Sports
Jets resume playoff push without No. 1 goalie, face lowly Canucks
Feb 4, 2026; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Winnipeg Jets left wing Kyle Connor (81) celebrates a goal against the Montreal Canadiens in the first period at Canada Life Centre. Mandatory Credit: James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images The Winnipeg Jets restart their season Wednesday night in Vancouver, following a 20-day Olympic break that showcased their gold medal-winning goaltender Connor Hellebuyck on the biggest stage.
Hellebuyck won’t play against Vancouver because he made a side trip to attend President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech on Tuesday night in Washington, but he is expected to rejoin the team for Friday’s game in Anaheim.
The Jets visit the Canucks just three days after Hellebuyck delivered a 41-save performance to stymie Team Canada and help Team USA snap a 46-year gold medal drought at the Winter Olympics in Milan.
“The biggest thing I was looking for was that he was going to be at his best,” Jets head coach Scott Arniel said at Monday’s practice of the three-time Vezina Trophy winner. “You heard the Canadian players talk about how it was one of the best games they ever played and the goaltender (Hellebuyck) was the difference.
“He was a wall and well deserving of that gold medal.”
Now that the hockey world has seen what Hellebuyck can do with an elite team in front of him, the Jets are hoping some of his Team USA magic will rub off on their late-season playoff push.
Winnipeg is battling for a postseason spot, 11 points away from the final wild-card berth in the Western Conference. The Jets have a compact schedule to do it in with 26 games in just 50 days.
“Points are huge and we got to make a run here,” said Arniel, who won gold with Canada at the 1982 World Junior Championships.
“Our schedule lines up so that we are playing a lot of these teams that are just above us.
“We got to focus on getting two points from Vancouver, then move on to Anaheim. Try to just stay in the moment, not worry about how big the hill is, just take our steps to climb it.”
Eric Comrie is expected to start in goal against the Canucks. Forward Kyle Connor, a member of Team USA, did not go to Washington with Hellebuyck and practiced with the Jets on Tuesday.
Winnipeg will also be without defenseman Josh Morrissey, who will be examined by team doctors after suffering an undisclosed injury in Team Canada’s first game.
The Canucks, who have yet to win back-to-back games at home this season, are in last place in the league and are already looking toward next season.
Vancouver has lost three in a row and 17 of its last 19 (2-14-3) and it doesn’t look promising against the Jets thanks to travel and health woes.
They will be missing Finnish Olympic goaltender Kevin Lankinen and forward Brock Boeser. Lankinen likely won’t be available because of winter storms that caused travel chaos on the East Coast.
Boeser suffered a concussion before the Olympic break but is now dealing with a virus that had him skating with the team Monday but not doing contact drills.
Head coach Adam Foote said the team is officially in a rebuilding mode with younger players who he wants to give more ice time for the rest of the season.
“I am not going to go into what’s happened to us. We all know,” Foote said. “Our young guys are moving forward with a rebuild.
“No. 1, we are going to use this time to win hockey games.
“And No. 2, we want to do it the right way.
“We are working on who we want to be moving forward with our identity, but giving them (ice time) so we have a quicker start next season.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Heat: Link for LeBron James presser posted by mistake
Nov 5, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) reacts after making a basket against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. The Heat beat the Raptors 104-95. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-Imagn Images The Miami Heat said a live-stream link titled “LeBron James Introductory Press Conference” was posted by mistake to the team’s YouTube channel.
The post, which included the date July 27, was later deleted. A team spokesperson told ESPN on Tuesday night that the club’s social media department had been preparing for the possibility of the superstar forward rejoining the Heat and errantly published the link.
James, 41, who won two NBA championships in four seasons with Miami from 2010-14, is a free agent for the first time since 2018 after announcing last month that he would not re-sign with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Potential landing spots for the league’s all-time leading scorer other than Miami reportedly include the Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers (another former team) and the Golden State Warriors.
James averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds in 60 games with the Lakers in 2025-26. The four-time NBA champion owns career averages of 26.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.4 assists in a record 1,622 games over 23 seasons.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Spurs C Victor Wembanyama to grace NBA 2K27 cover
Dec 27, 2025; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) reacts after scoring during the first half against the Utah Jazz at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images Spurs star Victor Wembanyama will grace the cover of the NBA 2K27 video game, ESPN reported on Wednesday.
The 7-foot-4 center powered San Antonio to the 2026 NBA Finals, with the Spurs falling to the New York Knicks in five games last month.
In his third NBA season, Wembanyama averaged 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and a league-leading 3.1 blocks.
Previous cover athletes in the NBA 2K series have included Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Allen Iverson, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal and Jayson Tatum.
Wembanyama, 22, is the third Spurs player to make the cover of at least one version of the game, joining Tony Parker (NBA 2K16, French version) and Pau Gasol (NBA 2K17, Spanish version).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Astros turn to Peter Lambert in bid for sweep of reeling Marlins
Jul 11, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Peter Lambert (38) comes off the field after he pitches against the Texas Rangers during the third inning at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images A spate of unrelenting injuries to the rotation resulted in 14 different pitchers making starts for the Houston Astros this season, with Ronel Blanco joining that group on Monday when he made his season debut after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Hayden Wesneski, slated to make a rehab start for Triple-A Sugar Land on Thursday, should be next to return for Houston.
The Astros claimed their three-game interleague series against the Miami Marlins with a 5-3 victory on Tuesday behind Tatsuya Imai.
Five Astros have made at least 10 starts, a collection that doesn’t include ace Hunter Brown, who returned from an extended stint on the injured list in mid-June.
“Some of those guys that we’re getting back have pitched out of the bullpen, so as we continue to map out the next couple of weeks and consider adding some pitching at the deadline, with all those pieces, would they fit,” Astros manager Joe Espada said.
“We’re going to move some things around so we can make this work.”
Right-hander Peter Lambert (8-5, 3.03 ERA) is scheduled to start on Wednesday as the Astros pursue the series sweep.
Lambert is 2-0 with a 1.02 ERA in three starts this month and has allowed one run or fewer in each start, including on June 17 against the Baltimore Orioles. He worked six innings in that game and surrendered one run on three hits and three walks with a season-high 10 strikeouts over six innings.
Lambert is 1-0 with a 6.35 ERA in four career appearances (three starts) against the Marlins. In his previous start against Miami on May 2, 2024, he allowed four runs on five hits and three walks with three strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings and did not factor into a 5-4 loss with the Colorado Rockies.
Right-hander Sandy Alcantara (10-5, 3.89) has the starting assignment for Miami.
Alcantara has produced a quality start in all three starts this month, going 1-1 with a 2.14 ERA. He went 7-0 with a 2.98 ERA during a seven-start stretch before a 3-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on July 10.
He did not factor into the decision of a 2-1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers last Friday after allowing one run on three hits and four walks with seven strikeouts over six innings.
Alcantara has faced the Astros once previously. He surrendered six runs on nine hits and one walk with five strikeouts over seven innings in an 8-2 home loss on Aug. 4, 2025.
All-Star shortstop Otto Lopez returned from a two-game injury hiatus (finger) for the Marlins, which allowed Miami manager Clayton McCullough to tinker with his lineup.
Lopez batted leadoff for the ninth time this season and finished 0-for-3 with two walks. McCullough is aiming to build protection around left-handed hitting Kyle Stowers with the right-handed hitting Lopez and Heriberto Hernandez, plus switch-hitting Xavier Edwards.
“Just trying to have Stowers be shielded as best I can from left(-handed pitching), and if they are going to throw left on Stowers, then at least you have Otto and (Hernandez) around him, X (Edwards) behind him,” McCullough said.
“Before Otto got hurt, I was thinking about potentially going this route with hitting him (leadoff), hitting Bert (third). If people still want to bring in left on Stowers to try to mitigate some of his slug, at least they’re going to have to go through Bert and X before they get to (lefty Liam) Hicks.”
–Field Level Media
Heat: Link for LeBron James presser posted by mistake
Spurs C Victor Wembanyama to grace NBA 2K27 cover
