The Toronto Maple Leafs and Team USA are catching a break with news that forward Auston Matthews won’t be out long after leaving Tuesday’s game with a lower-body injury.
Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said on Thursday he hopes the team captain will be out ‘a week, maybe.’
Matthews was hit from behind into the boards by Nikita Zadorov and later went down the ice to check the Bruins defenseman.

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Team USA are catching a break with news that forward Auston Matthews won’t be out long after leaving Tuesday’s game with a lower-body injury.

Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said Thursday, Nov. 13 he hopes the team captain will be out ‘a week, maybe.’

Matthews, who was one of the first six players named to the U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team, went hard into the boards after he was checked from behind by Boston Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov during the second period of the Nov. 11 game. The center got up, skated down the ice, checked the defenseman and lost his balance. Matthews also was hit by a cleared puck right before he checked Zadorov.

The Maple Leafs later announced that Matthews would not return to the game.

Auston Matthews injury update

Berube said it’s possible Matthews could return earlier than a week.

‘It’s just one of these things he could come in a couple days from now and feeling a lot better and hopefully he’s good to go, but we’ll see,’ he told reporters. ‘But it could be as long as a week.’

Berube also said goalie Anthony Stolarz (upper body) is day-to-day. The team recalled goalie Artur Akhtyamov.

On the original Zadorov hit on Matthews, Berube said Tuesday, ‘I think it’s a penalty, personally, but I’m not the referee. I don’t like it. I don’t like the hit. It’s a vulnerable position.’

Zadorov, known for his physical play, told reporters about his perspective on the hit.

‘It was just a normal play,’ he said Tuesday. ‘I didn’t really hit him. I hit my right shoulder, 99% of my hits in the NHL are with my right shoulder.

‘I’m not sure what hit he got hurt (on). Is it like when he went after me again and I counter-hit him? Or maybe when I cleared the puck, I hit him with the puck. … There was really no intention to hurt him. I play hard against top players on the other team, that’s my job.’

U.S. Olympic team injuries

Matthews is the fourth of the first six players named to the U.S. Olympic team to have been injured since the announcement.

Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk had offseason hernia surgery. Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk had thumb surgery in October. Both remain out but are expected back before the Olympics in February. Matthew could begin the on-ice portion of his recovery in two weeks, Panthers coach Paul Maurice said Thursday.

Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes missed four games with a lower body injury but returned in early November. He left Tuesday’s game after an injury scare but returned. He’s day-to-day, coach Adam Foote said.

Vegas Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel and Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy also were named to the U.S. team.

Final rosters are due on Dec. 31.

Currently riding a seven-game winning streak that is tied for the best in the NFL − as is their 8-2 record − the New England Patriots pretty clearly don’t need a nor’easter to suddenly blow in from the Atlantic Ocean in order to ground the New York Jets when they meet on ‘Thursday Night Football’ on Prime Video.

Yet ‘Nor’easter’ is going to be a theme for this contest regardless as the Pats, who are 13-point favorites, per BetMGM, become the fourth team this season to take the field in their new ‘Rivalries’ uniforms conceived by Nike. They are designed to pay homage to New England’s infamous weather, nautical history and proud football lineage.

What’s new about the Patriots’ ‘Rivalries’ uniforms?

The Pats’ new jerseys will feature a predominantly ‘Storm Blue’ colorway, which looks like something of a compromise between the club’s traditional blue muted by gray and is symbolic of the regional fog. A new ‘NE’ logo on the sleeves serves as a clean double entendre. Silver striping on the shoulders and pants is meant to represent beams from a lighthouse, like the one built into Gillette Stadium’s superstructure and also have an embedded netting pattern in honor of the area’s fishermen. Six red stars embroidered around the jersey’s neckline represent New England’s six states and the organization’s half-dozen (for now) Lombardi Trophies.

‘We Are All Patriots,’ famously proclaimed by owner Robert Kraft following the Patriots’ first Super Bowl win in 2002 − just months after the Sept. 11 attacks − is stitched inside the collar. The jersey numbers are perforated as a callback to the uniforms the Patriots used in the 1990s, when Drew Bledsoe was the quarterback and Bill Parcells the head coach. The matte white helmets and silver facemasks are a tribute to the snow and ice that typically blankets that part of the country in wintertime.

What are NFL ‘Rivalries’ uniforms by Nike?

