Sports
NL Central capsules: Can Brewers claim 4th straight division title?
Feb 27, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio against the Chicago White Sox during a spring training game at American Family Fields of Phoenix. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Milwaukee Brewers
2025 record: 97-65 (1st in NL Central)
He gone: RHP Freddy Peralta, 3B Caleb Durbin, OF Isaac Collins, LHP Jose Quintana, RHP Nick Mears
New faces: C Gary Sanchez, RHP Brandon Sproat, SS/OF Jett Williams, INF David Hamilton
Biggest question entering Opening Day: Is their unwillingness to keep Peralta because of his pending free agency going to cost them a playoff spot and/or a chance at winning a World Series? They had an expected W/L of 99-63 in 2025, but are projected by a consensus to finish close to .500 this season. It seems harsh, but the Brewers are counting on a return to form by right-hander Brandon Woodruff (at 33), and high-percentile development by fireballer Jacob Misiorowski to anchor the rotation. Christian Yelich, at 34, would have to play a full season again — which he’s managed in three of the past four years. Jackson Chourio was nearly a four-WAR player at age 20 in 2024. He could take a big step forward offensively this season. So could William Contreras, a two-time Silver Slugger winner whose power regressed a bit in ‘25. Having Andrew Vaughn around for 150 games could mean a lot, as long as his hitting performance in ‘25 wasn’t too fluky. He’s not projected to leave spring training with the big-league team, but infielder Andrew Fischer is a good bet to be helpful as a rookie soon.
2026 outlook: The W-L record is likely to regress, and the Cubs probably will overtake them in the division, but the projections for 81-82 wins also seem way too low. Too many things would have to go wrong. Still, they’re not moving closer to winning the franchise’s first World Series.
Chicago Cubs
2025 record: 92-70 (2nd place, NL Central)
He gone: OF Kyle Tucker, RHP Brad Keller, RHP Michael Soroka, 1B Justin Turner, LHP Drew Pomeranz
New faces: 3B Alex Bregman, RHP Edward Cabrera, RHP Phil Maton, RHP Hunter Harvey, LHP Hoby Milner
Biggest question entering Opening Day: Will the starting rotation stay healthy enough, and will the arms miss enough bats come playoff time, for the Cubs to make a run at the World Series? The addition of Cabrera via offseason trade will be key here, as will the possible return of left-hander Justin Steele at some point. Both have had trouble historically staying healthy. The Cubs had good but unspectacular starting pitching a season ago, finishing in the middle of the pack in Fangraphs WAR. Lefty Matthew Boyd led the team in starts (31) and innings pitched (179 2/3) in 2025, making the All-Star team and performing wonderfully overall. He’s also 35 years old with an extensive injury history. The other projected starters, including right-hander Cade Horton, lefty Shota Imanaga, and righties Jameson Taillon and Cabrera, also have their own question marks. For one reason or another, the Cubs are crossing their fingers for all of them.
2026 outlook: The offense should be among the top 10 (or better) but how Pete Crow-Armstrong adjusts after a weak final two months of ’25 will be key. The back of the bullpen is strong with Daniel Palencia, and they added four new middle relievers in the offseason. The Cubs look good, if not great, and could compete for the World Series if they get some breaks.
Cincinnati Reds
2025 record: 83-79 (3rd place, NL Central)
He gone: RHP Nick Martinez, 2B/OF Gavin Lux, OF Austin Hays, RHP Scott Barlow, LHP Brent Suter
New faces: DH/3B Eugenio Suarez, 1B Nathaniel Lowe, OF Dane Myers, RHP Pierce Johnson, LHP Caleb Ferguson
Biggest question entering Opening Day: Do the Reds have the best starting pitching in the league? The answer likely depends on how fast rookies Chase Burns and Rhett Lowder develop. But even if they’re not immediate All-Stars, the Reds’ starting corps finished second in Fangraphs WAR in 2025. Left-handers Andrew Abbott and Nick Lodolo, along with Hunter Greene, Brady Singer and the rookies aren’t all household names, but they’re a formidable bunch — and they’re all under 30 years old. Cincy’s competition for best rotation includes the Phillies and Dodgers. How Greene comes through surgery to remove bone chips in his elbow will matter a lot.
