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The 28th annual Las Olas Wine and Food Festival will return to Las Olas Boulevard in downtown Fort Lauderdale 7:30-10:30 p.m. April 19, bringing culinary offerings from some of South Florida’s best-known restaurants as well as sips and samples curated by Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, back for its second year as the exclusive festival wine and spirits provider.

The festival is hosted by the American Lung Association, with proceeds going to support the organization’s lifesaving mission in Florida and beyond.

“The Las Olas Wine and Food Festival combines the best of Broward’s food scene with an unmatched wine and spirit line-up,” says Hernan Millan, chair-elect of the American Lung Association’s South Florida Local Leadership Board. “We believe our attendees keep coming back year after year because they’re doing good while having fun.”

Millan says that 100 percent of the event proceeds go towards research, community-based support programs for the 2.7 million Floridians living with lung disease and advocacy efforts to ensure clean air for all.

Festival attendees will enjoy food samples from more than 40 local restaurants and sips of over 200 wines from domestic and international wineries. Participating restaurants include American Social, New River Café and Bakery, The Alchemist Café, Timpano Las Olas, The Wilder and Palm Room, with additional restaurants to be announced. There also will be entertainment, including live music, DJs, dancing and interactive experiences.

“This is one of the premier wine, spirits and food festivals in South Florida,” says Riley Burke, senior director of trade development at Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, the presenting sponsor of the event. “When we saw the opportunity to partner with a great charity like the American Lung Association, we felt like it was a great opportunity to give back.”

Sponsors include City & Shore magazine, the Las Olas Co., Memorial Healthcare System, Las Olas Association and the Blackstone Agency. Riverside Hotel is the event’s host hotel.

Jennifer Lett / Sun SentinelFestival goers wait in between pavilions to begin their wine and food tasting experience at the Las Olas Wine and Wine Festival in Fort Lauderdale Jennifer Lett South Florida Sun Sentinel

Tickets are $160 for general admission, which includes access to the main tasting pavilions and is all-inclusive of food and beverage, or $250 for VIP admission, which includes general admission benefits plus access to the VIP Kick Off Party at the Riverside Hotel from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.; access to the main festival tasting pavilions starting at 7 p.m. and a new elevated wine experience. Tickets can be purchased at LasOlasWFF.com.

For information, call 954-727-0907 or visit LasOlasWFF.com.

By ANITA SNOW (Associated Press)

The one thing 9-year-old Cal Clifford wanted more than anything since he was a toddler was a pet octopus.

The boy’s family in rural Edmond, Oklahoma, humored him with toy versions of an eight-legged mollusk, but as Cal got older it became clear that only the real thing would do.

The child’s father, 36-year-old dentist Cameron Clifford, researched the possibility with a local aquarium store and before long Terrance the California two-spot octopus, also known as a bimac, was living in a watery enclosure at the family home southwest of Oklahoma City.

“We really like to encourage our children’s interests,” said the older Clifford. “It’s magical to see a kid embrace their dreams and bring them to fruition. Cal has been infatuated with the natural world and with marine biology since he was very little.”

A popular TikTok saga was launched with the father narrating the tale of Terrance the cephalopod, using a faux British accent generated by the social media app. Eventually, hundreds of thousands of people were following.

Within weeks, the tale took an surprise twist when it was learned Terrance was actually a female as it laid some 50 eggs that the family initially assumed were unfertilized. Several weeks after that, teeny near-transparent octopus babies began hatching and were given names like Rocket Larry, Squid Cudi, Swim Shady, Jay-Sea and Sea-Yoncé

Cal had burst into tears at the family dinner table when his father first announced that the local aquarium store had told him adopting an octopus would be possible.

Father and son together researched what was needed, deciding on a saltwater tank and water cycling system and ensuring they would be able to source food for the soft-bodied sea creature.

The family’s younger son Lyle and mom Kari also joined the project in their own ways. A family friend who is a reptile scientist has provided support and advice.

While female octopuses usually die soon after laying their eggs, Clifford said Terrance remains alive four months later.

Clifford said the family has gained much from the experience.

“Aside from the physical, financial and emotional requirements of owning a species such as a bimac, you will learn a lot about yourself in the process,” the Arizona-born Clifford told TikTok followers in his app-generated accent. “There’s always some valve or seal that’s not completely closed, and your storm resistant carpet isn’t rated for gallons and gallons of seawater. You’ll learn that seawater and electricity don’t always get along.”

“You will learn new things and meet incredible people and will learn that wildlife is magnificent,” he added. “But most of all, you’ll learn to love a not-so-tiny octopus like Terrance.”

UCF had about 50 recruits on hand Friday night at the Knights’ annual spring game, and several local players expressed their interest in possibly playing at the Bounce House one day.

One of those interested onlookers was Ethan Pritchard, a standout linebacker at Seminole High who is currently committed to FSU.

“I’m 100 percent committed, but I’m exploring right now,” Pritchard said.

Pritchard, who is currently ranked as the No. 7 prospect in the Sentinel’s 2025 Central Florida recruiting rankings, said it’s possible that he could consider joining the Seminole pipeline to UCF.

That pipeline has run quite freely in recent years, bringing in players such as new Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Gabe Davis and former cornerback Bam Moore  as well as current players in twin defensive backs Demari Henderson and Ja’Cari Henderson along with tight end Jordan Davis — Gabe’s brother — and linebacker Kam Moore, Bam’s brother.

“I could definitely see myself playing here [UCF],” Pritchard said Friday night. “I really like coach [Ted] Roof and how they rotate in the linebackers and everybody gets playing time. I’m really liking it.”

The Seminole pipeline is certainly intriguing.

“Of course. There are players here who I played with my freshman year, so most definitely it would be real fun to be playing with them,” Pritchard said.

He said the twins are in his ear quite often.

“Yeah, they don’t really pressure me or anything like that, but they put it out there every now and then,” Pritchard said. “They’re always saying, ‘You know where home’s at,’ stuff like that. … but they don’t really press me.”

He said staying close to home is certainly appealing.

“Yeah, I want everybody in my family to see me play,” Pritchard said.

A few other top targets for the Knights are a pair of 2026 linebackers in Kingston Shaw of Apopka, and Michael McClenton of Ocoee.

UCF target Kingston Shaw, a 2026 linebacker from Apopka, is going to be the next big thing for the Blue Darters. (Chris Hays/Orlando Sentinel)

Shaw, with his size at 6-foot-4, 225 pounds and growing, will likely end up as a rush end in college and has the speed and athleticism to play anywhere around the defensive edges, whether that is at defensive end or outside linebacker.

“I’m really liking UCF,” Shaw said. “It’s a nice, close proximity to home, a good environment and I have a couple of former teammates I played with who are now at UCF .. I feel good about it.”

Players like sophomores defensive end Kaven Call and cornerback Nikai Martinez.

“Yeah, Kaven has been saying things like, ‘So, you coming to UCF?” Shaw laughed. “I definitely could see myself here [at UCF]. All my family could come over. It would be really cool.”

Shaw missed two games last year, but had 56 tackles, six tackles per game. He is but a blip on the recruiting radar, but he is surely soon to blow up and is the next big star out of Apopka.

“Recruiting is going really well right now and it’s just about to ramp up come spring,” Shaw said. “The first thing, overall [coaches say] I pass the eye test. They like my size, my speed, the way I play on the field.

“I’m really looking forward to this next season. I’m really gonna have to step up as a leader. We have a really nice schedule and we play a lot of tough reams. I feel really confident, though.”

Being the next big thing for the Darters could place pressure on Shaw’s shoulders, but he shrugs it off.

“It’s not really pressure when you’re confident,” Shaw said. “I’ve already been prepared for it by people prior, so I have just developed as a leader. It’s really just passing the baton. That’s it.”

UCF target Michael McClenton, a 2026 linebacker at Ocoee, averaged 20 tackles per game last season. (Chris Hays/Orlando Sentinel.)

McClenton, 6-foot, 220 pounds, has not been offered by UCF yet, but he is certainly interested in staying home. He said of all schools he would consider, UCF is at the top of his list.

Despite averaging 20 tackles per game, easily an Ocoee record, McClenton is not on the radar of most recruiting boards. His size will hamper him a bit as he tries to gain attention, and that lack of attention can sometimes be confusing, if not frustrating.

