Browsing: Phoenix

QMJHL Roundup: Delarosbil rises in overtime as Phoenix edge Drakkar

Brandon Delarosbil scored 33 seconds into overtime to lift the Sherbrooke Phoenix to a 4-3 Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League victory over the visiting Baie-Comeau Drakkar on Sunday.

Robin Benoit, Mavrick Lachance and Sydney Gagnon also scored for the Phoenix (4-3-0-0), who blew a 3-1 lead before winning it in OT. Thomas Rousseau chipped in with two assists and Justin Brisebois made 15 saves.

The Phoenix outshot the Drakkar 42-18, but trailed 1-0 after the first period. The hosts took a 3-2 lead into the third.

Alexis Michaud scored twice for the winless Drakkar (0-7-1-1), while Kyle Powers netted a single. Lucas Beckman stopped 38 of 42 shots.

Both teams were 0-for-4 on the power play.

Elsewhere in the QMJHL on Sunday:

CHARLOTTETOWN — Nolan Duskocy had a goal and assist, Donald Hickey made 34 saves, and the Charlottetown Islanders blanked the visiting Newfoundland Regiment 3-0.

William Shields and Juraj Jonas Durco also scored for the Islanders (8-1-0-1), who took a 2-0 lead into the third after a scoreless first period.

Antoine Proulx stopped 26 of 29 shots for the Regiment (4-5-0-0), who were 0-for-3 on the power play.

The Islanders went 1-for-3 with the man advantage.

GATINEAU, Que. — Maxime Coursol, Samuel Fiala, Alix Durocher and Nathan Brisson each had a goal and assist, Emile Beaunoyer made 40 saves, and the visiting Val-d’Or Foreurs torched the Gatineau Olympiques 5-0.

Jeremy Leroux also scored for the Foreurs (3-4-0-1), who were outshot 40-30.

Danai Shaiikov stopped 25 of 29 shots for the Olympiques (5-5-0-0), who trailed 2-0 after the first period and 3-0 heading into the third.

The Foreurs went 3-for-9 on the power play, while the Olympiques were 0-for-3.

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Basketball

Phoenix Suns 2025-26 season preview: Devin Booker rejuvenated? Promising rookies? Let’s hope so

The 2025-26 NBA season is here! Over the next few weeks, we’re 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: 36-46 (11th in the West, missed playoffs)

Offseason moves

  • Additions: Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Mark Williams, Nigel Hayes-Davis, Jordan Goodwin, Jared Butler, Khaman Maluach, Rasheer Fleming, Koby Brea, Isaiah Livers, CJ Huntley, general manager Brian Gregory and head coach Jordan Ott

  • Subtractions: Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, Tyus Jones, Mason Plumlee, Vasilije Micić, Cody Martin, Monte Morris, TyTy Washington Jr., Damion Lee, Bol Bol, Jalen Bridges, general manager James Jones and head coach Mike Budenholzer

(Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports Illustration)

Devin Booker signed a max extension with the Suns this summer. (Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports Illustration)

The Big Question: Can the Suns rebuild a respectable team on the fly?

OK, so … that didnâ€t work.

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Donâ€t believe me? … Wait, really? Seems kind of odd that youâ€d dispute this, considering the Suns finished 10 games under .500, missed the playoffs for the first time since the bubble, fired their head coach (again), traded away the future Hall of Famer theyâ€d estranged by surreptitiously trying to move him at the 2025 trade deadline, and used the stretch provision to eat nearly $100 million worth of the former All-Star that theyâ€d mortgaged what remained of their future to get.

OK, well, if you donâ€t believe me, just ask the guy who signed off on it all.

[Yahoo Sports TV is here! Watch live shows and highlights 24/7]

“After last season, we said, ‘That old stuff that we did? It didnâ€t work,’†Suns owner Matt Ishbia told reporters at Phoenixâ€s media day session.

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See? (One hopes that “trade for older stars†isnâ€t the only “old stuff†that the Suns plan to leave in the past.)

Out with the old, in with the new, in an offseason overhaul that has turned the Suns from the third-oldest roster in the NBA last season to whatâ€s projected to be a middle-of-the-pack group this season. The idea: Get younger, bigger, more athletic; develop more camaraderie and esprit de corps; form a new organizational ethos, developing an identity predicated on toughness, physicality and defense — a team, frankly, that sounds a lot like the one to whom they just traded Kevin Durant — while installing a more aggressive defense and demanding a more competitive, more enjoyable-to-watch brand of ball than what Phoenix mustered during what Devin Booker recently called the two toughest years of his career. (Hereâ€s where we remind you that the Suns didnâ€t win more than 24 games in his first four pro seasons.)

Good thing, then, that one of the key pieces coming back to the Valley in the KD deal was Dillon Brooks — a perennial habitual line-stepper and tone-setting, vibe-shifting perimeter stopper who played an integral role in Houstonâ€s transformation from one of the NBAâ€s most permissive defenses into one that finished seventh and fourth in defensive efficiency after his arrival.

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The 29-year-old was one of just three players in the NBA last season to rank in the 95th percentile or higher in average matchup difficulty, individual perimeter defense and defensive positional versatility, according to The BBall Indexâ€s metrics, alongside Jeremy Sochan and Dorian Finney-Smith. He did so while shooting 39.7% from 3-point range on 6.3 attempts in 31.8 minutes per game across 75 starts — all career highs.

