Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah stands on the field before kickoff at U.S. Bank Stadium, with the December 24, 2023 matchup against the Detroit Lions capturing a quiet pregame moment as Minnesota prepared for a pivotal late-season divisional contest in front of a packed home crowd. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports.
The Minnesota Vikings will embark on free agency in five weeks and the NFL draft in April without Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, who was shockingly fired on Friday after four years with the club. For the time being — perhaps as the full-time option — vice president of operations Rob Brzezinski will take on the interim title of general manager, with Kevin O’Connell and Brian Flores expected to take over personnel decision-making, at least to an extent.
Minnesota’s choice to move on from Adofo-Mensah has sparked competing reasons: here’s the list.
So, why did Adofo-Mensah get the axe? Here’s what we know from the grapevine so far.
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Want to Know Why the Vikings Fired the GM? We Have Answers.
It’s a significant and sudden change for the Vikings.
Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah speaks with reporters at TCO Performance Center in Eagan, with March 26, 2025 marking an offseason briefing that focused on free agency decisions and early draft positioning as Minnesota prepared for the upcoming NFL Draft following roster-shaping moves during a pivotal spring reset for the franchise and its leadership group. Mandatory Credit: YouTube.
An Aloof Persona
Adofo-Mensah reportedly didn’t work the traditional hours of an NFL general manager, balancing a home life and young children. Some have whispered that he took a two-month-long paternity leave, which is fantastic, but uncommon and perhaps frowned upon in NFL circles.
The guy hired as the “Moneyball GM” four years ago indeed effectuated his version of Moneyball in the Twin Cities, leading him to work behind the scenes when brokering in-person relationships might’ve been the wiser priority. Think of it as a manager at your job who largely stays in his or her office when he or she could be out boosting morale and showing a team-player attitude.
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In short, the “spreadsheet guy” appears to have preferred the solace of spreadsheets to that of human contact.
A String of Terrible Trades
In one year alone, Adofo-Mensah confusingly traded strong roster pieces like Harrison Phillips (DT) to the New York Jets and Mekhi Blackmon (CB) to the Indianapolis Colts for somewhat worthless 6th-Round picks. Sixth-rounders are akin to purchasing $2 scratch-off tickets and expecting to win $100,000. It usually doesn’t work that way.
In fact, glancing at the current depth chart in 2026, Minnesota could use Phillips and Blackmon on the depth chart right now. Both men played meaningful roles with their respective teams in 2025.
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Moreover, Adofo-Mensah onboarded Adam Thielen, a 35-year-old, for a deal involving a 4th-Round pick to Carolina late last summer. That transaction would’ve been great if a) Thielen was used as a WR3 b) he hadn’t reached an age-related decline. Minnesota never used Thielen as a WR3, and within a few weeks, he seemed “washed.”
Thielen requested his roster release three months later and retired after that. The Vikings won’t have a 4th-Rounder in 2027 because of the weird gaffe. The Carolina Panthers fleeced Adofo-Mensah. Thielen barely played, didn’t have a retirement ceremony in the Twin Cities, and is now gone forever.
Robert Kraft
You will read on the internet this week that Adofo-Mensah had a deal lined up with the New England Patriots to trade for the third overall pick in 2024, netting the Vikings Super Bowl-bound quarterback Drake Maye. That part is true.
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The false part? Some are insinuating that Adofo-Mensah backed out of the deal at the last second. That is false. Robert Kraft, the Patriots’ owner, vetoed the trade in the 11th hour.
New England Revolution owner Robert Kraft watches warmups at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on November 8, 2023, as the longtime executive observes preparations from the sidelines before a matchup against the Philadelphia Union. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports.
Had Kraft not intervened — for the Patriots’ sake, thank God he did — Minnesota would’ve drafted Maye, and the rest would be history. However, Kraft acted wisely, getting the best version of cold feet for his organization.
Kraft singlehandedly might’ve sealed Adofo-Mensah’s fate with the reversal.