2026 outlook: The Reds’ bullpen is closer to middle-of-the-road and likely will limit them come October. The offense needs to get better, but the lineup figures to improve if Sal Stewart becomes a middle-of-the-order force, if Matt McLain rebounds and if Elly De La Cruz takes a step forward at age 24. None of those are unreasonable asks.
St. Louis Cardinals
2025 record: 78-84 (4th place, NL Central)
He gone: 3B Nolan Arenado, 1B Willson Contreras, 2B Brendan Donovan, RHP Sonny Gray, RHP Miles Mikolas
New faces: 2B JJ Wetherholt, RHP Dustin May, RHP Hunter Dobbins, RHP Ryne Stanek, LHP Brandon Clarke
Biggest question entering Opening Day: How long is it going to take team president Chaim Bloom to turn this thing around? By some accounts, the Cardinals’ farm system ranks just outside of the top 10, but it’s going to take more than a few prospects to bring back the glory days. Oli Marmol is in place as the skipper, and Bloom’s people have been running the minors and development. Wetherholt has a chance to win NL Rookie of the Year, and Masyn Winn, Lars Nootbaar, Alec Burleson and Ivan Herrera make up a portion of a potential winning core of position players. Matthew Liberatore and Michael McGreevy can be major league starters, though their upside might have limits. Aside from them, expect a lot of turnover in the next several years.
2026 outlook: The Cards won 78 games this past season and probably will be lucky to win more than 68 this time. And it might be worse. A Cardinals team hasn’t lost 100 games or more since 1908, but this one is going to come uncomfortably close — and that’s if things go well, relatively speaking.
Pittsburgh Pirates
2025 record: 71-91 (5th place, NL Central)
He gone: OF/DH Andrew McCutchen, OF Tommy Pham, RHP Johan Oviedo, RHP Mike Burrows
New faces: OF/1B Ryan O’Hearn, DH Marcell Ozuna, 2B Brandon Lowe, OF Jake Mangum, RHP Jose Urquidy
Biggest question entering Opening Day: Is Paul Skenes still going to be on the roster the next time the Pirates win a playoff game? At one point in time, into the second decade of the 2000s, it seemed like the Pirates would never have a winning season again. But the Gerrit Cole/Andrew McCutchen teams yielded three straight second-place finishes and postseason berths. It IS possible to win in the PNC Park era. But it’s been 11 years now. Pirates owner Bob Nutting finally spent some revenue-sharing dough this offseason, and their lineup is not bad, potentially, thanks in part to the additions of O’Hearn, Ozuna and Lowe. If slugger Bryan Reynolds can bounce back, and if Spencer Horwitz can clear the effects of his hamate bone injury, they’ll score a decent amount of runs.
2026 outlook: The Bucs risk wasting most of Skenes’ prime if they don’t start competing soon. Is there any chance they can make the postseason this year? PECOTA and Fangraphs projections say they could finish above .500, so yes. If star pupil Konnor Griffin gets promoted and runs away with NL Rookie of the Year, if Bubba Chandler gets strong results over a full season, and if Oneil Cruz snaps out of his funk, they could reach the mid- or upper-80s in victories.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Hurricanes, Golden Knights Appear Destined for Stanley Cup Final Clash
The Vegas Golden Knights have already punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final.
It is just a matter of time before the Carolina Hurricanes do the same.
The Hurricanes are one win away from dispatching the overmatched Montreal Canadiens and advancing to the championship round for the first time in 20 years.
Oh sure, the Canadiens may prolong the series with a victory in Friday’s Game 5, in Raleigh, N.C., but anybody wanting to bet on the long odds that Montreal can erase its 3-1 deficit in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals would be a fool parting with their money.
