| | | | | | | | | | | Axios Sports | | By Kendall Baker · May 31, 2022 | | 👋 Good morning! Welcome back. Light and breezy edition today as we ease back into reality. Today's word count: 1,448 words (5 minutes). Let's sports... | | | | | | 1 big thing: 🏒 Four teams remain |  | | | Chris Kreider celebrates with teammates after his third period goal. Photo: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images | | | | After a thrilling first two rounds, the NHL's final four is set — and it should be a great one. Driving the news: The Rangers handed the Hurricanes their first home loss of the playoffs on Monday, beating them 6-2 in Game 7 to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Lightning. - Chris Kreider (two goals) now has 15 career goals when facing elimination. Mark Messier (16) is the only player with more.
- Igor Shesterkin (36 saves) was outstanding in net, as the Vezina Trophy favorite delivered yet another dominant performance.
Wild stat: The Canes' first 13 playoff games were won by the home team, the second-longest streak in NHL, NBA and MLB postseason history. Finally, when it mattered most, the Rangers broke the away team curse. Looking ahead: These NHL playoffs have been full of excitement (especially compared to the NBA), and the conference finals are full of intrigue — the kind that should deliver big ratings for the league. - The East Finals, which begin tomorrow, will pit Shesterkin against fellow Russian Andrei Vasilevskiy in a dream goalie matchup made for the bright lights of Madison Square Garden. Tampa is eyeing a rare three-peat, but went 0-3 against New York this season.
- The West Finals, which begin tonight, will see two of the NHL's best young superstars — Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon — go head-to-head. The Avalanche are a goal-scoring machine, while the Oilers are vying to become the first Canadian champion since 1993.
The bottom line: The NHL is very good right now. Don't miss it. |     | | | | | | 2. ⚽️ Real Madrid: Kings of Europe |  | | | The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat. Photo: Matthias Hangst/Getty Images | | | | Real Madrid shut out Liverpool, 1-0, in Saturday's Champions League final for their record-extending 14th title, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes. - Liverpool were seemingly the better team in Paris, out-shooting Madrid 24 to four, taking six corner kicks to Madrid's two and maintaining 54% of possession.
- But none of that mattered thanks to Thibaut Courtois, who stopped everything that came his way in a performance for the ages. Vinícius Júnior took care of the rest with his one-timer in the 59th minute.
The big picture: Just over a year removed from the European Super League debacle, both clubs have much to celebrate. - Madrid wasn't supposed to contend this season, but instead won its 35th LaLiga title and beat PSG, Chelsea, Man City and Liverpool for one of the most impressive Champions League runs ever.
- Liverpool failed to achieve the quadruple, and its 2021-22 campaign will forever be the "season that might have been." But fans still celebrated the Reds' FA and EFL Cup victories upon their return.
The backdrop: French authorities are under fire following the chaotic scenes of confusion and violence outside the stadium. Go deeper: Only in an alternate reality should Real Madrid be Champions League winners (The Athletic) | | | | | | | | 3. 🏀 NBA Finals: By the numbers |  | | | Graphic: Axios Visuals | | | | The Celtics and Warriors will meet in the NBA Finals starting Thursday in San Francisco. We'll have a full preview soon. For now, a few numbers to know... - 2nd: This is the second Boston-San Francisco championship round matchup in Big Four sports history. The other meeting was the 1964 NBA Finals, when Bill Russell and the Celtics routed Wilt Chamberlain and the then-San Francisco Warriors, 4-1.
- 50-1: Based on their 50-1 preseason odds, the Celtics would be the biggest long shot to win a title in the past 35 years, per sports betting archive SportsOddsHistory.
- 97%: That's how many NBA champions have been top-three seeds, a trend that will continue this year with the second-seeded Celtics and third-seeded Warriors facing off.
- 141: Al Horford has finally reached the promised land after playing an NBA-record 141 playoff games without a Finals appearance.
- .695: Stephen Curry is 107-58 in playoff games (.695), better than any MVP in NBA history.
Go deeper: Three big questions ahead of the NBA Finals (The Ringer) | | | | | | | | 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 |  | | | Photo: Greg Nelson/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images | | | | 🥎 Women's College World Series: The eight teams headed to Oklahoma City: No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 5 UCLA, No. 7 Oklahoma State, No. 9 Northwestern, No. 14 Florida, Texas, Oregon State, Arizona. ⚾️ Baseball bracket: The 64-team field is set, led by No. 1 overall seed Tennessee. The journey to Omaha begins Friday. 🏁 NASCAR thriller: After 18 cautions and 413 laps, Denny Hamlin held off Kyle Busch in overtime to win the longest and perhaps wildest Coca-Cola 600 in history. 🏒 World champs: Host nation Finland beat 27-time champion Canada, 4-3 (OT), to win its fourth world hockey championship. ⚽️ Lewandowski watch: Superstar Robert Lewandowski wants out at Bayern Munich, where he's played since 2014. | | | | | | | | 5. 🥍 Maryland, UNC complete perfect seasons |  | | | Maryland and North Carolina celebrating. Photos: M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images; Greg Fiume/NCAA Photos via Getty Images | | | | College lacrosse crowned two undefeated national champions this weekend, with Maryland and North Carolina completing perfect seasons. - Men: Maryland beat Cornell, 9-7, on Monday to become the first undefeated men's national champion (18-0) since Virginia in 2006.
