Nothing went right for the Chargers in Week 1, as they were embarrassed by the Cardinals at home, 26-14.

It was a rough outing in all three phases, and the offense did themself no favors. While there were some concerns about the Chargers, the offense as a whole had very few.

Advertisement

The expectation was that Mike McDaniel would transcend that unit; instead, after one week, it’s left NFL writers like Zachary Pereles of CBS Sports questioning that idea.

Pereles believes the Chargers offense is already behind the eight ball after their loss to the Cardinals.

“The Chargers scored a measly 14 points — tied for their fewest in Week 1 in the past quarter century — in a dispiriting 26-14 loss to the Cardinals. “Dispiriting” might be putting it nicely,” Pereles wrote.

“The Chargers were 9.5-point favorites against a team expected to be in contention for pick No. 1 next year … and lost by 12.

Advertisement

“Perhaps we should have known there’d be growing pains.

Herbert has long been a player who wants to hang in the pocket and push the ball downfield when he can,” Pereles continued.

“McDaniel prefers a quick-hitting, rhythm-based air attack. It wasn’t a perfect fit, and the Chargers knew it needed work. That’s why Herbert played so much in the preseason.

After one week, the Chargers offense looked nothing like what many expected.

Los Angeles had only 268 total yards, 187 passing yards, averaged 3.9 rushing yards per play, and turned the ball over twice. No other wide receiver, other than Ladd McConkey, made his presence felt.

Advertisement

Outside of McConkey, the wide receiving unit collected 37 yards between Tre Harris and Quentin Johnston, who combined for five catches.

There was nothing positive to take away from the Chargers’ Week 1 performance; however, the silver lining is that it’s only one week.

The Chargers have 16 more games to play, which gives them plenty of time to figure it out and become the juggernaut many predicted they’d be.

Time is certainly on their side.

This article originally appeared on Chargers Wire: Chargers’ offense already has back against the wall, says NFL insider

Liverpool piled on the misery for troubled Tottenham with a 3-1 win in the League Cup third round, while teenage star Max Dowman dazzled for Arsenal in their 4-2 rout of Ipswich on Tuesday. After a woeful start to the Premier League season, Tottenham’s hopes of a morale-boosting cup run came to a dispiriting end at rain-lashed Anfield. They were swatted aside by Liverpool, with Alexis Mac Allister, Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai scoring for the Reds. Roberto De Zerbi’s fourth-bottom team are without a win or even a goal in their first four league matches, losing twice and drawing twice.

Tottenham’s only win this season has come in the League Cup against second-tier Charlton.

After successive 17th place finishes — including avoiding relegation on the final day of last season — the north London club spent over £300 million ($404 million) on 10 new signings since the end of last term.

But the return on that eye-watering investment has not been immediate, sparking fears of another relegation battle.

Adding to De Zerbi’s problems, unsettled striker Richarlison took to social media to lament the Italian’s decision to leave him out of the squad to face Liverpool.

Richarlison wants to leave but moves to Everton and Vasco Da Gama have fallen through recently.

Tottenham host Aston Villa on Saturday in a game that De Zerbi desperately needs to win to ease the pressure on him going into the international break.

Liverpool remain unbeaten at the start of the Andoni Iraola era, although they have won just once in four league matches.

Iraola made 10 changes but Liverpool went ahead after 21 minutes with a flowing move.

Gakpo picked out Rio Ngumoha and he teed up Mac Allister to blast a first-time finish past Martin Dubravka into the roof of the net.

Gakpo doubled Liverpool’s advantage in the 54th minute, whipping a fine strike into the far corner.

Tottenham finally scored a goal against top-flight opposition this season — albeit in a different competition — when Conor Gallagher punished poor marking to net from a corner in the 69th minute.

But Szoboszlai rubbed salt into Tottenham’s wounds in stoppage-time with a 25-yard rocket.

– Dowman makes his mark –

At Portman Road, Dowman took centre stage to remember Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta of his burgeoning talent.

Arsenal, who lost the League Cup final against Manchester City last season, have won their six games in all competitions this term.

Arteta made nine changes from the side that won at Sunderland on Saturday, with 16-year-old Dowman given his first appearance this season.

