Sports
Sharks resume push to end playoff drought by facing Flames
Jan 31, 2026; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; San Jose Sharks center MacKlin Celebrini (71) during the face off against the Calgary Flames during the third period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images The long-term goal for the San Jose Sharks will be to snap a six-year playoff drought.
The short-term quest when the Sharks host the Calgary Flames on Thursday is to snap a four-game losing skid.
As both teams return to action from the Olympic break, the Sharks are a handful of points out of a playoff position, but still close enough to make a strike, a big shift from finishing near the bottom of the league the past couple of campaigns.
“Excited to start playing again. It’s gonna be great,” said rising star forward Macklin Celebrini, who returned from winning silver with Canada at the Olympics. “It was a long break and I know the guys are excited to get started playing again, especially with our goal in mind.”
The Sharks have been in the playoff mix much of the season, but are well aware of the need to snap their skid, which included a loss to the Flames. San Jose went into the break after suffering a 4-2 road loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Feb. 4.
Celebrini, who had a huge hand in Canada’s success despite being a few months shy of his 20th birthday, returns to the club believing he learned plenty while being around the likes of Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid for a couple of weeks.
Celebrini said he noticed how the top players have a winning mentality he wants to replicate.
“A lot of those guys have won the Stanley Cup and won so many other things,” he said. “Being around them and knowing what you have to do to get to that goal, you see the habits and preparation they have.”
The Flames are a half-dozen points back of the Sharks, and are not only a longer shot to reach the Stanley Cup tournament but also coping with a whirlwind of trade rumors.
The likes of veterans Blake Coleman, Nazem Kadri and MacKenzie Weegar are all potential trade targets for other clubs heading into the March 6 trade deadline.
“For me, it’s always a focus on where I am,” Kadri said. “I’m not a one-foot-out-the-door kind of guy, wherever I am. I exert my full energy and give it 110%, so I try not to let it affect me too much. We’re all human in that sense, but you know, I’m a Calgary Flame, and my dedication is to here, for now.”
The Flames went into the break on a high after beating the Edmonton Oilers by a 4-3 score on Feb. 4. However, Calgary has only two victories in its last eight games (2-4-2).
On the positive, the Flames will receive a boost to the lineup with Coleman back in action after missing 11 games due to injury. Calgary also expects to have depth with forward John Beecher suiting up after missing 14 games due to injury and energy forward Martin Pospisil ready to play after skating for Slovakia during the Olympics.
“This gives us a group of forwards that have good speed to their game, and can a physical gritty game,” coach Ryan Huska said. “It gives us nice options going forward.”
Pospisil, who missed the first half of the season due a concussion, is eager to build on a solid performance at the Olympics, and see if the team can make a playoff push.
“Start winning right away, and just keep rolling,” he said. “I know there’s gonna be lots of games.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cubs crack double digits again; Mets tumble to 9th straight loss
Apr 17, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs designated hiter Moises Ballesteros (25) rounds the bases after hitting a three-run home run against the New York Mets during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images Moises Ballesteros hit a three-run homer to cap a four-run first inning for the host Chicago Cubs, who continued surging Friday afternoon with a 12-4 win over the free-falling New York Mets.
The Cubs have scored at least 10 runs in each of their last three games, all victories — the longest streak for the club since Sept. 13-15, 2019.
The Mets have lost nine straight, a span in which they’ve been outscored 56-16. The losing streak is the longest for New York since an 11-game skid from Aug. 28-Sept. 8, 2004.
Seiya Suzuki laced an RBI single off Kodai Senga (0-3) one pitch before Ballesteros homered to left. The Mets responded with a three-run second against Edward Cabrera (2-0), who gave up an RBI double to Marcus Semien and a two-run single to Tyrone Taylor, who was thrown out trying to extend the hit into a double.
Nico Hoerner answered with a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning.
Ian Happ scored on an error by first baseman Brett Baty in the fourth and the Cubs scored three runs in the seventh, when Matt Shaw had an RBI double and scored on a wild pitch before Dansby Swanson lofted a sacrifice fly to make it 10-3.
Happ added a two-run shot in the eighth, his fifth home run of the year.
Hoerner went 3-for-5 as he raised his average to .342. Suzuki, Ballesteros and Michael Busch had two hits apiece.
Cabrera gave up three runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out four over six innings.
Francisco Alvarez had an RBI single in the eighth for the Mets and finished with two hits. Semien, Taylor, Francisco Lindor and MJ Melendez also had two hits.
