We’re not really here, sang the Manchester City fans as they went 1-0 up against Crystal Palace. Somehow, despite everything, they still are.
Having defended Oliver Glasner’s right to pick whatever team he wants in the Premier League, Pep Guardiola then went and left all his best players out as he made six changes from Saturday to make it clear that catching Arsenal is no longer City’s priority.
The City boss admitted before the game that his teamsheet would have been different had Arsenal dropped points at West Ham, but with the Gunners in control of the title race with two games to go Guardiola would rather keep his best players fresh for the FA Cup final. With that in mind, he picked a mish-mash XI that had everyone guessing how on earth they were going to line up.
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Those that were interested anyway, but thousands of empty seats at the Etihad for the penultimate home game suggested that Blues fans were more interested in Wembley than the title race as well. Even the boos for the Premier League anthem at the start of the game were half-hearted.
If City predictably looked like a team that were out of sorts, Palace too had little interest in being out on a miserable night at the Etihad. They defended gamely, yet took as long as possible to restart the game when level and weren’t much quicker after going behind.
With the game crying out for quality, up stepped a player who hasn’t shown his in too long. Phil Foden produced a sumptuous backheel to set up Antoine Semenyo for the opening goal and then, whether intentional or not, his drag down allowed Omar Marmoush to rifle in a second; if not for a terrific Dean Henderson save from a Josko Gvardiol header, Foden would have doubled his Premier League assists for the season in 45 minutes.
As Glasner swore and shouted on the touchline, it was an evening beyond anything Guardiola could have hoped for. Despite effectively giving up on trying to put as much pressure on Arsenal as they could, Foden and his fringe players had done a job anyway to haul City to within two points.
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And while Erling Haaland was left on the bench, Rayan Cherki came off it for the final 15 minutes and set up Savinho to complete a second 3-0 home win in five days. Not only are City within a win of Arsenal, but they now have a better goal difference.
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Just as the Blues will have been gutted by the finale at the London Stadium, there must have been some Gunners licking their lips when they saw the teams at the Etihad and then City were carved open inside two minutes. From thinking they could possibly win the title on Monday, now they have to wait a bit longer.
It may not matter, and Arsenal’s game against Burnley may determine how strong or otherwise Guardiola decides to go at Bournemouth three days after the FA Cup final. But, on a strange night at the Etihad, City did enough to give a strange season the chance to have another big twist in the final week.
And Keegan Bradley talked about Bud Light and cereal.
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Talk, talk, talk, talk. It can be cheap, as the saying goes — but major championship press conferences are more than sessions full of other commonly spoken phrases. Maybe that’s due to what’s at stake. Maybe that’s because of the questions. But the answers are more than thoughts about the need to keep the ball in the fairway and the desire to make putts. There’s occasional gold spoken from the dais.
After 15 press conferences over the past three days at the PGA Championship — should you be curious, the pressers lasted nearly five hours — here, then, are a few things that were spoken:
Cam Young was asked about his iPhone
Young is reserved, but an easy way into a person’s personality is through a question into how long they scroll.
“It depends,” he said. “If I’m on my own on the road, it’s a lot more. It’s probably four hours or something. And if I’m at home with my family, it’s probably more on the order of half that.
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“I try to be conscious of it. So I know when I’m by myself, it’s somewhere in the four, four-and-a-half range, and when I’m not, when I’m at home, it’s usually two or under two.”
What does he look at when he’s on his own?
“I don’t know,” Young said. “I go on YouTube. I like to read articles. I look at golf swing videos for more time than I’d like to admit, yeah.”
Luke Donald was asked whether he brings Ryder Cup talk to the dinner table
To best capture the moment, here is the complete exchange between European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald and a reporter, with the reporter’s question in italics.
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Luke, you’re clearly a firmly organized fellow and very good at details and things. I’m just wondering how you cope with all the issues of the Ryder Cup? I mean, you must have had hundreds of questions before Bethpage, before you took the job on and since you agreed to do it. I’m wondering if you and Diane [his wife] have an agreement that over dinner you’ll talk about wine, painting and the family and anything other than the Ryder Cup?
