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Sports

Former poker player Sunny Mehta not showing his cards as Devils’ new GM

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NEWARK, N.J. — When Sunny Mehta brought the Stanley Cup to his hometown in northern New Jersey two years ago when he won it for the first of back-to-back times as part of the Florida Panthers front office, fans asked when he would bring it back for the local team he grew up cheering for.

On his second day as general manager of the Devils, Mehta expressed a belief that it could happen sooner than later, while also pledging to build a sustained championship contender.

How he intends to do that remains to be seen, and the former professional poker player-turned-hockey executive is not showing his hand on what he has in store for the roster, coach Sheldon Keefe and his staff or anything else.

“No decisions have been made on anything pertaining to that,” Mehta said at his introductory news conference Tuesday. “We’re all on the same page that there’ll be an evaluation process going forward.”

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Mehta served as director of analytics for New Jersey from 2014-18. This is the second time owner David Blitzer decided to hire Mehta, whom he asked a dozen years ago to write down his ideal roster on a sheet of paper.

“I was just trying to get a sense for the way his brain worked,” Blitzer said. “And the way his brain worked is probably the way you would all hope his brain worked because it’s pretty good.”

Mehta’s hockey brain made him a candidate for multiple vacancies around the NHL.

He chose the Devils and, underneath a screen showing him hoisting the Cup, called it without exaggeration his dream job. He called being from New Jersey a part of his identity and, for good measure, even dropped a Taylor Ham reference to show which half of the state he came from.

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“This is where I’ve always wanted to be,” Mehta said. “This is where I want to be.”

Coming from an organization that attracted players with a mix of winning, warm weather and no state income tax in Florida, Mehta also thinks the Devils should be a destination franchise, citing the ease of travel, proximity to Manhattan and nice suburbs among the reasons.

It will now be up to him to make that case and reshape the roster around a young talented core of Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt and captain Nico Hischier. At their coffee meeting over the weekend, Mehta said Hughes peppered him with 20 minutes worth of poker questions and does think his background at the tables and as an options trader helps him understand how to build a hockey team.

What Mehta bristles at is being labelled as the analytics guy.

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“The reason that I ever even cared about analytics, statistics, probably is because it helped me win,” Mehta said. “It helped me win in poker, it helped me win on the trading floor and it’s helped me win in hockey. … It’s not just numbers. You have to have a feel for your opponent. You have to understand the subjectivity of bluffing. You have to understand the psychology.”

Poker also taught him an important lesson about what it takes to win in pro sports.

“You can kind of do everything right and still lose,” Mehta said. “You have to almost somewhat ignore short-term results and just focus on your process and have the guts to stick with it and to know and to be objective that you’re making the right decisions and just keep doing it over and over again and now that success will follow.”

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Buoyed by late-game heroics, Orioles shoot to extend Yankees’ skid

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MLB: New York Yankees at Baltimore OriolesMay 11, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles designated hitter Coby Mayo (16) connects on a three-run home run during the seventh inning against the New York Yankees at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles want to make more out of the current three-game series after winning the opener against the visiting New York Yankees.

Maybe there will be more drama Tuesday night.

The Orioles won for just the fourth time in 12 games when Coby Mayo’s three-run homer in the seventh inning sparked a 3-2 victory on Monday. The blast completed a surprising turnaround, as Baltimore trailed 2-0 and didn’t have a hit until that inning.

New York took its fourth straight loss. The Yankees fell for the fifth time in six games since beginning May with a five-game winning streak that included a four-game wipeout of Baltimore.

Now the Orioles are feeling better.

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“It feels like I’ve been in that spot a lot over the last three seasons since I’ve been up here and haven’t come through much, as much as I wanted to,” Mayo said. “That was a spot where when I did come through, all that emotion came out and it just felt really good.”

The outcome provided the Orioles with a jolt of confidence. They were stymied by Ryan Weathers, but he exited after a single, a groundout and a walk in the seventh, and reliever Brent Headrick was taken deep by Mayo, the first batter he faced.

If the Yankees fall on Tuesday, they would match their longest losing streak of the season, a five-game skid from April 8-12.

“We’ve got to get some guys unlocked,” New York manager Aaron Boone said. “We’ve got a handful of guys that are scuffling. We’ve got to get a little bit more competitive up and down the lineup as we hit this little rough patch.”

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Will Warren (4-1, 3.46 ERA) will start for the Yankees on Tuesday. He held the Orioles to two runs, one earned, in 6 1/3 innings for a home victory on May 1, striking out nine and walking one. Pete Alonso tagged him for a solo homer. Warren’s only outing since then resulted in a loss to the Texas Rangers, when he allowed six runs in four innings on Wednesday.