McClenton, however, says frustrated is not a word that would describe him.

“As long as you trust in God, he knows when my time is coming and he will let me know when that time is here,” said McClenton, who has one Football Bowl Subdivision scholarship offer from Marshall. “Right now I’m just an under-sized kid and that’s why a lot of schools look over me, but at the end of the day, it’s all about who plays football … who makes plays.

“Once they catch on to that, my recruiting will pick up.”

He said he could see himself playing at UCF and staying home would be nice, but being close to home will not determine his decision.

“It’s important, but it’s not a need. I really like [UCF] and I really like the coaches and the way they showed me love,” McClenton said. “I like the way they play their linebackers and their defensive scheme, and their coaching staff, the way they show the recruits, and love to me and my family. … and how together they are as a family.”

Chris Hays covers high school and college football, as well as college football recruiting. He can be found on X @OS_ChrisHays. He can be reached via email at chays@orlandosentinel.com.

MIAMI — Erik Spoelstra routinely stresses how his Miami Heat relish a challenge.

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They now have one, a Wednesday night NBA play-in road game against Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and the Philadelphia 76ers.

Win that, and it’s on to the first round of the NBA playoffs against the No. 2 New York Knicks. Lose that, and for the second year in a row there will be a winner-take-all game at Kaseya Center, this time on Friday night against the winner of Tuesday night’s Chicago Bulls-Atlanta Hawks game.

That made Sunday about far more than the Heat’s 118-103 rout of the Toronto Raptors at Kaseya Center to close out the regular season.

“Looking forward to it,” Spoelstra said of the matchup against the 76ers. “It’ll be a great environment. Philly’s been playing fantastic recently. So we know what to expect up there. What we say is it’s for competitors only, and it should be a lot of fun.”

With some outside help Sunday, the Heat could have avoided such a challenging scenario.

Now there is the cold, hard reality for a team that played Sunday in the injury absences of Terry Rozier and Duncan Robinson, and then lost Kevin Love in the first half with an arm injury.

“We’ve just got to win,” forward Jimmy Butler said of the opportunity to right an uneven season. “If you quiet the noise, everything else takes care of itself.”

With most of the Heat starters pulled in the third period, the Heat got 17  points apiece from Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo and 15 from Butler. There also were 18 points apiece from Thomas Bryant and Jaime Jaquez Jr.

“I can sense this team is ready,” Spoelstra said. “That is all you can ask for.”

Five Degrees of Heat from Sunday’s game:

1. Playoff race: Despite finishing with two more victories than last season, when they closed the record season in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, the Heat this time saw 46-36 only good enough for eighth place.

The Heat wound up closing Sunday in the same place they started the day, with the Orlando Magic, Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers all winning. A loss by any of the three would have moved the Heat up the standings.

“It’s not ideal,” Herro said of entering the playoffs in eighth place, “but we’re here.”

So it will be on to Philadelphia for Wednesday’s 7 p.m. play-in game. The winner of that game will receive the No. 7 playoff seed and a trip to New York.

Should the Heat lose that game, they would host the winner of the Nos. 9-10 Chicago Bulls-Atlanta Hawks in a Friday play-in game at Kaseya Center for the No. 8 seed and a best-of-seven first-round playoff series against the No. 1 Boston Celtics.

The Heat closed the season 2-2 against the 76ers, who finished one game ahead in the standings by virtue of Sunday’s victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

“We know what we’re stepping into,” Herro said. “It won’t be easy, but it’s a challenge us competitors we are looking forward to.”

The NBA announced Sunday that if the Heat win Wednesday, a first-round series against New York would open Saturday. If the Heat lose Wednesday but win Friday against the winner of Bulls/Hawks, the Heat’s first-round series against the Celtics would open Sunday. Times have yet to be announced.

2. Game flow: The first quarter ended tied 24-24, with a 43-point second quarter then pushing the Heat to a 67-46 halftime lead.

The Heat then pushed their lead to 26 in the third quarter before taking a 94-71 lead into the fourth.

The Raptors, with nothing to play for on Sunday, already locked into lottery seeding in what closed as a 25-57 season, were without RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, among others.

“I feel good about the group,” Spoelstra said, with the Heat winning seven of their final 10 games. “That’s all I wanted to see the last couple of games.”

So onward, with what Adebayo said is confidence.

“This is the time of the year, backs are against the wall, you start to find out who everybody is,” he said.

3. Moment seized: With the Heat down 35-34 in the second period, Butler apparently had seen enough.

He then scored on consecutive layups and a jumper for six consecutive Heat points, shaking out immediately afterward, with the Heat up five on the way to pushing their lead to 17 during that run.

Butler, who wound up playing 24 minutes, closed the first half with 13 points and five rebounds.

“I’m straight,” Butler said, when asked how he felt going into the postseason. “I’m good. We all are.”

4. Love leaves: Kevin Love went to the locker room late in the first quarter, after consulting on the Heat bench with trainer Wes Brown, eventually diagnosed with a game-ending contusion to his upper left arm.

With Nikola Jovic and Haywood Highsmith already with two fouls, Bryant then entered with 22.8 seconds left in the opening period, his first action in eight games.

Love closed scoreless in his 3:15, his only attempt an errant 3-point shot.

It was Love’s eighth game back after missing 16 with a bruised right heel.

“He got hit in the arm, like a stinger,” Spoelstra said. “So we’ll see how he feels tomorrow.”

5. Wright stuff: With the Heat’s wing rotation debilitated with the absences of Rozier and Robinson, Delon Wright got the call over Patty Mills in the rotation.

Wright closed with 11 points and five steals in 28:19, possibly to retain a rotation role if the Heat remain shorthanded on the wing.

“It takes the right pros to sign up for that,” Spoelstra said of Wright’s uncertain minutes. “And that’s why we like the guys that we have, Delon has been a shorter sample size, but he’s played winning basketball.”

MIAMI (AP) — Marcell Ozuna hit a three-run homer off Tanner Scott with two outs in the ninth inning, and the Atlanta Braves beat Miami 9-7 on Sunday to take two of three from the Marlins.

Atlanta wasted a 5-1 lead and fell behind 7-5 in the sixth when Jesús Sánchez hit a tying RBI single with two outs against Charlie Morton and scored on Nick Gordon’s two-run homer off Dylan Lee.

Ozuna hit an RBI double in the seventh against Anthony Bender. Then in the ninth, Ronald Acuña Jr. singled off Scott (0-3) leading off, Matt Olson walked on four pitches with two outs and Ozuna drove a slider with an 0-2 count to center for his seventh home run this season.

“I just wanted to make good contact and tie the game because Ronny was at second,” Ozuna said. “Any bloop or base hit I could get and Ronny scores and it’s tie game.”

Ozuna, who spent the first five seasons of his career in Miami, went 7 for 12, homered twice and had eight RBIs in the series.

“This is the place that I grew up and this is the team that gave me the opportunity as a professional baseball player,” Ozuna said. “This is basically my hometown. Every time I come here, I feel good.”

Scott retired Ozuna on a double-play grounder to close Miami’s win Saturday.

“I didn’t execute my pitch. I threw a bad pitch and it all falls on me,” Scott said. “I should have gotten the guy before him. That’s my mistake.”

Adam Duvall also homered for the Braves. A.J. Minter (2-1) pitched a perfect eighth and Raisel Iglesias got three straight outs for his third save.

“These guys are amazing,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “If you keep within a run or so, you’ve got a pretty good chance. It was a tough, well-fought game.”

Third baseman Jake Burger, who leads Miami with 15 RBIs, left in the third inning because of a left oblique strain. Miami dropped to 3-13.

“The way they fought was so encouraging because if they do that throughout the year, you’ll get more wins than losses,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “That’s tough. It’s going to eat at them tonight, no doubt.”

Morton gave up six runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts.

“I think they jumped me early in a couple of counts,” Morton said. “They got some pitches to hit and put barrel on the ball. There were a couple of mistakes that I made in counts and I paid for them.”

Jesús Luzardo allowed five runs and seven hits in five innings. Bryan De La Cruz also homered for the Marlins.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Marlins: INF Tim Anderson entered in the sixth after missing two games because of an illness and struck out leading off the ninth. Anderson replaced Vidal Brujan, who exited because of right knee soreness.

