Baseball: Cardinals domination. Rojas out. Season standings.
Basketball-NBA: Warriors 1 win away from finals. Heat/Celtics is closer. Mavs fined again for bench violations.
Football: SEC cat fight. Koch to retire.
Golf: JT wins PGA Championship.
Hockey: Stanley Cup playoffs continue.
Horse Racing: Early Voting takes the Preakness
Olympic Sports: Ledecky’s 400m WR goes down. Short Course worlds now in AUS. Another RUS Z athlete banned.
Soccer: Premier League title Manchester City (again). FIFA World Cup refs.
Tennis: French Open begins – Osaka already out in round 1!
Baseball:
- The White Sox have accused Yankees Josh Donaldson of racist comments about SS Tim Anderson, claiming he called him ‘Jackie’ in reference to Jackie Robinson. Clever (not) as Anderson is indeed black. The MLB is now investigating.
- The Cardinals demolished the Pirates 18-4. Pujols was responsible for 2 HRs in the game, bringing his career total to 683. This completes the sweep for the St. Louis team. The game didn’t start great for the Cardinals though after starting pitcher Steven Matz got pulled after 4 pitches (not innings – pitches!).
- Diamondback 3B Josh Rojas was ruled out of the game for Sunday due to a left hand contusion just 2 days after he hit 3 HRs, his first of the season. Those 3 runs lead to the 10-6 win over the Cubs.
- Just a check in on the season so far. The Yankees currently have the best record in the league 29-10, running away with the American League. The National League has 4 teams with 27 or 26 wins so far: Dodgers, Brewers, Padres and Mets. The Reds are sitting in last with only 12 wins.
- NCAA: Conference Championship week is here! Remember the tournaments are double elimination. A lot of games for the Big 12 are only on ESPN+, the Pac 12 tournament is exclusively on PAC12 Network, the ACC is mostly on ACCX if you have it.
Basketball-NBA:
- The Conference Finals are in full swing. Golden State has taken an early lead with their 2-0 series so far over the Mavericks. Game 1 was a blowout 87-112. The Mavs looked like they were bouncing back in the first half of Game 2 leading 72-58. But the Warriors came roaring back to win by 9. The Heat made a statement in Game 1 beating the Celtics 118-107 but it was in the 3rd quarter with a score differential of 39-14. The Heat and Celtics were tied 1-1 until Saturday night’s game. After 2 games where the winning team won by double digits, Saturday’s game was close 109-103 to give Miami the lead in the series 2-1.
- The NBA has fined the Maverick’s $100k for the 3rd bench violation in the post season. The fines doubled on each occasion and have reached a total of $175,000. 2 of the fines were when the Dallas team played the Suns and another was from the Warriors series.
Football:
- Watch out CAT FIGHT! Or more aptly SEC HC FIGHT! The Saban/Fisher feud from last week made many and repeated headlines. Honestly it was just hilarious. The gist is NIL is ambiguous and no one enforced the rules (i.e. you cannot use NIL deals to recruit). Saban accused Texas A&M of buying every player in their 1st ranked recruiting class. Fischer then retaliated saying Saban has been paying his players for years and literally said ‘look into how God did his deal’ and said the word ‘despicable’ 15xs in that press conference. Texas A&M AD also weighed in relating Saban to an emperor losing his dynasty. Saban did eventually apologize for pointing the finger at one school on the PGA Championship broadcast of all things. This feud made a normal run of the mill Thursday, very entertaining.
- Ravens P Sam Koch is finally retired. Koch was the longest tenured player in franchise history for the Baltimore team at the age of 39. After 256 games, Koch was only topped by one active NFL player for more games played and that is Packers QB Aaron Rodgers. He will stay on staff to mentor their new punter.
