Oilers' Connor McDavid wins Hart Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award as ...

Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid dominated the NHL's shortened season and also dominated the voting for the Hart Trophy.

McDavid received all 100 first-place votes by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association to win the Hart Trophy as the NHL's MVP. He also won the Ted Lindsay Award, which is voted on by players.

He hit the 100-point mark in his 53rd game and finished with 105 points in 56 games, 21 points ahead of teammate Leon Draisaitl, the league's No. 2 scorer.

McDavid's strong play helped the Oilers clinch second place in the North Division, though home-ice advantage didn't help as Edmonton was swept in the first round by the Winnipeg Jets.

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“We had a special group this year, and obviously we didn’t do what we wanted to do,” McDavid said. “But it was still so fun to be a part of, and get the fans of Edmonton excited again for what’s to come. We had so many guys take the next step, and I’m just part of that. If we’re all continuing to do that, we’re going to go and do some special things in this league.”

McDavid previously won the Hart Trophy in 2016-17 and won the player vote in 2016-17 and 2017-18.

He is the second consecutive Oilers player to sweep the MVP votes. Draisaitl did in 2019-20.

Other NHL awards winners announced Tuesday night:

Vezina Trophy (goaltender): Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights. He finished with 26 wins, a 1.98 goals-against average and .928 save percentage. He carried the team while Robin Lehner was out with a concussion. Fleury, 36, won for the first time in his career.

Norris Trophy (defenseman): Adam Fox, New York Rangers. He finished second among defensemen with 47 points while playing nearly 25 minutes a game. He had 37 points over 31 games in March and April. He's the second player to win the Norris Trophy in his second season or sooner, joining Hall of Famer Bobby Orr.

Calder Trophy (rookie): Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota Wild. He led all rookies and his team with 51 points as the Wild finished third in the West Division. He received 99 first-place votes, with Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson getting the other.

Other awards winners were announced previously: Jack Adams Award (coach), Carolina Hurricanes' Rod Brind'Amour; Selke Trophy (defensive forward), Florida Panthers' Aleksander Barkov; Lady Byng Trophy (sportsmanship), Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin; Masterton Trophy (perseverance), Philadelphia Flyers' Oskar Lindblom; King Clancy Trophy (humanitarian), Nashville Predators' Pekka Rinne; Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year, New York Islanders' Lou Lamoriello, and Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award, Boston Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron.

All-Star and All-Rookie teams

First All-Star team: C McDavid; LW Brad Marchand, Bruins; RW Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs; D Fox; D Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche; G Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning.

Second All-Star team: C Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs; LW Jonathan Huberdeau, Panthers; RW Mikko Rantanen, Avalanche; D Victor Hedman, Lightning; D Dougie Hamilton, Hurricanes; G Fleury.

All-Rookie team: Fs Kaprizov; F Robertson; F Josh Brown, Ottawa Senators; D Ty Smith, New Jersey Devils; D K'Andre Miller, Rangers; G Alex Nedeljkovic, Hurricanes.

Around the rinks

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Shea Weber was fined the maximum $5,000 for slashing Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. ... McDavid's teammate, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, agreed to an eight-year, $41 million contract. ... The Toronto Maple Leafs are bringing back forward Wayne Simmonds for $1.8 million over two years.

Contributing: Associated Press

NHL awards: Oilers' Leon Draisaitl wins Hart Trophy as league MVP

Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl, the NHL's lone 100-point scorer in the coronavirus-shortened regular season, won the Hart Trophy Monday as the league's most valuable player.

He also won the Ted Lindsay Award as the MVP voted by members of the NHL Players' Association.

Draisaitl recorded his second consecutive 100-point season, picking up 43 goals and a career-best 67 assists and 110 points in 71 games to edge teammate Connor McDavid in the scoring race. He had 10 game-winning goals.

He became the first German-born player to win the Hart Trophy as he topped Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche) and Artemi Panarin (New York Rangers) in voting.

"It's a big honor," he told NBCSN. "Our hockey is getting much better and producing more and more players. Hopefully, this will somehow give little kids more joy playing hockey and starting hockey instead of other sports."

Draisaitl helped his cause by scoring 12 points in the six games that McDavid, the 2016-17 Hart Trophy winner, missed in February with an injury.

Other award winners announced Monday:

Norris Trophy (defenseman): Roman Josi, Nashville Predators. He set a franchise record with 65 points by a defenseman and had a 12-game point streak.

Vezina Trophy (goaltender): Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets. He finished second in the league with 31 wins while recording a .922 save percentage.

Calder Trophy (rookie): Defenseman Cale Makar, Avalanche. He finished second in rookie scoring with 50 points.

First All-Star team: C Draisaitl, LW Panarin, RW David Pastrnak (Boston Bruins), D Josi, D John Carlson (Washington Capitals), G Hellebuyck.

Second All-Star team: C MacKinnon, LW Brad Marchand (Bruins), RW Nikita Kucherov (Tampa Bay Lightning), D Victor Hedman (Lightning), D Alex Pietrangelo (St. Louis Blues), G Tuukka Rask (Bruins).

All-Rookie team: Fs Dominik Kubalik (Chicago Blackhawks), Victor Olofsson (Buffalo Sabres), Nick Suzuki (Montreal Canadiens), D Makar, D Quinn Hughes (Vancouver Canucks), G Elvis Merzlikins (Columbus Blue Jackets)

The NHL earlier in the playoffs announced other winners: Jack Adams Award (Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy), Selke Trophy (defensive forward, Philadelphia Flyers' Sean Couturier); Lady Byng Trophy (gentlemanly play, MacKinnon), Masterton Trophy (perseverance, Ottawa Senators' Bobby Ryan), GM of the Year (New York Islanders' Lou Lamoriello), King Clancy Trophy (humanitarian, Minnesota Wild's Matt Dumba), Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award (Calgary Flames' Mark Giordano) and the Willie O'Ree Community Hero Award (Dampy Brar of Apna Hockey).

Oilers' McDavid doubles up as Hart, Lindsay award winner

AP

Connor McDavid’s award-winning season came with one regret. In earning his second career MVP honor Tuesday, the Edmonton Oilers captain wished his team was still playing.

“We had a special group this year, and obviously we didn’t do what we wanted to do,” McDavid said, referring to the Oilers being swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Winnipeg Jets.

“But it was still so fun to be a part of, and get the fans of Edmonton excited again for what’s to come,” he added. “We had so many guys take the next step, and I’m just part of that. If we’re all continuing to do that, we’re going to go and do some special things in this league.”

McDavid became just the second unanimous Hart Trophy selection — joining Wayne Gretzky in 1982 — in receiving all 100 first-place votes from members of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. The 24-year-old doubled up on honors by also winning his third Ted Lindsay Award as the league’s most outstanding player, which is voted on by NHL players.

The NHL presented its awards remotely for a second consecutive season because of the coronavirus pandemic, and a day after Tampa Bay opened the Stanley Cup Final series with a 5-1 win over Montreal. In previous years, the awards ceremony was held in Las Vegas after the playoffs, and with an audience and players present.

McDavid, who also won MVP honors in 2017, led the way, much like he did during a regular season in which he had already won his third Art Ross Trophy in six years for leading the NHL with 105 points (33 goals, 72 assists) in 56 games. The next closest player in the points standings was teammate Leon Draisaitl with 84, with Boston’s Brad Marchand a distant third with 69.

Toronto’s Auston Matthews finished second in the MVP voting, followed by Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon.

Vegas’ Marc-Andre Fleury beat out Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy and Colorado’s Philipp Grubauer to win his first Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s goalie of the year. The Golden Knights tandem of Fleury and Robin Lehner already won the William M. Jennings Trophy, for combining to allow an NHL-low 124 goals this season.

The 36-year-old Fleury finished third in the NHL with 26 wins, a 1.98 goals-against, .928 save percentage and six shutouts in 36 games. He also closed the season with a nine-game winning streak, while moving into third place on the NHL career list with 492 wins.

New York Rangers’ Adam Fox won the Jack Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman, beating out Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman and Colorado’s Cale Makar.

The 23-year-old Fox led NHL defensemen with 42 assists and second with 47 points. He also ranked seventh among skaters in ice-time. Fox became the second player to win the Norris in his second season, joining Bobby Orr winning in 1968.

Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov won the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year in becoming just the fourth rookie since 1993-94 to lead his team in scoring. The 24-year-old from Russia led NHL rookies with 27 goals and 51 points, and became the first Wild player to win the Calder.

Carolina goalie Alex Nedeljkovic and Dallas forward Jason Robertson were the other two Calder finalists.

Oilers players have now won the Hart in three of the past five years, with Draisaitl winning it last year.

McDavid was informed of winning both awards by Draisailt.

“To have your fellow peers recognize you, it means a lot. Just feel so humbled and grateful to have won this award a few times,” McDavid said of winning the Ted Lindsay honor, before personally thanking Draisaitl for personally helping contribute to his point production.

Joining Kaprizov, Nedeljkovic and Robertson on the NHL’s All-Rookie team were Ottawa Senators forward Josh Norris, Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller and New Jersey defenseman Ty Smith.

The First All-Star team features McDavid at center, Marchand at left wing and Toronto’s Mitchell Marner at right wing, Fox and Makar on defense, with Vasilevskiy in goal.

The Second All-Star team had Matthews at center, Florida’s Jonathan Huberdeau at left wing and Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen at right wing, Hedman and Carolina’s Dougie Hamilton on defense and Fleury in net.

The NHL previously announced other winners, with Carolina’s Rod Brind’Amour winning the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year, and the New York Islanders' Lou Lamoriello winning the Jim Gregory general manager of the year award.

Florida’s Aleksander Barkov won the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the NHL’s top defensive forward, and Carolina defenseman Jaccob Slavin won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct.

Philadelphia’s Oskar Lindblom, a cancer survivor, was this year’s recipient of the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, presented to a player who exemplifies perseverance and dedication to hockey.

The Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award was presented to Boston’s Patrice Bergeron. Matthews won the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy for leading the NHL with 41 goals.

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NHL's Hart Trophy race too close to call | USA Today

Kevin Allen

USA TODAY Sports

After St. Louis Blues defenseman Chris Pronger won the Hart Trophy in 2000, he walked into the media room and jokingly asked which reporter he needed to thank. He had won the MVP award by a single point in balloting by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

It was assumed voting couldn't get any closer but in 2002, Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jose Theodore and Calgary Flames forward Jarome Iginla tied. Theodore took home the award on the basis of more first-place votes.

The Hart Trophy has had its share of close finishes, and this season's race seems too close to call. A look at leading contenders:

1. Carey Price (Montreal Canadiens): Theodore and Dominik Hasek (Buffalo Sabres) are the only goaltenders to win the Hart Trophy over the past 50 years, but Price is the favorite to win this season. He's why the Canadiens are challenging for the league's top record.

The Canadiens ranks 22nd in goals per game, but Price has made them dominant with a 1.95 goals-against average and .935 save percentage.

The Hart is supposed to go to the player judged most valuable to his team, and that describes Price. No goalie has been as statistically dominant since Hasek had similar numbers in 1998-99.

2. Alex Ovechkin (Washington Capitals): Ovechkin has scored 52 goals in a season in which the scoring champion likely will finish with the fewest points since 1967-68. Ovechkin, who scored twice against Price Thursday, has 11 more goals than his closest competitor and has a league-best 11 game-winning goals. His work to be a better all-around player has helped the Capitals become a playoff team. He can control a game with his physical play, shot and offensive flair.

3. Devin Dubnyk (Minnesota Wild): General manager Chuck Fletcher's trade for the goaltender turned around the Wild's season. With Dubnyk playing Vezina Trophy-style hockey, the Wild have played like a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. He was the missing piece.

4. Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins): Crosby has missed five games, and his team has been overrun by injuries and hasn't played well. But he is leading the NHL scoring race and has helped the Penguins to the sixth-best record in the Eastern Conference. He also ranks among the top 25 in league in the enhanced statistical category of shots attempted vs. shots against his team while he is on the ice. That's a puck possession indicator.

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5. John Tavares (New York Islanders): Tavares is third in the NHL scoring race with 79 points, and no one else on the team has 50 points. He's the flag carrier for the Islanders' rise to contending status, the offensive catalyst, leader and clutch performer. He's the face of the franchise, and the Islanders wouldn't be where they are this season without Tavares showing his teammates how to get there.

6. Ryan Getzlaf (Anaheim Ducks): He is the best player on the NHL's best team. The Ducks are leading the Presidents' Trophy race and Getzlaf has a team-high 68 points in 76 games. His blend of size and skill causes matchup problems for most of the Ducks' Western Conference opponents.

7. Vladimir Tarasenko (Blues): Tarasenko, 23, has become one of the NHL's most dangerous offensive players. He's two strides away from being on a breakaway.

The Blues have a different look and feel this season, mostly because Tarasenko has taken his offensive production to another level. He has a +25 plus-minus to go with his 36 goals.

8. Pekka Rinne (Nashville Predators): Rinne's performance level was on par with Price's early in the season, but he has cooled a bit. His return to health is the primary explanation for the Predators leading the Central Division. He has been the difference in many of his team's wins this season.

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Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane wins Hart Trophy, awarded to ...

AP

Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane has won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player, becoming the first American to win the award.

The NHL’s scoring champion is the first Chicago player to take home the Hart since Stan Mikita in 1968.

Earlier in the night, Kane won the Ted Lindsay Award as the NHL’s outstanding player selected by his fellow players. He also received the Art Ross Trophy for winning the NHL scoring title.

Kane was the runaway winner as expected, getting 121 of the 150 first-place votes. Sidney Crosby finished second with 11 first-place votes, while Dallas’ Jamie Benn was third. Vezina Trophy-winning goalie Braden Holtby of Washington was fourth.

Kane, a Buffalo native, also became the first U.S.-born player to lead the league in scoring with 106 points, leading Benn by a whopping 17 points.

Kane already is a three-time Stanley Cup champion with a Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP, and he’s only 27 years old.

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Vezina Trophy (best goalie): Braden Holtby, Capitals

Holtby was rewarded for a remarkable season in which he tied Martin Brodeur’s record with 48 victories for the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Caps. His goals-against average was fifth in the league at 2.20, and he finished eighth in save percentage at .922.

Holtby’s wins record pushed him past fellow finalists Ben Bishop of Tampa Bay, who led the NHL with a 2.06 GAA, and Jonathan Quick of Los Angeles, who played a league-high 4,034 minutes.

Selke Trophy (best defensive forward), Lady Byng Trophy (most gentlemanly): Anze Kopitar, Kings

Kopitar has been the Kings’ leading scorer for nine consecutive seasons, but the Slovenian center’s willingness to embrace coach Darryl Sutter’s defense-first mindset was a major reason for Los Angeles’ run to two Stanley Cup titles in three years from 2012-14.

Kopitar led all NHL forwards in ice time, averaging nearly 21 minutes per game, while finishing second in the league with a plus-34 rating. His puck possession skills and backchecking acumen were key factors in the Kings finishing third in the league in team defense.

Kopitar was a Selke finalist for the award in each of the previous three seasons. He beat out three-time winner Patrice Bergeron of Boston and Anaheim’s Ryan Kesler, the 2011 winner.

The Slovenian center wasn’t in attendance to claim either of his trophies.

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Jack Adams Award (best coach): Barry Trotz, Capitals

Trotz earned the award for the first time by leading the Caps to an NHL-best 120 points this season, setting a franchise record with 56 victories. Washington allowed the second-fewest goals in the NHL, adding stellar defense to its traditional winning formula behind Alex Ovechkin’s scoring.

Trotz just finished his second year in Washington after 15 seasons with the Nashville Predators. He is a three-time finalist for the Jack Adams.

He won it for the first time over fellow finalists Lindy Ruff of the Dallas Stars and Gerard Gallant of the Florida Panthers.

Gallant’s Panthers exceeded all expectations with a franchise-record 47 victories and 103 points.

Ruff also got a 2015 non-playoff team back to the top, with the Stars winning the Central Division while scoring a league-high 265 goals.

Norris Trophy (best defenseman): Drew Doughty, Kings

Doughty’s first Norris victory ended a lively three-man race that forced voters to decide between pure offensive production and analytical superiority.

Doughty, the two-time Stanley Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist, beat out Erik Karlsson of Ottawa and Brent Burns of San Jose.

While Doughty didn’t match his competitors’ offensive production, voters recognized his two-way prowess for the defense-minded Kings.

“To my teammates, without you, I couldn’t have done it,” Doughty said. “You guys are everything to me, and we’re brothers for life.”

Doughty led all defensemen in Corsi percentage at 58.9, and he scored 51 points with a plus-24 rating while playing enormous minutes on the Kings’ depleted blue line.

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Masterton Trophy: Jaromir Jagr, Panthers

Jagr won the Masterton Trophy for his perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

The 44-year-old forward didn’t attend the ceremony in Las Vegas because he was with his ailing father.

Jagr was rewarded for his seemingly ageless skills and enthusiasm. The Czech veteran scored 66 points in his 22nd NHL season to lead the Panthers, who set franchise records with 47 wins and 103 points.

Calder Trophy (best rookie): Artemi Panarin, Blackhawks

The 24-year-old Russian forward beat out Philadelphia’s Shayne Gostisbehere and Edmonton’s Connor McDavid, who finished third in the voting.

Panarin scored 77 points in 80 games during his debut season in North America, leading all rookies in goals (30) and assists (47).

Although Panarin played seven pro seasons back home before coming stateside, voters didn’t object to his experience, awarding the trophy to a Chicago player for the first time since Patrick Kane won it in 2008.

McDavid was the No. 1 pick last summer. He scored 48 points in 45 games, his dynamite season shortened by two months thanks to a broken collarbone.

Edmonton's Connor McDavid wins first Hart Trophy as NHL MVP

AP

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Connor McDavid won his first Hart Trophy. Hardly anybody in hockey believes it will be his last.

The Edmonton captain claimed the award as the NHL's most valuable player Wednesday night at the league's postseason awards show at T-Mobile Arena, the new home of the expansion Vegas Golden Knights.

McDavid also won the Ted Lindsay Award, given to the league's most outstanding performer in a vote of his fellow players. He already knew he would win the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL scoring champion.

"To see the trophies up close and personal, touch them, get your picture with them, it makes it a little more real," McDavid said. "Today is a very special day in my life, for sure."

The honors capped a remarkable sophomore season for the 20-year-old center, who won his first scoring title and led the Oilers back to the Stanley Cup playoffs after an 11-year absence. The former No. 1 pick beat out fellow finalists Sergei Bobrovsky of Columbus and Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby.

"I'm so proud to be in Edmonton," McDavid said. "I'm so proud to be an Oiler, and so proud to play with the guys."

McDavid is the third-youngest player to win the award. Only Crosby and Wayne Gretzky claimed the Hart as teenagers.

Boston center Patrice Bergeron won the Selke Trophy for the fourth time as the NHL's best defensive forward, and San Jose's Brent Burns won his first Norris Trophy as the top defenseman. Toronto center Auston Matthews easily took the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie, and Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky won his second Vezina Trophy.

Nashville's David Poile was named the NHL's top executive after the Predators' first Western Conference title, and Columbus' John Tortorella won the Jack Adams Award as the top coach.

Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson won the Bill Masterton Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. Anderson left the Senators during the season to support his wife, Nicholle, in her fight against throat cancer, but returned to become Ottawa's career victories leader.

Calgary's Johnny Gaudreau won the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanlike play.

The league also revealed the results of the Golden Knights' expansion draft during the show, with former Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury getting wild cheers from an arena filled with new fans of the NHL's 31st franchise.

While Crosby didn't claim the Hart, the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion won the Richard Trophy as the NHL's top goal-scorer.

