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Lazerus: Unstoppable, unmissable Connor McDavid reaches the Stanley Cup Final. Don't blink

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Lazerus: Unstoppable, unmissable Connor McDavid reaches the Stanley Cup Final. Don't blink

EDMONTON — You’re Miro Heiskanen. You’re one of the best defensemen in the world. And not that modern kind of “defenseman” who is basically a fourth forward on the ice, racking up most of his Norris Trophy votes in the offensive zone. You’re a Defense Man. You play defense, man. Better than probably all but a handful of guys alive today. You know what you’re doing out there.

So when you see Connor McDavid take a pass from Leon Draisaitl up top, you prepare accordingly. You know his speed. You know his shot. You know his creativity. And as he blows by Sam Steel — a very good penalty killer, mind you — around the outside by simply barreling through a helpless stick check, you start to turn to the outside. McDavid is going out wide, to attack the net from the side. Maybe he’ll try to stuff it in the corner, maybe he’ll try to wheel around the cage and do a wraparound, maybe he’ll try one of those reverse-VH-busting sharp-angle roof jobs that are all the rage these days. But he’s going out wide.

There’s no other way for him to go, right?

Suddenly, McDavid stops on a dime and it’s already over. You’re toast. You have to turn your neck 90 degrees to the left just to see the guy, and all you see is a blue-and-orange blur vanishing from your peripheral vision. You sort of stick your backside out in a futile attempt to knock him off balance, but he’s already pulled the puck back and dragged it all the way across your body, wedging his way like a seasoned spelunker through an impossibly narrow path between you and Steel, who’s still hopelessly trying to catch up.

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By the time you whip your head around and offer a desperate one-handed stick flail at where you think — guess? hope? — McDavid might be, the puck is already in the net, McDavid having somehow placed the puck with pinpoint precision over the left shoulder of Jake Oettinger — no slouch himself in goal — with a shovel maneuver. Not a wrist shot. Not a clean backhand in open space. Not a tuck job. A shovel. The guy looked like he was mucking a stall at Belmont, and he still got off a perfect, unstoppable, unbelievable shot.

By the time you spin all the way around, all you can do is slump your shoulders and then shrug them half-heartedly, you and Steel and Esa Lindell and Wyatt Johnston loitering around the crease exchanging blank glances wordlessly, as if to say, “What the hell just happened?”

“Tried to get to the middle of the rink, and that was the best way I thought possible,” McDavid said with a literal shrug.

Yeah. Ho-hum.

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McDavid added a delicate little saucer pass to tee up Zach Hyman’s power-play goal later in the first period. That was enough for a 2-1 Game 6 victory that sent the Dallas Stars home. That’s how you win a game in which you’re outshot 35-10, a record low in shots and a record high in shot differential for a series clincher. That’s how you defeat consecutive division champions to reach the Stanley Cup Final. That’s how you get one step closer to living up to the impossible hype that accompanied you into the league nearly a decade ago. Well, that and a penalty kill that’s somehow killed off 28 straight power plays, and a goaltender in Stuart Skinner who’s playing well above expectations, and a first-year coach in Kris Knoblauch who’s pushed all the right buttons, and having another of the five best players in the world in Draisaitl on the same power-play unit as you, and, well, OK. The Edmonton Oilers have a lot going for them.

But every team has a lot going for it this time of year. But they don’t have McDavid. Nobody does. Nobody ever has. And finally, after nine seasons of this human highlight GIF toiling in the relative obscurity of northern Alberta — pretty much as far from American prime-time television as possible, thanks to a general lack of vision from American rights holders  — McDavid gets to ply his trade and fly and evade in front of the biggest audience possible.

He’s earned it, and the hockey world deserves it. We all deserve to see the best on the biggest stage.

The best ever? Well, hockey protocol dictates that a Stanley Cup is a requirement for inclusion in that conversation, so maybe we have to wait a couple of weeks. Or, you know what, maybe we don’t. Look, there’s always a recency bias at play, but go watch what an NHL goaltender looked like in the early 1980s, all 5-foot-something, playing that awkward stand-up style with scrawny little pads. Imagine what this McDavid would do against those goalies, against all the pylons that used to populate the league. Sure, he’d be headhunted every night by the fourth-line goons that used to roam the hockey world like plodding dinosaurs, but could they even get within a neutral zone of the guy?

