According to manager Dave Roberts, it’s almost a guarantee that Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman will be in the NLDS’ starting lineup next Saturday.

Dave Roberts said, “I don’t see a world” where Freddie Freeman isn’t in the Dodgers lineup for Game 1 of the NLDS next Saturday

– Jack Harris (@ByJackHarris) September 27, 2024

The first baseman suffered an ankle injury in Thursday night’s series finale with the San Diego Padres. Although the Dodgers won the National League West division in the series finale against their rivals, injuries continued to abound in the clubhouse.

Freeman’s alarming right ankle injury silenced the home crowd at Dodger Stadium. While initially trying to avoid a tag on a play, the first baseman twisted his ankle. His departure was deafening.

Kiké Hernández replaced Freeman to start the eighth inning. After the game, while champagne showers ensued in the clubhouse, Freeman wore a walking boot and used crutches.

The good news is that the X-rays Freeman took were negative. It’s a positive update in what could be another disastrous situation for the Dodgers.

“It’s swollen,” Freeman told MLB.com’s Juan Toribio. “But they are pretty optimistic that I can make it to the playoffs by Saturday. That’s what I’m betting on. I’ve never twisted an ankle so I don’t know. It’s pretty big right now.”

The first baseman will not travel with the team to Colorado. As the Dodgers play their final games of the season, Freeman will do everything he can to make a full recovery.

The Dodgers are optimistic that Freeman will return to the team in full form when the playoffs begin. However, the team was previously optimistic that other key starters would return from injury and this was never implemented.

For example, Dodgers star Tyler Glasnow seemed to be a guarantee of returning to the team. Placing him on the injured list for the second time this season seemed to be a precautionary measure. Likewise, it appears to be a precautionary measure that the Dodgers are keeping Freeman out for the final series of the season.

Fans should hope for the best when it comes to Freeman. Glasnow’s injury situation only got worse. His elbow tendonitis developed into an elbow sprain at the end of the season.

Hopefully Freeman’s twisted ankle doesn’t turn into something serious.

Still, the Dodgers won the division despite the unprecedented number of injuries. It was the 11th division title in the last 12 years, but that meant even more.

The Dodgers won the division as several starters struggled with injuries. The question remains: Can the Dodgers continue their tough fight for the World Series?

Clemson football continues its upward trend toward Georgia in Saturday’s home game against Stanford.

The Tigers beat NC State 59-35 in Death Valley last week in a game that was more lopsided than the reported score.

Stanford is off to a solid start to the season, winning in the final seconds at Syracuse in the Cardinal’s ACC debut last Friday.

Here’s how to watch the Clemson Football vs. Stanford game today, including time, TV schedule and streaming information:

Watch Clemson vs. Stanford Live on Fubo (Free Trial)

Gamers have known Hideo Kojima for years as the driving creative force behind Konami Metal gears games and more recently Death Stranding. He’s built up a lot of goodwill and his profile has only grown, and now it seems like he’s willing to cash in on everything so Kojima Productions has free rein to do whatever it wants and go beyond the games.

In a recent Variety interview, Kojima spoke about his future career plans and revealed some interesting details. What he wants to achieve consists of three phases: Phase one was to establish something Death Stranding as a large estate, whatever happened. The 2019 game was a critical and commercial success and a sequel is currently in production, scheduled for 2025. He is currently in phase two, where he is expanding his properties “in all possible directions,” namely other media such as anime and films. We already know Death Stranding has a film in the works at A24, but that’s not the only thing in the works: “Several” adaptation projects for the game are in the works, he said. The film is the focus right now because he has another story in his head that he naturally wasn’t aware of.

What Kojima did betrayed about the Death Stranding film is that he won’t be directing it, and neither will Jordan Peele, his collaborator on the star-studded, mysterious Xbox project O.D. Peele is currently busy doing his own thing, but Kojima noted that he has several other Hollywood friends who could be up to the task: Guillermo del Toro, Nicolas Winding Refn and George Miller were all mentioned by name, and he recounted Variety that they “always talk about it.” do something together.” (del Toro and Refn appeared in the first game, while Miller’s likeness is used for a character in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach.)

