Utah Hockey Club said it still expects to announce a permanent name and identity before the 2025-26 NHL season despite having "Utah Yetis" refused by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

"Since acquiring Utah's NHL team, we have been carefully evaluating possibilities for the permanent identity of the team, while working within the complicated world of trademarks and intellectual property," president of hockey operations Chris Armstrong said in a statement Thursday.

As first reported by Ryan Miller of KSL.com in Utah, the USPTO rejected a trademark application from the team for "Utah Yetis" because of the "likelihood of confusion" for consumers to other companies and brands that use the name.

In a memo dated Jan. 9, the USPTO wrote that the word "Utah" is generic descriptor that "renders the wording 'YETIS' as the more dominant element of the mark."

The patent office said that "Utah Yeti" also wouldn't be accepted because "the singular or plural form of a registered mark is essentially identical in sound, appearance, meaning, and commercial impression, and thus the marks are confusingly similar."

Utah Hockey Club was seeking to use "Utah Yetis" on a variety of clothing items. The USPTO said a database search turned up "a number of third-party marks registered for use in connection with the same or similar goods and/or services as those of both applicant and registrant in this case."

Among those parties was Yeti Coolers LLC, which makes drinkware, coolers and clothing. The memo was a "nonfinal office action." Utah Hockey Club has three months to respond.

Utah Hockey Club is in its first season playing in Salt Lake City. The Arizona Coyotes' franchise was sold to Utah Jazz owners Smith Entertainment Group in April 2024. SEG acquired the franchise, its players and its hockey operations department in the sale, although the team is considered a new franchise rather than an extension of the Coyotes' legacy.

In June, it was announced that the team would be known as Utah Hockey Club during its inaugural season.

"It has always been our intention to let our season one identity as Utah Hockey Club, the team's performance, and the amazing response from our fans hold the conversation through our inaugural season," Armstrong said.

There was a fan vote on a permanent name for the team with six finalists: Utah Blizzard, Utah Hockey Club (Utah HC), Utah Mammoth, Utah Outlaws, Utah Venom and Utah Yeti. It was widely expected, even among Utah players, that "Yeti" or "Yetis" would eventually win out. But there are clearly trademark hurdles for the team in getting there.

"We will continue to involve the community in the final stages of the naming and branding process and are fully on track with our plans to announce a permanent name and identity ahead of the 2025-26 NHL season," Armstrong said.

San Jose Sharks leading goal scorer Tyler Toffoli, who sat out three games because of a lower-body injury, will return to the ice for Thursday night's game against the visiting Nashville Predators.

Toffoli, 32, left a morning skate last Saturday because of the injury and sat out that night's 4-1 road loss to the New York Islanders.

A 13-year NHL forward, Toffoli has 17 goals and 30 points this season in 47 games. In 859 games with the Los Angeles Kings (2012-20), Vancouver Canucks (2020), Montreal Canadiens (2020-22), Calgary Flames (2022-23), New Jersey Devils (2023-24), Winnipeg Jets (2023-24) and Sharks, the former second-round pick has 551 points (277 goals, 274 assists).

"We were fortunate that [it] didn't linger longer, and to get him back is important," Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. "He's a veteran guy that's won a Stanley Cup (with the Kings in 2014). He's important for this group."

In other Sharks news, forward Walker Duehr will make his team debut Thursday, a day after being claimed off waivers from the Calgary Flames.

"[He brings] some size (6-foot-2, 210 pounds), some speed. [He's a] north-south type of hockey player," Warsofsky said of Duehr, who had one assist this season in 16 games for Calgary.

Ruben Amorim has refused to rule out the possibility that Alejandro Garnacho could leave Manchester United before the transfer deadline.

The 20-year-old has been heavily linked with an exit this month amid interest from Napoli and Chelsea.

He impressed in the 2-1 UEFA Europa League win over Rangers on Thursday. But asked afterwards whether it could be the Argentinian's last game at Old Trafford, Amorim did nothing to dampen the speculation surrounding his future.

"I'm focused on the games and he's here," said Amorim.

"He's a player for Manchester United. He was really important for us today and let's see in the next days."

Sources have told ESPN that United are not forcing Garnacho out of the club. However, their financial situation means a realistic offer for any senior player will be considered. Receiving a fee for Garnacho -- an academy graduate -- would be a bonus for United because it counts as pure profit in relation to compliance with the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).