"I haven't even thought about that, to be honest with you," Crosby said. "Been a lot of things going on."

Crosby was sorry to part ways with Fleury, his longtime teammate in Pittsburgh.

"I'll let him know how weird it was seeing him in a jersey like that," Crosby said. "I know that he is going to do great things here."

Bergeron also won the Selke in 2012, 2014 and 2015. The two-way Bruins star beat out Anaheim's Ryan Kesler and joined Bob Gainey as the only players to win the Selke four times.

Bergeron paid tribute to Gainey after the Montreal great presented the award to him.

"I think it's the way that he played the game hard and was always in the right position," Bergeron said. "Not only him on the ice, but also him off the ice as a role model, as a person, I've always respected him for that. It was special to receive that award from him, because he was such an important player for the NHL."

Bobrovsky got 25 of the 30 first-place votes to outdistance Braden Holtby and Carey Price after leading the league with a 2.06 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage. Bobrovsky, the first Russian to win the award twice, and Tortorella played major roles in the Blue Jackets' revival for the best season in franchise history.

Burns beat out Ottawa's Erik Karlsson for the Norris in a duel of two 70-point scorers. Burns doesn't think offensive numbers alone determine the Norris winner.

"That's the way I play the game," Burns said. "For me to be successful, to help the team, I've got to help create offense and get into the plays. If I'm not doing that, if I'm not skating and creating things, then I'm not really doing much out there."

Matthews was the no-brainer choice for the Calder after his 69-point rookie season for the Leafs, who hadn't had a Calder winner since Brit Selby in 1966.

The Arizona-raised center was grateful to accept the award in Las Vegas, where he hopes more desert kids will be inspired by the Golden Knights.

"I think it's going to be great," Matthews said. "For myself, when the Coyotes moved (to Phoenix), that's how I got into hockey. Seeing the teams in California kind of encouraged kids growing up to pick up the stick and start playing. (The Golden Knights) will definitely grow the game."

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Follow AP Hockey Writer Greg Beacham on Twitter: www.twitter.com/gregbeacham

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NHL award picks: MVP race a toss-up; Igor Shesterkin lock for Vezina?

Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid ran away with the Hart Trophy last season, picking up all 100 first-place votes, as he scored 105 points in the shortened 56-game season.

This year, the MVP race is loaded with possibilities.

McDavid won the scoring race again, with 123 points, but there are seven others from playoff teams who have 100-point seasons. Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews is the NHL's first 60-scorer since 2011-12 and three others have 50 goals. Even a goalie, New York Rangers' Igor Shesterkin, could be in the mix.

The NHL announced its schedule for revealing the three finalists for each award: May 9, Norris (defenseman); May 10, Vezina (goaltender), May 11, Calder (rookie), May 12, Hart (MVP, writers vote), May 13, Ted Lindsay (MVP, players vote), May 16, Masterton (perseverance), May 17, Selke (defensive forward), May 18, Lady Byng (sportsmanship), May 19, Adams (coach), and May 20, King Clancy (humanitarian)

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USA TODAY Sports' NHL staffers are here to make their picks for some of the top regular-season awards:

Hart Trophy

Jimmy Hascup: McDavid

Mike Brehm: Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames

Jace Evans: Matthews

This seems to be one of the more competitive Hart Trophy races in years – with forwards Matthews, Gaudreau, McDavid, Leon Draisaitl (Oilers), Jonathan Huberdeau (Panthers), Kirill Kaprizov (Wild) and goalie Igor Shesterkin (Rangers) worthy of receiving votes. Matthews led the league in goals and had 106 points (sixth), while McDavid finished seventh in goals (44) and first in points (123). Gaudreau was an offensive catalyst for the Flames all season with 40 goals and 115 points, which tied for second.

Finalists (listed alphabetically): Matthews, McDavid, Shesterkin

Vezina Trophy

Hascup: Shesterkin

Brehm: Shesterkin

Evans: Shesterkin

An argument could be made that Shesterkin is an MVP contender. In a season that saw scoring reach its highest mark since 1995-96, he carried the Rangers, who often struggled to defend around the net. If you like the traditional stats, Shesterkin's 2.07 goals-against average leads the league. So does his .935 save percentage. He ranks sixth in wins. If the fancier stats are more your thing, he ranks first in goals saved above expected at 34.1. He's probably the surest lock for any of the major awards.

Finalists (listed alphabetically): Jacob Markstrom, Calgary Flames; Juuse Saros, Nashville Predators; Shesterkin

Norris Trophy

Hascup: Roman Josi, Predators

Brehm: Josi

Evans: Josi

Josi paced all defensemen with 96 points while Colorado's Cale Makar led defensemen with 28 goals and finished with 86 points in 77 games. Josi finished first, slightly ahead of Makar, in points per 60 minutes at even strength and both averaged about the same time on ice per game. Tampa Bay's Victor Hedman will be in the mix, as always.

Finalists (listed alphabetically): Hedman, Josi, Makar

Jack Adams

Hascup: Darryl Sutter, Flames

Brehm: Sutter

Evans: Andrew Brunette, Panthers

Sutter replaced Geoff Ward last season and now the Flames are playing like everyone expected. Gaudreau, Matthew Tkachuk, Elias Lindholm and Andrew Mangiapane had career years under Sutter. The Flames' ranking in goals per game jumped from 20th last season to sixth while their goals-against average went from 16th to third. Brunette led the Panthers to the league's best record after replacing coach Joel Quenneville, who resigned. Mike Sullivan, who led the Penguins to a 103-point season despite Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin missing significant time, and Minnesota's Dean Evason are among those also in the mix.

Calder Trophy

Hascup: Moritz Seider, Red Wings

Brehm: Seider

Evans: Seider

Forwards Michael Bunting, the flashy Trevor Zegas and Lucas Raymond led NHL rookies in scoring, but Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider was fourth with 50 points. He was 20 for most of the season and showed poise at a position that requires a lot of adjustment at the NHL level. He led the Red Wings in ice time at more than 23 minutes a game, killed penalties and played the power play.

Finalists (listed alphabetically): Bunting, Seider, Zegras

Connor McDavid should not win Hart Trophy for NHL MVP

Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid scored his 40th goal of the season on Tuesday night, the first Oilers player to hit the milestone since Petr Klima in 1990-91.

He passed the 100-point mark by adding two assists to give him 102 points.

Both are career highs with five games to go.

He extended his league scoring lead on idle Tampa Bay Lighting forward Nikita Kucherov by six points. He tied Kucherov with a league-leading 30 multi-point games. He has 13 points in his last five games and leads the league in even-strength points.

He should be congratulated for all of that.

But he shouldn't win the Hart Trophy as league MVP because the Oilers aren't a playoff team.

Yes, the Hart Trophy criteria — the player judged most valuable to this team — doesn't mention the word playoffs, but the Oilers were already out of contention when he passed his milestones. In fact, they were mathematically eliminated a week before Tuesday's game.

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More:Linesman Steve Barton taken off ice on stretcher after collision in Blue Jackets-Oilers game

During my seven years voting for league awards as part of the Professional Hockey Writers Association — I stopped voting four years ago — I looked at players' scoring totals, whether that was done at clutch times, leadership, whether they helped their team exceed expectations, etc.

But my first criteria for my top votes was being on a playoff team. Maybe I would have given a player with a McDavid-like season a fifth-place vote. Or fourth if he drove his team to within a point or two of the playoffs.

Last year, McDavid won MVP with a league-best 100 points as he led the Oilers to second place in the Pacific Division.

This season, he has been just as amazing and his speed has made him unstoppable at times, but the Oilers have been a major disappointment.

Is he to blame for that? Is he to blame for the dropoff in goaltending or the struggles by many defensemen or the long droughts by Milan Lucic or Oscar Klefbom? No.

Should he be commended for being a plus-22 on a team that has a minus-26 goal differential or averaging nearly two points a game in Oilers wins. Yes, but the Oilers aren't even a .500 team.

Tuesday, McDavid was amazing again, particularly his short-handed goal, not long after he had to deal with the fact that his accidental collision injured a linesman.

But after leading the Oilers to a 3-0 lead, they lost 7-3 to the Columbus Blue Jackets. His fault? No. But it left the Oilers 17 points out of a playoff spot. That's too far back.

Besides, there are plenty of other MVP candidates this year. Nathan MacKinnon, if his Colorado Avalanche make the playoffs. Kucherov. Taylor Hall, Evgeni Malkin, Blake Wheeler. Brad Marchand, depending on how you feel about his on-the-edge play. A Vegas Golden Knights player (William Karlsson?). Anze Kopitar. Maybe even goalie Pekka Rinne.

MacKinnon, again if he made the playoffs, might have received my top vote if I still voted because the Avalanche have exceeded everyone's expectations, and he has been unbelievable. If the Avalanche miss the playoffs, Hall or Kucherov would get top consideration. But fans will get an inside look because the PHWA is making its votes public this year.

I do believe McDavid will win an award this postseason: the Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading scorer. And players could give him the Ted Lindsay Award as most outstanding player.

But the Hart Trophy? Probably not.

NHL awards: Auston Matthews wins Hart Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews took a major leap during the NHL’s regular season, picking up the league’s first 60-goal season in 10 years.

Tuesday night, he picked up his first Hart Trophy (writers vote) as 2022 MVP, plus the Ted Lindsay Award (players vote) as most outstanding player.

Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid, last year’s winner, and New York Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin were the other finalists.

Matthews had 41 goals in 52 games in the coronavirus-shortened 2020-21 season, finishing second in Hart voting. After offseason wrist surgery, he had 60 goals in 73 games in 2021-22 as the Maple Leafs finished with a franchise-best 115 points.

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Matthews, the second American to win the Hart after Patrick Kane, also set career highs in assists (46) and points (106). He led the league in even-strength goals for the third year in a row.

Other awards winners announced on Tuesday's awards show:

Vezina Trophy (goaltender): Shesterkin. His .935 save percentage and 2.07 save percentage were tops among starting goaltenders. He had 36 wins.

