Today is
Wednesday June 03, 2026
Tyler – Early Voting for the City of Tyler mayor runoff election is set for June 1-9. Stuart Hene is currently serving as a Tyler City Councilmember and John Nix is a former City Councilmember are running for the position.
Early voting hours will be:
*8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, June 1-5
*9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 6
*8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, June 8-9. Read the rest of this entry »
WASKOM – The Waskom ISD Board of Trustees has named East Texas Native Lindsey Wood the finalist in the race for Superintendent following the unexpected death of previous superintendent, Christopher Guastella, in March.
According to our news partner KETK, Wood currently acts as the superintendent of academic services at Ferris ISD and has 19 years of experience in public education and 12 years in school administration.
The board conducted an extensive search focused on finding a leader who identifies with the district’s vision, values and commitment to student success. Read the rest of this entry »
WASHINGTON (AP) — Controversial U.S. Senate hopefuls Ken Paxton, a Republican from Texas, and Graham Platner, a Democrat from Maine, are in the nation’s capital Tuesday to shore up support within their respective parties, with Paxton’s itinerary including a White House huddle with President Donald Trump.
The campaign pilgrimage by the two candidates, one from each end of the political spectrum, comes with both men facing concerns they could cost their parties winnable races in the November midterms, with control of the Senate at stake for the final two years of Trump’s second presidency.
Paxton’s planned meeting with Trump comes after he won the president’s coveted endorsement ahead of trouncing Sen. John Cornyn in the Texas runoff last month. The scheduled meeting was confirmed by a person with knowledge of the president’s plans but who was not authorized to discuss them publicly.
Senate Republicans feared that Paxton, the Texas attorney general, would be a weaker candidate against James Talarico, the Democratic nominee, in the fall. Paxton has endured an indictment, an impeachment and public disclosure of martial infidelity.
He also is expected to meet with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who backed Cornyn. Senate Republicans’ campaign arm excoriated Paxton during the primary campaign, accusing him of “repulsive and disgusting” behavior and quoting his estranged wife saying she filed for divorce “on biblical grounds.”
Platner will meet with several Democratic senators days after disclosure that he and his wife have had marital difficulties and sought counseling after he reportedly sent sexually explicit text messages to other women.
Both candidates are scheduled to attend fundraisers as well.
Sen. Martin Heinrich, who is set to meet with Platner, said he doesn’t believe Maine voters are focused on Platner’s marriage. Asked if Platner still has a shot in the race, Heinrich said “we’ll have to see” and “I suspect so.”
Platner and Paxton are pressing ahead with few apologies
Platner and his wife have criticized media coverage of their marriage, framing it as a private matter that should not shape the campaign. Still, the latest personal issues added fuel to some Democrats’ skittishness about Platner, who already faced scrutiny over online posts that were dismissive of sexual assault and a tattoo that is recognized as a Nazi symbol. Platner has apologized for the posts and covered up the tattoo.
Paxton has offered no apologies for his baggage. He framed his win over Cornyn as a “Texas-sized message to Washington,” and thanked Trump — who himself has endured repeated personal and political scandal to win two national elections — for his support.
Like Paxton, Platner was not the choice of his party’s Senate brass, with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer backing Maine Gov. Janet Mills. But Platner effectively became the presumptive nominee after Mills suspended her campaign weeks ago because of fundraising difficulties.
Maine’s primary is June 9, and Platner would face Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican who is running for a sixth term, in November. Defeating Collins is crucial to Democrats’ attempts to regain control of the Senate. Democrats have repeatedly tried to unseat Collins, but she has always survived. In 2020, Collins won reelection even though Democrat Joe Biden carried the state over Trump by nine percentage points.
In Texas, some Republicans fear they will need to divert critical resources to boost Paxton over Talarico, who has become a national fundraising phenomenon.
Although Republicans have dominated Texas for decades, prominent party leaders have said the race could be genuinely competitive this time. Eight years ago, during the midterm election of Trump’s first presidency, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz won reelection over another Democratic fundraising juggernaut, Beto O’Rourke, by less than 3 points.
Republicans hold a 53-47 Senate advantage and earlier in the campaign cycle were heavily favored to maintain their majority. But as Trump’s popularity fades and primary fights yield nominees, Democrats have become more confident in their prospects.
