In a surprise move on Tuesday, the Canadiens' top prospect, Ivan Demidov, terminated his contract with SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL before signing with Montreal, the team announced Tuesday.

The 19-year-old forward signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Canadiens, who are holding onto the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, which would mark the team's first trip to the playoffs since their surprise run to the Stanley Cup Final during the 2021 playoffs in the bubble. Montreal has five games remaining in the regular season.

Montreal selected the forward with the No. 5 pick of the 2024 NHL draft. In a statement released by SKA, the team called it a "joint decision" to terminate the contract but said his KHL rights would remain with the team.

"He will return to Saint Petersburg if he doesn't gain a foothold in the NHL," SKA's statement said. Demidov's contract was set to expire on May 31, 2025, which is deep in the NHL playoffs.

Demidov scored 19 goals and 49 points in 65 regular season games to lead SKA this season and is considered one of the most talented prospects not playing in the NHL currently. The 19-year-old thrived in one of the best leagues in the world, leading his team in playoff scoring, with five points in six games before being eliminated by Dynamo Moscow. Although SKA St. Petersburg was eliminated, the team could have sent Demidov to their affiliates in the lower leagues, the MHL or VHL, for the remainder of the playoffs.

Demidov was considered one of the most talented players in the 2024 draft but slipped to No. 5 because of some team's fears over when he might be available to come to North America.

In December, the Canadiens sent a contingent of their top brass -- including GM Kent Hughes, adviser Vincent Lecavaleir and director of amateur scouting Nick Brobov -- to visit Demidov in St. Petersburg and spend time with their top prospect. It was believed to be one of the first times that NHL executives entered Russia for scouting purposes since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Legendary Sporting CP scouting director Aurélio Pereira passed away on Tuesday aged 77, the Portuguese club announced.

Responsible for Sporting's youth recruitment since 1988, Pereira brought teenagers Paulo Futre, Luis Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo to the Lisbon outfit.

All three eventually starred for Portugal while Figo and Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or following moves to clubs abroad.

"He will forever be remembered as one of the greatest names in the history of national football and, above all, in the history of Sporting Clube de Portugal," a Sporting CP statement said of Pereira.

Ronaldo was just 12 years old when Pereira recruited him from Nacional's youth ranks in 1997.

He made his professional debut at Sporting CP in 2002 before moving to Manchester United after just one season.

Ronaldo, who has gone on to win 33 senior titles, captain Portugal to Euro 2016 glory and to the inaugural UEFA Nations League crown, paid tribute to Pereira.

The Al Nassr captain wrote on Instagram: "One of the greatest symbols of world youth training has left us, but his legacy will live on forever. I will never stop being grateful for everything he did for me and for so many other players. Until forever, Mr. Aurélio, thank you for everything. Rest in peace."

Sporting said Pereira was credited with discovering 10 players who were in the Portugal squad that won the 2016 European Championship in France.

He coached the club's youth squads for 20 years.

Portugal's Football Federation president Pedro Proença also mourned the loss of the legend.

"The death of Aurélio Pereira represents an irreparable loss for Portuguese football," Proença said.

"In addition to the enormous legacy built by the man who discovered some of the best players in our history ... We will have an enormous and eternal debt of gratitude to Aurélio Pereira and we will do everything to honor his legacy."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Lamine Yamal has told ESPN it feels as if he's "playing Pro Evolution Soccer [sic]" as the teenager targets a treble with Barcelona this season.

The 17-year-old has scored 13 goals and provided 19 assists this year to help keep Barça alive in three competitions going into the final stretch of the campaign.

Barça lead LaLiga by four points with eight games to go, face Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final on April 26 and welcome Borussia Dortmund to the Olympic Stadium on Wednesday in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal.

"I'm one of those people who always trusts their team," Yamal told ESPN when asked if treble talk was premature. "From the start of the season, I always aim for the maximum.

"So, if we can win the treble at the start of the season, that's the aim. It's no different now. It's not because of over confidence or anything like that, it's because you have to believe in yourself.

"If you are saying that another team is going to win, I don't know why you go out on to the pitch to play, so we can win the treble. We are Barça. We have already achieved it [in 2009 and 2015] -- hopefully we can do it again."

It is now two years since Yamal made his debut for Barça as a 15-year-old. Since then, he has become the youngest player to ever find the back of the net in LaLiga and the Champions League knockout rounds, Spain's youngest ever debutant and goal scorer, and a European champion with his country last summer.

He equates his rapid rise to playing a video game, saying that the pressure of being involved in some of football's biggest matches has not fazed him.

"It is like a dream," he added. "I still think that. If we reach the final of the Champions League, the final of the Copa del Rey, the [Clásico] final this month, the World Cup [next year with Spain] ... Everything is like a dream.