Norris Trophy (defenseman): Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche. Makar set franchise records for defensemen with 28 goals and 86 points. He edged the Nashville Predators' Roman Josi 1,631-1,606 in the voting totals.

Calder Trophy (rookie): Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider. He led rookie defensemen with 50 points and led all rookies with 43 assists and 23:02 in average ice time.

All-Star and All-Rookie teams announced

First All-Star team: G Shesterkin, Rangers. Ds Makar, Avalanche; Josi, Predators. C Matthews, Maple Leafs. LW Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames. RW Mitch Marner, Maple Leafs

Second All-Star team: G Jacob Markstrom, Flames. Ds Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning; Charlie McAvoy, Bruins. C McDavid, Oilers. LW Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida Panthers. RW Matthew Tkachuk, Flames.

All-Rookie team: G Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins. Ds Seider, Red Wings; Alexandre Carrier, Predators. Fs Trevor Zegras, Anaheim; Michael Bunting, Maple Leafs; Lucas Raymond, Red Wings.

General manager of the year finalists

The Tampa Bay Lightning's Julien BriseBois, New York Rangers' Chris Drury and Colorado Avalanche's Joe Sakic, whose teams reached the conference finals, were named the finalists for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award.

The winner will be announced the July 7-8 NHL draft.

Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov wins Hart, Lindsay at NHL Awards

AP

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nikita Kucherov gratefully accepted the Hart Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award on Wednesday night in recognition of his spectacular 128-point regular season in Tampa Bay.

He might even be able to enjoy the trophies someday, whenever the sting of the Lightning's first-round postseason loss has faded.

Kucherov won the NHL's highest honors Wednesday night, receiving the Hart as the league MVP and the Lindsay Award as the best player according to a vote of his fellow pros.

The Russian right wing also formally picked up the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's top scorer at the hockey world's annual Vegas ceremony at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

"It's a huge night for me and my family," said Kucherov, who turned 26 on Monday. "But the main thing is Stanley Cup. We want to make sure we work harder than we thought we did (last season). All these individual (awards), it's obviously nice, but the main thing is Stanley Cup for me."

Andrei Vasilevskiy, Kucherov's Russian teammate, won his first Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goalie in another bittersweet recognition for the Lightning, who won 62 regular-season games before getting swept by Columbus in the opening round.

Kucherov received 164 of 171 first-place votes in a runaway Hart victory over two-time MVP Sidney Crosby of Pittsburgh, who finished second, and 2017 Hart winner Connor McDavid of Edmonton. The voting was no surprise after Kucherov posted the NHL's highest-scoring individual season since 1996.

"When the team plays good, the numbers will obviously be good," Kucherov said. "You just try not to think too much about it. If you think too much, your game can just go away, and bad things can happen. All my thoughts were about winning games for my team, and help the team get more points."

A year after scoring 100 points, Kucherov emerged as perhaps the most impressive scorer in hockey, putting up a career-best 41 goals and 87 assists. Kucherov tied Jaromir Jagr's NHL record for assists by a wing, and he surpassed Alexander Mogilny's single-season record for points by a Russian-born player.

Tampa Bay also posted 128 standings points, the most by any team since 1996 — but Kucherov regrets that he had little impact during the Lightning's stunning sweep by the Blue Jackets. Kucherov served a one-game suspension for a dangerous hit during the series, and he scored his only two playoff points in the Game 4 defeat.

"When I came (to the U.S.), the main thing was just try and make the team," Kucherov said. "Now all my thoughts are just to win the Cup, and bring the Cup back to Tampa, because people deserve that. We've been playing good hockey, and I'm sure if we keep the team (together), we can bounce back."

Calgary's Mark Giordano won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman, earning the award for the first time at 35 years old. Vancouver forward Elias Pettersson won the Calder Trophy given to the league's top rookie, and Ryan O'Reilly added his first Selke Trophy as the NHL's top defensive forward to the Blues' Stanley Cup victory.

Barry Trotz of the New York Islanders won his second Jack Adams Award as the best coach, while Boston's Don Sweeney was named the league's top general manager.

But Kucherov was the headliner on a night of several first-time winners at the NHL Awards ceremony, hosted by "Saturday Night Live" veteran Kenan Thompson. The Hart was presented by "Jeopardy" host Alex Trebek, who received a standing ovation in one of his first public appearances since announcing his battle with pancreatic cancer.

Vasilevskiy beat out Dallas' Ben Bishop and the Islanders' Robin Lehner for the Vezina. The Russian is the first Tampa Bay goalie to win the award, leading the NHL with 39 victories while posting a 2.40 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage.

Trotz beat out Tampa Bay's Jon Cooper and St. Louis' Craig Berube for the top coaching honor. He also won the award with Washington three years ago.

After winning the Stanley Cup and subsequently leaving the Capitals last summer, Trotz engineered an impressive 23-point improvement by the Isles for their best single-season record since 1983-84, even after losing John Tavares to Toronto.

Trotz took a moment after accepting the award to honor his goalie.

Lehner won the Masterton Trophy as the player exemplifying the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. Lehner became a Vezina finalist after revealing during training camp that he has struggled with addiction and bipolar disorder.

"I'm not ashamed to say I'm mentally ill, but that doesn't mean mentally weak," Lehner said after accepting his award.

"I've had such an incredible outpouring of support," he added later. "There's so many people that have contacted me that I still haven't been able to get to yet, that are just scared to take that first step, scared of doing the things that are necessary to turn their lives around. That's incredibly rewarding."

After joining several Blues teammates in carrying the Stanley Cup down the Vegas red carpet, O'Reilly won the Selke over Boston's Patrice Bergeron, a four-time Selke winner and a finalist for the eighth consecutive year, and Vegas' Mark Stone.

O'Reilly was the Blues' top scorer with 77 points, including 28 goals in his first season in St. Louis. He also compiled a plus-22 rating and finished fourth in the NHL with 94 takeaways.

Giordano was rewarded for his remarkable performance 13 years into an NHL career spent entirely with the Flames. He is the fourth defenseman to win the Norris at 35 or older, joining Nicklas Lidstrom, Doug Harvey and Al MacInnis.

"I take a lot of pride in working out off the ice and keeping myself in good shape," Giordano said. "It's not easy to play late into your 30s. I think we're all aware of that as players, but (we) try to last as long as you can."

The Calgary captain led the NHL with a plus-39 rating and scored a career-best 74 points while regularly playing against opponents' best lines. Giordano beat out the last two winners of the Norris: San Jose's Brent Burns and Tampa Bay's Victor Hedman.

The 20-year-old Pettersson joins Pavel Bure (1992) as the only Calder winners in Canucks' history. Pettersson provided an offensive jolt to the Canucks, scoring a goal on his first NHL shot and finishing with a rookie-best 28 goals and 38 assists.

Wild forward Jason Zucker won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for leadership and humanitarian contributions to hockey. Florida center Aleksander Barkov won his first Lady Byng Trophy as the player best combining sportsmanship, gentlemanly conduct and ability, while Nashville's Wayne Simmonds won the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award.

___

This story has been corrected to show that Wayne Simmonds now plays for Nashville, not Philadelphia.

___

More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports


Martin Sheen wishes he hadn't changed his name from Ramon ...

Although Martin Sheen’s birth name is listed on his legal documents, the star regrets not professionally going by Ramon Estévez.

"The West Wing" actor, 81, said in an interview with Closer Weekly published Saturday that although he has not legally changed his name, he laments replacing it when he began his career.

"That’s one of my regrets. I never changed my name officially. It’s still Ramon Estévez on my birth certificate. It’s on my marriage license, my passport, driver’s license,” Sheen told the magazine. “Sometimes you get persuaded when you don’t have enough insight or even enough courage to stand up for what you believe in, and you pay for it later."

He continued: "But, of course, I’m only speaking for myself."

Sheen, whose mother was from Ireland and his father from Spain, struggled to convince his father to support his career. Sheen said his father was a “very practical” factory worker who wanted him to make “a better living than he did.”

John Aylward, 'ER' and 'The West Wing' actor, dies at 75: 'A great friend to many'

“We had some very, very painful confrontations about it,” Sheen said regarding his father’s hesitancy about show business.

Sheen’s father came around one night while they were watching Westerns. The “Apocalypse Now” actor told his father about his aspirations to move to New York to pursue entertainment, to which his father responded that he didn’t know how to sing or dance.

“I said, ‘Pop, you sit here every night watching Westerns — do you see anyone singing or dancing?’ He said, ‘No, but you don’t ride a horse either,' " Sheen said. “He finally saw that I was committed and realized it would be a life and death struggle with me if I didn’t pursue it. When I got ready to go, he blessed me, and he continued to bless me the rest of his life. I adored him.”

'Grace and Frankie' series finale spoilers! Co-creator Marta Kauffman on '9 to 5' reunion

The “Grace and Frankie” actor went on to have great success after his breakthrough role in the 1968 adaptation of “Hamlet” in New York City.

Sheen didn’t object when his own children — Emilio Estévez, 60, Ramon Estévez, 58, Charlie Sheen, 56, and Renée Estévez, 55 — decided to go into acting.

Sheen said that in fact, due to his own self-involved nature, he had become unaware of their ambitions.

'The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers': Emilio Estevez's surly Bombay is 'a guy who's given up'

However, he did give one piece of advice to his oldest son, Emilio, regarding his acting career.

“I was doing a show one time, and Emilio showed up. I thought he was there to visit me, but he’d gotten a part in the same show. The only influence I had on Emilio was to keep his name,” Sheen said. “When he started out, his agent was advising him to change his name to Sheen and he wouldn’t do it. And I thank God he didn’t.”


Uber ride from the airport can be ready once your flight lands

Uber Reserve that allows you to automatically order an Uber once your flight lands.

The feature allows you to reserve your ride up to 30 days in advance, so you know your ride is taken care of before you arrive.

