Spend five or 10 minutes talking with any woman who has been fortunate enough to play for the United States national hockey team. At some point in that discussion, they will share why the need to make time for others remains so important for their sport because they understand the value of having a personal connection with someone they idolized.
Hannah Bilka knows what it means to be a young girl from a state such as Texas, where girls’ hockey does exist — but not like it does in Massachusetts, Michigan or Minnesota. Eight years before Bilka became Boston College’s captain, she went to a camp in Buffalo, New York, where she hoped she could develop her skills and maybe meet one of her heroes.
Bilka met her hero, and they took a photo together. Her hero then posted that picture on Instagram, where it remains to this day.
That hero was Hilary Knight. The same Hilary Knight who is a linemate of Bilka on Team USA.
“It’s cool meeting your idols and getting to know her and see she is such a down-to-earth person,” Bilka said. “I remember her being very interested in hearing my story, and that just made me look up to her even more when I was 13 years old. She is such a really good person.”
Players such as Clair DeGeorge, Abby Roque, Haley Winn and Bilka represent something of a convergence point for Knight. They are part of the generation that grew up watching and idolizing Knight, and they all have pictures with her too.
That Knight continues to influence the group, now as a teammate, is a testament to how much of a fixture she has been within women’s hockey.
“Oh yeah, she’s seen the photo. We have a Tik-Tok of it and I think I told her before I did have this photo at one point in life,” Roque said. “I remember we ran into each other at a tournament. I was in the high school division and she was in the post-grads. It’s funny because now I look at her and she’s one of my good friends here.”
Knight posed for a picture with Roque, who was wearing a red USA Hockey baseball cap when they were at that tournament. In 2014, DeGeorge was at the same camp in Buffalo as Bilka when she took a photo with Knight while holding her Olympic silver medal from the Sochi Games.
Winn was also at that Buffalo camp. In her picture with Knight, she wore Knight’s medal while holding an autographed picture of her and standing next to the real thing.
Bilka, DeGeorge, Roque and Winn each spoke about Knight while they were with Team USA during the Rivalry Series with Canada. DeGeorge, Roque and Winn were part of the US roster that swept Canada in all three games of the series in November. Bilka along with Roque are part of the American roster that will resume the series this month with Game 4 set to start Thursday at the Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, N.V.
All of them spoke fondly about the memories that came from those pictures and the new memories they have forged with Knight. They talk about Knight as an all-time great on the ice and one of the nicest people they have ever met.
Impact and longevity are not promised in life or in sports. Knight has had both. So what is it like to establish relationships at this point in her storied career with teammates who once idolized her?
“I definitely don’t think I’ve been around long enough to have a full generational moment,” said the 33-year-old Knight, who is also an ESPN analyst. “But clearly I have. I started at the program when I was super young and we did not have a U18 program. The senior team was the only team. But it’s so funny because [her younger teammates] are really shy at first and they don’t want to come over. Then, finally we get into a training camp and they’re like, ‘Hey! Do you see this picture? Do you remember this picture?’
“Then, it’s like, ‘Oh gosh. Here it comes.’ It’s a picture of me and them when they were super young.”
DeGeorge said she was extremely nervous approaching Knight and telling her about the photo because, well, she’s Hilary Knight. DeGeorge still remembers the moment of how her picture with Knight came together.
The camp was coming to an end and Knight was about to leave for the day. DeGeorge said her dad urged her to ask Knight for a photo.
“I got the courage to go up and ask her, which is so funny because she is so nice,” DeGeorge said. “I’m not nervous anymore. But at the time, I was terrified.”
Now here’s the funny part. DeGeorge has shown the photo to everyone else on the national team except Knight.
“I’ll show her at some point,” DeGeorge smiled.
Being teammates with Knight, of course, creates new memories. DeGeorge said Knight is always doing something nice for her teammates and expects nothing in return. She said there was a moment when the team was getting ready for a practice and there was some sand on the dressing room floor.
DeGeorge said Knight, without anyone asking, found a broom and cleaned up the sand so it would not damage anyone’s skates.
“Oh my God, someone noticed that?” Knight said with a laugh. “I think there are so many things that go into being a successful team. Every little thing matters. That’s so cliche, but everyone has to do something to make someone else better. I’m not here by mistake. I’m here because of other people’s sacrifices. You have to realize where you are in everything and make someone else next to you better.”
