Evgeni Malkin Tallies Three Points In Victory

Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin scored his 499th career goal with two assists in their victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Monday evening. The 38-year-old tallied his first point of the night with the primary assist on Rickard Rakell's second goal of the season. Later in the third, he found defenseman Kris Letang on a […]

Mika Zibanejad Tallies Goal, Two Assists On Monday

New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad scored his first goal of the season and tallied two assists in their victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Monday evening. Zibanejad tallied his first point of the evening on the power-play on a shot that was re-directed by Chris Kreider in the second period. In the final […]

Brock Nelson Nets Two Goals On Monday

New York Islanders center Brock Nelson scored twice in their victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Monday evening. Nelson tallied both of his goals in the second frame. First, he found the back of the net on a wrist shot in the slot off a pass from Maxim Tsyplakov and Adam Pelech. Later in the […]

2024-2025 Fantasy Basketball Category Studs: Blocks And Steals

Anyone can score points in today's NBA, right? I mean, does anyone still play defense? True NBA fans get tired of hearing that from casuals. Yes, games are high-scoring, and it may seem like no one is playing defense, but that's not anything close to the truth. The reality is that the rules favor the […]

Today's NHL DFS Lineup Picks for DraftKings, FanDuel (10/15/24)

Welcome, RotoBallers! If you do not know me, my name is Brandon, and I am writing both The First-Serve and The Kick-Off for tennis and soccer. If you have not checked those out, make sure you do! It is the return of the NHL season, which means it's time to sharpen our skills and partake […]

Starting Pitchers: Fantasy Baseball End-Of-Season Report Card (Part 2)

The 2024 fantasy baseball season is in the books. It seems like the perfect time to look back and reflect on the season: What went right and what went wrong. One of the biggest determinants will likely have been how the starting pitchers you drafted early performed throughout the year. Our focus here is on […]

Joel Embiid May Not Play Back-To-Backs For Rest Of His Career

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has been notorious for going into the playoffs with some sort of injury year after year. He suffered fractured orbital bones in his face twice, knee injuries twice, and last season tried to return from yet another knee injury while dealing with Bell's Palsy. During media day, Embiid said that […]

Starting Pitchers: Fantasy Baseball End-Of-Season Report Card (Part 1)

The 2024 fantasy baseball season is in the books. It seems like the perfect time to look back and reflect on the season: What went right and what went wrong. One of the biggest determinants will likely have been how the starting pitchers you drafted early performed throughout the year. Our focus here is on […]

Ridly Greig Out On Monday

Ottawa Senators center Ridly Greig (upper body) will not play against the Kings on Monday. He couldn't practice on Sunday due to an upper-body injury and isn't ready to play either. He will be replaced on the fourth line by Adam Gaudette. Gaudette's only previous appearance this season came last Thursday in a 3-1 win […]

Eric Cross' Top 100 Dynasty Rankings for Fantasy Baseball (October 2024)

Another fantasy baseball season has come and gone, but in dynasty, when one season ends the next one begins. Rankings don't reset, they simply continue on. We saw plenty of notable performances down the stretch in 2024, both good and bad which created plenty of movement in my final Top 500 dynasty rankings update of […]

Marco Rossi Collects Another Assist Sunday

Minnesota Wild center Marco Rossi capped off the weekend with one more assist in Sunday's 2-1 loss to the Jets. Rossi picked up the lone helper when defenseman Jake Middleton put the Wild up early in the game. The talented centerman opened his scoring account for the season with two assists in Saturday's 5-4 shootout […]

Eric Cross' Top 100 Dynasty Prospect Rankings for Fantasy Baseball (October 2024)

Well, the 2024 season is in the rearview mirror, and we are now turning our attention to 2025. Sure, it's only the first day of October when this article is being published, but as dynasty managers know, there's never a bad time to improve your roster for the future. At this point in the year, […]

Ridly Greig Misses Practice With An Upper-Body Injury

Ottawa Senators center Ridly Greig wasn't on the ice for Sunday's practice because of an upper-body injury. He should be considered a game-time decision for Monday's matinee against the Kings. Greig has seen time with the second and fourth line early in the year, averaging 14:03 of ice time. He has produced two scoreless performances […]

Joel Eriksson Ek Out On Sunday

Minnesota Wild center Joel Eriksson Ek (nose) will not play against Winnipeg on Sunday. He was forced to leave Saturday's matchup against Seattle early due to a broken nose and didn't join the team for the trip to Canada. The Swedish centerman is expected to rejoin the lineup on Tuesday versus St. Louis. Ryan Hartman […]

Joel Embiid Won't Play In Preseason

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (knee) won't play in any of the remaining preseason contests. The superstar big man was evaluated by doctors on Thursday. It sounds like Embiid is making good progress, but the team is going to play it safe and hold him out of all preseason action. Embiid has been an elite […]

