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NHL News: On comeback trail, Panthers G Spencer Knight loaned to AHL

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October 7, 2023

NHL News: On comeback trail, Panthers G Spencer Knight loaned to AHL

The Florida Panthers loaned goaltender Spencer Knight to the AHL affiliate Charlotte Checkers on Friday.

The team reduced its training camp roster to 30 players ahead of next week’s regular-season opener at the Minnesota Wild. But Knight’s move was significant as the 22-year-old continues to make his way back to hockey after spending time in the NHL/NHL Players’ Association player assistance program.

Knight entered the assistance program last February and did not play for the remainder of the 2022-23 season. He revealed last month that he was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder and had stepped away to focus on his mental health.

“I can still be the player I want to be, and I still believe I can be one of the best goalies in this league,” Knight told the Hockey News. “Maybe it’s this year, maybe it’s next year, maybe it’s in three years or four years or five years. I don’t know. I know what I’m capable of accomplishing. It was there before and it has been there the whole time.”

Knight was a first-round draft pick (13th overall) by Florida in 2019 and made his NHL debut at just 20 years and one day old.

Knight has played in 57 regular-season games (49 starts) over parts of three seasons while paired with Florida’s No. 1 goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky. He has a 32-17-6 record, a 2.91 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage for his young career.

Panthers coach Paul Maurice told reporters loaning Knight to Charlotte was the team’s plan before training camp had opened. Knight will play frequently as the No. 1 goalie in Charlotte, while Anthony Stolarz will serve as the backup to Bobrovsky.

“What’s best for Spencer Knight right now is also what’s best for the Florida Panthers long-term,” Maurice said. “He looked good in camp and we want to keep that going.”

–Field Level Media

LPGA News: Hyo Joo Kim maintains Ascendant lead, Lexi Thompson makes move

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October 7, 2023

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LPGA News: Hyo Joo Kim maintains Ascendant lead, Lexi Thompson makes move

Hyo Joo Kim protected her lead with a 3-under 68 in the second round of The Ascendant LPGA on Friday in The Colony, Texas.

The South Korean ranked No. 7 in the world moved to 10-under 132 through two rounds and will head into the weekend with a two-stroke lead over Paraguay’s Sofia Garcia, who kept pace with a 68 of her own Friday.

Lexi Thompson jumped into a tie for third at 6 under with France’s Celine Boutier. Thompson shot the low round of the day, a 65, to reach 6 under while Boutier signed for a 67.

Kim opened her round at Old American Golf Club on the back nine with a string of seven pars. She finally broke that by rolling in birdies at Nos. 17, 18 and 1 before adding a birdie and a bogey the rest of the way.

“My shots were better than yesterday but unfortunately the score wasn’t as good as yesterday,” Kim said. “But I did hit the green a lot more so I’m satisfied with that. There were couple misses here and there in the middle of the round, so after I eat, I’m going to practice and work on those.”

Kim, 28, has five wins on the LPGA Tour but is searching for her first since April 2022.

“I was at the top of the leaderboard couple times this season but weekend plays haven’t been as good some times,” Kim said. “This week, I’m hoping to focus more on my play and play as well as I did on the first day and today and finish strong.”

Garcia, 25, is a rookie on tour who has made only three of 12 cuts this season and has not finished better than a tie for 31st.

After her opening-round 66, she stayed steady Friday with four birdies and just one bogey.

“I had a few chip-ins,” Garcia said. “I wasn’t quite — there were a couple holes where I was not where I was meant to be. I had a solid short game going on and that kind of make me stay patient and I was able to also take advantage of the good shots.”

Thompson, meanwhile, is vying for her first LPGA win since 2019.

Starting on the back nine, Thompson sandwiched four birdies around a single bogey. She added three birdies on the front nine, including back-to-back at Nos. 7 and 8.

Thompson moved to 6 under par for the round and the tournament when she chipped in for birdie at the par-4 eighth.

“Hit a lot of good chips out there, hit a lot of good putts and a lot of solid golf shots,” Thompson said. “I just really committed to a lot out there. That is really all I’ve been trying to build on.”

Leona Maguire of Ireland (67 Friday), Maria Torres of the Dominican Republic (68), Azahara Munoz of Spain (71) and Marina Alex (70) are tied for fifth at 5 under.

Among those missing the cut of 2 over par were tour winners Alexa Pano, England’s Bronte Law and South Africa’s Paula Reto, all at 3 over.

–Field Level Media

CHAMP News: Scott Parel uses hole-in-one to charge into lead at Furyk & Friends

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October 7, 2023

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CHAMP News: Scott Parel uses hole-in-one to charge into lead at Furyk & Friends

Scott Parel knocked in a hole-in-one during an 8-under-par 64 on Friday to take a three-shot lead after one round of the Constellation Furyk & Friends in Jacksonville, Fla.

