Sports
Thomas Hearns names the one Four Kings rival he ranks above Sugar Ray Leonard
The era of the ‘Four Kings’ is championed as one of boxing’s greatest, when four of the sport’s biggest superstars each fought one another in a series of legendary battles, but when it came to rankings his fellow ‘Kings’, Thomas Hearns gave an intriguing response.
‘The Hitman’ suffered a first career defeat when he collided with fellow titleholder Sugar Ray Leonard in a welterweight world title unification clash, losing via TKO in round 14 of a blockbuster showdown at Caesars Palace in 1981.
Three years later, Hearns returned to the same venue for his next meeting with one of the ‘Kings’, as he needed only two rounds to dispatch of Panamanian hero Roberto Duran.
Yet, the following year, Hearns would suffer an early stoppage defeat of his own, halted after three high-octane rounds with Marvin Hagler, again at Caesars Palace.
Hearns returned to the Palace for his fourth and final encounter against a ‘King’, as he rematched Leonard and controversially came home with a draw, despite he, the fans and even Leonard believing that ‘The Hitman’ had done enough to get the win.
In an interview by Boxing247, Hearns placed Duran above both Leonard and Hagler on his all-time list of fighters, despite ‘Hands of Stone’ being the only one of those three men that he defeated.
Meanwhile, Hearns positioned himself as the third-greatest fighter of all time, behind only heavyweight rivals Joe Frazier and finally Muhammad Ali; who fought each other on three occasions in one of the most iconic trilogies in boxing history.
Star shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor would be gunning for a historic hat-trick of gold while the likes of long jumper Murali Sreeshankar and long distance runner Gulveer Singh aim to better the colour of medal they had won last time when India begins its athletics campaign at the Asian Games on Thursday.
India is one of the athletics powerhouses in Asian Games and the country is expected to preserve that reputation this time also, though without superstar javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, who has pulled out due to an injury.
The 75-member Indian athletics team is aiming for 25 to 30 medals. It won 29 medals — 6 gold, 14 silver, 9 bronze — last time in Hangzhou, China.
On Thursday, triple jumper Asha Ilango will be first up in a medal event involving an Indian, followed by Seema in 10,000m. In the 4x400m mixed relay, the other medal event on Thursday, India is a contender for a podium finish. Sprinters Animesh Kujur and Gurindervir Singh will also run their 100m heat races.
If Toor wins a gold, for which he is the favourite, he will enter history books as he will become the first Indian track and field athlete to stand on top of podium in three successive Asian Games in a single event.
Legendary thrower Parduman Singh Brar won two shot put gold medals in 1954 ad 1958 Asian Games, and Toor will go past him if he wins on Thursday. Brar, though, has three gold medals in his name, with another in discus throw in 1954 Games.
The most gold and overall medals by an Indian track and field athlete was won by the legendary PT Usha, who has four gold (all in 1986 Seoul) and seven silver in her name.
Sreeshankar won a silver in the last Asian Games and the 27-year-old would be aiming for a gold this time. He has jumped beyond 8m in all the seven competitions he participated this season. He arrived in Japan early before the other team-mates joined him on September 13 at the University of Tsukuba near Tokyo for an acclimatisation camp.
But it will not be easy for him, though he is the season leader among the Asians with 8.38m. He will have to fight with Yuan Chenlong — second in Asian season list with 8.33m — of China and Uzbekistan’s Anvar Anarov (season best 8.29m). China has also fielded Shi Yuhao, who won a bronze in the 2022 Games.
India is also fielding David Solomon (SB: 8.22m), a last minute addition to the team in place of injured Shahnavaz Khan.
Gulveer has been entered in three events — 1500m, 5000m and 10,000 — and he would be looking for at least two medals. He had won a 10,000m bronze in 2022 Asian Games, and holds national records in both 5,000m and 10,000m.
In 5000m, Gulveer (SB: 13:03.93) will have to compete with Ethiopian-born defending champion Birhanu Balew of Bahrain. It will be a tough proposition for Gulveer (second in Asian top list) to beat the Bahrain athlete.
