Latest news with #Bennett
Miami Herald
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Miami Herald
‘I ain't ... leaving,' Panthers' Sam Bennett says at Miami nightclub celebration
The Florida Panthers continued their Stanley Cup championship celebration Thursday night into Friday morning by traveling south to Miami for a night at E11even, a world-famous nightclub where they also partied after their first title a year ago. Amid the frenzied party — which included Sam Reinhart climbing a stripper pole, Brad Marchand crowd surfing and, yes, plenty of booze flowing — a key player might have revealed big news regarding his future with the team. Center Sam Bennett, who won the Conn Smythe trophy as playoffs MVP and is slated to become a free agent on July 1, told the crowd from the main stage that he intends to stay with the team long-term. 'I ain't [expletive] leaving!' Bennett proclaimed to the crowd partying with the team. Now, nothing is official on a deal just yet, but Bennett is a player the Panthers are prioritizing bringing back. He has been an identity player for the franchise during the past few years with his combination of physicality and scoring touch embodying the exact style of play Florida has been honing for three years under coach Paul Maurice. His stellar postseason — he led the league with 15 goals while also finishing second with 107 hits — made for the case that his price tag could skyrocket if he chooses to test the open market. But Bennett has found a home in Florida and saw a career resurgence here. After struggling to take off to start his career with the Calgary Flames, Bennett thrived when given an expanded opportunity with the Panthers. Bennett has put up 196 points (95 goals, 101 assists) over 289 regular-season games while laying out 616 hits and blocking 151 shots. In the playoffs, Bennett has 29 goals and 59 points in 77 career games for the Panthers. For comparison, Bennett had just 140 points (67 goals, 73 assists) in 402 games in Calgary. He also knows their window to contend for titles is still wide open. 'It's harder than I ever imagined to win the Stanley Cup once and twice was even harder,' Bennett said Tuesday after Florida secured the win. 'It's a huge honor to be a part of this group. I'm not going to take it for granted. I love being here, and I love this team. It's a remarkable team to be part of, just from the whole the staff to the players to the management, owner, the coaches, like truly, everyone is world class here.' And if he holds true to his word from Thursday night, he's not going anywhere. In addition to Bennett, Marchand and defenseman Aaron Ekblad are Florida's other key players set to enter free agency. The Panthers only have $19 million in cap space, but president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Zito said he sees a path where all three could be re-signed. Meanwhile, for a glimpse of how things went down at E11ven, look below. The party will surely continue throughout town over the next couple days before the team's official parade on Sunday.
Boston Globe
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
A new theater festival wants audiences to ‘love deeper' in dark times
'Our work aims to change the world,' Bennett said. 'Hopefully, when you leave, you'll feel moved towards creating a more beautiful world in your immediate community.' Advertisement Each work presented by the festival was developed through one of TTO's artist residency programs, which provide resources to queer and trans artists of color who reflect the organization's larger mission: to create art that 'transcends artistic boundaries, celebrates cultural abundance, and dismantles oppression,' as the festival's mission statement puts it. Advertisement 'There are many ways to push against oppressive systems, and I want my work to help people consider their actions and values, and how they want to show up in this world,' said Victoria Lynn Awkward, whose dance piece featured in the festival, 'In the Space Between ," was developed during TTO's 22-month Emergent Artist Residency. Set to an original composition of piano, flute, and percussion, 'In the Space Between' uses aerial movement, audible breathwork, and flowing fabrics to create a dance piece inspired by iconic Black feminist Audre Lorde's writings on power and eroticism. The sensuous nature of the piece is designed to 'build empathy,' Awkward said. 