UP NEXT

Braves: RHP Darius Vines makes his season debut at Houston after pitching 12 innings with a 3.75 ERA for Triple-A Gwinnett. RHP Spencer Arrighetti (0-1, 21.00) starts for the Astros.

Marlins: LHP A.J. Puk (0-3, 5.91) will start Monday’s opener of a three-game series against visiting San Francisco and LHP Kyle Harrison (1-1, 4.76).

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

MIAMI -– Observations and other notes of interest from Sunday’s 118-103 victory over the Toronto Raptors:

– Because, yes, it’s always something.

– So this time Kevin Love lost in the first half with an arm injury.

– With the Heat already without Terry Rozier and Duncan Robinson.

– And no clarity of when either of those two will return.

– Say all you want about the Heat’s depth, but that is a lot to be lacking entering the postseason.

– With all due respect to the energy of Thomas Bryant, he does not bring the spacing or rebounding that Love can deliver.

– The prime postseason difference this year might have to be Tyler Herro.

– Who was lost one game into last season’s playoffs.

– Where have you gone Max Strus and Gabe Vincent?

– If no Robinson, Love’s 3-point shooting grows more important.

– And it could again mean Nikola Jovic at backup center.

– And so like all things Heat this season . . . we wait.

– The injury report again nothing short of a Heat lifeline at this stage.

– With Rozier and Robinson again out, the Heat again opened with Bam Adebayo, Jovic, Jimmy Butler, Herro and Caleb Martin.

– Herro extended his personal-record streak of games with at least one 3-pointer to 34 games.

– With his fifth rebound, Adebayo surpassed his previous single-season high of 735 that he had in 2019-20.

– With RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, among others, sidelined for Toronto, the Raptors opened with a lineup of Ochai Agbaji, Gradey Dick, Kelly Olynyk, Gary Trent Jr. and Javon Freeman-Liberty.

– Jaime Jaquez Jr. was first off the Heat bench.

– Haywood Highsmith Jr. followed, when Jovic was called for his second foul with 4:29 left in the first period.

– With Love (briefly) making it eight deep.

– And then Delon Wright finishing off the primary Sunday rotation.

– Again playing ahead of Patty Mills.

– Eventually the primary rotation went 10 deep, with Bryant entering when Love went to the locker room late in the opening period

– Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said pregame he did not plan on scoreboard watching.

– “I don’t even know whether they put the other scores,” he said, with Kaseya Center lacking an out-of-town scoreboard.

– Spoelstra added, “The good thing I like about this is everybody’s playing at one o’clock. That’s the way it should be. We’ll know by the time we get out of here and into the South Florida night, we’ll know what our scenario is.”

– Of whether his team is ready for the postseason and a potential repeat of last year’s underdog run to the NBA Finals, Spoelstra said, “We’ll find out. The playoffs always let you know. We’re excited about it. You always think that we have a great opportunity in front of us.”

– The Heat ended the season 11-0 when Duncan Robinson scores 20 or more.

– Adebayo addressed the crowd pregame, saying, “Thank you for coming out to every game and supporting us, and continue to support us.”

By ZEKE MILLER and MICHELLE L. PRICE (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States on Sunday highlighted its role in helping Israel thwart Iran’s aerial attack as President Joe Biden convened leaders of the Group of Seven countries in an effort to prevent a wider regional escalation and coordinate a global rebuke of Tehran.

The U.S. assisted Israel in shooting down dozens of drones and missiles fired by Iran on Saturday in what was the first time it had launched a direct military assault on Israel. Israeli authorities said 99% of the inbound weapons were shot down without causing any significant damage.

U.S. officials said that despite the high interception rate, Iran’s intent was to “destroy and cause casualties” and that if successful, the strikes would have caused an “uncontrollable” escalation across the Mideast. U.S. officials said Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an effort to contain tensions, that Washington would not participate in any offensive action against Iran, and the president made “very clear” to Netanyahu “that we do have to think carefully and strategically” about risks of escalation.

The push to encourage Israel to show restraint mirrored ongoing American efforts to curtail Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, which is now in its seventh month, and to do more to protect civilian lives in the territory.

While the U.S. and its allies were preparing for days for such an attack, the launches were at the “high end” of what was anticipated, according to the officials, who were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.

At one point, at least 100 ballistic missiles from Iran were in the air simultaneously with just minutes of flight time to Israel, the officials said. Biden and senior officials monitored the firings and interception attempts in real time in the White House Situation Room. The officials said there was “relief” in the room once they saw that the missile defense efforts had succeeded.

The Pentagon said U.S. Central Command and European Command forces destroyed more than 80 attack drones and at least six ballistic missiles intended to strike Israel from Iran and Yemen.

“At my direction, to support the defense of Israel, the U.S. military moved aircraft and ballistic missile defense destroyers to the region over the course of the past week,” Biden said in a statement late Saturday. “Thanks to these deployments and the extraordinary skill of our servicemembers, we helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles.”

Administration officials said the call demonstrated that despite differences over the war in Gaza, the U.S. commitment to Israel’s defense was “ironclad” and that the U.S. would mount a similar effort again if needed.

The officials rejected the notion that Iran intentionally gave Israel and the U.S. time to prepare for an attack, but said they took advantage of the time Iran needed before it was ready to launch the assault to prepare their response. The officials said Iran passed word to the U.S. while the attack was unfolding late Saturday that what was seen was the totality of their response. The message was sent through the Swiss government since the two countries don’t have direct diplomatic ties.

Biden, in a Saturday evening call with Netanyahu, urged that Israel claim victory for its defense prowess as the president aimed to persuade America’s closest Middle East ally not to undertake a larger retaliatory strike against Iran, the officials said.

“I told him that Israel demonstrated a remarkable capacity to defend against and defeat even unprecedented attacks — sending a clear message to its foes that they cannot effectively threaten the security of Israel,” Biden said in his statement after the call.

Biden had a call Sunday with Jordan’s King Abdullah II in which the king said any “escalatory measures” by Israel would lead to a broader conflict in the region, according to the Royal Court. The White House said the situation in Gaza was discussed, and the leaders reaffirmed their cooperation “to find a path to end the crisis as soon as possible.”

The president also spoke with some of the U.S. forces involved in shooting down the Iranian drones.

Later Sunday, Biden spoke with the leaders of the House and Senate, emphasizing the urgent need for the House to pass additional wartime funding for Israel and Ukraine.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke Sunday with foreign ministers from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey to underscore the “importance of avoiding escalation and coordinating on a diplomatic response,” a department spokesman said.

After the G7 videoconference Sunday, the leaders issued a joint statement “unequivocally condemning in the strongest terms” the direct attack by Iran while expressing “our full solidarity and support to Israel” and reaffirming “our commitment towards its security.”

The group of advanced democracies — the U.S., Italy, Japan, Germany, France, Britain and Canada — also said that Iran, “with its actions, has further stepped toward the destabilization of the region and risks provoking an uncontrollable regional escalation.” They said their nations “stand ready to take further measures now and in response to further destabilizing initiatives.”

A senior U.S. administration official said some of the countries discussed listing Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization and unlocking further sanctions against Tehran, though no final decisions were made.

The Israel-Hamas war was referenced in the G7 statement, with the leaders saying they will bolster “our cooperation to end the crisis in Gaza, including by continuing to work towards an immediate and sustainable ceasefire and the release of hostages by Hamas, and deliver increased humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in need.”

The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting Sunday to discuss the attack. “Now is the time to defuse and de-escalate,” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said. “Now is the time for maximum restraint.”

Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan called the attack “an unprecedented escalation,” while Iranian Ambassador Saeid Iravani said, “Iran’s operation was entirely in the exercise of Iran’s inherent right to self-defense.”

After the meeting ended without any council action, U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood said, “There has to be a Security Council response to what happened last night.”

The U.S. and Israel had been bracing for an attack for days after Iran said it would retaliate for a suspected Israeli strike this month on an Iranian consular building in Syria that killed 12 people, including two senior Iranian generals in the Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, criticized the White House for “leaking it to the press” that Biden told Netanyahu to take the win and not retaliate.

Rubio told CNN’s “State of the Union” that it was “part of the White House’s efforts to appease” people calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.

