Sports
Wild owner: 'Nobody will offer (Kirill Kaprizov) more money than us'
Sep 27, 2024; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov (97) celebrates his power play goal against the Winnipeg Jets during the first period at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Nick Wosika-Imagn Images
The Minnesota Wild intend to sign star forward Kirill Kaprizov to a long-term contract when he comes eligible on July 1, owner Craig Leopold said.
That’s good, because Kaprizov will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2025-26 season. The 27-year-old Russian has two seasons remaining on his five-year, $45 million contract.
“He’s going to be the focus of what we’re going to do,” Leipold said Tuesday. “We plan to re-sign him. I will tell you nobody will offer more money than us, or longer (years), so all we have to do is prove to him that we want to win.”
The Wild will have some money with which to play after this season.
Forward Zach Parise and defenseman Ryan Suter will count $833,333 each per season against the salary cap as part of their buyouts, as opposed to the $7,371,795 each commands this season.
“Next July 1 is going to be like Christmas,” Leipold said. “We’re going to have money available. We’re going to have the resources available to do what we need to do to get back to Wild hockey, and we’re looking forward to that. We look at who could be available next year. You’re going to ask me, who are those players? I won’t tell you.”
Kaprizov led the Wild in goals (46) and points (96) in 75 games last season.
The Calder Trophy recipient as the NHL rookie of the year in 2020-21, Kaprizov has totaled 330 points (160 goals, 170 assists) in 278 career games with the Wild.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Twins roll up big lead, hold on to beat Athletics
Jul 26, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins right fielder Kody Clemens (2) slides into third base for a run scoring triple as Athletics third baseman Tommy White (47) looks to catch the ball. White would be unable to gather the ball and Clemens would score on the play during the first inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images Ryan Jeffers went 3-for-5 with three RBIs, and the Minnesota Twins held on for an 11-8 win over the Athletics on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.
Ryan Kreidler finished 3-for-4 with three doubles and an RBI for Minnesota, which won the rubber match of the three-game series. Kody Clemens went 3-for-5 with two triples and an RBI.
Nick Kurtz hit a three-run home run to lead the Athletics. Jeff McNeil was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
Twins left-hander Connor Prielipp (3-5) held the Athletics to one run on two hits in 5 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out five.
Athletics left-hander Jeffrey Springs (3-10) gave up five runs (four earned) on four hits in 1 1/3 innings.
Minnesota started the scoring with three runs in the first.
Royce Lewis drove in the first run on a fielder’s choice groundout. Clemens delivered in the next at-bat with a triple to right-center field, and he trotted home to score after Athletics shortstop Alika Williams fired an errant cutoff throw toward third that bounced out of play.
The Twins doubled their lead to 6-0 with three more runs in the second.
Minnesota loaded the bases for two outs for Jeffers, and the Twins made it 4-0 before he made contact. Athletics right-hander Luis Morales committed a bases-loaded walk to allow Alex Jackson to score from third.
Moments later, Jeffers ripped a two-run single to right.
Another miscue by the Athletics allowed the Twins to push their lead to 7-0 in the fourth. Catcher Jonah Heim committed a throwing error that allowed Ryan Kreidler to score.
The Athletics got on the scoreboard in the sixth. Kurtz belted a three-run, 412-foot shot to center for his 21st homer of the season.
Minnesota made it 8-3 on a sacrifice fly by Austin Martin in the sixth.
The Athletics cut the deficit to 8-6 with three runs in the seventh. Donovan Walton drew a bases-loaded walk, McNeil notched an RBI groundout and Carlos Cortes hit a sacrifice fly.
The Twins responded with a run in the bottom of the seventh to make it 9-6. Clemens tripled off the right-field wall, and he scored on a sacrifice fly by Luke Keaschall.
Kreidler and Jeffers drove in one run apiece in the eighth to give the Twins an 11-6 lead.
McNeil and Cortes each drove in a run in the ninth to finish the scoring for the Athletics.
-Field Level Media
Sports
Reds push across three runs in 10th to knock off Cardinals
Jul 26, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Cincinnati Reds right fielder Noelvi Marte (4) is tagged out by St. Louis Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt (26) in the second inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-Imagn Images The Cincinnati Reds scored three times in the top of the 10th inning to take a 5-3 win against the host St. Louis Cardinals in the rubber match of a three-game set on Sunday.
Andrew Abbott allowed two runs on three hits and fanned four in six innings for the Reds. Brock Burke (4-4) retired all four batters he faced in the eighth and ninth and Julian Garcia picked up his first career save.
Cardinals starting pitcher Kyle Leahy struck out a career-high nine batters while holding Cincinnati to two runs on six hits in six innings.
