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SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)…

Jon Moxley and Darby Allin – Dynamite 10/15/25

I really appreciate AEW trying something different here with Mox and Darby having this prison-type sitdown behind the glass.

When Mox first started talking, you could see Darbyâ€s reflection in the glass and I thought that was a really cool visual. I also liked Mox starting off the conversation by asking, “What are we going to do here?†That line struck me as a guy who is at the end of his rope with Darby and is still trying to figure out how all this is going to end.

I also liked Darby admitting he thinks about joining the Death Riders every day but then thinks about how Mox turned his back on Bryan Danielson, and Darby saying to Mox, “Why would I want to go to war with someone who would stab his brother in the back?†Mox also had a line about chasing ghosts and how it never ends well. I thought that was a good look into Moxâ€s mentality and how heâ€s not trying to please anyone anymore.

I really loved everything about this sit down, until Pac came into the room with Darby and attacked him. I just feel like the attack was over-the-top, and Mox and Darby had already done enough with their words to really get their motives across. It doesnâ€t always have to end with the over-the-top violence and blood.

Overall, though, this was great work between Mox and Darby, and I really loved AEW trying something different with the glass separating them.

With Darby making Moxley quit at WrestleDream, you would think there needs to be a change in leadership for the Death Riders, right? When your leader has now quit to both “Hangman” Adam Page and now to Darby Allin, his leadership must come into question. Iâ€m just not sure who would take over the Death Riders, though.

I donâ€t think any of the current Death Riders are compelling enough to take over the leadership of the group. Do the Death Riders turn on Mox and go with Darby? Or is there a wildcard who comes in to take over the group? Iâ€m interested to see what happens on Dynamite this week.

Toni Storm and Kris Statlander with Renee Paquette – Dynamite 10/15/25

I thought the sit down with Toni Storm and Kris Statlander was well done this week, and I liked them going to the ring right after the sit down portion.

Statlander still needs to pick a lane with her character and go with it, but I thought this sitdown between the two helped push forward the respect they have for each other.

Storm as always had some great lines in this. I liked when she told Statlander, “I donâ€t know who I am without the title, but darling who the hell are you?†(I think we are all thinking that right now with Statlander)

Statlander came out of the gates strong the first two weeks after her shocking title win, I thought, but it’s clear they are still trying to figure out what her character is. Iâ€m worried that they are just going to pull the trigger and put this Womenâ€s World Title on Mercedes Moné at Full Gear.

When Storm and Statlander got to the ring to fight, I really loved the spot where they both got on their knees and dared the other one to hit them with the belt.

What I appreciate the most with Toni Storm is that her rivalries are never boring. There is always a layered story that comes with it and the promos leading up to the eventual match with her opponent are always entertaining. Sheâ€s been the MVP of AEW for a long time, in my opinion.

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…

Check out the latest episode of “Wrestling Night in America,” part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “pwtorch†on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)

Honorable Mentions

Callis Family Dinner – Dynamite 10/15/25

Iâ€m putting this here solely for the fact Kazuchika Okada shut off the TV when Komosuke Takeshita was on it. “I hit the wrong button†was such a good line. Iâ€m also including Don Callis introducing Hechicero in the proceeding match after this promo. When Callis starts doing the hand motionâ€s that Hechicero does, it’s so ridiculous and funny.

The Acclaimed? Maybe… – Collision 10/15/25

I know a lot of people, including me, think breaking up The Acclaimed to begin with was a terrible move. Almost as terrible as allowing Billy Gunn to stick around with them as long as he did.

I am also someone who then really didnâ€t have an interest in seeing them get back together.

You really have to give Max Castor credit here, though, for getting his singles character over and lighting the spark for this Acclaimed reunion to have any life.

No offense to Anthony Bowens, but his singles career in AEW was dead on arrival. I thought this quick backstage segment they had was really good, and now Iâ€m in for the reunion and the lead up to it. Max Castor telling Tony Khan, “I have autonomy over my body†was the line of the night for both Dynamite and Collision.

