Sports

Marchand back in Boston, watches as Panthers fall

Published

2 months ago

March 12, 2025

admin

Associated Press

Mar 11, 2025, 04:48 PM ET

BOSTON — Brad Marchand stepped back onto the ice at the TD Garden on Tuesday — this time in a Panthers practice jersey as the longtime Bruin returned to Boston for the first time since he was traded to Florida.

Although Marchand is injured and was inactive for the game against his former team, the 11-minute morning skate was his first opportunity to practice with his new teammates.

“Definitely still a little bit that I’ve got to get through here,” said Marchand, who did play in Boston as a visitor for Canada last month in the 4 Nations Face-Off. “I got a little bit of a feel for it. It still felt weird.”

Marchand watched the game, which Boston rallied to win 3-2, from the locker room, then spent some time catching up with Charlie McAvoy and other former teammates in the hallway. A Bruins spokesman said the team had a video tribute ready but will hold it until Marchand can be on the ice to see it.

A four-time All-Star who is the Bruins’ career leader in playoff, short-handed and overtime goals, Marchand helped Boston win the Stanley Cup as a rookie and guided the Original Six franchise to NHL records of 65 wins and 135 points in 2023.

But with the Bruins losing eight of nine games and likely to miss the postseason for the first time since 2016, he was sent to Florida on Friday for a second-round draft pick that could become a first-rounder if Marchand returns to the ice and helps the Panthers advance to the playoffs. The trade deadline fire sale signaled the end of the franchise’s most successful era since Bobby Orr won two Stanley Cup titles in the 1970s.

Marchand, who is eligible to become a free agent after this season, had been offered a contract extension, but the sides could not agree on terms.

“I think they had the right intentions,” Marchand told reporters Tuesday, wearing a Panthers hat and T-shirt just down the hall from the locker room he called home for 16 seasons.

“They tried to do what was best for the team and also give me an opportunity to stay if I wanted to. And they put a position on the table that they felt was fair,” he said. “But I also understand that it may be time to kind of reset and go in a different direction. I think they were at a crossroads as well.”

Marchand has 21 goals and 26 assists this season but has not played since leaving the March 1 game against Pittsburgh with an unspecified upper-body injury. Panthers coach Paul Maurice said he remains week to week, with the goal of getting him back at the end of the regular season.

“That was the hope, that was kind of the idea,” Maurice said. “We wanted him to get on the ice and move some pucks around just to see where he was at. So that was a positive.”

Maurice said he’s liked what he’s seen from Marchand, an oft-suspended gadfly who gained a reputation as a troublemaker before maturing into his role as the Bruins captain for the past two seasons. The Panthers coach said he wants Marchand to be himself and not try to change just to fit in with a defending championship roster that already includes leaders such as Aleksander Barkov, Aaron Ekblad and Matthew Tkachuk.

“We have a lot of different personalities. It’s not all the same guy,” Maurice said. “But that’s what makes it fun. So bring your own personality; be exactly who you are. Don’t ever try to be somebody you’re not. Because that’s not what we traded for.

“If you’re funny, be funny. If you’re not, just sit there and laugh. Whatever it is that you are, be yourself,” the coach said. “And I think when you come into a little more veteran team, you have a better chance of doing that.”

Marchand said he didn’t feel obligated to be a vocal leader on his new team. But on the other hand, he doesn’t plan to tone down his outspoken style, either.

“Why would I do that? I think that’s just me. I wouldn’t be able to do that anyways,” Marchand said. “Do you think I need to tone it down? My wife does.

“So, yeah, I’m just going to be me.”

Sports

Flores carries Giants with 3-homer, 8-RBI night

Published

4 hours ago

May 17, 2025

admin

Flores carries Giants with 3-homer, 8-RBI night

ESPN News Services

May 17, 2025, 01:25 AM ET

SAN FRANCISCO — Wilmer Flores homered three times — including a grand slam — and drove in eight runs to back a strong start by Logan Webb, leading the San Francisco Giants past the Athletics 9-1 on Friday night.

Flores, who set single-game career highs for homers and RBIs, hit his seventh slam in the third inning off A’s starter JP Sears. He had a three-run shot against Michel Otanez in the sixth, then added a solo shot off Anthony Maldonado in the eighth.

