🏒 End of May Madness: NHL comeback, MLB Rankings & Tennis Drama!⚾️

Happy Thursday 👋 

As we catch our breath from the late-night action and gear up for another jam-packed weekend, we’re diving into the latest in the sports world. With a brief respite from the hustle, we’ve looked at the end-of-May MLB power rankings, where a few surprise teams are climbing the standings. The Swiatek-Osaka showdown in Paris was spectacular, and both NHL Conference Finals could be poised for dramatic Game 7s.

With May winding down, the excitement builds as June promises to crown new champions. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s edition, where we’ll preview the thrilling battles ahead.

WTF Stat: Wayne Gretzky recorded the most points in a single NHL playoff run in 1984-85 with 47 total points. See “On This Day” at the end of today’s letter for the outcome of that year’s playoff run!

⛳️ Nearly two weeks after being arrested before his second-round tee time at the PGA Championship, World #1 Golfer Scottie Scheffler has had the criminal charges against him dropped by the Louisville prosecutor.

🥊 Oleksandr Usyk - Tyson Fury Heavyweight rematch between the Undisputed Champion and former Champion is set for December 21, 2024 - an early Christmas present for Boxing fans.

⚾️ Paul Skenes fires 9 k’s on his 22nd birthday, Shohei Otani snaps 9-game Homerless drought, and Jorge Lopez was ejected for the Mets as the Dodgers scored 6 runs after being tied going into the 8th inning. Lopez, who also threw his glove in the stands after being tossed, may regret the outburst as he’s been cut by the struggling Mets.

⚽️ Lionel Messi scores 11th goal in return for Inter Miami in a 3-1 loss to Atlanta United.

🏒 Minnesota wins the inaugural Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) championship by defeating Boston 3-0 in game 5.

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS - Oilers Get Even

Oilers Score 5 Straight Goals to Skate Past Stars (5-2) & Even Series 2-All

Another Game 4 on ice led to an all-even series, and both the East and West Finals have been reduced to a three-game series. Wyatt Johnston scored in the first minute for Dallas. Esa Lindell scored five minutes later. That was it. The Stars failed to find the net for the final 55 minutes last night in Edmonton, while the Oilers scored five unanswered to flip a 0-2 deficit to a 5-2 free skate. It should’ve been 6-2, but the stick of Stars’ goaltender Jake Oettinger made a save on its own (check this out, it’s wild). They knotted the series at two games apiece, and there’s still life in Canada. Connor McDavid had three assists, while five other Oilers had goals.

 Top Skaters

C. McDavid (EDM): 3 Assists

J. Benn (DAL): 2 Assists

L. Draisaitl (EDM): 1 Goal

E. Bouchard (EDM): 1 Goal

W. Johnston (DAL): 1 Goal

E. Lindell (DAL): 1 Goal

 Western Conference Finals

Gm 4: Oilers def. Stars (5-2)

Series Tied (2-2)

Read More

NHL: Stars-Oilers Game 4 Instant Reaction

ESPN: Oilers-Stars Game 4 Takeaways, Early Look at Game 5 Matchup

🍿 Blockbuster in Paris - #1 Iga Swiatek Staves Off Naomi Osaka’s Upset With 3rd-Set Comeback in French Open Epic (7-6, 1-6, 7-5)

 We’re rolling at Roland-Garros! One of the few must-see early-round matches of the French Open went down Wednesday morning in Paris when Naomi Osaka had 1-seed Iga Swiatek on the ropes. Swiatek eked out the first set via tiebreaker (7-6) before Osaka won 10 of 11 games to take Set 2 (6-1) and hold a huge third-set advantage (4-1). It was 5-2 in favor of Osaka with match-point in that clinching third set, but Swiatek showed why she’s No. 1 in the world. The Polish superstar won six of the last seven games, showcasing a barrage of powerful backhand winners. Somehow, the 1-seed survived. But this was a fan’s delight for a second-round major matchup.

Iga's Streak: In case you forgot, Swiatek is the two-time defending French Open champion. Her Paris win streak now extends to 16 matches dating back to 2022.

