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The NHL and NHL Players’ Association have launched their host city selection process for World Cup of Hockey 2028, officially marking the return of the international best-on-best tournament.

WCH 2028 will be an eight-nation tournament scheduled for February 2028. Unlike the last World Cup in 2016, which the 23-and-under Team North America and Team Europe for unaffiliated international players, this edition will only feature nation-specific teams.

The event is expected to feature round-robin and quarterfinal games in two host cities, with the semifinals and championship game currently anticipated to take place in one of those cities, “subject to final host city selection,” according to the NHL. The tournament is expected to last 12 days with 17 games.

“The World Cup of Hockey is a showcase of international hockey at the highest level, and we are thrilled to begin the host city selection process for 2028,” said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman in a statement. “This tournament offers cities a chance to be part of something truly global, while delivering meaningful economic and cultural benefits in return.”

The host city selection process is international in scope and “open to all cities with arena facilities that could meet NHL competition standards.” The NHL and NHLPA will reach out to some potential sites, but the process is open to any bidder. The NHL is looking for cities that meet the baseline requirements for facilities but also “present a compelling and distinctive vision for the tournament.”

The deadline for expression of interest pitches is July 18 for North America and July 30 for international markets. The NHL and NHLPA will determine which bids move on to the next phase. The Request for Proposal process launches in August 2025. Final host city selections are expected to be announced in Q1 of 2026.

“The World Cup of Hockey 2028 will bring together the best players in the world, representing their countries with pride,” said Marty Walsh, Executive Director of the NHLPA. “We look forward to working with cities that want to help shape the future of international hockey and inspire a new generation of hockey fans.”

This will be the fourth edition of the World Cup of Hockey, having been previously held in 1996, 2004 and 2016, which Team Canada won.

The World Cup’s return is part of an aggressive expansion of the NHL’s international calendar. Bettman has said the vision is to alternate between the NHL’s participation in the Winter Olympic men’s hockey tournament and a World Cup every two years. The NHL is participating in the 2026 Milano-Cortina Games, the first time its players will compete in the Olympics since the 2014 Sochi Games.

In the intervening years, the NHL and NHLPA are expected to present events that could resemble the 4 Nations Face-Off, their successful midseason tournament held last February in Boston and Montreal.

“We couldn’t be more excited about making a reality: Olympics, World Cups, Olympics, World Cups on a regular schedule of the best hockey players in the world representing their countries,” Bettman said in February. “We know the full-blown World Cup is going to be sensational.”

There are some issues to be ironed out about World Cup of Hockey 2028, including how teams will qualify and whether Russia will be allowed to participate at all. Since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia has been banned from international play in all age categories by the International Ice Hockey Federation, a ban that has been extended through 2025-26.

“I’d love to see our Russian players playing in these tournaments again,” Walsh said in February. “They’re incredible hockey players. The issues are political. Not political as far as the NHLPA; it’s world politics we have to get through. I’m hoping that as we get closer to the Olympics, closer to the World Cup, we will start seeing Russian athletes back in the competition.”

The World Cup of Hockey will not involve the IIHF. It’s expected the NHL may work with international leagues to fill out rosters for teams that don’t have a full complement of NHL players. For example, there are only three Slovakian defensemen and one Swiss goaltender who appeared in NHL games last season.

ESPN’s Emily Kaplan contributed to this report.

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Kiffin’s ‘little, short’ QB leads Rebels past LSU

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Kiffin's 'little, short' QB leads Rebels past LSU

OXFORD, Miss. — Listed at 6-foot-even, Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss didn’t receive any Division I scholarships out of Forest Hills Northern High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He transferred to Ole Miss in May from Division II Ferris State, where he typically played in front of about 5,000 people.

On Saturday, in front of 67,737 people — the fourth-largest crowd in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium — Chambliss led the Rebels to a 24-19 win against No. 4 LSU, pushing undefeated Ole Miss (5-0) into the College Football Playoff race and making a case to be the Rebels’ full-time starter.

Playing in place of injured starter Austin Simmons, Chambliss outplayed LSU senior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, who entered the season as a projected first-round NFL draft pick. He completed 23-of-39 passing yards for 314 yards and one touchdown, and he ran 14 times for 71 yards.

“This is a really cool story,” Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said. “I like good stories. Here’s a little, short kid from Division II going against Nussmeier and the mighty Tigers with Ole Miss. It was really cool.”

Chambliss became the first SEC player with 300 pass yards and 50 rush yards in three consecutive games over the past 30 years. He has played so well during that span that Kiffin didn’t rule out the possibility of Chambliss earning the starting job.

“We’ve got a bye week coming up,” Kiffin said “It’s a good problem to have. I don’t have that answer right now, and I don’t need to have it right now. We have two really good quarterbacks. That’s a really good thing to have. You see around the country, people usually when they lose their quarterback, their team changes a lot. And Austin got hurt, and we’re still able to play the way that we played.”

It wasn’t a flawless performance for Ole Miss, which had 14 penalties for 109 yards — 10 of which came in the first half, the most in the Kiffin era. The Rebels, though, exposed LSU’s inept offense, which was held to just 57 rushing yards and was 2-of-11 on third-down conversions.

“We wanted it more,” safety Wydett Williams Jr. said of the defense. “Simple as that.”

Nussmeier was held to 197 passing yards, a career low as the Tigers’ starter. He was often off target and made several bad decisions, including in the second quarter, when he threw a pass into traffic that Williams snagged for an interception.