__

AP writer Michael Weissenstein at the United Nations contributed.

MIAMI — With the absence of Terry Rozier now continuing for a week, the Miami Heat guard moved forward with imaging on what has been listed as neck spasms.

Initially believed to be the result of travel and sleep, concern with the neck grew to the point where the guard acquired in January from the Charlotte Hornets underwent additional testing.

Sunday’s season finale against the Toronto Raptors at Kaseya marked the fourth consecutive game missed for Rozier, who initially was limited by the neck issue in last week’s critical road loss to the Indiana Pacers.

The current approach with Rozier, who has moved beyond much of the discomfort, is a course of anti-inflammatories, as the Heat turn to postseason mode amid the uncertainty.

Still in question is the timing for a potential return.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Rozier remains day-to-day.

“We will give you an update when we get one,” Spoelstra said before Sunday’s game.

The Heat also remained without guard Duncan Robinson, who on Sunday missed his fourth consecutive game due to the recurrence of the back issue that previously had him out five games before he returned for five games.

Robinson had been upgraded to questionable prior to Sunday’s change in status.

Of Rozier and Robinson, Spoelstra said, “It’s been good for both of them. Both those guys, their bodies will let us know. They’re making progress. I know how bad both want to be out here right now. But we’ll just continue to treat them.”

Roster copacetic

The Heat did not make any additional moves by Sunday’s final NBA personnel deadline.

That will have the same 15-player standard roster in place for the postseason.

That, in turn, made Sunday the final day of eligibility for two-way players Cole Swider, Jamal Cain and Alondes Williams. Players on two-way contracts are ineligible for the postseason.

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Swider, Cain and Wiliams will become restricted free agents this summer if the Heat exercise qualifying offers. All three are on expiring contracts.

That leaves the Heat with a playoff roster of Bam Adebayo, Thomas Bryant, Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro,  Haywood Highsmith, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jovic, Kevin Love, Caleb Martin, Patty Mills, Duncan Robinson, Orlando Robinson, Delon Wright, Rozier and Josh Richardson, who is out following season-ending shoulder surgery.

The long road

Spoelstra was asked before Sunday’s game whether his team’s path from Game 1 to Sunday’s Game 82 had prepared his team for the postseason.

“The playoffs will let us know,” he said. “But we’ve certainly experienced a lot together, that’s for sure. It’s been an eventful season and many different things have happened.

“But I think as long as your team approaches all those experiences the right way, you’re gaining something from it and developing some collective grit and toughness. And all of that, it definitely can be a benefit. And we’ll find out.”

Veteran experience

Spoelstra also spoke pregame of roster continuity and having the presence of playoff-tested veterans on his postseason roster.

“I think, in general, our overall experience is high, and that’s one of the positives with this group,” he said, “We have a lot of corporate knowledge of how we want to play and we’ve had a lot of playoff games together, with our core guys.

“Those guys have been in a lot of playoff moments, home and away, that tends to matter in this league. It doesn’t guarantee anything, obviously. But you can turn to that when you have a lot of moving parts during the regular season, you know that the core group has been together for a long time.”

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB (Associated Press)

BEIRUT (AP) — Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel early Sunday marked a change in approach for Tehran, which had relied on proxies across the Middle East since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October. All eyes are now on whether Israel chooses to take further military action, while Washington seeks diplomatic measures instead to ease regional tensions.

Iran says the attack was in response to an airstrike widely blamed on Israel that destroyed what Iran says were consular offices in Syria and killed two generals with its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard earlier this month.

Israel said almost all the over 300 drones and missiles launched overnight by Iran were shot down by its anti-missile defense system, backed by the U.S. and Britain. The sole reported casualty was a wounded girl in southern Israel, and a missile struck an Israeli airbase, causing light damage.

Still, the chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard called the operation successful.

Iran has managed to strike a balance between retaliating publicly for the strike in Damascus and avoiding provoking further Israeli military action leading to a much wider conflict, said Mona Yacoubian, vice president of the Middle East and North Africa center at the U.S. Institute of Peace.

“Both (Iran and Israel) are able at this point to claim victory and step down off the precipice, particularly since there were no Israeli civilians killed,” Yacoubian said.

The world was still waiting, however, for the result of an Israeli War Cabinet meeting on Sunday. Israeli hard-liners have pushed for a response, but others have suggested restraint, saying Israel should focus on strengthening budding ties with Arab partners.

“We will build a regional coalition and collect the price from Iran, in the way and at the time that suits us,” said Benny Gantz, a member of the War Cabinet.

Analysts say Iran sent a message that it would be willing to escalate and change its rules of engagement in its shadow war with Israel.

“It’s a warning shot, saying that if Israel breaks the rules, there are consequences,” said Magnus Ranstorp, strategic adviser at the Swedish Defense University.

Iran’s attack has further stoked fears of the war in Gaza causing regional havoc.

But Iran maintains that it does not seek all-out war across the region. Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that Iran has “no intention of continuing defensive operations” at this point unless it is attacked.

Iran stressed that it targeted Israeli facilities involved in the Damascus attack, not civilians or “economic areas.”

After Israel began its offensive in Gaza against Hamas, Iran-backed groups were involved militarily while Tehran sat on the sidelines. Lebanon’s Hezbollah group fired rockets into northern Israel. Yemen’s Houthi rebels attacked Western ships on the Red Sea. An umbrella group of Iran-backed Iraqi militias attacked U.S. military positions in Iraq and Syria.

Now, Tehran is “willing to up the ante” without relying on proxies, said the director of the Carnegie Middle East Center, Maha Yahya.

Still, Iran only went so far.

“They gave enough warning that this was coming, and I think they knew that they (the drones and missiles) would be brought down before they reached Israeli territory,” Yahya said.

She also noted that the recent mounting pressure on Israel over its conduct in Gaza has now shifted to deescalating regional tensions instead.

Israel taking further military action does not seem popular among its allies including the United States, said Eldad Shavit, who heads the Israel-U.S. Research Program at Israeli think tank the Institute for National Security Studies.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby told NBC that President Joe Biden does not want an escalation in the regional conflict or a “wider war” with Iran, and is “working on the diplomatic side of this personally.”

Urgent meetings of the G7 — the informal gathering of industrialized countries that includes the United States, United Kingdom, and France — and the U.N. Security Council were being held Sunday.

G7 meeting participants in a statement unanimously condemned Iran’s attack, saying “we stand ready to take further measures now and in response to further destabilizing initiatives.”

___

Associated Press writers Josef Federman in Jerusalem, Abby Sewell in Beirut, Amir Vahdat in Tehran and Thomas Adamson in Paris contributed to this report.

GAINESVILLE — Sam Alexis of Apopka will transfer to Florida from Chattanooga as third-year coach Todd Golden begins to rebuild the Gators’ roster following a 24-12 season.

Joe Tipton of On3.com first reported Alexis’ plans on the heels of a breakthrough sophomore season with the Mocs. A 6-foot-9, 225-pound power forward, Alexis averaged 10.8 points and 9.1 rebounds, shot 55% and blocked 70 shots to earn a spot on the Southern Conference All-Defense team in 2023-24.

Alexis will arrive with two seasons of eligibility and the opportunity to make an immediate impact as Golden pushes to replace veteran Tyrese Samuel, a Seton Hall transfer who averaged 13.9 points and 7.4 rebounds while recording 11 doubles-doubles — second most in the SEC — during his final season of eligibility.

Apopka player Sam Alexis (with ball) shoots against Windermere High at an Apopka High School varsity basketball game Jan. 25, 2022. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

Sophomore Aleks Szymczyk, a 6-foot-10, 250-pound forward, also will transfer, according to Jacob Rudner of 247 Sports. The native of Frankfurt, Germany broke his foot during the offseason after he averaged 2.1 points and 1.3 rebounds and 7.8 minutes in 14 appearances in 2022-23.

Meanwhile, 7-foot-1 center Micah Handlogten faces a long recovery period after he sustained a compound fracture of his lower left leg against Auburn March 17 during the opening minutes of the SEC Tournament title game.

Golden also must replace Cal-Riverside transfer point guard Zyon Pullin, who set a single-season school record with a 3.77 assist-to-turnover ratio, and Riley Kugel, a former Dr. Phillips standout who transferred to Kansas after a disappointing sophomore season.

