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VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- The Tampa Bay Lightning earned a little breathing room under the NHL salary cap by shipping forward J.T. Miller to the Canucks on Saturday.
Miller was moved for goalie Marek Mazanec, a third-round pick in the 2019 draft and a conditional first-round pick in either 2020 or 2021. Tampa Bay used the third-rounder on Swedish goaltender Hugo Alnefelt.
The 26-year-old Miller is signed through 2023 at a $5.25 million cap hit annually. The Lightning had just under $5.9 million in cap space before the deal.
Miller is a versatile player who plays all three forward spots. He scored 13 goals and 34 assists with Tampa Bay last season, his second with the Lightning after being shipped there from the New York Rangers in 2018 in the Ryan McDonagh trade.
The move opens up cap space for the Lightning, who have 17 players under contract for next season. The highest priority is to re-sign standout center Brayden Point this summer. Point, 23, is a restricted free agent coming off a season of 41 goals and 51 assists.
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VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- The NHL salary cap for next season has been set at $81.5 million, which is $1.5 million lower than initially projected.
The league and the NHL Players' Association announced the figure Saturday, a day before teams can begin meeting with prospective unrestricted free agents ahead of the signing period opening July 1.
The cap rose by $2 million from last season, though teams at or near the maximum were counting additional room in order to sign or re-sign players.
The cap crunch was notable in leading to several teams shedding high-priced salaries during the second and final day of the NHL draft Saturday. The most high-profile trade involved Nashville dealing defenseman P.K. Subban to New Jersey.
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Trade Grades: Devils add more star power with deal for P.K. Subban
Published in
Hockey
Saturday, 22 June 2019 10:47

The New Jersey Devils and Nashville Predators kicked off the second day of the 2019 NHL draft with a bang, as the electrifying P.K. Subban finds a new home in the Metropolitan Division.
Devils get: D P.K. Subban
Predators get: D Steve Santini, D Jeremy Davies, 2019 second-round pick (No. 34 overall), 2020 second-round pick
New Jersey Devils: B+
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‘Dead’ Koepka has caught himself yawning in wake of latest major run
Published in
Golf
Saturday, 22 June 2019 08:00

CROMWELL, Conn. – Brooks Koepka probably won't go to the gym Saturday. That’s how tired he is.
“I’m dead. I’m fried,” Koepka said after a 2-over 72 Saturday at the Travelers Championship. “My body is starting to ache, too.”
Koepka has one round left to play at TPC River Highlands, but he doesn’t sound like he has much left to offer. The world No. 1 was bested by his playing partner – Monday qualifier and No. 805 Chip McDaniel – by four shots in the third round.
“Nice kid. Good player,” Koepka said. “I know he's played, what, five, four events out here? Five events. Good player. He'll figure it out.”
The Travelers is Koepka’s third start in as many weeks, following a pre-major tuneup at the RBC Canadian Open and a runner-up finish last week at the U.S. Open.
Koepka said Wednesday that he and caddie Ricky Elliott intended to play this event with a major-like level of intensity, but fatigue has made it “hard to focus.”
Sounding a bit like Tiger Woods after the Masters, Koepka indicated Saturday that he’s still reeling from his last major victory.
“I'm just pretty – I don't think I'm even over the PGA,” he said. “And then to exert all your energy there last week, just fried. I mean, I've caught myself yawning on the golf course. I don't think I've ever yawned on a golf course before.”
In fairness, Koepka has yawned before – in a way that was weirdly perfect – but it’s clear that last week’s run at a third consecutive U.S. Open title took a lot of him.
Asked why he made the cross-country trip here after Pebble, Koepka said he wanted to honor his commitment and that he couldn’t have known in advance he would be this drained. Considering the reason, he’s happy to feel fatigued.
“When you're planning your schedule, you're not thinking you're going to compete in all three majors and still be fried from it,” he said. “It's fine. I don't mind it. ...
“It comes from the majors. It comes from being dead from playing so well. [I’m] mentally drained from playing in a major. It happens to everybody. If you're in contention you're going to be drained; if you're not in contention, it's a lot easier.”
