DULUTH — Minnesota Duluth redshirt junior forward Mary Kate O’Brien is receiving a promotion for her redshirt senior season, being named captain of the Bulldogs women’s hockey program for 2025-26.

O’Brien was an alternate captain for UMD in 2024-25 when she scored seven goals and 18 assists for a collegiate-high 25 points. The Wilbraham, Massachusetts, native received a medical redshirt her freshman year after missing all but three games due to injury. She graduated from UMD this spring with degrees in business analytics and marketing but will return as a graduate student to work on a Master of Business Administration in 2025-26.

Defenseman Tova Henderson, who will be a senior next year, and forward

Grace Sadura,

a junior in 2025-26, will serve as first-time alternate captains for UMD. Henderson, of Richmond, British Columbia, was an All-WCHA second-team pick in 2024-25. Chanhassen’s Sadura posted a collegiate-high six goals and eight assists for 14 points as a sophomore.

O’Brien is UMD’s lone returning captain after graduating senior defenseman and alternate captain Hanna Baskin, as well as fifth-year senior co-captains Clara Van Wieren and Nina Jobst-Smith. UMD is replacing its nine seniors and fifth-year seniors with

five transfers and eight freshmen in 2025-26.

Shedeur Sanders made things official with the Cleveland Browns on Monday when the quarterback signed his rookie contract.

While the NFL gives Sanders the chance to make plenty of money, his first contract might not compare to what he was bringing in at Colorado last season. Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Sanders’ rookie deal is a four-year, $4.6 million contract with a $447,380 signing bonus.

His exact NIL earnings aren’t clear, but On3 gave him a valuation of $6.5 million last season.

The good news for Sanders is that he’ll likely keep many of his partnerships from college, like his deals with Nike, Beats by Dre and Gatorade. Sanders is also one of the biggest names in this year’s rookie class, so he’ll have plenty of other endorsements heading his way soon.

Sanders’ rookie contract could have been worth much more had he not faced a historic slide after being widely projected as a first-round draft pick. The NFL grants higher rookie salaries to players who were drafted earlier, meaning a first-rounder’s salary is much higher than a fifth-rounder like Sanders.

Per Spotrac, No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward will get a four-year deal worth $48.757 million and a $32.1 million signing bonus. Sanders’ Colorado teammate, Travis Hunter, will get a $46.571 million contract with a $30.509 million signing bonus.

The lost money is something Sanders can’t ignore, but he now has the chance to use it as motivation to get a massive payday when it’s time to sign his second contract.

Sanders was one of the most talented quarterbacks in the draft, throwing for 4,134 yards and 37 touchdowns in his final season at Colorado. He was the No. 2 quarterback on the final big board from Bleacher Report’s NFL Scouting Department, only behind Ward.

Unfortunately, some mistakes from Sanders during the draft process meant teams passed on him until the fifth round, but he’ll look to let his play do the talking this fall.

Official NFCA Release

–Thirteen Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) individuals have been selected to the 2025 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) NCAA Division III All-Region VIII Team.

 

University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh’s Sydney Nemetz, UW-Platteville’s Melissa Dietz and UW-Stevens Point’s Morgan Harwood were first team selections.

 

Nemetz secured her second straight first team award and owns a 12-3 record across 93.0 innings pitched with 19 starts this season. She has a 1.20 earned run average and a 1.01 WHIP with eight complete games, 79 strikeouts, five shutouts, and a .207 opponent batting average. Nemetz became just the third Titan to reach 400 career strikeouts on April 12 against UW-La Crosse. Her 419 career strikeouts rank second in school history and 11th in conference history.

 

Dietz, the WIAC Kwik Trip Position Player of the Year, also earned first team accolades in 2023. This season, she broke the program single season records with a .526 batting average and 21 doubles. She leads the conference with a .897 slugging percentage, .590 on-base percentage, and 1.487 OPS. Dietz had at least one hit in 32 of the 36 games she played, and 19 multi-hit contests.

