#Deadspin #Quinn #Hughes #Wild #finish #Stars #Game">Deadspin | Quinn Hughes, Wild finish off Stars in Game 6
Apr 30, 2026; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Wild defensemen Quinn Hughes (43) celebrates his second goal of the night against the Dallas Stars during the third period in game six of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Grand Casino Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Wosika-Imagn Images
Quinn Hughes scored twice and added an assist, leading the Minnesota Wild to a series-clinching 5-2 victory over the Dallas Stars on Thursday night in Saint Paul, Minn.
The Wild won the best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinal series 4-2 and will play the Colorado Avalanche in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Minnesota won a playoff series for the first time since the 2015 Western Conference quarterfinals against the St. Louis Blues. The series win was also Minnesota’s first against Dallas.
Matt Boldy added a pair of empty-net goals and Vladimir Tarasenko also scored for the Wild, while Jesper Wallstedt made 22 saves.
Wyatt Johnston and Mavrik Bourque responded for the Stars, who dropped the final three games of the series.
Jake Oettinger stopped 16 shots.
Hughes scored the go-ahead goal, and eventual winner, at 10:38 of the third period as his shot deflected off the skate of Stars defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin and past Oettinger.
Hughes became the second defenseman in Wild history to score a go-ahead goal in a series-clinching game.
Trailing 1-0, Johnston got Dallas on the board on a power play at 7:01, one-timing a Mikko Rantanen feed past Wallstedt for his fourth of the series.
Bourque gave the Stars their first lead of the night, corralling the rebound off Michael Bunting’s shot and putting it home for his first career playoff goal.
Minnesota responded 54 seconds later when Tarasenko backhanded a shot past Oettinger for his 50th career playoff goal.
The Wild led 1-0 after 20 minutes. Hughes opened the scoring 6:23 into the game, snapping a shot from the top of the faceoff circle past Oettinger glove-side for his first of the series.
Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin missed Game 6 with a lower-body injury and was replaced in the lineup by Jeff Petry.
#Zealand #skipper #Santner #sidelined #month #due #shoulder #injury">New Zealand skipper Santner sidelined for at least a month due to shoulder injury
New Zealand white ball skipper Mitchell Santner will be out of action for at least a month due to a grade three ACL shoulder injury he sustained during the Indian Premier League.
The 34-year-old injured his left shoulder while fielding during Mumbai Indians’ match against the Chennai Super Kings on April 23.
“Santner returned home to New Zealand this week and saw a specialist this morning who confirmed a rest and rehabilitation period of at least one month,” New Zealand Cricket said on Friday.
The spin-bowling all-rounder, who took a fine diving catch to dismiss CSK’s Kartik Sharma off Jasprit Bumrah but hit his shoulder and head on the ground, will thus be unavailable for the one-off Test against Ireland and the first Test against England.
“His availability for the second and third Tests to be evaluated at a later date,” NZC said.
The one-off four-day Test against Ireland begins at Stormont in Belfast on May 27, with the three Tests against England to be played at Lord’s (June 4-8), The Oval (June 17-21) and Trent Bridge (June 25-29), respectively.
#Deadspin #Tyrese #Maxey #Sixers #dump #Celtics #send #series #Game">Deadspin | Tyrese Maxey, Sixers dump Celtics again, send series to Game 7
Apr 30, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George (8) reacts to his score against the Boston Celtics during the second quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Tyrese Maxey scored 30 points Thursday as the surging Philadelphia 76ers posted a 106-93 win over the visiting Boston Celtics, forcing a decisive Game 7 in a first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.
The second-seeded Celtics led the series 3-1 following a 32-point win in Philadelphia on Sunday, but the seventh-seeded Sixers rebounded to post double-digit wins in Games 5 and 6.
The teams will reconvene Saturday for Game 7 in Boston, where the Sixers will aim to complete a 3-1 series comeback for the first time in franchise history.
Paul George added 23 points for Philadelphia, while Joel Embiid had 19 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in his third game since returning from an emergency appendectomy. VJ Edgecombe and Kelly Oubre Jr. chipped in with 14 points apiece for the Sixers.