Dowman has been ear-marked as a future star since bursting onto the scene as a 15-year-old last season.

But Arteta is treating the midfielder with kid gloves, bringing him on slowly while the Premier League champions are thriving.

Dowman showed Arteta what he can add to the party in the seventh minute, flashing quick feet to skip past Cedric Kipre before slotting home with a composed finish.

It was Dowman’s second goal for Arsenal after his strike against Everton in March.

Noni Madueke increased Arsenal’s lead in the 16th minute, lashing a low shot past Christian Walton from just inside the penalty area.

Dowman struck again in the 47th minute, running onto Martin Zubimendi’s pass and finishing with aplomb.

Mikel Merino grabbed Arsenal’s fourth, curling home from Dowman’s pass in the 58th minute.

Anis Mehmeti’s 62nd minute reply and Chuba Akpom’s stoppage-time strike were little consolation for out-classed Ipswich.

Fulham made nine changes but still won 3-2 at Championship leaders West Ham, with goals from Rodrigo Muniz, Cesar Palacios and Oscar Bobb, who bagged the 78th minute winner.

Brentford won 2-1 at third tier Reading thanks to goals from Callum Wilson and Fabio Carvalho.

On Wednesday, Manchester United host Brighton, Aston Villa travel to Coventry and Everton face Wolves.

Holders Manchester City are at home to Norwich on Thursday.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Featured Video Of The Day

CWG 2026 Weightlifting Gold Medallist, Mirabai Chanu Get Hero’s Welcome in Delhi

Lionel Messi has been named in Argentina‘s squad ahead of a farewell match to mark his international retirement.

Messi, 39, announced two months after Argentina’s World Cup final defeat to Spain that he would be ending his glittering international career with immediate effect.

However, Argentine Football Association (AFA) president Claudio Tapia confirmed on Tuesday that Messi would face Benin on October 6.

“We invited ‌the best ‌player in the world to ⁠play, our captain Lionel Andres Messi, to have a deserved farewell on October ‌6, here ​in Argentina,” ‌Tapia said ⁠on social ⁠media.

The farewell match will be held at the The Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires, after Argentina had played matches against Bolivia and Burkina Faso.

Argentina’s first match since the World Cup final will be played against Bolivia at Cordoba’s Mario Kempes Stadium on September 30 before moving to Buenos Aires to host Burkina Faso on October 3.

The Bolivia match will be played with capacity reduced by 50 per cent as part of Fifa sanctions relating to incidents during this year’s World Cup.

Leandro Paredes, Nahuel ⁠Molina and Thiago Almada must serve suspensions ⁠of 10, seven and one match respectively for their ‌roles in ​an altercation during the ‌World Cup final against ​Spain.

The Orioles may be playing out the string in a season that’s fallen far short of expectations. But darned if they aren’t still capable of playing some mighty entertaining baseball from time to time.

Tonight’s extra-inning affair against the Mets was one of those classic, bizarre, “how the heck did the Orioles win this?” kind of games. On an evening that was a pretty boring slog for the first eight innings, the excitement ramped up drastically in the ninth when Pete Alonso delivered his long-awaited 300th homer — a dramatic, game-tying shot — in front of the Mets faithful, and the weirdness reached new heights when Coby Mayo circled the bases on a go-ahead, three-run, inside-the-park home run in the top of the 11th.

Advertisement

What a memorable night of baseball. Exhausting, but memorable.

Let’s cut right to the chase. There’s one reason and one reason only that fans have flocked to CitiField this week, and it’s not because they’re riveted by Orioles/Mets mid-September baseball. Fan-favorite ex-Mets slugger Pete Alonso returned to his old stomping grounds just one shy of his 300th career homer, and the constant standing ovations and celebratory handmade signs among the crowd have made it clear: Mets fans want to witness the Polar Bear’s historic blast, even against their favorite team.

Tonight, they got their wish, despite it directly robbing the Mets of a victory. The dramatic moment came in the top of the ninth with the Orioles trailing, 3-2, and two outs away from defeat. Alonso, who at that point was 0-for-3 in the game and 0-for-6 in the series, stepped to the plate against Mets closer Kodai Senga. Senga, the forkball specialist, missed with his first two pitches. Then he hurled another forkball that hung right down the middle of the plate, and Pete didn’t miss.

