Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah surveys the field and pregame activity at U.S. Bank Stadium during warmups ahead of a December 8, 2024 matchup in Minneapolis against the Atlanta Falcons, as the organization prepared for another late-season test under the stadium lights with roster stakes looming. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
The Minnesota Vikings fired Kwesi Adofo-Mensah eight days ago, sending shockwaves through the team’s fan base and thrusting the franchise into a mysterious offseason, with free agency a month away. The decision moved the needle for most shocking offseason moments in franchise history, so here’s a look at items with that criteria over the last decade.
Ranked from five to one, each moment landed with real weight because it reshaped Minnesota’s roster, direction, or identity with the snap of two fingers.
The timing confused some. Why didn’t the Vikings terminate his contract on Black Monday?
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Ranked: The 5 Biggest Vikings Offseason Shocks since 2016
Ranked ascendingly (No. 1 = most shocking moment), the most stunning offseason moments since 2016.
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins surveys the field during pregame warmups at Soldier Field, with November 18, 2018 appearing mid-paragraph as Chicago hosted a division matchup. The quiet sideline moment captures Cousins focused and composed before kickoff, framed by a hostile road environment and late-season stakes as Minnesota prepared for the Bears. Mandatory Credit: Quinn Harris-USA TODAY Sports
5. Vikings Win the Kirk Cousins Sweepstakes
In February and March of 2018, a handful of teams pursued Cousins, such as the New York Jets, Denver Broncos, and Arizona Cardinals. Basically every quarterback-needy team explored the Cousins sweepstakes.
And after visiting the 2017 NFC Championship, Minnesota opted to offload Case Keenum to those very Broncos, paving the way for Cousins to sign in Minnesota for an unheard-of guaranteed contract at the time.
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The Vikings had been rumored in the mix for Cousins that offseason, but when they closed the deal, it felt like Minnesota had landed a franchise quarterback for the first time since Daunte Culpepper or Brett Favre.
Cousins stayed in Minnesota for six seasons, leading the club to the postseason twice and tallying one playoff win.
4. Stefon Diggs Traded to BUF
Diggs grew antsy over the Vikings’ run-happy offense, led by head coach Mike Zimmer, and actually asked general manager Rick Spielman for a trade during the 2019 campaign. He went AWOL from the team for a couple of days.
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Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs lines up during live action at CenturyLink Field, with December 2, 2019 embedded mid-paragraph as Seattle hosted Minnesota. The in-game snapshot reflects Diggs’ involvement in a high-scoring contest that tilted toward the Seahawks, highlighting the intensity and pace of a primetime road environment. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports
Spielman told him no during the regular season but pledged to deliver the following offseason. He didn’t renege.
Diggs tweeted that it was time for a new beginning, Spielman shipped him to the Buffalo Bills, and the Vikings used the trade haul to draft Justin Jefferson about a month later.
3. OL Coach Tony Sparano Passes Away
In July 2018, about four months after Minnesota netted Cousins, Sparano was hospitalized with chest pains, which turned out to be a massive heart attack. He passed away three days later.
The news fell out of the sky because no Vikings fan knew that Sparano was sick, and he was a damn good offensive line coach. Minnesota scrambled and promoted Andrew Janocko and Clancy Barone to co-offensive line coach duty.
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The offensive line took a noticeable step back without Sparano in 2018.
2. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah Fired after 4 Seasons
The news that flipped the Vikings’ 2026 offseason on its face.
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert wrote last Friday, “The Minnesota Vikings fired general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah on Friday, a shocking turn after an organization-wide failure to make the playoffs this season. Owners Zygi and Mark Wilf tapped Rob Brzezinski, their longtime executive vice president of football operations, to lead the front office through the 2026 draft. Speaking to reporters Friday,”
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“Mark Wilf would not rule out Brzezinski as a candidate for the permanent general manager job but pledged a “thorough” postdraft search. Wilf said he will “lean toward” a traditional arrangement that would give the next general manager personnel decision-making power with “extremely heavy input” from coach Kevin O’Connell.”
Adofo-Mensah had only connected on about 17%-20% of all draft picks since taking the big job in 2022, fired up strange trades last summer involving Harrison Phillips, Mehki Blackmon, and Adam Thielen, and watched as Sam Darnold trudged to a Super Bowl with the Seahawks in 2025.
Those factors led the Wilfs to fire Adofo-Mensah, albeit about three weeks late by conventional offseason standards. Head coach O’Connell presumably takes center stage as the team’s de facto CEO.
