LAVAL, Quebec (AP) — The Montreal Canadiens have signed head coach Martin St. Louis to a multiyear extension.
The team announced the deal Monday without revealing how long St. Louis is now under contract.
St. Louis, 51, has guided the upstart Canadiens to consecutive playoff berths, including a trip last year’s Eastern Conference final, after beginning his tenure during a full-scale rebuild.
Montreal hired St. Louis in on an interim basis following Dominique Ducharme’s dismissal in February 2022, taking on his first-ever role behind an NHL bench after previously coaching at the youth hockey level.
A Hall of Fame winger as a player, he had the interim tag removed at the end of that season.
St. Louis has a 163-155-47 record entering his sixth season as Canadiens coach. He was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year in 2025, after leading the Canadiens to the playoffs for the first time since the 2020-21 season. Montreal, at the time the youngest team in the league, was eliminated in the first round by the Washington Capitals.
“Marty has done a terrific job leading our young team,” Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes said in a statement. “He is a great communicator and teacher. We look forward to his continued efforts to mold this group into a championship-caliber team.”
Inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018, St. Louis totaled 1,033 points before retiring in 2015.
His most decorated season was in 2003-04, when he won the Hart Trophy as league MVP, the Art Ross trophy as leading scorer with 94 points and helped the Tampa Bay Lightning win the Stanley Cup.
MIAMI, FL - SEPTEMBER 11: Los Angeles Dodgers Josue De Paula (95) smiles in the dugout after an interaction with Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts (30) in the dgugtou during the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Miami Marrlins on Friday, September 11, 2026 at LoanDepot Park in Miamim, FL (Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
It was a real week of ups and downs for the Dodgers, who ran their season-best win streak to eight games before dropping two games in Miami, with a brutal Sunday loss that prevented what would have been a stellar week.
The Dodgers finally pulled the plug on Shohei Ohtani, placing the superstar on the injured list Friday after he aggravated his right biceps in his lone game on Monday. They played Freddie Freeman and designated hitter on Tuesday, then sat on Wednesday and Friday while dealing with a right knee injury. On the field, Freeman is hitless in his last 16 at-bats and has one hit in his last 26 at-bats, and was moving gingerly at first base on Sunday before a bad toss to covering pitcher Tanner Scott in the fateful ninth inning.
But the Dodgers also saw top prospect Josue De Paula not only make his major league debut, but thrive in doing so, reaching base six times in 11 at-bats, including his first major league home run and a double on Sunday.
In all, the Dodgers won four out of six games, and can clinch a postseason berth as early as Monday.
Batter of the week
Teoscar Hernández continued his stellar September with seven hits in 16 at-bats, tied for the team lead with six RBI, hit a home run and a triple, and even stole a base.
The offense was for the most part humming this week, with De Paula, Hernández, Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, Will Smith, and Kyle Tucker all posting an OPS over 1.000.
Pitcher of the week
Emmet Sheehan bookended the week with stellar starts. He allowed a run in 5 2/3 innings with 10 strikeouts to beat the Reds on Monday after getting called back up from Triple-A. Then Sheehan on Sunday pitched six scoreless innings on Sunday.
Week 25 results
4-2 record 36 runs scored (6.00 per game) 18 runs allowed (3.00 per game) .780 pythagorean win percentage
Year to date
90-59 record 741 runs scored (4.97 per game) 571 runs allowed (3.83 per game) .617 pythagorean win percentage (92-57)
Welcome aboard: Top prospect Josue De Paula was called up directly from Double-A on Friday, and started all three games in Miami — two at designated hitter, then Sunday in left field. In his first game, De Paula reached base once in his four trips to the plate in his first game with a walk, the third Dodgers player to make their major league debut in 2026. De Paula joined first baseman/outfielder Ryan Ward (2 for 5, RBI on April 19 at Colorado) and catcher Eliezer Alfonzo (0 for 2 on July 5 vs. San Diego) in the Dodgers’ first-timer club this season.
Go90: Friday’s victory in Miami gave the Dodgers 90 wins on the season, something they’ve done every full season since 2013, excepting only the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign in which the team was 43-17. The Dodgers are the first team in MLB history to win 90 games for 13 full seasons in a row.
Monday: Emmet Sheehan was recalled from Triple-A, with Bobby Miller optioned the day after pitching three innings in relief.
Tuesday: Center fielder Alek Thomas cleared waivers and was sent outright to Oklahoma City.
Friday: Shohei Ohtani was placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to Tuesday, which opened up a lane of playing time for Josue De Paula’s first major league call-up. Left-hander Eric Lauer was moved to the 60-day IL, ending his season.
The Dodgers run the Eddie Milner gauntlet, finishing up the road trip with a series against the Cincinnati Reds for the second week in a row, followed by the San Francisco Giants in Los Angeles next weekend. The pitching matchups for the latter half of the week are a guess, as the Dodgers have TBA listed for the final two games in Cincinnati.
As National Hockey League clubs open training camps this week, a few former Buffalo Sabres have still not found a home. In recent days, veteran blueliners Carson Soucy and Nick Blankenburg have agreed to professional tryouts with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Toronto Maple Leafs respectively, but players with extensive NHL experience may be running out of time to land a job or may be waiting for a club to need an injury replacement early in the year.
Last season, veteran goalie James Reimer’s pro career looked to be nearing its end, as he failed to latch on with the Toronto Maple Leafs after being brought in on a PTO late in the preseason, but Ottawa came calling in January for a dependable backup for Linus Ullmark, with youngster Leevi Merilainen struggling, and his addition helped the Senators get into the playoffs. The 38-year-old is still unsigned.
Evander Kane also has not found a landing spot, but after a subpar season in Vancouver, being 35, and a chaos agent in many of the locker rooms throughout his career, only a desperate club would go down that road.
A player that surprisingly has not found a home is big defenseman Logan Stanley. The former Winnipeg first rounder played nearly six seasons with the Jets before being traded at the deadline along with Luke Schenn to the Sabres for Isak Rosen, Jacob Bryson, and two draft picks. With Buffalo, the 6’7”, 231 lb. defenseman played mostly in a third pairing role and posted five assists in 17 regular season games, and eight of Buffalo’s 13 playoff games.