Leading scorer Walter Clayton Jr. announced he’ll explore his NBA options but has until June 16 to decide whether to remain eligible for the draft — scheduled for 10 days later.

Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. transferred from St. Johns in 2023 to join the Gators, who finished 24-12 and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

The 6-foot-3, 195-pound junior from Lake Wales led the team with a 17.6 scoring average, the most since Anthony Roberson averaged 17.9 in 2003-04, and closed with season-high 33 points during a 102-100 loss to Colorado on March 22 in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

The Gators reached the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2021 after Golden added nine players last offseason.

Shooting guard Isaiah Brown of Orlando Christian Prep committed to the  Golden’s 2024 class. The 6-foot-5 Brown, helped lead his team to a state runner-up finish in 2023-24.

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com

By LINDSEY BAHR (AP Film Writer)

Alex Garland’s provocative “ Civil War ” didn’t only ignite the discourse. The film also inspired audiences to go to the cinemas this weekend where it surpassed expectations and earned $25.7 million in ticket sales in North America, according to studio estimates Sunday.

It’s the biggest R-rated opening of the year to date and a record for A24, the studio behind films like “Everything Everywhere All At Once” and “The Iron Claw.” “Civil War” also unseated “ Godzilla x Kong ” from its perch atop the box office. The titan movie from Warner Bros. had held the No. 1 spot for the past two weekends.

“Civil War,” starring Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura and Cailee Spaeny as front-line journalists in the near future covering a devastating conflict in the U.S. and trying to make their way to Washington, D.C. The story, written by Garland, who is also the mind behind “Ex Machina” and “Annihilation,” imagines a U.S. in which California and Texas have united against a president who has disbanded the FBI and given himself a third term.

Though entirely fictional, “Civil War” has been inspiring debates since the first trailer that have extended beyond the musings of film critics and traditional reviews. This weekend, The New York Times ran two opinion pieces related to the movie, one by Stephen Marche and another by Michelle Goldberg. There were also pieces on CNN and Politico.

Going into the weekend, projections pegged the film to debut in the $15 to $24 million range. The studio said “Civil War” overperformed in markets “from LA to El Paso.” The data analytics company EntTelligence reported that the film has attracted over 1.7 million patrons this weekend and that the top three markets were Los Angeles, New York and Dallas.

“The title alone is enough to spark a conversation in a year where the political discourse is top of mind,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “And they couldn’t have picked a better date. This movie is perfectly timed in a month that is very quiet.”

The film opened on 3,838 screens in the U.S. and Canada, including IMAX. It’s the most expensive movie that the studio has ever made, with a production budget of $50 million, which does not account for millions spent on marketing and promotion.

IMAX showings of “Civil War,” which was playing on 400 of the large format screens, accounted for $4.2 million, or 16.5% of the domestic total.

Reviews have been largely positive. It’s currently at 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 77% audience score. Its CinemaScore was a B-, which has sometimes indicated that word of mouth might not be strong going forward. But that might not be the case with “Civil War,” which doesn’t have a tremendous amount of competition over the next few weeks until “The Fall Guy” opens on May 3.

“You have to take all the metrics together, including the competitive landscape,” Dergarabedian said.

But it is a notable win for the studio, which doesn’t always open films nationwide out of the gates. Before “Civil War,” A24’s biggest debut was the Ari Aster horror “Hereditary,” which opened to $13.6 million in 2018.

“This isn’t destined to be a $200 million global blockbuster. But it’s a very high-profile win for A24,” Dergarabedian said. “They’re a studio that pushes the envelope. They’re a brand associated with a certain level of quality and filmmaking expertise, pushing boundaries and taking risks. It’s well-earned over the years.”

Second place went to “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” which earned $15.5 million in its third weekend to bring its running domestic total to nearly $158 million. Another “Empire” movie, Sony’s “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” took third place in its fourth weekend with $5.8 million. It’s now at $160 million worldwide.

Rounding out the top five was Universal and DreamWorks’ “Kung Fu Panda 4,” in fourth with $5.5 million in weekend six, and “Dune: Part Two” with $4.3 million in its seventh weekend. “Dune 2” has now earned $272 million domestically.

This weekend also saw the box office year-to-date comparisons take a big hit. Last year, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” brought in over $92 million in its second weekend in theaters. On the same weekend in 2023, the top 10 accounted for over $142 million, compared to this year’s $68.4 million. The year to date is back down to 16% after seeing some recovery with the success of “Dune: Part Two.”

“The box office has been a seesaw,” Dergarabedian said. “But we all knew this was going to be a rough month for comps because of ‘Mario.’”

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. “Civil War,” $25.7 million.

2. “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” $15.5 million.

3. “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” $5.8 million.

4. “Kung Fu Panda 4,” $5.5 million.

5. “Dune: Part Two,” $4.3 million.

6. “Monkey Man,” $4.1 million.

7. “The First Omen,” $3.8 million.

8. “The Long Game,” $1.4 million.

9. “Shrek 2,” $1.4 million.

10. “SUGA – Agust D Tour ‘D-DAY’ The Movie,” $990,881.

General Daily Insight for April 14, 2024

Give up or fight on — it’s up to us! When the emotional Moon snaps at perfectionist Venus at 11:24 am EDT, criticisms can cut to the quick and injure our feelings. Later on, the Moon elevates dedicated Saturn, providing us with stable and grounded energy to pursue our goals and make real progress. Finally, the Moon trines fiery Mars, bringing us a burst of ambition and energy that comes from within. Let’s use how we feel to motivate ourselves to grow.

Aries

March 21 – April 19

You might be your own worst critic. This may be something that’s a common practice with you, or it may be something that comes after a rare failure that damaged your faith in yourself. While it can be easy to beat yourself up in the aftermath of an issue, you’ll be happier overall if you forgive yourself first. After that, you can figure out what changes will help you avoid future problems. Remember, every mistake is just a step closer to knowing what’s right!

Taurus

April 20 – May 20

Someone that you respect may unexpectedly chastise you. That being said, even if you didn’t expect them to come right out and say it, you were likely aware that an authority figure didn’t approve of some aspect of your life. While this can be discouraging, you’re not always going to agree, and that’s okay. You’re allowed to agree to disagree and continue to do what brings you joy. After all, you’re not the same person, so you’re not going to like all the same things!

Gemini

May 21 – June 20

You aren’t raining on anyone’s parade — but others might be acting as though you are. As you build security in life, whether through your finances or in your career, it’s sadly likely that your friend group is less than supportive of your recent dedication to chasing your goals or saving for the future. It could even be that they don’t approve of your plans or ideas at all, but this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t move forward. Prove the naysayers wrong!

Cancer

June 21 – July 22

The high standards of someone else may weigh on your day. Whether they hold themselves and everyone around them to these lofty standards or try to make an example of you after your behavior displeased them, their opinion likely won’t be relevant in the near future. What’s actually important is that you concentrate on listening to your dreams and making them come true, as the ambition and progress that you currently have access to might be for a limited time only.

Leo

July 23 – August 22

A mentor could have some tough love for you at the moment. This can be disheartening, especially if you look up to them, because criticism from them probably hits deeper than criticism from a peer or a stranger. It’s likely that they’re saying whatever they’re saying to you because they want you to grow from the place that you’re in now. It’s easy to get frustrated, but having a little more patience will go a long way with hearing and enacting constructive information.

Virgo

August 23 – September 22

Rumors and gossip could be taking on a life of their own. A peer is possibly telling tales about you, particularly if you haven’t been around a certain group of friends lately. This frenemy may attempt to take advantage of your connections or your talents — rather than trying to make similar success happen for themselves, they might be trying to take yours or to at least set you back. Remember, don’t stoop to their level! Just keep doing what you’re doing.

Libra

September 23 – October 22

You’re able to be a positive leader at present, but it can be difficult to assign any less popular tasks to those you’re leading. You probably want to make everyone around you happy! While this is sometimes possible, it’s more often extremely difficult, if not impossible, to find a solution that truly makes everyone happy. Instead of running yourself ragged in every direction at once, consider taking a few moments to highlight your health and ensure you’re running on all cylinders. Take care of yourself!

