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Osaka split with prominent agency IMG in May before co-founding Evolve alongside her former agent Stuart Duguid. The agency was created with a focus on creating athlete-owned businesses, growing brand partnerships and encouraging philanthropy. It is unsurprising that Kyrgios has made the switch, with Duguid also a long-time agent of his. “When I learned that Stuart and Naomi were starting an agency focused on supporting athletes like me, it made complete sense to join,” Kyrgios said in a statement....

As early as the 1630s, for example, the Dutch developed a mania for tulip bulbs, paying fantastic prices for rare specimens. Since bulbs could be bought and sold before they ever flowered, they were a crude form of derivatives –and about as incomprehensible to innocents. Mackay tells the story of a sailor who, thinking a valuable tulip bulb was an onion, ate it for breakfast. After the price collapsed, the Dutch were left with bulbs about as useful as Barings paper....

Bridgewater was one of the few Broncos players that had a shot to stop Slay after Melvin Gordon fumbled on a fourth-and-short pile-up at the line of scrimmage. Bridgewater had an angle to potentially tackle Slay or at least slow him down en route to the end-zone. MORE: Cam Newton celebrates TD on first play back with Panthers Instead, Bridgewater made a business decision. He stopped about one stride away from Slay and refused to put his arms in the path of the defensive back....

Last week, losses were particularly damaging to playoff hopes for teams like Denver, Buffalo, Miami, Chicago and Arizona. In the case of Buffalo, it was a bit surprising that they turned to a rookie QB when they actually had a legitimate shot at the playoffs. We’ll see if the team can rebound from that disastrous experiment with Tyrod Taylor back under center. WEEK 12 NFL PICKS: Straight up | Against the spread Let’s take a look at the updated NFL playoff picture entering Week 12....

The Bills are riding high after they beat the Los Angeles Chargers last week. A win on Monday would all but secure a spot in the playoffs. Josh Allen and company are chasing the Chiefs and the Steelers for AFC seeding. Every game matters, even once they clinch the playoffs. The 49ers are a win outside of the NFC playoff group right now. A victory here would help them stay afloat in this heated race....

Before we get into the Week 7 forecast, remember that if you have any questions about sports weather or how weather could impact play (and, potentially, your fantasy, DFS, and gambling decisions), don’t hesitate to reach out on Twitter @KevinRothWx or check our hourly NFL weather forecasts on RotoGrinders. To take your game to the next level, subscribe to RotoGrinders’ exclusive WeatherEdge tool and see how different weather conditions have impacted historical scoring....

In fact, a near-record number have been decided by seven points or fewer. The 56 one-score games through seven weeks is second only to 57 to start the 2012 season. MORE: Week 8 NFL Power Rankings Thursday’s game (8:25 p.m. ET, NFL Network) between the Jaguars (2-4) and Titans (3-4) to kick off Week 8 may not be a marquee matchup, but history shows it should be competitive. Their past six meetings have been decided by one score....

The NFL Players Association appears to think it’s a possibility, distributing to players an ominous “work stoppage ready” plan that urgies them to be prepared for “loss of income, loss of health insurance, increased training costs and loss of camaraderie and structure.” The worksheet suggested players set aside half of each paycheck and get on their parents’ insurance if possible, adding that embarking on new business ventures wasn’t advised as players should instead focus on eliminating all non-mortgage debt by the end of 2020....

Still, the move makes sense, at least on a “Meta is involved in the metaverse and crypto” level. But, what would NFTs on Instagram actually do? How would they work? NFTs Are Coming to Instagram Speaking at the SXSW event, Zuckerberg confirmed that Meta was indeed looking to bring NFTs to Instagram. However, outside of confirming that NFTs are coming to Instagram and that there may be some integrated NFT minting functionality, Zuckerberg was characteristically coy regarding additional details, noting that there are “a bunch of technical things that need to get worked out” before Instagram NFTs can really happen....

Both the Blackhawks and Pittrsburgh Penguins had some intense games prior to meeting up in the Stanley Cup Finals. On the road to the cup the Penguins defeated the Ottawa Senators (4 games to 0), Buffalo Sabers (4-2), and went the distance with the Washington Capitals before beating them in a game 7. The Blackhawks also had a rough journey, beating the Predators (4-2), the Colorado Avalanche (4-0), before also being pushed to a game 7 by the Vancouver Canucks....