'Empathy is what's needed to bridge divides, and to be able to care for people with different cultures and backgrounds, as well as yourself.' As an organization, the Theater Offensive has been creating and cultivating cutting-edge art by LGBTQ+ makers since 1989, when it was born out of a gay men's guerrilla theater troupe. At the time, founder Over the years, and among other initiatives, TTO went on to produce innovative fringe theater festivals, establish its national award-winning program Advertisement More recently, TTO has evolved to explicitly focus on art by and for queer and trans people of color, who face unique challenges accessing financial backing and other forms of support for their work and are most vulnerable in what the organization calls an ongoing 'battle against authoritarianism, homophobia, transphobia, and racism' in the Trump era. Artists are looking to the past to process this dangerous present, said Bennett, who noted that ancestral connections are a common thread in the festival's performances. 'I live in Harlem, where my great-grandmother moved in the early 1900s and my grandmother and mother were raised,' said Awkward. 'I feel very connected to that lineage, and to the hope and joy they had throughout all the challenges they faced.' She added that the prevalence of textiles in her work is inspired by the legacy of Black quilting, including lore that quilts were used to mark safe houses and provide direction on the Underground Railroad. 'For me, textiles are beautiful and eye-catching — but also deeply entwined with my ancestry and lineage.' Another festival piece, 'The Messenger,' is a coming-of-age play with music about a burgeoning young oracle who takes a spiritual journey with her elders, learning from their wisdom so that she can serve her nation. Playwright and TTO resident artist Cheyenne Wyzzard-Jones said they were inspired by their lineage, including their Wampanoag background, as well as 'conversations with my community of Black diaspora folk, Native American family, elders, [and] medicine workers.' There's also 'Theater of Union ," a three-fold artistic exercise developed by Annalise 'River' Guidry. It is composed of 'Remembrance ," a community-building performance on the festival's opening night that 'explores and honors our many ancestries,' Guidry said, as well as a workshop that explores 'grief as a pathway toward collective liberation.' Both the performance and workshop are additionally preceded by a 'table talk' that expands on the artist's intentions. Advertisement Guidry wants to impart to their audience the notion of 'love ethic,' Black author and social critic bell hooks's framework for considering love as a series of actions and choices, not just a feeling. 'Lovelessness pervades in our society,' Guidry said, pointing to racist, anti-queer, and otherwise oppressive 'systems of domination' that keep Americans divided and at odds. The Queer [Re]Public Festival, then, aims to establish a more perfect union. 'The current culture and systems we are functioning under are not sustainable,' Guidry said. 'I believe in love to transform and save us.' Prices vary, June 26-29, Arrow Street Arts, 2 Arrow St., Cambridge,
The Age
4 hours ago
- Sport
- The Age
Master coaches Bennett and Bellamy set for record 44th showdown
The last time he was asked about his record against Craig Bellamy, Wayne Bennett gave the question short shrift. 'I couldn't give a rat's about it,' Bennett said before his South Sydney team clashed with Bellamy's Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park in round eight. 'It's the last thing on my mind.' Two months down the track, as he and Bellamy prepare for a record-breaking 44th showdown as rival coaches at Accor Stadium on Saturday, Bennett was more inclined to offer an insight into the respect he holds for one of the few opponents to have dominated him throughout their storied careers. Asked on Friday about where Bellamy rates among the great coaches he has encountered, Bennett replied: 'He's up there with them. His record says that. His win-loss record, his grand final appearances. He's up there with all the great coaches we've ever had.' The previous benchmark was Bennett's 43 clashes with Tim Sheens, which was equalled in round eight when the Storm downed Souths 24-18 at AAMI Park, extending two remarkable streaks in the process. That result left the Rabbitohs winless in the Victorian capital, a curse that dates back 26 years and now amounts to 20 successive games. Moreover, it was Bellamy's 14th consecutive win against Bennett, whose last success against the Storm mentor was nine years ago, during his second stint at the helm of Brisbane Broncos. Bennett has since changed clubs three times, from the Broncos to Souths to the Dolphins and back to the Rabbitohs, without coming any closer to toppling the Melbourne maestro.
