📆 It's Playoffs Season!

It’s FRIDAY! And it’s one of the best times of the year to be a sports fan! The final NBA play-in games tip off tonight before a mouthwatering first round gets underway Saturday. Plus, thundercrack — playoff hockey’s back! The NHL regular season officially came to a close last night, finalizing the bracket for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which also begin Saturday. Two sports. Two postseasons. One weekend. That’s what the kids like to call a double “BANG!” The only person more excited than Mike Breen is Barry Melrose. Wow. That guy’s mullet is insane. On the links, Round 1 of the Masters hangover, also known as the RBC Heritage, is in the books, and Scottie Scheffler needs a water. (He only shot 2-under, what a loser!) But today is about the winter playoffs. We sleep in *checks calendar* July. Let’s go!

WTF Stat: Spurs rookie C Victor Wembanyama is the first player in NBA history to record 1,500-plus points, 250-plus blocks, and 100-plus three-pointers made in a single season - reminder that he’s 7-foot-4 and just 20 years old.

🏒 Arizona Coyotes are officially moving to Salt Lake City and will have a new team name starting next season, as the NHL voted in favor of the sale and relocation of the franchise’s hockey assets yesterday - Smith Entertainment Group is buying the team for $1.2 billion, with $1 billion going to current owner Alex Meruelo and $200 million designated as a relocation fee

🏀 Heat F Jimmy Butler is expected to miss multiple weeks after suffering a right MCL sprain in Wednesday’s Play-In Tournament loss to the 76ers - Butler is out for today’s play-in elimination game against the Bulls

🏈 Lions unveiled their re-designed uniforms for the 2024 season, including an additional all-black look and an alternate blue helmet - according to a new NFL uniform policy, teams going through a re-design process for the 2024 season have been offered a third helmet option, and it will be available for all teams in 2025

NHL - Top Games

• Anaheim Ducks 3, Vegas Golden Knights 1: Needing a win or a Kings loss to secure the No. 3 seed in the Pacific and a date with the Oilers in the first round, Jack Eichel (1 G) and the defending champs were inexplicably tripped up by bottom-feeding Anaheim, as Frank Vatrano (2 G) led the Mighty Ducks to a win in their season finale - Vegas will now face top-seeded Dallas in the first round of the playoffs

• Los Angeles Kings 5, Chicago Blackhawks 4 (OT): With the Knights loss, the Kings only needed to force overtime to jump Vegas in the standings and Viktor Arvidsson (1 G, 1 A) did just that by burying the game-tying goal with 1:21 left in the 3rd period. And then Adrian Kempe (1 G) added an exclamation point by netting the OT-winner just six seconds into the extra frame - Los Angeles will now get Edmonton in the first round

• Winnipeg Jets 4, Vancouver Canucks 2: In a postseason tune-up for two playoff teams, Cole Perfetti (2 G) and the Jets remained hot by beating Elias Lindholm (1 G) and the Canucks in Winnipeg for their eighth straight win - Winnipeg (52-24-6, 110 PTS) finishes the regular season tied with Dallas (52-21-9, 113 PTS) for the most wins in the West

• Calgary Flames 5, San Jose Sharks 1: Did the Sharks get to 20 wins? No, absolutely not. San Jose was fittingly waxed by Blake Coleman (1 G, 1 A) and the Flames in their season finale to finish with the league’s worst record at 19-54-9 - that’s really bad

See the full NHL scoreboard here and the final standings here.