 

Harwood claimed first team status for the second consecutive year after setting school single season records with 25 starts and 38 appearances. She leads all WIAC pitchers with 158 strikeouts, while her 16 wins are second in the conference. Harwood started a combined no-hitter against Ripon College (Wis.) on February 27, and College of New England (Maine) on March 21.

Second team honorees on the NFCA squad included: UW-Eau Claire’s Paige Lathrop, Molly Marquardt and Kenna Strunsee; UW-Oshkosh’s Sydney Rau and Sophie Wery; UW-Platteville’s Allison Peters; and UW-Whitewater’s Josie Hammen and Kiarra Kostroski.

 

UW-Eau Claire’s Brooklyn Swanepol and UW-Whitewater’s Bella Eggert were third team picks.

 

Wery was a second team selection in 2023, while Kostroski was a third team pick a year ago.

 

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HERNING, Denmark (AP) — Defending champion the Czech Republic shut out Germany 5-0 to stay unbeaten at the ice hockey world championship on Monday.

The sixth win lifted the Czechs to the top of Group B, one point ahead of Switzerland and three more than the United States in third.

The Czechs complete the group stage against the Americans on Tuesday.

Germany and Denmark also meet on Tuesday and will decide the fourth team from the group to reach the quarterfinals.

The Czechs’ Jakub Flek scored twice and David Pastrnak rifled a one-timer from the left circle and set up Lukas Sedlak in the middle period. Jakub Lauko added a short-handed goal.

Daniel Vladar shut out the Germans with 19 saves.

In Stockholm, newcomer Slovenia beat France 3-1 to avoid relegation at the expense of the French.

Later Monday, Canada plays Finland in Stockholm and Norway meets Hungary in Herning, Denmark.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

The Boston Bruins made their first move of the offseason on Monday morning by signing Czech goalie Simon Zajicek to a one-year, entry-level contract with an NHL cap hit worth $872,500.

The #NHLBruins have signed Czech goaltender Simon Zajicek to a one-year entry-level contract with an NHL cap hit of $872,500.

The 23 year old posted a 2.12 goals GAA and a .930 SV% across 29 games for HC Litvinov this past season.

— Andrew Fantucchio (@A_Fantucchio) May 19, 2025

Zajicek, 23, has spent the last four seasons playing for HC Litvinov of Czech Extraliga. He put together a 15-13-0 with a 2.12 goals against average and a .930 save percentage with five shutouts across 29 starts this past season.

Goaltending isn’t necessarily an area of need for the Bruins, but Zajicek fortifies their depth between the posts. The organization has several decisions to make this offseason when it comes to the netminders they already have, namely, Michael DiPietro and Brandon Bussi.

The two goalies made up the tandem in net for the Providence Bruins this past year and are both about to become unrestricted free agents on July 1 if the Bruins don’t sign them to extensions beforehand. It’s entirely possible that one or both find new opportunities on the open market that could lead to them playing at the NHL level. That certainly could be the case for DiPietro, who was far and away the AHL’s top goalie last season, winning the Aledge “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award.

As of right now, an opportunity like that doesn’t appear to be open in Boston, with both Jeremy Swayman and Joonas Korpisalo signed to long-term deals. Although that could very well change.

After appearing in just 27 games, Koorpisalo made it clear after the season that he was unhappy with the amount of playing time the Bruins gave him. The team has him signed for the next three years, but could move his $3 million cap hit off the books by sending him to a team in need of a goalie.

Swayman’s spot in Boston is far more secure after inking a massive contract extension with the Bruins last year. However, the first year of that deal was a downright disaster as Swayman struggled during his first season as the Bruins’ starter, posting a woeful 22-29-7 record with a 3.11 goals-against average and a .892 save percentage.

By no means have the Bruins given up on Swayman, but another bad year from him could lead to the team trading him before the no-movement clause on his contract kicks in at the start of the 2026-27 season.

It’s not clear what plans the Bruins have for Zajicek, or any of their other goalies, for that matter, but they’re clearly preparing for any all possibilities.

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