Sports
Lightning, Red Wings each licking wounds entering clash
Mar 8, 2026; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Detroit Red Wings left wing Lucas Raymond (23) looks to pass the puck against the New Jersey Devils during the third period at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Salus-Imagn Images The Detroit Red Wings and host Tampa Bay Lightning limp into their third matchup this season coming off bad losses on Tuesday night in Florida.
Holding the top wild-card spot, the Red Wings had another terrible-looking injury to a forward, this time Andrew Copp, in a 4-3 setback against the Florida Panthers.
Coach Todd McLellan’s team, which leads the Boston Bruins by just one point in the wild-card standings and is three points clear of the bubble, appeared to be headed to a significant victory, leading 3-2 with 1:30 left.
Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe, however, leveled the game with 90 seconds left.
Tied 3-3, Detroit could have headed to overtime with at least one point in the bank, but the club took off greedily on a three-on-two rush with 25 seconds to go.
A turnover spun the play back toward the Red Wings’ defensive end, and Florida’s Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk worked the puck over for Verhaeghe’s go-ahead goal at the 15-second mark on a shot that clipped the stick of new Wings defenseman Justin Faulk, acquired from the St. Louis Blues on Friday.
It was a devastating defeat for a club needing every point in the Eastern Conference’s tight playoff race.
“We have a job to do, and the first thing we have to do is recover from this loss,” stated McLellan, whose group is 4-6-2 in the past dozen matches. “Then we have to figure out how to plug some holes. … It’s another (game) where, at the least, we should be leaving with a point. But we’re not. It’s a tough one to swallow.”
Copp’s injury comes on the heels of the one sustained by fellow forward Dylan Larkin last Friday, also against Florida. The captain (28 goals, 55 points) has missed the last two games.
Another listless showing in Tuesday’s 5-2 home loss to Columbus dropped the Lightning to 1-6-0 in the past seven matches. They played without two defensemen in Darren Raddysh (personal) and Erik Cernak, who was injured in a fight with Michael Kesselring in the Buffalo Sabres’ wild 8-7 win Sunday night.
Compounded with Max Crozier’s long-term injury and Emil Lilleberg’s facial fracture, their rear guard has taken a major hit.
Cooper admitted after Tuesday’s loss that his team was “in a rut.”
The Atlantic Division’s second-place team has excelled offensively and defensively this season, but it generated just 18 shots against Columbus and has been outscored 35-22 over the last seven games.
Cooper said his squad is failing to get out on its patented fastbreak.
“Tonight was abnormally bad,” he said. ” … This little rut we’re in has lasted a lot longer than I anticipated. There’s probably a little frustration that sets in. … Our rhythm’s not there, obviously our execution is clearly not there. I think our emotions have been a little bit of a roller coaster.
“When something goes poorly in the game, we kind of compound it. … Our heads are down, a little bit of kicking the can. We’ve just got to make sure there’s no pity party here.”
J.J. Moser scored for the seventh time in the Columbus loss, tying his career high for goals set in 2022-23.
The two teams have not met since November and split a pair of early season contests, each winning on home ice.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Why The Players Championship Doesn’t Need ‘Major’ Status
It’s an important tournament and the champion will have a notable result when The Players Championship wraps up on the weekend.
But it’s not a major championship, as CEO Brian Rolapp confirmed at his press conference on Wednesday morning.
Frankly, it doesn’t need to be. That’s because golfers heading out looking to conquer TPC Sawgrass this week find plenty of value in the event without a certain prestigious designation, and fans agree.
“I know there’s a lot of talks about it being a ‘fifth major’ and I don’t know necessarily if it should be another major, but it sure feels like it to me,” Sahith Theegala said.
Theegala acknowledges the debate that tends to pop up each year when the tournament is about to begin. It starts Thursday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
Yet what makes the majors special is that there’s so few of them. Granted, with the addition of the signature events, that does tend to push the TPC into its own category – above those signature tournaments, yet below the majors.
And that’s OK. But let’s not call it a major.
That’s reserved to begin in April with the Masters, when the sports calendar is pretty much cleared to place emphasis on that tournament.
Still, there’s going to be plenty of clamor about this week’s tournament, as well there should be.
World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler will take his turn, looking to win the tournament for the third time in a four-year stretch.
“You got to strike it well,” Scheffler said. “Around that golf course when you’re hitting the ball in the right spots, you can shoot some low scores.”
Scheffler said the course demands certain attention. How golfers lofted shots onto greens last week in the Arnold Palmer Invitational will be different at TPC Sawgrass. It’s something he said golfers “get used to that as the week goes on.”
