Connect with us

Published

on

Defenseman Quinn Hughes will not travel to Boston to join the United States team as an injury replacement option for its 4 Nations Face-Off championship game against Canada, his agent confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday.

Sources told ESPN that the Americans will have Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson and New Jersey Devils defenseman Brett Pesce as injury insurance for Thursday night’s 4 Nations final.

Hughes, 25, was expected to join the Americans for the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game after defenseman Charlie McAvoy was lost for the tournament. McAvoy was hospitalized Monday with an infection in his right shoulder and a significant injury to his AC joint.

Hughes initially made Team USA’s roster but had to back out because of an oblique injury. He still hasn’t been officially cleared by the Vancouver Canucks to return to play, having been out of action since Jan. 31. He wore a red noncontact jersey in Canucks practice Tuesday before being cleared for contact for Wednesday’s practice.

Sources told ESPN that Hughes recently flew across the country back to Vancouver from the East Coast. To fly to Boston, and then to Las Vegas for the Canucks’ next game Saturday, would have been a taxing travel week for him.

Tournament rules state that if a team loses two players at forward or on defense to injury or illness, it can bring on a non-roster player as an emergency injury replacement. Team Canada, for example, called up Dallas Stars defenseman Thomas Harley after it lost Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore to injury and Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar was unable to play against the U.S.

“The rules are the rules. I can’t play unless anyone else gets injured, and I obviously don’t want to see anyone get injured,” Hughes said Tuesday. “If they had to do it over again, I think they’d allow teams to bring a couple extra players.”

The Hughes decision ends two days of intense speculation that one of the NHL’s best players could make a surprise comeback in the championship game. He won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman last season. He has 14 goals and 59 points to lead the Canucks and is averaging more than 25:18 in ice time this season.

On Tuesday, U.S. coach Mike Sullivan said “Quinn Hughes is coming” when asked about the Americans bringing in a defenseman from outside of their roster. After Wednesday’s morning skate, Sullivan acknowledged that Hughes was not yet on his way from Vancouver and said Team USA GM Bill Guerin and his assistants were continuing to work to bring him to the 4 Nations final.

U.S. players anticipated the possibility that Hughes could join them in Boston, if not appear in the game.

“I know he’s been watching every game,” said his brother Jack Hughes of the Devils, who plays in Team USA’s top line. “I know he is definitely frustrated. He wishes he could be a part of this, and a lot of great players that were injured and couldn’t play a couple of them, so he’s one of them and we’re missing him big-time. But I know he was really looking forward to this and coming down the road here at the Olympics and World Cup of Hockey coming up, I know he’ll be really excited for those events.”

Jack Hughes said the drama surrounding his brother’s Team USA status has been “just a tough situation for everyone” involved.

Quinn Hughes said the initial decision not to play was “extremely hard” for him.

“I gotta thank Bill Guerin for how patient he was with me, not only 10 days ago but even last night and the last 24 hours. He understood how much I wanted to play and also what my obligations were to the Canucks. Really what it came down to, I just wasn’t healthy enough where I wasn’t sure it couldn’t get worse,” he said. “If there’s a positive, I should be healthy enough to go next game against Vegas.”

Team USA will face Canada for the 4 Nations championship Thursday night at TD Garden. It’s a rematch of their emotional battle in Montreal on Saturday night that featured three fights in the opening nine seconds of the game and that the Americans won 3-1.

ESPN’s Emily Kaplan contributed to this report.

Continue Reading

Sports

Nebraska nixes Tennessee home-and-home plan

Published

on

By

Nebraska nixes Tennessee home-and-home plan

The NebraskaTennessee football home-and-home football series scheduled for 2026 and 2027 will not be played after Nebraska opted out of the agreement.

Tennessee athletic director Danny White posted on X that Nebraska called off the series and added that Tennessee is “very disappointed” by the cancellation, especially so close to the initial game in 2026. The teams had been set to play in 2026 at Nebraska and at Tennessee the following year.

In a statement, Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen explained renovations to the team’s stadium, which will temporarily lower seating capacity, ultimately led to the decision.

“We are making plans to embark on major renovations of Memorial Stadium that may impact our seating capacity for the 2027 season,” Dannen said. “The best scenario for us is to have eight home games in 2027 to offset any potential revenue loss from a reduced capacity. The additional home games will also have a tremendous economic benefit on the Lincoln community.”

