| | | | | | | | | | | Axios Sports | | By Kendall Baker · May 16, 2022 | | 👋 Happy Monday! There were seven NBA and NHL Game 7s on Saturday and Sunday, the most ever in a single weekend. The NHL ones were good. ⚾️ Blow-no! The Reds held the Pirates to zero hits on Sunday — and lost 1-0. It was just the sixth "blow-no" in MLB history. Today's word count: 1,682 words (6 minutes). Let's sports... | | | | | | 1 big thing: 🏒 Toronto is in hockey hell |  | | | Photo: Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images | | | | Only in Canada do the Leafs fall in spring. ICYMI: The Maple Leafs lost 2-1 to the Lightning on Saturday, their 10th straight loss in a series-clinching game and fifth straight loss in a winner-take-all game in the opening round. We've never seen anything like this. - The Leafs didn't blow it. In fact, they probably deserved to win the finale (70.5% chance) of a series that was shockingly even on aggregate: Toronto had 24 goals and 216 shots; Tampa had 23 and 215.
- Wild stat: The probability of the Maple Leafs playing in five straight first-round series that went the distance, and then losing the decisive game in all five? 0.0036% (1 in 27,778 chance).
The big picture: When history keeps repeating itself in such excruciating ways, the word "cursed" gets thrown around. That built-up sense of inevitably heightens the pressure — and everybody feels it. - "We're getting sick and tired of feeling like this," a teary-eyed Mitch Marner, who joined the team in 2015, said after the Game 7 loss.
- What's next: Toronto is in hockey hell: It's unclear what needs to change (the roster is stacked), but the streak has become so unbearable that they're almost obligated to make a bunch of moves anyway.
Elsewhere: - Rangers 4, Penguins 3 (OT): The Rangers are the first team in NHL history to record three consecutive comeback wins in elimination games within the same series. The clinching goal.
- Flames 3, Stars 2 (OT): Jake Oettinger was brilliant (64 saves), but Calgary did just enough to set up a date with Edmonton — the first postseason Battle of Alberta since 1991. The clinching goal.
- Hurricanes 3, Bruins 2: The home team won every game this series — the ninth time that's happened. After six straight multi-goal games, Carolina eked out a one-goal victory in front of a record crowd.
- Oilers 2, Kings 0: Edmonton won its first playoff series since 2017 as Connor McDavid (playoff-leading 14 points) became the second player in NHL history to record six multi-point games in a series.
What's next: The second round kicks off Tuesday (Lightning-Panthers; Blues-Avalanche) and Wednesday (Rangers-Hurricanes; Oilers-Flames). |     | | | | | | 2. 🏀 NBA playoffs: Suns collapse, Celtics rise |  | | | Photo: Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images | | | | What the heck was that? The Mavericks humiliated the top-seeded Suns on Sunday, rolling to a 123-90 road rout that was shocking to behold. - Mavs stats: Luka Dončić had the same number of first-half points (27) as the Suns. He (35 points) and Spencer Dinwiddie (30) became the first duo to each have 30 points in a Game 7 since Shaq and Kobe in 2002.
- Suns stats: Chris Paul has been dreadful since turning 37 on May 6. His -39 +/- was the worst of his entire career, and he and Devin Booker didn't convert their first field goals until the third quarter.
Elsewhere: The Celtics blew out the Bucks, 109-81, behind 27 points from Grant Williams, who picked an awesome time to have the best game of his career. - Deep ball: The Celtics attempted a whopping 55 threes and made 22 of them. The Bucks attempted 33 and made four. That'll do it.
- The Freak: Giannis Antetokounmpo had a postseason for the ages, becoming the first player in NBA history to amass 200 points, 100 rebounds and 50 assists in a single playoff series.
