Maple Leafs and Sergei Bobrovsky suddenly linked in major development
The NHL free agency window opens on later today, and the Toronto Maple Leafs appear to be zeroing in on a goaltender who has hoisted the Stanley Cup twice. But the real momentum behind this potential signing only materialized in the last 24 hours.
The Florida Panthers traded for Jacob Markstrom from the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, acquiring the veteran netminder along with Angus Crookshank in exchange for Evan Rodrigues, Jesper Boqvist, and Ben Steeves. Florida also picked up backup Akira Schmid from the Vegas Golden Knights a day earlier. Those two moves effectively signalled the end of Sergei Bobrovsky's time in South Florida.
With a new goaltending tandem in place, the Panthers appear ready to let the 37-year-old Bobrovsky walk when the market opens. And all signs reportedly point to Toronto as his likely landing spot.
"It's pointing in the direction of Bobrovsky coming to Toronto," Nick Kypreos said during a live broadcast on Sportsnet 590 The FAN, where he was joined by Justin Bourne and Sam McKee to discuss the potential fit.
"I think they'll hit a number, they'll hit a term, and both sides will be happy.
Can I tell you it's a done deal or that it's definitive? No, I'm not telling you that. What I am telling you is that it's really pointing in that direction."
According to Elliotte Friedman, the Markstrom trade from New Jersey to Florida could open the door for the Maple Leafs to bring in the pending free agent.
Earlier reports had suggested Bobrovsky was open to staying with the Panthers, the organization where he won back-to-back championships. His massive eight-year contract has now expired, and a return to Florida would have reportedly been his preferred scenario. That door, however, appears firmly shut now. Elliotte Friedman believes his last ask of Florida was three years, $21 million.
For Toronto, the appeal is obvious. Bobrovsky brings championship experience and a familiarity with current Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz, with whom he shared a crease in Florida. The Leafs have faced questions about their goaltending depth heading into a pivotal season, with Stolarz battling injury concerns and Dennis Hildeby still largely unproven at the NHL level.
Bobrovsky's numbers last season were not what they once were. In 52 appearances for the Panthers, he posted an .877 save percentage and a 3.07 goals against average, a far cry from his Vezina Trophy days in Columbus. Still, he remains a proven commodity in high-pressure situations.
The financial details remain unclear. It is possible the veteran seeks a richer deal elsewhere in what would likely be the final contract of his career. Alternatively, the Leafs could offer term that takes him into his 40s to get the deal done. All eyes on this potential signing today at the very beginning of free agency opening, where Bobrovsky's decision could reshape Toronto's goaltending picture for the foreseeable future.
Diamondbacks Have Become Giants' Biggest Nightmare in 2026
Diamondbacks Have Become Giants' Biggest Nightmare in 2026
The San Francisco Giants have yet to solve the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2026, and the one-sided matchup is becoming a defining storyline of the season.Seth Dowdle|
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San Francisco GiantsArizona DiamondbacksThe San Francisco Giants lost 8-2 to the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 30 at Chase Field. A lot went wrong in the loss, including some horrific starting pitching from Landen Roupp as well as some pretty pedestrian offense other than Luis Arraez's hot bat.
Despite all that disappointment, something even more ominous happened Tuesday night — the Giants have now lost eight in a row to the Diamondbacks. That's right. Eight losses in a row. Absolutely nothing has gone right for San Francisco when the team in the other dugout is the Diamondbacks.
For Arizona, this feat is a historic accomplishment. It's the most consecutive victories against an opponent to start a season in franchise history. Additionally, these wins over San Francisco are fueling the D-backs' potential march to the postseason. Arizona is 13-2 against the Giants and Rockies. Against everybody else, it's just 30-40. Talk about stacking wins against subpar competition.
The feeling is not so good on the other side of the aisle. San Francisco has to wonder what it can do to get over the bogeyman that is the players who reside at Chase Field. How in the world can one expect to have a successful season when one singular opponent just continues to smack you around night in and night out? It's a reasonable question, one that the Giants are seeing answered in real time: You can't.
The Giants Are in the Doghouse Against the D-backs
Let's go through some of these losses to the D-backs this season. (For a more in-depth analysis into why the Giants just can't seem to figure out Arizona, click here.)
The Giants and Diamondbacks first met on May 18 in Phoenix, with Arizona taking the series opener in a 12-2 rout. The next night featured the Giants blowing a 3-1 ninth-inning lead, with Ketel Marte blasting a three-run walk-off homer to left field to send the folks in orange and black back to their hotel sad. The Diamondbacks concluded the sweep the next day via a 6-3 triumph.
Just a week later, the D-backs arrived in San Francisco for a three-game set. Once again, nothing went right. Merrill Kelly outdueled Roupp to open the festivities. Then Eduardo Rodriguez, who's having a fantastic season, did the same against Tyler Mahle the next day. Finally, Mike Soroka got the best of Tony Vitello's squad. 6-2, 7-5 and 3-2. Those are the final scores of yet another sweep.
The next two defeats have come in just the past couple of days. San Francisco, looking to conclude June on the right foot following two series wins over the Athletics and Atlanta Braves, completely fell flat in the opener on June 29. Rodriguez was once again fantastic, and the D-backs won 5-4. Then there was the June 30 loss, an 8-2 drubbing that was another indication that perhaps the Giants should just pack it up and not even bother against Arizona anymore.
Unfortunately for the Giants, five more games between the two will be played this season. They can only hope that somehow, someway, a win comes at some point.