Gulveer will also have his task cut out in the 10,000m race with Japan’s Asian leader Mebuki Suzuki (27:20.11) in the fray. The Indian is ranked second in the Asian season list with his 27:24.18 performance in June. Check Asian Games 2026 latest news here Check Asian Games 2026 medal tally here
Sable to run in 3000m steeplechase and 5,000m Spotlight will also be on Avinash Sable as he attempts to defend his 3000m steeplechase gold he had won in last Asian Games, despite running just one race this season. He had a long injury lay-off after undergoing an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery last year. He has also got a last-minute inclusion in 5,000m race, in which he had won a silver in the last edition.
A silver winner at the 2022 Asian Games, long jumper Ancy Sojan would be hoping to upgrade the medal to gold and she is the Asian leader with her 6.88m effort in June.
Despite the absence of Chopra in men’s javelin throw, India can still win a medal through Rohit Yadav and Yashvir Singh. Rohit (SB: 87.68m) and Glasgow CWG medallist Yashvir (SB: 85.41m) are currently at third and fourth among Asian season leaders.
The hot favourite to win the gold is Sri Lankan Rumesh Pathirage, who has sent his spear beyond 90m mark thrice this season with 92.62m being his best. Pakistan’s Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem is also in fray but he has been struggling with a season best of 81.49m.
National record holder decathlete Tejaswin Shankar will have to be ready for a tough competition against Japan’s Yuma Maruyama who leads the Asian season chart with 8321 points in the 10-event discipline. Tejaswin, who had pulled out midway high jump competition at the recent Glasgow Commonwealth Games due a recurring knee problem, has a personal best of 8057 points which he accumulated in May.
Commonwealth Games silver medallist high jumper Sarvesh Kushare is the Asian season leader with his 2.31m effort in June, but he also is carrying a niggle. Moreover, the high jump field in Asian Games will be top class, with multiple Olympic and world medallist Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar in the fray.
Triple jumper Praveen Chithravel and 100m hurdler Jyothi Yarraji have won a bronze and silver respectively in the last edition of the Asian Games but both had dealt with minor injuries recently.
Among other medal contenders are quarter-miler Vishal TK, 3000m steeplechaser Parul Chaudhary, Harita Bhadra (200m) and Pooja Singh (high jump).
Apr 18, 2026; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CANADA; UFC CEO Dana White talks to the media after the fight between Gilbert Burns (red gloves) and Mike Malott (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Canada Life Centre. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Fedyck-Imagn Images Week 7 of Dana White’s Contender Series lands Tuesday, September 22, live from Meta APEX in Las Vegas on Paramount+ at 7 p.m. ET.
This is one of the deepest cards of the season, headlined by a pair of well-rounded wrestlers and featuring what could be the best pure striking matchup Season 10 has produced. Here’s a full breakdown of every fight and my picks.
Norbert Novenyi Jr. (10-1) vs. Theo Haig (7-1)
Both fighters bring legitimate wrestling pedigrees, which should largely neutralize each other and shift this fight toward whoever is the better all-around athlete. Novenyi, a Bellator veteran out of London Shootfighters, has the sharper hands and more finishing experience on the feet, while Haig has been sharpening his own striking at American Kickboxing Academy since his last Contender Series appearance. The key variable is that Novenyi has already been tested at a higher level in Bellator, giving him composure in scramble situations that Haig hasn’t had to develop yet. When the wrestling cancels out, Novenyi’s cleaner technical striking should be the separator.
Pick: Norbert Novenyi Jr. by TKO, Round 2
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This is the best pure fight on the card, pitting two of the most complete welterweight prospects in this Contender Series season against each other. Dasuyev is a nasty, well-rounded striker with a strong wrestling base out of Deathrow MMA, giving him multiple ways to win. Ortega counters with flashy, violent striking, including spinning and flying attacks, and has finished five of his six career wins by knockout. The deciding factor should be Dasuyev’s ability to mix in takedowns if the striking exchanges get dangerous, giving him a safety valve that Ortega, a pure striker, simply doesn’t have.
