GARRIOCH: The New York Rangers will likely listen to offers on their No. 1 pick in the NHL draft - Ottawa Sun | Canada News Media
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GARRIOCH: The New York Rangers will likely listen to offers on their No. 1 pick in the NHL draft – Ottawa Sun

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New York GM Jeff Gorton can expect a host of calls with offers from other NHL general managers.

No, it wasn’t perfect, but the New York Rangers’ winning the National Hockey League draft lottery Monday night was better than the alternative, especially for fans of the Ottawa Senators.

While Senators faithful had hoped the club would win when Phase 1 of the lottery was held June 26, instead, a placeholder was selected for one of the eight clubs eliminated in the playoff qualifying round. When the lottery balls dropped at NHL Network headquarters in Secaucus, N.J., on Monday, the Rangers won the No. 1 overall pick and that sigh of relief heard around Ottawa was because the arch-rival Toronto Maple Leafs didn’t get it.

That means the Rangers can use the No. 1 pick to select top-rated winger Alexis Lafrenière of the Rimouski Océanic. Not only were they were a lottery team when the decision was made to use a 24-team format to determine the 2020 playoffs, but the Rangers were also soundly beaten by the Carolina Hurricanes during a short three-game stay in the bubble.

In a perfect world, Lafrenière would have landed somewhere in the Western Conference, but, if he pulled on a Leafs’ jersey at the Oct. 9 draft, that would have been difficult for people in Ottawa to swallow.

Though Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton wasn’t tipping his hand about No. 1 overall, it was good news just the same.

“I’m from the school of we’re going to take some time and let this all settle in here,” Gorton said during a conference call after the lottery. “I wouldn’t want to give away exactly what’s going to happen. We haven’t had the luxury of doing a Zoom interview with Alexis because I didn’t want to waste his time.

“We had the good fortune of winning the lottery. We’ll go through that process. We’ll start to the meet the young man and go down the road of talking to him and his family. Let’s go through that first and let Rangers fans be happy about winning the lottery.”

If you’re wondering why Gorton is playing his cards close to his vest, it’s because he has a big decision to make in the coming weeks: Does he keep the pick to take Lafrenière or make a deal that could help the Rangers land the No. 2 centre they have been so badly seeking?

“If I just went on this call and told you all the things we’re going to do, it probably doesn’t help me on the market when I make calls,” Gorton said. “We have to have more meetings and I like to play a little closer to the vest than announcing we’re going to go get centres or do something else.”

The thinking is that the Rangers already have left-wingers Artemi Panarin and Chris Kreider, so it may be difficult for Lafrenière, who had 112 points in junior last season, to fit into the roster immediately. You can be certain Gorton will find a place, though, unless some other NHL club makes him an offer he can’t refuse.

The betting money among NHL executives Tuesday was that Gorton would keep the pick, but not before he listened to what other general managers had to offer. The Senators were pleased to get the No. 3 and No. 5 selections in the draft, and that’s where they’ll likely stay, but expect general manager Pierre Dorion to have a conversation with the Rangers.

Several league executives said the Montreal Canadiens were among the most vocal about the draft lottery format when the return to play scenario was being discussed. Given the fact the Canadiens had previously had only a one per cent chance of making the playoffs, owner Geoff Molson and GM Marc Bergevin wanted to ensure they still had a chance to be in the Lafrenière sweepstakes.

They got their wish, but then the Habs pulled off a stunning upset of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Even so, Bergevin will be working the phones to call Gorton.

The Detroit Red Wings, who had a league-worst 39 points this past season, badly wanted Lafrenière, too, so expect GM Steve Yzerman to make a pitch.

“You don’t get the first pick very often and this is a special year,” Gorton said. “We’re really excited. You never expect this. When we were watching the ball come up, I see every single logo of the balls spinning around but ours and started getting nervous. When you see the tube, you’re begging to see the logo.

“Once I saw it come out on top, there was a lot of different emotions you go through. We knew we needed luck and luck is on our side. We’re pretty happy with that a few days after coming out of the bubble and walking away pretty upset.”

Gorton said getting high-end players in the draft was a necessity as part of any rebuild.

“When you’re going through anything like this, you’re trying to gather as much talent as you can,” Gorton said. “If you look at some of the best players in this league, and some of the star players, it’s a not huge secret where the teams are getting them. It’s lottery picks at the high-end parts of the draft, so that’s generally the truth.

