🏒 Beasts in the East

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Good Morning! I asked the bartender for something on ice last night, and he came back with a healthy glass of playoff hockey and a cold-blooded shot from Luka Doncic. Then Jon Taffer stormed in and berated the bartender for 15 minutes because he neglected to handle glassware with care, which turned out to be a metaphor for his failing marriage. I’ve completely lost control of this hypothetical situation. Anyway, we had another loaded night of postseason play. On the hardwood, Luka delivered a Dallas dagger, Indiana kept pace with the Bucks, and — is the Sun setting in Phoenix? On the ice, two beasts in the East held serve at home, while a pair of road warriors evened things up out West. Also, baseball. Let’s go!

WTF Stat: In the last six weeks, Scottie Scheffler has made $16.3 million in on-course earnings. That’s the second most on-course earnings in a full PGA Tour season, and he did it in just five events. Scheffler’s caddie, Ted Scott, has made approximately $1.78 million this year, putting him at 45th on the 2024 PGA Tour’s earnings list, ahead of Rory McIlroy.

🏀 Nike and former Iowa star Caitlin Clark have reportedly agreed to an 8-year, $28M contract that includes a signature shoe - Clark, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, will make her professional debut on Friday with the Indiana Fever

🏀 76ers G Tyrese Maxey was named the 2023-24 NBA Most Improved Player, beating out Bulls G Coby White and Rockets C Alperen Sengun for the honor - the NBA will continue to announce the winners of its 2023-24 awards throughout the week

🏈 Round 1 of the 2024 NFL Draft will begin tomorrow at 8:00pm ET in Detroit, MI - full preview coming tomorrow!

🏒 Beasts in the East

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs - First Round, Game 2s

• East | New York Rangers 4, Washington Capitals 3 (NYR lead series 2-0): In what felt like a must-win game for Washington, the Caps came out firing and used an early Connor McMichael (1 G) tap-in to silence the MSG crowd. But Mika Zibanejad (1 G, 1 A), Vincent Trocheck (1 G, 1 A), and the Rags quickly seized control by scoring four of the next five goals, capped by K’Andre Miller’s (1 G) shorthanded bingo to go up 4-2 in the 2nd period, and although Tom Wilson (1 G) cut the deficit to one with 11:45 remaining, the Blue Shirts held on to take a 2-0 series lead - New York has won four straight and 12 of their last 15 games

• East | Florida Panthers 3, Tampa Bay Lightning 2 / OT (FLA leads series 2-0): Free hockey? Yes, please! It was all Cats for the first 20 minutes, but the Bolts flipped the script in the 2nd period with two straight goals from Brayden Point (1 G) and Steven Stamkos (1 G) to tie the game; however, after a scoreless 3rd, it was Florida who prevailed in overtime, as Carter Verhaeghe (1 G, 1 A) beat Andrei Vasilevskiy (34 SV) with a crafty backhand to say goodnight from Sunrise - Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (21 SV) made an absolutely psychotic save in the 2nd period to keep the score tied at two

• West | Colorado Avalanche 5, Winnipeg Jets 2 (Series tied 1-1): Maybe that’s why they’re called the Avalanche! David Gustafsson (1 G) and Mark Scheifele (1 G) helped Winnipeg build a 2-1 lead in the 2nd period, but then Artturi Lehkonen (1 G, 1 A), Zach Parise (1 G), and the Avalanche went on an unanswered, four-goal flurry to bury the Jets on their home ice, knotting the series up at one apiece

• West | Nashville Predators 4, Vancouver Canucks 1 (Series tied 1-1): Don’t look now, but we have a series on our hands between the top team in the West and the second wild-card seed. After a 4-2 loss in Game 1, Filip Forsberg (1 G, 1 A), Anthony Beauvillier (1 G), and the Preds came out and hammered the Canucks with little resistance, as Smashville garnered a big win to head back home with the series tied

See the full box scores here and the entire NHL playoff bracket here.

