NBA:
The Cleveland Cavaliers took Game 1 of the NBA's Eastern Conference finals by building a 26-point lead in the first half of a 117-104 rout of the Celtics in Boston. LeBron James had 38 points, nine rebounds and seven assists as the Cavaliers improved to 9-0 in the postseason. Kevin Love shot 6-for-9 from 3-point range and finished with a playoff career-high 32 points and 12 boards.
NHL:
The Ottawa Senators scored four times in the opening period to chase goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury in a 5-1 thumping of the visiting Penguins. Mike Hoffman opened the scoring 48 seconds into the game before Marc Methot, Derick Brassard and Zack Smith tallied in a 2:18 span of the first period. Craig Anderson's 25 saves helped the Senators take a two-games-to-one lead in the NHL's Eastern Conference finals.
Anaheim takes on Nashville tonight at 8 p.m. in Game 4. The Predators lead the series 2-1.
A Massachusetts man who authorities say conspired with a former NHL player in a scheme to illegally sell prescription painkillers is headed to federal prison. The U.S. Attorney's office says Christopher Alonardo was sentenced Tuesday to more than a year behind bars. Federal prosecutors say Alonardo and Kevin Stevens conspired to sell the prescription painkiller between August 2015 and March 2016 and both pleaded guilty in the scheme.
Hockey World Championship:
The NHL Network has gained exclusive U.S. television rights to broadcast the International Ice Hockey Federation world championships from 2018 through 2020. The IIHF world championships are an annual international tournament featuring 16 teams. NHL Network currently is airing the 2017 IIHF world championships in France and Germany, including the Russia-Czech Republic and Canada-Germany quarterfinal matchups Thursday. Next year's world championships take place May 4-20 in Denmark. Qualified teams for next year's event include Austria, Belarus, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Norway, Russia, Slovakia, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States.
NFL:
Running back Leonard Fournette has signed his rookie contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The fourth overall pick in last month's NFL draft received a four-year package expected to be worth more than $27 million and include an $18 million signing bonus, according to the league's rookie salary system. Fournette ran for 3,830 yards in three years with the LSU Tigers, averaging 6.2 yards a carry and scoring 42 touchdowns.
The Buffalo Bills have hired Malik Boyd to be their pro personnel director in the latest addition to general manager Brandon Beane's new staff. Boyd joins the Bills after spending the past 12 seasons in various scouting capacities with the Arizona Cardinals, including the past three as assistant director of pro scouting.
The Eagles and running back LeGarrette Blount have agreed on a one-year contract. Blount led the NFL with 18 touchdowns rushing in 2016 while helping the New England Patriots win the Super Bowl. He ran for 1,161 yards, averaging 3.6 per carry. The 30-year-old Blount is the latest veteran playmaker the Eagles have added in free agency. They also signed wide receivers Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith.
Gisele Bundchen says her husband Tom Brady suffered a concussion in 2016, the year the Patriots began a season in which the star quarterback led the Patriots to another Super Bowl title. The Brazilian supermodel told "CBS This Morning" in an interview that aired yesterday that Brady does have concussions, but "we don't talk about it."
Meanwhile two-time Super Bowl champion Leonard Marshall and three-time Pro Bowl selection Matt Hasselbeck say they will donate their brains to the Concussion Legacy Foundation for research into chronic traumatic encephalopathy. The 55-year-old Marshall says he already has short-term memory loss and erratic behavior. Hasselbeck's father, Don, was a teammate of Marshall's on the Giants and pledged his brain to the foundation in 2010.
MLB:
Aaron Hicks hit a three-run homer to cap a five-run fourth inning, the Yankees piled up 16 hits and New York rolled to an 11-7 victory over the Kansas City Royals last night. Michael Pineda allowed three runs and six hits with two walks over six-plus innings. The big right-hander was shaky throughout but good enough to win for only the second time in 16 road starts.
Given his team's fast start after jettisoning veterans last summer, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner will consider adding players as the trade deadline approaches in July. Steinbrenner says New York will not trade top prospects. In hindsight, he says he should have agreed to start the team's retooling earlier than last summer to open roster spots for catcher Gary Sanchez and right fielder Aaron Judge.