SMASH. Alonso clobbered one to deep left and instantly knew he’d gotten it, flinging his bat toward the O’s dugout and raising his hands in triumph. A cool 414 feet later, the ball landed among the Mets fans, most of whom were in a full-throated cheer, not caring that they’d just blown a ninth-inning lead. Honestly, good for those fans. These games don’t matter to the already eliminated Mets, so why not celebrate the historic achievement of one your franchise’s all-time greats?

Advertisement

View Link

A pumped-up Alonso, after exchanging intense high-fives with his O’s teammates, came out of the visiting dugout for a curtain call, doffing his cap to the crowd. Alonso got to enjoy a milestone individual achievement that also rescued his team, and the fans got to share a special moment with their longtime hero. A good time was had by all. Well, maybe not Senga.

After all the festivities, though, there was still a baseball game to finish playing. And boy, did it get weird. Two other former Mets, Rico Garcia and Josh Walker, combined to escape the bottom of the ninth with the winning run in scoring position, and off to extras we went. That’s when both teams wasted opportunities to take control.

In the top of the 10th, a Gunnar Henderson single moved the free runner, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, to third base with nobody out. The next three Orioles then had three of the worst at-bats you’ll see: Jeremiah Jackson twice failed to bunt and struck out looking, wasting the Orioles’ ABS challenge in the process; Heston Kjerstad struck out looking on a fastball right down the middle; and Leody Taveras grounded out to the pitcher. Fortunately, a Daniel Duarte wild pitch during the Jackson at-bat allowed Encarnacion-Strand to score the go-ahead run.

Advertisement

The lead didn’t last long. In the bottom half, Marcus Semien‘s one-out double off Alex Hoppe plated the Mets’ free runner, knotting the score at four. But with two aboard and Hoppe clearly struggling with command, Christopher Morel inexplicably swung at a 3-0 pitch and grounded out, short-circuiting the Mets’ rally.

On to the 11th, where the Orioles took the lead in a way that absolutely nobody could have expected. With two on and two out — after Alonso struck out, failing to hit his 301st homer — Coby Mayo pounced on an 0-2 cutter from righty Jonathan Pintaro and crunched it to deep center field. A.J. Ewing made a sprawling, Colton Cowser-esque leap at the wall, but the ball barely eluded his glove and deflected off the fence while Ewing crashed hard into it. By the time the other Mets outfielders could rush over to back up the dazed Ewing, a hustling Mayo had hurtled all around the bases for his first career inside-the-park home run. Wow!

View Link

Mayo’s chaotic sprint around the bases had given the Orioles a 7-4 lead, and this time the lead was bulletproof. Andrew Kittredge, who has badly struggled of late, was able to nail down the save in the bottom of the 11th despite a two-out RBI single by Bo Bichette. The Orioles, somehow, had escaped with their second straight win.

Advertisement

Long before the late-inning bedlam, Shane Baz‘s extremely weird year came to what may be an extremely weird end. The first-year Oriole entered the game with a league-leading 15 losses due to his well-chronicled lack of run support, and he never got a chance to add a win to his ledger tonight after an abrupt fifth-inning exit. Bo Bichette led off the inning with a scalding 105-mph liner that deflected directly off Baz’s right elbow as he tried to turn away. The ball was hit so hard that it sailed all the way into left field after hitting Baz, who kneeled on the mound and clutched his arm.

Craig Albernaz and the training staff immediately came out to check on the injured hurler. Baz gamely attempted to throw a warm-up pitch, but he sailed it to the backstop and promptly walked off the mound without argument. After the game, X-rays came back negative, but when you’re dealing with an elbow, why risk trying to pitch again this year? It’s not like these games matter for the Orioles anymore. Shut down Baz and have him get an early rest before next season.

Before the injury, Baz was having one of his rockier outings. The Mets tagged him for seven hits (including the Bichette liner) and two walks in his four innings of work, which came on a first-inning sacrifice fly, a second-inning Juan Soto RBI single, and a Carson Benge solo homer in the third.

