Sports
Hurricanes pursue another sweep, carry momentum vs. Flyers
May 7, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Carolina Hurricanes center Jordan Staal (11) and Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Jamie Drysdale (9) battle during the second period in game three of the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images The Carolina Hurricanes will aim for their second straight series sweep to start the Stanley Cup playoffs when they visit the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference second-round matchup on Saturday evening.
The Hurricanes own a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series after winning the first two games in Raleigh, N.C., and then posting a 4-1 win in Game 3 on Thursday night in Philadelphia.
The seven straight playoff wins tied a franchise record set in 2006.
Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen had 18 saves in Game 3 to improve to 7-0 in the playoffs with two shutouts. He has a 1.02 goals-against average, a .957 save percentage and said preparation for this time of year begins on the first day of training camp.
“We establish how we want to play right away,” he said. “So much is second nature to everyone.”
Carolina was locked in a 1-1 tie with the Flyers on Thursday when Jalen Chatfield scored short-handed at 15:59 of the second period to give the Hurricanes a 2-1 lead. They cemented the win with two more unanswered goals in the third.
“Tonight was a bit of a messy game until the third,” Andersen said. “We kind of just got back on our game a little bit and, obviously, scored a few to close it out.”
Jordan Staal scored his first goal of the 2026 playoffs for Carolina and contributed an assist on Chatfield’s goal.
Andersen said their team captain the past seven seasons leads in a number of ways.
“If you want to see how we want to play, that’s the model right there,” Andersen said of Staal. “He’s such a strong skater, such a strong body out there, and he doesn’t try to do extra. He’s just trying to be reliable and be a calm presence in the room, too. I think that’s where he’s underrated.”
The Flyers have struggled on the power play throughout the playoffs, but especially against the Hurricanes.
They went 0-for-5 with the man-advantage in Game 3, including a 5-on-3 that lasted 1:15 in the second period, and the power-play unit surrendered the short-handed goal to Chatfield. Philadelphia fell to 1-for-16 with the man-advantage in the series and 3-for-33 in the playoffs.
“There’s reads and plays you’ve got to make to be on the power play,” Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said. “In all fairness, we got some guys that are playing power play that probably wouldn’t play a lot of minutes on a power play, and we’re trying to get these guys to understand certain things.”
Part of the problem is the Flyers have been without their leading goal scorer from the regular season, Owen Tippett, who is day-to-day with an unspecified injury.
He has been practicing with the Flyers but has yet to appear in the series.
Philadelphia also lost center Noah Cates to a lower-body in Game 2 and he won’t return this series.
The Flyers were up 3-0 in their first-round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, lost Games 4 and 5, then closed it out at home in Game 6.
They know anything can happen.
“We’ve got nothing to lose,” Flyers defenseman Jamie Drysdale said. “We were just in a series where it was the opposite.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Serena Williams, 44, wins doubles comeback in London
Aug 29, 2022; Flushing, NY, USA; Serena Williams of the United States serves to Danka Kovinic of Montenegro on day one of the 2022 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-Imagn Images Serena Williams successfully launched her comeback Tuesday with a doubles upset during the HSBC Championships at the Queen’s Club in West Kensington, London.
Ending a nearly four-year retirement, the 44-year-old Williams partnered with 19-year-old Victoria Mboko of Canada for a 7-6 (2), 6-2 win against No. 3 seed Nicole Melihar-Martinez and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe.
Routliffe is a two-time U.S. Open doubles champion (2023, 2025) and Melihar-Martinez was a doubles finalist at Wimbledon in 2018 and the U.S. Open in 2020.
“I was having so much fun playing with Vicky,” Williams said in a post-match on-court interview. “She was really able to hold up the team and play big on the big points. I could really rely on her. We never played together but it just felt so natural playing with her.”
Williams’ first-round victory at the WTA 500 grass-court tournament was the 23-time Grand Slam winner’s first professional match since a tearful farewell at the 2022 U.S. Open.
Williams, who received a wild-card entry into the tournament, and Mboko advanced to the quarterfinals. They will face the winner between Canada’s Leylah Fernandez and Germany’s Laura Siegemund vs. Russia’s Alexandra Panova and the Netherlands’ Demi Schuurs.