J.J. McCarthy Not Game-Ready
With Adofo-Mensah gone, many have now suggested everything that has gone right for the Vikings is attributable to Kevin O’Connell, with all the nasty malarkey to the fault of Adofo-Mensah. Pretty convenient, eh?
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No matter what, the buck stopped with Adofo-Mensah on the J.J. McCarthy draft pick. The Vikings can preach a “culture of collaboration,” and that’s peachy, but at the end of the day, the general manager makes the draft picks.
Adofo-Mensah picked McCarthy as the face of his competitive rebuild. Three and a half months later, McCarthy succumbed to a torn meniscus in August 2024, and when he healed, he very vividly wasn’t ready for the bright lights of the QB1 job in 2025. McCarthy flashed at times and in clutch moments, but it wasn’t enough to propel Minnesota to the 2025 postseason. He also suffered more injuries.
Like the would-be Maye trade, had McCarthy stayed healthy, Adofo-Mensah might still be employed. But let’s face it: the guy drafted by Adofo-Mensah to define his legacy has not panned out over two seasons, missing 70% of games due to injury.
The Sam Darnold Decision
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Why was Adofo-Mensah canned three and a half weeks after the Week 18? Probably because Sam Darnold’s visit to the Super Bowl served as a smoking gun and the straw that broke the camel’s back. Think about it: the two guys in the Vikings’ orbit to possibly lead the purple team in 2024 and 2025 — Darnold and Maye — will play in the Super Bowl next weekend, while Vikings fans wonder if McCarthy is even durable enough to develop into a long-time starter.
The Vikings’ owners, Mark and Zygi Wilf, probably watched Darnold advance to the Super Bowl and thought, “Oh my dear God.”
Adofo-Mensah again is the victim of after-the-fact theories that claim “O’Connell wanted Darnold and Adofo-Mensah did not,” but the fact remains that the Vikings general manager did not re-sign Darnold or franchise tag him. That guy is now in line to win Super Bowl MVP.
Poor Drafts
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Every NFL team starts with seven picks in a draft. For Adofo-Mensah, that means he had 28 swings at the plate since taking over in 2022.
His 28 picks have resulted in these success stories: Jordan Addison (WR), Jalen Nailor (WR), Will Reichard (K), Levi Drake Rodriguez (DT), and Dallas Turner (OLB). Five dudes.
Minnesota Vikings safety Lewis Cine prepares on the field at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, on August 20, 2022, showing pregame warmups before a preseason meeting with the San Francisco 49ers, as the rookie gained early experience adjusting to the NFL environment during his first professional season. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports.
That’s five good players in four years. Some teams have quadruple that.
One can deduce that Adofo-Mensah connected on 17%-20% of draft picks. That’s not sustainable — at all — and will murder any franchise if no remedy is sought. Minnesota’s fix will be finding somebody who can draft.
It is not normal to have just five contributors from the draft in four years. It’s downright cancerous for team-building. The draft is the only place in sports to get “free” players. In the last few years, Vikings fans have basically conceded, “Well, we won’t hit on hardly any picks, so let’s hope free agency goes well.”
The Pittsburgh Penguins will be without their captain once again. Sidney Crosby has been ruled out for Saturday night’s matchup against the Dallas Stars, the team announced just hours before puck drop.
The Penguins’ official account confirmed the news early Saturday afternoon:
“Forwards Sidney Crosby (lower-body) and Evgeni Malkin (upper-body) will not play today versus Dallas and both remain day-to-day.”
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Head coach Dan Muse addressed the media before Saturday’s game but offered little clarity on the nature of Crosby’s injury or a potential timeline for his return.
“Same thing, day-to-day for the health today,” Muse said when asked about his captain’s status.
When pressed on whether this injury is connected to Crosby’s previous ailment suffered during the 2026 Olympics in February, Muse gave a cryptic response
“It’s an old body, and so I think not just for all the guys that are out right now. I’ll tell you how they’re listed, but not gonna go into it any other than that.”
