The Patriots quarterback’s four-game suspension for his involvement in the Deflategate scandal was handed down by NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent. New England was also fined $1 million and stripped of two picks over the next two drafts for using underinflated footballs during January’s AFC Championship Game. MORE: Is Brady more powerful than Robert Kraft and Goodell? An investigation by attorney Ted Wells found that Brady was “generally aware” he was using footballs with air removed and found the team culpable....

Tretter not only is the Browns’ No. 1 center, he also is the president of the NFL Players Association. Tuesday, he published a letter under the NFLPA logo, with his signature attached at the bottom, that implores the league to “follow the recommendations of its own experts” relative to the COVID-19 pandemic and, among other requests, eliminate preseason games for the 2020 season. MORE: Breaking down Patrick Mahomes’ mega-contract with Chiefs...

Winston was quoted in a column on CSNNE.com with some less than endearing remarks about the commissioner. MORE: Lynch will grab his crotch for charity | Anti-Redskins protestors ramp up in Arizona “Hey, even the worst bartender at Spring Break does pretty well,” Winston said. “Think about it, a 2-year-old could [be NFL Commissioner] and still make money.” Winston, an offensive lineman with the Bengals, later retracted those comments with a statement on Twitter....

Granted, when many in the general public hear about NFTs, they think of them as little more than campy “Bored Apes,” or “Cowboy Trump” artwork. However, the reality is that with their unique properties NFTs are the ideal digital format by which we can document and store our most important information. This new technology can replace the need for more traditional forms of documentation while making them more accessible and secure than ever before....

MLBAM is the interactive media and internet company for MLB and will work with the NHL to improve its online product. MLBAM will provide video, live game streaming, social media, fantasy, apps and statistical/analytical content. MORE: NHL’s top goal scorers among active players | Judge orders NHL turn over injury, concussion data “It is an honor for Major League Baseball to stand alongside the National Hockey League on this joint initiative,” baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement....

Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind., will host the 2019 edition of the league’s New Year’s Day outdoor game, with the Blackhawks set to take on the Boston Bruins. Including the NHL Stadium Series, Chicago has participated in five outdoor regular season contests. The Blackhawks have lost all three Winter Classic games they have played in, including a 4-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues in the most recent installment on Jan....

“The same situation was with the [2014] Sochi Games; they said NHL could not be allowed to come,” Ovechkin told reporters. “I hope the sides will reach an agreement. MORE: Ovechkin’s wild career in photos | Olympics held in the United States “Anyway, I and other players will definitely come [to Pyeongchang],” the three-time Hart Trophy recipient added. According to SI.com, there’s no consensus on the value of shutting down the NHL at midseason for nearly three weeks, especially considering that the tournament will take place in a non-traditional market that won’t allow for the games to be broadcast live in primetime in North America....

Thursday on NHL Network, commissioner Gary Bettman addressed the other big question: When will the 2020-21 season start? “We obviously don’t want to impact the sanctity of next season, but we have a great deal of flexibility in terms of when we can start,” Bettman said. “There’s no magic for next season of starting in October as we traditionally do. If we have to start in November or December, that’s something that will be under consideration....

A number of the league’s stars, including Patrick Kane, Erik Karlsson and, as of Nov. 3, Sidney Crosby, have tested positive. MORE: Why was Evander Kane suspended? Explaining Sharks forward’s 21-game ban for violating COVID-19 protocol Players who test positive are placed on the non-roster COVID-protocols list. It should be noted that other players could end up on this list too. Like last season, “COVID Protocol Related Absences” can be the result of a number of factors, including an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is done; mandated isolation for symptomatic players; required quarantine as a high-risk close contact; isolation based on a confirmed positive test result; quarantine for travel or other reasons....

Montreal selected London Knights defenseman Logan Mailloux with the 31st overall pick. Mailloux, 18, was fined in a Swedish court last December for having a woman photographed without her consent as she was performing a sex act and then circulating the image among teammates. Mailloux was playing in Sweden while on loan from the Knights. His actions prompted more than 10 teams to drop Mailloux from their draft boards, The Athletic reported, and Mailloux said in a statement this week he was renouncing himself from this year’s draft, which meant nothing because he remained draft-eligible, per the NHL....