Parel, who started his round on the back nine, aced the par-3, 155-yard 17th hole at Timuquana Country Club. He was stuck at even par before the shot, and he parlayed that jolt of energy into six birdies over his next eight holes.

The 58-year-old tied the course record and established a comfortable lead over Jerry Kelly and Brett Quigley, who are tied for second at 5-under 67.

Parel used an 8-iron on his hole-in-one.

“I hit the ball well, which I’ve been hitting it pretty good for a while,” Parel said. “Then got lucky and made a hole-in-one and that kind of got the momentum going, that got me to a couple under. Then I birdied 18 and got a really good break on 1, I hit a poor tee shot and it bounced out in the fairway, so it just seemed like it was my day today.”

Parel has won four times on the PGA Tour Champions, but not since April of last year.

“I’m just going to try to play like I did today,” Parel said of the weekend. “I don’t expect to shoot another 8 under. I’ll hopefully hit the ball in the fairway and have some birdie chances.”

Kelly and Quigley each shot bogey-free rounds with five birdies apiece.

After three victories in 2022, Kelly is still searching for his first win of the season.

“I feel like my body’s feeling better, I’ve got the right clubs in there now, I’m working on the right things to where now I can work on my mental side a little bit,” Kelly said. “I still get quick to judge myself, but I was like, ‘Hey, you know, it’s fine, you’re hitting it good.’ Then I go out and make up-and-downs.”

Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain is part of a large tie for fourth at 4-under 68. Tournament host Jim Furyk shot a 1-under 71 that included a bogey, a double bogey and four birdies.

Defending champion Steve Stricker opened with an even-par 72. Stricker is the far-and-away leader in the Charles Schwab Cup money race.

–Field Level Media

WTA News: Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek to clash in Beijing semifinals

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October 6, 2023

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WTA News: Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek to clash in Beijing semifinals

No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek of Poland and No. 3 Coco Gauff will meet in the semifinals of the China Open in Beijing.

Swiatek rallied for a 6-7 (8), 7-6 (5), 6-1 win over No. 9 Caroline Garcia of France on Friday in 2 hours, 35 minutes.

Gauff extended her winning streak to 16 matches with a 6-2, 6-4 defeat of No. 6 Maria Sakkari of Greece.

No. 5 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan meets unseeded Russian Liudmila Samsonova in the other semifinal.

Rybakina knocked off World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Russia 7-5, 6-2 and Samsonova breezed to a 6-3, 6-2 defeat of No. 13 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Swiatek had the toughest trip to the final four, trailing 6-5 in the second set after losing the opening-set tiebreak. She held serve to force another tiebreak and fought her way to victory.

Garcia, the 2017 Beijing champion, hammered 16 aces but faded in the decisive set as Swiatek advanced to her 11th semifinal of the season and her 11th career WWTA 1000 semifinal. She is 7-0 in WTA 1000 hard-court quarterfinals.

“For sure it was really intense,” Swiatek said. “We played really fast. There was no time sometimes to think or analyze. I’m happy I used my intuition a lot.

“For sure a lot of tight moments. In both of these first sets, every ball counted. I’m happy that in the third I could just go for it.”

Gauff needed only 78 minutes to eliminate Sakkari. She finished a balanced effort with 16 winners and 15 unforced errors and never faced a break point.

The U.S. Open champion enters the showdown with Swiatek with a lot of momentum and confidence.

“It was definitely as comfortable as it looked, honestly,” Gauff said. “She’s a tough player. I think she came out with some great shots. But honestly, when I stepped on the court, some days you just feel like no matter what’s going to happen, you’re going to win. It’s nothing to do with the opponent. It’s just like how you’re feeling. That’s how I felt when I stepped on court today.”

Rybakina ousted Sabalenka in 1 hour and 34 minutes, striking 12 aces and converting four of nine break chances against the No. 1 seed. Rybakina improved to 4-0 in her career against top-ranked players, having gone 3-0 versus Swiatek during her tenure at the top.

Samsonova powered past Ostapenko in 66 minutes. She won 91 percent of the points on her first serve (21 of 23) and converted five of eight break chances.

–Field Level Media

ATP News: Zhizhen Zhang makes history at Shanghai Masters

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October 6, 2023

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ATP News: Zhizhen Zhang makes history at Shanghai Masters

Zhizhen Zhang became the first Chinese player to reach the third round of the Shanghai Masters with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win Friday against No. 28 seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina.

Zhang saved five of six break points and finished the well-played 2-hour, 28-minute match with 32 winners and 10 unforced errors, compared to 30 and 12 for Etcheverry.

