Sports
Panthers hand Oilers 5th straight setback
Feb 27, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid (97) moves the puck as Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad (5) defends during the first period at Amerant Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Anton Lundell posted one goal and two assists as the host Florida Panthers overcame another Leon Draisaitl goal, defeating the slumping Edmonton Oilers 4-3 on Thursday night in Sunrise, Fla.
The Oilers have lost five straight games. Florida has won four of its past five games.
Draisaitl scored for the seventh straight game. He leads the NHL with 44 goals.
Fellow Oilers superstar Connor McDavid was held to one assist. Ironically, McDavid was drafted first overall 10 years ago at this facility in Sunrise.
With McDavid relatively quiet, it was little-known Panthers defenseman Nate Schmidt who had the go-ahead goal with 8:52 left in the third. Schmidt was the trailer, taking a drop pass from A.J. Greer before ringing a shot in off the right post for a 3-2 lead.
Carter Verhaeghe and Uvis Balinskis had Florida’s other goals, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 24 saves.
Zach Hyman and Brett Kulak had Edmonton’s other goals, and Stuart Skinner made 32 saves.
Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk missed his third straight game due to a lower-body injury. But Panthers forward Eetu Luostarinen returned after he and his wife had a daughter.
Edmonton was without defenseman Darnell Nurse (undisclosed injury).
Florida appeared to take a 1-0 lead with 12:53 left in the first period. But Verhaeghe’s would-be goal was negated by an offsides call.
It was the third straight game that a Panthers goal was wiped out by a video review.
The Panthers got on the board for real with 7:32 remaining in the first as Lundell won a face-off right back to Balinskis, who shot the puck in off the stick of Oilers forward Adam Henrique.
The Oilers tied the score with 5:19 left in the first as Kulak — on the rush — took a pass from Vasily Podkolzin. Kulak shot quickly from the left circle, handcuffing Bobrovsky to the far post.
With 4:30 remaining in the second, Florida took a 2-1 lead as Aaron Ekblad’s pass deflected in off Lundell’s left skate.
But the Oilers tied the score exactly two minutes later on the goal by Draisaitl. The play started when John Klingberg forced Mackie Samoskevich into a turnover in the neutral zone. Draisaitl swooped in, shielded the puck from defenseman Gustav Forsling before flipping his shot over Bobrovsky’s glove.
After Schmidt’s goal, Verhaeghe scored a goal that actually counted, giving Florida a 4-2 lead with 6:09 left.
Edmonton cut its deficit to 4-3 on Hyman’s goal with 3:25 left. McDavid had the primary assist.
But the Panthers, who defeated the Oilers in the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals, beat Edmonton in both of this regular season’s matchups. Florida also won 6-5 in Edmonton on Dec. 16.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: RB David Montgomery 'wants out' of Detroit
Dec 25, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery (5) looks on before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images Lions running back David Montgomery “wants out” of Detroit after three seasons, ESPN reported on Sunday.
Montgomery, however, immediately appeared to refute the report on X, posting: “Damn, Dmo told you that?”
The ESPN report claims the Lions would want “a decent Day 3 pick (possibly a fifth-rounder)” in the 2026 NFL Draft in return for Montgomery, who turns 29 in June and is owed $6 million next season.
The report follows general manager Brad Holmes’ remarks after the season about Montgomery being unhappy with his playing time in 2025. Sharing a backfield with Jahmyr Gibbs, Montgomery rushed for a career-low 716 yards and eight touchdowns in 17 games (no starts).
“Those are conversations that we’re going to have to have because I’ve got a lot of respect for that player,” Holmes said of Montgomery in January. “He deserves to be in a situation where his skillset can be utilized, and so yeah would love for it to be here, but if it can’t be here then you’d just love to see where could work out best for him.”
At the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday, Holmes said the situation with Montgomery is “fluid.” He signed a two-year extension during the 2024 season that runs through the end of the 2027 campaign.
“Yeah, I have been in touch with David’s agent, and his representation,” Holmes revealed. “Obviously, we love David, he’s a great player, we love to have him, you know, kind of want to put last year in the rear view, and just move forward. But, obviously, a player has to want to be at a certain place as well. The conversations are still fluid, but we’ll see how it goes.”
Montgomery has rushed for 2,506 yards and 33 touchdowns in 45 games (28 starts) in three seasons with Detroit (2023-25). He has 76 catches for 650 yards in that span.
He began his career with the NFC North rival Chicago Bears, who drafted him in the third round in 2019. Montgomery rushed for 3,609 yards and 26 scores in 60 games (51 starts) with the Bears (2019-22).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Yankees LHP Ryan Yarbrough joins U.S. roster for WBC
Jun 18, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Ryan Yarbrough (33) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images New York Yankees left-hander Ryan Yarbrough was added to the Team USA roster for the upcoming World Baseball Classic on Sunday.
The 34-year-old reliever replaces Minnesota Twins right-hander Joe Ryan, who is dealing with low back tightness. Ryan moves into the designated pitcher pool, meaning he is eligible for a call-up after each round of the WBC.
Yarbrough went 3-1 with a 4.36 ERA and one save in 19 games (eight starts) during his first season with the Yankees in 2025, striking out 55 batters and walking 19 in 64 innings.
Ryan Yarbrough has been added to our roster for the World Baseball Classic!#ForGlory???? pic.twitter.com/RrtKJQ20gz
— USA Baseball (@USABaseball) March 1, 2026
Team USA will play its first game of the 2026 WBC on Friday night, meeting Brazil in a Pool B contest in Houston.
Yarbrough has a career record of 56-41 with a 4.22 ERA and four saves in 215 games (76 starts) with the Tampa Bay Rays (2018-22), Kansas City Royals (2023), Los Angeles Dodgers (2023-24), Toronto Blue Jays (2024) and Yankees. The side-arming southpaw signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal in November to return to New York in 2026.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Ex-pitcher Dan Serafini gets life sentence for '21 murder
Dan Serafini (file photo) pitched in MLB with seven teams. He was convited of first-degree murder. Former major league pitcher Dan Serafini was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Friday for the 2021 shootings of his in-laws in North Lake Tahoe, Calif.
Serafini, 52, was convicted in July of the first-degree murder of father-in-law Gary Spohr and the attempted first-degree murder of mother-in-law Wendy Wood during a burglary. Spohr, 70, died from a single gunshot and Wood, then 68, survived but died by suicide the following year.
In the courtroom on Friday in Auburn, Calif., Placer County prosecutor Morgan Gire described Spohr and Wood as loving grandparents.
“The impact of this attack has extended far beyond the immediate victims, deeply affecting family members and the broader community, and highlighting the lasting harm caused by deliberate violence,” Gire said.
Serafini, who pitched for six MLB teams from 1996 to 2007, addressed the court and maintained his innocence. He said he was out partying with his wife, Erin Spohr, at the time of the shooting and referred to himself as a “broken, imperfect man that makes mistakes,” according to MyNews4.
The Minnesota Twins selected Serafini, a native of the San Francisco area, with the No. 26 overall pick in the 1992 MLB Draft. He made his debut in 1996 and went on to appear in 104 games (33 starts) with the Twins, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and Colorado Rockies before his retirement in 2007.
He had a 15-16 record with a 6.04 ERA and one save. He threw 263 2/3 innings and struck out 127 batters.
–Field Level Media
Report: RB David Montgomery 'wants out' of Detroit
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