The Orioles’ bullpen, thrust into action earlier than expected, did a nice job to keep the Mets off the board. Grant Wolfram, Luis De León, and former Mets prospect Anthony Nunez combined for four scoreless innings of relief while the O’s trailed. De León was particularly impressive by throwing a pair of shutout frames, his best outing as a big leaguer.

Advertisement

For a while, it didn’t seem like it would matter, because the Orioles’ offense was nonexistent for most of the game. Their wacky lineup against southpaw Sean Manaea included Rece Hinds (a career 3-for-55 against lefties) in the leadoff spot and Leody Taveras (.502 OPS against lefties this year) also in the lineup, while homegrown left-handed hitters like Samuel Basallo, Dylan Beavers, and Heston Kjerstad were once again benched. What are we doing here, guys?

The threadbare O’s lineup had a grand total of two good swings against Manaea. Both came in the second inning, when Encarnacion-Strand launched a solo homer to left-center, and two batters later, Jeremiah Jackson followed suit with his first dinger since June 14. And…that was the end of the Orioles scoring runs for the next seven innings. Manaea, Austin Warren, and Nate Lavender held the Mets’ 3-2 lead until the ninth.

And we know what happened after that: a hefty dose of Alonso heroics, some good luck against a bad Mets team, and, of course, a sprinkling of Orioles Magic.

Camden Chatters, who’s your Most Birdland Player for tonight?

Edinburgh Leisure moves close to underlying break-even, supported by record membership

The charity’s 2025–26 Impact Report shows almost 6 million customer visits during the year

It has reached an all-time high of 38,383 active members

Chief executive, Jen Holland, said it marked a turning point financially

Edinburgh Leisure has emerged from a difficult period of financial pressure to move within £18,000 of underlying operating break-even, while increasing participation and taking membership to an all-time high.

The charity’s 2025–26 Impact Report shows its additional one-off support from the City of Edinburgh Council fell from £4.2m in 2024–25 to £1.868m in 2025–26, with no further additional support expected during the current financial year.

This funding is separate from the £8m annual management fee Edinburgh Leisure receives from the council to deliver leisure services across the city.

Jen Holland, chief executive of Edinburgh Leisure, said: “Financially, 2025–26 marked an important turning point. Through careful management, innovation and the dedication of colleagues across the organisation, we closed our financial gap and entered the new year on a more stable footing.

“Being financially stronger helps us keep doing what matters most: opening up more opportunities for people across Edinburgh to be active. As a charity, every step towards sustainability means we can better support our communities now and plan with confidence for the future.

“Behind every number is a person: someone learning a new skill, feeling stronger, meeting familiar faces or taking a step towards better health,” said Holland. “The challenge now is to build on this progress, so more people across Edinburgh can access the support, spaces and opportunities they need to be active.”

The charity reported an unrestricted surplus of £2.315m before actuarial pension losses. After adjustments for non-cash pension accounting, sinking-fund treatment and expenditure from designated funds, it recorded an underlying operating deficit of just £18,000 – broadly equivalent to break-even.

The improved position was supported by rising participation and stronger operational income. Customer visits increased by 4.2 per cent, from 5.7 million to 5.976 million, while active membership reached an all-time high of 38,383.

IMPACT REPORTING

• Unrestricted income from leisure facilities was 5 per cent ahead of budget and membership income increased by around 11 per cent, driven largely by full fitness and golf memberships.
• Edinburgh Leisure’s Community Access to Schools programme also returned to surplus, generating £447,000 and returning £415,900 to the council.
• During the year, Edinburgh Leisure supported 15,764 people facing barriers to physical activity – an increase of 16 per cent – through programmes addressing low income, poor health, social exclusion and other inequalities.
• A total of 9,846 people on low incomes accessed free or subsidised activities, while 3,351 people made 36,204 visits through the Community Access Programme.
• The organisation also received 9,415 health and exercise referrals from primary care, health and social care and charity partners. Healthy Active Minds supported 979 people experiencing mental health challenges, while tailored activities for people with additional support needs were used by 50 families each week. Ageing Well sessions reached 674 older adults a month.
• The charity expanded its falls-prevention work with the launch of Balanced Life, delivered in partnership with the Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership. The programme increased its weekly classes from 34 to 65, with annual participation rising from 1,152 to 2,232.
• Edinburgh Leisure also invested almost £1m across five projects. These included a £329,000 indoor cycling studio at Craiglockhart Leisure and Tennis Centre, a £261,000 upgrade of the Tumbles soft-play facility and café at Portobello and a £138,000 café redevelopment at the Royal Commonwealth Pool.
• A further £196,000 was spent resurfacing the Meadows tennis courts and installing LED lighting and a smart-access system, while Craiglockhart received a £55,000 Trackman golf simulator.
• Environmental measures resulted in a reported 13.7 per cent reduction in carbon emissions and an 8 per cent reduction in electricity use. The charity also diverted 20 tonnes of waste and reported £30,000 in waste savings.

