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Where will the NHL hold its next outdoor games? Penn State, Utah and Europe are options
THE NHL INCLUDED Ohio Stadium on its list of potential venues for outdoor games for as long as anyone in the league office can remember. Not only is the stadium iconic, but also it's massive -- with up to 90,000-plus fans watching live hockey.
NHL executives made their first site visit to the Horseshoe five and a half years ago. But there was one problem holding the 103-year-old building back: plumbing.
"For a long time, we'd shut [the stadium] down in November and we wouldn't really turn it back on until April," said Colin Thompson, Ohio State's senior associate athletic director for facilities and events. "In a big outdoor building like that, that's exposed in the Midwest, you could freeze your water lines, you could freeze your sanitary lines, and we had to protect against that so we could offer services to all of the guests."
No flushing toilets meant no NHL winter events. Then, the expanded College Football Playoff format changed everything. The Buckeyes had to prepare to play host to first-round games on campus. Two years ago, the athletic department began a phased multi-million dollar project of installing heat trays. That allowed the Buckeyes to host their first winter event this December, a home playoff game.
Once Ohio Stadium started winterizing, the NHL committed. Saturday's Stadium Series game -- featuring the Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings in a crucial playoff bubble battle (6 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN+/Disney+) -- is expected to have the second-biggest crowd ever for an NHL outdoor game. The 2014 Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium between Detroit and Toronto ranks first, with 105,491 fans.
The NHL has announced its outdoor plans for next year: hosting a pair of games in Florida (Miami and Tampa Bay, respectively) which should be another spectacle, building a professional-grade ice surface amid humidity.
The Horseshoe will be the NHL's 43rd regular-season outdoor game over the past two-plus decades. One thing is abundantly clear: the NHL isn't stopping.
"I've heard some people claim outdoor games are a dying breed. No they're not," said Steve Mayer, president of NHL content and events. "We believe in outdoor games. We still think that they're significant. They're a big part of our season, definitely our highest rated games. And the buzz that's in the local community leading up to the game is incredible."
Now that the NHL has knocked off some items from its outdoor bucket list, what comes next?
CLAIMS ABOUT FATIGUE stem from repeats of teams and venues. The Chicago Blackhawks lead the pack with seven appearances, and the league has now made two trips to Wrigley Field and Fenway Park. Cycling through again may be inevitable, but the league is constantly looking for ways to reimagine the experience.
"Many of the places now are about to go on repeat a bit," Mayer said. "There are multiple stadiums in most of the cities that we play in, whether it's a baseball stadium, a football stadium, even the soccer stadiums. Would we ever venture to go there? Most of them are a little bit too small.
"And then the interesting places, we've definitely looked at them in the past. Could that be part of our future? Whether it's an auto racing track, a horse track, just a location where we either take advantage of an infrastructure that's already there or we build our own infrastructure and we're definitely open and really try to be creative."
Once the Panthers play in next year's Winter Classic, the only team that has yet to appear in an outdoor game is the Utah Hockey Club. The Smith Entertainment Group has told the NHL they are interested -- and they'd be prepared if the NHL gave them a green light.
Mayer said his team has scouted Utah but hasn't made any decisions yet.
"A lot of the issues we have as well are now the schedules are really crowded in terms of college football," Mayer said. "In Utah, for example, their football stadium, you could never do a Winter Classic because of the possibility of doing a college football playoff game."
Another venue the NHL has flirted with for years: the massive Beaver Stadium on the campus of Penn State. The NHL and Penn State have had conversations, but talks are on hold as Beaver Stadium undergoes a $700 million revitalization project.
Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft has been transparent about wanting to host events -- such as concerts, hockey or soccer -- once the renovations are complete. But university spokesperson said they are probably years away, with 2028 as the earliest date.
"We'd love to talk at some point about Penn State. We said, 'make us aware of your timeline.' By no means have we committed to them, though we always think it's attractive," Mayer said. "Remember the timing has also been interesting over the years too, because we did play back-to-back [2017 and 2019] Philadelphia versus Pittsburgh once in Pittsburgh, then in Philadelphia, which I think you almost have to do when you play at Penn State. It was too soon. And so we've definitely talked again."
State College -- in the center of Pennsylvania, 140 miles from Pittsburgh and 193 miles from Philadelphia -- would be considered a neutral site, something the league isn't opposed to doing. The league has done that with its Canadian Heritage Classic, which brought games to non-NHL cities like Regina, Saskatchewan and Hamilton, Ontario.
