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NHL All-Star Weekend offers a relaxed atmosphere for players, as they hang with friends and family while taking a break from the 82-game regular-season grind. Which is a perfect opportunity to get some candid answers to an array of questions.

Here are around a dozen All-Stars giving us their takes on an NHL team in Salt Lake City, how they’d change overtime rules, their most coveted pieces of sports memorabilia and how superstitious they are (or are not) and much more.

How would you change NHL overtime rules?

Jake Oettinger, Dallas Stars: I would do a 10-minute overtime. Still 3-on-3. Try that out for a bit. And then if that doesn’t work, because everyone likes to keep possession, maybe you do a no over-and-back rule.

Clayton Keller, Arizona Coyotes: I like it how it is. But if there’s a penalty, I’d like to see us go 3-on-2 [on the power play] instead of 4-on-3. It think it should be easier to score I guess. You can tee it up from up close.

Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers: I’d keep it the way it is, even if we’re not great at it this season. [Laughs.] But I wouldn’t change it a whole lot.

Frank Vatrano, Anaheim Ducks: I think the red line should be a blue line. I think they should take both blue lines out and have the red line act as a blue line. It would open the zone more. When you see guys taking it back, it’s all about possession. So take the blue lines out and have the red line be the blue line for both sides.

Jesper Bratt, New Jersey Devils: There have been so many thoughts about it lately, from the shot clock to the NBA offside rule. But our team has been doing pretty well in the overtimes this year so I think we should stick with whatever works. [Laughs.]

Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks: I like it. If anything, I might extend it a little, but there are so many regular-season games that it could be really tiring. I think the 3-on-3 is a really fun game.

Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders: Maybe once you get over the blue line, changing the blue line to the red line. So, the red line is now the offensive zone. Because it’s very possession-based right now, right? You see teams just circle back, circle back; I don’t know. I think the o-zone sometimes when you’re man-on-man can get a little bit stagnant. I think if you open it up, it’ll allow guys to create a lot more speed and might change things up a little bit.

Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators: Not bringing the puck past the red line. If you have it, you have to keep it in the offensive zone or just before the red line, but not crossing it.

Sam Reinhart, Florida Panthers: Not just an OT [thing], but sometimes [a rule] doesn’t fit the crime. Like, sometimes you could get tapped in the face and you could be bleeding and [the other guy] gets a four-minute penalty. But sometimes, you could get smoked in the face and you’re not bleeding and they get only two minutes. I don’t have an answer of how to change it. But certainly it’s something I’ve thought about that doesn’t always seem to fit the situation.


What do you think of Salt Lake City as an NHL city?

Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins: I’d love it. I got to visit Salt Lake City a couple of summers ago. They’ve got some pretty great mountains there, so I know I’ll enjoy that trip. Any city that’s willing to put an NHL rink there, I’m in love with.

Boone Jenner, Columbus Blue Jackets: From what I’ve heard, that’s a great city. I’ve never been out there but whenever you get talks like that [around expansion], it’s exciting and we’ll see what happens with it.

Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets: It’d be really cool. I think it’d be an awesome market. The Jazz do really well there and they’ve got the Winter Olympics coming there [in 2034]. You don’t have too many [pro] teams out west and a lot of those teams are growing though. I think it’d be a great market, great winter activity to do for fans as well. I think as players it’d be a great opportunity. If you look at the success of Seattle and Vegas, the template is there and they’ve had success right away.

Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres: That would be great news. It’s really good to expand the league, get more fans involved, get more kids playing and growing the sport in Utah and places like that. It’s a good thing that we expand hockey as much as possible.

Hertl: We played there this year for one of our preseason games. I think it was a cool spot and the fans when we played were great. So I think it would be a good opportunity for expansion or whatever team, but I think it’s a good city.

Oettinger: I’d be great. I don’t know much about it. But I did watch “The Last Dance” Michael Jordan documentary when he played against the Jazz and it seemed like a great sports town.

Bratt: I’ve heard it’s a really cool place. Obviously adding another team would be great for the league and for the fans.

Draisaitl: I think it would be great. Anytime a new team comes into the league it’s exciting. Everyone would love it. Great spot.

