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Back when the Mets had a competent pitching staff, their series opener against the Detroit Tigers would have been just about over when Juan Soto hit a grand slam off of Charlie Morton in the top of the fourth inning. Not only was the blast cathartic because Soto had yet to hit a home run this season that delivered more than two RBI, but it also turned a 3-2 deficit into a 6-3 Mets lead.

Unfortunately, the Mets no longer have a competent pitching staff, so fans had to watch that three-run lead evaporate over the span of just two innings. Zach McKinstry tripled home Dillon Dingler in the bottom of the fourth before being driven in on Jahmai Jones’ two-out RBI single. Detroit tied the game in the fifth when Ryne Stanek uncorked a wild pitch after coming in to relief Gregory Soto, who allowed two of the inning’s first three batters to hit singles.

It’s not very fun to watch your baseball team when it feels like no lead is safe. Even the most electric rallies can prove meaningless when they’re so easily countered. Fortunately, Juan Soto’s next big hit would put the Mets up for good. It wasn’t hit as hard as the grand slam, but Soto’s ground ball down the right field line in the sixth inning was good enough to score Luis Torrens and Francisco Lindor and put the Mets back up by two. Even better was that Brandon Nimmo followed up with an RBI single and the Mets finally got a shutdown inning when Tyler Rogers held the Tigers off the board in the bottom of the frame.

The Mets manufactured a run in the seventh when Jeff McNeil reached on an error by Gleyber Torres and then was replaced by Luisangel Acuna, who stole second base, moved to third on Luis Torrens’ bunt, and scored on an RBI ground out by Brett Baty. Could we finally relax now that the Mets had built their biggest lead of the day at 10-6? No, because Carlos Mendoza still trusts Ryan Helsley, and that meant that Riley Greene was doubling to lead off the bottom of the seventh and scoring on another big hit by McKinstry.

Brooks Raley would also allow a run to score following a leadoff double in the eighth before Edwin Diaz finally stopped the scoring by recording the final four outs of the game in order. It is going to be an exhausting month of September if the Mets are going to allow at least five runs in every game like they have for the last five days. This juggernaut offense led by a suddenly hot and clutch Soto can only do so much.

Sean Manaea and Koda Senga can’t stay in the rotation if they can’t make it through five innings. We’ve seen guys like Brandon Waddell and Justin Hagenman do a better job this season. This 10-game road trip that will eventually take the Mets through Cincinnati and Philadelphia is off to a good start, but it will not stay that way if the pitching doesn’t improve very quickly.

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This week we take a big swing from the hips and watch as our home run through July rips, with CDST’s, “Of Thunderlips, sledgehammer serving clips, and old guns that need no permits”. After another week off, we’re flying high again, paying tribute to Ozzie, the Hulkster, old guys in the gym with no time for Father Time, and great Scottie, who made all the big shotties at the British Open on the Irish coast. It’s truly a crowded house tomorrow at the Hermosa Beach studio, as we welcome a local volleyball legend Kevin Barnett, who’s set the gold suit standard for being an Olympic late bloomer in Men’s Volleyball, plus Mr. Funhouse himself, mad hatter Abe Pagoda, ChabDog doing his best Iron Mike Singletary glare, A-ron doing a Giant 1000 yard stare, and our very suave production chief getting spastic over plastics.

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1) Pirates won their 3rd in the row, dispelling Detroit’s illusions of grandeur
2) Boston figured out how to win an extra innings game on the road… finally put a sock in Phillie fan’s pie hole
3) The market went up like doorbusters on the news of a Japan trade deal
4) I discovered my favorite Ozzy song … unfortunately with credit given to his genius for “No Bone Movies” posthumously
5) I put up 315 no problemo, then lost my spot and was relegated to circumstantial evidence at 345.
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The National League blew a 6-0 lead in the final three innings of Tuesday night’s MLB All-Star Game from Atlanta, but it hung on to win thanks to a perfect performance by Kyle Schwarber in the exciting new tiebreaker. I don’t remember when MLB announced that an All-Star Game tied after nine innings would be decided by a three-on-three Home Run Derby, but it was fun to finally watch one, even if it came after a Senior Circuit meltdown.

The NL led from the start thanks to three straight hits off of AL starter Tarik Skubal by Shohei Ohtani, Ronald Acuna Jr., and Ketel Marte. Marte drove in the first two batters with his double, and the NL added to its lead in the sixth when Pete Alonso hit a three-run oppo taco off of Kris Bubic and Corbin Carroll followed with a solo shot off of Casey Mize three batters later.

The AL bounced right back off the mat, though. Brent Rooker hit a three-run bomb off of Randy Rodriguez to cut the lead in half before Maikel Garcia walked, stole second base, and scored on a ground ball from Royals teammate Bobby Witt Jr. The NL held their 6-4 advantage until the ninth, when Robert Suarez allowed back-to-back doubles by Byron Buxton and Witt to put the tying run in scoring position. Dave Roberts went to Diaz for the save, but Steven Kwan got Witt home with a two-out infield single.

