mets’ new position players have something in common

The New York Mets went into the offseason with the idea of revamping their roster. David Stearns said as much at the end of last year’s disappointing collapse that saw the team go from first place to missing the playoffs over the summer, saying that returning most of the roster “wasn’t the right thing to do.” He made good on that promise, letting lifelong Mets Brandon Nimmo (traded to Texas) and Pete Alonso (left in free agency to Baltimore) go, building the team in a different image.

This offseason has been, for lack of a better word, slowly. Perhaps even glacially so. Big named players like Kyle Tucker and new Met Bo Bichette took forever to sign, with both signing in the middle of January. Cody Bellinger is still available, and many of the big trade targets are still on the board. It has been a test of patience, but the vision David Stearns had when he vowed to not run the 2025 Mets back is beginning to come into place, and every position player they have signed has something in common.

And it’s not just that they’re all middle infielders by trade. Even if they are.

All three of the new Mets acquisitions to their position player group are tough, tough batters to strike out. Jorge Polanco has a career 19% strikeout rate, and had a 15.6% strikeout rate last season, which was a big reason why the switch-hitter had a big 2025 season. Marcus Semien, despite a career low 89 wRC+, barely struck out as well, as he finished 2025 with an 17.4% strikeout rate, right in line with his career 18.5% strikeout rate (he also had a very strange season all together, as he was closer to league average than not after a truly horrific April and May but that is another story for another time).

Bichette, likely to be the crown jewel of the Mets offseason, is the absolute best example of this trend. His 14.5% strikeout rate was one of the best in the league, as only 25 qualified batter struck out at a lower percentage. Even with how often he expands the zone (12th percentile chase rate) and how little he walks (6.4%), he has an 83rd percentile whiff rate—he simply makes an outrageous amount of contact.

For reference, the league average strikeout rate sat at 22.2% this past year, so all three players are significantly below that mark.

Now, the players who left the Mets were not necessarily putting up Joey Gallo strikeout numbers in Queens, but the trends were concerning. Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo both struck out at roughly league average rates (22.8% and 21.6% respectively), but both have some concerning trends in their profiles, specifically in their whiff rates. Nimmo has seen his whiff rate drop sharply over the last three seasons, going from 68 percentile (good) to 55 percentile (average), and Alonso go from 43rd percentile in 2023, up to 48 percentile in 2024, and plummeting to 40 percentile in 2025.

This does not seem to be a coincidence. Nimmo and Alonso seem to be players on decline, with Nimmo in an especially sharp decline that could fall off a cliff soon. While Alonso will likely be able to slug his way out of the whiffing issues, its still a profile that can be fragile, especially on such a long contract. The 2025 Mets were not striking out a ton, coming in below league average at 21.4%, but this looks like a concerted effort to change the way the offense functions—less striking out, less all or nothing profiles. The 2025 Blue Jays were an extreme example of this archetype, as they struck out a ridiculous 17.8% as a team, and it was a big reason why they were an out away from their first World Series Championship in three decades.

While not all strikeouts are bad—a strikeout is unequivocally better than a double play, for example—swings and misses were a problem that reared its head from time to time as the Mets slowly collapsed last season, and part of their offensive revamp is a different way to stress pitchers and defenses in 2026.

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Mariners News: Samad Taylor, José Ramírez, and Yu Darvish

In Mariners news…

Around the league…

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Yankees Birthday of the Day: Les Nunamaker

Throughout the 1910s and 1920s, the Yankees swindled the Red Sox on a couple different deals, mostly famously the one for Babe Ruth, a trade that’s had its own lore for decades. The Yankees’ acquisition of Les Nunamaker from Boston a couple years prior is not remotely on the level of Ruth, just because you might not have heard of Nunamaker, while Ruth is still one of the most famous names in baseball.

However, Nunamaker was another trade the Yankees made with the Red Sox where they made out very well, and the Red Sox made out with not much. And if medical science was somehow way more advanced than it already is, today would be his 137th birthday. With that in mind, let’s look back on Mr. Nunamaker.

Name: Leslie Grant Nunamaker
Born: January 25, 1889 (Malcolm, NE)
Died: November 14, 1938 (Hastings, NE)
Yankees Tenure: 1914-17

Nunamaker was born and raised in Nebraska, and playing semi-pro baseball there was what got him on the radar. At 20-years-old, he first caught on with the Lincoln Railsplitters of the Western League in 1909. Slotted in at catcher, his early career was often a struggle defensively. However, he apparently still impressed enough to get picked up by the Cubs, who farmed him out to the Bloomington Bloomers of the inartfully named Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League.