Pick: Alvi Dasuyev by decision Degli is the most explosive fighter on this entire card, a heavy-handed brawler who throws with reckless power to the head and body and finishes at a high rate for the flyweight division. Moran, a 17-fight veteran out of Gracie Barra, is the clear grappler in this matchup and will need to change levels quickly to have a chance, since Degli is also a capable grappler in his own right and won’t be an easy takedown. If Degli can keep this standing even briefly, his power and volume should be too much for Moran to survive.
Pick: Marcos Degli by TKO, Round 1
Alvi Dasuyev (9-0) vs. Jaden Ortega (6-0)
Marcos Degli (14-3) vs. Paris Moran (14-3)
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Piero Guaylupo (11-0) vs. Callum Connor (8-0)
Both lightweights are undefeated strikers who like to plant their feet and trade, setting up a genuine firefight. Guaylupo brings nasty kicks and heavy hands from Peru, while Connor, despite a significant height advantage at 6-foot to Guaylupo’s 5-foot-9, has built his record against lighter regional competition. The height difference could matter if Connor uses it to control range with his jab and kicks, but Guaylupo’s power and craft against tougher opposition should let him close distance and land the more damaging shots when the two inevitably meet in the pocket.
Pick: Piero Guaylupo by TKO, Round 2
Damian Piwowarczyk (11-4) vs. Emilio Quissua (8-0)
This fight represents two of Europe’s top promotions, with Quissua repping OKTAGON and Piwowarczyk repping KSW. Quissua brings a kickboxing background and well-rounded striking, while Piwowarczyk uses his massive 6-foot-6 frame to strike from range and also carries a legitimate submission arsenal as a backup plan. The size and reach differential should let Piwowarczyk dictate distance behind his jab and kicks, and if the fight does hit the mat, his submission skills give him a finishing route that Quissua’s game doesn’t clearly counter.
Pick: Damian Piwowarczyk by decision
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Will Jacks produces a match-winning performance to help England to a comfortable 89-run victory over Sri Lanka at Chester-le-Street in the first one-day international of the three-match series.
READ MORE: Jacks stars as England grind out win over Sri Lanka
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India secured a bronze medal in the women’s skeet team event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, with Raiza Dhillon, Parinaaz Dhaliwal and Maheshwari Chauhan combining for a total of 331 points.Raiza and Parinaaz both shot 111 out of 125, while Maheshwari contributed 109 to the team’s overall tally.China took the gold medal with 346 points, while Kazakhstan finished with silver. India’s trio thus secured a podium finish in the women’s skeet team event.(More to follow)
Irish taoiseach [prime minister] Micheal Martin said comments made by the Israel Football Association about the Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson are “unacceptable” and “should be withdrawn”.
Israel’s football governing body accused Hallgrimmson of “ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity” regarding comments made last week when he said: “We’re not playing with genocide, we’re playing against genocide. We’re playing against Israel, we’re not playing with Israel.”
The teams are set to meet twice in the space of a week in the Nations League, with Israel’s ‘home’ game in Debrecen, Hungary on Sunday, with the return fixture also in a neutral venue of Backa Topola, Serbia on 4 October.
On Monday, the Israel FA posted a message on X, saying: “We have contributed to the world and humanity in countless fields, earning an impressive number of Nobel Prizes along the way.
“Unfortunately, we have not yet found a cure for stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy displayed by @IrelandFootball team coach.
“We’re not playing with ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity, We’re playing against the coach who embodies them.”
While the Football Association of Ireland [FAI] did not respond, Martin did comment.
“They are unacceptable remarks and should be withdrawn,” he told reporters in New York, where he is attending the UN General Assembly.
“We’re very clear and I think [UN secretary-general] Antonio Guterres said it again this morning, he has never in his lifetime seen the level and scale of death and destruction as he witnessed in terms of the Israeli government’s war on Gaza in the aftermath of the horrific Hamas attack preceding the war. Our manager is saying the exact same thing.