“I think the dynamic between Diane and I is interesting,” Donald said. “I don’t get too involved — especially when it comes closer to the Ryder Cup.
“Right now we’re certainly having some discussions together at dinner whenever the time is right about the team spaces. Certainly I don’t talk to her about the golf course. She doesn’t really talk to me about ladies clothes.
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“I just have complete trust in what she does, and she has complete trust in what I do. There are some overlaps. Like right now we’re talking about team spaces. There’s a distinct difference between part of the hotel to the other. One’s a ballroom, one’s sort of part of the old hotel, and which might be better for our team. Those are things we would discuss together.
“But there’s definitely stuff that I have complete faith in what she does, and she has complete faith in what I do. So we don’t need to go into too much detail then.
You don’t have a feeling, ‘Look, we have to stop talking about this. There are other things going on.’
“I mean, we talk about other stuff as well,” Donald said. “If something is needed [to be] discussed with the Ryder Cup that involves both of us, then we talk about it. If not, we’re just dealing with everyday life.”
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Scottie Scheffler talked about why Masters practice rounds are so calm
Scottie Scheffler was asked whether he treats major weeks the same as normal tournament weeks, and he said that wasn’t possible, as each environment is different — and the one at Augusta National was especially so.
“When you look at the Masters,” he said, “you look at the practice rounds there, and the Masters is like the only place on earth where people actually follow the rules because they’re just afraid to get kicked out all the time. So those practice rounds are actually quite calm in terms of there’s not a lot of yelling, there’s nobody running around, there’s not a ton of noise. Except when you’re swinging, there’s camera clicks on every single shot because people are allowed to have real cameras out there. So you’re at the top of your backswing, for every practice round, it’s just camera clicks.
“You come here and there’s a lot of noise and a lot of energy. That’s why you can’t treat them quite the same because there’s so much energy around the tournament. You come into the press room, there’s more people, more fans, more noise. There’s just a lot more stuff going on.”
Xander Schauffele was asked about trees
To set this up, a topic this week has been the trees at Aronimink Golf Club, or the absence of a few, following a renovation. That led to this back-and-forth between Xander Schauffele and the Associated Press’ Doug Ferguson, who are friendly with each other. Ferguson’s comments are in italics.
“I do like trees, Doug” Schauffele said. “Do you like trees?”
I like trees, too, Xander. Let’s do ‘Cat in the Hat’ next. In terms of a golf course …
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“I know where you’re going,” Schauffele said. “Go ahead.”
Go somewhere then. Keep making me work.
“Yeah, when I hear certain designers saying, ‘I’m going to restore this course to 1915,’ I’m like, ‘Well, it probably takes a good 100 years for a nice tree to grow, just to take it out, just to say it was where it was before,” Schauffele said.
“I think people keep talking about distance and how the game is played, but just put a bunch of trees on a course — I think Hilton Head is a good example. Do I like Hilton Head? Not really. But it’s hard. It’s kind of crazy, if you look at the winning score at Hilton Head and the winning score at Doral — one’s called Hilton Head, and one’s called the Blue Monster — you’re like, I think the winning score at Miami is lower. It’s just funny when you kind of look at it in that sense.”
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“That’s all I have to say to your tree question.”
Is it more framing, or is it more trouble?
“It’s just hard,” Schauffele said. “I think when you have — like this rough, for example, if we had trees in the rough and you hit it in it, this week you’ll see guys kind of gouging it towards the green. If there’s a tree there, you’d be chipping out sideways. This is the type of rough where you can’t get a ball to curve at all. You just grab a high-lofted club and hit a knuckleball and have it kind of trundle somewhere.
“There’s certain weeks where the rough is, you can kind of curve it a little bit. But there’s reasons guys are praying to be on the pine straw or dirt when they hit it off line, versus being in thick rough, just because you can get some movement on the golf ball.”
