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Ole Miss and Lane Kiffin scored big again in the transfer portal Thursday with former Oklahoma State All-Big 12 quarterback Spencer Sanders telling ESPN that he’d play for the Rebels next season.

“I fit in very well there with what they do on offense, their play-action game, the way they take deep shots down the field, Coach Kiffin’s mindset and their balance with a great running back like Quinshon Judkins,” Sanders said. “It’s just a very well-rounded scheme.”

Sanders is the second heralded quarterback in a week to join Ole Miss. Walker Howard, a former five-star recruit, announced Wednesday that he was transferring from LSU to Ole Miss. Jaxson Dart, who transferred last season to Ole Miss from USC, is the Rebels’ returning starter at quarterback after throwing for 2,974 yards, 20 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2022.

“There’s always going to be somebody you’re competing against, whether it’s at this level or the next,” said Sanders, a four-year starter who accounted for 85 career touchdowns at Oklahoma State. “It just helps all of us — the competition — and I’m going to be the oldest one and will do the best I can to help those guys, even after I leave.”

Ole Miss lost backup quarterback Luke Altmyer to Illinois, so adding to the quarterback room this offseason was a crucial need for Kiffin. Howard has four years of eligibility remaining, so he sets up the Rebels for the future along with Dart, who still has two years of eligibility.

The staff did not add a high school quarterback in the 2022 and 2023 class, so Kiffin is relying on the transfer market to help build his quarterback room and now has a few options.

Sanders was one of the most coveted quarterbacks available in the portal. Other schools to show serious interest included Auburn, UCLA, Baylor, BYU, Kentucky and Virginia Tech, he said. He also emphasized that there was no ill will toward Oklahoma State.

“I’m excited to take my shot in a league [SEC] that’s in a different category, and I’m ready to see what that’s all about,” Sanders said. “I’ve had three different offensive coordinators, so it’s not like I’m opposed to playing under new people or new schemes. It’s no disrespect to Oklahoma State, either. They raised me to be the quarterback I am right now, and I’m thankful for that. It was just time to move on and try something new.”

In the new world of the transfer portal, being able to keep great players is just as important as getting them. Judkins, who led the SEC with 1,565 rushing yards last season as a freshman, could have easily tested the waters in the portal, but stayed put.

“You want to play with great players,” Sanders said. “It’s pretty obvious they’ve been able to build their roster and keep their most talented guys.”

Sanders, who was 31-12 as a starter at Oklahoma State, said he separated the AC joint in his throwing shoulder a month into the 2022 season and that he was never completely healthy after the injury. He said he re-injured his shoulder against Kansas State and missed three of Oklahoma State’s final five games. The Cowboys went 1-4 during that stretch.

“It was definitely the most painful season I’ve gone through,” Sanders said. “There were times I thought it was healing and then I’d get hurt and it would be back to square one again. I did the best I could to play through the pain.”

Sanders’ best season came in 2021 when he was named first-team All-Big 12 and led the conference with 3,507 total yards (2,839 passing and 668 rushing). His multipurpose skills particularly appealed to Kiffin, who uses his quarterback frequently in the running game. Sanders has 18 career rushing touchdowns, but he has also thrown 40 career interceptions.

Having seen other versatile quarterbacks move on to different places and have success (USC’s Caleb Williams, Oregon’s Bo Nix and LSU’s Jayden Daniels to name a few), Sanders said he’s excited about the possibilities in Kiffin’s up-tempo, high-octane scheme.

“I’ve been looking at their playbook, and the more I look at it, the more I like the leeway they give their athletes to go make plays,” Sanders said.

This is the second straight year that Kiffin has dipped heavily into the transfer portal. This class, in addition to Sanders and Howard, also includes Washington offensive lineman Victor Curne, Memphis tight end Caden Prieskorn, Texas A&M receiver Chris Marshall, Louisiana Tech receiver Tre Harris and UAB offensive lineman Quincy McGee.