“Israel can’t keep denying what the world knows and what the world understands.”
Sports
How a Nagoya baseball ground was transformed into an Asian Games cricket venue | Asian Games 2026 News
Nagoya: On the sidelines of the cricket facility at Korogi Athletic Park, a few Sri Lankan men sat watching the India-Sri Lanka women’s final. Not far away, an Australian kept a close eye on the proceedings.They were not casual spectators. They were among the men who helped turn a baseball ground in a public park on the outskirts of Nagoya into a cricket venue capable of hosting the best teams in Asia.Asian Games Full Coverage | Schedule | Medal TallyThe journey began in late September last year, when the decision was taken to include cricket in this edition of the Asian Games. A little over 300 million yen was earmarked to create the infrastructure, including temporary stands with a capacity of 2,500 spectators.Korogi was chosen because of the size of the facility. The Japan Cricket Association (JCA) also had a head start, having signed an MoU with Sri Lanka Cricket in March 2024, paving the way for Sri Lankan curators to be brought in.At the centre of the operation was Jarrad Shearer, an Australian who has lived in Japan for the past 30 years.“When it was decided that cricket would be part of the Asian Games, Alex Miyaji, the CEO of the JCA, approached me for a role because I had played some cricket back home in Perth and knew Japanese,” Shearer, a sports manager in the planning section of the organising committee, told TOI.The transformation was no small job. The existing facility consisted of three baseball diamonds, with lines of trees demarcating the playing areas. The first task was to clear the trees and level the ground.“We did the pitch and the outfield at the same time. While we were digging a hole to build the pitch, we were laying the outfield. So we created one hybrid wicket and four turf wickets,” said Shearer, who is also a Japanese translator by profession.Gamini de Silva, former curator of Bangladesh’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, and Asitha Wijesinghe, curator of Sri Lanka’s Pallekele International Stadium, came on board. They were joined by a few Sri Lankan-origin residents of Japan who had experience as groundsmen.“While the four groundsmen are from here, Gamini and Asitha took turns to be here to oversee the preparations,” Shearer said.Pitch construction, however, presented one of the biggest challenges.“The pitch construction was interesting because we had a Japanese company doing it and they didn’t know anything about turf wickets. So our planning and instructions had to be spot on,” he said.The pitches were built using layers of gravel, washed riverbed soil and 15cm of local Japanese clay.“While we were testing the clay, we were informed that it was very similar to Pakistani clay,” Shearer said.The surface got its first serious test in May during the T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Qualifier, when six matches were played on the hybrid wicket.The plan was to use the turf wickets for the women’s competition, but heavy rain disrupted the schedule.“The heavy rain a couple of weeks ago upset our plans and we couldn’t get the turf wickets ready in time. But we are confident that the men’s tournament will be held on those wickets,” Shearer said.After October 3, when the men’s final is scheduled to be played, the facility will, in all probability, return to its original identity as a baseball ground for local children.For now, though, the men who transformed it into an Asian Games cricket venue can stand on the sidelines and take pride in what they have created.
In Week 1, the Vikings’ 1st-Round selection wasn’t very good. Or, perhaps, things could be put in more glib terms: Caleb Banks played poor football.
The effort in Week 2 was noticeably different.
Banks didn’t start. What he did do is get featured as a key part of the overall defensive effort. Part of the reason for the increased workload was due to Ty Ingram-Dawkins leaving with a hip injury. The rookie was productive out there, climbing up to 6 tackles with 1 tackle for loss. That’s a good reset game for a player who is still growing his game.
The Vikings’ 1st-Round Selection Played Much Better
So far, the discussion around Caleb Banks has involved the DT’s pad level. He’s looking to correct the problem before it becomes his version of J.J. McCarthy’s “layered throws.”
Being so tall can be a two-way street. The long arms can be vital in controlling a blocker, allowing the defender to win the rep since he can land his mitts onto the offensive lineman early in the rep. But then there’s the downside of standing too tall, allowing a blocker to get underneath him (low man wins, says John Madden). Learning to use his frame in a manner that benefits, not hinders, him is what’s being worked on.
