Sports
Pat Riley plans to run Heat, not into retirement, at 81
Apr 1, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat president Pat Riley looks on after the game against the Boston Celtics at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images He celebrated his 81st birthday last month but Heat president Pat Riley is “really pissed” and fully committed to getting Miami back to the playoffs next season.
“I’m not going to retire. I’m not going to resign,” Riley said Monday. “I’m not going to step aside. When I came here almost 31 years ago, I have the same attitude as I had in that press conference on the (cruise line ship) Imagination. Period. I want another parade down Biscayne Blvd. It may come. It may not. It has always been my desire is to win, to win big. I’m not going down that road talking about (retiring). I just clarified it’s not going to happen unless something happens that I can’t control.”
Riley said the only philosophical approach that could lead him to walk away from his 32nd year with the Heat would be ownership deciding to “tank” in an effort to stockpile draft picks. Miami hasn’t been in the lottery — picks 1-14 in the NBA draft — since 2018. But the Heat are in the lottery this year.
Miami missed the playoffs for the first time since 2018-19 when the Charlotte Hornets beat the Heat in the 9-10 play-in game earlier this month.
“You don’t make radical changes right now, not in my philosophy,” Riley said. “I am not going to tank. We are not going to lose. We are not going into the lottery and do that insanity because I will quit — if I ever get ordered to go down that road. I am always thinking of ways to win. Now all I can give you is a bunch of excuses. And I don’t want to do that. We are just not good enough. We are not happy with it. This is the first time in those three years that we have an opportunity to do something with our roster, with our flexibility, with our players.”
The decision ultimately falls to ownership, Riley acknowledged as part of an admission that outside perception on the pecking order and power structure in Miami. He said the gavel on personnel decisions and organizational plans has always rested with Heat owner Micky Arison.
“There are times when he said, ‘No. I don’t think we should go down that road,'” Riley said of Arison’s role in the decision-making structure of the Heat. “And that is the way it is today. I don’t have final say here. I never had it. Never had it when I came, and quite frankly, I don’t think I want it.”
Arison purchased the Heat franchise in 1995 and hired Riley, who said he still feels the same fire to deliver a winner. Losing and not making the postseason fanned those flames, he said.
“I’m really pissed,” Riley said. “I’m disappointed. Disgruntled. Just like everybody else in the organization that understands what we are about — about winning. The last three or four years, with (the) exception of the ’23 season when we got all the way to the Finals, has been something that I am not, we are not proud of.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
NHL hearing with Senators F Ridly Greig set for May 4
Apr 20, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Ottawa Senators center Ridly Greig (71) is tripped by Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Sean Walker (26) during the second period in game two of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images The NHL’s Department of Player Safety set a hearing for May 4 to address Ottawa Senators forward Ridly Greig’s sucker punch of an opponent.
The department’s announcement Tuesday did not describe it as an in-person hearing, which would be necessary to issue a suspension longer than five games. The Ottawa Citizen previously reported the hearing will be conducted by phone.
Greig was penalized for roughing Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Sean Walker on Saturday in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference first-round series. The Hurricanes won that game to complete a 4-0 sweep, ending Ottawa’s season, so any suspension would be applied to next season.
The incident occurred during a stoppage in play midway through the second period of Game 4. Walker was involved in a scrum with Warren Foegele when Greig approached the pair and appeared to throw a punch that caught Walker up high and dropped him down to the ice.
Greig, 23, completed his fourth season in the NHL with 13 goals and 22 assists for 35 points over 77 games. The assist and point totals marked career highs, while it was the third straight season he finished with 13 goals. He also amassed 83 penalty minutes.
He had one assist and two penalty minutes for Ottawa in the first-round series.
–Field Level Media
Sports
WWE reaches deal with The CW to broadcast NXT premium live events
Jan 28, 2023; San Antonio, TX, USA; WWE Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque aka Triple H speaks during a press conference after the WWE Royal Rumble at the Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images The WWE announced on Tuesday that it has reached a deal with The CW to broadcast all NXT premium live events exclusively on network going forward.
That deal is set to begin with The Great American Bash this summer and will include the next 20 PLEs over the next several years, airing them simultaneously live across the country.
This will bring the entirety of the television programming for NXT, which “showcases WWE’s hottest up-and-coming Superstars,” to The CW. The network already broadcasts the weekly NXT show on Tuesdays.
“WWE NXT has energized our Tuesday nights by consistently delivering a loyal and passionate fanbase to The CW every week,” Brad Schwartz, president of The CW, said in a statement. “Adding WWE NXT Premium Live Events to our schedule is a natural fit, providing one broadcast destination for audiences to watch all their favorite Superstars, storylines and championship matches.”
NXT, which began airing weekly in 2012, is less than two years into a five-year deal it signed with CW in October 2024 to broadcast its weekly programming.
“The CW has played an integral role in raising the profile of our up-and-coming Superstars, and we are excited to bring NXT Premium Live Events to broadcast television for the first time ever,” Shawn Michaels, WWE senior vice president of talent development creative, said in a statement.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Bucs exercise 5th-year option on DT Calijah Kancey
NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive Calijah Kancey The Buccaneers exercised the fifth-year option for defensive tackle Calijah Kancey on Monday, ensuring he remains in Tampa through the 2027 season.
The option reportedly gives Kancey $14.475 million in guaranteed money for the 2027 campaign.
Kancey went on injured reserve on Sept. 17 with a torn pectoral muscle that required what was reported at the time to be season-ending surgery, though he returned for the final game of the season.
The 25-year-old has been hampered by injuries since entering the league in 2023. He missed three of the first four games of his rookie season with a calf injury and was sidelined again by a calf injury to start the 2024 season, though he returned to finish that season with 7.5 sacks in the final 12 games.
The 2023 first-round draft pick (19th overall) has recorded 11.5 sacks, 30 quarterback hits, 55 tackles, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble in 29 career games (28 starts).
–Field Level Media
NHL hearing with Senators F Ridly Greig set for May 4
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