There had been speculation that coming off a career-high 26 points last season, and with a very thin crop of defensive free agents on the market, that the 28-year-old was in a prime position to get overpaid and get some term on a deal, but clearly Stanley and his representatives miscalculated.
The veteran is currently skating with his former junior club, the Kitchener Rangers, and may be holding out for a one-year deal in a good landing spot, where he can get plenty of ice time, have a good year and hit the open market again next July, but that may not come until the regular season.
How will Leeds United and Newcastle United fare today? Here is what to know, including kick-off time, TV channels and live stream options
Leeds United and Newcastle United have both enjoyed an unbeaten start to the Premier League season, hinting that Monday’s encounter could be highly competitive between two teams seemingly on an upward trajectory.
After avoiding relegation last season, Leeds are looking to push themselves even higher up the table and have lost just one of their last 12 league games. Newcastle, though, are unbeaten in their last six meetings with Leeds.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - MARCH, 1956: Infielder Jerry Coleman, of the New York Yankees, poses for an action portrait during Spring Training in March, 1956 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by: Diamond Images/Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
“Jerry Coleman, who was banging out base hits all over the green sod at Yankee Stadium last spring, helped today to knock out a rail bridge about twenty-five miles south of Sariwon in his first combat mission in Korea as a Marine air captain.” – The New York Times, February 1, 1953.
I’m highly skeptical that any ball player has had a cooler one-paragraph article in the NYT about them. But Coleman was a pretty fascinating guy with a rather cool history. When he wasn’t racking up World Series titles with the Yankees, he was flying combat in Korea. When his playing days ended, he ended up becoming one of the most famous and beloved broadcasters in the sport. Oh, doctor!
Name: Jerry Coleman Born: September 14, 1924 (San Jose, CA) Died: January 5, 2014 (La Jolla, CA) Yankees Tenure: 1949-1957
Two things happened in early 1942 that changed Jerry Coleman’s life. First, he attended a presentation about the US Navy’s flight training program and instantly decided he wanted to become a fighter pilot. Second, the Yankees offered him $2,800 to sign with the organization. Not yet 18 and therefore unable to join the Navy, Coleman signed on the dotted line and joined the Yankees.
Coleman eventually ended up flying in the Pacific theater, transferring stateside in summer of 1945 to train for an invasion of the Japanese islands. Japan, however, surrendered shortly after and Coleman was discharged in early 1946, allowing him to play baseball.
He made the Yankees out of spring training in 1949 and quickly inherited the second base job due to injury. From there, he was a mainstay in the Yankee lineup. And on the final day of the season, with the Red Sox and Yankees tied and playing for the pennant, the diminutive Coleman had a signature Yankee moment.
With New York up 2-0 on Boston in the home eighth, Coleman came to the plate with the bases loaded, facing Red Sox hurler Tex Hughson. Coleman swung at the first pitch and muscled a pop fly where neither the second baseman nor the right fielder could get it. He couldn’t have run the ball out there and placed it any better. All three runners scored, extending the Yankee lead to five. And those runs were huge, as the Red Sox scored three in the ninth before the Yanks put them away to clinch the pennant.
In that year’s World Series, the Yankees knocked off the Dodgers in five. Coleman, for his part, drove in four runs on the five hits, picking up the first of four World Series rings he’d win as a player. It was the first of three consecutive titles for Coleman, and the first of five straight for the ‘50s Yankees dynasty. Coleman was also recognized as the Associated Press choice for American League Rookie of the Year.
The next season was Coleman’s finest. He made the All-Star Game, the lone time he did that in his career. And in the World Series against Philadelphia, he drove in three of the Yankees’ 11 total runs, reached base six times in four games, and was named winner of the Babe Ruth Award, a still-active honor but the only such award in the days before the World Series MVP. Coleman walked off Game 3 with a single against Russ Meyer, plating Gene Woodling with the run that put the Yankees ahead 3-0 in a series they’d sweep.
The Korean War interrupted Coleman’s playing days as he was off to serve his country again. During that conflict, he flew 63 combat missions, in the process becoming the only major leaguer to have experienced aerial combat in two different wars. Coleman provided close air support and flew interdiction/strike missions. Though he returned to the Yankees for the 1955 season, he remained with the Marine Corps reserves until 1964, when he retired as a Lieutenant Colonel.
Back in baseball, Coleman played three more seasons, ultimately retiring after the 1957 campaign. The effects of his wartime service, and injuries on the diamond, took their toll and Coleman was never the same player he’d been before heading to Korea.
But baseball was not done with him. The third and final act of his baseball career would be the longest, and the one for which he is best known. In 1960, he started broadcasting baseball games. From 1963-1970, he called Yankee games, though that ended when his wife expressed a desire to move to the West Coast. Coleman was, however, on the call when old friend Mickey Mantle clubbed the 500th homer of his Hall of Fame career.
From 1972 until his death in 2014 (with the exception of 1980 when he served as the Padres’ manager), Coleman broadcast San Diego games, where his signature lines “Hang a star on that one, baby!” and “Oh, doctor!” became well-known to baseball fans.
In the process, Coleman became one of the most beloved figures in baseball. In 2005, he was honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame with the Ford C. Frick Award for his achievements in broadcasting.
Coleman died in January 2014 at the age of 89, after suffering a fall. I’ll leave summing up his extraordinary life and career to C. Paul Rogers III, Coleman’s SABR biographer:
“He became a bona-fide war hero in two wars, had a baseball playing career that earned him Rookie of the Year and World Series MVP honors, and then transitioned into a Hall of Fame broadcasting career. Through it all, he remained a very humble man with a great sense of humor and an appreciation for his good fortune in surviving two wars and for his ability to play Major League Baseball. Jerry Coleman was not only a San Diego treasure, but an American treasure.”
Happy birthday, Jerry Coleman.
See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.
Boston Bruins training camp starts Wednesday, and one player to keep a close eye on is top prospect James Hagens.
The former Boston College star, who the B’s selected with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, dominated the Buffalo Sabres in the 2026 Prospects Showcase at LECOM Harborcenter over the last two days.
Hagens scored twice in the first game Sunday to propel the Bruins to a 6-2 win.