Scorpio

October 23 – November 21

Hidden enemies may unintentionally reveal themselves to you. This is likely to be through something that you learn about or from them — either information that they let slip while talking to you or gossip about you that they’ve been spreading that has made its way back to you through another source. This can be hurtful, but it also allows you to move forward with a clearer mind and without their efforts to hold you back. Let go of those who don’t support you.

Sagittarius

November 22 – December 21

Get accustomed to your own approval. You might be continuously looking to others for affirmation that you’re doing the right thing or are on the right track with art or your lifestyle. True, other perspectives can be valuable, but it’s a bad idea to avoid appreciating your perspective. Otherwise, you may find yourself lost in a maze of other people’s thoughts, potentially even alienated from yourself. Pay attention to what your heart is telling you, not only the opinions of others.

Capricorn

December 22 – January 19

A support system can bring you out of your shell. You could be struggling with being too insular — maybe you avoid working with others and feel like you have to do everything yourself in order to be taken seriously. While the desire to have an independent vision is understandable, it’s worth remembering that a lot of things take a village. Movie credits list more than just the director, after all! There is nothing wrong with collaborating. Just make sure you communicate your ideas.

Aquarius

January 20 – February 18

Being open to change can improve your current routine. While you may feel like it’s too much to alter long-held patterns or to memorize different habits, it’s important to at least make an effort to adapt to shifting circumstances. Attempting to stay in the past or refusing to leave a rut might leave you feeling stagnant, potentially even trapped in your own feedback loop. Making small, achievable edits and not pushing yourself too hard or fast are the keys to success.

Pisces

February 19 – March 20

You might be tempted to take risks you wouldn’t expect from yourself. This could be because you feel like others aren’t respecting your needs or are egging you on into risky behavior. It’s important to be aware of where this desire to go out on a limb is coming from. If it’s driven by others, especially others who don’t necessarily have your best interests at heart, it may be wise to step back and rethink this dicey decision. Time for a little risk/reward analysis!

By BECKY BOHRER and MEAD GRUVER (Associated Press)

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — President Joe Biden nudged further ahead in the Democratic nomination for reelection by winning party contests in Wyoming and Alaska.

As two of the least populated states, Alaska and Wyoming play minuscule roles in both intraparty and general election voting in presidential election years.

Biden effectively clinched the Democratic nomination on March 12 with the Georgia primary and is now all but certain to face former President Donald Trump as the Republican nominee in November.

ALASKA

Alaska Democrats held a voice vote for their party-run preference poll at in-person and virtual district meetings. The party announced Saturday that Biden won 15 pledged delegates.

Biden was the lone candidate eligible to receive votes after the other Democrat to qualify, Dean Phillips, suspended his campaign last month. The vote was held during meetings where other party business is conducted.

The polling was delayed a week. Democrats had planned a ranked vote election by mail on April 6 but those plans changed when only Biden and Phillips qualified for the ballot and when Phillips suspended his run.

Changes to their plan were approved by the Democratic National Committee.

There were no provisions for write-ins or uncommitted, said Lindsay Kavanaugh, the Alaska party’s executive director.

“There is no option to vote nay,” she said. “You can abstain. You don’t vote yes or no, you vote for a candidate.”

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The party proceeded with a vote, even with just one candidate, “to make sure we’re as inclusive as possible,” she said, and to avoid any inference that party leaders were deciding candidates themselves.

WYOMING

Biden won in Wyoming, where polling determined which candidate got the state’s 17 national delegates.

The caucuses also decided who goes to the state Democratic convention on June 1 in Casper. There, 13 of Wyoming’s national convention delegates will be chosen.

Wyoming’s other four “automatic” national delegates are the state party chairman, vice chair and two national committee people, who have not yet pledged for Biden or anyone else.

Gruver reported from Cheyenne, Wyoming.

By MARC BOWMAN (Associated Press)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Lionel Messi scored his fifth goal and added an assist and Luis Suárez tapped in the winner in the 71st minute as Inter Miami CF defeated Sporting Kansas City 3-2 on Saturday night in front of the third-largest crowd in MLS regular-season history.

Many of the 72,610 who filled Arrowhead Stadium to see Messi weren’t disappointed as he delivered deft passes to create scoring chances — and had a highlight-reel goal.

Messi’s left-footed blast from the top of the penalty arc pushed Miami CF (4-2-3) in front 2-1 in the 51st minute. It was his fourth straight MLS game with a goal.

“It was an amazing goal,” Miami midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi said. “He does this all the time, so it doesn’t surprise me at all. It’s normal from a guy like him.”

With Inter Miami CF trailing 1-0 in the 18th minute, Messi assisted on Diego Gómez’s first-touch right-footer in the middle of the box to tie it.

“The pass that Messi makes and the second goal, the ball that he hits where he hits it from, you don’t see that much in the MLS,” Sporting KC coach Peter Vermes said. “They can punish you.”

After a defensive mistake by Sporting KC, Suárez converted Gómez’s crossing pass inside the 6-yard box for the lead. It was Suárez’s team-leading sixth of the season and tied him for the league lead.

“We lost the ball three times,” Vermes said. “And they have the quality that when you do, they can punish you.”

Inter Miami CF leads the MLS in goals, with 19, and in assists, with 29.

Messi had an excellent chance in the 27th minute on a left-footer from 12 yards, but it was smothered by Kansas City’s Tim Melia.

Messi’s free kick in the 41st minute from 25 yards barely missed wide right.

“Unbelievable player and he can create something out of thin air,” Sporting KC forward Daniel Salloi said. “It was a great experience to play against these guys.”

Erik Thommy opened the scoring for Sporting KC (2-2-4) in the sixth minute on a 16-yard strike. He scored again in the 58th minute on a rebound off Salloi’s corner kick to tie it at 2.

Thommy’s goals were his second and third of the season — and first since opening day.

“I had to take the risk, on the corner,” Thommy said. “I had the confidence and had a good feeling.”

The crowd was 20,000 larger than the previous Sporting KC record set in 2010 during a friendly against Manchester United.

“The environment was out of this world fantastic,” Vermes said. “This was incredible.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Sporting KC midfielder Remy Walter left in first-half stoppage time with a lower leg injury.

UP NEXT

Inter Miami FC: hosts Nashville SC on April 20.

Sporting KC: hosts St. Louis City SC on April 20.

—

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

By TIM REYNOLDS (AP Sports Writer)

SUNRISE — All Florida needed was one point to ensure its postseason run would start at home. And once that task was done, Sam Reinhart decided to put an exclamation point on things.

Reinhart got his 55th goal of the season with 1:02 left in overtime, and the Panthers clinched home ice for at least Round 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs by beating the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 in the next-to-last regular-season game for both teams on Saturday.

“We’re excited about the challenge ahead,” Reinhart said. “It’s starting for real pretty soon. Do what you can to get home-ice advantage. That’s the beauty of playoffs; at the end of the day, it’s a battle, it’s a war, Game 1. And we’re looking forward to that.”

Reinhart took a pass from Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov and delivered the winner. Anton Lundell and Kevin Stenlund also scored for Florida, and Matthew Tkachuk had an assist — his 60th of the season, the third straight year he’s had that many.

Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 27 shots for Florida, getting the win in his 700th career game. He’s the 32nd goalie in league history to hit that milestone, and one of three still active.

“An incredible accomplishment,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said.

Tyson Jost and Jack Quinn scored for Buffalo, which got 39 saves from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. The Sabres got a point off Florida for only the second time in the teams’ last 11 meetings; they’re 1-9-1 in that span.

Florida had a 5-minute power play in the third after Buffalo defenseman Connor Clifton was given a match penalty for an illegal check to the head of Panthers’ center Nick Cousins. But the Panthers got nothing past Luukkonen, who stopped seven shots to preserve what was a 2-2 tie.

The Sabres came through with another penalty kill with the game on the line. Buffalo’s Alex Tuch took a high-sticking penalty with 34.9 seconds left in regulation. Florida didn’t get a shot on goal before the third period expired, then had a 4-on-3 advantage to begin overtime as the power play continued — and the Sabres thwarted them again.

“The penalty kill was very good and looked very confident,” Sabres coach Don Granato said.

The teams combined to score four goals — two for Florida, two for Buffalo — in a 6:49 span of the first period, all on seven combined shots. It was 2-2 by the midpoint of that opening period, making it seem like a wild one was brewing.

