Sports
Golden Knights close December to remember vs. Canadiens
Dec 4, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Vegas Golden Knights left wing Tanner Pearson (70) looks over during a face-off against the Anaheim Ducks in the second period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Alex Gallardo-Imagn Images The Vegas Golden Knights will try and put the finishing touches on what so far has been a December to remember when they host the Montreal Canadiens in a New Year’s Eve matinee on Tuesday in Las Vegas.
The Pacific Division-leading Golden Knights, who are an NHL best 15-3-0 at home, are 10-1-0 in December and bring a six-game winning streak into the contest, the team’s longest since beginning the 2023-24 campaign with seven consecutive wins.
Vegas entered Monday’s action tied with Winnipeg for the NHL lead in points with 53. Defense and goaltending have spearheaded the success with the Golden Knights allowing two goals or fewer in nine of their 11 December contests, including a pair of shutouts.
Vegas comes in off a 3-0 blanking of the visiting Calgary Flames on Sunday night as backup goalie Ilya Samsonov picked up his first shutout of the season and 14th of his career by stopping 31 shots.
Tanner Pearson had a goal and an assist and Brett Howden and Victor Olofsson also scored goals for the Golden Knights, who improved to an eye-popping 21-3-2 against Western Conference foes.
“Defensively, I think in terms of our structure, I think is excellent,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “In the D-zone we’re not giving up a lot from the slot, we’re better on the second chance and getting the rebounds out of the way. Rush defense was pretty good tonight, too, as it was in San Jose (in a 6-3 win on Friday.). … It’s one of the reasons we’ve had a terrific month.”
“I think we’ve locked down our D-zone,” Pearson added. “Everyone is kind of reading the plays off right. I think everyone’s kind of bought into what we’re trying to do.”
The Golden Knights now begin a stretch that sees them play five of their next six against Eastern Conference teams beginning with Tuesday afternoon’s contest with Montreal.
The Canadiens, in the midst of a six-game road trip, have won five of their last six games to move within five points of Ottawa for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Montreal is coming off a weekend sweep of defending Stanley Cup champion Florida (4-0) on Saturday and Tampa Bay (5-2) on Sunday.
Center Jake Evans has scored a goal in five straight games for the Canadiens while Jakub Dobes had 34 saves to blank the Panthers in his NHL debut. It marks the first time since 2017 that Montreal swept the Florida teams on a trip.
“These are two tough buildings to come in and get wins, I’m really happy with everyone’s effort,” Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki, a former first-round pick of the Golden Knights, said after Sunday’s win over the Lightning. “Both teams are on a back-to-back and the mind is the first thing to go. I thought we played a really smart game, managed the puck well, managed the game fully, so it’s a big two points for us.”
This is the second of two meetings between the two teams. Vegas won the first one, 6-2, on Nov. 23 in Montreal thanks to a second period that saw the Golden Knights score five straight goals.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Gilbert Burns Retires: A Look Back at His Legendary UFC Career
UFC Winnipeg was that kind of card that had everything – a couple of fantastic fights, one of the worst robberies of the year, a draw, referee action, referee inaction, a devastating knockout, and a couple of impressive finishes.
But while Mike Malott got the win at UFC Winnipeg, taking himself one step further up the welterweight ranks, there needs to be a dedicated spotlight on his opponent, Gilbert Burns.
After Malott scored the victory, he gave time in his post-fight interview to praise Burns for all he has done in and out of the Octagon. Burns then got his own time to speak, laying his gloves down and retiring from the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. And while Burns never won a UFC championship, he should be saluted as a fantastic athlete who gave his all to the sport.
Burns’ path to MMA started with Brazilian jiu-jitsu. In fact, the story goes that Burns’ father got Burns and his brothers three months of jiu-jitsu lessons as payment from a car repair customer. That deal, and those three months of training, set Burns on a path that helped him land in the UFC.
Burns became a Brazilian and European jiu-jitsu champion, then went on to win several world titles in the discipline. Then, in 2015, Burns won a bronze medal at the 2015 ADCC Submission Fighting World Championships.
It was 2012 when Burns made his professional MMA debut, starting his career with seven first-round finishes. That was the same year he served as a coach on Vitor Belfort’s team for The Ultimate Fighter.
A couple of years later, the UFC came calling, and he debuted in the promotion in July 2014, scoring a decision win over Andreas Stahl. He started his UFC tenure 6-3, but it was in late 2018 that Burns started to really find a groove.
He racked up six straight wins, moving up to welterweight during that time frame. His wins in that span included a victory over Olivier Aubin-Mercier, a first-round finish of Demian Maia, and a decision win over former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley.
Those performances led Burns to a welterweight title shot against Kamaru Usman at UFC 258. Burns troubled Usman early in the fight, scoring a first-round knockdown, and he was seemingly moments away from capturing the gold. But Usman stormed a comeback, eventually finishing Burns in the third round.