Hagens played even better in the second game Monday afternoon. He scored all four of his team’s goals, including the winner in overtime for a 4-3 victory.
Did we say Hagens Hatty? We meant Hagens FOUR GOAL GAME 💪
The 19-year-old forward was playing against Sabres prospects and not a bunch of NHL players, but it was still very encouraging for the Bruins to see how powerful and accurate he was with his shot in this event.
Hagens has a ton of potential as possible top-six forward in the near future. He is a gifted playmaker who has steadily improved his abilities as a goal scorer over the last two years.
He’s also a potential X-factor for the Bruins during the upcoming 2026-27 season. The B’s need a couple young players to take a jump offensively and provide valuable scoring depth. Fraser Minten, a 22-year-old center who recently signed a seven-year extension, is a prime candidate for a breakout. Marat Khusnutdinov scored a career-high 15 goals last season. Can he get to the 20-goal mark in 2026-27?
Hagens was able to get some valuable NHL-level experience last season. He played in two regular season games and three of Boston’s six playoff matchups versus the Sabres in the first round.
The defensive aspect of his game still need some work, and he has to be better on faceoffs. But the offensive talent is special. Four of his six goals in the Prospect Showcase this week came on the power play. That’s one area where he could make a real difference for the Bruins next season.
Hagens will have to earn an Opening Night roster spot in training camp and the preseason. But if he shows the kind of dynamic offensive skill set that was on display in Buffalo the last two days, he shouldn’t have much trouble making the team.
Franklin Arias of the Portland Sea Dogs is present during a Minor League Baseball game at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, United States, on May 1, 2026. (Photo by Dan Squicciarini/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images
I’ve used the word “penultimate” seemingly endless times in the last month or so, so here’s one more. The WooSox capped off their finale in Lehigh Valley (Phillies AAA), finishing the PENULTIMATE series of 2026 in dramatic fashion despite outplaying the IronPigs for most of the game. Gage Ziehl had a gritty if not spectacular performance, pitching into the sixth and coming back from being taken yard in the fourth without his confidence shaken. All told, the 23-year-old righty struck out eight to bring his total to 126 in 116 innings pitched (96/85, respectively, of those being in Portland) and is really shaping up into someone to watch in 2027. The pitching staff as a whole issued zero walks despite being taken for nine hits, but the game never looked out of control save for when Noah Song came in to let two runs up in the sixth.
Luckily, though, the WooSox offense had a home run derby, sending five over the fence, including two from Allan Castro. That second one hoisted the WooSox from a deficit to a lead that Sam McWilliams wouldn’t give up. Arias also hit his 24th home run of the season (and his 5th in Triple-A.)
Portland: Cancelled (rain), end of season
Rain cancelled the last game of the season against Binghamton (Mets AA) in an anticlimactic fashion. But what a season it was for the Sea Dogs.
The season began with interested eyes watching Franklin Arias become an absolute hitting machine in the spring, along with Anthony Eyannson dealing, only for the former to be promoted to Triple-A and the latter dealt to Baltimore (or rather, Chesapeake) in the Adley Rutschman deal. Still, Brooks Brannon raked, the team had 8 walk-off wins and generally found ways to come up on top. The pitching staff headed by Hayden Mullins, in his own right a guy to watch, pitched a combined no hitter in April (but not a shutout). And Justin Gonzales looks formidable as an everyday outfielder a few years in the future. Overall, the cupboard is not as fully stocked as some teams, but there’s some players to feel good about starting to make their mark in the mid-levels of the farm.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - APRIL 26: Amen Thompson #1 of the Houston Rockets drives around Jake LaRavia #12 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the first quarter of a game in Game Four of the First Round of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs at Toyota Center on April 26, 2026 in Houston, Texas. 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. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Here are four new Lakers and one returning player who look well positioned to obliterate the national media’s low expectations and a cautious local fanbase that’s been burned once too often.
Note: Since cheaper rookie deals are locked in, recent draft picks like Cameron Carr, Bronny James, Dalton Knecht and Adou Thiero were left out.
Matisse Thybulle
Defense-starved Lakers fans have dreamed about adding Matisse for years. Now, an injury-filled career has left him playing for LA on a minimum deal right in the middle of his prime.
Availability will always be a concern. But the former All-NBA defender has one trait that will position him to outplay that minimum deal: He’s the best at what he does on the entire team.
A look at Thybulle’s numbers reveals an impossibly high steal rate combined with an increasingly reliable three-point shot. He’s also shown the ability to defend up and down, offering head coach JJ Redick a level of versatility he had in Marcus Smart, only in a taller and younger package.
Injuries could once again have Matisse in street clothes for much of the upcoming season. But if he can regain some level of health like Smart did last year, LA could end up with a rotation-level wing fighting for one of the team’s 2027 exceptions.
Jake LaRavia
Besides injuries, one sure-fire way to make fans crazy is consistently missing wide-open 3-point shots. So, no one was surprised when many ended last season ready to move on from the once promising “Jake of All Trades.”
Still, there are several reasons to believe LaRavia can have a significant bounceback season.
First, he is still relatively young, with his 25th birthday coming just a few days into the regular season. Second, Jake spent his first three years on relatively aimless teams, forcing him to develop lasting NBA skills and habits in less-than-optimal environments.
Luckily, LA’s new batch of wings and forwards should help shoulder more of the load. Assuming a reasonable minute allotment, consistent defense, motor, availability, and continuity with a coach that trusted him nearly all last season, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see Jake regain his shooting stroke and the faith of Laker fans.
LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 03: Walker Kessler of the Los Angeles Lakers throws out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dodgers at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium on Thursday, September 3, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Nicole Vasquez/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Walker Kessler
When LA spent two unprotected first-round draft picks and two swaps (which seem less than likely to convey) on Walker, the national media widely panned it as a major overpay. Annoying, but likely the point.
Still, several reasons suggest Walker can outplay those low expectations.
First, Walker is clearly a high-level shot blocker and rim protector. Former Utah Jazz reporter and current Philadelphia Sixers media member Tony Jones, who spent multiple seasons covering Walker, recently told Jovan Buha of Buha’s Block that he believes the former Team USA center has a chance to be a Rudy Gobert-level defender
“Which is essentially a one-man top-10 defense,” Jones explained.