Despite another defensive struggle and a suspension for insubordination, Nunamaker’s talent apparently shone through enough for the then Cleveland Naps to select him in the Rule 5 Draft, although they very soon after traded his rights to the Red Sox. With Boston coming off a middle-of-the-pack finish in 1910, they took a chance on the young catcher and put him on their big-league roster for 1911.

Nunamaker spent 1911 mostly as the Red Sox backup catcher and missed some time with injury during the year. The next season, he was part of the 1912 Boston team that won the World Series, although he was again hampered by injury, and had his playing time cut into after a good season from replacement Forest Cady.

After again recieving sparse playing time in 1913 and ‘14, the Red Sox eventually sold him to the Yankees in May 1914. The Yankees’ manager at the time was Frank Chance, who had been the Cubs’ boss when Chicago originally picked Nunamaker up back in 1910. The stretch run in 1914 saw Nunamaker get regular playing time and finally have some success, especially at the plate. In his third game as a Yankee, he hit his first career MLB home run. Over the course of 87 games with the Yankees in 1914, he hit .265/.327/.350, which may not sound great, but actually grades out as an above average OBP for the era. Not to mention in one game, he achieved the rare feat of throwing out three runners in one inning.

After regressing in 1915, Nunamaker had probably his best year in 1916. He hit .296/.380/.404, which was good for a 134 OPS+. In addition, he had also come around 360 from the poor defense from early in his career. In that season, the Yankees contended much of the year and led the AL as late as July 29th, although they struggled throughout August and September and ended up double-digit games out of first.

Throughout his career, Nunamaker could also be a bit of an ornery figure. He got into numerous spats with opposing players and umpires over the years. One incident after leaving the Yankees saw him apparently tell a fan that he would “change the fan’s map as the kaiser is trying to alter the topographical face of Europe.” That line probably hit harder in the World War I era than it does now.

After one more year with the Yankees in 1917, Nunamaker was traded to the St. Louis Browns. The Yankees’ return in the deal included previous birthday boy Del Pratt. Under new manager Miller Huggins, the Yankees were trying to become a regular contender after years of ups and downs, and Pratt was a legitimate star of the time. While Pratt didn’t end up leading the Yankees to glory, he was part of a package that brought pitcher Waite Hoyt to New York, so we can include Nunamaker as part of that trade tree.

Nunamaker spent one year with the Browns and a couple with Cleveland to end his major league career. While he once again wasn’t a regular starter or anything, he was part of another World Series winning team with Cleveland in 1920. He only got two at-bats in the Fall Classic, but singled off future Hall of Famer Burleigh Grimes in Game 2. He continued to play on in the minors for several years after that, managing off and on as well. After his time in baseball was up, he returned to his native Nebraska, where he passed away in 1938.

See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

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Warriors vs Timberwolves Prediction, Picks & Odds for Tonight’s NBA Game

The Minnesota Timberwolves are still searching for the consistency of true contenders, and they’ll try to rebound tonight against the Golden State Warriors in a matchup rescheduled after yesterday's tragic events in Minneapolis.

Minnesota enters on a four-game losing streak, but my Warriors vs Timberwolves predictions signal a change of fortunes for the hosts against a Golden State team that could be without Steph Curry.

Read on for my NBA picks ahead of this January 25 contest.

Warriors vs Timberwolves prediction

Warriors vs Timberwolves best bet: Timberwolves -5.5 (-110)

Every time the Minnesota Timberwolves seem to be gathering momentum to take a crack at the Top 4 in the West, they seem to hit a rough patch.

But some uneven results this month can’t mask the talent on this roster, which is why I’m trusting Anthony Edwards & Co. to respond tonight.

Minnesota is 15-7 at home this season — in contrast to the Golden State Warriors' ugly 8-14 mark on the road — and has covered in the past five meetings between these teams. That dominance largely stems from a playoff series in May, but the T-Wolves also landed a 127-120 victory at Chase Center in December.

This line has climbed overnight, and it surely hints that Curry will sit out today with knee soreness before these teams collide again tomorrow night.

The Warriors’ injury report also features Al Horford, De’Anthony Melton, and Jonatha Kuminga, and the visitors have lost back-to-back games since losing Jimmy Butler to a torn ACL.