- Women: UNC beat Boston College, 12-11, on Sunday to become the first undefeated women's national champion (22-0) since Maryland in 2017.
The big picture: The Terrapins are 33-1 in the past two seasons, while the Tar Heels have won 57 of their last 59 games. Absolute powerhouses. | | | | | | | | 6. 🇺🇸 Photos across America | | Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images INDIANAPOLIS — Former F1 driver Marcus Ericsson won Sunday's Indy 500 in a thrilling race to the finish, beating out Pato O'Ward after Jimmie Johnson's crash with four laps left brought out a red flag. Photo: Rich Schultz/Getty Images PHILADELPHIA — Giants manager Gabe Kapler stood for the national anthem on Monday, temporarily pausing his protest in honor of Memorial Day. - Catch up quick: Kapler wrote Friday in a blog post that he wouldn't take the field for the anthem "until I feel better about the direction of our country."
Thompson-Herah (L) narrowly beat Richardson (R). Photo: Soobum Im/Getty Images EUGENE, Ore. — Reigning Olympic gold medalist Elaine Thompson-Herah (10.79 seconds) edged out Sha'Carri Richardson (10.92) in the 100-meter final Saturday at the Prefontaine Classic. - More results: Trayvon Bromell (9.93) led an American sweep in the men's 100 ... American Michael Norman (43.6) shattered Michael Johnson's 22-year-old meet record (43.92) in the 400.
Photo: George Walker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images FORT WORTH, Texas — Sam Burns came from seven strokes back to beat his best friend, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, in a playoff and win the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial. | | | | | | | | 7. 🌍 Photos around the world | | Photo: Luca Bettini/AFP via Getty Images VERONA, Italy — Jai Hindley, 26, won the 2022 Giro d'Italia, becoming just the second Australian to win a grand tour (Cadel Evans, 2011 Tour de France). - Flashback: Hindley finished second in 2020 after losing his lead during the final stage. "I wasn't going to let that happen again," he said after Sunday's triumph.
Photo: Mark Thompson/Getty Images MONTE CARLO, Monaco — Red Bull's Sergio Pérez took advantage of a Ferrari mistake to become the first Mexican to win the Monaco Grand Prix. Carlos Sainz took second and Max Verstappen took third. - The big picture: Pérez's third career victory broke a tie with Pedro Rodríguez, making him the winningest Mexican driver in F1 history.
Photo: Luke Brennan/Getty Images NOTTINGHAM, England — Nottingham Forest beat Huddersfield Town, 1-0, in the Championship promotion playoff to return to the Premier League for the first time since 1999. - Why it matters: Premier League teams earn at least $125 million annually in TV revenue, compared to $8 million in the Championship.
Photo: Raymond Roig/AFP via Getty Images GRUISSAN, France — Nearly 1,300 athletes competed in the 20th edition of the Défi Wind, the world's largest windsurfing event. | | | | | | | | 8. 📺 Watchlist: Novak vs. Rafa |  | | | Photo: Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images | | | | Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal meet today in the French Open quarterfinals (2:45pm ET, Tennis) — the 59th meeting between the all-time greats. - By the numbers: Djokovic leads their head-to-head series (30-28), but Nadal has the clear advantage on clay (19-8).
- Other matches today: No. 18 Coco Gauff vs. Sloane Stephens (7:55am); No. 6 Carlos Alcaraz vs. No. 3 Alexander Zverev (9:05am).
More to watch: | | | | | | | | 9. 🏀 NBA trivia |  | | | Photo: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images | | | | Darvin Ham will be the sixth Lakers head coach since Phil Jackson retired in 2011. - Question: Name the other five.
- Hint: Two played for the Lakers.
Answer at the bottom. | | | | | | | | 10. 🎥 Top plays: Memorial Day weekend | | Source: Giphy - 🎾 No escaping Alcaraz
- ⚾️ Epic robbery
- ⚾️ Another robbery
- ⚾️ Tyrone Taylor!
- ⚽️ What a shot
- ⚽️ What a header
- ⚽️ What a save
- ⚾️ Over the tarp!
- ⛳️ Nothing but net
- 🥍 Reverse shovel
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 "Sunburnt" Baker Trivia answer: Mike Brown (2011–12), Mike D'Antoni (2012–14), Byron Scott (2014–16), Luke Walton (2016–2019), Frank Vogel (2019–22) 🙏 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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