Red Sox Getting Praise For Vastly Improved Farm System In 2021 — NESN.com

The Boston Red Sox committed to one of their New Year’s resolutions this year. Per rankings from MLB.com, the Red Sox had the most improved farm system in 2021 after jumping 12 spots since the preseason. The publication had Boston at No. 24 (with just six teams below) in March on its preseason list. A […]

Red Sox Getting Praise For Vastly Improved Farm System In 2021 — NESN.com

Kiszla: Why Dan Reeves might be the most underappreciated legend in Broncos history — The Denver Post

Now that he’s gone, no longer around to stare daggers into my heart, I can say the truth about Dan Reeves, who passed away Saturday at age 77. Coach Reeves was a real pain in the butt, prickly as a cactus and too proud to admit he was wrong, even when botching my name. “Hey,…

Kiszla: Why Dan Reeves might be the most underappreciated legend in Broncos history — The Denver Post

Rams at Baltimore Ravens: Who has the edge? — Pasadena Star News

RAMS (11-4) VS. RAVENS (8-7) When: Sunday, 10 a.m. Where: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore TV/radio: Ch. 11; 710 AM, 93.1 FM, 1330 AM (Spanish) Line: Rams by 6 Notable injury designations: Rams: RB Cam Akers (Achilles), NT Greg Gaines (hand), OLB Leonard Floyd (ankle) and S Taylor Rapp (shoulder) are questionable. Ravens: LG Ben Powers (foot)…

Rams at Baltimore Ravens: Who has the edge? — Pasadena Star News

Celtics end year on high note, knock off Suns, 123-108 — Boston Herald

The make/miss gods had some mercy on the Celtics on Friday. Their confidence intact despite a historically bad 4-for-42 3-point shooting performance during Wednesday’s loss to the Clippers, the Celtics rebounded with a 123-108 win over Phoenix, snapping a three-game losing streak. 823 more words

Celtics end year on high note, knock off Suns, 123-108 — Boston Herald

Report: Bucks optimistic Brook Lopez will return before playoffs — ProBasketballTalk | NBC Sports

The Bucks did not give a timeline when announcing Brook Lopez’s back surgery earlier this month.

Report: Bucks optimistic Brook Lopez will return before playoffs — ProBasketballTalk | NBC Sports

SENATORS-MAPLE LEAFS PREGAME NOTES


2021-22 Matchups vs. Ottawa: Third of Four
2020-21 Record vs. Ottawa: 5-2-2
Next Game vs. Ottawa: Saturday, April 16 at Ottawa
Toronto Season Record: 20-8-2
Toronto Home Record: 12-4-1
TV: Sportsnet RADIO: TSN 1050

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
December 31, 2021
Defenceman Chad Krys has been reassigned to the Toronto Marlies
(AHL) from the Maple Leafs taxi squad
December 30, 2021
Defencemen Teemu Kivihalme and Chad Krys have been assigned to
the Maple Leafs taxi squad from the Toronto Marlies (AHL)
December 29, 2021
Goaltender Michael Hutchinson has been assigned to the Maple Leafs
taxi squad from the Toronto Marlies (AHL)
December 29, 2021
Forwards Joey Anderson and Kyle Clifford and defencemen Carl
Dahlström, Filip Král and Kristins Rubns have been reassigned to the
Toronto Marlies (AHL) from the Maple Leafs taxi squad
December 28, 2021
Forward Brett Seney and Alex Steeves and goaltender Joseph Woll
have been loaned to the Toronto Marlies (AHL)

LAST GAME
Score: Toronto 5 at Edmonton 1
Date: Tuesday, December 14, 2021
TOR Goals: Matthews (2), Simmonds, Brodie, Rielly
EDM Goals: Sceviour
TOR Goaltender: Campbell, 35/36, .972 SV%
EDM Goaltender: Koskinen, 20/25, .800 SV%
TOR Power Play: 1-for-3
TOR Penalty Kill: 2-for-2

