Panthers On Team Latvia

     Team Latvia announced their roster for the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. The men's ice tournament will happen next month.

     Two players from the Florida Panthers organization were selected. They were defenseman Uvis Balinskis and left wing Sandis Vilmanis. 

Maple Leafs Drop On Panthers

     The Toronto Maple Leafs knocked off the Florida Panthers 4-1 on Tuesday night at Scotiabank Arena. The Panthers begin a six-game road swing and will play nine of their next 10 contests on the road. 

     The Cats started their second half of the regular season. The Maple Leafs extended their home winning streak to six games. 

     Toronto(20-15-7) broke out to a 1-0 advantage with 24 seconds remaining in the first period. Nicolas Roy sent a diagonal pass from above the top right circle. Nicholas Robertson centered from below the low left circle and Easton Cowan put in a wrist shot from the right of the crease past Sergei Bobrovsky for his fifth tally of the year. 

     The Maple Leafs expanded their lead to 2-0 just 42 seconds into the second period. John Tavares pushed the puck from the right goal line and Troy Stetcher one-timed a slap shot from above the top right circle. It was redirected it by Matthew Knies from the top of the crease for his 12th goal of the campaign. 

     It became 3-0 for the Leafs at 4:01 of the second. Knies carried the puck from the left wing through the left circle and the low slot. He made a drop pass and Auston Matthews snapped a shot from the low slot for his 21st goal of the season. 

     In the third period, Florida(22-17-3) got on the scoreboard with 8:22 to go. Carter Verhaeghe shot the puck from the end wall and it banked off Joseph Woll into the cage for his 12th goal this season. It was Verhaeghe's 150th goal in a Panthers uniform. 

     The Panthers pulled their goalie for an extra attacker with over three minutes remaining. Bobby McMann would steer the puck into an empty net from the slot area for his 13th goal this year with 7.3 seconds left to give Toronto a 4-1 lead. 

Timberwolves Mangle Heat

     The Minnesota Timberwolves mashed the Miami Heat 122-94 at Target Center on Tuesday night. It was the second time in four days that both teams faced each other. 

     Miami(20-17) had a slight 29-27 lead by the conclusion of the first quarter. Minnesota(24-13) rallied back and led 61-54 at halftime. 

     The Timberwolves extended their lead to 93-77 at the end of the third quarter. The Heat could not make a dent into the deficit during the fourth quarter. 

     Norman Powell scored a club-high 21 points in the loss for Miami. Tyler Herro fell short of a double-double with 19 points and nine rebounds.

     All five Minnesota starters ended up in double-digit scoring. Anthony Edwards had a game-high 26 points while Jaden McDaniels added 19 points. 

Dave O'Brien Massachusetts Sportscaster Of The Year

     Dave O'Brien has been named the 2025 recipient of the Massachusetts Sportscaster of the Year Award by the National Sports Media Association. He is currently the television play-by-play announcer of the Boston Red Sox. 

     O'Brien once worked with the Florida Marlins. He was the radio play-by-play announcer and television play-by-play announcer of the team from their inaugural season in 1993 until 2001. 

Dave Hyde Florida Sportswriter Of The Year

     The National Sports Media Association has named Dave Hyde of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel as the 2025 Florida Sportswriter of the Year. It is the fifth time that Hyde has received that honor. He last won the award in 2019 and 2020. 

     Hyde has a long reign with that newspaper. He began at that organization when it was known as the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel in 1990. Hyde previously was a sportswriter with the Miami Herald from 1985 to 1990. 

Don Mattingly Joins Phillies

     The Philadelphia Phillies have hired Don Mattingly as their new bench coach. His son Preston Mattingly is the Phillies general manager. 

     Mattingly was the Miami Marlins manager from 2016 until 2022 and holds the most managerial wins in franchise history with 443. He was the Toronto Blue Jays bench coach for the past three seasons. 

Nationals Claim Joey Wiemer

     The Washington Nationals have claimed outfielder Joey Wiemer off waiver from the San Francisco Giants. He was purchased by the Giants from the Miami Marlins back in November.

     Wiemer played with the Marlins during the 2025 season. He had three home runs, 12 runs batted in and a .236 batting average in 27 contests.