1. Rookie CB Khyree Jackson Killed in Car Accident
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Just over two months after being drafted by the Vikings in the 2024 NFL Draft, Jackson was killed in a Maryland car wreck that took the lives of three people. Jackson’s professional career never got started. The team dedicated the 2024 campaign to him, and his family remains involved in Vikings activities.
Oregon Ducks defensive back Khyree Jackson reacts in coverage against Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium, with November 18, 2023 placed mid-paragraph during a late-season Pac-12 matchup in Tempe. The action shot shows Jackson engaged at the point of attack as Oregon’s defense pressed its advantage on the road. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Last month, the driver of the other vehicle, Cori Clingman, was sentenced to three years in prison for her crime.
Prince George County State Attorney Tara Jackson remarked after the sentence, “I hope that she will use this time really to think about her actions and the lives that have been lost, her friends, the lives of her friends that have been lost, and become a more productive member of our community.”
Cllingman issued a statement:: “From the deepest place in my heart, I’m sorry.”
NEW DELHI: Life felt incredibly difficult and frustrating for Yash Dhull as he spent months confined to the four corners of a room. The 2022 Under-19 World Cup-winning captain was bedridden after undergoing heart surgery, slowly recovering while battling the constant urge to return to the middle and resume playing cricket.Dhull was diagnosed with a hole in his heart after his family urged him to consult a doctor. He had been experiencing symptoms for some time — shortness of breath, constant fatigue, lack of energy and sudden weight loss. As the symptoms worsened, medical tests confirmed the condition, forcing the young cricketer to step away from the game and focus on treatment and recovery.
Yash Dhull Exclusive: Heart surgery, recovery and senior World Cup dream
“Many times it happened that after playing a full match, like a national match, I would feel extremely tired and it felt like my fitness was gradually going down. Later, when I was in a camp, the issue was detected there. I got tests done again and that’s when we found out exactly what it was. Even the doctors were a little surprised — they asked how I was still playing. I hadn’t realised it earlier, but once it was detected, it meant there was an option to fix it,” Yash Dhull told TimesofIndia.com in an exclusive interview.“At that time the timeline wasn’t clear because there was no option except surgery. My mindset was clear, and my family also believed that getting it done at the right time was the better option because the problem could have become bigger later. For me, health is everything. My thinking was simple — if I become fit, everything else will slowly come back. It takes time, but things gradually fall into place. When you are not mentally or physically fit and have issues, you cannot move forward properly. So my focus was to finish this issue first and then see how things move ahead,” he said.After the heart surgery, Dhull was bedridden for several days. As per the doctors’ advice, he was told not to travel or play cricket for a while.But the determined youngster had just one question for the doctors — and he asked it almost every day: “Main kab se cricket khel sakta hoon?” (When can I start playing cricket again?)
“That time was tough. I was itching to get back in the middle. When I started running again, it just wasn’t happening. Even completing one round was very difficult. Slowly, things began to improve. I even tried to play in the DPL in the first year, but it wasn’t possible because my heart rate and BP were going very high. It was very risky as my BP could suddenly shoot up, so I had to back off. Then I started preparing for the season and praying for recovery. Things improve gradually. If you rush them, they don’t work. When you take it step by step, it takes time, but eventually things come back,” Yash Dhull, who led India to the 2022 Under-19 World Cup title after beating England in the final, said.DHULL’S NEXT TARGET: SENIOR WORLD CUPDhull is among the few captains who have led India to the Under-19 World Cup title.India have won the Under-19 ODI World Cup a record six times — in 2000, 2008, 2012, 2018, 2022 and 2026. The title-winning captains include Mohammad Kaif (2000), Virat Kohli (2008), Unmukt Chand (2012), Prithvi Shaw (2018), Dhull (2022) and Ayush Mhatre (2026).
For Dhull, however, the Under-19 World Cup is not just a memory. His next target is clear — representing India at the senior World Cup.“I talk to players like Rishabh Pant, Ishant Sharma and Axar Patel. I’m very close to them and you learn a lot just by being around them. You observe what they do and how they go about their work, and that helps a lot. They’ve always told me to prepare in such a way that when an opportunity comes, you don’t miss it,” he said.Due to health issues and the surgery, Dhull — who played for Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League from 2022 to 2024 — went unsold at the IPL 2026 auction.“Yes, you do feel a little disappointed, but at the same time you cannot get stuck in that feeling. You have to get back to your work. If you stay stuck on one thing, you won’t be able to focus on the opportunities ahead. Right now, I’m waiting to see what opportunities come my way. Whatever comes, I’m preparing for it and I’m ready. Anything can happen in life at any time — things can change anytime — so I’m preparing for that,” Dhull said.“The dream is to play a senior World Cup. I am confident that I will play one day. Every cricketer dreams of representing India at a World Cup,” he said.