Jaylen Brown led Boston with 18 points but also committed five of his team’s 13 turnovers. Jayson Tatum contributed 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Celtics, who shot poorly from the field (41.9%), the 3-point arc (12 of 41, 29.3%) and the foul line (9 of 16, 56.2%).
Philadelphia shot just 8 of 24 (33.3%) from the field in the first quarter and trailed 23-20 after 12 minutes.
The second quarter was a different story for the Sixers, who outscored the Celtics 38-26 in the period. Maxey led the way with 13 points in the session.
Philadelphia’s lead was 38-36 midway through the second quarter before Edgecombe’s jumper ignited an 18-8 run that put the hosts ahead by a dozen late in the period. Boston briefly got its deficit down to seven before Maxey dropped in a floater just before halftime.
About three minutes into the third quarter, Brown knocked down a 3-pointer to bring Boston within 65-54. However, Philadelphia countered with a flashy sequence in which Embiid’s behind-the-back pass set up an Oubre dunk and then George’s behind-the-back pass unleashed an Edgecombe slam to bring the crowd to its feet.
The Sixers went on to lead by as many as 21 points late in the third quarter before the Celtics inched within 82-63 heading into the fourth.
Philadelphia was up 88-65 with 10:24 remaining, but Boston then scored 11 straight points, capped by Luka Garza’s dunk with 7:10 to play.
However, it didn’t take the Sixers long to regain control. Edgecombe swished a 3-pointer to make it 98-78, and the home team cruised from there.
The shotgun squad began its international engagements in Tangier, Morocco, in March, where the first World Cup stage was played.
Day one of competitions will feature three Indian Olympians: senior pros Mairaj Ahmad Khan and Anantjeet Singh Naruka in the men’s skeet and Raiza Dhillon in the women’s skeet. All three will be seen in international action for the first time this year.
Besides the all-conquering Italians, Indian shooters will be up against top shooters from strong shotgun nations like Finland, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Greece, Peru, and Qatar, among others.
Host Kazakhstan also has a quality squad, and there is strong representation from China and Russia, which entered as Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN).
The shotgun squad began its international engagements in Tangier, Morocco, in March, where the first World Cup stage was played.
Day one of competitions will feature three Indian Olympians: senior pros Mairaj Ahmad Khan and Anantjeet Singh Naruka in the men’s skeet and Raiza Dhillon in the women’s skeet. All three will be seen in international action for the first time this year.
Besides the all-conquering Italians, Indian shooters will be up against top shooters from strong shotgun nations like Finland, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Greece, Peru, and Qatar, among others.
Host Kazakhstan also has a quality squad, and there is strong representation from China and Russia, which entered as Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN).
Published on May 01, 2026
#12member #Indian #shotgun #squad #set #years #ISSF #World #Cup #stage">12-member Indian shotgun squad set for year’s second ISSF World Cup stage
A 12-member Indian shotgun squad is all set to take part in the year’s second International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup in Almaty, Kazakhstan, beginning with the team arrivals on Saturday.
A total of 284 athletes, representing 42 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), are in the fray for the five Olympic events on the 10-day roster. Eight members of the Indian squad are also travelling to compete as RPO (ranking points only) shooters.
Competitions begin with the men’s and women’s skeet qualifiers on Monday, with the finals scheduled for the next day. The two trap finals are listed on May 9, with the fifth and last final, the trap mixed team, scheduled next Saturday.
The shotgun squad began its international engagements in Tangier, Morocco, in March, where the first World Cup stage was played.
Day one of competitions will feature three Indian Olympians: senior pros Mairaj Ahmad Khan and Anantjeet Singh Naruka in the men’s skeet and Raiza Dhillon in the women’s skeet. All three will be seen in international action for the first time this year.
Besides the all-conquering Italians, Indian shooters will be up against top shooters from strong shotgun nations like Finland, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Greece, Peru, and Qatar, among others.
Host Kazakhstan also has a quality squad, and there is strong representation from China and Russia, which entered as Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN).
