Sep 28, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence (97) reacts during the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images.
The Minnesota Vikings released two of their starting defensive tackles last month and may need a replacement or two in the NFL Draft, and it just so happens that Dexter Lawrence, who plays the same position, requested a trade from the New York Giants on Monday.
The cost would be steep, though a player of Lawrence’s caliber rarely becomes available in the first place.
Acquiring Lawrence won’t be cheap, but his next team won’t regret it.
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Lawrence Would Change the Entire Equation Up Front
The Lawrence trade rumor mill is officially open for business.
A close-up view highlights the helmet worn by Dexter Lawrence before kickoff, capturing the New York Giants’ branding and game-day preparation details on the field. The scene occurred on Sep 14, 2020; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; ahead of a matchup with the Steelers at MetLife Stadium, offering a focused look at equipment before action began. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
Lawrence Requests Trade
The Lawrence era in New York is probably over. ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote Monday, “New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II has requested a trade, and he will not be participating in the team’s offseason workout program that begins Tuesday, league sources told ESPN. Lawrence and the Giants have been through two offseasons attempting to negotiate a contract reflecting his value to the team over the past three years, but there has not been any progress, per sources.”
“Lawrence has two years remaining on his deal and is scheduled to make $20 million this upcoming season. Initially there had been optimism that, with changes in the organization, discussions could move forward. But now that they haven’t, new Giants head coach John Harbaugh will open his team’s offseason program this week without one of his best players.”
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It’s not outlandish to proclaim that Lawrence will have 31 NFL suitors, at least exploratorily.
New Giants head coach John Harbaugh said about Lawrence in February, “How important is he? Really important. He’s super, super important. He’s a cornerstone football player — not really a cornerstone, more like the middle stone. He’s right in the middle. He’s a very big stone, and he’s a very active, athletic one.”
“Yeah, again, we have a lot of those conversations as we continue to build or, to your point, open up money Like, where can we do it? Could we do an extension with other players? What does that look like? So we’re always having those conversations, not only with Dexter but on other players. And that’s part of our mapping out the offseason and planning.”
It seems Lawrence will not be around to see the Harbaugh era get off the ground in New York.
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SI.com on the Vikings Would-Be Proposal
Then came the theoretical trade packages. SI.com‘sWill Ragatz scribed, “Vikings get: DT Dexter Lawrence. Giants get: 2026 second-round pick (No. 49), 2027 fifth-round pick. The biggest barrier for the Vikings is the financial side. They’d have to do some serious cap maneuvering to add Lawrence’s contract and give him a raise to top-of-the-market DT money.”
“The only way it really works is if they end up trading Greenard in a separate deal, which would free up some cap space and also presumably get them a new second-round pick. Lawrence may be a better fit within the Vikings’ current roster construction, but the easier move would be to simply pay Greenard instead of executing two different major trades.”
VikingsTerritory proposed this on Twitter (X), which was immediately mocked and rebuked by Giants fans:
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Giants Get — No. 18 No. 82
Vikings Get — Dexter Lawrence No. 37
Regardless, the idea is out there.
Lawrence’s Career Output
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Lawrence is a three-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro. He’s widely accepted as the best nose tackle in the NFL and might even be the best overall defensive tackle. When he requested the trade Monday, it was a big damn deal, as his placement with a new team has the capability of shifting the balance of power leaguewide.
Dexter Lawrence runs out of the tunnel as the Giants take the field, energizing the home crowd before a divisional contest at MetLife Stadium. The moment came on Nov. 3, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; ahead of a matchup with the Commanders, capturing Lawrence’s presence during pregame introductions in a high-energy setting. Mandatory Credit: Julian Leshay Guadalupe-Imagn Images
The 28-year-old has banked 30.5 sacks in 109 career games, with 103 quarterback hits, 40 tackles for loss, and 15 forced fumbles.
As mentioned by Ragatz, money is the tricky part: the Vikings just used the last month to spend frugally in free agency, combating a cap-space crunch. Usually, teams that operate that way don’t turn around and trade for Dexter Lawrences.
Still, there’s a chance that Minnesota planned for this — keeping the budget nimble so that, if a player became available in the spring or summer, it could pounce.