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The 2025-26 NBA season is here! We’re rolling out our previews — examining the biggest questions, best- and worst-case scenarios, and win projections for all 30 franchises — from the still-rebuilding teams to the true title contenders.

2024-25 finish

  • Record: 51-31 (lost to the Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals)

Offseason moves

  • Additions: Guerschon Yabusele, Jordan Clarkson

  • Subtractions: Precious Achiuwa, P.J. Tucker

(Stefan Milic/Yahoo Sports Illustration)

(Stefan Milic/Yahoo Sports Illustration)

The Big Question: Can Mike Brown improve these Knicks?

The Knicks pulled off somewhat of a stunning upset, ousting the defending champion Boston Celtics in a six-game second-round playoff series. They ran into their ceiling a round later, losing to the fifth-seeded Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals. They defied expectations, only to fall short of them.

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It is a weird situation. On the one hand, nobody figured them for the league’s final four, not with two 60-win teams plying their trade in the East. On the other, they got there and had a real chance to make the Finals. For that, the Knicks decided to part ways with Tom Thibodeau, the coach who got them there.

[High Score is a new way to play Fantasy Basketball on Yahoo with simple rosters and scoring. Create or join a league]

There is no doubt that over the course of Thibodeau’s tenure the Knicks overachieved. They reached the playoffs in four of his five seasons on the bench, winning four playoff series — more than the franchise’s 13 other coaches this century combined. And their best player, Jalen Brunson, is a 6-foot-2 point guard.

Brunson also happens to be one hell of a player. He averaged 26 points (49/38/82 shooting splits) and 7.3 assists per game at the helm of a top-five offense, garnering MVP votes for a second straight season. He was incredible in the playoffs, making clutch play after clutch play. How much longer he can maintain this pace as an undersized superstar remains to be seen, but at 29 years old he is squarely in his prime.

(Mallory Bielecki/Yahoo Sports Illustration)

He is also bolstered by one of the league’s best playoff rotations, featuring Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson. The additions of Guerschon Yabusele and Jordan Clarkson make the Knicks deeper. With Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton sidelined for the Celtics and Pacers, respectively, New York has as clear a view of the NBA Finals as it has had since 1999.

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The Knicks saw a chance and took it. Kind of. Upon firing Thibodeau, the Knicks sought interviews with a handful of employed coaches, all of whom turned them down. In the end, they landed on Mike Brown.

Brown is a good coach. He took what he learned offensively as an assistant for the 2022 NBA champion Golden State Warriors and applied it to the Sacramento Kings, ending the franchise’s 17-year playoff drought. They thought they were better than they were, too, and fired him in the middle of last season.

[Get more Knicks news: New York team feed]

That’s the thing. Sometimes it isn’t the coach. Sometimes it is the personnel. And the Knicks have not had the personnel to reach the Finals. They have what some might consider a fatal flaw — the defense of Brunson and Towns. Neither is a stopper. Not close to it. Only they have to be on the floor together. And together they submitted a middling defense last year. Can Brown scheme around two defensive issues?

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More likely, Brown will lean into his team’s incredible offensive prowess, using more Brunson-Towns pick-and-rolls and movement in the offense, hoping to squeeze more from what was already a top-five outfit.

With Tatum and Haliburton out of the picture and the East’s last two champions in a gap year, the path to the Finals is open for the Knicks. They think they have the personnel now, but do they have the coach?

Best-case scenario

Brown coaches the Knicks up as one of the league’s elite offenses and finds a way to field a serviceable defense, perhaps benefitting from the presence of Robinson, who missed a good chunk of last season with an injury. Brunson maintains as one of the league’s elite playmakers. Towns, who has reached the finals of both conferences the last two years, carries that confidence into this season. Bridges and Anunoby find some consistency as reliable two-way performers, and the Knicks are the class of the East.