Chris Herrmann homered off Rafael Montero leading off the 11th inning, giving the Arizona Diamondbacks a 5-4 victory yesterday and sending the New York Mets to their season-high seventh straight loss. New York went 0-6 in Milwaukee and Arizona, the Mets' longest winless trip since 1999, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Pinch-hitter Chris Young singled home the tiebreaking run in the 13th inning and the Boston Red Sox rallied past the St. Louis Cardinals 5-4 last night to sweep their two-game interleague series. Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a two-run homer in the seventh off starter Mike Leake to begin Boston's comeback from a four-run deficit. The Red Sox tied it in the eighth against reliever Trevor Rosenthal when Xander Bogaerts hit an RBI triple and scored on Andrew Benintendi's sacrifice fly.
Andrew Cashner finally won in his home state of Texas, pitching seven solid innings to help the Rangers match the longest winning streak in the majors this year at eight games with a 9-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies last night. Zach Eflin allowed 11 hits and seven runs in four innings for the Phils.
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Jameson Taillon (TY'-ahn) has tested positive for testicular cancer and remains out indefinitely pending the outcome of further test results. Taillon had tissue surgically removed for testing last week after discovering an abnormality earlier this month. The team's trainer says Taillon will be re-evaluated next week before deciding the next course of treatment.
Elsewhere, Houston blanked Miami 3-0, Atlanta doubled up Toronto 8-4, Texas tripled up Philadelphia 9-3, Tampa Bay topped Cleveland 7-4, Detroit edged Baltimore 5-4, the Angles bested the White Sox 12-8, Seattle shut out Oakland 4-0, the Dodgers topped San Francisco 6-1, Pittsburgh won against Washington 6-1, the Cubs beat Cincinnati 7-5, and it was Milwaukee over San Diego 3-1. The Colorado at Minnesota game was postponed.
MLS:
Fabrice-Jean Picault and Ilsinho scored, Chris Pontius had two assists and the Philadelphia Union beat the Houston Dynamo 2-0 last night for their third straight victory. Philadelphia is unbeaten in five straight, with four straight shutouts by goalkeeper Andre Blake.
NCAA:
A new federal lawsuit against Baylor University alleges football players routinely recorded gang rapes and staged dogfights in a program that fostered sexual violence. A former Baylor volleyball player identified only as "Jane Doe" filed the lawsuit Tuesday. It alleges she was gang-raped by four or more players in 2012. She says the players later harassed her and her family until she left school the next year. The lawsuit doesn't identify any players. More than a dozen women have now sued Baylor, alleging officials for years mishandled or ignored sex assault allegations.
The awards keep coming for South Carolina's Dawn Staley. The Gamecocks women's basketball coach was honored Tuesday night by the New York Athletic Club, receiving the Winged Foot Award that goes to the head coach of the national champions. South Carolina and Staley won their first title last month with a 67-55 victory over Mississippi State. The New York Athletic Club has given out the Winged Foot Award to the women's championship coach since 1999. It has recognized the men's basketball national championship coach since 1996. Staley led the Gamecocks to their fourth straight Southeastern Conference regular-season title and third straight league tournament crown before winning the NCAA Tournament.
WNBA:
In the WNBA, Phoenix beat Indiana 85-62.
Horse Racing:
Always Dreaming is the early 4-5 favorite for the Preakness as the colt tries to take another step toward the Triple Crown. The reigning Kentucky Derby winner will break from the No. 4 post in the 10-horse field. Classic Empire has drawn the No. 5 post and is the early 3-1 second choice for the 1 3/16-mile race.
NASCAR:
Regan Smith will be Aric Almirola's replacement driver for this weekend's racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Richard Petty Motorsports announced today that Smith will take over for Almirola, who spent Saturday night in a hospital after fracturing a vertebra at Kansas Speedway. Almirola was airlifted to a local hospital following a fiery wreck.
Sports Media:
A memorial service honoring the wife of longtime ESPN broadcaster Chris Berman has been held in Connecticut. The Hartford Courant reports friends, colleagues and relatives of Berman and his wife gathered yesterdayat Seymour St. John Chapel at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford. Sixty-seven-year-old Cheshire resident Katherine Ann Berman was killed in a two-vehicle traffic crash May 9th in Woodbury.
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