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SAGINAW, Mich. — Josh Bloom scored off a rebound during a scramble in front of the net with 22 seconds left to give the host Saginaw Spirit their first Memorial Cup junior hockey title, 4-3 over the London Knights on Sunday night.

Saginaw is the fifth U.S. winner in the 104-year history of the Memorial Cup, following the Portland Winterhawks in 1983 and 1988 and the Spokane Chiefs in 1991 and 2008.

“I don’t think the moment’s really set in, It’s going to be one heck of a party tonight and I can’t wait to touch that trophy again,” Bloom said. “Saw the puck sitting there on the goal line, I would’ve dove in it if I had to. Such a special moment.”

Owen Beck scored twice in the first period and Joey Willis gave Saginaw a 3-0 lead in the second before Ontario Hockey League champion London rallied to tie it.

Andrew Oke made 10 saves for Saginaw, with the Spirit outshooting the 13-1 in the first period and 31-13 overall. Kasper Halttunen, Easton Cowan, Sam Dickinson scored for London and Michael Simpson made 27 saves.

The teams met for the 12th time this season, with the game the fifth all-OHL final in tournament history.

They split the four-game season series, London beat Saginaw in six games in the OHL’s Western Conference championship series, and topped the Spirit 4-2 on Wednesday night in the Memorial Cup round-robin finale. The Spirit then beat Moose Jaw 7-1 on Friday night in the semifinal to get another crack at London.

“This is the biggest moment at our level right here,” Saginaw coach Chris Lazary said. “And I tell you, you could tell when guys came in this morning, the look on their face, we were going to win this game. We give up 13 shots. Thirteen to the London Knights, that’s pretty impressive.

“To me, us, London, two best teams probably in the Canadian Hockey League to be honest. They took an OHL championship off us and there was zero chance they were taking the Memorial Cup on our home ice, zero chance.”

Beck opened the scoring at 9:07 of the first and added a power-play goal with 45 seconds left in the period after London’s Landon Sim was given a major penalty and game misconduct for an elbow to defenseman Zayne Parekh’s head. Bloom assisted on both goals.

Willis made it 3-0 at 7:47 of the second period. Halttunen scored for London at 9:45 of the second, and Cowan cut it to 3-2 at 7:48 of the third and Dickinson tied it with 9:44 to go.

“Obviously, it’s not a good feeling,” Knights forward Jacob Julien said. “We had a slow start to the game and we found our way back and then it happens. It’s the game of hockey, game of inches, bounces happen all the time.”

Saginaw is the third host team to win in the last six tournaments, following Windsor in 2017 and Saint John in 2002. The Spirit are the first team to win in a Memorial Cup debut since Saint John in 2011.

Beck was selected the MVP of the tournament. He had four goals and an assist in five games. The Montreal Canadiens prospect was traded from Peterborough to Saginaw in January. Peterborough lost in the Memorial Cup semifinal to Seattle last season.

“It’s unbelievable,” Beck said. “To come so close last year, to be in this tournament twice, to see what it’s all about. Man, it’s unbelievable.”

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Wisconsin fires offensive coordinator after 2 years

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Wisconsin fires offensive coordinator after 2 years

Wisconsin fired offensive coordinator Phil Longo on Sunday, a day after the Badgers’ 16-13 home loss to No. 1 Oregon.

In a statement, Badgers coach Luke Fickell thanked Longo for his two seasons with the program, while adding, “We are not where we need to be and believe this decision is in the best interest of the team.”

Wisconsin ranks 97th nationally in scoring and 102nd in passing while operating an Air Raid-style offense that Longo brought with him from North Carolina and other stops.

The Badgers, who lost starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke to a season-ending injury Sept. 14, had only three points and 88 yards in the second half against Oregon, which rallied from a 13-6 deficit entering the fourth quarter.

Wisconsin ranked 101st nationally in scoring in Longo’s 23 games as coordinator and failed to eclipse 13 points on its current three-game losing streak. Quarterback Braedyn Locke had only 96 passing yards against the Ducks.

Fickell did not immediately announce an interim coordinator for Wisconsin’s final regular-season games against Nebraska and Minnesota.