Toronto Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner and Winnipeg Jets left wing Patrik Laine appear the likely candidates. Last week, Sammi Silber cited reports out of Toronto claiming at least one club was “seriously considering” an offer sheet for Marner worth around $12.5 million. It’s unclear if that figure is the annual average value for a one-year or multi-year offer. The NHL Network’s Mike Kelly believes the New York Islanders could target Marner; however, that seems unlikely....

The final playoff spot in the Western Conference has come down to two teams. The Blues appeared to be waving the white flag at the trade deadline. The Avalanche were the worst team in the NHL last season. So naturally, they’re both right in the hunt with one week remaining in the regular season. The Blues made a coaching change last year (one that was planned but expedited) and were heading in the right direction early in the season — leading the Central Division for a stretch — but it went south quick just before the deadline, with a string of six straight losses that signaled to GM Doug Armstrong that it probably wasn’t their year....

The Winnipeg Jets are headed back to the Stanley Cup playoffs. For the second time since moving from Atlanta, the Jets clinched a playoff berth Sunday and have a good chance to win a championship. The first time didn’t go so well (they were swept), but this year feels different. Much different. They punched their ticket with a thrilling 5-4 shootout win over the Nashville Predators — a possible second-round opponent — and now, they’ll try to climb as high as they can before the dance begins....

New York and Pittsburgh ended just before midnight on the East Coast, when Evgeni Malkin slapped in the game-winner in the third overtime to give Pittsburgh the 4-3 victory and a 1-0 series lead. While Malkin’s goal was the game-winner, the game may have actually been decided in the third period, when a Filip Chytil goal was taken off the board thanks to a questionable goalie interference call on Rangers forward Kaapo Kakko....

They were badly outplayed from start to finish in a 5-1 loss to the Senators on Wednesday. The Senators now lead the best-of-seven series two games to one. SN GAME CENTER: Penguins-Senators Game 3 stats Ottawa’s Mike Hoffman scored just 48 seconds into the game and the Senators poured it on from there. Hoffman’s goal was the first of an outburst that set a franchise playoff record for the fastest three goals (2:18)....

Follow along with live updates, scores and the schedule for every NHL playoff game. GOLDEN STANDARDHow Vegas became the most successful expansion team in sports history NHL playoffs: Live scores Today’s NHL playoff game, score and how to watch live (all times Eastern). MORE: Watch NHL playoff action on fuboTV (7-day free trial) NHL playoff schedule Here are the dates for the Stanley Cup Final . Location and television information will be available upon the conclusion of the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday....

After going scoreless in Toronto’s first two playoff games, the Maple Leafs center netted his first goal (and assist) of the postseason in the second period of Monday’s 3-2 win. Matthews took a centering feed from Andreas Johnsson and got it by Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask to give Toronto a 2-1 lead. In his postseason career, the 21-year-old has proven himself a capable Game 3 performer. Matthews had played in two prior Game 3’s in the postseason prior to Monday’s tilt and he scored in both of them....

After a devastating 7-4 loss in Game 7 last year, in which they gave up four unanswered goals in the third period despite having a 4-3 lead after 40 minutes, the biggest question for the Maple Leafs is can they overcome the psychological hurdle the Bruins seem to present? SN STAFF PREDICTIONS:Eastern Conference | Western Conference | Stanley Cup “Well, it’s hard to tell right now. We went through a stretch of games for a week to ten days that were extremely poor and now we’ve come back and fixed some things that have allowed us to play much better for the last ten days to two weeks,” Maple Leafs defenseman Ron Hainsey said....

The Lightning kick off the stretch run where they’ve been nearly all season — at the top of our power rankings — though with several teams, including the Predators, Bruins and Golden Knights, nipping at their heels. At the other end of the spectrum remain the Coyotes, Sabres and Senators, with the free-falling Rangers dropping in our power rankings while at the same time improving their chances in the draft lottery for the first time in the Henrik Lundqvist era....

If you haven’t been paying attention since the NHL shut down March 11 (understandable, all things considered), the NHL’s qualifying format and schedule for the Stanley Cup playoffs requires a bit of an explanation. Here’s how it will work: 24 teams remain in contention when play restarts Aug. 1 from the hub cities of Edmonton and Toronto. Sixteen of those teams are participating in best-of-five series to qualify for the playoff bracket and also remain eligible for Phase 2 of the NHL’s draft lottery....