This is Crosby’s second consecutive game on the sidelines after he exited Thursday’s contest against Ottawa with a lower-body injury. The Penguins captain played just 6:39 before leaving the game managing only a single 38-second shift in the second period.
Sidney Crosby’s injury woes started at the Olympics
Crosby’s injury woes began on Feb. 18 when his leg bent awkwardly during Canada’s quarterfinal game at the Winter Olympics. He was placed on injured reserve and missed the remainder of the tournament including Canada’s run to the gold medal.
Adding to Pittsburgh’s injury concerns, star center Evgeni Malkin will also miss Saturday’s game with an upper-body issue. The dual absences leave the Penguins without their top two centers at a critical juncture in the season.
The timing couldn’t be worse for Pittsburgh. The Penguins (36-20-16, 88 points) sit second in the Metropolitan Division but hold just a one-point lead over both Columbus and the New York Islanders in a tight playoff race.
Manchester City‘s James Trafford remains a potential target for Newcastle, while Real Madrid are among the clubs interested in Crystal Palace‘s Adam Wharton.
Meanwhile, City are prepared to offer the Magpies a selection of players to help facilitate a potential deal for Italy midfielder Sandro Tonali, 25. (Teamtalk, external)
Liverpool and Chelsea are among the Premier League clubs with an interest in OH Leuven’s Swiss defender Roggerio Nyakossi, 22, who is approaching the final year of his contract. (Sun, external)
Versatile Spain international Marcos Llorente, 31, wants to stay with Atletico Madrid and is in talks to sign a new contract with the Spanish club, despite interest from the Premier League. (Fichajes – in Spanish, external)
Germany centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck, 26, who was reportedly a target for Liverpool and Real Madrid, is close to agreeing a new contract with Borussia Dortmund until 2031. (Florian Plettenberg, external)
Fisch is a tycoon simulator on Roblox in which you explore a vast map, catch aquatic creatures of various species, and sell them to become rich. On March 28, 2026, this Roblox title released its Everturn Forest update, which introduced a new small island along with two new rods and several other features.
Spirit of the Forest is a new fishing rod that you can obtain by completing a questline given by the Thalor Virewood NPC, available at the Everturn Forest. In this guide, we’ll discuss everything that’s important.
What is the Spirit of the Forest rod in Fisch?
Spirit of the Forest rod (Image via Roblox)
Spirit of the Forest is a new fishing rod in Fisch that was introduced via the Everturn Forest update on March 28, 2026. It is a nature-themed rod shaped like a living tree branch, with lush green foliage, glowing spirit orbs embedded in its canopy, and a wooden trunk handle that looks magically alive.
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To obtain the Spirit of the Forest rod, you must visit the Everturn Forest island by heading towards the northwest from Moosewood Village and complete a questline of three missions given by the Thalor Virewood NPC.
Spirit of the Forest stats
Lure Speed: 40%
Luck: 70%
Control: -0.02, resulting in a bar of 28% of the reeling minigame.
Resilience: 10%
Max kg: inf kg
Line Distance: 60 m
How to get Spirit of the Forest in Fisch
Thalor Virewood NPC (Image via Roblox)
Step 1: Reach Everturn Forest
Everturn Forest is a new island on the map that you access by heading northwest from the shores of Moosewood Village. At this location, you’ll find the Thalor Virewood NPC who will offer you the questline for Spirit of the Forest. Here are some steps that’ll help you achieve this faster:
Spawn a boat at the shores of Moosewood Village and take a right turn after leaving the docks.
By heading towards the northwest, you’ll find the Everturn Forest located between Mushgrove Swamp and Castaway Cliffs.
Once reached, head straight into the island from Shipwright. At the first intersection, you’ll find the Thalor Virewood NPC dressed in green clothes.
