Grangeclare West and Mahon’s Way showed their class to provide owners Cheveley Park Stud with a notable double at Naas.
Trained by Willie Mullins and Henry de Bromhead respectively, the pair of point-to-point graduates were expensive purchases at £430,000 and £360,000.
Grangeclare West impressed when winning his bumper and a maiden hurdle, but disappointed in successive Grade One events earlier this year before rounding off his season on a high in lesser company at Punchestown in the spring.
The seven-year-old was a 7-4 shot for his reappearance and debut over regulation fences in the Mongey Communications Beginners Chase and jumped well under Paul Townend on his way to a near three-length victory over Heart Wood, with 11-10 favourite Corbetts Cross back in third.
“He looks to be born to jump fences, he loved it,” said the champion jockey.
“He had a blow but his jumping was getting him a long way. The two fences being taken out in the straight didn’t help but his class got him through.
“He’s always promised and I’d say with chasing he could fulfil his promise.”
Mullins also landed the bumper with the Jody Townend-ridden Fleur Au Fusil (100-30).
Mahon’s Way (3-1) had earlier dominated his rivals in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden Hurdle, with Rachael Blackmore doing the steering as he pulled five and a half lengths clear.
“He’s a lovely horse and Alex Elliott bought him last year after he won his point-to-point. He came highly recommended and does everything well,” said De Bromhead.
“He went through that ground but I’d say he’d have a preference for nicer. It’s tough work out there and you would think he will get further.”
De Bromhead and Blackmore also teamed up to land the Cavan Developments Home Builders Supporting St Marys GAA Maiden Hurdle with the similarly impressive Slade Steel, who proved much too strong for the 8-11 favourite King Of Kingsfield.
The trainer added: “He was a nice bumper horse last year, we didn’t run him too much and it is nice to see him come out and do that.
“He really stayed at it. He won his point-to-point and I’d say he’s adaptable, he has a bit of pace as well.
“He has an entry in the Royal Bond and we’ll find a novice for him somewhere.”
High-class Flat performer Smooth Tom (10-1) made it two from two over obstacles in the BetVictor Fishery Lane Novice Hurdle in the hands of 5lb claimer Philip Donovan.
Willie Slattery, brother and assistant to trainer Andrew, said: “He’s a 90-rated horse on the Flat and I was surprised how big a price he was. He handles soft ground but you would always be a bit worried about a Flat horse on winter ground.
“Andy was talking about giving him a rest and if he runs again it will probably be Leopardstown at Christmas. He’s going to have to step up again.”
Chosen Diamond was a 7-1 winner of the Overlander Horseboxes Novice Handicap Chase, while the €40,000 Brown Lad Handicap Hurdle went to 20-1 chance Espanito Bello for owner-trainer Barry Connell, who said: “They went a mad pace in front which suited him and he jumped super.
“I might look at the Proudstown, it’s a €100,000 handicap hurdle and he should be still competitive.
“That’s his fifth win here and they might make a statue of him now!”
Wins for Katie Boulter and Harriet Dart ensured Great Britain avoided Billie Jean King Cup embarrassment against Sweden at London’s Copper Box.
Dart replaced Jodie Burrage following her nightmare debut in the competition on Saturday and the 27-year-old claimed the decisive point in a 3-1 victory that keeps Anne Keothavong’s side at the elite level of the competition.
Given Sweden were without their top two players and did not have anyone ranked inside 350 to call on, defeat – particularly on home soil – was unthinkable.
Ultimately they recovered well from Burrage’s collapse against Kajsa Rinaldo Persson, with Boulter overcoming some difficult moments in a 6-1 7-6 (5) win over the same player for her second win of the weekend before Dart defeated Caijsa Hennemann 7-5 6-2.
It was no surprise to see Keothavong opt for the greater experience of Dart ahead of Burrage, who will hope that she is given another chance to prove herself in 2024.
Boulter has established herself as the clear British number one this season and it was appropriate she ended her year by playing the leading role for her country at the same venue where in 2019 she suffered a serious back injury that badly stalled her progress.
It was not until earlier this season that she finally returned to the top 100, and this time she has built on the breakthrough while avoiding injury, currently sitting at 58 in the rankings.
“It’s been a whirlwind for many different reasons,” the 27-year-old said. “I think the work I’ve put in the last 10 years has really started to show.
“You never know when you’re going to get your little break. I finally got one this year and I felt like I used that momentum continuing from the grass-court season into the hard-court swing as well and I think that’s the part I’m most proud of.
“I sit here and I can say I love the grass and I love playing in England and I love the British crowd but it’s the other tournaments around the rest of the year that make the difference and that’s what’s going to keep my ranking at the highest point.