NEXT GAME
Date: Wednesday, January 5, 2022
Opponent: vs. Edmonton Oilers
Broadcast Information: Sportsnet (TV), Sportsnet 590 (Radio)

INJURY REPORT
Timothy Liljegren Placed on the NHL’s Covid-19 protocol list

ALL-TIME VS. OTTAWA SENATORS:
First Matchup between Clubs: Oct. 20, 1992 (Toronto 5 vs. Ottawa 3)
All-Time Record: 62-56-3-13 (134 Games)
All-Time Record at Home: 35-22-2-8 (67 Games)
All-Time Record on the Road: 27-34-1-5 (67 Games)
Last Home Win vs. Opponent: Oct. 16, 2021 (Toronto 3 vs. Ottawa 1)
Record in Last Five Games: 3-1-1
Record in Last 10 Games: 6-2-2

ACTIVE LEADERS VS. OTTAWA SENATORS:
Games Played: John Tavares (45), Wayne Simmonds (35), Morgan Rielly (34)
Goals: Auston Matthews (23), John Tavares (11), Wayne Simmonds (11)
Assists:
Mitch Marner (21), John Tavares (18), Auston Matthews (16), William
Nylander (16)
Points: Auston Matthews (39), Mitch Marner (30), John Tavares (29)
Penalty Minutes: Wayne Simmonds (38), John Tavares (26), Jake Muzzin (13)

2021-22 AVERAGES AND RANKINGS
Points % GF/Game GA/Game PP% PK% SF/G SA/G FO%
Toronto .700 3.27 2.50 30.6% 82.1% 34.2 31.4 55.0%
Ottawa .357 2.79 3.61 19.8% 77.8% 28.8 33.7 48.4%

THE MAN ADVANTAGE IN 2021-22
Power Play: 26/85 (30.6%)
Power Play Goal Leader: 8 – Matthews
Power Play Point Leader: 15 – Matthews (8G, 7A)
2020-21 Power Play: 31/155 (20.0%)

ON THE PK IN 2021-22
Penalty Kill: 69/84 (82.1%)
Shorthanded Goal Leader: 1 – Marner
Shorthanded Point Leader: 1 – Marner (1G), Muzzin (1A)
2020-21 Penalty Kill: 113/144 (78.5%)

FAST FACTS
Saturday games 9th of 21 (10 home, 11 road)
Back-to-Backs played 5 of 13
Record in first game of back-to-back 2-2-1
Record in second game of back-to-back 2-3-0
January games 1st of 11 (5 home, 6 road)
RECENT MILESTONES

TJ BRODIE Appeared in his 700th career NHL game, Nov. 2, 2021 vs. VGK
TJ BRODIE Scored his 50th career NHL goal, Dec. 14, 2021 at EDM
JACK CAMPBELL Appeared in his 100th career NHL game, Nov. 16, 2021 vs. NSH
JACK CAMPBELL Recorded his 50th career NHL win, Nov. 18, 2021 vs. NYR
PIERRE ENGVALL Appeared in his 100th career NHL game, Nov. 2, 2021 vs. VGK
ONDREJ KAŠE Recorded his 100th career NHL point, Nov. 10, 2021 at PHI
ONDREJ KAŠE Scored his 50th career NHL goal, Dec. 9, 2021 vs. TBL
ALEXANDER KERFOOT Appeared in his 300th career NHL game, Nov. 26 at SJS
AUSTON MATTHEWS
Recorded his 200th career NHL goal, Oct. 25, 2021 at CAR. Per NHL
Stats, Matthews required the second-fewest games to reach 200 goals in
Maple Leafs history among players who debuted with the team, trailing
only Charlie Conacher (317 games)
MORGAN RIELLY Recorded his 250th career NHL assist, Oct. 27, 2021 at CHI
MORGAN RIELLY Skated in his 600th career NHL game, Dec. 9, 2021 vs. TBL
WAYNE SIMMONDS Skated in his 950th career NHL game, Oct. 16, 2021 vs. OTT
JASON SPEZZA Skated in his 1,200th career NHL game, Nov. 28, 2021 at ANA
JOHN TAVARES Recorded his 200th point with the Maple Leafs, Oct. 18, 2021 vs. NYR
JOHN TAVARES Scored his 100th goal with the Maple Leafs, Nov. 13, 2021 at BUF