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Collin Morikawa talked about his caddie’s help with his water bottle
Collin Morikawa has been battling a back injury, and he noted who’s been helping him through it, including his caddie, who did a relatively simple task in which Morikawa was appreciative.
“Yeah, it’s everyone,” Morikawa said. “I’ve got great physios at home, I’ve got a great physio on the road. Rick Sessinghaus and I have been working for quite some time and talking about the mental game and finding ways to feel comfortable out there. He’s a big, big proponent and component of me being able to play out here, so I owe a lot to him.
“But I owe a lot of credit to Mark Urbanek, my caddie. At the Masters, we were doing things that just didn’t make sense from simply like him handing me my water bottle. I think it’s ridiculous for him to hand me my water bottle, but if it was going to save me one extra bend that was going to make me uncomfortable, he’s going to do it. So I give him a lot of credit over the last few months of sticking with me through the chaotic things I’m asking for.”
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Jesse Droemer was asked about broken bones and snakes
Jesse Droemer, one of the 20 club pros in the field, went into detail about previous injuries.
“Yeah, I would say the biggest injuries that affected my golf,” he said, “I broke my left wrist pretty bad when I was probably 10. I broke three bones in my ankle in football. That was pretty rough. But yeah, it’s been 13 broken bones. It’s been a battle. But at the end of the day, it just makes me feel grateful to be healthy and to not have to deal with pain anymore.
A reporter then asked Droemer to confirm whether he had also once been bitten by a snake.
“Yeah, I was in my backyard, I was like 12 or so and stepped on a water moccasin,” Droemer said. “My mom didn’t believe me. I told her I just stepped on a snake, and she just kind of shrugged it off. Then I actually fainted, and my toe was about this big [a couple of inches]. So she had to rush me to the hospital. And then I used to go down into the Brazos River with a machete and boots and look for golf balls. So I had to fight off snakes for that.”
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“But, yeah, that was pretty serious. But after that, I don’t really have a fear of it anymore, so …”
Fighting snakes?
“Well, I couldn’t afford Pro V1s back then,” Droemer said, “so I would sell the kind of beat-up ones and I would keep the best ones. So in tournaments I wasn’t going to lose a golf ball that I fought off snakes for.”
Rory McIlroy was asked about Scottie Scheffler
Rory McIlroy, the world’s second-ranked player, was asked about what he admires about Scheffler, the top-ranked player. Answers to this type of question are oftentimes good, as they’re complimentary — and they give a peek into what the player would want for themselves.
“I think it is, it’s his relentlessness,” McIlroy said. “It’s his — the comfort in which he does the same things over and over. It’s the little — it’s not flashy, but he dots his I’s and crosses his T’s and does all the right things.
“Yeah, I just think it’s that relentless pursuit of the process and not just letting the outcome happen. Whatever that means is what it means.
“I’ve said, again, I think his faith has a big part to do with how comfortable he is with doing that because he accepts whatever happens, whatever comes his way, and he moves on.
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“He just doesn’t seem — there’s not a lot of volatility there in his life and in his game, and I think that sets him up so well for the future.”
Jordan Spieth was asked about grilling meat and his swing
To properly capture this moment, here is the complete exchange between Jordan Spieth and a reporter, with the reporter’s question in italics.
I read something where you used an analogy of grilling meat to describe the process of working on getting your swing back to where you want it to be. Where did that analogy come from and how is it going?
“I was just kind of thinking,” Spieth said, “I was smoking chicken in the fall on a big smoker I have and it got up to 155 quickly and then takes awhile. I was like, man, this kind of feels like — I was working on stuff and I was — it kind of feels like what I’m trying to do in the swing. I go play and it’s a little bit out of the barriers that we call sustainable. Kind of outside the margins that we call OK.
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“So, I don’t know, I kind of was just thinking about it one day and came to me.
“But yeah, it seems to be — I don’t know how — if it’s that way for everybody and just seemed that way for me right now where, you know, it’s there, it’s there. It’s like close. It’s matching what I want to do. It feels good and it’s producing right stuff.