Golf:
- PGA Championship was a doozy last night. Chilean Mito Pereira (mee-toe) led the PGA Championship at Southern Hills by 3 going into the final round on Sunday after a crazy weather week (heat, wind, delays, cold everything). Mito had never won the on the PGA Tour and has only played 1 major (US Open where he missed the cut) and the nerves showed. On the 18th, Mito hit the ball into the water and took himself out of contention with a double bogey. That left Justin Thomas, who came into the final round 7 back from the leader and Will Zalatoris. And we have not had a playoff in a major in 19 tournaments. Will Zalatoris was leading after Round 2 and the trend was that the leader after 36 holes has never lost a major at Southern Hills (7 straight times). Until yesterday. Will and JT played an aggregate 3 hole playoff (1 par 3, 1 par 4 and 1 par 5) which JT won by 2. This is Thomas’ 2nd major and both titles were PGA Championships. This win notches 15 PGA titles but his first since the 2021 PLAYERS. 4 of those wins have been in a playoff. The 7 shot comeback is the 3rd largest in major history.
- Hopefully you didn’t have tickets to Sunday for the PGA Championship or you would be severely disappointed as Tiger Woods withdrew after Saturday’s round. He shot a 79 and for the first time in his pro career carded 5 straight bogeys. If you watched you could tell his leg was bothering him on the first day.
- Mito is the first man since DJ in 2010 to be leading at the 72 hole and lose the lead.
- Even pro golfers have to yell ‘Fore!’
Hockey:
- Stanley Cup Playoffs continue.
- The Avalanche who were the only team to sweep their last opponent is having more trouble with the Blues. They do lead the series 2-1 after Saturday’s game where they won 5-2.
- The Lightning are handling the Panthers well after going 3-0 in their series. Last night’s game was a blow out with TB winning 5-1.
- The Hurricanes are also nicely dealing with the Rangers leading their series 2-1 although last night the NY team rallied nicely winning 3-1 with a goal in each period.
- The Flames were the last team to punch their ticket into the 2nd round and are losing their series to the Oilers. The Edmonton team is winning 2-1 and won handily last night 4-1.
- The Avalanche are working with St. Louis police on the threats made against C Nazem Kadri after he ran into Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington in Game 3. Binnington is now out for the remainder of the series due to a lower body injury. No penalty was called (even after further review) but Blues HC mentioned Kadri’s reputation. Binnginton threw a water bottle at Kadri during his post-game press conference. Heated! But racist threats and comments should not be resorted to!
Horse Racing:
- The Preakness was run without the KT Derby winner, Rich Strike. And just like the Derby, Epicenter came in 2nd. Early Voting won the Preakness after taking the lead around the final turn. The horse had plenty left in the tank after just keeping up and in range of the leader and holding off Epicenter as that horse came charging up the rail. Early Voting was one of the favorites with 5-1 odds.
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- Early Voting will continue the trend of not running the Belmont but Rich Strike will be back on track.
Olympic Sports:
- Katie Ledecky’s 400m WR is now broken. Ariarne Titmus is the new WR holder with a time of 3:56.40, just .06 seconds faster than Ledecky’s mark from the Rio Olympic Games.
- AUS is set to replace RUS as the host of swimming’s short course world championships which is set to compete in December.
- #GFHint: short course swimming means it’s competed on a 25m pool rather than a 50m pool.
- Z is a powerful letter if you’re a RUS athlete. Another athlete got a ban for wearing the letter that basically symbolizes supporting the war in UKR.
Soccer:
- The Premier League title is once again Manchester City’s for the 4th time in 5 years. However it did come down to the final day and it was a scare for City fans. City was 1 point ahead of Liverpool with a 6 goal differential. But the team went down 0-2 in their game vs Aston Villa. They did come back to win 3-2.
- FIFA has announced that there will be 6 female refs during the world cup.
Tennis:
- The French Open has begun! However all the rounds so far are only on the Tennis Channel or streaming. First round is on Monday. Quarterfinals will be on the 31st. Naomi Osaka is already out after losing in the first round. She has also come out to say she is unsure if she will play Wimbledon. Wimbledon will not award world ranking points due to its stance on RUS athletes not being allowed to play.