Being such a revered figure is something of a full-circle experience for Knight. The way her younger teammates talk about her is the same way Knight talks about her hero: Cammi Granato. Knight usually speaks with the poise and polish of someone who has done a lot of interviews. She delivers each word with a steady pace and tone.
Talking about Granato, however, made her speak with excitement, as if she were waiting to meet Granato for the first time. Knight spent part of her childhood in the Chicagoland area. So did Granato. Living in the Chicago suburbs gave Knight, who wears No. 21 because of Granato, the chance to attend Granato’s camp.
“I went to that camp, my stick broke and I got to use her stick,” Knight recalled. “That was so big for me in understanding that we are a small version of that in other people’s lives. It is pretty unique.”
And yes, Knight definitely took a photo with Granato when she was a child and still has a hat Granato autographed for her.
To know she could have that connection with Granato played a pivotal role in Knight’s youth and in her becoming the person and player she is today.
Reminiscing about her childhood made Knight think about another experience she had years later. At that time, she was still new to the national team. She was just Hilary Knight and not “OMG, it’s Hilary Knight!” One day she was walking to the rink with Caitlin Cahow and Angela Ruggiero when some young fans stopped Cahow and Ruggiero for autographs.
“I was like, ‘You want them. You want their autograph,’ and Angela roped me in and said, ‘No, you’re giving this young girl your autograph,'” Knight recalled. “It was that ‘You’re one of us’ kind of moment. That was such a powerful, impactful moment for me. It was like, ‘Oh my God. I’m representing our country! I’m here! I’m with these guys! This is my squad!'”
Knight said that moment helped her appreciate the importance of empowering young girls and giving them the encouragement that if “she wants to do it, then go out and do it unapologetically.'”
Knight is now passing down those same lessons to the next generation of players with the aim that those values can continue to help young girls for years to come.
Speaking about the future leads to the inevitable question of how much longer Knight will continue playing.
“As long as I can remember for example, that picture, she’s been kinda the face of women’s hockey, especially USA Hockey,” Winn said. “It is crazy to think there is going to come a day [when Knight retires] and I feel like she is still going so strong that her body is performing at an elite level. I can’t imagine a day when she does not have that jersey on and isn’t leading this team. I just know she is going to go as long as she can and everyone is going to support her.”
Knight said she has “definitely” thought about how much time she has left in her career while noting she gets asked that question a lot.
She initially thought she was done playing after the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, where the U.S. took home silver, the third of Knight’s career to go with one gold. But there was a discussion among the team’s veteran core that led to the realization that they want to keep playing.
Knight said she does not have a timeline in mind in terms of determining when she will retire. Her goal, for now, is to stay healthy and continue to chase “the 60 minutes of perfection none of us are ever going to truly have,” which still serves as motivation for her.
“I feel like I have so many years to do other things,” Knight said. “This is the only time I can do this right now.”
BALTIMORE — Jackson Holliday homered with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to deny Yoshinobu Yamamoto a no-hitter, and the Baltimore Orioles weren’t satisfied with that, rallying for four runs in the inning to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 in a delirious comeback Saturday night.
Scott came on with the bases loaded, and Rivera lined a single to center.
According to Elias, the Dodgers are just the second team in the Expansion Era (since 1961) to lose a game in nine innings after carrying a no-hitter through 8⅔ innings. On July 9, 2011, the Dodgers broke up the Padres’ combined no-hitter to win 1-0.
Los Angeles had a win probability of 99.6% with two outs before Holliday’s ninth-inning homer, according to ESPN Analytics.
Yamamoto came within one out of the major leagues’ first no-hitter of 2025. He allowed only two baserunners, both on third-inning walks, before Holliday’s drive. The 27-year-old right-hander tied a career high with 10 strikeouts. He threw 112 pitches, also a career high since coming to the U.S.
Yamamoto was removed after that and received a standing ovation by fans of both teams.
Camden Yards has hosted only one no-hitter since opening in 1992, and it was by another Japanese star. Hideo Nomo threw one on April 4, 2001, for the Boston Red Sox against the Orioles.
Shohei Ohtani hit an RBI grounder in the third. Mookie Betts added a run-scoring single in the fifth and an RBI triple in the seventh.
The Dodgers have not thrown a no-hitter since May 4, 2018, when Walker Buehler, Tony Cingrani, Yimi Garcia and Adam Liberatore pitched a combined effort against the San Diego Padres in Mexico. The last solo no-hitter by the team was Clayton Kershaw’s on June 18, 2014, against Colorado.
