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Fanatics will replace Adidas as the NHL’s outfitter of on-ice uniforms and authentic jerseys beginning with the 2024-25 season, the league announced Tuesday.

The deal runs 10 years. Financial terms were not disclosed. This marks the first time Fanatics branding will be directly on an official player uniform for a professional sports property.

Fanatics has been an NHL retail partner for nearly two decades. It will remain the official manufacturer of a broad range of NHL apparel, including the replica jerseys that it has produced since 2017. Fanatics will also make the uniforms for all NHL on-ice officials beginning in 2024-25.

“This expansion of our partnership with Fanatics is a reflection of our shared commitment to innovation, performance, and serving our players and fans,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. “Fanatics is a sports industry market leader and with its proven track-record in e-commerce and retail operations, licensed fan merchandise and performance gear, our players and fans should look forward to what Fanatics will bring to the best uniforms in all of sports.”

ESPN reported last July that Adidas had decided not to pursue an extension of its seven-year deal to make NHL jerseys.

Fanatics chief executive officer Michael Rubin’s companies have operated the NHL’s e-commerce operation since 2005. Fanatics runs on-site retail stores in a handful of NHL arenas and for events like the NHL All-Star Game and the Winter Classic. It also operates an NHL flagship retail store in Manhattan, which opened in 2021.

Since 2017, Fanatics has produced the “Breakaway,” innovating the fan replica jersey’s design by using more stain resistant fabrics and adding a foldable jersey logo crest for easier storage. Fanatics also has produced the NHL’s Authentic Pro product line — training apparel and headwear worn by NHL players, coaches and staff — since 2018.

“This is a natural evolution of our partnership with the NHL,” Doug Mack, CEO of Fanatics Commerce, told ESPN. “I’ve said to our team that when we deliver big results for partners and we bring innovation to how they serve their fans, it earns us the right to do more together.”

While this is the first time Fanatics branding will be directly on an official player uniform, it’s not the first time Fanatics has made game uniforms.

“The Fanatics brand is fairly well known to fans, but we’re often thought of as more of an e-commerce company,” Mack said. “This isn’t the first time we’ve done performance product, but this will be the most visible we’ve ever been in making that performance product.”

For example, Nike is the official outfitter of Major League Baseball, but Fanatics has made MLB’s Nike-branded uniforms for all 30 teams since 2017, when it acquired Majestic. In total, Fanatics makes close to 100,000 MLB uniforms each season. Fanatics also makes authentic NFL jerseys that carry a Nike logo, which are sold online and in stores.

NHL executive vice president of marketing Brian Jennings acknowledged that fans might only know Fanatics as a company that makes replica gear rather than game-worn jerseys, which could lead to challenges in perception about the league’s new authentic jersey maker.

“It’s fair. I understand there may be, initially, some trepidation, but I do have a lot of confidence in the team at Fanatics,” Jennings said. “I look back at the history with our locker room, at what they’re doing with other leagues, and I do think that they will be able to do this.”

Jennings said part of that confidence is in how Fanatics is approaching the task. It has senior executives in place with experience launching game-worn jerseys at Reebok and Adidas. Fanatics also doesn’t plan on reinventing the jersey — at least initially. They’ll use the same factory based in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, that Adidas did to produce its jerseys. The specs for the jerseys will be exactly the same. While there will be differences in some of the fabrics and materials, “it will be almost indiscernible” to the jerseys currently in use, said Jennings.

The NHL indicated that the first significant changes to its on-ice jerseys could be in the 2026-27 season, when different fabric options and player safety innovations like protection against skate lacerations might be introduced.

When the NHL knew Adidas was getting out of the hockey jersey business, Jennings said it surveyed the “competitive landscape” to see what else was out there. In short order, it became apparent that Fanatics offered something “very appealing” to the league as a jersey-maker, especially given its existing partnerships as an apparel maker and e-commerce retailer.

“Each step of the way, you’ve just watched this increase in commitment to product, commitment to performance, commitment to design,” Jennings told ESPN. “If you think the changes in retail were dramatic over the last five years, they’re going to be even that much more dramatic in the next 10 years. And Fanatics, driven by Michael Rubin and his senor team, are definitely visionaries.”

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D-backs ace Burnes set for MRI after exiting in 5th

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D-backs ace Burnes set for MRI after exiting in 5th

PHOENIX — Arizona Diamondbacks ace Corbin Burnes was lifted after just 70 pitches Sunday against Washington with right elbow discomfort.

Manager Torey Lovullo told reporters after Arizona’s 3-1 win that Burnes would have an MRI on Monday.

Arizona led 3-0 in the top of the fifth when Burnes allowed a single by CJ Abrams with two outs. The right-hander then gestured toward the dugout with his glove and yelled in frustration.

Jalen Beeks replaced Burnes and gave up an RBI single before getting the third out. Arizona won the game 3-1.

Burnes allowed a run and four hits in 4 2/3 innings, with a walk and six strikeouts. He is 3-2 with a 2.66 ERA in 11 starts this season.