Next up was the thrilling tiebreaker, but it could have been even more thrilling if some of the All-Star starters were available. Unfortunately, many had already showered, which led to Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge not taking part, among others. Roberts appeared to have the edge on Aaron Boone with a three-man lineup anchored by Kyle Schwarber and Pete Alonso, and that turned out to be the case. With the NL trailing three dingers to one, Schwarber came up and left the yard on all three of his swings to put his team in front. Jonathan Aranda needed just one home run to put the pressure on Pete Alonso, but he went 0-for-3 to give the NL the win.

The only downside of the evening was Schwarber winning MVP honors over Pete Alonso even though he went 0-for-2 during the baseball portion of the game. I don’t think three batting practice home runs are more valuable a three-run home run off of a pitcher who is trying to get you out, but I guess I’m old fashioned. If Suarez and Diaz closed the door like they were supposed to, Alonso would be MVP. We’ll have to settle for Polar Bear hitting the first Mets All-Star home run since David Wright in 2006. And of course, the National League win is great to see as well!

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It’s Cal Raleigh’s world and we’re all just living in it. Not only did he become the first catcher to win the Home Run Derby on Monday night, but he also became the first switch hitter to win the dinger tournament, and he did so while actually switch hitting. In the first round, he slugged 10 home runs as a lefty and seven as a righty to barely edge out Brent Rooker, who also hit 17 home runs but lost the longest home run tie breaker by a fraction of a foot.

Raleigh didn’t need a tiebreaker to get by Oneil Cruz in the semifinals or Junior Caminero in the finals. Hopefully his long ball binge in the Home Run Derby won’t get in the way of him chasing home run history when the regular season continues. Raleigh has 38 home runs, which is just one short of the 39 that Barry Bonds had at the All-Star break during the 2001 season when he set the all-time record with 73 home runs for the season.

Of course, may fans have put an asterisk next to that record because of Bonds’ involvement with performance-enhancing drugs, and that should make Raleigh’s pursuit of the record even more exciting. Can the Big Dumper purify the record books by matching Bonds using nothing but natural muscle and determination? I’d say the odds are against him, but Raleigh is already having a storybook season, so let’s see where the chapters take us.

I didn’t get a chance to comment on the Wimbledon men’s final yet, but that was some performance by Jannik Sinner. He lost the first set to Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, but then won the next three by the same margin. The match wasn’t nearly as thrilling as the final at Roland-Garros that Alcaraz won despite dropping the first two sets, but I think Sinner liked it that way. He broke Alcaraz’s serve when he needed to and made sure that none of the sets went to tiebreak.

It will be interesting to see what happens at the U.S. Open because Sinner would have a chance at the grand slam if not for Alcaraz’s comeback in Paris. Instead, it will be Alcaraz trying to win a second major this year to match Sinner’s victories at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. I wonder if I’ll root for them to meet in the final or if I’ll cheer on an American instead. Taylor Fritz is getting very close to making me believe that an American man can win the big one.

Before I head out, here are two more highlights from the Home Run Derby. First, Oneil Cruz’s absurd 500-foot blast.

Second, some kid tried to rob a home run from Caminero during the final round. It was ruled a home run, but should it have been? This kid could have been public enemy number one for all seven Rays fans!

I think the ball should have to leave the yard to be a home run in the Home Run Derby. If you don’t want the robberies, don’t let the kids shag balls!

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I just knew the Mets wouldn’t be able to handle the pressure of needing to win one more game in Kansas City on Sunday to stay in first place of the National League East at the All-Star break. Sure enough, even though Clay Homes and a returning-from-injury Sean Manaea combined to pitch a solid game, the Mets lost 3-2 to the Royals and fell into second place with the Phillies winning their series finale in San Diego.

Royals starter Noah Cameron did a great job getting the Mets to hit balls on the ground. The Mets got seven hits off of him in six and two thirds innings, but the only one that went for extra bases was a triple by Mark Vientos in the first inning. This game might have ended up differently if the Mets had drive Vientos in, but he was stranded at third thanks to Juan Soto’s ground ball to shortstop and Brandon Nimmo’s foul pop-up.

Kansas City scored a pair of runs on John Rave’s two-run double off of Holmes in the second inning, but the Mets didn’t break through until the ninth with Carlos Estevez on the mound. The Mets pounding Estevez is starting to become a theme after Vientos hit his bases-clearing double against him on Friday night and Francisco Lindor took him deep for a grand slam in Game 4 of last year’s NLDS. This time around, Ronny Mauricio led off with a double and Jeff McNeil smoked a triple off the right-center field wall to bring the tying run within 90 feet of the plate. Two batters later, Jared Young did something useful for once and hit a game-tying sac fly to center field.