It feels wildly hyperbolic to say that nobody else in the history of the game could have scored that goal in that way, but then again, is it? Why do we always feel compelled to check ourselves, to qualify, to couch, to waffle, to fence sit? This is a talent we’ve never seen, doing things we never thought possible. It’s hockey heresy to say that McDavid is the greatest hockey player who’s ever lived, because it’s hockey heresy to say he’s even the greatest Edmonton Oiler who’s ever lived. Wayne Gretzky was the most dominant athlete in the history of North American team sports. Full stop. One of one. The greatest career ever.

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But could he do that?

Can we at least acknowledge McDavid is the most talented, the most gifted, the most jaw-dropping hockey player who ever lived? That’s not hyperbolic. That’s obvious. That’s right in front of us. Say it out loud. Acknowledge it. Embrace it. Celebrate it. What a time to be a hockey fan. What a time to be alive.

“That was nice — seen it before, but nice,” Draisaitl deadpanned, while hundreds of delirious fans chanted “We want the Cup!” shaking the windows that peer into the Oilers’ news conference room at Rogers Place from 104 Avenue. “There’s one player in the world that can make things like that happen.”

One player. One player in this game. In this league. In this world. Maybe in this sport’s history.

The grandest stage awaits, and it’ll be a must-see. With McDavid, it always is.

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(Photo: Andy Devlin / NHLI via Getty Images)

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Anthony Richardson free to seek trade after injury setbacks amid Colts’ shift to Daniel Jones

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Anthony Richardson free to seek trade after injury setbacks amid Colts’ shift to Daniel Jones

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Anthony Richardson Sr.’s future in Indianapolis faces more uncertainty than ever. 

The Indianapolis Colts granted Anthony Richardson, the team that used the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft on the quarterback, permission to explore a trade. His agent, Deiric Jackson, confirmed the latest development in the 23-year-old’s tumultuous career to ESPN on Thursday.

Veteran quarterback Daniel Jones beat out Richardson in a preseason competition for the starting job. Jones made the most of another opportunity as an NFL starter, helping the Colts win eight of their first 10 games of the 2025 regular season. 

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Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson heads off the field after an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024 in Denver, Colorado. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

However, his season was ultimately derailed by an Achilles injury. The setback came two years after he tore an ACL with the New York Giants. The Colts appear ready to move forward with Jones, clouding Richardson’s future in Indianapolis.

Jones is set to become a free agent in March, meaning the Colts must either use the franchise tag or sign him to a new deal. Richardson has started just 15 games in three seasons with the Colts, his tenure largely shaped by injuries. 

A shoulder surgery limited Richardson to four games during his rookie campaign, while a series of setbacks cost him four games in 2024. 

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson (5) looks for an open receiver during the game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. (Troy Taormina/Imagn Images)

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Richardson suffered what was described as a “freak pregame incident” during warmups last season, landing him on injured reserve after attempting just two passes in two games in 2025. He has thrown 11 touchdowns against 13 interceptions in his NFL career. 

Colts general manager Chris Ballard said Tuesday that the vision problems stemming from Richardson’s orbital fracture last October are “trending in the right direction.” He added that Richardson has been “cleared to play.”

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson (5) celebrates his touchdown against the New York Jets during the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Brad Penner/Imagn Images)

Riley Leonard, a sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, is expected to return to the Colts next season.

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When asked about Richardson’s standing with the Colts moving ahead, Ballard replied, “I still believe in Anthony.”

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Prep talk: Freshman golfer William Hudson of St. John Bosco wins Servite Invitational

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Prep talk: Freshman golfer William Hudson of St. John Bosco wins Servite Invitational

William Hudson, a 14-year-old freshman golfer, shot 71 on Monday at Western Hills Country Club in Chino Hills to win the Servite Invitational.

“It was very important to me and my school,” Hudson said.

Some think it’s the first time a St. John Bosco student won an invitational title.