Senga allowed seven runs (six earned) on six hits and three walks while striking out three over 3 1/3 innings. He has surrendered 14 runs (13 earned) in his last two starts, easily his most over a two-start span in his four-year career.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Matt Fitzpatrick catches break en route to 63, takes RBC Heritage lead
Apr 17, 2026; Hilton Head, South Carolina, USA; Matt Fitzpatrick putts on 16 green during the second round of the RBC Heritage golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images Matt Fitzpatrick of England shot a spotless, 8-under 63 to vault into the lead halfway through the RBC Heritage on Friday in Hilton Head Island, S.C.
Fitzpatrick climbed to 14-under 128 at Harbour Town Golf Links, while Norway’s Viktor Hovland came close to tying him at the end of the day but settled for a 65 and second place at 13 under.
Harris English sits third at 10 under following a 68, and first-round leader Ludvig Aberg of Sweden made three back-nine bogeys on his way to 70, slipping into a tie at 9 under with Patrick Cantlay (64) and Austrian Sepp Straka (67).
There is no 36-hole cut at the post-Masters signature event with a $20 million purse. Justin Thomas, last year’s champion, will be grateful to see the weekend as he’s fallen to dead last in the 82-man field following rounds of 76 and 75 (9 over).
Fitzpatrick, 31, won the Heritage in 2023 in its first year as a signature event. With the course comfortability came a lucky break at the par-3 14th on Friday.
His tee shot flew far left of the green, but his ball appeared to bounce off a tree and a cart path to come back to the green with some speed. It nearly rolled all the way off into the water, but a sprinkler head helped bring it to a stop. The head allowed Fitzpatrick a free drop for relief, and from just off the green he drilled a 33-foot putt for birdie.
Akshay Bhatia matched Fitzpatrick for the round of the day, shooting 63 and tying a tournament single-round record with 11 birdies. After a poor first round, he moved up to 6 under on the leaderboard.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Kyle Larson looks to defend title at Kansas' AdventHealth 400
Apr 12, 2026; Bristol, Tennessee, USA; Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson (5) at Bristol Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images Through eight Cup Series races, five different drivers have been the first to the checkers and positioned their teams nicely at the top of the standings.
Reigning series champion Kyle Larson is hoping it’s his turn to join that list Sunday at the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan.
In its effort to crown a championship by creating more competition in every race instead of a Game 7 scenario for just four drivers, NASCAR scrapped its system and revisited the “Chase” format reminiscent of 2004’s Chase for the Nextel Cup, which had 10 drivers competing in a 10-race playoff.
Some variations made their way into the new 16-race postseason, but the most significant is the 55-point reward to each race winner, a 15-point bump from 2025.
Though five drivers have won a race so far, 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick has been victorious in half, owning four total victories to give him a 62-point advantage over second-place Ryan Blaney.
Winning mattered a lot in 2025. First, it was a “win and you’re in” the playoffs, then it was tacking on postseason points with another. Finally, winning in the final three stages advanced a driver to the next one.
However, winning matters even more now and can create a gap from the pack from Race 1 to Race 36, even after a lone 26-race reset that favors the points leader.
Win a lot and a hot shoe can be in Reddick’s perch, sitting pretty in the catbird seat.
Denny Hamlin, Bristol first-time victor Ty Gibbs and Chase Elliott occupy third through fifth, which leads to the first non-winner in sixth place, Larson.
Hamlin arrives at Kansas as one of the betting favorites, but Larson appears on a quest because the Hendrick Motorsports pilot has yet to end a race as the top dog on a Cup Series Sunday.
It’s been a minute since grabbing the checkers.
Larson finds himself in a unique position Sunday: It marks the final time this regular season where he is a defending race winner. The Elk Grove, Calif., product also won at Homestead-Miami (this season’s finale) in March of 2025 and Bristol last spring.
“I feel like we’re really close, like we could have won four to five races in this time span of not winning, maybe even more,” said Larson, who has 260 points and is second to Blaney with 72 stage points. “It’s kind of wild to think it’s been almost a year since I’ve won because I don’t feel like we’re that bad. … It just hasn’t happened.”
Larson, 33, said last November’s championship in the Arizona desert made his current 32-race winless streak seem like no big deal, saying, “Ultimately, celebrating the championship in Phoenix felt like a win in a lot of ways.”
The two-time series champ does not lead single-digit laps at Kansas. Larson runs the point in chunks and is usually the guy being chased at the leaderboard’s perch.
Larson led 221 laps a year ago in his last victory and is a three-time winner at the 1.5-mile track in the past nine races.
Since 2021, his No. 5 Chevy has paced 761 circuits there, more than double that of Hamlin (337), the next highest leader.
But just leading the final one Sunday will be fulfilling.
–Field Level Media
Cubs crack double digits again; Mets tumble to 9th straight loss
Matt Fitzpatrick catches break en route to 63, takes RBC Heritage lead