Nazem Kadri Tallies Two Goals On Saturday

Calgary Flames center Nazem Kadri scored twice in their victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday evening. Kadri tallied his first goal of the night in the second frame on the power-play on a snapshot from the slot. He then would go on to score the empty netter to clinch the victory in the final […]

Mark Williams No Longer In A Walking Boot

Charlotte Hornets forward Mark Williams (foot) is no longer in a walking boot. The 2022 No. 15 overall pick suffered a strained tendon in his left foot during a workout and missed training camp. He will continue to rehab and will be re-evaluated before the beginning of the 2024-25 campaign. Williams was nearly a double-double […]

Macklin Celebrini Placed On Injured Reserve

San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini (lower body) has been placed on Injured Reserve. He is considered week-to-week after reportedly playing through a hip injury in the season opener. Celebrini shined with two points in his NHL debut on Thursday versus St. Louis but will now have to sit out at least two games. His […]

Aleksander Barkov Sidelined For 2-3 Weeks

Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (lower body) is expected to miss 2-3 weeks. The Panthers captain suffered a lower-body injury in Thursday's 3-1 loss to Ottawa and heads to the shelf with one assist through the first two games of the season. Sam Bennett will take over as the first-line center on Saturday versus Buffalo. […]

John Tavares Out On Saturday

Toronto Maple Leafs center John Tavares (illness) will not play against Pittsburgh on Saturday. The former Maple Leafs captain has gone down with an illness. He exits the lineup after posting one goal with six shots in the first two games of the season. Pontus Holmberg and Bobby McCann will have a chance to get […]

Jake Rogers Doing The Catching Against Guardians

Detroit Tigers catcher Jake Rogers (wrist) is behind the dish and is batting eighth for the Tigers in the decisive Game 5 of the American League Division Series on Saturday at Progressive Field against the division-rival Cleveland Guardians and left-hander Matthew Boyd. Rogers left the Game 4 loss early on Thursday with a wrist injury, […]

Pavel Buchnevich Totals Three Points Friday Night

St. Louis Blues forward Pavel Buchnevich recorded a game-high three points in Friday's 4-3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. He had two goals and an assist, registering his second marker with the man advantage. Buchnevich led his team with four shots and collected one block in 20:39 of action. After going scoreless in St. […]

Mark Scheifele Reaches 300 Career Goals

Winnipeg Jets center Mark Scheifele potted two goals to hit 300 markers for his career in Friday's 2-1 overtime victory against Chicago. The Jets were heading towards a shock defeat in front of their fans before Scheifele managed to extend the game with his first tally with 1:04 remaining in regulation, and he ended the […]

Mavrik Bourque Might Play This Weekend

Dallas Stars center Mavrik Bourque (lower body) could be ready for his season debut this weekend. After sustaining a lower-body injury in training camp, Bourque was unavailable for Thursday's season opener against Nashville. However, he was able to skate on Friday, and Stars head coach Pete DeBoer is hopeful that the 22-year-old can feature in […]

Today's NHL DFS Lineup Picks for DraftKings, FanDuel (10/12/24)

Hello Rotoballers! The NHL season is back in full swing and we have our first action-packed Saturday slate of the season. In this piece, I will discuss my favorite forward lines to target, defensemen, and goalies in tonight's action. Be sure to keep updated with any injury notes on our newsfeed before setting your lineup. […]

Dynasty Fantasy Basketball Rankings (2024-25) - Alex Fischbein's Analysis

Well hello NBA regular season, it's nice to see you right around the corner! We've been calling you guys ever since the Olympics were over, but it looks like they left us on read until we just got hit with the "You up?" text when training camp began. The good news...I AM UP! Let's just […]

Alex Burns's 2024-2025 Fantasy Basketball Rankings (Points)

Last week, I released the first edition of my fantasy basketball rankings for the upcoming season, tailored for category scoring -- the most popular format in fantasy basketball. However, I would be remiss not to address those of you competing in points leagues. After all, it was a points league that first introduced me to […]

Jake Rogers Good To Go For Game 5, X-Rays On Hand Come Back Negative

Detroit Tigers catcher Jake Rogers (hand, wrist) told reporters on Friday that he should be good to go Saturday for their pivotal Game 5 against the Cleveland Guardians. Rogers took a few foul balls off his left hand during Game 4 and was pinch hit for in the bottom of the ninth. X-rays came back […]

Macklin Celebrini Nursing A Lower-Body Injury

San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini is being evaluated for a lower-body injury. The top pick of this year's draft battled a lower-body injury during preseason but was able to make his NHL debut on Thursday night against St. Louis. Celebrini tallied a goal and assist while logging 17:35 of ice time. However, he missed […]

Pius Suter Ready To Face The Flyers

Vancouver Canucks center Pius Suter (upper body) will make his season debut in Friday's clash with Philadelphia. He was forced to sit out Vancouver's season opener against Calgary on Wednesday with an upper-body injury. Suter will slot into the third-line center role, bumping Aatu Raty to the fourth line. Nils Aman will exit the lineup. […]