Sports
Vikings' Brian Flores traces roots of rebuilding dominant 'D'
Sep 15, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85) runs for yards after catch as Minnesota Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman (51) pursues during the second quarter U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores told his defense to “do what we’ve been doing and a little bit more” as Minnesota seeks a 3-0 start to the regular season for the first time since 2016.
Unheralded outside linebacker Pat Jones II had two sacks of Brock Purdy in Week 2 and leads the team with 4.0, but his play on early downs and attention he drew on third downs stands out to Flores.
“It’s those other snaps I’m looking at. I like the sacks too, don’t get me wrong,” Flores said of Jones’ strong start.
There was heavy offseason speculation about the demise of Minnesota’s pass rush after Danielle Hunter left in free agency. But the Vikings have 10.0 sacks, four takeaways and allow 11.5 points (third in the NFL) during a perfect start some didn’t see coming.
“We play team defense. I don’t know whose going to make the play. What I like to see is a number of players making plays, it’s not a one-man show,” Flores said. “We’ve just got to keep our head down and keep working.”
Minnesota knows not to overreact in Week 3. The Vikings began last season 0-3, then won six of seven games only to collapse under the weight of injuries — to wide receiver Justin Jefferson and then-quarterback Kirk Cousins — and finished 7-10.
Back in 2016, they started 5-0 only to wrap the year at 8-8.
But as first steps go, the Vikings like where they stand in September — the lone undefeated team in the NFC North.
Flores felt the tide was turning after developing a vision of what his defense could be in free agency. He collaborating with the scouting staff and front office knowing the plan was “a little different.” He felt finding footing early in the season was a critical launch point, and the Vikings executed the vision to perfection with wins over the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers.
“It’s not a grocery list — there’s other factors, budgets, salary cap. But there’s certainly a vision early on. To watch it kind of come to life has been pretty cool. But it’s still early. We’ve got to continue to build.”
One critical signing that helped significantly was bringing in Eden Prairie, Minn., product Blake Cashman. Raised a Vikings’ fan, Cashman and his brother used to mow lawns for NFL players including running back Adrian Peterson.
A cornerback and linebacker for a high school state champion in the same town the Vikings’ team headquarters is located as a teammate of Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr., Cashman was lightly recruited to the University of Minnesota.
Cashman developed with the Houston Texans after being drafted in the sixth round by the New York Jets. Flores pushed for his signing after recalling a conversation with Cashman’s linebackers coach at Minnesota, Mike Sherels.
Sherels’ perspective: praise and projection of his potential impact was off the charts.
Flores crafted a vision for Cashman, and the Vikings landed him in March with a $22.5 million, three-year deal. Thus far, Cashman is exceeding expectations, especially in terms of communication and getting people in the right place, Flores said.
“He’s big on ‘where’s my help and how can I help someone else?’ It’s a big part of team defense,” Flores said. “I’m excited to have him. Excited to keep working with him.”
Hunter landed with the Texans (2-0) and heads to Minneapolis as a key figure in Houston’s pass rush. He has 1.5 of the Texans’ 9.0 sacks in 2023.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Nelly Korda shoots 2 under to keep lead at Chevron
Apr 25, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Nelly Korda prepares to putt on the 18th hole during the third round of The Chevron Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images Two straight stellar rounds gave Nelly Korda a cushion to endure some bumps in the road.
She found those bumps on Saturday, but still shot a 2-under-par 70 to hold a five-shot advantage heading into the final round at the Chevron Championship in Houston.
Back-to-back 65s had given Korda a six-shot advantage, and the start of her third round on Saturday looked like more of the same. Two straight birdies to open got her to 16 under for the tournament, and she quickly added two more on Holes 5-6 to get to 18 under.
But that was it on the birdie front for the World No. 2. Worse still, Korda suffered bogeys on the eighth and 13th holes while battling the wind to settle for 16 under.
That represented a notable shift for Korda after she carded five of her eight birdies Friday on the back nine at Memorial Park Golf Course.
“I played really solid on the front and then just kind of — not may have lost concentration, but the wind started picking up and then I just put myself into — I mean, I put myself into great positions; didn’t kind of execute really well,” Korda said.
Korda is pursuing her third career major title, which would be her first since winning this event at a different course in 2024.
“This is why we do it, right, to be in contention on major championship Sunday?” Korda said. “I’m just going to focus on myself, kind of work on my process, really dial into that, make sure that I have tunnel vision, and not really focus on the exterior noise.”
Thailand’s Patty Tavatanakit continues to lurk in second place. She crept closer to Korda with a 3-under 69, making up a shot, and she now sits at 11 under for the tournament.
Tavatanakit’s day featured four birdies on Holes 1, 6, 14 and 16, with a bogey on the par-4 13th.
She admitted an aggressive mindset could serve her well on Sunday.
“Yeah, I have nothing to lose. I have nothing to lose from day one,” Tavatanakit said. “I’m trying to be aggressive but sometimes the ball just doesn’t go there.”
China’s Ruoning Yin (66) and France’s Pauline Roussin-Bouchard (67) put themselves in position to contend with low rounds Saturday and are now tied for third at 10 under, six shots behind Korda.
South Korea’s Ina Yoon (71) is alone in fifth at 8 under.
Amateur Farah O’Keefe, who has been the surprise of the tournament to this point, fell off the pace a little with her even-par round, moving her from a tie for third into a tie for sixth.
Yet O’Keefe, a native of nearby Austin and a member of the University of Texas golf team, is maintaining her composure.
“I’m having a great time,” O’Keefe said. “The thing that I do is just play my game. However it stacks up against everybody else is the way that it happens to finish.”
Tied with O’Keefe at 7 under are Mexico’s Gaby Lopez (66), Yealimi Noh (69) and China’s Yan Liu (71).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Zach Johnson takes 3-point lead in Mitsubishi's unique format
Retief Goosen of South Africa putts on No. 6 during the third round of the 2025 Kaulig Companies Championship at Firestone Country Club, Saturday, June 21, 2025, in Akron, Ohio. Zach Johnson increased his overnight lead from one to three points on Saturday after two rounds of the Mitsubishi Electric Classic at TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth, Ga.
The tournament is using the Modified Stableford scoring system to encourage aggressive play. Rather than scoring relative to par, points are awarded per hole — minus-1 for a bogey, zero for par and two for birdie. Eagles are worth five points while double bogeys are minus-3.
Johnson finished +13 on the day, and combined with his opening round of +15, sits at +28 heading into Sunday’s final round.
The two-time major champion on the PGA Tour carded seven birdies and made one bogey on Saturday. He birdied four of the last seven holes and has a three-point lead over South African Retief Goosen (+25) and seven-point lead over four others.
“(I) hit it nice. Really hit my driver nice with the exception of 18 and maybe one other one if I’m not mistaken,” said Johnson. “Encouraged, encouraged with the trajectory of my game.”
Johnson, who finished tied for eighth at last week’s Senior PGA Championship, is optimistic about his game.
“I was volatile last week. I know I had a decent week from a finish standpoint, but I had 10 bogeys and three doubles,” said Johnson, who turned 50 in February and won his first title on the senior tour in March. “It was very colorful, if you will. I’m trying to clean that up.”
Goosen improved from +12 on Friday to +13 on Saturday. He picked up 12 points on his last 11 holes, which included birdies on two par-threes.
Asked if his round felt like a score of 66, Goosen said, “I don’t know what it feels like really. You don’t really — you’re just so much more into points and trying to just birdie every hole. It’s funny how it works, you’re not really thinking about a score, you’re just thinking birdie.”
Goosen’s countryman Rory Sabbatini, David Duval, George McNeill and Ben Crane are all at +21, while Alex Cejka of the Czech Republic is at +20.
Canada’s Stephen Ames fired the best round of the tournament on Saturday with a score of +16 and is tied for 10th at +18. He earned five points on his first hole of the day, making an eagle on the par-5 No. 10.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Avalanche on verge of grinding out defensive-minded sweep of Kings
Apr 23, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar (11) looks on as the puck gets past Colorado Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood (41) for a goal by Los Angeles Kings right wing Adrian Kempe (9) during the third period of game three of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images The Colorado Avalanche are one game away from a sweep as they prepare to face the Los Angeles Kings on the road for Game 4 of their Western Conference first-round series Sunday.
However, don’t mistake the chance for a sweep as the Avalanche dominating the Kings. The first two games in Denver were 2-1 games, and in Game 2, the Avalanche needed a goal from Gabriel Landeskog with 3:35 left in regulation to force overtime.
Thursday’s Game 3 in Los Angeles was another tight affair that Colorado pulled out 4-2 thanks to a Brock Nelson’s empty-netter sealing the win with 2:18 left.
Colorado will likely be down a key player Sunday. Sturdy defenseman Josh Manson took a hit from Joel Edmundson with about 90 seconds in the first period Thursday. He tried to play in the second period, but exited for good with 12 minutes left in the period.
On Saturday, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar told reporters that Manson was still sore and unlikely to play Sunday.
Manson has two assists in the series, including a helper on Landeskog’s Game 3 goal. Both Manson and fellow blueliner Devon Toews share the lead in assists for Colorado in the series.
Forward Artturi Lehkonen leads Colorado with three points on two goals and an assist. He scored a short-handed goal with less than 13 minutes left in Thursday’s game to give the Avalanche a 3-1 lead.
On Friday, Kings coach D.J. Smith told reporters there would be some changes to the lineup. However, Smith said there would not be any drastic moves, with maybe a couple new faces and possibly reconfiguring the top two lines.
“Honestly, they get a bounce on the first goal,” Smith said. “If we get a bounce, we’re sitting here with a different story. So, I think you got to stick with what you’re doing. You just got to do it better, longer and harder.”
The Kings, who scored the fourth-fewest goals (220) in the regular season, have been led by Artemi Panarin. The forward acquired in early February from the New York Rangers has two of the team’s four goals in the series. He shares the lead in points with Alex Laferriere, who has three assists.
The closeness of the games should not come as a surprise. Colorado, which allowed the fewest goals (197), and Los Angeles, which allowed the seventh-fewest (238), are in one of only two first-round series that feature both teams ranked in the top seven in goals allowed.
Colorado also led the league in goals scored (298). However, Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas and Cale Makar, who all averaged better than a point per game in the regular season, have so far been held to just three points combined in the series. Makar, a defenseman, has the only goal amongst the trio.
Each playoff series presents a different challenge, Bednar told reporters Saturday. This series has put the defense to the test, which he said it has passed, but the coach said the Avalanche’s best game this series could be yet to come.
“For all we know, if you’re fortunate to move on, this can be the best defending team that we play in the whole entire playoffs,” he said. “You have to be prepared to hit the ground running and play the way you need to play right away without having any lapses.”
–Field Level Media
Nelly Korda shoots 2 under to keep lead at Chevron
Zach Johnson takes 3-point lead in Mitsubishi's unique format
