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TORONTO — After a lengthy career, waiting out his eligibility period, then 12 years of sitting by the phone, Jeremy Roenick finally received his call for induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

And on Monday night, in a ceremony with the rest of his class, he formally entered into it.

Roenick, 54, an American who banked 1,216 points in 1,363 games with the Chicago Blackhawks, Phoenix Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks, was among the headliners in a class that included Shea Weber, Pavel Datsyuk, Natalie Darwitz and Krissy Wendell in the player category. David Poile and Colin Campbell entered as builders.

Roenick, the colorful, Boston-born winger, added 122 points, including 53 goals, in 154 playoff contests. He also won silver at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, when Team USA fell to Canada.

“I love this game,” he said. “It’s been such a huge part of my life for most of my life.”

The No. 8 pick by Chicago in 1988, Roenick finished his career as a nine-time NHL All-Star.

“When you wait for a long time, you don’t know how [the call] is going to hit you,” Roenick said in September, addressing the Chicago media in a Hall of Fame availability with the Blackhawks. “And I thought, maybe before, that it wasn’t going to be as big a deal as it was. But it hit me like a train.”

Weber, the former defenseman whose career ended prematurely because of a long list of injuries, has been unable to play since helping drag the underdog Montreal Canadiens to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final.

“My love for the game remains strong,” he said during his speech. “Even if my body didn’t hold up as long as I had hoped.”

The 39-year-old registered 589 points in 1,038 games with the Canadiens and Nashville Predators. He added 42 points in 97 playoff contests.

“There’s so much to be grateful for when playing this game,” Weber said. “And it’s not just the big moments, grinding out a playoff win or taking home Olympic gold. It’s in the small, seemingly routine moments that matter the most.

“It’s those friendships built during countless plane and bus rides, team dinners, breaking things down in the trainer’s room. It’s when a veteran player takes you under his wing and shows you what it truly means to be a professional. I want to thank all those players for demonstrating the importance of hard work and dedication.”

Datsyuk, 46, put up 918 points in 953 games with the Detroit Red Wings. He chipped in 113 points across 157 playoff contests that included Stanley Cup victories in 2002 and 2008.

The Russian center with majestic skill was also a four-time Lady Byng Trophy winner as the NHL’s most gentlemanly player and captured the Selke Trophy as the league’s top defensive forward on three occasions.

Datsyuk, who along with Weber was enshrined in his first year of eligibility, played five seasons in the KHL after leaving Detroit in 2016. He represented his country at five straight Olympics, capturing gold in 2018 and bronze in 2002.

“Being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame is a tremendous honor,” Datsyuk said. “[An] honor I couldn’t even dream of.”

Wendell, 43, twice represented the United States at the Olympics, winning silver in 2002 and bronze in 2006. The forward from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, grabbed six medals at the world championships and was the first American captain to capture tournament gold.

“The greatest thing about hockey was not winning championships or medals,” Wendell said. “But the people that I got to meet along the way.”

Darwitz, 41, suited up for the U.S. at the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Winter Games, winning two silver medals and a bronze. The forward out of St. Paul, Minnesota, also competed at the worlds eight times, securing three gold medals.

“I wasn’t your everyday little girl and somehow my mom was on to me,” Darwitz said. “On my fifth birthday, my blonde French braids strolled into the hockey rink.”

Campbell’s hockey life has included time as a player, coach and, for the past 25 years, a senior executive vice president with the NHL. He helped spearhead the league’s centralized video review hub that’s now the standard across much of the North American sporting world.

The 71-year-old also won the Stanley Cup in 1994 as an associate coach with the New York Rangers.

“I’ve spoken to general managers over the years, board of governors,” Campbell said. “This is a first, and as I look out and see this group, it’s certainly inspiring and scary.”

Poile, 74, started as an NHL executive with the Atlanta and Calgary Flames in the 1970s before becoming general manager of the Washington Capitals in 1982.

The Toronto native joined the expansion Predators in Nashville 1997 to become GM, a position he held until retiring in 2023. One of his biggest moves was trading Weber to Montreal for P.K. Subban in June 2016.

“I have poured my heart and soul into the game,” Poile said. “But hockey has given me and my family so much more.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Cristobal: QB Beck cleared for summer workouts

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Cristobal: QB Beck cleared for summer workouts

AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. — Miami coach Mario Cristobal said Monday that quarterback Carson Beck has been cleared to participate in all team summer activities and is approaching 100 percent following elbow surgery last year.

