Sports
Carolina Hurricanes Waiting Game Continues Ahead of Eastern Conference Finals
When the NHL holds its postseason tournament, it’s supposed to be a grind for whatever teams can make it to late May and June.
But there has been nothing hectic or grueling about these Stanley Cup playoffs for the Carolina Hurricanes.
They’ve hardly had anything to do.
Across a period of more than a month, they’ve played eight games. Won them all, and that’s what has caused this spring inactivity.
They’ve waited more than a week to not only learn who they’ll play – either the Buffalo Sabres or Montreal Canadiens — in the Eastern Conference finals, but when they’ll play again.
There’s progress on that front because we know a date – Thursday night. When the Hurricanes return to the ice for Game 1 in Raleigh, N.C., it will be another case of the conversation revolving around the pros and cons of rust vs. rest.
This latest layoff for the Hurricanes at least comes with a point of reference – to some degree, they’ve already gone through this once this postseason, waiting a week between the opening round and the Eastern Conference semifinals. This gap in games will cover nearly two weeks.
So coach Rod Brind’Amour has leaned on that recent experience to get through the past week.
“We always say ‘sharpening the knife,’ ” Brind’Amour said. “We’ve got to keep razor sharp on what we do well.”
Not all has gone perfect for the Hurricanes in these playoffs. The first line has been rather inactive on the scoresheet, but that ought to be considered a blessing to go 8-0 and still wait on Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis and Andrei Svechnikov to kick it into gear.
The goaltending part has gone better than any Hurricanes fan could have hoped for. Frederik Andersen has been splendid in tending to the crease for the entirety of Carolina’s postseason run so far.
He was pretty much a part-timer during the regular season, ringing up a 16-14-5 record as rookie Brandon Bussi made waves in the nets. But Brind’Amour went with the experience angle when choosing who to send out for the first game against the Ottawa Senators.
There hasn’t been a reason to make a change, so it has been Andersen all the time.
And given the reduced rate of games for the Hurricanes, the whole part-time job aspect might be right down Andersen’s alley.
For a team in the middle of the playoffs, some of the quotes from Carolina players sound like comments that might be heard in September on the dawn of a new season.
“I’m really excited to get going again,” captain Jordan Staal said.
As the Hurricanes have waited, one thing hasn’t changed from when the horn sounded on Game 4 in Philadelphia as the Hurricanes dismissed the Flyers into offseason vacation.
Carolina still needs to win eight more games to achieve its goal. So don’t worry, the grind will come.
Sports
UFC Vegas 117 and MVP MMA Proved Competition Is Great for Fight Fans
Saturday, May 16, 2026, will go down as a memorable day in MMA. You had two MMA cards going head-to-head simultaneously. While the UFC was focused on an Apex card with UFC Vegas 117, headlined by Arnold Allen and Melquizael Costa, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) promoted its first MMA card at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. That card featured the likes of Ronda Rousey, Gina Carano, Nate Diaz, Mike Perry, and Francis Ngannou.
And in an era of tribalism, die-hards, loyalists, attackers…watching both cards ended up being some of the most fun this writer had in a little while watching multiple events at once.
UFC Vegas 117
Were the names on the UFC Vegas 117 card the strongest? No. But were the performances memorable? Absolutely.
Faced with a rising contender and needing a win to remain relevant in the upper echelon of the featherweight conversation, Arnold Allen delivered. It was disciplined and calculated, it was wrestling-heavy, but not without some early striking where Allen’s boxing proved to be too much. It was a solid, all-around performance where Allen nearly swept the scorecards.
UFC Vegas 117 also saw Doo-ho Choi deliver an awesome finish of Daniel Santos. Juan Diaz, in his UFC debut, finished prospect Malcolm Wellmaker in upset fashion. Heck, history was made on the preliminary card when Alice Ardelean scored the first-ever capsule lock submission in UFC history.
MVP MMA
Was the Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano fight uncompetitive? Yes, but I don’t know what you were expecting from a fight where someone was fighting for the first time in 17 years. But it was still an eye-catching matchup considering the long layoffs and legendary women’s MMA status of these two.
Plus, there were plenty of big names and fun fights. Nate Diaz and Mike Perry had an absolute war until Diaz’s corner was forced to stop the fight. Francis Ngannou pulled off a vintage Ngannou performance, complete with a devastating first-round knockout.