Most Democrats and Republicans are taking their usual sides
With control of the Senate on the line, most partisans have generally lined up behind Platner and Paxton, even if begrudgingly because of their political baggage. Tuesday’s fundraising events were the latest evidence. The event for Paxton, with a $1,000 minimum donation required, according to the invitation, is being co-hosted by seven senators, including Cruz. The fundraiser for Platner is being co-hosted by former Biden White House chief of staff Ron Klain.
“My priority is to make sure that Republicans control the majority so we can continue the agenda that we’re on,” said Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, on Tuesday. “Ken Paxton is absolutely necessary as far as keeping that majority. I have faith that the people of Texas will support him, and he’ll get across the finish line.”
Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a progressive, said her top concern is Platner’s prospective constituents.
“I want to hear from him about the economy,” she said ahead of their meeting. “And more about what he talks to the people of Maine about.”
That echoes another leading progressive who, like Warren, has endorsed Platner. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats, said he still supports Platner as part of the left’s economic populism.
“Of course,” Sanders told reporters Monday. “Why would I not?”
But not all Democrats are on board, including one who first came to the Senate with an outsider persona. Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, a Democrat who has earned a reputation for speaking and voting against his party, even appeared to relish Platner’s newest controversy, calling him “phustle,” a reference to Platner’s apparent profile uncovered on Kik, a popular, private messaging app.
“So much bizarre and tacky and gross stuff that you lose count. It’s like you need to have a bingo card,” Fetterman said.
The senator stopped stopped short of calling on Platner to drop out, but he echoed some Democrats’ private concerns.
“I mean, what’s next?” he said.
He later said, “I’m not going to carry water for that guy.”
FRANKSTON – Firefighters are currently working to extinguish a large structure fire at a gas station in Frankston. The fire was reported to have occurred at the Sunoco gas station on East Pine Street, across from Dairy Queen, on Tuesday afternoon. It is unknown at this time whether any injuries occurred during the fire.
TYLER — Members of the FBI are in Smith County conducting what is being described as an authorized court operation on US Highway 69 North. Sources report that the operation may be connected to a human smuggling investigation.
A spokesperson for the FBI confirmed that they are conducting the operation at the addresses of 10623 Highway 69 North and 10713 and US 69 North. Multiple agencies, including Smith County Sheriff’s Office and the Texas Department of Public Safety, are responding to the location between Tyler and Lindale.
This story is still developing and updates will be provided.
SMITH COUNTY – The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department awarded $6.17 million in statewide recreational trails grants to improve 21 parks and trail projects across the state, with $354,000 set to be distributed between parks in East Texas.
The Park of East Texas was awarded, $300,000. The improvements to the park include a mile-long trail for motorized traffic like ATVs, UTVs and dirt bikes. according to our news partner KETK, The 6-foot-wide loop will include trail signs, park furniture, a trail head, a gravel parking lot and entry gate. Read the rest of this entry »
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans are meeting Tuesday to discuss next steps after the Justice Department said it would comply with a court order pausing the implementation of a $1.776 billion settlement fund designed to compensate President Donald Trump’s political allies.
GOP senators who revolted against the settlement before leaving for a Memorial Day recess two weeks ago say they want more information from the administration about the future of the fund, which could potentially go to Trump supporters who beat police and attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Meanwhile, Trump is reconsidering whether to move forward with it at all, according to a person familiar with his thinking.
Caught in the middle is legislation that would fund Trump’s immigration enforcement agencies for three years. Republicans abruptly left town May 21 without passing it after Democrats said they would offer amendments to scrap or scale back the judgment fund, forcing Republicans to go on the record for or against it and endangering the money for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol.
“The only way to ensure Trump’s $2 billion, taxpayer-funded giveaway to Trump’s MAGA allies never sees the light of day is to abolish it by law,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.
Returning to Washington on Monday evening, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he wasn’t sure if the immigration spending bill would move this week.
“To be determined,” he told reporters.
Republicans were expected to discuss strategy and next steps at their weekly lunch meeting Tuesday afternoon.
