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Français (Afrique)OctoPulse podcast: Red Wings endure staggering fall from grace
In this edition of The Detroit News' OctoPulse podcast, Ted Kulfan takes a look at the Red Wings' final four games of the regular season and the declining odds of making the playoffs.
The interview guest is Hockey Hall of Famer Chris Pronger, who has written the book, "Earned: The True Cost of Greatness from one of hockey's fiercest competition."
Even though the Red Wings would be in first place in the Pacific Division with 89 points, one point ahead of the Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights, the season has unravelled with only a six percent chance of breaking the nine-year playoff drought.
▶ Eastern Conference standings
Detroit is three points behind the Ottawa Senators for the final wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference and Ottawa holds the tiebreaker, so Detroit needs to finish four points ahead of the Senators.
Here are highlights from episode 144 of The OctoPulse podcast:
▶ :05: Varsity Ford of Ann Arbor
▶ 3:30: Dylan Larkin on 4-3 shootout loss to Columbus
▶ 5:15: Coach Todd McLellan says no more questions about March collapses
▶ 7:00: Chris Pronger interview
▶ 18:10: Justin Faulk on difficult odds of making the playoffs
▶ 19:20: What if Wings drafted Tim Stutzle?
Subscribe to Detroit News podcasts
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Previous OctoPulse podcasts
▶ Wings' McLellan pushes right buttons in Philly
▶ Faulk to make debut vs. Devils; Larkin sidelined
▶ USA Hockey 'on top of the mountain' with double gold medals
▶ Unlikely assist on Red Wings goal; playoff chances
▶ Edvinsson injury tests Wings' blueline depth
▶ Fedorov, Kane cap historic week in Red Wings' history
▶ Nate Danielson demoted; Dave Goricki tribute
OctoPulse guests in alphabetical order
▶ A: Trey Augustine, Dave Andrews, Kenny Albert, Kashawn Aitcheson
▶ B: Riley Brengman, John Bacon, Red Berenson, Matt Beniers, Scotty Bowman, Joe Bowen, Cooper Black, Phil Bourque, Jason Bukala, Nick Bogas
▶ C: Steve Coates, Leo Carlsson, Mike Cammalleri, Logan Cooley, Caley Chelios, Cole Caufield, Mitchell Clinton, Mellissa Channell-Watkins
▶ D: Nate Danielson, Dave Drinkill, Jamie Drysdale, Ken Dryden, Jake Davis
▶ E: Cole Eiserman, Simon Edvinsson, Mike Emrick, Emerson Etem
▶ F: Jordan Forgione, Everett Fitzhugh, Jim Fox, John Forslund
▶ G: Cutter Gauthier, Dylan Guenther, Jerry Green, Stu Grimson, Gerard Gallant, Liam Greentree, Bruce Garrioch, John Garrett
▶ H: William Horcoff, Mark Howe, Cross Hanas, Luke Hughes, Murray Howe, Milan Hejduk, Brian Hayward, Brandon Hawkins
▶ I: Greg Innis
▶ J: Kent Johnson
▶ K: Joakim Kemell, Mark Kirton, Megan Keller, John Kelly, Mike Keenan, Emily Kaplan, Rich Kincaide, Alex Kannok Leipert, Ryan Kennedy
▶ L: Ryan Leonard, Nick Libett, Chaz Lucius, Brian Lawton, Pat Lafontaine, Nicklas Lidstrom, Craig Laughlin, Dave Legwand, Bill Lindsay
▶ M: Doug MacLean, Al Montoya, Tim Mayer, Wes McCauley, Dan Milstein, Max Namestnikov, Ken Morrow
▶ N: Ted Nolan, Frank Nazar, Dwayne Norris, Pat Nagle
▶ O: Mark O'Brien, Phil Osaer
▶ P: Madison Packer, Dave Poulin, Gabe Perreault, Jakub Petr, Doug Plagens, Cole Perfetti, Darren Pang, Zayne Parekh, Julie Petry, Chris Pronger
▶ R: Abby Roque, Jason Ross, Manon Rheaume, Lucas Raymond, Marco Rossi, Luc Robitaille, Marcus Ragnarsson, Sam Rosen, Daryl Reaugh
▶ S: Riley Sawchuk, Bob Stauffer, Will Smith, John Shannon, Paul Stewart, Moritz Seider, Tim Stutzle, Jake Sanderson, Craig Simpson, Kirsten Simms, Mats Sundin, Brad Stuart, Melissa Szkola, Callie Shanahan
▶ T: Tripp Tracy, Bryan Trottier, Tim Taylor, Jacob Truscott, Amanda Thiele
▶ V: Rick Vaive
▶ W: Paul Woods, Shane Wright, Bob Wilkie
▶ Z: Rick Zombo, Trevor Zegras
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: OctoPulse podcast: Wings endure staggering fall from grace
Ligue 1 leader PSG rests while other teams chase a Champions League spot
PARIS (AP) — With Paris Saint-Germain given the weekend off to prepare for its trip to Liverpool in the Champions League, there will be no top-of-the-table clash against Lens this weekend.
The French league controversially postponed the 1st vs. 2nd encounter following a request from PSG. Initially set for April 11, it fell between PSG’s two quarterfinal legs against Liverpool and will now be played on May 13.