Step 2: Complete Thalor Virewood quests
By interacting with the Thalor Virewood NPC, you can start completing his questline of three missions to obtain the Spirit of the Forest rod as a reward. Here are all of them:
Quest 1: Everturn Forest: Hidden Waters
Objective: Catch 5 unique Everturn fish
How to complete: Equip any of your high-luck rods and start fishing at the ponds of Everturn Forest to catch any five different aquatics.
Quest 2: Everturn Forest: Night Fisher
Objective: Perfect Catch 5 fish at night in Everturn Forest.
How to complete: During the nighttime, you have to fish at any of the Everturn Forest’s ponds to catch any five aquatics. Remember that all the Oaklings will collide with you to cause damage during this time.
Reward: 1x Everturn Cloak
Quest 3: Everturn Forest: Spirit Seeker
Objective: Catch and return 1x Rotting Glaciaseer Sturgeon, Floraseer Sturgeon, Solarseer Sturgeon, or Umbraleaf Sturgeon.
How to complete: Completing the second quest will spawn the Splitbranch Twig nearby a tree trunk. You can purchase it for 25,000 C$ and use it to obtain Rotting mutation on your catches.
FAQs on Spirit of the Forest rod in Fisch
What is the Spirit of the Forest rod in Fisch?
It’s a nature-themed fishing rod added in the Everturn Forest update. It features strong luck stats and a unique forest-based design.
How do you unlock the Spirit of the Forest rod?
You must complete a 3-part questline from the Thalor Virewood NPC. This NPC is located on the Everturn Forest island.
Where is Everturn Forest located in Fisch?
It lies northwest of Moosewood Village. You can reach it by boat between Mushgrove Swamp and Castaway Cliffs.
The world-famous golfer has been the center of multiple scandals over the past two decades, including other vehicular collisions, arrests, injuries and extra-marital affairs.
Friday’s incident took place on Jupiter Island, in the same town where Woods lives, just after 2pm local time, according to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office. It comes less than two weeks before the start of the 2026 Masters tournament.
A photograph shared of the scene showed a vehicle lying on its driver’s side, though authorities said two cars were involved in the collision.
A photograph shared of the scene showed a vehicle lying on its driver’s side (Martin County Sheriff’s Office)
Tiger Woods was involved in yet another car crash in Florida on Friday afternoon, adding another incident to a sprawling list of controversies that have marred his spectacular sporting career (Martin County Sheriff’s Office)
Speaking to reporters Friday afternoon, Sheriff John Budensiek confirmed that there were no injuries as a result of the collision.
Woods was driving a dark colored Land Rover at “high speeds” when he clipped a truck pulling a trailer, according to law enforcement.
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The driver of the truck said that he was starting to turn into a driveway off a two-lane road when he looked in his mirror and saw Woods driving towards him and tried to overtake him at the last minute and swerved to avoid a full crash at the last minute.
Woods’ SUV rolled on the driver’s door and he climbed out of the window, officials said.
Woods’ SUV rolled on the driver’s door and he climbed out of the window, officials said (Martin County Sheriff’s Office)
“On scene we had DRE experts evaluating him and they believe from on scene that he was not impaired on alcohol,” Budensiek said. “They believe he was some type of medication or drug.” However, the golfer had cooperated with the breathalyzer test, he added.
It was confirmed that no medications were found in the golfer’s car.
California car crash 2021
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In February 2021,Woods was hospitalized with “multiple leg injuries” after being involved in a serious car crash in California.
Firefighters had to free the golf superstar from his Genesis GV80 SUV using pry tools and an axe following the incident in Rancho Palos Verdes, near Los Angeles.
Authorities said at the time that his car, which was the only vehicle involved in the crash, rolled over and sustained “major damage” in the incident near Rolling Hills Estates.
Woods was not competing at the time due to being in the middle of rehabilitation after undergoing his fifth back surgery of his career the month before. However, he did feature as the host of the Genesis Invitational on the PGA Tour, where he expressed hope he would be back for the Masters that year.