Koepka is scheduled to take one week off and then return to action at the 3M Open. After the Minnesota stop, he’ll start prepping for the year’s final major. He said Wednesday that he plans to head to The Open Championship a few days early, as he's done in the past, to “get some work in” and “get acclimated.”
But he’s taking the rest of Saturday off.
“I’m still doing my thing. … I'm still going to the gym every day,” he said. “I think today might be a day off. Everything is aching. I feel like an old man today. ...
“Be nice to put my feet up and just relax the rest of the day. Probably go take a nap.”
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Watch: JT channels 'inner Stephen Curry' with dunk chip-in at Travelers
Published in
Golf
Saturday, 22 June 2019 08:23

Back in the day, kids were seen across the country yelling 'Kobe!' when throwing anything away or when tossing laundry in the hamper. Now kids channel their inner Stephen Curry, even when dunking in chips on the PGA Tour.
After missing the cut in his two previous starts at the Memorial and U.S. Open, Justin Thomas is playing his first weekend at the Travelers Championship since making his return from a nagging wrist injury. All signs point to a healthy wrist now, especially after showcasing an impressive dunk at the par-4 ninth at TPC River Highlands.
The birdie at the ninth moved Thomas back to even on the day. After two birdies and two bogeys on the back, Thomas ended his third round with an even-par 70 and finds himself a ways back from the crop of leaders.
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Reavie catches fire, opens up 6-shot lead at Travelers Championship
Published in
Golf
Saturday, 22 June 2019 11:07

Chez Reavie took advantage of some back-nine struggles by Zack Sucher to grab control of the Travelers Championship on Saturday. Here’s where things stand entering Sunday’s final round at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn.:
Leaderboard: Chez Reavie (-16), Keegan Bradley (-10), Zack Sucher (-10), Roberto Diaz (-9), Jason Day (-9)
What it means: Sucher led by five shots after nine holes, but he opened the back nine bogey-double-double to find himself two back of Reavie, who caught fire on the second nine to take a big lead of his own heading into the final round. Reavie, who was six back of Sucher after nine, birdied each of the first four holes on the back side and added three more, including at Nos. 17 and 18, to shoot 7-under 63 and open up a six-shot advantage.
Round of the day: Right behind Reavie for low round Saturday was Bryson DeChambeau, who fired a bogey-free 64 that included six birdies, just two missed fairways and four missed greens in regulation. He got up and down for par all four times, and he’s part of a four-way tie at 8 under that includes Tommy Fleetwood.
Best of the rest: Just a few weeks removed from his victory at the Memorial, Patrick Cantlay got back in the mix with a third-round 65 that included four front-nine birdies. Cantlay is now 7 under along with Andrew Landry, who also shot 65 on Saturday.
Biggest disappointment: Brooks Koepka admitted to being worn out from his recent major performances and it showed Saturday, as Koepka shot 2-over 72 to fall well off the pace. Bubba Watson was one shot worse, carding a third-round 73 to effectively end his chances at a fourth Travelers title.
Main storyline entering Saturday: Reavie is coming off a T-3 finish at last week’s U.S. Open. He has four top-3 finishes dating to the beginning of last season but no wins since notching his maiden PGA Tour victory at the 2008 RBC Canadian Open.
Shot of the day: Talk about finishing strong. Reavie stuck his final approach of the day to 5 feet to set up his eighth birdie of the round.
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Norway beat Australia 4-1 on penalties to reach the Women's World Cup quarterfinals for the first time since 2007 following a highly entertaining 1-1 draw after extra time on Saturday.
Norway's Isabell Herlovsen opened the scoring shortly after the half hour, but Elise Kellond-Knight's direct corner seven minutes from time sent the game into extra time -- during which Australia's Alanna Kennedy was sent off.
- FIFA Women's World Cup: All you need to know
- Full Women's World Cup fixtures schedule
Australia missed their first two spot-kicks in the shootout and Ingrid Syrstad Engen buried the winning penalty to send Norway through.
They will face either England or Cameroon for a place in the last four.
Australia set a high tempo from the start and went close in the opening minute when Sam Kerr collected a through ball from Caitlin Foord and fired just wide.