After serving up a dud in the series opener, a 6-2 Montreal victory, the Hurricanes have been the overwhelming better team, and hit another gear in the latest win.
Meanwhile, the Canadiens have managed only 43 shots on goal over the past three games, the exact same Carolina fired in the 4-0 victory on Wednesday.
The Canadiens have taken a big step forward this season, but the Hurricanes have shown the young Montreal squad must make a few more leaps to become legitimate Cup contenders.
Which means it is time to gear up for a showdown between the Eastern Conference’s regular-season champs and a Vegas squad that caught fire down the stretch thanks to a coaching change and provided the surprise of the playoffs to reach the final.
Here are some other thoughts as the Stanley Cup chase heads to the championship round.
As much as the injuries cost the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference finals, the Vegas Golden Knights were full marks for sweeping the league’s regular-season champions.
The Golden Knights are not easy to like with coach John Tortorella and his churlish ways, the cut-throat business decisions and past examples of flouting the rules, but it once again worked in Las Vegas.
The improved goaltending has been a huge boon to the Golden Knights, as has been the play of Mitch Marner, but the impact of replacing Bruce Cassidy with Tortorella with only a couple of weeks remaining in the regular season has been shockingly brilliant.
Tortorella must be credited for how he changed the fortunes without actually changing the system. With him at the helm, all of those players who were under-achieving found their footing just in time to win the Pillow Fight Pacific Division and since marched to the final.
And like Carolina, the Golden Knights have become better as every series continued along.
It will make for an interesting final round.
As for those who will decry a Carolina-Vegas matchup as not being sexy from a marketing perspective, they are missing the boat. The Golden Knights are proud to be the bad boys and a team people cheer against.
Finally, the post-mortem of Colorado’s season is an interesting study. First off, calls for the firing of coach Jared Bednar are absurd. Injuries, especially to Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon were fatal for the club.
That said, the Avalanche are in a precarious spot. Colorado will continue to be a contender, but the window for this core group’s second Stanley Cup title is closing quickly.
Other than Makar and forward Martin Necas, all of the team’s key players are past age 30, their goaltending eventually faltered when needed most and roster holes will become harder to fill for a team that has mortgaged its future in an attempt to duplicate its 2022 championship, having traded away its next three first-round picks.
The Avalanche braintrust must come up with some creative ways to remain a top dog.
Sports
Four-time Stanley Cup champ Claude Lemieux dies
May 25, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Former player Claude Lemieux carries the torch before Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Carolina Hurricanes and Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images Claude Lemieux, a four-time Stanley Cup champion who skated a fine line between being a clutch scorer and agitator, has died. He was 60.
The NHL Alumni Association announced the news Thursday but did not disclose a cause or date of death.
Lemieux played 21 seasons in the NHL and was awarded the 1994-95 Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP. He won two Stanley Cup titles with the New Jersey Devils (1994-95, 1999-2000) and one each with the Colorado Avalanche (1995-96) and Montreal Canadiens (1985-86).
Lemieux recorded 158 points (80 goals, 78 assists) and 529 penalty minutes in 234 playoff games. He had a team-leading 10 goals and four game-winning goals in aiding the Canadiens to their 23rd Stanley Cup title in 1985-86.
“Today is a dark day for the Canadiens family and the entire hockey community. I wish to express my most sincere and deepest condolences to Claude’s family and loved ones,” said Geoff Molson, owner and CEO of Groupe CH.
“A fierce competitor who rose to the occasion in big moments, Claude was a relentless, courageous, and tenacious player who led the team to the highest honors. He embodied the very essence of being a Montreal Canadiens player. Today we mourn the untimely passing of one of our champions. Our thoughts are with his family on this difficult day.”
The physical side also was on display with Lemieux, who infamously checked Detroit Red Wings forward Kris Draper into the boards during the 1996 Western Conference finals. The result of the check broke Draper’s jaw, nose and cheekbone, setting off fireworks between the teams while earning Lemieux a suspension for the first two games of the Avalanche’s Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers.