It was a heartbreaking defeat. And unfortunately, it was the start of a skid for Burns over the remaining five years of his UFC career. Burns’ last 10 Octagon bouts, which includes the loss to Usman, saw him go just 3-7.
Burns’ loss to Malott was his fifth straight. At 39 years old, Burns’ retirement is unsurprising, but still unfortunate. He fought so many of today’s fantastic UFC athletes and earned a number of post-fight bonuses. And that’s why while it’s disappointing he never got the UFC gold, he still should go down as a memorable UFC competitor.
And the thing is, he still can do great things in the sport. He will be in the corner of his teammates. He will prepare them for their fights. Maybe we can still see Burns in jiu-jitsu and submission grappling competitions.
“Durinho” has always been considered a man of class. And it was uplifting to see the Canadian crowd give him such a warm ovation and thank you as Burns rode off into the sunset.
Thank you, Gilbert Burns, and congratulations on a tremendous career.
Sports
Which NBA Playoffs Game 1 Loser Is Most Likely To Win Their Series?
Mar 27, 2026; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) reacts during the second quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images On Saturday, we watched all the higher seeds take care of business and start their series up 1-0. It’s way too early to overreact to these games, but I think a lot of these winners will end up moving on to the second round. Here are the teams I think have the best chance of coming back from their slow starts.
Houston Rockets
Before the series, I picked the Lakers to pull off the big upset over Houston, and I still believe that’s the case; however, they’re the team I think has the best chance of turning their luck around.
If the Rockets are without Kevin Durant, I have no idea where they’re generating any offense. Houston shot 38% from the field, and Reed Sheppard and Alperen Sengun struggled to generate any offense as primary ball handlers. On the other end, LeBron James and company did a great job of slowing the game down by running a consistently efficient offense. If Houston can get more stops and generate offense in the fastbreak, they could easily swing this series around.
Atlanta Hawks
Apr 18, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) is guarded by Atlanta Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (7) during the first quarter of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images For most of 2026, the Hawks have looked like one of the best teams in the NBA. Offensively, they had a solid outing in game one against the Knicks, but New York had one of their better shooting performances, knocking down 48% of their triples.
Atlanta will need to turn New York over more, but that’s something the Knicks have done a good job of preventing all season long. If Atlanta can find a way to steal game two on the road, I think they’ll be in a great spot to steal this series. I would still take the Knicks in this series, but the Hawks didn’t seem rattled on offense, and that’s an important factor in pulling off the upset.
Minnesota Timberwolves
I am fully out on this iteration of the Timberwolves.
It might be dumb to fade the team that’s been to two straight Western Conference Finals, especially one with Anthony Edwards, but I hate the construction of Minnesota in 2026.
The Nuggets are going to get out and run all day on Minnesota, and have more shooting than they have in most years during the Nikola Jokic era. Denver shot poorly in game one and still won by double digits. Donte DiVincenzo is the only player outside of Edwards who can provide any gravity on offense for the T-Wolves, and I don’t think that’s enough to stop the Nuggets. If Jamal Murray starts hitting jumpers, this series could be ugly.
Toronto Raptors
Apr 18, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) drives to the basket against Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram (3) during the first quarter of game one in the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images All season long, we wondered when the Cavs would turn it on, and I think we watched them take it to another level in game one. The Cavs are finally all healthy, and we got to see a 10-deep roster that looked very comfortable playing together.
RJ Barrett, Jamal Shead, and Scottie Barnes combined for 11/16 from three, and they still weren’t in this game for most of the second half. Cleveland’s rotations were at their best in this one as well, with one of Donovan Mitchell or James Harden, and Evan Mobley or Jarrett Allen on the floor at all times, and they provide way too much firepower for Toronto to handle. The Raptors might steal one game in Toronto, but I’d bet on this one being a sweep.
Sports
Angels activate OF/DH Jorge Soler from four-game suspension
Apr 7, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; A fight breaks out between Atlanta Braves pitcher Reynaldo López (40) and Los Angeles Angels right fielder Jorge Soler (12) during the fifth inning at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Navarro-Imagn Images The Los Angeles Angels activated outfielder/designated hitter Jorge Soler from the suspended list on Sunday and put him in the cleanup spot of the lineup for the series finale against the San Diego Padres.
Soler was given an original seven-game suspension for an on-field fight with former Atlanta Braves teammate Reynaldo Lopez on April 7. Soler appealed the suspension, and it was reduced to four games, while the Angels were in New York last week.
Soler, 34, is batting .231 with five home runs and 18 RBIs in 18 games for the Angels this season.
In 13 major league seasons, Soler is a career .240 hitter with 208 home runs and 568 RBIs over 1,112 games for the Chicago Cubs (2014-16), Kansas City Royals (2017-21), Atlanta Braves (2021, 2024), Miami Marlins (2022-23), San Francisco Giants (2024) and Angels.
Lopez had his own seven-game suspension reduced to five games.
–Field Level Media
Gilbert Burns Retires: A Look Back at His Legendary UFC Career
Which NBA Playoffs Game 1 Loser Is Most Likely To Win Their Series?
