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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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Police report details Zachariah Branch’s arrest days before NFL Draft over sidewalk incident

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Police report details Zachariah Branch’s arrest days before NFL Draft over sidewalk incident

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New details have emerged surrounding the arrest of former Georgia wide receiver Zachariah Branch, who is facing two misdemeanor charges following a run-in with law enforcement just days ahead of the NFL Draft. 

Branch, who is a projected second-round pick, was arrested early Sunday morning in Athens, Georgia, and charged with two counts of obstructing public sidewalks/streets – prowling and obstruction of a law enforcement officer. 

Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Zachariah Branch celebrates after a touchdown catch against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Nov. 28, 2025. (Brett Davis/Imagn Images)

He was released after more than two hours in jail after posting $39 in bonds. 

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The NFL Network obtained the police report from Branch’s arrest, which described an encounter over an alleged sidewalk incident with law enforcement, in which police alleged that the former Bulldogs star failed “to comply with multiple verbal lawful commands.”

“A male, later identified as Zacharia Branch, continued to stand on the sidewalk without making an attempt to move. I continued to give Zacharia Branch verbal commands to move from blocking the sidewalk and advised that if he did not, he would receive a citation for blocking the sidewalk,” the excerpt from the report read. 

Georgia wide receiver Zachariah Branch runs during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind., on Feb. 28, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)

TOP NFL DRAFT PICK ZACHARIAH BRANCH ARRESTED IN GEORGIA ON TWO MISDEMEANOR CHARGES

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“Zacharia Branch smirked, then stepped backwards and to the right, then remained standing upon the public sidewalk, so as to obstruct, hinder, and impede free passage upon the sidewalk as well as impede free ingress/egress to or from the adjacent places of business,” the report continued.

“Due to those actions and Zacharia Branch’s failure to comply with multiple verbal lawful commands, he was placed under arrest for misdemeanor Obstruction of LEO and received a citation for Obstructing Public Sidewalks.”

Georgia wide receiver Zachariah Branch celebrates with wide receiver Colbie Young after scoring a touchdown against Ole Miss during the Sugar Bowl at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La., on Jan. 1, 2026. (IMAGN)

Branch transferred after two seasons at Southern California and immediately became quarterback Gunner Stockton’s favorite target. He finished the season with a team-high 811 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns.

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His status as a projected second-round pick was bolstered after an impressive showing at the combine, where he clocked a 4.35-second 40-yard dash.

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Quick final pit stop helps Alex Palou win Long Beach Grand Prix

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Quick final pit stop helps Alex Palou win Long Beach Grand Prix

For two-thirds of Sunday’s Long Beach Grand Prix, Alex Palou bided his time … waiting for the one break he needed.

It came in the form of a caution on the 58th lap, allowing him to overtake front-runner Felix Rosenqvist exiting pit lane and hold the lead the rest of the way, taking the checkered flag by 3.96 seconds for his third triumph in five IndyCar Series races this season and his first at Long Beach.

Right after being showered with applause and confetti at victory lane, the 29-year-old Spaniard thanked his crew, whose quick work on the last pit stop proved to be the difference.

“Everyone was coming in on that yellow and they did an incredible job,” he said. “We were either going to win it or not win right there.”

Rosenqvist settled for second and Scott Dixon, Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, was third.

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It was the 11th win over the last 22 races dating to 2024 for the Barcelona native and the 22nd win of his career, tying Tony Bettenhausen and Emerson Fittipaldi. It also vaulted Palou to the top of the series standings as he chases his fourth series championship in a row and fifth overall. Palou won the opener March 1 in St. Petersburg (also a street course) and the fourth race March 29 in Alabama.

Palou led for only 32 of the 90 laps Sunday and acknowledged it would have been difficult to catch Rosenqvist if not for the stoppage.

“I wasn’t giving up but it would’ve been tough to get him today,” Palou acknowledged. “He was already three seconds ahead. I was happy with my car but I was struggling more on the soft tires than the hards so I’d say my chances were low. The feeling was great seeing all the open space coming out of pit lane because when you spend 60 laps behind a car it disturbs you. I tried to match him on soft tires but it wasn’t working.”

Alex Palou speeds through a curve of the track.

(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)

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In six starts at Long Beach, Palou never has finished lower than fifth.

There is little room to maneuver on the 1.968-mile course with 11 tight turns, but after starting in the third position next to defending champion Kyle Kirkwood, Palou managed to sneak past Pato O’Ward into second place heading into the first turn on Lap 2.

“Making that move on the straightaway was big because I knew it was one of our only chances to get a pass on Pato,” Palou said. “I got that good run on that last corner and he didn’t expect it.”

This year marked the 51st edition of the longest-running major street race in North America, which started in 1975 as part of the Formula 5000 Series, switched to the CART/Champ Car World Series in 1984 and joined the IndyCar Series in 2009.

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The top four qualifiers started on softer, high-grip “alternate” tires to establish position while the rest of the grid started on harder, more durable “primaries” to manage degradation on the 110-degree track surface. Of the 25 starters, 24 completed the 177.12 miles.

