Sports
Analysis: As Kings shift focus to another challenging playoff series, Ducks search for answers
The Kings and Ducks headed in opposite directions when they skated off the ice Saturday at Crypto.com Arena.
The Kings are going to the playoffs for a third consecutive season, the team’s longest run of postseason appearances in a decade. The Ducks, meanwhile, will be heading to the golf course again after Thursday’s regular-season finale, having missed the postseason for a sixth straight year, the longest drought in franchise history.
Saturday’s 3-1 win was the Kings’ fifth victory in six games. For the Ducks, it was their 50th loss of the season, a first in the 30-year history of the franchise.
But the gap between the two is narrower and more fickle than it might appear.
“It’s a hard game,” said Kings President Luc Robitaille. “You have to have a plan, you’ve got to stick to it, you’ve got to be a little bit lucky with injuries too.”
When that luck runs out, well, then you have the Ducks.
“You can look at any team that’s won, and they’ve had a little luck,” Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said. “They’ve had a little, now they’re good. You can never take that away. But there’s always some sort of thing.”
Neither Robitaille nor Verbeek are crediting fortune alone for their teams’ successes and failures. But they’re not dismissing the impact either.
“If you’d say what are you lucky about, it’s more that [Anze] Kopitar and [Drew] Doughty are still really important players on our team,” Robitaille said of the team’s captains and five-time All-Stars, both of whom are in their mid-30s. “On other teams that has not happened.
“We feel we’re fortunate these guys are still premier players.”
Kings forward Kevin Fiala, right, celebrates with captain Anze Kopitar after scoring against the Vancouver Canucks on April 6.
(Ryan Sun / Associated Press)
For Verbeek and the Ducks, the opposite has been true. Forwards Trevor Zegras, Leo Carlsson and Alex Killorn and goaltender John Gibson have all missed substantial time to injury this season, which is a big reason why the Ducks are better than only two other teams in goals scored, goals allowed and goal differential.
“It’s not ideal when your best players aren’t in the lineup — and they’re not in the lineup together, which was the intended purpose,” said Verbeek, who took over as Ducks general manager 26 months ago. “But, hey, every team deals with that. It’s just a little more pronounced now because we haven’t quite gotten the complete depth in our lineup that I’m looking for when we’re going to be good.”
There’s more to it than that, of course, because the Kings also lost key players — Viktor Arvidsson, Carl Grundstrom and Mikey Anderson — to injury. But the Kings overcame that with stellar seasons from Kopitar (26 goals, 70 points) and Doughty (15 goals, 50 points) in conjunction with the combined 86 goals and 114 assists they’ve gotten from Trevor Moore, Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala. Veteran goaltender Cam Talbot, who is arguably having his best season in eight years, also has been a key contributor.
However, the biggest turning point in the Kings’ season came in early February when the team fired coach Todd McLellan and promoted longtime assistant Jim Hiller. The Kings have won 20 of 32 games since the change and clinched a playoff berth by beating Calgary on Thursday.
Kings coach Jim Hiller instructs his players during a game against the Calgary Flames on Thursday.
(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
“The system’s the same but I’m not sure it’s the same message,” Robitaille said. “We’re all grateful for what Todd has done. He put in a system that our guys believe in. Unfortunately it seemed like we needed just a different voice and Jim came in and his communication is different.”
Hiller, an assistant for 10 years with four NHL teams, has a reputation for being more of a players’ coach than McLellan, according to many around the team. However, Hiller said the biggest factor in the team’s success was the timing of his promotion. The Kings had lost 14 of 17 games heading into the All-Star break, which led to McLellan’s firing, then won five of their first six when the season resumed. They are a league-best 13-2-1 at home since the All-Star break.
“When you’re not winning, it’s heavy,” Hiller said. “So you try to lighten it and bring some fresh energy, see if that will help. I think coming out of the break the players were refreshed and ready to get going again.”
It’s going so well that Robitaille and general manager Rob Blake took some heat for not making a move at the March trade deadline, choosing instead to bolster the team with the return of Arvidsson and Anderson.
“You don’t want to make a trade just to make a trade,” Robitaille said. “If you’re going to make a trade, you have to say, ‘Is that guy better than our guy?’
“Our guys coming back, we like the way they play. We believe in the way our guys play. And when Arvidsson came back, it showed us that we’re right. Same with Mikey Anderson.”