And phase three? Kojima wants to work with “talented people from around the world” to create something completely new and digitally focused. “It could be a movie, a game, or something completely different,” he told Variety. He thinks about it Death film and its upcoming spy game Physint as a gateway to what the third part of his master plan will look like. He has already said that he is making contacts in the film and non-game industries to make this a reality, which may also include another film adaptation. Either way, he says the resources for this endeavor will be digital and could, in theory, be used for any path he chooses.

Honestly, the only thing stopping him is time. Between the three games, the Death Stranding For films and other projects, the 61-year-old designer said he just wants to be able to “do everything I want to do in the rest of my life without wasting time.” And more than that, he feels like he owes it in a way to the people who reached out to him to tell him how much his work resonated with them. Those moments “make me want to spend the rest of my life doing things for people like that,” he said. “I’m not a politician or someone who can change things, but I want to support people with my work. Anything I can do for these people, I want to do.”

Variety’s full interview with Hideo Kojima can be read here.

Want more io9 news? Find out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe in film and television, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

The Chinese Super Cup is a competition that pits the national league champion against the national cup winner. This tournament consists of one game only. In order not to miss it, download the Onexbet app to stay connected with this brand at all times.

In 2024, Shanghai Port and Shanghai Shenhua fought for the cup. The first club had won the national championship while the second had secured the national cup. Before the game, both teams were considered to have equal chances, which promised a competitive game. In addition, with the opening of a new season in Chinese football, fan interest grew.

As expected, the decisive game was eventful and intense. For a long time neither team could score. It was only in the second half that Shanghai Shenhua took the lead through Sephas Malele’s efforts. His goal was the only one in the game. The final result was 1-0 and meant victory for Leonid Slutsky’s team.

The club started the new year 2024 with success. Although the team was not considered a clear favorite, it showed all its skills and achieved such an important victory. This was also the first trophy for head coach Leonid Slutsky, who took over the team and won the Super Cup straight away.

If you’re still following the team, download it onexbet app. This means you always have all of the brand’s offers at your fingertips and can earn good money.

Key factors behind the club’s victory

The Super Cup is a one-game tournament and unexpected results are always possible in such competitions. If you are interested in the participants of the Supercup game, download the 1xBet original app, available for various operating systems. This makes predictions faster and more convenient for the team and its opponents.

The key factors in Shanghai Shenhua’s victory were:

1. Good teamwork among the players. Each player was clearly aware of his role on the field. As a result, the team controlled the game confidently and did not allow the opponent many chances.
2. A successful tactical game plan. Shanghai Shenhua players skillfully neutralized the strengths of their rivals.
3. Brilliant performances from the front runners. S. Malele, H. Xu, A. Louis and many other team members played an excellent game.

So Slutsky’s team deservedly won. If you are interested in this team today, don’t forget you can download this 1xBet Original app This means you can easily place bets on your games from anywhere. Use the knowledge you have gained and your winnings will not be long in coming.a

PONTIAC, Mich. — An Oakland County man is facing a half-dozen charges after a tip reportedly led to the discovery of child pornography.

Kyle Robert Breitinger was charged Thursday, Sept. 26, with six counts of aggravated possession of child sexually abusive material.

The charges were approved after Michigan State Police received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Authorities said Breitinger’s phone was searched and found to contain several explicit and graphic photos and videos of children.

Breitinger’s bail was set at $50,000. His probable cause conference is scheduled for Oct. 8.

Copyright 2024 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All Rights Reserved.

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About the author

Dane Kelly

Dane Kelly is an Oreo enthusiast and producer who has been covering Michigan news and stories for the past seven years.

Last Saturday, Notre Dame football exorcised some of its previous demons by defeating a Mid-American Conference school at home.

Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish can continue that trend in their next game.

This weekend, No. 14 Notre Dame hosts No. 17 Louisville at Notre Dame Stadium in a matchup of top-20 teams.

Required reading:“Chip on our shoulder.” The goal of Notre Dame football is to force Louisville to rarely lose the ball

It will be just the fifth meeting ever between the two programs, all of which have been played since 2014. Last season’s game was probably the most notable meeting in the series’ short history, with the then-No. 11 Irish falling 33-20 on the road to the No. 25 Cardinals in a game that quarterback Sam Hartman single-handedly won was responsible for five turnovers (three interceptions and two fumbles). The loss was Notre Dame’s second loss of the season, eliminating it from College Football Playoff contention.