With Tyler Stephenson on as the automatic runner, a wild pitch from Matt Svanson (2-3) moved him to third and Sal Stewart singled to drive him home to give the Reds a 3-2 edge.
Elly De La Cruz singled, and he and Stewart advanced a base on a sacrifice bunt from Edwin Arroyo.
Svanson was then replaced by Justin Bruihl, who intentionally walked Eugenio Suarez to fill the bases, and Nathaniel Lowe singled, scoring Stewart and De La Cruz for a 5-2 advantage.
St. Louis narrowed it to 5-3 on an Alec Burleson single that drove in automatic runner JJ Wetherholt.
The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. Burleson opened the frame with a double, and Masyn Winn singled up the middle to give the hosts runners on the corners with nobody out. Burleson then came around to score on Jose Fermin’s sacrifice fly.
De La Cruz pulled the Reds even in the top of the third, belting a slider 410 feet into the seats in left-center field to make it 1-1, his 18th home run of the season.
Ivan Herrera put St. Louis in front 2-1 in the bottom half when he launched a sweeper to the same spot as De La Cruz.
After the Cardinals and Reds each failed to capitalize on a pair of baserunners in their respective half of the fourth, Ke’Bryan Hayes tied it 2-2 in the top of the fifth on a solo shot over the wall in left field.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Virtus.pro claim top PUBG prize at Esports World Cup
YMCA member Austin Manengu works the keyboard as he plays a game of Fortnite during the unveiling of the new gaming lab at the Maplewood Family YMCA in Rochester Thursday, June 20, 2024. YMCA of Greater Rochester in partnership with Metro Sports & Entertainment Group will open two gaming labs for youth and teens this year. Virtus.pro ran away with the PUBG: Battlegrounds title at the Esports World Cup, landing the $660,000 first prize on Sunday in Paris.
Virtus.pro also secured 1,000 Esports World Club points, vaulting them into second in the overall standings at 1,950 behind only Natus Vincere’s 2,250. NaVi placed third in PUBG: Battlegrounds to gain 500 points and maintain their lead.
Virtus.pro concluded the Grand Finals stage with 159 total points, a comfortable 33 points ahead of The Vicious in second place. NaVi ended with 124.
Twenty-four teams began the PUBG tournament competing for shares of a $2.025 million prize pool.
The group stage lasted from Tuesday to Thursday and saw the teams divided into three groups of eight for a round robin. The top 16 teams overall moved on to the Grand Finals and the remaining eight were eliminated.
In the Grand Finals, teams played six matches per day from Friday to Sunday. Winning a match garnered a team the maximum 10 placement points, the second-place team received six, third place received five and so on down to the seventh and eighth teams receiving one point apiece. One point was also awarded for every kill.
Virtus.pro finished second in Games 1 and 2 and dominated Game 4, winning top spot and adding 14 points off kills. They repeated that in Game 6 before Friday was through, prevailing with 15 kills in their column.
An otherwise quiet Saturday for Virtus.pro ended with a bang as they won Game 12 (eight kills). At that point, they had a healthy advantage with 126 total points. That allowed them to cruise to victory on Sunday, collecting a third-place finish in Game 13 and second in Game 15 along the way.
Croatia’s Nino “NIXZYEE” Mikec of Virtus.pro won MVP honors, which came with a $25,000 bonus.
Prize money was distributed at the end of both the group stage and the Grand Finals.
PUBG: Battlegrounds at Esports World Cup 2026 standings (prize pool, EWC club points)
1. Virtus.pro — $660,000, 1,000 points
2. The Vicious — $305,000, 750
3. Natus Vincere — $213,000, 500
4. Team Falcons — $145,000, 300
5. Team Vitality — $106,000, 200
6. Geekay Esports — $78,000, 150
7. Gen.G Esports — $57,000, 100
8. Twisted Minds — $57,000, 50
9. Made in Thailand — $52,000, no points
10. T1 — $46,000, no points
11. 17 Gaming — $37,500, no points
12. FULL SENSE — $28,500, no points
13. Team Liquid — $31,500, no points
14. AGAL International — $26,000, no points
15. GAM Esports — $29,500, no points
16. Shadow Esports — $20,000, no points
17. JD Gaming — $17,000, no points
18. SOOPers — $16,000, no points
19. R8 Esports — $15,000, no points
20. Sharper Esports — $14,000, no points
21. Team Nemesis — $13,000, no points
22. TYLOO — $12,000, no points
23. Petrichor Road — $11,000, no points
24. Four Angry Men — $10,000, no points
–Field Level Media