Warriors vs Timberwolves same-game parlay

Julius Randle feasted against the Warriors in last year’s playoff series, averaging 25.2 ppg on 53% shooting. He was a difference-maker in Minnesota’s win over Golden State earlier this season, scoring 27 points.

I like this points prop Over, with Randle coming off a 30-point night on Thursday against the Chicago Bulls.

Whether Curry plays or not, the Warriors are going to lean on Brandin Podziemski as they try to fill the Butler void. He’s nailed this Over in three of his last four outings, and he dished 10 dimes in Dallas earlier this week.

Warriors vs Timberwolves SGP

  • Timberwolves -7
  • Julius Randle Over 22.5 points
  • Brandin Podziemski Over 9.5 rebounds+assists

Our "from downtown" SGP: Block party

Look for Jaden McDaniels to bring the heat defensively tonight, and he’s recorded a block in each of his last six games.

With the length to bother smaller guards, he’s averaging 1.2 blocks per game in January, and he should be a threat in this category against the Golden State backcourt.

Warriors vs Timberwolves SGP

  • Timberwolves -7
  • Julius Randle Over 22.5 points
  • Brandin Podziemski Over 9.5 rebounds+assists
  • Jaden McDaniels Over 0.5 blocks

Warriors vs Timberwolves odds

  • Spread: Warriors +5.5 | Timberwolves -5.5
  • Moneyline: Warriors +180 | Timberwolves -220
  • Over/Under: Over 237.5 | Under 237.5

Warriors vs Timberwolves betting trend to know

The Over is 7-3 in Golden State’s last 10 games. Find more NBA betting trends for Warriors vs. Timberwolves.

How to watch Warriors vs Timberwolves

LocationTarget Center, Minneapolis, MN
DateSunday, January 25, 2026
Tip-off5:30 p.m. ET
TVABC

Warriors vs Timberwolves latest injuries

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This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here

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Rutgers Outfielder Peyton Bonds Named to Preseason all-Big Ten Team by Perfect Game

Perfect Game came out with their preseason all-Big Ten Team, and one Rutgers player made the list, outfielder Peyton Bonds.

Bonds transferred to the Scarlet Knights last offseason after one season at Campbell. Last season, Bonds posted a .300 average and a .384 on-base percentage. In his 223 at-bats, he finished with 67 hits, 5 home runs, and 40 runs batted in.

In the brief description that Perfect Game uses to explain why each player got named to the list, they said that the Franklin, New Jersey native will be looking to back up a breakout year after hitting .300/.384/.430 with 17 XBHs & 40 RBI for Rutgers in ’25, with his MLB draft interest picking up.

Bonds comes from a line of MLB superstars. The most recognizable is his uncle, Barry Bonds, who has the most home runs in MLB history. His grandfather is Bobby Bonds, a three-time MLB All-Star. His father, Bobby Bonds II, played 11 seasons in the major leagues. Peyton himself has already attracted interest from MLB clubs and will be looking to continue the family legacy when he decides to declare for the draft.

Bonds has two more years of eligibility left and can be a huge asset to the team’s future if they can keep him around for his senior year.

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Islanders' Isaiah George On NHL Return: 'I Felt Comfortable Out There'

ELMONT, NY -- On Saturday, the New York Islanders recalled defenseman Isaiah George from Bridgeport.

Islanders Recall Defenseman Isaiah George; Will Play With Ryan Pulock OutIslanders Recall Defenseman Isaiah George; Will Play With Ryan Pulock OutA promising prospect returns! Isaiah George rejoins the Islanders, eager to prove his talent and fill a defensive void after overcoming injuries.

The 21-year-old defenseman played 33 games with the big club last season, but when opportunities presented themselves this season, injuries got in the way. 

In the Islanders' 5-0 loss to the Buffalo Sabres, George played 13:56 minutes alongside Adam Boqvist on the third pairing, keeping things simple. 

He had a turnover on his first shift, but then really settled in. 

"I was pleased with his game," Islanders head coach Patrick Roy said. "I thought he was playing with confidence, skating well, and breaking the puck out pretty well. I felt like he had a good game."

We spoke with George following his return:

Q: What’s it been like getting re-acclimated and being back with the group?

A: “It’s really just about getting re-acclimated. That’s the biggest thing. It was nice to be reunited with the guys up here. They’ve been great to me — last year at camp and this year too. It was all smiles when I came back. It’s great to see everyone again.”