Kessler also offers surprising advantages on the offensive end as well. Although not an elite post player, Jones also stated more than once that Walker is surprisingly fast end-to-end, regularly leading to fast breaks, quick seals, and easy lay-ins. Those points will be extremely valuable for a team that wants to push the pace on offense.
There were also concerns about Kessler’s ‘highest for a non-All-Star center’ payday. However, with the rising cap, it is more than likely that Kessler’s contract will end up in the lower half of starting centers before it ends.
Like many physically massive players, Kessler may turn out to be a valued game-changer who simply can’t stay healthy. If so, the critics might be right.
But given how many games Utah sat him in successive tanking seasons while he was seemingly able to play, and their decision to address his longstanding shoulder issue with surgery at the start of yet another Great Salt Lake tank campaign, his chances of injury don’t seem to be proportionately higher than any NBA player.
And, oh yeah. If the rumors of a 3-point stroke turn out to be real, his sub-max contract and middling draft asset price may become long-forgotten relics of a predetermined narrative meant to satisfy everyone but Lakers fans.
Ziaire Williams
Ziaire Williams isn’t a complete unknown. But given his relative level of obscurity playing for Memphis and Brooklyn, it’s not a surprise that many Laker fans are talking themselves into the idea of Ziaire starting over more well-known, identifiably flawed options like Sandro Mamukelashvili, Jarred Vanderbilt, Matisse, Jake, and Adou.
A quick glance at Ziaire’s youth and athleticism, and his picture-perfect combo-wing size, reveals a player who merited a first-round gamble. His time in the league has been a mix of solid play, spotty effort, and role concerns.
The other common criticism of Ziaire is how thin he is. His light frame might have worked for a player who used his length to smother opposing guards and his quickness to ably navigate screens. But LA needs a combo forward.
It sounds like Ziaire has added significant muscle, revealing recently that he’s up to around 215 pounds, to potentially compete for the open starting forward spot. While that’s not enough added poundage to bang with bigger fours, the up-and-coming wing might have increased his defensive versatility enough to compete for legitimate rotation minutes.
On offense, a quick look at Williams’ shot chart shows a player who is at his best shooting open catch-and-shoot threes. Now, he is joining a backcourt that has been known to generate “butt-naked wide open” threes.
There are scenarios where Ziaire’s lack of hustle, thin frame, or inconsistent shot doom him to the bench. But considering his added weight, upward career trajectory as a shooter, and JJ’s ability to put together defenses that maximize disrupters like him, it feels like Ziaire has a chance to dramatically outperform his minimum contract and force LA to consider spending part of their MLE on him next summer.
Instead of trying to score the most points, the do-it-all role player who’s proven a valuable cog in several championship runs said two-way players should try to forge a role with their G League team that they would most likely play with the big club.
A comfortable on-ball scorer, Arthur often found himself stuck in the corner as a third or fourth scoring option behind guys like Bronny, Nick Smith Jr., and Drew Timme. But when the ball came to him, the bulky wing showed that hitting open threes and attacking close-outs with a savvy Euro-step into the paint followed by a crafty finish at the rim is exactly what he does.
Ultimately, given the limited number of options at power forward and his breakout Summer League performance, Arthur Kaluma may obliterate expectations and force LA to sign him before the season ends.
Christopher Plain has spent the last six years as Associate News Editor and Head Science Reporter at The Debrief. Follow and connect with him on X, learn about his novels at plainfiction.com, or email him at christopher@thedebrief.org.
Baseball: Toronto Blue Jays Tony Fernandez (1) in action, making tag vs Baltimore Orioles Alan Wiggins (2). Baltimore, MD 6/12/1987 CREDIT: Jerry Wachter (Photo by Jerry Wachter /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: X34961 TK1 )
39 Years Ago
The Blue Jays defeated the Orioles 18-3, powered by an incredible ten home runs. Ernie Whitt accounted for three of those blasts. I was always a fan of Whitt—his left-handed, all-out pull swing was a thing of beauty. He often finished with his left knee on the ground, a move I tried to imitate without success. I still wonder how he managed to track the ball with his head dropping like that, but somehow, Ernie made it work.
The Jays scored:
Five runs in the second inning: Whitt led off with a home run. Jesse Barfield doubled, and Rance Mulliniks followed with another homer. After Fred McGriff struck out and Willie Upshaw grounded out, Nelson Liriano walked, and Lloyd Moseby capped the inning with a two-run homer.
Two more came in the third when George Bell and Rance Mulliniks each hit solo home runs.
In the fourth, Liriano walked, advanced to second on a Moseby groundout, and scored on a Tony Fernandez single.
In the fifth, Whitt led off with another home run.
In the sixth, Bell hit his 45th home run of the season—he would finish the year with 47 homers, 134 RBI, and the AL MVP award.
The Jays exploded for seven runs in the seventh: Barfield singled but was erased on a Kelly Gruber double play. McGriff walked, Upshaw singled, and Liriano drove in a run with an RBI single. Rob Ducey followed with a three-run homer—one of just 31 in his career. Manuel Lee and Lou Thornton each singled, with Thornton collecting one of his 22 career hits. Whitt then capped the inning with his third home run of the game, another three-run blast (his 17th of the season).
In the eighth, McGriff led off with a solo home run.
That team featured plenty of great players, including a future Hall of Famer.
On the pitching side, Jim Clancy got the start. He finished the season 15-11 with a 3.54 ERA across 37 starts, throwing 241.1 innings and recording five complete games (74 in his career). This was his last standout year as a starter at age 31—those innings eventually took their toll. Clancy later signed with the Astros as a free agent before the 1989 season and transitioned to the bullpen.
Interestingly, Mark Eichhorn and Tom Henke pitched the eighth and ninth innings. Henke hadn’t pitched in five days, while Eichhorn had worked the previous day.
The win brought the Jays to 86-57, tying them with the Tigers for first place in the AL East. As for how the season ended—let’s just leave that unsaid.
Four Years Ago
Vladimir Guerrero hit his 100th home run. The Jays won the game, 5-1 over the Mariners. The win put the Jays a half game up on Mariners and a game and a half up on the Rays. All three would end up in a Wild Card spot.