A much-changed Liverpool side knocked Tottenham out of the Carabao Cup to continue their winless start to the season under Roberto De Zerbi.

Spurs named a strong team, started well and should have taken a first-half lead when a cross fell to the feet of Lucas Bergvall in the box, but goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili made a stunning stop to deny him.

Liverpool then almost cut through Spurs as Rio Ngumoha found Lewis Koumas, only to be denied by Martin Dubravka, before Alexis Mac Allister fired the opening goal with a first-time shot into the top corner from the edge of the box.

Tottenham had not come from behind to win in 47 previous attempts and their task became even harder when Cody Gakpo cut inside from the left and slammed Liverpool into a two-goal lead shortly after the break.

Conor Gallagher belatedly scored Tottenham’s first goal of the season to set up a frantic ending, but Dominik Szoboszlai’s late rocket sent Liverpool through to the fourth round.

Here are how the players rated at Anfield

Liverpool

Giorgi Mamardashvili, 8: Liverpool’s No 2 goalkeeper made an excellent early stop to deny Lucas Bergvall when the tie was goalless, and another from Omar Marmoush later on. But he looked weak from the corner that led to Tottenham’s goal.

Jeremie Frimpong, 5: Both of Tottenham’s big first-half chances came down his side while, in an attacking sense, his final ball from the right was poor once again. But stuck to his task against the lively Mathys Tel.

Ronald Araujo, 7: The only player to keep his place from Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Fulham. He displayed authority in the backline in another promising display from the on-loan Barcelona centre-back.

Joe Gomez, 6: Perhaps some rust would have been expected as the injury-prone defender made his first start of the season, but he slotted in well enough in a 45-minute showing and had a role in Mac Allister’s goal.

Milos Kerkez, 6: Solid enough defensively, with some bright bursts going forward too. An excellent recovery challenge to deny Omar Marmoush in the box was his highlight.

Alexis Mac Allister, 8: Delivered another big Anfield goal on a night where Liverpool needed his experience and he showed up. Showed his class at times.

Trey Nyoni, 7: Deployed in the deep-lying midfield position, the 19-year-old didn’t put a foot wrong once he had adjusted to the pace of the game and Tottenham’s fast start.

Rio Ngumoha, 7: Produced a wonderful turn and pass to set up an early chance for Lewis Koumas and also had a hand in Mac Allister’s opener. The 18-year-old continues to adjust to the right side of attack.

James McConnell, 7: A very bright showing, full of energy, and led the hugely improved Liverpool press that rather set the tone for the night. Like Nyoni, didn’t look out of place.

Cody Gakpo, 8: Continued his superb start to the season with a trademark finish while coming inside onto his right foot. Brought incision to Liverpool’s attack and scored while wearing the armband, too.

Lewis Koumas, 7: Didn’t stop running all night and worked his socks off, despite playing in an unfamiliar position. Had an excellent chance to open the scoring after making a peeling run but was denied by Dubravka.

Substitutes

Jeremy Jacquet, 7: Made an excellent recovery challenge on Marmoush in the second half.

Ryan Gravenberch, 6: Liverpool actually lost some control after he replaced Nyoni.

Dominik Szoboszlai, 7: Wowzer. What a way to seal victory – and after wasting a late chance to put the game to bed.

Bradley Barcola, N/A: Showed some electric pace on the counter-attack, but Frimpong couldn’t find him.

