Sports
Wild acquire F Blake Coleman, D Olli Maatta from Flames
Apr 7, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Calgary Flames left wing Blake Coleman (20) looks on during the first period against the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images The Minnesota Wild acquired forward Blake Coleman and defenseman Olli Maatta from the Calgary Flames on Thursday in exchange for blueliner Jake Middleton and three draft picks.
The Flames will receive a third-round pick in 2027, a fourth-rounder in 2028 and a second-round selection in 2029.
ESPN reported that Calgary will retain 50% of Coleman’s $4.9 million cap hit on his contract that is set to expire next summer.
Coleman, 34, recorded 35 points (20 goals, 15 assists) in 69 games last season with the Flames. He is entering the final season of a six-year, $29.4 million contract.
A two-time Stanley Cup champion with Tampa Bay, Coleman has totaled 325 points (170 goals, 155 assists) in 693 career games with the New Jersey Devils, Lightning and Flames.
Maatta, 31, had 15 points (two goals, 13 assists) in 43 games last season, split between the Utah Mammoth and the Flames. A two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Maatta has 210 points (44 goals, 166 assists) in 804 career games with six teams.
Middleton, 30, totaled 16 points (two goals, 14 assists) in 75 games last season. He has 94 points (24 goals, 70 assists) in 381 career games with the San Jose Sharks and Wild.
–Field Level Media
Sports
MLB Best Bets Today: Reds vs Brewers, White Sox vs Guardians, Rangers vs Tigers Picks
Jun 1, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich (22) reacts after being hit boy a pitch during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images A light MLB schedule with just nine games leads into a weekend loaded with intriguing action.
To help you prepare to bet on these games, we’ve done a deep dive into each one. Why? To find the best MLB bets for Thursday .
It should be a great day of baseball leading into the holiday weekend. Now, time for my best bets.
Cincinnati Reds vs. Milwaukee Brewers
Under 7 at -123 or Brewers -1.5 at +119 (DraftKings)
The pitching matchup is not going to allow too many runs to be scored in this game. Milwaukee has Jacob Misiorowski (9-3, 1.45 ERA, 0.77 WHIP) taking the mound, and Cincinnati is going with Chase Burns (9-3, 2.36 ERA, 1.08 WHIP).
With those two on the mound, runs will be hard to come by in the game, which makes the Under a likely outcome. However, the Brewers have been hitting well (.283 over the last week), and the Reds are the last-place team in the NL Central for a reason.
Burns will keep the Reds competitive, but the Brewers lineup will prove to be too much once again. They won the first three games by 2+ runs; today will make it a clean sweep.
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Chicago White Sox vs. Cleveland Guardians
White Sox ML at -122 (DraftKings)
The White Sox lineup has been hitting .300+ over the last week before getting stymied by the Orioles yesterday. I wouldn’t count on Slade Cecconi (4-6, 4.18 ERA, 1.36 WHIP) doing the same. Davis Martin (9-3, 3.00 ERA, 1.18 WHIP) is having a great season for Chicago but has not been as good away from home (4-3, 4.67 ERA, .279 OBA).
Martin should be able to handle a mediocre Guardians lineup, even though he’s not at home. Cleveland will score, but don’t count on them to score much. Cecconi will do better than expected, but the White Sox bats will come alive once again and do well enough to secure the win.
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Detroit Tigers vs. Texas Rangers
Texas -1.5 at +153 (DraftKings)
Both starting pitchers can be described as “shaky.” Nathan Eovaldi (8-7, 3.95 ERA, 1.16 WHIP) had a shutout in his last outing but has a 4.50 ERA at home. Framber Valdez (4-5, 4.05 ERA, 1.33 WHIP) has given up four runs in four of his last eight starts but has done some of his best work on the road (1-2, 3.59 ERA, .240 OBA).
However, the Tigers lineup has been dependent on home runs over the last week (14). Globe Life Field is not a hitter-friendly park (No. 23 in home runs allowed, 81). Eovaldi has given up seven at home, but four came in one game back in April (4-24 vs. the A’s).
Without those home runs helping the Tigers out, the Rangers lineup will hit well enough against Cecconi to cover the run line.