Barzal: I think it’d be cool. Never been out there, but I think it’d be great. It’d be cool to have a new city like that. I’d be excited about it.

Vatrano: Never been there, but my cousins played there in the ECHL, and they loved it. So it sounds exciting.

Reinhart: I’ve never been but I’ve only heard some of the best things. If the NHL could expand there, I think it would be pretty exciting.

Tkachuk: I don’t know too much about it, but my dad still talks about the 2002 Olympics and that silver medal. Funny story: I got to take that medal to show-and-tell in second grade, so that was pretty cool.


Any thoughts on Lewis Hamilton moving to Ferrari?

Hertl: I love F1. I just found out about this while I was leaving and I was really surprised. I’m a Red Bull guy because I have some things going on with Red Bull. But it’s interesting. I can imagine seeing Hamilton in the red because he’s a merciless guy.

Bratt: That was a little bit of a shock. Mercedes is probably thinking about having to move on and start something fresh. And George Russell is there and doing really good. So it’s an interesting move, but it’s going to be good seeing him with Ferarri.

Reinhart: I became a fan from “Drive To Survive” from a couple of years ago. It’s made it pretty easy to follow and get coverage in America. But Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari? It’s lookin’ weird already. [Laughs.]


If you could have any piece or hockey or sports memorabilia, what would it be? Or do you own something unique?

Bratt: When I was like 6 or 7 years old, I got a signed stick from Peter Forsberg. It said “good luck with hockey” or “work hard” or something like that. I had it in my room growing up. It’s still in my parents’ house. I would look at it when I woke up in the morning because it was a cool piece of advice. I appreciated that signed stick. I saw him a couple of years ago but didn’t really have a chance to tell him what it meant to me, so hopefully I can tell him one day.

Oettinger: For my whole career, I’ve been dying to get a Henrik Lundqvist signed stick and I just got one two weeks ago. It’s the best gift I’ve ever gotten in my life. My guy at Bauer hooked me up. He had a case that he gave me. I thought it was going to be an All-Star stick. He’s like “open it up” and I open it up and it was one of his used sticks, signed. One of the coolest things I’ll ever own.

Keller: Michael Jordan’s shoes from his last game in the NBA.

Vatrano: A Sidney Crosby stick. I hope I can get one this weekend. I don’t like asking guys, putting them on the spot. It’s not in me to ask people for things. Maybe our media [relations] person can ask for me.

Hertl: I got a Cristiano Ronaldo jersey signed. That’s probably the best thing I’ll ever get. He’s one of my favorite athletes. My brother got it for me. It’s a really cool thing.

Reinhart: I’ve got a couple of signed Barcelona things. I’ve got an Andrés Iniesta signed photo that was personalized. I have a few signed Messi things. All pretty cool being a big soccer fan.

Connor: I’m a big Detroit Lions fan, so maybe like a Calvin Johnson jersey from back in the day; he was my guy. Or Barry Sanders. That would be pretty cool. I’d take something from Tiger Woods too, I’m a huge golf fan. You can’t go wrong.

Swayman: A Stanley Cup would be nice.


On a scale of 1-to-10, how superstitious are you as an athlete?

Elias Lindholm, Vancouver Canucks: I’m not really superstitious. I like to go with the flow. See what happens.

Oettinger: I’m going to go like 4 or 5. You can ask my teammates or my fiancé or my friends. Nothing too crazy. I just try to go out there and have fun.

Keller: I shouldn’t call it superstition. “Routine,” I would call it. And I’d say I’m about a 7. I like to wear the same socks if we win or if I played well. [Q: “So if you were on an Oilers streak, that’d be kinda gross?”] Yeah I’d probably have to wash them at some point.

Draisaitl: I’m an 8 to 9. Pretty superstitious. A lot of things I do that are exactly the same. Like, I always leave my house at the same time for games. Stuff like that.

Vatrano: I don’t like to use the word superstitious. More like “routine.” So I’d say a 5. Like, I have to put everything on my left side on first. My stick can’t touch the ground after I tape it. But, you know, other than that … but I’m not crazy. If my stick touches the ground, I’m not going to go re-tape it. I’m a 5. I’m right in the middle. Anything over 5 is crazy.

