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Down 3-0, Leafs’ Big 4 Seeking Breakthrough Versus Panthers

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(SUNRISE, Fla.) — Panthers It was virtually automatic for the Toronto Maple Leafs this season. Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Auston Matthews, and John Tavares would all score.

At least, such was the case until the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Three games into this series against the Florida Panthers and that formidable foursome has been blanked.

After scoring at least once in 81 of Toronto’s 88 games before this series, Marner, Nylander, Matthews, and Tavares have combined for exactly zero goals in the Panthers’ meeting.

“Bobrovsky,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice stated, providing the most straightforward and true answer. “That would be the end of that answer.”

Sergei Bobrovsky of the Panthers has stopped everything they’ve thrown at him.

In the first three games, Matthews had sent 14 shots against Bobrovsky. Nylander has done the same. Tavares has scored 12 goals. Marner has taken nine shots.

There have been 49 shots on goal in total, with Bobrovsky going 49-for-49. After a 3-2 overtime win on Sunday, the Panthers now lead the series 3-0 and have a chance to send Toronto home with a sweep on Wednesday night.

“We’re trying to do all the right things,” Marner remarked. Panthers “I believe we’ve had our chances.” We’ve had our moments. It just has yet to work out for us. For us, it’s about continuing to do the right things on the ice, getting around the net more, and creating second chances.

The stats are astonishing, both to explain those four players’ success and all the success they aren’t currently enjoying.

panthers

Three games into this series against the Florida Panthers and that formidable foursome has been blanked.

“I can continue to put them in positions to succeed.” According to Leaf’s coach Sheldon Keefe on Monday, that would be the first step. “And then, just like the rest of our team, our focus has to be on doing what we can control and focusing on the things that truly matter.”

Toronto’s top four scorers combined for at least 10 points in five games this season, scored six goals twice — once late in the regular season against Montreal Panthers and again in Round 1 of the playoffs against Tampa Bay — and never went two games without a goal.

It’s been back-to-back-to-back games in this series – and counting.

“All different games,” Maurice observed. “I believe (Game 3) was difficult for our custodian to play….” These are postseason games. They only show the smallest of plays. Every play is dangerous, so there’s more offense than you think.”

During the regular season, Marner, Nylander, Matthews, and Tavares combined for 146 goals and 351 points. Other than four total assists in the three games, the Panthers have done more than keep them off the scoresheet. They also minimized their chances in Game 3, which was crucial.

Consider this: the four players combined for only seven shots on goal on Sunday night. Nylander had that many in Florida’s 4-2 victory in Game 1. However, Maurice noted that the figures don’t always tell the full story and that a couple of inches to the left or right on many shots might change how the stat sheet looked.

“We’ve just got to find a way to capitalize a little more,” Tavares added. “They’re defending quite close around their goal. We did not make the necessary plays to achieve the desired outcome.”

NOTES: Leafs G Ilya Samsonov has been scheduled for an MRI exam to evaluate the extent of the injury that forced him out of Game 3 early in the second period, according to Keefe. Samsonov was doing better on Monday, according to Keefe. Neither team practiced on Monday; instead, they met. Monday’s statement comes from Maurice, riding a franchise-record six-game postseason winning streak with Florida: “Play your (butt) off and see what happens.”

SOURCE — (AP)

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Another Byron Win Has Hendrick On A Roll Heading Toward NASCAR Team’s 40th Anniversary Party

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AUSTIN, Texas – Hendrick Motorsports has much to be excited about as it approaches its 40th anniversary celebration in two weeks.

William Bryon dominated on Sunday at the Circuit of the Americas, earning his second NASCAR win. Alex Bowman finished in the top four for the third time in 2024 at COTA, while Kyle Larson won the Xfinity Series in a thrilling finale on Saturday.

That’s quite a leap ahead of the team’s planned festivities for race weekend at Martinsville Speedway, where Hendrick Motorsports won its first race with Geoff Bodine in 1984 while racing under the moniker All-Star Racing.

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Another Byron Win Has Hendrick On A Roll Heading Toward NASCAR Team’s 40th Anniversary Party

So far, the race has resulted in its party.

Byron is the only two-time winner in the season’s first six races. The first occurred in the Daytona 500, where Bowman and Hendrick finished 1-2 in NASCAR’s marquee event.