You also had a couple of hard-hitting finishes from Karate Combat champion Robelis Despaigne, who brutally stopped former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos, and former Bellator welterweight champion Jason Jackson, who needed just 22 seconds to put out Jeff Creighton.
Competition is a Good Thing
What’s the point of this? Is it about both cards delivering? Is it to shed light on the most important names from last night? Yes to both of those, but there’s something bigger here.
Look at the paydays from last night’s MVP card. Rousey, Carano, and Ngannou all took him over $1 million. Only champions have the chance to make that kind of money. The lowest-paid fighters? $40,000. That’s 3.5-4 times more than the UFC’s lowest-tier fighter pay.
An outlet like MVP MMA gives choice to fighters – they can choose to sacrifice some of the luster and brand recognition of the UFC if they’d rather have better pay earlier on in their professional MMA career.
There has also been criticism from fans and pundits about some of the cards the UFC has put on – an issue that has been on the rise since more and more cards were held, stretching back to the Fox days. Of course, the UFC has been the clear No. 1 leader in MMA for a long while now, and it has 7.7 billion reasons why they don’t need to worry.
But if MVP MMA can offer a true alternative, then maybe you’ll start to see a little more quality concern about the product. Maybe it means continued expansion of bringing more Fight Nights outside the Apex. Maybe there’s more spread of notable names.
And don’t think the UFC isn’t paying any attention. You think it’s a coincidence that they drop the Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway 2 UFC 329 announcement during this night – while Ngannou is doing his ring walk as well?
Monopolies are boring, and some MMA fans have felt the last few years has been recession-like at times. Competition and alternative products breed new life – and for some, MVP MMA’s card brought them back to the days of old.
A promotional war? That makes the fans winners.
Sports
Padres' Lucas Giolito ready to feel 'normal' in debut vs. Mariners
Sep 6, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito (54) pitches during the fifth inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Arianna Grainey-Imagn Images Lucas Gioloto sat at home all winter, waiting for the phone to ring.
Nearly a month into the season, the call finally came — from the San Diego Padres.
The veteran right-hander is scheduled to make his season debut on Sunday in Seattle as the Padres will go for a season sweep of the Mariners in their Vedder Cup.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time. Pitching in the big leagues, being in a rotation, that’s normal for me,” Giolito said before San Diego’s 7-4 victory Saturday. “What I was going through the last few months was more abnormal. I’m glad to be through that and back where I feel I belong.”
With pitchers Nick Pivetta, Joe Musgrove, German Marquez and Matt Waldron all out with injuries, the Padres could use another arm.
Giolito went 10-4 with a 3.41 ERA for Boston last season. He’s 2-1 with a 4.35 ERA in four career starts against Seattle.
“He’s been there, done that,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “He knows what it’s like going through a full season. Pitching well in the big leagues, that’s the biggest attribute he brings. He knows how to get outs, get outs in the big leagues.”
Giolito signed a one-year deal worth $3 million with the Padres on April 22. He made four minor-league starts in preparation for Sunday.
“I’m just excited to be back out there and help a really good team win baseball games,” he said. “It was kind of a surreal offseason, leaking into spring training and the season. But I’m really appreciative of the Padres giving me the opportunity.”
Walker Buehler pitched five innings for the victory Saturday. He was backed by homers from Nick Castellanos, Gavin Sheets and rookie Rodolfo Duran, whose two-run shot in the seventh inning was his first major-league hit after going 0-for-10.
“If you play baseball, if you want to be a major leaguer, you always think of that, you have dreams about it,” said Duran, a catcher who spent 11 years in the minors before being called up earlier this month. “Now that I was able to do it, it’s amazing.”
The Mariners have lost three of their past four games since getting within a game of the .500 mark. They’ve been above .500 for one day all season, when they were 3-2 on March 30.
“I think we know we’re not playing all the way to our capabilities, but it’s a long year,” said Logan Gilbert, who allowed a season-high seven runs Saturday. “Every single year I’ve been here, we’ve had that. The biggest thing is not to panic. Second thing is, how quickly can you turn it? Because things like this are going to happen to every team, every single year, it’s just how much can you shorten that window and get back to playing your best baseball.”