Think of them as the football version of the sports apparel company’s NBA ‘City Edition’ uniforms or Major League Baseball’s ‘City Connect’ jerseys. Signaled during the NFL draft and unveiled in August, Nike has strived to create something that further strengthens NFL teams’ bonds to their unique civic environments. And, as “rivalries” would suggest, all of them will be worn in intra-divisional matchups.

‘The 2025 Rivalries uniforms will celebrate storied local traditions and unite fan communities with designs unique to select cities and teams,” Nike announced during the rollout.

‘The designs are rooted extensively in the legacies and inspirations true to each team, serving as authentic, competitive expressions of community pride while giving athletes and fans an opportunity to connect like never before.’

Which NFL teams have ‘Rivalries’ uniforms?

Eventually all of them. But for 2025, each team in the AFC East and NFC West is scheduled to wear its “Rivalries” unis one time this season. Two additional divisions will be added to the rotation in each of the next three seasons, and the “Rivalries” option then becomes part of a team’s closet for the following three years.

When will NFL teams wear ‘Rivalries’ uniforms in 2025?

 Los Angeles Rams: Nov. 16 vs. Seattle Seahawks

 New England Patriots: Nov. 13 vs. New York Jets

 New York Jets: Dec. 7 vs. Miami Dolphins

 San Francisco 49ers: Jan. 4, 2026 vs. Seattle Seahawks

 Seattle Seahawks: Dec. 18 vs. Los Angeles Rams

LAS VEGAS — The San Diego Padres, who are about $300 million in debt, are exploring the possibility of selling the franchise, the team announced Thursday at the end of the GM Meetings.

The potential sale comes two years nearly to the day, Nov. 14, 2023, that owner Peter Seidler died.

“The family has decided to begin a process of evaluating our future with the Padres, including a potential sale of the franchise,” Padres chairman John Seidler, the older brother of Peter, said in a statement. “We will undertake this process with integrity and professionalism in a way that honors Peter’s legacy and love for the Padres and lays the foundation for the franchise’s long-term success.

“During the process and as we prepare for the 2026 season, the Padres will continue to focus on its players, employees, fans, and community while putting every resource into winning a World Series championship. We remain fully committed to this team, its fans, and the San Diego community.”

The news of the sale was expected by MLB officials and owners considering that the team was in debt, even with their 3.4 million in attendance last season, second only to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The team, which was sold for $800 million in 2012, is now worth an estimated $1.9 billion, according to Forbes, but the timing may not be ideal considering the Padres lost their local TV contract and the collective bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 1, 2026.

The current ownership group of about 10 people or entities assumed control of the team in 2012, but Sheel Seidler, Peter Seidler’s widow, filed a lawsuit in January challenging control of the team. Yet, John Seidler, trustee of his brother’s trust, was approved as the Padres’ ownership group in February.

The Padres say that the potential sale will not affect their team or budget this season, but rival owners and GMs believe that the Padres will eventually have no choice but to shred their payroll in the future, including a potential trade of All-Star right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. or another player with a long-term contract. T

he Padres say they won’t trade Tatis this winter, but he is owed about $290 million with nine years remaining on his contract. They also owe All-Star third baseman Manny Machado about $298 million over the next eight seasons and shortstop Xander Bogaerts $203 million over eight years.

The Padres have been one of baseball’s most successful franchises in recent years, reaching the postseason in four of the last six seasons. They last reached the World Series in 1998 but have never won the title.

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As Washington goalkeeper Tanner Ijams prepared for a shootout against Michigan State in the 2025 Big Ten championship on Nov. 9, the sophomore asked herself a simple question: What would Mia Hamant do?

Hamant was the Huskies goalkeeper last season, but her budding soccer career was tragically cut short by a rare and aggressive form of Stage 4 kidney cancer. Hamant, 21, died Thursday, Nov. 6, three days before the Big Ten championship match.

Ijams took over as Washington’s starting keeper this season following Hamant’s diagnosis. As Michigan State players lined up to take their penalty kicks, Ijams was confident the Huskies would win.

‘(Hamant) has a really, really good way of reading which way the striker is going, and it definitely helped me a lot in those moments,’ Ijams told USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday. ‘She was always so supportive of me and teaching me little techniques and little tricks that she does to just be a better keeper. So she definitely shared so much of her knowledge with me, and she’s such an amazing keeper.’

MIA HAMANT: Washington goalkeeper dies from kidney cancer at 21

The moment the Huskies punched their NCAA Tournament ticket felt eerily similar to last season, when Hamant earned Big Ten All-Tournament honors after making three saves in a quarterfinal penalty shootout victory over Iowa to advance.