But there was no more scoring until the end.

Jost was credited with his first goal since Dec. 2 when he deflected a shot by Rasmus Dahlin past Bobrovsky at 2:59 of the first, ending Florida’s bid for a third straight shutout. Lundell tied it for Florida at 5:02, with Tkachuk getting one of the assists on that goal.

Stenlund scored short-handed about three minutes later, before Quinn knotted things up on the power play.

UP NEXT

Sabres: Visit Tampa Bay on Monday night in their season finale.

Panthers: Host Toronto on Tuesday night in their regular-season finale.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

GAINESVILLE — This timeless phenomenon is as old as college football itself:

Fans, almost without fail, will embrace the potential and promise of the future more than the steadiness and stability of the present.

They want to play with their new Buzz Lightyear action figure while casting old reliable Woody, the pull-string cowboy doll, into the deepest recesses of the toy box.

Who cares if Florida Gators senior quarterback Graham Mertz led the SEC with a 72.9% completion rate and had a 20-to-3 touchdown-to-interception comparison last year?

Who cares if he has 43 college starts on his resume?

Who cares if he has been the consummate leader on the field and in the locker room?

Doesn’t matter.

The common refrain among many in Gator Nation at Saturday’s spring game seemed to be:

It’s DJ time.

As in DJ Lagway, the five-star freshman and resident savior of Florida football.

Five-star freshman quarterback DJ Lagway scrambles during the Orange and Blue spring game Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.(Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

Here’s all you need to know about the hype surrounding Lagway in today’s brave new NIL world: On the day Gator Nation saw him perform for the first time during the Orange and Blue spring scrimmage, Lagway’s own clothing line of T-shirts, hats and hoodies debuted on UF’s campus.

That’s right.  Lagway has his own brand-new clothing line and Mertz might as well be the old pair of Levi’s in the bottom dresser drawer. And what’s beautiful about it is that Mertz doesn’t care. He seems unfazed by the buzz and bustle surrounding Lagway. In fact, Mertz is not treating Lagway as a competitor; he’s treating him as an understudy.

“One thing about Graham, he is confident, he is humble, and he’s a great teammate,” Florida coach Billy Napier said after Mertz drove his Blue team for a game-winning field goal and a 19-17 victory over the Orange on Saturday. “He’s got awareness. He’s got 43 starts. He’s been through the highs and lows. He’s doing everything that he can to help DJ – not only teaching him the football part but setting the example every day of how to prepare, how to approach meetings, the self-discipline of how to take care of your body, how to study film.”

And then Napier made a bold prediction.

“I think we’re going to look back and we’re going to say that one of the best things that happened to the University of Florida is Graham Mertz came back for another year while DJ Lagway was a true freshman. It’s going to benefit both guys.”

As much as anyone, Mertz knows what Lagway is going through. He was a similarly hyped five-star prospect coming out of high school when he signed with Wisconsin five years ago but had an uneven career with the Badgers before transferring to UF before last season.

Amid the barrage of criticism Napier receives, can we at least acknowledge that Mertz has been his most impressive achievement? Not only is he UF’s unquestioned starting quarterback going into the season, he is the team’s most respected player.

“He’s the most important dude on the team,” star receiver Eugene “Trey” Wilson said. “You can’t have your head down around Graham. He brings motivation. He brings joy.”

He also brings accountability. Even though he was the least of Florida’s problems last season, Mertz says it is unacceptable that he was the starting quarterback on a team that finished 5-7 in 2023. That’s why Mertz came back for one more year at UF and has unofficially declared the team mantra this season to be “Unfinished Business.”

“We won five games [last year],” Mertz said bluntly. “We all know what we put out there [last season] and we all know that’s not what Florida football is about. That’s what keeps us waking up every day fired up and ready to get to work.”

Not that spring-game statistics really mean anything, but Mertz was 15-of-27 for 241 yards on Saturday, including a 60-yard TD pass to Wilson. Meanwhile, Lagway was 12-of-21 for 173 yards, but when he hit Aidan Mizell for a 22-yard TD, you’d have thought the Gators had just beaten Georgia in the College Football Playoff. A roar went up from the estimated crowd of 48,000 fans, and Orlando Sentinel colleague Edgar Thompson, sitting next to me in the pressbox, said: “I’ve got two words for you: Quarterback controversy.”

Thompson said it somewhat jokingly, but I’ll guarantee you this isn’t any laughing matter to many Gators fans who would like nothing better than to see Lagway trot out onto the field as the starting quarterback when the Gators open the season against Miami.

Lagway, in case you’ve been in a cocoon over the last year-and-a-half, is the five-star Texas recruit who committed to Napier’s Gators in December 2022 and has been hailed as UF’s salvation ever since.

Lagway threw for 4,604 yards and 58 touchdowns during his senior season at Willis High School and ran for another 957 yards and 16 touchdowns. His signing, as you would expect, set Gator Nation ablaze with excitement. His arm strength, speed and raw talent make Lagway the most hyped QB prospect in Gainesville since Timothy Richard Tebow himself.

Ideally, Napier would like to bring Lagway along much like Urban Meyer prepared  Tebow during his freshman season in 2006. Chris Leak started for the Gators during that campaign and led the Gators to the national championship while Tebow was given a limited package of plays — mostly in short-yardage situations. Tebow completed just 22 passes during his freshman season although he did run for 469 yards.

But Meyer had that luxury. He was the hottest coaching candidate in the country when the Gators hired him, won nine games in his first season and had a loaded roster (left behind by former UF coach Ron Zook) coming back for his second season.

In contrast, Napier inherited a mess of a team, has had two consecutive losing seasons and might be on the hottest seat in the country as he enters his third season. How hot is Napier’s seat? There were actually media members on Saturday questioning Napier’s spring-game play-calling.

This sort of scrutiny is why it would be foolish for Napier to start a true freshman even if the fans are clamoring for Lagway. To Napier’s credit, he seems oblivious to the noise surrounding him and his program and isn’t straying from his patient rebuilding plan just to appease the critics. In other words, Mertz is going to be the starter although surely Napier will have a package of plays for the athletically gifted Lagway.

If Mertz plays great and the Gators win, Napier’s job is safe.

If Mertz struggles and the Gators lose, Napier could be gone — and, then, who knows where Lagway ends up?

Gator Nation, you better get behind Graham Mertz.

When it comes right down to it, he is more important to the future of Florida football than DJ Lagway.

Email me at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com. Hit me up on X (formerly Twitter) @BianchiWrites and listen to my Open Mike radio show every weekday from 6 to 9:30 a.m. on FM 96.9, AM 740 and 969TheGame.com/listen

 

 

The Hurricanes continue to raid the Midwest for tight ends.

Four-star Indiana tight end Brock Schott announced his pledge to the Hurricanes on Saturday night following Miami’s spring game, just five days after UM added a commitment from four-star Ohio tight end Luka Gilbert. 

Schott, who is listed as the No. 10 tight end and No. 226 player in the class by 247Sports’ composite rankings, is UM’s seventh commit for the 2025 class. He chose the Hurricanes over offers from Florida State and Ohio State, among others.

Schott, a standout at Indiana’s Leo High, is listed at 6-foot-3 and weighs about 225 pounds. He has excelled as a two-way athlete in high school. In 2023, Schott had 35 catches for 743 yards and six touchdowns on offense while racking up 67 tackles, 32 tackles for for loss and 19 sacks as an edge rusher.

The Hurricanes have a talented group of young tight ends on the roster now. Riley Williams was a top prospect in the 2023 class and is entering his second season of college football. Miami added Elija Lofton in the 2024 class, and he has been one of the breakout players in spring practice. 

It’s all about the U! #GoCanes @canesfootball @coach_cristobal @coachwoodiel @coachdawson_um@natecrutch @dtrain2901 @coachfield@mackrizz23 @tjoseph_ pic.twitter.com/4jprn5Exc7

— Brock Schott (@BrockSchott) April 13, 2024

By ALANIS THAMES (AP Sports Writer)

MIAMI — Josh Bell homered, Max Meyer allowed one run over six innings, and the Miami Marlins beat the Atlanta Braves 5-1 on Saturday for their first home win of the season.