UPCOMING MILESTONES
Travis Dermott One point away from 50 career NHL points
David Kämpf Four assists away from 50 career NHL assists
Alexander Kerfoot Three assists away from 100 career NHL assists
Ilya Mikheyev Six games away from 100 career NHL games played
William Nylander Six points away from 300 career NHL points
John Tavares One game away from 900 career NHL games played

2021-22 TEAM LEADERS

CATEGORY LEADER CATEGORY LEADER
GOALS 20 – Matthews BLOCKED SHOTS 42 – Holl
ASSISTS 22 – Rielly TAKEAWAYS 30 – Nylander
POINTS 33 – Matthews (20G, 13A) HITS 65 – Ritchie
POWER PLAY POINTS 15 – Matthews (8G, 7A) TOI PER GAME 23:58 – Rielly
SHORTHANDED POINTS 1 – Marner (1G), Muzzin (1A) PP TOI PER GAME 3:01 – Marner
PIMs 40 – Simmonds SH TOI PER GAME 2:36 – Muzzin
SHOTS 121 – Matthews WINS 15 – Campbell
FACEOFF% 60.1% – Tavares GOALS-AGAINST AVERAGE 1.94 – Campbell
SHOT ATTEMPTS% 58.25% – Matthews SAVE PERCENTAGE .937 – Campbell

RECORD BY MONTH
OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER JANUARY FEBRUARY
HOME 3-1-1 6-2-0 3-1-0 0-0-0 0-0-0
AWAY 1-3-0 6-0-0 1-1-1 0-0-0 0-0-0
TOTAL 4-4-1 12-2-0 4-2-1 0-0-0 0-0-0
MARCH APRIL
HOME 0-0-0 0-0-0
AWAY 0-0-0 0-0-0
TOTAL 0-0-0 0-0-0

RECORD BY DAY
SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY
2-1-0 0-2-1 4-0-0 5-0-0 2-2-0 2-1-0 5-2-1