MARYLAND
HEIGHTS, Mo. -- When Mason McTavish made the case that he would play
with a chip on his shoulder after being traded by the Anaheim Ducks
to the St. Louis Blues, the same can’t be said for newly-acquired
defenseman Brandon Carlo.
In
Carlo’s case, getting traded was a welcomed sight.
In
the 29-year-old’s case after being traded by the Toronto Maple
Leafs to the Blues on June 27 -- which was the second day of the 2026
NHL Draft -- for a pair of third-round picks in 2026, it’s a
welcomed change of scenery.
It
simply didn’t work out with the Leafs, who paid a hefty price to
acquire the 6-foot-5, 227-pound right-handed shot from the Boston
Bruins at the 2025 trade deadline. It cost Toronto forward Fraser
Minten, who recently signed a long-term extension with the Bruins, a
conditional first-round pick in 2026 and a fourth-round pick in 2025.
In
75 games with the Leafs, including 55 last season, Carlo finished
with 10 assists (seven in 2025-26) while playing just under 19.5
minutes per game.
“There's
no secret that I wasn't my best (last season) by any means, but
overall I am excited for the new opportunity and to be welcomed by a
group is always a great compliment,” Carlo said. “So yeah this is
a good, fresh start and I hope to come in here and just take my
experience and knowledge and help in any way I can. Just continue to
do my best each and every day, that's all I can really control. You
can't control certain things with getting traded, but overall I
definitely was excited to hear that I was going to be a St. Louis
Blue.”
So
when the news came down, with Carlo driving in his car with his wife
and five-year-old daughter and two-year-old son, it came as a
welcomed relief.
“I
was driving to my niece's birthday party, so my wife and my kids were
in the car. I just got a call and it was just one of those trade
calls where you can tell right off the bat when they say, 'How are
you doing?' 'I'm OK,’” Carlo
said.
“Overall, it's a good thing. I'm thankful for my time in Toronto.
It was a good learning experience overall. I'm thankful to have
played with those guys. They have some great guys in that room and,
yeah, I think overall you've got to go through some hard times to
continue to grow as an individual and this is one of them for me.”
Carlo
and his wife understood their lives would be changing, but the kids?
Not so much.
“Yeah,
my kid was shaking a maraca in the back or something,” Carlo
joked.
“Yeah, but you know it's a part of my family life, too, and it
affects all of us. Kind of good to just rip off the
Band-Aid
with everybody.
“…
I
think my daughter is starting to understand a little bit, but it's
great just to see it through their eyes. She was super excited to go
to school the other day in a new place and had a lot of fun with
that. I just try to take that approach and learn from it as well to
have that childlike mentality with it all because it is a new
experience. It's exciting. It can be nerve-racking as well, but from
a child's perspective, as an adult you can lean on that and see that
it's a fun opportunity.”
Carlo,
who has one year remaining ($4.1 million cap hit, $3.25 million base
salary) on a six-year, $24.6 million contract he signed with the
Bruins in 2021, gives the Blues stability and size on the blue line;
he is a nice security blanket and insurance for 2024 first-round pick
Adam Jiricek, who is no guarantee to sew up a spot on the NHL roster
this season.
When
then-general manager Doug Armstrong made the trade, he mentioned
specifically that Carlo’s experience was too good to pass up.
“That’s
exactly it,” Armstrong said. “We think that Jiricek is going to
come in and have a great training camp and I know you guys are sick
of me saying this, but the NHL fails more people than players fail
the NHL, so we don’t want to put someone in a position where
they’re surviving. We want to put them in a position where they can
potentially thrive. Jiricek is going to have the opportunity to come
in here and push, but we’re in for the marathon with this young
man. He played a lack of hockey last year, I think 90-plus games, but
if you look at the number of games he played the two years before
that, it wasn’t a lot. Sort of hope for the best and plan for the
worst might be the best way to look at this. It’s a one-year deal
(for Carlo) too. We’re not bringing in a contract that’s going to
preclude someone mid-season or next season. This is reflective of
what I think the NHL should be as great competition, so when he’s
ready to take someone’s job, he will.”
In
the meantime, Carlo’s 10 years and 692 regular-season games’
worth of experience should suit the Blues well, and whether he plays
with Cam Fowler or Tyler Tucker or whoever the Blues put him with,
they’ll be getting someone who should help the overall defensive
game, particularly the penalty kill, a penalty kill that was not very good (25th, 76.7 percent) last season.
“Yeah,
I think overall each year I've learned so much and that goes for
everybody,” Carlo said. “Each year you play in the league, you
learn more about yourself, you learn more about your game. I think I
can understand the role that I play and it's not the sexiest role,
but overall I love what I do, I love my job and what I can contribute
to a team. I feel confident in that and look to just bring that every
day that I can.
“I
think just kind of take some of the knowledge that I've learned from
some of the great players that I've played with on the penalty kill
... my first year, I was lucky enough to play with Zdeno Chara and
learn from him, especially on the penalty-kill. Communication is key.
You'll hear me being pretty loud out there, yelling all over the ice,
especially on the penalty kill, because as long as we can be each
other's eyes and take away the passing lanes, that can be really
helpful. And I think with a goalie like ‘Binner’ and ‘Hof’
behind us, there should be a recipe for success there.”
And
the Blues hope to get more success from Carlo, who played some of his
best hockey when Blues coach Jim Montgomery coached Carlo in Boston,
in 2022-23 when he had three goals, 13 assists in 75 games and a
career-high plus-44 and in 2023-24 (four goals, 10 assists in 76
games, plus-23).
“Yeah,
our team was very good that year and that obviously helps and was
fun,” Carlo said of the 2022-23 season, the best in NHL history at
65-12-5. “But I really enjoy playing under ‘Monty.’ I think
he's a great coach and sends a great message, so a lot of respect
there for him and really happy to be reunited with him.”
Now
that the Band-Aid has been ripped off, Carlo, who faced the Blues in
the 2019 Stanley Cup Final that the Blues won in an epic seven-game
series, is eager to get to work with a blue line that will also
feature 6-4, 210-pound Philip Broberg; 6-6, 228-pound Colton Parayko;
6-2, 213-pound Fowler; 6-3, 212-pound Logan Mailloux, and 6-1,
204-pound Tucker with some length and beef.
