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St. Louis Cardinals Just Trimmed 11 Players Off Spring Training Roster

JUPITER, FLORIDA - MARCH 06: Tekoah Roby #38 of the St. Louis Cardinals throws a pitch against the Washington Nationals during the fourth inning of a spring training game at Roger Dean Stadium on March 06, 2025 in Jupiter, Florida. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The St. Louis Cardinals Spring Training roster is now down to 39 after 11 players were just reassigned elsewhere.

A press release just shared by the St. Louis Cardinals says right-handed pitcher Tekoah Roby has been sent to Memphis while Jurrangelo Cijntje, Pete Hansen, Ixan Henderson, Austin Love, Hancel Rincón, Sem Robberse, Jared Shuster and Zack Thompson, catcher Graysen Tarlow and outfielder Mike Antico are now headed to the minor league camp.

If you’re keeping score, that means the St. Louis Cardinals now have 39 major league roster players and 18 non-roster invitees still on the Spring Training roster.

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Trae Young to make Wizards debut Thursday against Jazz

Trae Young #3 of the Washington Wizards looks on during the game against the Milwaukee Bucks on January 29, 2026 at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images

Washington Wizards guard Trae Young will make his Wizards debut Thursday against the Utah Jazz, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Young, 27, was acquired by Washington on Jan. 5 in a trade that sent CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert to the Atlanta Hawks. The All-Star guard had yet to appear for the Wizards as he nursed an MCL sprain and a quad contusion.

Young had been “ramping up” in recent weeks. And now, he’ll make his home debut alongside Washington’s young core of players with 25 games remaining this season. It’ll mark his first game since Dec. 27.

It’s likely Young returns on a minutes restriction, as the Wizards have done with most of their premier players who returned from injury this season. But nonetheless, Washington’s star guard will make his home debut at Capital One Arena in front of Wizards fans who have awaited his debut for several weeks.

Young has a $49 million player option for the 2026-27 season. It was reported Monday by TheSteinLine that the expectation is Young and the Wizards agree on a multi-year contract extension this summer.

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Lakers’ two blowout wins were equal parts meaningless and crucial

Here’s what you need to know about the Lakers’ back-to-back blowout wins. 

They didn’t mean much. And they meant everything. 

On Saturday, they beat a Warriors team (129-101) that was without Jimmy Butler, Steph Curry and Kristaps Porzingis. And on Sunday, they beat the Sacramento Kings (128-104), who have the worst record in the league. 

LeBron James hits a fadeaway jumper against the Sacramento Kings at Crypto.Com Arena. NBAE via Getty Images

Those weren’t standout wins by any means. But they were important because of their timing. 

Heading into this weekend, the Lakers had lost three straight games. Morale was down. They were finally healthy. They had no excuses. But they couldn’t figure things out. 

Of course, their failings dominated the national sports discourse last week. 

Former Laker Byron Scott said he hopes this is LeBron James’ last season with the Lakers in an appearance on local radio. Multiple pundits questioned whether Luka Doncic was really a winning player. 

In other words, the message was clear: Sound the alarm. 

With these wins, the Lakers let out some steam from the pressure cooker. 

The last two games were not only check marks in the right column, they were fun. 

Luka Doncic drives to the basket against the Warriors. AP

Against the Kings, there were so many highlights.

There were electric dunks from James, who had 24 points, six assists and two steals. But his favorite moment of the game undoubtedly was when his son, Bronny, made a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter. James held his arms straight and moved them up and down in celebration. 

As for Doncic, he had a circus-level highlight reel play. During the third quarter, he slipped, somehow got up fast enough to recover the ball and then made a wild, contested fadeaway 3-pointer. 

“I tripped on purpose,” said Doncic, who had 28 points, nine assists and five rebounds. “It was, how do you say, the And-1 Mixtape.”

The good vibes continued into the locker room, where James controlled the aux, dancing to Lauryn Hill and Mary J. Blige as he got dressed. 

It was a breath of fresh air for a Laker team that needed a break from all of the negativity around them.

Heading into this weekend, not much was going right for them. They had gone 4-4 on their recent eight-game homestand. Then they lost three straight for their third time this season. There were questions over whether their Big Three of James, Doncic and Austin Reaves could make things work. 

Austin Reaves works in the post against the Kings. NBAE via Getty Images

Things didn’t feel good in Los Angeles. 

But in the NBA, things can shift quickly. And they did beginning Saturday in San Francisco. 

Here’s the thing: You can tell when James is about to have a good game. He’s either so loose that he looks like a teenager hanging out with his buddies. Or he’s so focused that he drowns out everything around him, zeroing in on whatever’s playing on his headphones as if it were the gospel. 

(If James is somewhere in the middle, the Lakers are in trouble that night.)

Well, James was as loose as ever Saturday. 

Before the game, he shot around with his 11-year-old daughter, Zhuri, who was on her first father-daughter road trip of James’ 23-season career. She made a trick shot, as well as throwing her father a lob as he completed a two-handed dunk. 

After the game, when reporters asked James about Zhuri’s basketball skills, he balked. “She’s a volleyball player,” he said, flashing a smile. “Don’t get my wife mad. My wife is done with this basketball s–t.”

Former Laker Byron Scott said he hopes this is James’ last season with the Lakers IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

James also trolled his good friend Draymond Green before the Warriors game, blocking his shot as he warmed up. When Green turned around, the two players, who have met in the Finals four times from 2015-2018, exchanged a giant hug. 

Against the Warriors, Doncic and James combined for 48 points, 13 rebounds and 17 assists.

Doncic felt the joy, too. The Lakers’ win over the Warriors fell on his 27th birthday.

Before the game, a video surfaced of his teammates singing him happy birthday and giving him a cake. After the game, he quipped in his walk-off interview with ESPN, “No one gave me a gift yet. It’s crazy.”

For the Lakers, things started turning around over the last two games. James, who’s shooting 31.1 percent from beyond the arc this season, made eight of his 11 attempts from that distance. The ball moved among the Big Three seamlessly. They all played with joy. 

Now, the test will be whether they can replicate that against teams that aren’t decimated by injuries or in the cellar of the Western Conference. 

This weekend marked the Lakers’ first consecutive blowout wins of this season. 

The wins may not have been impressive considering their opponents. 

But they were crucial considering their necessity.

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NBA power rankings 2025-26: San Antonio holds on to top spot but watch out for healthy Thunder

Just a few games in a week against a tanking team can really spike the short-term numbers for a team, but who really deserves to be on top? We have no movement in the top 10 of our NBC Sports NBA Power Rankings this week.

1. San Antonio Spurs

(43-17, last week No. 1)
San Antonio holds on to the top spot despite the fact that Sunday's loss in New York was the Spurs' worst loss of the season. You can be sure other teams took note of how the Knicks attacked and spaced out Victor Wembanyama and they will follow suit. That said, don't read too much into one loss after San Antonio didn't lose a game in February, and they stay on top of these rankings because of the recent win over Detroit. Don't look for the Spurs to rest Wembanyama down the stretch of the season. He may have looked a little tired lately (three straight games under 40% shooting before looking better against the Knicks on Sunday, with 25 points and 13 rebounds). Part of the reason to play him is that the Spurs are chasing the Thunder for the No. 1 seed in the West — they need to make up three games with 22 games to play. The other part is that Wembanyama can only miss four more games and still be eligible for postseason awards (and he is on track to win Defensive Player of the Year and be in the top five in MVP voting).

2. Detroit Pistons

(45-14, last week No. 2)
JB Bickerstaff made his case for Cade Cunningham to be MVP. "Right now, again, if the season were to end today, the best player on the team with the best win percentage, to me, is the guy that deserves to be the MVP. What he does for us on both ends of the floor, he doesn't take nights, or times, or possessions off defensively. We'll put him on the other team's best perimeter player, and he'll go down on the offensive end and score his 25 points, but create for his teammates. He's second in the league in assists and makes his teammates better also. And, then the game's on the line, you can give him the ball, and he's one of the best clutch players we have in this league. So, I'm hard pressed to find a better example or statement of who the MVP should be."

3. Oklahoma City Thunder

(47-15, last week No. 3)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is back and dropped 36 points on the Nuggets in his return and he didn't play in overtime (due to a minutes restriction). SGA missed nine games and the Thunder went 5-4, holding on to the top spot in the West, now three games up on the Spurs. Count me in the group that, despite the ejection, thought Lu Dort got off light for the cheap shot hip check into the sore knee of Nikola Jokic this weekend — that was not a basketball play. Fun showdown with the Knicks on Wednesday (unfortunately, the second night of a back-to-back for OKC).

4. Boston Celtics

(40-20, last week No. 4)
It's a bit unexpected, but the Celtics play at the slowest pace in the league: Their pace of 95.5 possessions per game is more than one possession less than any other team. Just 13.6% of their plays start in transition (third lowest in the league, via Cleaning the Glass). They make up for it by having the league's lowest turnover rate. Part of that is Payton Pritchard, the reigning Sixth Man of the Year, who has thrived since returning to that role after the trade deadline, averaging 19.8 points and 5.8 assists a game, shooting 45.1% from 3-point range. (Pritchard started 48 games to open the season, so he's not going to repeat as Sixth Man). It was great to see Neemias Queta have a huge game on NBC against the 76ers on Sunday, he has been fantastic all season, one of the key reasons Boston is a threat in the east (especially with Jayson Tatum possibly returning as early as this week) and he deserved the flowers on NBC's Sunday Night Basketball.

5. Cleveland Cavaliers

(38-24, last week No. 5)
Cleveland made a statement win over the Knicks early in the week… and then they lost to Detroit (a respectable OT loss without Donovan Mitchell) and Milwaukee (not so respectable), then didn't look sharp beating Brooklyn. Reality is injuries are hitting the Cavs at a tough time, with Mitchell missing time and Harden playing through a finger fracture on his off hand. Only two games on the schedule this week but both are huge for East playoff seedings, with Cleveland hosting Detroit and Boston.

6. New York Knicks

(39-22, last week No. 6)
It's been a roller coaster week for the Knicks, but it ended on a high note. The Knicks' defense against San Antonio on Sunday — holding the Spurs to less than a point per possession, a 91.2 offensive rating — is what the Knicks need to do in the postseason if they want to reach the Finals. OG Anunoby was on another level. They slowed down a big, athletic, talented team. The low this week came on Tuesday, in a loss to the Cavaliers. Mike Brown was brought in to give New York an offense that wasn't as predictable as what Tom Thibodeau did (having Jalen Brown pound the ball out top). Brown installed a player-and-ball-movement system that, in theory, would work better in the playoffs. We're now three-quarters of the way through the NBA season what's clear is that the Knicks don't have the personnel to effectively run that style of offense night in and night out. That said, it worked well enough against an Elite Spurs defense on Sunday.

7. Minnesota Timberwolves

(38-23, last week No. 7)
Anthony Edwards is the All-Star Game MVP and is getting mentioned as a guy who could be on a lot of MVP ballots. If he's going to take his game to another level, how does that even happen? "I think it's high-level defense. I think he's got another gear there," Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. "When he does play that way for us, he's transcendent. There's been some games where he's just kind of taking over, and it leads to a lot of other great plays, not just the defense, but it's kind of inspirational plays for us." Inspirational plays like this insane dagger 3 against the Clippers.

8. Denver Nuggets

(37-24, last week No. 8)
The Nuggets were tested this week, beating the Celtics but losing to the Thunder (in overtime) and the Timberwolves. Injuries remain the big issue in Denver, and this team will look a lot better when Aaron Gordon and Payton Watson return — this is where Cameron Johnson was supposed to step up, but he went scoreless on Sunday against Minnesota. Denver needs more from him. What has kept the Nuggets afloat through a tough patch in the schedule has been their defense, which ranks in the top four in the league through the last five games. The offense has good but not elite, as we have come to expect around Jokic. Tough Thursday/Friday back-to-back this week against the Lakers and Knicks.

9. Houston Rockets

(37-22, last week No. 9)
The worst place to be in the West to start the playoffs is the 4/5 matchup, which promises to be stacked. As of today, Houston and Minnesota are tied for the 3/4 seeds in the West, and while the Rockets have the easier schedule the rest of the way (according to the Elias Sports Bureau) and have a better net rating since the All-Star break, they also have some ugly fourth-quarter meltdowns, like the one against Miami last week where Alperen Şengun, Amen Thompson, Tari Eason and Reed Sheppard combined to shoot 4-of-18 in the fourth quarter as the Heat came back to win. Big Texas showdown coming Sunday against the Spurs.

10. Toronto Raptors

(35-25, last week No. 10)
Toronto is predictable: They beat the teams they are supposed to, going 23-7 against teams under .500 this season, but are 11-18 against teams over that mark. That does not bode well for the postseason, where the Raptors appear likely to be the No. 5 or 6 seed in the East, giving them a tough first-round matchup. There are a couple of tough games ahead this week against the Knicks and Timberwolves.

11. Philadelphia 76ers

(33-27, last week No. 16)
Give Tyrese Maxey his flowers — he is having an All-NBA season, carrying a 76ers offense where nothing around him is consistent. In his last five games, he's averaged 31.8 points and eight assists per game. In that same time Joel Embiid made his return to the Philadelphia lineup, but that lasted just two games before he went out with an oblique strain. Which means he will miss Tuesday night's game against Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs, which will be a throwback game with a 1990s feel on NBC: Bob Costas will do the play-by-play, Doug Collins and Mike Fratello will be the analysts, and the courtside reporter will be Jim Gray. Just like the vintage NBA on NBC days in the 1990s. Worth watching for that alone.

12. Miami Heat

(32-29, last week No. 14)
All-Star Norman Powell is now week-to-week with a groin strain, a concern as he gives them 22.5 points a game while shooting 39% from 3-point range this season. Even without Powell, the Heat picked up a quality come-from-behind home win over the weekend against the Rockets, with seven players scoring in double figures (led by Bam Adebayo at 24). A lot of people nationally sleep on just how good Bam is. Expect Tyler Herro to step up into Powell's role as the Heat have a huge game Friday night against a hot Charlotte team looking to pass them and get into the top eight in the East (and with that, at least an easier route out of the play-in).

13. Orlando Magic

(31-28, last week No. 15)
Orlando needs wins: They sit as the No. 7 seed, but are just 1.5 games out of the No. 6 seed (Philadelphia) and avoiding the play-in altogether, but they are also 1.5 games out of the No. 9 seed and having a much tougher route out of the play-in. Orlando is not consistent without Franz Wagner (he should return at some point in March), it looked good going 3-1 on a post-All-Star road trip (including sweeping the Los Angeles teams), but fell at home to Houston and Detroit. The game to watch this week is when Orlando travels to Milwaukee on Sunday (the second game of a back-to-back), that's the kind of game Orlando needs to win to hold on to, or improve, its standing in the East.

14. Los Angeles Lakers

(36-24, last week No. 11)
The Lakers are in a race with the Suns for the No. 6 seed in the West, so Los Angeles dropping a game in Phoenix last Thursday — on a night the Suns were without Devin Booker or Dylan Brooks (while the Lakers were basically at full strength) — hurts. A lot. The Lakers are 12-16 against teams over .500 this season. The problem is simply this: The Lakers have a -1.8 net rating when Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Austin Reaves, and Deandre Ayton share the court (that is, in non-garbage-time minutes, via Cleaning the Glass). And those numbers got pumped up by a couple of blowout wins recently over tanking teams, it was -7.8 per 100 with those four on the court recently. The reality is the Lakers could really use a big man like vintage Clint Capela.

15. Golden State Warriors

(31-29, last week No. 12)
Stephen Curry has missed the last 10 recovering from "runner's knee," and the Warriors are 4-6 in that stretch with a bottom-10 offense in the NBA (being without Jimmy Butler due to his torn ACL only adds to the shot creation issues). Curry said he has not done any on-court work as part of his rehab and would be out "a little bit longer", which is going to be at least five more games. On the bright side, the Warriors did extend Brazilian forward Gui Santos, who was headed to restricted free agency but has stepped up in Steve Kerr's rotation since Butler went down. This is a good deal for both sides.

16. Charlotte Hornets

(30-31, last week No. 17)
Coby White made his Hornets debut, and he looked a little rusty — he even forgot to take his leg wrap off when he first went in. Through three games, all with him coming off the bench, White is averaging 12.3 points and 3.7 assists a game, although he has struggled with his shot. The Hornets have found their groove again, winning four in a row, and are just 2 games back of Miami for the No. 8 seed (and easier route out of the play-in) — which is why Friday night's showdown with the Heat is a massive game. Charlotte is also 3.5 games back of Philadelphia and the No. 6 seed (avoiding the play-in altogether).

17. Phoenix Suns

(34-26, last week No. 13)
Devin Booker could return from his hip issue as early as Tuesday and the Suns need him — they have the worst offense in the NBA across the last nine games (dating back to before the All-Star break). Dillon Brooks is gone for most of the rest of the season with a fractured hand, so more falls to Booker. The Suns picked up a key win in their quest to get into the top six in the West last week, beating the Lakers, and this week is filled with very winnable games, plus a real test against Charlotte.

18. Atlanta Hawks

(31-31, last week No. 21)
It's only been three games, but Jonathan Kuminga is fitting in just fine in Atlanta. In his debut he dropped 27 on Washington, then it was 17 (also on Washington, easy week for the Hawks) and then 20 on Portland on Sunday. Most importantly, he's doing it efficiently, shooting 67.7% (and 5-9 from 3-point range). The question is can he keep doing this consistently? Kuminga has had great stretches — even in the playoffs last year when Curry went down — but consistency has not been his strength. Still, great start in his new home, it's promising.

19. Los Angeles Clippers

(28-31, last week No. 18)
After trading away James Harden and Ivica Zubac, what is the goal for the No. 10 seed Clippers for the remainder of the season? "Our mindset is trying to get to seven or eight [seed], so we have two opportunities to win one game…" coach Tyronn Lue said, looking ahead to a path out of the play-in. "Getting to six is going to be tough, you know, looking at the standings, but we got to try to get to seven or eight." The Clippers are currently the No. 9 seed (tied with Portland), 2.5 games back of the No. 8 seed Warriors. Getting Darius Garland to make his debut and play for the team starting Monday against the Warriors will be a big help toward that goal — and you can watch it and a key postseason seeding game against Golden State live on Peacock.

20. Portland Trail Blazers

(29-33, last week No. 19)
Portland's offense has not been consistently great all season, but with Deni Avdija missing 9-of-13 (back) and now Shaedon Sharpe maybe out for all of March (calf), points are going to be hard to come by. Portland has the 24th-ranked offense in the league across its last 10 games, with a -7.3 net rating, yet has still gone 5-5. The Trail Blazers are not in danger of falling out of the play-in simply because everyone behind them is tanking. That said, games against Memphis and Indiana this week are potential wins.

21. Milwaukee Bucks

(26-33, last week No. 20)
After missing 15 games with a right calf strain, Giannis Antetokounmpo is set to return to the Bucks lineup Monday night against Boston. Milwaukee went 8-7 in this stretch without the Greek Freak, including an 8-2 run in which it had the league's third-best offense. That kept the Bucks in the mix for the postseason, and Antetokounmpo's return should be a huge boost toward getting into the play-in. That said, it's not going to be easy: Milwaukee currently sits as the No. 11 seed, three games back of a hot Charlotte team at No. 10 (Atlanta is No. 9, 3.5 games up on Milwaukee). The Bucks are just 15-15 in games Antetokounmpo has played this season, despite his MVP-like numbers (28 points, 10 rebounds, and 5.6 assists a game while shooting 64.5%). Big game this week against Atlanta in that chase for the postseason.

22. New Orleans Pelicans

(19-43, last week No. 22)
Dejounte Murray is back on the court, which is an impressive accomplishment considering all he has been through personally — it's much more than the Achilles tear — in the past couple of years. The other great story this season in New Orleans is Saddiq Bey, who missed all of last season with a torn ACL and then was traded to the Big Easy as part of the CJ McCollum deal, and now he's having the best season of his career averaging 17.4 points and 5.8 rebounds a game, all with improved efficiency (plus he's up for a new contract after this season and has earned himself a healthy raise). One final note, Zion Williamson had played in 35 consecutive games, the longest streak of his career, but on Saturday, he tweaked his ankle against Utah, and that streak ended Sunday against the Clippers.

23. Memphis Grizzlies

(23-36, last week No. 23)
Zach Edey is undergoing another ankle surgery, since the last one never got him right and back on the court. He's done for the season, but hopefully this gets him back next season. With Edey, Brandon Clarke and Santi Aldama all missing time lately, 6'7" Oliver-Maxence Prosper has been the team's starting center. Memphis may be the best of the tanking teams, but it's still a tanking team, so we can expect things like last week's loss to Sacramento.

24. Dallas Mavericks

(21-39, last week No. 25)
Cooper Flagg has missed seven games with a sprained foot and the Mavericks are 2-5 in those games as they continue to tank toward another high draft pick. Dallas has lost 13-of-15 games and those two wins were against fellow tanking teams (Indiana, Memphis). Things do not get easier as Dallas heads out on the road for 8-of-9, with only one tanking team in that stretch.

25. Chicago Bulls

(25-36, last week No. 27)
Bulls win! Bulls win! After a winless February where it dropped 11 in a row, Chicago had a 27-0 run at one point and beat the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday as the calendar flipped to March. Watching Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis (plus Collin Sexton off the bench) have that kind of game is a reminder that there are some players on the roster now who can and should be part of a good Bulls team in the future. The cupboard isn't bare. Tough stretch coming up with OKC followed by a five-game road trip through the Pacific Division.

26. Utah Jazz

(18-42, last week No. 24)
Add Lauri Markkanen to the list of the injured in Utah, recovering from a hip impingement suffered at practice. It's not a coincidence: The Jazz learned the lesson from Adam Silver's $500,000 fine and are going to sit guys with injuries to make sure they hold on to their top-eight protected pick. (A common talking point in league circles is that Silver came down so hard on the Jazz because of how the Jazz tanked, sitting Markanen and JJJ in the fourth quarter, messing with the league's gambling partners.) On the bright side in Utah, Mo Bamba is back.

27. Washington Wizards

(16-43, last week No. 26)
Can Bub Carrington be Trae Young's backup point guard next season in Washington? He's getting an extended tryout right now as the starter and the results are... mixed. To be kind. In his last five games, he's averaged 5.8 points per game on 29.7% shooting, but with 5.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists per night. His 3-point shooting has to be consistent (38% for the season but 23.5% the last five games). Washington has a tank-a-thon showdown with Utah this week.=

28. Indiana Pacers

(15-46, last week No. 28)
Interesting game on the schedule this week as Indiana travels to Los Angeles to take on the Clippers and Bennedict Mathurin — he has had some big games since being sent to LA as part of the Ivica Zubac trade (Zubac remains out for the tanking Pacers). Mathurin is averaging 19 points a game since coming to Los Angeles, and while Tyronn Lue has leaned on him less and less in the last week or so, expect Mathurin to get all the shots he wants against his former team. Pascal Siakam has missed a lot of time lately and the Pacers are 1-8 when he is out this season.

29. Sacramento Kings

(14-48, last week No. 30)
There was good news at the Golden 1 Center this week — leading up to the Kings being in a rare nationally televised game on Tuesday night, taking on Phoenix in a game on NBC and Peacock. First, not only did the Kings snap their 16-game losing streak, they won twice last week, beating two other tanking teams in Memphis and Dallas. The other good news is that Keegan Murray avoided any serious injury when he sprained his ankle last week, an MRI determined this was just a mild sprain. The bad news is that he is still going to be sidelined for two weeks, which means he will not be available against the Suns on Tuesday.

30. Brooklyn Nets

(15-45, last week No. 29)
Part of what the Nets are doing as they try to tank their way to a high draft pick is find guys who can be part of the rotation for whatever is coming next. Nolan Traore is looking like he might be one of those guys. Traore, a point guard out of France and one of five first-round picks Brooklyn held on to last year (he was No. 19) is averaging 13 points and 5.6 assists a game over his last 10. He's still got to improve his 3-point shot and turn the ball over less, but watch Brooklyn play and you start to see there may be something there for the future. Despite his improved play, the Nets have dropped eight in a row and it's going to be tough to turn that around on the road this week with two in Miami and one in Detroit.

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US half marathon women's leaders guided off course in error. One asks officials to 'make it right'

ATLANTA (AP) — The runner who was leading the women's race at the U.S. half marathon championships until she was mistakenly led off the course by a guide vehicle is calling for USA Track & Field to make right an outcome that cost her a spot in the world road running championships this fall.

Jess McClain was ahead by a wide margin with about 1.5 miles to go Sunday when she and three other runners followed the guide vehicle on a wrong turn.

McClain said in an Instagram post that she followed a police escort, official lead vehicle and a media motorcycle off the course for about one kilometer.

“I had to come to a stop, make a tight & complete u-turn & run back onto course as a national championship title & a world team spot slipped away,” she wrote. “I’m going try my hardest to walk away from this weekend remembering the joy I felt in those moments where I thought I was on my way to becoming a National Champion & finally make Team USA outright.”

McClain, who is from Phoenix, ended up finishing ninth. The next two runners who followed her off the course — Emma Hurley of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Ednah Kurgat of Roswell, Georgia — were 12th and 13th, respectively.

Molly Born of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, crossed the finish line first in 1 hour, 9 minutes, 43 seconds.

“I don't really feel like the U.S. champion just because of the whole situation that went down at the end," Born said in an interview with the Fast Women YouTube channel.

McClain and three other runners who followed the lead vehicle appealed after their protest of the order of finish was rejected. USATF said in a statement the jury of appeals found "the event did not meet USATF Rule 243 and that the course was not adequately marked at the point of misdirection. This violation contributed to the misdirection taken by the athletes within the top four at the time of misdirection. However, the jury of appeals finds no recourse within the USATF rulebook to alter the results order of finish. The results order of finish as posted is considered final.”

The top three finishers qualify for the world championships Sept. 20 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The USATF noted that the American team would not be officially selected until May and that the governing body would continue to review what took place in Atlanta.

“While we understand athletes are eager to resolve this issue expeditiously, our process will ensure an ultimate decision is in the best interest of all the athletes involved,” the USATF said.

The USATF said lead vehicles are provided and managed by the local organizing committee, which was the Atlanta Track Club.

“Mistakes happen & I am sure those who were leading us feel terrible about the outcome,” McClain wrote. “I just hate that the athletes are ALWAYS the ones who pay the price (literally $$$)… time & time again.”

She said she trusts USATF and the Atlanta Track Club “can somehow make it right for the athletes who were led off course... It sounds like conversations are still being had, so I am choosing to remain hopeful that we’ll soon have a little more clarity than what we left Atlanta with & actionable steps forward.”

___

AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports

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Royals vs. Angels Monday game thread

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - MAY 28: Starting pitcher Noah Cameron #65 of the Kansas City Royals pitches during the first inning of the game against the Cincinnati Reds at Kauffman Stadium on May 28, 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Noah Cameron day!

Old friend Adam Frazier in the lineup for the Angels.

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Luke Kornet calls on Atlanta Hawks to cancel 'Magic City Monday' promo

An NBA player from an opposing team has called on the Atlanta Hawks to cancel their upcoming game promotion that revolves around celebrating a well-known local gentleman's club.

San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet asked the Hawks to reconsider their "Magic City Monday" plans for a March 16 game against the Orlando Magic in a letter posted to Medium on Monday, March 2. Atlanta's ownership group and front office recently touted the one-night collaboration as an ode to an "iconic cultural institution," citing Magic City's role and impact in Atlanta's Black communities and hip-hop culture in the announcement.

But Kornet wrote that "the Hawks failed to acknowledge that this place is, as the business itself boasts, 'Atlanta’s premier strip club.' "

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"The NBA should desire to protect and esteem women, many of whom work diligently every day to make this the best basketball league in the world," Kornet continued. "We should promote an atmosphere that is protective and respectful of the daughters, wives, sisters, mothers, and partners that we know and love.

"Allowing this night to go forward without protest would reflect poorly on us as an NBA community, specifically in being complicit in the potential objectification and mistreatment of women in our society."

Magic City Kitchen is also slated to serve two versions of its "world famous" lemon pepper wings – Louwill Lemon Pepper BBQ – at the March 16 game. The flavor is named after three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year-winner, Lou Williams. Rapper T.I. is scheduled to perform at halftime and limited edition Magic City merchandise will be available to purchase at the game.

Magic City celebrated 40 years with a five-part STARZ docuseries, ‘Magic City: An American Fantasy,’ that was produced by Hawks principal owner Jami Gertz and Atlanta native Jermaine Dupri. Magic City founder Michael “Mr. Magic” Barney and T.I. are scheduled to record a live podcast from inside Atlanta's State Farm Arena before the game.

Kornet, 30, hopes the Hawks and NBA officials listen to him instead.

"I’d like to encourage the league, its owners, employees and fans to hold the Atlanta Hawks to a higher standard of what they find worthy of promoting," Kornet wrote. "I and others throughout the league were surprised by and object to the Hawks’ decision. We desire to provide an environment where fans of all ages can safely come and enjoy the game of basketball and where we can celebrate the history and culture of communities in good conscience. The celebration of a strip club is not conduct aligned with that vision."

Luke Kornet stats

Kornet is averaging a career-best 7.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists in his first season with the Spurs. This is the sixth team he's played for in his nine NBA seasons, with his previous four years spent on the Boston Celtics.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Luke Kornet asks Atlanta Hawks to stop Magic City strip club promotion

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Bryce Elder backed by solid defense in scoreless effort for Braves

Feb 25, 2026; North Port, Florida, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Bryce Elder (55) throws a pitch in the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates during spring training at CoolToday Park. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

Bryce Elder dealt with minor traffic on the basepaths during his time in this game but was able to get out of each situation without giving up a run. He was also helped by some solid defense (particularly from Jim Jarvis) as the Braves cruised to another spring training win in Grapefruit League action.

Elder got the ball to get things going on the road against the Tigers and he ended up getting three innings deep into this one. You could argue that the pitches that Elder gave up for hit in this one could potentially turn into those familiar hangers of his getting hit for homers during the regular season but that’s purely hypothetical at this point. As far as what actually happened on the diamond today, Elder only gave up singles on each of the three hits he gave up and that was all the trouble he had to deal with.

It also helped that the Braves flashed some serious leather in the infield today in order to help their pitcher out in this one. Jonah Heim made a heads-up play in the first inning by catching Jake Rogers straying a bit too far from second base in order to snuff out the scoring threat and end the inning right then and there.

Elder gave up singles in the second and third inning but they both got wiped out after Elder induced a ground ball that resulted in shortstop (and former Tigers prospect) Jim Jarvis either turning a double play (in spectacular fashion, no less) or being part of a double play. Jarvis also recorded a put-out in the first inning, so he was all over the place in a good way. All in all, Elder ended with three scoreless innings under his belt with just three hits allowed and a strikeout, to boot. His performance today certainly won’t hurt any chances that he’s got at making the rotation to start this season.

Speaking of Jim Jarvis, his defense wasn’t his only contribution to this one. Jarvis didn’t record any hits but he reached base twice — the first time was on an error and the second time also involved an error and it resulted in the Braves breaking the scoreless deadlock in this one. It wasn’t particularly a dominant performance from Jarvis but once again, it’s one of those efforts that won’t go unnoticed from the decision-makers for this particular ballclub.

Once Elder was done for the day, fellow rotation hopeful Joey Wentz got the ball and he delivered three scoreless innings of his own. Wentz walked two batters but he made up for it by racking up three strikeouts while he was out there, so this was certainly a productive day for Wentz that also didn’t hurt his chances for consideration, either.

Prospect Owen Murphy got a rude welcome to the game, however. Murphy entered the game in the seventh and after retiring the first batter he saw, Brett Callahan got the better of him by going down to one knee in order to golf one out of the park to make it 4-1 Braves. Fortunately, Murphy recovered from that slip-up by only giving up a walk over the course of the final five batters he faced — including three strikeouts during that span as well. It was certainly an impressive recovery.

The Braves ended up cruising to another relatively comfortable spring training win and a big part of that was due to another roster hopeful making his presence felt at the plate. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. is looking to snatch up a roster spot for Opening Day and he made a loud statement with a two-run opposite-field dinger that brought the Braves to a three-run lead.

Braves top prospect Cal Conley entered this game in the sixth inning and made his presence felt with a couple of RBI singles in this one. He came up to the second and drove in Jose Azocar by taking a slider that was low and out of the zone and grounding it into the outfield to make it 4-0 Braves at the time. He then restored Atlanta’s four-run lead once he returned to the plate in the ninth inning against Ricky Vanasco.

Right after Vanasco had got done striking out John Gil, Conley made up for it by shooting one through the infield for a RBI single that plated Kevin Kilpatrick Jr. and made it 5-1 Atlanta. While John Gil was the prospect to keep an eye on heading into this one, it was Cal Conley who ended up being the star prospect of today’s show. He even made an impressive play on a hot shot towards him in the bottom of the ninth as well. Similarly to Jim Jarvis, Conley was all over the place in a positive manner while he was out there.

So once more, there was a lot to like from how the Braves looked in this one. As usual for a road game during spring training, a lot of these players are longshots to make the big league roster for Opening Day but if you’re keeping an intentional eye on the organizational depth, it’s been encouraging to see these guys put things together here in spring training so far. The Braves are off tomorrow and actually won’t be in (official) Grapefruit League action until Thursday, as Atlanta will be facing off against Team Colombia at 1:05 p.m. ET on Wednesday afternoon. We’ll see you then!

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Frustrating Losses Piling Up As Clock Continues Ticking On Panthers Attempted Playoff Push

The Florida Panthers are up against it right now.

Following Sunday’s crushing last-minute loss to the New York Islanders, Florida’s second straight defeat, the Panthers now have just 22 games to overcome an eight-point deficit in the Wild Card race while simultaneously climbing over the five teams that are currently between the Cats and that final playoff spot.

It’s surely not impossible, but considering the overwhelming feelings of frustration based off how those two losses have occurred, it’s hard to blame the Panthers, or their fans, for feeling somewhat despondent.

The focus after Friday’s loss to the Buffalo Sabres was a challenged goal that the NHL’s decision-makers deemed worthy to stand despite contact between the player’s stick and goaltender’s glove, calling the interaction between stick and glove incidental.

Then on Sunday, the Panthers began a four-game road trip by storming out to a 2-0 lead on Long Island, only to find themselves trailing by a goal during the game’s final minutes.

Just when the team’s spirits were lifted thanks to a late, game-tying tally by Sam Reinhart, Florida allowed a backbreaking goal with 32 seconds left to shatter any chances of making progress in the standings.

“We pushed pretty hard tonight, but the games are too important to be giving up games like that,” Panthers center Sam Bennett said afterwards.

Indeed, the time to make up ground is shrinking by the day.

While it surely helps that the Panthers are getting healthier, welcoming defenseman Dmitry Kulikov back into the lineup Sunday and expecting Tomas Nosek, Seth Jones and Jonah Gadjovich to all join him in the coming fortnight, the lasting dark cloud looming over the team following such demoralizing defeats can be extremely difficult to dismiss.

As Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice explained, the best thing for Florida to do is focus on the positives and fall back on the knowledge of their experiences over the past several seasons.

“Any one good feeling, right?” Maurice said. “Any one good play, anything that gives them the feeling that there’s hope. That’s really what we’re trying to drive now. They’ve got miles on them, but they’ve played a lot of big games together, and that’s the key.”

One positive for the Panthers is that they don’t have to wait long for a chance to turn things right back around.

Florida will play three games in the next four nights, and two of them are against teams that are currently not in a playoff position.

The Panthers (63 points) face the New Jersey Devils (60 points) on Tuesday and the Columbus Blue Jackets (66 points) on Thursday before ending the road trip against the Detroit Red Wings (74 points) on Friday.

Detroit currently holds the first Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference, with the Boston Bruins (71 points) clinging to the second spot.

Make no mistake, the Cats are running out of their nine lives.

At a time where the pain and anguish can feel like it cuts deeper than usual, the veteran squad will need to rally around one another and find a way to push through.

“We’re on the road and we know how important games are,” said Bennett. “We’re sticking together as a team, and we’re going to fight right to the very end.”

With a roster that continues to grow stronger, and plenty of past successes to draw from, the Panthers know they are capable of achieving their goal.

One game, one shift at a time.

“We’ll deal with the hockey, we don’t hide from it,” Maurice said. “We’ll deal with the game tomorrow, so we can move on and put our best foot forward in Jersey.

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Photo caption: Mar 1, 2026; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders left wing Anders Lee (27) scores the winning goal against the Florida Panthers during the third period at UBS Arena. (Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images)

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NBA power rankings: Is a new contender emerging out West?

We’re entering the final months of the 2025-26 NBA season, and action is heating up.

For one, players have started to chirp and fire back at one another as rivalries and stakes intensify. That has led to a tightening in the battle for seeding and positioning in both the Eastern and Western Conferences.

But that hasn’t stopped teams at the bottom of the standings to seemingly sabotage the remainder of their seasons in an attempt to preserve their draft positioning. That apparent tanking, against the backdrop of a loaded NBA draft class, has led to a fairly wide discrepancy between teams at the top and those at the bottom.

Here are USA TODAY Sports’ NBA power rankings after Week 17 of the 2025-26 regular season:

USA TODAY Sports NBA power rankings

Note: Records and stats through Feb. 8. Parentheses show movement from last week’s rankings.

NBA Week 18 power rankings: Top 10

1. Detroit Pistons, 45-14 (—)

2. Oklahoma City Thunder, 47-15 (—)

3. San Antonio Spurs, 43-17 (—)

4. Boston Celtics, 40-20 (—)

5. New York Knicks, 39-22 (—)

6. Minnesota Timberwolves, 38-23 (+4)

7. Cleveland Cavaliers, 38-24 (-1 )  

8. Houston Rockets, 37-22 (-1)

9. Denver Nuggets, 37-24 (-1)

10. Los Angeles Lakers, 36-24 (-1)

It is clear who are the top three teams in the NBA. For weeks now, a combination of the Pistons, Thunder and Spurs have all alternated positioning atop this list. But the most compelling narrative is between the Pistons and Thunder, who are still not quite fully healthy, but got a massive boost with the return of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Oklahoma City, though, will be waiting for Jalen Williams (hamstring) to fully heal.

The Timberwolves secured a massive, nine-point victory Sunday, March 1 over the Nuggets to move into fourth place in the West and are the big movers in this week’s power rankings. Anthony Edwards is finding ways to lead his team; the Nuggets forced the ball out of his hands with double teams, so he made the right plays. But in the previous four games, he averaged 33.3 points per contest.

And over the last week, each of the Cavaliers, Rockets, Nuggets and Lakers have suffered questionable losses to dip them further.

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) dunks the ball during the first quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, on Feb. 26, 2026.

NBA Week 18 power rankings: Nos. 11-20

11. Toronto Raptors, 35-25 (—)

12. Phoenix Suns, 34-26 (—)

13. Philadelphia 76ers, 33-27 (—)

14. Orlando Magic, 31-28 (+2)

15. Miami Heat, 32-29 (-1)

16. Atlanta Hawks, 31-31 (+4)

17. Charlotte Hornets, 30-31 (+1)

18. Golden State Warriors, 31-29 (-2)

19. Los Angeles Clippers, 28-31 (-2)

20. Portland Trail Blazers, 29-33 (-1)

Toronto’s most recent four losses have come against the Spurs, Thunder, Pistons and Timberwolves — all elite teams. For the Raptors to crack the Top 10, they’ll need to take some of those games. The resurgence of the Charlotte Hornets continues, as no team has posted a higher net rating — a massive figure of 16.7 — over the last five games.

And the Hawks appear to be big winners, at least initially, from the trading deadline. Acquiring Jonathan Kuminga on a low-cost flier could be a move that gives them a big bump headed into the push for the playoffs. Atlanta has won four consecutive and Kuminga has averaged 21.3 points per game on a wildly efficient 67.7% shooting rate since joining the team.

NBA Week 18 power rankings: Nos. 21-30

21. Milwaukee Bucks, 26-33 (—)

22. Memphis Grizzlies, 23-36 (—)

23. Chicago Bulls, 25-36 (—) 

24. Dallas Mavericks, 21-39 (—)

25. New Orleans Pelicans, 19-43 (+1)

26. Utah Jazz, 18-42 (-1)

27. Washington Wizards, 16-43 (—)

28. Indiana Pacers, 15-45 (+1)

29. Brooklyn Nets, 15-46 (-1)

30. Sacramento Kings, 14-48 (—)

Can Milwaukee make a push into the play-in picture? Giannis Antetokounmpo is set to return Monday, March 2, and his rapport with recent buyout acquisition Cam Thomas will be crucial for the Bucks.

After that, this bottom third is a bunch of teams who are far more interested in their draft position than they are in winning. The Jazz are shutting everyone down with injuries, the Nets have lost eight consecutive and the Kings can’t seem to find any traction whatsoever.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA power rankings have Pistons, Thunder battle as Timberwolves rise

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US gold medal-winning captain Hilary Knight reveals she played at the Olympics with a torn MCL

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. women's hockey gold medal-winning captain Hilary Knight revealed Monday in a television appearance that she played in Milan with a torn medial collateral ligament in one of her knees.

“I’m not walking around the best, and I’m missing a few games for the (PWHL’s) Seattle Torrent,” Knight said on “CBS Mornings.”

"To be able to play through injury was definitely a mental sort of gymnastic challenge for myself and also physical, but we’ve got some amazing support staff that did their best to get me out there and perform at my best — as best as I could.”

Knight, playing at what she said was her final Olympics at 36, tied the final against Canada with just over two minutes left in regulation. Knight, teammate Kendall Coye Schofield and Canada’s Erin Ambrose were all put on long-term injured reserve by their respective PWHL teams upon returning for the resumption of the season.

Knight and U.S. men's gold medal-winning players Jack and Quinn Hughes are set to appear on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on Monday night. That is coming 48 hours since their memorable cameo alongside women’s golden goal scorer Megan Keller on “Saturday Night Live.”

