| | | | | | | Presented By Square | | | | Axios Sports | | By Kendall Baker · May 24, 2022 | | 👋 Good morning! Is your home city still in the running to host 2026 World Cup matches? Find out below. Today's word count: 1,858 words (7 minutes). Let's sports... | | | | | | 1 big thing: ⚾️ Tennessee's beautiful roster |  | | | Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios | | | | Tennessee enters this week's SEC tournament with a legitimate claim as the best team in college baseball history, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes. Driving the news: The Vols wrapped up their regular season by sweeping defending national champ Mississippi State on the road for the first time ever. One of those wins was a 27-2 (!!!) shellacking. By the numbers: According to the Massey Ratings, a catch-all measure that ranks teams' performance, this Tennessee team is the best ever. - Scoring: Their 526 runs scored are second-most in D-I, and they allowed a measly 150 (2.7 per game) on the strength of eight shutouts (third-most).
- Pitching: Their 2.37 ERA is 0.71 points better than second place, while their 0.95 WHIP and 4.51 strikeout-to-walk ratio also rank No. 1.
- Hitting: They lead the nation in HR (137) and SLG (.613), while sporting the fourth-best OBP (.423) and 12th-best average (.310).
State of play: Unsurprisingly, Tennessee finished the season ranked No. 1 in the nation and went 25-5 against the SEC, one of the country's best conferences (five top-25 schools). What they're saying: "It's a beautiful roster," MLB draft expert Brian Sakowski told Knoxville News Sentinel last month, saying Tennessee has upwards of 15-20 future MLB draft picks. - The Vols have three potential 2022 first-rounders (OF Jordan Beck, OF Drew Gilbert, RHP Blade Tidwell), plus two in the mix for No. 1 overall in 2023 (RHP Chase Dollander) and 2024 (RHP Chase Burns).
- Then there's Ben Joyce, the righty flamethrower and potential second-round pick this summer who has thrown multiple record-breaking 105-mph pitches and boasts a 1.98 ERA.
The big picture: This season didn't quite come out of nowhere, given the 2021 Vols' SEC East title and College World Series berth. But historically, this is not a program used to dominating. - Before 2021, Tennessee's last CWS berth (2005) and SEC East title (1997) were roughly two decades in the rearview. They've made the CWS just five times in its 74-year history, and they've never won.
- But 2022, the fifth season under head coach Tony Vitello, feels different. There's a brashness about the Vols that leads to wins on the diamond and fun in the dugout (see: the cheetah print fur coat players get to wear after hitting a HR).
Looking ahead: The Vols face a daunting task in their quest for a national championship: Since the current CWS format began in 1999, only one No. 1 overall seed has won it all (Miami, 1999). |     | | | | | | 2. 🏒 Battle of Florida: Panthers swept |  | | | Photo: Mike Carlson/Getty Images | | | | The Lightning beat the Panthers, 2-0, on Monday night to complete their second-round sweep and keep their three-peat hopes alive. Why it matters: The Panthers are the first Presidents' Trophy winners (best regular-season record) to be swept from a playoff series since ... the 2019 Lightning were ousted by Columbus in the first round. - Florida, which has won just 12 playoff series since being founded in 1993, will remain title-less. They were the last remaining team in both the NHL and NBA playoffs this year without a championship.
- Wild stats: This was the first time the Panthers were shut out all season (92 games prior to Monday). They finished the postseason 1-for-31 on the man advantage.
The big picture: As for the Lightning, they've now won 10 straight playoff series, something only the Islanders (1980–84) and Canadiens (1956-60; 1976–80) have ever accomplished. - Here's how many goals they've allowed in their 10 series-clinching wins, in order of oldest to newest: 4, 2, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0.
- That's thanks largely to Andrei Vasilevskiy, who has made 199 saves on 200 shots (!!!) in his last seven series-clinching games. Talk about a big game goalie.
Meanwhile, in St. Louis ... The Avalanche beat the Blues, 6-3, behind a Nazem Kadri hat trick to take a 3-1 series lead. | | | | | | | | 3. 🎾 All eyes on Iga |  | | | Photo: TPN/Getty Images | | | | You probably can't pronounce Iga Świątek, but you should get to know her name, Jeff writes. Driving the news: Świątek — pronounced shvi-ahn-tek in Polish and svi-ah-tik in English — cruised to a first-round win Monday at the French Open for her 29th straight victory. - That's the fourth-longest WTA streak this century, trailing only Venus Williams in 2000 (35), Serena Williams in 2013 (34) and Justine Henin in 2007-08 (32).