All Liv Morgan could do was sit at home and stew while she recovered from the first serious injury of her career.

The New Jersey native missed six months last year with a dislocated shoulder and also required labrum, rotator cuff and biceps surgery for an injury attributed on WWE television to an attack by Rhea Ripley.

While she was out of action, she watched as Ripley – her former tag team partner – rose to a new level of superstardom in the WWE.

“This is my home and I absolutely hate it,” Morgan said.

This sparked the idea of ​​a revenge tour for Liv Morgan following her return as the 30th entrant in this year’s Women’s Royal Rumble

Eight months later, she’s one win away from truly completing the storyline.

Morgan, 30, will defend her WWE Women’s World Championship against Ripley at Bad Blood in Atlanta on October 5 (6 p.m., Peacock), while on-screen love interest Dominik Mysterio is locked in a shark cage above the ring. Morgan won their last meeting at SummerSlam with help from Mysterio. It will be WWE’s first Shark Cage match in seven years.

“It’s interesting to be on the other side [Ripley’s stardom] and I’m building my superstar status on my own,” said Morgan.

Morgan, who viewed her injury as “paying her debt” in an industry that leaves few unscathed, knew she would have to mentally push herself “to a higher level” upon her return. She used the time off to truly evaluate herself for the first time since joining WWE almost a decade ago.

Her return brought the best run of her career, including defeating Becky Lynch at King and Queen of the Ring in May for her second world championship and successfully defending it against her in the steel cage.

The love triangle story with Mysterio, Ripley and The Judgment Day has allowed her to find the on-screen role she feels most comfortable with in WWE.

Morgan was able to go out there no longer caring what the audience thought of her and calls it “so liberating.”

“When I was sweet little Liv, you had to be specific about the things you did and said,” she said. “It’s so much easier for people to hate you than to make people love you and love you naturally. It’s so much fun. There’s so much freedom because it just doesn’t matter. Ultimately it doesn’t matter, and there’s something liberating about knowing that.”

The fact that Mysterio is hanging in a shark cage above the ring alludes to his character’s storyline, which will have to spend a short time in prison at the end of 2022.

“The trauma this man has from shark cages, being back behind bars, plus he’s so afraid of heights and he’s also claustrophobic. My goal is to get him there as quickly as possible,” Morgan said.

In addition to seducing Mysterio on screen, Morgan replaced Ripley in The Judgment Day, giving her a full-fledged faction to work with for the first time since her time with The Riott Squad, which disbanded in 2019. He and Mysterio teamed up against Ripley and Damian Priest at the Bash in Berlin last month.

“It’s very different,” Morgan said. “As a lone wolf, everything you do is focused on you. If you succeed, you succeed, and if you fail, you fail. In a faction you share this responsibility with everyone else.”

The latest ingredient added to the story is Jey Uso, the new Intercontinental Champion and one of WWE’s biggest stars, who has been flirting with Ripley as part of the story. Morgan called Uso’s addition a welcome dynamic because he is “loved as much as we hate him right now for interfering in our business.”

“If it’s enough to get Rhea to stop being so obsessed with my daddy Dom, then I’m all for it,” Morgan said. “Just stay out of my business. Please get Rhea out of our hair. It becomes very obsessive and stalkerish, clinging to stage five at this point.

“You did [Raw GM] Adam [Pearce] to agree to an entire clause just to keep Dominik away? Are you kidding? Are you still in love with him? So yeah, Jey, please come and take all her attention away because I’m ready to move on.”

Morgan said she believes the story’s success could have long-term effects on creativity at the top of the women’s division. Over the past nearly decade, WWE has rarely told its female world champions soap opera-style stories or had them share the screen with their male counterparts to any significant extent.

“I think it’s cool to know and show that we can do both,” Morgan said. “Yes, I can be a women’s champion and have a story around my championship, but also bring in elements that a lot of people who watched WWE as a kid loved.