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The vehicle driven by Tiger Woods on the back of a truck in Los Angeles following his crash on February 23, 2021 (PA)
“I’m feeling fine, little bit stiff. Have one more MRI scheduled to see if the annulus has scarred over finally, and then I can start doing more activities,” he said.“Still in the gym, still doing the mundane stuff that you have to do for rehab, the little things before you can start gravitating towards something a little more.”
DUI arrest 2017
Woods was arrested in Palm Beach County, in Florida, in May 2017 after being found asleep at the wheel of his Mercedes-Benz over Memorial Day weekend
A toxicology report at the time showed he had five different drugs in his system including traces of the painkillers Vicodin and Dilaudid, Xanax, sleeping drug Ambien and THC – the active ingredient in marijuana. Such a combination can cause unconsciousness and confusion.
The golfer was arrested in the early hours of the morning around 15 miles from his home in Jupiter after being found unconscious in the vehicle, which was parked awkwardly on the side of the road and had damage to the driver’s side. It was unclear how the vehicle became damaged.
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When asked by officers Woods stated he didn’t know where he was, CBS reported at the time, and stumbled through a sobriety test,
He told officers he was taking Vicodin and Xanax to cope with his fourth back surgery, which he had undergone in April that year. No alcohol was found in his system, the outlet reported.
Woods later agreed to plead guilty to reckless driving but undertook a diversion program to allow his record to be wiped clean if completed.
Cheating revelations 2009
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In 2009, Woods ran over a fire hydrant and hit a tree with his SUV at Thanksgiving, which resulted in the revelation that he had cheated on his wife Elin Nordegren, with a string of women.
The golf pro had been driving from his Florida mansion in his Cadillac Escalade when he crashed. He was later treated for minor cuts to the face and received a ticket for careless driving.
Some reports of the incident speculated that Nordegren had been chasing Woods with a golf club just before the crash and smashed the back windows of the vehicle. Both Woods and Nordegren denied those claims, and Woods said that Nordegren had in fact, helped him out of the car after the accident.
Following intense media speculation, he released a statement in which he called the incident a “private matter” and announced he would not be appearing in any more tournaments in that year due to his injuries.
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In 2009 Woods ran over a fire hydrant and hit a tree with his SUV at Thanksgiving – which resulted in the revelation that he had cheated on wife Elin Nordegren with a string of women (Reuters)
However, days later, voicemail recordings were released by media outlets, forcing Woods to release a further statement in which he admitted to multiple affairs and later announced he would be taking “an indefinite break from professional golf.”
After the incident, Woods lost many of his lucrative corporate sponsorship deals, went to rehab in Mississippi and did not play golf for five months. The pair divorced in August 2010.
Career and injuries
A child prodigy, Woods burst onto the scene as a professional at just 19 years of age as an amateur, playing his first major championship at the 1995 Masters, finishing in a tie for 41st as the only amateur to make the cut.
Woods turned professional at 20 and immediately became a superstar. Augusta quickly became synonymous with him two years after his debut there when he won the first of what would become 15 major championships.
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His meteoric rise would include six consecutive wins on the PGA Tour in 2000, though his body would start to break down at the end of the decade, but not before a heroic effort.
Perhaps the signature moment of Woods’ career arrived on the sloping greens of Augusta in the 2005 Masters, with a masterful chip-in inspiring one of his five victories at the property. It included the iconic fist-pump celebration after the golf ball paused briefly on the lip of the hole, displaying the Nike swoosh logo.
Tiger Woods celebrates after winning the 2019 Masters (Getty)
He would emerge victorious at the 2008 US Open, too, despite subsequently requiring reconstructive knee surgery on a damaged ACL, as well as a stress fracture in his left tibia.
However, despite the injuries and his fraught personal life, Woods impressively emerged from his slump in 2012 and 2013 with three and five PGA Tour wins respectively, though his major drought continued, with no victory since battling on one leg to a play-off victory at the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines.