- Wild stat: The 20-year-old has won 44 of her last 45 sets, 25 of which were either 6-0 or 6-1.
The backdrop: Świątek's journey began in Warsaw, Poland, where her father Tomasz, a 1988 Olympic rower, pushed her towards competitive sports and ushered her through a successful youth tennis career. - She burst onto the scene in 2020 by winning the French Open, becoming the youngest women's major singles champion since 2004 and the first Polish major singles champion ever (man or woman).
- She won twice more in 2021 but has taken her game to new heights this year, becoming the first Pole ever to reach No. 1 after then-No. 1 Ash Barty's surprise retirement in March.
Between the lines: Świątek modeled her game after her idol, Rafael Nadal, so her success at Roland Garros is no coincidence. But she's recently added a new element that helps her dominate on all surfaces. - Rather than rely on her Nadal-esque topspin forehand, she's attacking earlier and is lethal against serves, winning more than half of her return games this season — by far the most among the top 10.
- Świątek also attributes much of her success to her sports psychologist, Daria Abramowicz, who joins her at every tournament and helps her stay focused mentally.
What they're saying: "A lot of respect for Iga," Marta Kostyuk told the New Yorker. "The way she plays, thinks, talks ... I think it's great when someone like this is ruling." Looking ahead: With numerous top players exiting early at Roland Garros, Świątek is the overwhelming favorite to win her second major. | | | | | | | | A message from Square | | Dining goes digital | | |  | | | | Digital connections within food service, such as the use of QR codes and contactless payments, surged in popularity amid the pandemic. Okay, but: It seems the digital dining experience is here to stay. Learn what this means for the future restaurants. | | | | | | 4. ⚡️ Lightning round |  | | | One of Watson's accusers speaks with Soledad O'Brien. Photo courtesy of HBO Sports | | | | 🏈 Watson accusers speak: Two women accusing Deshaun Watson of sexual misconduct gave their first national interviews on Monday's episode of "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel." Full episode now streaming. 🏆 Time 100: Eight athletes made Time's annual list of the 100 Most Influential People: Nathan Chen, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Becky Sauerbrunn, Rafael Nadal, Candace Parker, Peng Shuai and Eileen Gu. 🏀 Raining triples: The Aces tied a WNBA record with 18 made threes in Monday's blowout win over the Sparks, improving to a league-best 7-1 under first-year head coach Becky Hammon. 🏈 Hard Knocks: The Cardinals will be featured on this year's "Hard Knocks In Season," premiering in November. The Lions will be featured on the preseason edition of the show. ⚽️ Ouch, that hurts: 10 months ago, a bettor placed a $125 bet on Liverpool to win an unprecedented quadruple that would have paid out $461,600. She was offered a $120,000 cash-out during Sunday's chaotic Premier League finish, but turned it down. Now she gets $0. | | | | | | | | 5. ⚽️ World Cup venues: The finalists |  Map: Simran Parwani/Axios 17 stadiums in 16 U.S. cities remain in the running to host 2026 World Cup games, and FIFA plans to announce the official sites on June 16. - AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas)
- Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)
- M&T Bank Stadium (Baltimore)
- Paul Brown Stadium (Cincinnati)
- Empower Field (Denver)
- MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, New Jersey)
- Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Massachusetts)
- NRG Stadium (Houston)
- SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, California)
- Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City)
- Hard Rock Stadium (Miami)
- Nissan Stadium (Nashville)
- Camping World Stadium (Orlando)
- Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California)
- Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia)
- Levi's Stadium (Santa Clara, California)
- Lumen Field (Seattle)
Plus: Three stadiums each in Canada and Mexico are also expected to be used for the first 48-team World Cup. - Canada: Commonwealth Stadium (Edmonton), BMO Field (Toronto), B.C. Place (Vancouver)
- Mexico: Estadio Akron (Guadalajara), Estadio Azteca (Mexico City), Estadio BBVA (Monterrey)
| | | | | | | | 6. 🌎 The world in photos | | Photo: Elsa/Getty Images BOSTON — The Celtics were utterly dominant on Monday, cruising to a 102-82 win over the Heat to even the East Finals at two games apiece. Photo: Ian MacNicol/Getty Images PARIS — Rafael Nadal beat Jordan Thompson is his first match at the French Open, improving to an absurd 106-3 all-time at Roland Garros. AC Milan fans celebrating in Piazza Duomo. Photo: AC Milan via Getty Images MILAN, Italy — Big fan of combining sports celebrations with historic statues and architecture. Very European. | | | | | | | | Bonus photo: 🏀 Air Wiggins | | Photo: Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images Posterized. This belongs in SI Kids or some other magazine, so it can be cut out and hung with scotch tape in childhood bedrooms everywhere. Like the old days. | | | | | | | | 7. 📺 Watchlist: Rangers, Flames look to even series |  | | | Photo: Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images | | | | A pair of Game 4s tonight on ESPN have trophy-hungry fan bases feeling anxious, as these franchises have gone a combined 40 years without reaching the third round. - Hurricanes (up 2-1) at Rangers (7pm ET): Since losing their playoff opener to Pittsburgh, the Rangers are 4-0 at MSG, while the Canes have yet to win on the road this postseason.
