Winnipeg Jets forward Alex Iafallo signed a three-year contract extension worth $11 million Wednesday.

The extension will begin next season for Iafallo, who has recorded 31 points (15 goals, 16 assists), 15 penalty minutes and a plus-21 rating in 81 games this season.

Iafallo, 31, has totaled 262 points (111 goals, 151 assists) in 583 career games with the Los Angeles Kings and Jets. He was an undrafted free agent who was signed by the Kings out of the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 2017.

Washington Capitals center Nic Dowd signed a two-year, $6 million contract extension Wednesday.

Dowd, who turns 35 on May 27, has recorded career highs in goals (14), points (27) and games played (81) this season.

He was set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

"Nic has been an integral member of our team, both on the ice and in our leadership group, and we are excited to extend his contract for an additional two years," Capitals general manager Chris Patrick said in a statement. "During his time in Washington, Nic has proven to be a consistent and reliable two-way player who can be trusted in all situations. This signing solidifies our depth at the critical center position as we move forward. Off the ice, Nic has been a consummate professional and has made significant contributions to our community through his charitable efforts."

To Patrick's point, Dowd was the recipient of the organization's Caps Care Community Award in honor of his efforts in the community during the 2024-25 season.

Dowd has 176 points (84 goals, 92 assists) in 581 career games with the Los Angeles Kings, Vancouver Canucks and Capitals.

The Dallas Stars activated center Tyler Seguin from long-term injured reserve ahead of Wednesday's regular-season finale at Nashville.

Seguin, 33, underwent hip surgery Dec. 5 and has not played since Dec. 1. He is considered a game-time decision against the Predators.

The Stars will face the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Seguin collected 20 points (9 goals, 11 assists) in 19 games before the injury. The six-time All-Star has recorded 808 points (360 goals, 448 assists) in 988 career games with the Boston Bruins (2010-13) and Stars.

He is completing the sixth season of his eight-year, $78.8 million contract with Dallas.

Jacob Murphy scored one goal and set up another as rampant Newcastle United thumped Crystal Palace 5-0 at St James' Park on Wednesday to go third in the Premier League table with a sixth consecutive win in all competitions.

Newcastle have 59 points from 32 games and are five points clear of sixth-placed Chelsea in the race for Champions League qualification next season with the top five teams earning a place. Palace have 43 points and are 12th.

Harvey Barnes, Fabian Schar and Alexander Isak also scored for Newcastle, as the visitors' night was compounded by an own goal from defender Marc Guehi and a missed penalty by Eberechi Eze when they trailed 1-0.

Newcastle were again without manager Eddie Howe in the dugout as he continues to recover from pneumonia, but the performance would have been just the tonic as they scored some excellent goals and were ruthless in punishing Palace errors. 

"We have spoken about building on the recent results and today was a good example of that," Barnes told Premier League Productions.

"He [Murphy] is playing unbelievable. He is such a character in the changing room and in great form.

"We are focussing on our job and the task at hand and making sure the manager (Howe) is proud of the results. We are so well drilled and know our roles going into each game."

It was the first time Palace have failed to score in 13 Premier League fixtures, though remarkably their expected goals tally of 2.02 was better than that of Newcastle (1.39).

Newcastle played with tenacity, pace and efficiency in the final third as they opened the scoring on 14 minutes through Murphy's thunderous shot from a tight angle that beat goalkeeper Dean Henderson high at his near post.

The visitors were awarded a penalty by the Video Assistant Review when home goalkeeper Nick Pope came to punch a free-kick that had been floated into the box and clattered into defender Chris Richards.

But Eze's spot-kick was desperately poor and lacked power or accuracy, giving Pope his first penalty save for five years.

"I can't remember the last time Eze missed a penalty," Guehi told Sky Sports. "It happens. When he scores, no one says anything. We just have to move on."

Inside two minutes of that miss, Newcastle doubled their advantage as a game that should have been 1-1 was suddenly 2-0 to the home side.

Barnes looked to square the ball inside the six-yard box and his cross deflected off Guehi and wrong-footed Henderson with 38 minutes gone.

Newcastle added two more goals in first half added time as Barnes got his goal from a lightning counter-attack after being set up by Sandro Tonali, before Schar stooped to glance a header from Murphy's cross into the net.

Isak added the icing to a sumptuous performance on 58 minutes when he collected the ball from Joelinton's challenge on Palace defender Maxence Lacroix and curled his shot low into the net from 25 yards.

Gabon and former FC Cincinnati forward Aaron Boupendza died following a fall from the 11th floor of a building in China, the Gabonese Football Federation (FEGAFOOT) said Wednesday. He was 28.

