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  • Kristen Shilton, ESPN NHL reporterMar 10, 2024, 07:20 PM ET

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      Kristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN.

Philadelphia Flyers coach John Tortorella was suspended two games and fined $50,000 for refusing to leave the bench after receiving a game misconduct and a bench minor in Saturday’s 7-0 loss at the Tampa Bay Lightning, the league announced.

He will miss home games against the San Jose Sharks and Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively.

The Lightning had honored the 20th anniversary of their 2004 Stanley Cup-winning team, which was coached by Tortorella, prior to Saturday’s puck drop. Tortorella didn’t even make it through the first period before being penalized at 10:49, when Philadelphia fell behind 4-0.

Tortorella became irate when Brayden Point scored a power-play goal following a tripping call against Philadelphia defenseman Ronnie Attard. Prior to Point’s goal, Lightning forward Michael Eyssimont was nailed for tripping, but the officials changed their minds and called Attard out instead.

Under a minute later, Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway was assessed a 10-minute misconduct for contact with Lightning center Anthony Cirelli during a timeout for a line change. Shortly thereafter, Point scored the goal that gave Tampa Bay a 4-0 advantage and set off Tortorella.

Philadelphia’s coach expressed his displeasure to referees Wes McCauley and Brandon Schrader over their decision-making and refused to exit the game in a timely fashion. After a few minutes of back-and-forth banter, Tortorella finally retired to the dressing room and was replaced behind the Flyers bench by assistants Brad Shaw and Rocky Thompson.

“I think he was just trying to make a point that we felt like we might not have been getting our fair shake,” Shaw said of Tortorella after the defeat. “It’s an emotional game at times, and we all get elevated blood pressure.

“I’m not going to speculate on whether or not it was the right call. It’s an emotional game, you know, and Wes decided that was the right thing to do. That’s his decision in the moment.”

Flyers players were confused as to why Tortorella was forced out of the game.

“I’ve never seen that,” Philadelphia center Sean Couturier said. “Did he really deserve to get kicked out, honestly, after what he said? He didn’t say much.”

Tortorella will be eligible to return for the Flyers’ game at the Boston Bruins on Saturday.

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11-year-old rejects big haul for rare Skenes card

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2 hours ago

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January 24, 2025

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11-year-old rejects big haul for rare Skenes card

  • Associated Press

Jan 24, 2025, 06:28 PM ET

The young collector who scored a one-of-a-kind baseball card featuring National League Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes has turned down a trade offer from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Topps announced Friday that the 11-year-old from the Los Angeles area had declined the deal and instead was going to put the card — which features Skenes’ autograph and a patch from a game-worn jersey — up for auction.

The Pirates had put together a package that included 30 years’ worth of season tickets behind home plate at PNC Park and the chance to play a softball game on the field in exchange for the card.

Skenes’ girlfriend, LSU gymnast and influencer Livvy Dunne, also offered the card’s owner the opportunity to take in a game with her in a luxury suite at the ballpark during one of Skenes’ starts.

While the collector wrote in a journal entry shared by Topps that nabbing the card was a “dream come true,” that dream apparently did not include spending the next three decades attending games at PNC Park.

The team posted on X after the decision that it was “bummed” but offered to have the fan at a game sometime during the 2025 season.

Fanatics Collect, which will handle the auctioning of the card in March, said it would donate its proceeds from the sale to fire relief funds in the Los Angeles area.

The card could hold pretty high value considering the potentially bright future ahead for the 22-year-old Skenes, who finished third in NL Cy Young Award voting after an outstanding rookie season.

The No. 1 pick in the 2023 amateur draft made his major league debut in May and put together one of the most impressive rookie seasons in recent memory. Skenes was selected as the NL’s starting pitcher in the All-Star Game after only 11 starts and finished 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 games.

Skenes said over the weekend he hasn’t thought about the potential of signing a long-term contract to remain in Pittsburgh, saying instead that his focus is on helping the Pirates take a step toward contending in 2025. He is eligible for free agency after the 2029 season.

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Notre Dame safety Watts to enter NFL draft

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4 hours ago

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January 24, 2025

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Notre Dame safety Watts to enter NFL draft
Jan 24, 2025, 04:19 PM ET

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Two-time All-America safety Xavier Watts will enter the NFL draft rather than return to Notre Dame for a sixth season.

Watts made the announcement on social media Friday, four days after the Irish lost to Ohio State in the College Football Playoff championship game in Atlanta.

Watts is the No. 4 draft-eligible safety in 2025, according to ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr.

Watts began his college career as a receiver in 2020 and moved to defense his second season. He had 13 interceptions over the past two seasons, most by any player in the Football Bowl Subdivision. He picked off six passes this season, running one back 100 yards to help Notre Dame seal its win against Southern California. He was voted to the Associated Press All-America first team for two straight years.

Watts, whose hometown is Omaha, Nebraska, could have returned to Notre Dame to use the extra season granted by the NCAA to athletes who were active during the 2020 pandemic season. Most draft analysts project Watts to be selected late in the first round or in the second.

“As I embark on the next chapter of my football journey, I’m filled with pride as I look back on the many memories and people that I’ll forever cherish,” Watts wrote on X. “I hope that my time in the Irish uniform has helped continue the tradition of those that came before me.”

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Jones, ex-Huskers star and NFL RB, dies at 54

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4 hours ago

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January 24, 2025

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Jones, ex-Huskers star and NFL RB, dies at 54

  • Associated Press

Jan 24, 2025, 11:20 AM ET

OMAHA, Neb. — Calvin Jones, who rushed for more than 3,000 yards in three seasons at Nebraska and was with the Green Bay Packers when they won the Super Bowl after the 1996 season, has died. He was 54.

Police said Jones’ body was found in the basement of a house in north Omaha on Wednesday night. Police have not confirmed a cause of death pending an autopsy.

A friend of Jones, Jo Dusatko, told the Omaha World-Herald that carbon monoxide poisoning was suspected. She said the furnace in the home was not working and that Jones was using a generator in the basement.

Jones was a high school All-American at Central High School before he went to Nebraska, where he rushed for 3,166 yards and 40 touchdowns and was an All-Big Eight pick in 1992-93.

Jones and Derek Brown formed the tandem called the “We-Backs,” a nod to the Cornhuskers’ I-back position, with Jones the backup to Brown in 1991. Jones’ breakout that season came when he ran 27 times for a Big Eight freshman-record 294 yards and a school-record six touchdowns in a 59-23 victory over Kansas. His rushing total against the Jayhawks ranks No. 2 on the Nebraska single-game rushing chart.

Jones declared for the NFL draft in 1994 and was a third-round selection of the Raiders. He appeared in 15 games over two seasons with the Raiders and had a total of 27 carries for 112 yards and two catches for 6 yards. He appeared in one game for the Packers in 1996 but had no carries.

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