The TPC demands attention because of the quality of its champions – and the rankings of its competitors. This year, 46 of the top 50 players in the world rankings have entered.
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland is the defending champion and he has won twice in the last six editions of the tournament (there was no event in 2020 because of the pandemic).
Since Tiger Woods won for the second time in 2013, the list of champions has included, in part, Rickie Fowler, Australia’s Jason Day, Webb Simpson and Justin Thomas.
McIlroy withdrew from weekend rounds in the Arnold Palmer Invitational because of an ailing back, so it’s possible that his status won’t be totally clear until the first round begins Thursday afternoon.
Given the TPC’s status, it figures that McIlroy will make every effort to be a participant. He and Scheffler are each bidding to become the event’s first three-time champion since Jack Nicklaus (1974, 1976, 1978), though only the last of those was contested at TPC Sawgrass.
Whoever wins this week will have secured a special achievement in a tournament that doesn’t need to be lumped in with the majors.
Sports
Florida International fires coach Jeremy Ballard
Nov 8, 2025; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Florida International Panthers head coach Jeremy Ballard talks during a timeout in the first half against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images Florida International fired men’s basketball coach Jeremy Ballard on Wednesday after eight seasons and a 113-141 record.
Ballard, 44, guided the Panthers to just one postseason appearance, reaching the CIT second round in his first year at the Westchester, Fla., program in 2018-19.
Florida International just completed a 15-17 campaign (8-12 Conference USA) with a 75-72 loss to Missouri State in the first round of the conference tournament on Tuesday.
Including a 20-14 record in his debut season at FIU, Ballard’s only other winning record came the following season at 19-13. The Panthers have not been to the NCAA Tournament since their lone appearance in 1995.
“I want to thank Jeremy for pouring his heart and soul into the program the past eight years, and for the genuine and respectful manner in which he operated every day,” FIU athletic director Scott Carr said. “Jeremy is one of the best human beings and leaders I have ever encountered, and his authenticity carried over into the student-athletes he coached and the culture he established.
“Jeremy has left the program in a better position than what he inherited, and I want to thank him for that improvement. However, the on-court success has not been to the level we aspire to; we want to be competing for conference championships and NCAA Tournament berths. With that standard in place, a comprehensive national search will begin immediately, and there will be no further comment until that is completed.”
Ballard was an assistant coach at VCU, Pitt, Illinois State, Tulsa and his alma mater, Colgate, before taking over at FIU.
Associate head coach Jesse Bopp has been named the Panthers’ interim head coach.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Returned to sender: Maxx Crosby at Raiders' facility, sides mending fences
Dec 14, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) on the field after loss to the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Signs point to the Las Vegas Raiders welcoming Maxx Crosby back into the fold as a result of the return-to-sender rejection of a trade with the Baltimore Ravens.
Sports Illustrated reported the star defensive end was back at the team facility to rehab from left knee surgery at 8 a.m. on Wednesday and considers himself an employee of the Raiders going forward.
The Raiders agreed to a trade on Friday with the Ravens, sending Crosby to Baltimore in exchange for multiple first-round picks. But the deal was pending the results of Crosby’s physical and was not official until Wednesday, the first day of the league year. On Tuesday night, the Ravens informed the Raiders the deal was off, according to multiple reports, because of questions surrounding Crosby’s health and what they considered a “failed physical.”
On Wednesday morning, the Ravens reportedly agreed to a four-year contract with free agent defensive end Trey Hendrickson. The 31-year-old is also coming back from surgery. He played in seven games last season and underwent core muscle surgery. The terms of the agreement, with a value of around $112 million according to multiple reports, matches the total compensation remaining on Crosby’s deal.
NFL Network reported the Chicago Bears were willing to part with two first-round picks to acquire Crosby but were outbid. The Ravens likely jumped ahead because Baltimore’s 2026 first-round pick is 11 slots better than Chicago’s No. 25 overall pick.
The Raiders and Crosby, 28, had been at odds since fired head coach Pete Carroll decided to sit him late in the 2025 season when the fiery Pro Bowl talent argued he wasn’t hurt.
By reversing direction, the Ravens retained the No. 14 overall pick and their 2027 first-rounder promised in the handshake agreement.
The Raiders signed two edge rushers — Malcolm Koonce and Kwity Paye — but remain responsible for Crosby’s contract and the $35.7 million cap hit for 2026, per Spotrac. Las Vegas also signed Ravens free agent center Tyler Linderbaum.
–Field Level Media
Why The Players Championship Doesn’t Need ‘Major’ Status
Florida International fires coach Jeremy Ballard