‘It was only fitting that we finished that game with penalties,’ said Washington coach Nicole Van Dyke, whose No. 4 seeded Huskies play Montana Friday, Nov. 14 (10 p.m. ET, ESPN+). ‘I felt like we had won it before we even started the penalties.

‘I could see Mia (Hamant) giving a few fist pumps in that and screaming from the sidelines because for a goalkeeper to be at the heart of that moment is something pretty special for this team.’

‘Mia (Hamant) continued to show up’

Hamant was coming off a career-best junior season at Washington, where she ranked third in the nation in save percentage (0.882), before she received the diagnosis in April. Hamant had Stage 4 SMARCB1-deficient kidney cancer. A GoFundMe organized by teammate Lucy Newlin’s mom, Kim Newlin, said the form of cancer Hamant was diagnosed with was so rare that ‘many medical facilities may only see a single case per year.’

Hamant sat out her senior season to undergo treatment, but was never far from her teammates or the game she loved. She was there the first day of practice, when the Huskies laid out their season goals, Van Dyke said. She was at every home game. She was only a FaceTime call away when the team was the road. The team celebrated Hamant’s 21st birthday together in July with games of Tic, Tac, Toss, Perfection and Tapple.

‘Mia continued to show up,’ Van Dyke said. ‘I think her connection and the connection she has with her teammates never left from the second she was diagnosed. If she could be here, she was here.’

Following a seven-month battle with cancer, which she documented on her Instagram account @miakickscancer, Hamant lost her fight. The devastating news came shortly after the Huskies’ 2-1 Big Ten tournament semifinal win over No. 15 Wisconsin on Nov. 6 in St. Louis, Missouri, at Energizer Park.

Van Dyke had the impossible task of telling her team, gathering players and families that traveled for the tournament. The coach said she ‘couldn’t be more grateful’ for the families, staff and university’s ‘team effort of wrapping their arms around our team.’

‘Everyone was going through the exact same thing, all together as a team,’ Ijams said, ‘and we were able to really look at each other and say, ‘Hey, we can feel everything that we need to feel. We can let everything out.’ And that’s exactly what we did that night that we found out. We cried together, we sobbed together, we reminisced on moments with her together and really just contributed to the team spirit.’

The Huskies prioritized connectedness on Friday, leaving space for players to process and grieve the loss of their teammate and friend. ‘We did things that every high caliber soccer team wants to do. We went to Target. We went and had Chick-fil-A,’ Van Dyke said. The Big Ten championship game was days away, but that didn’t matter in the moment. ‘One thing that we could control was just spending more time together.’

Van Dyke pulled seniors Lucy Newlin, Kelsey Branson and Kolo Suliafu aside to ask a question she knew may sound ridiculous to the competitive group: Do you want to play in the championship on Sunday?

‘Before all the words are even coming out of her mouth, our heads are nodding up and down,’ Newlin said. ‘We’re looking at each other with incredulous looks on our faces. But everyone on this team wanted to play and wanted to win for the person next to them, for Mia (Hamant), for the support staff, for the coaches, for everyone who’s gotten us to this point because we’ve had an incredible season so far. So why wouldn’t we just go on and win the whole thing?’

They wanted to finish what they started when they set their goals, with Hamant, on the first day of practice.

‘They knew that that’s what (Hamant) would want,’ Van Dyke added. ‘And that’s what she will continue to want for this team, is for the team to be successful and the team to pursue their goals because they’re not just their goals, they are Mia’s goals, and they’re always her goals.’

Huskies rally through grief

Hamant’s presence was alive at the Big Ten championship, and her team ‘felt her in a thousand ways,’ Newlin said. The Huskies listened to a playlist curated by Hamant in the locker room before the game. Her No. 00 jersey was draped on the bench during the match and the team was greeted by a beautiful orange sunset (Mia ‘was a big fan of sunsets’) that matched the color of the bows in their hair. (Orange is the official color of kidney cancer awareness.)

‘Songs would come up that I haven’t heard since I listened to them with (Hamant) for the first time, and she’s there … back with us,’ Newlin recalled. ‘We step on the field and the sun comes out from behind the clouds and shines directly on us where we’re standing as we’re doing the captain’s meeting. And she’s there in every moment, conscious or not, we know she’s there with us.’

Despite being ‘physically, emotionally, mentally tired,’ the Huskies were fueled by Hamant. Van Dyke’s final message before her team took the pitch: ‘There’s no result, win, lose, or draw that reflects how much we loved Mia (Hamant).’