"It's as if I'm playing PES. It's incredible. When you get home and you say 'Pffff I played in the final of the Euros ...' It's incredible.

"I don't [notice the pressure]. I just try to enjoy myself. I don't think too much about other things. I also don't think too much about what I am doing, what I am doing tomorrow, what game I am playing, if it's more important [than others].

"Obviously I know I am playing for Barça. I know the importance of that, but I don't think about pressure. I play, enjoy myself ... And that's all."

What has been remarkable is how quickly Yamal has become a key player for both club and country.

He has played 3,448 minutes for Barça in all competitions this season -- only Jules Koundé, Pedri and Raphinha have played more -- and has started the last 21 matches for the Catalan club.

That exposure to so much football at such a young age has led to some calls for him to be rested more, but Yamal says he is feeling fit going into the final two months of the season.

"[I'm feeling] very good," he said. "I think one thing I have learned this year is how to manage myself. There are people who say: 'Why don't you move for 10 minutes?' But at the end of the day, there are moments when you don't have to run all the time.

"You have to know how to manage yourself during the game, during the season, to know during training what you have to do ... So I think that's something I've learned. And, to be honest, I am doing really well."

Yamal's contract expires in 2026, but he has previously confirmed he will sign a new, long-term deal, with ESPN explaining he will do so when he turns 18 later this year.

He hopes this will just be the start of a long career with Barça.

"That's a difficult question," he said when asked where he sees himself in 10 years. "[I'll be] 27 [years old] ... I think similar to now, going between the training ground and my house, and back to the training ground."

PARIS -- Aston Villa's Youri Tielemans has urged Paris Saint-Germain supporters to "stick to football" if they taunt goalkeeper Emi Martínez during Wednesday's Champions League quarterfinal clash after the Argentina No. 1 travelled to the French capital wearing a baseball cap highlighting his 2022 World Cup triumph against France.

Martínez has been an unpopular figure in France since helping Argentina win a penalty shootout in the World Cup final in Qatar. The 32-year-old's antics during the shootout and after the game were deemed to be disrespectful by the French and he also angered Lille supporters by shushing them after helping Villa win a Conference League penalty shootout against the Ligue 1 side last season.

The former Arsenal keeper did little to ease tensions with French fans by boarding Villa's flight to Paris with a cap bearing a cockerel -- a French national emblem -- alongside the Argentina flag and the four international trophies he has won with the world champions.

Dibu pic.twitter.com/7vbUy9kgNd

Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) April 8, 2025

But midfielder Tielemans played down Martínez's dress code and said the Villa players have no issue with the PSG fans targeting their goalkeeper -- so long as they keep any criticism to football rivalry.

"It's probably his style," Tielemans said about Martínez's cap. "All I can say is that he is ready for the game tomorrow and he hasn't spoken anything differently. He's looking forward to it.

"I don't care [about the reception he gets]. Whatever happens with Emi, as long as it stays in football terms, I don't mind."

Villa coach Unai Emery, who spent two years at PSG before moving to England with Arsenal, said that rival fans must understand that Martínez is simply showing his passion for his club or country when he plays.

But Emery also said that Martínez is now maturing as a player and focusing more on his football.

"Emi is a very important player for us," Emery said at his pre-match news conference in Paris. "He is one of the best goalkeepers in the world and he got the award for that in Paris [Martinez was named the Best FIFA Men's Goalkeeper in the French capital in 2022].

"I think he is mature and responsible and getting better at controlling his emotions. I worked with him at Arsenal too, before he arrived at Villa five or six years ago, but he is different and more mature now.

"He is a better player and better goalkeeper. My conversation with him is always the same -- focus on football and manage it well, control your emotion and keep achieving.

"Football is for the fans to understand how players are playing against different teams and you have to be respectful, but they are defending their club and their countries.

"It's only football. Their supporters will support them, ours will support us."

Villa face PSG as underdogs after reaching the quarterfinals in their first appearance in the Champions League since 1983.

But after beating Bayern Munich and drawing with Juventus already in this season's competition, Belgium midfielder Tielemans said Villa are confident of matching Ligue 1 champions PSG.

"We have a lot of players with experience and it's about performing at the right moment," Tielemans said. "We have played against big teams, had some really good results and the way we have adapted to get through is brilliant.

"We have confidence in Unai, knows what it takes to be at this stage of the competition. He has a plan in place and we are just waiting to get going tomorrow.

"We are happy it's a good team to play. We're just here to play games and win them. We are only playing tough teams now, so we have to be ready.

"We always want to do well, get to the latter stages and be fighting for trophies. We have had a dip, but we are coming out of it really well, so we hope to finish as strong as possible."

Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report

It's back! Tuesday marks the first day of the quarterfinal first legs for the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League season. Europe's premier club competition has whittled down to eight teams as the semifinals await the winners.

Enjoy the play-by-play from Tuesday's games: Arsenal against Real Madrid and Bayern Munich against Internazionale.

Former Notre Dame guard Olivia Miles has committed to TCU out of the transfer portal, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania on Tuesday, confirming multiple reports.

Previously projected as a lottery pick, Miles opted to forgo the WNBA draft and instead enter the transfer portal after starting her collegiate career in South Bend.

Miles, who enrolled at Notre Dame a semester early in January 2021, has an extra year of eligibility remaining after sitting out the 2023-24 campaign with a ACL injury she'd suffered at the end of the previous season.

The junior started 34 games this season, averaging a career-high 15.4 points on 48.3% shooting. Her 3-point shooting took a massive jump from 22.8% last season to 40.6% this year.

TCU -- which this season enjoyed a run to the Elite Eight, its deepest March run in program history -- will reload again as coach Mark Campbell enters Year 3 of his tenure in Fort Worth. He has quickly turned a forgotten Big 12 program that hadn't been to the NCAA tournament since 2010 into a national power behind some big acquisitions in the transfer portal, including now-departing seniors Hailey Van Lith and Sedona Prince.

With the tandem of Miles and fellow backcourt star Hannah Hidalgo, the Irish were one of the best teams in the country earlier in the season, reaching the No. 1 spot in the AP poll in February, but fell apart down the stretch, falling in the semifinals of the ACC tournament to Duke and bowing out of the Sweet 16 in March Madness -- at the hands of TCU.

Notre Dame will look a lot different next season. Sonia Citron, Maddy Westbeld, Liatu King and Liza Karlen are graduating, Miles is now headed to TCU, and freshman Kate Koval already announced her commitment to LSU as a transfer.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Colts veteran offensive tackle Braden Smith missed the final five games of last season because of a personal matter.

Now, he's detailing just how intense the situation was.

Smith, in an interview with the Indianapolis Star published Tuesday, said he has a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder that prompted him to spend 48 days in a treatment facility and to ultimately turn to a psychedelic drug that he believes helped save him.

He was so tormented, Smith said, that he contemplated suicide.

"I was physically present, but I was nowhere to be found," Smith told the newspaper. "I did not care about playing football. I didn't care about hanging out with my family, with my wife, with my newborn son. "I was a month away from putting a bullet through my brain."

Smith, 29, said he was eventually diagnosed with a condition known as religious scrupulosity. According to the International OCD Foundation, religious scrupulosity differs from the healthy practice of religion because it is driven by anxiety over engaging in actions that might offend God or be seen as blasphemous. This creates obsessive behavior -- including constant prayer or repeated repentance -- that can begin to dominate a person's daily life.

"There was only one person that was ever perfect, and that was Jesus," Smith, a second-round pick in 2018, told the Star. "When you're trying to live up to that standard, actually live that out, it'll drive you nuts."

Smith began seeing a psychologist early last season after confiding to his wife, Courtney, that he was planning to retire after the season if his condition didn't improve. Smith eventually checked in to a mental health facility in Colorado in November. But after spending weeks there, Smith saw only minimal improvement.

He later turned his attention to a psychedelic called ibogaine, which is not legal in the United States but has shown some promise in treating mental health in scientific studies. Smith traveled to Mexico to undergo treatment with the substance.

After the treatments in Mexico and his ongoing therapy, Smith says he is in a good place.

"I wasn't here last year. I was physically here, but I wasn't. I want to be me again here, and I want the people around me to experience that, because I do feel like I do have something to offer the people around me."

Braden Smith

"I don't do compulsive prayers at all anymore," he told the newspaper. "I don't do the replacing the good with the bad. If I have a bad thought, it's just, like, OK, that's one of many thoughts. I'll just move on with my day and don't let it affect me. I used to spend like 3 to 5 hours a day in my head, doing compulsions. It was so exhausting."

The Colts are comfortable with where Smith is at.

"Braden Smith is back and he's in a great spot," general manager Chris Ballard said last week. "I think people forget how good Braden is."

Given Smith's original salary cap figure of $19.75 million for 2025 and his recent history of knee issues, the Colts asked him to come back under a restructured deal. Smith agreed to a return for an $8 million salary, lowering his cap figure to $10.4 million.

Smith said he agreed to the terms because he has unfinished business in Indianapolis.

"I wasn't here last year," he told the Star. "I was physically here, but I wasn't. I want to be me again here, and I want the people around me to experience that, because I do feel like I do have something to offer the people around me."

Michigan State freshman Jase Richardson, a projected lottery pick, will enter the 2025 NBA draft, he told ESPN on Tuesday.