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Sources: Tkachuk dodges discipline, will play G4

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Sources: Tkachuk dodges discipline, will play G4

Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk will not receive supplemental discipline for his hit on Tampa Bay Lightning forward Jake Geuntzel in Game 3, sources told ESPN on Sunday.

Tkachuk’s hit, in the third period of his team’s 5-1 loss, received a five-minute major. According to sources, the NHL Department of Player Safety determined that was enough, considering Guentzel had recently touched the puck and Tkachuk didn’t make contact with Guentzel’s head.

The department also believed that the force in which Tkachuk hit Guentzel was far lesser than the hit Tampa’s Brandon Hagel made on Florida captain Aleksander Barkov in Game 2, which earned Hagel a one game suspension.

The plays led both coaches to trade jabs in the media. After Barkov went down in Game 2, Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice said: “The only players we hit are the one with pucks.”

Barkov missed the end of the third period, but played in Game 3. Game 4 is Monday at Amerant Bank Arena.

At his postgame press conference, following Tkachuk’s hit on Guentzel, Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper deadpanned the exact same line as Maurice.

Tkachuk leads the series in scoring with three goals and an assist through three games. Guentzel has two goals and two assists for Tampa Bay.

The Battle of Florida is living up to the billing as one of the most contentious rivalries in hockey; either Tampa or Florida has made it to the Stanley Cup Final in each of the last five seasons.

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Jets’ Hellebuyck allows five goals, pulled again

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Jets' Hellebuyck allows five goals, pulled again

ST. LOUIS — Connor Hellebuyck, a two-time Vezina Trophy winner who is among the favorites to win the award again this season, allowed five goals before being pulled early in the third period as the top-seeded Winnipeg Jets fell to the St. Louis Blues 5-1 on Sunday, evening their Western Conference first-round series at 2-2.

Hellebuyck has now been pulled in back-to-back games in St. Louis, during which he has allowed 11 goals and posted a paltry .744 save percentage. Eric Comrie made five saves in relief of Hellebuyck on Sunday, but the game had long been decided by that point.

His performances have not only energized the Blues, the No. 8 seed who lost the first two games of this series, but their fans, as well. In the third period Sunday, the St. Louis faithful chanted, “We want Connor” as he sat on the Jets’ bench.

Brayden Schenn, Tyler Tucker and Justin Faulk each scored second-period goals to give the Blues a 4-1 lead, and Robert Thomas scored 2:01 into the third, ending Hellebuyck’s day.

Across the ice, St. Louis goaltender Jordan Binnington, who defeated Hellebuyck in the 4 Nations Face-Off final in February when Canada outlasted Team USA, made 30 saves in the win. The Blues have now won 14 straight regular-season and playoff games at home dating back to Feb. 23.

“The last 10 minutes, we gave up three goals,” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said of the second period. “Those are coverage goals, and those are situations that we usually handle pretty well. They are finding ways to get that puck in the net.”

Kyle Connor scored for the Jets, staking the road team to a 1-0 lead, but the powerful Winnipeg offense that helped the club win the Presidents’ Trophy was never heard from again.

“This is obviously not what we wanted,” Winnipeg forward Mark Scheifele said. “But it’s a best two-of-three series now.”

Hellebuyck has been pulled in consecutive games only one other time in his career, and given the Jets lost in Round 1 last season to the Colorado Avalanche, the Winnipeg goaltending situation figures to be a storyline the rest of this series.

“At the end of the day, you know what, they took advantage of home ice,” Arniel said of the Blues. “We’ve put ourselves in this position. And our best players have to be better than their best players.”

The Jets and Blues return to Winnipeg for Game 5 on Wednesday night.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Williams out as Yanks’ closer; Weaver to get a shot

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Williams out as Yanks' closer; Weaver to get a shot

NEW YORK — Devin Williams has been removed from his role as New York Yankees closer “for right now,” manager Aaron Boone said Sunday.