SENATORS NOTES

LAST GAME: Dec. 18, 4-3 OT loss at Philadelphia: Sanheim earned his third career overtime game-winning goal (moving into a tie for second all-time
among Flyers’ rearguards) at 1:35 of the extra session in Philadelphia’s 4-3 overtime win. Giroux opened the scoring for the home side with his 883rd
career point to move into a tie for second on the Flyers all-time points list before Lindblom gave the Flyers at 2-0 lead at 7:32 of the opening period.
Three consecutive goals from the Senators saw Stützle (with his 13th career road goal – tied for most by a teenager in Senators history), Formenton
(with his second shorthanded goal of the season – tied for first leaguewide) and Zub provided the visitors with a short lived lead. In his first game since
Dec. 1, Farabee replied 1:08 later to send the game to game to a fourth period. The game saw Chabot record the fourth instance of a Senator playing
over 35 minutes in a game (35:39) to establish the second most ice-time he has earned in a regular-season game in his career. Jones made 28 saves to
earn the win for Philadelphia while Forsberg turned aside 34 shots in taking the loss for Ottawa. Scratches: Gaudette; Injuries: Brannstrom, J. Brown,
Pinto, White, Zaitsev; Shots: OTT – 31, PHI – 38; PP: OTT – 0-1, PHI – 0-2.
BROADCAST INFORMATION:
This evening’s game against Toronto will be broadcast nationally on Sportsnet, CBC and Citytv as a part of Hockey
Night in Canada and on TVA Sports. On the radio, the game will be available locally via TSN 1200 (English) and 94,5 Unique-FM (French).
WHAT’S NEXT: Ottawa heads to the state of Washington for the first time to face Seattle on Thursday evening at 10 p.m. EDT. The contest will mark
the first of two regular-season meetings and the lone matchup at Climate Pledge Arena.
INJURY REPORT: D J. Brown, C Pinto, C White and D Zaitsev are on IR and will not oppose the Leafs this evening. Total man-games lost: 104.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS: Recalled G Murray from Belleville (AHL) on Dec. 28; Signed F Boucher to a three-year, entry-level contract on Dec. 28;
Recalled F Bishop and F Shaw from Belleville (AHL) on Dec. 31.
OTTAWA vs. TORONTO – History:
2021-22 (1-1-0): Oct. 14 @ Ottawa (3-2 win), Oct. 16 @ Toronto (3-1 loss), Jan. 1 @ Toronto, April 16 @ Ottawa
2020-21 (4-4-1): 1/15/21 @ Ottawa (5-3 win), 10/16/21 @ Ottawa (3-2 loss), 2/15/21 @ Toronto (6-5 OT win), 2/17/21 @ Toronto (2-1 loss), 2/18/21 @
Toronto (7-3 loss), 3/14/21 @ Ottawa (4-3 win), 3/25/21 @ Ottawa (3-2 OT loss), 4/10/21 @ Toronto (6-5 loss), 5/12/21 @ Ottawa (4-3 OT win)
Series record: Overall: 69-51-3-11; Home: 39-21-1-6; Away: 30-30-2-5
Last Ottawa win: @ Ottawa: Oct. 14 (3-2); @ Toronto: 2/15/21 (6-5 OT)
Last Toronto win: @ Ottawa: 3/25/21 (3-2 OT); @ Toronto: Oct. 16 (3-1)
Last OT result: 5/12/21 (4-3 OT win) @ Ottawa
Last shootout: 1/21/17 (3-2 SO win) @ Toronto
Most goals, game: Scored: 8, (3x, Last: 4/3/08, 8-2 win); Allowed: 7, (2/18/21, 7-3 loss); Both teams: 11, (3x, Last: 4/10/21, 6-5 loss)
Last Game: Oct. 16, 3-1 loss @ Toronto; OTT Goal: Norris; TOR Goals: Simmonds, Kerfoot, Bunting; OTT Scratches: Del Zotto, Sabourin, Tkachuk;
OTT Injuries: Bishop, Murray*, Watson, White; OTT Goalie: Forsberg; TOR Goalie: Campbell; OTT PP: 1-2; TOR PP: 0-3; Shots: 21-29.
Career vs. Toronto: Ennis leads all players in career games played (41), in goals (10), in assists (16) and in points (26); Tkachuk leads in penalty
minutes (15) against Toronto.
NEW SWEATER: The Senators enter their second season of wearing a primary logo which has seen the organization return to its roots with the
implementation of the modified original “2D” logo. The team has earned a 31-42-6 all-time record (9-17-2 this season) while wearing its current sweater.
The Senators hold an all-time record of 112-75-7-25 when wearing an alternate; 27-19-2-5 when wearing a red alternate, 84-55-5-19 when wearing a
black alternate and 1-1-0-1 when wearing a cream alternate.
HOME ON THE RANGE: The Senators have a record of 5-9-0 at home this season … Brady Tkachuk is the Senators leader with eight goals at home
while Drake Batherson and Thomas Chabot maintain the club lead with 10 assists at Canadian Tire Centre … Through 14 home games this season,
Batherson leads the team with 16 points on home ice … The Senators earned a record of 14-10-4 through 28 home contests in 2020-21.
ROAD SCHOLARS: The Senators have a record of 4-8-2 on the road this season … Josh Norris leads with nine goals on the road this season
while Batherson ranks first with nine assists while the Senators serve as visitors … Through 14 road games this season, Batherson and Norris maintain
the club lead with 12 points … The Senators registered a 9-18-1 record over 28 road contests in 2020-21.
FRANCHISE RECORD: Ottawa has posted an all-time record of 980-957-115-171 over 2,223 games … The Senators are 538-422-60-93 through 1,113
all-time home games and 442-535-55-78 through 1,110 all-time road games.
BACK-TO-BACK GAMES: Ottawa will play back-to-back games on 15 occasions in 2021-22 and will open their fifth set of the season on Jan. 22 when
they visit Washington ahead of playing in Columbus the following evening … The Senators played back-to-back games on 10 occasions last season and
earned a record of 6-4-0 in the first half of contests on consecutive nights (2-4-0 this season) while posting a 0-8-2 record (2-3-1 this season) in the
second half of games on consecutive days.

