Sports
Canucks, 'rusty' after break, look for victory at Utah
Feb 4, 2025; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Jake DeBrusk (74) during a stop in play against the Colorado Avalanche in the third period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images The Vancouver Canucks and the Utah Hockey Club enter their clash in Salt Lake City on Sunday night having lost their first games after the 4 Nations Face-Off break.
On Saturday, the Canucks fell 3-1 to the Vegas Golden Knights on the road and Utah lost in Los Angeles, 5-3 to the Kings. But Vancouver and Utah will go back it in the second game of their back-to-back sets.
Jake DeBrusk, who scored Vancouver’s only goal as the Canucks had their three-game winning streak snapped Saturday, said it took some time getting acclimated again after the two-week break.
“Just getting the feeling of the puck, like off the boards,” he said. “Like myself, I felt rusty.”
DeBrusk reached the 20-goal plateau for the fourth time in his career as he gave the Canucks a 1-0 lead 6:22 into the game. But that was the extent of Vancouver’s offense for the night.
Kevin Lankinen, who played for Finland in the 4 Nations Face-off, made 32 saves.
“We got to make more plays,” said the Canucks’ Kiefer Sherwood, who got the first assist on DeBrusk’s goal. “I know Lankey’s (Lankinen) world-class, but we left him out on an island too much.”
Star center Elias Pettersson played for the Canucks on Saturday after many doubted his availability due to an undisclosed injury suffered while he played for Sweden in the tournament. Pettersson was minus-1 with one shot in just shy of 16 minutes of ice time. He has 34 points (11 goals, 23 assists) in 50 games for the season.
Captain and reigning Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Quinn Hughes remained out with an oblique injury that has forced him to miss all of Vancouver’s February games. He had been selected to the United States’ 4 Nations Face-Off team before he was injured.
Utah, meanwhile, has dropped two of its past three games.
Barrett Hayton was responsible for all of the Utah scoring Saturday with his first career hat trick and the first-ever hat trick for the Utah Hockey Club. The franchise is in its first season in Salt Lake City after moving from Arizona.
“I like the fact he got rewarded,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. “We often talk about how much ‘Haytes’ plays the right way. He does everything right on and off the ice, has the right attitude, competes so hard. You cannot not cheer for him, so really happy for him.”
Hayton’s first goal gave Utah a 1-0 lead 7:54 into the game. His second goal put Utah ahead 2-1 at 5:50 of the second period. Both goals came on the power play. Hayton’s third goal came with nine minutes left and pulled the team to 4-3. But defenseman Mikey Anderson’s empty-net goal with 1:30 remaining clinched the victory for the Kings.
Hayton said the joy he might have felt over the feat was overshadowed by defeat.
“Right now it’s kind of just the sting of the game. At some point, I’ll look back. It is cool to do,” Hayton said. “At this point, it is frustrating losing that game. It’s such a big game. I feel like we kind of put our heart and soul into that game — our effort was there.”
Nick Schmaltz had two assists and Connor Ingram made 21 saves.
Hayton has 32 points (15 goals, 17 assists) in 57 games for the season.
Utah defenseman Sean Durzi returned after sustaining a shoulder injury on Oct. 14 and missing 52 games. In 21:37 of ice time Saturday, he had an assist, four shots, two blocks, two giveaways and a takeaway.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Richard Carapaz, Tadej Pogacar stand tall at Stage 20 of Tour de France
Richard Carapaz of Ecuador is in action during Stage 20 of the Tour de France on Saturday. The race ends Sunday. Richard Carapaz of Ecuador won the stage and Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia all but wrapped up his fifth general classification title in seven years during a wild penultimate day at the Tour de France on Saturday.
The 33-year-old Carapaz capped a monumental week with his second victory in three stages, and third of his career, while also taking over the polka-dot jersey for top climber of the three-week stage race. He also finished third in Friday’s Stage 19.
Stage 20 unfolded in dramatic fashion as Sepp Kuss of the United States held a comfortable lead with just over 7 kilometers remaining in the 170.9-kilometer stage as it approached the finish at the resort town of Alpe d’Huez.
Kuss then crashed against a curb on the right side of the road while exiting a tunnel but got back on his bike and continued with the lead. Misfortune struck again when Kuss crashed against a left-side curb with 5.8 kilometers remaining.
