As the World Junior’s approaches, two Spartans are featured on preliminary rosters
Michigan State hockey has seen a resurgence under Adam Nightingale, which has culminated in the Spartans being ranked as the No. 1 team in the nation.
With the added improvement in East Lansing, the Spartans have gotten more recognition. Part of that recognition is players being selected for World Juniors rosters, an annual tournament run by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for national under-20 teams.
After winning gold a year ago, Trey Augustine is expected to be on the USA team once again as the starting goaltender. It would be his third appearance with USA in the WJC.
Maxim Strbak is featured on Slovakia’s roster, and it would be his fourth appearance for the nation in the WJC.
The 2025 World Junior Championship will begin on Dec. 26 and take place in Ottawa.
According to a Team USA hockey press release, NHL players who are part of the U.S. National Team will wear a special “Gaudreau” helmet decal with both of the brothers’ jersey numbers and dueling hockey sticks this season.
Here is USA Hockey’s executive director Pat Kelleher on the move:
“Johnny and Matthew [Gaudreau], along with their families, will forever be a part of the USA Hockey family. This is a small way to not only honor their memory, but help keep their wonderful spirit for our great game and life in general in the forefront.”
Not only that, the NHL will also have their own decal honoring the Gaudreau brothers through October 24.
Every team will be wearing this decal honoring the Gaudreau brothers on the back of their helmets from opening night through 10/24. The Sabres and Devils are the first. The Sabres got them today. pic.twitter.com/MTKdVo7NYw
With Jokic’s Nuggets visiting Abu Dhabi for a preseason doubleheader with the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics this weekend, the big man was asked a question about his Serbian Paris Olympics experience.
Below is a rough translation of Jokic’s explanation in Serbian via B92 Sport:
“It was a good game. Probably the biggest defeat in my [Jokic’s] career so far. A big chance, but there… In the end, they beat us. Some people will see it as a normal defeat, but for those of us who played, it must have been the hardest defeat in our career.”
Again, none of this is surprising.
Jokic has already seen his fair share of painful NBA defeats — last year’s Game 7 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round of the playoffs comes to mind as the most recent example. But compared to Serbia, the place where he was raised and all of his loved ones are from, the Nuggets are just another American professional sports franchise.
Ask someone like Kevin Durant what he thinks about playing for Team USA compared to any of his NBA stops. I’d imagine his likely inevitable patriotic answer would be much of the same.
This does not mean Jokic doesn’t have love for Nuggets partners like Jamal Murray, who he has basically played with his entire career. It would be silly to assert he doesn’t care about the Nuggets at all. They are, after all, his conduit to global fame and an athletic dream realized.
This just means playing for his country probably means a lot more. And I think we can all relate to that.
Aaron Gordon playing for Team USA? Sounds like it was at least considered.
Denver Nuggets star forward Aaron Gordon claims that Team USA coach Steve Kerr made him a big promise.
Gordon didn’t suit up with Team USA during this year’s Paris Olympics, but Gordon claimed through Twitter (X) on Thursday afternoon that Kerr asked him if he wanted to play with the squad.
“It’s a bit rhetorical but hey we got gold,” Gordon said on social media of Kerr’s prompt.
“If you think I’m not working every damn day to play in 2028 and represent…I got goals! Don’t care if you wanna see me fail.”
Well, that’s certainly interesting. Maybe Gordon will make Team USA for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics?
After we beat the warriors in the bay Steve Kerr asked if I wanted to play on the USA team… idk bro. It’s a bit rhetorical but hey we got gold
That isn’t the only reason Furyk chose Kisner to be one of his lieutenants. “I think the fact that he’s playing out here, doing television work out there, he’s very aware of their games and personalities, he even knows the other team, right? I know our team pretty well. Having Kis out here, he’s very well aware of everyone’s games,” Furyk said.
When the U.S. captain phoned to ask Kisner to take on the role, Kisner said he took “two seconds” to sign on.
“I didn’t even look at the calendar where I was going to be or anything,” Kisner said. “I actually kind of messed up. I was supposed to be in Colorado on an elk hunt and so I had to bail on that, but I’d rather do the vice captaincy. I can hunt any year.”
Kisner did television for NBC during the three FedEx Cup playoff events, which allowed him to spend time with the players who qualified for the team and get a better sense of who they wanted to round out the squad. Kisner also played the Procore Championship last week and took part in Furyk’s team dinner, which included fellow assistant captains Stewart Cink and Brandt Snedeker.
“I’ll do whatever Jim wants me to do and I’m happy to be a part of the team. I love being a part of a team,” he said. “I miss the team atmosphere, team sports growing up. That’s all I did, and I can’t wait to do whatever I can to help.”
But he may be preoccupied beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday (along with Brian Harman). That’s when his alma mater, the University of Georgia, kicks off against Alabama in a SEC showdown.
