Sports
Oilers hope to keep staying afloat without Connor McDavid, face Flames
Nov 1, 2024; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Calgary Flames center Jonathan Huberdeau (10) celebrates his goal with teammates against the New Jersey Devils during the third period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images This season’s first full game without superstar Connor McDavid was a roaring success. Now, the goal for the Edmonton Oilers is to replicate their latest performance when they visit the Calgary Flames on Sunday.
The Oilers somewhat surprisingly limped out of the gates when the season kicked off, but thanks to a dominant 5-1 victory over the Nashville Predators on Thursday, they have won three of their past four games.
Winning in such emphatic fashion without McDavid, who is expected to miss two to three weeks due to an ankle injury, is a confidence boost.
“We don’t want to play without Connor, but everyone was just a bit better,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said after his team’s practice on Saturday. “Also, we were able to finish on our opportunities, which is something we haven’t been able to do earlier.”
The Oilers had huge expectations after reaching the Stanley Cup Final last season but opened the new campaign with three straight losses, including a 4-1 setback against the Flames on Oct. 13. Edmonton managed only two victories in its first seven outings.
Beating the Predators has the Oilers believing the ship has been righted.
“We’re pretty confident. We’re not just a one-man team,” Edmonton forward Zach Hyman insisted. “We have a lot of pieces that can step up. It’s nice to get that win, and before that we were confident as a group.
“Every team goes through injuries. It’s unfortunate we have the best player in the world and he’s not playing. It doesn’t help, but it does give others opportunities to step up and play better. That’s a good thing for this team. … Hopefully, when he comes back, we’re a better team.”
The Flames are coming off an impressive win of their own, a 3-0 home-ice victory over the New Jersey Devils on Friday, which snapped a four-game skid.
“We deserved to win, I thought our effort was much better all around,” said Calgary forward Blake Coleman, who scored twice against New Jersey. “I thought we checked tight, didn’t give up a whole lot and when we did, Vladdy (goaltender Dan Vladar) was great. That’s the way we’ve got to play, we know that, and we know we got away from it for a couple games. It’s a tough brand of hockey, but when we’re on, that’s what we look like.”
Vladar, who stopped 22 shots to post the shutout, will likely be in net against the Oilers, breaking the rotation the Flames had been using.
“It’s a huge win for us after a couple losses in a row. I want to point that out,” Vladar said. “Obviously, this is a nice day for me … but the most important thing is two points.”
The Flames returned home after a horrid road trip in which they lost two games by a combined score of 10-1, with the second setback coming in Calgary captain Mikael Backlund’s 1,000th career game. Backlund was honored prior to puck drop against the Devils.
“Mikael’s an emotional guy, too, so I think it means probably more to him than people would think, just because of the way he is,” Flames coach Ryan Huska said. “We didn’t play well the last game in Utah, and I felt like we got a little bit closer to the way our team needs to play to have success, and it was even nicer to see it done on a special night for Mikael.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Red Sox tie club mark with 15th straight win in DH opener vs. O's
Jul 22, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox third baseman Caleb Durbin (5) hits a two run RBI double against the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images Ceddanne Rafaela homered, Jarren Duran drove in three runs and the Boston Red Sox tied a franchise record for consecutive victories with 15 by beating the visiting Baltimore Orioles 6-3 in the first game of a split doubleheader Wednesday.
The Red Sox, who also won 15 straight during the 1946 season, haven’t lost since a 10-2 home setback against the Washington Nationals on July 1.
Boston starter Jake Bennett (6-3) pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on nine hits and struck out five. Aroldis Chapman tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his 23rd save of 2026 and 390th overall, tying him for ninth on the all-time list with former Red Sox pitcher Dennis Eckersley.
Dean Kremer (1-3) gave up six runs on eight hits in six innings. He struck out five and walked one.
Rafaela, Caleb Durbin and Willson Contreras each collected two hits for the Red Sox, who never trailed.
