Sports

Edwards overwhelmed by NASCAR HOF induction

Published

11 months ago

June 3, 2024

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Associated Press

May 30, 2024, 06:25 PM ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Carl Edwards said he never expected to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, so when the announcement came down a week ago, he was unreachable for hours until his wife encouraged him to check his phone.

He was shocked to learn that he was joining Ricky Rudd as the 2025 inductees. Nine days later, he said he remains overwhelmed by the recognition; Edwards said he left a Bass Pro Shops in Missouri early Thursday and was greeted by a fan congratulating him.

Edwards won 28 races over 13 Cup Series seasons, 38 races in the Xfinity Series and six races in the Truck Series. He won one Xfinity title and finished second four other times.

The only thing missing from his résumé is a Cup title, which is a bit of a hot-button topic.

Edwards twice finished second in the standings and lost the 2011 title to Tony Stewart on a tie-breaker, but it is the 2016 NASCAR finale that will forever be a sore spot.

Edwards was in control of the winner-take-all race at Homestead-Miami Speedway until a questionable caution was called with four laps remaining. It set up a late two-lap sprint to the finish, and Edwards wrecked on the restart racing Joey Logano for the win.

Less than two months later, he abruptly retired at 36 and essentially vanished. His first big appearance was a year ago at Darlington Raceway, where Edwards showed up to be honored as one of the top 75 drivers in NASCAR history.

In his first comments since he was elected to the Hall of Fame last week, Edwards said at the time of the 2016 finale he was struggling balancing his job with his life as a married father of two. Those who know him well said he was left bitter by a caution that cost him the title and it was the reason he walked away.

“Definitely, I would have rather not have had a caution come out,” Edwards said Thursday. “But, you never know the outcome of that and like I’ve said, I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Edwards then paused to collect his thoughts.

“I think things would have been a lot different if we won that championship,” he said.

Reflecting on the Past

Eight years later, Edwards has accepted the outcome and how NASCAR officiated the race.

“NASCAR is in the business of creating a sport for the fans,” Edwards said. “And I know from private conversations I have had that NASCAR is trying their best, and I respect that. The outcome at various points of my career, and that race specifically, I did not like it. But I 100% respect the sport and the people that run it. It gave me a life and opportunities that I never could have imagined.”

He insisted the outcome of that race did not lead to his retirement.

“As far as being an impetus for my stepping away, I’ll go right back to what I said when I did, and I said it clearly, but maybe not clearly enough: I just needed time,” Edwards said. “I woke up and I realized, at the end of my career, I’m not spending time doing anything other than racing.”

During the Hall of Fame voting session, one Edwards supporter argued that he had been robbed of a championship by a bogus caution. The 2011 championship he lost to Stewart wasn’t mentioned, though that was also questionable: Edwards drove a Ford at the time and Stewart drove a Chevrolet and there came a time in the race when it appeared the Chevys, which far outnumbered the Fords in the field, were moving out of Stewart’s way to allow him to beat Edwards for the title.

Asked by The Associated Press on Thursday if he felt wronged or cheated in 2016, Edwards carefully chose his words.

“I would just like to say that I officially respect the way NASCAR runs the sport in the way they need to run it,” he said. “I don’t want to say anything negative.” But he then added, “I may have been unclear, and I want to be explicit, that I did not leave the sport because of the way 2016 ended. Period.”

Life After Racing

Now 44 and living in his home state of Missouri, Edwards focuses on being a father and a husband to his physician wife. He said he has no plans to ever race a Cup car again.

“I respect too much what it takes to be great,” Edwards said. “I lived that life every day for 20 years and my idea of fun isn’t doing something just to do it. I want to be great at something and it would be disrespectful to everyone that is striving to be great to go do it just for fun.”

He said he fills his competitive nature with adventure — he sailed from Florida to Italy as the boat’s captain — and has taken up jujitsu. He’s also a pilot.

Edwards has also involved himself in community work and has popped up in Missouri news segments helping out after tornado strikes. He is mentioned as a potential Republican candidate for public office, something he didn’t rule out Thursday.

“There’s no place on Earth or in time where a guy can do what me and all of us have gotten to do other than the United States of America. The longer I live, the more I have realized this is not the norm,” Edwards said. “We have to protect this. So when politics come up, it comes from a place inside of me that cares so much about how great this country is. Some day, probably after my kids are grown up, if I can participate in that more, I want to.

“And so that conversation, that opportunity and that possibility, is always on the table.”

Sports

Canes reach 3-year, $9.5M extension with Hall

Published

4 hours ago

April 30, 2025

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Canes reach 3-year, .5M extension with Hall

Associated Press

Apr 30, 2025, 12:03 PM ET

The Carolina Hurricanes have reached a three-year, $9.5 million extension with forward Taylor Hall through the 2027-28 season.

The team announced the signing Wednesday, a day after the Hurricanes closed out the New Jersey Devils in their first-round playoff series. It marked the seventh straight year that Carolina has won at least one postseason series.

Hall, 33, acquired in a blockbuster January deal that included Mikko Rantanen‘s arrival, scored the first of Carolina’s four second-period goals that helped it erase a 3-0 deficit before winning in double overtime. He’s a 15-year veteran who won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP in the 2017-18 season.