What's next: The East Finals (Celtics-Heat) begin Tuesday in Miami, while the West Finals (Mavericks-Warriors) kick off Wednesday in San Francisco. | | | | | | | | 3. 💵 Sports betting: PASPA turns four |  Data: Legal Sports Report; Table: Thomas Oide/Axios Americans have wagered more than $125 billion on legal sports bets since PASPA was overturned four years ago (May 14, 2018), Axios' Jeff Tracy writes. State of play: 30 states plus Washington, D.C., have live, legal sports betting markets. Five more have legalized it but are not yet operational. - Of note: The chart above only includes 25 states, plus D.C. Handle and revenue numbers are not yet publicly available for New Mexico, Washington, North Dakota, Wisconsin and North Carolina.
| | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Get smarter, faster on Cryptocurrencies | | |  | | | | Axios Crypto brings you daily updates on the most consequential trends in cryptocurrency and the blockchain Subscribe for free | | | | | | 4. ⚡️ Lightning round |  | | | Raiders owner Mark Davis. Photo: David Becker/Getty Images | | | | 🎰 Inside the Raiders: Former employees say the Raiders organization is in disarray, citing executive departures, unpaid electric bills and a raft of firings, payouts and NDAs. Full NYT report. 🎾 King and queen: World No. 1 Iga Świątek won the Italian Open and her 28th straight match, the fourth-longest WTA streak this century. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic won the men's title, his first trophy of 2022. 🇷🇺 Griner update: A Russian court has extended the pretrial detention of Brittney Griner by a month (until June 18). The U.S. State Department considers the WNBA star a "wrongful detainee." ⛳️ Lee repeats: K.H. Lee shot a final-round 63 and held off hometown favorite Jordan Spieth by a stroke to win the AT&T Byron Nelson for the second straight year. Reminder: The PGA Championship is this week. 🏈 What a name: Oklahoma's new QB may have the best name in sports: General Booty. | | | | | | | | 5. 🎓 Steph Curry, the graduate |  | | | Curry directs the offense against Kansas in the 2008 Elite Eight. Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images | | | | Stephen Curry graduated from Davidson College on Sunday, completing his degree 16 years after stepping foot on campus as a scrawny teenager. Why it matters: Davidson only retires the jerseys of players who've graduated — no exceptions. At long last, the small liberal arts college (~2,000 students) will formally recognize its most famous son, with plans to hang his jersey in the rafters this year. - Curry received a Bachelor of Arts degree, with a major in Sociology, as a member of the Class of 2022.
- He couldn't attend commencement but his name was in the program, causing a stir among students and attendees.
The backdrop: As a sophomore in 2008, Curry put Davidson on the map with an Elite Eight run. When he turned pro the following year, he told his parents and coach Bob McKillop that he'd be back to finish his degree. - Three years later, Curry returned to campus during the NBA lockout to take classes. He practiced with the team that semester, even playing the role of his brother Seth as Davidson prepped for Duke.
- Curry quietly completed his final semester this spring, working with two members of the Davidson faculty, a Stanford professor and a UC Santa Cruz professor who taught him when both were at Davidson.
Curry during a biology lab in 2009. Photo courtesy of Davidson University The last word: "I knew what I signed up for when I went to Davidson," Curry said in 2015 of the school's rigorous academics. In 2019, he shared a fond memory from the team's Cinderella run... I was coming back from dinner, after practice — the night before we played Kansas. ... And it was the strangest thing ever: I turned the corner down the hallway ... and I ran into about half the team. The guys were sitting there, right on the floor, with their warm-ups on and their clunky 2007 laptops out. Like, this bunch of dudes that had just given back-to-back whoopings to Georgetown and Wisconsin. Sitting on the floor, typing away. And I'm like, "Umm... what are y'all doing?" The whole group of them answer at the same time: "MIDTERMS." No, for real. That's a true story. It's 12 hours to the Elite Eight, 12 hours to the biggest game of any of our lives — and those boys were literally writing term papers in the hallway. Straight up GRINDING in the Word doc. Man, I love Davidson with all my heart. Related: Jerome Bettis also graduated on Sunday, earning his degree from Notre Dame 28 years after leaving for the NFL. | | | | | | | | 6. 🇺🇸 Photos across America | | Photo: Abbie Parr/Getty Images SEATTLE — WNBA legends Sue Bird (all-time assists leader) and Diana Taurasi (all-time scoring leader) met on Saturday for one of the last times, with Bird expected to retire after this season. Taurasi's Mercury won. Photo: Sean Gardner/Getty Images KANSAS CITY — Kurt Busch won at Kansas Speedway on Sunday to capture the first win of the season for 23XI Racing, the upstart NASCAR team owned by Michael Jordan. - Of note: Busch debuted the Jumpman car, with a paint scheme based on the Air Jordan IIIs that MJ wore in the 1988 NBA All-Star Game.
