Sports
Flames look for elusive road win in matchup vs. Penguins
Nov 29, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Calgary Flames center Mikael Backlund (11) celebrates the goal scored by center Nazem Kadri (91) in the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets in the third period at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images The season was going well for the Calgary Flames one week ago. Less so for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Seven days later, the tide has turned for each team before Saturday night’s contest in Pittsburgh.
Last Saturday, the Flames concluded an undefeated four-game homestand with a 4-3 shootout triumph against the visiting Minnesota Wild. Two days later, the Flames embarked on a four-game trip through the Eastern Conference. Three games into their voyage, they’re still in search of a win, most recently falling 5-2 to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday.
“The first period was awful. The second period was awful. The third a push,” defenseman Rasmus Andersson said of the game versus the Blue Jackets. “Just not good enough. … We have to be better on the road.”
The road hasn’t been kind to Calgary, which is 3-5-4 in opposing rinks compared with a 9-3-0 record at home. The Flames lost six straight on the road (0-3-3) and nine of 10 away from home, with the lone win on Nov. 5 against the Montreal Canadiens.
“It’s on each guy. … Every guy in this room needs to be better (on Saturday),” Flames forward Blake Coleman said. “These are games we need to start taking care of on the road if we want to be taken seriously as a playoff team here. It’s early, but it’s never too early to keep trying to climb up the standings. Good teams find ways to stop the bleeding.”
Offense has been hard to come by for Calgary, which ranks tied for 27th in the NHL with an average of 2.54 goals per game.
The Penguins, meanwhile, have won two games in a row after recording only one win in their previous seven games (1-4-2). They beat the Vancouver Canucks, one of the NHL’s top road teams, 5-4 on Wednesday, and followed that with a 2-1 victory against the Boston Bruins on Friday.
Philip Tomasino, acquired via trade from the Nashville Predators on Monday, scored the go-ahead goal against Boston to give Pittsburgh consecutive wins for the first time since Oct. 31-Nov. 2.
“There’s a price to pay to win, and I thought our guys worked really hard tonight,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “… The last couple of games, we look so much more like the team that we want to be. Just being proactive, controlling momentum. I just think there’s a lot to build on.”
Friday’s win marked the first time since Nov. 8 that the Penguins have held their opponent to two goals or less.
“Coming down to a tight game in the last period, I guess the whole game was really good for our whole group,” said goalie Tristan Jarry. “From top to bottom, just blocking shots, keeping pucks down low, holding onto pucks. I think we held momentum most of the game, and I think that’s what really helped us down the stretch.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: RB David Montgomery 'wants out' of Detroit
Dec 25, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery (5) looks on before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images Lions running back David Montgomery “wants out” of Detroit after three seasons, ESPN reported on Sunday.
Montgomery, however, immediately appeared to refute the report on X, posting: “Damn, Dmo told you that?”
The ESPN report claims the Lions would want “a decent Day 3 pick (possibly a fifth-rounder)” in the 2026 NFL Draft in return for Montgomery, who turns 29 in June and is owed $6 million next season.
The report follows general manager Brad Holmes’ remarks after the season about Montgomery being unhappy with his playing time in 2025. Sharing a backfield with Jahmyr Gibbs, Montgomery rushed for a career-low 716 yards and eight touchdowns in 17 games (no starts).
“Those are conversations that we’re going to have to have because I’ve got a lot of respect for that player,” Holmes said of Montgomery in January. “He deserves to be in a situation where his skillset can be utilized, and so yeah would love for it to be here, but if it can’t be here then you’d just love to see where could work out best for him.”
At the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday, Holmes said the situation with Montgomery is “fluid.” He signed a two-year extension during the 2024 season that runs through the end of the 2027 campaign.
“Yeah, I have been in touch with David’s agent, and his representation,” Holmes revealed. “Obviously, we love David, he’s a great player, we love to have him, you know, kind of want to put last year in the rear view, and just move forward. But, obviously, a player has to want to be at a certain place as well. The conversations are still fluid, but we’ll see how it goes.”
Montgomery has rushed for 2,506 yards and 33 touchdowns in 45 games (28 starts) in three seasons with Detroit (2023-25). He has 76 catches for 650 yards in that span.
He began his career with the NFC North rival Chicago Bears, who drafted him in the third round in 2019. Montgomery rushed for 3,609 yards and 26 scores in 60 games (51 starts) with the Bears (2019-22).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Yankees LHP Ryan Yarbrough joins U.S. roster for WBC
Jun 18, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Ryan Yarbrough (33) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images New York Yankees left-hander Ryan Yarbrough was added to the Team USA roster for the upcoming World Baseball Classic on Sunday.
The 34-year-old reliever replaces Minnesota Twins right-hander Joe Ryan, who is dealing with low back tightness. Ryan moves into the designated pitcher pool, meaning he is eligible for a call-up after each round of the WBC.
Yarbrough went 3-1 with a 4.36 ERA and one save in 19 games (eight starts) during his first season with the Yankees in 2025, striking out 55 batters and walking 19 in 64 innings.
Ryan Yarbrough has been added to our roster for the World Baseball Classic!#ForGlory???? pic.twitter.com/RrtKJQ20gz
— USA Baseball (@USABaseball) March 1, 2026
Team USA will play its first game of the 2026 WBC on Friday night, meeting Brazil in a Pool B contest in Houston.
Yarbrough has a career record of 56-41 with a 4.22 ERA and four saves in 215 games (76 starts) with the Tampa Bay Rays (2018-22), Kansas City Royals (2023), Los Angeles Dodgers (2023-24), Toronto Blue Jays (2024) and Yankees. The side-arming southpaw signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal in November to return to New York in 2026.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Ex-pitcher Dan Serafini gets life sentence for '21 murder
Dan Serafini (file photo) pitched in MLB with seven teams. He was convited of first-degree murder. Former major league pitcher Dan Serafini was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Friday for the 2021 shootings of his in-laws in North Lake Tahoe, Calif.
Serafini, 52, was convicted in July of the first-degree murder of father-in-law Gary Spohr and the attempted first-degree murder of mother-in-law Wendy Wood during a burglary. Spohr, 70, died from a single gunshot and Wood, then 68, survived but died by suicide the following year.
In the courtroom on Friday in Auburn, Calif., Placer County prosecutor Morgan Gire described Spohr and Wood as loving grandparents.
“The impact of this attack has extended far beyond the immediate victims, deeply affecting family members and the broader community, and highlighting the lasting harm caused by deliberate violence,” Gire said.
Serafini, who pitched for six MLB teams from 1996 to 2007, addressed the court and maintained his innocence. He said he was out partying with his wife, Erin Spohr, at the time of the shooting and referred to himself as a “broken, imperfect man that makes mistakes,” according to MyNews4.
The Minnesota Twins selected Serafini, a native of the San Francisco area, with the No. 26 overall pick in the 1992 MLB Draft. He made his debut in 1996 and went on to appear in 104 games (33 starts) with the Twins, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and Colorado Rockies before his retirement in 2007.
He had a 15-16 record with a 6.04 ERA and one save. He threw 263 2/3 innings and struck out 127 batters.
–Field Level Media
Report: RB David Montgomery 'wants out' of Detroit
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