Bratt: I wouldn’t say I’m superstitious. I just have some routines. If I don’t do them it’s not like I’m breaking down because of it. I can change a routine, but a superstition is something that you can’t live without. So when the routines kick in, I’d say around an 8 or a 9. But superstitious I’m only around a 4.

Hertl: I’m a 5. Right in the middle. I don’t know if it’s superstition. It might be more like routines. But I do them all the time so maybe it is superstition. I don’t know. It’s probably both a routine and a superstition.

Barzal: Honestly, I’ll occasionally get superstitious. Like, it’s not an everyday thing; it’s more like if something random occurs one day, and I have a good game that night, maybe I’ll try to recreate that random moment that I had. I don’t know what it would be. But maybe somebody called me that hasn’t called me in a while. Maybe I will call him again the next game day.

Jenner: I’d be, like, an 8 or a 9. Probably it used to be at 9½. Got it down to an 8 now. It was just getting to be too much. We were getting too close to a 10.

Tkachuk: I’m a 1. I trust in my abilities.

Swayman: I’m like a negative-2. Although maybe that’s why I’m superstitious — because I’m not superstitious.

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The Gators, a top QB and a $13.85 million NIL deal gone wrong: What to know and what’s next

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The Gators, a top QB and a .85 million NIL deal gone wrong: What to know and what's next

Jaden Rashada, a former ESPN 300 quarterback recruit, sued the University of Florida and coach Billy Napier on Tuesday. Rashada is claiming he was defrauded of millions of dollars in name, image and likeness money.

The lawsuit, among other things, alleges that Napier promised the player’s father a $1 million “partial payment” upon signing. Rashada never got the money, and the boosters never fulfilled the deal, the lawsuit states.

It is the latest in a long saga involving the player and the school. Now, Rashada is the first college athlete known to sue his coach or a booster due to a dispute over an NIL deal.

What’s next for Rashada and Florida? Our reporters break it down.

How did we get here?

Rashada was ranked No. 31 overall in the 2023 class and had a prep career that featured several transfers. His freshman season in high school was played at Liberty High School (Brentwood, California). He then transferred to IMG Academy in Florida before going back to California to play three seasons at Pittsburg (California) High School. His college decision came down to two Florida schools and two big NIL numbers.

Rashada committed to the Miami Hurricanes in June 2022. The lawsuit states that Rashada had a $9.5 million NIL promise with the Canes. But Rashada decommitted that November and promptly flipped to the Florida Gators and Coach Napier. He signed his national letter of intent during the December signing period. However, he didn’t enroll at Florida, and his arrival in Gainesville was contingent on a four-year, $13.85 million NIL deal. Rashada asked for a release from his letter of intent when the deal fell through.

The Gator Collective, an independent fundraising organization that distributed money to UF athletes at the time, was responsible for the deal. However, the financial backing did not materialize, and the Gator Collective terminated the contract. Rashada was released from his letter of intent. He then took a visit to Arizona State and committed to play for the Sun Devils, arriving on campus in July 2023.

Rashada started the first two games of the season for Arizona State, but an injury kept him out for most of the season. In three games, he was 44-of-82 for 485 yards, with four touchdowns and three interceptions.

Rashada entered the transfer portal on April 18 and is now transferring to Georgia, where he will have four years of eligibility remaining. — Tom VanHaaren


What’s next for Rashada?

Georgia emerged as Rashada’s likely transfer destination soon after he entered the portal. He selected the Bulldogs on April 25, captioning his Instagram announcement, “Compete with the BEST.” Rather than vying for the starting job at ASU with emerging Michigan State transfer Sam Leavitt, Rashada enters a situation where he will play behind Georgia’s Carson Beck, a top Heisman Trophy contender and NFL hopeful.

Barring an injury to Beck, Rashada will use the 2024 season for developmental purposes, while absorbing a different offense under coordinator Mike Bobo in Athens.

A realistic goal would be to start in 2025 for a Bulldogs team always in the national title hunt. He would need to beat out primary challenger Gunner Stockton, who enters his third season in the Georgia program and gained valuable experience this spring. Both Stockton and incoming freshman Ryan Puglisi ranked among ESPN’s top 110 recruits in their respective classes. Coach Kirby Smart likes to have four scholarship quarterbacks on his roster at all times, and the team has a 2025 commitment from ESPN 300 recruit Ryan Montgomery.