Photo: Rick Ulreich/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images ST. LOUIS — Albert Pujols pitched for the first time in his 22-year career on Sunday, entering in the ninth inning of the Cardinals' 15-6 win over the Giants. He gave up two bombs but managed to get the final three outs. - Fun fact: Pujols, 42, is the oldest player to make his MLB pitching debut since Lena Blackburne brought himself in to pitch at age 42 in his final big league game as a player/manager for the 1929 White Sox.
| | | | | | | | 7. 🌍 Photos around the world | | Photo: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images LONDON — Liverpool kept their Quadruple hopes alive with a 6-5 penalty shootout win over Chelsea in the FA Cup Final. In just seven seasons with the club, Jürgen Klopp has now won all six major trophies. - Plus: Sam Kerr scored twice as Chelsea beat Manchester City, 3-2, to repeat as Women's FA Cup champions.
Photo: Matthias Hangst/Getty Images STUTTGART, Germany — Fans stormed the field on Saturday after FC Stuttgart scored in stoppage time to stave off relegation and stay in the Bundesliga for another season. Absolutely electric. Action shot during an NRL match between the Brisbane Broncos and the Manly Sea Eagles. Photo: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images BRISBANE, Australia — Rugby gone wrong. | | | | | | | | 8. 📺 Watchlist: Live from Finland |  | | | Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios | | | | The NHL is off today, but you can still catch some high-level hockey. More to watch: Not much on TV this evening. If you're craving sports, I'd recommend "Make or Break" on Apple TV+. It's basically "Formula 1: Drive to Survive" but for surfing. | | | | | | | | 9. 🏈 Heisman trivia |  | | | Manziel during Saturday's Zappers win. Photo: Brett Carlsen/Fan Controlled Football/Getty Images | | | | Johnny Manziel, now playing in the Fan Controlled Football League, is one of two freshmen to win the Heisman Trophy. - Question: Who's the other?
- Hint: They share an initial.
Answer at the bottom. | | | | | | | | 10. 🎥 Top plays: Weekend edition | | Source: Giphy Delaware upset No. 2 seed Georgetown, 10-9, on Sunday to advance to the men's lacrosse quarterfinals. Bonus points: They also earned our top play. - 🥍 Behind-the-back
- 🏒 Insane goal
- 🏈 A+ catch
- ⚽️ Federico!
- 🥎 Lays out for it
- 🎾 Circus shot
- ⚾️ Jumbo Shrimp!
- 🏀 Classic Giannis
- 🏒 Nick Paul!
- ⚾️ Way too easy
Watch all 10. | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Get smarter, faster on Cryptocurrencies | | | | | | | | Axios Crypto brings you daily updates on the most consequential trends in cryptocurrency and the blockchain Subscribe for free | | | | Talk tomorrow, Kendall "Big Dread Machine" Baker Trivia answer: Jameis Winston 🙏 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.
Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 1300, Arlington VA 22201 | | | You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios.
Change your preferences or unsubscribe here. | | | Was this email forwarded to you?
Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox. | | | | Follow Axios on social media:    | | | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment