Sports
Sabres seek sixth straight victory as Canadiens come to town
Jan 29, 2026; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres right wing Alex Tuch (89)celebrates his third goal of the game with teammates during the third period against the Los Angeles Kings at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images Two of the NHL’s best stories so far this season will highlight a busy Saturday slate as the Montreal Canadiens head south of the border to face the division-rival Buffalo Sabres.
The Sabres come into the clash as the league’s hottest team, carrying a five-game win streak, while the high-flying Canadiens enter as winners of their past two, including a 7-3 thrashing of the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche on Thursday.
Captain Nick Suzuki tallied two goals and an assist, while Juraj Slafkovsky and Kirby Dach each finished with a goal and an assist in the blowout victory.
“Yeah, it feels great,” Suzuki remarked to the media when asked about the Canadiens back-to-back wins over formidable opponents in the Vegas Golden Knights and Avalanche. “Our division and the conference is super tight and every point is going to matter coming down to the stretch.”
Lane Hutson, Ivan Demidov, Oliver Kapanen and Zack Bolduc also chipped in with a pair of assists each in the victory.
Despite conquering the league’s top team, Slafkovsky kept his eyes set on their upcoming divisional clash in the postgame presser.
“We had a good start from the first shift, we were making plays,” Slafkovsky said when asked about the victory. “… It’s a big win for us for sure, but now we have to focus on Saturday.”
Montreal has plenty of reason to give its upcoming contest extra attention, seeing as Buffalo has already taken down the Canadiens twice this month, with a 5-3 home victory on Jan. 15, followed up by a 4-2 road win on Jan. 22.
A date with the Sabres is no longer the walk in the park that it had been for so many years.
With their last playoff appearance dating back to 2011, the Sabres were year after year one of the league’s punching bags. Thanks to a 17-6-3 home record and a tie in points with the Canadiens for the third spot in the Atlantic division, the tide finally seems to be turning in Western New York.
After wins on the road against the Nashville Predators, Montreal, the New York Islanders and the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Sabres returned home and secured a 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.
Alex Tuch had a hat trick and Alex Lyon set a franchise record with his 10th consecutive victory between the pipes for Buffalo.
“So, for me. I’m just happy for the team,” Lyon humbly said when speaking to the media about his record-setting accomplishment. “My goal coming into the season was to help win games and try to fight for that ultimate goal, and that’s what’s most important to me.”
Jack Quinn tallied a trio of assists and Ryan McLeod picked up a pair as well to help the Sabres notch their 20th win over their past 24 games (20-3-1).
“We’re coming in with a lot of confidence,” Tuch said to the media. “Everybody’s coming in trying to prove themselves, and we’re trying to prove as a team that we’re legit. We’re not just gonna go for the playoffs, we’re gonna go for the (Stanley) Cup, and that’s our goal: get better each and every day.”
A franchise that has yet to etch its name on the side of Lord Stanley’s silver since their inception in 1970, their first playoff appearance in 15 years would seemingly be a huge step toward turning dreams into reality for Sabres fans.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Alex Palou takes checkers at rain-delayed Music City Grand Prix
NTT IndyCar Series driver Alex Palou (10) crosses the finish line ahead of Josef Newgarden (2) and David Malukas (12) to win the Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tenn., Monday, July 20, 2026. Alex Palou got a day off to celebrate his native Spain’s triumph in the World Cup final before hitting the racetrack and adding to his own trophy collection.
Palou won the rain-delayed Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix on Monday afternoon in Lebanon, Tenn., for his fifth title in 12 races this season.
The race was originally scheduled for Sunday after Fox concluded its coverage of the World Cup final, in which Spain bested Argentina 1-0 for the country’s second title. But as the racers waited — and Palou celebrated — storms rolled across Nashville Superspeedway. By the time the track was dried later Sunday night, another spate of storms made it impossible to fit in the race.
“That’s a pretty cool weekend for Spain, right? It was impressive what they did (Sunday) over at the World Cup. Happy to top it off today on Monday. My first-ever win on Monday, never raced on Monday, so it’s very cool.”
Palou, 29, inched closer to his fourth straight series championship and fifth in six years. He gained an additional 27 points on the field and leads David Malukas by 83 with six races left to go.
Driving his No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, Palou finished 0.8731 seconds ahead of defending Nashville champion Josef Newgarden. Malukas, Newgarden’s Team Penske teammate, placed third. Palou led a race-high 97 laps.