"I think he's improving in every aspect of the game," said Amorim.

"You can see it until 90 mins he's always there recovering and helping, sometimes showing some frustration and that is good because he wants more. I think he has potential to be so much better in every situation in the game. What I can say is he understood what I was trying to do, was really clear, I just want to help them but in the end it's them that do the job."

Wrexham were forced to settle for a point from their clash with League One leaders Birmingham City on Thursday in a fixture dubbed the "Hollywood derby" because of the influence of Rob McElhenney, Ryan Reynolds and Tom Brady over the respective teams.

The result leaves Birmingham three points clear of Wycombe Wanderers at the top of the League One table, while Wrexham remain third, five points behind Brady's side.

The match was broadcast across the United States and "immersive reality" domes in Los Angeles and Dallas offered viewing for nearly 3,000 fans. The Los Angeles event was used as a fundraiser for victims of the city's wildfires.

"We were disappointed with the goal we conceded but we went out for the second half and played with real momentum," Wrexham midfielder George Dobson told Sky Sports

"There are lots of positives to take for us, and we know if we play like that for the rest of the season, we'll be there or thereabouts [for promotion]. We went toe-to-toe with them. We knew it was going to be a challenging game. If we can perform like this away from home, we won't be far away."

Despite the absence of their famous owners in the stands, Wrexham got their noses in front through a pinpoint strike from midfielder Oliver Rathbone. There was a question of a foul in the buildup on Birmingham's Taylor Gardner-Hickman, but Rathbone took full advantages with a fine curling effort from range.

The visitors restored parity nine minutes later when Lyndon Dykes' header at the back post took a fortunate deflection off Dobson and trickled over the line. 

Dykes' goal seemed to suck the life out of the ground as the usually raucous home crowd settled back into their seats for the long haul at the STōK Cae Ras.

With clear chances also at a premium in the second half, Birmingham head coach Chris Davies introduced Keshi Anderson in the 66th minute as he searched for fresh attacking impetus.

Anderson almost provided an instant impact when his dash down the wing and low ball across goal presented teammate Alfie May a gilt-edged chance in front of goal, but the Birmingham forward failed to make contact with the ball as it flashed across the edge of the 6-yard box.

The introduction of Paul Mullin and Steven Fletcher seemed to galvanise Wrexham, and they almost found a late winner when Fletcher forced Ryan Allsop into a smart save with a carefully guided header in the 79th minute. 

Fletcher's chance was quickly followed by another opening when a Wrexham corner flashed across goal, forcing Allsop into another vital intervention with several players in close vicinity inside his area.

In the end, a grandstand finish never quite materialised as Birmingham held on for a hard-earned point that also stretched Wrexham's unbeaten run at home to 19 matches this season.

"I thought we started really well with a fantastic goal from Ollie [Rathbone]," Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson told Sky Sports. "It's always disappointing to concede and it knocked us a bit, but I thought we responded terrifically well in the second half.

"We've had a lot of games like that where we pin teams in and the ball goes in, but it didn't quite fall for us tonight. In terms of what we asked from the lads in terms of desire, energy, commitment -- we got all that. But also that intelligence in when we press.

"We improved from the first game we played against [Birmingham], and we deserved the win in the end. We had them on the rack."

Information from Reuters contributed to this report

MANCHESTER, England -- Among the songs at the end of Manchester United's UEFA Europa League match with Rangers, the home fans started to sing Ruben Amorim's name.

The Portuguese head coach says he doesn't like it because he doesn't yet think he deserves the honour. But on this occasion, he will have been quite glad to hear the tune of "Ruben Amorim's Red and White Army."

With his United team minutes away from another damaging result, having inexplicably allowed Rangers to score a late equaliser completely against the run of play, Bruno Fernandes popped up with a stoppage-time winner as the match ended 2-1.

It caused Amorim to turn to his bench and clench his fists in celebration. It was a goal he badly needed. Amorim has said this season is going to be a roller coaster, and against Rangers, he seemed to cram all the ups and downs into one game.

"We didn't deserve that draw at the moment, and it was fair for us to win the game, a game we knew would be tough," Amorim said.