“I’ve really stepped it up this year in consistency. I know it’s an uphill battle next year and I’m excited for it, it’s a challenge and it’s somewhere I haven’t been before.”
Boulter did not have things all her own way against Persson, who again played well above her ranking of 372.
The Swede had four chances to send the contest to a decider when she served for the second set at 5-3, but Boulter saved them all and finished the tie-break strongly.
Dart was the star of last year’s run to the semi-finals of the competition in Glasgow but she has endured a difficult season, dropping outside the top 100.
She will remember her win over Hennemann more for the significance than the performance, but she was solid in seeing off the world number 532 and looked emotional as she celebrated with her team-mates.
The triumph means Britain move forward to April’s qualifiers, where victory would see them reach the finals week by right for the first time.
Nicky Henderson further strengthened his hand in the novice hurdling division as Southoftheborder made a successful reappearance at Sandown.
The Seven Barrows handler has unleashed a number of exciting prospects already this month, with Willmount in particular making a big impression at Newbury on Thursday.
Southoftheborder was bought for £145,000 after winning an Irish point-to-point last year and looked the part on his bumper debut at Ffos Las in March.
The five-year-old was a prohibitively priced favourite for his return in the Tattersalls Tingle Creek Festival Sale Maiden Hurdle and was not hard pressed to score by two and a half lengths in the hands of Nico de Boinville.
The winner may return to Sandown for the Listed Betfair Claremont Novices’ Hurdle on December 9.
Henderson said: “We got him here last year at the sale at the Tingle Creek meeting following a recommendation from Derek O’Connor.
“He will be a proper horse as we have only taken half the wraps off him yet.
“I looked at it last night and I thought there looked like some decent opposition in there.
“You wouldn’t want to overdo this fellow, as he is big and you could wind him up too much. It is a case of going gently with him. Nico (de Boinville) said he was lovely and that he could run around again.
“I should think that (Listed race at the Tingle Creek meeting) is the sort of thing that we could look at and we could look at what was the Kennel Gate at Ascot for Willmount.”
Gary Moore’s Le Patron (11-2) made it two from two over fences with a bold front-running display of jumping in the Sri Lanka – The Wonder Of Asia Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase, with the trainer’s son Jamie steering him to a 10-length success.
“He got it all his own way out in front, but I’ll be quite honest, I’m amazed he won as easily as he did as he won a bad race at Fontwell and the runner-up has since been beaten in a 0-100,” said Gary Moore.
“His greatest asset is his jumping and what a place to bring a horse that jumps like he does. He never got out of second gear really.
“It has exceeded my expectations what he has done. There are some nice races you can come back here for – you could look at the Scilly Isles in February – and there is no better place to come for me.”
Dinoblue kicked off the new season as she finished the last with a determined victory in the Barberstown Castle Chase at Naas.
Runner-up when favourite for the Grand Annual at the Cheltenham Festival in March, the JP McManus-owned mare subsequently struck gold at Fairyhouse and Punchestown before enjoying a summer break.
The six-year-old was the 5-6 market leader for her reappearance in a Grade Three contest formerly known as the Poplar Square Chase and jumped and travelled with zest throughout in the hands of Mark Walsh.
Dinoblue’s stablemate Sir Gerhard was not done with when crashing out two fences from home, which left Fil Dor as her only serious threat.
The latter did his best to reel in the Willie Mullins-trained favourite on the run-in, but she was always doing enough to fend him off and passed the post with a length and three-quarters in hand.
“She jumped well and handled the ground well. It’s a nice start to the season and you couldn’t be happier with her,” said McManus’ racing manager, Frank Berry.
“I’m not sure what plans Willie has for her, but I’m sure there will be similar down the road.
“She was getting all the allowances there, which was a huge help. She will come on from the run and Mark was delighted with her.”
Marine Nationale’s chasing debut could be delayed until Leopardstown’s Christmas Festival due to the prevailing wet weather and testing conditions.
The six-year-old is unbeaten in five starts for owner-trainer Barry Connell and was last seen beating Facile Vega in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in March.
He is set to embark on a career over the larger obstacles this term and Connell had been considering a beginners chase at Navan next weekend as a starting point, but is now having a change of heart.
“I won’t run him at Navan if the ground is like this,” he said at Naas on Sunday.
“He’s ground dependent and I might wait until Leopardstown at Christmas. I don’t want to give him a grueller at the start of the season.
“He’s a light-framed horse and he’d be lost on that ground today.
“If we have to wait until Leopardstown at Christmas that’s fine, as he went to Cheltenham last year on the back of two runs, so that’s not a big issue.
