Sports
Pacific-leading Ducks eager to extend Maple Leafs' losing streak
Mar 10, 2026; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Anaheim Ducks forward Alex Killorn (17) skates away from Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele (55) during the third period at Canada Life Centre. Mandatory Credit: Terrence Lee-Imagn Images The Anaheim Ducks aim to open their four-game road trip with a second consecutive win Thursday night when they visit the floundering Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Ducks started their trip Tuesday night with a 4-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on the strength of three consecutive goals in a 1:44 span of the second period. That improved them to 8-2-0 in their past 10 games.
“A month ago, it was a different situation,” said Ducks forward Alex Killorn, who had a goal and an assist Tuesday. “Then we go on a run, and now we’re first in the Pacific. You try not to think about it too much, but it’s just one of those things that it’s so tight, every game is so important.”
“We’ve got a good mix, we’ve got good balance,” Ducks coach Joel Quenneville added. “We know we can score goals, and (Tuesday) is a good thing to bounce back to, about knowing that we can check, too.”
The victory followed a 4-0 home loss to the St. Louis Blues on Sunday.
“We want to do one thing,” Quenneville said. “We want to make the playoffs. That’s our priority, that’s our goal. You don’t want to look past our next opponent.”
Their next opponent basically has played its way out of playoff contention since the Olympic break. The Maple Leafs have not won since Feb. 3, a 5-2 road decision over the Edmonton Oilers that took them into the break on a three-game winning streak.
The Maple Leafs dropped their eighth in a row (0-6-2) on Tuesday, a 3-1 road loss to the Montreal Canadiens.
“I think parts of all the games we’ve been playing, we’ve been playing snippets of good hockey, and that’s not how we want to play,” said William Nylander, who scored Toronto’s goal.
Montreal controlled the first period when they took a 2-0 lead while holding an 18-5 advantage in shots on goal.
“They definitely had the play in the first for sure, had the puck,” Toronto coach Craig Berube said. “You know, we didn’t check it off them, and then when we did, we didn’t do anything with the puck.”
The winless streak is the Maple Leafs’ longest since an 11-game drought (0-10-1) during the 2014-15 season.
Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews did not score Tuesday for the 12th straight game, one short of the longest scoring drought of his career.
Benoit-Olivier Groulx, recalled from the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League, played 14:13 in his first NHL game since April 12, 2024, and had a good scoring chance and two shots on goal.
Groulx led Marlies scorers with 27 goals and 50 points this season.
“It’s been difficult the past few years, with injuries and not playing,” Groulx said. “It’s rewarding, all the work I’ve done the past few years, to get back to the NHL.”
In Anaheim’s win over the Jets, Ryan Poehling and Jackson LaCombe joined Killorn in contributing one goal and one assist.
“This was one of our most complete games when you look at three periods,” Killorn said. “A lot of games, we’ve been down and had to come back. We were down here (Tuesday), but for a majority of the game, we played the right way. It was a great game for our team. …We didn’t make any stupid turnovers. They’re going to get chances, it’s going to happen, but I thought we limited them as much as we could.”
Anaheim had a 35-13 advantage in shots on goal.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Why The Players Championship Doesn’t Need ‘Major’ Status
It’s an important tournament and the champion will have a notable result when The Players Championship wraps up on the weekend.
But it’s not a major championship, as CEO Brian Rolapp confirmed at his press conference on Wednesday morning.
Frankly, it doesn’t need to be. That’s because golfers heading out looking to conquer TPC Sawgrass this week find plenty of value in the event without a certain prestigious designation, and fans agree.
“I know there’s a lot of talks about it being a ‘fifth major’ and I don’t know necessarily if it should be another major, but it sure feels like it to me,” Sahith Theegala said.
Theegala acknowledges the debate that tends to pop up each year when the tournament is about to begin. It starts Thursday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
Yet what makes the majors special is that there’s so few of them. Granted, with the addition of the signature events, that does tend to push the TPC into its own category – above those signature tournaments, yet below the majors.
And that’s OK. But let’s not call it a major.
That’s reserved to begin in April with the Masters, when the sports calendar is pretty much cleared to place emphasis on that tournament.
Still, there’s going to be plenty of clamor about this week’s tournament, as well there should be.
World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler will take his turn, looking to win the tournament for the third time in a four-year stretch.
“You got to strike it well,” Scheffler said. “Around that golf course when you’re hitting the ball in the right spots, you can shoot some low scores.”
Scheffler said the course demands certain attention. How golfers lofted shots onto greens last week in the Arnold Palmer Invitational will be different at TPC Sawgrass. It’s something he said golfers “get used to that as the week goes on.”