If everything falls apart

Brunson steps back from the MVP race. He and Towns cannot scrape together a top-10 defense. Bridges and Anunoby are as inconsistent as ever. Yabusele and Clarkson are not playoff difference-makers. Brown is no better than Thibodeau. The Knicks slam their heads against a sub-Finals ceiling once again, even in a watered-down Eastern Conference, and the outlook for the 2026-27 season is no better. Maybe they take another crack at trying to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo, but do they have the assets to get him?

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2025-26 schedule

  • Season opener: Oct. 22 vs. Cleveland

Who else but the Knicks are capable of winning 55 games in the East? The Cleveland Cavaliers? Somebody has to win games, and the road could not be clearer for New York. Take the over.

More season previews

East: Atlanta Hawks • Boston Celtics • Brooklyn Nets • Charlotte Hornets • Chicago Bulls • Cleveland Cavaliers • Detroit Pistons • Indiana Pacers • Miami Heat • Milwaukee Bucks • New York Knicks • Orlando Magic • Philadelphia 76ers • Toronto Raptors • Washington Wizards

West: Dallas Mavericks • Denver Nuggets • Golden State Warriors • Houston Rockets • LA Clippers • Los Angeles Lakers • Memphis Grizzlies • Minnesota Timberwolves • New Orleans Pelicans • Oklahoma City Thunder • Phoenix Suns • Portland Trail Blazers • Sacramento Kings • San Antonio Spurs • Utah Jazz

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OTTAWA — In the first two games of the 2025-26 season, the Ottawa Senators have shown how far theyâ€ve come and how far they need to go.

Against Tampa Bay on Thursday, they showed their ability to be resilient, breaking out to dominate and score at five-on-five. But against Florida — the best team in the world for two seasons — they werenâ€t even close in a 6-2 defeat.

A friendly reminder to worried Senators fans: itâ€s a long season, and youâ€re never as good or as bad as one result. Hereâ€s what weâ€ve learned about the Ottawa Senators through two games.

The first two games of Linus Ullmark’s season have been shaky, to say the least. Evan Rodrigues’ goal Saturday was emblematic: the puck bounced off Ullmark’s glove, turning what could have been a huge save into a back-breaking goal.

“I (messed) that up,†Ullmark said. Letâ€s be clear: itâ€s not all on the 32-year-old. But heâ€s allowed 10 goals on 52 shots this season for an .808 save percentage, with a league worst minus-4.7 goals allowed above expected, according to MoneyPuck.com. Thatâ€s not getting Ottawa to the playoffs.

“Mind of a goldfish,†Ullmark said about moving on.

Ullmark was brought in to stop those deflating goals that sometimes felt inevitable in Ottawa for a half decade. Last season, he accomplished that feat for the most part with a .910 save percentage.

“There’s a couple instances where a save for me would probably have kept the game closer,†Ullmark said.

Itâ€s still early — thereâ€s 80 more games and a potential playoff run for Ullmark to change the script. But if his poor play continues, Ottawaâ€s old crease demons will sprout back and we may have a goalie controversy yet again.

One thing weâ€ve learned and can say with almost 100 per cent certainty is that Shane Pinto is going to get PAIDthis summer.The pending restricted free agent has shown he’s able to match up against the elite forwards in the NHL, all while scoring 20-plus goals.

In the first two games of the season, Pinto has four goals and an assist while defending the toughest matchups. He is leading the team with a 71 per cent expected goals share at five-on-five while Ottawa has outscored opponents 4-1.

“Room to grow, heâ€s taken steps every year in the league,†said head coach Travis Green. “As far as matchups, heâ€s really learned that side of the game. There is room to grow. Can he be a consistent 25-goal scorer?â€

Maybe even a 30-goal scorer, coach.

Pinto has also been rewarded with power-play time this season, which should increase his scoring punch.

“As the years go on, you start to realize that there are plays to be made,†said Pinto. “You have a lot of good players around you, and there might be a little bit more time than you think.â€

Nick Cousins can apparently see the future, repeatedly shouting “Ka-ching!†as Pinto spoke to reporters after the Tampa game.

The fascinating question is what Pintoâ€s next contract will look like.