"In this moment, we started well, the pace of the game helped us because it's different, and you could feel it. We tried to do things, we were better with the ball, sometimes we controlled well in the beginning and then we lost control for seven minutes because of some bad passes, some transitions, but then I think we created the best chance to win the game, and we deserved to win."

This has been an ugly week for United, even by their standards.

A fourth home defeat in five games against Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday prompted Amorim to speculate afterwards that this might be the worst team in the club's history. He backtracked slightly in a news conference Wednesday, but clarified that he meant only that he had perhaps chosen his words poorly. If anything, he doubled down on the sentiment that this is a significant low point.

There can be little doubt that Amorim has to deal with extensive problems in his new job. But at least for a few days, he might be able to enjoy a bit of respite from the doom and gloom. What lies in wait at Fulham on Sunday is anyone's guess.

Victory over Rangers leaves United fourth in the Europa League table with one foot in the round of 16, but there can be no talk about corners being turned. United were fortunate.

This was a makeshift Rangers team forced into another defensive reshuffle at half-time that saw left-back Rıdvan Yılmaz moved to right-back and right-back James Tavernier forced to centre-back. United took the lead in the second half only when their former loan goalkeeper Jack Butland punched Christian Eriksen's corner into his own net.

"Jack saved us a few times also in the second half," Rangers boss Philippe Clement said.

"That is the life of a goalkeeper. I am not going to be focused solely on that."

After Butland's blunder, United had chance after chance to put the game to bed. They almost paid the price when substitute Cyriel Dessers took advantage of Harry Maguire's mistake to smash in an equaliser with two minutes to go.

It would have been enough to condemn Amorim's team to another embarrassing night, only for Fernandes to latch on to Lisandro Martínez's perfect cross in the second minute of injury time.

"We are not playing our best, but we regrouped from the last game," Amorim said.

"I know the opponent is different. It wasn't as fast. You can see the connections. I think we need to be more clinical in the right moments because that can help us a lot."

For a change, Amorim walked down the tunnel after the final whistle wearing a smile, but it was another night when the size of his task was made brutally clear.

It has been 13 games in a row without a clean sheet, which is a major problem when the team isn't scoring goals. Alejandro Garnacho, Amad Diallo, Manuel Ugarte and Maguire all had good chances. United had 16 shots in total with only an own goal and Fernandes' late strike to show for it.

Garnacho looked like the most dangerous attacking threat, but there is no guarantee he will be at the club next month. The 20-year-old Argentina international is the subject of interest from Napoli and Chelsea, and United might have to seriously consider a good offer because of their precarious financial position.

Amorim wants to keep him, and the club, ideally, does not want to have to auction off its best young players. This, though, is the situation it finds itself in.

"He's a player for Manchester United," Amorim said when asked about the winger's future.

"He was really important for us today, and let's see in the next days."

Amorim can only hope that Garnacho is still part of his squad this time next week. For now, the coach can enjoy the relative serenity that comes in the aftermath of a win.

The storm hasn't passed, but the clouds have parted ever so slightly.

NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman said Thursday that expansion efforts are "not done" with the league set to name its newest franchise next week.

ESPN sources have confirmed reports that Denver will be awarded the 16th franchise when that announcement is made next week.

"Obviously, there's been a lot of rumors circulating, but we will have an announcement next week, so more to come in the not too distant future," Berman said. "We know that our expansion is not done. We're in active conversations with our board to determine the next sequence of expansion, and as I've shared before, we have so many interested bidders who were not given a team in this round.

"Part of the effort in the next three to six months is really developing our next expansion strategy. We want to be aggressive with expansion, but we also want to be strategic and smart about how we do that."

Currently sitting at 14 teams, the league will grow to 16 by 2026, with the 15th team BOS Nation FC already announced and Denver expected to be revealed next week.

Regarding how the league will choose future markets, Berman outlined three guidelines that will determine where the league moves beyond 2026.

"The first is ownership and knowing that we have the right owner with the right -- both financial wherewithal as well as vision to invest," Berman said. "The second being infrastructure, making sure that we have a bid with a professional and appropriate stadium and training facility that meets the standards, not just of today, but of where we think the league is heading.

"The third being the market, the reason the market is third is really only because we're in this vast country where we know there's opportunity for growth in so many different cities. So it doesn't have to be the driver for our decisions.

"I could sit here and think of 10 to 12 markets where we could have a team be successful."