The right-hander has struck out 53 and walked 11 in 41 2/3 innings this season.

Warren went 1-2 with 4.95 ERA in four matchups with Baltimore last year, giving up four home runs in those outings.

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The Orioles hadn’t announced their Tuesday pitching plans, but they are expected to have left-hander Trevor Rogers (2-3, 4.75 ERA) back from the injured list and available for a start any day now. Rogers hasn’t pitched in the majors since April 25. In four career outings vs. the Yankees, he is 1-1 with a 4.60 ERA.

Baltimore catcher Samuel Basallo was scratched from the lineup on Monday, when he was set to be the designated hitter, because of a sore left knee. A day earlier, he was involved in a collision at home plate but held onto the ball for an out against the Athletics.

The Orioles made a move involving the pitching staff on Monday, calling up left-hander Josh Walker from Triple-A Norfolk and optioning right-hander Trey Gibson to Norfolk.

New York slugger Aaron Judge has reached base against the Orioles in 27 consecutive games after hitting a sixth-inning double in the series opener.

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The Yankees didn’t have shortstop Jose Caballero, who is batting .259 with 13 stolen bases, in the starting lineup on Monday because of a finger injury sustained a day earlier in Milwaukee. The plan was to have him evaluated by a specialist Tuesday in New York, though he was used as a ninth-inning pinch runner and caught stealing to end the Monday game.

“He’s as tough as they come, but he had a little hard time when he went to throw (on Monday),” Boone said. “He’s been such a good performer for us here to start the year, both sides of the ball. He’s been a key part of our team to this point.”

Max Schuemann was New York’s shortstop in Caballero’s absence.

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–Field Level Media

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Lewis Crocker v Liam Paro: Belfast boxer to defend IBF title in Brisbane in June

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Belfast’s Lewis Crocker will defend his IBF world welterweight title against Australian Liam Paro in Brisbane on 24 June.

The contest will take place at the Pat Rafter Arena, with the date and venue having been confirmed on Wednesday.

Crocker hopes that a victory over Paro would help open the door to a unification bout with another belt-holder in the division.

The 29-year-old won the title with a split decision verdict over Paddy Donovan at Belfast’s Windsor Park in September and his team had hoped to stage the defence against mandatory challenger Paro in his home city.

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However, with no agreement reached between the parties, the matter was resolved by a purse bid with No Limit outbidding Crocker’s promoter Matchroom by $27,000 (£20,000).

Crocker’s manager Jamie Conlan revealed in February that the Belfast fighter was recovering from a hand injury.

Paro is aiming to become a world champion for the second time, having upset Subriel Matias to clinch the IBF super lightweight crown in 2024.

The Australian beat Frenchman David Papot at the same Brisbane venue last September.

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“The rumors are true” – Paul Heyman after WWE RAW

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Paul Heyman appeared on the latest edition of WWE RAW alongside Austin Theory, Bron Breakker, and Logan Paul of The Vision. He kicked off the show and was at ringside for their six-man tag team match against Joe Hendry and the Street Profits.

Heyman, unfortunately, watched his clients lose the match after interference from Seth Rollins. After the show, he uploaded a picture of the Empire State Building on his X/Twitter account, claiming that the building was lit up dark green in his honor, since he was wearing a suit of the same color on RAW.

“Just landed back home a moment ago. The rumors are true. The Empire State Building is lit up dark green tonight in honor of my custom green suit on WWE RAW tonight. King of New York ( … and everywhere else)!” he wrote.

Real Reason why Jacob Fatu lost at Backlash – Check Here!

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It seems clear that Paul Heyman will have his hands full throughout the summer, as the feud between the two sides will continue following the tag team match on RAW.

Paul Heyman’s clients were booked in a title match for an upcoming WWE event

Angelo Dawkins rolled Austin Theory up for the pinfall during the six-man tag team match on RAW this past week. However, it wasn’t without shenanigans as Paul Heyman’s former client, Seth Rollins, interfered in the match, distracting Theory enough for Dawkins to get the victory for his side.

After pinning one-half of the World Tag Team Champions, the Street Profits will finally get a shot at the championship at an upcoming WWE special event.

Saturday Night’s Main Event XLIV is just two weeks away, and one of the first matches added to the card is a World Tag Team Championship match where Logan Paul and Austin Theory will defend their titles against Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins.

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The Street Profits have been featured regularly on RAW since their return, and have given Paul and Theory a tough time. Now, it remains to be seen whether they can end their title reign to send them on the back foot and gain a strong footing in the tag team division on RAW.