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HOUSTON — It was June 23 and the Texas Rangers held a 6 1/2-game lead in the American League West over the Houston Astros, a cushion that almost seemed insurmountable, given how the teams were performing at the time. There was little reason to predict the frantic chase for the division title that would follow over the final three-plus months of the regular season. It was a pursuit that concluded with the Astros claiming the

If the New York Liberty are going to make a series of it against the defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces, now is the time to do it. Down 2-0 in the best-of-five WNBA Finals and absolutely humiliated Wednesday night in a 104-76 loss, New York comes home on Sunday for a win-or-else Game 3. “It’s about action now,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said. “No (bleeping) feelings anymore. We’re all disappointed, angry, embarrassed with how

Going into their third game on Saturday against the visiting Calgary Flames, the Pittsburgh Penguins believe they have found the template they need. Pittsburgh had a visit from lingering demons in their opener, a 4-2 loss against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday. The Penguins had a two-goal lead but could not put the game away, a problem that plagued them last season. On Friday, Pittsburgh flashed the type of game that has been expected of

Despite winning their season opener in a shootout, the Toronto Maple Leafs know they need to improve Saturday night against the visiting Minnesota Wild. The Maple Leafs needed two late goals in the third period from Auston Matthews before defeating the visiting Montreal Canadiens 6-5 Wednesday in a shootout. The tying goal gave Matthews a hat trick. Toronto also killed a penalty in overtime. “I want to forget about this game and just keep moving

Jonas Johansson passed his first test as Tampa Bay’s No. 1 goalie. Johansson and the Lightning will now try to grab a road victory in the Detroit Red Wings’ home opener on Saturday. Johansson was thrust into the role when Andrei Vasilevskiy underwent back surgery during training camp. Tampa Bay defeated Nashville in its home opener 5-3 on Tuesday as Johansson stopped 28 shots. “His game was quiet and he made himself big. He wasn’t

Connor Bedard will make his first trip north of the United States border when the Chicago Blackhawks visit the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night. Bedard, the highly touted No. 1 overall pick by Chicago in the 2023 NHL Draft, notched his first NHL goal in a 3-1 loss at the Boston Bruins on Wednesday, a day after producing his first assist in a 4-2 victory at the Pittsburgh Penguins. “He’s a really great player,” Boston

The opening to the Boston Bruins’ centennial season was no on-ice masterpiece. After David Pastrnak’s two goals helped the Bruins grind out a 3-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks, Boston will try to keep improving its game on Saturday as it welcomes in the Nashville Predators to complete a season-opening, two-game homestand. As for the opener, there was some good, some bad. All to be expected. “I don’t think we played fast enough, consistently enough,”

It’s tough to pinpoint if the Florida Panthers can return to the form that took them to the Stanley Cup Final last June, ultimately losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games. Florida will try to continue to recapture some of that grinding force heading into Winnipeg on Saturday afternoon to take on the Jets, in both teams’ second game of the season. With one game under their belt, a 2-0 loss to the

The Miami Dolphins have been in such an encouraging opening stretch of the season that sometimes it looks like not much could get them off the right path. The Carolina Panthers aren’t projected to derail the Dolphins when the teams meet on Sunday afternoon in Miami Gardens, Fla. Miami (4-1) is off to its best start in 20 years and will be making adjustments to the offensive depth chart after an injury to a rising

The Minnesota Vikings will try to bounce back without their top playmaker when they visit the Chicago Bears in a matchup of NFC North rivals Sunday. Minnesota (1-4) is coming off a 27-20 loss at home to the Kansas City Chiefs, which marked its fourth single-digit defeat of the season. The loss stung even worse as star wide receiver Justin Jefferson injured his hamstring late in the game and was forced to leave. This week,