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The New Jersey Devils will be waiting on bated breath over the next 48 hours to get a clearer picture of the injury sustained by defenseman Simon Nemec in the Olympic qualifier event earlier Friday between Slovakia and Hungary. Beat reporter James Nichols quickly reported that the prognosis was good as Team Slovakia’s doctor does not believe anything is broken or dislocated but more tests will be run Saturday.
It does not appear that Nemec will be out long term without a break or dislocation so he should still be in line to start the year on time with New Jersey. The play in question took place in the back half of the second period with Nemec colliding into the corner boards with a player from Team Hungary which precluded him from participating in the rest of Friday’s action. Team Slovakia went on to win the game by a score of 7-3 and will take on Team Kazakhstan to advance.
The young Slovakian defenseman is on the eve of starting his sophomore campaign at the NHL on the heels of a solid rookie season. Nemec played in 60 games for the Devils last year and put up three goals and 19 points overall. He wasn’t a game-changer on the back end, nor a liability — which is more than many 19-year-olds can say about their first taste of NHL action. New Jersey will be hoping for more on both sides of the puck but it is already apparent they trust him as he finished fourth on the team in average ice time in 5-on-5 play.
The Devils may be able to gear down Nemec’s responsibilities for the 2024-25 season after a few key free-agent additions on the back end. The organization could slot Nemec into a more comfortable role on the bottom-pairing next to Brenden Dillon to give him more room to grow.
New Jersey can’t afford to lose as many defensemen as they did last year to injury; this news is a major avoidance of that. Luke Hughes was the only defenseman on the roster last season available to play in all 82 games and the man-games lost to injury had a major part in their 31-point drop in the standings year-on-year.
More must-reads:
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Golden Knights Linked to Flames' Rasmus Andersson
The Vegas Golden Knights already won the biggest prize of the NHL offseason, landing star forward Mitch Marner in a sign-and-trade deal. Marner was the biggest fish on the free agent market, and Vegas quickly worked to get a deal done to land him. But it seems that the Golden Knights may not be content with the roster this offseason continues. Vegas wants to get back to competing for Stanley Cup titles, and it has the front office very active in different talks. One name that has circulated around trade rumors this summer is star defenseman Rasmus Andersson of the Calgary Flames. The two sides have been discussing a potential new contract, but it seems that the talks haven't been going very well. This has led to speculation rising around a possible trade of the defender. And it seems that the Golden Knights have been mentioned as a landing spot. NHL insider David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period mentioned Vegas in a recent piece, linking the two sides. There have been multiple other teams linked with the Flames star, but Vegas could make sense as a trade partner. Andersson wants to be paid for his production, and Vegas has been willing to pay sars what they are worth in the past. This could be a win-win for each side, with Calgary likely netting some strong future assets in return. Last season with the Flames, Andersson posted 11 goals and 20 assists over 81 games played. His offensive production to the blueline could drastically help Vegas, giving them more firepower to work with. If Vegas were to trade for the defender, it could completely change the outlook for this team. The Golden Knights seem to be all-in on going after another title, and adding to the blueline could be one way to make it happen.
NFL, ESPN agree to two expansive non-binding agreements
Despite the day belonging to ESPN and its reporters, it was Mark Maske of The Washington Post who broke the news first. Per Maske, the NFL and Disney-owned ESPN have completed the long-rumored deal, giving ESPN NFL Network and certain other media assets (including RedZone and NFL Fantasy) in exchange for 10% equity stake in ESPN. The second non-binding agreement, per Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic, sees the NFL license to ESPN certain NFL content and intellectual property to be used by NFL Network and other assets. “Today’s announcement paves the way for the world’s leading sports media brand and America’s most popular sport to deliver an even more compelling experience for NFL fans, in a way that only ESPN and Disney can,” CEO of The Walt Disney Company Roger Iger said in a statement released by ESPN’s Lily Blum. He continued, “Commissioner (Roger Goodell) and the NFL have built outstanding media assets, and these transactions will add to consumer choice, provide viewers with even greater convenience and quality, and expand the breadth and value proposition of Disney’s streaming ecosystem.” Given ESPN’s streaming abilities — through multiple streaming apps such as ESPN Watch, ESPN+, Hulu and Disney+ — the agreements should make available lots of content exclusive to the NFL and NFL Network available in multiple formats in addition to the usual cable and satellite option. The statement also cites an additional platform in what they’re calling “ESPN’s upcoming direct-to-consumer service.” While YouTube TV still owns the rights to air NFL Sunday Ticket and ABC/ESPN/Disney/NFL Network, FOX, CBS/Paramount/Nickelodeon, NBC/Peacock, Amazon and Netflix all have individual rights to air certain games, ESPN gets “broad rights to the RedZone brand and will distribute the NFL RedZone Channel to pay TV operators for continued inclusion into their sports packages.” Though ESPN gets broad rights to the brand and TV distribution rights, the NFL will continue to own, operate and produce NFL RedZone and retain the rights to distribute it digitally. ESPN’s platforms will now license an additional three NFL games per season (all to air on NFL Network) and will adjust its overall NFL game schedule with four games shifting to NFL Network, as well. The league will continue to own and operate its retained media businesses such as NFL Films, NFL+, NFL.com, the NFL Podcast Network, the NFL FAST Channel and the official sites for all 32 teams. The two parties’ fantasy applications, NFL Fantasy Football and ESPN Fantasy Football, will merge, “creating the official Fantasy season-long game of the NFL and one best-in-class digital experience.” While much of the news is being presented by the parties involved as a shiny new present for NFL fans, there are some perceived negatives to the agreements. While Iger calls the transactions additions “to consumer choice,” in reality this is a step closer to a monopoly. At the moment, existing contracts keep the NFL readily available from several different streamers and television channels, but when those contracts expire, how willing will the NFL be to dole out games to networks other than the one it has a 10% stake in? ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio offered his usual candor in a making another relevant point about ESPN’s reporting responsibilities. When issues such as the ownership collusion case we’ve seen this summer break the NFL news circuit, how critical will ESPN be towards its minority owner? Ultimately, the transactions are still subject to the parties’ negotiation of definitive agreements, various approvals (including those of NFL team owners and federal regulators) and customary closing conditions. There’s still quite a ways to go, but Tuesday’s agreement gives a peek into what the NFL media future will look like.