Malukas, 24, hit his right knee against the steering wheel in a crash at practice Saturday and spent some time in the hospital this weekend for tests. The Indianapolis 500 runner-up was told he didn’t break or tear anything in the knee.
He went from last at the start of the race to third, leading 59 laps along the way.
“It’s so cool to see, when you have all these people work on a collective project, you can see it come to fruition and it’s gonna happen,” Malukas said. “And what a result. We needed that for the championship (race). We’re still there. It’s a good result, good recovery. Big thank-you to everybody. That was the hardest race of my life.”
Kyle Kirkwood, starting from pole position, settled for 10th.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Marlins All-Star RHP Max Meyer (neck) goes on IL
Jul 18, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Miami Marlins pitcher Max Meyer (23) throws a pitch during the third inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images The Miami Marlins placed All-Star right-hander Max Meyer on the 15-day injured list Monday due to a neck strain.
The move is retroactive to Sunday.
Meyer departed after three innings of Saturday’s start against the Milwaukee Brewers. He gave up two runs and three hits before exiting.
Meyer, 27, struggled despite having off since July 7. He didn’t pitch in last Tuesday’s All-Star Game.
Meyer (9-1, 2.68 ERA) has made 20 starts and pitched a career-high 111 innings. He has 121 strikeouts.
He entered the season with 25 games of big-league experience.
“We are in uncharted territory with this, but also, we don’t have any concern as much as, we do the responsible thing is just to be aware and cognizant of we do have a young athlete that is and already has surpassed a number of career highs,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough told reporters.
Miami recalled right-hander Zach Brzykcy from Triple-A Jacksonville. He gave up one run in two innings in his lone appearance for the Marlins on June 30.
Overall, Brzykcy has made 33 major relief appearances and is 0-1 with a 9.68 ERA.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Spain new No. 1 in FIFA rankings; Norway are biggest climber
Spain midfielder Rodri (16) holds up a trophy after the FIFA World Cup Final game at MetLife Stadium, Jul 19, 2026, East Rutherford, NJ, USA. Spain overtook Argentina for the No. 1 spot in the FIFA men’s world rankings Monday, as expected after La Roja defeated the defending champions 1-0 in the World Cup final on Sunday.
Argentina were the No. 1 team in the world rankings as of the last official rankings update on June 11, the day the 48-team World Cup began in Mexico. Spain entered the tournament No. 2.
France and England remained third and fourth, respectively, despite England’s 6-4 triumph over the French in the World Cup third-place match. France still had enough of a cushion in the total points column to absorb that head-to-head defeat.
Brazil and Morocco moved past Portugal for the fifth and sixth spots. Portugal lost 1-0 to regional rival Spain in the round of 16.
Mexico climbed four spots in the 10th position after their strong showing at the World Cup. They went 3-0-0 in the group stage and blanked Ecuador 2-0 in the round of 32 before England pulled out a 3-2 win in the next round in Mexico City.
The United States also inched up one spot to No. 16 after winning their group and shutting out Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32. The Americans’ tournament ended in a disappointing 4-1 defeat at the hands of Belgium, who are now ranked eighth in the world.
But the biggest climbers were none other than Erling Haaland and Norway, who moved up 12 spots to No. 19.
The Vikings became one of the darlings of the tournament after getting through to the knockouts and upsetting Brazil in the round of 16. Their tournament also ended at the hands of England, 2-1 in the quarterfinals, but it was Norway’s furthest World Cup run in their history.
The nation with the largest drop since June, Tunisia, also moved 12 spots. They now sit back at No. 57 after being the only African nation out of 10 in the field not to qualify for the knockouts.
FIFA Men’s World Rankings (as of July 20, 2026)
1. Spain
2. Argentina
3. France
4. England
5. Brazil
6. Morocco
7. Portugal
8. Belgium
9. Netherlands
10. Mexico
11. Colombia
12. Germany
13. Croatia
14. Switzerland
15. Italy
16. United States
17. Japan
18. Senegal
19. Norway
20. Uruguay
21. Denmark
22. Iran
23. Austria
24. Egypt
25. Ecuador
–Field Level Media
Alex Palou takes checkers at rain-delayed Music City Grand Prix
Marlins All-Star RHP Max Meyer (neck) goes on IL