In 2021, the NHL went completely off the board by staging two games in Lake Tahoe, which boasted dazzling visuals. That piqued ideas about the NHL in iconic landmarks like New York's Central Park or Lake Louise in Banff National Park.
"We did [Lake Tahoe] because we couldn't play in front of fans [due to COVID restrictions], and it made a lot of sense and we loved putting that game on. It was unique. It came at a time where people were yearning for special events and we provided them with one," Mayer said. "We did a lot of research during that particular period of time. We visited quite a significant amount of places and we do get numerous pitches from areas, landmarks, places that don't have infrastructure to build infrastructure and to put on a successful event."
Those venues may stay on the wish list -- for now. While there's interest on both sides, it's not as turnkey as going to another stadium that already has the infrastructure in place.
"It's very costly as well, so those are factors that come into play. But [NHL commissioner] Gary [Bettman] just really feels that we're in a world where we should be in front of as many people as we can playing in front of fans," Mayer said. "Could we build a stadium? Sure. Could we put a game where we knew that fans would come? Sure. But I think those games for right now are a bit on the back burner. Our main focus is trying to do the next bunch of years in stadiums or places that have the ability to house fans."
THE NHL IS ENTERING a period of reimagining signature events -- especially with the success of the 4 Nations Face-Off replacing typical All-Star festivities. The league announced the 2026 All-Star at UBS Arena on Long Island -- which will be a sendoff to players ahead of the 2026 Olympics in Milan -- but hasn't committed further than that. They also haven't lined up outdoor games past next season's pair in Florida.
"When this stretch is done, we're all going to sit down and we're going to figure it out," Mayer said. "But we haven't made any decisions yet."
The NHL has made a commitment to more international competition and will stage a World Cup of Hockey featuring at least eight teams beginning in 2028, every two years in off-Olympic cycles. In announcing the World Cup, Bettman invited European venues to make bids as host cities. The NHL has hosted 20 regular-season games in Europe since 2017. Could an outdoor one be next?
"We get inquiries from around the world. We haven't really focused on one particular area, one particular stadium, but we have had conversations about a potential outdoor game overseas," Mayer said. "Nothing is imminent at all, but I could see down the line years as something in the future that is a possibility for sure."
That's the one thing Mayer wanted to emphasize: everything is a possibility.
"These are evolving. That whole myth that these aren't as popular? No way. They aren't going away," Mayer said. "We know our sponsors love them. The fans love them. I'm not just saying this, we really don't have a specific pecking order yet.
"But right now we're focused on next year, which is the Florida games, which are extremely unique. And believe me, we're looking forward to those two because that's going to be different and that'll get people buzzing."
Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor has said that United States women's national team defender Naomi Girma will make her debut for the club vs. Brighton & Hove Albion in Women's Super League play on Sunday.
The squad inclusion is Girma's first since joining the club in a record $1.1 million deal last month from the San Diego Wave. Girma became the first player to break the $1m mark in the women's game.
The fee surpasses the previous record deal of $767,600, paid by NWSL side Bay FC to sign Zambia forward Racheal Kundananji from Madrid CFF in February 2024.
Last month, she was presented to the crowd at Stamford Bridge before Chelsea's Women's Super League (WSL) victory over Arsenal but has not yet played. Girma missed February's SheBelieves Cup for the United States due to a calf injury.
Girma, Sam Kerr and Mia Fishel trained over the international break. Kerr and Fishel are recovering from ACL injuries.
"Naomi, we practiced really well during these two weeks," the Chelsea head coach said. "We brought some [academy] boys [into training] and we had the best players from the academy, the girls, and I think we had a nice environment for them to practice in. Naomi should be in the squad for the game on Sunday."
Chelsea are facing a quick turnaround, with three players coming from the SheBelieves Cup just returning back with the club on Friday, United States forward Catarina Macario, Colombia striker Mayra Ramírez and Japan forward Maika Hamano.
"We still have three players who are landing today, coming from U.S., San Diego," Bompastor said. "The big day for assessment is today for us so I think I will have a clear idea of my squad for the game on Sunday maybe later today. [It's a] quick turnaround, only one day to prepare, but we have the experience."
Bompastor said she expects a tough game because "everyone wants to beat Chelsea" as the club look to maintain their unbeaten record against fifth-place Brighton.
"They have had two weeks to prepare for the game, I think if you reflect on the game we played against them it was a difficult game for us," Bompastor said of the 4-2 win in the reverse fixture back in December.
"They have this philosophy to play and put trouble to the opposition. They have a lot of quality in the squad with some individuals and collectively so we are expecting a tough game."