Byron’s victory at COTA was his 12th career win and first from the pole position.

“I mean, just seeing him qualify, he was so fluid. The same thing happened throughout the race. “Just seemed to put the car in all the right places,” Hendrick Motorsports Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon explained. “A lot of thanks to William for accomplishing such an excellent job. Takes the entire team, pit crew, and everyone. They’ve had a great start to the season. I can’t wait to see where they take it next.

The series will head to Richmond’s short track next week before returning to Martinsville on April 7.

“We’re going to shoot for the stars,” declared Byron’s crew chief, Rudy Fogle.

Hendrick hopes to have a strong showing at Martinsville, where team vehicles will be painted in unique red schemes, owner Rick Hendrick will drive the pace car, and Bodine and Gordon will serve as grand marshals.

In the last four years, a Hendrick driver has won a race in Martinsville. The team has won the most Cup Series races at any track on the circuit, with 28 total.

“Obviously Martinsville is big for the 40th anniversary,” he remarked.

hendrick

Another Byron Win Has Hendrick On A Roll Heading Toward NASCAR Team’s 40th Anniversary Party

Bowman triumphed there in 2021 and generated huge results during a crucial season. He has not won since 2022, has had two seasons of injuries, and will miss the playoffs in 2023.

“I don’t want to say, ‘Yeah, we’re back here 100%,’ but these last few weeks have been a step in the right direction,” Mr. Bowman said.

“I’m personally working as hard as I’ve ever worked,” he said. This year, I’m all in on every aspect, whether it’s extra shifts in the (simulator), correlating the tires, spending more time with the team, or training in the gym.”

Larson’s Xfinity victory was a surprise despite starting from the pole position. He had to start from the back because his squad needed to replace a broken brake rotor, but he fought his way through and took the victory in overtime.

hendrick

Another Byron Win Has Hendrick On A Roll Heading Toward NASCAR Team’s 40th Anniversary Party

Larson was the first NASCAR driver to win the pole and the race while leading only one lap. His victory was Hendrick Motorsports’ first in the Xfinity Series since the team returned in 2022.

The only blight on Hendrick’s successful weekend was Larson’s 17th-place result in Sunday’s race, which took him out of the Cup Series lead. Larson now ranks fifth, slightly ahead of Bryon.

All four Hendrick drivers are in the top 11, but Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. and Ty Gibbs are the new season championship leaders.

SOURCE – (AP)

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Ohtani To Speak To Media For 1st Time Since Illegal Gambling, Theft Allegations Against Interpreter

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Los Angeles — Shohei Ohtani wants to talk to the media on Monday for the first time since allegations of illicit gambling and theft against the Los Angeles Dodgers player and his interpreter surfaced during the team’s trip to South Korea.

The Dodgers sacked their translator, Ippei Mizuhara, last week after the team opened the season with two games against the San Diego Padres in Seoul.

ohtani

Ohtani To Speak To Media For 1st Time Since Illegal Gambling, Theft Allegations Against Interpreter

Manager Dave Roberts encouraged Ohtani to address the issue openly. He stated that the two-way superstar made the decision.

“It’s the right thing to do,” Roberts explained. “I’m glad he’s going to speak up, share what he knows, and express his thoughts on the matter. I believe it will give us all a little more clarity.”

Mizuhara was let off the team after the Los Angeles Times and ESPN reported on his apparent ties to an illegal bookmaker and claimed from Ohtani’s attorneys that the Japanese star had been the victim of a “massive theft.”

Major League Baseball has launched an investigation into the matter. The Internal Revenue Service has stated that Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, an accused unlicensed bookmaker in Orange County, California, are under criminal investigation.

Will Ireton, the team’s performance operations manager, has taken over the translating duties from Ohtani. He had previously done the same for then-Dodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda, who is Japanese.

Ohtani made a quick cameo in the Dodgers’ clubhouse before Sunday’s Freeway Series opening against his former team, the Los Angeles Angels. The teams will play three exhibition games before the Dodgers meet St. Louis in their home opener on Thursday.

The crowd of 42,607 cheered Ohtani passionately each time he came to the plate in his first game as a Dodger in his hometown stadium. He went 0 for 2 as the designated hitter, walking once and striking out once before exiting.

He is also expected to play Monday in Los Angeles and Tuesday in Anaheim, where he was a two-time AL MVP before signing a $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers in December.