Q: How tough was it being hurt and feeling like there were opportunities slipping away while you were sidelined?

A: “Obviously, you’d rather not be hurt. You want to be playing and playing well, so that was a tough situation. But I’m happy with the way I stuck with it and kept working. Over the last couple of weeks, things have started to go my way more, and that’s been encouraging.”

Q: How much has Rocky Thompson helped you during that stretch?

A: “He’s been great. He does a really good job putting us in positions to win games, which is super valuable. He’s also big on the details — little stick details, positioning details — and I feel like that’s definitely helped my game. Those things really matter at this level.”

Q: How did you feel about your game today and adjusting back to NHL speed?

A: "I felt good. I thought I had some moments. Obviously, you always wish you had better shifts here and there, but I felt comfortable out there. I was getting back into the groove, handling the puck well, and seeing the ice.”

George is expected to get a good look, as he could be the best answer to fill Alexander Romanov's spot in the lineup for the rest of the season. 

The Islanders battle the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday at 7 PM ET, weather permitting.  

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Knicks Bulletin: ‘If somebody is in foul trouble, hopefully the next guy can step up’

The Knicks played a home game on the road.

Make that make sense, Philadelphians.

Here’s your crew dropping some gems after yesterday’s affair.

Mike Brown

On parity across the NBA:

“In the NBA anything can happen. It doesn’t surprise me at all because teams are a lot more even in today’s NBA than back in the day. Teams are really good, players have gotten better, coaches have gotten better, so you have to be ready to play every single time you step on the floor.”

On OG Anunoby’s defensive impact on Saturday:

“OG obviously changed the game defensively. His quick decisions with the basketball, it was beautiful to watch. Defensively, guard Paul George, guard their power forward and then guard Joel Embiid. He was phenomenal defensively.”

On Anunoby guarding Embiid late:

“We can’t do anything like that if you don’t have a guy like OG. OG allows us to play the basketball game in a lot of different ways. So, we were able to do it.”

On the Knicks response to Towns’ never-ending foul trouble:

“We gotta just have other guys step up. We can’t control the fouls called, so if somebody is in foul trouble, hopefully the next guy can step up and play the right way to help us get a win.”

On the late-game challenge:

“I didn’t even see the play. I didn’t even hear our challenge guy say yes or no. I just know the whole bench was yelling at me to challenge. So I was ready to MF everybody if we didn’t win it.”

On Ariel Hukporti’s readiness:

“Ariel, he has been back and forth with the G-League team. He has been practicing, playing games, coming here, he kept himself ready. We throw him out there in a crucial time and he was phenomenal for us in those minutes.”

Mitchell Robinson

On the second-half defensive turnaround against the 76ers:

“We locked in defensively. We came back into halftime to see what we were lacking, especially myself. Defensively in the first half, I ain’t do too great. But definitely in the second half came with more energy.”

On battling Joel Embiid:

“Playing against him is always gonna be a little fight. That’s our nature, it is what it is. He’s an All-Star player so you’ve gotta come out there and fight and make some adjustments yourself.”

Jalen Brunson

On adjusting after Towns fouled out:

“Obviously, we want him in the game, but it’s a next man up mentality. We gotta find a way to go out there and execute our gameplan, play with pace, play good defense, play physical and get back to what we do.”

On the chaotic finish:

“Just pure chaos, but we found a way to win. That’s the best way I can describe it.”

On winning the late-game challenge after replay proved him right:

“Very. It’s very satisfying. If I’m animated like that, I’m pretty sure I’m right.”

Josh Hart

On closing out a tough win vs. Philly:

“When you’re a team that’s struggling to put together wins, you got to do the little things. Good attention to detail, good focus, good energy, and get all those 50-50 balls.”

On the Knicks’ late-game execution:

“We played well, but our execution the last couple minutes… I don’t know if we deserved to win the game. I don’t know if they deserved to win either. It was just a toss-up.”

On staying level-headed after back-to-back wins:

“Yeah, it is good, but also it’s January. You can’t get too high or too low. Three games ago we were turning into a lottery team, now people say we’re battling the East. We’re just trying to stay level headed.”

Landry Shamet

On the bench production and its variability:

“Some nights that bench scoring is going to have a huge onus on it. Other nights our first five have it going. That’s the beauty of our team. We’ve got to be adaptable and find ways to win.”