“In ’17 I asked to sit out in the afternoon,” Kisner said, “because Georgia played Tennessee. (Captain Steve) Strick(er) is like seriously? I’m like, ‘Yeah, man, that’s my squad.’ ”
Neither an elk hunt nor a Bulldogs game will keep Kisner from doing all he can to ensure the U.S. retains the Presidents Cup. In Napa last week, he joked, “I might be able to work on my game if Furyk would stop calling me.”
Someone has to make sure Team USA stays loose and there’s no one more capable of that job than Kisner.
Things really came to a boil early when American Alison Lee holed out.
Emotions are running hot at the 2024 Solheim Cup, where the United States cruised out to a 6-2 lead after the opening day of play, and maintained that edge after splitting foursomes on Saturday morning.
But things really came to a boil early in the afternoon session when American Alison Lee holed out from the second fairway in her match. Lee and Megan Khang were taking on the European duo of Anna Nordqvist and Madelene Sagstrom.
After Lee dunked her shot from 86 yards away, the caddies went wild, inciting the crowd by pulling off their shirts and hugging while the fans cheered.
A little luck can go a long way and Allisen Corpuz was a prime example of this adage during Saturday’s Solheim Cup.
A little luck can go a long way and Allisen Corpuz was a prime example of this adage during Saturday’s Solheim Cup when she topped a fairway wood but wound up with an eagle putt that gave her side the lead in a pivotal foursomes match with Emily Pedersen and Carlota Ciganda at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.
Corpuz, who was paired with star Nelly Korda, looked to avoid a lake on the par-5 14th hole, but still wanted to take a crack at the green. She took a full swing, then nearly lost her club in the follow-through, assuming the worst after she topped a shot that barely climbed 20 feet off the ground.
But instead of catastrophe, the ball stayed dry and then rolled through the green, curled up onto the fringe and rolled nicely to give Korda an eagle putt.
The world’s No. 1 player calmly drained the 25-footer to give the American team its first lead of the day, a critical sequence that led to their 1-up win in the match.
Team USA has moved down to the far end of the range.
GAINESVILLE, Va. – There aren’t team rooms here at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. The two sides are enjoying the use of two sprawling cottages this week, which are situated next to the driving range.
Controversy is nothing knew to the Solheim Cup, however, and it seems that Team Europe’s digs, which are smaller than the USA’s, have caused a bit of a stir.
Jamie Weir from Sky Sports reported that the U.S. took issue with the fact that Europe had utilized some of the hitting bays in their cottage, which went against the rules written in the event’s contract. They also set up tables and chairs outside their cottage on the driving range, which also isn’t allowed.
Stacy Lewis, when speaking with the press on Wednesday, downplayed the issue though she called the closeness of the two houses “awkward.”
“The inside of their cottage doesn’t have a lot of room for tables, so their tables have to be outside, said Lewis. “It was just our players were warming up, and they’re there eating breakfast and talking. We were just trying to get everybody some space so they didn’t have to listen to them eating breakfast. That’s all.
“There’s no bad beef. It’s just trying to, instead of having to listen to breakfast conversations.”
Team USA has moved down to the far end of the range.
“Us coming on the U.S. soil, the U.S. gets to pick their team room before we do,” said Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist. “I don’t know if they’re happy with their choice, but we’re obviously very happy to be right there on the range.”
U.S. assistant captain Angela Stanford called it a non-story.
“I said to the girls this makes me feel good,” said Stanford. “Because if this is the best thing they’re coming up with, we’re doing great.
“Every time we play, they search for something to get them fired up, to get them unified.”
Lewis worked with longtime LPGA partner KPMG to create a new analytics platform for the biennial event.
GAINESVILLE, Va. — In the immediate aftermath in Spain last year, U.S. captain Stacy Lewis concentrated on her players. She didn’t want the 14-14 tie to feel like a colossal failure. The cup stayed with Europe, the defending champs. But Lewis felt her team had a done a lot right those three days at Finca Cortesin.
On the plane ride home, however, with daughter Chesnee sleeping by her side, Lewis allowed herself a moment to cry.
“We worked so hard, and we put so much into this,” said Lewis, fighting back tears nearly a year later, “and it was a tie, you know … but that was the only moment I gave myself.”
From then on, it was back to the mission of “unfinished business.” For three years, there’s been no break for Lewis, who like European captain Suzann Pettersen took on the monumental task of heading two Solheim Cups in two years.
Stacy Lewis, captain of Team USA and Suzann Pettersen, captain of Team Europe hold the Solheim Cup trophy prior to the Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin Golf Club on September 19, 2023, in Casares, Spain. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
With Team USA winless since 2017 and with five rookies on her squad last year, Lewis couldn’t simply maintain status quo. She needed to shake things up.
Inspired by the resources utilized by Ryder Cup teams, Lewis worked with longtime LPGA partner KPMG to create a new analytics platform for the biennial event. No U.S. captain has ever had so much data at her disposal, and Lewis took advantage in Spain, shaking up her pairings right down to the last minute based on information that was coming in during practice rounds.