Sydney Morning Herald
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
Master coaches Bennett and Bellamy set for record 44th showdown
The last time he was asked about his record against Craig Bellamy, Wayne Bennett gave the question short shrift. 'I couldn't give a rat's about it,' Bennett said before his South Sydney team clashed with Bellamy's Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park in round eight. 'It's the last thing on my mind.' Two months down the track, as he and Bellamy prepare for a record-breaking 44th showdown as rival coaches at Accor Stadium on Saturday, Bennett was more inclined to offer an insight into the respect he holds for one of the few opponents to have dominated him throughout their storied careers. Asked on Friday about where Bellamy rates among the great coaches he has encountered, Bennett replied: 'He's up there with them. His record says that. His win-loss record, his grand final appearances. He's up there with all the great coaches we've ever had.' The previous benchmark was Bennett's 43 clashes with Tim Sheens, which was equalled in round eight when the Storm downed Souths 24-18 at AAMI Park, extending two remarkable streaks in the process. That result left the Rabbitohs winless in the Victorian capital, a curse that dates back 26 years and now amounts to 20 successive games. Moreover, it was Bellamy's 14th consecutive win against Bennett, whose last success against the Storm mentor was nine years ago, during his second stint at the helm of Brisbane Broncos. Bennett has since changed clubs three times, from the Broncos to Souths to the Dolphins and back to the Rabbitohs, without coming any closer to toppling the Melbourne maestro.
The Advertiser
10 hours ago
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Souths beast to play days after fracturing eye socket
Wayne Bennett has hailed Keaon Koloamatangi's toughness as he prepares to line up for South Sydney less than a week after fracturing his eye socket. The rapid-fire return gives Koloamatangi two games to reassert his State of Origin credentials, after missing NSW's trip to Perth for game two with the game-ending injury suffered against Canterbury on Sunday. Koloamatangi had originally been a member of NSW's extended squad for Origin II and appears the next cab off the rank if Laurie Daley wants to tweak his 17 for the decider on July 9. Koloamatangi comes in from the extended squad to face Melbourne on Saturday and will be joined in the team by star fullback Latrell Mitchell, who is backing up from NSW's two-point loss. The Storm have ruled Xavier Coates out of the game at Accor Stadium but are likely to have his Queensland teammates Harry Grant and Trent Loiero on deck after they flew direct to Sydney from Perth after Origin. Fellow Origin representatives Stefano Utoikamanu and Cam Munster flew back to Melbourne and are at longer odds to make the trip to Sydney to face Koloamatangi and the Rabbitohs. "(Koloamatangi) didn't need any surgery and the doctor's quite confident (the injury) won't be a problem to him. He's confident and he's happy so we'll go ahead and let him play," said Souths coach Bennett. "He's a bit like Jye Gray the other night with a broken thumb, played the whole second half. You can't question the toughness and the wanting to play for the club as well. "The club's in a good place if players want to play and they've got injuries or getting back a little bit earlier. They work really hard." The news is not so good for recruit Lewis Dodd, who had been named to come in from reserve grade for the injured Jayden Sullivan but will be replaced at five-eighth by Jack Wighton. The axing raises further questions as to Dodd's future at the Rabbitohs, who have only started him in the halves once since he was lured from England on a salary of more than $600,000. Dodd's selection chances will only diminish further when Cody Walker returns from his groin injury next weekend, having almost recovered in time to face the Storm. "I haven't really had a conversation with (Dodd) because I told him on Tuesday he probably wasn't in the team anyway," Bennett said. "I didn't know what was going on with Origin, I didn't know the other guys' injuries. I only really announced the team this morning to the players." Saturday's game will be the 44th time Bennett has coached against Storm mentor Craig Bellamy, breaking the record for most match-ups for two coaches since the grand final era began in 1954. To keep their top-eight tilt on track, the 14th-placed Rabbitohs must snap Bellamy's 14-game winning streak against Bennett-coached sides. "(Bellamy's teams) all do their jobs, they're really good at that. Whatever role you've got in the team, they do it," Bennett said. Wayne Bennett has hailed Keaon Koloamatangi's toughness as he prepares to line up for South Sydney less than a week after fracturing his eye socket. The rapid-fire return gives Koloamatangi two games to reassert his State of Origin credentials, after missing NSW's trip to Perth for game two with the game-ending injury suffered against Canterbury on Sunday. Koloamatangi had originally been a member of NSW's extended squad for Origin II and appears the next cab off the rank if Laurie Daley wants to tweak his 17 for the decider