- Flames (down 2-1) at Oilers (9:30pm): Connor McDavid's historic playoff run has Edmonton feeling confident as they look to improve to 5-1 all-time against Calgary in the playoffs.
More to watch: - 🏀 NBA playoffs: Warriors (up 3-0) at Mavericks (9pm, TNT)
- 🎾 French Open: First round (5am-6pm, Tennis) ... Opening matches for No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas, No. 8 Karolína Plíšková, No. 11 Jessica Pegula and more.
- ⛳️ College golf: Women's team competition (12pm, Golf)
- 🏒 Hockey World Championship: USA vs. Norway (9:20am, NHL); Canada vs. France (1:20pm)
- ⚾️ MLB: Brewers at Padres (9:40pm, TBS) ... Corbin Burnes (1-2, 2.26 ERA) vs. Blake Snell (0-1, 7.36)
| | | | | | | | 8. 🚊 The Ocho: Tram Olympics | | Source: Giphy The 9th annual European Tramdriver Championship was held on Saturday in Leipzig, Germany, Jeff writes. Why it matters: This is something that actually exists! Details: 25 teams (one man, one woman) from 19 nations competed in the five-hour event, which featured six disciplines: Results: Jessica Schlüter and Andreas Brucks from Hanover, Germany, won the team competition, while Stockholm's Mikael Gustafsson won best individual driver. Congrats, legends. 🎥 Watch: Full livestream (YouTube) | | | | | | | | 9. 🏆 Championship trivia | | Name the two U.S. cities with multiple Big Four sports teams where a former franchise has won more championships than any of the city's current teams. - Hint: Their current NFL teams both play in the NFC.
- Submitted by: Richard Rothschild (Chicago).
Answer at the bottom. | | | | | | | | 10. 🏀 1 fun thing: Swishes and clanks |  | | | Photo: Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images | | | | Tonight in Dallas, attendees will be treated to an experience unique to the American Airlines Center: really loud rims, Jeff writes. Context: Rim microphones are ubiquitous on TV broadcasts. In Dallas, the sound is amplified throughout the arena, too, thanks to a system that the team's audio engineer rigged up on each basket. - "The swish and the sound, it's one of the best feelings ever. Compared to other arenas, this is definitely the loudest one," Mavericks forward Dāvis Bertāns told The Athletic (subscription).
- "You only notice it when [you're] missing," added forward Dorian Finney-Smith said. "It's that clank when [you're] missing."
| | | | | | | | A message from Square | | How to open a second location | | |  | | | | Opening a second business location can feel daunting, but it's achievable with planning. The benefits: Boost revenue, explore a new concept, reward a loyal staff and more. Get started with tips from real business owners who opened additional locations. | | | | Talk tomorrow, Kendall "Aspiring tram driver" Baker Trivia answer: Minneapolis (The Lakers won five titles, next closest is the Twins with two) and Philadelphia (the Athletics won five titles, next closest is the Eagles with four) 🙏 Thanks for reading. Follow us on Twitter: @kendallbaker and @jeffreytracy. Tell your friends to sign up. |  | It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 200 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications. | | | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here.
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