Bell hit a fly ball off Braves starter Chris Sale that sneaked over the left-field wall of a windy loanDepot Park in the first inning. It was Bell’s second home run of the season.

Meyer (2-0) continued his strong start, limiting the Braves’ high-powered offense to one run on six hits while striking out a career-high seven batters and not issuing a walk.

Meyer picked up his first career win last Sunday against St. Louis with six innings of one-run ball on three hits. The 25-year-old Meyer, who is ranked as Miami’s third-best prospect by MLB Pipeline, missed last season recovering from Tommy John surgery.

“I felt good. I was pretty much just following Bethancourt (Marlins catcher Christian Bethancourt) the whole day,” Meyer said. “I liked his gameplan. He really made it easy on me. We were dialed in the whole game, attacked the zone. I didn’t get as many first-pitch strikes as I wanted to, but I was able to bounce back and get some swings and misses too.”

Bryan De La Cruz gave the Marlins a 5-0 lead with a two-out, bases-loaded double in the fifth off Sale, who recorded outs against the first two batters he faced in the inning and then allowed a single and consecutive walks. Luis Arraez, Bell and Jake Burger scored.

“That was really the only inning that kind of got away,” Sale said. “Even the following two innings, when I was still kind of steaming, I felt like my command was there. For whatever reason that one inning, it fell apart. I wasn’t able to limit the damage.”

De La Cruz has a hit in 12 of Miami’s 15 games this season and leads the club in hits with 17, two of which came Saturday.

“This is who we are, actually,” De La Cruz said through a translator. “If you see the way we play out there as a unit — this is actually the way we play the game. This is what actually got us to the playoffs last year. And that’s what we’re trying to emulate.”

Atlanta’s Austin Riley hit a leadoff triple off Meyer in the sixth and scored on a groundout by Marcell Ozuna.

Ozuna extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a leadoff single in the second.

RHP Calvin Faucher, who was recalled from Triple-A Jacksonville ahead of the game, replaced Meyer and pitched a perfect seventh. Anthony Bender was perfect in the eighth, and Tanner Scott rounded out a solid bullpen effort for the Marlins, recording the final three outs.

Sale (1-1) allowed five hits and five runs with seven strikeouts and three walks over seven innings.

The Marlins were 0-8 at home entering Saturday’s game.

“It’s not like we’re going to stop playing hard and stop fighting,” said Braves manager Skip Schumaker. “I know it’s not what everybody wants the start to be, but that’s a really good team that we have out there.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Marlins: Tim Anderson missed his second straight game with an illness. … RHP Matt Andriese was designated for assignment.

UP NEXT

Right-hander Charlie Morton (1-0, 3.18 ERA) will start Sunday’s series finale for the Braves against Marlins left-hander Jesús Luzardo (0-2, 7.20).

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

GAINESVILLE — Florida’s third Orange and Blue game under Billy Napier was an improvement from last year’s 10-7 snoozer  but not necessarily a cause for celebration.

The Blue squad, featuring UF’s first-team players, edged the Orange 19-17 on a 37-yard field goal by Trey Smack as time expired, sending his teammates running onto the field as spring football came to a close.

Both squads and a host of players had encouraging moments. The Gators also failed to score in the third quarter a season after UF recorded a goose egg after intermission three times and just three points three other times during a 5-7 campaign.

Here a three takeaways.

1. Receiver Tre Wilson needs a supporting cast.

Wilson will be a star, along with the workhorse in the Gators’ passing attack.

“We’re going to get our money’s worth out of Tre Wilson,” Napier said. “I can promise you that.”

Florida wide receiver Eugene Wilson III finishes off a 60-yard catch from Graham Mertz during the Gators’ Orange and Blue game April 13 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

Wilson is worth the price of admission, even if the game was free for an announced crowd of 48,000. The sophomore led the Gators with 8 catches for 128 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown from sixth-year senior Graham Mertz.

The other Blue team pass-catchers totaled 8 grabs for 117 yards and didn’t score. Veteran Khaleil Jackson’s 50-yard reception included 34 yards after the catch on a perfectly time pass Mertz dropped over the defender.

For the Orange squad, notable performances came from  redshirt junior Marcus Burke (3 receptions, 63 yards) and sophomore Aidan Mizell, a former Orlando Boone standout who left his defender behind on a 22-yard score over the middle from true freshman DJ Lagway. True freshman TJ Abrams displayed speed on a 20-yard play, 18 after he caught the ball.

But Wisconsin transfer Chimere Dike (2 catches, 20 yards) didn’t factor as expected. Sophomore STAR Sharif Denson outmuscled him to intercept a Mertz pass over the middle. Tight end Arlis Boardingham’s 18-yard reception set up Smack’s game-winning 37-yard field goal but was his only catch.

Florida wide receiver Aidan Mizell of Orlando catches a 22-yard touchdown catch during the Orange and Blue game April 13 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the UF campus in Gainesville. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

The day’s best hook-up featured Lagway finding redshirt junior Taylor Spierto for 32 yards behind the cornerback across the field on the far sideline and before safety help arrived. Spierto is an undersized former walk-on who appears among the team’s more reliable receivers.

When the transfer portal opens Tuesday, the Gators will be in the market for a receiver, if not two of them.

2. Will the defensive performance translate this time?

The Gators’ D was active, athletic and applied a good bit of pressure, finishing with 7 sacks — 6 by the Orange squad.

But a 9-sack day during the 2023 spring game did not prove to be harbinger when the season arrived. The Gators managed just 22 sacks, the fewest since 2013 when an injury-riddled 4-8 team got to the quarterback 21 times.

Napier is optimistic Saturday’s effort would not be the peak of the pass rush.

“We have height, length, depth,” Napier said. “The rush has improved throughout the spring. We have numerous players that can be effective.”

Florida quarterback D.J. Lagway (2) throws over the line during the Orange & Blue Spring Football game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville on Saturday, April 13, 2024. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

Begin with 6-foot-5, 254-pound sophomore TJ Searcy, who recorded the only sack for the first-team defense. Northern Illinois transfer George Gumbs Jr. (6-4, 246) had 1.5 sacks and could develop into a quality situational rusher. Former Orlando Olympia standout Kam James (6-5.4, 274) tallied a sack.

Penn transfer tackle Joey Slackman registered the sole sack with from an interior rush, displaying the effort he used to become the 2023 Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year.

The back end of the defense forced Mertz and Lagway to hesitate and gave the front time to close ground.

Fourth-year starter Jason Marshall had one of 5 pass breakups by the Blue squad, along with 5 tackles; sophomore Ja’Keem Jackson, who starred at Kissimmee Osceola, had a pass breakup for the Orange; and Denson and redshirt freshman Aaron Gates each shined at the STAR position.

“The rush and the coverage worked well together,” Napier said. “You could see that they did a nice job affecting the quarterback.”

3. Napier isn’t going to change who he is.

Napier’s conservative style is ingrained in him, even in a spring game.

Florida coach Billy Napier signals to his players during the Orange and Blue game April 13 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the UF campus in Gainesville. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

Consider the opening drive by the Blue team and the Gators’ first-team offense. A 17-play, 59-yard grind ended with Smack’s 31-yard field goal. It was one of seven field-goal attempts on a day when Napier played it close to the vest a little too much — even for his own liking.

“We all understand red-zone touchdowns are important,” he said. “There were a couple borderline go-for-it situations where we maybe can manage the game a little bit better first, second, and third down.”

Facing 3rd-and-5 from the Orange 37 during the Blue squad’s lengthy opening drive, Napier called consecutive running plays to get the a first down. UF converted with Montrell Johnson Jr. runs of 3 and 2 yards, but this longstanding philosophy runs counter to hopes Napier will open up the offense in 2024.

Yet when the Orange squad faced 4th-and-2 from the 6, Napier sent in the field-goal team. Redshirt junior Hunter Smith missed the 34-yarder.

Florida kicker Trey Smack kicks one of four field goals he made during the Orange and Blue game April 13 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the UF campus in Gainesville. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

The aim to simulate true game situations is understandable. Taking chances in the spring is the time to do it.

Napier said he and his staff will learn from experience.

“That will be part of the lesson from the game,” he said.

However, Napier’s track record at UF is of a coach whose squad struggles in the red zone, often zigs when he should zag and is not explosive often enough offensively.

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com