Sports
Golden Knights after sweeping into finals: 'Now the real stuff starts'
May 26, 2026; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone (61) celebrates scoring against Colorado Avalanche goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (39) during the first period in game four of the Western Conference Final of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images After his team completed a surprising four-game sweep of the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference finals with a 2-1 victory on Tuesday, Vegas Golden Knights coach John Tortorella was already looking ahead to the team’s third Stanley Cup Final in nine seasons.
“Now the real stuff starts,” Tortorella said. “I consider the first three round playoffs. Now we’re playing for the Stanley Cup.”
Mark Stone and Cole Smith scored goals and Carter Hart made 20 saves for Vegas, which won its sixth straight postseason game. The Golden Knights will vie for the championship against the winner of the Eastern Conference finals, either the Carolina Hurricanes or the Montreal Canadiens.
The Golden Knights lost the Stanley Cup Final to the Washington Capitals in five games in their inaugural season in 2018 before defeating the Florida Panthers in five games to win the 2023 title.
The Avalanche, who finished the regular season with a league-best 121 points, became the fifth Presidents’ Trophy-winning team to get swept in a playoff series. They were outscored 14-7 by Vegas.
“I didn’t think we’d win four straight against these guys, but when you have a chance to put them away, you have to put them away,” Stone said. “So that was a big one tonight.”
Vegas center Jack Eichel added, “We should be really proud with what we did and what we accomplished so far. That being said, the ultimate goal is to hoist the Stanley Cup. We still have to win four more games. We have a veteran group, and I think we understand that.”
Gabriel Landeskog scored a 6-on-5 goal with 2:03 left for Colorado’s lone goal.
“It’s empty,” Landeskog said. “It always is, whether you lose in seven, six, five or four (games), it’s an empty feeling. It sucks. There’s no other way to put it.”
No Presidents’ Trophy recipient has reached the Stanley Cup Final since the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks won the championship.
Colorado goalie Mackenzie Blackwood finished with 24 saves. Blackwood, making his series debut, entered the contest with a 0-4-1 career record and a 3.63 goals-against average against Vegas but kept the Avalanche in the game with a number of blue-chip saves.
Nathan MacKinnon, who led the NHL with 53 regular-season goals and was questionable after taking a puck off his right knee in Game 3 on Sunday, led all Avalanche forwards with 22:10 time on ice and had two shots on goal.
Vegas, which scored five unanswered goals over the final two periods to pull out a 5-3 victory in Game 3 on Sunday, made it six consecutive goals when Stone scored at the 4:42 mark of the first period.
Brayden McNabb picked up the primary assist, lobbing a long stretch pass that Stone caught just before the blue line. Stone then went in on a breakaway, deking Blackwood and wrapping a shot around the goalie’s left leg for his fifth goal of the playoffs.
Colorado had a good chance to tie it near the end of the period when Brock Nelson had a breakaway, but Hart made a glove save on his wrist shot.
Vegas took charge in a scoreless second period, outshooting the Avalanche 11-6, including a couple grade-A chances by Pavel Dorofeyev on a power play near the end of the period that Blackwood turned away. Colorado didn’t register a shot on goal over the final 14 minutes of the period.
Smith made it 2-0 with 5:45 to go in the third period when he deflected Dylan Coghlan’s shot through Blackwood’s pads for his third playoff goal and the game-winner.
Colorado pulled Blackwood for an extra attacker with 2:15 remaining, and Landeskog scored just 18 seconds later, deflecting a Martin Necas shot in the slot over Hart’s shoulder.
The Avalanche pulled Blackwood again shortly after the ensuing faceoff but managed just one shot the rest of the way, a slap shot by MacKinnon that Hart saved.
“You go from being in the battle and the buzzer goes and the season’s over,” Landeskog said. “It’s a weird feeling to try to describe to people, but empty is probably the way to do it.”
Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar, a two-time winner of the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman and a finalist this season, ended the campaign with a six-game point drought. Makar missed the Games 1 and 2 against Vegas while nursing an upper-body injury.