Victory would have allowed Lens — which opposed the change — to close the gap to one point on leader PSG, which has played one less game.
Instead, the focus this weekend will be on the battle for third place, which secures automatic entry into the Champions League next season, while the team in fourth enters qualifying.
It promises to be an exciting race to the line with Lille, Marseille, Monaco, Lyon and Rennes all in contention.
Third-placed Lille and seventh-placed Rennes are separated by three points with six rounds left.
Key matchups
Fourth-placed Marseille and fifth-place Monaco are level on points.
Marseille needs to bounce back from last weekend's loss to Monaco with a home win over rock-bottom Metz. Monaco is on a seven-game winning streak in the league as it heads to face Paris FC. Both games are on Friday.
Rennes hosts Angers on Saturday while Lille goes to midtable Toulouse on Sunday.
Sixth-place Lyon bids to end a nine-match winless run in all competitions when it hosts Lorient on Sunday. The goals have dried up for Lyon with only three scored in the past six games.
Players to watch
Monaco forward Folarin Balogun is in superb form and scored a contender for goal of the season last weekend, finishing off a driving run with a deft lob from the edge of the penalty area.
His teammate Paul Pogba could make a long-awaited comeback in midfield following a lengthy injury layoff due to a persistent left calf problem. He has played only about 30 minutes with Monaco since his debut near the end of November.
Striker Esteban Lepaul's clinical finishing has helped Rennes make a late push for a European spot and he co-tops the French league scoring charts with 16 goals.
Bradley Barcola could return for PSG from a right ankle injury sustained in the Champions League last month against Chelsea.
Out of action
Monaco's Brazilian fullbacks Caio Henrique and Vanderson are still recovering from hamstring injuries picked up in a win over PSG last month.
PSG midfielder Fabián Ruiz remains sidelined with a knee injury from a Champions League game against Sporting Lisbon in January.
Strasbourg striker Joaquín Panichelli is out for the rest of the season after rupturing his right ACL. Panichelli still co-tops the French league scoring charts.
Stadium expansion?
PSG fans might have been celebrating when Emmanuel Grégoire won the Paris mayoral race last month,
It's potentially great news for the club because, unlike his predecessor Anne Hidalgo, Grégoire is in favor of PSG expanding its stadium rather than having to relocate.
The Parc des Princes Stadium holds about 48,500 spectators and the club wants a minimum 60,000-seat capacity.
However, that would require Paris City Hall — which owns the stadium — to sell it to PSG. Hidalgo was deeply opposed, leaving PSG having to build a new stadium elsewhere to get a bigger capacity. That would mean moving out of the city and into the outskirts, in Passy or Massy, which would displease its historical fan base.
But Grégoire is open to selling and was seen at the stadium last Friday when PSG beat Toulouse 3-1.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Nick Faldo tells Jon Rahm to ‘pay up’ and end dispute with DP World Tour before looming Ryder Cup
Nick Faldo has urged Jon Rahm to “pay up” and bring an end to his dispute with the DP World Tour.
Rahm faces fines of more than £2m for playing in LIV Golf events which clash with the DP World Tour, and is not eligible for events on the European calendar or next year’s Ryder Cup in Ireland until the matter is settled.
Eight of Rahm’s fellow LIV players, including his Ryder Cup teammate Tyrrell Hatton, have accepted a deal to pay outstanding fines and commit to a certain number of events on the DP World Tour. But Rahm has refused, and although he has withdrawn his appeal against the fines, there is still no agreement on his reinstatement.
Asked whether he was confident he would play at the Ryder Cup, Rahm said: “Yes. We keep talking with the DP World Tour trying to figure out a solution that works best. I didn’t think that going the legal route and going to court was good for anybody so I have faith in us and the DP World Tour (that) we’re going to find a good solution for both of us.”
Faldo believes those European players who joined LIV Golf for vast sums of money should “be very careful”.
“The real bottom line is these guys have got to show a bit of gratitude,” said the six-time major winner. “I mean, you must be very careful: if you take six months off, golf would move on, wouldn’t it? Don’t get full of your own importance. [Rahm] is an important member to the last couple of Ryder Cups. but if he’s not there, he’s not there. Don’t get too carried away. The bottom line is that if you want to be there, pay up, my goodness.”
When asked whether he was prepared to offer a compromise, Rahm said: “I think I already have. We’ve already told them many times. We keep talking to them and we keep trying to negotiate. We’re going to work it out. It’s going to work out.”
Faldo suggested it is time for Rahm to accept the DP World Tour’s demands, and dismissed the Spaniard’s claim that he should be able to “freely player where we want”.
Faldo said: “All they’ve asked for was to play a couple of [six] designated events. You signed a contract to play LIV. You can’t say, ‘Oh, I’ll just play where I want to play’ … [They earn] a boat load of money so give back, because it’ll pay forward, it’s as simple as that.”
Rahm is still hopeful of playing in the Spanish Open, Irish Open and the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in the autumn swing of the DP World Tour.
“As of now, the DP World Tour is doing what they need to do and following the channels they need to follow,” he said. “But I’m confident this will be sorted out before I tee it up in September.”
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