Rennae Stubbs recently accused President Donald Trump of ‘disrespecting’ US Army soldiers killed in an Iranian drone strike. The former tennis star criticized Trump as a ‘draft dodger’ after the President showed up to the dignified transfer of the soldiers in a baseball cap.
Earlier this week, an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait killed six service members. The US Army Reserve soldiers were brought home in a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Saturday, March 7 and Trump, alongside first lady Melania Trump and Vice President JD Vance were in attendance for the event.
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Recently, an Instagram Threads user shared a picture from the event, writing,
“President Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and Vice President Vance honoring with Dignified Transfer the 6 members of our military who lost their lives. God bless these heroes and their families.”
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Reacting to this, Rennae Stubbs accused President President Donald Trump of ‘disrespecting’ the fallen soldiers, writing,
“Disrespecting them with a hat on. What do you expect from a draft dodger.”
Rennae Stubbs shares sweet golfing moment in memory of her mother
Stubbs at the City Cup (Image Source: Getty)
Rennae Stubbs recently invited fans behind-the-scenes into her life with a sweet glimpse into her golfing outing. The Australian revealed that she used to often golf with her mother, but hadn’t been out on the course since her mother passed away last year.
She went on to share that she recently returned to the sport, wearing her mother’s chain around her neck, and unlocked an incredible achievement, writing on X,
“If you don’t know, I love golf & so did my mum. She played her whole life & when she passed last year, I hadn’t played golf since. Well I played for the 1st time yesterday, wearing her chain around my neck & this happened! Thankgod i filmed it. Thx 😇 #holeinone #seinseiporcupine.”
As a tennis player, Rennae Stubbs competed on the WTA Tour between 1992 and 2011. The Australian was a doubles specialist, and won four women’s doubles Grand Slam titles as well as two mixed doubles Major championships.
After calling time on her career in 2011, Stubbs shifted her focus to coaching. In recent years, the 54-year-old has worked with the likes of Serena Williams, Eugenie Bouchard, Karolina Pliskova and Samantha Stosur.
Welcome to the start of NFL free agency, one of the busiest periods not only of the offseason but of the entire year, as every team looks to rebuild its roster for the upcoming season.
As usual, quarterback news is expected to make up a significant portion of free agency. The first domino fell Monday afternoon, with the Falcons signing ex-Dolphin Tua Tagovailoa to a one-year, $1.3 million deal to join 2024 top-10 pick Michael Penix Jr.
If Jon Drago, the longtime tournament director of the PGA Tour’s CJ Cup Byron Nelson, were writing a book about the current status of his Dallas-area event, he might call it “A Tale of Two Tournaments.”
On one hand, Drago has a venue — TPC Craig Ranch — that is coming off a multi-million dollar renovation by Hall of Famer Lanny Wadkins, and a reigning champion — Scottie Scheffler — who is not only world No. 1 but also a hometown hero.
Yes, the best of times.
On the other hand, Drago and his lead sponsor, the Salesmanship Club of Dallas, do not have a 2027 date for the event, and now, in the tournament’s seventh decade, potentially sit in the crosshairs of a pending schedule reduction by the PGA Tour. If the Nelson were not to survive PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp’s sweeping makeover, it would mean the end of an event that in its lifespan has raised more money for charity, nearly $200 million, than any other PGA Tour stop. Today, the Momentous Institute, a local mental health nonprofit, is the Nelson’s sole beneficiary.
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The worst of times? We shall see.
Drago is attuned to the questions swirling around forthcoming changes to the Tour’s schedule. He knows some Tour stops could be in trouble. But he isn’t jumping to any conclusions.
“It can be maybe frustrating, sure,” he said. “We would love to know the future and we don’t. If you had told me five years ago we would have video golf on TV [TGL] and a breakoff Saudi golf league [LIV], I might not have believed it. We are not going to believe in speculations or chase rumors. We are going to only deal in facts.”
