NHL trade tracker: Full list of deals, including Rakell, Fleury, Copp, moreNHL trade tracker: Full list of deals, including Rakell, Fleury, Copp, more
The NHL’s 2022 trade deadline has passed. Get caught up here on all the deals made.
Day: March 21, 2022
Fleury deal a win-win blockbusterFleury deal a win-win blockbuster
The Wild make a big upgrade in goal, acquiring the Stanley Cup champ for their playoff push. We grade both GMs on the move.
Five matches to watch Wednesday at WGC-Dell Technologies Match PlayFive matches to watch Wednesday at WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play
AUSTIN, Texas – The PGA TOUR’s biggest hitter faces a first-timer who’s almost eligible for PGA TOUR Champions. The FedExCup leader squares off with a match-play master. Some potential Presidents Cup previews and a rematch that dates back to amateur golf also are on the docket for Day 1 at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play. There are 32 matches scheduled for Wednesday, but here’s five that we’re especially keen on (seedings in parentheses). GROUP 5: Scottie Scheffler, USA, (5) vs. Ian Poulter, ENG, (59), 1:38 p.m. ET. Scottie Scheffler was still a Texas guy with promise, but no PGA TOUR wins, when he went on a run at Austin Country Club a year ago. The former Longhorn made a push all the way to the final match before losing to Billy Horschel. En route to the championship match, Scheffler scored a big win against Ian Poulter, a man with a reputation as a match play ninja, in the Round of 16. Scheffler wasn’t intimidated by facing a player who’s fearsome in this format. Poulter may have eight top-10s at this event, including a win in 2010, and is known for his work in Ryder Cup Singles but Scheffler won easily, including a clutch chip-in. Scheffler was 3 up through 10 holes, but Poulter looked set for one of his trademark comebacks when he drained a 41-foot birdie putt on the 11th green. Scheffler responded by chipping in from off the green for a birdie of his own and marched on to a 5-and-4 win. Scheffler then beat Jon Rahm that afternoon, who he’d go on to beat again later that year at the Ryder Cup. Oh, and Scheffler has earned his first two PGA TOUR titles in his last four starts and sits atop the FedExCup standings. You don’t think Poulter would love a little revenge? GROUP 9: Bryson DeChambeau, USA, (9) vs. Richard Bland, England, (54), 2:44 p.m. ET Because of a persistent wrist injury, we haven’t seen Bryson DeChambeau since he missed the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open back in January. He had to sit out his title defense at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and THE PLAYERS, but is set to return at Austin Country Club. The questions surrounding DeChambeau are plenty. Just how fit is he? Can he rein in his distance on the tricky, tight front nine? And can he overcome a poor record (2-3-1) at Austin Country Club in this event, where he has fallen to the likes of Antoine Rozner and Kiradech Aphibarnrat in the past. His next opponent is Bland, who made a great run at the U.S. Open last year at Torrey Pines. He finds his place in the field mainly through last year’s British Masters victory, which was his first DP World Tour win in his 478th start, but his run didn’t stop there. The Englishman has five other top-five finishes on that tour since, including a runner-up at the Dubai Desert Classic, and will fancy himself against a rusty DeChambeau despite being closer to PGA TOUR Champions eligibility than he will be to some of the American’s drives. GROUP 6: Kevin Kisner, USA, (29) vs. Marc Leishman, Australia, (37), 10:53 a.m. ET Here is a matchup you might think to overlook but, you’d be missing out if you did. Kisner, the 2018 runner-up and 2019 champion of this event is still smarting after missing out on the 2019 Presidents Cup and 2021 Ryder Cup squads despite showing his skills in this format. Now he gets to present his prowess against a player who will undoubtedly be part of Trevor Immelman’s International Team for the 2022 Presidents Cup set for Quail Hollow latter this year. Kisner did represent the U.S. in the 2017 Presidents Cup, and Leishman will remember that appearance. Leishman, with countryman Jason Day, faced off against Kisner and Phil Mickelson over the opening two days. After a halve in Thursday’s Foursomes, their Four-ball match came down to the 18th hole. Mickelson made a midrange birdie before producing a “Three Amigos” celebration dance with Kisner. What is not lost on six-time TOUR winner Leishman is that this came