HOT CORNER

1 PRO HOCKEY: The NHL said Tuesday it had set a singleseason attendance record with more than 22.5 million fans filling arenas and stadiums. The league said the new mark of 22,560,634 was set with 18 games remaining in the regular season, saying buildings so far have been filled 97% to capacity. The season ends Thursday and the playoffs begin Saturday. The previous record was 22,436,532 in 2022-23. This is the third season with 32 teams. Nearly 80,000 people watched the New York Rangers and Islanders play outdoors at MetLife Stadium in February, making it the most attended game in the NHL’s 106-year history. This season is expected to produce record revenue of roughly $6.2 billion.

2 PRO BASEBALL: Ken Holtzman, MLB’s winningest Jewish pitcher who threw two no-hitters for the Chicago Cubs and helped the Oakland Athletics win three straight World Series championships in the 1970s, has died, the Cubs announced Monday on social media. He was 78. Holtzman’s brother Bob told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he died Sunday night after being hospitalized for three weeks battling heart issues. The lefthander posted a 174-150 record and 3.49 ERA from 1965 to 1979 with the Athletics, Cubs, Yankees and Orioles.

3 PRO BASEBALL: Fritz Peterson, the New York Yankees pitcher who famously swapped wives and families with teammate Mike Kekich in 1973, has died. He was 81. Peterson died of lung cancer at his home in Minnesota on Oct. 19, according to Winona County records. A left-hander who pitched in the majors from 1966-76, Peterson was a mainstay of the Yankees’ down years in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He went 133-131 with a 3.30 ERA, earning his only All-Star selection in 1970 when he was 20-11.

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PRO TENNIS: Zheng Qinwen eased past Sorana Cîrstea 6-2, 6-3 in the first round of the Porsche Grand Prix on Tuesday despite a long journey from China to reach the clay-court tournament. The seventh-ranked Zheng traveled from Changsha to Beijing and then on to Frankfurt before a final leg to Stuttgart, but showed little sign of jet lag as she wrapped up her win in 76 minutes. Zheng will play either Marta Kostyuk or former champion Laura Siegemund in the

second round.

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PRO BASEBALL: Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez had an MRI on Monday that showed a mild groin strain. It was a promising development for Kansas City after Perez left Sunday’s 2-1 loss to the New York Mets following a fourthinning collision at home plate with Starling Marte.