 Watch: #1 Iga Swiatek Completes Unbelievable Comeback Against Naomi Osaka

 Men’s Singles Highlights

#2 J. Sinner def. R. Gasquet (6-4, 6-2, 6-4)

#3 C. Alcaraz def. J. De Jong (6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2)

#6 A. Rublev def. P. Martinez (6-3, 6-4, 6-3)

 Women’s Singles Highlights

#3 C. Gauff def. T. Zidansek (6-3, 6-4)

 Read More

NBC Sports: Iga Swiatek Overcomes Naomi Osaka in French Open Thriller

SI: Tennis Fans Wowed by Iga Swiatek’s Heroic Comeback vs. Naomi Osaka

📊 MLB - End-of-May Power Rankings

2 Months Into 2024 MLB Season — Let's Play "Contender or Pretender?"

This week brings the closing number to May, meaning two months of baseball are in the books (out of 6). It’s the 1/3-mark, and over 1/3 of the league has cracked 30 wins. So, who’s great? And who’s just playing pretend?

 Contenders: The Phillies, Yankees, and Dodgers have the rosters and records to prove they belong in this year’s upper echelon. L.A. just went on a five-game skid, but they’re too good to stay down for long. Three other teams have caught our attention — Orioles, Royals, and Guardians. Cleveland is on a heater, winning 9 of their last 10 in a blistering May stretch. The Guardians are a weekend series away from taking the best record in the majors.

 Pretenders: The Ronald Acuna Jr. injury leaves the Braves slipping down our power rankings board. We’re still unsure about a handful of teams in the top half, namely clubs who looked inferior to another team in their division — Braves, Padres, Rangers, Cubs, and Red Sox. The hottest teams right now could turn us into believers sooner rather than later. The Cardinals, Giants, and Twins are riding some recent win streaks.

 MLB Power Rankings

1. Phillies (39-18) —

2. Yankees (38-19) ↑3

3. Guardians (37-19) ↑2

4. Orioles (35-19) —

5. Dodgers (36-22) ↓2

6. Royals (35-22) ↑1

7. Brewers (32-23) ↑1

8. Braves (31-22) ↓2

9. Padres (30-29) —

10. Giants (29-28) ↑5

 Teams 11-20: 11. Twins (30-25), 12. Mariners (31-26), 13. Cubs (28-28), 14. Cardinals (27-27), 15. Rangers (27-29), 16. Red Sox (28-28), 17. Diamondbacks (25-30), 18. Tigers (27-28), 19. Blue Jays (26-29), 20. Astros (24-32)

 Teams 21-30: 21. Pirates (26-30), 22. Rays (27-29), 23. Nationals (25-29), 24. Reds (24-32), 25. Athletics (19-31), 26. Mets (22-33), 27. Angels (21-34), 28. Rockies (20-35), 29. Marlins (20-37), 30. White Sox (15-42)

On May 30th, 1985, The Edmonton Oilers blitzed the Flyers with a convincing 8-3 win to capture their second consecutive Stanley Cup. Wayne Gretzky own the Conn Smythe Trophy as Playoff MVP.

🏀 NBA Playoffs

Gm 5: Mavericks at T-Wolves (8:30 pm ET, TNT)

DAL Leads Series (3-1)

 🏒 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Gm 5: Panthers at Rangers (8:00 pm ET, ESPN)

Series Tied (2-2)

 🎾 French Open (2nd Round)

W: #2 A. Sabalenka vs. M. Uchijima (6:00 am ET)

M: #1 N. Djokovic vs. R. Carballes Baena (8:30 am ET)

🥎 College Softball (World Series)

#14 Alabama vs. #6 UCLA (Noon ET, ESPN)

#10 Duke vs. #2 Oklahoma (2:30 pm ET, ESPN)

#1 Texas vs. #8 Stanford (7:00 pm ET, ESPN2)

#5 Oklahoma State vs. Florida (9:30 pm ET, ESPN2)

⚾️ MLB

Cubs at Brewers (1:10 pm ET, MLBTV)
Royals at Twins (1:10 pm ET, MLBTV)

D-Backs at Mets (7:10 pm ET, MLBTV)

⛳️ Golf

PGA: Canadian Open (Round 1)

LPGA: U.S. Women’s Open (Round 1)

🏀 WNBA

Storm at Fever (7:00 pm ET, PRIME)

Trivia Time Answer

A. Mario Lemieux. Mario Lemieux holds the record for the most points in a regular season by a player other than Wayne Gretzky. In the 1988-1989 season, Lemieux scored 199 points. While Gretzky dominates the record books with the top four highest point totals, Lemieux's 199 points rank fifth overall, making it the highest total achieved by a player other than Gretzky.