Woods’ body continued to betray him following his latest rise with his first back surgery in March 2014, which culminated in a lengthy period of inactivity and just one tournament between August 2015 and January 2018. It resulted in him tumbling down the world rankings and sitting on the outside of the top 1,000.
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His second back surgery came in September 2015, with a third attempt to cure his back in December 2016, resulting in a 15-month absence from the Tour. His persistent back problems staggered his return in 2017, with a fourth surgery in April of that year.
Alessia Russo’s 22-minute first-half hat-trick for Arsenal in Saturday’s north London derby is a sign that she is “stepping up” at a crucial stage of the season, according to Renee Slegers.
Manager Slegers praised the England forward’s maturity after she inspired the Gunners to a 5-2 win over Tottenham in the Women’s Super League.
“In training, she is communicating more and instructing more, driving the team more by being more vocal. You can see that she’s stepping up,” Slegers told Sky Sports.
“She is also part of the leadership group at Arsenal now. She is always herself, wanting to bring her best version, and she is very humble.
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“She’s definitely developing that and we love to see it.”
A local derby always poses an element of jeopardy, but Russo’s relentless performance began eliminating Tottenham’s threat inside five minutes.
She then struck twice more before the half-hour mark to all but settle the contest.
Player of the match Russo told Sky Sports: “I love to score goals as much as I can and to do it here at the Emirates in a north London derby is really nice.
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“It’s a good three points moving on to the rest of the season.”
With three games to play, they sit in second place above rivals Chelsea and Manchester United, while also having two games in hand.
Captain Kim Little, who was celebrating her 400th appearance for the club, praised Russo for developing into one of the team’s leaders since her arrival in 2023.
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“This year, she has stepped up in terms of leadership as well. That in itself has brought out even more in her own game,” Little said.
“She is always great and always going to score, but I love how she presents herself and takes that leadership responsibility.”
In a fortnight where Europe-chasing rivals United drew two blanks in three league games, Arsenal hit 10 across two games to overhaul their goal difference deficit.
Of those 10 goals, Russo hit four.
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She now sits third on the Women’s Super League leading scorers’ chart with nine goals and four assists from 18 appearances – that’s a goal involvement every 1.38 games.
MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Denny Hamlin earned his fifth pole position at Martinsville Speedway and 49th of his Cup Series career, tying him with NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Isaac for 10th all-time.
The Joe Gibbs Racing star turned a 98.241-mph lap Saturday in the No. 11 Toyota to beat William Byron, whose No. 24 Chevrolet qualified second at 97.957 mph for Sunday’s 400-lap race.
With his win two weeks ago at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Hamlin, 45, broke a tie with Kevin Harvick for 10th on the all-time win list in NASCAR’s premier series. He is two poles away from tying the career total of Ryan Newman, one of the greatest qualifiers in NASCAR history.
“It’s pretty awesome,” said Hamlin, who grew up a few hours east of Martinsville in the Richmond, Virginia, suburb of Chesterfield. “Really with age, the hardest part is still having the fast time. It’s one thing to be able to manage races and use your experience to your advantage. But usually the first thing to go is your all-out speed, and we’re still knocking off poles, which is really good. I was around when Newman was just unstoppable in qualifying. So damn, I didn’t know he had that many.”
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Hamlin has six wins at Martinsville, and his victory last season broke a 10-year drought at the 0.526-mile oval.
Byron won the most recent race at Martinsville last October and has victories in three of the past eight races there.
“I feel like our race car is going to be really good tomorrow,” said the Hendrick Motorsports driver, whose previous best start this season was ninth at Phoenix and Las Vegas. “We’ve learned a lot this year. It seems like Saturdays have been a struggle for us this year and not as consistent as we’d like.”
Josh Berry qualified third, followed by Ty Gibbs and Shane van Gisbergen.
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Brad Keselowski, who will make his 600th career start Sunday, qualified 23rd.
Loughborough Lightning extended their 100% start to the Netball Super League season with an 83-69 victory against bottom side Birmingham Panthers.
