Tag: 2021魔都新茶论坛

Actor Ryan Reynolds, Christopher Bratty and the Remington Group have pulled out of their bid to purchase the Ottawa Senators. According to the Ottawa Sun, Reynolds and his group wanted an exclusive negotiating window in order to purchase the NHL franchise, but the request was turned down.

Specifically, Reynolds and company wanted their own window 30-day window to negotiate with the National Capital Commission and the city of Ottawa to discuss plans for a new arena for the Senators. After being declined that exclusive window, Reynolds reportedly grew frustrated with the entire process. That’s when he, Bratty and the Remington Group elected to remove themselves from the process of potentially buying the Senators altogether.

At least six other groups are still involved in bidding for the franchise, which is why Reynolds and his group were not given exclusive negotiating rights, according to the Ottawa Sun. However, the Sun also reported that the alleged $1 billion offer Reynolds and his group were set to make for the Senators likely would’ve been more than any other bid.

The Remington Group thought that they were “negotiating against themselves,” according to the Ottawa Sun.

Reynolds, who is from Canada and spent a few years of his childhood near Ottawa, had initially expressed interest in purchasing the Senators back in November 2022 when there were rumblings that the team may be put up for sale. The actor stated that he would keep the franchise in Ottawa if he purchased the team.

Much like he did with fellow actor Rob McElhenney at soccer club Wrexham AFC, Reynolds wanted to build something special with the Senators. However, it looks like he won’t get that chance.

The Dallas Stars are returning to the Western Conference Final for the second time in four seasons. On Monday, the Stars shut down the Kraken 2-1 to win Game 7 and received a sensational performance from goaltender Jake Oettinger.

The Stars opened the scoring courtesy of Roope Hintz late in the second period. Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak, who had played a strong game up to that point, couldn’t corral the puck in the neutral zone, and Hintz made the Kraken pay. Hintz went top shelf and beat Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer to give the Stars a 1-0 lead at the 15:59 mark of the second period.

🌟 IT’S ROOPE 🌟

Roope Hintz RIPS one blocker side and this #Game7 has its first goal! #StanleyCup

🇺🇸: @espn ➡️ https://t.co/Xul3x8VBHN
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet ➡️ https://t.co/wnHw6dQIOI pic.twitter.com/Urlb8JfFm7

— NHL (@NHL) May 16, 2023
The goal was Hintz’s ninth goal of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and his fourth of the series. Hintz also registered four goals and two assists over the series’ final four games.

This particular Game 7 proved to be a defensive battle, evident in the fact that there wasn’t a goal through more than half of the contest. However, the Stars got some much-needed insurance in the final period.

At the 12:48 mark of the second period, rookie forward Wyatt Johnston scooped up a loose puck and tucked it over the shoulder of Philipp Grubauer to give the Stars a 2-0 lead. It was the fourth goal of the postseason for the 20-year-old Johnston.

While the two goals were impressive against a confident Grubauer, Oettinger added another spectacular performance to his Game 7 lore. The Stars goaltender turned aside all 21 of the 22 shots he faced in Game 7.

This came after Oettinger stopped 64-of-67 shots against the Calgary Flames in Game 7 of their opening-round series during the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs. That marked the second-most saves in a Game 7 in NHL history, behind only Kelly Hrudey (73).

The Kraken added a goal at the 19:42 mark of the third period, thanks to Oliver Bjorkstrand, but it was too little, too late. Despite the loss, goalie Philipp Grubauer played extremely well as he recorded 26 saves.

Now the Stars will face off against the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final after the Golden Knights beat the Edmonton Oilers.

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame is the pinnacle of achievement for every NBA player, coach and executive — a sign that your career was not only great but also worthy of immortalization. The 2023 class is riddled with familiar NBA names, including Dirk Nowitzki, Dwyane Wade, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker and Gregg Popovich, who will all be inducted on Saturday.

Like most of the sports world, we generally have a hard time living in the present and always want to look to the future, so we thought it would be interesting to take a look at all 30 NBA teams’ current roster to see who their most likely next Hall of Fame inductee would be.

Please note the key words there: First, “current roster” — the player has to be with the team at this very moment to be considered. Second, “most likely” — meaning we’re not saying that the person is certainly going to get in, but it is just the best candidate available. And lastly, “next,” indicating that the person selected has to be the one who’s going to reach the Hall of Fame the soonest.