Drago said that’s exactly the message he delivered to CJ Group executives who were in town from South Korea recently for pre-tournament planning sessions. CJ renewed its title sponsor deal last year, and the Nelson has a contact in place with the Tour to run the event this year from May 21-24.
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Drago’s first meeting with Rolapp will come in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., this week, but he already knows the new CEO is striving for more “scarcity” in the schedule. If moving dates would help the Nelson’s prospects, Drago said he’d be open to it. “We would prefer to be in May because it allows the Zoysia grass to grow in at the course,” he said. “But we have been in April and in May and could move earlier if we had to.”
According to a Salesmanship Club committee member, Tour officials told the club that, with the goal of recouping money for their equity partners, the Tour is looking at taking over management of more Tour events, as it did with the PGA National stop, the Cognizant Classic, in 2023. (The Tour declined to comment for this story.)
The Nelson isn’t the only Texas Tour event mulling questions about its future. Same goes for the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth. The Schwab, at historic Colonial Country Club, is the longest-running professional golf event at the same site outside of the Masters at Augusta National. The course recently underwent a renovation by Gil Hanse, and long has been one of the more revered events on the Tour schedule, with 2026 marking its 80th playing.
Schwab tournament director Michael Tothe doesn’t have a 2027 date, but said he expects to know more this month, perhaps as soon as later this week when Rolapp makes his State of the Tour address at the Players Championship.
“I’ve talked to Brian a couple of times and I think he’s really a sharp guy, very impressive,” Tothe said. “Change will get everybody excited or, in some cases, not excited. Change can be fun or scary because there is a lot of it.”
Still, Tothe said, he is confident the Nelson and Colonial will continue as a North Texas two-step.
“I would be shocked, stunned if there is not a Byron Nelson tournament next year,” he said. “I mean they have a new [renovated] course and a new title sponsor for only a few years in CJ. What are your going to do, just tell them to go away?”
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Complicating matters further for the Texas events in 2027 is that year’s PGA Championship, which is slated for PGA Frisco’s East Course. If the Nelson and Schwab dates go unchanged in 2027, that would mean the PGA Championship, Nelson and Colonial would fall in back-to-back-to-back weeks. Three tournaments in just a 40-miles radius is a geographical logjam that has never happened on Tour before.
“We can pull it off,” Tothe said.
Tothe and Drago live within five miles of one other in Mansfield, Texas, and talk often about their tournaments’ futures.
“I think we both feel the same way,” Tothe said. “We have great historic events, excellent title sponsors and lots of fans, volunteers and money raised for charity in one of the biggest areas in the country. How many people can say that?”
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Not many, but the news Tothe and Drago will receive in the coming weeks (or months) will say a lot about the new era of the PGA Tour.
Mar 7, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) controls the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers during the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
The Atlanta Hawks look to extend their season-high winning streak to seven games on Tuesday when they host the struggling Dallas Mavericks, who have lost seven in a row.
This will be the first meeting between the clubs this season, with Dallas having won the last four. They play again on March 18 in Dallas.
Atlanta beat Philadelphia 125-116 on Saturday for its sixth straight victory. The Hawks have won seven of eight and climbed two games over .500 and into ninth place in the Eastern Conference. Atlanta entered Monday trailing the eighth-place 76ers by 1 1/2 games and sixth-place Orlando by 2 1/2 games.
“I mean, we can only really just keep winning games,” Atlanta guard Dyson Daniels said. “There’s probably four or five teams that could rotate in that No. 5 to 10 spot. So, we just have to keep winning games. We try not to focus on that too much, but it is in the back of our heads. We do want to get that playoff spot. We don’t really want to be in the play-in, so we’ve just got to keep winning games.”
Atlanta’s Jalen Johnson, who averages 22.9 points, 10.5 rebounds and 7.9 assists, produced 35 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists against the Sixers. He has recorded 39 double-doubles and 11 triple-doubles this season.
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The Hawks hope to get Jonathan Kuminga back on Tuesday. He is averaging 21.3 points and 7.7 rebounds in three games with Atlanta since being acquired from Golden State at the trade deadline. Kuminga has missed the last two games with left knee inflammation.
The Mavericks were routed by the Toronto Raptors 122-92 on Sunday and have lost 17 of their last 19. Dallas has fallen to No. 12 in the Western Conference, 9 1/2 games out of qualifying for the play-in tournament. Five of their last six losses have been by double-digits and four of those were by at least 19 points.