A federation statement, posted on social network X, didn't say when the incident took place or give any more details.

Boupendza had been playing for Zheijang FC in the Chinese Super League this year. Zhejiang issued a statement saying Boupendza died at his residence.

"Now the club is fully cooperating with the relevant departments to carry out the investigation," the statement added.

Boupendza joined Major League Soccer's FC Cincinnati as a Designated Player in summer 2023 for a reported $7 million transfer fee. He made an immediate impact, scoring five goals in 10 games to help the club win the MLS Supporters' Shield as the team with the best regular-season record.

However, his contract was terminated early in August 2024.

"We are saddened to hear of the tragic passing of former FC Cincinnati forward Aaron Boupendza earlier today at his home in China," FC Cincinnati said in a statement. "Our hearts go out to his family, friends, and teammates. He was a loved member of the FC Cincinnati family, and we offer our condolences to all who knew him.

"Rest in Peace, Aaron."

The Gabon federation said Boupendza would be "remembered as a great striker who made his mark during the African Cup of Nations in Cameroon" in 2022. He scored one goal in that tournament, the winner against Comoros, and eight in total for his country.

"[The Gabonese Football Federation] and the wider Gabonese football family offer their sincere condolences to his biological family during this difficult time," the federation said.

Bordeaux, the French team where Boupendza played early in his career, posted on X that he died "tragically."

"All our thoughts go out to his family, his loved ones and the entire football family," Bordeaux said.

After playing in the lower tiers of French soccer with Bordeaux's reserve side then Pau, Gazélec Ajaccio and Tours, Boupendza's breakthrough season came with Hatayspor in the Turkish top flight when he scored 22 goals in the 2020-21 season. Hatayspor also sent its condolences in a post on X.

The following season, he moved to Qatari club Al-Arabi then to Riyadh-based Al Shabab in the Saudi Pro League. His career then took him to MLS with Cincinnati and to Rapid Bucharest, before joining Zhejiang. He had scored four league goals in six games.

"It is with great sadness that I learn of the tragic death of Aaron Boupendza, a talented center-forward who brought honor to Gabonese soccer," Gabon President Brice Oligui Nguema posted on X in French.

"I offer my sincere condolences to his family and friends. May God bless his soul."

Information from The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Inter Milan reached the Champions League semifinals with a 4-3 aggregate win over Bayern Munich after an enthralling 2-2 draw in the second leg of their quarterfinal tie at the San Siro on Wednesday.

The Italians will face Barcelona next, who they defeated at the semifinal stage in 2010 before going on to beat Bayern in the final to complete the treble, which Simone Inzaghi's side are still on course to repeat this season.

It was a far from comfortable evening for Inter, but they did just enough in a pulsating clash between the top teams from Serie A and the Bundesliga.

Bayern, who lost the first leg 2-1, were the more aggressive side from the off, with Yann Sommer saving a shot on the turn from Thomas Müller early on.

A mistake by Nicolò Barella allowed Muller to steal possession and play a pass into Michael Olise, but Alessandro Bastoni nicked the ball off his toe before he could get a shot away.

Inter came close with a Hakan Çalhanoglu curled shot from distance, but then needed some desperate defending after Konrad Laimer's pullback from the byline.

Matteo Darmian blocked down Muller's shot and Sommer saved Leroy Sané's rebound effort, and the side's went in goalless at the break.

Bayern's first attack of the second half led to Harry Kane netting his 11th goal of this season's competition.

Leon Goretzka played the ball into Kane who took his time before teeing up a shot from a wide angle which he sent through the legs of Dimarco and into the far corner.

Bayern's joy lasted all of six minutes, as Lautaro Martínez scored from a corner kick. His first headed effort came back off Joshua Kimmich and the Inter striker made no mistake with his shot from the rebound.

Inter went in search of a goal to kill off Bayern and found it within three minutes. Darmian had a shot cleared off the line by Eric Dier and from the resulting corner Benjamin Pavard powered a header past Jonas Urbig.

Bayern, however, refused to give in, and after a short corner, Serge Gnabry floated a ball into the box and Dier's attempt at a headed cross from the byline ended up finding the net.

With 14 minutes still remaining, a nervy ending was guaranteed. Sommer made a diving save from Muller deep into added time and the hosts held on and for the first time the Germans failed to win away to Inter, and exited the competition.

Former Stanford head football coach Troy Taylor released a statement about his firing on Wednesday, taking issue with the findings of two separate workplace investigations conducted during his two years as head coach.

Taylor said he was not fired for cause and called coverage of the firing "unfair." In a statement posted on X by Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports, Taylor acknowledged that both investigations were launched after complaints were made about his workplace behavior.