“And then, you know, if it just gets — it’s just not quite consistent enough yet to be able to be contending week in and week out.
“But I know what to do and how to get there. It’s just I have to stay the course and just trust that it will happen.”
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Is [smoking] a hobby of yours?
“Not really,” Spieth said, “I’m very average. Probably a 15-handicap at it. In the fall, it’s fun sometimes.”
Bradley was asked how he celebrated his win at the 2011 PGA Championship, and he answered this way:
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“So after the PGA in ’11, my mom and sister were there, and I remember my agent, Ben, was there, and I remember driving out of the Atlanta Athletic Club with the Wanamaker in my lap, holding it like this [in his lap], and we were looking at each other like, this is crazy. Like I was holding it.
“And then I went — we tried to — it was Sunday night. We were trying to get some beers or something. Everything was closed. And we went back, and I had Bud Light and cereal for dinner. We still have a picture of it in my house somewhere.
“And then I took the trophy and put it right next to my bed. I remember waking up in the morning and looking at it, like this is crazy. I can’t believe this.
“And then I got back, and a few of my buddies picked me up. I was single and 25 years old, and all my buddies picked me up from the airport. We went on a few-day celebration tour with the trophy, bringing it everywhere.
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“One of those moments that you get to share with people, and you know, some of the fondest memories of my life.”
Did he remember the cereal?
“I forget what it was,” Bradley said. “… Whatever — I was starving. It was midnight. After you’re done with media, and I just remember like thinking, how surreal this was. It was Bud Light and cereal. It was the best meal of my life. Like one minute I’m a rookie and now I’m a major champion and I’m looking on my Twitter and every couple minutes, I’ve gotten 1,000 new followers. It was crazy, the night and the next following couple weeks.”
South Africa pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada has become the latest global star to be left stunned by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s fearless batting, with the Gujarat Titans quick admitting that the Rajasthan Royals teenager possesses a rare combination of power, confidence and natural flair. Rabada, who has been one of the standout fast bowlers of IPL 2026 with 21 wickets, briefly found himself under attack from the 15-year-old sensation during Gujarat Titans’ clash against Rajasthan Royals earlier this season. Sooryavanshi smashed Rabada for back-to-back sixes in a fearless display that once again reinforced his growing reputation as one of the most destructive young batters in world cricket.
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The teenager has already grabbed headlines this season for taking on elite bowlers without hesitation, including Jasprit Bumrah, Josh Hazlewood, Mohammed Siraj and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Against Gujarat, Siraj too was launched for a first-ball six as Sooryavanshi continued his astonishing rise. Speaking to PTI, Rabada admitted he has been fascinated by the youngster’s mentality and fearless approach at such a young age. “He’s a great talent. He’s got really fast hands. He’s fearless at the moment. There’s not an ounce of fear in his body. That’s how it normally is when you’re young, it’s really fascinating. I think it’s great to see in the game of cricket, in the IPL. It’s great to see the game is well and truly alive. Who else is going to come in and make headlines of that nature? Let’s wait and see,” said the South African quick. Despite the hype surrounding Sooryavanshi, Rabada said his mindset as a bowler remains unchanged while charging in to bowl. “What I’m thinking is just another batter. And try to get the better of him. It’s almost like a little bit of flair. He’s definitely an X-factor player. Someone that is drawing eyes to the game. Fantastic. Really fast hands. No fear. That’s one hell of a combination,” he added. Rabada himself has been operating at peak rhythm this season, consistently touching 150 kmph while forming one of the IPL’s most dangerous new-ball pairings alongside Mohammed Siraj. The duo has troubled batting line-ups throughout the powerplay phase, with Rabada generating steep bounce and seam movement through relentless Test-match lengths. The 30-year-old has now crossed the 20-wicket mark in an IPL season for the fourth time in his career, though he insisted he does not focus too heavily on personal milestones. “I just feel like coming into a season, whatever the team that you are playing for, this time it is Gujarat, I just feel like I am just going to be here to try my best and that is what I am going to leave it at. And whatever the outcome is, it is what the outcome is going to be,” he said. Reflecting on his partnership with Siraj, Rabada said their chemistry has developed naturally over the course of the season. “I guess it is forming a partnership and that is pretty much it. He has got a job to do and I have got a job to do. I guess we have bonded a bit off the field too but it is nothing orchestrated really. “We found out we are bowling together and we try to fulfil that role to the best of our ability. There is no real magic recipe,” he explained.
