Sports
Kraken open key road trip against Predators with wild-card grip slipping
Mar 17, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Kraken forward Ryan Winterton (26) skates with the puck during the third period against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images By the time the Seattle Kraken return home, the Mariners will have started their baseball season and NBA owners will likely have voted on whether the SuperSonics will be one of the league’s next expansion franchises.
And the Kraken might have a better sense of their postseason chances.
Seattle opens a lengthy six-game trip Thursday in Nashville, clinging to the Western Conference’s second and final wild-card berth.
The Kraken (31-27-9, 71 points) are currently tied with Los Angeles, with San Jose one point back and Nashville two behind.
The Kraken are 4-7-0 since the Olympic break, despite having played eight of their past nine games at home.
That includes a 6-2 loss on Tuesday against Tampa Bay, where three goals were directly linked to turnovers and another resulted from an odd-man rush caused by a sloppy Seattle line change.
“For the most part, it was a fairly even game. Our mistakes were really catastrophic,” Kraken coach Lane Lambert said. “Obviously, some really, really poor decisions.
“We’re making some mistakes here that you can’t make. I’m not going to say they’re uncharacteristic because, apparently, they aren’t at the moment. But you can’t make these mistakes. As for the game itself, we gave them the goals in my mind anyway. And they buried them.”
Bobby McMann and Jared McCann scored for Seattle. McMann has four goals and two assists in three games since being acquired from Toronto at the trade deadline.
The Kraken trimmed a three-goal deficit to 3-2 in the second period before Tampa Bay pulled away in the third.
“I think it shows some resilience in this group,” McMann said. “We’re able to claw back against good teams that are pressing hard. And then I’m also proud to prove the way that we did alter our game and kind of change things up and try and generate more offense, because that’s not always easy to do.”
The Predators (30-28-9, 69 points) return home after a five-game trip in which they went 2-2-1, including a 4-2 win on March 10 at Seattle. Juuse Saros tied a season high with 43 saves in that game, giving Nashville a chance to come back from a two-goal deficit.
The Predators, who play five of their next six games at home, wrapped up the trip with a 4-3 shootout victory Tuesday in Winnipeg.
“Last game of a road trip, and it’s a big one for us,” said rookie Predators forward Matthew Wood, who scored in regulation. “Those games are fun to play in — close games, meaningful games. It was fun to come out with the two points.”
Ryan O’Reilly scored the lone goal in the shootout and Saros grounded the Jets.
“I’m proud of the group,” Predators coach Andrew Brunette said. “I mean, it hasn’t been easy. We’ve gone through all kinds of different things. It’s been a little bit of a roller-coaster ride in a lot of different ways, and we’ve stayed together. Credit to the veterans, they’ve hung in there, they’ve pushed the young kids, they’ve pushed each other, and they’re hungry. I think they want to make a statement. And we’re in this fight, and I expect us to continue to be in it.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Bucks waive Cam Thomas to convert Pete Nance's contract
Suns guard Jalen Green (4) drives against Bucks forward Pete Nance (35) during a game at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on March 21, 2026. The Milwaukee Bucks converted forward Pete Nance’s two-way contract to a fully guaranteed deal.
The Bucks waived guard Cam Thomas in a corresponding move prior to their game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday. Thomas, 24, signed with the team as a free agent on Feb. 8 and averaged 10.7 points in 18 games off the bench with Milwaukee.
As for Nance, he was elated with the notion of receiving a new deal. The contract made him available to play in the team’s final 11 games this season and runs through the 2026-27 campaign.
“To be able to be in this spot is just awesome,” Nance said after the Bucks’ shootaround, per the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “Obviously I’m super thankful for the Bucks for giving me the opportunity. I think it’s just a testament to growth and the work that I’ve done and the experience that I’ve had over the years.”
Nance, 26, is averaging 4.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 12.1 minutes in 37 games off the bench this season.
Thomas was benched after playing just three minutes against the Atlanta Hawks on March 14. He was held out of consecutive games on March 15 and 17 due to what was listed as a coach’s decision before returning to the court against the Utah Jazz last Thursday.
“There are things we don’t need to talk about,” Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said, per the newspaper. “That’s not anybody’s business. Like I said before, that’s where as a coach you have to make decisions on what’s best for the team at that time. People don’t understand that. They start talking about other stuff. And, that’s not for anyone to know.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Buccaneers, LB Lavonte David schedule news conference
Jan 3, 2026; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David (54) warms up before the game against the Carolina Panthers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images Veteran Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David is scheduled to hold a news conference on Tuesday afternoon at the team facility.
The Buccaneers did not divulge an official reason for the conference, however speculation is strong that David will announce his retirement from the NFL.
David, 36, is a free agent after spending his entire 14-year career with Tampa Bay.
He recorded 114 tackles, 3.5 sacks, an interception, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries while starting all 17 games last season. It was his 12th season with triple-digit tackles.
An All-Pro selection in 2013 and a Pro Bowl selection in 2015, David has 1,716 tackles, 42.5 sacks, 14 interceptions, 33 forced fumbles and 21 fumble recoveries in 215 games (all starts).
David was selected by Tampa Bay in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft out of Nebraska.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Mikaela Shiffrin on cusp of season World Cup title
Feb 18, 2026; Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy; Gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States celebrates during the medal ceremony for the women’s slalom during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-Imagn Images Mikaela Shiffrin will ski Wednesday for the season World Cup overall title.
Heading into the giant slalom, the final race of the season, Shiffrin has an 85-point lead over Emma Aicher of Germany.
Shiffrin won her ninth slalom in 10 World Cup starts this season on Tuesday, earning 100 points. She increased her overall lead on Aicher, who finished third to grab 60 points.
To take the title, Aicher must win the race — a discipline in which she never has finished higher than fourth — and hope that Shiffrin finishes worse than 15th.
Shiffrin, 31, is striving to win her sixth overall World Cup title, which would tie her with Annemarie Moser-Proll. The Austrian won five season titles from 1971-75 and the final one in 1979.
The 2026 Olympic champion in the slalom, Shiffrin won the World Cup title in consecutive years from 2017-19 and again in 2022 and 2023.
With her slalom win on Tuesday, Shiffrin earned her 110th career victory on the World Cup circuit, extending her lead over Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden, who won 86 before his retirement in 1989.
–Field Level Media
NYT Strands hints, answers for March 25, 2026
Wordle today: Answer, hints for March 25, 2026