Williams was asked what her tennis schedule might look like down the road and why she picked the HSBC Championship for a doubles return.
“I don’t know … I had nothing better to do,” Williams said, drawing laughs from fans. “I got tired sitting at home. My kids are out of school for the summer so why not.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Andrew Putnam wins 9-hole playoff for final U.S. Open spot from Oregon
May 3, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Andrew Putnam watches his tee shot on the second hole during the final round of the Cadillac Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Romance-Imagn Images PGA Tour veteran Andrew Putnam took the concept of “Golf’s Longest Day” to a new extreme.
After playing 36 holes at Emerald Valley Golf Club for U.S. Open final qualifying Monday in Creswell, Ore., Putnam and Spencer Tibbits were tied for second on the leaderboard. The problem was that only two spots were available from Oregon, requiring a 2-for-1 playoff.
Putnam and Tibbits played six more holes late Monday and couldn’t break their deadlock. They returned to the course Tuesday morning, and Putnam finally claimed victory on the ninth hole.
Putnam, a 37-year-old from Tacoma, Wash., will play his second major championship this year after appearing in none of the majors in 2025. He tied for 55th last month at the PGA Championship. Putnam last appeared in the U.S. Open in 2023, when he tied for 43rd.
His only victory on tour came in 2018 at the Barracuda Championship.
Greyson Leach shot 4-under-par 140 over 36 holes for medalist honors at Emerald Valley. Putnam and Tibbits tied at 3-under 141, with Tibbits squandering an advantage by following an opening 66 with a second-round 75.
Emerald Valley was one of 10 final qualifying sites across the U.S. and Canada on Monday. They were also contested in Toronto (near this week’s RBC Canadian Open), at two locations in Ohio, one in California and several courses around the East Coast.
The U.S. Open will be contested June 18-21 at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y.
Here is the final list of players to qualify Monday (three other qualifiers were previously held):
–Ball Ground, Ga.: Chris Kirk, Jake Peacock, Keith Mitchell, Robbie Higgins, Chase Kyes (a)
–Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.: Giuseppe Puebla (a), Ben Silverman, Ryder Cowan (a), Miles Russell (a)
–Purchase, N.Y.: Kevin Roy, Max Greyserman, Benjamin James (a), James Nicholas
–Gastonia, N.C.: Jackson Ormond (a), Carl Yuan, Jackson Van Paris, Brandon Wu, Cole Hammer
–Rockville, Md.: Jackson Suber, Ben Kohles, Logan Reilly (a), Jake Sollon
–Springfield, Ohio: Neal Shipley, Zac Blair, Dylan Wu, Billy Horschel, Nick Hardy
–Westerville, Ohio: Davis Thompson, J.B. Holmes, Vaughn Harber (a), Arni Sveinsson (a)
–Toronto: Emiliano Grillo, Alejandro Tosti, Marcelo Rozo, William Mouw, John Parry, Max McGreevy
–Sacramento, Calif.: Taylor Montgomery, Eric Lee (a), Matthew Robles (a), Marek Fleming (a)
–Creswell, Ore.: Greyson Leach, Andrew Putnam
–Field Level Media
Sports
Reports: Brewers signing OF prospect Luis Lara to 7-year, $31M deal
Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Luis Lara adjusts his cap during spring training workouts Monday, February 16, 2026, at American Family Fields of Phoenix in Phoenix, Arizona. The Milwaukee Brewers are in agreement with outfield prospect Luis Lara on a seven-year, $31 million extension, multiple outlets reported Tuesday.
The contract with the 21-year-old Venezuelan begins this season and includes three club options, potentially taking the deal through 2035.
The extension could max out at $78 million if Lara reaches all the incentives, a source told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Lara is ranked No. 5 among Milwaukee’s prospects and No. 91 among all major league clubs by MLB Pipeline.
He is batting .338/.447/.500 with seven homers, 27 RBIs and 18 stolen bases in 56 games this season at Double-A Nashville.
The Brewers have signed similar long-term deals with up-and-coming prospects before, including outfielder Jackson Chourio in December 2023 and current minor league shortstop Cooper Pratt in April.
–Field Level Media
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