“They loved the romance, they loved the mess, the love triangle. Who doesn’t love a good love story? It was cool to be able to bring those together because usually it’s one or the other. So it’s special in its own way to have a story that maybe doesn’t focus so much on the championship.”

This comes as audiences are reminded of the Attitude Era – although aside from a few revealing outfits and Morgan’s make-out session with Mysterio at SummerSlam, it didn’t go too far.

“At the end of the day, we’re a PG, so the fact that we were able to tell these stories, you know, push boundaries a little bit more than we’ve done in the last few years was exciting for the fans and Als.” “As artists, it’s exciting to immerse ourselves in the art form and storytelling that we do,” Morgan said. “At the end of the day, it’s a PG product, so I know what to expect at work.”

Morgan’s character caught Mysterio’s attention by giving him a level of attention that he did not get during his on-screen relationship with Ripley’s more dominant and possessive character. Morgan gave him plates of his favorite food, chicken nuggets, a PS5 and a TV to play on. She added: “There will be a lot more where this came from.”

An extravagant gift-giver is something Morgan has exhibited in her own real-life relationships, where she says she has given significant others 90-inch flat screens and vacations, including one to Hawaii.

“I’m kind of flamboyant,” Morgan said. “My love language is not receiving, but how I show love is I love giving gifts and I’m such a gift giver.”

After watching Ripley rise to the top of the women’s division, the gift Morgan wants to give her challenger in Bad Blood is another loss.

“Man, it’s going to feel so good to destroy them on Bad Blood,” Morgan said. “It doesn’t matter how big a star she is.”

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On TKO’s decision to reduce the number of WWE live events in 2025:

“I’m sad to see them disappear a little bit because the house shows are so much fun and so much more intimate,” Morgan said. “House shows are really for the love of the game. House shows are about the love of the art of wrestling, performing, being with the fans and interacting with them on a more intimate level.

“For me too, I feel like I was doing well, having so many repeats at these love events in 2017, ’18, ’19, that I attended every single live event. But it helped me get a lot better because I got all those calls.

“I’m sorry to see that happen to the newer guys and gals who won’t be able to have that experience and have those reps under that belt at live events, but that’s how it is. Time at home is always nice. We spend so much time away from family and friends, which is nice, but I love live events.”

Editor’s note: This live coverage will be continuously updated.

Helene brought heavy rain and strong winds to North Carolina overnight and into Friday morning after making landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in Florida.

The storm left thousands without power across the state. Follow along for live updates here.

Widespread power outages persist

Most people who went to bed Friday night with no electricity woke up Saturday still without power. And while Duke Energy has posted restoration times for some areas (one of which are in WNC), it’s still a guess as to when power will be restored across the region. Duke Energy reports that more than 1 million customers are without power across North and South Carolina.

The 5-foot-10-inch Michkov is fast, slippery as the ice itself, and loaded with stick skill, which in the first days of camp sometimes saw him setting up behind the net, reminiscent of Wayne Gretzky during the Great One’s days spinning magic in his “office” against the wall.

Vivacious and outgoing and eager to learn the English language, characteristics atypical of many players newly arrived from Russia, Michkov has been out and visible since touching down in Philly late in the summer. He threw out the opening pitch at a recent Phillies game (his first time throwing a baseball).

Last weekend, in a scrimmage at the club’s training facility in Voorhees, N.J., the arena was packed with fans wearing his No. 39 orange Flyer sweater. Decades ago, the enthralled faithful came adorned in their newly minted No. 88 Lindros models. They’re eager to believe that Michkov is the next big dawg, though he is not nearly the physical presence of Lindros, who was 6-4 and around 225 pounds when he arrived.

“I’ve never seen that before,” said a wide-eyed Michkov, amused and somewhat amazed by the large volume of sweaters that had his name on the back.

For the moment, coach John Tortorella is OK with the raw Russian frosh basking in the spotlight.

“I like players with personality,” said Torts, who actually sounded sincere.

The hard-driving bench boss, knowing Michkov could become the franchise centerpiece, will preach his standard two-way game. That usually demands all players — no excuse for age, country, experience, or profile — pay the price inherent in shot-blocking.

Tortorella also has vowed to place limits on Michkov’s media availability in the early going. There won’t be daily “Mich” updates, the coach promised.