Tonight’s Schedule - First Round

• East, Game 3 | (A2) Boston Bruins @ (A3) Toronto Maple Leafs 7:00pm ET, ESPN - Series tied 1-1

• West, Game 2 | (WC2) Vegas Golden Knights @ (C1) Dallas Stars 9:30pm ET, ESPN - VGK leads series 1-0

• West, Game 2 | (P3) Los Angeles Kings @ (P2) Edmonton Oilers 10:00pm ET, TBS

🏀 Dallas Dagger

NBA Playoffs - First Round, Game 2s

• West | #5 Dallas Mavericks 96, #4 LA Clippers 93 (Series tied 1-1): “He is that guy!” After missing the last nine games with knee inflammation, Kawhi Leonard (35 MIN, 15 PTS, 5-12 FG, 12 REB) looked rusty in his return, but the Clippers rode Paul George (22 PTS, 7-14 FG, 4 AST) and James Harden (22 PTS, 6 REB, 8 AST) to close an extended single-digit gap and take a seven-point lead with nine minutes to play; however, Luka Doncic (32 PTS, 11-26 FG, 6 REB, 9 AST) and Kyrie Irving (23 PTS, 8-18 FG, 6 REB, 3 AST) triggered a 14-0 run to regain control for Dallas, and Luka nailed a gutsy dagger three with 1:26 remaining to close out the Clips at Crypto.com Arena

• West | #3 Minnesota Timberwolves 105, #6 Phoenix Suns 93 (MIN leads series 2-0): Devin Booker (20 PTS, 6-13 FG, 5 AST, 6 PF), Kevin Durant (18 PTS, 6-15 FG, 6 REB), and the Suns kept pace with the T-Wolves in the opening half, and even held a 51-50 lead at recess, but similar to Game 1, Minnesota was too much to handle for a full 48 minutes, as Jaden McDaniels (25 PTS, 10-17 FG, 8 REB) sparked a ferocious second-half run while Phoenix fell flat offensively, giving the Wolves a 2-0 series lead with another imposing win at home - Anthony Edwards (15 PTS, 3-12 FG, 8 AST) struggled from the field but had a monster block on Bradley Beal (14 PTS, 6 AST)

• East | #6 Indiana Pacers 125, #3 Milwaukee Bucks 108 (Series tied 1-1): Damian Lillard (34 PTS, 6-13 3PT, 5 AST) followed up his 35-point performance in Game 1 with a healthy 34, and Brook Lopez (22 PTS, 6-7 3PT) was feeling it from downtown, but it wasn’t enough for the Giannis-less Bucks to stave off the Pacers, as Pascal Siakiam (37 PTS, 16-23 FG, 11 REB, 6 AST) and Myles Turner (22 PTS, 7 REB, 6 AST) dominated the paint to pull away from the Deer in Milwaukee and even the series - Giannis hopes to return from his calf strain injury for Game 3 on Friday

See the full box scores here and the entire NBA playoff bracket here.

Tonight’s Schedule - Game 2s

• East | #8 Miami Heat @ #1 Boston Celtics 7:00pm ET, TNT - BOS leads series 1-0

• West | #8 New Orleans Pelicans @ #1 Oklahoma City Thunder 9:30pm ET, TNT - OKC leads series 1-0

MLB - Top Games

• Arizona Diamondbacks 14, St. Louis Cardinals 1: One day after losing on a walk-off homer, the Snakes bounced back with an offensive eruption, as Pavin Smith (2-5, 1 HR, 6 RBIs) launched a grand slam, Christian Walker (2-4, 1 HR, 3 RBIs) blasted a three-run jack, and Kevin Newman (1-5, 1 HR, 2 RBIs) also homered amid a 10-run stretch in two innings to blow out the Cards in St. Louis - the D-Backs (12-13) have scored 14 or more runs three times this season!