The move comes two days after Williams endured another rough outing and was booed off the mound at Yankee Stadium in a loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. The 30-year-old right-hander has a 11.25 ERA with career-worst marks in strikeout rate (18.2%), whiff rate (24.1%) and walk rate (15.9%) in eight innings across 10 appearances this season.

“He’s still got everything to be great, right? This is a guy that is in the prime of his career and he’s just going through it a little bit,” said Boone, who informed Williams of the decision Saturday. “I tell our players all the time, you make a career that’s long enough and you’re going to face some challenging moments. You’re going to face some adversity along the way. And good news for Devin is he’s got everything to get through this and come out better on the other side. And that’s my expectation.

“But, for right now, I think it’s best for everyone that we pull him out of that role and try and start building some good rhythm and confidence and momentum and fully expect him to be a central figure for us moving forward.”

Boone said setup man Luke Weaver, who has a 0.00 ERA in 13 innings pitched this season, will assume “a lot of” the team’s save opportunities. Boone maintained he is open to using Weaver in high-leverage spots earlier in games and other relievers to close.

As for Williams, Boone said he won’t have a specific role — whether pitching in low-leverage situations or tight spots just earlier in games — as he seeks to re-establish himself for a team with the ninth-best bullpen ERA in the majors despite his struggles.

The key will be for Williams to avoid falling behind in counts as he did against the three hitters he faced Friday, leading to the home crowd again showering him with loud boos while adding a “We want Weaver!” chant.

Williams wound up surrendering two runs on three hits without recording an out to blow the save and continue his alarming troubles.

The Yankees hope his changeup-fastball mix will baffle hitters again and allow him to return to the pitcher he has been for his entire career.

“Count leverage is a big thing for pitchers, understandably, as it is for hitters,” Boone said. “And I think he’s been behind a number of times. He’s also had it not bounce his way in a number of these games where it’s gotten away.

“But I think the biggest thing for a guy as good as he is, as good as his track record is, and where he is from an age standpoint in the prime of his career, it’s just about, I think, man, having it start to click, getting in a good rhythm and then off we go.”

The Yankees acquired Williams in December to replace Clay Holmes as the club’s closer with one year of team control remaining before reaching free agency. The trade, which sent left-hander Nestor Cortes and prospect Corbin Durbin to Milwaukee, figured to cement the Yankees’ bullpen as one of the best in the majors.

Williams established himself as one of baseball’s premier relievers over six seasons with the Brewers using a singular screwball-like changeup known as “The Airbender.” The right-hander posted a 1.83 ERA with a 39.4% across 241 appearances in Milwaukee. He won the 2020 National League Rookie of the Year Award as a setup man for Josh Hader and made two All-Star teams. His status was undisputed.

But Williams’ Yankees tenure has been turbulent from start. After emerging as the catalyst to have the Yankees’ decades-long no-beard policy changed during spring training, he was booed at Yankee Stadium during his sloppy debut on Opening Day against his former club.

Boone acknowledged the fans’ treatment could have an impact on Williams’ performance.

“I think there’s that adjustment,” Boone said. “Devin’s really been nothing but successful at the big-league level. He’s dominated. So, that’s all part of it. That’s what I talk to these guys all the time about is like, again, you’re going to go through a tough moment. When I came here in 2003 at the trade deadline, Mariano Rivera was getting booed in August. I couldn’t believe it. And then he’s still Mariano Rivera, recoups and goes on to do what he does.

“So, I’m sure there’s some shock to that and some … getting settled. He’s with a new team in a new environment. That’s all part of it. But my reminder to him is you have all the equipment to do this at an elite level and that’s still a reality.”

In other developments, Luis Gil, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year Award winner, started his throwing program Sunday. He has been sidelined since Feb. 28 because of a high-grade lat strain, is on the 60-day injured list and is projected to return in June at the earliest.

Also, right-hander Jonathan Loáisiga, who is returning from internal brace elbow surgery, started his rehab assignment for Class A Tampa on Saturday and threw 11 pitches with one strikeout in a clean inning. He could rejoin the Yankees as early as late May.

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