“The opportunity for us to do that is huge. We’re trying to do things the right way.”

bgarrioch@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/sungarrioch

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Ravens win fifth straight game by beating Bucs 41-31

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TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Lamar Jackson threw for 281 yards and five touchdowns, helping the Baltimore Ravens overcome an early double-digit deficit and extend their National Football League winning streak to five games with a 41-31 victory Monday night over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who lost their top two receivers to injuries.

The two-time NFL MVP improved to 23-1 against NFC teams, the best mark by a quarterback against an opposing conference in NFL history. He’s 3-0 against the Bucs (4-3), who faded after taking a 10-0 lead with help from the 100th TD reception of Mike Evans’ career.

Evans departed with a hamstring injury after Baker Mayfield tried to connect with him in the end zone again, and late in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach, leading Bucs receiver Chris Godwin was carted off the field with a left ankle injury. ESPN declined to show replays of Godwin’s injury, which appeared to be severe.

Jackson completed 17 of 22 passes without an interception, including TD throws of nine and four yards to Mark Andrews. He also tossed scoring passes of 49 yards to Rashod Bateman, 18 yards to Justice Hill and 11 yards to Derrick Henry, who rushed for 169 yards on 15 carries. Bateman had four catches for 121 yards.

The Ravens (5-2) rebounded from a slow start on defence, with cornerback Marlon Humphrey turning the game around with a pair of second-quarter interceptions — one of them in the Baltimore end zone. Jackson led a four-play, 80-yard TD drive after the first pick, and the second interception set up Justin Tucker’s 28-yard field goal for a 17-10 halftime lead.

Elsewhere in the NFL:

CARDINALS 17 CHARGERS 15

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Kyler Murray ran for a 44-yard touchdown and led the Cardinals on a drive that set up Chad Ryland’s 32-yard field goal as time expired, and Arizona rallied for a win over Los Angeles.

Cameron Dicker kicked his fifth field goal of the night — this one from 40 yards — to give the Chargers a 15-14 lead with 1:54 left. But the Cardinals (3-4) quickly moved into field goal range, aided by an unnecessary roughness call on Cam Hart that cost Los Angeles (3-3) 15 yards.

Arizona followed that with a bruising 33-yard run by James Conner, who finished with 101 yards on the ground. That eventually set up Ryland’s short field goal and a Cardinals celebration.

It was a frustrating night for the Chargers’ offence, which gained 395 yards but couldn’t find the end zone. Justin Herbert completed 27 of 39 passes for 349 yards.

Dicker booted field goals of 59, 50, 28, 47 and 40 yards, the first of which tied a franchise record for distance.

Murray ran for a spectacular touchdown early in the fourth quarter, rolling to his left before turning on the jets, beating safety Junior Colston to the sideline and then coasting into the end zone for a 14-9 lead.

It was Murray’s second long touchdown run in three weeks after he scored on a 50-yard sprint against San Francisco. It was also Murray’s 20th career game with a touchdown pass and run.

Murray completed 14 of 26 passes for 145 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Struggling Whitecaps, Timbers set to meet in MLS wild-card matchup

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VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps have been here before — literally and figuratively.

With the season hanging in the balance, the ‘Caps were dealt a blow last week when the club learned it wouldn’t be able to play a post-season wild-card game in its home stadium, B.C. Place, due to a scheduling conflict.

The Whitecaps ceded home field advantage to their regional rival, the Portland Timbers. The two clubs will battle for the final playoff spot in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference in Oregon on Wednesday.

The winner will face No. 1-seed Los Angeles FC in a best-of-three first-round series, starting Sunday.

An unforeseen hurdle like a change of venues is nothing new for the ‘Caps, said defender Ranko Veselinovic, who was part of the team that was forced to relocate first to Portland, then Utah during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It feels that always something happens for us, but it is what it is. So far, we’ve managed to always find solutions for those situations,” said the Serbian centre back. “But I hope this team can find it one more time, because we need it this time. And it will be a really nice feeling in those circumstances to go in, win and go face L.A. in the next round.”

Vancouver (13-13-8) heads into the post-season winless in its last seven MLS games and with losses in four straight after dropping a 2-1 road decision to Real Salt Lake on Saturday.

The skid followed a run that saw the club go 4-1-3 across all competitions between late August and late September.

There’s just one way to return to that level, said Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini.

