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The Toronto Maple Leafs have hired Craig Berube as their new head coach.

The Leafs fired head coach Sheldon Keefe on May 9 after they bowed out of the postseason in the first round for the third time in four full seasons under Keefe. Toronto general manager Brad Treliving said the team was targeting a fresh voice who could help it reach its full potential.

“In this business over a period of time, the message stops hitting home,” Treliving said of moving on from Keefe. “It’s not just changing the personnel but understanding why a message may not be getting through. So, our focus right now is trying to find that individual [as our next coach].”

This is Berube’s third NHL head-coaching job. He was previously behind the bench in Philadelphia from 2013 to ’15, guiding the Flyers to a playoff berth in 2014 before being let go following a poor sixth-place finish in the Metropolitan Division the following season.

Berube, 58, went on to coach the St. Louis Blues‘ American Hockey League affiliate in Chicago in 2016-17. At the end of that season, the Blues promoted Berube to be an assistant coach under Mike Yeo. When Yeo was fired in November 2018, Berube was named interim head coach for the struggling Blues. In January 2019, St. Louis was a lowly 15-18-4 and sitting last in league standings. The Blues rallied under Berube to not only reach the postseason as a third seed in the Central Division but eventually win St. Louis’ first Stanley Cup.

That made Berube just the second interim head coach in league history to ever win a championship (Larry Robinson did it first with the 2000 New Jersey Devils).

In June 2019, the Blues removed Berube’s interim tag and signed him to a three-year contract. He reupped with St. Louis on another three-year deal in February 2022 to take him through the 2024-25 season. St. Louis never matched the same success it had during Berube’s early years there, and the Blues fired him in December 2023.

Berube now joins the Leafs with a 281-190-72 record as an NHL coach.

The Alberta, Canada, native also played 17 seasons in the league, appearing in 1054 games, with 61 goals and 159 points. He also dressed in 40 games for the Leafs during this career, scoring five goals and 12 points during the 1991-92 season.

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Sovereignty outduels Journalism to capture Derby

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Sovereignty outduels Journalism to capture Derby

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Sovereignty outdueled 3-1 favorite Journalism down the stretch to win the 151st Kentucky Derby in the slop on Saturday.

Trainer Bill Mott won his first Derby in 2019, also run on a sloppy track, when Country House was elevated to first after Maximum Security crossed the finish line first and was disqualified after a 22-minute delay.

This time, he knew right away.

Sovereignty won by 1½ lengths and snapped an 0-for-13 Derby skid for owner Godolphin, the racing stable of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

It was quite a weekend for the sheikh. His filly, Good Cheer, won the Kentucky Oaks on Friday and earlier Saturday, Ruling Court won the 2,000 Guineas in Britain.

Sovereignty covered 1¼ miles in 2:02.31 and paid $17.96 to win at 7-1 odds.

Journalism found trouble in the first turn and jockey Umberto Rispoli moved him to the outside. He and Sovereignty hooked up at the eighth pole before Sovereignty and jockey Junior Alvarado pulled away.

Baeza was third, Final Gambit was fourth and Owen Almighty finished fifth.

Rain made for a soggy day, with the Churchill Downs dirt strip listed as sloppy and horse racing fans protecting their fancy hats and clothing with clear plastic ponchos.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Zilisch to miss Xfinity race in Texas after wreck

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Zilisch to miss Xfinity race in Texas after wreck

FORT WORTH, Texas — Connor Zilisch, the 18-year-old driver already with two NASCAR Xfinity Series race wins, will miss Saturday’s race at Texas because of lower back injuries sustained in a last-lap wreck at Talladega.

Trackhouse Racing said Wednesday that its development driver will return as soon as possible to the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. The team didn’t provide any additional details about Zilisch’s injuries.

Cup Series regular Kyle Larson will drive the No. 88 in Texas. After that, the Xfinity Series has a two-week break before racing again May 24 at Charlotte.

Zilisch, sixth in points through the first 11 races, was driving for the win at Talladega Superspeedway when contact on the backstretch sent his car spinning, and head-on into inside wall.

Zilisch won in his Xfinity debut at Watkins Glen last Sept. 14. He added another win this year at Austin, the same weekend that he made his Cup Series debut. He has six top-10 finishes in his 15 Xfinity races.

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23XI, Front Row ask judge to toss NASCAR claim

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23XI, Front Row ask judge to toss NASCAR claim

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The two teams suing NASCAR asked a judge to dismiss the sanctioning body’s counterclaim in court Wednesday.

In a 20-page filing in district court in North Carolina, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports opposed NASCAR’s motion to amend its original counterclaim. The teams argued that the need to amend the counterclaim further demonstrates the weakness of NASCAR’s arguments, calling them an attempt by NASCAR to distract and shift attention away from its own unlawful, monopolistic actions.

NASCAR’s counterclaim singled out Michael Jordan’s longtime business manager, Curtis Polk. Jordan is co-owner of 23XI Racing.

The legal battle began after more than two years of negotiations on new charter agreements — NASCAR’s equivalent of a franchise model — and the 30-page filing contends that Polk “willfully” violated antitrust laws by orchestrating anticompetitive collective conduct in connection with the most recent charter agreements.

23XI and Front Row were the only two organizations out of 15 that refused to sign the new agreements, which were presented to the teams last September in a take-it-or-leave-it offer a mere 48 hours before the start of NASCAR’s playoffs.

The charters were fought for by the teams ahead of the 2016 season and twice have been extended. The latest extension is for seven years to match the current media rights deal and guarantee 36 of the 40 spots in each week’s field to the teams that hold the charters, as well as other financial incentives. 23XI and Front Row refused to sign and sued, alleging NASCAR and the France family that owns the stock car series are a monopoly.

NASCAR already has lost one round in court in which the two teams have been recognized as chartered organizations for the 2025 season as the legal dispute winds through the courts. NASCAR has also appealed a judge’s rejection of its motion to dismiss the case.

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