The Cornhuskers announced they will host Bowling Green in 2026 and Miami (Ohio) in 2027 on the dates when it was originally set to play Tennessee. Nebraska has never faced either school. The team will play eight homes in 2027 for the first time since 2013.

The cancellation ends a nearly two-decade process around a Nebraska-Tennessee series, which was originally agreed upon in 2006 and set for the 2016 and 2017 seasons. In 2013, the two schools agreed to delay the games for a decade. Nebraska will pay $500,000 to get out of the scheduling agreement.

White told Volquest that the “buyout implications need to be much steeper” with an “old contract,” and the cancellation puts Tennessee in a bind. Tennessee, which opens the 2025 season against Syracuse in Atlanta, had its nonleague schedule set through the 2030 season. The school either must find an opponent who can fill the 2026 and 2027 dates for a home-and-home series, or explore neutral-site options.

“You really can’t pull an audible this late in the game,” White told Volquest.

Nebraska’s stadium renovation, the first phase of which had been set to begin after the 2024 season, has been delayed until after the 2025 season, at the earliest.

Tennessee and Nebraska have played only three times before, most recently in the 2016 Music City Bowl, won by the Vols. Nebraska beat Tennessee in the 1998 Orange Bowl to secure a share of the national title that season.

Tennessee has been on the other side of a similar situation. The Vols in 2021 canceled a game against Army for the next season in 2022 and added Akron instead.

Information from ESPN’s Chris Low was used in this report.

Continue Reading

Sports

Changing stripes: Yanks OK well-groomed beards

Published

on

By

Changing stripes: Yanks OK well-groomed beards

TAMPA, Fla. — The New York Yankees‘ facial hair and grooming policy, an infamous edict in place for nearly 50 years, was formally amended for the first time Friday.

In a statement, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said the organization will allow “well-groomed beards” effective immediately, changing a rule his father, George, established in 1976.

“In recent weeks I have spoken to a large number of former and current Yankees — spanning several eras — to elicit their perspectives on our longstanding facial hair and grooming policy, and I appreciate their earnest and varied feedback,” Hal Steinbrenner said in the statement. “These most recent conversations are an extension of ongoing internal dialogue that dates back several years.

“Ultimately the final decision rests with me, and after great consideration, we will be amending our expectations to allow our players and uniformed personnel to have well-groomed beards moving forward. It is the appropriate time to move beyond the familiar comfort of our former policy.”

George Steinbrenner implemented the mandate before the 1976 season, leaving players with a choice of being clean-shaven or wearing a mustache. Hal Steinbrenner kept the policy in place after becoming chairman and controlling owner of the franchise in 2008.

Players overwhelmingly obliged with the order over the next five decades, from spring training through October, often before letting themselves go during the offseason, though a few have pushed the limits.

In the 1990s, for example, star first baseman Don Mattingly was fined and benched by manager Stump Merril for refusing to trim his mullet. Four years later, Mattingly wore a goatee for part of his final season in 1995.

This year, All-Star closer Devin Williams, acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers in December, reported for his spring training physical with a beard before shaving it down to a mustache for the team’s first workout the next day. On the other end, former Yankees Gleyber Torres and Clay Holmes reported to camp with their new teams sporting full beards.

Continue Reading

Sports

Sources: Gators to promote Callaway to OC

Published

on

By

Sources: Gators to promote Callaway to OC

The Florida Gators are expected to promote Russ Callaway to offensive coordinator, sources told ESPN on Thursday.

Callaway spent last season as Florida’s tight ends coach and co-coordinator. This move marks his third straight year with a promotion since joining the Gators in an off-field role in 2022.

Florida coach Billy Napier remains the play-caller. Callaway’s offensive responsibilities continue to grow, and he’ll remain with the tight ends in the position room.

Callaway, 37, has coordinating experience and time in the NFL. He spent 2016 to 2019 as Samford‘s offensive coordinator. From there, he spent a year at LSU as an analyst and a year with the New York Giants as an offensive assistant.

Florida, which finished 8-5, won four in a row to close last season, including wins over LSU, Ole Miss and at Florida State.

There’s optimism around Florida taking another jump in 2025 after true freshman quarterback DJ Lagway went 6-1 in seven starts. Florida returns 15 starters for 2025.

Callaway’s tight ends accounted for 44 receptions for 444 yards and five touchdowns in 2024.

Continue Reading

Trending