Pastrnak, Lauko each score as Czechia shuts out Germany to remain unbeaten at ice hockey worlds
Germany and Denmark also meet on Tuesday and will decide the fourth team from the group to reach the quarterfinals.
The Czechs' Jakub Flek scored twice and Pastrnak rifled a one-timer from the left circle and set up Lukas Sedlak in the middle period. Lauko added a short-handed goal.
Former Bruins prospect Daniel Vladar shut out the Germans with 19 saves.
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In Stockholm, newcomer Slovenia beat France 3-1 to avoid relegation at the expense of the French.
Later Monday, Canada plays Finland in Stockholm and Norway meets Hungary in Herning, Denmark.
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San Francisco Chronicle
35 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Keegan Bradley as a playing captain? Rory McIlroy thinks the Ryder Cup is too big for that now
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Rory McIlroy believes the Ryder Cup has become too big of an event for a captain to play in the matches and said Wednesday he already shot down the idea when approached about doing it himself someday. But he is no less fascinated by the conundrum facing U.S. captain Keegan Bradley. 'I definitely think he's one of the best 12 American players right now,' McIlroy said Wednesday ahead of the BMW Championship. 'That's why everyone is so interested and it's such a compelling case. I'm just as interested as everyone else to see how it all plays out.' That includes Bradley, who is no ordinary Ryder Cup captain. He is 39, the youngest U.S. captain since Arnold Palmer at age 34 in 1963. He also is the defending champion of the BMW Championship, one of his two PGA Tour titles over the last year that has put him in position to make the team on his own. He would have to win at Caves Valley to earn one of six automatic spots. Then, he makes six captain's picks after next week's Tour Championship. The Ryder Cup is Sept. 26-28 at Bethpage Black. 'I can truly sit here right now and say I don't know what's going to happen,' Bradley said. 'I have to look at myself just like any other player trying to make the team.' The Ryder Cup hasn't had a playing captain since Palmer at East Lake 62 years ago, when the King was still in his prime (he won the Masters the following year) and matches were not much of a competition against players from only Britain and Ireland. Bradley is No. 10 in the Ryder Cup standings. He is No. 12 in the world, with only six other Americans ranked ahead of him. He also is No. 14 in the FedEx Cup, with only eight other Americans ahead on that list. 'If I was the captain, I'd pick Keegan. I think he's played great,' Patrick Cantlay said. Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world who long ago clinched his spot on another American team, said Bradley could only add to what he considers a strong team. 'If that's something that Keegan wants to be part of the team and wants to play, I think he's a guy we'd all love to have on the team,' Scheffler said. McIlroy played with him for two days in the Travelers Championship — Bradley went on to win that week — and said at the time, 'If he doesn't finish in the top six and he doesn't pick himself, then you could say America aren't going with their very best.' Even so, McIlroy has his doubts. The Ryder Cup has become the largest spectacle in golf. Bradley is on calls every week for planning and other logistics that are involved. There are media responsibilities daily during the Ryder Cup. There are lineups to consider. 'You think about the extra media that a captain has to do, you think about the extra meetings that the captains have to do with the vice captains, with the PGA of America, preparing your speech for the opening ceremony,' McIlroy said. "There's a lot of things that people don't see that the captain does the week of the Ryder Cup, especially now that the Ryder Cup has become so big. 'If you'd have said it 20 years ago, I'd say, yeah, it was probably possible to do,' he said. 'But how big of a spectacle and everything that's on the line in a Ryder Cup now, I just think it would be a very difficult position to be in.' He also suggested Bradley probably would be limited to playing one of the two sessions on Friday and Saturday, which might hurt the U.S. team if Bradley had a hot hand that week. Tiger Woods was playing captain at the 2019 Presidents Cup — far less intense, and an event the Americans haven't lost since 1998 — and played only one session a day at Royal Melbourne. 'There's a lot of different things that go into it, and that's why I think ... look, it's just my opinion, but I think it would just be very difficult to do.' Bradley has considered all this, too. He said ultimately he would look at himself the way he does any other potential pick, with advice from his assistant captains and the six players who automatically qualify. 'He might be right,' Bradley said of McIlroy's opinion. 'We don't know. No one knows. Yeah, like everybody's telling me to start the year that a player can't be captain and have a good year. For me, I feel like this is one of my best years that I've ever had.' Bradley said he has spent a career leaning on people for advice on how to prepare for majors, dealing with the media, fulfilling corporate obligations, all elements of professional golf. 'In this instance, there's no one to call,' Bradley said. 'So nobody knows how this could work.' ___
NBC Sports
4 hours ago
- NBC Sports
With U.S. decision looming, Rory McIlroy explains why he turned down future playing captaincy