Rashada is the most decorated quarterback prospect of the bunch, but he will need to adjust quickly, especially with Stockton ahead on the learning curve. — Adam Rittenberg


How did this affect Florida on the field?

The Gators signed Rashada in December 2022, anticipating he would compete for the starting job with veteran Graham Mertz, who transferred in from Wisconsin. Without him, the job went to Mertz, who threw for 2,903 yards, completed 73% of his passes and threw 20 touchdown passes to three interceptions last season. Losing Rashada did not help Napier from a public relations standpoint, as he drew ire from the Florida fan base — especially after a 5-7 finish to 2023.

Florida did have a plan for its future, though, as Napier had a longstanding commitment from D.J. Lagway, the top-rated quarterback in the class of 2024. Lagway committed to Florida just weeks before Rashada signed his letter of intent, and the Gators were in a massive fight to keep Lagway as other schools went after him as signing day approached last December. Lagway has said Clemson, USC and Texas A&M all made late pushes, but he ultimately signed with the Gators and enrolled early, going through spring football.

His decision to come to Florida was absolutely huge for Napier, who has yet to find solid footing headed into Year 3 and desperately needed Lagway to sign. Mertz is back for one more season and is the presumptive starter. But there is a lot riding on this season for Florida and for Napier in particular. With the season opener against rival Miami, Florida fans want to see progress and results immediately. If Mertz struggles, do not be surprised if fans start calling for Lagway. — Andrea Adelson


Could the Gators face any NCAA repercussions from Rashada’s claims?

The NCAA alerted Florida almost a year ago that it was investigating claims that the football program had violated recruiting rules, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. ESPN’s Mark Schlabach confirmed the investigation was related to Rashada’s recruitment.

Rashada claims in his lawsuit that Napier directly promised Rashada a $1 million payment from a booster if he signed with Florida, which would be a violation of the NCAA’s policies. The NCAA penalized Florida State and suspended one of its coaches in January for getting involved in NIL offers made to a prospect.

However, the NCAA sent a letter to its schools in late February explaining that it was pausing all open enforcement cases “involving third-party participation in NIL-related activities” after a federal judge in Tennessee granted an injunction that prohibited the NCAA from enforcing some of its rules. That case was filed by Tennessee’s attorney general after the NCAA opened an investigation into the Vols’ recruiting tactics.

Any other high-profile enforcement actions taken by the NCAA — such as a penalty for Napier or the Gators — could invite additional lawsuits at a time when the association remains vulnerable to antitrust scrutiny, which makes it unlikely that any NCAA punishments could be coming soon. — Dan Murphy

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Yankees ace Cole faces hitters, eyes June return

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Yankees ace Cole faces hitters, eyes June return

NEW YORK — New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole says he thinks he could return to a major league mound in June after facing hitters for the first time since spring training.

The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, wearing a full pinstriped uniform, threw 20 pitches to Oswaldo Cabrera and Jamai Jones before Tuesday night’s game against Seattle.

Cole had thrown five bullpen sessions before the batting practice. The 33-year-old right-hander, sidelined by elbow nerve inflammation and edema, said he will have one or two more BP sessions before starting a minor league rehabilitation assignment.

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Cubs activate Swanson ahead of Braves series

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Cubs activate Swanson ahead of Braves series

CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs on Tuesday activated shortstop Dansby Swanson from the 10-day injured list and recalled infielder Luis Vázquez from Triple-A Iowa.

Swanson, 30, was placed on the injured list May 8 because of a right knee sprain. He’s batting .209 with three doubles, one triple and four home runs in 37 games.

Vázquez, 24, earned his first major league call-up after batting .262 with 10 doubles and three homers in 39 games with Iowa.

The Cubs opened a home series against Swanson’s former team, Atlanta, on Tuesday night. He was in the lineup, batting eighth and playing shortstop. In the corresponding roster moves, the Cubs optioned Pete Crow-Armstrong and infielder Miles Mastrobuoni to Iowa.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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