before he had a chance to tie the match with a putt of his own. When he failed to convert his putt, it left a sour taste that no doubt remains today. GROUP 7: Xander Schauffele, USA, (7) vs. Takumi Kanaya, Japan, (56), 12:10 p.m. ET The Olympic gold medalist from the Tokyo Games faces the next star from Japan. Kanaya represents Japan’s best hope now that Hideki Matsuyama is sitting out this week because of a balky back before his Masters defense. This match could help Kanaya in his Presidents Cup candidacy, as well. Kanaya, 23, already is a three-time winner on the Japan Tour and once was the world’s top-ranked amateur. Schauffele has had the chance to burst out of the group stage three times at Austin Country Club but fallen short at the final hurdle each time. Last year, he lost in a sudden-death playoff for the opportunity to advance to the Round of 16. He’s burning to atone. GROUP 2: Collin Morikawa, USA, (2) vs. Robert MacIntyre, Scotland, (61), 12:54 p.m. ET One of the surprises a year ago was Robert MacIntyre getting through to the Round of 16 after collecting just one win in Group 1. The plucky young Scot, now 25, found his way out of the same group as then-world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, Kevin Na and Adam Long despite only beating Long. Ties against Johnson and Na ended up being enough after upset results in other matches. MacIntyre was bounced by Victor Perez in the knockout stage. Now he gets the chance to face Morikawa, the world’s second-ranked player, in a group that also has Sergio Garcia and Jason Kokrak. Morikawa failed to win a match in his tournament debut last season, settling for a halve with J.T. Poston but losing to Max Homa and Billy Horschel in group play. Morikawa has seen MacIntyre before. While they didn’t go head-to-head, both were part of the 2017 Walker Cup where Morikawa’s U.S. team won handsomely over MacIntyre’s Great Britain and Ireland squad. That 2017 U.S. team also featured Scheffler, Cameron Champ, Will Zalatoris, Maverick McNealy, Doc Redman and Doug Ghim. The U.S. rolled, 19-7, at Los Angeles Country Club, site of next year’s U.S. Open. Before a missed cut at THE PLAYERS and T68 last week at Valspar, Morikawa was showing some improved putting to roll to five straight top-10s, including two runers-up. Can Morikawa match up his stellar approach game with his short game as the Masters looms? If so, he could be dangerous here. MacIntyre could prove to be a tougher opponent than paper would indicate, however.
Five matches to watch Wednesday at WGC-Dell Technologies Match PlayFive matches to watch Wednesday at WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play
AUSTIN, Texas – The PGA TOUR’s biggest hitter faces a first-timer who’s almost eligible for PGA TOUR Champions. The FedExCup leader squares off with a match-play master. Some potential Presidents Cup previews and a rematch that dates back to amateur golf also are on the docket for Day 1 at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play. There are 32 matches scheduled for Wednesday, but here’s five that we’re especially keen on (seedings in parentheses). GROUP 5: Scottie Scheffler, USA, (5) vs. Ian Poulter, ENG, (59), 1:38 p.m. ET. Scottie Scheffler was still a Texas guy with promise, but no PGA TOUR wins, when he went on a run at Austin Country Club a year ago. The former Longhorn made a push all the way to the final match before losing to Billy Horschel. En route to the championship match, Scheffler scored a big win against Ian Poulter, a man with a reputation as a match play ninja, in the Round of 16. Scheffler wasn’t intimidated by facing a player who’s fearsome in this format. Poulter may have eight top-10s at this event, including a win in 2010, and is known for his work in Ryder Cup Singles but Scheffler won easily, including a clutch chip-in. Scheffler was 3 up through 10 holes, but Poulter looked set for one of his trademark comebacks when he drained a 41-foot birdie putt on the 11th green. Scheffler responded by chipping in from off the green for a birdie of his own and marched on to a 5-and-4 win. Scheffler then beat Jon Rahm that afternoon, who he’d go on to beat again later that year at the Ryder Cup. Oh, and Scheffler has earned his first two PGA TOUR titles in his last four starts and sits atop the FedExCup standings. You don’t think Poulter would love a little revenge? GROUP 9: Bryson DeChambeau, USA, (9) vs. Richard Bland, England, (54), 2:44 p.m. ET Because of a persistent wrist injury, we haven’t seen Bryson DeChambeau since he missed