“There is a two mile and one (furlong) beginners at Leopardstown and then he could go to the Dublin Racing Festival and Cheltenham.”
LeBron James is questionable for the Los Angeles Lakers' home game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday after suffering a left calf contusion, the team have announced.
James sustained the injury during the first quarter of Friday's 122-119 in-season tournament road win over the Phoenix Suns, taking a blow from Kevin Durant's knee as he drove to the basket.
The NBA's all-time leading points scorer received treatment on the bench, but composed himself to finish with 32 points, 11 rebounds and six assists as Los Angeles ended a three-game losing run.
However, James was seen limping after the win, which brought the curtain down on the Lakers' four-game road stretch, and he subsequently told reporters his shin was sore.
"It never loosened up," James said of his shin after Friday's game.
"[It] pretty much locked up right then and there. So I tried to keep my composure, make sure I was okay and try to keep it stretched out and as loose as possible and play the game and be effective.
"[It's] pretty sore right now. Obviously because the adrenaline is calming down and I've iced it, now it's pretty sore."
James was listed as questionable on the Lakers' injury report ahead of Portland's visit to Crypto.com Arena, while Anthony Davis and Jaxson Hayes were deemed as probable.
Injuries have hampered Los Angeles during an underwhelming start to the season, with Friday's victory lifting them to 4-5 after a run of three successive road losses against the Orlando Magic, Miami Heat and Houston Rockets.
Frederick Larson knew from the very beginning that Big Evs was an exceptional talent and the horse he has helped guide from raw novice to Breeders’ Cup champion provided the apprentice jockey with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when accompanying the star speedster to Santa Anita.
The son of Blue Point’s Breeders’ Cup heroics may have provided Mick Appleby with the finest moment of his training career but it was also the culmination of a long season’s work for the handler’s stable apprentice, who has taken on the responsibility of nurturing Big Evs and guiding him to the top of the sprinting tree.
It is a role that saw the 24-year-old on the plane to California to help put the finishing touches to the colt’s Breeders’ Cup preparations.
But the young jockey has been a permanent feature of the Big Evs story from the very first day the precocious youngster stepped foot into Appleby’s Rutland base.
“It’s always a pleasure to ride nice horses – and ones like him, they don’t come around often,” said Larson.
“We knew he was pretty special from early on and I’ve ridden him every day since we’ve had him. It’s just been nice to see the progression and he’s turned so professional, you can see the growth in him and in his mind as well.”
The majority of Larson’s 77 winners on the Flat have been aboard Appleby’s ever-expanding string, but the biggest success of his fledgling career came at York in the summer, when he expertly partnered Amy Murphy’s Pride Of America to the narrowest of John Smith’s Cup triumphs.
And it was when riding for the Newmarket-based handler in the spring that Larson first let the cat out of the bag that he might have unearthed something special back in Rutland.
Larson added: “I said to Amy Murphy one day in March when I was riding work on her two-year-olds that ‘I think I’ve just ridden the best horse I’ve ever ridden’.
“He was raw and he went and got beat first time out and we weren’t even disappointed. In fact, we were actually delighted because we knew that he would progress.
“We always knew he was special but to do what he’s done, and the way he did it at Royal Ascot and then to have to dig it out on heavy ground at Goodwood, that is the true sign of a true champion. To do it on any track and any ground, they have all come and tried and they have all been beaten.”
For some, the role of work rider to one of the most exciting juvenile prospects in Britain may prove too much, but Larson has relished the journey and, having been faultless in the build-up to his American assignment, he was simply keen for Big Evs to showcase his talent to the world on the biggest stage of all.
He added: “I never feel too much pressure when I’m riding in races myself, but it has been a weird feeling all year, just because I know how good he is and I wanted him to show how good I knew he was.
“I said to Mick when he came over, he’s not missed a beat since he’s arrived and for a two-year-old to handle everything the way he did is a credit to himself.
“I thought we were going there with a great chance and it sounds stupid now, but I would have been disappointed if he didn’t win because I knew how good he was.
“I know he got beaten in the Nunthorpe, but it is a different kettle of fish when he’s back taking on two-year-olds – and I’ve ridden a fair few two-year-olds in my time and knew he was special. I was just glad he turned up on the day.
“I have enjoyed getting him ready this year and he’s made life easy for me really, he’s just great.”
Larson was joined Stateside by Tara Belfield, Appleby’s head girl, who previously had only ventured as far as Ireland with a member of the Appleby string.
Having worked up from stable hand to her current position, she was entrusted with shuttling Big Evs across the Atlantic, something which proved a much simpler task than imagined, as the classy colt enjoyed one-on-one attention in the California sun.