Jack Hughes also scored to beat Canada in overtime, like Keller did three days earlier. The men's gold medal is the country's first since the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” in Lake Placid.

Jack with the New Jersey Devils and Quinn with the Minnesota Wild have returned to play games in the NHL. The Devils gave Jack a day off from practice ahead of their appearance with Knight on Fallon's show, which is expected to be the final stop on the brothers' whirlwind media tour since returning to North America.

___

AP Olympic coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

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Tigers and Red Wings launch Detroit SportsNet channel and streaming options

DETROIT, MI - OCTOBER 08: A general view of Comercia Park is seen during the singing of the national anthem prior to Game Four of the American League Division Series presented by Booking.com between the Seattle Mariners and the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on Wednesday, October 8, 2025 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Monica Bradburn/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images

Well we’ve been waiting for broadcasting details since the Detroit Tigers left their partnership with FanDuel Sports Network in January. Today they announced the launch of Detroit SportsNet, a dedicated channel/app for local markets that will carry the Detroit Tigers and, starting with the 2026-2027 season, the Detroit Red Wings as well.

The package is priced at $189.99 for a yearly subscription to stream the Tigers and Red Wings both, but fans have to be in the home territory for both teams to have access to the annual package. Per the Tigers press release, DSN is now available as a streaming option via MLB.tv, and will be offered through cable/satellite television providers. However, details on individual agreements to carry the channel via cable and satellite providers are still pending and may vary depending on your provider.

Signing up prior to March 23 will get you all spring training content, and the yearly subscription will run from April 1, 2026 through March 31, 2027. The montly option is $19.99, so if you’re only interested in the Tigers you’re basically paying $120 for the regular season.

Tony Paul of the Detroit News has more details in this piece currently free to non-subscribers.

Here’s the link to the streaming options.

Here’s a link to the frequently asked questions section.

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Emmet Sheehan, River Ryan look to put injuries behind them to round out Dodgers' rotation

Everybody knows how talented the top of the Dodgers' rotation is. There are few, if any, teams that can run out a group as skilled as Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, and Shohei Ohtani. However, with how the Dodgers like to manage their innings and the long injury history associated with a few of their top arms, the back end of the Dodgers' rotation may be just as crucial to their quest to defend their World Series title.

With Blake Snell likely delayed to start the season due to offseason shoulder soreness, there are two open spots in the rotation, and a collection of talented arms with their own injury histories vying for the spots. Roki Sasaki, one of last year's top free-agent additions, had a shoulder impingement last year and previous Tommy John concerns. Emmet Sheehan missed the entire 2024 season after having Tommy John surgery, and River Ryan was sidelined all of last season after the same procedure.

This season, all three have come into camp healthy and are trying to put their past injuries behind them and solidify their place in the starting rotation.

"I'm just trying to set myself up as best as possible to be healthy at the end of the year and contribute at the end of this year," said Sheehan before a spring training game. "Whether that's getting stronger, moving a little bit better, understanding my throw a little bit better."

Sheehan had the biggest workload of the three pitchers last season. After an extended ramp-up following surgery, he threw 17.2 innings at Triple-A, then was called up to the big leagues and pitched 73.1 innings for the Dodgers, registering a 2.82 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, and 30.6% strikeout rate in 15 appearances (12 starts). However, when the postseason hit, Sheehan was moved into the bullpen, where he struggled to an 8.59 ERA in 7.1 innings over six appearances. Still, those first playoff innings were a crucial learning experience for the 26-year-old.

"I think just being able to contribute and help in the playoffs was a really great feeling," explained Sheehan. "I struggled early in the playoffs a lot, so to be able to turn that around towards the end was a great feeling."

While it was a tough lesson to learn, the reliever mindset of being completely locked in from pitch one is something that Sheehan believes could help him in his approach as a starter in 2026: "Coming out of the bullpen, just being ready from pitch one is an advantage as a pitcher. Hitters only get three or four at-bats a game, so they're gonna be ready for every pitch. If you're not completely locked in when you get out there, you're at a disadvantage. I think it's good to have a mix of both because, starting, you have to figure out how to navigate a lineup maybe three times, where you shouldn't show all your cards early, and then maybe save them for later. But as a bullpen guy, you're only facing five or six hitters at the most, and you can show all your cards whenever you want. But I think it's a good mix."

⚾️ Coming soon: MLB returns to NBC and Peacock in 2026! In addition to becoming the exclusive home of Sunday Night Baseball, NBC Sports will broadcast MLB Sunday Leadoff, “Opening Day” and Labor Day primetime games, the first round of the MLB Draft, the entire Wild Card round of the postseason, and much more.

Showing all of his cards for Sheehan in 2025 meant relying on his slider more often. He upped the usage significantly in 2025, throwing it 30% of the time overall and nearly 41% of the time to righties after throwing it 20% of the time and 34% of the time to righties in 2023. The pitch registered a 24.4% swinging strike rate (SwStr%) overall and was also a good two-strike pitch to lefties with a 32.4% PutAway Rate, which measures how often a two-strike pitch results in a strikeout. However, the pitch did get hit hard by lefties, so Sheehan will likely need to lean more on his changeup to get ahead of lefties early in the count. The pitch had good zone and strike rates and didn't give up hard contact, but he used it in two-strike counts to lefties more often than the slider, despite it having a worse SwStr%.

The other change for Sheehan last season was raising his arm angle from about 30 degrees in 2023 to 35 degrees in 2025.

Sheehan Arm angle

Statcast

"When my delivery was right, before I got called up in 2023 in Double-A, I was throwing harder, I was feeling better, my arm slot was a little bit higher," recalled Sheehan. "When I got up to the big leagues, for whatever reason that year, [my arm slot] just dropped naturally. Getting back to the way the throw was before, and the way it was supposed to be, was big."

That five-degree difference may not seem like a major change, but it led to a change in his four-seam fastball shape, losing horizontal movement and gaining vertical movement. That was crucial for Sheehan since he also raised the high location on his four-seam fastball by 10%, keeping it up in the zone 73% of the time in 2025. That's a perfect approach for a fastball that is now flatter than in 2023 and is a big reason why Sheehan registered such a high SwStr% on his four-seam fastball.

Given his successful 90 total innings last year, Sheehan seems like a good bet to grab some of the final rotation spots, and the Dodgers are currently giving him that opportunity. It's a role that could propel him to a pretty big season if injuries around him allow him to hold onto the spot.

But the final spot in the rotation is a little more up for grabs. Roki Sasaki is the bigger name and has been working on adding a crucial third pitch this offseason, but that is still a work in progress. Considering that his four-seam fastball also posted a 5.5% SwStr% last season, which was 4th percentile in baseball, the Dodgers may still feel like he needs time in the minor leagues to build out his pitch mix.

That could open up a spot in the rotation for River Ryan.

The 27-year-old was an 11th-round pick for the Dodgers out of UNC Pembroke back in 2021, where he was primarily an infielder until his final year. He quickly emerged as a really intriguing pitcher in their system. By 2023, he was the 14th-ranked prospect in their system and shot up to 5th before the 2024 season. In that season, he was electric in 24.1 minor league innings before getting a shot with the Dodgers. He pitched to a 1.33 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 18/9 K/BB ratio in 20.1 innings before tearing his UCL after an August start against the Pirates.