Taylor did not acknowledge any wrongdoing in his statement, although he said he had not obtained the text of the two investigation reports in which multiple complainants were quoted.

ESPN obtained copies of both investigations and was first to report on the findings. Taylor described the first investigation, concluded in mid-2023, as involving only one complaint and one complainant.

While the investigation was initially launched in response to a single complainant who alleged gender bias and "a culture problem in football," the investigation ultimately included interviews with at least 20 Stanford athletic department staffers regarding four allegations against Taylor. Three of the allegations regarding belittling and inappropriate behavior toward multiple women were deemed to have merit. The investigator did find "insufficient evidence" regarding the original complaint.

"Although I disagreed with the [first] complaint, I took it seriously and fully cooperated." Taylor said in the statement. "The [first] investigation, which I have still never seen, concluded I did not act unfairly."

Taylor called media coverage of him "unfair, wrong, and contrary to my professional record and the person that I am and have always been."

ESPN reached out to Taylor's attorney for additional comment, but did not get an immediate response. Additionally, Stanford did not immediately respond to ESPN's inquiries about Taylor's statement.

Taylor was fired in March, a week after ESPN reported findings that Taylor had bullied and belittled multiple female athletic staffers, sought to have an NCAA compliance officer removed after she warned him of rules violations and repeatedly made "inappropriate" comments to another woman about her appearance.

Andrew Luck, the team's general manager and former star quarterback, said at the time that the team needed a "reset."

"Since beginning my role as General Manager, I have been thoroughly assessing the entire Stanford football program. It has been clear that certain aspects of the program need change," Luck said in a statement. "Additionally, in recent days, there has been significant attention to Stanford investigations in previous years related to Coach Taylor."

The investigations began after multiple employees filed complaints against Taylor for what they called hostile and aggressive behavior, as well as personal attacks, the reports said. The school hired Kate Weaver Patterson, of KWP Consulting & Mediation, to investigate in spring 2023.

After the first investigation, Taylor signed a warning letter on Feb. 14, 2024, acknowledging he could be fired if the conduct continued, according to the documents. Additional complaints were documented in a second investigation in the first half of 2024, but Taylor remained on the job.

The second investigation cited evidence "that this is an ongoing pattern of concerning behavior by Coach Taylor." It was conducted last June and July by Timothy O'Brien, senior counsel for the Libby, O'Brien, Kingsley & Champion law firm in Maine. O'Brien, who has advised several Division I and Power 5 programs, said in his report that he has never encountered "this palpable level of animosity and disdain" for a university compliance office.

"Even during the interview with me, when talking about compliance issues, Coach Taylor's tone was forceful and aggressive," O'Brien wrote.

He called Taylor's treatment of the team's compliance officer "inappropriate, discriminatory on the basis of her sex," saying it had a "significant negative impact" on the staffer. O'Brien concluded that Taylor retaliated against the compliance staffer by "seeking her removal from her assigned duties" after she raised concerns about NCAA rules violations related to illegal practices and player eligibility.

O'Brien outlined possible disciplinary procedures, including termination, under NCAA bylaws if an employee retaliates, "such as intimidating, threatening, or harassing an individual who has raised a claim."

Taylor had back-to-back 3-9 seasons before he was fired. He was previously the head coach at Sacramento State.

Lawyers for NFL draft prospect Isaiah Bond filed a lawsuit in United States District Court in Northern Texas on Tuesday against a woman who they say made false statements to the Frisco (Texas) Police Department.

Bond turned himself in last week on an outstanding sexual assault warrant. He was released after posting a $25,000 bond.

Bond's lawyers say a sexual encounter with the woman, who is unnamed in the lawsuit, was consensual. The lawsuit, which includes a defamation claim, asks for economic damages and a civil trial.

Damien Butler, Bond's agent, sent an email to all 32 NFL teams with the first page of the lawsuit attached, writing that Bond "is completely innocent of the allegations levied against him and will fight to clear his name."

After being released from jail, Bond went on social media and said the accusation against him was "patently false."

"Regarding the accusation made against me, I would appreciate the time and opportunity to defend myself and prove the claims made, patently false. I am in full cooperation with the authorities and will remain a willing and active participant in the investigation," he said in the statement. "Unfortunately, claims like these prove to be harmful to all involved, absent full review. I kindly request that all reserve judgement until the authorities provide a complete report based on truth and evidence."

In his lone season at Texas in 2024, Bond caught 34 passes for 540 yards and five touchdowns. He rushed for an additional 98 yards and a touchdown. He spent his first two seasons at Alabama, catching 65 passes for 888 yards and five touchdowns for the Crimson Tide.

ESPN's Kalyn Kahler contributed to this report.