Kevin Love reportedly has preferred buyout destination
Kevin Love is eyeing a return to his roots. The five-time NBA All-Star big man Love has a preferred destination on the buyout market, Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints reported on Tuesday. Love would like to end up in Los Angeles. Now 36 years old, Love spent the last two-and-a-half seasons with the Miami Heat. He averaged just 5.3 points and 4.1 rebounds over 10.9 minutes per game in 2024-25 but still managed to shoot 35.8 percent from three on the year. Earlier this summer however, the Heat traded Love to the Utah Jazz as part of a three-team blockbuster deal. Now Love, a 17-year NBA veteran, is pursuing a contract buyout from the rebuilding Jazz. Though he is a native of Lake Oswego, Oregon, Love played his college ball in Los Angeles at UCLA. He also has ties to both L.A. teams — he won an NBA championship with Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James on the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 and was also coached on that team by Tyronn Lue, who is now head coach of the L.A. Clippers. Both the Lakers and Clippers are currently sitting at 14 guaranteed contracts each. While they still have spots for two-way and Exhibit 10 players, that means the Lakers and Clippers are both down to their final open roster spot. The ex-rebounding leader Love still has some value, though probably more so as a jokester than as a contributing rotation piece. While Love clearly wants a homecoming to Los Angeles, he may have some convincing to do for either the Lakers or the Clippers to give him that final open roster spot.
Calls Mount for Aaron Boone to Be Fired After Fifth Straight Yankees Loss
The New York Yankees continue to play like one of the worst teams in Major League Baseball. Despite their American League, MVP candidate, Aaron Judge, being reinstated from the injured list on Tuesday, the Yankees struggled mightily -- again. The Yankees took on the Texas rangers in the second game of a three-game-series, on the road. Judge was slotted into the No. 3 slot in the batting order, as the designated hitter, and Will Warren took the mound against the Rangers, Nathan Eovaldi. Warren was solid, giving up just three hits and issuing three walks while striking out five batters in five innings pitched. Trade deadline acquisition, Camilo Doval, and Luke Weaver held down the bullpen, keeping this game scoreless as it headed into the eighth inning. Then, Yankees manager, Aaron Boone, did the inexplicable. He brought struggling reliever, Devin Williams, into a 0-0 game, despite blowing two consecutive saves and giving up earned runs in three consecutive appearances. In the least surprising outcome ever, Williams loaded the bases before giving up a two-run single to Rowdy Tellez. The Yankees freefall continues, as they have an 18-29 record since June 12. The only team in the AL with a worse record over that timeframe is the Minnesota Twins (16-29). With the frustration seemingly at an All-Time high amongst Yankees fans, they've descended upon social media, and calls are mounting for Boone to be fired. Within minutes of the 2-0 Rangers win over the Yankees going final on Tuesday night, "Aaron Boone" and "Devin Williams" were both trending on X. And "#FireBoone" was popping up everywhere. The Yankees got just two hits on Tuesday and have scored just eight runs over their past four games. To make matters worse, recent trade deadline acquisition, reliever, Jake Bird, was sent down to the Minors prior to Tuesday's game. The Yankees traded away two prospects in exchange for Bird. Time will tell if the Yankees front office will make a change at manager by firing Boone, but it is apparent that Yankees fans overwhelmingly want to see that transpire. The Yankees next game comes on Wednesday afternoon, against the Rangers, when Carlos Rodon will take the mound against Jack Leiter. First pitch is scheduled for 2:35 p.m. EDT.
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