Samantha Wallace-Joseph scored 35 goals for Lightning, who have won their first five matches to establish a three-point lead at the top of the table.
“It can be hard [being unbeaten] because all the teams are coming for us,” the Trinidad and Tobago goal shooter told BBC Sport.
“It’s just about keeping our consistency going, gelling together and executing the game plan.”
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Panthers have lost their first five league matches of the campaign, each by a margin of at least 10, but they put up their biggest tally of goals in a match this season in a performance that pleased head coach Sonia Mkoloma.
“It wasn’t just the biggest score – I thought we stayed in it for longer,” Mkoloma told BBC Sport.
“We were competitive across four quarters, which we haven’t been, so I’m proud of them. I asked them to be competitive in this game and they stayed in it.”
Archie McParland scored a dramatic late try as Prem leaders Northampton Saints came from behind to edge out Saracens at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
McParland and Tom Litchfield both went over early in the game as Saints raced into a 14-0 advantage, with Fin Smith converting both tries.
But Smith went off injured, with Sarries storming back to level through Tobias Elliott and Theo Dan – and Fergus Burke’s penalty put them in front for the first time.
However, Litchfield set up McParland to run in his second score with the clock ticking down, as Saints secured their sixth straight win and went six points clear at the summit.
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Northampton started at a lively pace and seized the initiative immediately, with Henry Pollock – returning to the side after Six Nations duty – held up over the line following a weaving run by James Ramm.
But the visitors were soon ahead after a swift move that originated on halfway, with Ramm and Josh Kemeny involved before Rory Hutchinson released Litchfield, who bustled through to score under the posts.
Fly-half Smith, also back in the Saints line-up after England commitments, was influential in the early stages and charged through on the breakaway to set up McParland for a routine score before converting to make it 14-0.
Sarries struck back with their first significant attack of the game, working possession from left to right for Elliott to snap up a bouncing ball and hold off two defenders before diving across the line.
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Northampton suffered another blow when Smith was forced off with a head injury on the half-hour mark, prompting a reshuffle, and they had to dig deep to survive a series of scrums close to their line.
With skipper Maro Itoje starting to exercise greater control after the turnaround, Saracens proved more adept at denying their opponents space and levelled when Dan broke from the back of a maul and bundled his way over.
Sarries looked the more likely winners for much of the second half, with Hugh Tizard close to giving them the advantage after a bout of ball-juggling on the Saints line.
Burke, taking over kicking duties after Owen Farrell’s departure, slotted a penalty to break the deadlock, and the Saracens defence held out when Saints replacement JJ van der Mesch burrowed into the corner, but was unable to ground the ball.
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However, the league leaders kept going and gained their reward with just two minutes left when George Furbank combined with Litchfield and McParland sped in for the decisive score under the posts.
Northampton Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson told BBC Radio Northampton:
“We played beautifully in the first 20 minutes, we just didn’t convert enough of those chances. I thought we were excellent in the last 10 minutes in terms of trusting our game, going forward and continuing to pull the trigger to make the space.
“I wouldn’t say it was ugly, but certainly not as good as we can be. Fair play to Sarries, they put us under a lot of pressure, particularly in the set-piece.
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“We’re a bit disappointed we couldn’t really get into our game very much, but I thought we defended stoically and worked incredibly hard, and we just about got through.
“I think Litchfield’s been playing some of the best rugby of his life. He looks very confident and he looks very powerful. He’s created something out of nothing there and the offload was fairly audacious as well.”
TAMPA, Fla. — Defenceman Emil Lilleberg scored the go-ahead goal and had a career-high three points, and the Tampa Bay Lightning rallied to defeat the Ottawa Senators 4-2 on Saturday.
Brandon Hagel and Charle-Edouard D’Astous each had a goal and an assist, while Jake Guentzel scored for a third consecutive game. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 26 saves for Tampa Bay, which played without leading scorer Nikita Kucherov and others.