“Obviously, you have a great season. We have a lot of committed guys,” Makar said. “But playoffs are different. It doesn’t matter who you are coming into the playoffs, everybody’s a different beast. We respect teams, you try and go at them, but sometimes you just run into something that feels like you can’t sustain it.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Angels scratch RHP Jose Soriano from Saturday start vs. Brewers
Jun 30, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Jose Soriano (59) pitches to the Seattle Mariners during the first inning at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images The Los Angeles Angels scratched right-hander Jose Soriano from his scheduled start against the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday.
Baseball Operations Consultant John Mozeliak released a statement on the decision:
“Today, Jose Soriano will not make his scheduled start. With the trade deadline on Monday and the uncertainty of the next 48 hours, we decided to take a prudent approach and see where these next few days lead us.”
Soriano, 27, has posted a career-low 3.29 ERA this season through 22 starts.
For his career, he has a 3.72 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 432 strikeouts in 113 games (73 starts).
The right-hander is under contact through 2028 and carries a salary of $2.9 million this season. So, he should be an appealing trade option for many teams at the deadline.
The Angels already made a move as “sellers” by shipping right-hander Chase Silseth and catcher Logan O’Hoppe to the Texas Rangers for minor league infielder Angel Arredondo.
–Field Level Media
Sports
UFC Belgrade: Uros Medic enjoys perfect Serbia homecoming with TKO
Jul 31, 2026; Belgrade, Serbia; Uros Medic during weigh ins for UFC Fight Night at Belgrade Arena. Mandatory Credit: Per Haljestam-Imagn Images UFC Belgrade: Uros Medic has perfect Serbia homecoming at UFC Fight Night
Serbian native Uroš Medic survived an early knockdown before rallying to stop Daniel Rodriguez via TKO just 30 seconds into the opening round of Saturday’s five-round, non-title UFC Fight Night welterweight main event at Belgrade Arena, electrifying his home crowd while tying the longest active knockout streak in the UFC at four fights.
After absorbing an initial knockdown, Medic (14-3 MMA) countered with a crisp left-hook, right-hand combination, sending Rodriguez (20-6 MMA) to the canvas while connecting with a kick to the gut before closing the deal with strikes to secure a dramatic victory on home soil.
An emotional Medic, who returned to Serbia for the first time in a decade, broke down in tears post-fight as the Belgrade crowd chanted his name.
“We got it done. Now I just want to cry. I missed home so much,” Medic said. “…I have so many words, but I don’t think we have enough time tonight. I’m gonna cook the rest of this division. With you guys by my side, we’re gonna bring the belt back to Serbia.
“I love you everybody. This was an amazing night. I’m finally home.”
Following the victory, Medic called out Carlos Prates and former UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards for potential future matchups.
Saturday’s event also made UFC history, breaking an all-time organization record with 10 finishes across the card, surpassing the previous record of nine.
Undefeated light heavyweight Navajo Stirling (11-0 MMA) earned the biggest victory of his career on Saturday, stepping in on short notice to stop former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz (29-12-2 MMA) via first-round TKO in the co-main event.
Stirling-who took the fight after original opponent Bogdan Guskov stepped up to face Magomed Ankalaev last week in Abu Dhabi – connected with a crisp left hook before establishing dominant ground-and-pound on the mat to force the stoppage at the 2:56 mark of the opening frame.
Austrian former light heavyweight Aleksandar Rakic (15-6 MMA) successfully made his heavyweight debut, keeping the fight mostly on the feet and keeping Poland’s Marcin Tybura (27-12 MMA) off-balance en route to a unanimous decision. All three judges scored the bout 30-27 for Rakic, who snapped a four-fight losing streak to secure his first victory since March 2021.
Swiss middleweight Robert Valentin (13-6 MMA) weathered a wild, wrestling-heavy opening frame before locking in a guillotine choke to submit local favorite Duško Todorovic (13-7 MMA) at the 4:14 mark of the opening round.