We scoured the league for recent deals for young (when they signed), good-to-elite two-way centres and here are some comparables: Philip Danault (six years x $5.5 million), Mason McTavish (6x$7M), Ryan McLeod (4x$5M), Anton Lundell (6x$5M), Anthony Cirelli (8x$6.25M).

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  • 32 Thoughts: The Podcast

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Many of these deals were signed in a flat cap world, and the dynamic of negotiations may change drastically with the salary cap potentially rising up to $104 million next season.

So far this season, Pinto is effectively Ottawaâ€s second-line centre, playing alongside Ridly Greig and Claude Giroux while taking on the toughest defensive assignments. He will likely command somewhere in between second-line centre and third-liner money.

Ottawa would be smart to lock up Pinto for as long as it can. With its core signed on team-friendly deals, the reward should be keeping Pinto with $30 million in cap space next year.

Ottawaâ€s penalty kill is a problem

The Senators†Achilles heel last season was their 19th-ranked penalty kill, which was backed up by terrible analytics, too. Ottawa finished third-last in expected goals against per 60 while short-handed at five-on-four, according to MoneyPuck.com.

The woes have bled into this season. Through two games, Ottawa’s killed just three of eight for a 37.5 per cent clip.  Weâ€ve run the math and itâ€s awful, but itâ€s only two games.

The crux of the issue has been Ottawaâ€s diamond formation. The philosophy behind it is to force the opponent to the outside and keep the slot clear. However, Sportsnet’s Kevin Bieksa made an excellent point on the Hockey Night in Canada broadcast Saturday, saying players now are too good at shooting to sit back and give them time and space. They will simply score.

“Itâ€s a work in progress, itâ€s got to be better,†Green said after a 2-for-5 effort against the Panthers.

Itâ€s Jordan Spence time

Ottawaâ€s third pairing of Nikolas Matinpalo and Donovan Sebrango has played a combined 50 NHL games, while Jordan Spence — who’s been a healthy scratch both games — has 61 points in 160 games.

Matinpalo and Sebrango have been caved in and outshot 11-5 with a 40.54 expect goals percentage, according to Natural Stat Trick. Meanwhile, Spence had great analytics on a third pair in Los Angeles while providing elite zone exits — an issue Ottawa and its third pairing had specifically against Florida.

Spence has more skill and experience than Sebrango and Matinpalo, and Ottawa needs a jolt. Itâ€s time for him to play.

Weâ€ve been more on the negative side, so hereâ€s a positive: Ottawaâ€s five-on-five play looks better so far after being a huge question coming into the season for a team that finished 31st in five-on-five goals last season.

Ottawa absolutely dominated a good Tampa Bay team at five-on-five. The Senators were outplayed by Florida, but their penalty kill hurt them as much as five-on-five.

In total, the Senators outscored opponents 5-4 at five-on-five with an expected goals rate of 59.92 per cent in the first two games. Last season, Ottawa had a 49 per cent expected goals share while averaging 1.69 five-on-five goals per game.

It may be early, but against two very good teams, the Senators held their own at five-on-five, and it’s a reason to be optimistic as they play lesser teams this week in Nashville, Buffalo and Seattle.

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Alex de Minaur has hailed the milestone 50th tour-level victory in his best ever season as “amazing†after easing into the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters.

But now the Australian No 1 hopes his win – a 7-5 6-2 win over Portugalâ€s Nuno Borges – is just a staging post on his way to what could be his first ever ATP Masters 1000 triumph.

De Minaur became just the third man in 2025 to hit the 50-win mark, following Carlos Alcaraz (67) and Taylor Fritz (50), with the Sydneysider also leading the tour in 37 hard-court victories for the season.

The landmark never looked in doubt once de Minaur had earned the only break of the opening set to go ahead 6-5, starting a run of six straight games as he assumed total control in the second, eventually hitting 19 winners and making just 10 unforced errors over the course of one hour 48 minutes.

It has set up a last-eight date with 16th seed Daniil Medvedev, who outlasted Learner Tien 7-6 (8-6) 6-7 (1-7) 6-4 later on Wednesday.