Ryan missed the entirety of the 2025 season, but that had more to do with the success of the Dodgers' minor league teams and the shorter minor league season.

"Last year, I had a normal rehab process here in Arizona. I did my live outings, and, unfortunately, when I was done with my lives out here, there wasn't anywhere to go do rehab outings," explained Ryan. "All the minor league seasons were over, so it was either jump straight from throwing in the backfield to pitching in the postseason, which I was prepared to do, but we all had a talk, and came to the consensus of just having a normal off-season. So I shut it down for a little bit at the end of the year, and then rebuilt my arm throughout the off-season, and had a normal throwing progression. It's led me to have a normal offseason, normal spring training, and be ready for opening day."

So what did a healthy offseason for Ryan look like?

"Just really fine-tuning my arsenal," he explained. "Learning what pitches are my out pitches. What pitches can I go to to get to two strikes as fast as I possibly can? Then anything goes from there."

The out pitches for Ryan are most likely a slider that he threw to righties almost 40% of the time in 2024. The pitch didn't miss tons of bats overall in that small 20-inning sample, but it did post a nearly 30% PutAway Rate, which suggests that it would certainly work as a two-strike pitch for righties. He also has a two-plane curveball that missed plenty of bats against lefties and an upper-90s fastball with ride that should succeed up in the zone, especially since he has a sinker and cutter as well to keep hitters from sitting on the four-seamer.

From a pure stuff standpoint, Ryan has everything you look for in a pitcher, which is why he's currently the 55th-ranked prospect in baseball, according to Keith Law. His arsenal is going to be "relatively the same," heading into 2026, but the bigger change for Ryan has been "fine-tuning what gets [him] to two strikes as fast as possible."

That could be the silver lining of the injury, which allowed him to focus on the mental side of pitching as well: It was just diving into the cerebral side of how to get guys out and how to get them out fast, and how to collect punchouts when I can... It was just watching a lot of video of myself, especially early on, from where I started to where I am now. Noticing the changes and what works and building a routine based on what has worked for me."

Of course, the other focus for Ryan was on getting his body to a point where he felt like it could withstand the demands of a full MLB season.

"It was really just trying to put on weight when I was down and to be as healthy as I can coming into the year and manage a workload that I'm prepared to manage," he detailed. "When I tore my UCL in 2024, I was 190-195 pounds, and I was like, 'Dude, I really need to make a change.' I just really got into the weight room and worked my butt off in there. I ate as much as I could, and I got to like 231 [pounds], and I noticed that my body was able to take the high intensity and high velocity throws for a lot longer. I was able to maintain a lot of stamina instead of having to work so hard."

While we often correlate increased muscle with added velocity, which could certainly be true for Ryan, the bigger issue is how it improves a pitcher's health. If a pitcher lacks lower-body strength, then when their legs fatigue and aren't able to drive down the mound as well, a pitcher's arm has to compensate. Not only does that put extra wear and tear on the arm over a game, but it also means that the arm is trying to create velocity on each pitch that the legs are no longer able to supply. We saw added muscle help Carlos Rodon, who battled injuries early in his career before adding 20+ pounds of muscle to his lower body before the 2022 season and pitching 132.2 innings in a breakout season.

Perhaps a similar type of breakout is in the cards for Ryan, but his main priority is far simpler than that.

"My main goal is to have a healthy season," he said quickly. "I think it would build a lot of assurance and confidence in the things that I've been through to know that my body can handle it."

For Ryan, he doesn't care if that fully healthy season comes in the rotation or not: "I'm just doing everything I can to prepare myself for any role and any situation. Obviously, I want to be in the starting rotation, and I think I have a lot to offer, but I also know that we have a ton of guys, and the main goal is to be healthy and pitch in the big leagues. Whether that's in the starting rotation or coming out of the bullpen, I'm prepared for both."

Dodgers fans and fantasy managers alike may hope to see him coming out of the rotation because his upside could be a real difference-maker for the Dodgers this season.

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Canadiens’ Goaltending Dilemma Still An Issue

When the Montreal Canadiens returned from the Olympic break, coach Martin St-Louis stated that both of his goaltenders would get a game in the first week to get back in the swing of things and that he would take it from there. Now that Samuel Montembeault and Jakub Dobes have each played a game, the former against the New York Islanders and the latter against the Washington Capitals, it will be time for St-Louis to decide who will be between the pipes on Tuesday against the San Jose Sharks. The California outfit has won two of its three games since the break and is currently involved in the playoff chase, three points out of a wildcard spot in the Western Conference.

Montembeault gave up four goals on 26 shots against New York, which comes to an .846 save percentage: that’s not enough. Granted, he couldn’t do much on the game-tying goal in the third frame when the shot from the high slot was deflected right in front of his crease by Anders Lee, but the two goals from rookie wonder Matthew Schaefer came from a distance. While the blueliner has a great shot, there comes a time when a starting netminder has to come up big and make unexpected saves.

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As for Dobes, he allowed two goals against Washington, both to the league's all-time best goalscorer, Alexander Ovechkin. The Czech netminder saved 27 of the 29 shots he faced for a .931 SV. The first goal was on a rebound that fell to the Russian sniper, right under the nose of the Canadiens’ defenders, Lane Hutson and Noah Dobson. As for the second goal, Ovechkin was allowed to walk right into the slot and was all alone when he received the feed from behind the goal line. There’s not much a goaltender can do in that situation.

On top of those numbers, though, there’s also one fact: the Canadiens won with Dobes in net and lost with Montembeault. With Dobes, they were able to protect their lead and kept playing for the full 60 minutes. With Montembeault in the net, they sat back in the third frame, stopping their attack and focusing solely on defence. It’s almost as if they felt they needed to defend more. The last time Dobes lost in regulation was on December 9, whereas Montembeault lost two of his last five games in regulation.

Whichever way you look at it, Dobes should get the start on Tuesday. Of course, the Canadiens still have six back-to-backs to play until the end of the regular season, so logic dictates that those games will be split. Three of the six back-to-backs are coming up in the next two weeks, so we’re likely to see both goaltenders a lot over that span, and once those are out of the way, the Habs will need to go back to the masked man who performed the best and in front of whom the team looked most confident.

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John Gibson "Unlikely" To Return Vs. Predators With Upper-Body Injury

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The last thing that the Detroit Red Wings need now that the calendar has shifted to March for their stretch drive toward the Stanley Cup Playoffs is an injury to a key player, but it looks like that's their situation. 

Goaltender John Gibson, who has posted elite numbers for the Red Wings since the beginning of December, departed this afternoon's tilt against the Nashville Predators with an upper-body injury.

His chances of returning to the game are slim, as announced by the Red Wings on X.

Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features. 

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Backup Cam Talbot, who started Detroit's previous game against the Hurricanes, replaced Gibson between the pipes. 

The nature and severity of Gibson's injury are unknown, and whether it forces GM Steve Yzerman to consider a goaltending acquisition before Friday afternoon's NHL Trade Deadline, or potentially even consider a call-up of Sebastian Cossa from the Grand Rapids Griffins, remains to be seen. 

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