Kevin O’Connell yet again came around to that topic in his weekly meeting with Paul Allen. Per the head coach, Banks has continued to chip away at the pad level issue, in no small part due to the effort from defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen to ensure the rookie reaches his immense potential. O’Connell’s retelling makes it sound as though Nielsen is fully invested in growing Banks and 3rd-Round nose tackle Domonique Orange.
Note, as well, that DC Brian Flores kicked over praise to Banks for the ongoing work in his presser earlier in the day. The point at this stage, Flores notes, is work and progress, not perfection.
Since getting the chance to put eyes on Banks in the summer, I’ve maintained that he’ll be as good as he wants to become. All of the ingredients are there. He boasts youth and immense physical potential. Minnesota’s facilities are second to none and the coaching is excellent. Provided health cooperates, Caleb Banks lacks for nothing.
The defender’s second Ravens practice from the middle of August involved several impressive wins. Being so raw and yet so capable of creating a ruckus made his upside evident.
On Sunday, Banks got onto the field for 36 snaps, which works out to 49% of the total for Coach Flores. Offering up 6 tackles and 1 TFL is a nice day at the office. Most players at his size get tasked with being a 1-technique (shaded on the center like Linval Joseph and Pat Williams) but that’s not the case for Banks. He’s a ballerina bully, allowing him to play a role that’s closer to Kevin Williams as a 3-technique who can be stretched out to 5-technique.
Caleb Banks, 23, is still a diamond who needs some polishing. What’s encouraging is that he had some sparkling moments in that grinding, gritty win over Chicago on Sunday. Being able to help with close wins while still getting polished up is a nice outcome for the young lad.
Next up for the Vikings is a Week 3 Bucs game that will take place down in Tampa Bay.
It’s not too late for the Packers. But if they want to be relevant in November and beyond, a wake-up call might be a good idea for head coach Matt LaFleur.
Green Bay plays the first of five home games in primetime on Thursday and the NFL placed another one on the tee. Alas, the Packers are only 1-1 because they blew a second-half lead against the Vikings and then followed it up by narrowly escaping New Jersey with a 20-17 overtime win over the Jets last week.
Enter the Falcons, winless and turning the offense over to a quarterback who hasn’t taken a live snap since November 16.
Michael Penix Jr. takes the reins for Atlanta on Thursday night at Lambeau Field where the Packers have everything to gain. The Lions appear to be a Greatest Show on Turf type of offense and a 2025 Cowboys type of defense. The Bears went from a 59-point record-shattering opener to losing to the Vikings with a paltry three points last week.
The North is not running away from the Packers.
Whether they can keep pace regardless is what we’re about to find out.
Atlanta might not be a true layup from the perspective of talent and playmakers. Drake London at wide receiver and Bijan Robinson at running back both present problems for the Packers. Robinson is out of the gates in All-Pro form.
The Packers are inching forward without two of their top players, running back Josh Jacobs and pass rusher Micah Parsons. It’s unclear when Jacobs might be in position to play again because he’s on the Commissioner’s Exempt List for pleading no-contest in a domestic situation. Reports indicate he could miss 4-6 games, but the league had no official word on when they might rule.
Parsons is working his way back from a torn ACL.
When he returns, presuming he’s healthy, Parsons immediately puts the Packers’ defense back in the elite category. Linebacker Edgerrin Cooper might not be a household name outside of SEC country — he starred at Texas A&M or Wisconsin — but he’s on pace to put up special production in Jonathan Gannon’s defense. He already has multiple sacks, five tackles for loss and more than 15 tackles, something no Packers’ defender has done in the past 27 years.
And Lukas Van Ness — No. 6 in the NFL in pressure rate — is making his presence felt. The player drafted with the first-round pick the Packers acquired from the Jets for Aaron Rodgers might be a late bloomer, but Green Bay is looking wiser by the week for holding onto the Iowa product. Dani Dennis-Sutton is helping fill in for Parsons and has been even better generating pressure — he’s fourth in the NFL at 29.2 percent.