Guerschon Yabusele

On trade uncertainty ahead of the deadline:

“It’s nothing that I can control. Just try to be smart, preparing, as ready as I can. I’ve never gotten traded before or been in a situation like this. I just work hard and try to stay prepared.”

On unmet expectations this season:

“It’s definitely not what I was expecting coming into the season. I thought it would be a little more different. Obviously, my role is different from last year or from the Olympics.”

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Good Morning San Diego: Yu Darvish contemplating retirement; Padres to wear patch in honor of Randy Jones

As the 2026 MLB season draws near, various projections have started to come out about where the San Diego Padres will finish as a team, and some sites have gone on to predict how individual players will finish their season. These projections are a lot like weather models. There are formulas and trends that are taken into consideration and while sometimes these projections come to pass, nothing is certain. Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball provides an explanation of how the projections are made and what those projections look like for the Padres.

Padres News:

  • Padres CEO Erik Greupner announced at the celebration of life ceremony for Padres Hall of Famer Randy Jones that the 2026 team will wear a “35” patch on their uniforms to honor the late Cy Young Award winner. Current players, former teammates and fans filled Petco Park Saturday to pay their respects to Jones.
  • Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribunereported Saturday that Padres pitcher Yu Darvish, who will miss the 2026 season recovering from offseason surgery, was planning to retire and forfeit the remaining years and money on his contract. Since Acee filed the report, Darvish and his agent, Joe Wolfe, responded on X stating the report was not accurate and that he had not made a formal decision. Sonja Chen of MLB.com is reporting that Darvish is “leaning towards” voiding what is left of his contract, but the previous report was premature. Dennis Lin of The Athletic is reporting that the final details of a potential Darvish retirement have yet to be decided.
  • The Padres added infielder Samad Taylor on a minor league contract with an invite to Spring Training.

Baseball News:

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Snake Bytes 1/25

Team News

Ryne Nelson not taking pitching role for granted in 2026
“I feel the exact same coming into camp this year as I did last year,” Nelson said. “I think the second you get comfortable, and you think that things are going to be easy or whatnot, you start to let what got you here slip. I’m just coming in, getting good work in, and trying to be the best version of myself. And whatever role I end up in, it’s not going to be because I didn’t work hard enough. I’m gonna do everything I can to put myself in the best position to succeed.”
https://www.mlb.com/dbacks/news/ryne-nelson-discusses-d-backs-role-2026

Why the Diamondbacks haven’t added a late-inning reliever this winter “Some of them are going to emerge as really good bullpen pieces. We don’t have a lot of guys ready to step into our rotation. If I had spent $15 million on one of those good bullpen arms (in free agency), I wouldn’t have Merrill Kelly.” https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/mlb/diamondbacks/2026/01/24/mlb-trade-arizona-diamondbacks-merrill-kelly-mike-hazen-mlb-playoffs-late-inning-reliever-winter/88328240007/

Arizona Diamondbacks star rockets toward front of MLB’s 2026 Top 100
https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/mlb/diamondbacks/2026/01/23/mlb-network-top-100-player-list-2026-arizona-diamondbacks-corbin-carroll-ketel-marte-geraldo-perdomo/88315689007/

Could Zac Gallen still be an option for the Diamondbacks?

https://arizonasports.com/mlb/arizona-diamondbacks/zac-gallen-10/3609471/

Projecting the Diamondbacks’ Opening Day Rosterhttps://www.si.com/mlb/diamondbacks/onsi/arizona-diamondbacks-news/projecting-diamondbacks-opening-day-roster


D-backs Reveal 2026 Player Development Staff

https://www.si.com/mlb/diamondbacks/onsi/arizona-diamondbacks-news/d-backs-reveal-2026-player-development-staff


Other Baseball

A closer look at each team’s Top 100 prospects
https://www.mlb.com/dbacks/news/each-mlb-club-top-100-prospects-2026?t=mlb-pipeline-coverage

Guardians Agree To Extension With Jose Ramirezhttps://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/01/guardians-close-to-extension-with-jose-ramirez.html

Craig Kimbrel reportedly joins Mets on minor-league deal
https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/article/craig-kimbrel-reportedly-joins-mets-on-minor-league-deal-015053021.html

Yu Darvish Contemplating Retirement, Has Not Made Final Decisionhttps://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/01/yu-darvish-to-retire.html


The 10 biggest positional upgrades teams made this offseason
https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-free-agent-signings-and-trades-that-addressed-weaknesses

Anything Goes

This day in history:
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/january-25
Scottish poet Robert Burns was born in 1759, first winter olympics in 1924 and today saw the conclusion of the Battle of the Bulge in 1945.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Bulge

This day in baseball:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/January_25


Until it blows against something, wind makes no sound.