“It's
been awesome (so
far),” Carlo said.
“I haven't had many experiences with many guys in this room besides
‘Monty’ obviously. It's been great. All the guys have been great.
Yeah, it seems like a very good group. Pretty tight-knit from what I
can tell, and yeah, I think I can continue to get more comfortable
each and every day. It was nice to get all of the introductions out
of the way on the first day, and from there just start building
relationships with guys.
“Just
a bunch of guys who are big and like to compete. You can tell out
there, even in practice that everybody just wants to compete hard and
I have a lot of respect for that. The goal is to go through camp just
working as hard as we can. Yeah, there are some guys that I can
continue to learn from, too. Fowler and Parayko as well, they have a
lot of experience in this league. I've looked up to (Parayko) for a
while, just similar style of play in some aspects, and he's a great
player. Yeah, it should be fun to learn and grow with these guys.”
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
Apr 19, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Baltimore Orioles first baseman Pete Alonso (25) walks to the dugout after striking out during the fourth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Dermer-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The New York Mets (69-80) welcome the Baltimore Orioles (72-78) to Citi Field for a three-game series starting this evening. The Mets are coming off a 1-2 Subway Series with the Yankees, which saw two relatively competitive games go the Yankees’ way, and an absolute rout of a dub for the Mets.
The Yankees are a playoff team and they have the likely American League Cy Young winner as their ace, so it isn’t exactly a shocker that the Mets dropped two of three, but it was the way they dropped them that was bothersome. On Friday night, Nolan McLean had a tough outing, Juan Soto let what should’ve been a fairly easy fly ball drop in front of him leading to a run scoring, and the entire game was a frustrating mix of mini-comebacks and poor moments that seemed avoidable.
Losing 2-0 to Cam Schlittler isn’t anything to be ashamed of, but it was the absolute lack of any offense against the Yankees bullpen that was so frustrating, especially because the Mets had done so well against them in the first two games. I know their bullpen overall has been excellent this year, but for a team that has been clicking offensively to get three hit with no real scoring opportunities was frustrating.
Speaking of frustrating, get ready for three straight days of arguments about Pete Alonso. It’s hard to have an Alonso take that is unique at this point, and it seems just as rare to have one that doesn’t get shouted at folks who disagree with you. My take is fairly simple: while I do think his skillset ages more poorly than others, he meant enough for the Mets that they should’ve tried harder to retain him. I miss rooting for Alonso each night, and his bat would certainly have helped during the offensively challenged periods earlier this season.
Alonso and Francisco Lindor are both one home run away from career #300, and it would very cool to see them do it in the same game, and it would be nice for Pete to be able to celebrate the milestone with the fans who were there for the majority of those home runs.
As for the rest of his Orioles teammates, they’re in a bit of a rough spot. They’re in last place in the AL East, but only four games out of a Wild Card spot, but there are two teams between them and the final spot, currently occupied by the Guardians. They’re 3-7 over their last ten games, and every team ahead of them in the WC standings has been at least .500 over that stretch. They simply need to be playing better to have any chance at a playoff push, and while they’re not exactly running into a juggernaut, the Mets have been solid in the second half and might not be the pushovers that Baltimore hopes they’ll be.
Monday, September 14: Jonah Tong vs Brandon Young, 7:10pm EDT on SNY
In Tong’s sole start since his most recent call up, he went five innings, giving up four earned runs on four hits and one walk, while striking out seven. He had a very rough second inning where he gave up a a single, a walk, a triple, and a home run, but in every other inning he gave up just one hit and generally kept Miami off-balance. While his stock has fallen since his debut last season, Tong is starting to look more like a pitcher who can work around some adversity and keep his team in the game.
This season is going much, much better for Young than his rookie campaign did. He’s been hovering around a 3.5 ERA for the better part of the year, and he’s averaging decent length in his starts. However, his last start was a really messy one; he didn’t make it out of the fourht inning, gave up six runs on eight hits and two walks in a loss to Cleveland.
Tuesday, September 15: Sean Manaea vs Shane Baz, 7:10pm EDT on SNY
It has been a weird year for Manaea, who started the year looking like a candidate to be designated for assignment, then looked like he belonged here, and is now maybe looking like a DFA candidate again. Over his last five starts, he’s given up at least four earned runs and he only made it into the seventh inning once. It’s hard to tell exactly what is left in Manaea’s tank at this point in the season, and this point in his career.
Baz had his worst start of the second half last week against the Guardians, where he couldn’t finish the sixth inning, gave up two home runs en route to giving up five earned runs. But overall, he’s been solid, if unspectacular, for Baltimore this season. He’s had just three starts where he hasn’t gone five innings and his walk and home run rates are both down from his career norms. He’s striking out fewer batters than you’d like, but with the other metrics in consideration, it’s hard to be too upset about his performance.
Wednesday, September 16: Robert Stock vs Chris Bassitt, 7:10pm EDT on SNY
The Bob Stock feel-good story is still going, despite all evidence suggesting that this was never a good idea. Aside from his one disaster appearance against the Brewers, Stock has been reliably solid, even if he’s not going deep or doing a ton to impress in terms of actual stuff. But he’s making the absolute most of what he’s left with at this point in his career, and what more could we ask for?
Old friend Chris Bassitt had one of his best ever seasons with the Mets in 2022, but he’s coming back to Queens a very different pitcher. Bassitt is older, wilder, less effective, and generally just not the player he was last season, let alone four years ago. It is hard to say because I really enjoyed watching Bassitt pitch, but this might be a very, very ugly game to watch on both sides.
Eli Willits of the Wilmington Blue Rocks reacts during a Minor League Baseball game at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium in Wilmington, United States, on July 19, 2026. (Photo by Dan Squicciarini/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images
Eli Willits has made his primary goal crystal clear ever since he joined the Nationals organization. He wants to be a big leaguer by the time he is 20 years old. For most players, that is a pipe dream. However, Eli Willits is not most players and he made that very obvious this season.
The 18 year old just finished his first professional season in style. Willits got promoted to Double-A for the last week of the season. While he only got to play three games, the last one was legendary. Willits had a four hit game which included his first AA home run and two stolen bases. It was an amazing final act to a wonderful season.