"Sam, Naomi and Mia were all practicing this last two weeks and they did well," Bompastor said. "Sam is progressing really well and she's returning back to her level, but again it's difficult to put a timeframe on her return but I'm really happy with what I saw over the last two weeks."
The FA Cup matches taking place this week will briefly pause to allow Muslim players to break their fast for Ramadan.
The holy festival, which will run through March this year, sees Muslims across the world abstain from food or drink during daylight hours.
"Players observing Ramadan will be permitted a short pause in play to break their fast," the English Football Association noted in their fifth-round fact-sheet.
"An approximate time will be agreed when the pause will take place, and it will not be used as a team drinks break or tactical time-out."
Some of the Muslim players competing over the weekend include Manchester City duo Omar Marmoush and Abdukodir Khuzanov, Manchester United defender Noussair Mazraoui and Fulham winger Adama Traoré. Plymouth manager Miron Muslic is also a Muslim.
Ruben Amorim has hit back at Roy Keane's criticism of Bruno Fernandes by telling the former Manchester United midfielder that it's the opinion of the head coach which matters most.
Speaking on the Overlap podcast, Keane said that "Bruno's a talented player, but talent isn't enough" and "Bruno is not a fighter." During a heated debate with former Arsenal striker Ian Wright, Keane also labelled the entire United team as "imposters."
When asked at a news conference on Friday about Keane's criticism of his captain, Amorim said: "I heard about that. I have a different opinion. Bruno is really important for us in the club, especially for me. He's playing well in a difficult context. He always wants the responsibility.
"I know sometimes he does things as a captain with his arms and criticising the teammates. Most of all it's a lot of frustration for this year, the last year and the others. He wants to win and sometimes it's really hard to deal with that frustration.
"Everybody has an opinion. Roy Keane has big standards from him in his time, it is normal to have an opinion. I have an opposite opinion.
"I think my opinion is more important than Roy Keane's because I am the coach and I think he [Fernandes] is doing things quite well."
As well as Fernandes, goalkeeper André Onana has come in for criticism after a number of recent mistakes. He has struggled in games against Everton and Ipswich Town, but with No. 2 Altay Bayindir injured, the Cameroon international is set to keep his place against Fulham on Sunday.
"I think he passed in the last year, for sure, some difficult moments but this season he made some great saves that saved our team," Amorim said.
"Sometimes [he] has some problems but that is normal. "If you look at our team you can find a lot of players with that issue. Sometimes some players have problems. People talk a lot about the second goal of Ipswich. He is waiting for the touch of [Liam] Delap and then the ball continues to the goal. That can happen."
LaLiga chief: Reported Man City for breaking rules
LaLiga president Javier Tebas has revealed that he reported Manchester City to the European Commission for allegedly manipulating their balance sheets.
Speaking at the Financial Times' "Business of Football" summit on Thursday, Tebas said he had filed the complaint in 2023 and it is in an "investigation phase."
The Premier League side have declined to comment on the issue, although a source told ESPN that they deny the claims.
A spokesperson for the EU Commission confirmed to ESPN that LaLiga's complaint had been submitted, adding that they "cannot comment on ongoing assessments."
"City have a lot of companies in their group which lie outside the City Football Group structure, extra companies where they put their expenses," he said.
"These other companies lose the money but not the club itself. We have reported Manchester City to the EU. We have the facts and figures.
"We asked for City to be checked. It's very important that all clubs are subject to the same transparency rules and governance on both the sporting and financial side.
"The City case is one where we believe they have put the losses on the companies that are not officially part of City Football Group."
"Do you remember the case in the United States? The Enron case. What they did, they got their losses and they put them into different companies. Well, it's a similar case."
"They [City] have a scouting company, a marketing company. That's where they have very high expenses. They invoice City for less money. City have costs that are less than if they didn't have this circle of companies around," he added.
City are already ensnared in another legal battle as they refute charges of breaking over 100 Premier League financial rules.
Information from Rob Dawson contributed to this report.
Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has revealed that Alejandro Garnacho will pay for a team dinner following his decision to walk straight to the dressing room in response to being substituted during the first half of the victory over Ipswich Town.
Amorim said he would "talk" with Garnacho following the incident at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
The United manager said the 20-year-old instigated a meeting at Carrington on Thursday and that after he pays for dinner for his teammates -- an informal punishment -- the matter will be closed.
"He came to me," Amorim told a news conference on Friday. "It was funny because the next day he came to my office. I did some investigation, he went to the dressing room to change his clothes because he was wet. He watched the game, not on the bench, and at the end of the game he was there and went home.