#Deadspin #Promoter #Tyson #Fury #fight #facing #Anthony #Joshua">Deadspin | Promoter: Tyson Fury wants another fight before facing Anthony Joshua
Oct 9, 2021; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Deontay Wilder (red/black trunks) is knocked out by Tyson Fury (black/gold trunks) during their WBC/Lineal heavyweight championship boxing match at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
Anthony Joshua already has a tune-up bout scheduled ahead of his all-English heavyweight matchup with Tyson Fury later this year.
Fury wants an interim fight, promoter Frank Warren said Thursday.
“I think he will probably want to be doing something in between, let’s see,” Warren said in a press conference. “AJ has got his fight. Tyson, I’m quite sure, will have a fight in between. That’s what he’s asking for and we’ll see where we go from there.”
Fury, 37, and Joshua, 36, agreed to their matchup, though no details of the date or venue are known aside from the fact that they will clash late this year.
Joshua (29-4, 26 knockouts) will oppose Kristian Prenga (20-1, 20 KOs) on July 25 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Fury (35-2-1, 24 KOs) lost back-to-back fights, both decisions against Oleksandr Usyk, before beating Arslanbek Makhmudov in a unanimous decision earlier this month in London.
Joshua most recently was in the ring when he knocked out internet sensation Jake Paul in the sixth round last December. Before that, he was knocked out by Daniel Dubois in September 2024 in London.
Fury won his first piece of the world heavyweight championship in 2015 and last held a part of the title entering his first bout with Usyk in May 2024.
Joshua was at least partial heavyweight champion from 2016 until he, too, took consecutive losses to Usyk, the first coming in 2021.
“But I watched it back – wow. Huge. He could break his ankle. Wow, VAR – where are you? Please. It is your responsibility, we are professionals. You are doing very bad work because it was so clear for everybody. He could break his ankle.”
Despite the severity of the challenge Watkins played the full 90 minutes, a boost for Villa’s Champions League hopes for next season as this season comes to a close.
Watkins is Villa’s top goalscorer this season, netting 15 goals so far in all competitions.
Villa, currently fifth in the Premier League table, faces relegation-threatened Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
“But I watched it back – wow. Huge. He could break his ankle. Wow, VAR – where are you? Please. It is your responsibility, we are professionals. You are doing very bad work because it was so clear for everybody. He could break his ankle.”
Despite the severity of the challenge Watkins played the full 90 minutes, a boost for Villa’s Champions League hopes for next season as this season comes to a close.
Watkins is Villa’s top goalscorer this season, netting 15 goals so far in all competitions.
Villa, currently fifth in the Premier League table, faces relegation-threatened Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
Published on May 01, 2026
#Huge #mistake #Aston #Villa #coach #Emery #hits #VAR #Europa #League #loss #Nottingham #Forest">‘Huge mistake’: Aston Villa coach Emery hits out at VAR after Europa League loss to Nottingham Forest
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery was scathing in his criticism of the Video Assistant Referee’s (VAR) decisions in the Europa League first-leg tie against Nottingham Forest, taking issue with a tackle by Eliot Anderson.
Anderson made a sliding tackle on Ollie Watkins in which he won the ball but caught the English forward’s ankle with his studs, with VAR reviewing the incident briefly before clearing it.
“It’s a clear red card – I don’t understand why the VAR is not calling the referee because it’s so clear,” Emery said after Thursday’s match, which Forest won 1-0 courtesy of a Chris Wood penalty in the 71st minute.
“And it’s very, very important. It’s a huge, huge mistake. VAR is responsible. The referee – fantastic, fantastic job, 10 out of 10. I appreciated how he managed the match for 90 minutes.
“But I watched it back – wow. Huge. He could break his ankle. Wow, VAR – where are you? Please. It is your responsibility, we are professionals. You are doing very bad work because it was so clear for everybody. He could break his ankle.”
Despite the severity of the challenge Watkins played the full 90 minutes, a boost for Villa’s Champions League hopes for next season as this season comes to a close.
Watkins is Villa’s top goalscorer this season, netting 15 goals so far in all competitions.
Villa, currently fifth in the Premier League table, faces relegation-threatened Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
Apr 30, 2026; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Wild defensemen Quinn Hughes (43) celebrates his second goal of the night against the Dallas Stars during the third period in game six of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Grand Casino Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Wosika-Imagn Images 