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Dexter Lawrence goes through warmups on the field, preparing for game action as the Giants finalize pregame routines at MetLife Stadium. The sequence took place on Sep 26, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; before kickoff, showing Lawrence getting loose ahead of a regular-season contest in front of the home crowd. Mandatory Credit: Julian Leshay Guadalupe-Imagn Images
Lawrence’s contract extension, after the eventual trade, will likely pay him around $30 million per season. In theory, Minnesota could accommodate that by firing up a three-year deal worth $90 million, making the cap hits sunset heavily in 2028 and 2029, and possibly trading outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard to a new team for a 2nd-Round pick.
Here’s an up-to-date list of all NFL Players from Natrona County High School, Casper, Wyoming.
The list includes only those players who have played in a regular-season NFL game. Consequently, players taken in the upcoming draft will not be included until they have seen the field.
The League does not officially recognize players who appeared only in preseason exhibition games.
Natrona County High School is ranked as the No. 4 pro football player-producing high school in the state.
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Wyoming has produced a total of 31 NFL players from 21 schools, with 4 pros currently active.
See where all the other schools in the Cowboy state rank here, with links to their respective players.
Hello, friends. And welcome to another edition of random Masters facts, tidbits of trivia that you can toss out at a watch party, apropos of nothing. They’re guaranteed to impress (or annoy) your friends.
Fun, right? Let’s play away.
1. Jack Nicklaus, who holds the record for most Masters wins (6), also shares the record for most Masters runner-ups: 4. Those close calls put him in good company. Ben Hogan and Tom Weiskopf were also four-time bridesmaids in the event.
2. The first Masters was held in 1934. But it wasn’t called the Masters. At its birth, it was known as the Augusta National Invitation Tournament.
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3. In 1997, the year of his first Masters win, Tiger Woods opened with a 40 on the front side, then turned on the afterburners with a 30 coming in. Along the way, he played the par-5 15th with a driver and a wedge, stuffing his approach to six feet to set up eagle. Efforts to “Tiger-proof” the course weren’t far away.
4. In that same tournament, Woods played the back nine in a cumulative 16 under, one of 27 Masters records he set or tied that year.
5. Eagle roars sound different than other cheers. We hear them every at the Masters. But never were there more on a single hole in a single week than in 2015, when the 13th hole yielded 20 eagles, a championship record that still stands.
6. There have been four double eagles in Masters history, one on each of the par 5s. The first was by Gene Sarazen in 1935, with a 4-wood from 235 yards on the 15th hole. The most recent was Louis Oosthuizen in 2012, with a 4-iron from 253 yards on the 2nd hole.
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7. After carding his deuce, Oosthuizen tossed his ball into the gallery, where it was caught by Wayne Mitchell of Pennsylvania, who didn’t hang on to the souvenir for long. At the request of then-Augusta National Chairman Billy Payne, Mitchell donated the ball to the club, and was reportedly given two lifetime badges to the tournament and a round at Augusta in return.
8. The record for most birdies in a single round is held by Anthony Kim, who bagged 11 on Friday in 2009. He also made two bogeys and a double for a seven-under 65.
9. In 1931, Augusta National co-founders Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts purchased the original 365-acre property for $70,000. In 2025, Shane Lowry received $77,700 for finishing T42 in the event.
10. The highest score ever recorded on a single hole in the Masters? Unlucky 13. Three players lay claim to that dubious achievement. The first was Tommy Nakajima, who made a hash of the 13th hole in 1978, followed by Tom Weiskopf on the 12th hole in 1980. Then came Sergio Garcia in 2018. The Spaniard made his trece on the 15th hole.
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11. A green jacket goes to the winner. Everybody knows that. But it wasn’t always so. That tradition didn’t start until 1949, the year Sam Snead collected the first of his three Masters titles, earning a colorful piece of apparel along the way.
12. Every year, the reigning champion hosts a dinner for all past champs. Everybody knows that. But it wasn’t always so. That tradition didn’t start until 1952, at Ben Hogan’s suggestion. The main dish that year: steak.