The hope: Veterans Brooks, Royce Oâ€Neale and EuroLeague standout Nigel Hayes-Davis take on top opposing options and wreak havoc in the gaps; young wings like second-year forward Ryan Dunn and rookie Rasheer Fleming follow suit, generating deflections, steals and blocks; Booker and Jalen Green just hold their own at the point of attack; an intriguing but unproven center room led by ex-Hornets Mark Williams and Nick Richards, backed by rising sophomore Oso Ighodaro and 7-foot-2 No. 10 overall pick Khaman Maluach, provides more rim protection than the Suns have seen in a minute.

[Get more Suns news: Phoenix team feed]

Get all that to work out, and maybe Phoenix has the positional size, quickness, athleticism and tenacity to climb out of the bottom 10 and back toward league-average defensive efficiency. Get that, and find a path toward more efficient offense in no-traditional-point-guard lineups helmed by the newly re-extended Booker and the inarguably explosive Green than they did when Booker, Durant and Beal failed to mesh, and maybe the Suns wonâ€t wander through the desert in their search for respectability for quite as long as most predict.

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Would that kind of change result in a dramatic shift in the win column? Maybe not right away. But this yearâ€s Suns arenâ€t going to be measured in wins and losses; theyâ€re going to be measured in success.

Donâ€t believe me? Tell â€em, Mat:

See? (Câ€mon, you know what he means.)

Best-case scenario

Booker turns the page on the failed experiments of the last two seasons and turns in the kind of full-tilt scoring and playmaking season that us “Point Book†heads have been clamoring for, vying for the league lead in scoring while putting up career-best assist numbers and vaulting back into the conversation for an All-NBA spot. Green finds shot-selection and rim-pressure religion, blossoming into an increasingly efficient and exciting second banana for a better-than-expected offense. Williams finally stays healthy, turning those flashes he showed in Charlotte into consistent two-way impact. The Suns grind their way to play-in contention; this time, that doesnâ€t feel like a disappointment.

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If everything falls apart

The vibe shift is short-lived. New coach Jordan Ott looks overmatched, the defense doesnâ€t come together, and Booker and Green mesh about as well as Book/KD/Beal did — which is to say, very badly. Add it all up, and the Suns, elevated levels of scrappiness aside, look like one of the worst teams in the West. And with their 2026 first-rounder leveraged to all hell, no tradable firsts through 2032 and $23 million worth of waived-and-stretched salary on their books for the next half-decade, they canâ€t even enjoy the fruits of the badness; the long walk through the desert is just starting.

2025-26 schedule

  • Season opener: Oct. 22 vs. Sacramento

Even in a roundly disappointing season, the Suns had the point differential of a 34-win team with Booker on the court, according to Cleaning the Glass. If the star guard — who last season played more than 70 games for the first time since 2017 — stays healthy, Phoenix would seem to stand a good chance of flirting with a win total closer to the mid-to-high 30s.

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

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West: Dallas Mavericks • Denver Nuggets • Golden State Warriors • Houston Rockets • Los Angeles 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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WM Phoenix Open adds new structure and tickets to 16th hole

The famous par-3 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale will have a new look for the 2026 edition of the WM Phoenix Open, with a significant redesign of the hospitality structure that surrounds the hole currently underway.

A state-of-the-art, 100 percent reusable modular structure — the first of its kind in the United States — will greet visitors to the hospitality venue at next year’s tournament. In keeping with WM’s “zero waste” mission, the reusable nature of the structure eliminates material waste and minimizes on-site construction. Materials used to build the former 16th hole structure are expected to be reused by InProduction, a provider of temporary seating, staging and structures, at other events and tournaments.

In addition to plans for an elevated culinary program, 16th-hole hospitality guests can look forward polished, premium finishes, wider interior bays, higher ceilings, fewer support columns and more spacious suites with improved sightlines, thanks to the implementation of frameless glass railings, which will replace traditional scrim and barriers.

A rendering of the new hospitality suites at the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale
A rendering of the new hospitality suites on the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale.

Courtesy WM Phoenix Open

There will also be an opportunity to purchase individual hospitality tickets for the first time ever on No. 16 with the introduction of a brand new venue called the Pin Hi Club. The new venue will be located on the golfer’s left of the green and will include LED video boards and a refreshed and modern interior design. Previously, fans’ only non-hospitality option on 16 was a seat in the coveted first-come, first-serve greenside grandstand. That grandstand will remain accessible for daily ticket holders.

“For years, the 16th hole has set the standard for excitement in the golf world, now with this new structure, the 16th hole will also set the standard for what a premium fan experience is, not just in golf, but in sports,” WM Phoenix Open tournament chairman Jason Eisenberg said in a release. “We’ve opened up the sightlines, raised the ceilings, modernized the interior and added the brand-new Pin Hi Club to take the 16th hole hospitality experience to another level.”

While Pin Hi Club ticket prices have not yet been made public, other individual hospitality ticket options on the ninth green and 17th greens start at $421 apiece, with a minimum order of two. There are 11 different corporate hospitality venues around the course, with packages on 16 starting at $100,000.

The 2026 WM Phoenix Open will be played on February 2–8. You can find out more about the tournament and hospitality options here.