Hudson is a straight-A student who picked up his first golf club when he was 3. He has a daily routine involving practicing at 6 a.m. before heading to school. He’s also enrolled in a school entrepreneur program that involves taking classes at a junior college that will qualify for college credits.

“They are long days, but I get through it,” Hudson said.

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He comes from a family that enjoys golf. His great-grandfather played until his death at 98 last year.

“I love how it can take me to interesting places and meet interesting people,” Hudson said. “I can play for the rest of my life. It’s a lifelong sport.”

It’s looking like another strong year for golfers in Southern California, with several individual champions returning, including Jaden Soong of St. Francis and Grant Leary of Crespi.

Now Hudson has thrust himself into the conversation.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

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Dashcam video shows former WWE executive Vince McMahon rear-ending vehicle on Connecticut highway

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Dashcam video shows former WWE executive Vince McMahon rear-ending vehicle on Connecticut highway

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Police have released new video showing former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon speeding before crashing his 2024 Bentley Continental GT into another luxury car on a Connecticut highway last summer.

McMahon appeared to be followed by a state trooper in Westport moments ahead of the eventual collision. McMahon’s vehicle reached speeds of more than 100 mph, state police said.

A trooper’s dashcam video showed McMahon accelerating and then braking too late to avoid rear-ending a BMW. The car McMahon was driving then swerved into a guardrail and careened back across the highway. A cloud of dirt, apparently mixed with vehicle debris, was visible in the immediate area of the crash.

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WWE owner Vince McMahon enters the arena during WrestleMania at AT&T Stadium on Apr 3, 2022 in Arlington, Texas. (Joe Camporeale/USA Today Sports)

“Why were you driving all over 100 mph?” a state trooper asked McMahon after catching up to the wrecked Bentley.

“I got my granddaughter’s birthday,” McMahon replied, explaining he was on his way to see her. The encounter was recorded on police bodycam video.

No serious injuries were reported in the July 24 crash, which happened the same day former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan died of a heart attack in Florida.

In an image taken from Connecticut State Police police bodycam video, Vince McMahon is questioned in his car after an accident on July 24, 2025, in Westport, Connecticut. (Connecticut State Police via The Associated Press)

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Aside from the damage to the rear of the BMW, another vehicle driving on the opposite side of the parkway was struck by flying debris. The driver of that third car happened to be wearing a WWE shirt, police video suggested.

McMahon was cited for reckless driving and following too closely. In October, a state judge allowed him to enter a pretrial probation program that could erase the charges if he completes it successfully.

He was also ordered to make a $1,000 charitable contribution. His attorney, Mark Sherman, called the crash simply an “accident.”

“Not every car accident is a crime,” Sherman said. “Vince’s primary concern during this case was for the other drivers and is appreciative that the court saw this more of an accident than a crime that needed to be prosecuted.”

Vince McMahon attends a press conference to announce that WWE Wrestlemania 29 will be held at MetLife Stadium in 2013 at MetLife Stadium on Feb. 16, 2012 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.  (Michael N. Todaro/Getty Images)

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State police said a trooper was trying to catch up to McMahon on the parkway and clock his speed before pulling him over. They said the incident was not a pursuit, which happens when police chase someone trying to flee officers. They also said it did not appear McMahon was trying to escape.

“I’m trying to catch up to you, and you keep taking off,” State Police Det. Maxwell Robins said in the video. 

“No, no no. I’m not trying to outrun you,” McMahon clarified.

An accident information summary provided to the media shortly after the crash did not mention that a trooper was following McMahon.

The trooper’s bodycam video also shows him asking McMahon whether he was looking at his phone when the crash happened. McMahon said he was not and added he hadn’t driven his car in a long time.

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After Robins tells McMahon that his car is fast, McMahon replies, “Yeah, too (expletive) fast.”

Fox News Digital submitted a public records request to obtain the police video, which was first acquired by The Sun.

McMahon stepped down as WWE’s CEO in 2022 amid a company investigation into sexual misconduct allegations. He also resigned as executive chairman of the board of directors of TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of WWE, in 2024, a day after a former WWE employee filed a sexual abuse lawsuit against him. McMahon has denied the allegations. The lawsuit remains pending.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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