Dallas coach Jason Kidd indicated that shakeups are likely in the wake of the team’s struggles.
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“We’ve got to look at some different combinations as we go forward,” Kidd said. “Maybe looking at the starting group. Maybe it’s different combinations there in the first quarter. We’ll look at that as we get to Atlanta. We didn’t shoot the ball well, nor did we take care of the ball. It’s hard to win in this league if you don’t do those two things well.”
An exception Sunday was Daniel Gafford, who scored 21 points on 10-for-10 shooting, with 11 rebounds. Gafford is averaging 8.6 points and 6.6 rebounds.
Cooper Flagg, the top pick in the 2025 draft, will make his first appearance in Atlanta. Flagg has played three games after missing eight due to a left foot sprain. He averages 20.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists, and earlier this month, he became the second-youngest player to reach 1,000 career points.
The Mavericks are getting another solid season from P.J. Washington (14.0 points, 6.9 rebounds) and have gotten a lift from veteran Khris Middleton, who was acquired at the trade deadline. Middleton is averaging 11.8 points in 12 games with the Mavericks.
Reverend and the Makers frontman Jon McClure has quickly tempered expectations of a Wrexham-style transformation after becoming chairman of Sheffield FC, the world’s oldest football club.
McClure is spearheading a consortium that has secured a “significant minority” stake in the ninth-tier club, established in 1857.
He is joined by renowned music executive David Bianchi, who manages artists such as Tom Grennan and Charli XCX.
Despite the Hollywood-backed success of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney in elevating Wrexham from non-league obscurity to a global phenomenon, McClure stated that such a journey is an “unlikely path” for his new club.
“I’m not Ryan Reynolds, and I’m not anywhere near that famous, right?” he said. “I’m well known nationally in the music world.
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“The Wrexham thing is not how it’s really going to work. I think it’s a slightly different model. And also Wrexham is not the first club in the world. The club, in some ways, is the superstar.
“You see people bandying ideas about like we’re going to build a 15,000-seater stadium or we’re going to do a Wrexham and that suggests to me that you don’t know what you’re talking about.
“That’s not what we’re trying to do here. We’re trying to do something a little bit different, number one, and secondly, there is a limit to how big you can grow its fan base.
“I think it should live within its means and be sustainable, where it becomes a second club for everyone in the South Yorkshire region, firstly, then maybe nationally.
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McClure stated that Wrexham’s journey is an “unlikely path” for his new club (Martin Rickett/PA Wire)
“And one day, who knows? But right about now, I think there’s a limit, and that’s good.
“Non-league, it’s difficult when you’re at this level. And so that’s why I assembled a team of people who could help me do it, because I am conscious of the fact that ‘rock star comes in and does football club’ could be conceived as a car crash waiting to happen.”
The ‘Heavyweight Champion of the World’ singer and his consortium will initially try to drive the commercial side of the club, focusing on Esports and hosting a football festival.
They will grow the women’s team but accept there is a ceiling on the men’s team’s growth, considering they are in the Northern Counties East League Premier Division and competing with Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United.
That is why McClure will not be following in the footsteps of YouTuber KSI, who made big promises when investing in Dagenham last week.
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“We’re saying, these are our aims and ambitions, and we’re tempered with the reality that there is a ceiling, especially for the men’s team.
“There’s a limit to what can be achieved. And I think whilst we’re all mindful of that, we can’t go too far wrong.
“I’ve seen KSI be like ‘Premier League in five years’ and all this. What if you don’t do it, you’re going to look like a right wally, aren’t you?
“So I think just be realistic and be humble, right? Because we’re Sheffield people, Yorkshire people. Be humble.”
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McClure’s next musical adventure is a collaboration with Robbie Williams.
“Rob lives in Miami, right? And he’s a very, very famous lad,” McClure added. “He is very busy, and does he want to get involved in Sheffield FC? I don’t know. I’ve never asked him.
“I don’t know if that’s the right thing to do. I don’t know. Will I bring him here? 100 per cent yes, and if he likes it, let’s see.”
Dave Tippett and Todd McLellan both had it. Jay Woodcroft did his best to recover from it.
And now, Kris Knoblauch has perhaps graduated to a new stage of rehab, having played Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl together for just 22 seconds at five-on-five during Sunday’s 4-2 win at Vegas. He’s still afflicted, but trying to kick the habit one … day … at … a … time.
The drug? It has been dubbed “The Nuclear Option.”
