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Greg Wyshynski, ESPN
When the Anaheim Ducks celebrate a win on the ice this season, there’s a more bizarre celebration happening on social media: a duck triumphantly slamming its webbed feet on a drum, in a room filled with team memorabilia.
Did we mention this duck’s name is Ben Afquack?
Ben Afquack is drummin’ his way to the closest honky tonk on Broadway! #FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/QbRDMU4viR
— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) January 10, 2024
“After a win, we’re trying to capitalize on all the good feelings, good emotions, good vibes,” said Tyler Pistoia, the digital content producer for Anaheim. “The duck is a fantastic way to, pardon the pun, drum up more positivity. ‘Hey we got the win. Oh, Ben Afquack is here, let’s go!’ The rallying cry for wins is that little guy.”
Pistoia learned about the drumming duck from Sarah Montecinos, assistant manager for entertainment and production for Anaheim. She saw the fowl dancing on Instagram and noticed that he had almost 100,000 followers.
The first thing that struck Pistoia is that the duck had “fitness model” in his bio. The second was that this dancing duck had worked with sports teams, but never one in hockey.
The first team Ben Afquack partnered with was Minnesota Aurora FC, a community-owned club playing in the USL W League. He appeared in a video in which he kicked a mini soccer ball. Then the St. Paul Saints, the minor league affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, wanted a piece of the duck. But Derek Johnson, keeper of Ben Afquack, was blown away when the Ducks called on him.
“Growing up in Minnesota, I am a lifelong hockey fan, so receiving a message from an NHL team was surreal,” Johnson said. “I immediately took a screenshot of the message and sent it to friends and family, before I even replied to the message. I was very excited to work with the Ducks — even though I am a Minnesota Wild fan.”
Pistoia had a clear vision for Ben Afquack: Have Johnson film him banging a victory drum with his tiny webbed feet, and then post it on social media after Anaheim victories. But it had to look right. So Pistoia and Montecinos went on a shopping spree at the Anaheim team store for memorabilia that could be used in the video, which included dressing up the duck like a Duck.
“A jersey wouldn’t have made sense because the arms don’t go anywhere. So we figured, OK, we’ll get the Duck a bandana, we’ll get him a bunch of those pennants, we’ll get some stuff to put behind the drum, and we’ll get Derek the guy to put on a jersey — even though I don’t think we’d see the jersey because it’s just his hand holding the duck,” Pistoia said.
Johnson filmed around four different versions of the duck dancing on the drum. The team edited the video down to nine seconds, and a meme was born.
“We posted it and the response was through the roof. It does incredible numbers for us,” Pistoia said. “I get it, right? It’s a duck hitting a drum. You wouldn’t think that’s overly compelling, but it certainly has resonated with our fans, who are like, ‘I would die for this duck.'”
After victories, the team posts the clip on X and occasionally on Instagram, tailoring the post to whichever team the Ducks just defeated.
One of Pistoia’s goals is to bring the Internet meme into reality, hoping that Ben Afquack could make an appearance when the Ducks travel to play the Wild this season. Pistoia would also be interested in having Johnson and his drumming duck fly west for an Anaheim home game at some point.
“A live duck in a sporting arena, as you can imagine, might be a challenge,” Pistoia said. “But there was a crocodile at a Flyers game recently, so who knows?”
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Jesse Rogers
Free agent pitcher Julio Urias, who hasn’t played in the big leagues since 2023, was suspended through this year’s All-Star break for violating Major League Baseball’s joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy, commissioner Rob Manfred announced in a Friday news release.
It’s Urias’ second suspension for violating the policy. He was suspended for 20 games in 2019 after being arrested on suspicion of domestic battery.
He’ll be reinstated on July 17, 2025, and then free to sign with any team.
Urias, 28, spent eight seasons with the Dodgers before being placed on administrative leave after his latest arrest in September 2023. He remained there until becoming a free agent at the end of that season. He did not sign with a team last year while under investigation.
Urias’ latest arrest occurred outside a soccer match in Los Angeles after the pitcher got into an altercation with his wife. In 2024, he plead no contest to the battery charges stemming from that arrest and entered a treatment program.
Since Urias isn’t employed by a team the league could not assign him a number of games for the suspension, instead choosing a date that corresponds with the end of the All-Star break.
Urias was signed out of Mexico as a 16-year-old, making his debut for the Dodgers just three years later. He was an important contributor on L.A’s playoff teams during that era, recording the final out of the 2020 World Series, winning 20 games in 2021 and finishing third in National League Cy Young Award voting in 2022.
Urias was widely projected to sign a $200 million-plus contract before being arrested.
PEORIA, Ariz. — San Diego Padres right-hander Yu Darvish will start the season on the injured list because of inflammation in his right elbow, manager Mike Shildt said Friday.
Shildt said there is no timetable for Darvish’s return but the team is confident he will be back in the rotation following rest and a ramp-up period.
Darvish made a pair of spring training starts but was shut down after the second, a four-inning, 54-pitch outing against Kansas City on March 13. The Padres decided to have him back off his throwing program after he played catch a couple times.
Kyle Hart, Stephen Kolek and Randy Vasquez are candidates to fill Darvish’s spot in the rotation behind Michael King, Dylan Cease and Nick Pivetta.
Darvish is 110-88 with a 3.58 ERA in 12 major league seasons after pitching for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan’s Pacific League from 2005-11. The 38-year-old had Tommy John surgery on March 17, 2015, and returned to a major league mound on May 28, 2016.
He had back, neck and elbow problems last season and was on the restricted list for personal reasons from early July to late August. He won three of four starts in September and was 1-1 with a 1.98 ERA in two starts against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Division Series
Darvish came to the major leagues in 2012 after agreeing to a $56 million, six-year contract with the Texas Rangers. He was traded to the Dodgers in July 2017, became a free agent after the World Series and signed a $126 million, six-year deal with the Chicago Cubs. Darvish was dealt to San Diego after the 2020 season and in February 2023 agreed to a contract with the Padres that added an additional $90 million in guaranteed money for a total of $108 million over six year.
His 2023 season ended in late August because of a bone spur in his right elbow.
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