But a loss Thursday night places LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst in the pressure cooker.
They’ll have 10 days to prep for Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers and then a home game with the Bears. But a 1-2 start would mean fighting uphill for weeks or months, and the Packers already gifted Minnesota a head start in the division. The Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions are next on the schedule before a short-week visit and another primetime game at Lambeau Field on Oct. 29 against the Panthers.
But the fall equinox is too soon for must-win talk.
Or is it?
NEW YORK — Houston, we do not have liftoff. At least not yet.
On Tuesday, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman grounded talk of expansion to the booming city — or to the capital of Texas — being imminent just three months after announcing the opening of a process to explore the feasibility of a second franchise in the Lone Star State.
It was after the June board of governors meeting that Bettman announced the NHL was granting exclusivity to possible expansion in Houston or Austin to the Friedkin family, with Dan Friedkin, the CEO of the Friedkin Group, serving as the prospective owner of what would become the NHL’s 33rd franchise. He added that expansion to either city would require an approximate $3.5-billion investment from the family, which would include the expansion fee to the NHL and the cost of construction for a new arena. A six-month timeline to further explore both locations was also announced.
But as of Tuesday afternoon, the commissioner was unwilling to suggest the NHL was doing anything other than due diligence on a serious bidder for potential expansion.
“Expansion is a multibillion-dollar transaction, which has an impact on all the other clubs in the league,” Bettman said following Tuesday’s four-hour board of governors meeting at Peak Hudson Yards. “A lot of I’s have to be dotted and T’s have to be crossed, and if there’s going to be expansion, three-quarters of the governors are going to have to be comfortable that this makes sense to them. And that’s not something you do overnight.”
“We’re not under any time constraint,” Bettman added. “This isn’t a situation where we said, ‘We’re going to expand by X date, get your applications in.’ We’re dealing with unsolicited — but we’re grateful to have them — expressions of interest. And it’ll sort itself out on whatever timetable makes sense to everybody.”
When asked if the board would be in a place to vote on expansion to Houston or Austin at its December meeting, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly reiterated Bettman’s statement.
“I don’t think we’re putting time limits on things,” Daly said. “We’re working through the process. (The Friedkin Group is) working through the process. Originally, we contemplated at least knowing where we are in December. I expect we will certainly know a lot more than we do now come December, but I don’t think there’s any magic date by which something has to get done or not get done.”
Daly added he got a full briefing from the Friedkin Group last week, that he exchanged communications with them once again on Tuesday morning, and that the league was going to “in the relatively near future” meet to have a more thorough understanding of what the Friedkin Group has done and the information it’s put together related to prospective arena sites.
Bettman said they expect to know which city the Friedkin Group prefers to move forward with before the end of 2026.
Meanwhile, the league has received several expressions of interest, with two groups in Atlanta making progress on arenas with the intention of bidding for an expansion team there.
“We’re waiting on some information,” said Daly, “but I can see us being in a position where we might want to do a feasibility study.”
“Particularly as to location,” said Bettman.
Columbus Blue Jackets general manager and alternate governor Don Waddell, who was formerly team president of the now-defunct Atlanta Thrashers, opined to Sportsnet that Atlanta’s feasibility as a strong prospective NHL market is all about “location, location, location.”
“From everything I’ve heard, if Atlanta was to get an expansion team, which I have no idea if they will, they’ll go north of the city,” Waddell said. “Going downtown on any day of the week was tough on people. When I was there, 85 per cent of our season ticket holders lived north of the city, so I think location, location, location’s going to be the key to having the best chance to succeed.”
The Thrashers, like the defunct Atlanta Flames before them, played in downtown Atlanta. Both franchises also faced insurmountable challenges due to rocky ownership and the transient nature of the population in the city.
“Nobody was from Atlanta,” said Waddell. “Almost everyone had moved there from some place else.