Gilbert Urbina (8-5 MMA), an American middleweight, stunned the Belgrade Arena crowd on Saturday, overwhelming Slovakia-based Vlasto Cepo (14-4 MMA) with an explosive display of volume striking in their middleweight bout. Urbina wasted no time establishing his offense, overwhelming Cepo early and forcing a TKO stoppage due to strikes at the 1:01 mark of the opening round to secure a statement victory on foreign soil.
French promotional newcomer Noah Gugnon (10-2 MMA) made a definitive statement to kick off the main card at the Belgrade Arena, making quick work of Montenegrin lightweight Miloš Janicic (19-4 MMA) on Saturday. Gugnon immediately targeted
Janicic’s lead leg with brutal low kicks, destabilizing his opponent before seamlessly transitioning the action to the canvas. Once on the floor, Gugnon locked in a tight rear-naked choke, forcing the tap at the 1:21 mark of the opening round. The victory extends Gugnon’s professional winning streak to six fights, with all six coming by way of finish, while successfully launching his career inside the Octagon.
The UFC returns to Las Vegas for a Fight Night event next Saturday from the META Apex. It continues a stretch of events through Oct. 24 with UFC 333, including a return to Los Angeles for the first time since 2018 with UFC 331 on Sept. 19.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Wings look to solve end-game issues as they host slumping Sun
Jul 2, 2026; Hartford, Connecticut, USA; Connecticut Sun guard Kennedy Burke (25) drive the ball against Dallas Wings guard Azzi Fudd (35) in the second half at PeoplesBank Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images The Dallas Wings hope to solve their end-game issues and bounce back from a pair of close losses when they square off against the slumping Connecticut Sun on Sunday in Arlington, Texas.
The Wings (18-11) return home after an 81-75 loss in Washington D.C. to the Mystics on Friday in a game Dallas came back from 10 points down in the first half to tie it at 71 with two and a half minutes to play.
But, similar to a stunning loss at home to Atlanta on Wednesday, the Wings were outplayed in the final minutes and fell for the third time in their past four outings.
Paige Bueckers amassed 17 of her 23 points in the second half of Friday’s loss. Arike Ogunbowale added 20 points, and Alanna Smith had 11 points in 18 minutes for the Wings.
Dallas finished the month of July with seven wins in 10 games; the three losses were by a combined eight points and in each game, the Wings either led or were tied down the stretch.
“Teams just play really aggressive in the last three minutes, blitzing, trapping, being more aggressive that way, trying to get us out of our actions, playing to our personnel,” Bueckers said about Dallas’s recent struggle to finish games. “And (we need) to be aggressive, put in some new sets, execute better. I think that is the key.
“Some nights it doesn’t go your way, but we’ve got to force it to go our way, and also play better the first 35 minutes so it doesn’t come down to the last five every single game.”
The Sun (7-22) have dropped four straight games, most recently a 94-88 decision in Chicago on Thursday. All five starters scored in double figures for Connecticut in the loss and the Sun outrebounded Chicago by six but could not withstand a second half swoon that erased a nine-point halftime lead.
“The effort has to come from everyone on this team,” Connecticut coach Rachid Meziane said. “At the same time, we are very young and at times it’s hard for us to stay composed and try to stick to our game plan.”
Aneesah Morrow matched her career high with 21 points for Connecticut in defeat, while Olivia Nelson-Ododa posted a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds. Diamond Miller added 14 points for the Sun, Leila Lacan had 12 and Charlisse Leger-Walker finished with 10 points.
On Friday, Morrow was traded to Toronto for the rights to forward Maria Kliundikova and the Tempo’s 2028 second round pick.
Connecticut is expected to play without veteran center Brittney Griner, out for the fourth consecutive game as she continues to recover from a left knee injury.
Sunday’s game is the last of a six-game road trip for Connecticut that started with a win in Phoenix on July 17. The Sun are 3-7 over their last 10 contests and lost at home to Dallas 86-83 in the teams’ first meeting this year on July 2.
–Field Level Media
Angels scratch RHP Jose Soriano from Saturday start vs. Brewers
UFC Belgrade: Uros Medic enjoys perfect Serbia homecoming with TKO