Ready for more did you know facts? The sounds you hear during a windy day are due to the speed of the wind coming into contact with various objects at the same time. The process of friction can also cause sounds at higher pitches depending on the speed of the wind. 

Apart from Vitamin C, eggs contain every single vitamin.

It also contains high traces of protein, fat, and minerals. The egg yolk is also one of the few foods that naturally contain Vitamin D. 

Gold never erodes.

This is because it is chemically inert. This means that it does not react to the oxygen found in the atmosphere. 


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Chris Getz has a sense of humor!

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 11: General Manager Chris Getz of the Chicago White Sox looks on before a game against the Detroit Tigers at Rate Field on August 11, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois.
Chris Getz chuckles through more repetition of the party line. | (Photo by Matt Dirksen/Getty Images)

“We’ve got some financial flexibility now to continue to bring in talent.”

Talk about a real knee-slapper. The White Sox GM sure knows how to tell ’em.

Chris Getz made that remark after the trade of Luis Robert, Jr. to the Mets, a move that not only forced everybody covering the team to figure out how to type the ñ in Luisangel Acuña’s name but got Robert’s $20 million salary off of the books. Most of the coverage had to do with the trade itself, of course, which is understandable, but which left little to no reporting on Getz’s little joke about financial flexibility.

That’s a sad omission, though not the only one. Both the Mets and Rangers (who had originally drafted Ronald Acuña’s little brother) had given up on him as a center fielder despite his elite speed due to a tendency to take, er, shall we say “creative” routes in the more-or-less (mostly less) general direction of fly balls coming his way.

(Forgive an aside: Acquiring a star player’s brother may be a big step better than acquiring a brother-in-law, but it’s still another giant step for Soxkind to actually get the star himself.)

Both teams settled on Luisangel as a middle infielder, a category the White Sox have in abundance, what with Colson Montgomery at short, a slew of shortstops working their way though the system (or about to be drafted?), and a big pile of utility infielders who themselves had hopes to start at second or third. Since Acuña is out of options, Chase Meidroth, Miguel Vargas, Lenyn Sosa, Curtis Mead, Bryan Ramos, etc. may not have been thrilled about the trade. (Yes, it’s probably better to have too many middle infielders than too many 1B/DH types like a few years ago, and we all have dreadful memories of Jacob Amaya, but such overstock is still not particularly useful.)

Of course, we shouldn’t forget the Sox also picked up a low-minors pitcher out of Harvard, who should be able to help the other players with their homework.

The really big deal, though, is the Getz quote. Let’s look at it again, in case you already forgot it, as apparently pretty much everybody covering the White Sox did.

“We’ve got some financial flexibility now to continue to bring in talent.”

On any other team, that might be a serious statement. On the White Sox? Not so much.

Sure, saving 20 million smackers is a big chunk, even bigger than the $17 million headed to Munetaka Murakami. It doesn’t also cover the $10 million then offered to Seranthony Dominguez to be the 2026 closer — a move that probably didn’t make Grant Taylor’s day, but toss in the savings on Josh Rojas, Aaron Civale, Martín Pérez and Mike Tauchman, and there’s plenty left over for the other offseason pick-ups.

Which gets us to why it’s all just a joke:

What financial flexibility was missing before the trade, Chris? Can you remove your lips from Jerry Reinsdorf’s butt long enough to answer that?

Different sites come up with different team payroll numbers, what with measuring at different times in different ways, but let’s go with USA Today because they used 2025 Opening Day figures adjusted for other stuff. They had the Sox at 27th — more generous than most listings — at $82,279,825.

That’s higher only than the two teams who played the season in minor league parks and the Marlins, and half the level they would have needed to reach 15th of the 30 teams (Orioles). It’s almost $120 million below 10th place, which happened to be a team that also plays in Chicago. It’s so low that the White Sox could have signed both Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Tucker and had plenty of room under the salary cap. Heck, add in Juan Soto and they’d still not be near the top.

Want to look at what’s still possible? The Athletic this week listed its top seven remaining free agents, and the money gap beween the Sox and the Top 10 would let them sign every single one, including old buddy Lucas Giolito.