“But I think it’s changing now. That was 2010-11, now it’s 15 years later. My daughter, my grandkids live there. In some places, hockey is booming. They need more rinks because it’s booming right now. Whether the league decides to go there or not, it’s got a good chance of success if that decision is made.”
Sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity Tuesday told Sportsnet they believe in Arizona’s viability as an NHL hockey market, but despite more than one expression of interest from the Phoenix area, Bettman said until an arena building site is established and approved, it’s a non-starter.
It’s unclear at this point if any teams there or elsewhere will be added to the NHL in short order.
As Bettman reiterated, the league isn’t actively pushing expansion.
“This is not like we’ve done expansion before where we say, ‘We want to expand. If you want to be part of the league, get your application in by a certain date and we’re going to go through a process.’ This is a little more grassroots-oriented, if you would. It’s emerging holistically from places that have a genuine interest and have solicited us.”
Succession plan for Bettman not in place, but to be discussed
Shortly after Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis was unanimously voted in by fellow governors to be Jeremy Jacobs’ successor as chairman of the board, he was asked about a succession plan for Bettman, who’s been commissioner of the league since February of 1993.
“We haven’t been talking about succession specifically here,” Leonsis said. “But it’s the most important job for a board of directors of a public company. So, I think when the time’s right, (vice chairman) Murray (Edwards) and I and the executive committee and everyone will be working on what’s the right answer.’’
Bettman, however, isn’t planning on stepping down from his role anytime soon.
“We have nothing to announce,” Bettman said. “But listen, I’m going to be 75 years old. I think this is my 35th year (as commissioner). Historically, I might be the longest-serving commissioner ever, not just currently. At some point I got to stop, ok?
“But I love what I do. I’m energized. I have nothing to complain about in life. I love coming to work every day, I love being part of this game. So, you know, you keep trying to kick me out and at some point, you’re going to get a different answer. But this isn’t that point, because no decisions have been made.”
The announcement of Leonsis as chairman of the board came with confirmation that Flames owner Murray Edwards will serve as vice chairman.
Speaking to reporters, Edwards stressed that he felt it was important for a Canadian team to be represented atop the board and pledged to continue pushing the issues that impact the NHL’s seven Canadian franchises.
“When we talked about a transition at the chairman role, I thought it was important to have balance,” Edwards said. “By having Ted there, clearly the American (market) is a big part of the NHL, but I felt it was very important to have Canadian representation so I think being there at the vice-chairman level (I) can make sure the Canadian perspective is brought to the table.”
Canadian hockey fans have been anxious in recent years as the Stanley Cup has routinely been awarded to teams in places like Florida and Nevada that don’t have state-level income tax, while multiple American-born stars drafted to Canadians teams have moved to teams in the United States at the first chance they could.
Edwards was asked about those challenges and said they are topics he’s been talking to Bettman and Daly about for years, and will continue to do as vice chair.
“I think the challenges that the Canadian teams have are broader than just hockey, I think it has to do with the overall economy. And I think that the discussions in governance is how do we make the Canadian economy become more vibrant and grow in the future,” Edwards said.
“Taxes is clearly something that I do talk to Gary about. That’s not just a challenge for Canadian teams, that’s also a challenge for some U.S. market teams. I think that’s something we have to continue to look at.”
• On whether NHL expansion would be preferable to 34 rather than 33 teams, Bettman said, “Symmetry is not required. When we expanded to Vegas, we were asymmetrical, and we decided to go to Seattle because it makes sense — not because we wanted an even number.”
• NHL revenue projections for this upcoming season are north of $8 billion in mixed dollars (USD and CAD).
• When questioned on regional television rights, Bettman said teams were free to make the deals that best serve their markets, whether it be by continuing with regional television, having the league help with production, or opting for streaming services.
• Bettman said the governors were given a presentation on AI so that teams could be up to speed with the best ways to optimize engagement with fans.
Asiad 2026: Toor targets historic hat-trick as India eye athletics glory | Asian Games 2026
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