The Mariners are set to send right-hander George Kirby (5-2, 2.84 ERA) to the mound Sunday. He defeated host Houston 3-1 Monday when he allowed one run on seven hits over five innings, with two walks and seven strikeouts. Kirby is 0-2 with a 10.38 ERA in two previous starts against the Padres.
The Mariners hope to have third baseman Brendan Donovan and catcher Mitch Garver back after both were late scratches Saturday. Donovan needed a rest as he recovers from a groin strain and Garver had back tightness.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Giants' versatile Casey Schmitt pursues another big day vs. Athletics
May 16, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; San Francisco Giants designated hitter Casey Schmitt (10) rounds the bases after hitting a home run against the Athletics during the fifth inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images Casey Schmitt is carving out a role with the San Francisco Giants, and his big performance in the middle contest of a three-game series with the Athletics will only help.
Schmitt figures to be in the lineup somewhere for Sunday afternoon’s finale in West Sacramento, Calif., after he recorded his second career two-homer game and his fourth four-hit outing in Saturday’s 6-4 San Francisco victory.
The right-handed-hitting Schmitt hit a solo homer to left field in the first inning and a two-run shot off the right-field foul pole in the fifth.
“I wasn’t trying to hit home runs,” Schmitt told reporters. “I was just trying to hit line drives, and I got two in the air.”
Schmitt, 27, has eight homers in 140 at-bats over 38 appearances this season. His career-best output of 12 home runs came last season when he played 95 games under former manager Bob Melvin. This is Schmitt’s fourth big-league campaign.
Schmitt served as the designated hitter and batted third on Saturday, and his versatility has caught the attention of first-year manager Tony Vitello.
Schmitt can play all four infield positions and was in left field during Friday’s 5-2 loss to the A’s when Heliot Ramos exited after 5 1/2 innings with a quadriceps injury. Ramos was placed on the 10-day injured list on Saturday.
It was Schmitt’s first professional appearance in the outfield. He also never played in the outfield during his standout college career at San Diego State (2018-20).
Vitello informed Schmitt on Saturday that he will receive playing time in left while Ramos is sidelined.
“We’ll see how it goes,” Schmitt said. “I got in there (Friday) but didn’t get any balls. I feel like I can do a good job out there.”
Vitello said he has been highly impressed with Schmitt’s attitude.
“He’s been eager to learn,” Vitello said. “His attitude has just been awesome about it. Any set of adverse circumstances, you can see them as a detriment or you could say, ‘Why wouldn’t I have success? I’ve been active and moving around the field and it’s helping me learn the game.'”
San Francisco had 14 hits — eight for extra bases — on Saturday while sending the Athletics to their fourth setback in six games.
A’s slugger Nick Kurtz walked to stretch his streak of reaching base to 39 games, matching the longest by an A’s player during a single season since Jason Giambi reached in 39 straight in both the 1997 and 1998 seasons. Next up is Mark McGwire (48 in 1996).
Also Saturday, Brent Rooker smashed a three-run homer in the eighth to bring the Athletics within two.
“It was a good swing by ‘Rook,’ getting us back into the game and giving us a chance to hopefully get the tying run up to the plate,” Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said. “That’s what this offense can do — we can get back into the game with a home run like that.”
Left-hander Jeffrey Springs (3-3, 4.22 ERA) will start for the Athletics in the series finale. Springs is 0-3 with a 7.03 ERA over his last five starts. He lost to the St. Louis Cardinals 6-4 on Tuesday when he gave up four runs and seven hits over five innings.
Springs is 0-0 with a 1.04 ERA in two career appearances (one start) against the Giants. Harrison Bader (1-for-6) has homered against Springs while Matt Chapman (2-for-17) and Willy Adames (0-for-7) have struggled.
Right-hander Adrian Houser (1-4, 5.79 ERA) will pitch for the Giants on Sunday.
He failed to win in his first seven outings before beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 on Tuesday. He allowed two runs and three hits over 5 2/3 innings.
Houser, 33, is 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA in two career starts against the A’s. Jeff McNeil is 2-for-9 with two doubles against him.
–Field Level Media
UFC Vegas 117 and MVP MMA Proved Competition Is Great for Fight Fans
Padres' Lucas Giolito ready to feel 'normal' in debut vs. Mariners