According to ESPN Research, Flores is the first right-handed batter with a three-homer game at Oracle Park since the Dodgers’ Kevin Elster did it on April 11, 2000. Joc Pederson, a left-handed batter, achieved the only other three-homer game at Oracle in 2022.

Flores also lifted his RBI total to 41, tying him with New York Yankees star Aaron Judge for the MLB lead.

Flores’ big night was more than enough support for Webb (5-3), who carried a shutout into the eighth inning. The 2024 All-Star allowed one run and five hits in eight innings with four strikeouts and two walks. The Giants’ ace has allowed two runs over his past four home starts covering 28⅓ innings for a 0.64 ERA.

Camilo Doval struck out the side in the ninth to wrap up the win in the Giants’ first game against the A’s this season in the former Bay Bridge Series.

Sears (4-3), who gave up one run in 14⅔ innings covering his previous two starts, allowed four runs and six hits in four innings.

It was the A’s first visit to the Bay Area since leaving Oakland for Sacramento while a new stadium in Las Vegas is built.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Sports

Mets’ Soto listens to boos, tips hat in Bronx return

Published

4 hours ago

May 17, 2025

admin

Mets' Soto listens to boos, tips hat in Bronx return

Jorge CastilloMay 16, 2025, 10:41 PM ET
Close

NEW YORK — Juan Soto‘s return to Yankee Stadium in a Mets uniform Friday night went just about as he expected: with loud, relentless boos and chants from scorned Yankees fans still offended by his decision to choose the crosstown rival over their team during the offseason.

“I was ready for it,” Soto said after the Yankees beat the Mets 6-2 to open the Subway Series. “They’re really passionate fans and they’re a little hurt, and they’re going to do the best for their team, and they just feel that way.”

All game, whether he was in the action or not, Soto heard a chorus of boos and chants directed at him. Most chants were vulgar. All the boos were loud. After partnering with Aaron Judge to create one of the most productive duos in baseball history and lead the Yankees to their first World Series appearance in 15 years in his only season in the Bronx, he was the center of attention from beginning to end Friday.

And Soto — whose 15-year, $765 million contract is the richest in North American sports history — was prepared for it.

Soto, 26, stepped to the plate for his first at-bat in the first inning with a plan for the vitriol. Instead of ignoring the inevitable rancor, he was, after some prodding from teammates, going to playfully acknowledge it.

So while thousands of people stood to jeer him, he smiled, took off his helmet, tipped it to the crowd, touched it against his chest and mouthed, “Thank you.”

“We were just joking in the dugout that I should do it, and I just did it,” Soto said. “Guys loved it.”

Minutes later, the Bleacher Creatures, the celebrated group of staunch fans in the right-field bleachers who serenaded Soto with “Re-Sign Soto!” chants last season, turned their backs to him when he took his spot in right field in the bottom of the first inning. Soto said he didn’t notice them.

“I was just listening to the boos,” Soto said. “I tried to not have any eye contact. I just listened to the boos.”

Between the lines, Soto’s return was rather quiet. He walked in his first three plate appearances, scoring the Mets’ first run on Brandon Nimmo‘s single in the fourth inning. Soto grounded out in the seventh inning and flied out to center field with two runners on base to end the game. He emerged with a .252 batting average and .845 OPS through his first 44 games as a Met.

“Every time he’s at the plate, we feel good,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Didn’t come through today, but that’s the guy you want there in that spot. He’ll be fine.”

Defensively, Soto failed to throw out a runner at home on Anthony Volpe‘s 243-foot sacrifice fly in the third inning. In the eighth, he caught a fly ball for the third out and tossed the ball over his head into the seats behind him. A fan threw it back onto the field, igniting passionate cheers.

There were more cheers when Soto made the final out, ending an eventful night the 47,700 people in attendance anticipated.

“It’s just another game,” Soto said. “It’s real [unfortunate] that we couldn’t get the win. I don’t focus at all on fans. We got to focus on the game and be a professional, try to win a game. Yeah, it sucks that we lost the game, but we have two more to win the series.”