
White and the Vancouver Whitecaps host Minnesota United
Minnesota United FC (7-3-5, fourth in the Western Conference) vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC (9-1-4, first in the Western Conference)
Vancouver, British Columbia; Wednesday, 10:30 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Vancouver +108, Minnesota United FC +219, Draw +253; over/under is 2.5 goals
BOTTOM LINE: Brian White leads the Vancouver Whitecaps into a matchup with Minnesota United after scoring two goals against Real Salt Lake.
The Whitecaps are 8-0-3 against Western Conference opponents. The Whitecaps are the MLS leader conceding just 12 goals.
United is 4-3-4 against Western Conference opponents. United ranks third in the league giving up only 14 goals.
Wednesday's game is the second time these teams meet this season. The Whitecaps won the last meeting 3-1.
TOP PERFORMERS: White has scored 10 goals for the Whitecaps. Sebastian Berhalter has one goal and four assists over the last 10 games.
Tanitoluwa Oluwatimikhin Oluwaseyi has six goals and four assists for United. Wil Trapp has scored two goals over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Whitecaps: 5-1-4, averaging 1.8 goals, 4.6 shots on goal and 6.1 corner kicks per game while allowing 1.0 goal per game.
United: 5-2-3, averaging 1.6 goals, 4.5 shots on goal and 5.0 corner kicks per game while allowing 0.8 goals per game.
NOT EXPECTED TO PLAY: Whitecaps: Liam MacKenzie (injured), Belal Halbouni (injured), Andres Cubas (injured), Ryan Gauld (injured).
United: Kipp Keller (injured), Hassani Dotson (injured).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
Amid ‘nightmare' Stanley Cup playoff ratings, can Oilers-Panthers help NHL recapture 4 Nations buzz?
Earlier this year, the rousingly successful 4 Nations Face-Off tournament — specifically its politically charged matchups between Team USA and Team Canada — had ice hockey as hot as it's been in decades. But sagging television ratings in the United States during the 2024-25 Stanley Cup playoffs have since offered the latest confirmation of what the NHL has experienced since at least the famed 1980 'Miracle On Ice': A galvanizing international hockey moment doesn't necessarily guarantee a boost to the sport's top league. Advertisement Through this season's conference finals, ESPN and TNT platforms have experienced year-over-year viewership dips of 31 and 21 percent, respectively, with fewer than 1 million total American viewers tuning in per broadcast, according to Sports Media Watch. The Eastern Conference final between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Florida Panthers in particular struggled to attract eyeballs, finishing with a 40 percent ratings drop-off from last season's Panthers-New York Rangers series on ESPN/ABC. An executive with one of those major television networks, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the topic publicly, said that the absences of the New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins — four traditionally strong draws who combined to miss the playoffs for the first time since the 1967 expansion — conspired to produce 'a nightmare for ratings.' The executive continued, 'If those teams are in and even if they lose in Round 1, their fans still watch. But (as it is) they probably won't watch until the Cup Final, if we can get them back by then after all those weeks of them not paying attention.' If any Stanley Cup Final can help lure disinterested fans into the action again, it might be this Oilers-Panthers series. Not only is it the first Cup Final rematch since 2009, but the Oilers' Connor McDavid and Panthers' Matthew Tkachuk were high-profile players in those two heated U.S.-Canada games at the 4 Nations. The NHL's best player, McDavid won the tournament for Canada with an overtime goal in the tournament final. Now his career-long quest to win the Stanley Cup continues against the defending-champion Panthers, who have reached the Cup Final in each of the three seasons that Tkachuk, a rare hockey player who appears to enjoy the spotlight, has been there. Former NHL player and coach Eddie Olczyk, a longtime U.S. TV analyst who will call the series for TNT, described McDavid and Tkachuk as 'heroes and villains, depending on your side,' in a potential trilogy of Stanley Cup Final showdowns sandwiching an all-time classic installment of arguably the fiercest rivalry in international hockey. And that is without mentioning the looming return of NHL players to the Winter Olympics next February at the 2026 Milano Cortina Games, or the indisputable political undertones at a time when the relationship between the U.S. and Canada has never appeared more strained. Advertisement 'It's really important the league capitalizes on this,' said fellow former player and TNT analyst Anson Carter, adding that his family and friends in Toronto were more engaged with last season's final than in years' past because a Canadian team was trying to win the Cup for the first time since the Montreal Canadiens in 1993. 