Utah Mammoth left wing Daniil But (19) shoots past Los Angeles Kings defenseman Cody Ceci (5) during the first period of an NHL game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Dec. 8, 2025.
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Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
There are two types of nicknames in hockey: the lazy ones, which almost everyone has, and the ones that are too creative not to like.
The lazy ones involve adding a “y” or an “s” at the end of the person’s last name — and sometimes even both. For example:
Nick Schmaltz becomes “Schmaltzy;”
Clayton Keller is “Kells;”
Ian Cole is “Colesy.”
There’s also the “er” suffix. Lawson Crouse, for example, often goes by “Crouser.”
But the best ones have more meaning than that.
Matt Rempe, who plays for the New York Rangers and stands at 6-foot-8, is known as “The Rempire State Building.” It’s perfect.
Wayne Gretzky was known as “The Great One,” but his little brother, Brent, who played 13 games in the NHL, had the better nickname of the two: “The Other One.”
And just recently, Minnesota Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt has been dubbed “The Wall of St. Paul,” with reference to his last name, his position and the city he now calls home.
There are dozens of others that could make this list, but perhaps none are better than Utah Mammoth rookie Daniil But, who has received the nickname “Cheeks.”
“Cheeks is all-time,” said Mammoth defenseman Maveric Lamoureux. “That’s probably the best nickname I’ve heard in my life.”
But credited the idea to Nate Schmidt, who’s also the brains behind Liam “Spicy Tuna” O’Brien’s moniker (the “Spicy” part came later in his career, but “Tuna” came from Schmidt). The two played for the Washington Capitals together more than a decade ago and the name has stuck ever since.
Schmidt’s response to the “Cheeks” concept?
“No comment,” he said while covering his face with his hoodie in a futile attempt to mask his laughter.
Anyone who has learned a second language as an adult can tell you that puns are one of the most difficult things to pick up on. That’s the case for But, whose English is steadily improving, but still far from perfect.
“I don’t know what it means, but (teammate Mikhail Sergachev) told me it’s the best name he’s ever heard,” But said.
Utah Mammoth left wings Daniil But (19) and Michael Carcone (53) work to get the puck away from Florida Panthers right wing Mackie Samoskevich (11) as they play an NHL hockey game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025.
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Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
The Golden State Warriors have had over 600 players don the more than 60 jersey numbers used by their players over the more than 75 years of existence the team has enjoyed in its rich and storied history.
Founded in 1946 during the Basketball Association of America (BAA — a precursor league of the NBA) era, the team has called home the cities of Philadelphia, San Francisco, Oakland, and even San Diego.
To commemorate the players who wore those numbers, Warriors Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team. For this article, we begin with the 14th of 15 players who wore the No. 33 jersey for the Warriors.
That player would be Golden State forward alum Chris Wright. After ending his college career at Dayton, Wright went unselected in the 2011 NBA Draft, playing in other leagues until until he signed with the Dubs in 2011.
His stay with the team lasted until he signed with the Toronto Raptors in 2012.
During his time suiting up for the Warriors, Wright wore only jersey No. 33 and put up 2.9 points and 1.9 rebounds per game.
All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.
The Indiana Hoosiers had never had a flippin’ Heisman Trophy winner. Until now.
On Saturday night, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza became the program’s first winner of college football’s most prestigious individual honor. As he lifted the trophy and etched his name into the history books, Mendoza grinned.
It was the smile of someone who believed he could help Indiana do something it had never done before — all alongside his brother (and backup), Alberto. It was also the smile of a player who knew he needed to grow and develop as a quarterback by leaving Cal for Indiana. He did just that … and so much more.
In his first and only season as the Hoosiers’ starting quarterback, Mendoza has thrown an FBS-best 33 touchdowns, and he’s rushed for six more. Under his tutelage, the Indiana offense has broken program records for both touchdowns and points. He is one of the most accurate passers in the country, and he’s had a knack for making the big play when his team needs it most. Mendoza’s game-winning touchdown throw to Omar Cooper Jr. against Penn State is the one that got labeled a Heisman moment, but it was far from the only clutch play made by Mendoza when Indiana’s perfect season was on the line. And he always delivered.