“We were going to make the two-stop strategy work but didn’t know if it would be doable or not,” Palou added. “As soon as I saw I couldn’t get Felix it was all about patience, fuel and waiting for the right time. I owe this win to my team. Without that pit stop I probably wouldn’t be sitting here now. It only takes one mistake to go from second to seventh, but they’re great under pressure.”

Cars make their way down a straightaway during Long Beach Grand Prix.

Cars make their way down a straightaway during Long Beach Grand Prix.

(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)

Past winners Will Power and Josef Newgarden moved into the top two positions after Rosenqvist pitted, but the Swede regained the lead when Newgarden pitted for the first time on Lap 37 and dropped back to 14th.

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The first 45 laps were caution-free as Rosenqvist, Palou, Kirkwood, David Malukas and O’Ward held the top five spots. Newgarden’s chances declined upon discovering a flat spot on his left front tire, and he dropped back to 14th.

Rosenqvist’s three-second lead was erased when debris on the track exiting the Aquarium Fountain drew the only yellow flag all afternoon and narrowed the gap. Capitalizing on favorable pit position, Palou emerged from the lane just ahead of Rosenqvist.

Rosenqvist. who won the pole position with a lap time of 1 minute 7.4625 seconds in qualifying, had mixed emotions as the runner-up after leading for 51 laps with no win to show for it.

“You want to win when you have an opportunity, but I’m proud of today,” Rosenqvist said.

“We weren’t as good as Alex on the blacks … the last pit cycle was the defining moment. We had to come around 14, he had more of an opening, and his crew nailed it. That happens.”

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Kirkwood, who was vying for his third win in four years, finished right where he started in fourth.

“I had a good cushion and figured even with a bad stop I’d probably stay ahead but I knew there’d probably be a yellow at some point and there it came,” Rosenqvist lamented. “Considering Alex had primary [tires], also I think we would’ve been able to hold him off. It’s definitely disappointing when you can’t wrap it up.”

Dixon, who started in the sixth position, was third and earned his first podium this season and the 136th of his career.

Fans watch with two laps left in the race.

Fans watch with two laps left in the race.

(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)

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“The race itself was a bit blah — I sat in the same position for most of it,” Dixon said. “Luckily for us we had it easy out of that last stop.”

Al Unser Jr. holds the record for most wins at Long Beach, chalking up six in eight years, including an unmatched four in a row from 1988 to 1991.

Tom Sargent is becoming a fan of street circuits after two wins this weekend. Driving the Porsche 911 Cup for GMG Racing in the Mobil Pro Class, the 22-year-old Australian led from start to finish in Race 1 of the Carrera Cup North America on Saturday. In Race 2 on Sunday morning, he again started from the pole and claimed a 0.965-second victory over Aaron Jeansonne to complete the double.

In his last bid at Long Beach three years ago, he hit the wall on Lap 2 but still finished second.

“Momentum in sports is critical and the past few weeks have been really cool for me,” Sargent said. “I didn’t do any street circuit racing before I came to the States. Maybe it fits my driving style.”

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‘Demon’ Finn Balor settles score with Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania 42

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‘Demon’ Finn Balor settles score with Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania 42

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Finn Balor and Dominik Mysterio were once brothers in arms in the Judgment Day. The two helped the faction run “Monday Night Raw” for several years.

As championships and opportunities came and went, the rift between Balor and Mysterio grew. It came to a head when Balor caused Mysterio to lose the Intercontinental Championship to Penta. Balor leaving the Judgment Day left Mysterio and Liv Morgan as the leaders with JD McDonagh, Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez sticking around.

Finn Balor is introduced before his match against Dominik Mysterio during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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The latter four chose to ride with Mysterio and attacked Balor on one episode of Raw.

The bitter war led to a match Sunday night at WrestleMania 42. To make matters more interesting, Raw General Manager Adam Pearce made the match a street fight hours before the show was set to begin.

Balor had vowed to bring the “Demon” out and he certainly did.

JACOB FATU PUTS DREW MCINTYRE IN THE ‘REAR VIEW’ IN UNSANCTIONED MATCH AT WRESTLEMANIA 42

Finn Balor is introduced before his match against Dominik Mysterio during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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Balor made his way to the ring in his “Demon” gear, dripping with red and black paint. Mysterio was in a mask with other Mysterio supporters.

The two then proceeded to beat the crud out of each other.

Mysterio wrapped Balor’s head in between a chair and hit a 619 on him. He tried to pin Balor, but to no avail. At another point, Mysterio tossed Balor through a table set up in the corner.

As many have learned, it’s hard to keep your demons down. Mysterio learned the hard way.

Balor would not give up. Balor clotheslined Mysterio, hit him with a chair multiple times before wrapping his head in between the chair and drop-kicking him into the corner. Balor put Mysterio onto a table and hit the Coup de Grâce for the win.

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Dominik Mysterio is introduced before his match against Finn Balor during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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Balor excised his own demons, while Mysterio is still haunted.

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