Financial flexibility? The financial flexibility on the South Side is almost infinite! Or it would be, if they had real ownership instead of being run by a player-, fan- and media-hating control freak who will be leading the charge for a lockout in December, 2027 season be damned.

With de-Scrooge-ification Getz’s line wouldn’t just be a bad joke. But we all know the only thing that will make that come to pass.

A Chicago market P.S.

The White Sox, or at least Reinsdorf, love to cry poor and claim to be just the lowly second team in the No. 3 market. So be it today. But in 1981, the year MLB screwed White Sox fans by refusing a sale to Ed DeBartolo and Bill Veeck instead had to sell to Reinsdorf and the Tribune Corp. bought the Cubs, Sox attendance was almost double the Cubs — 946,651 to 565,637 — and it stayed higher until 1985, three years before Wrigley Field got lights.

It’s not just recently that Mr. Potter has poisoned everything he touches.

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NHL Rumors: Sharks Should Consider Targeting Blues Defender

The San Jose Sharks recently added to their roster, as they acquired forward Kiefer Sherwood from the Vancouver Canucks. With this, the Sharks made it clear that they are willing to be buyers. 

If the Sharks want to keep making moves, one area that they could look to boost is the right side of their defense. When looking at trade candidates around the NHL, the St. Louis Blues have an interesting potential option in veteran blueliner Justin Faulk. 

If the Sharks landed Faulk, he would undoubtedly give their top four a nice boost. This is because he is an impactful defenseman who contributes well offensively from the point and works on both the power play and penalty kill. 

Faulk would also be more than a rental for the Sharks, which adds to his appeal. This is because the right-shot defenseman is signed until the end of the 2026-27 season, where he has a $6.5 million cap hit. With this, he would benefit the Sharks for more than just the remainder of this season if acquired.

On a struggling Blues team, Faulk has been in the middle of a solid year. In 52 games so far this season, the 33-year-old blueliner has posted 11 goals, 13 assists, and 24 points. His 11 goals also have him tied for seventh among all NHL defensemen this season. 

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Meet Red Sox trade acquisition Tyler Samaniego

Who is he and where did he come from?

He’s Tyler Samaniego, and he has only a slightly easier name to pronounce than Jhostynxon “The Password” Garcia, whom he was traded for along with Johan Oviedo. Samaniego has not yet cracked a Major League roster, but his status as a lefty arm with a 98 mile per hour fastball on a roster of guys that are, well, not that, coupled with the fact that the Red Sox traded for him knowing they’d need to carry him on the 40-man roster, as Pittsburgh protected him from the Rule 5 draft, leads to some speculation that he’ll be cracking a Major League roster in 2026.

Is he any good?

We’re not sure yet! He has some promising aspects to his game, though. Besides that fastball, his notable extension is surely a factor in his status as a prospect. And if that’s not enough, he also has finished with fewer than one strikeout an inning in the minors just once, in 2022 (and even then he finished with 8.84 K/9). He also has a great ground ball percentage and has allowed just nine home runs since being drafted in 2021 out of South Alabama.

He’s also a lefty — one of only five lefty pitchers with relief experience on the Red Sox’s 40-man roster, and the second-youngest of those four behind Payton Tolle. And he’s the only one — aside from certain 2026 closer Aroldis Chapman — to have been used as a closer at all in 2025. It’s not entirely comforting that he hasn’t pitched higher than Double-A yet, nor that he’s battled control issues for most of his time in the minors. But maybe he’s a late bloomer.

Show me a cool highlight.

Here are some of his more impressive pitches. Samaniego has a shot of reaching 100 with that fastball at some point in his career. You can definitely see, with that three quarter arm movement, why hitters struggle to take it out of the park.

What’s he doing in his picture up there?

I got nothing in the humor department for this one. I just want to point out how cool the throwing motion looks.

What’s his role on the 2026 Red Sox?

Given the lack of lefties currently on the Red Sox, it really wouldn’t shock me to see Samaniego make a good impression in spring training against some less seasoned bats and then eventually make somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-30 appearances if he’s solid in Triple-A. Think 2023 Chris Murphy for reference. How he performs around that time could be important to the condition the team finds themselves in come late September, especially if he can eat a few more innings than anticipated. If he’s used in any higher of a capacity than that, it may signal a failure on the part of analyzing the depth on the roster, including parts that have already departed for other pastures in 2026. But Samaniego has a perfect opportunity to develop things he already does really well, keep the walks down, and emerge as a viable arm down the stretch for a playoff contender.