The rebuilding Ducks, on the other hand, were active at the deadline, acquiring three draft picks and two useful players in forward Ben Meyers and center Jan Mysak while holding on to the core of their roster. Nothing has changed since the deadline — the team is 3-13-2 in their last 18 games.
Ducks forward Trevor Zegras controls the puck during a 3-1 loss to the Kings on Saturday at Crypto.com Arena.
(Nicole Vasquez / NHLI via Getty Images)
Now comes the playoffs — for the Kings, at least. If the team holds on to the third spot in the Pacific Division — it leads Las Vegas by three points with two games to play, both at home — it will likely begin the postseason by traveling to Edmonton to meet the Oilers for the third time in as many seasons.
“It doesn’t matter who we play. It’s going to be hard,” Robitaille said. “Every game is tight.”
The last two years, the team didn’t make it past the first round, so getting back to the players was a bare minimum this season. Getting past the first round is the expectation now, something the Kings haven’t done since winning their second Stanley Cup title in 2014.
However, the experience Anderson, Moore and other Kings players have gained over the last two seasons in the playoffs has Robitaille thinking back to the Kings’ first Stanley Cup championship team in 2012.
“The two years prior, we got [eliminated] in the first round,” he said. “And we were learning. We found a way to win all these 2-1, 3-2 games in the playoffs. That’s the way we’re playing now.
“You get in a playoff series and if you get one or two breaks, it makes it really hard for the other team to beat you. We played that style all year. We’re built more to play that playoff style.”
For the Ducks, it’s back to the drawing board. As for how long it will take to finish the picture, Verbeek couldn’t say.
“That’s a real tough question to answer,” said Verbeek, who has been a winner throughout his 38-year career as a player, scout and executive, twice hoisting the Stanley Cup. “The reason why it’s tough to answer is because at the end of the day, we’ve got a lot of young players and you don’t know how quick they’re going to make the adjustments to become impact players.”
“But I’m also being a realist,” he added. “I believe we’re going to have our time. It’s not quite yet, but I’m expecting next year to have our team pushing for a playoff spot. I’m not saying we’re going to make it. But I’m saying we should be involved.”
Sports
Knicks hand Mamdani-backed candidate cease and desist letter for using team’s logo in campaign: report
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A New York Senate candidate who has been backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has reportedly been issued a cease-and-desist letter by the New York Knicks for using the championship team’s logo as part of her campaign.
Promotional stickers read, “I voted for Aber Kawas,” using the Knicks logo, with the team’s name replaced with “Kawas.”
According to the New York Post, the Knicks demanded that the campaign “immediately remove all promotional materials incorporating Knicks Intellectual Property, including but not limited to the unauthorized Advertisements, and cease any further use of Knicks Intellectual Property.”
Aber Kawas, Youth Activities Director for the Arab-American Association of New York, speaks at a rally in Columbus Circle protesting proposals to restrict Muslim arrivals to the United States. (Andy Katz/Corbis)
“Neither the Knicks nor NBA [Properties] have authorized the Campaign to use Knicks Intellectual Property in any way, including the Unauthorized Advertisements, which are likely to mislead the public into believing that the Campaign is affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by, or in some way connected with the Knicks,” Brian N. Warner, senior vice president and head of legal for Madison Square Garden Sports, said in the letter, according to the outlet.
“The Campaign’s activities in this regard constitute, among other things, trademark infringement, trademark dilution, false advertising, false association, and unfair competition.”
The Knicks and Mamdani have had beef that began last year when Mamdani’s mayoral campaign also used the Knicks logo in a similar fashion to Kawas. Mamdani was given a cease-and-desist letter, and the Knicks made it clear they were not endorsing anyone in the race, which Mamdani won.
The White House then used the Knicks logo in a post shortly after last year’s election to say, “Trump Is Your President.” The Knicks reached out to the White House, which then removed the post.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani gives New York Knicks player Jalen Brunson the keys to the city during the Knicks’ championship ticker tape parade in New York City on June 18, 2026. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)
NYC CANCELS KNICKS NBA FINALS WATCH PARTY OVER TRUMP VISIT AS MSG FIRES BACK
Knicks owner James Dolan and Mamdani also had a back-and-forth earlier this month about Knicks watch parties during the team’s championship run. The two came face-to-face at the championship celebration last week at City Hall, when Mamdani name-dropped Knicks legend-turned-Dolan rival Charles Oakley during a reminiscent speech about the Knicks, while Dolan took one final parting shot at the mayor and stiffed him in a photo op.
“I don’t need your vote. I don’t need to quote to you what happened. If you’re real Knick fans you know it already,” Dolan said.