The rookie also has been assigned a spot in the dressing room next to veteran defenseman Erik Johnson, 36, who was the No. 1 pick (Blues) in the 2006 draft. A veteran of 987 games, Johnson will provide an understanding ear and be a bit of a shield if media attention turns feverish.

It’s a tricky balance for a once-proud, successful franchise desperate to lift its image, and no longer able in today’s NHL to rely on the fighting and crazy, bloody mayhem that long ago had the Broad Street Bullies one of the league’s most recognized, and oft-reviled, brands. Good morning, Dave “The Hammer” Schultz, who will be 75 on Oct. 14.

The Bruins were in Philadelphia Saturday night for their fourth preseason game. If the Flyers are fortunate, Michkov one day could be their David Pastrnak, today among the game’s most feared and prolific right wingers.

Unlike Michkov, Pastrnak didn’t arrive in the Hub of Hockey amid a blizzard of great expectations. He was a relative unknown, a free-spirited Czech who scored nine goals in Sweden the season leading to his draft in 2014. The Bruins took a shot on him at No. 25, the same spot where they grabbed the slow-afoot Jordan Caron five years earlier.

There are few guarantees at No. 7, even fewer at No. 25.

“I’ve seen some of the highlight-reel stuff that [Michkov]’s done,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said earlier in the week, yet to see the Flyer wunderkind live. “He’s a hockey player. Drafted [seventh], you’ve got to draft that high to get someone who’s homegrown, and unfortunately we don’t draft there. I mean, it’s a great thing we don’t draft there, but that’s how you get [those players].”

Montgomery noted the Avalanche as a prime example of a franchise that has mined gold repeatedly out of the draft’s mountaintop.

“You look at [Nathan] MacKinnon, first [pick] overall,” mused Montgomery. “Best defenseman in the league [Cale Makar], fourth overall, you know, that’s how you get those generational players. I’m not saying [Michkov] is generational, but his skill set . . . ”

As for the Lindros-like buzz of the Flyers’ fan base, Montgomery added, “That says a lot.”

“The puck follows him,” noted Tortorella, which is recognition that Michkov anticipates plays, gets to open areas, often the trademarks of the game’s elite performers.

The attention is following Michkov, too, which ultimately could be the greatest test of his stickhandling.

COLLEGE PRIDE

Contract caught Montgomery’s eye

Amid all those big names in Denver, the six-year contract extension (total value: $15 million) signed this past week by Logan O’Connor didn’t trigger any avalanche sirens.

But it indeed caught Bruins coach Jim Montgomery’s eye. He coached O’Connor for three seasons (2015-18) at the University of Denver and then watched one of his roster favorites, an unheralded and undrafted free agent, turn pro with the Avalanche after his junior season.

“He’s a great story,” said Montgomery. “Just because of how hard he’s worked to get to where he is. I mean, [Justin] Brazeau comes to mind, and hopefully Brazeau can develop like Logan O’Connor did — find a niche, know what you’re great at, and just continue to grow into your role.”

Brazeau, 26, raised eyebrows in Boston last season when he finally got his shot at the big time, called up late from AHL Providence in his fifth pro season. He quickly shed his image of a big, lumbering, straight-line winger, displaying impressive flashes of speed and touch,

“Logan, he was in and out of the lineup his freshman year,” recalled Montgomery. “Second year, he became one of our top two penalty killers and instrumental on a third line that helped us win a national championship. The part of his game that needed to improve, and did in his third year, was offense. He grew a little bit there, and it’s really grown. I never would have thought he’d grow to score 12-15 goals in the NHL.”

O’Connor, 28, has been a full-time player the last three seasons, averaging 10 goals, including a career-high 13 last season. He brings vital speed and energy to the bottom six and typically is on coach Jared Bednar’s No. 1 PK unit. He could be hard-pressed to deliver that game consistently once into his early 30s, likely a factor in what induced him to push the deal out to six years.

“That’s the kind of work ethic and determination that you want,” added Montgomery. “Like, I don’t think Brad Marchand thought he was going to play 1,000 games and get close to 1,000 points in his Bruins career. He was in Providence, [thinking], ‘What am I going to do? I’m going to fight my way there.’ I think Logan O’Connor did the same thing. Great stories, and it’s what you want from your people, to build culture.”