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Sports
Braves designate 1B Rowdy Tellez for assignment
Jun 21, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves pinch hitter Rowdy Tellez (11) reacts after hitting a two run home run against the Milwaukee Brewers during the ninth inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images The Atlanta Braves designated veteran first baseman Rowdy Tellez for assignment on Thursday.
Tellez, 31, signed a minor league deal on March 23 and appeared in just seven games for the Braves.
Used mostly as a pinch-hitter, he batted .200 (2-for-10) with one home run and four RBIs.
Tellez is a career .234 hitter with 123 homers and 372 RBIs in 783 games with six teams since 2018.
Atlanta recalled shortstop Jim Jarvis, 25, from Triple-A Gwinnett in a corresponding transaction.
Jarvis made his MLB debut on May 6 and was 1-for-5 with two strikeouts in two games that month.
–Field Level Media
Sports
USMNT Defeat Bosnia 2-0 as Italy’s Absence Raises Questions in World Cup Shock Takeaways
Things in Italy are worse than we thought.
That was one of the less expected but nonetheless obvious takeaways from the United States’ eminently comfortable 2-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday night in the round of 32 at the World Cup.
Because somehow, this very pedestrian Bosnian team got into the World Cup at Italy’s expense.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side deserve credit for not making the match harder than it had to be, even with Folarin Balogun’s unfortunate red card.
That’s far from a given at a World Cup, even for the big boys. Just ask Spain, which settled for a draw in its opening match against Cape Verde, or England, which had to fight from 1-0 down against DR Congo for their round of 32 win.
And it was particularly impressive that the Americans didn’t appear rattled by Balogun’s 65th-minute dismissal, even if it meant they would have a bit less of the ball in the late going.
But if you were going to describe Bosnia’s attacking desire after going behind, you might liken it to their attitude toward possessing Adriatic coastline. Sure, they have a little. Other countries have a lot more.
That Italy lost a World Cup qualifying playoff to this pedestrian outfit — even on penalties — is truly a damning indictment of the part of the physical and intellectual soccer world that calls it Calcio.
Yet maybe that’s fitting in a tournament where it feels like the whole Italian way of playing (read: aggressively conservative) is going by the wayside.
Bosnia may have out-Catenaccioed the Azzurri to reach their second World Cup, with the help of penalties and a first-half red card to Alessandro Bastoni in their playoff pathway final. But their progression to the knockout phase came primarily because of an exceptionally friendly group draw that featured zero opponents in the top 15 of the FIFA World Rankings, and only one in the top 25.
Ecuador entered as a popular dark-horse pick among pundits after their 19-match unbeaten run, despite scoring only once in their last five qualifying matches. They left as a fully exposed fraud that had leaned far too long on the 36-year-old Enner Valencia as a primary attacking threat.
And for all the pleasantness of their fans, Scotland were punished for their particularly dour tactics under now-former manager Steve Clarke, when they boasted a squad that should’ve been capable of more imagination.
Conversely, the game’s attacking stars are seemingly all enjoying banner tournaments, led by Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane and Erling Haaland, who have an astonishing 22 goals between them.
The Americans don’t have anyone on that level. But they do have enough talent collectively that, under the right guidance, they can express a vision of the game that collectively mirrors the artistry and optimism conjured by those individuals.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino has provided the necessary combination of structure and freedom, and they’ve responded so far, albeit against relatively limited opposition.
Other sides have also been rewarded for similar adventurousness. Even the upstart surprises that have exceeded expectations — like Cape Verde and DR Congo — have done so by offering more in the way of attacking endeavor than many expected.
For the Americans, the challenges will quickly ramp up in difficulty. Belgium looms next in the round of 16, and heavily fancied Spain could be after that in a potential quarterfinal. And win or lose, it will begin to feel more like the World Cups of recent past vintage that we’re more familiar with.
Just without Italy in the picture. And based on the evidence available, that’s probably for the best.
MLB Best Bets Today: Reds vs Brewers, White Sox vs Guardians, Rangers vs Tigers Picks
Braves designate 1B Rowdy Tellez for assignment