Standoff comes after surprise announcement
The extraordinary standoff comes after Trump announced the fund with no heads up to lawmakers as part of a settlement to resolve his lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns. When word of the settlement broke, the Senate was already navigating tricky passage of the immigration legislation with an added $1 billion in White House security costs — including for Trump’s ballroom project.
Furious, Senate Republicans jettisoned the White House security money from the bill and made clear they would not pass the legislation at all unless the White House made major changes to the settlement.
“I do think the best way to handle it is if the administration decides to shut it down themselves,” Thune told reporters Monday, referring to the fund.
The Justice Department said it would comply with a ruling Friday from U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, who temporarily halted the fund for two weeks. The judge scheduled a June 12 hearing for arguments on whether to extend her order.
The department said in a statement that it strongly disagrees with the ruling but would comply.
Senators say they need more ‘explicit’ commitment
Republican senators weren’t satisfied. They have said that they need more detail from the administration on what happens after that deadline before deciding next steps.
“It’s pretty clear that the president has to say very explicitly that there’s not going to be a weaponization fund,” said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.
Oklahoma Sen. Jim Lankford said Trump administration officials “need to say what they actually mean.”
“They need to say, we’re setting this whole thing aside,” Lankford said.
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski said that if the settlement is “completely pulled, then I’m satisfied. But I haven’t heard anybody say that.”
Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana said the administration already has to abide by the court decision, “that’s in the Constitution. I have to know more about their position.”
“Right now, the reconciliation bill looks like a broken arm with the bones sticking out,” Kennedy said. “It won’t move this week, in my opinion, unless we have some resolution on the weaponization account.”
Republicans issue rare ultimatum to DOJ
The outrage over the fund came to a head last month at a closed-door meeting between senators and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche that Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas described on a recent episode of his podcast as “one of the roughest meetings I’ve seen in my entire time in the Senate.”
GOP senators had been discussing several ways that they could curb the fund, including limiting who can receive payouts, changing the makeup of the commission in charge of settlement decisions, adding some sort of judicial review for applicants or scrapping the fund altogether.
Amid the backlash, a person familiar with the matter, who insisted on anonymity to discuss the president’s thinking, said Monday that Trump was reconsidering whether to move forward with the fund. But the president has not said publicly what he intends to do.
Also complicating matters is Trump’s campaign-year push to defeat GOP lawmakers whom he sees as disloyal, including some of Thune’s most reliable Republican votes in the narrow 53-47 Senate. Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and John Cornyn of Texas both lost reelection bids in May after Trump endorsed their primary opponents, and it’s unclear how supportive they’ll be of the president’s agenda going forward.
“I think it’s hard to divorce anything that happens here from what’s happening in the political atmosphere around us,” Thune said before the Senate left town.
NEW YORK (AP) — K-pop band BTS, Benson Boone, Cardi B, Lainey Wilson, Major Lazer, Muse, Snoop Dogg and Zara Larsson are among the performers this fall at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas. It will be broadcast live.
The lineup for the event, which will take place Sept. 18-19 at the T-Mobile Arena, also includes Weezer, Goo Goo Dolls and Kenny Chesney. More artists will be announced at a later date.
Ryan Seacrest will once again host, and fans can hear it all on iHeartMedia radio stations or watch it streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
The general public can buy tickets on AXS.com starting at 2 p.m. EDT/11 a.m. PDT on June 12. Capital One cardholders will be able to access a presale beginning at 1 p.m. EDT/10 a.m. PDT on June 10.
“The iHeartRadio Music Festival is all about bringing together the biggest artists across every genre for two unforgettable nights, and this year’s lineup truly reflects the incredible diversity of music today,” Tom Poleman, chief programming officer, and John Sykes, president of entertainment enterprises of iHeartMedia, said in a joint statement.
Earlier this year, BTS made a triumphant return after a nearly four-year musical hiatus. “ARIRANG,” the 14-track, fifth studio album from the septet is huge; an ambitious reunion and the band’s first original full-length release since the seven members completed South Korea’s mandatory military service. Not that it has been all quiet at team BTS: The band staggered their enlistments, giving ample time for its members to focus on solo projects while the group was on a break.
They’ve returned to the stage since then, and iHeartRadio Music Festival is another victory lap.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Manny Malhotra was hired as coach of the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night.
