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Former England captain Wilkins dies

Ray Wilkins, an elegant midfielder who captained England’s national soccer team and played for illustrious teams such as Manchester United, Chelsea and AC Milan in a 24year career, died Wednesday. He was 61.

St. George’s Hospital said in a statement on behalf of Wilkins’ family that he died Wednesday morning.

Nicknamed “Butch,” Wilkins played 84 times for England — captaining the team for 10 games. He also played for Rangers and Queens Park Rangers, among others, in a club career that ended in 1997.

He went on to coach QPR and Fulham, as well as having a brief spell in charge of Jordan’s national team. He was assistant coach at a slew of clubs, most notably Chelsea from 2008-10.

Sens’ Karlsson not expected to play

Ottawa Senators captain Erik Karlsson did not play Wednesday night against the Buffalo Sabres, and coach Guy Boucher says he’s not expecting the defenseman to join the team for its final two games.

The Senators let Karlsson determine his playing schedule so he could be close to his wife after their baby was stillborn two weeks ago. Karlsson played the past four games after missing three of four.

Though he’s not anticipating Karlsson to play, Boucher says he’s holding onto the possibility of the two-time Norris Trophy winner rejoining the team before Ottawa closes its season Saturday at Boston.

Ottawa has been eliminated from playoff contention and plays Friday at Pittsburgh.

Budget includes Lake Placid upgrades

Aging Winter Olympic facilities in the Lake Placid area could soon be modernized.

The state budget just approved by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York lawmakers includes $62.5 million for Lake Placid’s winter sports venues.

Cuomo’s initial proposal called for $50 million of that money to go toward improvements to the region’s Olympic facilities and ski resorts.

That could include improvements to the Olympic Center ice rinks, the ski jumping complex or the Mount Van Hoevenberg complex for biathlon, Nordic skiing and sliding sports.

Lake Placid hosted the 1980 Winter Olympics and many sports facilities date to that era.