She said: “I really enjoyed myself, it’s the first time I’ve taken one abroad – I’ve taken one to Ireland, but this was a bit different, it was 11 hours each way on a plane for a start.
“All in all, the horse travelled for about 24 hours and he was fine and he handled everything really well. He handled it like a pro.
“One-horse trips are very easy actually, we love a one-horse trip. There was two of us there and we got a holiday and Big Evs got all the love – well I would say he was loving it, but he’s a grumpy little sausage.”
Belfield sacrificed going on holiday to accompany Big Evs to the American West Coast, for a trip that was just a far-flung dream when first joining the team at The Homestead eight years ago.
“I was supposed to be on holiday with my other half but California took over,” she continued.
“When I started, we didn’t have half the horses and ones that were giving us these opportunities, so to have a horse like him on the yard and to go to places like the Breeders’ Cup is ridiculous.”
The enormity of the occasion eventually took its toll on Appleby’s weary travelling team and, after their champion was awarded his famous flower garland and received the adulations of the Santa Anita crowd, the need for some well-earned rest meant celebrations had to be delayed by 24 hours.
“The adrenaline ran out and it all just hit us,” Belfield added. “There is such a build-up and it just takes it out of you.
“Everything was going so well out there, everything that could have gone wrong didn’t and everything that we needed to go right did – it was just what we wanted. So we were expecting good things and I’m glad he won because we would have been disappointed if he didn’t.
“I think we were in bed for half seven that night, even the owners went for a meal and didn’t go out partying. We partied hard though the next day, so it was fine.”
Katie Boulter claimed her second win of the weekend against Sweden to put Great Britain in the ascendancy in their Billie Jean King Cup tie at London’s Copper Box.
The British number one confidently drew the hosts level on Saturday after Jodie Burrage’s shock defeat and then battled to a 6-1 7-6 (5) victory over Kajsa Rinaldo Persson in Sunday’s opening rubber.
Persson had won 12 of 13 games after trailing debutante Burrage 4-0 and really troubled Boulter in the second set, which she served for at 5-3.
But Boulter saved four set points and took her first match point in the tie-break to put Britain 2-1 ahead and within one win of claiming overall victory and maintaining their place at the elite level of the competition.
Boulter picked up where she had left off in a 6-2 6-1 win over Caijsa Hennemann by breezing through the first set but Persson, who played two tournaments in Britain to prepare for the tie, dug in well at the start of the second, with the pair swapping immediate breaks.
The Swede was again playing well above her lowly ranking of 372 and it appeared a deciding set was looming when Boulter’s timing went awry and Persson broke to lead 5-3.
She moved into a 40-0 lead trying to serve it out but Boulter benefited from a lucky net cord and then a nervy double fault from her opponent, going on to save a fourth set point before breaking back.
There was little to choose between them in the tie-break but Boulter played two strong points on her own serve from 4-5 and roared in celebration when Persson put a final shot wide.
Draymond Green was not surprised to be on the wrong end of a controversial call on Saturday as the Golden State Warriors forward was ejected from a 118-110 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Green was ejected in the third quarter of the game for two technical fouls, having been involved in a heated altercation with Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell with the Warriors already 10 points behind.
The four-time NBA champion forced Mitchell out of bounds with his shoulder, prompting the Cavs guard to chase him down and confront him moments later.
The players were separated but Green was subsequently penalised for his second technical of the game, with a review showing he elbowed Mitchell a couple of plays earlier.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr questioned the decision after the game, being unaware that the officials could call such a foul retroactively.
"I had never heard this rule, but apparently you can retroactively call a technical from two plays before upon review," Kerr said.
"There's a lot of plays I'd like to go back to from three years ago. It was bizarre."
Green's dismissal was his first of the season and the 17th of his NBA career (including playoff games), the most of any active player.
The 33-year-old believes his reputation played a part in the call, saying: "I am the same person that got suspended from the NBA Finals for flagrant fouls that were all called from after the game.
"Nothing surprises me."
The Warriors briefly rallied after Green's exit, outscoring Cleveland 31-16 in the third, though they were unable to sustain their momentum and fell to back-to-back defeats.
It meant Stephen Curry ended on the losing side despite reaching the milestone of 22,000 career NBA points, becoming the 35th player – and fifth active player – to do so with his game-high return of 30 points.
The two-time NBA MVP lamented the Warriors' slow start after the loss, saying: "It's a small sample size, but [we're] starting to set a pattern of getting off slow, and it's a problem we have to correct.
"But we're competitors. Holding them to 16 in the third shows we have it in us. We just have to do it and execute and come up with a better edge to start games."