With Willits finishing the season in AA, he is putting himself in position to make a debut late in 2027. Despite being such a young player, Willits is remarkably polished. This comes from being the son of a big leaguer and being obsessed with the game ever since he could walk.
When I talked to Willits earlier this season, it was very clear that three things truly mattered to him. Eli Willits is all about family, faith and baseball. You will be hard pressed to find a more business-like 18 year old out there. As Willits put it, he grew up in an MLB clubhouse and it is easy to see that.
That baseball IQ manifests itself on the field. When I watched Willits for the first time in Low-A, the thing that stuck out to me most was how natural he looked. Willits looked like a big league caliber defender at shortstop already. While many young shortstops, even the defensively gifted ones make a lot of errors, Willits is already so secure. He only made 8 errors all season as an 18 year old.
Those instincts also show up on the bases, where Willits is an absolute mad man. He absolutely loves to steal bases and creates havoc out there. For the season, Willits stole a jaw dropping 62 bases across three levels. He did get caught 15 times, but with a success rate around 80%, his aggressiveness was worth it.
When the Nats drafted Willits first overall, we knew that speed and defense were part of his game. Those have been there and are even better than expected. We also expected Willits to have a great hit tool, and that has mostly been the case as well. His contact rates were more solid than spectacular, but you have to account for just how young he is.
With his hit tool being good rather than elite, Willits needed to show more power and plate discipline. This season, the plate discipline has been absolutely elite. Even when he was facing big league arms in Spring Training, you could see how outstanding his approach was. That held up throughout the season.
In 114 games, Willits walked 95 times. His walk rate of 17.7% is absolutely phenomenal, especially for such a young hitter. Willits rarely chased while also swinging at pitches in the zone when he saw them. Plate discipline will be Willits’ best offensive trait in my opinion.
Entering the season, Willits’ biggest concern was his power. He was not known for his pop as an amateur and he did not show much thump in his brief 2025 debut. However, he looked noticeably stronger this year and that showed up with a big power surge. Willits hit 14 homers on the season, including a no-doubter in his last game of the season.
MLB's No. 4 prospect Eli Willits launched his first Double-A home run 💪
The Nationals prospect has 14 HR and 62 SB across three Minor League levels this season! pic.twitter.com/uNHxMA37YK
Seeing power develop this quickly for Willits is a great sign. If he can be a 15-20 home run guy at the big league level, he will be one of the most well-rounded players in the sport. The glove at shortstop is elite, his speed is outstanding and he knows how to hit. Power was supposed to be the final piece, but it is coming.
It is worth noting that power was way up across the board in the minors this year and folks are theorizing that the ball was juiced. That may have turned a 10 homer season into a 14 homer campaign. However, even a 10 homer season would be a big step in the right direction for Willits. He also had 27 doubles and 8 triples. In the long run, I think Willits will be a player who racks up a ton of those.
For the season, Eli Willits hit .265 with a .406 OBP and .869 OPS across three levels. He looked like a number 1 pick and has established himself as a top 10 prospect in the sport. At the time, some suggested that Willits was a reach and a money saver as a first overall pick. This season he sure looked like a blue chip prospect.
The way he ended his season was also special. With a 4 hit game in AA, he joined some special company. Fernando Tatis Jr., Jesus Made and Bryce Harper are among the exclusive group of 18 year olds to have a 4 hit game in AA. You have to be a special talent to be successful in Double-A at such a young age.
Fernando Tatis Jr., Jesús Made, Leo De Vries … Eli Willits.
It is even more special for an American born player to do this because of how the draft works. Willits and Harper are the only Americans to do this. Latin American players sign at 16, so you will see some of the elite ones get to AA at 18. However, it is much more rare to see a US born player accomplish this.
Harper and Willits were both special talents who reclassified and were drafted as 17 year olds. That combination of rare talent and circumstance puts Willits in this group. You just don’t see many 18 year olds in AA, especially ones who are in their first full year as a pro.
Eli Willits is different though. You can see that when watching him play and I got to experience it when talking to him in Wilmington. This is just a gifted and driven individual who is obsessed with baseball. He is a quiet young man, but he is supremely confident.
He said he wanted to be in the big leagues by the time he turned 20 because he knew it was possible. For most professional baseball players that is not a realistic goal. However, Eli Willits is not most professional baseball players and we saw that in his first full year as a pro.
We have reached the Final Four of our Spurs Villain Tournament, where the winners of each bracket have been determined, and the winners of this round will go head-to-head to determine who is the biggest Spurs villain of all time. The heavy favorites mostly continue to prevail. In the Elite 8 (or Finals for each bracket), three of the top seeds came out on top by varying margins, along with one kinda-but-not-really “upset” in the fourth.
On the “on court” side of the bracket, we had Spurs Killers, which was the closest match-up. Derek Fisher’s 0.4 shot plus other killer plays was just enough to beat out Ray Allen’s “The Shot” by a relatively slim 19% margin. The Dirty Players poll was not as close as expected, with Zaza Pachulia’s slide blowing out Karl Malone’s elbow. The level at which Pachulia won this one, with 72% of the votes, seems pretty wide, but despite Malone’s extensive history as a dirty player (and human being), Pachulia’s play came in the playoffs and ultimately cost the Spurs a chance at a championship, while Malone’s elbow was in the regular season.
On the “off court” side, actions dominated over words. Kawhi Leonard’s dynasty-destroying moves unsurprisingly blew Stephen Jackson’s big mouth out of the water, and our lone “upset” was the one non-1 vs. 2 match-up of the series, where 4th seed Uncle Dennis Robertson continued his “Cinderella” run by blowing out another loudmouth in 3rd seed Mark Cuban. Did recent news and the more recent timeline play a role in his rise over the most notorious haters of the Spurs’ championship era? Quite possible, but the result still means we’ll have a Family Feud in the next round.
1. Derek Fisher vs. 1. Zaza Pachulia
This was the inevitable match-up the instant the brackets were released. Despite a couple of formidable 2nd seeds, they never really stood a chance against these two behemoths of negative Spurs lore. Both left two teams vying for championships wondering “what if,” and both moments are so notorious that the NBA had to make rules in response. Since we have more room with only two polls today, I figured we’d shake things up a bit and actually make you watch two of the more painful moments in Spurs history to burn them back into your brain, as badly as you may want to forget them.