Carapaz passed Kuss after his second solo crash and went on to the stage victory for the U.S.-based EF Education-EasyPost team. Remco Evenepoel of Belgium passed Kuss near the finish line to take second place, while Kuss made his way to the podium with a disappointing third-place finish.
Kuss was trying for his second career stage and stands as the last American man to win a Tour de France Stage when he reached the finish line first in 2021.
Race leader Pogacar finished fourth in the stage, while his UAE Team Emirates teammate Isaac del Toro of Mexico was fifth. The finish kept del Toro in the white jersey given to the top rider under 26 years old.
All that remains is Sunday’s mostly ceremonial final Stage 21. Barring major disaster, Pogacar will wrap up his third consecutive Tour de France title as he takes a 6-minute, 26-second lead over Evenepoel into the final day.
In third place overall is del Toro, who is 9:42 off his teammate’s pace. Paul Seixas, the 19-year-old sensation from France, is fourth overall and nearly two minutes behind del Toro for the white jersey. Seixas finished 10th in Stage 20.
The final stage into Paris on Sunday was cut from 133 kilometers to 89 kilometers because of nearby wildfires, with fans now treated to two extra circuits along the Champs-Elysees before a climbing finish on the nearby Montmartre loop.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tour de France final stage rerouted due to wildfires
A firefighter works to battle wildfire near the A9 motorway near Beziers, France, July 3, 2026. Wildfires in southwest France have forced organizers of the Tour de France to reconfigure the final stage, set for Sunday.
The change is necessary because multiple first responders have been diverted to the fires. The new route will leave a smaller race footprint for local officials to secure.
“As numerous wildfires are currently affecting France, particularly the Gironde region, emergency services are fully mobilized to combat the blazes, while internal security forces are working to secure the affected areas and protect the population,” the Amaury Sport Organisation said in a statement.
“In light of this, the Ministry of Interior has decided to redeploy a portion of the internal security forces initially mobilized to ensure security for the final stage of the Tour de France, in order to reinforce the response efforts in the areas affected by the wildfires.”
The wildfires have led to the evacuations of about 200,000 people.
Stage 21 had been set as a 132.5-kilometer ride from Thoiry down the Champs-Elysees in Paris.
The re-imagined Stage 21 still will end along the famed road, just after a circuit on the Montmartre. But the run now will occur solely within the Paris boundaries and travel just 89 km. Cyclists will take two extra circuits along the Champs-Elysees before heading out for the Montmartre climb.
The Montmartre circuit has proven to be popular after it was used in the 2024 Paris Olympics and then added to the 2025 Tour de France. The area can accommodate large gatherings of fans, who turn the area into a party atmosphere.
Earlier in the Tour de France, fans were asked to stay away from the final 40 kilometers of Stage 3 because of wildfires and the need to deploy first responders to the area.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Robert Kraft: Patriots offered CB Christian Gonzalez record-setting deal
Jun 9, 2026; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez (0) takes questions from the media at minicamp at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said the team offered Christian Gonzalez a contract extension that would make him the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL.
Kraft did not reveal the specific terms of the deal on Saturday, the first day of training camp.
“We love Christian Gonzalez,” Kraft said during the team’s Pawtriots pet adoption event, per the Boston Herald. “We love him as a player, as a person. That’s why we’ve made an offer to him that makes him the highest-paid player ever to play that position in the NFL, and coincidentally, it’s the highest contract in the Patriots franchise history.
“So we’re glad we drafted him and we developed here, and we hope he’ll be with us for a long time.”
Gonzalez is eligible for a contract extension for the first time after being selected by the Patriots with the 17th overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft.
The Los Angeles Rams’ Trent McDuffie is currently the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback, pocketing $31 million per season on his four-year, $131 million contract that he signed this offseason.
Gonzalez, 24, made the Pro Bowl last season after posting 69 tackles and 10 passes defensed in 14 starts. He has three interceptions, 24 passes defensed, one fumble recovery, one sack and 145 tackles in 34 career games (all starts).
–Field Level Media
Richard Carapaz, Tadej Pogacar stand tall at Stage 20 of Tour de France
Your Mac can get Microsoft Office for just $43