The former Canucks forward takes over for Adam Foote, fired last month after Vancouver finished last in the NHL during his only season behind the bench.
Malhotra becomes the 23rd head coach in franchise history and the latest Canucks player to be promoted by the team as it begins its rebuild.
“Manny and I have been in the battle together before, so I know firsthand what a good teacher, leader, and quality person he is,” general manager Ryan Johnson said in a statement.
The pair previously worked together in the minors with the American Hockey League’s Abbotsford Canucks.
“Manny is a great coach who has the right skill set and mentality to help players develop and get better each day,” Johnson said. “We both believe that pressure is a privilege, and learning to become a good pro takes patience, dedication and a ‘be better than yesterday’ mindset.”
Foote was fired on May 19 after the Canucks went 25-49-8 last season. Malhotra immediately emerged as a prime candidate to replace him, with Johnson saying he would sit down with the 46-year-old former NHL player and “talk about the future.”
Malhotra previously served as a development coach and an assistant coach for the Canucks, then spent four seasons as an assistant with the Toronto Maple Leafs before becoming Abbotsford’s head coach.
There, he guided the AHL team to a Calder Cup championship during the 2024-25 campaign. The club then missed the playoffs last season as several players dealt with long-term injuries.
It was the way Malhotra led Abbotsford through a challenging year that showed exactly the kind of coach and person he is, Johnson said.
“To see that when you can rely on the foundation of the consistent environment and the coaching through the worst of times and really continue to propel players forward, even though the wins and losses aren’t there, it tells you a lot about him,” he said.
“That entire staff showed that they’re champions based off of not the year before, but of what they did last year, and what people around them took out of a pretty tough season.”
The promotion reunites Malhotra with former teammates Daniel and Henrik Sedin, who were named Vancouver’s co-presidents of hockey operations on May 14.
Malhotra, from Ontario, spent 16 seasons playing in the NHL after getting drafted by the New York Rangers in 1998.
He had 116 goals and 295 points in 991 regular-season games with Vancouver, New York, the Dallas Stars, Columbus Blue Jackets, San Jose Sharks, Montreal Canadiens and Carolina Hurricanes.
Malhotra took a puck to the face while playing for the Canucks in March 2011, an injury that left him with limited vision in his left eye. He missed much of the team’s run to the Stanley Cup Final that year and was given a reduced role the following season.
“He loves the game and getting to know what makes his players tick, and I am very confident Manny will help us ice a competitive and hard-working team that our fans will be proud of moving forward,” Johnson said.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Former Iowa State sharpshooter Milan Momcilovic has committed to Kentucky, giving coach Mark Pope one of the best players in the transfer portal.
Momcilovic announced his decision on Instagram on Monday, less than a week after pulling his name out of the NBA draft.
A 6-foot-8 forward, Momcilovic led the nation in 3-point shooting at shooting 48.7% on 7.5 attempts per game last season and was fifth nationally in 3-pointers made. He made at least five 3-pointers in a game 10 times in 2025-26, including eight in a last-second loss to Arizona in the Big 12 tournament.
Momcilovic averaged 16.9 points and 3.1 rebounds per game while leading Iowa State to the Sweet 16 for the third time in five years. He shot 43% from 3 in three seasons with the Cyclones.
Momcilovic announced in April he planned to enter the transfer portal and test the NBA waters before pulling out just before the deadline last Wednesday.
PARIS (AP) — Serena Williams is coming back to professional tennis at the age of 44, returning to the sport she dominated for two decades before famously “evolving” away from the daily grind of competition.
First up for the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion is the doubles tournament at Queen’s Club. But Wimbledon and the U.S. Open could be next.
“It seems like she’s trying to work her way up maybe to the U.S. Open, and those fans would be so ready to see her back on a singles court there,” former No. 1 Lindsay Davenport said at the French Open after the WTA Tour announced Monday that Williams has accepted a wild-card invitation to play doubles at next week’s grass-court tournament in London.
Williams won seven Wimbledon titles and six at the U.S. Open before stepping away from the game in 2022. In doubles, she won six titles at Wimbledon and two at the U.S. Open — all with her older sister Venus Williams.
“She’s a legend. It’s inspiring to see,” top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka said. “I’m excited to see her play and probably face her. … It’s very good news for tennis.”