ETC.

Canadiens could be on to something

Jack Todd, longtime columnist with the Montreal Gazette, predicted on X that the Canadiens will be “an absolute blast to watch every night” this season.

Well now, wouldn’t that be “un don de Dieu,” to have the Habs again be relevant?

The sharp-eyed Todd often has been deservedly critical of the CH over the last 30 years, including their dire stumblings and bumblings of recent times (three consecutive DNQs). So “absolute blast” is worthy of attention.

High on the Habs-to-watch list will be Lane Hutson, the former Boston University defenseman, who left Comm. Ave in the spring and immediately joined the bleu, blanc et rouge roster, going 0-2–2 in two games.

Hutson, the 62nd pick in the 2022 draft, has dynamic, game-changing moves, but his slight stature (5-9, 162 pounds) could present a challenge — the reason he slipped to that No. 62 spot. Unlike small forwards, pint-sized blue liners too often are denied the chance to seek safe harbor on the ice. The pounding is inevitable when the game is constantly coming at you.

But with the puck on his stick, Hutson can weave and dish with the best, that part of his game in the same stratosphere as Adam Fox and Cale Makar. If the 6-3 David Reinbacher can fulfill “franchise” expectations, and Hutson can avoid being pasted Wile E. Coyote-like to the rear wall, yeah, that absolute blast could be upon us.