But it was Norway who found the back of the net first as Karina Saevik played Herlovsen in and the striker finished clinically in the 31st minute.
There had to be VAR action and it happened five minutes from the interval when a ball bounced off Maria Thorisdottir's shoulder and referee Riem Hussein awarded Australia a penalty -- a decision that was overturned after a three-minute VAR review.
For all their slick passing, the Matildas proved quite toothless in the area, having managed only a single shot on target by the hour mark.
But Kellond-Knight sent a corner straight into the far corner of the net with seven minutes left, only her second goal in 110 appearances for her country, to send the game to extra time.
Caroline Graham Hansen's fierce shot was tipped over the bar by Australia keeper Lydia Williams in the 99th minute as both teams attacked relentlessly. Kennedy was shown a straight red card for bringing down Lisa-Marie Utland as she rushed toward goal.
Vilde Boe Risa attempted a long-range lob that landed on the crossbar as Australia struggled physically but hung on for dear life to force the shootout
Kerr and Emily Gielnik missed the first two attempts and Norway kept cool heads to book their place in the last eight.
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Copa America hosts Brazil finished top of their group with an impressive performance in a 5-0 victory over Peru in Sao Paulo on Saturday.
Looking like their imperious old selves, the host nation went ahead after 12 minutes when Casemiro was on hand to nod home after a goalmouth scramble and Roberto Firmino made it two seven minutes later after keeper Pedro Gallese made a hash of his kick.
- Copa America: All you need to know
- Full Copa America fixtures schedule
Firmino charged down the kick and the ball rebounded off the post but Firmino picked up the rebound and rounded the keeper to roll the ball into the empty goal.
Man of the Match Everton added a nice third after 32 minutes when he cut in from the left and unleashed a low shot that sneaked inside Gallese's near post and Dani Alves made it 4-0 eight minutes into the second half when he finished off a neat team move and lashed the ball into the roof of the net.
Substitute Willian made it five with a vicious strike from outside the box in the final minute, before Gallese made up for his earlier error by saving a spot-kick from Gabriel Jesus in stoppage time.
The result, combined with Venezuela's 3-1 win over Bolivia, means the hosts top Group A and will play one of the two third-placed teams at the Gremio arena on Thursday.
After struggling in the first half of their previous two games, and failing to score in both, the two early goals settled Brazil and gave them more space to play, said coach Tite.
"When you score an early goal the team has play differently and open up, that is real," he said.
The only down side for Brazil was a second yellow card in three games for Casemiro, which means the combative Real Madrid midfielder will miss Thursday's quarter-final.
Second-placed Venezuela will face the second team in Group B on Friday at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro, while Peru must wait to see if their four points are enough to earn them a place as one of the two best third-placed sides.
"It's not up to us now, that's the uncomfortable situation," Peru coach Ricardo Gareca said.
"They were better than us from start to finish. Brazil had lots of chances in their other games and never took them. Today they took them."
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BEREA, Ohio -- "Revenge is for suckers. I've been griftin' for 30 years, I never got any."
Paul Newman's character Henry Gondorff said it in the movie "The Sting," and the same sentiment holds true for the U.S. men's national team ahead of its Gold Cup group stage game against Trinidad & Tobago on Saturday night.
It was the Soca Warriors who defeated the U.S. 2-1 on that infamous night in Couva, Trinidad back in 2017, a result that knocked the Americans out of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup. The repercussions weren't immediate, but they eventually did arrive. Bruce Arena stepped down as manager. Sunil Gulati ultimately decided not to run for reelection as president of the U.S. Soccer Federation. For long-serving players like goalkeeper Tim Howard and forward Clint Dempsey, that was their last appearance in a U.S. uniform.
- When is the CONCACAF Gold Cup?
- Full Gold Cup fixtures schedule
- Carlisle: Tyler Boyd the hero but U.S. have work to do
- U.S. ratings vs. Guyana: Boyd 8/10, Arriola 7/10
Twenty months on, Saturday's match at First Energy Stadium will be the first encounter between the two sides since that qualifier, and while it's tempting to think that revenge will be a motivating factor for the U.S., that isn't the first emotion the players are feeling.
