Sports
Jets set to face Flyers with revenge on their minds
Mar 1, 2025; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Winnipeg Jets forward Mason Appleton (22) jostles for position with Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Jamie Drysdale (9) in front of Philadelphia Flyers goalie Ivan Fedotov (82) during the third period at Canada Life Centre. Mandatory Credit: Terrence Lee-Imagn Images The Winnipeg Jets did not have to wait long for a chance to exact some revenge on the Philadelphia Flyers.
Five days after losing at home against Philadelphia, the suddenly skidding Jets visit the Flyers on Thursday.
In the Saturday matchup at Winnipeg, the Jets received a first-period goal from Mark Scheifele, who leads the team with 34 tallies. Jamie Drysdale drew the Flyers even in the second, causing a deadlock that did not get resolved until Philadelphia prevailed in a shootout.
Flyers rookie Matvei Michkov netted the decisive goal in the skills contest on a nifty forehand-to-backhand move against Connor Hellebuyck. Ivan Fedotov did stellar work on the other end, stopping all three shootout attempts after making 29 saves during regulation and overtime.
“He takes up a lot of the net,” Scheifele said postgame of the 6-foot-7 Fedotov. “Makes it look really tough to find a hole. He made some big saves tonight and kept them in it.”
Flyers coach John Tortorella might turn to Fedotov again Thursday after Samuel Ersson struggled mightily on Tuesday in a 6-3 loss to the Calgary Flames. Ersson allowed three goals on five shots before giving way to Fedotov, who stopped 26 of the 28 shots he faced.
Still, Fedotov’s solid work in relief wasn’t enough to prevent the Flyers from losing in regulation for the first time since the 4 Nations Face-Off. The team had been 4-0-1 in its previous five outings.
“Tough in any game going down,” Philadelphia’s Noah Cates said after his side allowed four first-period goals. “Building’s quiet, just not finding any area of our game. (Defensive) zone, neutral zone, offensive zone, we couldn’t seem to find some traction.”
If the Flyers do go back to Ersson on Thursday, they expect him to play like a No. 1 goaltender like he has for much of this season.
“He’s been steady,” Philadelphia winger Travis Konecny said. “He’s the reason we’ve been able to stay in the race for the playoffs. (We have) all the confidence in him.”
Winnipeg is hoping to bounce back from a disappointing result as well — a few disappointing results, in fact. The Jets have lost three games in a row (0-2-1), marking just the second time that has happened since early December.
“Out of those three games, when you look at this one as a whole, you can take some positives,” captain Adam Lowry said after the Jets’ 3-2 road loss to the New York Islanders on Tuesday.
That said, Winnipeg has scored only four goals in the past three games. Nikolaj Ehlers and Josh Morrissey tallied in the Tuesday setback.
“We’re in the funk right now when it comes to scoring goals,” Jets coach Scott Arniel said. “And, you know, teams go through these. You look around the league, a lot’s happened in different spots.”
To counteract their offensive struggles, the Jets could use a dominant performance by Hellebuyck, who has been steady of late but has not posted a shutout since Jan. 11. The Vezina Trophy favorite leads the league with six shutouts, a 2.01 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage.
“Just got to stay with it,” Arniel said. “For us, it’s making sure that we’re defending well. We’ve got to win these games 1-0. We’ll have to work to do that. But at the end of the day, I like that effort.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Joe Gibbs Racing lawsuit vs. Spire, Chris Gabehart gets trial date
Oct 25, 2025; Martinsville, Virginia, USA; Joe Gibbs Racing competition director Chris Gabehart before NASCAR Cup Series Xfinity 500 Practice and Qualifying at Martinsville Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Greg Atkins-Imagn Images Joe Gibbs Racing desired an earlier trial date for its lawsuit against Spire Motorsports and Chris Gabehart, while the defendants wanted a later trial date.
Neither side got what it wanted on Wednesday, as the judge presiding over the case split the difference and settled on a January start date, according to motorsport.com.
JGR is pursuing more than $8 million in damages due to allegations of misappropriation and tortuous interference by Gabehart, who left JGR to work for Spire.
JGR had been in pursuit of a November trial start, citing concerns about evidence and a desire to begin discovery as soon as possible. The defendants, in contrast, targeted next May, arguing that depositions could interfere with the current NASCAR season.
United States District Court Judge Susan C. Rodriguez of the Western District of North Carolina directed each party to “meet and confer and submit to the Court within 10 days a joint proposal as to pretrial deadlines as discussed,” indicating all parties are required to adhere to an agreed-upon schedule for all activities leading up to the trial date.
With Spire having a better-than-expected season after hiring Gabehart, JGR had filed an amendment to its original lawsuit earlier this week to address damages sustained through the use of “trade secrets.”