The Hoosiers are the No. 1 overall seed in this year’s College Football Playoff and one of the sport’s true national title contenders. This comes on the heels of Indiana’s first Big Ten championship since 1967 and the first 12-0 regular season in program history.
Not bad for a quarterback who was ranked No. 134 among quarterbacks in the Class of 2022. Mendoza was initially committed to Yale before flipping to Cal. He redshirted as a freshman and continually developed year over year to become one of the best quarterbacks in the country. It’s quite possible he’ll be the first quarterback taken in next April’s NFL Draft as well.
And he was my choice to win the Heisman Trophy as well. I voted for Mendoza as my top choice, followed by Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love at No. 2 and Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez at No. 3.
It was a difficult vote, as it always is. The Heisman race felt very wide-open deep into November, which is unusual. And it certainly ended in a very different place than it started, back in August when Arch Manning was the betting favorite to win the award and just about every SEC starting quarterback found himself among the top preseason contenders.
When I vote for the Heisman Trophy, I don’t only look at individual production or a team’s overall win-loss record. I consider the story of the season. I like to imagine, say five years from now, thinking back on this year’s season and what I’ll remember most. I like to factor that into my Heisman vote, because I do think (most years) that the winner should be tied to the story of the season.
What I’ll remember about the 2025 season is Indiana’s pursuit of perfection. I’ll think about Curt Cignetti and his program cementing itself as serious contender, far from a warm-and-fuzzy story or a flash in the pan like many thought they were a year ago. And I’ll certainly think about Fernando Mendoza, the quarterback of the flippin’ Indiana Hoosiers and the program’s deserved first Heisman Trophy winner.
Fernando Mendoza is Indiana’s first Heisman Trophy winner.
The junior quarterback beat Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia, Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love and Ohio State QB Julian Sayin to win the 2025 Heisman on Saturday night. Mendoza won the award as Indiana went undefeated in the regular season, took down Ohio State in the Big Ten title game and is the No. 1 seed for the College Football Playoff.
“Standing here tonight, holding this bad boy, representing Indiana University still doesn’t feel real,” Mendoza said after winning the award. “If you told me as a kid in Miami, that I’d be here on stage holding this prestigious trophy, I probably would have laughed, cried like I’m doing now or both. Because this moment, it’s an honor, it’s bigger than me. It’s a product of a family, team, community and a whole lot of people who believed in me long before anybody knew my name.”
The Cal transfer is 226-of-316 passing for 2,980 yards and 33 touchdowns with just six interceptions. Mendoza has thrown the most touchdown passes of any player in college football and ranks second in total touchdowns behind South Florida’s Byrum Brown. Mendoza has the second-best pass efficiency rating in the country (181.4) behind Sayin at 181.4 and he is also one of just 10 quarterbacks who have completed over 70% of their passes this season.
Mendoza is the fourth straight Heisman winner who transferred schools during his college career and the second in that span to win the Heisman in his first year at his school. His win also breaks an odd drought for the Big Ten and a Heisman pattern that dated back to the award’s inception in 1935.
In addition to being Indiana’s first Heisman winner over 127 seasons of football dating back to 1899, he’s the first Big Ten player to win the Heisman since Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith. And Mendoza is the first quarterback to win the Heisman in a year that ends with a “5.” Over the past nine decades — starting with Jay Berwanger’s inaugural Heisman win in 1935 — a running back has always won the award in a “5” year. In 2015, Alabama RB Derrick Henry won the Heisman. Twenty years ago, USC RB Reggie Bush took home the award.
Before coming to Indiana, Mendoza played two seasons at Cal and was one of the more efficient passers in the country in 2024 even if the Bears went just 6-7. Across 11 games, he completed 69% of his passes and threw for over 3,000 yards.