Curry and his team are back in action on Sunday as the Minnesota Timberwolves visit Chase Center, and he is determined for them to respond and make their home advantage count.
"Just because we are home doesn't mean you just show up and win," Curry said.
"We usually respond well to this type of feeling when you lose, understanding what it takes to execute the details of our game plan against a certain team.
"That'll be the challenge for tomorrow, especially for that starting unit, to get off to a good start."
Love Envoi could be tasked with taking on the all-conquering Constitution Hill if making her return in Newcastle’s BetMGM Fighting Fifth Hurdle next month.
It was thought Harry Fry’s stable star would not be seen until the new year, having suffered an injury when racing at the Punchestown Festival in the spring.
However, having returned to training at Fry’s Dorset base, connections are keen to take their chance at Gosforth Park on December 2 providing the Noel Fehily Racing Syndicate-owned seven-year-old is giving the right signals in her homework.
“It is definitely a possibility and it was a race we earmarked when we got her back going this year,” said Fehily.
“Obviously, she got started a little bit later this year and Harry will see how she is training, and if he is happy with her, we may go there.
“It will be down to what Harry thinks, how she is doing and whether she is ready to go there. It will definitely be a decision that will be left until closer to the time, I would say.”
A Cheltenham Festival winner in her own right, taking on the reigning Champion Hurdle winner holds no fears for the Love Envoi team, with their eight-time scorer proving she is more than game for a battle with the best when a brave second to Honeysuckle at Prestbury Park in March.
“Constitution Hill looks exceptional but somebody has to finish second to him and hopefully it might be us,” continued Fehily.
“If you are not in, you can’t win, but she’s been a wonderful mare and we’ll only run if Harry is happy with her. If he is happy, we will take our chance and it is a great race to be involved in.”
Il Est Francais is bang on course for a tilt at the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day following another facile success in France.
A Grade One-winning hurdler last year for the training partnership of Noel George and Amanda Zetterholm, the five-year-old made a smart start to his career over fences at Auteuil in September.
Connections had already been planning a cross-Channel raid for later in the year – and he now looks set to make the trip over the Christmas period after successfully stepping up to Listed class with an 11-length victory in the hands of James Reveley.
“He did everything right today, he jumped perfect,” said the jockey on Sky Sports Racing.
“The ground is pretty bottomless and he went through that, so he’s done everything we’ve asked of him so far and next stop Kempton.
“At his age, he’s up there with the best I’ve ridden and he’s got everything that a champion needs to have.
“He’s yet to prove it on the track in Grade One company over fences but I think he’s capable of winning plenty more races.”
Il Est Francais prevailed on five of his six outings over hurdles, including the Prix Renaud du Vivier at elite level.
Trainer George was thrilled with this latest victory as a 1-5 favourite and has no fears about the obstacles at Kempton.
He said: “It’s never nice watching a horse when he’s that short a price favourite and he had to do it all himself in front and everything, but watching him just makes it a lot easier, he just does everything so effortlessly.
“He’s a very exciting horse. It was a first time over fences on ground that heavy and he’s done it very well, so there’s lots to look forward to.
“The sky’s the limit with him and he adapts very well; from the first day he jumped fences he took to it like a duck to water, he’s very natural in everything he does.”
Owner Richard Kelvin-Hughes said: “Good horses can go on any ground. We can all see that he would love better ground than this, but he can still do it on this ground, so it makes it very exciting.
“I don’t think he made one mistake and James rode a perfect ride on him. He’s just getting better and better and he’s so mature for a young horse, relatively.
“What a future – we’ve just got to look after him now!”
With regards to a trip to Kempton, he added: “That is very much on the cards.
“It will be slightly better ground there, I would have thought – and it will be interesting to see him against some of the English and Irish horses there, as well.”
Unquestionable and Orne recently gave Al Shaqab Racing a weekend to remember with big-race glory on both sides of the Atlantic and are now fuelling plenty of dreams ahead of next season.
Trained by Aidan O’Brien, Unquestionable was getting on the scoresheet for the first time at the highest level as he carried the Al Shaqab colours to a maiden Breeders’ Cup victory in the Juvenile Turf.
The dust had barely begun to settle on his Santa Anita triumph when the John and Thady Gosden-trained Orne provided the owners with further reason to cheer, relishing the testing ground at Newmarket in the rearranged Horris Hill to give Al Shaqab a belated first stakes-level victory in Britain for 2023.
Al Shaqab’s Alison Begley said: “To have a Breeders’ Cup winner was absolutely fantastic and the first for Al Shaqab, so it was amazing, and then to follow up with Orne just over 12 hours later made it just a brilliant weekend for the whole team.