"So it's not an issue. But at a big club like Manchester United everything is important and perception is important. He is going to pay for a dinner for all the team and that is it."
Garnacho was substituted early as part of Amorim's reshuffle to deal with Patrick Dorgu's red card.
The United boss said the Argentinian will be available for selection for the FA Cup fifth round tie against Fulham on Sunday, although he will first have to fight off an injury he picked up against Ipswich.
"He has a knock," Amorim said. "When he went to shoot he was blocked inside the box. I expect him to be ready but we will see. He is a young kid that will learn. The important thing is that the next morning he was speaking with me. We need to see the small things in walking out to the pitch. The players have to understand the perception here was really important.
"I think he understands. They read everything, all the small things. I know the players quite well. I understand they are frustrated. He was subbed, he was playing well. I am just trying to help them to be better players."
Harsh Dubey, Parth Rekhade spin Vidarbha into the lead
Stumps Kerala 342 (Baby 98, Sarwate 79, Nalkande 3-52, Rekhade 3-65, Dubey 3-88) trail Vidarbha 379 (Malewar 153, Nair 86, Nidheesh 3-61, Apple Tom 3-102) by 37 runs
The big moment came 30 minutes into the final session when Rekhade danged a carrot with Baby approaching three figures in his 100th first-class game. With mid-on in, Baby looked to launch him over the infield but ended up dragging it to Karun Nair at the deep midwicket boundary. Baby took an eternity to walk off and couldn't believe what he'd done. In that moment, it felt as if Kerala's hopes hinged on a lead that eventually was taken away from them when the lower order was snuffed out.
Jalaj Saxena, Kerala's last hope, soldiered on for 76 deliveries to make 28 before an attempted paddle off Rekhade had him miss the ball as it crashed into the stumps. Kerala still needed 43, but there was a sense that the end was nigh. Saxena's wicket was massive, for he was looking completely at ease against the turning ball that occasionally spat on the batters with a few spots from the rough areas of both ends making it difficult for the batters.
Like it has on many occasions, the prelude to Saxena's wicket was a lengthy recovery break when Yash Rathod fell flat on the ground with cramps and needed treatment from the physio before play resumed. It was almost as if that break forced a slight lapse in concentration from Saxena as he attempted to paddle one from outside off, having played that stroke a number of times during his innings to deliveries drifting into the pads.
Once Saxena fell, Kerala folded with 19-year-old Eden Apple Tom, playing in only his third Ranji game and his first in nearly three years, bowled attempting a sweep after he'd blunted the bowling for a better part of the last 45 minutes. The last hour undid all the hard work Baby did in being able to have Kerala dare to dream of a lead, but he'll know with two full days left and two quality spinners in his ranks, Kerala's ability to bounce back will depend on how quickly they're able to lift themselves from the pall of gloom that seemed to have set into the dressing room when their final wicket fell.
Once such delivery that jumped at Sarwate lobbed off the bat to Danish Malewar at silly point just a few minutes after he'd reprieved him by putting down a low catch at gully. That wicket forced Vidarbha to go on an attack, as Baby, who overturned an lbw through DRS on 54, opened up to play some wonderful shots - the secret to his runs early on lay in how late he played the ball and how disciplined he was outside off.
Mohammed Azharuddeen took much pressure off Baby as he late cut the spinners well to keep picking runs and bring the deficit close to double digits when Vidarbha's decision to take the second new ball midway through the 93rd over immediately paid dividends. Off the very first ball of the 94th, Azharuddeen was trapped lbw by Darshan Nalkande's in-ducker that beat his inside edge.
Saxena then showed some intent up front by hitting two boundaries off his first five deliveries, before he buckled down in Baby's company. The pair added 46 when Baby's hoick - what would best be described a brain fade - changed the complexion of the innings, and possibly the match itself.
Shashank Kishore is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo
Steven Smith withdraws run-out appeal against Noor Ahmad
Replays showed Noor to be well out of his ground, but Smith was quick to signal to the umpires that the appeal should not be considered, despite some enthusiasm from Inglis. Noor had just completed a single after Omarzai struck Nathan Ellis through midwicket and called Noor - the No. 10 batter - through, in order to keep strike for the next over.
Although Afghanistan were not attempting to gain an advantage, the rules of cricket are clear. Run-outs are a viable dismissal until the ball is dead. If Smith had not withdrawn the appeal, Noor would have been ruled out, likely by third umpire Chris Gaffaney.