Under Derek McInnes, Hearts have led the way for most of the season and head into Scottish football’s biggest weekend since 1985 with the title in their hands. However, after a dramatic finish on Wednesday, the momentum is with Celtic.
Hearts comfortably defeated Falkirk 3-0 on Wednesday, but Celtic needed a last-minute Kelechi Iheanacho penalty – given after a VAR review – to keep their hopes realistically alive.
The fact that the two contenders face each other on the final day makes it all the more dramatic. It will be a winner-takes-all occasion at Celtic Park.
Scottish Premiership standings and fixtures
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1) Hearts | Played: 37, Points: 80, GD+ 35
2) Celtic | Played: 37, Points: 79, GD+ 30
Remaining fixture
Saturday 16 May – Celtic vs Hearts (12:30pm BST)
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How can Hearts win the league on Saturday?
After a thrilling title race full of twists and turns, it all comes down to Saturday lunchtime.
If Hearts win, they win the title. If Hearts draw, they win the title. But if they lose, it will now be Celtic’s championship.
What do Celtic need on the final day?
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It’s simple for Celtic: they must beat Hearts on Saturday.
Their last-minute winner on Wednesday means they no longer have to win by six goals. A win, no matter the score, will do the job.
What happens if they finish level on points?
The tiebreakers are goal difference, then goals scored, then head-to-head points.
Manchester City player ratings from their Premier League game with Crystal Palace in a 3-0 win for Pep Guardiola’s side
Manchester City beat Crystal Palace 3-0 to keep their Premier League title hopes alive. Pep Guardiola made clear he was prioritising the FA Cup as he rested six players, but the Blues still picked up another big win.
Phil Foden was the man who made the important breakthrough for the Blues in a first half that hadn’t offered much, backheeling the ball through for Antoine Semenyo to power home. The England midfielder then helped Josko Gvardiol’s ball onto Omar Marmoush for City to go 2-0 up.
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With Erling Haaland left on the bench, Rayan Cherki came on late on and weaved a way through the Palace team before setting up Savinho to add a third as City moved to within two points of Arsenal.
Here are the player ratings from the Manchester Evening News.
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Donnarumma: Made a number of good saves, even when Palace were offside, in another strong showing. 7
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Nunes: Involved for the first goal and his early substitution speaks to an FA Cup final start. 7
Khusanov: No dramas on his return to the XI, either at centre-back or right-back where he ended up in the second half. 7
Guehi: A comfortable night against his former club, jumping in at the right times when Palace did attack. 7
Gvardiol: Excellent after a long absence, shoring up the defence while offering a varied threat in the attacking third. 8
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Silva: Marshalled the show with a minimum of fuss, even if his shooting is getting worse with every week. 7
Foden: Genius for the first assist and could have had more than his two – his most productive performance in months. 8
Ait-Nouri: Enjoyed some freedom cutting inside as a left-winger before moving back as the game went on. 7
Savinho: A few nice flicks and tricks but there wasn’t enough impact in either half even if he did take his goal well. 6
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Semenyo: Played up front alongside Marmoush and took his goal very well, probably doing enough to stay in for the cup final. 7
Marmoush: Spent large chunks of the game unable to get involved, but came alive for his goal. 6
Substitutes
Ake (for Nunes, 59) Another night where he made things look easy. 6
Doku (for Gvardiol, 59) Couldn’t really work his magic. 6
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Cherki (for Marmoush, 79) Showed his class to tee up Savinho. 7
Kovacic (for Silva, 79) Got straight into pushing City forward. 6
Stones (for Foden, 82) Felt the love of the crowd. 6
Hearts boss Derek McInnes slammed a “disgusting” late penalty awarded to Celtic on Wednesday night – which stretched a dramatic Scottish Premiership title race to the final day.