13. The single-round Masters scoring record, shared by Greg Norman and Nick Price, is 63, two more than the original number of Magnolia trees along Magnolia Lane.
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14. Speaking of Magnolia Lane, the famed entrance road leading to the clubhouse measures 330 yards, just 20 yards shorter than the par-4 3rd hole.
15. The Masters begins with ceremonial tee shots. Everybody knows that. But it wasn’t always so. Honorary starters made their debut at the 1963 Masters, when Jock Hutchinson and Fred McLeod struck the opening salvos. The formal ceremony, though, had informal origins more than two decades prior. In 1941, the amateur great Francis Ouimet, fulfilling a request by Bobby Jones, served as the unofficial honorary starter. It was Ouimet’s only appearance at the Masters.
16. Jordan Spieth holds the record for most birdies in a single Masters (28). Nicklaus holds the record for most career birdies in the event (506).
17. In 2005, a 74-year-old Billy Casper shot a 34-over 106 in the opening round of the Masters, a score that would be a record-setting worst if it had in fact ever been recorded. Casper did not turn in his scorecard and withdrew from the event before his second round. So that 106 never became official. Neither did the 14 he carded on the par-3 16th hole.
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18. They say the Masters doesn’t start until the back nine on Sunday. But at the inaugural Masters, in 1934, the back nine was the front nine and the other way around. In that first addition, today’s 10th hole served as the first hole. The nines were flipped the following year.
In what he has promised would be his farewell fight, Derek Chisora was trumped via split-decision on home turf by Deontay Wilder. Eddie Hearn, who promoted Chisora for some of the second half of his career, has revealed how he scored the bout.
In a drama-filled clash, it was 42-year-old Chisora who twice dropped to the canvas, with those two knockdowns ultimately costing ‘Del Boy’ the fight – although he could have been disqualified earlier on when his cornerman entered the ring.
Still, the bout seems to be a fitting end to the near two-decade long career of Britain’s cult hero heavyweight, but his retirement is yet to be formally confirmed, possibly due to the belief that he could have got the decision on Saturday night.
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Speaking to Boxing King Media, Hearn admitted that he felt as though ‘The Bronze Bomber’ did enough to win the contest by two or three rounds.
“[It was] entertaining. I thought Wilder won by two or three rounds but it was a good fight, a competitive fight.”
In an interview with The Stomping Ground, Hearn expanded further on his verdict, disagreeing with the view of judge Phil Edwards, who scored the bout 115-112 in Chisora’s favour.
“It was tough for Del, I thought the right man won. Close fight, Del was amazing and I thought Wilder boxed well to be fair. He was under a lot of pressure, took some good shots and I thought he started to get his confidence a little bit, because his confidence has been lacking.
“I didn’t think that Del Boy won it by three rounds, what was it 115-112? I thought that he closed well and won the last round.”
Despite only being a year apart in age, Fury and Makhmudov’s careers have followed very different paths.
Fury claimed the unified heavyweight title in 2015 by beating Wladimir Klitschko and then the WBC world title in 2020 when he beat Deontay Wilder.
The Briton has the better names on his record, having fought Usyk (twice), Derek Chisora (three times) and Dillian Whyte.
Makhmudov has a win over Dave Allen and Carlos Takam but has two losses in his career, to Guido Vianello and Agit Kabayel.
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The Russian has stumbled when asked to step up to genuine contender level and was in truth a surprise opponent for Fury considering his lack of star quality and pedigree.
But he does have one advantage and that is activity. While Fury has sat on the sidelines for 15 months, Makhmudov fought twice in 2025 and 2024 and three times in 2023.
Fury is fighting in his 38th contest, while Makhmudov is in his 24th. There are a lot fewer miles on the clock for the away fighter, who has fought 69 rounds compared with Fury’s 254.
While he has fought far less impressive opponents, Makhmudov’s knockout rate is excellent at 90% while Fury’s is 71%.
Elliot Cadeau scored 19 points to lead the University of Michigan Wolverines to a 69-63 victory Monday night over the University of Connecticut Huskies and capture the school’s first NCAA Men’s Division I national championship since 1989.