John McEnroe suggested Williams could compete in singles at Wimbledon, which starts June 28.
“She’s not getting any younger but she’s Serena Williams so I bet you she would tell me about wanting to win the whole damn thing,” McEnroe said in Paris.
The Queen’s Club tournament starts next Monday and the WTA said Williams will play “with a partner to be announced in due course.”
“Queen’s Club feels like the perfect place to begin this next chapter,” Williams said in a statement. “Grass has given me some of the most meaningful moments of my career and I’m excited to be back competing on one of the sport’s most iconic stages.”
Williams has not competed since bidding farewell at the 2022 U.S. Open. At the time, Williams said she didn’t want to use the word “retiring” and instead declared that she was “evolving” away from tennis.
Davenport said some current women’s players went down to Florida to practice with Williams recently.
“I don’t think anyone’s admitted to that, but I do know that some of them were,” Davenport said. “So I think she has kind of a handle on where the level is. But I don’t know if she’s been playing a two-hour singles match, right? We’ll have to see how she can handle that physically.”
Williams, who has won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles overall in her storied career, became eligible to compete in February after re-registering with tennis’ mandatory anti-doping program six months earlier — which is the first step toward a comeback.
Djokovic is competitive at 39
Davenport noted how Novak Djokovic is still competitive at 39 — having recently pushed 19-year-old Joao Fonseca to five sets before getting beaten in the third round in Paris.
“It’s not going to be easy. If anyone could do it, certainly it could be her,” Davenport said of Williams. “We’re seeing kind of an unprecedented time with players and how they train now, being able to play better longer, play at a level that we never expected.
“She always looks in incredible shape; and better shape than arguably when she left.”
While Williams’ big serve automatically gives her an advantage on grass, it’s a surface that also presents unique challenges because of the speed of play and low bounces.
“Grass is a tough surface to start on,” Davenport said. “It goes very quick, very low, very physical, not as much running as clay, but a lot of bending. … She wouldn’t come back unless she knew she could play at such a high level. But we’ve got to be a little graceful in the time we give her until she hits her feet.”
Williams sisters were role models for Osaka
Four-time major champion Naomi Osaka, who beat Williams in the 2018 U.S. Open final for her first major title, was excited at the prospect.
“It will bring people to watch tennis,” Osaka said Thursday. “I’m going to be tuned into the first match, for sure. I think a lot of people are. Everyone knows Serena and Venus were my role models growing up, so it’s going to be cool to see her on the grounds again.”
Williams recently posted a video on Instagram showing herself training on a hard court with her daughter: “Rumor has it…I got a new trainer,” Williams said in the post.
Williams’ second daughter was born in 2023.
Venus Williams, who also had a stint at No. 1 in the rankings and is a five-time Wimbledon champion, is still playing occasionally at 45.
McEnroe played doubles at 47
McEnroe was 47 when he returned after 12 years of retirement and won a tour-level doubles tournament with partner Jonas Bjorkman.
“Physically I still had it for doubles, so she definitely could still have it for doubles, there’s no question about that. She could win anything (in doubles),” McEnroe said. “The singles is more difficult. … I’m not really sure what the plan is. She hasn’t called me to tell me the plan.”
Gauff never got to play Williams
“One of my biggest regrets was not being able to play her,” defending French Open champion Coco Gauff said.
Added fellow American player Madison Keys: “Serena Williams playing tennis is only good for tennis. Let’s be real. We all want to watch Serena play tennis.
“I mean, you literally get to watch history every single time she takes the court,” Keys added. “So why not watch more?”
Women returned to Queen’s after more than 50 years
A women’s tournament rejoined the men’s competition at Queen’s last year after an absence of more than 50 years, meaning Williams will be making her debut at the historic grass-court tournament.
“And now,” said Queen’s tournament director Laura Robson, “we have an icon of the game stepping back on to court at this prestigious venue.”
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry has a new long-term shoe and apparel deal with Chinese sportswear company Li-Ning.
The Golden State star’s Curry Brand announced Monday the partnership to keep building Curry’s global reach in basketball, golf and lifestyle. Curry and Li-Ning will team up on brand creation and product development along with sports culture initiatives with what they called “a shared commitment to inspiring the next generation of athletes around the world.”