As Mendoza was doing that more than halfway across the country, Indiana was in the midst of its best season ever under coach Curt Cignetti. The Hoosiers went 11-1 in the regular season under coach Curt Cignetti before losing to Notre Dame in the first round of the College Football Playoff. It was the first time Indiana had ever won more than nine games in a single season and just the third time ever that the Hoosiers finished the season in the top 10 of the AP Top 25.
And Indiana is even better in 2025.
With younger brother Alberto already on the Indiana roster, Mendoza transferred from Cal after the season when Kurtis Rourke, Indiana’s stellar QB in 2024, was out of eligibility. After a slow start to the season — Mendoza completed 18-of-31 passes for 193 yards and no touchdowns in a 13-point win over Old Dominion — he started putting up cartoonish stat lines while sitting out a lot of fourth-quarter football.
Against FCS Indiana State in Week 3, Mendoza threw five touchdowns and had just one incompletion. The next week against Illinois, Mendoza again had more TD passes than incompletions as he was 21-of-23 passing for 267 yards and five scores.
Overall, Mendoza had four games in 2025 where he had as many or more touchdowns than he had incompletions. He also had just three games here he completed less than 63% of his passes and didn’t have a single game with multiple interceptions.
Before the Big Ten title game win over Ohio State, Mendoza’s signature moment came on the road at Penn State. After Indiana forced a Penn State punt with 1:51 to go and trailing 24-20, Mendoza led the Hoosiers on a 10-play 80-yard drive that ended on an incredible throw to Omar Cooper Jr. as he made an even better catch.
The TD kept Indiana’s undefeated season alive as the Hoosiers won 27-24. From there, they beat Wisconsin and Purdue by a combined score of 87-10 before their slugfest 13-10 win over the Buckeyes a week ago.
CHICAGO — Connor Bedard’s stellar start to the season is on hold. But for how long is the question.
The Chicago Blackhawks center will miss at least Saturday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings at the United Center after suffering a right shoulder injury a night earlier. He was injured in the final second of the Hawks’ 3-2 road loss to the St. Louis Blues on Friday night.
Bedard was positioned in the right faceoff circle with Blues center Brayden Schenn with 0.8 seconds remaining in the third period. Schenn plowed through Bedard to prevent a quick shot, and Bedard’s arm twisted in the process.
Bedard skated to the locker room wincing in pain with his concerned teammates looking on. Hawks coach Jeff Blashill quickly ruled out Bedard for Saturday’s game, and the center will be reevaluated Monday.
Blashill had no timeline update on Bedard as of Saturday morning, so the Hawks — and their fans — will have to wait anxiously to see how serious the injury to the star center is. Blashill also addressed the play, saying he saw no ill intent from Schenn and calling the injury a “freak accident.”
“Brayden Schenn’s a really good hockey player, he’s not trying to do damage to him there,” Blashill said Saturday. “Connor gets injured before any push happens.”
Bedard, a hopeful for Canada’s Olympic roster, is off to the best start of his career, registering 44 points on 19 goals and 25 assists in 31 games. The star center trails only Eddie Olczyk (65 goals, 180 points) for the most goals and points in franchise history before age 21. Bedard has 64 goals and 172 points and doesn’t turn 21 until July 17.
Forward Nick Lardis was recalled from the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs and could make his NHL debut Saturday night. The 20-year-old left winger has never shied away from shooting the puck.
A Hawks third-round pick in 2023, Lardis has 13 goals and 13 assists in 26 games with Rockford this season. He hasn’t lost a step from his time with the OHL’s Branford Bulldogs, with whom he had 117 points (71 goals, 46 assists) in 65 games in 2024-25.
The NHL is a different beast from the AHL, but pro hockey is also a large step from the juniors, and Lardis has had no trouble adjusting. It’s not the ideal call-up for the winger, but he has a chance to make his NHL stay permanent.
“He’s a guy who’s scored a lot of goals throughout his young career going back to junior and he’s had a pretty good start to his American league,” Blashill said. “We felt like (Lardis) gives us another potential offensive guy that can come in and provide some scoring punch.
“You never know how guys are going to come in and play. I don’t want him to dip his toes into the water, I want him to jump right in. Hopefully he can come and give us a good minutes.”