You have to request a more expensive Uber Black or Uber Black SUV to sync your flight information, according to CNBC.

Uber announced Wednesday new features, including an update to Uber Reserve that allows you to automatically order an Uber once your flight lands.

Here's how it'll work.

After you book your flight, you can reserve your ride up to 30 days in advance, so you know your ride is taken care of before you arrive.

Uber will automatically adjust your reservation based on the flight information you provide, so your driver is ready and waiting at the airport when your flight lands –whether it’s on time, early or delayed.

Even though your ride will be requested for you when you land, it'll only come pick you up when you're ready. With options for pickup in 20 minutes, 10 minutes or as soon as possible, Uber's "Ready When You Are" feature allows riders to select a pickup time depending on how long they think it'll take for them to get off the flight and gather their luggage.

►Uber price glitch: An Uber glitch made my ride price go from $20 to $98. How can I get a refund?

You have to request a more expensive Uber Black or Uber Black SUV to sync your flight information, though, according to CNBC. An Uber Black is a luxury vehicle with a professional driver and typically costs at least 1.5 times more than a regular UberXL but it can go higher depending on demand and other variables, according to Ridester.

Ready When You Are is currently piloting at six airports including Nashville (BNA), New Orleans (MSY), Portland (PDX), Philadelphia (PHL), Seattle (SEA) and Toronto (YYZ). It is available on Android starting Wednesday, and the iOS version is coming in November, according to Uber.

Uber is also throwing in a free 60-minute wait time, so you won't be charged if you need an extra hour to meet your driver.

The driver will be waiting for you at the curbside for your pickup.

Uber also has a feature in the works that uses machine learning to predict demand at airports and has a line of cars waiting at the curb for when major flights arrive.

This curbside pickup feature is available at more than 15 airports across the world including Chicago Midway (MDW), Las Vegas (LAS), Los Angeles (LAX), New Orleans (MSY), New York (JFK and LGA), Philadelphia (PHL), Portland, Oregon (PDX), Salt Lake City (SLC), San Diego (SAN), San Francisco (SFO), San Jose, California (SJC), and Seattle (SEA) in the U.S. as well as a handful of international destinations. These include Kolkata, India (CCU); London Heathrow (LHR); Montreal (YUL), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (RUH) and Toronto (YYZ).

Now that vaccinations are available across the U.S. and travel is picking back up, riders are returning at a faster pace than drivers. As a result, riders have had to wait significantly longer times as drivers remained in shortage.

► Uber, Lyft shortages leave travelers frustrated and waiting: 'I marinated in Fort Lauderdale for 45 minutes':

If you're hungry after a long flight, Uber Eats customers can order and pay in-app from select airport restaurants and skip the line to pick up their meal. This feature is currently piloting at the Toronto Pearson Airport (YYZ), and will continue to roll out to U.S. airports in the coming months.

Uber's strategic airport upgrade comes at a time when travel is rebounding after more than a year and a half into the pandemic. Passenger traffic at airports has more than doubled compared to last year, but it's still lower than 2019 levels, according to TSA checkpoint data.

The number of U.S. airport trips on Uber grew 15% in the last two weeks of September, reaching a new high for 2021, according to an Uber news release.

However, travel spending has still not returned to pre-pandemic levels. In a report released by the U.S. Travel Association on Tuesday, it found that August 2021 travel spending totaled to $92 billion, 11% below August 2019 spending levels. August was also the first month in 2021 that travel spending dropped since January 2021, with levels for the year peaking at $100 billion in July.

The drop in spending corresponds to the prolonged spread of the delta variant and increasingly limited international options for American travelers. In recent weeks, destinations such as Bali, Argentina and Bulgaria have all banned U.S. travelers.

►Bali travel: Bali welcomes some international flights back, but American tourists still have to wait

►Why travelers may have to settle for alternative vacations: 'It’s slim pickings right now'

Michelle Shen is a Money & Tech Digital Reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her @michelle_shen10 on Twitter.

Is Uber Share available? Ride sharing option returns in select cities

Uber riders in select cities will have a chance to trim down their fares, as long as they’re comfortable sharing a ride with a stranger.

Ride-hailing service Uber on Tuesday announced the return of shared rides through UberX Share – formerly Uber Pool – in select U.S. markets. Shared rides, which allow drivers to pick up additional passengers along a route, are now available New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Phoenix, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh, with more cities slated to join this summer.

Competitor Lyft also brought back shared rides in May to Philadelphia, Miami, San Francisco, San Jose, Denver, Las Vegas and Atlanta.

Uber scrapped shared rides in 2020 after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The feature can help passengers shave up to 20% off of their total fare, according to the company – welcome news for passengers who have noticed the price of Ubers and Lyfts ticking up in recent months amid rising gas prices and a driver shortage.

Story continues below.

"At Uber, we know affordability is important to making transportation more accessible for more people – especially in the current economic climate," the company said in a news release. "By helping to match more people in fewer cars faster, we can help cut gas use, vehicle-miles and emissions per passenger, and make transportation more affordable."

Uber said the redesigned UberX Share will only match passengers with riders heading in the same direction to prevent delays and will add no more than 8 minutes to an arrival time compared to a normal UberX ride.

Uber’s website notes that mask-wearing is optional but recommended for all riders and drivers.

How much do drivers earn on shared rides?

Rideshare Drivers United, a California-based organization of Uber and Lyft drivers, says it is against the return of shared rides during the COVID-19 pandemic. The group demanded in February that Lyft end its shared rides program and has filed a complaint with the Division of Occupational Safety and Health of California.

Ridershare Drivers United argues that shared rides are unsafe and do not earn drivers enough money, according to member and part-time Lyft driver Nicole Moore.

"Our position right now is that shared rides during COVID are unsafe," Moore told USA TODAY. "They put more human beings in the car at once, so it's harder to keep that distance."

She added that the organization is not against large groups of people who are booking a typical UberX or Lyft ride.

HOW MUCH DO UBER DRIVERS MAKE?:That depends on where you drive.

UBER EATS:Uber Eats testing autonomous deliveries, allows food ordering at stadiums

You can follow USA TODAY reporter Bailey Schulz on Twitter @bailey_schulz and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter here for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday.

Dunkin' pumpkin spice is back; Starbucks PSL return unknown

Dunkin' has released a new Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew along with returning seasonal items.

When does Starbucks release its Pumpkin Spice Latte in 2021? The coffee giant hasn't announced a date.

Pumpkin spice cup noodles will be released in late October at select Walmart stores.

Pumpkin spice season is back at Dunkin' earlier than ever before.

The fall menu will be available at participating Dunkin’ restaurants nationwide by Aug. 18, the chain announced Aug. 11. It features the new Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew and returning Pumpkin Spice Signature Latte, pumpkin-flavored coffee, donuts, muffins and Munchkins donut holes.

Dunkin's seasonal menu also features the Apple Cider Donut and two new drinks: Apple Cranberry Dunkin’ Refresher and Apple Cranberry Dunkin’ Coconut Refresher.

Introducing the official flavor of fall earlier and earlier has been a trend for coffee chains. Last year, pumpkin pandemonium returned to Dunkin’ Aug. 19, two days earlier than in 2019. In 2020, pumpkin came back to Starbucks on Aug. 25.

►McDonald's celebrity meal:Saweetie Meal arrives at McDonald's Monday for a limited time with a new ‘Saweetstakes’ contest

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For a limited time, the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew and Pumpkin Spice Signature Latte in medium will be available for $3, Anh-Dao Kefor, Dunkin’ director of integrated marketing, said in a statement to USA TODAY.

Starbucks has not yet confirmed when its Pumpkin Spice Latte – the drink that started the pumpkin craze 18 years ago – will be released.

According to a survey of 2,000 consumers 18 and older by Nissin Foods, more than 50% of Gen Z respondents are obsessed with pumpkin spice. The ramen noodle company is releasing a limited-edition Cup Noodles Pumpkin Spice flavor at select Walmart stores in late October.

Starbucks PSL, Dairy Queen and more

While a firm date isn't known for the return of Starbucks PSL, the coffee giant said earlier this month that seasonal products were returning to grocery store shelves in August along with some new additions, including Pumpkin Spice Flavored Non-Dairy Creamer and Pumpkin Spice Cold Brew Concentrate.

Cracker Barrel kicked off fall Tuesday with the limited launch of its Pumpkin Pie Latte, which is available iced or hot until Nov. 29.

Tim Hortons' pumpkin spice drinks and baked goods launch Aug. 25. Dairy Queen also said it is bringing back its Pumpkin Pie Blizzard Treat and Pumpkin Cookie Butter Shake for a limited time. Originally, Dairy Queen announced its pumpkin items would return Aug. 30, but told USA TODAY now the products are "coming soon in early September."

More pumpkin announcements are expected soon with products hitting store shelves and restaurant menus in the coming weeks.

►Save better, spend better: Money tips and advice delivered right to your inbox. Sign up here

►Sephora at Kohl's locations are opening:See which stores are getting a makeover and when.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Kelly Tyko on Twitter: @KellyTyko. For shopping news, tips and deals, join us on our Shopping Ninjas Facebook group.

Uber etiquette: Do's and don'ts for passengers

Johnny Diaz

Sun Sentinel via TNS

Uber made headlines last week with new changes to its ride-sharing app.

The company introduced a tipping feature that is expected to roll out to all its U.S. markets by the end of July.

But do you know how much to tip? Whether you can request a ride for another? Or whether you can request your own music on the radio? Or eat in the back seat?

Whether you’re using Uber, or rival Lyft, here are some do’s and don’ts for first-time riders, gathered from the companies and drivers themselves.

Call me ready

Using your smartphone app, request the driver when you are absolutely ready. “Don’t make the driver wait once they’ve arrived,” said Uber driver Virginia Davis, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. “Text or call the driver if the location is hard to find, like a hard-to-see house number or street.”

You can spot the car by the lighted emblems on the front windows.