Senior forward Kalea Eichenberger got the Huskies on the board less than four minutes into the match and pointed to an orange wristband she was wearing in honor of Hamant. Michigan State’s Kayla Briggs converted a penalty kick in the 11th minute to tie the match at 1. After two scoreless overtime periods, it was fitting the match came down to penalty kicks, a scenario Hamant loved.

‘I definitely felt Mia’s presence in that moment,’ Ijams said. ‘(Hamant) is someone that I share that love of PKS with. She’s been super passionate about it. … We’ve both talked about the fact that a lot of people think we’re a little insane for it, but we love penalty kicks. So the second that final whistle blew, I knew I needed to use momentum to our advantage.’

The sophomore keeper turned up the energy and made two PK saves, adding to her career-high six saves. When the match was over, all the emotions and grief the team had pushed aside flooded back. Tears were shed, a Big Ten championship trophy was hoisted and their trip the NCAA Tournament was booked.

‘You can see just how far (Ijams’) confidence has come, how much belief she has in herself, and how much trust she has in her teammates and how much trust they have in her,’ Van Dyke said. ‘I think that’s the turning point for a goalkeeper is when the team trusts you to the utmost.

‘We wanted to make sure that (Ijams) understood that she doesn’t need to fill anybody’s shoes. You don’t need to be Mia (Hamant), you just need to be yourself.’

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Longtime New York Post hockey columnist Larry Brooks died Thursday, Nov. 13 of cancer, the newspaper announced.

Brooks, 75, had received the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Elmer Ferguson Award for writing in 2018.

Brooks spent 38 years with the Post, covering the New York Islanders, Rangers and New Jersey Devils and writing a weekly, must-read Sunday ‘Slapshots’ column providing insider information around the league. He also worked on the other side of the hockey aisle, serving as vice president of communications for the Devils for 10 years between stints at the Post.

‘Throughout my career he was always there, asking questions,’ Hall of Fame goaltender Henrik Lundqvist posted on social media. ‘I had many conversations with Larry Brooks, almost daily about my game, the Rangers and the game as a whole. I respected his knowledge a ton. Thank you Larry for your commitment to the game, you will be missed. RIP.’

Brooks was considered tough and honest in his writing and opinions, especially on league matters, but he also served as a mentor to younger reporters who were breaking into the business.

He also fought for more access for journalists as president of the Professional Hockey Writers Association from 2001-03.

‘Larry didn’t pull punches and when you read his work, you always knew where he stood,’ NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. ‘He was a staunch advocate for the players and for the reporters who cover the game.’

Brooks and Rangers coach John Tortorella had a famed feud during media scrums. But the Post reported in its obituary that the feud had been long settled and that Tortorella had reached out to Brooks during the week before he died.

Brooks received hockey journalism’s highest honor with the Elmer Ferguson Award.

‘When I was PHWA president, I had the honor of informing him he had won the Elmer Ferguson Award and was going into the Hall,’ wrote Sportsnet’s Mark Spector. ‘When he choked up, I thought, ‘How can this come as a surprise to a guy as accomplished as Larry?’

‘But it did, because deep down he was always just a hockey beat writer. One of the best that ever typed in a lede.”

“Baylor Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Mack Rhoades is on a leave of absence for personal reasons, effective November 12,’ a statement from the school said. The University will decline to comment further at this time.”

It’s unclear how it’ll affect Rhoades’ status as chair of the College Football Playoff selection committee. Rhoades initiated the leave, which started Wednesday, Nov. 12, according to Yahoo Sports.

The College Football Playoff also confirmed that Rhoades would step away from his role.

The news comes on the heels of multiple reports citing Rhoades was involved in a recent altercation with Baylor tight end Michael Trigg, although those reports note the personal leave is separate from the incident. Rhoades was recently investigated by the school for having an issue with Trigg’s gold-colored long sleeve undershirt ahead of the Bears’ game against Arizona State on Sept. 20.

Rhoades has been Baylor’s athletic director since 2016, after he was hired away from Missouri, where he was athletic director from 2015-16. He was also athletic director at Houston (2009-15) and Akron (2006-09).

The College Football Playoff committee will have to find a new chairman with Rhoades departure. Rhoades has explained the committee’s process on ESPN after each of the first two playoff rankings releases on Nov. 4 and Nov. 11.

The CFP committee has already been operating down a member, with Randall McDaniel stepping away for the 2025-26 season.