Hearts, eyeing their first title in 66 years, had one hand on the trophy after their 3-0 win over Falkirk, with Celtic drawing 2-2 away at Motherwell. If it ended that way, Celtic would have needed to win by three goals or more in their final day showdown on Saturday to win the title.
However, Motherwell midfielder Sam Nicholson was penalised in the dying seconds for handball after a challenge in the air from a long throw. Yet replays do not show the ball clearly touching the hand; rather, Nicholson heads the ball away.
Nicholson’s elbow was also near a Celtic player challenging for the ball, but all signs indicate the penalty was given for handball. The late decision and Kelechi Iheanacho’s subsequent conversion of the spot-kick means it is a winner-takes-all clash at Celtic Park on Saturday. A point ahead, Hearts would also seal the title with a draw.
Yet upon seeing the penalty incident on replay, McInnes was in a state of disbelief, telling Sky Sports: “Having seen it again, it’s disgusting, it is. I don’t think it’s a penalty.
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“But we’re up against it, we’re up against everybody. We’ll be ready for Saturday. I don’t think it’s a penalty, there were two more shouts for penalties in our game against Motherwell.
“I’ve seen it, it’s so poor that they’ve been given that penalty and it looks like they’ve been given it. They’ve been very fortunate. We have to realise that we’re up against everything on Saturday.”
Ex-England striker Gary Lineker, writing on X, said: “This might be the worst VAR decision I’ve ever seen (and there’s a lot of competition).
“Extraordinary given the significance.”
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Hearts boss Derek McInnes could not believe Celtic’s late penalty call (PA)
Former Rangers striker Kris Boyd was also stunned by the decision. “It clearly hits his head,” he told Sky Sports. “If it hits your hand, it just drops down at your feet.
“The non-red card for Alistair Johnston against Rangers and now that tonight. Another dubious call that goes in Celtic’s favour.
However, Celtic boss Martin O’Neill believed the decision was “clear-cut” after his side’s lucky escape.
“Well, I have seen it back very, very briefly, it’s a handball,” he told BBC Scotland. “It looks as if it’s also an elbow to the side of the head as well.
“VAR have asked the referee to come over and have a look at it, and he’s [had] no hesitation in giving the penalty.”
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The final day clash between the two title rivals takes place on Saturday at 12:30pm BST at Celtic Park.
The veteran bench boss clearly wasn’t a fan of some calls against the Sabres in Buffalo’s series-tying 3-2 win in Game 4 Tuesday in Montreal.
“I know Montreal’s got a good power play, but I think they’re going down easy,” Ruff told reporters Wednesday. “I think it’s part of the playoffs. It just is. You know how important a power play can be. You get a stick on somebody, you’ve got to be careful with your sticks.
“You know if they have a chance to make the play worse than it is, they’re going to. It’s playoff hockey. Every team in this league does it.”
The Canadiens had seven power plays in Game 4, while the Sabres had four.
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Ruff singled out a cross-checking call on Tage Thompson against Kaiden Guhle that led to Montreal’s go-ahead goal in the first period.
“The little push that Thompson gave their player, I don’t think that’s called in the regular season, but in the playoffs it’s called. So tell our guys not to do it,” Ruff said, stressing his team needs to be more disciplined.
Ruff made it clear Tuesday he thought the league made a bad call on a goaltender-interference challenge that wiped out a goal that would have put the Sabres up 2-0.
“We lost a lot of momentum on some questionable calls. I thought we could have got some calls ourselves. We didn’t. But we battled through all that and ended up winning the game,” Ruff said.
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Watch Game 5 of the series Thursday at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT on Sportsnet or Sportsnet+.
McNabb was given a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct after throwing a late hit that injured Poehling midway through the first period of Tuesday night’s contest.