“They are both two-year-olds, so it gives us plenty to look forward to next year and it makes the winter a lot shorter when you have nice ones to look forward to.
“It was an amazing weekend and fantastic for Sheikh Joaan to have his first Breeders’ Cup winner.”
It is now feasible that both horses will have Classic aspirations in the early part of the 2024 season, with Unquestionable potentially returning to ParisLongchamp for the French 2,000 Guineas, where he could have the opportunity to go one better than his gallant second at the track in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere.
“I think with Unquestionable, Aidan has mentioned the French Guineas because he ran so well at Longchamp in the Lagardere,” added Begley.
“There’s a long way to go but he thinks that will probably be the race for him and that was the first one that was mentioned.
“He said we’ll train him for the Classics and the French Guineas will probably be the race for him.”
Meanwhile, having put himself firmly in the Guineas picture with victory over seven furlongs on the Rowley Mile, Orne could put his Classic credentials to the test in one of the many early-season trials.
Begley said: “We’ll have to sit down with John and discuss where we go with Orne. It may be a Guineas trial but we haven’t thought that far ahead with him yet.
“He’s a lovely horse and still very babyish. Rab (Havlin) rides him all the time at home and said he still doesn’t really realise he is a racehorse and is learning all the time. He can only go forward from where he is.”
British fighter Tom Aspinall needed little over a minute to become the UFC interim heavyweight champion, despite having just two weeks to get ready for his bout with Sergei Pavlovich.
The 30-year-old knocked out his Russian opponent in just 69 seconds with a punishing series of blows at UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden.
Aspinall, who becomes just the third Briton to become UFC world champion, only got the call-up for the fight on October 25 after defending champion Jon Jones suffered a serious injury and pulled out of his contest against Stipe Miocic.
The Salford fighter said on TNT Sports: “It has been a crazy two and a half weeks.
“I want to tell everyone at home, If you ever get the chance to do something and you’re scared to do it, you should just do it.
“He’s a scary guy. I’ve never been so scared in my life but I have power too and I believed in myself.
“I’ve worked so hard over the years and no one has worked harder than my father so this belt is dedicated to him.
“I was struggling with the distance a little bit but we got there in the end.”
Brayden Schenn and Pavel Buchnevich each notched a hat trick and the St. Louis Blues rolled to an 8-2 drubbing of the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.
Schenn’s hat trick was the fourth of his career and first since 2017 and Buchnevich tallied his third.
They became the third pair of teammates in franchise history to record hat tricks in the same game. It last happened in 1986.
Alexey Toropchenko and Torey Krug also scored for the Blues and Jordan Binnington made 36 saves to help St. Louis win for the fourth time in five games.
Alexander Georgiev started and gave up six goals on 28 shots before he was replaced by Ivan Prosvetov early in the third period.
Colorado coach Jared Bednar remained one win shy of 300.
Maple Leafs’ Nylander extends point streak in win
William Nylander scored to extend his franchise-record season-opening point streak to 15 games as the Toronto Maple Leafs cooled off the Vancouver Canucks, 5-2.
Noah Gregor had a goal and an assist and Ilya Samsonov stopped 31 shots as Toronto won for the third time in four games following a four-game skid (0-2-2).
Nylander tallied his 10th goal of the season in the second period to forge a 2-2 tie and Gregor’s goal with 5:38 left in the period put the Leafs on top for good.
Nylander has 22 points during his streak and ranks among the NHL scoring leaders.
Vancouver got goals from J.T. Miller and Pius Suter as its five-game winning streak was snapped. The Canucks dropped to 8-1-1 in their last 10 games.
Penguins down Sabres for fourth straight win
Erik Karlsson scored twice and Tristan Jarry had a shutout in his return from injury to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to their fourth consecutive win, 4-0 over the Buffalo Sabres.
Evgeni Malkin and Drew O’Connor also scored for the Penguins, who have outscored opponents 20-5 during the four-game run after losing five of six.
Jarry made 35 saves for his third shutout of the season and 16th of his career. He missed Thursday’s game at Los Angeles with a facial injury.
Donovan Mitchell got the best of the Warriors and Draymond Green, collecting 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists on a night Green was ejected in a 118-110 win over Golden State on Saturday.
Green was tossed at the 6:23 mark of the third quarter with eight points, five rebounds and four assists.
Green pushed Mitchell with his shoulder and sent him out of bounds as Cleveland’s Caris LeVert drove for a layup. Moments later, Green was bringing the ball up court and Mitchell chased him down and instigated a heated altercation.
LeVert scored 22 points, Darius Garland had 19 points, six rebounds, four assists and five steals and Evan Mobley had 19 points and two of his team’s season-high 13 steals.