Blashill will make Frank Nazar his top-line center in the absence of Bedard. The forward out of Michigan hasn’t scored since Oct. 28, but has been effective in setting up his wingers for scoring chances.
Without Bedard, someone will have to fill the void and be the offensive anchor for the Hawks. It would be perfect timing for Nazar to snap out of his drought in the next couple of games.
“(Frank) becomes the No. 1 center (and) that comes with some responsibility,” Blashill said. “He’s proven he can do it, (so) he’s got to go out and play at that high level that he’s showing at different times this year and a year ago.”
Ryan Greene will move back to the center position, Blashill said. Forward Dominic Toninato, who was recalled from Rockford on Tuesday, will see ice time as well.
While injuries have hit the Cavaliers hard to start the season — Darius Garland, Sam Merrill and Jarrett Allen have missed significant time, while Max Strus has yet to play — Evan Mobley has been a rock this season.
Until now, Mobley strained his calf against the Wizards on Friday night and is expected to miss 2-4 weeks, the team announced.
Mobley is averaging 19.1 points and 9.3 rebounds a game this season, shooting 35.2% from 3-point range. While those counting stats are close to what Mobley did a season ago, he has been less efficient getting there, with a 57.6 true shooting percentage (close to the league average), well off the 63.3 he had last season (and a concern because the Cavaliers needed him to take a step forward. More concerning is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year not being there to protect the rim for a few weeks — the Cavaliers’ defense is 2.9 points per 100 possessions worse when Mobley is off the court. The good news is the Cavaliers should get center Jarrett Allen back.
Mobley has missed just one game so far this season, but if he is out for a month, he will be in danger of not playing 65 games, making him ineligible to defend his title or, once again, make the All-NBA team.
Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt, sitting between teammates LeBron James, left, and Jake LaRavia, rarely has played in the last 10 games, but with Austin Reaves injured, the defensive specialist might be an option to join the rotation. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Perhaps Vanderbilt can return to the rotation to help the Lakers’ defensive woes while guard Austin Reaves is out for approximately a week because of a mild left calf strain.
And perhaps Vanderbilt and the Lakers can get some immediate results for shoring up their defensive shortcomings when they face the Suns in Phoenix on Sunday afternoon.
The 6-foot-8 Vanderbilt is hopeful that his opportunity will come against the Suns and he turns that into a positive for the Lakers.
“Oh, yeah, I’m pretty eager,” he said after practice Saturday. “I mean, obviously, I think a lot of the stuff we lack, I think I can help provide on that end.”
In the last 10 games, Vanderbilt had only a three-minute stint against the Philadelphia 76ers because Jake LaRavia took a shot to the face that loosened a tooth.
The return of LeBron James and Vanderbilt’s offensive deficiencies left him out of the rotation. During much of that time the Lakers were winning, which meant Vanderbilt spent time on the bench.
In 15 games, Vanderbilt is three for 10 (26.6%) from three-point range. He was asked how he has been handling things.
“Good,” Vanderbilt said. “Controlling what I can control. Keep showing up to work, doing my part, supporting the team.”
Vanderbilt was asked if coach JJ Redick or any assistants have spoken to him about his role.
“Kind of here and there, I guess,” Vanderbilt said.
Vanderbilt was seen after practice Saturday working with an assistant coach on his shooting, just like he did after practice Friday and like he has done while not playing.
Redick said Reaves, who played against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night, wasn’t sure when the calf became an issue, and “we’re obviously gonna be cautious with it.”
“It’s a mild strain, Grade 1, and he’ll be out for a week,” Redick said, adding, “I would venture to say every player is a little bit different, but players now are becoming more cautious — to use that word again — more cautious when they get those diagnosis with the calf. Everything looks clean. It’s not in the deep part.”
The Lakers have looked at the last 10 games during the film sessions as a barometer for their defensive problems. But in reality, the Lakers have not been very good on defense all season while producing a 17-7 record because of their stellar offense.