What to watch this week
Baseball – MLB:
- Tues 5/24
- Brewers at Padres @ 8:40pm on TBS
- Sat 5/28
- Guardians at Tigers @ 3:10pm on FS1
- 3 games @ 6:15pm on FOX depending on your geographic location
- Cubs at White Sox
- Dodgers at Diamondbacks
- Phillies at Mets
- Sun 5/29
- Giants at Reds @ 10:35am on Peacock
- Phillies at Mets @ 6pm on ESPN2
Baseball – NCAA:
- Tues 5/24
- SEC tournament: Georgia at Alabama @ 9:30am on ESPNU
- SEC tournament: South Carolina vs Florida @ 1pm on SEC
- SEC tournament: Ole Miss vs Vandy @ 4:30pm on SEC
- SEC tournament: Kentucky at Auburn @ 8pm on SEC
- Wed 2/25
- Big 12 tournament: Texas vs Oklahoma St @ 9am on ESPNU
- SEC tournament: Arkansas vs TBD @ 9:30am on SEC
- SEC tournament: Texas A&M vs TBD @ TBD on SEC
- Big 12 tournament: TBD vs TBD @ 4pm on ESPNU
- SEC tournament: Tennessee vs TBD @ 4:30pm on SEC
- SEC tournament: LSU vs TBD @ TBD on SEC
- Thurs 5/26
- SEC tournament: TBD vs TBD @ 9:30am on SEC
- SEC tournament: TBD vs TBD @ TBD on SEC
- Big 12 tournament: TBD vs TBD @ 4pm on ESPNU
- SEC tournament: TBD vs TBD @ 4:30pm on SEC
- SEC tournament: TBD vs TBD @ TBD on SEC
- Big 12 tournament: TBD vs TBD @ 7:30pm on ESPNU
- Fri 5/27
- SEC tournament: TBD vs TBD @ 3pm on SEC
- SEC tournament: TBD vs TBD @ TBD on SEC
- Sat 5/28
- Big South tournament Final @ 11am on ESPNU
- SEC tournament Semifinals @ 12pm on SEC
- ACC tournament Semifinals @ 12pm on ACC
- SEC tournament Semifinals @ 3:30pm on SEC
- ACC tournament Semifinals @ 4pm on ACC
- Sun 5/29
- ACC tournament Final @ 11am on ESPN2
- American Athletic tournament Final @ 11am on ESPNEWS
- SEC tournament Final @ 2pm on SEC
- Big 12 tournament Final @ 5pm on ESPNU
- Pac 12 tournament Final @ 9pm on ESPN2
Basketball-NBA:
- Mon 5/23
- Game 4: Heat at Celtics @ 7:30pm on ABC
- MIA leads 2-1
- Game 4: Heat at Celtics @ 7:30pm on ABC
- Tues 5/24
- Game 4: Warriors at Mavericks @ 8pm on TNT
- Wed 5/25
- Game 5: Celtics at Heat @ 7:30pm on ESPN
- Thurs 5/26 – if necessary
- Game 5: Mavericks at Warriors @ 8pm on TNT
- Fri 5/27 – if necessary
- Game 6: Heat at Celtics @ 7:30pm on ESPN
- Sat 5/28 – if necessary
- Game 6: Warriors at Mavericks @ 8pm on TNT
- Sun 5/29 – if necessary
- Game 7: Celtics at Heat @ 7:30pm on ESPN
- Mon 5/30 – if necessary
- Game 7: Mavericks at Warriors @ 7pm on TNT
Football:
- Sat 5/28
- USFL: NJ Generals at Tampa Bay Bandits @ 11am on USA
- USFL: NOLA Breakers at Michigan Panthers @ 9pm on FS1
- Sun 5/29
- USFL: Birmingham Stallions at Pitt Maulers @ 1pm on FOX