Rory McIlroy doesn't think it's feasible to be a successful playing captain at the Ryder Cup in the modern era, and it's why he's as intrigued as anyone to how the formation of the U.S. team will unfold. McIlroy said Wednesday he's already turned down the opportunity 'straight away' to serve as a future playing captain – most likely in two years' time at Adare Manor in Ireland – because he believed the dual responsibilities would be too much to handle. 'The commitments that a captain has the week of: the extra media that the captain has to do, the extra meetings that the captains have to do with the vice captains, with the PGA of America, preparing your speech for the opening ceremony – there's a lot of things that people don't see that the captain does the week of the Ryder Cup, especially now that the Ryder Cup has become so big,' McIlroy said. 'If you'd have said it 20 years ago, I'd say, yeah, it was probably possible to do. But how big of a spectacle and everything that's on the line in a Ryder Cup now, I just think it would be a very difficult position to be in. 'Then the captain isn't going to be on the course all day, so really the captain's only going to be able to play one session on Friday, one session on Saturday. Would you rather not have a player that has the flexibility to go twice if he's playing well? There's a lot of different things that go into it – and, look, it's just my opinion, but I think it would just be very difficult to do.' And that, of course, is the complicated position that Keegan Bradley finds himself in for the Americans. McIlroy said that Bradley, who was stunningly named as the U.S. captain last summer, is 'definitely' one of the 12 best American players right now. Bradley is currently No. 10 in the team standings, on the strength of his victory in June at the Travelers Championship (when McIlroy was grouped with him during the first two rounds), heading into the final week of automatic qualifying. Earlier this week, both Patrick Cantlay and Rickie Fowler voiced their support for a potential Bradley playing captaincy. 'I don't think you're going to find any or many Americans that are going to argue that he shouldn't be on the team,' Fowler said. Bradley, who at No. 14 in the FedExCup standings is assured of playing next week at East Lake, will make his six captain's picks following the Tour Championship. 'That's why everyone is so interested and it's such a compelling case,' McIlroy said. 'I'm just as interested as everyone else to see how it all plays out.'
Fox News
4 hours ago
- Fox News
PSG Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma Announces He's Leaving the Club
Just hours after being left out of Paris Saint-Germain's squad for Wednesday's UEFA Super Cup final against Tottenham, star goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma posted a message saying he is leaving the club. When PSG named its squad for the match earlier on Tuesday, goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier, who recently joined from Lille for just over 40 million euros ($46 million), was included along with backup goalies Matvei Safonov and Renato Marin. Chevalier's arrival was expected to signal Donnarumma's departure, with the 26-year-old Italy international unlikely to accept being No. 2 if coach Luis Enrique decided so. Donnarumma then posted a message in Italian, English and French on his Instagram account saying he had effectively been forced out. "Unfortunately, someone has decided that I can no longer be part of the group and contribute to the team's success," he wrote. "I am disappointed and disheartened." He bade farewell to fans ahead of the new season. "I hope to have the opportunity to look the fans at the Parc des Princes in the eyes one more time and say goodbye as it should be done," Donnarumma said. "I will always carry with me the memory of all the emotions, the magical nights and of you, who made me feel at home." Donnarumma did not name the person who no longer wants him in the squad, but in a pre-match news conference PSG coach Luis Enrique explained why he had signed Chevalier. "These are always difficult decisions to make, I know. I can only say good things about Gigio (Gianluigi). He's one of the best players in his position, without a doubt, and he's even better as a person," Luis Enrique said. "We were looking for a different type of goalkeeper. And I repeat, it's always difficult to make a decision like that." It is thought that Chevalier's superior passing from the back— which has been a noticeable shortcoming for Donnarumma — was a crucial factor in the decision. However, Donnarumma was arguably the best goalkeeper in Europe last season, playing a key role in PSG's Champions League success with inspired shot-stopping in the knockout stages. He also starred for Italy when it won the European Championship in 2021. But with one year left on his contract, Donnarumma had refused to sign a new contract and PSG was unlikely to let him leave for free at the end of the season. He has been strongly linked with a move to Premier League big-spender Manchester City, with Manchester United also reportedly interested. PSG experienced the same situation two seasons ago with Kylian Mbappe, who ended up joining Real Madrid on a free transfer after refusing to take up the option of a one-year contract extension. Donnarumma was in a similar position to Chevalier when he joined the club after helping Italy win the Euros. He replaced Keylor Navas as No. 1, even though Navas had been outstanding for PSG the previous season. Donnarumma's arrival at PSG was seen by fans as hugely unfair on Navas and a clumsy move by the club. Now the situation has come full circle for the Italy keeper, who finds himself in much the same position as Navas was. "If he has to go, then we thank him from the bottom of our hearts," PSG captain Marquinhos said. "He has been a great leader all these years. Seeing Donnarumma leave would upset me." PSG begins its league campaign at Nantes on Aug. 17. Reporting by The Associated Press. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!