Arizona signed Burnes to a $210 million, six-year contract before the season. He has been effective, but the Diamondbacks have dealt with a slew of pitching injuries. Jordan Montgomery (Tommy John surgery) is out for the season, Eduardo Rodríguez (shoulder) is on the injured list, and reliever A.J. Puk (elbow) is on the IL as well.

Arizona allowed 10 runs in the first inning Saturday, its ninth loss in 10 games.

Durability hasn’t been much of a concern for the 30-year-old Burnes, who has made at least 28 starts in every season since he won the 2021 National League Cy Young Award for Milwaukee. He spent his first six years with the Brewers before being traded to Baltimore before the 2024 season. After one year with the Orioles, he signed with the Diamondbacks as a free agent.

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Rockies’ lows: 10th sweep; 3rd fastest to 50 L’s

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Rockies' lows: 10th sweep; 3rd fastest to 50 L's

Another series, another sweep as the Colorado Rockies continue to make history for all the wrong reasons.

The Rockies fell 5-3 to the New York Mets on Sunday to extend their losing streak to eight games.

It is Colorado’s fourth eight-game losing streak this season.

The Rockies are 9-50 — the worst record through 59 games of any major league team in the modern era (since 1901). They have been swept 10 times in 20 series — tied for the most sweeps through 20 series with the 1962 Mets, the 1970 Milwaukee Brewers and the 1994 Athletics.

Going even deeper into the record books, Colorado is the third-fastest team to the 50-loss mark — behind only the 1884 Kansas City Unions and 1876 Cincinnati Red Stockings, who got to 50 losses in 57 games. However, in an odd quirk, the 2025 Rockies — with one more victory — will be just the second team to have 50 losses when they record their 10th win, as the 1876 Red Stockings finished their season at 9-56.

Colorado got on the scoreboard first Sunday with Orlando Arcia‘s solo home run off Clay Holmes in the first inning, but Pete Alonso hit a three-run shot in the fourth for the Mets.

The Rockies fought back, tying it on Tyler Freeman‘s two-run shot in the fifth, but Francisco Lindor answered with a solo shot in the bottom of the inning and the Rockies’ offense went silent thereafter.

Colorado fell to 4-13 this season when scoring first; the Chicago White Sox (14-17) are the only other team this season to have a sub-.500 record after taking the initial lead. The worst record for a full season since 1900 when scoring first in a game, according to ESPN Research, is 23-50 (.315) by 1962 Mets.

The Rockies haven’t held a lead at the end of consecutive innings since they led for the final four innings of their most recent win — a 3-2 victory over the New York Yankees on May 23.

The Mets, meanwhile, won for the seventh time in eight games to finish a 7-2 homestand. They regained sole possession of first place in the NL East, moving a game ahead of Philadelphia.

Holmes (5-3) gave up three hits, struck out three and walked none. The right-hander, who entered this season with 300 consecutive relief appearances dating to 2019, has lasted at least six innings in six of his past eight starts.

Reed Garrett and Edwin Diaz tossed a scoreless inning apiece, with Díaz earning his 13th save.

Colorado has lost all 19 series it has played this season and has been outscored by 185 runs. And if you go back to 2024, that streak extends to a MLB-record 22.

The Rockies, who are the first team in MLB’s modern era to lose 28 of their first 31 road games, will try to get win No. 10 on Monday as they start a three-game series against the Marlins in Miami.

ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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De La Cruz hits emotional HR after sister’s death

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De La Cruz hits emotional HR after sister's death

CHICAGO — Cincinnati Reds star Elly De La Cruz played with a heavy heart Sunday after learning of the death of his older sister, but manager Terry Francona said the 23-year-old shortstop was insistent on being in the lineup.

De La Cruz hit a two-run homer and scored two runs in Cincinnati’s 7-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs. Francona said De La Cruz insisted he wanted to play in the finale of the weekend series, and the team was going to support him.

After his towering home run — the 50th of his career — De La Cruz patted his chest as he took his final steps toward the plate, pointed to the sky and clapped.

After touching home plate, he made a heart with his hands.

“We care so much about playing a game and winning,” Francona said, “but in a hurry, you’re reminded of what’s really important. So I think everybody kind of kept their head on a swivel with him today, just trying to take care of him.”

Family members confirmed to Z101 Digital in the Dominican Republic that De La Cruz’s sister Genelis died Saturday after dealing with health problems for some time.

De La Cruz declined to speak with the media Sunday. The Reds also declined to offer any details on the situation, citing De La Cruz’s wishes.

“He takes so much pride in being available,” Francona said. “Guys like that, Carlos Santana in Cleveland was very similar, and for a kid that’s that young, that’s an admirable trait.”

De La Cruz singled in the first and flied out in the fourth. He connected for his 12th homer in the sixth and walked and scored on Tyler Stephenson‘s sacrifice fly in the ninth.

The estimated distance on his home run down the line in right was 423 feet with an exit velocity of 117.4 mph.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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