the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open back in January. He had to sit out his title defense at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and THE PLAYERS, but is set to return at Austin Country Club. The questions surrounding DeChambeau are plenty. Just how fit is he? Can he rein in his distance on the tricky, tight front nine? And can he overcome a poor record (2-3-1) at Austin Country Club in this event, where he has fallen to the likes of Antoine Rozner and Kiradech Aphibarnrat in the past. His next opponent is Bland, who made a great run at the U.S. Open last year at Torrey Pines. He finds his place in the field mainly through last year’s British Masters victory, which was his first DP World Tour win in his 478th start, but his run didn’t stop there. The Englishman has five other top-five finishes on that tour since, including a runner-up at the Dubai Desert Classic, and will fancy himself against a rusty DeChambeau despite being closer to PGA TOUR Champions eligibility than he will be to some of the American’s drives. GROUP 6: Kevin Kisner, USA, (29) vs. Marc Leishman, Australia, (37), 10:53 a.m. ET Here is a matchup you might think to overlook but, you’d be missing out if you did. Kisner, the 2018 runner-up and 2019 champion of this event is still smarting after missing out on the 2019 Presidents Cup and 2021 Ryder Cup squads despite showing his skills in this format. Now he gets to present his prowess against a player who will undoubtedly be part of Trevor Immelman’s International Team for the 2022 Presidents Cup set for Quail Hollow latter this year. Kisner did represent the U.S. in the 2017 Presidents Cup, and Leishman will remember that appearance. Leishman, with countryman Jason Day, faced off against Kisner and Phil Mickelson over the opening two days. After a halve in Thursday’s Foursomes, their Four-ball match came down to the 18th hole. Mickelson made a midrange birdie before producing a “Three Amigos” celebration dance with Kisner. What is not lost on six-time TOUR winner Leishman is that this came before he had a chance to tie the match with a putt of his own. When he failed to convert his putt, it left a sour taste that no doubt remains today. GROUP 7: Xander Schauffele, USA, (7) vs. Takumi Kanaya, Japan, (56), 12:10 p.m. ET The Olympic gold medalist from the Tokyo Games faces the next star from Japan. Kanaya represents Japan’s best hope now that Hideki Matsuyama is sitting out this week because of a balky back before his Masters defense. This match could help Kanaya in his Presidents Cup candidacy, as well. Kanaya, 23, already is a three-time winner on the Japan Tour and once was the world’s top-ranked amateur. Schauffele has had the chance to burst out of the group stage three times at Austin Country Club but fallen short at the final hurdle each time. Last year, he lost in a sudden-death playoff for the opportunity to advance to the Round of 16. He’s burning to atone. GROUP 2: Collin Morikawa, USA, (2) vs. Robert MacIntyre, Scotland, (61), 12:54 p.m. ET One of the surprises a year ago was Robert MacIntyre getting through to the Round of 16 after collecting just one win in Group 1. The plucky young Scot, now 25, found his way out of the same group as then-world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, Kevin Na and Adam Long despite only beating Long. Ties against Johnson and Na ended up being enough after upset results in other matches. MacIntyre was bounced by Victor Perez in the knockout stage. Now he gets the chance to face Morikawa, the world’s second-ranked player, in a group that also has Sergio Garcia and Jason Kokrak. Morikawa failed to win a match in his tournament debut last season, settling for a halve with J.T. Poston but losing to Max Homa and Billy Horschel in group play. Morikawa has seen MacIntyre before. While they didn’t go head-to-head, both were part of the 2017 Walker Cup where Morikawa’s U.S. team won handsomely over MacIntyre’s Great Britain and Ireland squad. That 2017 U.S. team also featured Scheffler, Cameron Champ, Will Zalatoris, Maverick McNealy, Doc Redman and Doug Ghim. The U.S. rolled, 19-7, at Los Angeles Country Club, site of next year’s U.S. Open. Before a missed cut at THE PLAYERS and T68 last week at Valspar, Morikawa was showing some improved putting to roll to five straight top-10s, including two runers-up. Can Morikawa match up his stellar approach game with his short game as the Masters looms? If so, he could be dangerous here. MacIntyre could prove to be a tougher opponent than paper would indicate, however.