Nick Paul and Kucherov, who entered the weekend tied with Connor McDavid for the most points in the NHL, were both out because of illness. Despite not having them and captain Victor Hedman, who is on a leave of absence for personal reasons, the Lightning improved to 5-0-2 in the past seven games.
Dylan Cozens and Jordan Spence scored for Ottawa, and James Reimer allowed four goals on 27 shots. The Senators, in the middle of a fierce playoff race in the Eastern Conference, lost in regulation for the first time since March 18 and are on the outside looking in with nine games remaining.
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With the score tied at 2, Lilleberg took a pass from Hagel and chipped a backhand shot past Reimer with a little more than 11 minutes left in regulation. Guentzel scored on a breakaway later to provide some breathing room.
Ottawa had taken a 2-0 lead on goals by Cozens and Spence. This was the fourth game in a row the Lightning fell behind by multiple goals, and just like in the previous three, they got back into it in the second period.
Senators: Visit the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night.
Lightning: Host the Nashville Predators on Sunday.
Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews will miss the remainder of the regular season after sustaining a grade 3 MCL tear and quad contusion in his left leg following a knee-on-knee collision with Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas. What caught many off guard including Hockey Hall of Famer Chris Pronger after the play was that no Maple Leafs player confronted Gudas as Matthews lay in pain.
That lack of response became the focus of Pronger’s comments this week on the Nasty Knuckles podcast. Watching Gudas look around expecting retaliation that never came, Pronger said he found himself laughing at the absurdity of it all and wondering what it says about the Maple Leafs as a team.
“If there was a camera on me, they would have thought I was a sick man,” Pronger said. “Because I started laughing when I saw the hit, because I looked at all the players. And I’m looking at, I’m literally staring at Gudas right here as I’m looking at the camera. I’m staring right at it, I see it happen, and I’m looking, and he’s like looking around, he’s looking around, knowing, okay, somebody’s coming. And they all just, I’m like, what are we doing here, guys?”
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None of Toronto’s other four skaters on the ice including forwards William Nylander and rookie Easton Cowan, and defensemen Morgan Rielly and Carlo, confronted Gudas while their captain was writhing in pain on the ice.
“And the worst part, not only did they not respond in that regard, they didn’t even go over and check on him,” Pronger continued. “Yeah, they’re all so far away. The trainer was there, and they were gone. They didn’t even check on him. I’m like, wow, this is interesting.”
The incident occurred at 15:47 of the second period during Toronto’s 6-4 win against the Anaheim Ducks at Scotiabank Arena on Mar. 12. Matthews crumpled to the ice when he tried to sidestep the hit in the slot from Gudas, who was assessed a major penalty for kneeing and a game misconduct.
Gudas charged Matthews in front of the crease and led with his knee leaving the Maple Leafs captain in visible agony on the ice. Matthews was helped off the ice by a trainer and teammate Brandon Carlo putting minimal weight on his left leg.
There is ‘something bigger’ going on with the Maple Leafs
Chris Pronger believes the incident revealed fundamental problems with the Maple Leafs that go far beyond one moment of hesitation.
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“Well, that’s the huge $64 million question. What do they do?” Pronger asked. “Do they blow it up? Do they fire everybody again? Do they add on the fringes? Do they trade one or two guys? Ultimately, that’s up to ownership. That’s an ownership decision of what direction do you want to take this. Because clearly, it’s going in the wrong direction.”
The Hall of Famer emphasized that this wasn’t an isolated incident for Toronto.
“And that’s not the first time something like that has happened where nothing has happened,” Pronger said. “And it’s not like, you guys know Chief [Berube], it’s not like he’s not going in there going like, guys, you’ve got to protect one another. You’ve got to be together… There’s something bigger going on there that we don’t know about.”
Matthews underwent MCL knee repair surgery on Mar. 19 with the Maple Leafs announcing that he faces a recovery timeline of approximately 12 weeks. He is expected to be ready for training camp next season.
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