Yaxel Lendeborg, who suffered an injury during Michigan’s national semifinal against Arizona Saturday and whose status was up in the air leading into Monday’s national title game, added 13 points, while Morez Johnson Jr. had a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double in the win.
UConn was led by Alex Karaban’s 17 points and 11 rebounds.
The win cements a sterling start to coach Dusty May’s Michigan tenure. Just a year after leading the Wolverines to the Sweet 16, May captured his first-ever national title in just his second Final Four appearance — he previously reached the Final Four with Florida Atlantic in 2023.
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May took over a floundering Michigan basketball program that had failed to reach the NCAA Tournament in the past two seasons, leading to coach Juwan Howard’s dismissal.
Interestingly enough, senior Connecticut centre Tarris Reed Jr. just missed out on being coached by May. He initially played his first two seasons of college basketball for the Wolverines under Howard, but transferred to the Huskies in the 2024 off-season.
Cadeau was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player.
The national championship win caps off an outstanding season for the Wolverines that saw them finish with a 37-3 record and battle with Duke and Arizona all season long as the best team in the nation.
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Considering the fact that the Wolverines blew the doors off Arizona and were able to handily control Dan Hurley and UConn, who were appearing in their third national championship game in four years, it’s safe to say that the 2025-26 NCAA season belonged to Michigan.
Here are a few more takeaways from the game.
Super-sized Wolverines prove to be too much
For all the strategy and scheme that can go into a game plan, basketball is actually a very simple game.
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If you have a team that’s bigger, faster and stronger than the other guys, you’re probably going to win.
That was the case for Michigan for nearly every game it played this season, and Monday night’s national championship was no different.
Michigan’s starting five was monstrous, made up of seven-foot-three centre Aday Mara, six-foot-nine forwards Lendeborg and Johnson, six-foot-five guard Nimari Burnett and the lone non-huge exception being six-foot-one Cadeau, who still plays bigger and more physically than he actually is.
The game plan for the Wolverines against UConn, as it had been all season, was as simple as it gets: Pound the ball inside, kick it out for open threes if they’re there and run as much as possible because the team’s size, speed and strength can’t be contested against any other in the college game.
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For proof of this, look no further than the fact that Michigan was abysmal from three-point range in the final, going 2-for-15 from the floor after coming into the game making 11.4 threes per contest during the tournament. But the Wolverines absolutely swallowed up the paint, outscoring UConn 36-22 inside and, most importantly, getting fouled as they went to the basket.
As well, the size of the Wolverines managed to come away with six blocks on the evening, neutralizing Reed’s post-up game, in particular, who finished just four-for-12 from the floor as the Huskies, in general, shot just 31 per cent from the field.
And the length and athleticism of Michigan seemed to bother Connecticut’s guards, as the Huskies made a number of uncharacteristic turnovers in the game.
Size matters in basketball, and while UConn isn’t exactly small, it’s nowhere near as big as Michigan is.
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The bigger, better team won.
With that said, there is the elephant in the room and that’s the foul disparity between the two sides.
Michigan shot 28 free throws to UConn’s 16, making 25 of them, including a streak that saw them hit 20 straight.
Cadeau, alone, went eight-for-nine from the charity stripe, contributing to his big game.
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There was also the matter of the controversial flagrant foul called on Karaban with just a little over three minutes to play in the first half that flipped the game on the Huskies a little, turning a 25-23 lead into a 27-25 deficit, allowing the Wolverines to go into halftime with a 33-29 lead.
To say nothing of the early foul trouble this all put UConn into, including forcing key Connecticut guard Solo Ball to sit with four fouls at the 16:20 mark of the second half.
All of what has been described happened in Monday’s game.
So then, was Michigan gifted this championship by the officiating? Absolutely not.
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The Wolverines recognized that their threes weren’t dropping and instead played an aggressive style of basketball to put the onus on the officials, sending them to the line where they converted.
The Huskies have no one to blame but themselves as their aggressive “hands-y” defence ended up getting exploited by Michigan.
If they didn’t want to give up that many free throws, they should have, perhaps, tried playing some defence without fouling.
