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Wednesday, 21 January 2026
Tuesday, 20 January 2026
Clement: Will be ‘really weird’ not having Bo Bichette in Blue Jays locker room
The fact that the Toronto Blue Jays‘ pennant defence will take place without a key player is resonating with at least one of his former teammates.
Star shortstop Bo Bichette, who hit a go-ahead three-run home run in Game 7 of the World Series, reportedly signed with the New York Mets last week, leaving Toronto after seven seasons with the club.
Fellow infielder Ernie Clement — a post-season hero himself, with 30 hits in 77 plate appearance — said life without Bichette will be an adjustment.
“I’m really happy for him. He deserves every penny he gets. He’s a heckuva player, awesome dude, he’s become a really a good friend of mine. It sucks seeing him go,” Clement said on the JD Bunkis Podcast on Tuesday. “It’s gonna be really weird not having Bo Bichette in the Blue Jays locker room.”
Clement, who was among a group of 2025 Blue Jays who recently travelled to Bichette’s wedding, said he has kept in touch with multiple teammates from the AL-champion club through their fantasy football league, which Bichette won.
(Pitcher Kevin Gausman finished last, with his punishment still to be determined, per Clement).
Clement added that Bichette was locked into helping the Blue Jays win the World Series before reaching free agency.
“He knew that he had some decisions to make after the season, and he was so engulfed in trying to win the World Series that it finally hit him,” Clement said.
Meanwhile, without Bichette, and with the likes of Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt still available in free agency, Clement said the 2025 Blue Jays’ lauded chemistry will be “impossible to replicate.”
The other knockdown effect of Bichette’s departure will occur in the infield, where Andres Gimenez will likely move to shortstop while free-agent signing Kazuma Okamoto appears headed to third base.
Clement, then, seems slated to man second base, just one season after receiving a Gold Glove nomination at third.
He said he’s willing to play wherever he’s needed.
“Wherever I’m playing, I go trust my instincts and any ball hit my way, I take a lot of pride in making sure it doesn’t get to the outfield,” Clement said. “I don’t do a lot of thinking over there. … Short, third, second, I’m ready to roll. Whatever they need me to do, I’m good.”
The goal, Clement said, is simple.
“We’re all pretty hungry to get back to the World Series and start winning ball games again,” he said.
Since that crushing Game 7 loss, Clement has spent his season in the public eye around his hometown of Rochester, N.Y., and in Toronto, attending sports events and playing plenty of golf on the side.
He even got some shinny in, he said.
“I think maybe I got one more skate, then I’m rocking and rolling and it’s all baseball,” Clement said.
That baseball will begin March 3 at the World Baseball Classic, where Clement was recently named to Team USA.
The Blue Jays’ home opener follows not long after, on March 27.
In between, Clement said he plans to do what worked for him ahead of the post-season last year.
“Those five, six days off, or whatever it was before we played the Yankees … I had been dealing with a broken hand,” he said. “I came into the playoffs just super healthy and ready to go.”
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Phillies president Dombrowski: ‘It was a gut punch’ missing out on Bo Bichette
Philadelphia Phillies president Dave Dombrowski is not feeling good about missing out on Bo Bichette.
“I can’t say we ever thought it was done,” Dombrowski told reporters via Zoom on Tuesday. “We thought we were very close to having a deal done, and we thought it was going to happen. But it wasn’t done, so there’s a difference between the two. … Until you sign a memo of understanding, you don’t have a deal done, and we did not sign one of those. It wasn’t that we weren’t moving towards that direction; it wasn’t that we didn’t think we were going to get there based upon our conversations. …I did think we were going to get a deal done.”
The former Toronto Blue Jay infielder Bichette reportedly declined a seven-year, $200-million deal from the Phillies to sign his three-year, $126-million contract with the New York Mets.
He could have joined the 96-win Phillies and paired up with Bryce Harper and Trea Turner, but instead went for the $42-million annual average to join the Mets, who missed the post-season in 2025.
“This is not the first time this has ever happened to me; it actually happens more than you think,” Dombrowski said. “… It’s a gut punch, you feel it, that day you’re very upset, but you have to pick yourself off and shake it off because you can’t just wallow in what took place.”
Despite missing on Bichette, the Phillies haven’t had a terrible off-season. They re-signed designated hitter Kyle Schwarber and catcher JT Realmuto to long-term deals, while adding reliever Brad Keller and outfielder Adolis Garcia.
“I feel great about our club going into Spring Training,” Dombrowski said.
Dombrowski also made it clear that Philadelphia is no longer looking to add this off-season. “We’re content where we are,” he said.