There were a couple pairings she tried to push in Spain, and one that was particularly good statistically, but when the players didn’t want to play together, Lewis allowed the human element to prevail.
When it came time to make her three picks for the 2024 team, Lewis found herself pacing the floor of her St. Andrews apartment as the final round of the AIG Women’s British Open unfolded. She had a short list coming into the week, but as the different scenarios for automatic qualifiers began to shift, Lewis’ job got tougher.
Ultimately, the team ended looking exactly like she thought it would several weeks ago, with Lexi Thompson, Jennifer Kupcho and Sarah Schmelzel as the three captain’s picks. Schmelzel and Lauren Coughlin, two thirtysomething late bloomers, are the only rookies on the team. There are nine players returning from Spain, with Alison Lee qualifying for the first time since she was an LPGA rookie in 2015.
World No. 1 Nelly Korda and No. 2 Lilia Vu, fresh off contending at the Old Course, headline the team of 12. The 2024 Solheim Cup will be held Sept. 13-15 in Gainesville, Virginia, at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, host of three previous Presidents Cups.
Throughout this process, Lewis has often said that she can pinpoint a player’s success on the LPGA long before it shows up on leaderboards, based on the trends she’s seeing in the data. Even Thompson, right now, is playing better than the results are showing.
“She is night and day better to what were at this point last year,” said Lewis, noting that Thompson ranks in the top 10 on tour in putts made inside 20 feet.
“Over the years, she has shifted from this amazing ball-striker and an average putter,” said Lewis, “to you could almost put her in a category of great putter and starting to see ball-striking catch up. She’s in a much better position this year that we were going into Spain.”
Lexi Thompson of Team USA during the opening ceremony prior to the Solheim Cup at Marbella Arena on September 21, 2023, in Marbella, Spain. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
After playing Robert Trent Jones Golf Club for the first time several months ago, Lewis immediately knew it was a perfect fit for Kupcho, a strong ball-striker who hits it high and straight. In Schmelzel, Lewis saw a consistent, gritty player who is top 10 on tour in bogey avoidance.
“Somebody that’s avoiding bogeys is gritty and a fighter and not going to give up,” said Lewis. “Maybe at times in the past I think that’s what we’ve lacked a little bit, that grittiness and that toughness.”
On Sunday night in St. Andrews, Lewis gathered the nine players who were still in Scotland in a back room at the famed Dunvegan pub and marveled at how much things had changed.
“Just the becoming a team part and cheering for each other and wanting to be around each other and the amount of fun that they’re having is night and day from this time last year,” she said. “So I’m excited about that.”
When it comes to pairings Lewis, a two-time major champion and former No. 1, said her process starts with covering her kitchen counter with sheets of paper. She’ll write something down and scratch it out and start over. She kept all her notes from last year in Spain so that she could look back on where she started the process and where she finished. Lewis figures the puzzle will be easier to put together this time around.
“She knows more stats about my golf game than I do,” said Thompson, who went 3-1-0 in Spain in the midst of her worst year on tour.
“It’s great to learn from her, and we have nothing but full trust in her and belief.”
Brooklyn Nets guard Dennis Schroder is speaking his mind on Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant viral Team USA photo after winning the gold.
Brooklyn Nets guard Dennis Schroder is fresh off leading Germany through the 2024 Paris Olympics while also being regarded as one of the five best players to play in the tournament. After Germany was defeated by Serbia in the bronze medal game, Schroder commented on the differences between European basketball and American basketball, something that Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant responded to in his own way.
While it seemed that the back-and-forth between the two NBA players would end there, it looks like Schroder has more to say about Durant responding in the way that he did. Schroder, who streams on Twitch, recently discussed Durant’s photo showing the members of Team USA with their gold medals after beating France with the caption “entertainment and IQ.”
On his stream, Schroder called Durant “weak” for saying what he said given that Durant is held in higher regard in the NBA space than Schroder is. It seems that Schroder did not appreciate Durant taking a shot at him on social media, something that Durant has been known to do throughout his career.
“They won, and Kevin Durant tweets, ‘High IQ and entertainment.’ For me, that’s just being weak,” Schroder said. “You’re that type of a star, and you have to say something to a person like me who not even meant it to be negative. It was just what I see from both sides, you know what I’m saying? I didn’t appreciate it.”
As a recap, when Schroder was asked about the differences between American basketball and European basketball, he said that European basketball is “no entertainment, it’s straight IQ basketball. Straight coaching.” Durant may have taken these comments from Schroder as a slight implying that European basketball is how the game is supposed to be played while American basketball is just for entertainment and no substance.
Seeing as both guys don’t hesitate to speak their peace, this could be something that last into the regular season.
“that is just being weak, you are that type of star and have to say something to a person like me”
Dennis Schroder calling KD weak for trolling him but inadvertently dissing himself at the same time lmao pic.twitter.com/Dx7El5Vmux