ON THE POWER PLAY: The Senators are 18 for 91 (19.8%) on the power-play in 2021-22 … Norris leads with five power-play goals while Batherson
maintains the club lead with nine points on the power-play … Ottawa has tallied multiple power-play goals five times in an individual contest in 2021-22
after having done so five times in 2020-21.
ON THE PENALTY KILL: Ottawa has overcome 70 of the 90 occasions the team has been shorthanded in 2021-22 to maintain an efficiency of 77.8%
through 28 regular-season games … The team has registered three (Formenton x2, Gambrell) shorthanded markers this season after recording seven
such goals in 2020-21.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
COACH SMITH: D.J. Smith was introduced as the Senators’ 14th head coach in franchise history on 5/23/19. A native of Windsor, Ont., Smith spent the
four previous NHL seasons as an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Prior to joining the Maple Leafs (which was also the team for which he
made his NHL playing debut in 1996-97), Smith guided the Ontario Hockey League’s Oshawa Generals to a record of 135-53-3-13 over three campaigns
which included his having been recognized as the OHL’s Coach of the Year in 2013-14. One year later, he helped the team capture the Mastercard
Memorial Cup. His 57 head coaching victories with Ottawa see him rank seventh in franchise history.
FIRST SEASON AS CAPTAIN FOR CHUCKY: 2019-20 NHL All-Star Brady Tkachuk was appointed the 10th captain in Senators franchise history on
Nov. 5. A native of St. Louis, Tkachuk succeeded Erik Karlsson who served in the role for four seasons from 2014-15 to 2017-18. The bronze medal
winner with Team U.S.A. at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship is the first American born skater to serve as team captain. Tkachuk is assisted by
full-time alternate Thomas Chabot and a rotating group comprised of Connor Brown, Nick Paul and Nikita Zaitsev.
TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE: By way of skating in a game-high 35:39 on Dec. 18, Senators defenceman Thomas Chabot registered the fourth instance
of an Ottawa player skating in over 35 minutes in a game since ice-time began being tracked in 1997-98. The total marked the highest single game total
in the league this season and was the third most time-on-ice in one regular-season game since the 2014-15 campaign. The top three time-on-ice totals
since that season are now held by Senators’ following Chabot’s 37:50 (12/17/19 at Tampa Bay) and Erik Karlsson’s 36:34 (12/20/15 at Tampa Bay). The
two rearguards hold the top 16 time-on-ice totals with Ottawa since 2014-15 with only Cody Ceci (32:54 on 12/21/17 at Tampa Bay and 32:49 on 3/22/18
vs Edmonton) otherwise finding a place in the top 20. Ottawa’s alternate captain paces the league in average time-on-ice per-game (27:20) and even
strength time-on-ice per-game (23:31) while ranking ninth leaguewide in total time-on-ice (765:16).
ALL-TIME LEADERS: Chris Phillips is the Senators’ all-time leader in games played (1,179) … Daniel Alfredsson leads in goals (426), assists (682) and
points (1,108) … Following Phillips is Alfredsson (1,178), Chris Neil (1,026), Wade Redden (838), Radek Bonk (689), Jason Spezza (686) and Mike
Fisher (675) … Neil leads in penalty minutes (2,522) while Patrick Lalime holds the lead in shutouts (30) and ranks second (283) to Craig Anderson
(435) in games played among goaltenders. Anderson leads in wins (202).
MILESTONES WITHIN REACH:
C. Brown – Six points from 200
Ennis – Three assists from 200
Norris – 15 games from 100
Paul – Four games from 200