Spire driver Carson Hocevar is sitting in sixth after securing his first career NASCAR victory — and Spire’s first NASCAR win since 2019 — on April 26 at Talladega. Daniel Suarez, a new Spire driver this season, is in 14th in the standings. None of Spire’s three drivers last year finished in the top 20 of the standings.
“This sudden improvement in Spire’s Cup Series performance of course comes on the heels of Gabehart misappropriating JGR’s Confidential Information and Trade Secrets and providing Spire the same or similar services he provided JGR in the last year,” the amended filing says.
The judge in the case has also granted partial expediency on the issue of discovery, providing faster access to certain phone records directly related to the nature of Gabehart’s relationships with JGR and Spire, according to the report.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cubs LHP Matthew Boyd injures knee playing with his children, put on IL
May 3, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Matthew Boyd (16) pitches against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images Chicago Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd hurt his left meniscus while playing with his children at home on Wednesday morning and was placed on the 15-day injured list.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell said that Boyd had an MRI that revealed the knee injury and the pitcher will require surgery. The move was retroactive to Monday.
“It’s kind of unexplainable,” Counsell said. “Kind of an innocent, going down to the ground and getting back up.
“He woke up this morning a healthy player,” the manager added. “He’s just trying to process it and get all the information from the doctors to figure out what’s next.”
Counsell said the timetable for Boyd’s return will be determined after the surgery, but the team expects him to play again this season.
Boyd, 35, was on the IL from April 2-21 because of a left biceps strain. He is 2-1 with a 6.00 ERA, six walks and 31 strikeouts in 24 innings over five starts this season.
An All-Star for Chicago in 2025, Boyd is 62-78 with a 4.61 ERA in 218 career appearances (204) starts for the Toronto Blue Jays (2015), Detroit Tigers (2015-21, 2023), Seattle Mariners (2022), Cleveland Guardians (2024) and Cubs.
In a corresponding move, Chicago selected the contract of right-handed reliever Trent Thornton from Triple-A Iowa. They also designated lefty Charlie Barnes for assignment to clear room on the 40-man roster for Thornton. Righty Yacksel Rios was sent outright to Iowa.
Thornton, 32, is 0-0 with a 3.18 ERA in 5 2/3 innings over four games (one start) with Iowa this season. He has a career record of 14-19 with a 4.38 in seven seasons for the Toronto Blue Jays (2019-23) and Seattle Mariners (2023-25).
The Cubs already have starting pitchers Justin Steele (left elbow) and Cade Horton (right elbow) on the injured list.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Rangers ace Nathan Eovaldi halts Yankees' five-game streak
May 6, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; Texas Rangers pitcher Nathan Eovaldi (17) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images Nathan Eovaldi pitched eight stellar innings and was backed by two early homers as the visiting Texas Rangers quieted the New York Yankees in a 6-1 victory on Wednesday night.
After pitching seven innings in last Wednesday’s 3-0 home win over the Yankees, Eovaldi (4-4) struck out a season-high eight and walked none for the second time this season. The veteran right-hander allowed just three hits, including Aaron Judge’s major league-leading 15th homer in the sixth that snapped his scoreless string at 13 innings.
The Rangers scored more than five runs for the seventh time this season and ended a three-game losing streak by racing out to a six-run lead through four innings against New York’s Will Warren (4-1).
Corey Seager homered three batters into the contest and Evan Carter hit a two-run shot in the third. Seager added an RBI single after going 4-for-31 in his previous eight contests and not getting an RBI in his previous nine.
Ezequiel Duran contributed an RBI double and a bases-loaded sacrifice fly as Texas finished with more than five runs for the first time since April 23 against Pittsburgh.
Eovaldi made the lead stand up with ease. He often recorded quick outs and threw 72 of 101 pitches for strikes.
Eovaldi completed eight innings for the 16th time in his career and fourth time against the Yankees, whom he pitched for in 2015 and 2016. Jacob Latz pitched the ninth as the Rangers held the Yankees to five baserunners.
Judge hit his 12th homer in his past 23 games, but the Yankees saw a five-game winning streak stopped and lost for the third time in their past 18 games. New York scored 46 times in the previous five games, but finished with fewer than two runs for the fifth time this season.
Warren often fell behind hitters and was tagged for season highs of six runs on seven hits in four innings. Warren did get seven strikeouts, but he walked three as he threw first-pitch strikes to just 12 of 22 hitters.
Seager opened the scoring by lifting a 3-0 fastball into the right field seats and Texas added three in the third. After Duran’s double to left-center, Carter hit a 2-1 sweeper off the facing of the second deck in right for a 4-0 lead.
Following Duran’s sacrifice fly in the fourth, Seager made it 6-0 by lining a single to center.
–Field Level Media
Grandma Anne’s Secret Jell-O
AI evaluation startup Braintrust confirms breach, tells every customer to rotate sensitive keys