Fickell had long targeted Longo for a coordinator role, going back to his time as Cincinnati’s coach. Longo, 56, oversaw productive offenses at Ole Miss, North Carolina, Sam Houston State and other spots but never consistently got traction at a Wisconsin program that had operated dramatically differently on offense before his arrival.

“This team still has a lot in front of us and I am committed to doing everything we can to close out this season with success,” Fickell said in his statement.

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4-star QB Jones, former FSU commit, picks Florida

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4-star QB Jones, former FSU commit, picks Florida

Four-star quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. has committed to Florida, he told ESPN on Sunday, joining the Gators’ 2025 class four days after pulling his pledge from Florida State.

Jones, a four-year starter at Florida’s Mandarin High School, is ESPN’s No. 9 dual-threat passer in the Class of 2025. After multiple trips to Florida throughout his recruitment, Jones returned to campus Saturday, taking an official visit with the Gators during the program’s 27-16 win over LSU. A day later, Jones stands as the lone quarterback pledge in a 2025 Florida class that includes five pledges from the ESPN 300.

“I pretty much saw everything I needed to see when I visited last spring — I just love everything around the campus,” Jones told ESPN. “And then hanging out with the guys yesterday, seeing the camaraderie with each other, that really just sealed it for me.”

Jones was the longest-tenured member of Mike Norvell’s 2025 class at Florida State before his decommitment from the Seminoles on Thursday morning.

Jones’ exit came days after Norvell announced the firings of three assistant coaches on Nov. 10, including offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Alex Atkins. Jones was the first Florida State commit to pull his pledge in the wake of the staff shakeup but marked the Seminoles sixth decommitment since the start of the regular season, joining five ESPN 300 recruits who have left Norvell’s recruiting class across the program’s 1-9 start.

Jones’ commitment follows a key late-season victory for Billy Napier on Saturday and marks the Gators’ first recruiting win since athletic director Scott Strickland announced on Nov. 7 that Florida would stick with the third-year coach beyond the 2024 season.

Uncertainty over Napier’s future had weighed down Florida’s recruiting efforts in the 2025 class as the Gators began November with the No. 39 class in ESPN’s latest team rankings for the cycle. But Jones’ pledge comes as a boost for Florida one day after the Gators hosted a handful of high-profile flip targets, including five-star offensive tackle Solomon Thomas (Florida State pledge) and four-star wide receiver Jaime Ffrench (Texas pledge).

When Jones signs with Florida, he’ll arrive on campus flanked by fellow in-state offensive talents in four-star wide receivers Vernell Brown III (No. 44 in the ESPN 300) and Naeshaun Montgomery (No. 115), as well as four-star running back Waltez Clark (No. 223). Florida is also set to sign a pair of in-state defenders from the 2025 ESPN 300 between four-star defensive end Jalen Wiggins (No. 68) and four-star cornerback Ben Hanks Jr. (No. 121).

With Jones’ commitment, Florida has another jolt to its momentum on the recruiting trail as the Gators seek to chart a strong finish in the 2025 cycle next month. More imminently, Florida will host No. 11 Ole Miss on Saturday.

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Ted Williams’ 1946 MVP award sells for over $500K

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Ted Williams' 1946 MVP award sells for over 0K

A rare souvenir postcard picturing Hank Aaron as a rookie with the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro Leagues sold for nearly $200,000 at a baseball memorabilia auction that also included Ted Williams’ 1946 AL MVP award, which went for $528,750.

The Aaron postcard from the scrapbook of scout Ed Scott, who discovered Aaron, went for $199,750 following a bidding war that soared past the pre-sale estimate of $5,000-$10,000, Hunt Auctions said.

The auction included 280 items from Williams’ personal collection that had been held by his daughter, Claudia, who died last year. Among the other items were a silver bat awarded for his 1958 batting title, which sold for more than $270,000, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom presented to him by fellow naval aviator George H.W. Bush, which went for $141,000.

The sale also included items from the collection of Rutherford Hayes Jones, the business manager of the Washington Giants, one of the earliest Black baseball teams. The trove was discovered in 2001 in a suitcase, where it had been unseen for 40 years.

A first batch of items from Claudia Williams’ collection went up for auction in 2012 at Fenway Park and garnered more than $5 million.

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