Stanley Cup Playoffs - First Round

Eastern Conference

• New York Rangers (Metro 1) vs. Washington Capitals (Wild Card 2)

  • Game 1: WSH @ NYR - Sunday, 3:00pm ET, ESPN

• Carolina Hurricanes (Metro 2) vs. New York Islanders (Metro 3)

  • Game 1: NYI @ CAR - Saturday, 5:00pm ET, TBS

• Florida Panthers (Atlantic 1) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (Wild Card 1)

  • Game 1: TB @ FLA - Sunday, 12:30pm ET, ESPN

• Boston Bruins (Atlantic 2) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (Atlantic 3)

  • Game 1: TOR @ BOS - Saturday, 8:00pm ET, TBS

Western Conference

• Dallas Stars (Central 1) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (Wild Card 2)

  • Game 1: VGK @ DAL - Monday, 9:30pm ET, ESPN

• Winnipeg Jets (Central 2) vs. Colorado Avalanche (Central 3)

  • Game 1: COL @ WIN - Sunday, 7:00pm ET, ESPN2

• Vancouver Canucks (Pacific 1) vs. Nashville Predators (Wild Card 1)

  • Game 1: NSH @ VAN - Sunday, 10:00pm ET, ESPN

• Edmonton Oilers (Pacific 2) vs. Los Angeles Kings (Pacific 3)

  • Game 1: LAK @ EDM - Monday, 10:00pm ET, ESPN2

See the full Stanley Cup Playoffs bracket here.

MLB - All Games

• Texas Rangers 9, Detroit Tigers 7: It was a rake fest in Motown as both the Rangers’ Jack Leiter (3.2 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 3 Ks) and the Tigers’ Kenta Maeda (2.2 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 Ks) got lit up on the mound, and ultimately, the Lone Stars got the win as Corey Seager (2-5, 1 RBI) drove in the go-ahead run in the 8th before Leody Taveras (2-5, 1 RBI) added an RBI single in the 9th, giving Texas a 3-1 series victory over Detroit - Leiter, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 draft, was making his major league debut

• Cleveland Guardians 5, Boston Red Sox 4: After a 7-2 start, the Sox have now lost seven of their last 10 games, as Andres Gimenez (2-5, 2 RBIs) and the Guardians overcame a 1-0 deficit at Fenway with five straight runs in the span of three innings, and Carlos Carrasco (5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 5 Ks) got the dub with a solid showing - Cleveland (13-6) is tied with the Yankees (13-6) for the most wins in the MLB

• San Francisco Giants 5, Arizona Diamondbacks 0: Could a rattlesnake kill a giant? I don’t know, but the Giants killed the D-backs last night as Logan Webb (7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 5 Ks) was straight-up dealing, and Wilmer Flores (1-1, 2 RBIs) ripped a pinch-hit, two-run double in the 8th before Mike Yastrzemski (1-4, 2 RBIs) added a two-run single three batters later to seal the deal in the desert

• Tampa Bay Rays 2, Los Angeles Angels 1: Amed Rosario (2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI) sparked a two-run 1st-inning for the Rays with an RBI triple, which was all Tampa Bay needed to top Mike Trout (0-3, 1 R) and the Halos, as Ryan Pepiot (6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 7 Ks) and the bullpen combined for 11 Ks in a dominant showing at the Trop

See the full box scores here and the current MLB standings here.

PGA Tour - RBC Heritage (Harbor Town Golf Links, SC)

Round 1 Leaderboard

• 1. JT Poston (-8)

• T2. Collin Morikawa (-6)

• T2. Seamus Power (-6)

• T4. Austin Eckroat (-5)

• T4. Ludvig Aberg (-5)

• T4. Mackenzie Hughes (-5)

• T4. Patrick Rodgers (-5)

• T4. Sahith Theegala (-5)

• T4. Sepp Straka (-5)

Other Notable Scores

• T10. Rory McIlroy (-4)

• T26. Justin Thomas (-2)

• T26. Scottie Scheffler (-2)

• T38. Jordan Spieth (-1)

See the entire current leaderboard here.

On April 19, 1912, Fenway Park hosted its first baseball game. The game was between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Highlanders (now known as the Yankees), and fittingly, the Sox won 7-6 in 11 innings. Fenway's aura apparently made its impact on the club immediately; in the park's inaugural season, Boston would go on to win the World Series, marking the franchise’s second title. The seating capacity of Fenway in 1912 was approximately 27,000, and the stadium was significantly smaller than it is now. In the 1930s, Fenway underwent a major renovation, which increased the park's capacity to around 37,000 — just 700 fewer seats than it holds now. The Green Monster was a part of the park's original designs. However, the wall was not originally green, nor did it have a scoreboard. It was simply a plain, wooden wall standing 37 feet high. It wasn't until 1947 that the Monster was painted green and a manually operated scoreboard was installed - fun fact: Fenway's grand opening came five days after the sinking of the Titanic (April 14, 1912).