Alexander Isak, N/A: Led a very late breakaway but could not find the target.

Tottenham

Martin Dubravka, 6: Made a good save to deny Koumas early on but was well beaten on the three Liverpool goals.

Archie Gray, 5: One of Tottenham’s better performers in the first half but allowed Gakpo onto his right foot far too easily.

Tosin Adarabioyo, 5: Looks to be Tottenham’s fourth-choice centre-back and hardly suggested he deserves to be any higher.

Marcos Senesi, 4: Caught out on the ball on a couple of occasions when playing out from the back.

Destiny Udogie, 5: Showed up well in his battle with Ngumoha and offered a couple of moments from threat from left back.

Rodrigo Bentancur, 4: Looked slow on the ball and off the pace. Blitzed by Liverpool’s young midfielders at times.

Lucas Bergvall, 6: Produced a couple of bursts forward but spurned a brilliant chance to open the scoring.

Mohammed Kudus, 6: Wasted a glorious chance to equalise from under the crossbar but brought some flashes on his first start of the season.

Conor Gallagher, 4: Scored Tottenham’s first goal of the season, at long last, but he was wasteful on the ball at times and guilty of some loose touches in midfield.

Mathys Tel, 5: Crafted a couple of opportunities for others on the left wing, but brought off in the second half without having made enough impact.

Omar Marmoush, 6: Similarly, had bright moments. Struggled leading the line but then was denied by an excellent Mamardashvili after fashioning a chance for himself coming off the left.

Substitutes

Andy Robertsons, 6: Came on to an excellent reception on his Anfield return.

Matheus Fernandes, 7: Tottenham improved when he was added to the midfield.

James Maddison, 7: Made a real difference when brought on to No 10.

Savio, 5: Flashed a glorious late chance wide of the post.

Russian superstar Alexander Ovechkin has achieved something that seemed impossible just a few years ago; the man known as the “Great 8” has broken Wayne Gretzky’s all-time National Hockey League (NHL) regular-season record of 894 goals scored.

Goal number 895 went in a 4-1 loss in one of the final games of the Washington Capitals’ season in the US-Canadian NHL. Ovechkin was celebrated as a hero ― not just by fans of his Washington Capitals, but by ice hockey fans all over North America and beyond. There was no shortage of congratulations, including from NHL top brass, and the man whose record he is set to break, Wayne Gretzky.

“To be honest with you, when I was tying the record, I still can’t believe it,” Ovechkin said afterwards. “It was so emotional. Such a great night. But this is something crazier. I’m probably gonna need a couple of days, maybe a couple weeks, to realize what does it mean to be No. 1?

However, some are irritated or even disturbed by all this cheering. For Ovechkin is a left winger ― but only on the ice. More than three years after Vladimir Putin launched his war of aggression on neighboring Ukraine, Ovechkin’s Instagram profile picture remains a photo of him smiling beside the Russian president.

Indeed, the day after Ovechkin broke the record, Putin said the following in a statement released by the Kremlin: “This achievement has become not only your personal success, but also a real celebration for fans in Russia and abroad.”

The NHL ‘metaphorically shrugs its shoulders’

It’s something that baffles some, like retired Canadian hockey journalist and international broadcaster Paul Romanuk.

“Just imagine for one moment if an NHL player like (Canadian superstar) Sidney Crosby’s social-media profile picture was him with his arm around Harvey Weinstein or Jeffrey Epstein – can you imagine the outrage? The league would order him to take it down immediately. The pushback on social media would be off the scales,” Romanuk told DW in a recent Zoom call.

“And yet you can have this great hockey player side-by-side with a dictator waging a war on an innocent country like Ukraine ― and the NHL metaphorically shrugs its shoulders.”

The profile photo is by no means a one-off, with Ovechkin taking credit for having launched the “PutinTeam” in 2017 to support the president in his 2018 reelection campaign.

Ovechkin’s public support of Putin has indeed put the NHL in a difficult position, and for the most part the league has been closed-lipped on the issue, apart from a statement released shortly after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

NHL condemns invasion, concerned about players

“The National Hockey League condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and urges a peaceful resolution as quickly as possible. Effective immediately, we are suspending our relationships with our business partners in Russia and we are pausing our Russian language social and digital media sites,” the league said.