“The work is the only way to do it. Try to put the work in and try to put the team in a way that they’re going to regain the form and the way that they were in the past,” he said.

Despite the final score, Sartini has seen positives in the way his team played in its two most recent losses.

“I think already we turned the corner,” he said. “And we start from there to build and build and build.”

Facing challenges together can help a team build, whether it’s a winless skid or an unexpected hurdle, said Vancouver’s captain Ryan Gauld.

“When you’re going through adversity, that’s when people start to raise their voice a little bit. You get good when the problems arise, you get a lot of people coming together to make sure we get out of it,” said the Scottish attacking midfielder.

“And we’ve had a tough time the last few games, but everyone’s aware of the fact that we’re a much better team than we’ve shown, and we need to find a way to get back to doing what we’re good at.”

The ‘Caps face a familiar foe in the Timbers (12-11-11).

The two sides have already met three times this season, with each coming out of the series with a win, a loss and a draw.

Portland has also struggled in recent weeks and are winless in their last five MLS outings (0-1-4).

The Timbers boast one of the league’s top offensive units, though, with threats such as Evander. The Brazilian midfielder notched 15 goals and 19 assists during the regular season.

To earn a win on Wednesday, the Whitecaps must be solid defensively, Gauld said.

“They must be one of the best attacks in the league. They have a lot of good players, and they can hurt you if you switch off,” he said. “So just being concentrated from the first whistle, and just being hard to beat, being stuffy. Just being on it for the full 90 minutes.”

A victory in the wild-card match would guarantee Vancouver at least one home playoff game, a factor that Sartini said would be a big reward for his group.

The entire team relished the experience of playing post-season soccer in front of more than 30,000 fans last year, the coach said, and the desire to repeat the feat is high as the club heads to Portland.

“Everyone is happy to be in the playoffs. So we don’t have to be moody to be in the playoff. And we go in there, we’re play one of our rivals. So it’s gonna be a nice game to show up and to play our best game possible.”

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS (13-13-8) AT PORTLAND TIMBERS (12-11-11)

Wednesday, Providence Park

HISTORY BOOKS: This will mark the seventh all-time post-season meeting between the Timbers and ‘Caps, dating back to 1975. The last time the two clubs squared off in a playoff game was during the Western Conference semifinal in 2015. Portland won the two-game aggregate series and went on to hoist the MLS Cup.

ROAD WARRIORS: The ‘Caps boasted a 7-6-4 record on the road during regular-season play — better than the 6-7-4 showing they posted at B.C. Place.

POST-SEASON PARTY: Wednesday will mark the first time the Timbers have hosted a post-season game since 2021.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.

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No rugby, field hockey, badminton, triathlon or cricket at leaner 2026 Commonwealth Games

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GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Scotland conceived rugby sevens in the 1880s yet it will not feature in the scaled-back 2026 Commonwealth Games hosted by Glasgow.

Other sports that have also been dropped include field hockey, triathlon, badminton, Twenty20 cricket, squash, and diving.

The Games will have a 10-sport program in four venues. Athletics and swimming are compulsory while there will also be track cycling, gymnastics, netball, weightlifting, boxing, judo, bowls and 3×3 basketball.

There will also be integrated para events in six of those sports: Athletics, swimming, track cycling, weightlifting, bowls and basketball.

The Games will take place from July 23-Aug. 2 after Glasgow stepped in when the Australian state of Victoria withdrew last year because of rising costs.

It was not easy to decide which sports to include, Commonwealth Games Scotland chairman Ian Reid told the BBC on Tuesday.

“I think everybody recognises that these events need to be more affordable, lighter and we would have loved to have all of our sports and all of our athletes competing but unfortunately it’s just not deliverable or affordable for this time frame,” Reid said.

Athletes and support staff will be housed in hotels. Around 3,000 athletes are expected to compete from up to 74 Commonwealth nations and territories representing a combined total of 2.5 billion people, a third of the world’s entire population.

More than 500,000 tickets made available for spectators.

The Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive Katie Sadleir said: “The 2026 Games will be a bridge to the Commonwealth Games of tomorrow, an exciting first step in our journey to reset and redefine the Games as a truly collaborative, flexible and sustainable model for the future that minimises costs, reduces the environmental footprint, and enhances social impact. In doing so, increasing the scope of countries capable of hosting.”

Glasgow hosted the event in 2014 at a cost of more than 540 million pounds.

___

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