Sports
Falcons soar to tie for first in BLAST Slam VII group stage
Jul 21, 2019; Miami Beach, FL, USA; A general view of gaming controllers on display during the Call of Duty League Finals e-sports event at Miami Beach Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images Team Falcons swept three matches on Wednesday to pull into a tie for first place in the group stage of the BLAST Slam VII at Copenhagen, Denmark.
One of the wins for Team Falcons came against Team Yandex, leaving those clubs tied for first place at 5-1. Team Yandex won their other two matches of the day.
PARIVISION captured both of their Wednesday matches to sit in third place at 4-1. Team Liquid enjoyed a 3-0 day to improve to 4-2, level in fourth place with LGD Gaming, who went 2-1 on Wednesday.
The $1 million event is beginning with 12 participants in a group stage that runs through Friday. Group play is a round-robin, best-of-one format. The top two teams at the end of the week will advance to the upper-bracket semifinals of the playoffs, while the third- and fourth-place teams will start in the upper-bracket quarters.
The fifth- and sixth-place teams will proceed to Round 2 of the last-chance qualifier, while teams 7-10 in the standings will begin in Round 1 of that stage. The bottom two teams will be eliminated.
Team Falcons began action Wednesday with a 33-minute win on green over Aurora Gaming. Russia’s Stanislav “Malr1ne” Potorak paced Team Falcons with a 12-1-12 kill-death-assist ratio.
Team Falcons then logged a 48-minute victory on red over Team Yandex behind Malr1ne’s 18-3-15 K-D-A ratio. A 40-minute triumph on red over Xtreme Gaming capped Team Falcons’ perfect day, with Jordan’s Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf registering a 7-1-10 K-D-A ratio for the victors.
BLAST Slam VII standings
T1. Team Falcons, 5-1
T1. Team Yandex, 5-1
3. PARIVISION, 4-1
T4. Team Liquid, 4-2
T4. LGD Gaming, 4-2
T6. BetBoom Team, 2-3
T6. GLYPH, 2-3
T8. Aurora Gaming, 2-4
T8. Team Spirit, 2-4
T8. Tundra Esports, 2-4
11. OG, 1-4
12. Xtreme Gaming, 1-5
BLAST Slam VII payouts (prize money, team earnings)
1. $300,000, $100,000
2. $150,000, $45,000
3. $70,000, $23,000
4. $50,000, $17,000
5-6. $40,000, $15,000
7-8. $25,000, $10,000
9-10. $15,000, $5,000
11-12. $10,000, $2,500
–Field Level Media
Sports
First-period spree brings Hurricanes to verge of Stanley Cup Final
May 27, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; during the first period in game four of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images The visiting Hurricanes scored three times in less than three minutes in the first period and Frederik Andersen made 18 saves, lifting Carolina to a 4-0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals on Wednesday.
The Hurricanes hold a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Carolina can punch its ticket to the Stanley Cup Final for the third time in franchise history with a win in Game 5 on Friday in Raleigh, N.C.
Sebastian Aho scored a power-play goal and captain Jordan Staal and Logan Stankoven also converted in a 2:47 stretch late in the first period. Andrei Svechnikov added an empty-net tally late in the third period.
Andersen turned aside three shots in the third period to preserve his eighth career postseason shutout and fifth with the Hurricanes, surpassing Cam Ward for the most in franchise history. Andersen has three shutouts this postseason, one in each round.
Nikolaj Ehlers and defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere each notched two assists for the Hurricanes, who became the seventh team in NHL history to win each of its first six road games of a postseason.
Jakub Dobes made 39 saves on his 25th birthday for the Canadiens, who have lost four in a row at home and six of eight overall in Montreal during the playoffs.
Carolina opened the scoring for the fourth time in as many games in this series after Aho’s one-timer from the right circle beat Dobes inside the near post with 5:01 remaining in the first period.
Aho’s 11th career power-play goal in the playoffs eclipsed former captain Eric Staal for the most in franchise history.
The Hurricanes doubled the advantage 68 seconds later after defenseman K’Andre Miller skated below the goal line and backhanded a centering feed that caromed off the stick of Jordan Staal and into the goal. Montreal’s Josh Anderson was attempting to fend off Jordan Staal in front of the net.
Gostisbehere blocked a shot by Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson, setting up a 2-on-1 rush that saw Jackson Blake feed Stankoven for his team-leading eighth goal of the playoffs 1:39 later.
Dobes extended his left pad to deny Blake on a breakaway to keep the game scoreless just over two minutes into the game.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Dodgers OF Teoscar Hernandez exits vs. Rockies with hamstring strain
May 23, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers left fielder Teoscar Hernandez (37) hits an RBI single during the ninth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images Los Angeles Dodgers left fielder Teoscar Hernandez left Wednesday’s game against the Colorado Rockies after the second inning with a left hamstring strain.
Hernandez hit a ground ball to shortstop in his first at-bat and had a pronounced limp after running through the first-base bag. He grabbed at his left hamstring after reaching the dugout.
Hyeseong Kim replaced Hernandez in left field to start the third inning, his first appearance in left during two seasons in the major leagues.
In 51 games this season, Hernandez is batting .276 with seven home runs and 31 RBIs. After some early-season struggles, Hernandez entered Wednesday’s game batting .370 with three home runs over his previous 15 contests.
A veteran of 11 seasons, Hernandez is a career .261 hitter with 224 home runs and 692 RBIs in 1,149 games with the Houston Astros (2016-17), Toronto Blue Jays (2017-22), Seattle Mariners (2023) and Dodgers (2024-26).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Reports: Milan Momcilovic returning to college after NBA flirtations
Mar 11, 2026; Kansas City, MO, USA; Iowa State Cyclones forward Milan Momcilovic (22) shoots the ball during the first half against the Arizona State Sun Devils at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images Milan Momcilovic, the No. 1 overall player in this year’s transfer portal class per ESPN, is returning to college basketball for the 2026-27 after NBA flirtations, according to multiple media reports.
The reports emerged Wednesday night, mere hours before the 11:59 p.m. deadline by which players had to remove their name from NBA draft consideration in order to maintain their eligibility.
Where Momcilovic will play next after spending the last three seasons at Iowa State remains to be seen. He entered the transfer portal and declared for the NBA draft on April 12, and multiple media outlets reported that Arizona, Kentucky, Louisville and St. John’s are the primary schools involved in his recruitment.
Whichever school he chooses will be landing one of college basketball’s premier sharpshooters. The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 16.9 points and shot a nation-best 48.7% from 3-point range last season. He left Iowa State tied with Naz Mitrou-Long (2012-17) for second in school history in career 3-pointers made with 260, 10 behind leader Jake Sullivan (2000-04).
He backed that up at this month’s NBA Scouting Combine in Chicago, making almost 69% of his shots in the four shooting drills.
The number of power programs involved in Momcilovic’s recruitment could drive up the price tag to land him. CBS Sports reported that he might make more than $7 million for the upcoming college season.
–Field Level Media
First-period spree brings Hurricanes to verge of Stanley Cup Final
Dodgers OF Teoscar Hernandez exits vs. Rockies with hamstring strain
