Canadiens: First-Round Recap
New York Islanders Select Their New Foundational D-Man, Matthew Schaefer, First Overall In NHL Draft
After weeks of excitement, anticipation and speculation, the New York Islanders selected Matthew Schaefer with the first pick of the 2025 NHL draft.
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New York Times
19 minutes ago
- New York Times
Yankees' Clarke Schmidt makes franchise history with scoreless innings streak
NEW YORK — After dominating the Baltimore Orioles with seven no-hit innings in his last outing, New York Yankees manager hailed Clarke Schmidt as 'one of the most underrated starting pitchers in the game.' Soon — if he's not already there — he'll be properly rated as one of the best starters in Major League Baseball. Advertisement Schmidt set the Yankees' single-season franchise record with 28 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings in the Expansion Era (1961), passing Catfish Hunter's 26-inning streak in 1975. Athletics designated hitter Brent Rooker snapped Schmidt's streak in the fourth inning with a solo home run over the left-field wall. Schmidt's streak is the longest scoreless streak by a Yankees starter since Don Larsen's 29 innings across the 1957 and 1958 seasons. Clarke Schmidt's 2Ks in the 2nd…and Sword. ⚔️ — Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 28, 2025 Schmidt's streak began after a humiliating first inning against the Cleveland Guardians on June 4. Schmidt allowed three runs on three hits against a Guardians lineup that featured eight left-handed hitters that day. Since the second inning against the Guardians, Schmidt has been dominant. 'I just feel like he has a real good handle on his arsenal,' Boone said before Saturday's game against the Athletics. 'I feel like his pitch usage right now, especially the last few, has been excellent.' The scoreless streak coincided with Schmidt incorporating a four-seam fastball to his arsenal. It's a pitch he hasn't thrown since the early years of his MLB career, as he scrapped it for a cutter and sinker. But entering Saturday's game, Schmidt's fastball has been elite, holding opposing hitters to a .125 batting average and .188 slugging percentage. 'This has been a pitch that we've been working on and fiddling with over the course of this year,' Schmidt said earlier this month. 'I'm really happy with where it's been. It doesn't always get registered as a four-seamer, so the usage is messed up a little bit. For me, it just gets guys off the cutter, especially lefties. It can be effective versus righties as well for some swing-and-miss at the top of the zone, especially when guys are hunting my breaking ball package. When you can mix up usages and get guys off certain pitches that they're obviously sitting on, that's when you find success.' Advertisement Schmidt hasn't just been helping the big-league club find success when he's on the mound, either. The righty took The Athletic through his day-to-day routine with how he gets prepared for his start day. That story has since been shared with Yankees minor leaguers and coaches for them to get a sense of what it takes to be a major-league starter. This story will be updated.
Associated Press
20 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Coco Gauff says criticism of Aryna Sabalenka's French Open comments went 'too far'
LONDON (AP) — It didn't take long for Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka to patch up their relationship after this month's French Open final. Now as Wimbledon is about to start, Gauff is hoping everyone else can also forget what the top-ranked Sabalenka said in the wake of her loss to the American at Roland-Garros. A day after dancing together on Wimbledon's Centre Court in a TikTok video, the two tennis players faced more questions on Saturday about the aftermath of Sabalenka's comments right after the final, when she said her loss had more to do with her own mistakes than Gauff's performance. The Belarusian later wrote to apologize to Gauff and said her comments were 'unprofessional,' but not before she faced some major backlash from fans and pundits — especially in the United States. Gauff is trying to make sure the criticism stops. 'I'm not the person that will fuel hate in the world,' said Gauff, who opens her Wimbledon campaign against Dayana Yastremska on Tuesday. 'I think people were taking it too far. … It was just really targeting and saying a lot of things that I felt were not nice. I didn't want to fuel that more.' Sabalenka, who faces Carson Branstine on No. 1 Court on Monday, said she hopes the TikTok video shows that all is well between the two. 'We are good, we are friends,' the three-time major winner said. 'I hope the U.S. media can be easy on me right now.' Sabalenka reiterated that she never meant to offend Gauff. 'I was just completely upset with myself, and emotions got over me,' she said. 'I just completely lost it.' Gauff did acknowledge that she was initially tempted to hit back publicly at Sabalenka, who said the American 'won the match not because she played incredible; just because I made all of those mistakes from ... easy balls.' But after Sabalenka reached out to apologize, she was quick to bury any grudge. 'I preach love, I preach light,' Gauff said. 'I just want us to be Kumbaya, live happily, hakuna matata, and be happy here.' ___ AP tennis:
Fox Sports
20 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Simon Wang goes 33rd overall to Sharks, making history as highest-drafted player born in China
Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Simon Wang became the highest-drafted player born in China when the San Jose Sharks selected him with the first pick of the second round of the NHL draft on Saturday. Wang's family moved from Beijing to Toronto when he was 12. The 6-foot-5 defenseman surged forward in his development over the past year, showing more than enough potential to entice the Sharks with the 33rd overall selection. 'It's an unreal moment for my family, for hockey in China,' Wang said. 'Just a really surreal moment, a dream-come-true moment. ... I hope I've inspired a lot of kids back home." His real name is Haoxi Wang, but he plans to go by Simon during his hockey career because 'it's simpler for North Americans,' he said. Wang is only the third Chinese-born player ever drafted by the NHL, but he knows he won't be the last. Kevin He was drafted 109th overall by the Winnipeg Jets last year, and Andong Song was chosen 172nd by the New York Islanders in 2015. 'Hopefully one day my record will get broken again,' Wang said. 'Someone will go in the first round, even top 10. I think there will definitely be someone that's going to make a huge impact on the game.' Wang aspires to be an imposing two-way defenseman in the mold of Victor Hedman or Colton Parayko, but he had little draft buzz until the start of last season, when teams began to take notice of his rapidly developing skills. He soon joined the OHL's Oshawa Generals and got even more exposure during their playoff run. 'Seeing so many scouts in the Junior A barn, it just started hitting me,' Wang said. 'The summer before the season, I thought I was going undrafted, to be honest with you. But it happened for a reason, and I worked so hard for this. I deserve to be here.' Wang got into hockey as a child, but he didn't truly embrace the game until his family took a trip to Los Angeles eight years ago. The 10-year-old attended a Kings game right across the street from where he was drafted — although he fell asleep during the game, he recalls with a laugh. Wang then attended a Bruins-Flames game played in Beijing in 2018, and he soon decided to move to Canada to further his development. Wang walked the red carpet in Los Angeles on Friday with his mother, who propelled his career — and even bought and moved his former junior team. He also got his first chance in nearly two years to see his brother, who studied at Boston University, where Wang might play college hockey starting in 2026 if next year in Oshawa goes well. The NHL is concluding its decentralized draft with the final six rounds at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. After minimal player movement Friday while Matthew Schaefer became the No. 1 overall pick, several significant trades were executed Saturday, with longtime Anaheim Ducks goalie John Gibson going to Detroit while defenseman Jordan Spence went from Los Angeles to Ottawa. ___ AP NHL: recommended