The TPC demands attention because of the quality of its champions – and the rankings of its competitors. This year, 46 of the top 50 players in the world rankings have entered.
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland is the defending champion and he has won twice in the last six editions of the tournament (there was no event in 2020 because of the pandemic).
Since Tiger Woods won for the second time in 2013, the list of champions has included, in part, Rickie Fowler, Australia’s Jason Day, Webb Simpson and Justin Thomas.
McIlroy withdrew from weekend rounds in the Arnold Palmer Invitational because of an ailing back, so it’s possible that his status won’t be totally clear until the first round begins Thursday afternoon.
Given the TPC’s status, it figures that McIlroy will make every effort to be a participant. He and Scheffler are each bidding to become the event’s first three-time champion since Jack Nicklaus (1974, 1976, 1978), though only the last of those was contested at TPC Sawgrass.
Whoever wins this week will have secured a special achievement in a tournament that doesn’t need to be lumped in with the majors.
Sports
Florida International fires coach Jeremy Ballard
Nov 8, 2025; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Florida International Panthers head coach Jeremy Ballard talks during a timeout in the first half against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images Florida International fired men’s basketball coach Jeremy Ballard on Wednesday after eight seasons and a 113-141 record.
Ballard, 44, guided the Panthers to just one postseason appearance, reaching the CIT second round in his first year at the Westchester, Fla., program in 2018-19.
Florida International just completed a 15-17 campaign (8-12 Conference USA) with a 75-72 loss to Missouri State in the first round of the conference tournament on Tuesday.
Including a 20-14 record in his debut season at FIU, Ballard’s only other winning record came the following season at 19-13. The Panthers have not been to the NCAA Tournament since their lone appearance in 1995.
“I want to thank Jeremy for pouring his heart and soul into the program the past eight years, and for the genuine and respectful manner in which he operated every day,” FIU athletic director Scott Carr said. “Jeremy is one of the best human beings and leaders I have ever encountered, and his authenticity carried over into the student-athletes he coached and the culture he established.
“Jeremy has left the program in a better position than what he inherited, and I want to thank him for that improvement. However, the on-court success has not been to the level we aspire to; we want to be competing for conference championships and NCAA Tournament berths. With that standard in place, a comprehensive national search will begin immediately, and there will be no further comment until that is completed.”
Ballard was an assistant coach at VCU, Pitt, Illinois State, Tulsa and his alma mater, Colgate, before taking over at FIU.
Associate head coach Jesse Bopp has been named the Panthers’ interim head coach.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Returned to sender: Maxx Crosby at Raiders' facility, sides mending fences
Dec 14, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) on the field after loss to the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Signs point to the Las Vegas Raiders welcoming Maxx Crosby back into the fold as a result of the return-to-sender rejection of a trade with the Baltimore Ravens.
Sports Illustrated reported the star defensive end was back at the team facility to rehab from left knee surgery at 8 a.m. on Wednesday and considers himself an employee of the Raiders going forward.
The Raiders agreed to a trade on Friday with the Ravens, sending Crosby to Baltimore in exchange for multiple first-round picks. But the deal was pending the results of Crosby’s physical and was not official until Wednesday, the first day of the league year. On Tuesday night, the Ravens informed the Raiders the deal was off, according to multiple reports, because of questions surrounding Crosby’s health and what they considered a “failed physical.”
On Wednesday morning, the Ravens reportedly agreed to a four-year contract with free agent defensive end Trey Hendrickson. The 31-year-old is also coming back from surgery. He played in seven games last season and underwent core muscle surgery. The terms of the agreement, with a value of around $112 million according to multiple reports, matches the total compensation remaining on Crosby’s deal.
NFL Network reported the Chicago Bears were willing to part with two first-round picks to acquire Crosby but were outbid. The Ravens likely jumped ahead because Baltimore’s 2026 first-round pick is 11 slots better than Chicago’s No. 25 overall pick.
The Raiders and Crosby, 28, had been at odds since fired head coach Pete Carroll decided to sit him late in the 2025 season when the fiery Pro Bowl talent argued he wasn’t hurt.
By reversing direction, the Ravens retained the No. 14 overall pick and their 2027 first-rounder promised in the handshake agreement.
The Raiders signed two edge rushers — Malcolm Koonce and Kwity Paye — but remain responsible for Crosby’s contract and the $35.7 million cap hit for 2026, per Spotrac. Las Vegas also signed Ravens free agent center Tyler Linderbaum.
–Field Level Media
Why The Players Championship Doesn’t Need ‘Major’ Status
Florida International fires coach Jeremy Ballard