Lemieux had 786 points (379 goals, 407 assists) and 1,777 penalty minutes in 1,215 regular-season contests with the Canadiens, Devils, Avalanche, then-Phoenix Coyotes, Dallas Stars and San Jose Sharks.
The Quebec native was selected by the Canadiens in the second round of the 1983 NHL Draft.
Tu es chez toi ici, Claude Lemieux! ??
Welcome home, Claude Lemieux!#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/fQvfhZSNUB
— x – Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) May 26, 2026
On Monday, Lemieux greeted the Montreal crowd by carrying the torch into the Bell Centre prior to the start of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals against the visiting Carolina Hurricanes.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Why the Pacers Could Be Back in the NBA Finals Sooner Than Expected
May 31, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) and guard Andrew Nembhard (2) speak in the second quarter during game six of the eastern conference finals against the New York Knicks for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images For all the what-ifs to rattle Indiana Pacers fans over the past 11 months, here’s hoping they’ve done enough math to know that the associative property isn’t always elementary in the Association.
Neither is sustained health.
Even so, the coming months offer an oxymoron for Pacers faithful. Call it cruel optimism.
Fans know their team eliminated the newly crowned Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks and latest Knick doormat Cleveland Cavaliers en route to winning the East last season. If defending NBA champion Oklahoma City defeats San Antonio to win the West, they’ll surely stew anew about the Tyrese Haliburton Achilles injury and Game 7 loss to OKC in the 2025 Finals.
In the name of exorcising demons instead of exercising them, though, let’s direct Pacers fans to Haliburton’s X account. Recent footage suggests far more optimism than cruelty.
Two words – “Week 48” – introduce video of Hailburton looking sharp during a workout at the Pacers’ practice facility. See the two-time All-Star point guard run, cut, dribble, shoot and step back – all just shy of one year since sustaining a torn right Achilles tendon in the opening minutes of Finals Game 7 against the Thunder.
The video also shows Haliburton has made time for the weight room when not scrimmaging. He’s also still able to smile.
Haliburton posted on Tuesday, some five months before the 2026-27 season tips off. There’s musical accompaniment, of course; not “High Hopes” by Frank Sinatra, but Drake’s “Janice STFU.”
Sample lyrics of the SFW variety: “They tried to kill me once, but darling, you just resurrected me.”
Talk about confirming motivational buy-in from your star.
Haliburton said this month he expects to be a “full go” for the Pacers’ summer minicamp. Without a selection in the June draft, that gathering figures to be an encouraging reunion for a team whose health woes last season weren’t merely limited to the devastating June blow to “Hali.”
Coach Rick Carlisle dialed up nearly 50 starting lineups in 2025-26, as Pascal Siakam (62 starts) and Andrew Nembhard (57) were the equivalent of the team’s iron men. Meanwhile, center Ivica Zubac played in just six games after arriving in a February trade from the Los Angeles Clippers. Then a rib injury ended his season.
For Pacers fans leery to lean into the “What’s old is new again” motif so early – hey, it’s what they’ve got – the Haliburton video has a cousin.
How about this recent send-up of Carlisle from new Butler coach and former Pacers assistant Ronald Nored?
“He’s never stopped adjusting. He coached one way several years ago, and he was a Hall of Fame coach. And he coaches a completely different way now,” Nored told the Indianapolis Star. “To watch him and see he has progressed in his long career, continuing to want new ideas, understanding where the game is going next, was something that was really important for me to learn.”
Carlisle’s latest handiwork will be on display soon enough, as Haliburton works in with Zubac while the team touts the center it has lacked since Myles Turner left in free agency last summer.
What if next season’s Pacers jell early and stay cohesive? It’s fair to wonder.
A fan base that endured 25 years between Finals appearances to start the millennium may now only have to wait one more.
Hurricanes, Golden Knights Appear Destined for Stanley Cup Final Clash
Everything we know about iOS 27 ahead of WWDC 2026