"I'm incredibly grateful to my teammates and coaches for the season we had," Richardson told ESPN. "After evaluating everything with my family, this was the best decision for me. We had so many incredible moments as a team. Even though we didn't go as far as I had hoped in the NCAA tournament, this is exactly how I wanted my freshman year to go. Winning the Big Ten championship and making the Elite Eight for the first time since 2019."

Richardson, the No. 13 prospect in ESPN's NBA draft projections, was named to the Big Ten's All-Freshman Team and third-team all-conference after averaging 12.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game, shooting 41% for 3.

The 19-year-old found another gear with his productivity as the season moved on, especially after being inserted into the starting lineup for Michigan State on Feb. 8.

His pace, skill level, feel for the game, perimeter shooting, and high-intensity defense give him an excellent framework to build on long-term. He plays an unusually mistake-free style of basketball (30 turnovers in 912 minutes), helping him earn the trust of Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo.

"Coach Izzo taught me how to think the game through countless hours of film and conversations on and off the court," Richardson said, "He actually coached me harder as the season moved on, pushing me more as he was putting more responsibility on my plate."

Jase's father is Jason Richardson, an All-American and national champion at Michigan State who was the No. 5 pick in the 2001 draft and went on to have a highly productive 13-year NBA career.

"My dad had the blueprint laid out for me for how I was going to get to my goals," Jase Richardson said. "It's really special to have someone like him next to me that has been through the process. I am always asking him for feedback and advice. We're totally different players, so I don't feel any pressure if people expect me to do what he did. I need to go out and show myself on my own."

The NBA draft combine will be held May 11-18 in Chicago, and the draft will be June 25-26 in New York.

Jonathan Givony is an NBA draft expert and the founder and co-owner of DraftExpress.com, a private scouting and analytics service used by NBA, NCAA and International teams.

Chicago Bulls star guard Coby White will sit out Tuesday's road game against the Cleveland Cavaliers for rest.

The move comes as the Bulls (36-42) try to navigate a spot into the postseason and the Cavs try to secure the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Bulls are in ninth place in the Eastern Conference and are playing the first game of a back-to-back set -- they face the 10th-place Miami Heat (36-43) on Wednesday in Chicago.

White, 25, was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Month in March and enjoyed a fast start to April as well.

He sank six 3-pointers to highlight his 37-point performance in the Bulls' 131-117 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday.

White has averaged 32.0 points on 31-of-48 shooting from the floor and 11-of-21 attempts from 3-point range over the past three games.

He is averaging a career-high 20.7 points, 4.5 assists and 3.6 rebounds in 71 games (70 starts) this season for the Bulls, who have won 12 of their last 16 games overall.

Meanwhile, Cleveland (62-16) looks to clinch the East without All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell, who has been ruled out vs. the Bulls with a left ankle sprain.

Mitchell, 28, sustained the injury in the Cavaliers' 120-113 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Sunday. He is averaging a team-leading 24.0 points to go along with 5.0 assists and 4.5 rebounds in 71 games, starting all of those.

Texas freshman Tre Johnson announced Tuesday on ESPN's "NBA Today" that he will declare for the NBA draft.

Johnson is projected to be picked No. 5 in ESPN's post-NCAA tournament mock draft, which was published Tuesday.

"This season was a rollercoaster ride," Johnson said. "But it was a great experience, wins and losses aside. Going up against the best teams in the country. Playing at Texas was the best experience I've ever had, being with a great group of guys and a great coaching staff."

Johnson was named SEC Freshman of the Year and All-SEC Second Team after averaging 19.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game, shooting 37% for 3. He helped Texas make the NCAA tournament, with the Longhorns eliminated by Xavier in the First Four.

At 6-foot-6, with a 6-10 wingspan, Johnson is a prototype for what the NBA seeks at the wing position, featuring excellent size and length, a strong build, and prolific scoring prowess. He has diverse shot-making versatility running off screens, hitting pullup jumpers, and rising for difficult step-backs and side-step 3-pointers, while showing versatility with flashes of slashing and passing ability. He turned 19 on March 7.

Johnson is in Santa Barbara, California, preparing for the draft and an even more significant challenge in the NBA.

"It will be constant work, just trying to take advantage of every day to try and get better," Johnson said. "I'm a big basketball nerd, so I'm spending a lot of time watching film, both full games and individual players on Synergy. I like to watch Shai Gilgeous-Alexander because we have similar body types. Devin Booker, with how he scores and his footwork coming off pin-downs, and also Klay Thompson with the Warriors, seeing how he uses different actions."

The NBA draft combine will be held May 11-18 in Chicago, and the draft will be June 25-26 in New York.

Jonathan Givony is an NBA draft expert and the founder and co-owner of DraftExpress.com, a private scouting and analytics service utilized by NBA, NCAA and International teams.