Stephen Curry scored 30 points to lead Golden State, which lost both matchups this season with Cleveland.
Short-handed Heat handle Hawks
Bam Adebayo had 26 points with 17 rebounds and Jaime Jaquez Jr. added a career-high 20 points to lead the depleted Miami Heat to their fourth straight win, 117-109 over the Atlanta Hawks.
Kyle Lowry scored 17 points, Josh Richardson had 16 and Duncan Robinson contributed 11 in his first start of the season.
Miami played without two of its top three scorers, with Tyler Herro (sprained right ankle) missing his first game and Jimmy Butler absent for personal reasons.
Trae Young led the Hawks with 27 points and 11 assists, while Dejounte Murray scored 23.
The Hawks hung around and were within 115-109 after Young made two free throws with 51 seconds left, but Lowry sank a pair from the line and Young missed a 3-pointer with 22 seconds left.
Magic end 14-game losing streak to Bucks
Paolo Banchero tallied 26 points and 12 rebounds and the Orlando Magic snapped a string of 14 consecutive losses to the Milwaukee Bucks with a 112-97 victory.
Franz Wagner scored 24 points and Mo Wagner added 19 off the bench for Orlando, which defeated Milwaukee at home for the first time since March 14, 2018.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 35 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as the Bucks played their second straight game without Damian Lillard (sore left calf).
Philadelphia 76ers forward Kelly Oubre Jr. was hit by a motor vehicle in Center City, Philadelphia on Saturday night and has been hospitalized in stable condition, a team spokesman announced.
Oubre is expected to miss significant time due to his injuries, but those aren’t considered to be season-ending. Local authorities are investigating the incident.
Team representatives, including 76ers President Daryl Morey are with Oubre Jr. at the hospital.
The 27-year-old Oubre Jr. was walking near his residence when struck, the spokesman said.
Oubre Jr. was signed by the 76ers as a free agent in September and is averaging 16.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals in eight games this season.
He has been a key contributor for a Philadelphia team that has won seven straight and leads the Eastern Conference with a 7-1 record.
Originally drafted by Atlanta in 2015, Oubre Jr. has also played for Washington, Phoenix, Golden State and Charlotte.
After a fairly decent showing on day one action, Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls will be hoping to return to winning ways on the second and decisive day of the Fast5 Netball World Series, as they push for a medal in Christchurch, New Zealand on Saturday.
The Jamaicans, who defeated Australia 38-36 and Malawi 41-37 courtesy of some classy long-range shooting from goal-attack Gezelle Allison, failed to go unbeaten on the day, after being hammered by South Africa in a 17-33 loss.
Still, they remain on course for a spot in the medal round with only New Zealand, Australia and England –all of whom also had two wins and a loss –ahead of them on goal difference.
With that in mind, Shawn Murdock, is cautiously optimistic that the Sunshine Girls will achieve the feat, though they are scheduled to face two tough opponents in New Zealand and England.
“As always when we face England and New Zealand it’s never an easy encounter. The English showed some fight yesterday and they are perhaps our biggest rivals internationally over the years; New Zealand are playing at home and are still smarting from their World Cup performance.
“So I expect the home crowd and their hurt from their World Cup campaign to be major factors for them. So we just have to control the controllable from our end and ensure we are scoring goals consistently and our defenders are winning balls to provide more opportunities for us,” Murdock told SportsMax.TV.
“As you know, five doesn’t go in three, so it’s game on for a place in the medal matches. Still a major mountain to climb as five of the six teams are all in a position to still make the gold medal match. Only two can make it though, and so I expect all the teams to come battling hard today,” he added.
Jamaica’s day one performance already represents a significant step up from last year’s outing when they failed to win a single game. For that, Murdock, who is co-coaching with Nicole Aikin-Pinnock, expressed pleasure with the team’s display on Friday’s opening day.
“We are pleased with the performance of the ladies. We are from a country that loves winning so we were disappointed we never got three victories yesterday because that would have placed us in prime position heading into the two other matches today. We, however, are proud of how the ladies have performed so far,” he said.
Much like she did against the Australian Diamonds, Allison again scored a last-ditched six-pointer, to lift the Jamaicans over Malawi, in a contest where their East African counterparts lead for most of the way.
Sloppy ball handling by the Jamaicans, who led the first quarter 12-6, allowed Malawi to assert their authority from the second stanza onward.
It wasn’t until the backend of the third quarter that they started a rally and with a mere two points separating the teams in the closing stages of the fourth, Allison came up trumps with another big six-pointer in the powerplay seconds to end with 24 goals.