on July 9. Koloamatangi comes in from the extended squad to face Melbourne on Saturday and will be joined in the team by star fullback Latrell Mitchell, who is backing up from NSW's two-point loss. The Storm have ruled Xavier Coates out of the game at Accor Stadium but are likely to have his Queensland teammates Harry Grant and Trent Loiero on deck after they flew direct to Sydney from Perth after Origin. Fellow Origin representatives Stefano Utoikamanu and Cam Munster flew back to Melbourne and are at longer odds to make the trip to Sydney to face Koloamatangi and the Rabbitohs. "(Koloamatangi) didn't need any surgery and the doctor's quite confident (the injury) won't be a problem to him. He's confident and he's happy so we'll go ahead and let him play," said Souths coach Bennett. "He's a bit like Jye Gray the other night with a broken thumb, played the whole second half. You can't question the toughness and the wanting to play for the club as well. "The club's in a good place if players want to play and they've got injuries or getting back a little bit earlier. They work really hard." The news is not so good for recruit Lewis Dodd, who had been named to come in from reserve grade for the injured Jayden Sullivan but will be replaced at five-eighth by Jack Wighton. The axing raises further questions as to Dodd's future at the Rabbitohs, who have only started him in the halves once since he was lured from England on a salary of more than $600,000. Dodd's selection chances will only diminish further when Cody Walker returns from his groin injury next weekend, having almost recovered in time to face the Storm. "I haven't really had a conversation with (Dodd) because I told him on Tuesday he probably wasn't in the team anyway," Bennett said. "I didn't know what was going on with Origin, I didn't know the other guys' injuries. I only really announced the team this morning to the players." Saturday's game will be the 44th time Bennett has coached against Storm mentor Craig Bellamy, breaking the record for most match-ups for two coaches since the grand final era began in 1954. To keep their top-eight tilt on track, the 14th-placed Rabbitohs must snap Bellamy's 14-game winning streak against Bennett-coached sides. "(Bellamy's teams) all do their jobs, they're really good at that. Whatever role you've got in the team, they do it," Bennett said. Wayne Bennett has hailed Keaon Koloamatangi's toughness as he prepares to line up for South Sydney less than a week after fracturing his eye socket. The rapid-fire return gives Koloamatangi two games to reassert his State of Origin credentials, after missing NSW's trip to Perth for game two with the game-ending injury suffered against Canterbury on Sunday. Koloamatangi had originally been a member of NSW's extended squad for Origin II and appears the next cab off the rank if Laurie Daley wants to tweak his 17 for the decider on July 9. Koloamatangi comes in from the extended squad to face Melbourne on Saturday and will be joined in the team by star fullback Latrell Mitchell, who is backing up from NSW's two-point loss. The Storm have ruled Xavier Coates out of the game at Accor Stadium but are likely to have his Queensland teammates Harry Grant and Trent Loiero on deck after they flew direct to Sydney from Perth after Origin. Fellow Origin representatives Stefano Utoikamanu and Cam Munster flew back to Melbourne and are at longer odds to make the trip to Sydney to face Koloamatangi and the Rabbitohs. "(Koloamatangi) didn't need any surgery and the doctor's quite confident (the injury) won't be a problem to him. He's confident and he's happy so we'll go ahead and let him play," said Souths coach Bennett. "He's a bit like Jye Gray the other night with a broken thumb, played the whole second half. You can't question the toughness and the wanting to play for the club as well. "The club's in a good place if players want to play and they've got injuries or getting back a little bit earlier. They work really hard." The news is not so good for recruit Lewis Dodd, who had been named to come in from reserve grade for the injured Jayden Sullivan but will be replaced at five-eighth by Jack Wighton. The axing raises further questions as to Dodd's future at the Rabbitohs, who have only started him in the halves once since he was lured from England on a salary of more than $600,000. Dodd's selection chances will only diminish further when Cody Walker returns from his groin injury next weekend, having almost recovered in time to face the Storm. "I haven't really had a conversation with (Dodd) because I told him on Tuesday he probably wasn't in the team anyway," Bennett said. "I didn't know what was going on with Origin, I didn't know the other guys' injuries. I only really announced the team this morning to the players." Saturday's game will be the 44th time Bennett has coached against Storm mentor Craig Bellamy, breaking the record for most match-ups for two coaches since the grand final era began in 1954. To keep their top-eight tilt on track, the 14th-placed Rabbitohs must snap Bellamy's 14-game winning streak against Bennett-coached sides. "(Bellamy's teams) all do their jobs, they're really good at that. Whatever role you've got in the team, they do it," Bennett said.