First we have the notorious Derek Fisher, who became a Spurs villain the instant he hit this shot with 0.4 seconds left in Game 5 in Round 2 in 2004. It came right after Tim Duncan had just hit what seemed like an amazing game-winner, there’s still plenty of controversy surrounding the clock, and it caused the “0.4 Rule” to be created, which states it is impossible for a player to get a catch-and-shoot off in less than 0.4 seconds, so anything less means they can only tip the ball.
And lest anyone forget, that wasn’t all the damage Fisher did: there was also the no-call foul on Brent Barry in Game 4 of the 2008 Western Conference Finals, which sent the Spurs back to LA down 3-1, and he was a pest in general for the 2012 Thunder in their WCF victory over the Spurs. Fisher truly was the Repeat Denier for the Spurs at the height of their Lakers rivalry.
And then we have Pachulia, who also got a rule named after him after he carelessly (purposefully?) slid under Leonard in Game 1 of the 2017 WCF against the Warriors, knocking him out while the Spurs were up by 21 and ending their chances at returning to the promised land. After that, any case of a player interfering with a shooter’s landing space became subject to video review and a potential flagrant 1 or 2 foul. Also, unbeknownst at the time, this for all intents and purposes marked the end of Kawhi was a Spur, which we’ll get to in a moment.
1. Kawhi Leonard vs. 4. Uncle Dennis Robertson
And now we get to the Family Feud match-up that is surprisingly relevant today after the NBA just laid the hammer down on the Clippers’ Aspiration Scandal, in which they are accused of circumventing the salary cap to pay Leonard extra money at Uncle Dennis’ behest. Kawhi played the “I’m just a basketball player who trusted the wrong people” card and came away relatively unscathed with “only” a $700k fine, but he also fired Uncle Dennis as his representative, who himself is banned from all NBA activity for five years (should have been for life, in my opinion).
But that’s neither here nor there for Spurs, which is something everyone needs to remember when voting. They won’t come out and say it, so we can’t be sure Uncle Dennis demanded the same impermissible benefits from the Spurs that we know he did from the Raptors, Lakers and Clippers (although I place the odds at likely). What we do know is he was a huge influence on Kawhi even back then and most assuredly played a role in pushing the narrative that the Spurs had mismanaged his injury so he would look less bad when demanding a trade from the “perfect” organization, with the ultimate goal being to get back to LA, and it mostly worked. Leonard followed his lead, stayed away from the team for most of the 2017-18 season and even hid in a closet when they tried to check on him.
It’s hard to imagine he would have done all this without the bad influence of his uncle if “all he cares about is basketball,” but here’s the thing: Leonard is an adult who had already made almost $100 million at that point. I fully understand that after the horrible tragedy he endured as a young teenager — seeing his father murdered right in front of him in a case that has never been solved — he needed a father figure, and that ended up being his maternal uncle. But was there ever a point where he thought, “I don’t like the way this is playing out or how people I care about and have shed blood, sweat and tears with for the last seven years are being portrayed”?
Did he actually not realize he was being used and taken advantage of by his own family? Is he truly a child in an NBA player’s body who is so naive and gullible that he couldn’t differentiate what has happening right in front of him vs. what his uncle was saying? That is ultimately what you have to decide when voting. Do you blame Uncle Dennis for negatively influencing Kawhi against the organization, or do you blame Kawhi for going along with it and allowing things to play out the way they did? Let us know with your vote!
The Boston Celtics have reportedly signed former lottery pick Devin Carter to an Exhibit 10 deal, which will allow him to audition for the team at training camp. The question now: Can the 24-year-old guard play his way into a roster spot?
The Celtics currently have one open roster spot, but there’s also motivation to maintain financial flexibility as staying below the luxury tax for one more season would eliminate pesky repeater penalties after the season. Boston also has one open two-way roster spot, with only rookie wing Dillon Mitchell and second-year big man Amari Williams inked to three available slots.
Carter prepped at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire and played his final two college seasons at Providence before the Sacramento Kings selected him with the 13th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Sacramento traded Carter to Atlanta in June, and the roster-crunched Hawks waived Carter last week.
Carter checks a lot of boxes for what Boston likes in players, most notably a nearly 6-foot-9 wingspan for a 6-foot-2 player. He was tops in the 2024 combine in both max vertical and ¾-court sprint. Those physical tools allow him to excel as both a point-of-attack defender and as a rebounder.
Carter grabbed 13.9 percent of all available defensive rebounds during his floor time last season, ranking in the 96th percentile for his position. He also averaged 2.3 steals per 100 possessions and drew 0.8 offensive fouls per 100 possessions (both strong numbers for his position).
Boston’s guard depth chart is well stocked with Derrick White and Payton Pritchard, along with veteran offseason addition Mike Conley. But the Celtics clearly love versatile defenders who can guard multiple positions, and Carter plays bigger than his height.
Put Carter in an ecosystem where he can learn from Pritchard/White/Conley, even if on a two-way deal, and there’s potential to maximize a player that couldn’t carve out a home in Sacramento. Three years ago, the Celtics signed Neemias Queta after he was waived by the Kings and nurtured him into their starting center.
The knock on Carter is his shooting. He’s a career 27.4 percent from beyond the 3-point arc and 40.1 percent from the floor overall. He did shoot 51.1 percent on all 2-point shots last season with 34 percent of his attempts at the rim (and another 29 percent in the short midrange).
Carter averaged 8.9 points over 18.4 minutes per game in 38 appearances for Sacramento last season, including 12 starts.
Carter plays with a force on both ends that should intrigue Boston decision-makers. He can create chaos with his physical tools on the defensive end, but the Celtics must help him hone his offensive game.
There have been plenty of comparisons to Derrick White through the years, and the Celtics would surely love any opportunity to mold a player who can make good things happen on the basketball court. Teams can never have enough chaos causers.
Carter, particularly as a former lottery pick, might be overqualified for a two-way spot, but he found himself on the open market at a time when plenty of teams are already overstocked. Camping with Boston offers multiple pathways to stick here while also allowing him to audition for 29 other teams in the process.