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‘Goalie fight!’: Hockey fans react to scrap between Bobrovsky, Nedeljkovic
Hockey fans got to witness one of the most entertaining spectacles in all of sports on Monday.
A goalie fight broke out with 14 minutes left in a game Monday night between the Florida Panthers and San Jose Sharks that had gotten increasingly chippy with post-whistle pushing and shoving.
Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky beelined from his crease to even things up after San Jose’s Alex Nedeljkovic got involved in a scrum in the corner.
Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues’ hit on Vincent Desharnais behind the Sharks net sparked the fight. Nedeljkovic then went over to shove Rodrigues.
“I tripped the guy and then I got hit from behind,” Desharnais told reporters in the visitors’ dressing room, per The Athletic. “I was on the ice trying not to get stepped on. I got up and I just see Ned and Bob going at it, and I was like, ‘Did I miss something here?’ But it was a great fight. I don’t think Reavo (Ryan Reaves) needs to teach him anything. Maybe he can teach a thing or two to Reavo. That was awesome.”
Bobrovsky felt Nedeljkovic’s response to the hit “was a little much.”
“It’s exciting, but obviously it’s not a thing I’m doing for a living. It is what it is, but we had a good fight,” Bobrovsky said.
“I was just doing my best not to get punched,” Nedeljkovic said, per The Athletic. “He came out swinging, so I was just trying not to lose any teeth. It might have straightened my nose out a little bit more, but I don’t want it that way.”
Panthers fans chanted, “Bobby! Bobby!” after the two netminders were done tussling. Cheers followed when Bobrovsky returned from a brief trip to the locker room.
Bobrovsky and Nedeljkovic each got a five-minute major penalty for fighting and an additional two-minute penalty for leaving the crease to take part in an altercation. They stayed in the game.
“I couldn’t believe it. Best goalie in the world is doing that. It’s pretty incredible. We know what he’s meant to our team,” Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk said.
It’s the first goalie fight in the NHL since Mike Smith fought Cam Talbot in the Battle of Alberta on Feb. 1, 2020.
“We need to use that fire and energy from our backbone in Bob and use that this next road trip because let’s be honest, we’re not in a good spot at all right now in the standings,” Tkachuk said.
Here are some of the best reactions to the ultra-rare event that hockey fans were treated to on Monday:
— With files from the Associated Press
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Monday, 19 January 2026
Grizzlies’ Ja Morant addresses trade rumours: ‘I’m a very loyal guy’
Ja Morant is adamant about his future with the Memphis Grizzlies.
The two-time all-star addressed the recent trade speculation about him after the Grizzlies’ 126-109 victory over the Orlando Magic on Sunday.
“If anybody in here knows me, I’m a very loyal guy,” Morant said. “I got a logo on my back (Grizzlies tattoo), so that should tell you exactly where I want to be.”
Memphis reportedly began entertaining trade offers for Morant earlier this month, with the team prioritizing draft picks and young players in return, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.
This came with the Grizzlies sitting on the outside of the playoff picture, and Morant not playing like his former self.
Morant was averaging 19 points entering Sunday — his lowest since his rookie campaign — to go with 3.2 rebounds and 7.6 assists. His field-goal and three-point percentages are also the worst of his career, shooting just 40.1 per cent from the field and an abysmal 20.8 per cent from deep while averaging 4.3 attempts per night.
However, Morant returned from a six-game absence Sunday with an impressive 24 points and 13 assists while shooting 7-of-13 from the field. If he can maintain that level of play, he may force the Grizzlies to hold onto him.
Even with the Grizzlies entertaining offers, they are still considering multiple paths forward and remain open to keeping Morant, Charania added.
After Sunday’s victory, Memphis sits at 18-23.
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Report: Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard leaving road trip due to knee injury
A rare healthy stretch for Kawhi Leonard is over.
The Los Angeles Clippers star is heading from the team’s road trip due to irritation in his left knee, NBA insider Chris Haynes reported on Sunday.
Leonard snapped a streak of 24 straight games played on Friday when he sat out against the Toronto Raptors with a left ankle injury suffered Jan. 7.
Leonard sustained a contusion around a week ago, but the injury is not seen as being serious, per Haynes.
The two-time Finals MVP has been enjoying one of his best seasons since his 2018-19 run with the Raptors, averaging 28.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game on 49.7-per-cent shooting from the field.
Los Angeles has also surged of late, winning 12 of its last 14 games including a comeback overtime win against the Raptors to climb back into the post-season race.
The Clippers visit the Washington Wizards on Monday and Chicago Bulls on Tuesday to round out their five-game road trip before returning home to face the Lakers on Thursday.
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