Curry called it “the partnership of a lifetime.” He wore the Li-Ning shoes of both Dwyane Wade and teammate Jimmy Butler earlier this year during what was considered a sneaker free-agency process.
The 38-year-old Curry parted ways with Under Armour last November after more than a decade, then began wearing different shoes almost nightly the rest of the season — pulling pairs from a large crate parked by his locker at Chase Center.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — On the eve of the Stanley Cup Final between the Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes, one of the general managers involved laid out his thinking when making roster moves.
“We want to be aggressive off the ice,” the GM said. “When you have a chance to add really high-end players, we never want to miss out on it.”
While the Golden Knights under Kelly McCrimmon have deservedly earned their reputation for going after every high-end player available, that sentiment came from Carolina’s Eric Tulsky, whose team has generally been considered far more selective.
The Hurricanes have taken bigger leaps since Tulsky took over two years ago, but his challenge has been finding particular players who fit coach Rod Brind’Amour’s demanding style. The Golden Knights have added one big star after another, in the name of trying to win it all for a second time in less than a decade of existence.
One approach will end with hoisting the Cup.
“It probably should be more fun than we appreciate in the moment,” McCrimmon said. “We have made a lot of big decisions over our time in the league — very bold. I always say that to be big or bold is one thing. You’ve got to make good decisions, and I think that we’ve collectively through our hockey ops have done a good job of that. It’s exhilarating to win.”
Six Carolina players were drafted and developed, including No. 1 defenseman Jaccob Slavin, top-line forwards Seth Jarvis, Sebastien Aho and Andrei Svechnikov, and young building-block winger Jackson Blake.
Starting goaltender Frederik Andersen was a free-agent signing, and second-liners Taylor Hall and Logan Stankoven were acquired in trades. Tulsky, a Harvard graduate with a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley, worked under previous GM Don Waddell and pieced the rest of the puzzle together himself.
McCrimmon pointed to Waddell as a positive influence and complimented his counterpart for smart draft picks and trades.
“They’ve consistently been building their team, and they’ve done it different ways,” McCrimmon said. “Looking at it from the outside, they’ve been aggressive in their way of doing that. They have an idea what they want it to look like, the type of players that their organization will make good use of and they go out and get those guys.”
Sometimes those guys do not fit. One of the big gambles Tulsky made came in January 2025 when he gave up young forwards Martin Necas and Jack Drury in a three-way trade that landed the Hurricanes big winger Mikko Rantanen and veteran Taylor Hall.
Rantanen was not interested in re-signing, so Tulsky explored options and flipped him to Dallas for young Logan Stankoven and picks.
“Sometimes it doesn’t go the way you hoped, and you’ve got to be ready to figure out how you’re going to move forward from there,” Tulsky said. “One of the strengths of our organization is we’re not afraid to take those swings, but we’re confident that if we just keep staying aggressive, some will work out, some won’t (and) we’ll end up ahead of where we would be if we just stayed passive the whole time.”
Stankoven, free-agent signing Nikolaj Ehlers and other additions like Eric Robinson and Mark Jankowski have fit Brind’Amour’s mold like a glove. Tulsky was a hockey blogger before moving into management and he thinks analytically but also credits his staff for talent evaluation to play for this coach.
“We’ve really focused on finding people who fit the way we want to play,” Tulsky said. “We ask players to play a very distinctive style, and our scouts have done a great job finding players who can come in and look their best playing the way Rod needs them to play.”
Building the Golden Knights
From the start, Vegas was built to win. Original GM George McPhee aced the expansion draft, from picking players from the other 30 teams in the league to making side deals that brought even more talent into the fold.
The initial bunch delivered an unexpected trip to the final during the club’s inaugural season in 2017-18, with goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury the backbone of a group that included forwards William Karlsson and Reilly Smith and defensemen Shea Theodore and Brayden McNabb. Karlsson, Theodore and McNabb have been around the entire time, and Smith returned after a brief absence.
Along the way, McPhee and McCrimmon never shied away from making big moves. They made trades for Mark Stone, Jack Eichel, Tomas Hertl and Noah Hanifin, signed Alex Pietrangelo and made a sign-and-trade for Mitch Marner.