Friday

• MLB: Los Angeles Angels @ Cincinnati Reds 6:40pm ET, ESPN+

• MLB: Texas Rangers @ Atlanta Braves 7:20pm ET, Apple TV+

• MLB: Arizona Diamondbacks @ San Francisco Giants 10:15pm ET, Apple TV+

• NBA Play-In: Chicago Bulls @ Miami Heat 7:00pm ET, ESPN

• NBA Play-In: Sacramento Kings @ New Orleans Pelicans 9:30pm ET, TNT

• PGA: RBC Heritage, Round 2 2:00pm ET, Golf Channel

Saturday

• FA Cup Semifinals: Manchester City vs. Chelsea 12:15pm ET, ESPN+

• MLB: New York Mets @ Los Angeles Dodgers 4:05pm ET, FS1

• MLB: Seattle Mariners @ Colorado Rockies 8:10pm ET, ESPN+

• NBA Playoffs: Orlando Magic @ Cleveland Cavaliers 1:00pm ET, ESPN

• NBA Playoffs: Phoenix Suns @ Minnesota Timberwolves 3:30pm ET, ESPN

• NBA Playoffs: Philadelphia 76ers @ New York Knicks 6:00pm ET, ESPN

• NBA Playoffs: Los Angeles Lakers @ Denver Nuggets 8:30pm ET, ABC

• NHL Playoffs: New York Islanders @ Carolina Panthers 5:00pm ET, TBS

• NHL Playoffs: Toronto Maple Leafs @ Boston Bruins 8:00pm ET, TBS

• PGA: RBC Heritage, Round 3 3:00pm ET, CBS

Sunday

• ATP: Barcelona Open Final (Time TBA), Tennis Channel

• FA Cup Semifinals: Manchester United vs. Coventry City 10:30am ET, ESPN+

• F1: Chinese Grand Prix 3:00am ET, ESPN

• LaLiga: Barcelona @ Real Madrid 3:00pm ET, Peacock / ESPN+

• MLB: Texas Rangers @ Atlanta Braves 7:00pm ET, ESPN

• NASCAR: Cup Series at Talladega 3:00pm ET, FS1

• NBA Playoffs: TBD @ Boston Celtics 1:00pm ET, ABC

• NBA Playoffs: Dallas Mavericks @ LA Clippers 3:30pm ET, ABC

• NBA Playoffs: Indiana Pacers @ Milwaukee Bucks 7:00pm ET, TNT

• NBA Playoffs: TBD @ Oklahoma City Thunder 9:30pm ET, TNT

• NHL Playoffs: Tampa Bay Lightning @ Florida Panthers 12:30pm ET, ESPN

• NHL Playoffs: Washington Capitals @ New York Rangers 3:00pm ET, ESPN

• NHL Playoffs: Colorado Avalanche @ Winnipeg Jets 7:00pm ET, ESPN2

• NHL Playoffs: Nashville Predators @ Vancouver Canucks 10:00pm ET, ESPN

• PGA: RBC Heritage, Round 4 3:00pm ET, CBS

Trivia Time Answer

D. Nikita Kucherov. Although Auston Matthews led the league with 69 goals, Kucherov finished the season with an NHL-best 144 points, coming on 100 apples and 44 ginos. He’s followed by Nathan MacKinnon (140), Connor McDavid (132), Artemi Panarin (120), David Pastrnak (110), and Matthews (107). Amazingly, this is the first season since 2019-20 that McDavid didn’t lead the league in points. It’s also just the second season in 30 years that two players finished with 140 points!

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University of Florida 1B Jac Caglianone has hit a home run in eight straight games, tied for the second-longest streak in DI history! He also hit a 516-foot homer on Thursday.