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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Yankees third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. accused the RoyalsMaikel Garcia of intentionally trying to hurt Anthony Volpe while sliding into second base during Game 4 of a tense American League Division Series that New York clinched with a 3-1 victory Thursday night.

Garcia had led off the sixth inning with a single and Michael Massey had followed with a chopper to first base, where Jon Berti fielded the ball and stepped on the bag. He then fired to Volpe covering second for the double play, and Garcia slid hard into the base — and Volpe likewise delivered a hard tag on the Kansas City third baseman.

Tempers immediately flared and both teams flooded the field, though no punches were thrown and nobody was tossed.

“I just felt like he tried to go in and injure Volpe because he was being a sore loser. You know what I mean?” Chisholm said. “He was talking a ton on Instagram and Twitter and stuff. I do the same thing, but I’m not going to injure somebody if they’re winning a game. I didn’t like that. I told him we don’t do that on this side and I’m going to stick up for my guys.”

Chisholm had already become the villain of the series when he said Kansas City was “lucky” to win Game 2 in New York. He was reminded of the comment during every at-bat, getting a steady stream of boos from a crowd starved for postseason ball.

The Yankees jokingly booed him during a postgame celebration in the visiting clubhouse Thursday night, and looked ahead to a matchup with the Guardians or Tigers with Game 1 of the AL Championship Series scheduled for Monday night at Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees and Royals have come to loathe each other over the years, long before this playoff matchup. In fact, the angst can be traced to the 1970s, when players such as George Brett of the Royals and Graig Nettles of the Yankees would get into fist fights during games that often decided who would be representing the American League in the World Series.

It looked a lot like those days when the benches emptied Thursday night.

“Yeah, it was like if there was some kind of upset over the slide or whatever, we just go back and show a little Hal McRae and Willie Randolph and we’ll all laugh at ourselves,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said jokingly.

The near fracas wasn’t funny to anyone at the time. Chisholm was chirping at the Royals while running into the middle of the scrum, and Yankees starter Gerrit Cole — who allowed a lone run over seven innings of precise pitching — had to be held back as tensions ran high at Kauffman Stadium.

“I was holding my emotions in all night,” Cole said, “and let them out on the way to the dugout.”

It took Aaron Judge, among others, to keep the teams from coming to blows then they met near second base. And while order was restored and the game soon resumed, there was an underlying tension the rest of the way.

“I have no idea [what happened]. Honestly,” Boone said. “It was like we were out there and then it was right back into we’re at the end of a playoff game. So I haven’t even let the dust settle and talk to the guys involved.”

When asked what happened from his perspective, Royals manager Matt Quatraro was matter-of-fact: “Volpe had the ball, blocked the bag, Maikel probably didn’t care for that too much, and it got a little chippy.”

It happens in postseason baseball, especially when the Yankees and Royals are involved.

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Foligno takes puck off hand, will miss 4 weeks

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Foligno takes puck off hand, will miss 4 weeks

Chicago Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno will miss four weeks after injuring his hand Saturday in his team’s 3-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs, coach Jeff Blashill said.

Foligno, 38, suffered the injury with 90 seconds left in the second period when he was skating near the top of the Blackhawks’ defensive zone and Jake McCabe‘s shot on net deflected off Foligno’s hand.

Foligno immediately hunched over and favored his hand while skating back to the Blackhawks’ bench. Foligno, who did not return for the third period, finished with three shots on goal and logged 10:41 in ice time.

The absence of Foligno, who has six points in 15 games, means the Blackhawks will be without their fourth-line center who was anchoring a combination featuring Sam Lafferty and Landon Slaggert. His injury is also the second to impact the Blackhawks’ forward group with winger Jason Dickinson currently on injured reserve.

After finishing last season with the second-fewest points in the NHL, the Blackhawks (9-5-4) have emerged into one of the biggest surprises through the first quarter of the regular season. With their win against the Maple Leafs, they enter Sunday third in the Central Division and a point ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken in the Western Conference wild-card race.

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Devils’ Hughes out 8 weeks after finger surgery

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Devils' Hughes out 8 weeks after finger surgery

New Jersey Devils star Jack Hughes had successful surgery on his finger Saturday, the team announced. The expected recovery time is eight weeks, though he will be reevaluated in six weeks.

According to sources, Hughes injured his hand in a “freak accident” that involved getting cut by glass at a team dinner Thursday.

Hughes’ procedure was performed by Dr. Robert Hotchkiss at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.

The 24-year-old was off to a terrific start for New Jersey, which is 12-4-1 and atop the Metropolitan Division entering Friday. The American-born star has 10 goals and 20 points in his first 17 games.

The injury will create an interesting predicament for Team USA ahead of the 2026 Olympics in Milan. Hughes’ brother, Quinn, has already been named to the team while the Devils star was expected to be a front-runner for the roster. Federations must submit rosters by Dec. 31. The Devils’ projected return-to-play timeline is around the second week of January. The Olympic men’s hockey tournament begins Feb. 11.

Olympic rosters feature 25 players, which is two more spots than teams had at Four Nations.

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Canucks sign ex-Leaf Kampf to one-year deal

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Canucks sign ex-Leaf Kampf to one-year deal

Center David Kampf signed a one-year contract with the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, just a day after the Toronto Maple Leafs terminated his previous deal.

Kampf, whose deal with the Canucks will carry a $1.1 million cap hit, was entering the third year of his four-year contract with the Maple Leafs that was worth $2.4 million annually.

The Leafs waived Kampf before the season, and he began the year with their AHL affiliate. Kampf played four games in the AHL before taking a voluntary leave of absence, which wasn’t sanctioned by the Leafs, to evaluate his options.

Kampf, who scored 5 goals and 13 points in 59 games last season, gives the Canucks a two-way center who has logged more than 110 short-handed minutes in seven straight seasons.

The Canucks have faced defensive challenges under first-year coach Adam Foote, who already has had to navigate injuries to Filip Chytil, Thatcher Demko, Derek Forbort, Filip Hronek and Quinn Hughes, among others.

Entering Saturday, the Canucks were allowing 3.53 goals per game, which is the fifth most in the NHL, while their penalty kill is the worst in the league at 66.1%. The Los Angeles Kings set the NHL record for the worst penalty kill in league history with a 68.2% success rate in the 1979-80 campaign.

Kampf also provides a veteran presence at center for the Canucks, who entered the season with questions at the position. Those concerns have intensified with Teddy Blueger and Chytil on injured reserve.

Entering Saturday, the Canucks (8-9-2) had the second-fewest points in the Pacific Division but were two points behind the Chicago Blackhawks and Winnipeg Jets for Western Conference wild-card spots.

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