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How do you know a coach is on it? Well, Jon Cooper succumbed to it in Milan — a propensity to over-use Connor McDavid, the best player on the planet.
And if even Cooper could not abstain, perhaps it’s impossible.
32 Thoughts: The Podcast
Hockey fans already know the name, but this is not the blog. From Sportsnet, 32 Thoughts: The Podcast with NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas is a weekly deep dive into the biggest news and interviews from the hockey world.
“You media guys think you’re so smart, with your ‘Don’t put them out together’ bull—-,’” a former Oilers coach said to me recently, only half-joking. “If you were behind the bench you’d be throwing those two out there before the 10-minute mark.”
From what we’ve seen, and what players have told us on and off the record, I’m not so sure we would.
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Here’s how it works: The moment a game appears to be slipping away — the second a 2-1 game goes to 3-1 — the lines are ripped up so that McDavid and Draisaitl can slide down the pole, don their silk capes, and save the day like Batman and Robin when the Bat-Signal illuminates.
It’s been an issue here for as long as the Oilers have contended, in equal parts helping them win and hindering their team-building. I found these quotes in a four year old column, penned after a well-rounded game that hinted at a total team effort back in February of 2022:
“It’s not like the NBA, where you can have two guys and you can win a championship,” Evander Kane instructed. “You see how hard it is to win, and the teams that win don’t always have the best players.”
“I don’t think in the game of hockey that you can win the Stanley Cup with two guys,” fourth-line centre Derek Ryan added that night. “That is the beautiful thing about hockey. You can’t just have the best player and win. You have to have the best team.
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“Those guys are amazing and we can speak to that all day. But we need to support them,” Ryan said. “We also needed the opportunity to do so.”
Somehow today it’s still a topic, as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said on the 32 Thoughts podcast this week.
Even general manager Stan Bowman appears to coaxing his coaching staff in that direction, with the acquisition of a quality third-line centre in Jason Dickinson and a rowdy fourth-liner in Colton Dach at the Trade Deadline.
Dickinson has “leader” written all over him, and is ready to take on the responsibility of dragging this Bottom 6 into the fight — if Knoblauch gives them the minutes to fight with.
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“I like going out there and making everybody feel comfortable,” Dickson told Sportsnet. “When I get out there it’s a sense of security that, OK, I can count on him. ‘If I pinch, he’s got my back. If there’s a bobbled puck, he’s got my back.’ To solidify a Bottom 6 is what I like to do.”
On Sunday, the Oilers got a welcome fourth-line goal from Trent Frederic, who was rewarded with 10:59 of ice time — decent fourth line minutes. But his linemates, Dach (5:05) and Josh Samanski (7:39) were not so fortunate.
Dickinson played 15:33 (12:34 at even strength), as Knoblauch begins to trust — for one game at least — a more traditional four-line system.
The irony for Dickinson lies in the fact that, while most players come to Edmonton gushing over the opportunity to play with 97 and 29, if he plays his cards right he won’t play with them at all.
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“Exactly,” he said. “My role is to make their jobs easier.
“Connor and Leon are special players, and me coming in is not going to change that,” he explained. “So what I want to do is give them better matchups. Take a little bit off their plate.
“I know Connor was killing penalties every now and then. (Dickinson wants to) take that off his plate, so he’s not wasting his energy out there on the kill. Better having him play five-on-five and on the power play with full energy, and (with Dickinson) being able to take some of the match-ups off his plate.”
McDavid took a regular turn killing penalties in Vegas, playing 1:56 shorthanded, but regular PK centreman Adam Henrique was not in the lineup. Only Dickinson played more among forwards than McDavid on the PK.
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We’re not sure why McDavid is killing penalties, an art that should increasingly include shot blocking as the playoffs approach. Many coaches use their PK unit to find ice time for depth forwards — to include them in the process — rather than going back to their star player on yet another occasion.
Then there’s the fact that this season, for some reason, McDavid and Draisaitl have not produced at five-on-five the way they have in past years.
“The (expected goals) stats are overwhelming. They’re about 70%, which is an unbelievable number,” Knoblauch said. “But they just haven’t been able to put the puck in the net.
“It hasn’t been the same this year.”
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We asked Draisaitl about it, and he was steadfast, despite the metrics:
“I’m pretty sure when you look at the chances created and the way the ice is tilted, it’s probably still in our favor,” he said. “I know how it feels when we’re out there together, and that the ice is tilted most of the night. Sometimes that’s just as important as actually scoring.