Inside the Numbers – WGC Dell Technologies Match PlayInside the Numbers – WGC Dell Technologies Match Play
Officially the month of the bracket, March annually has the world talking seeds, breaking down matchups and making picks more than any other time on the calendar. Hoops has its madness, but the unpredictability in basketball is pedestrian compared to this week’s World Golf Championships – Dell Technologies Match Play. Each of the last three winners of this championship were seeded outside the top-30. That’s like having three 8-seeds (or lower) in a row cut down the nets after winning it all. If you’re looking at seeding alone, good luck predicting what will happen this week in Austin. This is the seventh year this championship has been contested under the group play format, where everyone in the 64-man field is guaranteed three round-robin matches before the 16 group winners move on to single elimination. Twenty First Group dove into the numbers behind one of the PGA TOUR’s most unique events. Significance of Seeding – If you want to sum up the unpredictable nature of this championship with one statistic, it’s this one: last year, players with the worse seed in a match had a winning record (48-45-18). – In 2021, half of the players who advanced to the round of 16 came from the “D” group of seeds – players tabbed between 49 and 64. Only one player from the “A” group moved on – third overall seed Jon Rahm. – That isn’t to say chalk hasn’t had its good years in this event: the top overall seed has won five times, including twice since pool play started (Rory McIlroy in 2015, Dustin Johnson in 2017). In 2016, 12 of the 16 players to advance out of pool play came from either the A or B seed groupings. – Since pool play began in 2015, the ‘A’ group has just a slight edge in percentage of players to reach the round of 16: 30.2%. The B and D group have sent 24.0%; the C group 21.9%. Truly, anybody who gets into this elite field is capable of having a big week: the last five times this championship has been played, a player seeded 61st or lower has moved on to the round of 16 five times. Situational Stats – The tournament moved to Austin Country Club in 2016. Since then, the opening hole has been a significant harbinger of match outcome: players who win the first hole either win or tie the match more than 68% of the time. No player has won the opening hole more at Austin CC than Bubba Watson (12 times in 21 matches). He went 4-0-0 when taking the first en route to victory here in 2018. – Overall, players who lead at the turn at Austin CC go on to win the match 75.5% of the time. That percentage fluctuates wildly depending on the size of the advantage: players 1 up at the turn win 59.2% of the time – 2 up, that rate jumps to 77.1%. – The short par 4 13th, one of Austin CC’s most memorable holes, isn’t just an entertaining risk-versus-reward decision for the players. It also might be the most important hole on the course when it comes to determining the outcome of a match. Since 2016, the 13th has been won 30.4% of the time, the highest rate of any hole on the golf course. No player has won the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play with a losing record on the 13th hole over the course of that week. – Walking off the 13th green has proven to be a key point in the match: players with a 1 up advantage through 13 holes have won the match 60.3% of the time, and have either won or halved 84.4% of the time. A player with a 2 up lead going to the 14th tee has gone on to win at a clip of nearly 87%. – The unique closing hole has proven to give players one final opportunity to make up ground. There have been 139 instances so far at Austin CC where a player has been 1 down in their match going to the 18th tee. In 47 of those instances – 33.8% – the player trailing has won the 18th to tie the match and salvage a valuable half-point. Players to Watch – World No. 1 Jon Rahm has won 32% of his career holes played in this event. Among players in the field this week with at least 60 holes played in competition, that’s the highest clip of anyone. Rahm’s 94 holes won since 2017 are tied for second-most of any player in that span, trailing only Matt Kuchar (not in this year’s field). – This is a week where bettors and fantasy players can find significant value in C and D group players. For example, there are four players in the field this week who have won 30.3% or more of their holes played in this championship since 2018: Bubba Watson (33.0%), Alex Noren (31.1%), Keegan Bradley (30.6%) and Mackenzie Hughes (30.3%). Each of those players is seeded 50th or worse entering the tournament. – A pair of European Ryder Cup legends in the field this week have seen their match play success carry over into this event. Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia have each qualified for the round of 16 on eight occasions, tied for most all-time (Tiger Woods, Kuchar). Garcia has been especially successful on the 13th hole – his nine wins on that hole are tied for second-most since 2016. – Poulter is a perfect 9-0-0 in his career at Austin CC when holding the lead at the turn in a match. Two other players in this week’s field are also perfect in five or more opportunities: Kevin Kisner (9-0-0) and Patrick Reed (6-0-0). – Scottie Scheffler nearly broke through with his first career PGA TOUR title in his college town of Austin last year. He ultimately lost in the championship match to Billy Horschel, 2 and 1. Now a multiple winner on TOUR, Scheffler hopes to continue a trend of players following up runner-up performances with strong weeks at Austin CC: the previous two players in his shoes – Kevin Kisner in 2019 and Matt Kuchar last year – combined to go 12-2-0. Kisner won it all, while Kuchar made it to the semifinals.
Falcons trade Ryan to Colts, get deal with MariotaFalcons trade Ryan to Colts, get deal with Mariota
The Falcons traded Matt Ryan to the Colts on Monday in exchange for a 2022 third-round draft pick and then agreed to a two-year deal with Marcus Mariota.
Sources: Falcons trade Ryan to Colts, add MariotaSources: Falcons trade Ryan to Colts, add Mariota
The Falcons traded Matt Ryan to the Colts on Monday in exchange for a 2022 third-round draft pick and then agreed to a two-year deal with Marcus Mariota.
Sources: Saints get deal to re-sign QB WinstonSources: Saints get deal to re-sign QB Winston
Jameis Winston and the Saints agreed to two-year deal with a base value of $28 million, including $21 million guaranteed, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Bills get RB Johnson after missing on McKissicBills get RB Johnson after missing on McKissic
Veteran RB Duke Johnson is signing a one-year deal with the Bills, agents Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Bucs’ Godwin: Brady text crystalized his futureBucs’ Godwin: Brady text crystalized his future
WR Chris Godwin said his decision to sign a new contract with Tampa Bay crystalized once Tom Brady announced he was unretiring.