Heading into the 2025 season, the league will also be charting new waters without a college draft and free agency. Those decisions, among others, will be an adjustment after the NWSL and the NWSL Players Association agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement last year.

"It's a learning process for the whole ecosystem," Berman said. "On the technical staff side, they've never experienced anything like this. There actually is nothing to point to as a case study of how to make this transition, because there is no league that has gone from a world of a draft and having years of service, to being able to earn free agency and just having that melt away overnight."

"But I think it's also been an adjustment for the players. I've seen some reports of the number of players who are out of contract, who are still looking for a job, and I think being able to find places for all of them, either within our ecosystem or beyond, is also going to be an adjustment for everyone."

On Wednesday, the league announced the full schedule for the 2025 season that will include a Rivalry Weekend and the return of Decision Day. Berman said the location of the 2025 championship will come in "the next few months."

Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen met with the Jaguars in Jacksonville, Florida, on Thursday, one day after agreeing to stay in Tampa on a deal that would have made him the NFL's highest-paid coordinator, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The two sides are discussing a deal that would make Coen the next head coach of the Jaguars, the sources said.

The Buccaneers have had no contact Thursday with Coen or his representation, sources told Schefter. The team has made multiple efforts to reach him. Coen, however, did reach out to Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles on Thursday evening to inform him that he was interviewing with Jacksonville, sources told ESPN.

A source, meanwhile, told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler that given the latest turn in Jacksonville's head coaching hunt, Coen figured he owed it to himself to speak with the team about the job.

The development comes a day after Coen, 39, had pulled himself out of the running for the Jaguars' job. Hours later, the Jaguars and general manager Trent Baalke parted ways.

Jaguars owner Shad Khan retained Baalke when he fired coach Doug Pederson on Jan. 6, saying that afternoon in a news conference that a complete organizational overhaul would be "suicide." He also said that if any coaching candidate expressed reservations about the organizational structure or working with Baalke, he would be willing to address the topic.

The Buccaneers had the third-ranked total offense in the NFL and finished fourth in points scored this season in Coen's first year as the team's offensive coordinator.

Quarterback Baker Mayfield enjoyed his best career season under Coen, with career highs in passing yards (4,500), touchdown passes (41) and completion percentage (71.4).

The Jaguars are seeking a new head coach after firing Pederson following a 4-13 season.

ESPN's Michael DiRocco contributed to this report.

PARIS -- The first enormous roar from the crowd came before the game even started. All Victor Wembanyama needed to do to get the fans in Paris into a full-blown frenzy was, it turned out, say hello into a microphone.

The cheering just from that lasted about 30 seconds.

Welcome home, Wemby. For the first time as an NBA player, Wembanyama played in his homeland Thursday -- the star attraction in this two-game set between San Antonio and Indiana, a series that concludes Saturday night.

"Tonight was definitely different," Wembanyama said. "It's a different kind of support that the crowd brings. We try to use the circumstances to our advantage every time, and tonight was an easy night to use that."

The sellout crowd wasn't disappointed. Neither was Wembanyama. He had an incredible game -- 30 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 blocked shots -- and the Spurs rolled to a 140-110 win, San Antonio's second-largest victory margin of the season and Indiana's second-largest defeat margin.

Countless fans showed up in Wembanyama jerseys. All of his jerseys, that is. Spurs jerseys in at least three different colors. French national team jerseys. The jerseys he wore when he played in the French league. NBA games are a big deal wherever they go in the world, but this was different. This was a homecoming and a celebration.

"I would just say it's a pleasure to be part of a league with Victor Wembanyama," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said before the game.

Wembanyama got -- by far -- the loudest ovation when the starters were introduced. When his face was shown on the scoreboard video screens during the playing of France's national anthem, the building simply roared. He won the opening tap to start the game; another roar. He missed the game's first shot, drawing an audible groan. There weren't many of those the rest of the way.

"It's not easy to stop him," Indiana guard Bennedict Mathurin said. "We do what we can. But he's really good."

This wasn't Spurs-Pacers. This was Wemby and a lot of other guys. And if there was pressure, Wembanyama -- the league's reigning Rookie of the Year and a likely All-Star this season -- didn't seem fazed.