“It’s been a trending thing even when we was winning, so I think like you said, the defense still wasn’t there, but we was just outscoring everybody,” Vanderbilt said. “So, I think obviously during the loss, it’s an appropriate time to address certain things just so it won’t keep lingering and get worse.”
The Lakers are 18th in the NBA in points given up (116.8), 22nd in opponents’ field-goal percentage (48.1%) and 27th in opponents’ three-point shooting (38.2%).
They will face a Suns team that defeated them Dec. 1 at Crypto.com Arena. The Lakers were unable to stop Collin Gillesipie, who had 28 points and was eight for 14 from three-point range, and Dillon Brooks, who had 33 points.
It hasn’t gotten better in the ensuing days. The Spurs loss was the Lakers’ third in the last five games.
“Nobody likes to go watch film after you get your ass kicked,” guard Marcus Smart said. “It’s tough because the film never lies. And it exposed us a lot, which we already knew. We were just winning a lot of games. So it was mitigated that way, but it was straight to it: We have to be able to guard.
“The scouting report against us is we’re not guarding people. And if we want to be great in this league and do what we’re trying to do, you have to be able to guard, especially in the West. These guys are no joke, and they’re coming. And especially [if] you got the Lakers across your jersey. They’re definitely coming with everything they have. So you can’t be expecting any surprises. And that’s what it was. It wasn’t no sugarcoating anything. It was, ‘This is what we got to do.’ We’ve been asked. Let’s fix it.”
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley will miss 2-4 weeks with a Grade 1 calf strain, team announced on Saturday.
Mobley left Friday’s 130-126 win over the Washington Wizards after feeling tightness in his left calf and underwent an MRI to determine the severity of the injury. Hehad recorded 23 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists in over 36 minutes before exiting the game.
The Cavaliers will now add Mobley’s name to a lengthy injury list that includes Jarrett Allen (finger), Sam Merrill (hand), Larry Nance Jr. (calf), and Max Strus (foot).
The 24-year old Mobley leads the Cavaliers in rebounds (9.3 per game) and blocks (1.6) and is second in scoring (19.1) behind Donovan Mitchell through 25 games.
Entering Saturday, the Cavaliers are 15-11 and sit in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, just behind the Toronto Raptors in a play-in game place.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley will miss 2-4 weeks with a Grade 1 calf strain, team announced on Saturday.
Mobley left Friday’s 130-126 win over the Washington Wizards after feeling tightness in his left calf and underwent an MRI to determine the severity of the injury. Hehad recorded 23 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists in over 36 minutes before exiting the game.
The Cavaliers will now add Mobley’s name to a lengthy injury list that includes Jarrett Allen (finger), Sam Merrill (hand), Larry Nance Jr. (calf), and Max Strus (foot).
The 24-year old Mobley leads the Cavaliers in rebounds (9.3 per game) and blocks (1.6) and is second in scoring (19.1) behind Donovan Mitchell through 25 games.
Entering Saturday, the Cavaliers are 15-11 and sit in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, just behind the Toronto Raptors in a play-in game place.
The New York Post’s Jon Heyman reported Saturday that the 22-year-old right-hander “is highly coveted in trade talks” with the Mets valuing Tong “highly” but “listening.”
Fellow right-hander Nolan McLean, meanwhile, “is viewed as off-limits” with outfielder Carson Benge “close to that,” Heyman added.
Tong went 2-3 with a 7.71 ERA in five starts this past season. He rose through the Mets’ farm system, starting the year with Double-A Binghamton before elevating to Triple-A Syracuse in August and New York by the end of the month.
Tong’s MLB debut on Aug. 29 against the Miami Marlins was a 19-9 win for the Mets. He allowed four runs (one earned) on six hits while striking out six and walking none.
His next four starts were mixed. Tong’s final outing, a 10-3 loss at the Chicago Cubs, saw him last two innings while surrendering five runs on seven hits with two walks to one strikeout.
“Tong could use a little more minor league time, but with improvement in command and refinement of a third and maybe fourth pitch, the sky’s the limit,” DeMayo wrote. “Without that development, there is a non-zero chance for some reliever risk.”