For the purposes of this exercise, we looked at players, coaches and members of the front office (we decided to leave owners and governors out, because that’s not much fun). As you’ll see, some are extremely obvious — hi, LeBron! — and others are true head-scratchers — Wizards, yeesh!

The NBA schedule was released on Thursday and we’ve tracked key dates from all angles, including games to circle for the Lakers, Celtics, Knicks and Warriors. Below we are looking at reunion dates, when a marquee player who has switched teams will be making his first trip back to his former home arena as a visiting player (Gabe Vincent or Max Strus returning to Miami is cool and all, but it’s not going to make this list, nor is Grant Williams going back to Boston or Bruce Brown returning to Denver). We’re looking at the big fish here.

Games are listed in chronological order. Let’s get to it.

*LP denotes League Pass

1. Chris Paul in Phoenix: Warriors at Suns — Nov. 22 (ESPN)
   Paul returns to the Valley with the Warriors after spending three seasons with the Suns and helping lead them to the 2021 Finals. Paul basically aged out in Phoenix, which brought in Bradley Beal to form a big three with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, but he was the key figure in getting that franchise on a title-contending trajectory.
2. Mikal Bridges in Phoenix: Nets at Suns — Dec. 13 (LP)
   Bridges wasn’t a marquee player in Phoenix, but he became one in Brooklyn and he’ll surely have an extra hop in his step for this one. Bridges was traded to Brooklyn in the Kevin Durant deal but didn’t come back to Phoenix post-trade last season.
3. Jordan Poole in Golden State: Wizards at Warriors — Dec. 22 (ESPN)
   Poole was a big part of the Warriors’ 2022 championship but only lasted one season after signing a four-year $140 million contract. Things ended pretty badly for Poole with Golden State, starting with the punch heard round the basketball world from Draymond Green and finishing with an abysmal postseason showing in 2023. He’ll be a go-to guy in Washington and will surely be looking to jack up plenty of shots against his old team.
4. Jalen Brunson in Dallas: Knicks at Mavericks — Jan. 11 (LP)
   Brunson didn’t play in New York’s only trip to Dallas last season, so this will actually mark his first time on the American Airlines court as a visiting player. This will be a tough one for Mavericks fans. Letting Brunson get away looked bad at the time. It’s borderline stomach-turning now.
5. Kevin Durant in Brooklyn: Suns at Nets — Jan. 31 (ESPN)
   Durant only played eight regular season games for the Suns after the trade last year and none of them were in Brooklyn. Durant’s time with the Nets was muddled. He performed at an MVP level when he played, but they never made it past the second round and he eventually tried to get his coach and GM fired before he forced his way out.
6. Marcus Smart in Boston: Grizzlies at Celtics — Feb. 4 (ESPN)
   Smart will receive a massive ovation when he returns to face the Celtics as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies. With Derrick White arguably supplanting him as the better player, Smart became expendable. Kristaps Porzingis is in Boston as a result.
7. Bradley Beal in Washington: Suns at Wizards — Feb. 4 (NBA TV)
   It’s only fitting that on the same night Smart returns to Boston, Beal’s return to face the Wizards will get the stepchild NBA TV treatment, where Wizards playoff games were stuck for years in the Wall-Beal era.
8. Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn: Mavericks at Nets — Feb. 6 (TNT)
   Like Durant, Irving will also be making his first trip back to Brooklyn as Dallas didn’t play the Nets following last year’s trade. This is the one I’m looking forward to the most. Irving absolutely torpedoed the Nets over multiple seasons. I would assume a massive round of boos are in order.
9. Fred VanVleet in Toronto: Rockets at Raptors — Feb. 9 (LP)
   VanVleet was an integral part of the Raptors’ first championship as a franchise. He got a huge deal with the Rockets and rightfully left as Toronto continues to toe the line of keeping its core intact and finally entering the rebuild phase.
10. Damian Lillard in Portland? Heat at Blazers — Feb. 27 (TNT)
    Well, look what we have here, the Miami Heat in Portland, for the Blazers’ lone nationally televised game of the season, almost directly AFTER the trade deadline. Might the league be anticipating a Damian Lillard deadline trade to Miami? It hasn’t happened yet, but keep the date circled on your calendar. Adam Silver certainly has done so.