The penalty occurred along the boards near the Ducks’ blue line, with McNabb drilling Poehling hard into the boards. Poehling was in visible distress after the hit and had to be helped off the ice. The major penalty was confirmed after a video review.
The Ducks announced at the start of the second period that Poehling would not return due to an upper-body injury. Head coach Joel Quenneville did not have an update on his condition after the game.
McNabb, 35, has a goal and two assists in 11 playoff games this season for Vegas.
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Poehling, 27, has four goals and one assist in the same number of games for Anaheim.
The Golden Knights ended up winning 3-2 in overtime to take a 3-2 lead in the second-round series.
Game 6 goes Thursday at 9:30 p.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. CT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
A photo of TCO Performance Center. Vikings and Patriots Training Camp Joint Practice Highlights | August 13, 2025. Minnesota Vikings players participated in 2025 Training Camp joint practice with the New England Patriots at the TCO Performance Center. Mandatory Credit YouTube.
The contributions from recent draft classes have been fairly limited for the Minnesota Vikings. Trading away picks at an unusual rate didn’t help, but way too many picks didn’t deliver an acceptable return on investment.
Late-rounders are never intended to be franchise-changers, but they should provide depth for a few years. One of those is 2024 sixth-rounder Walter Rouse, who joined the club in the same round as placekicker Will Reichard.
The latter has been an excellent player for the franchise; the former has barely played and could see his journey end this summer.
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Jun 10, 2025; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings guard Donovan Jackson (74) and offensive tackle Walter Rouse (73) practice during minicamp at the Minnesota Vikings Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
Rouse, a left tackle at Stanford and Oklahoma, has appeared in eight games during his two-year NFL career, seeing the field on 88 offensive snaps and 38 on special teams. He had a safe spot on the 53-man roster for 25 months, but the numbers work against him this year.
The Vikings added Ryan Van Demark in free agency, snatching the restricted free agent from the Buffalo Bills. He’s set to be the swing backup tackle for the upcoming season after starting six games in front of Josh Allen.
Furthermore, the organization acquired Caleb Tiernan in the third round of last month’s draft. The Northwestern tackle should be expected to stick around, of course, and potentially threaten Van Demark rather than competing with Rouse.
Aug 2, 2024; Eagan, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings offensive tackle Walter Rouse (78) warms up during practice at Vikings training camp in Eagan, MN. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports.
That makes two backup tackles behind the unquestioned starting duo of Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill. Both struggled with their health last year, missing several games and opening the door for Rouse to get his first offensive snaps. Rouse started the season as the fourth tackle behind the two starters and backup Justin Skule, but on some occasions, the staff preferred to move Blake Brandel back to tackle over giving the 2024 pick a shot.
Starting 52 games in college, first at Stanford and then at Oklahoma, Rouse possesses ideal measurements for a tackle at 6’6″ and 313 lbs, with 35″ arms.
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Still, a move to offensive guard might be his best bet. Behind starters Donovan Jackson and Will Fries, the Vikings aren’t particularly loaded with backups after Brandel’s slide into the center position. The backup list includes undrafted rookies and practice squad players in Joe Huber, Henry Byrd, Vershon Lee, and Tomas Rimac.
In fact, a position swap has been floated as an idea for years.
Dec 28, 2023; San Antonio, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners offensive linemen Caleb Shaffer (53) and Walter Rouse (75) get ready for a play in the first half against the Arizona Wildcats at Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports
Darren Wolfson commented on Skor North last year, “Walter Rouse, I’m told, his camp feels like there’s more of a pathway to playing time at some point at guard versus tackle. If you’re thinking Walter Rouse, draft pick last year, is more a tackle, just saying, don’t sleep on the possibility of him playing guard, getting guard reps, working more so at the guard position, not the tackle position.”
Oli Udoh went that route in 2021 and Brandel in 2023. Both started one season at guard before a replacement arrived. It helped them carve out a longer career, though.