Roberts stated that Ohtani has yet to address his teammates as a group.

ohtani

Ohtani To Speak To Media For 1st Time Since Illegal Gambling, Theft Allegations Against Interpreter

“I think that he’s had one-off conversations with players,” Mr. Roberts added.

The manager claimed he checked in with Ohtani to see how he was doing.

“He’s kind of business as usual,” Roberts explained.

Ohtani has a double locker in the Dodgers’ clubhouse, between the shower room and fellow Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who is scheduled to make his second start of the season against St. Louis on Saturday.

On Sunday, additional security was deployed in the overcrowded clubhouse. In addition to the players and a slew of journalists, eight temporary lockers were built up at one end for minor leaguers brought in from Arizona for the Freeway Series.

Overhead televisions were tuned to men’s NCAA Tournament events, baseball, and horse racing, with former Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Paul Lo Duca providing TV handicapping suggestions for the day’s races.

ohtani

Ohtani To Speak To Media For 1st Time Since Illegal Gambling, Theft Allegations Against Interpreter

The MLB gambling policy is displayed in every clubhouse. Betting on baseball, legal or illegal, carries a one-year ban from the sport. The commissioner can impose penalties for illicit betting on other sports. Sports gambling is outlawed in California despite the fact that it is permitted in 38 other states and the District of Columbia.

“The mood in the room is get ready for baseball because I don’t hear a lot of conversations and speculation,” Roberts told reporters. “That’s why I think tomorrow is going to be good for everyone.”

SOURCE – (AP)

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British Runner Jasmin Paris Becomes First Woman To Finish Barkley Marathons, Just 99 Seconds Before Time Limit Expired

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A British runner, Jasmin Paris, became the first woman to complete the famed Barkley Marathons on Friday.

According to Keith Dunn, who attends the race and publishes updates on X (previously known as Twitter), Paris completed the difficult course in 59 hours, 58 minutes, and 21 seconds, barely 99 seconds, before the 60-hour time restriction expired.

The 40-year-old veterinarian was photographed collapsing over the finish line as she finished the event.

berkley

British Runner Jasmin Paris Becomes First Woman To Finish Barkley Marathons, Just 99 Seconds Before Time Limit Expired

Paris was one of five finishers in the 2024 Barkley Marathons, with Ukrainian Ihor Very first, Americans John Kelly and Jared Campbell second and third, and Greig Hamilton of New Zealand fourth.

Verys, who finished at 58:44:59, said that Dunn added a sixth loop.

Campbell, who finished the Barkley Marathons for the fourth time in 59:30:32, claimed the new part was “brutal.” “You are a bad man.”

Paris made waves in 2019 when she won the 2019 Spine event. She became the first woman to win the 268-mile event and shaved 12 hours off the previous record.

The Barkley Marathons are notable for their arduous, near-impossible nature. Many consider it the world’s toughest and most punishing foot race.

berkley

British Runner Jasmin Paris Becomes First Woman To Finish Barkley Marathons, Just 99 Seconds Before Time Limit Expired

Every year, the renowned ultramarathon that racer Gary Cantrell created takes place at Tennessee’s Frozen Head State Park. James Earl Ray’s 1977 jailbreak during which he assassinated Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. served as inspiration for the path.

Ray barely walked eight miles just over two days after escaping Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary before being apprehended, prompting Cantrell to speculate that he could travel 100 miles in the same amount of time.

The course is lengthy and indistinct, the inclines steep, and the terrain harsh, but only if you can manage the confusing admission system and earn a seat at the starting line.

The race consists of five circuits of about 20 miles each, for a total distance of 100 to 130 miles in brushy mountains with an elevation gain of roughly 63,000 feet. Athletes complete the race over three sleepless days and nights, with no aid stations, phones, or GPS to assist with navigation. Getting lost, as well as falling and being injured in the brush, is normal.

berkley

British Runner Jasmin Paris Becomes First Woman To Finish Barkley Marathons, Just 99 Seconds Before Time Limit Expired

The ultramarathon is marked with distinct unmanned checkpoints containing a paperback book. Athletes must rip out a page according to their bib number and have all the book pages in hand at the end of each loop to demonstrate that they reached each checkpoint.

Many need help to finish the races because of their difficulty, with no finishers between 2017 and 2023. It has a 99% dropout rate.

SOURCE – (CNN)

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