Dolan did announce that the Knicks would go to the White House to visit President Donald Trump, who attended Game 3 of the NBA Finals. The Knicks would be the first NBA team to visit Trump.
Kawas, the Muslim daughter of illegal immigrants, is now the Democrat nominee for New York’s Senate District 12 and is also a socialist. She recently came under fire for rejecting the notion that Muslim Americans need to apologize for 9/11, an attack “a couple of people did.”
Aber Kawas, a Palestinian American community organizer and democratic socialist running for New York State Assembly District 34, and Rep. Claire Valdez attend a demonstration in New York City demanding a rent freeze on rent-stabilized apartments in Long Island City on May 7, 2026. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu)
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“I’ve always been outspoken about the wrongful scapegoating of Muslim Americans, both before and after 9/11, and in this interview I was speaking about the harmful notion that Muslims should have to apologize for an act of violence they have nothing to do with,” Kawas told Fox News Digital Thursday morning.
Fox News’ Peter D’Abrosca contributed to this report.
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Sports
Cameron Carr on Lakers acquiring him draft night: ‘It didn’t feel real’
NBA mock drafts projected Cameron Carr getting selected somewhere between 15 and 20 in the first round on Tuesday night.
Ending up with the Lakers later in the draft, however, was more than Carr could have asked for.
The Lakers acquired his draft rights from the New York Knicks, who took the 6-foot-5 Baylor guard with the 24th pick, in a multiple-team deal in which L.A. sent the draft rights to Spanish guard Sergio De Larrea, who was taken 25th, and cash considerations to New York.
As he sat for his introductory news conference Friday, dressed in all black, Carr shared what his thoughts were when he found out he would be playing for the Lakers.
“I’m going to the Lakers! It was more of an exciting thing,” he said. “It felt surreal. It didn’t feel real for the first couple minutes when I found out. It was trying to get my head around, ‘Man, I’m about to walk across the stage and be an NBA player.’ I’ve dreamed of this my whole life, especially since I was a kid. So it took a second. Still trying to get my head wrapped around it, but nothing but excitement and happiness. I feel more motivated to work.”
Rob Pelinka, the Lakers’ president of basketball operations, met Carr at the facility on Friday but didn’t speak with the media during the news conference.
It meant Pelinka couldn’t be asked about Austin Reaves agreeing to re-sign with the Lakers on a four-year, $185-million deal, or about how conversations are going with free agent LeBron James.
But NBA rules prohibit team officials from commenting on anything during the free agency moratorium, which won’t be lifted until July 6.
So, this day was all about the 21-year-old Carr and how impressed he was being in the Lakers’ building.
“Walking in the building, first thing you notice is the rich tradition of the people that have been here before you,” Carr said. “It’s a moment of happiness. As a kid, you always dreamed of walking across that stage and accomplishing everything you wanted to. Man, it just felt good to walk in the gym and look at the people that came before me. Now I’m in their shoes.”
Carr was viewed by NBA scouts as athletic with his 42½-inch vertical leap and as having a good jump shot.
During his sophomore season at Baylor, Carr averaged 18.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.3 blocks in 34 games. He shot 49.4% from the field, 37.4% from three-point range and 80.1% from the free-throw line.
But Carr quickly talked about how playing defense will be his calling card with the Lakers.
“Stepping into an organization with people with the same type of mindset and abilities, it only makes my job easier,” Carr said. “I’ve just got to cut and dunk the ball for them, and run in transition. But first things first is establishing a defensive consistency and showing I can be dominant or a plus on the defensive end as someone they would like to guard the best player.”
Carr always had his dad, Chris Carr, to lean on during his journey as a basketball player. Having him as a mentor was so beneficial because his father spent six seasons in the NBA. His most famous moment came in 1997, when he became the runner-up to Kobe Bryant in the slam dunk contest.
Now father and son have something else in common: making the NBA.
“I’ve always wanted to be better than him,” Carr said. “I’ve always been behind, so I want to show he’s put a lot of work in me becoming a better man. So I feel the only way I can credit him and show I’m thankful for him is by putting in the work and using it every single day. He was a heck of a player, so it’s some big footsteps I’ve got to follow and a long journey.
“It’s good motivation. My ‘why’ is just to be better and show people I’m better than a lot of people that are put in front of me. I feel like that’s the chip on my shoulder, or the fire under my feet.”