Loose pucks

The Red Wings remain hopeful that Ville Husso, who missed four months last season because of a pair of lower-body injuries, can get back to being their No. 1 goaltender off the hop in 2024-25. Early returns have been encouraging. To make sure his bets were covered, general manager Steve Yzerman signed veteran Cam Talbot, 37, to a two-year deal ($5 million total) in July after an impressive bounceback season with the Kings. Talbot, originally a Ranger, anchored his career with three-plus workhorse seasons in Edmonton, where in 2016-17 he played in 73 games. That’s T15 all time for most games an NHL goalie has played in one season. No one since has topped that workload. Devan Dubnyk (Wild, 2018-19), Connor Hellebuyck (Jets, 2017-18), and Juuse Saros (Predators, 2021-22) have come the closest, with 67 appearances. The game’s season high-water mark: Grant Fuhr, who took the net for 79 games with the Blues in 1995-96 . . . Ex-Bruin Taylor Hall, his Blackhawk season clipped at 10 games in 2023-24 because of knee surgery (ACL), is back as one of five Boston alums now with the Hawks (including new captain Nick Foligno, Ryan Donato, Pat Maroon, and Craig Smith). “I think it’s kind of what I was born to do,” Hall, 32, told nhl.com, eager to get his career rebooted. In hopes that playing in thin air would boost his aerobic capacity, Hall trained for a long stretch this summer way up in Vail, Colo., joined by a bunch of NHLers, including stars Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, and Mitch Marner . . . Onetime Bruins prospect Karson Kuhlman, after signing with the Islanders and spending all season in the minors, headed overseas for his next venture and is playing this season in the Finnish “Liiga” for Lukko Rauma. Rauma is on Finland’s west coast, approximately 30 miles south of Pori. One of “Koolie’s” teammates is ex-Worcester Railer/Providence Bruin Steve Jandric, who finished his NCAA career with Merrimack in 2021-22 . . . The Bruins this season could have five players on their varsity who also suited up for Team USA at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship in Buffalo: Jeremy Swayman (Maine), Trent Frederic (Wisconsin), Andrew Peeke (Notre Dame), Max Jones (OHL London), and Riley Tufte (Minnesota Duluth). Swayman took the net for only three minutes in that tourney, playing behind Jake Oettinger (BU, Dallas) and Joseph Woll (Boston College, Toronto). All three goalies played in Hockey East . . . Third in scoring (61 points) last season with KHL Omsk Avangard, former Bruin Ryan Spooner, 32, looks like he may be at the end of the vulcanized rubber road after five productive sunset seasons in Russia. In his time with the Spoked-B, “Spoons” said he one day might pursue a career as a police officer, ideally in his hometown of Ottawa . . . To add to Jim Montgomery’s point about the Avalanche acquiring potential generational talent at the top of the draft, Colorado also used a No. 10 pick (2015) on Mikko Rantanen and a No. 2 (2011) on Gabriel Landeskog . . . The oft-prickly John Tortorella, not widely known as being gracious, particularly in his media interactions, was the embodiment of grace and kindness when inviting Guy Gaudreau to help conduct recent on-ice workouts at Flyers camp. Gaudreau, a longtime south Jersey youth coach, on Aug. 29 lost sons Matthew and Johnny, who were killed not far from Philadelphia when run over on their bikes by an alleged drunk driver. Per Tortorella, the senior Gaudreau pushed back when the Flyer boss demanded more effort from his troops during a skating drill. “ ‘You’ve got three lines out there,’ ” said Tortorella, quoting Gaudreau, “ ‘How much harder can they go!?’ ” A tiny fraction of his pain briefly interrupted, the grieving father left the building with an open invitation to return . . . Blake Wheeler, 38, isn’t in anyone’s training camp. “Still assessing his options,” said his longtime agent, Matt Keator. Wheeler, flipped from Boston to Atlanta just four months prior to the Bruins winning the Stanley Cup in 2011, spent last season with the Rangers . . . Proud pops John Grzelcyk, Kevin Hayes Sr., and the elder Jimmy Vesey, longtime Boston pals, will be aboard a flight out of Logan to Pittsburgh for the Oct. 9 season opener between the Penguins and Rangers. Matt Grzelcyk, the ex-Bruins backliner, signed on with Pittsburgh July 1, just two days after the Penguins acquired Kevin Hayes from the Blues. The younger Jimmy Vesey, the 2016 Hobey Baker Award winner, is about to begin his third season of his second stint with the Blueshirts. “Should be fun,” said the gregarious John Grzelcyk, decades-long member of the Garden bull gang. “It’ll be a little strange to see Matt in a different uniform. But no complaints. He loved his time with the Bruins, and he gets it, it’s hockey, moving on is just part of the business.” . . . You know we are way past the NHL’s Original Six days when looking at the academic records of two Bruins prospects. Defenseman Billy Sweezey, a 2020 Yale grad, earned his degree in biomedical engineering. John Farinacci, a 2023 Harvard grad, majored in economics. But the proud son of the Jersey shore (Red Bank) didn’t skate around Bright Arena thinking he’d one day be in finance or wear an investment banker’s fine-tailored suit. “My focus was always hockey, since I was 4 or 5 years old,” he said. “The degree, I think economics was just something that I liked, and something I connect with a little bit. I just think going with something you enjoy is always the right way to do it. But hockey was it. No Plan B, really. I just always wanted to be a hockey player and I am a hockey player.”

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Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at [email protected].

The no. 19 Illinois Fighting Illini play tonight in a college football game against the No. 19 Illinois Fighting Illini. 9 Penn State Nittany Lions. The matchup begins at 6:30 p.m. CT on NBC. Fans can watch this game online for free by taking advantage of the free trial offered by Fubo TV, which also offers new users a $30 discount during their first month of service. Alternatively, DirecTV Stream offers a free trial.

Illinois comes into this matchup with a 4-0 record and the team is coming off an impressive 31-24 overtime win over No. 22 Nebraska. The Fighting Illini overcame two turnovers and pulled off the upset as their offense totaled 383 yards.

Luke Altmyer led the Illinois offense in the win, throwing for 215 yards and four touchdowns. Remarkably, the star quarterback completed nearly 78% of his passes against Nebraska and has never thrown an interception this season. If Altmyer continues to have success tonight, Illinois could defeat Penn State.

Penn State comes into this matchup with a 3-0 record and the team earned a commanding 56-0 win over Kent State. During the win, Penn State totaled 718 yards.

Drew Allar led Penn State’s offense against Kent State, throwing for 309 yards and three touchdowns. The junior quarterback will look to put together a similar performance tonight, but he’ll be going up against a talented defense.

Fans can watch this game online for free by taking advantage of the free trial offered by Fubo TV, which also offers new users a $30 discount during their first month of service. Alternatively, DirecTV Stream offers a free trial.