• Cleveland Guardians 4, Boston Red Sox 1: Cleveland rocks! After six scoreless innings at Progressive Field, Boston’s Wilyer Abreu (1-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI) finally lit up the scoreboard with a solo shot in the 7th, but the Guardians responded with two runs a half-inning later, and then Jose Ramirez (1-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI) went yard in the 8th before Estevan Florial (1-3, 1 RBI) added an RBI double to seal Cleveland’s fifth win in a row - the Guardians (17-6) have the most wins in the MLB

• Los Angeles Dodgers 4, Washington Nationals 1: Another day. Another Shohei Ohtani moonshot. The Blue Crew used a two-run 8th inning to take a 3-1 lead, and then Ohtani (1-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI) added an exclamation point with a 450-foot nuke that came off the barrel at a preposterous 118.7 mph, as the Dodgers opened up a three-game set in Washington DC with a dub

• Atlanta Braves 5, Miami Marlins 0: For the second day in a row, the Fish got blanked by the Bravos as Max Fried (9.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 6 Ks) tossed a three-hitter to go the distance in a sensational showing, while Adam Duvall (2-4, 1 HR, 2 RBIs) left the yard with a two-run dong in the 6th to stamp an easy win in Hotlanta - it’s the first nine-inning complete game by a Braves pitcher since 20222

See the full MLB scoreboard here and the current standings here.

English Premier League - Lone Match

• Arsenal 5, Chelsea 0: Entering the day level with Liverpool atop the Premiership table at 74 points, the Gunnars delivered a statement to take sole possession of first place, as Leandro Trossard (4’) drew early blood before Ben White (52’, 70’) and Kai Havertz (57’, 65’) each netted a brace in the second half to rout Chelsea in an all-out blitz

See the full international scoreboard here and the current EPL table here.

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On April 24, 2012, White Sox pitcher Philip Humber threw a perfect game against the Seattle Mariners, leading Chicago to a 4-0 win. It was Humber's first career complete game and the 21st perfect game in MLB history, including the third by a member of the White Sox. On his way to retiring all 27 batters, Humer recorded nine K’s on 96 pitches, 67 of which were strikes. Humber was 29 years old at the time and had been in the majors since 2006, but retired just one year later. Amazingly, less than two months later, the Giants' Matt Cain threw the MLB's 22nd golden no-no on June 13, and then Seattle ace Felix Hernandez tossed the season's third perfect game on August 15. Their three perfect games were the most in a single major league season. However, the MLB didn’t see another for over a decade until the Yankees’ Domingo German went 27 up, 27 down last June.

NBA Playoffs - First Round

• Game 2: Miami Heat @ Boston Celtics 7:00pm ET, TNT

• Game 2: New Orleans Pelicans @ Oklahoma City Thunder 9:30pm ET, TNT

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs - First Round

• Game 3: Boston Bruins @ Toronto Maple Leafs 7:00pm ET, ESPN

• Game 2: Vegas Golden Knights @ Dallas Stars 9:30pm ET, ESPN

• Game 2: Los Angeles Kings @ Edmonton Oilers 10:00pm ET, TBS

MLB

• Arizona Diamondbacks @ St. Louis Cardinals 1:15pm ET, Local

• New York Mets @ San Francisco Giants 3:45pm ET, Local

• Toronto Blue Jays @ Kansas City Royals 7:40pm ET, ESPN+

• Full Schedule

English Premier League

• Liverpool @ Everton 3:00pm ET, Peacock+

• Sheffield United @ Manchester United 3:00pm ET, Peacock+

• Full Schedule

Trivia Time Answer

B. 95. Ninety-five different colleges produced at least one selected player in last year’s NFL draft, less than the 105 schools represented in 2022. Twenty-one conferences and seven independent programs were represented. The SEC led all leagues with 62 selections, three picks shy of its own NFL draft record of 65 set in 2022 - Alabama and Georgia led all schools last year in total selections, with 10 players each.

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