Read more:

Regulators scramble as self-driving cars are poised to take to the road

Uber adds option to tip drivers as it heads in new direction

Uber also recently announced it will be charging passengers by the minute for making a driver wait more than two minutes, beginning in August. And it will charge riders $5 if they cancel a ride two minutes after they requested it.

First-time riders

As a courtesy, so that you’ll become a repeat customer, your first ride with Uber and Lyft is free (up to $15 on Uber and $20 for Lyft). You can also get free rides by referring new passengers using a coupon code. The promo codes can be found on each of the apps and websites.

Hopping in

Depending on the driver, he or she may open the door for you and load your luggage.

“Some passengers don’t give you enough time to open the door,” said Alex Figueroa, a Lyft driver from Miami. “I always suggest to drivers that if you have extra time, open the door. The passenger will feel very welcomed.”

Most passengers hop into the rear seats and often sit diagonal from the driver. But if you prefer to ride in the front seat, check with your driver if that’s cool.

No, right turn

Drivers use GPS in their app to ferry drivers to their destinations. “If you’d like a different route than the Uber app, please do tell,” said Davis.

To tip or not to tip

Uber has been known for being a cashless experience. Some drivers welcome cash tips, but it’s completely voluntary. A new feature on the app will allow passengers to tip its U.S. drivers by the end of July. Riders can tip after they’ve rated their driver. Passengers will have up to 30 days after their trip to tip the driver. Don’t know how much to tip? Uber will have a “set tip” option once the feature is available.

In the meantime, if you’re in an Uber and you enjoyed the experience, ask the driver whether he or she would like to accept a cash tip.

Passengers using Lyft can leave a cash tip, or add a tip using the app. The tip will be charged to the credit card on file. Lyft customers have up to 72 hours to leave a tip after a ride.

Yes, you can order a ride for another

Another new feature out last week in an app update is primarily designed for Uber users who want a simple way to arrange rides for parents, grandparents and other loved ones unable to drive themselves. Previously, Uber users ordering on behalf of another passenger had to call the driver to explain the situation.

When you ask to be picked up at somewhere besides your current location, the app will give you the option to designate the ride for someone else. The passenger won't need the Uber app; they'll get a text identifying the driver, car make and other information. Uber will charge the you, the person who ordered the ride.

Five stars

If you want to tip in a different way, give the driver a good rating on the app. The driver will also rate you as a passenger, so behave!

Clean up

Speaking of good behavior, the drivers mostly use their own cars (typically a Toyota Camry or a hybrid). If you need to munch on a snack, don’t leave things behind (wrappers, water bottles, trash). “As soon as you’re dropping off that passenger and are ready to pick up someone else, you don’t have time to clean up your car,” said Figueroa. Also, no smoking.

What's your jam?

Some drivers let riders play their own music in the vehicle. Or they may have power cords available for passengers to charge their phones.

“It’s up to the driver to offer things like that,” Figueroa said. “Ask (the passengers) if they want to play their own music. It makes (the drive) fun and easy.”

USA Today contributed to this report

Uber's Latest Plan to Make Its Drivers Happier: Bathroom Breaks ...

John Rosevear

The Motley Fool

Ride-hailing giant Uber said this week it's rolling out a host of changes to its software app that aim to improve its drivers' experiences.

It's the latest move in the escalating battle between Uber and its smaller rival, Lyft. Both are pushing aggressively to expand, and both are battling hard to lure — and retain — drivers to their services.

Uber pointedly showed off improvements for its drivers

In a post on its official blog, Uber announced several new features in the drivers' version of its smartphone app. All are intended to make life a bit easier for Uber drivers. Among the new features:

"Driver Destinations": Twice a day, drivers can input a destination and Uber will only send trip requests that are along the inputted route. The idea is to help drivers stay on course if they're headed home at the end of the day, for instance, or if they're heading to work (at another job) in the morning and want to be able to pick up a rider or two on the way.

"Pause Requests": Drivers can now hit a button in the app to "pause" service requests and take a break. In the past, drivers have had to decline trip requests in order to buy time for a bathroom break, for instance, or to refill their vehicle with gas.

Other new features include a new function that will allow drivers to be paid on demand, rather than weekly, and a new policy (rolling out gradually across the country) that will pay drivers who spend more than two minutes waiting for a passenger.

Uber didn't already have all of that?

It does seem odd that Uber didn't build in functions allowing its drivers to take bathroom breaks and head home right from the start. But treating its drivers with thoughtful consideration has not exactly been an Uber hallmark.

In fact, Uber has long had a tense relationship with its drivers. Groups of drivers have organized protests against policy changes and fare cuts. Drivers have also sued to be recognized as employees rather than contracts. Uber recently settled a pair of class action suits filed by drivers, promising to increase pay and to spell out certain policies more clearly to its drivers.

Uber now seems to be facing up (at least a little bit) to the need to make its service more attractive to new drivers — not to mention to hang on to the drivers it has already brought on board. That includes finding ways to make suitable vehicles available to potential drivers who may not have one of their own. About a year ago, Uber started a program called Xchange to lease vehicles to new drivers — but the program has recently been sharply criticized: Drivers with subprime credit pay huge charges to lease vehicles via Xchange.

Toyota (NYSE:TM), which recently made a modest investment in Uber, will begin leasing vehicles to Uber drivers later this year under a new program, one that will hopefully give drivers a better deal.

But meanwhile, Lyft is responding with a different program put together with its new partnerGeneral Motors (NYSE:GM), one that could be more appealing to cash-strapped potential drivers.

Lyft's new program with GM rents vehicles to drivers at a weekly rate that starts at $99 and drops as drivers give more rides to Lyft customers. Give enough rides, and the rate drops all the way to zero.

The upshot: It's a start, but Uber needs to do a lot more

There's a sense that Uber is just biding its time until it can replace all of its pesky human drivers with self-driving cars. But while self-driving technology is making huge strides, it's clear Uber is going to have to deal with human drivers for at least several more years.

These latest changes to its app won't hurt its relationships with its drivers. But I don't know that they'll help a whole lot, either — and meanwhile, Lyft will do its best to take advantage.

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Nashville Symphony announces return for 2021-22 season

After a year and a half of silence at the Schermerhorn, the Nashville Symphony will make its long-awaited return this September — just in time to celebrate its 75th anniversary.

The symphony has just revealed its 2021-2022 season which features more than 100 concerts. It will kick off September 16-18 with the ensemble's triumphant return to Schermerhorn Symphony Center, where they'll perform pieces by Copland, Tower, Dvořák and Schubert during "Fanfare For Music City."

Other highlights include a pop series with concerts from Leslie Odom, Jr., Stewart Copeland and Ben Folds, an Easter presentation of Handel's "Messiah," collaborations with Nashville Ballet and live performances of the "Star Wars," "Harry Potter" and "Toy Story" film scores.

Last summer, after shutting down live performances in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Nashville Symphony ultimately decided to go on hiatus through July of 2021, issuing furloughs to 128 employees.

When the musicians return to the stage with longtime music director Giancarlo Guerrero, they'll do so as a smaller chamber orchestra, allowing for social distancing. The symphony plans to bring the full orchestra back together in January.

“For the past year I have been lucky enough to make music with several orchestras in Europe, so I have become an expert at working with the smaller, distanced orchestra,” Guerrero said in a release.

"...While I am so looking forward to having all of the musicians back onstage by the end of the season, the reduced orchestra size this fall will allow us to dive into repertoire that we have never performed before. This season, the orchestra and I will get to flex some new creative muscles. Even as we relearn what normal is, there is an opportunity to be more than what we were. We can learn from these challenges and get to something better than normal. The bumps along the road can become tools to finding better ways to serve our musicians and our community.”

Season ticket packages are on sale now at www.nashvillesymphony.org. Tickets to individual concerts go on sale July 30.

Nashville Symphony 2021-22 season schedule

Below is the Nashville Symphony's official rundown of all concerts announced for 2021-22.

Amazon Classical Series

Opening Weekend: Fanfare for Music City, September 16-18, 2021 – Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man and Joan Tower’s Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman kick off the Nashville Symphony’s return to the stage, followed by Dvořák’s Serenade in D Minor for Winds and Schubert’s “Unfinished” Symphony. This performance will also feature Strum by Leonard Bernstein Award-winner and Sphinx Organization composer-in-residence Jessie Montgomery.

Beethoven’s First, October 21-23, 2021 – The woodwind and brass sections will be featured on Stravinsky’s Symphonies of Wind Instruments, and the Nashville Symphony’s Organ Curator Andrew Risinger takes the stage for Poulenc’s Organ Concerto. The performance closes with Beethoven’s First, as the orchestra continues to belatedly celebrate the composer’s 250th birthday.

Next Generation of Classical Musicians, November 4-6, 2021 – Accelerando program alumna Aalia Hanif, flute, joins the orchestra as soloist on Borne’s Fantaisie brillante, followed by another Accelerando alumnus, Bernard Ekwuazi, trombone, on Larsson’s Concertino for Trombone and String Orchestra. Originally commissioned by Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero and the Nashville Symphony in 2010, Richard Strauss’ lyrical Ariadne auf Naxos Symphony-Suite, arranged by former Nashville Symphony Principal Librarian D. Wilson Ochoa, will close the program.

Strings on Parade with Jun Iwasaki, November 18-20, 2021 – Concertmaster Jun Iwasaki leads and performs in this performance featuring Philip Herbert’s Elegy: In Memoriam – Stephen Lawrence, which memorializes Stephen Lawrence, a Black British teenager murdered in 1993 by a gang of young white men. The work is composed for 18 string players, each representing one year of Lawrence’s life. This performance also includes Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires and Dvořák’s Serenade in E Major for Strings.