Players will compete in five individual events with the winner taking home a prize of $30,000. This year the event will showcase a new skill challenge called “Shooting Stars” where players will aim for targets on the ice from an elevated platform behind a goal. The night will also see the United States and Canada faceoff in an Elite Women’s 3-on-3 game where nine skaters and one goalie from the respective country’s national teams will compete....

The two sides were far apart on their arbitration numbers. de Haan sought $5 million in 2017-18 while the Isles countered at $1.95 million. They reportedly settled at $3.3 million on the one-year deal, close to the midway point. de Haan is one of four left-handed defensemen expected to be on the Isles’ roster this season. The 26-year-old, who is more of a defensive-minded blue-liner despite recording a career-high 25 points last season, slots in behind Nick Leddy and ahead of both Thomas Hickey and 22-year-old Adam Pelech, who inked a four-year contract earlier in the off-season....

It also can be painful. This stuff gets picked apart, because it should be picked apart — and that's a necessary, if difficult, thing to carry through the process. Above everything else, as was the case last year, I wanted to be intellectually honest — and at bare minimum, not screw anything up. So, here's Sporting News' ballot for the 2013-14 season. Hart Trophy ("To the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team") Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins....

The Oilers won the NHL Draft Lottery on Saturday night, giving them the right to draft McDavid, viewed by virtually everyone as the best prospect, at least, since Sidney Crosby. He was nine points from leading the Ontario Hockey League in scoring this past season despite missing more than 20 games with a hand injury. MORE: Embrace the tank | Comebacks rare down 2-0 | PHOTOS: NHL playoff photos...

According to hockeyfights.com, there have been just 143 fights through the first 408 games this season, which projects to 431 fights overall. That’s a huge drop from 734 fights in 2008-09 and 714 fights in 2009-10. The number of fights fell into the 500s in 2011-12 and the 400s last season, with just 347 fights in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season. The NHL began reinforcing instigation penalties in the 1930s, adding a two-minute minor for the player who started the fight in the 1990s....

The highlight is Johnny Gaudreau, who is the top free agent available. It’s likely that the deal he gets may be the first domino to fall for the rest to fall into place. A number of wings have already re-signed deals with their current teams. Filip Forsberg and Valeri Nichushkin each re-signed on eight-year deals with the Predators and Avalanche, respectively, while Rickard Rakell re-signed on a six-year deal with the Penguins....

“X” denotes a clinched playoff spot Eastern Conference Atlantic Division X- Boston Bruins (103 pts, 11 games remaining) Tampa Bay Lighting (86 pts, 11 games remaining) Montreal Canadiens (85 pts, 10 games remaining) Metropolitan Division Pittsburgh Penguins (97 pts, 11 games remaining) Philadelphia Flyers (83 pts, 12 games remaining) New York Rangers (82 pts, 10 games remaining) Wild Card Detroit Red Wings (80 pts, 11 games remaining) Toronto Maple Leafs (80 pts, 10 games remaining) In the hunt...

The Capitals captain and the greatest goal-scorer of all time has had a marvelous 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs, and it continued Saturday night against the Lightning. Ovechkin scored (again) his 11th goal of the postseason, matching a career high. It was also his 21st point, again equaling a career mark. His goal in Game 5, which cut Washington’s deficit to 3-2 in the closing minutes, was part of a Herculean effort by Ovechkin over the final four minutes and 48 seconds of regulation....

Matt Duchene was all over the score sheet Friday as the Columbus Blue Jackets center led his team to a dominant 5-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 2 of their 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs first-round series. The former Ottawa player registered a goal and three assists as the Blue Jackets took a commanding 2-0 lead in the series, proving himself a valuable late-season addition by Columbus....

With the new season rapidly approaching — the Senators and Maple Leafs will play the first game that matters Oct. 2 in Toronto — Sporting News takes another look at those changes: Expansion of coach’s challenges NHL coaches have been able since the 2015-16 season to initiate replay challenges on scoring plays that occur after missed offsides calls or goaltender interference; this year, teams will also be allowed to challenge goal calls that follow plays in the offensive zone that should have resulted in a stoppage before the goal occurred....