Captain and veteran goal-shooter Romelda Aiken-George scored 13 goals from 12 attempts, while Amanda Pinkney and Rhea Dixon both scored two goals.
However, they failed to repeat the heroics of their two earlier wins, as their shooting returns ran cold against a plucky South African team that burst their bubble.
Despite that, Murdock and his Sunshine Girls know a win over England and, or New Zealand would all put them in the final two.
“The mood heading into day two action is very positive. Of course there was a level of sadness from the ladies not being able to secure all three wins last evening, but we’ve placed that loss and yesterday behind us.
“It’s a new day, all teams start again, so we are focusing on trying to replicate or do better than how we performed in our first match yesterday. The game is about scoring goals, and so we’ve done what we can to ensure our shooters and the overall team got enough recovery to face the day ahead,” the coach shared.
Action is scheduled for 5:45pm Jamaica time.
Live coverage will be on SportsMax and SportsMax 2
New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas was arrested Friday night and faces charges for simple battery and criminal mischief.
Thomas, 30, was arrested without incident after a confrontation with a construction worker near his home and was released late Friday night, police said.
Thomas is expected to travel with the team and play in Sunday’s game in Minnesota, multiple media outlets reported Saturday.
The Saints have not issued a statement about Thomas’ availability Sunday, saying only that the team is “aware of the incident and we are gathering information.”
According to police, Thomas was upset that a construction crew working on a nearby property had parked in front of his home. A construction worker told police that Thomas yelled at him and “verbally threatened to harm him.”
Thomas then threw a brick at the worker’s truck, police said, and knocked the man’s phone out of his hand so he would not be recorded on video.
A two-time All-Pro, Thomas has 38 catches for 439 yards this season, playing in each of the Saints’ nine games. The 2019 Offensive Player of the Year played in just 10 combined games in 2020-22 due to various injuries.
Katie Boulter backed “tough cookie” Jodie Burrage to bounce back from her nightmare Billie Jean King Cup debut.
Burrage has established herself as British number two this season and her first call-up for her country was long awaited but she collapsed under the weight of the occasion, losing 12 of the last 13 games against Sweden’s Kajsa Rinaldo Persson, who is ranked nearly 300 places lower than her.
The 6-4 6-1 scoreline was all the more disappointing given Burrage won the opening four games, and it put Britain in a difficult spot in a tie for which they are overwhelming favourites.
They ended the first day at London’s Copper Box level at 1-1 thanks to Boulter, who produced another convincing display in the competition, beating Caijsa Hennemann 6-2 6-1.
Boulter said of her good friend’s disappointment: “It’s part of tennis. There’s always going to be matches that we win and some that we lose and I think how you pick yourself up is what’s going to define you.
“She’s a tough cookie, I can assure you, she’s been through a lot of surgeries, she’s been through a lot of tough moments and she knows how to pick herself up.
“The girl played very, very well and we’ve got a battle going into tomorrow. They’re going to have a swing, they’ve got no pressure at all. We’re going to fight our little hearts out for it.”
Rankings often are not a great indicator of success in this competition and Burrage is far from the first player to fail to handle the occasion, but even by those standards this was some collapse.
She made 23 unforced errors in the first set alone, often missing by feet rather than inches as Persson reeled off eight games in a row.
Burrage fought back tears as she said: “I’m very proud to represent my country, I’m very disappointed that I didn’t get everyone a win today. That is going to stick with me for a while.
“It’s tough to take. I have not felt like this, and even the nerves before, ever, even stepping out onto Centre Court doesn’t compare to this.
“It’s so different when you’re playing for a team. That type of pressure I’ve never really understood before, and I don’t think you ever do until you do it. That’s why it hurts even more because I’m hurting for other people.”
Whether Burrage gets a chance to make amends on Sunday must be highly questionable, with captain Anne Keothavong also able to call upon the more experienced Harriet Dart or Heather Watson.
“Jodie’s earned the right to go out there,” said Keothavong. “She’s had a fantastic year. It’s going to be a tough one for her to take but she’s got to find a way to bounce back if she’s going to keep putting herself in positions for selection.
“As a former player, I feel for her. That court can feel really small. For that to happen in front of a home crowd, it’s a tough one for her to take, but she will bounce back and she will learn from this.”
Britain must win two of the three rubbers on Sunday to secure victory and maintain their position at the elite level of the competition.
Swedish captain Johanna Larsson, who is without her top two players because of injury, was quick to emphasise that all the pressure is on Britain.
“I would expect her to say that, and she’s right,” said Keothavong. “We’ve got some work to do tomorrow. Tonight we have to keep the positivity high and remember why we’re all here.”
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