NHL PLAYOFFS
The Vegas Golden Knights have won their first Stanley Cup with a 9-3 romp in game 5 over the Florida Panthers last night, delivering their city a true Vegas-style party from dazzling passes to a Mark Stone hat trick to all-out goal celebrations. Coach Bruce Cassidy started five of the original Vegas players known as the Misfits and put the sixth on the second shift. Cassidy sounded confident the day before the game that his team would play well, and it certainly did. Vegas blew open a one-goal game in the second period to lead 6-1.
Meanwhile, Jonathan Marchessault has won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP for leading the Vegas Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup. Marchessault led the Golden Knights with 13 goals and was second with 25 points during their playoff run. This trip to the final ended on a winning note unlike the first one Vegas made with Marchessault five years ago during its inaugural season. Marchessault is one of six original Knights players left from the start of the expansion franchise in 2017.
Jack Eichel is a Stanley Cup champion with the Vegas Golden Knights less than two years removed from undergoing neck surgery that no NHL player had previously come back from. Eichel led all playoff scorers with 26 points and set up two goals in Vegas' Cup-clinching victory. He was the Golden Knights' best all around player throughout their playoff run. He lived up to the expectations that came with Vegas acquiring him in a blockbuster trade in 2021. Eichel then returned to top form after undergoing artificial disk replacement surgery.
The Vegas Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup thanks to a deep roster that could withstand injuries all season and sustain a long playoff run. Twenty different players registered a point on the way to the franchise's first championship in its sixth season in the NHL. And success in the postseason beating Winnipeg, Edmonton, Dallas and then Florida in the final didn't come out of nowhere. Vegas never lost more than four games all season in finishing atop the Western Conference. The Golden Knights followed that same recipe to the Cup.
MLB
Clay Holmes pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth inning and the New York Yankees stormed back from four runs down against Max Scherzer to beat the skidding New York Mets 7-6 in their Subway Series opener at Citi Field. Giancarlo Stanton and DJ LeMahieu homered off Scherzer, and pinch-hitter Josh Donaldson drove in the tiebreaking run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth after Brandon Nimmo misplayed a ball in center field. Before the seventh, reliever Drew Smith became the second Mets pitcher to get ejected this season for using an illegal foreign substance. Nimmo hit his eighth career leadoff homer and Jeff McNeil had a two-run single for the Mets, who have lost nine of 10.
Drew Smith became the second New York Mets pitcher to get ejected this season for using an illegal foreign substance when he was tossed from the Subway Series opener against the Yankees at Citi Field. The reliever never even threw a pitch. He was checked by umpires as he entered the game in the top of the seventh inning with the Mets trailing 7-6 and never made it to the mound. Smith was stopped for a routine check as he reached the infield. Moments later, he was ejected by first base umpire Bill Miller, the crew chief. Max Scherzer, who started Tuesday night for the Mets, served a 10-game suspension after being ejected April 19 at Dodger Stadium for having an illegal sticky substance on his pitching hand.
Randal Grichuk lined a two-run double in a three-run 10th inning and Colorado held on to beat the Boston Red Sox in 10 innings 7-6, giving the Rockies their second straight win at Fenway Park. Jurickson Profar added an RBI sacrifice fly in the 10th and as the Rockies improved to 13-21 on the road. They had lost eight of 10 road games before arriving in Boston. Boston, extended to extra innings in three straight games for the first time since June 25-28, 2000, dropped to 33-35, last in the AL East.
Zack Wheeler threw six strong innings, Kyle Schwarber led off the game with a 450-foot homer and the Philadelphia Phillies kept piling on in a crushed the Arizona Diamondbacks 15-3 last night. The D-backs had their six-game winning streak snapped. Philadelphia has won eight of its last 10 games. The Phillies had 20 hits and every starter had at least one, led by Bryson Stott’s 3 for 5 night that included a homer and two RBIs. Nick Castellanos added two doubles and three RBIs. The Phillies jumped to a 4-0 lead in the first inning, starting with Schwarber’s leadoff homer that left his bat at more than 111 miles per hour.
Furious Oakland Athletics fans came en masse with a single message to owner John Fisher: “SELL.” Buddies Brian Guido and Scott Finney of Sacramento each took off early from work because there was no way they were going to miss the festivities a couple of hours away in Oakland. Thousands of frustrated, heartbroken A’s fans arrived early for tailgating and solidarity at the Oakland Coliseum to both celebrate their team and protest a planned relocation to Las Vegas. They called it a reverse boycott aimed at bringing as many people as possible to the ballpark, complete with bright green “SELL” T-shirts made by local company Oaklandish. Oakland beat Tampa Bay 2-1 for their seventh straight win.