- USFL: Phili Stars at Houston Gamblers @ 5pm on Peacock
Golf:
- Mon 2/23
- NCAA W Final Individual @ 4pm on Golf Channel
- Tues 2/24
- NCAA W Team Quarterfinal @ 11am on Golf Channel
- NCAA W Team Semifinal @ 4pm on Golf Channel
- Wed 2/25
- NCAA W Team Final @ 4pm on Golf Channel
- Thurs 5/26
- Charles Schwab Challenge – Round 1 @ 3pm on Golf Channel
- Fri 5/27
- Charles Schwab Challenge – Round 2 @ 3pm on Golf Channel
- Sat 5/28
- Charles Schwab Challenge – Round 3
- @ 1pm on Golf Channel
- @ 4:30pm on CBS
- Charles Schwab Challenge – Round 3
- Sun 5/29
- Charles Schwab Challenge – Final Round
- @ 12pm on Golf Channel
- @ 1pm on CBS
- Charles Schwab Challenge – Final Round
Hockey:
- Mon 5/23
- Game 4: Panthers at Lightning @ 6pm on TNT
- Game 4: Avalanche at Blues @ 8:30pm on TNT
- Tues 5/24
- Game 4: Hurricanes at Rangers @ 6pm on ESPN
- Game 4: Flames at Oilers @ 8:30pm on ESPN
- Wed 5/25
- Game 5: Lightning at Panthers @ TBD
- If necessary
- Game 5: Blues at Avalanche @ TBD
- Game 5: Lightning at Panthers @ TBD
- Thurs 5/26
- Game 5: Rangers at Hurricanes @ TBD
- If necessary
- Game 5: Oilers at Flames @ TBD
- Game 5: Rangers at Hurricanes @ TBD
- Fri 5/27 – if necessary
- Game 6: Panthers at Lightning @ TBD
- Game 6: Avalanche at Blues @ TBD
- Sat 5/28 – if necessary
- Game 6: Hurricanes at Rangers @ TBD
- Game 6: Flames at Oilers @ TBD
- Sun 5/29 – if necessary
- Game 7: Lightning at Panthers @ TBD
- Game 7: Blues at Avalanche @ TBD
Olympic Sports:
- Fri 5/27
- Lacrosse: W Semifinal: NW vs UNC @ 2pm on ESPNU
- Lacrosse: W Semifinal: Boston College vs Maryland @ 4pm on ESPNU
- Sat 5/28
- Lacrosse: M Semifinal Teams TBA @ 11am on ESPN2
- Lacrosse: M Semifinal Teams TBA @ 1:30pm on ESPN2
- Sun 5/29
- Lacrosse: W Final Teams TBA @ 11am on ESPN
Softball:
- Thurs 5/26
- Clemson at Oklahoma St @ 8:30pm on ESPN2
- Fri 5/27
- Arizona at Mississippi St @ 11am on ESPNU
- Florida at VTech @ 1pm on ESPN2
- UCF at Oklahoma @ 3:30pm on ESPN2
- Clemson at Oklahoma St @ 5pm on ESPN2
- Texas at Arkansas @ 6pm on ESPN2
- Northwestern at Arizona St @ 7pm on ESPNU
- Oregon St at Stanford @ 9:30pm on ESPNU
- Duke at UCLA @ 10pm on ESPN2
- Sat 5/28
- Florida at VTech @ 11am on ESPN
- UCF at Oklahoma @ 1pm on ESPN
- Arizona at Mississippi St @ 3pm on ESPNU
- Texas at Arkansas @ 3pm on ESPN
- Oregon St at Stanford @ 5pm on ESPNU
- Duke at UCLA @ 7:30pm on ESPN2
- Northwestern at Arizona St @ 10pm on ESPN2
- Sun 5/29
- Game 3s if needed (only 3rd game on Saturday is OSU/Clemson)