Even head coach Kevin O’Connell has mentioned the Rouse to guard concept before, hinting at the transition ahead of his rookie season: “The growth we’ve already seen, both at the right tackle position ‒ I do believe he’s gonna have the ability to play some guard also. It’s not something you start him out in his NFL journey, bouncing around [in] different spots on the line.”
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Given the state of the roster, it would hardly be surprising to see Rouse get some reps at the guard position throughout OTAs and the summer’s training camp.
Their second meeting was more convincing and proved to be Maidana’s final outing as a pro, whilst Mayweather moved onto the biggest fight of his career and defeated perennial rival Pacquiao the following year.
Whilst others find the bout controversial, due to the respective ages of the two legends, Maidana told Fight Hub TV that he has no issues with the contest.
“[I think it is] good. They can still be in boxing and if they can fight, it is okay for them to fight.”
In terms of the fight itself, Maidana predicted a similar showing to their 2015 encounter, with the style of Mayweather remaining unbeatable as he improves his fabled record to 51-0.
“I think it is going to be the same, maybe a little slower because they are a little bigger, but I think that, the way they both fight, is going to be the same.”
Along with the clash against Pacquiao, Mayweather is also lined up to have an exhibition bout against Greek kickboxer Mike Zambidis in June.
The Wednesday sports calendar is filled with top matchups in multiple sports, highlighted by Game 5 of Pistons vs. Cavaliers in the 2026 NBA playoffs with the series tied 2-2, providing a high-stakes contest to cash in on the latest DraftKings promo code, which gives new users $100 in bonus bets instantly after your first $5 wager. The home team is 4-0 overall and against the spread this series, and that’s a trend the SportsLine Projection Model expects to continue, backing the host Detroit Pistons to cover as 3.5-point favorites in Wednesday’s NBA best bets at DraftKings. The over/under for total points scored for Game 5 of Cavs vs. Pistons is 211.5.
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The Pistons won the first two games of the series in Detroit, each by 10 points (111-101 and 107-97). Since losing their playoff opener to the Magic, the Pistons are 5-0 overall and 4-1 ATS in Detroit this postseason. The Pistons are 25-21 ATS at home this year. Meanwhile, Cleveland is 0-5 overall and ATS on the road this postseason and 17-29 ATS on the road this year. The model projects these trends to continue in a pivotal Game 5, with the Pistons covering in 68% of simulations. Back the Pistons here, and claim $100 in bonus bets with your first $5 bet as a new user:
Wild (+1.5) vs. Avalanche
The Wild face a win-or-go-home situation in Game 5, with the Avalanche leading the series, 3-1. Colorado being in this position isn’t a shocker, as the Avalanche dominated all year with an NHL-leading 121 points. Although all three of the Wild’s losses this series has come by multiple goals, Minnesota has also scored multiple goals in all four games, as they’ve proven the offensive ability to skate with Colorado. The Wild covered the puck line in three of four games during the regular season against the Avalanche, including securing two victories, and the model expects the Wild to come out strong with their season on the line. The model projects the Wild to cover in 67% of simulations, compared to the implied odds of 59.7%. Back the Wild to cover at DraftKings here, and claim $100 in bonus bets instantly after your first $5 wager as a new user:
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Cardinals (+119) vs. A’s
The Cardinals have been a pleasant surprise this season, entering Wednesday with a 24-17 record after a 6-4 win over the A’s on Tuesday despite having one of the lowest preseason expectations. The A’s (21-20) have also been better early than many expected, but their Wednesday starter struggled in his last home start. The A’s are scheduled to start J.T. Ginn, who allowed five runs in 4 1/3 innings against the Guardians in his last home start. The Cardinals are starting Matthew Liberatore, who has a 2.31 ERA in two May starts, including holding the Dodgers to two runs in 5 2/3 innings. The Cardinals are 6-2 in Liberatore’s starts this season, and the model projects St. Louis to win in 52% of simulations, showcasing strong value at plus-money odds. Back the Cardinals at DraftKings here, and claim $100 in bonus bets instantly after your first $5 wager as a new user:
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