Dan Hurley’s still a pretty good coach
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Despite how apparently overmatched the Huskies were in Monday’s game, it was still a close affair, with UConn fighting and scrapping right to the very end, even making it as close as a four-point game with 37 seconds to play.
This was a testament to Hurley’s game plan, which largely worked.
Given the differences in sheer, raw physicals between Michigan and UConn, the only way the Huskies were going to win was if Hurley could dial up some magic.
The spell he chose to weave on Monday appeared to be to try to drag Michigan into the mud and hopefully make enough shots to win it.
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Neither team cracked 70 points on the evening, so Hurley did effectively manage to slow the game down to give his team a shot at the end. The second part of that equation proved to be the real kicker, however.
After going five-for-15 from three-point range in the first half, UConn went ice cold in the second half, going four-for-18 from distance, including a streak that saw them miss 11 straight triples over nearly the first 15 minutes of the second half.
No matter how well you do the other things, if you don’t hit shots, you aren’t going to win. Something that even the bombastic Hurley was able to live with.
“We just had to make more shots,” Hurley said on the national championship’s post-game broadcast. “We had great opportunities, I thought, from three.”
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And love him or hate him, Hurley, objectively, is a good coach and likely isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Arguably the most fearsome team in the Indian Premier League (IPL) from the batting standpoint, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), haven’t enjoyed a particularly pleasant start to the 2026 season. With two defeats in three matches, SRH have plenty to improve on, as far as the remainder of the campaign is concerned. As pundits sit down and dissect the issues within the Hyderabad roster, the lack of experience in the bowling unit is clearly visible. With Pat Cummins not available for selection yet, the bowling unit becomes weaker. But the team’s hard-hitting wicket-keeper batter Heinrich Klaasen feels the batters are as much to blame for the poor start.
Responding to a query by NDTV, Klaasen stressed that the batters have been about 40 runs shy of their desired target in the first three games of the season. With Pat Cummins yet to be declared fit and the franchise losing Brydon Carse, sustaining an injury, SRH have had to rely on some rookie bowlers to step up.
Yet, Klaasen isn’t blaming the bowling unit for the two defeats, saying the batters have also not been able to hit the desired targets.
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“I think we have messed up about 40 runs over the last three games, so there is still a lot of work for our batters to do. Obviously, if you miss a player like Pat Cummins in any team or any format, that is a big loss,” Klaasen said. Heinrich Klaasen spoke on JioStar Press Room ahead of TATA IPL 2026 – Rivalry Week, starting from 12th to 18th April.
“Losing Brydon Carse as well, after he got hit on the hand, really did not help our plans either. However, the rest of the group is super experienced, especially our pace department. The wickets have been good in the two games where we struggled, we simply did not execute with the bat like we wanted to,” he added.
The South African further explained the team’s philosophy, saying putting 220-230 runs on the board in every single match is the job of the batting team, post which the role of the bowlers comes into play. Hence, calling the bowling lineup ‘weak’ isn’t right according to Klaasen.
“It is easy to say our bowlers lack experience or are under the pump, but in the two games we lost, the batters left about 20 to 30 runs on the board. When we played KKR, we put enough runs on the board and that is our job. We need to reach that 220 or 230 mark, as that is why we set up the team the way we did, to give our bowlers a proper chance of defending,” he concluded.
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IPL 2026 News | RCB Outplay CSK For 2nd Win On Trot, Ruturaj Gaikwad & Co Suffer 3rd Loss
Rio Ferdinand has doubled down on his demand for Manchester United to look into signing AZ Alkmaar star Kees Smit, insisting that his former side cannot afford to lose the young midfielder to another club.
Smit, 20, has taken the Eredivisie by storm and has emerged as one of the promising prospects in the league. Speaking on his Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast in February, Ferdinand urged Manchester United to sign Smit, saying he likes the youngster and claimed he was performing at a high level.
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In the latest episode of his podcast, the former defender reiterated his stance, making it clear that Smit is a talent worth investing in, even if he is not expected to make an instant impact at Old Trafford.