'That's going to push interest in Canada again. And I know many patriotic people down here who are into hockey (because of the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament). And having Connor back going for his Cup — this should be great for hardcore and casual fans.' For several reasons, though, television ratings for the 2024-25 Final may not accurately reflect its on-paper appeal. Whereas two of the U.S.'s most recent highest-watched hockey games, Game 7 of the 2024 Cup Final and the 4 Nations Face-Off Final, were broadcast on ABC/ESPN, this Final airs on TNT — no stranger to American sporting audiences, but also no match for ESPN's reach and branding. The Cup Final also coincides with the NBA Finals, even though games will never be played on the same nights. The NBA usurps the NHL in every measurable ratings and viewership metric in the U.S., which is not to suggest the NHL may not have received a break when the New York Knicks were eliminated by the smaller-market Indiana Pacers. Also, the Oklahoma City Thunder are a huge favorite in the NBA Finals, compared to a Cup Final that betting markets rate as a much closer contest. But a case can be made — and has been by commissioners in every league — that TV ratings are no longer the be-all and end-all for measuring interest in a tentpole sporting event such as the Cup Final in the era of streaming and social media. 'At least two critical elements will shed light on just how successful the playoffs are,' said David Carter, an adjunct professor of sports business at the University of Southern California and founder of The Sports Business Group, a specialized consulting firm. Advertisement 'First and foremost, the total number of playoff games played, as this drives direct, near-term revenue. Also, the extent to which fans, especially younger fans, are engaged on social media, because this will allow the league to more broadly market itself and tell its story, and not just during the playoffs, but over time.' Besides, even though the Cup Final is its signature event, the NHL makes most of its money on every Cup Final before the puck is even dropped. Ad buys from bigger corporate partners are multi-year deals, with likely only 20 percent remaining to be sold after the Cup Final matchup is set, said David Levy, co-CEO of Horizon Sports & Experiences and former president of Turner Broadcasting. If a particular Cup Final underperforms projected television ratings, Levy said, stressing that the Cup Final is less about making money and more about generating buzz to entice sponsors for future regular-season ad buys, unsold commercial space is customarily given back to advertisers at no extra cost. While Edmonton and South Florida probably aren't the ideal Cup Final markets, at least compared to the likes of New York, Chicago or Boston, the league can also benefit from Panthers-Oilers in continuing to strengthen its southern U.S. markets. 'On a smaller scale, having teams like the Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning, Vegas a couple of years ago, or Dallas going deep (in the playoffs) — it makes those markets stronger, and that's great for the league,' said Michael Naraine, an associate professor of sports management at Ontario's Brock University. 'You saw that in places like Pittsburgh, dating to the 1990s when the Penguins won for the first time and were competitive. When you have sustained success in markets, even in a short window, it's the best thing for those markets. Those markets become what (NHL commissioner) Gary Bettman calls 'good hockey markets' for the NHL. It's a big part of his legacy — those non-traditional markets having success.' In the end, what Bettman wants more than anything is for more people to pay attention to hockey. Now, with a likely long series full of potential heroes and villains on the immediate horizon, and the inevitable boost of a best-on-best Winter Olympics coming next year, the NHL has the opportunity to capitalize. It just needs the stars to align, not only on the ice but perhaps politically too. Advertisement As the commissioner said during the Western Conference final, 'When you look at Game 7 last year or the 4 Nations games, including the final game, it demonstrates what we're capable of doing in two great countries.' Additional reporting by Mark Lazerus.


Forbes
2 hours ago
- Forbes
TPC Toronto Hosts Its First Ever Canadian Open
This week marks the PGA Tour's debut at TPC Toronto, offering players one final tune-up opportunity before the U.S. Open at The Canadian Open. While a handful of notable names are in the field, many top players have opted to rest ahead of the season's third major. With wide fairways and the fourth-fewest bunkers on Tour, TPC Toronto presents an interesting test, but one that offers very different challenges than Oakmont Country Club.