De Minaurâ€s season, with 50 wins and 18 losses, tops his previous best of 47-21 last year.

The world No 7 did, though, earn two titles in 2024 and is aiming to match that by landing his second of 2025, following his triumph in Washington in August, with the draw looking wide open following the exit of his nemesis Jannik Sinner and the absence of Carlos Alcaraz.

“For me, it just shows consistency and that is what I am most proud of,†de Minaur said of his landmark. “Showing up every single week, and it is an amazing number.

“I am hoping for many more to finish off the year and not stay at 50. It has been a successful trip to Asia so far.â€

The brutally hot and humid conditions in Shanghai have taken their toll, with Sinner retiring against Tallon Griekspoor with cramp while Novak Djokovic was sick on court during his win over Yannick Hanfmann.

“I told myself at the start of the week it was all going to be a big mental effort to go out there and compete,†said de Minaur. “I am happy to be in the quarter-finals and give myself another opportunity.â€

Medvedev struggled with cramp in his win. He kept telling his watching team “Iâ€m done†and looked at one point as if he was about to quit before he eventually prevailed after nearly three hours against US teen Tien, who beat him in another gruelling affair at the Australian Open in January.

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De Minaur will be facing his old Russian foe for the 12th time on Friday, with 29-year-old Medvedev leading their head-to-head 7-4 but “Demon†winning their only 2025 clash in Monte Carlo.

The winner would then have a semi-final against the victor between 12th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime and Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech.

Canadian Auger-Aliassime outplayed Italyâ€s Lorenzo Musetti 6-4 6-2 on Wednesday, while Rinderknech accounted for Czech Jiri Lehecka 6-3 7-6 (7-5).

Musettiâ€s defeat is further good news for de Minaur as theyâ€re both direct rivals to grab a place in the eight-man ATP Finals in Turin.

The Italian is on 3435 points in eighth place, 110 behind de Minaur in seventh. Auger-Aliassime has moved on to 2905 points in 10th, with Briton Jack Draper, in ninth, already out for the season with injury.

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Former WWE Champion Adam Scherr, known to wrestling fans as Braun Strowman, is about to land a massive acting role in Hollywood.

The Monster Among Men is making waves in Hollywood with a potential career-defining opportunity. The former Universal Champion has revealed he is in talks to play the iconic horror villain Jason Voorhees in a new Friday the 13th movie.

Speaking during an interview at Fantastic Fest while promoting his role in Deathgasm 2: Goremageddon, Scherr expressed his eagerness to take on the legendary slasher character.

Oh, Friday the 13th. Jason,” he said when asked about which horror franchise he’d like to join, adding that he would “gladly shave this beard off to play that character.”

The former strongman-turned-actor also hinted that discussions are already underway, stating:

There may be some talks about it with people that I know and my agency. If we could ever get everybody to get back on the same page and allow the things to work, I might be the next Voorhees.”

MORE: The Future Of WWE RAW Is Chaotic And Strange – Hereâ€s How

What Lies Ahead for Braun Strowman?

Adam Scherr was released by the company in May 2025 due to financial reasons and has officially declared himself ‘semi-retired’ from wrestling as he focuses on building his acting career. His transition from the squared circle to the silver screen includes a security guard role in the upcoming horror comedy Deathgasm 2: Goremageddon.

The film, directed by Jason Lei Howden, serves as a sequel to the popular 2015 movie and features Scherr alongside stars Milo Cawthorne and Kimberley Crossman. Beyond movies, Scherr is also expanding his television presence with Everything On The Menu, a food series premiering on USA Network and streaming on Paramount+ in fall 2025.

The show will showcase a different side of the former WWE star as he travels across America exploring various cuisines. His acting ambitions represent a significant career shift for someone who previously held the WWE Universal Championship and broke multiple records in WWE events. With the Friday the 13th franchise potentially offering him a major Hollywood breakthrough, Scherr’s Hollywood journey could reach new heights.

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