Published 6 minutes ago
SETH DOWDLESeth Dowdle is a 2024 graduate of TCU, where he earned a degree in sports broadcasting with a minor in journalism. He currently hosts a TCU-focused show on the Bleav Network and has been active in sports media since 2019, beginning with high school sports coverage in the DFW area. Seth is also the owner and editor of SethStack, his personal hub for in-depth takes on everything from college football to hockey. His past experience includes working in the broadcast department for the Cleburne Railroaders and at 88.7 KTCU, TCU's radio station.
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Rangers Finally Give Winston Santos Chance to Make Major League Debut
Rangers Finally Give Winston Santos Chance to Make Major League Debut
The Texas Rangers prospect had a long wait before he finally got the baseball in Major League game action. Matt Postins|
In this story:
Texas RangersIt wouldn't be unfair to accuse the Texas Rangers of forgetting about Winston Santos.
The Rangers called up their No. 5 pitching prospect, per MLB Pipeline, last Wednesday when they were in Miami. Texas promoted him from the minors before that game and sent another top pitching prospect, Jose Corniell, back to Triple-A Round Rock. He pitched the night before.
The Rangers were preparing for the third game of their 10-game road trip with no day off. At some point, Texas was going to need Santos, and he would make his MLB debut.
It took a week for the Rangers to give Santos the ball, but on Wednesday he took the final two innings for the Rangers in their 9-4 loss to the Cleveland Guardians. Now he can finally say he’s pitching in a Major League Game.
Winston Santos’ Debut
Welcome To The Show, Winston! pic.twitter.com/K98qba7y9r
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) July 1, 2026
Santos entered in the seventh inning with reliever Cole Winn in trouble. He allowed a Steven Kwan triple, who scored on a single by Chase DeLauter, to give Cleveland a 6-3 lead. At that point, Rangers manager Skip Schumaker handed the right-hander the ball with DeLauter on first.
He had a rough start. DeLauter stole second and then moved to third on a wild pitch. He scored after a second wild pitch by Santos, which walked Rhys Hoskins. Santos then retired the next three hitters.
He got a second inning and allowed a two-run home run to former Rangers catcher Austin Hedges after giving up a leadoff single to Kahlil Watson. He retired the next three hitters.
Santos finished his two innings with two hits, two earned runs, a walk and a strikeout, leaving him with an ERA of 9.00.
While Santos waited for his chance to pitch the only notable pitching move the Rangers made was to sign Chris Paddack on Monday, a move that required them to make a 40-man roster move. Texas designated Paddack for assignment the next day and recalled reliever Gavin Collyer from Round Rock.
The 24-year-old from the Dominican Republic remains one of the Rangers’ most prized pitching prospects. He joined the organization as an international free agent in 2021, and Texas moved him to the 40-man roster last November to protect him from the Rule 5 draft, along with Emiliano Teodo. Santos has played in the MLB Futures Game and was name a Fall Star at the Arizona Fall League last November.
He missed the start of this season after injuring his hand on a comebacker during Major League spring training. He is 1-3 with a 7.44 ERA in 11 starts with Double-A Frisco.
Published 13 minutes ago
MATT POSTINSMatthew Postins is an award-winning sports journalist who covers Major League Baseball for OnSI. He also covers the Big 12 Conference for Heartland College Sports.
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Another council vows to remove England flags from lampposts during World Cup
Another council vows to remove England flags from lampposts during World Cup
Another council is quietly stripping flags from lampposts
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Add us as preferred source Comments By Jon King, News Reporter 21:38, Wed, Jul 1, 2026 Updated: 21:44, Wed, Jul 1, 2026 
A council leader has vowed to have flags attached to lampposts without permission removed. Union and St George's Cross flags have been flown across the UK in recent months, as part of an online campaign called Operation Raise The Colours and more recently as a show of support for England in the World Cup.
But flying the flags has become contentious, with several local authorities removing them from public infrastructure. Cambridgeshire County Council leader, Lucy Nethsingha, said that while some people might love to fly a flag on their property or car, it was not appropriate to attach them to lampposts.
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She told the BBC putting a ladder up against a lamppost is "incredibly reckless and risks lives", adding: "We will be taking down all the flags attached without permission. We are looking at ways to prevent this in the future."
Local, Billy Crotty, who hung flags along the A1198 last year, said the council's approach was overkill, telling the broadcaster he has stopped hanging them.
Cambridgeshire is not the first local authority to take action. Legal action brought by Oxfordshire County Council led to four activists agreeing last month not to raise flags on lampposts in the county.
The council wanted to stop people raising flags near roads, which it said involved safety risks, as well as trespass and obstruction.
Oxfordshire argued that for months, flags had been placed on or near public roads without permission, despite a formal legal notice in March and pre-action legal letters sent to individuals last month.
Robin Green, acting for the council, named the four as Ryan Bridge, Ben Cullen, Trudy Wells and Kevin Good.
After a short hearing on June 23 where the group represented themselves and spoke to Mr Good by phone, they agreed not to put up more flags, not to encourage others to do so, and not to obstruct any council worker or contractor taking them down.
Councils in Shropshire and Blackpool have also removed flags, citing concerns for public safety.
Operation Raise The Colours and others argue that the flying of flags from lampposts and other street furniture shows patriotism.
But others argue the flying of the Union and St George's Cross flags is a cover for xenophobia and racism.
They say flying the flags in such a way is aimed at provoking and dividing communities amid tensions over immigration.