Sports
2026 World Cup Group Scenarios: What Remaining Teams Need To Advance To Round of 32
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The World Cup group stage can get complicated quickly.
With 48 teams participating for the first time ever, FIFA instituted new tiebreaker rules to determine the top two in each group along with the eight highest third-place finishers.
Below, FOX Sports Research has broken down what each team needs to advance, what results would send them through, and which scenarios could leave their fate hanging in the balance.
Here’s where every group stands heading into the next round of matches, and the simple scenarios for them to advance.
Note: Below scenarios are through all games played on June 25. Additionally, three points is now the minimum required for teams to advance as one of the eight third-place teams.
GROUP A SCENARIOS
- Mexico won the group and will face a third-place team from either Group C or E in the Round of 32 in Mexico City on June 30.
- South Africa finished as runner-up in the group, and will play Canada on June 28 in Los Angeles.
- South Korea finished third, and currently ranks eighth among the third-place teams.
- Czechia cannot advance to the knockout stage.
Mexico celebrates after securing the top spot in Group in the win vs. South Korea.
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GROUP B SCENARIOS
- Switzerland won the group and will play a third-place team from either Group G or J in the Round of 32 in Vancouver on July 2.
- Canada finished as runner-up in the group and will play South Africa on June 28 in Los Angeles.
- Bosnia and Herzegovina finished third, and will play USA in the Round of 32 on July 1 in Santa Clara.
- Qatar cannot advance to the knockout stage.
GROUP C SCENARIOS
- Brazil won the group and will play Japan on June 29 in Houston.
- Morocco finished as runner-up of the group and will play the Netherlands on June 29 in Monterrey.
- Scotland finished in third, and currently ranks tenth among third-place teams.
- Haiti cannot advance to the knockout stage.
GROUP D SCENARIOS
- USA won the group, and will play Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32 on July 1 in Santa Clara.
- Australia finished as runner-up of the group and will play Egypt on July 3 in Arlington.
- Paraguay finished in third, and will play Germany on June 29 in Foxborough.
- Türkiye cannot advance to the knockout stage.
Folarin Balogoun of the U.S.
GROUP E SCENARIOS
- Germany won the group and will play Paraguay on June 29 in Foxborough.
- Ivory Coast finished as runner-up of the group and will play Norway on June 30 in Arlington.
- Ecuador finished in third, and clinched a spot as a third-place team.
- Curaçao cannot advance to the knockout stage.
GROUP F SCENARIOS
- Netherlands won the group and will play Morocco on June 29 in Monterrey.
- Japan finished as runner-up of the group and will play Brazil on June 29 in Houson.
- Sweden finished third, and will play France on June 30 in East Rutherford.
- Tunisia cannot advance to the knockout stage.
GROUP G SCENARIOS
- Belgium won the group and will play a third-place team from Group A, I, or J on July 1 in Seattle.
- Egypt finished as runner-up of the group and will play Australia on July 3 in Arlington.
- Iran finished in third and currently ranks sixth among the third-place teams.
- New Zealand cannot advance to the knockout stage.
GROUP H SCENARIOS
- Spain won the group and will play the runner-up of Group J on July 2 in Los Angeles.
- Cape Verde finished as runner-up of the group and will play Argentina on July 3 in Miami.
- Uruguay cannot advance to the knockout stage.
- Saudi Arabia cannot advance to the knockout stage.
GROUP I SCENARIOS
- France won the group and will play Sweden on June 30 in East Rutherford.
- Norway finished as runner-up of the group and will play Ivory Coast on June 30 in Arlington.
- Senegal finished in third, and clinched a spot as a third-place team.
- Iraq cannot advance to the knockout stage.
GROUP J SCENARIOS
- Argentina won the group and will face Cape Verde on July 3 in Miami.
- Austria will advance with a win or draw; in a draw, the runner-up will be decided by tiebreakers.
- Algeria will advance with a win or draw; in a draw, the runner-up will be decided by tiebreakers.
- Jordan cannot advance to the knockout stage.
Lionel Messi of Argentina.
GROUP K SCENARIOS
- Colombia has advanced.
- Colombia will win the group with a win or draw.
- Portugal will advance with a win or draw, and will win the group with a win.
- Uzbekistan can advance with a win, but it is not guaranteed.
GROUP L SCENARIOS
- England will advance with a win/draw.
- England will win the group with a win AND a Ghana draw/loss.
- Ghana will advance with a win/draw.
- Ghana will win the group with a win AND an England draw/loss.
- Panama cannot advance to the knockout stage.
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