Nashville opens with a win in Prague
The Nashville Predators’ new additions made a quick impact in the NHL’s first regular-season game Friday in Prague.
Nino Niederreiter scored his debut goal for Nashville, which beat the San Jose Sharks, 4-1, in the Czech capital.
Kiefer Sherwood, another newcomer, became the first player to score this season, putting Nashville on top 1:01 into the game.
Eeli Tolvanen also scored and Matt Duchene finished it off with an empty-netter.
“All of the new guys to our team obviously contributed a lot,” coach John Hynes said. “The style, the game they played really fits the identity we want to play.”
The teams will play again on Saturday at Prague’s O2 Arena as part of the league’s return to Europe for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
More hockey
The Calgary Flames have signed defenseman MacKenzie Weegar to an eight-year, $50 million extension. Weegar came to Calgary on July 25 along with Jonathan Huberdeau in a trade that sent Matthew Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers.
Golf
Mito Pereira of Chile led a parade of players from the International team at the Presidents Cup in the Shriners Children’s Open, making birdie on half of his holes for an 8-under 63 that gave him a one-shot lead. Pereira was at 12-under 130, one shot ahead of Robby Shelton, who birdied the par-5 ninth on his final hole for a 63.
• Richard Bland, Branden Grace and Eugenio LopezChacarra upstaged their more-illustrious opponents to shoot 7-under 65s and share the lead after the first round of the LIV Golf Invitational-Bangkok Thailand. Marc Leishman and Ian Poulter were a stroke behind while Kim Sihwan, Brooks Koepka and Morgan Jediah were among those two behind in the 54-hole event.
Basketball
The Warriors launched an investigation into the leak of video footage showing Draymond Green punching Jordan Poole in the face this week at a closed-door practice. The now-viral video obtained and released by TMZ shows Green and Poole apparently matched up in a drill or scrimmage inside the Warriors’ Chase Center practice facility on Wednesday. The Warriors are taking “every legal course of action” to determine how the video was made public, according to ESPN.
Colleges
No. 9 Pitt (15-2, 5-0) made short work of host Clemson (10-7, 1-4) inside Jervey Gym. The Panthers recorded their most lopsided set victory of the season, winning the second set by 17 points, (25-21, 25-8, 25-18).
• The RMU (8-11, 1-6 Horizon League) volleyball team dropped a 3-2 decision at Youngstown State.