Cristobal said Beck has been throwing for the past three weeks as part of his rehab regimen. Beck missed all of spring practice and has yet to throw to Miami’s receivers as part of organized team activities. But that is all about to change when Miami begins summer workouts next week.

“He’s good to go,” Cristobal told ESPN at the ACC spring meetings. “He’s exceeding every benchmark.”

Beck underwent surgery on his right elbow to repair his ulnar collateral ligament, which he injured on the final play of the first half in second-ranked Georgia‘s 22-19 overtime win against Texas in the SEC championship game Dec. 7.

Beck started at Georgia for two seasons, going 24-3, and ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. had him rated as the No. 5 quarterback for the 2025 draft. But given his injury and inconsistent performance in 2024, Beck entered the portal in January. He quickly opted for Miami, where he will replace No. 1 NFL draft pick Cam Ward.

Beck threw for 7,426 yards over his two seasons as Georgia’s starter, fifth most among all FBS passers since 2023, with 57 total touchdowns and 23 turnovers.

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Canes LB Hayes out of hospital after tragic crash

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Canes LB Hayes out of hospital after tragic crash

Miami Hurricanes linebacker Adarius Hayes, who was one of the drivers in a two-vehicle crash that left three people dead and at least two others injured, has been released from the hospital, the university said Monday.

The three people who died as a result of the crash were all in a Kia Soul, which collided with a Dodge Durango being driven by Hayes on Saturday afternoon in Largo, Florida, police said.

A 78-year-old woman who was driving the Kia and two of her passengers — 10-year-old Jabari Elijah Solomon and 4-year-old Charlie Herbert Solomon Riveria — died in the crash, police said. Another passenger in the Kia was hospitalized with serious injuries, police said.

No tickets or criminal charges have been filed, though the investigation is continuing.

“We are deeply saddened to learn the crash resulted in three fatalities, as confirmed by Largo Police, and our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of those lost,” the Hurricanes said in a statement.

The school is still working to gather further information.

“There were no signs of impairment with either driver of the vehicles,” Largo Police public information officer Megan Santo said in a statement distributed Sunday.

Hayes, a four-star recruit coming out of Largo High, played in 12 games for the Hurricanes as a freshman in 2024, mostly on special teams. He finished the season with four tackles and one interception, which he returned 25 yards in Miami’s 56-9 victory over Florida A&M on Sept. 7.

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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NCAA prez is open to Trump’s idea of commission

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NCAA prez is open to Trump's idea of commission

AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. — NCAA president Charlie Baker said Monday he was “up for anything” when asked about a President Donald Trump-proposed commission on collegiate athletics.

Reports surfaced last week that Trump was going to create the commission.

While his conversations at ACC meetings with league football coaches, men’s and women’s basketball coaches, athletic directors and other school officials focused on governance and the pending House settlement, Baker was asked during an informal media availability for his thoughts on the presidential commission.

“I think the fact that there’s an interest on the executive side on this, I think it speaks to the fact that everybody is paying a lot of attention right now to what’s going on in college sports,” Baker said.

“I’m up for anything that can help us get somewhere.”

Baker noted the NCAA has already spent time in Washington asking for congressional help that is focused on three big issues. Among the biggest: a patchwork of state laws that relate to how collegiate athletics work in individual states; and whether student-athletes should be considered employees.

“I think [Congress] can help us. I really do,” ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said during an interview with ACC Network. “We have been very bold in the desire for a national standard when it comes to name, image and likeness. We need to make sure that we have something that comes out of Washington that connects all 50 of the states because we’ve had a piecemeal project and it’s really undermined college sports. It’s been a race to the bottom. So that’s one. Two is we need some legal protection. We cannot sustain one legal case after another legal case after another legal case. A reaffirmation that these are student-athletes. Those three things to me will be very important to see if that can come out of the commission.”

Baker said, “People in our office have talked to folks who are working on this, but I don’t think they’ve decided the framework around who they want to put on.”

When asked whether he felt the creation of a commission would enhance the NCAA’s chances at legislative relief, Baker said, “I don’t have a crystal ball on that one. I don’t know. I do think, though, that it’s quite clear at this point that there are a lot of people interested in college sports, and we do need some help at some point to create some clarity around some of these issues in Washington. Creating clarity one lawsuit at a time is just a really bad way to try to move forward.”

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