Chambliss, though, was playing behind an offensive line that didn’t allow one sack and gave him ample time to throw. He led a group that racked up 480 total yards against a defense that was one of the best in the SEC.

“It’s like a dream come true,” Chambliss said. “… It’s an amazing accomplishment. Got to thank God for that one, he’s been with me the whole time. I’ve got to thank Coach Kiffin, the whole staff here at Ole Miss for giving me the opportunity to come here and showcase my skill set, showcase what I can do. Great athletes, just an amazing support staff. It’s a dream come true.”

At Ferris, Chambliss led the Bulldogs to their third national title in four years last season, but the difference in resources was stark. He said he was used to practicing in the snow because there was no indoor facility. There have been a few upgrades with his move, including players around him like receiver Cayden Lee, who led the Rebels with four catches for 70 yards, and running back Kewan Lacy, who had 87 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.

“I feel like Trinidad has just done a really amazing job,” Lee said, “the way he’s handled the offense, the meetings he’s had with us personally, just getting us ready for the defense, having us dialed in the film studies, and that’s really showing on the field.”

Chambliss and Simmons hugged after the game, and those within the program said Simmons has handled his injury recovery and the situation well.

“Austin’s been a stud, battling his way back from injury,” Kiffin said. “That’s not easy. You’ve been waiting to be the starter for a couple of years, waiting for Jaxson [Dart] to leave, and so really proud of him as he’s handled that.”

The Rebels head into a bye week with three SEC wins, including Kentucky and Arkansas. Their win against the Tigers was the first this season against a ranked opponent, and it should catapult them into the top 12.

With about a minute left in the game, Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter told a staff member, “I think we need as many uniforms down here as we can,” to help prevent fans from storming the field.

It turned out that wasn’t necessary — a moment Kiffin said was an even more telling reaction about the state of the program.

“To me, that’s really cool that you get to a place as a program that you do beat the [No. 4] team in the country and you don’t rush the field because you’re doing what you’re supposed to do, and that’s win the game,” he said. “That makes me happy this program has gotten to that place.”

That doesn’t mean there wasn’t room to celebrate. As Kiffin went into the tunnel, he pumped his fist and flung his visor into the air.

Lee said the only expectations the Rebels have to meet are their own.

“I remember last year, everybody had all these expectations for us to go super, super far, and we didn’t end up doing that,” he said. “And this year I feel like almost nobody is talking us. All of the talk and stuff preseason doesn’t matter. It just matters the team’s mindset and what you guys are going to do every single game. So far we have a 1-0 mindset, and that’s worked out for us.”

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ACC: Officials missed key offsides call in GT-Wake

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ACC: Officials missed key offsides call in GT-Wake

The ACC said Saturday night that officials missed a pivotal offsides call that allowed No. 16 Georgia Tech to eventually overcome Wake Forest 30-29 in overtime in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

With the Yellow Jackets holding no timeouts and the Demon Deacons with the lead and working on the clock late in regulation, Wake Forest quarterback Robby Ashford threw a free-play deep ball on third-and-5 after a Georgia Tech player appeared to leap well offsides.

But officials didn’t throw a flag, sparking an irate reaction from the entire Wake Forest sideline and boos cascading from the stands.

The penalty would’ve been a 5-yarder and likely moved the chains, putting Wake Forest in position to potentially kneel out the clock. Instead, the Yellow Jackets got the ball back with 1:41 left, marched down the field and saw kicker Aidan Birr convert a 33-yard field goal with 2 seconds left in regulation to send the game to OT.

“I’m not putting that on Robby,” first-year Demon Deacons coach Jake Dickert told reporters. “There’s no way he can see the flag. We wanted to see the defensive look, we clapped, we’ll see what it ends up. And then Robby does what he’s trained to do, and that’s take a shot because he doesn’t know if that’s offsides or not.”

In overtime, Georgia Tech intercepted Wake Forest’s 2-point play to close out the win. The Yellow Jackets rallied from 17 down in the third quarter to stay unbeaten (5-0, 2-0 ACC).

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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OSU opens post-Gundy era, falls by 18 to Baylor

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OSU opens post-Gundy era, falls by 18 to Baylor

STILLWATER, Okla. — Sawyer Robertson passed for 393 yards and four touchdowns, and Baylor ruined Oklahoma State’s first game without Mike Gundy as head coach in more than 20 years with a 45-27 victory on Saturday.

Robertson threw each of his touchdown passes to a different player and also ran for a score. Josh Cameron caught six passes for 98 yards for the Bears (3-2, 1-1 Big 12), who gained 612 total yards.

Zane Flores passed for 232 yards for Oklahoma State, which lost its first game under interim coach Doug Meacham. Trent Howland had career highs of 84 yards and two touchdowns rushing for the Cowboys (1-3, 0-1).

Despite the loss, it was a significant improvement for the Cowboys, whose previous losses were 69-3 to Oregon and 19-12 to Tulsa. The Cowboys posted a season-high 448 yards.

Oklahoma State showed early that it planned to open things up. The Cowboys scored their first points of Meacham’s tenure on a double pass. Receiver Sam Jackson V completed a 26-yard touchdown pass to Josh Ford that tied the score at 7 in the first quarter.

Robertson threw three touchdown passes in the first half to help Baylor take a 28-20 lead at the break, despite Oklahoma State outgaining the Bears 349 yards to 285.

Howland added to his career day by throwing a 13-yard completion, then running in from a yard out on the next play to cut Baylor’s lead to 35-27 in the third. That was the closest Oklahoma State would get.

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