At the same time, it expressed concern about the “well-being of the players from Russia, who play in the NHL on behalf of their NHL Clubs, and not on behalf of Russia.“

The man himself has also remained tight-lipped about the invasion. DW attempted to reach out to him through the Washington Capitals for comment but received no answer. Ovechkin has only commented on it once, a day after Putin launched the invasion, on February 24,2022.

Asked by a reporter covering the Washington Capitals if he still supported Putin despite the invasion, Ovechkin replied: “Well, he’s my president.”

He did call for peace but declined to criticize Moscow’s military action.

“Please, no more war. It doesn’t matter who’s in the war — Russia, Ukraine, different countries,” he said.

In its statement, the NHL also expressed concern for its Russian players and their families, which it said had been placed in “an extremely difficult position.”

According to a 2022 New York Times article, it was concern about his family back in Russia, that made Ovechkin decide against changing his Instagram profile pic. This has been rejected by critics who argue that there has been no evidence of Putin’s regime retaliating against the families of athletes critical of the war.

Hockey Hall of Famer an outspoken critic

Since then, Ovechkin has gone on playing and putting up points, including a lot of goals for the Capitals. But the “elephant” in the room, as Romanuk calls it, has scarcely been mentioned in the North American media ― something that also sticks in the craw of Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender Dominik Hasek.

“Russia is committing the most terrible crimes, including genocide against Ukrainian children,” Hasek, a former Czech national team goalie, told DW in a written statement.

“And since every citizen is an advertisement for the actions of his country, this Russian citizen Ovechkin is currently a huge advertisement for the aggressive Russian war and other Russian crimes.”

Popular with the fans

Many fans, though, seem to be willing to give Ovechkin the benefit of the doubt. When DW asked a random group of North America-based fans for their thoughts, support for the hockey player, who is undoubtedly one of the all-time greats, was unanimous.

Most said that in a particularly troubled world they just wanted to enjoy watching their favorite sport, unencumbered by politics. One noted that in the United States, the war in Ukraine seemed an awfully long way away. Another pointed to the fact that beyond Ovechkin’s Insta profile photo, as far as he knew, the player hadn’t actively publicly supported Putin’s war.

“As long as the NHL chooses to celebrate The Great 8 for his accomplishments, so should we. Putin is responsible for Putin, not Ovechkin,” he said.

The player vs. his political views

Hasek, for one, certainly won’t be celebrating whenever Ovechkin does break the record.

“If I applauded the record in any way, I would be contributing to this advertisement for a war that is responsible for a huge number of human lives [lost],” Hasek said.

Romanuk can’t say enough about Ovechkin’s skills and career.

“The hockey fan in me has great admiration for his accomplishments as a player. I do believe he is the greatest pure goal scorer in the history of the game,” he said.

But like Hasek, the former broadcaster, who called hundreds of NHL and international hockey games over his career, won’t be raising a glass whenever Ovechkin gets that record-breaking goal.

“The short answer is no. I have no respect for the person and his political views and who he chooses to align himself with. I’ll be shaking my head and (thinking) I still don’t understand why the NHL has stood by and given a collective shrug of the shoulders to the Ukrainian people and the elephant in the room, which is Alexander Ovechkin’s support of Vladimir Putin.”

Jonathan Crane contributed to this article. This article was updated after Ovechkin broke the record on April 6.

Edited by: Matt Pearson

HOUSTON (AP) — Jeremy Peña homered in his first two at-bats and Yordan Alvarez slugged his 39th home run to lead the Houston Astros to a 4-2 win over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night.

The Astros, who entered the day leading the AL West by one game over the Texas Rangers, got back on track after a three-game sweep by Tampa Bay over the weekend.

Advertisement

Peña hit Michael Wacha‘s first pitch over the wall in left-center field for his first homer since Aug. 30.

There was one out in the third when he connected off Wacha (9-9) again, a shot to the seats in left to make it 2-0 and give him a fifth career multi-homer game.

The Astros led by one when Peña singled with two outs in the fifth. Alvarez followed with his soaring longball to right field. His 39 homers are a career best and trail the Rays‘ Junior Caminero by two for the AL lead.

