Fort Lauderdale, Florida – The Stanley Cup is still on its championship journey through South Florida. It was on a basketball court with the Miami Heat this week, will be somewhere else on Thursday, and has a few more appearances scheduled after that. So, in some ways, the party associated with winning the NHL championship is still going strong.

That is, except for the Florida Panthers’ practice facility. The champions are back at work.

Stanley Cup Champion Panthers Getting Back To Work, Insisting It’s Time To Look Forward

Florida begins training camp on Thursday, and coach Paul Maurice makes one thing clear: it’s time to start preparing for the next title run, not to continue reveling in the title run that ended in June.

“There will be some backward-looking stuff, which is understandable. “We’ll handle the banner raisings, ring ceremonies, and all of the other fun stuff,” Maurice said Wednesday as the squad gathered for its annual media day. “But we’ll be very sure that our day is completely focused on what we’re doing, not living in the past.”

That message appears to be reaching its intended audience.

Most players have been back in South Florida for at least a few weeks. According to Maurice, the returning Panthers are all in better form than they were at this point last season, as evidenced by pre-camp conditioning testing. The big test comes Thursday with the first practices, and Maurice’s training camp sessions are famously difficult.

“The hangover concept, we will not believe in it,” Maurice stated. “It’s not a physical concern for us. We’re stronger than we were at this point last year, which is a testament to them because they couldn’t have improved without putting in the effort.”

Florida’s top eight scorers, Sam Reinhart, Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov, Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Bennett, Evan Rodrigues, Gustav Forsling, and Anton Lundell, are all back from last season. Verhaeghe and Reinhart scored in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, as Florida defeated Edmonton 2-1 to win its first title and avoid an epic collapse after winning the first three games of the series, and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky returns for his sixth season as the Panthers’ go-to guy in net.

Some roster places are up for grabs, but the core from the title run remains mostly intact. Even though the Cup has been won, capping a lifelong dream for Maurice and the players, there is enough motivation to win it again.

“At the end of the day, I love what I do,” Bobrovsky added. “It is a blessing to be here today, and I am delighted to compete for the dream again. However, it makes little difference what happened in the past. I simply care about the moment at hand, which is this one.”

Things will start moving swiftly. Practices begin Thursday, and Florida plays its first two preseason games on Sunday, including the usual doubleheader versus Nashville, in which most, if not all, of the 50 or so available players in camp will play.

Stanley Cup Champion Panthers Getting Back To Work, Insisting It’s Time To Look Forward

The Cup banner will be raised on October 8, when Florida hosts Boston in the regular season opener. With that, the 82-game grind will begin. But Maurice swears that he isn’t skipping any steps, that he hasn’t even considered opening night or anything else between now and then.

“I’m not prepared for anything but Day One.” “I don’t want to think about Day 2,” Maurice stated. “You cannot win the Stanley Cup on September 19th, the first day of practice. But you may begin the process by giving yourself a chance. This will be Day One on the ice. You have to be aware of how difficult it was and do the effort and pay the price in order to give yourself a shot.”

SOURCE | AP

Donna Kelce is the newest family member to make her mark in the entertainment industry, appearing in two upcoming Hallmark Christmas films that are, appropriately, football-themed.

True to form, she will not choose between her sons, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis and recently retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason. “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story” revolves around a “fan of the year” contest for the team, while “Christmas on Call” stars a die-hard Eagles fan who helps his love interest come to know Philadelphia, according to a Hallmark Channel release this week.

Donna Kelce Is Making Her Film Debut In 2 Hallmark Movies — Football-Themed, Of Course

While Donna is no stranger to the camera, having been in Jason Kelce’s documentary and several gameday photos, the two films constitute her acting debut. In “Holiday Touchdown,” she portrays the manager of a barbecue restaurant. While it’s unclear whether she’s portraying a character or herself in “Christmas on Call,” her task is to guarantee that one of the protagonists “orders her cheesesteak the authentic way – ‘whiz wit.'”

The cameo announcements follow Travis Kelce’s efforts into Hollywood: he hosted “Saturday Night Live” in early 2023 before his connection with Taylor Swift catapulted his reputation, and he’s now due to appear in Ryan Murphy’s “Grotesquerie” and host “Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?” He also received his first producer credit this year.

Donna Kelce Is Making Her Film Debut In 2 Hallmark Movies — Football-Themed, Of Course

Jason Kelce, meanwhile, has joined ESPN as an analyst. He’ll also appear in one of his mother’s films: “Christmas on Call” will feature “Santa Drives an Astrovan,” by The Philly Specials — also known as Jason Kelce and Eagles players Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson — starring Mt. Joy, according to the announcement. It’s from a future album, and the revenues will benefit the Children’s Crisis Treatment Centre and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

The Kelce brothers also signed a lucrative partnership with Amazon’s Wondery for their famous “New Heights” podcast.

SOURCE | AP

The Masters and CBS will boost broadcast coverage by five hours next year, including two hours on Saturday and Sunday via CBS’s Paramount+ streaming service.

Augusta National recently announced another high-level corporate partner, Bank of America, raising the total number of “champion partners” for golf’s most-watched major to four.

The addition of Bank of America does not affect the commercial load. The Masters indicated the broadcast would continue with only four minutes of advertising per hour.

The Masters Adds Two Hours Of Weekend Coverage On Paramount+

“The Masters Tournament has had the great fortune of enjoying an extraordinary relationship with CBS Sports for nearly 70 years,” said Augusta National and Masters chairman Fred Ridley. “Alongside our friends at the network, we are pleased to extend the tournament’s weekend coverage and ultimately deliver more live golf for Masters fans.”

CBS will extend Saturday’s show by one hour. Next year, it will run from 2 to 7 p.m. EDT, rather than 3 p.m. The third and fourth rounds will be shown exclusively on Paramount+ from noon to 2 p.m. and will be available on the streaming service until the 7 p.m. finale.

This extends the overall coverage to 23 hours, including ESPN’s broadcast from 3 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday.

CBS also produces extensive digital coverage via The Master’s app, which includes features including Amen Corner, holes 4-6, holes 15-16, and featured pairings.

CBS has made its live coverage of athletic events available on Paramount Plus. The extra two hours on weekends will be part of its exclusive material, which is the first time it has offered golf-related content.

The Masters and CBS have had an annual relationship since 1956 when the network televised the last four holes with six cameras. Only 25 years ago, CBS broadcast only 10 1/2 hours of live Masters coverage, including three hours on Sunday.

Bank of America joins a tiny group of key corporate sponsors at the Masters, including AT&T, IBM, and Mercedes-Benz, all of whom have expanded their agreements. The club does not publish the specifics of those contracts.

Bank of America has had a long-standing partnership with Augusta National, serving as the presenting sponsor of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur since its establishment in 2019, as well as the Asia-Pacific Amateur and Latin America Amateur since 2022.

The Masters Adds Two Hours Of Weekend Coverage On Paramount+

“Through Bank of America’s support of our community initiatives and amateur events, they have become an impactful and committed partner in our organization’s mission in Augusta and around the globe,” Ridley told the crowd.

He stated that adding Bank of America as a top-tier sponsor broadens the partnership and improves the Masters “for many years to come.”

The Masters will be hosted on April 10-13 next year, continuing its history of taking place during the first full week of April. Scottie Scheffler is the defending champion.

SOURCE | AP