RAPTORS 116, CLIPPERS 108

TORONTO & LOS ANGELES POSTGAME VIDEO: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/2j8fgl17gig3szo/AAB_ze09Pd9gbmQ4iXZXs3URa?dl=0

TORONTO RAPTORSPOSTGAME NOTESA picture containing logo

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FINAL SCORE: TORONTO RAPTORS 116, LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS 108

DATE: DECEMBER 31, 2021

 FINAL SCORERECORDHIGH POINTSHIGH REBOUNDSHIGH ASSISTS
Los Angeles10818-18Morris Sr. – 20Mann – 11Kennard/Bledsoe – 6
Toronto11615-17VanVleet – 31Siakam – 19VanVleet – 9
KEY RUN

Tied at 105 with 2:49 remaining in the fourth quarter, Toronto went on a 11-3 run to close the game … The Raptors outscored the Clippers 34-21 in the final frame.

KEY STAT

The Raptors outrebounded the Clippers 54-37, led by Pascal Siakam (19) and Chris Boucher (9) … With his 19 rebounds tonight, Siakam (2096) passed Vince Carter (2091) for eighth and Andrea Bargnani (2095) for seventh on the Raptors all-time rebounding list.

RAPTORS NOTES:

  • With the win, Toronto improves to 15-17 this season and 8-10 at home … The Raptors are 6-2 at home in the month of December … Toronto continues the four-game homestand (Dec. 28 – Jan. 4) Sunday against the New York Knicks.
  • Fred VanVleet finished with 31 points and nine assists in 39 minutes … VanVleet has now scored 20+ points and led the Raptors in scoring in three consecutive games played (Dec. 14-31), averaging 29.7 points and shooting .433 (29-for-67) from the field during this stretch … He also reached 4,000 career points tonight, becoming the 11th Raptor to reach the milestone.
  • Pascal Siakam recorded 25 points and a career high-tying 19 rebounds in 40 minutes for his fifth double-double of the season … Siakam has scored 20+ points in seven of last nine games played (Nov. 30-Dec. 31), averaging 22.3 points during this span.
  • OG Anunoby scored 26 points (8-16 FG, 3-7 3PT, 7-8 FT) and added six rebounds and four steals in 36 minutes … Anunoby has scored 20+ points in nine games this season, something he did in 13 games last year.

CLIPPERS NOTES:

  • With the loss, Los Angeles falls to 18-18, including 6-8 on the road … Los Angeles will complete a three-game road trip (Dec. 29 – Jan. 1) Saturday against the Brooklyn Nets.
  • Marcus Morris Sr. recorded a team-high 20 points and added six rebounds and three assists in 38 minutes … Morris Sr. has now finished with 20+ points in five consecutive games played (Dec. 13-31), averaging 23.0 points and shooting .488 (42-for-86) from the field during this stretch.
  • Terance Mann tallied 18 points and a season-high 11 rebounds in 37 minutes for his fourth double-double of the year … Mann recorded two double-doubles in 67 games last season.
  • Amir Coffey finished with a season-best 15 points (5-9 FG, 3-7 3PT, 2-2 FT) in 28 minutes off the bench … Coffey was one of five Clippers (along with Morris Sr. -20, Mann-18, Jackson-17, and Kennard-13) to finish in double digits.

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2021-22 SEASON-SERIES ALL-TIME RECORDS
DATESITERESULT  RAPTORS WINSCLIPPERS WINS
12/31/2021TorontoW 116-108 Overall:2823
03/16/2022Los Angeles at Toronto:179
  at Los Angeles:1114
     

Becky Hammon named new Las Vegas Aces coach — The Denver Post

Becky Hammon is coming back to the WNBA as a head coach. The veteran San Antonio Spurs assistant and former Colorado State University star took the lead spot with the Las Vegas Aces on Friday. “I am so excited to return to the WNBA and grateful for Mark Davis and Nikki Fargas having a vision…

Becky Hammon named new Las Vegas Aces coach — The Denver Post