Noor had been on three off three balls at the time, and went to make six off eight. But of more consequence was the fact that Afghanistan would have been 248 for 9 after 47 overs had Smith not withdrawn the appeal. They were less likely to have hit the further 25 runs they managed if they had only had one wicket in hand. Noor was eventually dismissed off the last ball of the innings.
Delhi Capitals bowl against table-toppers Mumbai Indians; both teams unchanged
Toss Delhi Capitals chose to bowl vs Mumbai Indians
The match is being played on the centre pitch of the Chinnaswamy Stadium, which means the square boundaries measure 58 metres each. The straight boundary is 68 metres. The pitch had a little less grass compared to the previous game played on this strip.
Delhi Capitals: 1 Meg Lanning (capt), 2 Shafali Verma, 3 Jemimah Rodrigues, 4 Annabel Sutherland, 5 Marizanne Kapp, 6 Jess Jonassen, 7 Sarah Bryce (wk), 8 Niki Prasad, 9 Shikha Pandey, 10 Minnu Mani, 11 Titas Sadhu
Mumbai Indians: 1 Hayley Matthews, 2 Yastika Bhatia (wk), 3 Nat Sciver-Brunt, 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 5 Amelia Kerr, 6 S Sajana, 7 Amanjot Kaur, G Kamalini, 9 Sanskriti Gupta, 10 Shabnim Ismail, 11 Jintimani Kalita
Jos Buttler quits as England's white-ball captain after Champions Trophy exit
England have already been eliminated from the Champions Trophy, after they lost their first two group games against Australia and Afghanistan. They prepared for the tournament with a trip to India which saw them win only one of their eight matches in Brendon McCullum's first tour as white-ball coach.
"I'm going to stand down as England captain," Buttler said. "It's the right decision for me and the right decision for the team. Hopefully somebody else who can come in alongside Baz will take the team to where it needs to be." Harry Brook, Buttler's vice-captain, is the early favourite to replace him.
Buttler will continue to play for England, and said he wants to "get back to really enjoying my cricket". He said: "The overriding emotions are still sadness and disappointment. I'm sure, in time, that will pass and I can get back to really enjoying my cricket, and [will] also be able to reflect on what an immense honour it is to captain your country and all the special things that come with it."
Buttler was appointed as Eoin Morgan's successor in June 2022 and won the T20 World Cup in Australia later that year. But England's results have declined sharply since and after three unsuccessful ICC events in a row - the 2023 50-over World Cup, the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy - Buttler has decided to stand down.
"It was quite clear that this tournament was going to be important: results-wise and for my captaincy," Buttler said. "Two losses and being out of the tournament [was] a bit of a hangover of tournaments before. I'd just reached the end of the road for me and my captaincy, which is a shame and I'm sad about that.
"With Brendon coming in only recently, I was really excited to work closely alongside him and hope for a very quick turnaround and to take the team forward. But it's not quite worked out that way, so just feels like the right time for me and the team to have a change."
Buttler's position came under increasing scrutiny after a sustained poor run of ODI form for England stretching back to the start of the 2023 World Cup. In defence of their World Cup title, England won just three group games out of nine and were the first team to be officially eliminated from the tournament. It began a run that has seen them lose 18 of the last 25 ODIs, including the two that put paid to their Champions Trophy campaign at the first hurdle.
Brook is tipped to succeed him, though McCullum said England had not yet settled on a candidate. He praised Buttler's leadership while saying he was "incredibly sad" to see him step down.
"We've all seen over the last couple of years how much he's invested in captaining his country and trying to get very best out of those guys around him," McCullum said. "People forget that he literally won a World Cup only a couple of years ago, and that can never be taken away from him. It's incredibly unselfish from Jos to step aside and to leave the post for someone else, and he's still a huge player for us moving forward. I'm sure we will look at ways that we can get the best out of him in terms of his role, so he can have maximum impact as well."
Both Rob Key, managing director, England Men, and Richard Gould, the ECB's chief executive, paid tribute to Buttler's time in charge.
"Working with Jos has been a pleasure," Key said. "He's been dealt some tough challenges, but never once flinched trying to drive this team forward for the better. Nobody deserved that World Cup win in Australia more. I can't wait to see him back in the ranks and at his best."
Gould added: "I'd like to thank Jos for all he has given in his two and a half years captaining England Men in white-ball cricket. Under his leadership, England became men's T20 World Champions, and throughout his time as captain he has been a role model in the way he conducts himself on and off the pitch.
"Jos is one of cricket's all-time great white ball players. I've been lucky enough to follow his career from when he first came through as a youngster in Somerset, and I hope we still have many years to enjoy of him pulling on an England shirt."
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