Fox Sports
2 hours ago
- Fox Sports
Is Matt Turner the USMNT's No. 1 GK?: 'That's a fully loaded question for me'
Matt Turner doesn't necessarily see himself as the No. 1 goalkeeper for the U.S. men's national team and goes into every training camp with the mindset that he has to fight for his job just like anyone else. So with the Gold Cup beginning on June 14 and the World Cup almost exactly one year away, how does he see the pecking order of USMNT goalkeepers shaking out and what does that mean for him? "That's a fully loaded question for me," Turner told reporters Wednesday. "I don't see myself as the 'No. 1 No. 1' all the time. I think that's my mindset going into every camp right now is that every inch, every opportunity needs to be fought for and every opportunity that I've had under this current staff I've earned by my performances within training and the opportunities that I've had this past season with Crystal Palace. "I never think to myself, 'Oh, I'm going to come in and I'm going to play, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that.' And I think anybody could attest to the work that I've put in to earn each opportunity that I get. I mean listen, there's lots of good goalkeepers in the pool right now. I think a lot of guys are performing well, especially some of the guys here in MLS, so it's nice to be around them, to train with them, and just keep pushing myself and pushing them to get better and hold the standards true to what we want to build on this national team." Turner, 30, was the Americans' starting goalkeeper at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and has been the top choice for the squad since, which included two disappointing performances at the Conacacaf Nations League Finals in March. The U.S. was first stunned by Panama, 1-0, and then by Canada, 2-1. Turner has not played much for club side Crystal Palace, which won the FA Cup last month. His last competitive match for the team was a 3-1 FA Cup win over Millwall on March 1; he didn't play in a league match this season. USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino recently commented on Turner's lack of minutes as a backup, acknowledging that he needs to "find the way to compete every week" before the 2026 World Cup. If not, another goalkeeper could overtake him as the Americans' new No. 1. "It's open in our mind," Pochettino told reporters last month regarding the starting goalkeeper position. "It's open for another player maybe to challenge in between and maybe to try to give the possibility to play another player." Turner has an entire summer to prove himself. Pochettino initially called up Turner, along with Zack Steffen, Matt Freese and Patrick Schulte as part of a 27-player roster for two upcoming friendlies against Turkey (June 7) and Switzerland (June 10). Chris Brady recently replaced Schulte, who left camp with an oblique injury, and the Colorado Rapids announced Wednesday that Steffen suffered a knee injury and has returned to his club for further examination. The USMNT opens Gold Cup group stage competition against Trinidad and Tobago on June 15, followed by Saudi Arabia on June 19 and Haiti on June 22. Turner reflected on the Gold Cup in 2021, when the U.S. beat Mexico in the final to win the tournament. He believes those performances solidified his place on the roster ahead of the 2022 World Cup. "I'm pretty sure that Gold Cup is essentially what launched me to get my move to Arsenal and now fighting my way through Europe and trying to make it work over there right now," Turner said. "Since then, I've been through a lot. I've had two kids, I've moved to three different teams, so I've had a lot of change." Back then, Turner was playing for the New England Revolution and was named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year in 2021 before moving to Premier League side Arsenal. Since then, his club play has been inconsistent, with just 31 total appearances for the Gunners, Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace. If he's to get more reps between now and next summer, could Turner potentially return to MLS? He's previously stated that his preference would be to stay in Europe. "I think I'd always be open to coming back home," Turner said. "But I've had a lot of positive talks with a lot of different clubs and think the important thing for me is finding the right situation for me to play in and to maximize what I feel is my potential as well. "It's not as cut and dry anymore in player movement in general. If you look around the European soccer world — especially with a lot of new financial rules and regulations in place — clubs have to do business and get creative with the way they do business in certain situations. So it's not always just, 'I point my finger to this club, this is a good situation, I want to go here, let's make that happen.' [There are] other factors at play. You have to weigh the family side, you have to weigh the personal side, and obviously the playing side and what works from club to club as well." Turner said Wednesday he hopes he'll have news regarding his future this summer. But no matter what happens on that front, he has an opportunity to influence Pochettino's decision-making with quality performances at the Gold Cup. Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of "Strong Like a Woman," published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her at @LakenLitman . recommended Get more from United States Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more