Baltimore received a solo home run from Christian Encarnacion-Strand, who had three hits and two RBIs.
Durbin’s two-run single and a two-run triple from Duran handed Boston a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
Baltimore made it 4-1 in the third, when Pete Alonso doubled and scored on Tyler O’Neill’s two-out double that Rafaela lost in the sun.
The Red Sox regained a four-run lead in the bottom of the third. Durbin scored on Duran’s sacrifice fly to make it a 5-1 contest.
Encarnacion-Strand’s home run came against Bennett in the fourth and cut Boston’s lead to 5-2. It was his second home run in as many games since being called up from Triple-A Norfolk on Thursday.
Rafaela’s home run, his ninth of the season, extended Boston’s edge to 6-2 in the bottom of the fourth, but Encarnacion-Strand’s third hit of the game was an RBI single that drove in Coby Mayo and trimmed Boston’s advantage to 6-3 in the sixth.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Guardians star 3B Jose Ramirez activated, batting second
Jun 8, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez (11) celebrates after scoring during the third inning against the New York Yankees at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images In a virtual tie atop the American League Central, the Cleveland Guardians received a major boost with the activation of star third baseman Jose Ramirez, who is in the starting lineup and batting second Wednesday against the visiting Minnesota Twins.
Ramirez, 33, a seven-time All-Star and six-time Silver Slugger, had been out since June 13 with a left hamate fracture. He underwent surgery three days later and was given a timetable of five to seven weeks. Wednesday marked five weeks and a day since the procedure.
In a corresponding move, outfielder Kahlil WIlson was optioned to Triple-A Columbus.
Without Ramirez, the Guardians went 15-15 but struggled offensively, ranking 28th in the majors in runs (121) and 26th in OPS (.690). In 72 games this season, the 14-year veteran is hitting .239 with 10 home runs and 33 RBIs, along with 18 doubles and 24 stolen bases.
In other injury news, Cleveland outfielder Angel Martinez began a rehab assignment on Friday after suffering a non-displaced left foot fracture the same day of Ramirez’s injury.
Martinez played seven innings in his third rehab game for Triple-A Akron on Tuesday and could be activated by this weekend, MLB.com reported. In 66 games this season for Cleveland, he has hit .239 with 11 home runs and 33 RBIs.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Spain's Gavi: No suspension for Argentina’s Leandro Paredes
July 19, 2026; East Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S.; Argentina’s Leandro Paredes clashes with Spain’s Gavi next to assistant coach Walter Samuel. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-Imagn Images Spain midfielder Gavi doesn’t feel Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes should be suspended for his postgame tirade following Spain’s 1-0 victory in Sunday’s World Cup final.
Tensions were high after the match and Paredes had a hand in elevating them further. While players were mixing it up, Paredes charged in from behind and crashed into Gavi, eliciting further pushing and shoving and an occasional swing.
FIFA said earlier this week it will have a prosecutor conduct an investigation.
Still, Gavi said Paredes shouldn’t receive a ban.
“I don’t think he should be suspended,” Gavi said after the match. “I understand it’s not a good image for children, but I think there’s also that side to football, which is a bit more physical, more aggressive.
“The most logical thing would have been to send him off during the match, and that’s it. In the end, I think it’s all football, and it has to be that way.”
Gavi became involved in the incident after attempting to intervene in a confrontation that involved teammate Eric Garcia.
At one point, Paredes was listed as receiving a red card for his postgame actions. That was deleted a short time later.
After the match, Paredes was asked about the incident.
“I was just talking to them after the match,” Paredes said. “Things got heated with their teammates being aggressive. … They didn’t need to get physical like that. It was childish.”
Ferran Torres scored the decisive goal in the 106th minute for Spain.
–Field Level Media
Red Sox tie club mark with 15th straight win in DH opener vs. O's
Guardians star 3B Jose Ramirez activated, batting second