"For us as a federation, I think there's that [revenge] angle, but for us as players, it's about winning the game, period," midfielder Wil Trapp said.
First off, the U.S. roster has largely been turned over. Just six of the players who suited up that night in Trinidad are on the U.S. squad contesting the Gold Cup. Twelve of the players are taking part in their first competitive tournament with the U.S., giving them plenty to prove to manager Gregg Berhalter. The impulse is to find motivation in the present as opposed to the past.
Even for those holdovers, the impulse is to focus on the here and now. Given the pain of that night, such an approach isn't surprising. There's also the reality that nothing will make up for the pain of missing out on the 2018 World Cup, certainly not a mere group stage game at a Gold Cup that the U.S. is hosting.
"I wouldn't say there is too much of what has happened before in our minds," said midfielder Paul Arriola, one of the players who was on the field for the U.S. on that fateful night. "I think internally and for us as a group, the more important thing is we're playing [them] here in 2019 in the second game of the Gold Cup. A win for us could put us through [into the knockout rounds]. I wouldn't say there's too much regarding the revenge aspect."
Thoughts of avenging a bitter defeat can be a powerful motivator. It can force self-reflection in terms of where a team needs to improve. During the game itself it can provide a boost of energy, and a sense of satisfaction afterwards if the desired result is achieved. But it's also one that focuses on the ultimate outcome and can distract a player from executing on the building blocks needed to achieve it. While every player is different, it's not a trick Arriola is using heading into the match.
"From personal experience, I don't think there's too much of revenge that plays into my thought process," he said. "I think it's more about focusing on the next game and what's coming up. As professionals, you have to have a lot of short-term memory. You can never get too high, you can never get too low based on results or performances.
"You've got to keep going and do the best that you can and bring the best version of yourself to the next game."
To that end, there is plenty for the U.S. to work on after its 4-0 win over Guyana. The attack can be much more cohesive in the final third, and the quality of the crossing needs to improve, even as the likes of Arriola and Tyler Boyd got on the scoresheet. Defensively, there were moments where the U.S. midfield gambled, creating transition moments that were more dangerous than they should have been. While Guyana lacked the overall quality to exploit such opportunities, T&T has more ability to take advantage with the likes of Seattle Sounders midfielder Joevin Jones, Beitar Jerusalem midfielder Levi Garcia and Minnesota United attacker Kevin Molino.
For Arriola, a more refined defensive approach can lead to more chances in attack.
"I think if I'm being critical of our performance last game, I think defensively we can be more sound as far as what we actually wanted to accomplish," he said. "Obviously the 'no goals conceded' is a big thing for us, but at the same time, we have figure out ways to try and build pressure.
"I think in the beginning of the game against Guyana, we kind of got stuck and weren't able to find ways to build pressure. I think that's important."
Given the Soca Warriors' ability on the counterattack, that pressure will have to be managed carefully regardless of what T&T are planning. Manager Dennis Lawrence tried to play more of a possession game in his side's lackluster 2-0 defeat to Panama, but Molino was largely invisible, with just 14 touches in the attacking third according to ESPN Stats & Information.
"[Trinidad & Tobago] have quality players that can beat you off the dribble, they can run in behind, so it's understanding that if we win the ball higher, we can limit that space," said Trapp. "Then it's about your angles, your communication, and getting set up quickly."
Twenty months after Couva, the U.S. has a long way to go towards rehabilitating its reputation. A win against the team that sent them into the tailspin would make for a welcome step forward.
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India 224 for 8 (Kohli 67, Jadhav 52, Nabi 2-33) beat Afghanistan 213 (Nabi 52, Shami 4-40) by 11 runs
As it happened
Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi sent India on a tailspin and threatened a Sri Lanka-style comeback as a second successive upset loomed large in the World Cup. Afghanistan's spinners, including part-timer Rahmat Shah, claimed combined figures of 34-0-119-5, but Rahmat and Hashmatullah Shahidi were resolutely playing out India's wristspinners in a chase of 225. But then, Jasprit Bumrah returned and bounced out both batsmen on a slower-than-usual Hampshire Bowl track to crack the game open.
