Sports Express | September 25, 2026

1. Scheffler, Burns Win First Match Together as U.S. Takes 3-2 Presidents Cup Lead

Source: TSN

Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns won 1-up over Min Woo Lee and Sungjae Im in Thursday's opening four-ball session at the Presidents Cup at Medinah Country Club in Illinois, giving the United States a 3-2 lead. The friends had been 0-3-1 as partners in the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup before finally breaking through.

Burns hit an 8-iron to 2 feet on the 14th, and Scheffler closed out the match with a superb bunker shot on the 18th. Jackson Koivun, 21, teamed with Justin Thomas for a 4-and-3 win, and Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa added another point. Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Hisatsune, and Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim won for the Internationals. Five foursomes matches are set for Friday, with Scheffler and Burns facing Canadians Corey Conners and Nick Taylor.

Source

2. Bob Pettit, NBA's First MVP, Dies at 93

Source: Rappler

Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Pettit, the first winner of the NBA's MVP award, has died at 93. His family said in a statement that he "passed away very peacefully at his home in Metairie" on Wednesday, September 23; no cause of death was released.

Pettit averaged 26.4 points, 16.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 792 regular-season games over 11 seasons (1954-65), winning MVP in 1955-56 and 1958-59 and making 11 All-Star teams. He led the St. Louis Hawks to the 1957-58 title and was named Finals MVP, becoming the first player to score 50 points in an NBA Finals game. The Hawks paid tribute on Thursday.

Source

3. Robinson Rushes for 194 Yards as Falcons Rout Packers 35-14

Source: Sportsnet

Bijan Robinson rushed for 194 yards and two touchdowns, and quarterback Michael Penix Jr. returned from injury to go 18 of 25 for 256 yards as the Atlanta Falcons beat the Green Bay Packers 35-14 on Thursday night. Atlanta (1-2) erased an early 7-0 deficit with 27 straight points and outrushed Green Bay 242 yards to 17.

Robinson and Drake London became the first teammates since 1976 to each total at least 190 yards from scrimmage in a road game; London caught nine passes for a career-high 194 yards. Green Bay (1-2) lost its home opener for the first time since 2012, despite Jordan Love throwing for 312 yards and two touchdowns with an interception.

Source

4. NHL Merges Winnipeg Jets History and Records

Source: CBC

The NHL announced Thursday that it is consolidating the statistical histories of the two Winnipeg Jets franchises, ending the need to distinguish between the "1.0" and "2.0" eras. The original Jets played in the city from 1979-96 before moving to Arizona to become the Coyotes; the NHL returned in 2011 when the Atlanta Thrashers relocated and were renamed the Jets.

Mark Scheifele slips from No. 1 to No. 2 on the Jets' all-time scoring list, behind 1.0 legend Dale Hawerchuk. Scheifele has 372 goals, 535 assists and 907 points; Hawerchuk had 379 goals, 550 assists and 929 points. Thomas Steen still leads the franchise in assists with 553.

Source

5. Blue Jackets Re-sign Adam Fantilli to Six-Year, $82.5M Deal

Source: Sportsnet

The Columbus Blue Jackets signed center Adam Fantilli to a six-year, $82.5-million contract on Thursday morning, making the 21-year-old Canadian the team's highest-paid player at an average of $13.75 million per year. The restricted free agent had missed the first week of training camp while the two sides negotiated.

Fantilli was the third overall pick in the 2023 draft after winning the Hobey Baker Award at Michigan. He was second on the team with 24 goals and third with 59 points last season. General manager Don Waddell said the Blue Jackets "need to make the playoffs" and that keeping a player of Fantilli's caliber "is huge for this franchise."

Source

6. PWHL to Host First All-Star Game in Toronto

Source: PWHL

The Professional Women's Hockey League announced Thursday that its first-ever All-Star event will be held on March 7, 2027, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, featuring a four-team, 3-on-3 round-robin tournament. The teams will be PWHL Canada, PWHL International, PWHL USA and PWHL Rookies.

Presented by Scotiabank, the event will air in the U.S. on Scripps Sports' ION, with TSN providing English-language coverage and Radio-Canada French-language coverage in Canada. "The 3-on-3 format creates an intense, fast-paced style of play," said Jayna Hefford, the PWHL's executive vice president of hockey operations. The league dropped the puck for the first time in Toronto on Jan. 1, 2024.

Source

7. Penguins' Kuzmenko Steps Away After Father Killed in Bear Attack

Source: The Guardian

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Andrei Kuzmenko has stepped away from the team after his father, Alexander Kuzmenko, was killed in a bear attack in Siberia this week. REN TV reported that the 62-year-old, a well-known hockey coach in Russia, was attacked Tuesday while on a fishing trip in the Tuva region.

Ambulances were delayed in reaching the group in the densely forested area along the Krasnaya River; Kuzmenko was airlifted to a hospital with severe facial injuries and pronounced dead Wednesday. Penguins president and general manager Kyle Dubas offered condolences in a statement Thursday. REN TV said at least 15 people have been killed in bear attacks across Russia this year.

Source

8. Blue Jays Miss Playoffs as Scherzer Speaks Out

Source: si.com

The Toronto Blue Jays were officially eliminated from the American League's final wild-card spot Wednesday after being swept in Baltimore. Veteran right-hander Max Scherzer didn't mince words: "We showed last year we can play all the way into the World Series. This year, we're not going to the playoffs. We didn't accomplish our goals," he said. "It's frustrating."

Last October, Toronto reached Game 7 of the World Series before losing at home in extra innings to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Manager John Schneider said it was "frustrating that we didn't fulfill our end of it." The team also faces the possibility of a work stoppage that could put the start of the 2027 season in doubt.

Source

9. CFL Moves Closer to 10th Team With Quebec City

Source: Daily Hive

The CFL's nine governors voted unanimously on Sept. 9 to move forward with the possibility of adding a franchise in Quebec City, according to a report by TVA's Stephane Turcot, making the city the league's leading expansion candidate. The CFL confirmed to Sportsnet that Quebec City is a "leading contender," though discussions are ongoing.

Should the project proceed, the league could reportedly welcome its 10th franchise as early as 2030 or 2031. A key piece is a planned 25,000-seat open-air stadium on the site of the former Colisee de Quebec, estimated to cost about $350 million. The CFL has not added a team since the Ottawa Redblacks began play in 2014.

Source

10. Canada's Holmgren Takes Silver at Road Worlds

Source: Cyclingnews

Canada's Isabella Holmgren had to settle for silver in the women's under-23 road race at the Road World Championships in Montreal on Thursday after her plan for a solo charge to gold ended in a sprint. Slovakia's Viktoria Chladonova beat her to the title.

"Of course, I'm disappointed to not win for Canada, but there are so many positives from today. So I can't be too upset," Holmgren said. She was part of a front group in the closing laps alongside teammates including her sister Ava Holmgren. Holmgren finished sixth in the event last year.

Source