“Maybe the puck hasn’t gone in as much as we’d like, but I wouldn’t bet against us.”
Oleksandr Usyk is taking Rico Verhoeven seriously, perhaps because he is looking ahead to a bigger challenge afterwards.
The elite southpaw faces kickboxing icon Verhoeven in Egypt on May 23 in a fight that focuses on spectacle after years of hard-fought wins on the road. Despite straying away from his usual matchmaking, Usyk has now assured fans that they can expect a return to top level championship boxing thereafter.
Speaking on DAZN’s Inside the Ring show, Usyk revealed that he will target becoming undisputed champion in the heavyweight division for a third time after the fight, his sights set firmly on either Daniel Dubois or Fabio Wardley.
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“For me, it’s a real fight. Yes, Rico is not a good boxer, okay fun fight, no problem, but I want my next fight [against the] winner of Daniel Dubois and Wardley.”
Wardley was promoted from interim to full WBO champion when the Ukrainian vacated the belt rather than face him as mandatory challenger. His first defence against Dubois, set for May 9 in Manchester, is a dangerous one.
It is a legacy-driven strategy Usyk has employed in the past, dropping the IBF belt to allow Dubois to be elevated, defend against Anthony Joshua, and then face him to regain the strap. Should ‘DDD’ beat Wardley, he could be looking at a trilogy, but fan interest may dwindle given how the first two fights played out.
The head of anti-discrimination body Kick It Out says that initial proposals by English football’s independent regulator “put equality, diversity and inclusion on the subs bench”.
The watchdog for the top five tiers of the men’s game is devising a new code of governance, with clubs having to show what they are doing to tackle under-representation of minorities in order to be granted a licence.
In correspondence sent to the independent football regulator (IFR) as part of a consultation process – and seen by BBC Sport – Kick It Out claims that the proposed measures are “inadequate”.
“[It] doesn’t go far enough in addressing the stubborn challenges that the game currently sees,” said Kick It Out chief executive Samuel Okafor.
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“We’ve been really clear with the regulator in terms of the gap that currently exists. And the gap is significant.
“We’re really concerned that what we’ve seen in the first proposal, in essence, puts EDI [equality, diversity and inclusion] on the subs bench, [and] maintains the status quo.
“It’s really important that the regulator uses the powers that it has to drive the change that we all want to see.”
Among a series of recommendations, Kick It Out says it wants annual publication of clubs’ workforce diversity data, and every club to have board-level accountability for EDI.
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Last month, police confirmed they were investigating after four Premier League players experienced online racial abuse over the course of one weekend, and Okafor said the spate of incidents showed why change was required.
“It should send a message to the regulators [over] the importance of why EDI really matters, why they need to prioritise it, why they need to take it seriously,” he said.
In response, an IFR spokesperson said that it will shortly be launching a second consultation on its licensing policy, “and so it is premature to assert deficiencies in our approach to EDI”.
Former South Africa opener Gary Kirsten has been appointed as the new head coach of the Sri Lanka national cricket team, with Sri Lanka Cricket confirming that he will officially assume the role from April 15, 2026.Kirsten has signed a two-year contract and succeeds former Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya, who stepped down from the position following Sri Lanka’s Super Eight exit at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. During the same tournament, Kirsten had been working with the Namibia national cricket team in a consultancy role.
Ahmedabad erupts as Team India arrive at hotel after T20 World Cup win
The 56-year-old brings extensive international experience to the job. As a player, Kirsten represented South Africa national cricket team in 101 Tests and 185 One-Day Internationals. His coaching credentials are equally impressive, most notably leading the India national cricket team to victory in the 2011 Cricket World Cup and guiding the side to the top of the ICC Test rankings during his tenure.After his successful stint with India, Kirsten went on to coach South Africa for two years. In April 2024, he was appointed as the white-ball head coach of the Pakistan national cricket team, although that partnership ended early when he resigned due to differences with the board and players.Kirsten has also been actively involved in franchise cricket. He worked with Royal Challengers Bengaluru and later with Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League, serving as batting coach when the Titans secured the title in their debut season in 2022.A key assignment during his tenure with Sri Lanka will be the upcoming ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup scheduled to take place next year in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. Sri Lanka will aim to secure direct qualification for the global event.Kirsten’s appointment follows another recent coaching announcement by SLC, which named Jamie Siddons as the head coach of the Sri Lanka women’s national team earlier this week.
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