Dvořák & Mozart, January 7-9, 2022 – In the first concert that sees the full orchestra reunited onstage, this performance will open with Suppé’s Poet and Peasant: Overture, followed by Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24 featuring up-and-coming soloist George Li and closing with Dvořák’s genial Symphony No. 8. Lawrence S. Levine Memorial Concert

Tchaikovsky's ‘Pathétique’, January 20-22, 2022 – Tchaikovsky’s brooding Sixth Symphony mirrors the composer’s own personal torment, while Mozart’s Concerto for Flute and Harp will feature Nashville Symphony Principal Flute Érik Gratton and Principal Harp Licia Jaskunas. Opening the performance will be Florence Price’s Dances in the Canebrakes, a short orchestral suite composed just months before the composer’s unexpected death.

Brahms, Birds & ‘blue cathedral’, February 11 & 12, 2022 – Concertmaster Jun Iwasaki and Principal Cellist Kevin Bate perform Brahms’ Concerto for Violin and Cello, the first orchestral concerto to feature violin and cello together. Jennifer Higdon’s blue cathedral, her most performed work, places a special emphasis on Higdon’s own instrument, the flute, and was written as a commission to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Curtis Institute of Music. Also included are Sibelius’ The Swan of Tuonela and Ravel’s Mother Goose: Suite.

Joyce Yang Plays Grieg, February 24-26, 2022 - Pianist Joyce Yang returns as the featured soloist on Grieg’s Piano Concerto. The performance opens with one of the most popular works in orchestral literature, Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain. Closing the program will be Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5, arguably the most popular of the composer’s 15.

An Evening of Firsts, March 17-19, 2022 – The only live recording event of the season features Brad Warnaar’s Cornet Concerto, featuring José Sibaja on cornet, and C.F. Kip Winger’s Symphony No. 1, both of which will be included on forthcoming releases on Naxos. John Adams’ The Chairman Dances: Foxtrot for Orchestra and Barber’s Symphony No. 1 complete the all-American evening.

Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto and Debussy’s La Mer, April 8-10, 2022 – Thomas Wilkins, music director of the Omaha Symphony and principal conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, comes to Nashville as a guest conductor for the weekend. Highlighting the performance will be Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto featuring acclaimed soloist Adele Anthony and Debussy’s impressionistic La mer. Also included are Coleridge-Taylor’s Hiawatha: Suite from the Ballet and Holst’s Hammersmith.

Guerrero Conducts Messiah, April 14-16, 2022 – The Nashville Symphony Chorus returns for their first Classical Series performance in two years for this springtime performance of Handel’s Messiah, presented here as an Easter Oratorio, as it was during the composer’s own lifetime.

Tchaikovsky, Ravel & Sibelius, May 6 & 7, 2022 – Assistant Conductor Nathan Aspinall makes his Classical Series debut to conduct Tchaikovsky’s The Tempest, a tone poem based on the Shakespeare work. GRAMMY®-nominated pianist Terrence Wilson returns to Nashville to perform Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G. Sibelius’ Symphony No. 5 rounds out the weekend.

Ballet Extravaganza, May 19-22, 2022 – The Nashville Ballet returns to Schermerhorn Symphony Center for a full performance of Stravinsky’s ultimate Russian fairytale, The Firebird, and Copland’s evocation of the notorious bandit on the American open prairie in Billy the Kid.

Beethoven’s Ninth, June 2-5, 2022 – Marking the 75th Anniversary celebration of the Nashville Symphony, the season will close with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, featuring the Nashville Symphony Chorus. This performance opens with a new work by Nashville Symphony violist Christopher Farrell, a special 75th Anniversary commission, along with Brio by Augusta Read Thomas and Pulse by Composer Lab fellow Brian Raphael Nabors.

FirstBank Pops Series

This eight-weekend series features big-name guest artists and dynamic themed programs, all accompanied by the orchestra.

Music City Christmas, December 9, 10, 12 & 16-18, 2021 – Lopez-Yañez hosts this one-of-a-kind holiday symphonic spectacular featuring dancers, Broadway singers and some very special guests, including Jolly Old Saint Nick himself.

Revolution: The Music of the Beatles. A Symphonic Experience, January 13-15, 2022 – The Beatles come to life in this new authorized symphonic tribute featuring orchestral arrangements of more than 25 Fab Four hits, accompanied by stunning video, animation and hundreds of rare and unseen photos.

Disco Fever: Get Down Tonight, February 3-5, 2022 – Celebrating the unforgettable era of songs you love to love with orchestrations written by Lopez-Yanez.

Pops Spectacular: Orchestral Greatest Hits, March 3-6, 2022 – This powerhouse program features Guerrero leading the Nashville Symphony in a selection of orchestral favorites, including Ravel’s Boléro, Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, Strauss’ The Blue Danube and Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries.

Stewart Copeland: Police Deranged, March 24-26, 2022 – It’s a high-energy orchestral celebration of The Police’s biggest hits, including “Roxanne,” “Don’t Stand So Close to Me,” “Message in a Bottle” and many more, with Copeland on drums, three singers and a guitarist joining the orchestra.

Nat King Cole at 100, April 28-30, 2022 – A celebration of Nat King Cole's legacy featuring the orchestra, a full band and a parade of special guests led by Patti Austin and Terri Lyne Carrington.

Movies Series

Movie lovers can experience their favorite films as never before, with the Nashville Symphony providing live accompaniment to beloved movies screened in HD above the stage:

The Muppet Christmas Carol in Concert, December 3-5, 2021

Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens in Concert, April 1-3, 2022

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince™ in Concert, May 12-15, 2022

Back to the Future in Concert, June 17-19, 2022

Toy Story in Concert, July 8-10, 2022

Jazz Series

The Nashville Symphony is one of Music City’s leading presenters of jazz, and this series offers the chance to hear world-class artists in a sparkling acoustical setting:

Pat Metheny Side-Eye w/ James Francies & Joe Dyson, February 7, 2022 – 10-time GRAMMY®-winner Pat Metheny makes his first-ever Schermerhorn appearance.

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, March 22, 2022 – Trumpeter Marsalis brings his award-winning ensemble back to the Schermerhorn.

Prohibition with the Nashville Symphony, May 25, 2022 – This concert celebrates the Roaring ’20s with singers, dancers, vintage photos and video, all accompanied by the orchestra. Classics include “Mack the Knife,” “Puttin’ on the Ritz” and more.

The Ann & Monroe Carell Family Trust Family Series

Created for children ages 10 and under, Family Series concerts offer a relaxed, sensory-friendly atmosphere for all patrons. Each themed concert is preceded by family-friendly activities, including the Symphony’s Instrument Petting Zoo.

Symphony in Space!, January 15, 2022 – Blast off with Cadet Enrico and the Nashville Symphony’s Sonic Spaceship on a mission to save the galaxy! Set a course for adventure with selections from The Planets, The Firebird and more out-of-this-world music.

Carnival of the Animals, February 5, 2022 – Take an imaginative journey through the animal kingdom in this zoological musical, featuring a fully orchestrated setting of Saint-Saëns’ classic score, along with engaging songs like “Talk to the Animals” and “Kokowanda Bay.”

When Instruments Roamed the Earth, March 26, 2022 – In prehistoric times, strange creatures walked the planet. These were the ancient ancestors of musical instruments that inspired melodious makers in brass and wood to create the instruments we see in the orchestra today. Join Sir Humphrey Treble-Clef on a journey into the times When Instruments Roamed the Earth®!

Gold Rush: An American Musical Adventure, April 30, 2022 – Race across America with Rico the Roughrider and stake a claim for gold in the Wild West! Outwit outlaws and befriend buffalo as you discover the sounds of American music by Copland, Sousa, Grofé, Elmer Bernstein and more.

Blakeford Matinee Series

Featuring concerts on Sunday afternoons, including selections from the Nashville Symphony’s Classical and Pops Series.

Music City Christmas, December 12, 2021

Dvořák & Mozart, January 9, 2022

Pops Spectacular: Orchestral Greatest Hits, March 6, 2022

Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto and Debussy’s La Mer, April 10, 2022

Beethoven’s Ninth, June 5, 2022

Additional Concerts

All concerts listed below are with the Nashville Symphony, except where noted. More concerts will be announced in the coming months.

Uber pairs with smart suitcase to return your lost bags

Jelisa Castrodale

USA TODAY

Uber seems to connect with other companies faster than Leonardo DiCaprio can, um, connect with would-be starlets at a Cannes pre-party. The private car service has just announced a new partnership with Bluesmart, the smartphone-connected carry-on bag that raised a ridiculous $2 million in Indiegogo funding. The $299 bags have all kinds of integrated technology including real-time location tracking, proximity alerts and notification if the suitcase is left behind at your departure airport. And that's where Uber comes in: if your Bluesmart bag lands after you do, you'll receive a notification that it has arrived and would be prompted to order an Uber to deliver it to you.

Diego Saez-Gil, the CEO and co-founder of Bluesmart said in a statement

"We are super excited to announce this integration with Uber, a company that shares our mission. With this integration we hope to reduce the hassle that travelers have to experience when airlines lose their bags. We believe that technology should make our lives easier and this is the goal of this collaboration.”

Yes, an airport would deliver your bag to you for free. But so will Uber, and its Bluesmart delivery service eliminates the need to wait around your hotel for hours, pacing the plush carpet until your bag arrives, or trying to go about your day wondering whether you're going to have a change of clothes when you get back to your room. Also, this partnership doesn't just benefit the bags themselves; when you land at your destination airport, your smartphone will immediately give you the option of ordering an Uber for both you and your Bluesmart.

Even better, people who order the bag will receive a coupon code giving them a free ride to the airport from Uber.

This partnership is a smart move by a bag that's already smarter than I am. As Tnooz pointed out, Bluesmart needs to provide as many unique or proprietary features as it can to justify their early adopters' high expectations, as well as their high price.

The first Bluesmart bags will be delivered in October, 2015. That gives them plenty of time to figure out how I can score a Cannes date with Leo next May.

Uber adds tipping feature, matching Lyft

Marco della Cava

USA TODAY

SAN FRANCISCO — Uber is adding a tipping option to its ride-hailing service, a feature that has long been a part of rival Lyft and something Uber drivers have been requesting for years.