“We appreciate how George and Kelly operate,” McNabb said. “They’re always trying to build a winning team, and they’ve done a great job for the nine years.”
The Golden Knights have made the playoffs in eight of them, won the Cup in 2023 and consistently been championship contenders.
“It’s a privilege,” McCrimmon said. “We don’t take it for granted. We work real hard. You have to get lucky along the way at times, also. That’s kind of been our objective right from the opening season.”
McNabb said McCrimmon is doing his job. There are no complaints from players about Vegas going big-game shopping all the time.
“I don’t know if he’s in on every player, but he’s trying to make the team better and that’s what you want and you appreciate,” McNabb said. “You want to be on a team that’s trying to get better and have the best team going into playoffs and performing in playoffs.”
PARIS (AP) — Marta Kostyuk, the best player on clay this season and a vocal supporter of Ukraine amid the war with Russia, will play her first major semifinal at the French Open against a Russian.
Kostyuk won an intense all-Ukraine quarterfinal against Elina Svitolina 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 on Tuesday. That set up Kostyuk against Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva, who thumped Romanian veteran Sorana Cirstea 6-0, 6-3.
In men’s play, up-and-coming Rafael Jodar of Spain was powerless against second-seeded Alexander Zverev, losing 7-6 (3), 6-1, 6-3. The 2024 runner-up from Germany will face Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic or Joao Fonseca of Brazil for a place in Sunday’s final.
Kostyuk leads Andreeva 2-0 on the tour; the second win in the Madrid final a month ago. Kostyuk didn’t shake hands at the net, following protocol for Ukrainians with opponents from Russia and its ally Belarus since the war started four years ago.
“We had a very difficult night again in Ukraine, especially in Kyiv, so many people dead,” Kostyuk said. “I want to give this match to Ukrainian people and to their resilience. Slava Ukraini! (Glory to Ukraine!)”
Russia launched hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles against Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities overnight, killing at least 18 civilians and wounding more than 100 others, authorities said on Tuesday.
“I texted my family if they were OK. This is pretty much all I can do,” Kostyuk said. “The biggest thing I can do is sit here and talk about it so more people can find out about it so they don’t get used to this terrible life.”
Svitolina said friends in Ukraine told her about the attacks just hours before the match.
“Just very sad that we all have to really put up with this heaviness and pain every single day, and scared moments not knowing what’s going to bring the next day,” Svitolina said.
She will leave Roland Garros to look after the daughter she has with French tennis player Gael Monfils, but will be cheering on Kostyuk.
“Hopefully she can get the title,” Svitolina said. “It’s going to be massive for Ukraine.”
No. 7-seeded Svitolina got off to a slow start but worked her way back, matching No. 15 Kostyuk’s power from the baseline. Kostyuk was better on the important points in the decider and improved her impressive 2026 record on clay to 17-0.
She’s the first Ukrainian woman to reach the semifinals at Roland Garros in the Open era since 1968. Svitolina has reached the semis at the other three Grand Slams but failed for the sixth time to win a French Open quarterfinal.
Andreeva will appear in her second French Open semifinal, two years after the first. She was asked about the challenges of playing a Ukrainian in wartime.
“Well, for me it doesn’t matter who I play,” Andreeva said. “I really try to play against the ball that is coming at me. Usually it doesn’t matter to me who I’m playing against, so I’m trying to really focus on the game and on the game plan.”
Asked whether she found it frustrating to hear Russian opponents avoiding the issue, Kostyuk said she wished “there was some more clear stance on what’s going on.”
“Especially when your country is killing other people,” she added. “I don’t know how you can sleep at night peacefully when you know that this is going on, and you have nothing to say about it.”
After a week of hot weather, rain arrived in Paris and play started under the closed roof of Court Philippe-Chatrier. Competing in the quarterfinals for the first time in 17 years, Cirstea struggled to find her rhythm against her 19-year-old rival.
The 36-year-old veteran, playing the final season of her career, immediately dropped her serve. She didn’t hold serve or win a game until the first game of the second set. Andreeva’s deep, accurate groundstrokes and charges to the net took a toll on 18th-seeded Cirstea, whose attempt to come back was shortlived.
“I felt like it was one of my best matches so far this tournament,” Andreeva said. “Super happy to be back in semis.”
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