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Hobey Baker Award finalist and University of North Dakota forward Jackson Blake signed his entry-level contract with the Carolina Hurricanes, the club announced Wednesday.

Blake’s contract will start this season. He’ll make $775,000 at the NHL level this season and earn $832,500 at the NHL level in the 2024-25 and the 2025-26 seasons. He’ll earn $80,000 at the AHL level for all three seasons, and his deal also includes a $277,500 signing bonus.

“Jackson is an explosive playmaker who has played a key role in North Dakota’s success over the past two seasons,” Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said in a statement. “Hockey is in his blood, and we can’t wait to see how his game continues to grow at the next level.”

Jackson’s dad, Jason Blake, played in 871 NHL games from 1998-99 through 2011-12, and also represented Team USA in the World Championships and Olympic Games in 2006.

Blake was a fourth-round pick by the Hurricanes in 2021 who used his two seasons at UND to emerge into one of the nation’s premier collegiate players.

He scored 16 goals and led the Fighting Hawks with 42 points in 39 games as a freshman during the 2022-23 season, a campaign that saw UND miss out on the NCAA Division I men’s tournament.

A year later, Blake was one of the major reasons why UND was among the nation’s top 10 teams. His 22 goals and 38 assists for 60 points was not only the most on the UND roster, but he was only one of four players nationally to have 60 points at the time of his signing.

North Dakota finished the season winning the NCHC regular-season title before losing in the finals of the conference tournament. UND returned to the tournament where it lost to Michigan in the opening game of the Midwest Regional Semifinal in Maryland Heights, Mo.

Blake’s performance also led to him being named a Hobey Baker Award finalist alongside Boston University star freshman center Macklin Celebrini and Boston College star sophomore winger Cutter Gauthier.

Celebrini is expected to be the No. 1 pick of this summer’s NHL Draft while Gauthier was the fifth pick of the 2022 NHL Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers before he was traded to the Anaheim Ducks this season.

The Hobey Baker Award winner will be announced Friday.

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Sovereignty outduels Journalism to capture Derby

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Sovereignty outduels Journalism to capture Derby

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Sovereignty outdueled 3-1 favorite Journalism down the stretch to win the 151st Kentucky Derby in the slop on Saturday.

Trainer Bill Mott won his first Derby in 2019, also run on a sloppy track, when Country House was elevated to first after Maximum Security crossed the finish line first and was disqualified after a 22-minute delay.

This time, he knew right away.

Sovereignty won by 1½ lengths and snapped an 0-for-13 Derby skid for owner Godolphin, the racing stable of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

It was quite a weekend for the sheikh. His filly, Good Cheer, won the Kentucky Oaks on Friday and earlier Saturday, Ruling Court won the 2,000 Guineas in Britain.

Sovereignty covered 1¼ miles in 2:02.31 and paid $17.96 to win at 7-1 odds.

Journalism found trouble in the first turn and jockey Umberto Rispoli moved him to the outside. He and Sovereignty hooked up at the eighth pole before Sovereignty and jockey Junior Alvarado pulled away.

Baeza was third, Final Gambit was fourth and Owen Almighty finished fifth.

Rain made for a soggy day, with the Churchill Downs dirt strip listed as sloppy and horse racing fans protecting their fancy hats and clothing with clear plastic ponchos.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Zilisch to miss Xfinity race in Texas after wreck

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Zilisch to miss Xfinity race in Texas after wreck

FORT WORTH, Texas — Connor Zilisch, the 18-year-old driver already with two NASCAR Xfinity Series race wins, will miss Saturday’s race at Texas because of lower back injuries sustained in a last-lap wreck at Talladega.

Trackhouse Racing said Wednesday that its development driver will return as soon as possible to the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. The team didn’t provide any additional details about Zilisch’s injuries.

Cup Series regular Kyle Larson will drive the No. 88 in Texas. After that, the Xfinity Series has a two-week break before racing again May 24 at Charlotte.

Zilisch, sixth in points through the first 11 races, was driving for the win at Talladega Superspeedway when contact on the backstretch sent his car spinning, and head-on into inside wall.

Zilisch won in his Xfinity debut at Watkins Glen last Sept. 14. He added another win this year at Austin, the same weekend that he made his Cup Series debut. He has six top-10 finishes in his 15 Xfinity races.

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23XI, Front Row ask judge to toss NASCAR claim

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23XI, Front Row ask judge to toss NASCAR claim

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The two teams suing NASCAR asked a judge to dismiss the sanctioning body’s counterclaim in court Wednesday.

In a 20-page filing in district court in North Carolina, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports opposed NASCAR’s motion to amend its original counterclaim. The teams argued that the need to amend the counterclaim further demonstrates the weakness of NASCAR’s arguments, calling them an attempt by NASCAR to distract and shift attention away from its own unlawful, monopolistic actions.

NASCAR’s counterclaim singled out Michael Jordan’s longtime business manager, Curtis Polk. Jordan is co-owner of 23XI Racing.

The legal battle began after more than two years of negotiations on new charter agreements — NASCAR’s equivalent of a franchise model — and the 30-page filing contends that Polk “willfully” violated antitrust laws by orchestrating anticompetitive collective conduct in connection with the most recent charter agreements.

23XI and Front Row were the only two organizations out of 15 that refused to sign the new agreements, which were presented to the teams last September in a take-it-or-leave-it offer a mere 48 hours before the start of NASCAR’s playoffs.

The charters were fought for by the teams ahead of the 2016 season and twice have been extended. The latest extension is for seven years to match the current media rights deal and guarantee 36 of the 40 spots in each week’s field to the teams that hold the charters, as well as other financial incentives. 23XI and Front Row refused to sign and sued, alleging NASCAR and the France family that owns the stock car series are a monopoly.

NASCAR already has lost one round in court in which the two teams have been recognized as chartered organizations for the 2025 season as the legal dispute winds through the courts. NASCAR has also appealed a judge’s rejection of its motion to dismiss the case.

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