“Taylor has proven to be an outstanding fit for our team, and we are thrilled that he is excited to make Raleigh his home for another three seasons,” general manager Eric Tulsky said in a statement. “He’s been a solid veteran presence in the locker room and a difference maker on the ice.”

Hall had 18 goals and 24 assists in 77 regular-season games between Chicago and Carolina, and also had two assists in the five-game series win against New Jersey. He had missed most of the previous season due to knee surgery and was making $6 million this year with free agency looming, then led Carolina skaters with four power-play goals in the regular season after his arrival.

The Hurricanes acquired the 2010 No. 1 overall draft pick on Jan. 24 in the three-team deal that snagged Rantanen from Colorado, though they later sent Rantanen to Dallas with forward Logan Stankoven as the primary trade-deadline return when it became clear Rantanen was unlikely to sign long-term to stay with Carolina.

Hall and Tulsky are scheduled to address reporters by Zoom later Wednesday.

Sports

Avs’ MacKinnon finalist for Ted Lindsay Award

Published

4 hours ago

April 30, 2025

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Avs' MacKinnon finalist for Ted Lindsay Award

Field Level Media

Apr 30, 2025, 05:22 PM ET

Colorado Avalanche standout Nathan MacKinnon is in contention to repeat as the recipient of the Ted Lindsay Award.

MacKinnon was named a finalist for the award on Wednesday along with Avalanche teammate Cale Makar and Tampa Bay Lightning star forward Nikita Kucherov.

The award is presented annually to the most outstanding player in the NHL as voted by fellow members of the NHL Players’ Association.

MacKinnon, 29, tied Kucherov for the NHL assists lead with 84 and totaled 116 points this season. MacKinnon is the reigning Hart Trophy recipient as the league’s MVP.

Makar, 26, is a first-time finalist for this award and is also up for the Norris Trophy, which was announced Tuesday. He led all defensemen this season in goals (30), assists (62) and points (92).

Kucherov, 31, won his second straight Art Ross Trophy after leading the NHL in scoring with 121 points (37 goals, 84 assists).

Sports

Mammoth gaffe? Utah mum on name after leak

Published

4 hours ago

April 30, 2025

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Mammoth gaffe? Utah mum on name after leak

Greg WyshynskiApr 30, 2025, 11:49 AM ET
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Utah Hockey Club officials wouldn’t confirm whether “Mammoth” was their new name after it allegedly leaked on the team’s official YouTube channel Tuesday night.

Fans and media noticed that the channel’s handle was changed from “@UtahHockeyClub” to “@UtahMammoth,” on both its landing page and URL. The channel was soon deactivated and remained so on Wednesday morning, but not before screenshots of the name change went viral.

Utah Mammoth was one of three finalists featured in a fan vote at Delta Center to help determine the permanent name of the team, which played its inaugural season in 2024-25 after SEG purchased and relocated the former Arizona Coyotes franchise. Fans voted with iPads located at stations around the arena that featured the names, logos and potential branding for each option.

Originally, the three names voted on were Utah Mammoth, Utah Hockey Club and Utah Wasatch, which was quickly swapped out for Utah Outlaws after the team saw early vote returns.

Mammoth made the final four in the initial fan vote last year.

Utah HC executives wouldn’t confirm or deny that Mammoth will be the team’s new nickname.

Mike Maughan, an executive with Utah HC owner Smith Entertainment Group, said on Wednesday that “progress continues on exploring all three of the name options that were chosen as finalists by our fans. We’re fully on track to announce a permanent name and identity ahead of the 25-26 NHL season and look forward to sharing that with our fans when we do.”

When pressed for an explanation on the alleged YouTube leak, Maughan would only say, “We’re fully on track to announce a permanent name and identity ahead of the 25-26 NHL season.”

One NHL source told ESPN that the revelation for the team’s new name and logo could come before the NHL draft in late June. This year’s draft is a “decentralized” event, meaning that teams will be making selections from their own sites rather than in one central location. That opens the door for Utah to have an event in Salt Lake City with team officials around the draft.

In other Utah HC news, the team announced Wednesday that Delta Center, home to Utah HC and the Utah Jazz, will be undergoing a renovation to optimize hockey sightlines while maintaining the proximity of basketball fans to the court using a state-of-the-art retractable seating system. It’s a multiyear project that will also create a new main entrance and outdoor plaza.

The first-of-its-kind seating system accommodates a nearly 12-foot variance in elevation between rink and court endlines to offer optimal sightlines for both the NBA and NHL. Every seat in the lower bowl will have a complete view of the ice at the start of next season — the team estimates that 400 seats currently can only see one goal net during games.

The new hockey configuration adds capacity behind the goals and above and around the event tunnels on the north and south side of the lower bowl and improves access to seating behind the boards.

When all renovations are complete, seating capacity for hockey will increase from 11,131 to approximately 17,000 — with every seat in the upper and lower bowls having full views of both goals — and capacity for basketball will increase from 18,206 to nearly 19,000 seats.

“Delta Center was built for basketball. When you come and put the size of an ice sheet in that venue with those sight lines, the geometry just doesn’t work. So that’s where you come up with the riser system configuration. You come up with raising the floor 2 feet,” said Jim Olson, president of the Jazz and executive representing SEG on all facilities projects.

“We are absolutely protecting the basketball experience, but then also creating a great hockey experience where all the seats can see all the ice,” he said.