"The ovation for him obviously was very, very moving just in terms of a reflection of how this city and country and these people feel about him and he feels about them," acting Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. "There's certain games you know you don't need to get the guys up for, as you say. This was one of them."

The Spurs knew before the game that Wembanyama was ready. Harrison Barnes revealed that Wembanyama took over the team's locker room musical selections. He picked French artists.

"He was excited for today," Barnes said.

Poor Boomer. He's the Pacers mascot. He's a blue, furry thing. His in-game tasks include wearing oversized mitts on his hands and encouraging fans to clap for some defense. This ordinarily works wonders at Pacers home games, which this matchup technically was, at least on paper.

Boomer was foiled repeatedly Thursday. Cheering with him, you see, meant fans would have been cheering against Wembanyama's Spurs. Not going to happen. Not in Paris.

Technically, it might have happened once. Wembanyama had a spectacular block late in the third quarter, and had it counted it would have been his fourth in as many possessions. The crowd evidently didn't see referee Zach Zarba gesturing for goaltending, so the basket counted -- and that was the only Pacers basket that the French crowd cheered.

"I thought it was a great environment," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "I don't know what Victor said before the game, but whatever he said worked. They played a great game. Victor's a great player. The country of France should be very, very proud. He's a one of a kind. He's a once every I-don't-know-how-many-generations a player like that comes along. Just breathtaking, the things that he does."

Carlisle is right, of course. Everyone is often impressed by Wembanyama. Except Wembanyama. He doesn't get caught up in highlights or hyperbole. He insists that he wants only to win.

"Tonight, I'm proud of my team," Wembanyama said. "It was perfect. It was a perfect evening. We had the win, and we won the right way."

LeBron James extended his record to 21 All-Star selections Thursday night when he was again named a starter for this year's midseason showcase of the NBA's biggest names.

James, who turned 40 last month, extended his record after surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 19 selections last season. He will be joined in the Western Conference starting lineup by Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, the NBA's reigning Most Valuable Player; Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant, who is tied for the fourth-most selections with 15; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander; and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry.

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, led all players in fan voting for a second straight season and was joined by Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell and New York Knicks teammates Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns in the Eastern Conference starting five.

James, who was set to face off against Tatum and the Celtics later Thursday in Los Angeles, is averaging 23.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 9 assists for the Lakers, who remain in sixth place in the Western Conference standings, an unprecedented level of production for a player his age. Durant, meanwhile, joins Hall of Famers Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and Shaquille O'Neal with 15 All-Star selections, trailing only James, Abdul-Jabbar and the late Kobe Bryant (18).

Jokic, earning his seventh All-Star selection, is having another stellar season for the Nuggets, averaging 30.1 points, 13.2 rebounds and 9.9 assists while shooting 56% overall from the field and 47% from 3-point range. Curry returns to the starting lineup after being a reserve last year as the game will be played at his home arena in San Francisco. He will make his 11th appearance overall, edging past injured Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic in recent weeks to do so, in the only close vote among the West selections.

There certainly wasn't any drama about Gilgeous-Alexander returning to the starting lineup for the second straight season. Fresh off his first 50-point game Wednesday night against the Utah Jazz, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 32 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.1 assists for the West-leading Thunder.

In the East, Antetokounmpo, now an All-Star for the ninth time, led the way. It was the sixth appearance for both Tatum and Mitchell, who were widely expected to be starters alongside Antetokounmpo, as was Towns, who will be starting the All-Star Game for the first time in his career in his first season in New York after making it four times as a reserve in his first nine seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The starting lineups are chosen from a hybrid voting system, with 50% of the vote coming from fan ballots, and 25% from both the media and current players.

The lone starting spot that felt truly up for grabs entering Thursday's unveiling was the second East starter alongside Mitchell in the backcourt. In the mix were Brunson, Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball -- who finished with the most fan votes among East guards -- and Bucks guard Damian Lillard.

In the end, it was Brunson who got the spot.

The seven reserves from each conference will be unveiled next Thursday on TNT, based on voting by each conference's coaches.

The coaches for this year's All-Star Game will be Mark Daignault from the Thunder and Kenny Atkinson from the Cavaliers. Because of the change in format this season -- which has the 24 All-Stars broken up into three teams, plus the winning team from the Rising Stars Challenge on Friday night -- assistant coaches from both the Thunder and Cavaliers will coach two of the teams.