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“Kees Smit is the truth, man! I’m telling you,” Ferdinand said. “He’s one you go…. I’m buying him, it doesn’t have to be right for now. And I hope he comes in and takes the world by storm. But if we’ve got to wait six months to a year for him, I do not care because we can’t let him go elsewhere. Kees Smit is the truth, man! I’m telling you. This kid… I’ve seen him play a couple of times now and that’s all I need to see and I’ve seen the clips. I’ve spoken to some guys in Holland, friends. The kid’s got it.”
So far this season, Smit has registered 12 goal contributions in 41 appearances across all competitions. He came through the ranks at AZ Alkmaar, and his current market value stands at €25 million, according to Transfermarkt.
Ferdinand’s previous message to Manchester United about Smit
Following Manchester United’s 1-0 win over Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, Ferdinand encouraged the Red Devils while speaking on his YouTube channel to look into signing Smit. Ferdinand was suggesting a list of young midfielders that United could sign in the summer before mentioning Smit.
“The are others in the market as well, a couple of young ones,” Ferdinand said. “Kees Smit, I like him a lot. If you don’t know who he is, go and have a look at him, guys! Kees Smit is a player. He’s a young midfielder, he can do a bit of everything really and he’s performing to a very good standard.”
Smith enjoyed a breakout season in the Eredivisie last term, and according to The Athletic, Manchester United were among the clubs that showed interest in the Netherlands international in the January transfer window.
Apr 6, 2026; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (1) makes a save on Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point (21) during the third period at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images
Jason Zucker broke a tie in the second period and added an assist as the host Buffalo Sabres defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 on Monday night.
Alex Tuch, Josh Norris and Jack Quinn also scored for the Sabres (47-23-8, 102 points), who snapped a two-game losing streak and moved into a tie with the Lightning atop the Atlantic Division. Defenseman Bowen Byram had two assists and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 23 saves.
Jake Guentzel had a goal and an assist, and Nikita Kucherov got the other goal for Tampa Bay (48-23-6, 102 points), which had won four of its previous five. Defenseman Darren Raddysh had two assists, and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 25 shots.
Zucker gave Buffalo a 3-2 lead 7:38 into the second period when he tipped Byram’s shot from the right point at about waist level. Quinn added an empty-net goal with 1:54 left for Buffalo, which has four games remaining while Tampa Bay has five.
Kings 3, Predators 2 (SO)
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Joel Armia and Scott Laughton scored in regulation and Adrian Kempe had the lone goal in the shootout to lift host Los Angeles past Nashville.
Anton Forsberg made 29 saves and did not surrender a goal in the shootout for the Kings (32-26-19, 83 points), who stretched their point streak to four games (3-0-1) and moved a point ahead of the Predators for the second Western Conference wild-card spot.
Roman Josi had a goal and an assist, Steven Stamkos also scored and Juuse Saros made 26 saves for the Predators (36-31-10, 82 points). Nashville had moved into the second wild-card spot with a 5-4 shootout victory in Los Angeles on Thursday and remained there following a 6-3 win at San Jose on Saturday.
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Sharks 3, Blackhawks 2
William Eklund scored once and added an assist to pace host San Jose to a comeback victory over Chicago.
Kiefer Sherwood and Will Smith also scored for the Sharks, who have won five of six games and remain two points out of a playoff spot. Alex Nedeljkovic made 27 saves.
Frank Nazar collected one goal and one assist while Ryan Donato tallied for the Blackhawks, who have one win in seven games (1-5-1). Spencer Knight stopped 20 shots.
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Jets 6, Kraken 2
Kyle Connor scored two goals and Mark Scheifele had three assists in Winnipeg’s win over visiting Seattle as the Jets try to remain within range of a playoff spot.
The Jets improved to 6-2-0 in their past eight games. This hot streak has put Winnipeg (34-31-12, 80 points) three points back of the final Western Conference wild-card berth. Gabriel Vilardi and Jonathan Toews each had a goal and an assist for Winnipeg while Connor Hellebuyck stopped 22 of 24 shots.
The Jets went 3-for-3 on the power play, winning the battle of struggling special-teams units. Winnipeg entered Monday with the fifth-worst power-play percentage (17.22%) in the NHL, while Seattle’s 72.77% penalty-kill percentage ranked second worst in the league. At 32-33-11 (75 points), the Kraken are eight points back of the final West wild-card spot.
