Sports
Blues leaning on 'physical' play, conclude homestand vs. Kraken
Feb 23, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington (50) defends the net against the Colorado Avalanche during the third period at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images Coming out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break, St. Louis Blues coach Jim Montgomery staged an intense minicamp to instill a stronger work ethic and better attention to details.
That work paid off over the weekend when the Blues earned three of four points in home games against two Western Conference powers, the Winnipeg Jets and Colorado Avalanche.
The Blues will try to build off that when they face the Seattle Kraken Tuesday night to conclude their homestand.
After losing to the Jets 4-3 in a shootout Saturday, the Blues bounced back to defeat the Avalanche 3-1 Sunday.
“Three big points on the weekend,” Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington said. “Our team played phenomenal. It’s a great start for us coming out of the break.”
The Blues were 2-5-1 in their last eight games before the break. Montgomery saw progress at both ends of the ice when they returned.
“We were relentless, I thought, in our checking,” Montgomery said. “I thought our sticks were really good defensively. I thought we were physical. We separated people from the puck, and I thought our second man beat their second man to the puck, which allowed us to advance lines and gain zones.”
He liked the determination he saw at the other end of the ice, too.
“I thought we were really hard offensively,” Montgomery said. “Not passing up shots, having people at the net front, driving the net. We tried a lot of low slot line plays, east-west plays, and I thought our D-men were really good.”
The Blues defeated the Kraken 3-2 in Seattle in their previous meeting, in the season opener for both teams. Binnington earned the victory with 30 saves and Jordan Kyrou scored twice for the Blues. The Kraken got goals from Eeli Tolvanen and former Blues defenseman Vince Dunn.
Seattle came out of the break with a three-game road trip. After winning 2-1 at Florida Saturday, the Kraken lost 4-1 at Tampa Bay the next day.
Kraken coach Dan Bylsma liked how his team kept pressing the Lightning while playing the second of back-to-back games. But they were done in by a breakdown with the man advantage while the game was still scoreless in the second period.
“Obviously, the power play gets an opportunity and they score a short-handed goal, and that’s a big turning point in the match,” Bylsma said. “That put us behind. I still thought we had enough to think we were going to come back and get a chance and get goals.
“But we think we had to be a little bit more determined on getting on the inside and getting a dirty one.”
Shane Wright, who scored the only goal at Tampa Bay, has five goals and seven assists in his last 10 games.
After giving Ales Stezka his NHL debut in goal Sunday, the Kraken are likely to come back with Joey Daccord against the Blues. Daccord has won his last two starts while stopping 53 of 56 shots.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Jenny Shin inches closer to first LPGA Tour win in 10 years
Jun 19, 2025; Frisco, Texas, USA; Jenny Shin plays her shot from the 18th tee during the first round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images Jenny Shin carded a 1-under-par 71 on Saturday to maintain her five-stroke lead heading into the final round of the Women’s Scottish Open in North Ayrshire.
Shin recorded two birdies and a bogey at Dundonald Links on Saturday to ascend to 12-under 204 for the tournament.
The 33-year-old South Korean is bidding for her first LPGA Tour win since capturing the now-defunct Volunteers of America Texas Shootout 10 years ago. The last LPGA Tour player to go 10 or more years between official victories was Vicki Fergon, who went 12 years and three months between wins at the 1984 S&H Golf Classic and the 1996 Michelob Light Heartland Classic.
“I’ve never been in this position (a five-shot lead), so I don’t know how to feel (on Sunday),” Shin said. “I’m going to go and practice for a little bit and get a good feel for tomorrow so I’m not such a mess in the morning.”
Shin made a birdie on the sixth hole and answered a bogey on the 10th hole by making another birdie on No. 11.
“That was a very tough round. I was quite nervous for the first five holes, so I’m really glad that I was able to finish the day in red numbers,” she said. “It was a pretty boring and nerve-wracking day at the same time.”
“That was a bit of a hiccup on No. 10. I changed my setup this week because of all the wind and out of habit, I lined up the putt and went back to my old setup. I shut the face. I knew what I was doing, so I was able to get back pretty easily.”
Shin holds a five-stroke lead over Thailand’s Pajaree Anannarukarn, who had three birdies during her bogey-free round of 69.
“I would say almost everything went well,” Anannarukarn said. “I was driving the ball well and hitting it good out there. The putter was very hot today, so that was the key. It was a challenging day, and also, at the same time, I had good fun battling with the wind. It was a great day out there.”
Japan’s Erika Hara (71 on Saturday) and Germany’s Esther Henseleit (73) sit at 5 under for the tournament.
Despite her troubles, Henseleit said she wasn’t going to press as she attempts to record her first win since joining the LPGA Tour in 2020.
“It’s really hard to press on this golf course, to be honest. Just no matter like if you want to take birdie or par, you kind of have to hit the same shots because they are the only possible shots,” Henseleit said.