Zhang posted a critical break in the ninth game of the deciding set and converted his third match point to secure his eighth win this season against a top-50 opponent.

“First set I was down, and he had a break,” Zhang said after the match. “I told myself, second set I still have a chance. I just tried to hold my service games and see if I could break him. First set my return was not working well, so I changed my position a bit and I’m happy to win the match of course.”

The 26-year-old Zhang entered the ATP 1000 event ranked No. 60 in the world. He will face Brandon Nakashima in Sunday’s third-round match.

Nakashima delivered a stunning 6-0, 6-2 win over No. 3 seed Holger Rune of Denmark in Friday’s biggest upset. Other seeded players who were knocked out included No. 9 Alexander Zverev of Germany, No. 11 Alex de Minaur of Australia, No. 14 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada, No. 17 Lorenzo Musetti of Italy and No. 23 Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands.

No. 8 Casper Ruud of Norway, No. 16 Hurbert Hurkacz of Poland and No. 20 Francisco Cerundolo and No. 25 Sebastian Baez of Argentina won their second-round matches, as did three seeded Americans: No. 19 Ben Shelton, No. 26 Sebastian Korda and No. 29 Christopher Eubanks.

It was the first career top-10 victory for Nakashima, who needed only 69 minutes to show Rune the door. Nakashima saved his only break point and finished with more aces (five) than unforced errors (four).

Ruud let an early 4-1 lead slip away but held on for a 7-5, 6-0 triumph against Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka. Ruud will next face Eubanks, who rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win against Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann.

“I’m very happy of course,” Ruud said. “Yoshihito came back in a tough, long first set. These things can happen. Whoever wins a first set like this will feel motivated to keep going in the second.

“I know the feeling myself. You feel like you worked hard for an hour just to lose the set and it feels like you have to climb a mountain to turn the match around. Maybe that’s what happened.”

–Field Level Media

NHL News: Wild D Jared Spurgeon (upper body) out week-to-week

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October 6, 2023

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NHL News: Wild D Jared Spurgeon (upper body) out week-to-week

Minnesota Wild captain Jared Spurgeon is considered week-to-week with an upper-body injury, the team announced Friday.

Spurgeon sustained the injury after being checked into the boards by Chicago Blackhawks forward Reese Johnson during the first period of Minnesota’s 3-2 shootout win in preseason action Thursday.

Spurgeon, a defenseman, totaled 34 points (11 goals, 23 assists) in 79 games last season. He recorded a plus-32 rating for the second consecutive season.

Spurgeon, 33, has 379 points (110 goals, 269 assists) and a plus-112 rating in 851 career games with the Wild.

Minnesota opens the regular season at home against the Florida Panthers next Thursday.

–Field Level Media

Watch: Justice Department Brings Eight Indictments Against China-Based Chemical Manufacturing Companies and Employees That Produced Killer Drug Tranq

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October 6, 2023

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Eight indictments against Chinese companies and individuals have been unsealed by the Justice Department in the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida. These indictments relate to the production of synthetic opioids like fentanyl and methamphetamine, as well as sales of precursor chemicals.

The second round of prosecutions to accuse Chinese chemical manufacturing companies and citizens of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) of fentanyl precursor chemical trafficking into the United States builds on the indictments that were previously issued in June.

The press release announced that the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated 28 individuals and entities involved with the international proliferation of illicit drugs, including a China-based network responsible for the manufacturing and distribution of ton quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and MDMA precursors. Those designated by OFAC today are also involved in the global trafficking of xylazine and “nitazenes,” which are highly potent and often mixed with illicit fentanyl or other drugs.

“We know that the global fentanyl supply chain, which ends with the deaths of Americans, often starts with chemical companies in China,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The United States government is focused on breaking apart every link in that chain, getting fentanyl out of our communities, and bringing those who put it there to justice.”

Hanhong Pharmaceutical Technology Co., LTD posted this listing to an online chemical marketplace selling the veterinary sedative xylazine, also known by the street name “tranq.”

The networks targeted today have been involved in the trafficking of xylazine and “nitazenes” into the United States.

Xylazine, or “tranq,” is a powerful sedative for veterinary use that is increasingly misused by narcotics traffickers who mix it with illicit fentanyl to produce a deadly mixture. According to a DEA public safety alert, fentanyl and xylazine mixtures are more potent than either drug alone, placing users at a higher risk of suffering a fatal drug overdose. Xylazine has also been coined the “zombie drug” because it can cause severe wounds in users, including necrosis — the rotting of human tissue — which may lead to amputation.

CHAMP News: Scott Parel uses hole-in-one to charge into lead at Furyk & Friends

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October 6, 2023

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