The new feature debuts in Seattle, Minneapolis and Houston on Tuesday, with more cities to roll out over the next few weeks and every market covered by the end of July, according to an email Uber sent drivers signed by head of U.S. operations Rachel Holt and head of driver experience Aaron Schildkrout.

"We've heard you," the note reads. "You've told us what you want, and now it's time we step up and give you the driving experience you deserve, because simply put, Uber wouldn't exist without you."

Uber is committing to what it calls "180 days of change (and beyond)," which will also include driver-focused updates such as a shorter cancellation window (the driver gets a fee if you cancel your ride after more than 2 minutes, down from 5 minutes); a small fee for waiting for a passenger starting at the 2-minute mark; and a new $2 charge is being added to Teen Account trips.

Tips will be voluntary, and do not impact how a driver might rate a passenger because the driver's rating is required before the tipping request is sent out, according to both Uber and Lyft spokespeople.

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The news comes as Uber begins implementing 47 recommendations from a three-and-a-half month internal investigation led by former U.S. attorney general Eric Holder, which were revealed to Uber staff last week.

But those findings were all focused on addressing Uber's myriad corporate issues, which range from accusations of fostering a sexist and cut-throat work environment to promoting a culture where only workaholics following CEO Travis Kalanick's mandate were rewarded.

Uber's driver relationship issue have persisted for some time independent of its workplace problems. Uber's former president Jeff Jones, who left the company in the wake of ex-engineer Susan Fowler's explosive allegations about sexism at the ride-hailing company, was brought on board specifically to address its relationship with drivers, to little avail.

On Tuesday, Uber co-founder Garrett Camp posted an introspective essay on Medium in which he lamented how the company went off its tracks and specifically spotlighted its relationship with its street-level contractors.

"A friend recently asked me, 'What went wrong?' and the answer is that we had not listened well enough to those who got us here… our team and especially our drivers," wrote Camp, who remains a powerful figure on Uber's board but otherwise has not been involved in the company's day to day operations for some time.

In a recent report on Uber drivers called "The Faceless Boss," NPR reporter Aarti Shahani surveyed 1,000 drivers and found that the company's drivers had a few overarching complaints.

"For one, they felt this was a weird job because it's the only one most have had were they literally can't reach the person in charge," Shahani says.

The other big issues were not being sure what they would make on each ride, and being tracked while on duty via the Uber app. Shahani says that "many drivers fell like Uber controls them in ways that are odd, and they don't like it."

Regardless of Uber's urgent need to change both its internal culture and its tarnished brand image, the new tipping option may have been inevitable.

In April, the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission granted a petition by the city's Independent Drivers Guild — a union affiliate representing 50,000 app-based drivers — to create a rule that would require ride-hailing services to add in-app tipping, a move that could ultimately have had a ripple effect nationwide.

On Tuesday, the Guild celebrated Uber's move as "an important win for drivers" given that "cuts to driver pay across the ride-hail industry have made tipping income more important than ever," said Jim Conigliaro Jr., IDG founder and Machinists Union official.

Uber executives had long argued that the no-muss aspect of its non-tipping approach — get in a car, ride to your destination, and get out — was one of the most popular aspects of its service with riders.

Much as with Lyft's long-time tipping option, Uber passengers can use the new feature to reward a particularly memorable ride after the fact. On Monday, Lyft announced it had distributed $250 million in tips to its drivers.

Uber's issues with drivers reached a low point in February, when Kalanick was caught berating a driver who was complaining about fare changes on a dashcam video.

What's more, Uber's tenuous business model — analysts suspect current ride-hailing prices are being kept artificially low with subsidies — is hampered by having to pay the humans at the wheel. Kalanick has pushed his company into the fierce race for self-driving car technology specifically so he could eliminate the driver.

“The reason Uber could be expensive is you’re paying for the other dude in the car," Kalanick said at a Code Conference in 2014. "When there is no other dude in the car, the cost of taking an Uber anywhere is cheaper.”

Follow USA TODAY tech reporter Marco della Cava on Twitter.

McDonald's Szechuan Sauce can be ordered on app for a limited time

McDonald's viral Szechuan Sauce is back at restaurants for a limited time.

The fast-food chain announced the limited return last week and said the dipping sauce would be available for a few days, while supplies last. It’s described as a savory and slightly sweet taste profile with hints of soy, garlic, ginger and mild vinegar.

The sauce originally debuted in 1998 as part of a McDonald's promotion for the Disney animated film Mulan.

In 2017, after a nearly 20-year hiatus, interest got a big uptick when the sauce was mentioned on an episode of “Rick and Morty” – an edgy, adult-oriented animated series on Cartoon Network. The sauce returned for one day in 2017 and supplies quickly ran out.

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“It’s only returned three other times in the past 24 years, and we’re excited for fans to get another taste of the elusive favorite for just a few days,” McDonald’s said in a statement.

It also came back in 2018 and there are packages of the old sauce for sale on eBay. Prices vary but a single sauce that expired in 2017 was listed for $950 March 21.

McDonald’s Szechuan Sauce 2022: How to get

This time, the sauce will only be available on the McDonald’s app for free when selected as a dipping sauce option for Chicken McNuggets. Five sauces can also be purchased a la carte on the app, McDonald's said.

The sauce also will come in five different golden foil designs that spell out "Szechuan."

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McDonald's app deals

McDonald's has several ongoing deals on its app and with the MyMcDonald's Rewards program. Offers and daily deals can vary by account and region.

Don't have the app? McDonald's says on its website that you'll get a free large fries when you download the app and join MyMcDonald’s Rewards through March 31. Then after your first purchase, you get the choice of Hash Browns, Vanilla Cone, McChicken or a Cheeseburger for free.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Kelly Tyko on Twitter: @KellyTyko. For shopping news, tips and deals, join us on our Shopping Ninjas Facebook group.

Johnny Depp to return to the stand in his defamation case against ...

(CNN) Actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are in a contentious defamation trial in a Virginia court, with proceedings set to resume on Monday.

Both Heard and Depp, who met in 2009 and were married from 2015-2016 , accuse the other of acts of physical violence during their relationship. They have both denied the other's claims.

The former couple settled their divorce in August 2016, releasing a joint statement which read in part, "Our relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love."

The trial, which started on April 11, is set to last six weeks. Heard has not yet testified.

Depp began his testimony on April 19, and he is expected to continue being cross-examined by Heard's attorney on Monday.

Here's some of what came up during his testimony so far.

Frequent arguments

Heard alleged in 2016 that Depp was "verbally and physically abusive" to her, according to a complaint she filed that year, alleging Depp bruised her face after throwing a phone at her in their Los Angeles home.

Depp denied the allegation and was not charged with any crime.

Depp testified Tuesday that the couple frequently argued but said, "Never did I myself reach the point of striking Ms. Heard in any way nor have I ever struck any woman in my life."

Audio recordings of some of their heated exchanges have been played in court, including one in which Heard discussed striking Depp.

Amber Heard speaks to one of her attorneys at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse on April 19.

"You didn't get punched; you got hit. I'm sorry I hit you like this, but I did not punch you," Heard purportedly said.

Laurel Anderson, a clinical psychologist who worked with Depp and Heard in 2015 as their marriage counselor, testified in a video played in court on April 14 that Heard told her she "fought back" after Depp would become physical. Anderson said the former couple "engaged in what I saw as mutual abuse."

Depp has also claimed he physically defended himself at times, speaking about one incident in which Heard said her nose was injured. Depp said in court that his head connected with Heard's forehead while he was trying to "restrain" Heard.

"There was not an intentional head butt," the actor said.

A severed finger

Depp testified that his finger was severed by shattered glass in 2015 after Heard allegedly threw a bottle of vodka at him . He sought medical care but said in court that he told others at the time that he injured his finger by slamming it in a door.

"I didn't want to disclose that it had been Ms. Heard that had thrown a vodka bottle at me and then took my finger off," he said during his testimony. "I didn't want to get her in trouble. I tried to just keep things as copacetic and easy as possible for everyone. I didn't want to put her into that mix."

Johnny Depp displays the middle finger of his hand in court, injured in 2015.

Depp said he has had multiple surgeries to repair the finger and contracted Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) during recovery. MRSA causes staph infections that are resistant to some antibiotics and often are difficult to treat.

Dr. David Kipper, who has treated Depp, corroborated portions of Depp's story in a deposition played in court this week.

Heard's lawyers have referenced statements Depp made to ER doctors at the time to argue that Depp cut off his own finger. Depp denies this.

Depp was also asked about his actions following his injury, including when he used his injured finger to write on the walls with a mixture of his blood and paint. Depp confirmed in court that he had done so.

Text messages

Depp testified he was "embarrassed" by the messages read in court and said he uses "dark humor" at times to express himself.

Johnny Depp during testimony on April 21.

Other text messages were shared in which Depp discussed his drug use and alcohol use with friends like actor Paul Bettany and musician Marilyn Manson.

'Pirates of the Caribbean'

As Depp's lawsuit focuses on the damage that has been done to his once lucrative career, some conversation was focused on "Pirates of the Caribbean," the popular franchise that Depp led for five films over 15 years.

Rottenborn, Heard's lawyer, argued that Depp was aware he was "likely out" of the sixth film or that Disney would drop or shrink his role in it, prior to the publication of Heard's op-ed. Depp denied this.

Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow in "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl."

"I would be a real simpleton to not think that there was an effect on my career based on Ms. Heard's words, whether they mentioned my name or not," Depp said on the stand.

Depp sheepishly admitted in his testimony that he has not seen the first film in the "Pirates" franchise. He said, however, "I believed in the character wholeheartedly."

However, when asked by Rottenborn, "If Disney came to you with $300 million and a million alpacas, nothing on this Earth would get you to go back and work with Disney on a 'Pirates of the Caribbean' film, correct?"

"That is true, Mr. Rottenborn," Depp replied.