INDIANAPOLIS — Less than an hour after the 2026 national title game ended, Michigan guard Elliot Cadeau was feeling himself. He had every reason to after having one of the best performances of his lengthy and turbulent career.
Just over a year after a split with North Carolina, Cadeau was named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four after finishing with 19 points in his team’s 69-63 win over UConn on Monday, concluding one of the best redemption stories of the transfer portal era.
So, when it was time to send a message to his doubters amid all the criticism he had faced since he arrived at North Carolina during his freshman season in 2023, he was ready to clap back.
“They said I couldn’t do it, they tried telling me I was ass, man,” Cadeau said on Instagram live. “The f— are they talking about. They tried to tell me I was ass. Stupid.”
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Cadeau had every reason to celebrate. Michigan won its first national title since 1989 and completed one of the most dominant NCAA Tournament runs this century. And to get over the hump to win the program’s second national title and the first by a Big Ten program since 2000, Michigan had to take out a UConn team eyeing a dynasty and its third title in four years.
“America learned that stats is one thing but you see he’s the best point guard in the country because of his decision making,” Michigan guard Nimari Burnett said.
“I can tell that he put in the work and that he was ready to make a huge shooting jump. He was ready for the big-time moments throughout the course of the year.”
The turning point
Two years ago, Alabama’s defensive game plan for its Sweet 16 matchup against North Carolina was simple: Dare Cadeau to shoot.
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Could you blame Alabama? The then-freshman was shooting 18.9% from 3-point range on low volume that season. With one of the highest-scoring offenses in college basketball, Alabama used that approach to its advantage. By baiting Cadeau into early shots, the Crimson Tide created extra possessions and ultimately pulled off the upset.
For the most part, the plan worked. Cadeau finished 2 of 5 from beyond the arc, and North Carolina fell as the No. 1 seed in the West Region. It was a bitter end to a season that began with high expectations for the Tar Heels.
In UNC’s loss to Alabama in the 2024 Sweet 16, Cadeau was left open at times from beyond the arc
Synergy Sports
During his first two seasons at UNC, Elliot Cadeau shot 39 of 142 (27.4%) from 3-point range. Cadeau led UNC in assists as a freshman. Teams didn’t respect Cadeau as a shooter. Opponents routinely left him open from 3-point range, building scouting reports around the idea that it wouldn’t come back to hurt them.
That ultimately led to a split from the Tar Heels — and Cadeau’s reinvention.
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“I feel like I’ve been a shooter my whole life,” Cadeau said outside his locker.
“Coach believing in me and letting me shoot whenever I wanted played into my confidence.”
The turning point
For a moment, the title game felt like déjà vu for Cadeau.
With UConn pushing to climb back into the game against Michigan, Cadeau was left open again from beyond the arc in a key moment. This time, he didn’t hesitate. He knocked down a wide-open 3-pointer that snapped through the net.
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The moment may have seemed innocuous at the time, but it proved to be the turning point. Cadeau’s 3-pointer with 12:56 remaining was Michigan’s first of the night, pushed the lead into double digits and halted UConn’s momentum.
A year ago, that moment might have gone differently. On Monday night, it marked the culmination of one of the more compelling redemption arcs in college basketball’s transfer portal era.
“We had seen him in prep ranks and in high school and felt like we needed a quarterback, a pass-first guy on the floor at all times,” Michigan coach Dusty May said. “I thought we could win with him because it was there on film. He’s a savant. He’s brilliant. He’s made us better coaches, and hopefully we’ve helped him become a better player.”
In return, Cadeau leaned into that trust. He was given the freedom to shoot, to struggle and ultimately to succeed on the biggest stage.
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“Letting me do it in practice, letting me work on it and trusting me to bring it into games,” Cadeau said. “Him trusting me the whole time. I think Dusty is the best coach I’ve ever played for. He’s so smart. He knows a lot about basketball. He had a plan with this really talented roster.”
Cadeau may not have known it when he committed to Michigan just over a year ago, but May did. It’s why the Wolverines are the last team standing — and why Cadeau’s journey will be remembered as one of the defining transfer portal success stories of this era.
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