“So I don’t think my game plan really changed, and yeah, I’m just trying to do my thing out there and hopefully tomorrow I can hit a few close and make some putts.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Course management sets up Lucas Herbert for wire-to-wire effort at LIV UK
Jul 17, 2026; Southport, ENG; Lucas Herbert plays a shot on the 18th hole during the second round of The Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Birkdale. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Lucas Herbert maintained his lead through three rounds of LIV Golf United Kingdom on Saturday and will carry a three-shot advantage into the final round as he bids for a wire-to-wire victory at Rocester, England.
Herbert shot a 3-under-par 69 in the third round and is at 20 under for the tournament to maintain an advantage over Bryson DeChambeau, who was at 4 under Saturday and is at 17 under through three rounds.
“Look, I enjoy it; I enjoy being in the lead,” said Herbert, who won in May at LIV Golf Virginia. “It’s been awesome to play with Bryson the last couple days and get to play with him again tomorrow. It’s a great energy out there. Any time when you’re in the lead you get good energy. … I think maybe playing under pressure brings the best out of me.”
England’s Tyrrell Hatton (67) was alone in third place at 15 under, while Australia’s Cameron Smith (66) was alone in fourth place at 14 under. A two-way tie for fifth at 13 under included Harold Varner III (68) and Mexico’s Abraham Ancer (65).
After scorching the JCB Golf and Country Club course with an 11 under in the opening round, Herbert was far more conservative in the third round when he opened with seven consecutive pars. He closed the front nine with consecutive birdies at Nos. 8 and 9.
After a bogey 5 at No. 11, Herbert closed with a pair of birdies over his last seven holes, including a birdie 3 at 18 when he put a 132-yard second shot to inside of 7 feet from the hole.
“I am going to do my best just to stick to what I’m doing, try and make as many putts as I can,” Herbert said. “I wasn’t happy with my (putting) speed out there. I was a little tentative today. That’s not going to happen tomorrow. I am going to make sure I get the ball to the hole and get a lot more chances.”
Herbert acknowledged the challenge of trying to close out the victory against a trio of proven players in DeChambeau, Hatton and Smith.
DeChambeau put himself in line for his third victory of the season, and first since March at South Africa, with five birdies and a bogey in the third round.
DeChambeau’s lone hiccup came at the par-5 10th hole when he sent his third shot just over the green and missed a 13-foot putt for par. He improved his round with a pair of birdies over the final three holes.
“I played some good golf,” said DeChambeau, who gained a stroke on Herbert during the round. “I felt like I could have had a couple things go a couple different ways, but the birdies on 16 and 17 were huge for tomorrow.”
Hatton, a fan favorite for the week while in his home country, made an early charge with three birdies over his first four holes, but the run was interrupted by a bogey 6 at No. 6. He rebounded with a pair of birdies to close his front nine then had another bogey 6 at No. 10. He was 1 over on the day at the four par-5 holes.
With windy conditions expected for the final round, Hatton knows there will be additional challenges ahead.
“It’s quite quirky out there, so it’s easy to get a little bit unlucky with some of the slopes,” Hatton said. “And you don’t really have to do too much wrong to drop shots. We’ll see how it goes. Either way, I think just focusing on my side, just trying to play another good round of golf, whatever the weather.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Lionel Messi (rest) officially ruled out of MLS All-Star Game
May 17, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Inter Miami CF forward Lionel Messi (10) reacts against the Portland Timbers during the second half at Nu Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi was one of four players officially ruled out of Wednesday’s MLS All-Star Game at Charlotte, N.C., as the Argentina star continues to recover from a run to the World Cup Final.
Also on Saturday, Hugo Cuypers, Rodrigo De Paul, Mbekezeli Mbokazi were ruled out of the All-Star Game, which will match the best of MLS against the top players from Mexico’s LIGA MX.
Cuypers earned his All-Star spot with his play for the Chicago Fire, but he was transferred to Mexico’s CF Monterrey on Thursday. De Paul, an Inter Miami midfielder, will follow Messi’s lead and bow out of Wednesday’s festivities after playing for Argentina in the World Cup.
Mbokazi, a defender from the Chicago Fire, was ruled out with a lower body injury. The South Africa native also appeared in this summer’s World Cup.
To replace the foursome, Inter Miami midfielder Yannick Bright, Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Andres Cubas, Houston Dynamo forward Guilherme and Fire forward Philip Zinckernagel all were named All-Stars on Saturday.
Bright has guided Inter Miami to a 9-2-1 record in his 12 starts this season, while Cubas has three assists in 12 matches for the Whitecaps. Guilherme has eight goals and five assists in his first season with the Dynamo, while Zinckernagel has five goals and seven assists for the Fire.
–Field Level Media
Jenny Shin inches closer to first LPGA Tour win in 10 years
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