The last time the Orioles were no-hit was by Japanese right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma of the Seattle Mariners on Aug. 12, 2015.
Holding a one-point lead in the final three minutes of Saturday’s game against South Florida, Florida shot itself in the foot with two costly penalties on defense.
Bulls kicker Nico Gramatica made the No. 13 Gators pay with his right leg.
18 1/2-point underdog South Florida pulled off its second upset in as many weeks when Gramatica, the son of former NFL kicker Martin Gramatica, booted a 20-yard field goal as time expired for an 18-16 victory in the Swamp.
South Florida routed No. 25 Boise State 34-7 at home in its Aug. 28 opener, its first victory over a ranked opponent since 2016. The Bulls had dropped 18 straight against ranked teams.
Saturday’s victory over the Gators was even more impressive. It was USF’s first road win against a ranked opponent since its 23-20 victory at No. 16 Notre Dame on Sept. 3, 2011.
According to ESPN Research, the Bulls are only the fourth team in the AP poll era (since 1936) to win their first two games against ranked opponents while being unranked, joining 1976 North Carolina, 2008 East Carolina and 2012 Oregon State.
The Bulls play at No. 5 Miami next week. They’ll try to become only the fifth team to start a season 3-0 with three wins over ranked opponents; 1987 Miami, 1985 Michigan, 1960 Iowa and 1954 Oklahoma were the others.
“We’ve got to be able to go handle success,” USF coach Alex Golesh said. “We’ve just got to continue to push forward. This ain’t the same old South Florida, my brother.”
It was Florida’s first defeat at home against a school from Florida, other than Florida State or Miami, since a 16-14 loss to Stetson in 1938.
“It’s not good enough,” Florida coach Billy Napier said. “We’ve got work to do. You guys know it. I know it. Anybody that watched it knows it. We got to take ownership of it, and we got to go back to work. That’s it.”
The loss will surely put more pressure on Napier, whose teams are 20-20 in his four seasons. Florida started 1-1 for the fourth straight season and its schedule is going to get even more treacherous with four straight games against ranked foes: at No. 3 LSU, at No. 5 Miami, home against No. 7 Texas and at No. 19 Texas A&M.
The Gators would owe Napier a $20.4 million buyout if he’s fired, including 50% in the first 30 days of his termination.
“We created it. We deserve it,” Napier said of the criticism. “If you play football like that, you’re going to be criticized. It comes with the territory, right? Only thing you can do is go get it fixed, and that’s what we’ll start working on tomorrow.”
South Florida gave Gramatica a chance to put them ahead with less than three minutes to go, but his 58-yard field goal attempt was short with 2:52 left.
Florida got the ball back at its 40-yard line and went three and out, taking only 27 seconds off the clock. Gators quarterback DJ Lagway misfired on two passes, including one to Vernell Brown III on third-and-8. Tommy Doman’s 47-yard punt pinned the Bulls at their 11-yard line with 2:25 remaining.
That’s when things fell apart for Florida. On second down, Gators cornerback Dijon Johnson was penalized for pass interference, giving USF a first down.
On the next play, Florida stuffed Alvon Isaac for no gain. But Gators defensive lineman Brendan Bett was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct and ejected from the game for spitting in the face mask of USF offensive lineman Cole Skinner after the play. The 15-yard penalty gave the Bulls a first down at their 39-yard line.
On the next play, Byrum Brown threw a short pass to Alvon Isaac, who broke three tackles for a 29-yard gain. Brown threw a 12-yarder to Joshua Porter to get to the Florida 20.
Betts’ ejection came two days after Philadelphia Eagles star defensive tackle Jalen Carter was booted from the game for spitting on Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott in the Eagles’ 24-20 victory on Thursday night.
“I haven’t had that conversation with him yet,” Napier said of Bett. “We’ll take a good look at it, but it’s unacceptable. I think we’ve got a lot of players in that room as well that have the same belief that it’s unacceptable.
“When a guy does something like that, he’s compromising the team. He’s putting himself before the team. Everything the game is about, you’re compromising, so there will be lessons to be learned there. Yeah, it’s that simple.”
Florida was penalized 11 times for 103 yards, and a handful were costly. In the first half, the Gators committed two penalties that wiped out touchdowns on the same possession. A holding penalty negated Ja’Kobi Jackson’s 20-yard scoring run, and then a pass-interference penalty brought back Lagways’ 14-yard touchdown pass to Tony Livingston.
Florida had to settle for Trey Smack’s 36-yard field goal and a 6-3 lead.