WNBA
Allisha Gray scored 16 points, rookie Haley Jones had 13 points and nine rebounds in her second start and the Atlanta Dream beat the short-handed New York Liberty 86-79. Gray was fouled far from the basket with 42.2 seconds left and made two free throws to give Atlanta an 84-79 lead. Marine Johannes had a 3-pointer rattle out for New York and Gray sealed it with two free throws at 35.4. AD Durr also scored 13 points for Atlanta (3-5). Nia Coffey, Rhyne Howard and Monique Billings each added 12 points. Cheyenne Parker grabbed 11 rebounds to go with six points. Jones sank a long jumper just before the third-quarter buzzer to tie it at 60-all. She added a three-point play early in the fourth to start a 9-0 run.
GOLF
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan is recovering from a medical situation. The tour did not offer details of the situation or how serious it was. The tour says two of Monahan's top executives will be leading the day-to-day operations while he recovers. It caps a tumultuous week for the 53-year-old Monahan. It was last Tuesday when he stunned the golf world and his players by announcing a deal with Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund for a business partnership. The wealth fund is what pays for LIV Golf, the rival the PGA Tour had been battling in court.
Brooks Koepka is at a major and feeling as good as ever. No issues with his health. His major trophy count is at five. Koepka isn't the least bit bothered about the future of LIV Golf or anything else involving the PGA Tour partnership with the Saudi national wealth fund. He says he enjoys chaos because he's able to focus clearly on what he's trying to do. He was runner-up in the Masters. He won the PGA Championship. The next test is Los Angeles Country Club for the U.S. Open and his bid for another multiple major year.
NFL
The New York Jets signed former Green Bay Packers safety Adrian Amos to a one-year deal. The deal is reportedly worth as much as $4 million. Amos gives New York eight former Packers who are now on the Jets. That list also includes quarterback Aaron Rodgers, backup QB Tim Boyle, wide receivers Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb and Malik Taylor and offensive linemen Billy Turner and Adam Pankey.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen declined to push the panic button while explaining how unresolved issues stemming from last season led receiver Stefon Diggs to show his displeasure by skipping the team’s start of mandatory practices. Allen listed getting the team’s top receiver more involved in the offense and having more game-planning input as among the player’s concerns. The quarterback then placed the onus on himself to do better to get Diggs back in the fold — and the sooner the better. Diggs is entering his fourth season in Buffalo and previously skipped the team's spring voluntary workout and practice sessions.
The New York Giants had little to say on Tuesday about contract talks with running back Saquon Barkley after the 26-year-old complained over the weekend that the team was leaking information to make him look bad. Barkley, who was given a non-exclusive franchise tag in March, was not able to attend the start of the team’s mandatory two-day minicamp because he had not signed the franchise tender nor reached an agreement on a new long-term contract. The Giants and Barkley have until July 17 to reach an agreement on a new long-term deal. He can also sign the tender and earn $10.1 million.
For his second straight offseason with the New England Patriots, linebacker Matt Judon has kept up a side hustle of sorts as the team’s self-appointed recruiter. Judon’s free agent target this time around is three-time All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins. He is taking visits with potential suitors after Arizona released Hopkins in a salary cap move. But following the Patriots’ second minicamp practice, Judon downplayed his latest foray into trying to lure players to New England. Coach Bill Belichick confirmed the team has spoken with Hopkins' camp, though hasn't confirmed when he is expected to visit New England.
NBA
The Denver Nuggets' NBA title of course meant so much to Jamal Murray, Nikola Jokic and the rest of the cast. But they brought along a lot of other people for the ride. Nuggets greats like David Thompson, Dan Issel and Bobby Jones, who helped lead the team to its last finals appearance, in 1976, as members of the ABA. And former coaches like Larry Brown, Doug Moe and George Karl. This championship was for all the players who ever wore a rainbow uniform or any other version of a Nuggets jersey. The Nuggets' 47th NBA season ended with confetti, a trophy and a parade Thursday through the streets of downtown.
This may be just the start for the Denver Nuggets. They are the newly crowned NBA champions after beating the Miami Heat on Monday night and winning the finals in five games. They have five starters that are all age 30 or under. They have a superstar in Nikola Jokic leading the way and an elite second option in Jamal Murray. They have a roster filled with players who have bought in to be something bigger than themselves. The Nuggets were built the right way and built to last. That's why they should be in the championship mix next year as well.
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