AJ Blubaugh and Bryan Abreu each threw a scoreless inning before Josh Hader allowed one hit in a scoreless ninth to close it out and collect his 26th save.

Advertisement

Houston starter Hunter Brown (6-3) allowed two hits and a run while tying a season high with 10 strikeouts in five innings.

He had allowed just one hit when he walked Isaac Collins with two outs in the fifth. Collins stole second base before Carter Jensen‘s double to left field sent him home.

Vinnie Pasquantino homered off Bennett Sousa with two outs in the sixth to get the Royals within 4-2.

Wacha yielded four hits and four runs in six innings as the Royals lost their third straight.

Up next

Royals LHP Daniel Lynch IV (5-5, 3.52 ERA) opposes Astros RHP Cristian Javier (2-5, 5.50) on Wednesday night.

___

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Ryan Garcia is only a few days removed from his latest win and he’s already plotting his return.

Garcia made an emphatic defence of his WBC welterweight title on Saturday as he stopped Conor Benn inside two rounds at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Attention has already turned to what ‘King Ry’ may do next, with a unification clash with WBA welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez initially seeming to be the frontrunner option.

It is believed that Cinco de Mayo weekend in May is the targeted date for that clash, and therefore Garcia has revealed his intention to fight before then, looking at a potential battle against the man that has been dubbed as ‘mini Mike Tyson.’

Speaking to The Ariel Helwani Show, Garcia discussed a possible match-up with former world champion Isaac Cruz.

“I kind of want to get in the ring either December or January. That’s kind of where I’m looking at. There’s a lot of people out there. You’ve got Pitbull Cruz, I wouldn’t mind rumbling with him… I won’t call it a tune up but I don’t want to get caught off guard.

“I don’t want to wait until May to fight. Why do I have to wait until May? I have no bruises, I have no hits to the head, why can’t I fight? So I’ll give the fans a little treat.”

Cruz won the WBA super lightweight title in March 2024 with a stoppage win over Rolando Romero, before losing the belt in his first defence in a split decision defeat to José Valenzuela.

He has since become WBC interim super lightweight champion with a win over Omar Salcido, and was held to a draw with Lamont Roach Jr in his last outing, so a clash against Garcia could be an interesting spectacle before a showdown with Lopez.

On Saturday, Conor Benn was halted by Ryan Garcia with ease, stopped inside two rounds of his maiden world title bid, and now a two-division world champion has labelled Benn as ‘terrible’ at world level and says that he didn’t belong in the same ring as Garcia.

Garcia and Benn had all of the necessary build-up of a super-fight, but those anticipating a gruelling slugfest or technical chess match were left short-changed as Garcia closed the show in less than five minutes of action to retain his WBC welterweight title.

As a result, many fighters and critics have shared their disappointment at Benn’s display, believing that the challenger was massively overmatched and undeserving of a shot at Garcia’s throne.

Speaking to Pro Box TV, former welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi branded Benn as a ‘terrible boxer’ in comparison to other world-level combatants.

“Conor Benn is, by the standards of world-class boxing, terrible. Terrible boxer.”

Malignaggi then went on to say that Benn should have pursued the belt when Mario Barrios was the WBC welterweight champion, rather that his fights with Chris Eubank Jr, believing that to have been the best chance that ‘The Destroyer’ will ever get to capture world honours. 

“I’m not sure he could have [beaten Mario Barrios]. I think maybe on hunger and determination, Conor is a hungry kid, I will give him that. He is a determined kid and Barrios is a bit gun-shy, a bit high-guard and doesn’t throw enough punches at times. 

“There was an opportunity there possibly, because Barrios sucked as a world champion as well, to tell you the truth. There was an opportunity [for Benn] to out-hustle Barrios and possibly sneak in a world championship. It would definitely have been his best chance ever.”

“Last night was a shot against a world champion of his generation, it looked like they were doing two different sports. It looked like he didn’t belong in the ring.”

Advertisement

Benn is set to move up to either middleweight or super-middleweight following the first stoppage defeat of his career, with a potential trilogy with Eubank Jr. now on the horizon.