“Not good enough, and it’s my responsibility,” Napier said. “I think when you evaluate the game, the red zone missed opportunities caught up with us, and we let them hang around. Certainly the penalties contributed to the game. It extended their drives, and it slowed down our drives.”
Lagway, who led the Gators to a four-game winning streak to end the 2024 season, didn’t look comfortable against USF’s defense, and Florida’s offensive line struggled to protect him. He completed 23 of 33 passes for 222 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
The Bulls took a 13-9 lead into the fourth quarter after Byrum Brown threw a 66-yard touchdown to Keshawn Singleton with 2:03 left in the third. Florida had a bad snap that resulted in a safety, giving USF a 15-9 lead with 13 seconds to go in the quarter.
The Gators went ahead 16-15 on Lagway’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Eugene Wilson II with 12:29 to go, which came after Vernell Brown’s 40-yard punt return.
EUGENE, Ore. — A week that began with head coaches Mike Gundy and Dan Lanning trading barbs about each program’s budget ended with Oregon handing Oklahoma State a 69-3 loss — the worst of the Gundy era and the worst the program has seen since 1907.
“It never requires extra motivation for an opportunity to go out and kick ass,” Lanning said postgame regarding the message he sent his team. “But it never hurts when somebody pours gasoline on the fire.”
On Monday while speaking on his radio show, Gundy said Oregon is “paying a lot of money for their team,” citing $40 million as the amount he believed the Ducks spent on their roster last year. Gundy made several other comments about Oregon’s resources — he said “it’ll cost a lot of money to keep” quarterback Dante Moore and that he believes Oregon’s budget should determine the programs it schedules outside of the Big Ten.
“If you want to be a top-10 team in college football, you better be invested in winning. We spend to win,” Lanning said Monday in response. “Some people save to have an excuse for why they don’t. … I can’t speak on their situation; I have no idea what they got in their pockets over there.”
After Saturday’s win, Moore said Gundy’s comments hit “close to home” for him and the rest of the team and that the Ducks used them as motivation heading into the matchup.
“For him to attack Phil [Knight], Coach Lanning and our team was personal,” Moore, who threw for 266 yards and three touchdowns, said. “We were going to keep the foot on the neck and make sure we score these points and try to break the scoreboard.”
Break the scoreboard, they did. The Ducks had a 59-yard touchdown run on their second offensive play of the game and a 65-yard touchdown pass on their third offensive play of the game. Explosive plays were everywhere at Autzen as Oklahoma State’s defense provided little to no resistance. Oregon’s offense did not punt until the fourth quarter and totaled 631 yards to Oklahoma State’s 211 yards.
“It was a lot of fire going into this game,” Moore said.
The way Oregon came out of the gates, stepped on the gas pedal and didn’t relent until it was up 48-3 halfway through the third quarter, when it brought in the offensive backups, seemed very purposeful. The two pick-sixes that pushed the Ducks’ score into the 60s added insult to injury.
“It’s still about us,” Lanning said. “Our ability to ignore the noise is the thing that’s going to make us go.”
Lanning, as he did on Monday, said postgame that he has a lot of respect for Gundy and even noted that the result probably had Gundy saying “I told you so” regarding his comments about the disparity in resources between the two schools.
“When I made that comment, I was complimenting Oregon for what they had done,” Gundy said. “Second thing, which I said later in the week is, we’ve made commitments also, but we have to be better and fundamentally sound and execute.”
Gundy is now 4-10 over his past 14 games as the Cowboys’ head coach, and two of those losses — Saturday’s at Oregon and last year’s 52-0 loss to Colorado — are the worst of his career.
“Sometimes you’re going to play people that have the ability to run away from you,” Gundy said. “We gotta look at that and see where we’re at. We didn’t play good enough, in the systems that we had, to put ourselves in that position.”
As the heat rises around the coach who has helmed the Oklahoma State program since 2005, Gundy’s son, Gavin, took to X to defend his father.
“Mike Gundy IS Oklahoma State football,” Gavin said as part of a long thread of posts. “Period. As QB, he set records in the Barry Sanders era. As coach, he stacked 160+ wins, 19 straight bowls, a Big 12 title, two Fiesta Bowls, multiple Top-10 finishes, & sent dudes to the NFL year after year. He’s the winningest coach in OSU history & the most important name this program has EVER had. Without him, you’d have nothing to brag about, nothing to watch, nothing to cry about”
Soon after, Gavin’s thread was deleted from the site.