Watch on Hotstar (India only): Full match highlights
Afghanistan were 106 for 4 by this point and the asking rate shot past six. Nabi followed his boundary-less spell of 9-0-33-2 with a fearless assault - 52 off 55 balls - but Bumrah and Mohammed Shami ensured India avoided a potential banana peel and remained unbeaten in the tournament. It was Shami who secured the victory for India with a hat-trick, which began with the prized scalp of Nabi and ended with a whirring yorker that demolished the stumps of No.11 Mujeeb.
The game was still dangling on a razor's edge, when Nabi smeared a hard-to-hit low full-toss off Shami for four straight of long-on to leave Afghanistan needing 12 off the last five balls with three wickets in hand. Nabi slugged the next ball away to deep midwicket and refused the single to wicketkeeper Ikram AliKhil, who in stark contrast, struggled to get the ball away and ended on an unbeaten 7 off 10 balls.
Nabi then hit an attempted yorker straight to long-on and two deadly yorkers breached through the defences of Aftab Alam and Mujeeb. Shami wouldn't have played this game had Bhuvneshwar Kumar been fit. His inclusion had made India's tail longer than usual, but he delivered at the crunch to become only the second Indian - after Chetan Sharma - and 10th player to bag a World Cup hat-trick.
Hardik Pandya and Yuzvendra Chahal played their parts as well, putting the chase away from the reach of Afghanistan, despite late cameos from Najibullah Zadran (21) and Rashid Khan (14). Pandya was swatted away for back-to-back fours by Gulbadin Naib in his second over, but he responded brilliant in his next over by hitting a harder length and having the Afghanistan captain top-edge a hook to deep midwicket.
Watch on Hotstar (India only): Shami's hat-trick
Pandya exploited the two-paced pitch with offcutters that often kicked up at the batsman; one such variation had Najibullah spoon a catch to midwicket in the 42nd over. Chahal, who had bowled Asghar Afghan earlier, then struck in the 46th over to have Rashid stumped. At this point, Afghanistan required 35 off 26 balls, but Bumrah and Shami denied them.
In the morning, though, it was the Afghanistan spinners who were denying India's batsmen. Before Saturday, Mujeeb had all of one wicket in eight matches - a dry spell that stretched back to the IPL - but he found his length and form right away on this deck. He bowled Rohit Sharma with a beauty that drifted in and then broke away like a legbreak to kiss the top of off stump. KL Rahul, the other opener, struggled to come to grips with the dual pace of the pitch, too, and when he tried to manufacture something, he spliced a reverse-sweep off Nabi to short third man.
Virat Kohli, though, had no such troubles and zoomed to his third successive half-century off 48 balls. He would finish with 67 off 63 balls at a strike-rate of 106.34; no other batsman struck at over 100 in the match. He cracked Aftab Alam through the covers, flicked Mujeeb behind square and shovelled Rashid through the covers with his bottom wrist. While No.4 Vijay Shankar delightfully drove Rashid inside-out, he was more sedate at the other end, contributing 29 in a 58-run stand - the highest in the match. However, it ended when Rahmat defeated his sweep and trapped him in the 27th over. Four overs later, Nabi got one to drift and bounce to coax a top edge from Kohli.
Watch on Hotstar (India only): Bumrah's double-wicket maiden
MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav then soaked up one dot after another. In all, Dhoni played out 52 balls for his 28 - of which 33 were dots. He stuck to his familiar template of blocking out spinners and waiting for the weak links in Afghanistan's attack - Naib and Alam. While he did muscle Naib through the covers and then hoisted Alam over the same region, relentless pressure from the spinners burst Dhoni's bubble. He dashed down the track to Rashid, only to be stumped for the second time in 293 ODI innings.
Once Dhoni - and later Pandya - fell, Jadhav stepped back and re-calibrated his focus towards batting out the 50 overs. He moved to a 66-ball half-century in the last over, but holed out off the penultimate ball of the innings. It gave Afghanistan hope, Nabi raised it further, but India's gun seamers killed it off and handed them their sixth defeat in six matches.
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