The late rally was all just a tease, though. In the bottom of the inning, Tyler Tolbert singled off of Manaea with one out and stole second base before being driven in by Nick Loftin’s walk-off hit. At least the Mets didn’t get shut out.

It felt like the Mets were getting shut out during tonight’s MLB Draft because New York didn’t get to choose a player until the 38th pick. That guy ended up being Mitch Voit from Michigan, who is better known as the guy who tried to smoke the third base line like it was cocaine last season.

It has never felt more like 1986.

 

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcYWPRnXYDo

On today’s “Doge Day of Summer” CDST Show….\

  • Pole vaults to another title, and Breakfast at Wimby involves a real live double bagel
  • Ce-dong hits another ding dong, and “that is the sound of 8 straight at Fenway”… the sights and sounds of today’s big shooooo
  • A very large step was just taken in Frank’s 20,000 step plan to turn the scales on their ever loving heads…
  • At around min 40, see a major short-tempered eruption by Johnny Mac in his Johnny Stockton short shorts, who could not curb his lack of enthusiam for the chair qualifications of the Larry David lookalike ump.
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There was reason to believe on Saturday morning that Amanda Anisimova was going to upset Iga Swiatek in the ladies final at Wimbledon to become champion. Anisimova had just upset the top player in the world, Aryna Sabalenka, and she was playing as well as anyone. Plus, Swiatek wasn’t known as a strong grass player and didn’t have a Wimbledon title to her name. Although Swiatek was strongest on clay, she had just been defeated by Sabalenka at Roland-Garros less than two months ago.

When the tennis started, however, it couldn’t be more clear who the superior player was. Swiatek immediately broke Anisimova’s serve and kept on smashing the ball precisely with her backhand while Anisimova couldn’t keep anything in play. She was either hitting it long or wide or into the net even when she had a chance to deliver an easy winner.

Swiatek had all but wrapped up the first set when she broke Anisimova’s serve a second time to go up 3-0, but it was still surprising when the punishment continued into the second set. It was a little sad to watch Anisimova grow more frustrated as she seemingly forgot how to play the brilliant tennis that got her to this point. Fortunately, Swiatek finished the match pretty quickly, but no one wants to lose 6-0, 6-0 in a grand slam final.

Hopefully Anisimova will hold onto the good memories from Wimbledon and flush that crushing defeat to Swiaek. She’s had a tumultuous career, but she showed how much potential she has in these past two weeks, so I’m looking forward to see how she bounces back.

As for Swiatek, she’s now won a grand slam on all three surfaces and is just an Australian Open title short of the career grand slam. I know a lot of fans are wondering if she could have gotten by Sabalenka had Anisimova not gotten her out of the way. Maybe we’ll find out at the US Open in September.

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I went into Thursday’s Mets vs. Orioles doubleheader feeling optimistic that the Mets could sweep both games and keep pace with the Phillies in the National League East. Unfortunately, the offense was very disappointing against Baltimore starters Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sogano and completely useless against the Orioles bullpen. The Mets had a chance to score early on Morton in the first game when a passed ball by Jacob Stallings in the first inning allowed Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Lindor to reach second and third base with no outs. However, Morton struck out both Juan Soto and Pete Alonso before Jesse Winker popped up to strand both runners.

The Mets scored in the fifth when Brett Baty walked and stole second base before being driven in by a rare Tyrone Taylor double, but New York still found a way to disappoint by making three outs without scoring Taylor. One more time in the sixth, the Mets had a runner on second with nobody out and couldn’t bring him around. So that was four runners in scoring position with no outs that the Mets left stranded. It almost didn’t matter because of how good David Peterson was in this game, but Ryne Stanek relieved him in the eighth and gave up a script-flipping, two-run bomb to Gunnar Henderson. As if that wasn’t enough, Stanek then walked the bases loaded and let Baltimore add a run on a sac fly to make the score 3-1. If only the Mets had scored some of those available runs from before, they might have held on to win.

The story was a little different in the second game, since this time both Nimmo and Lindor scored in the first inning after getting on base. Unfortunately, there was no Peterson to pitch a gem in this one. Brandon Waddell started the game and let three runs in during the second inning thanks to a double by Alex Jackson and a home run from Jordan Westburg. the Mets caught up in the fourth with a clutch RBI single by Brett Baty, but Justin Hagenman could not keep Baltimore off the board in the fifth. Colton Cowser hit an RBI single with two outs and Ramon Urias drove in another thanks to an error by Baty. The Orioles added two more runs in the sixth and ran away with a 7-3 win with the Mets offense doing very little after the fourth inning.

One of the only bright spots of the second game was Rico Garcia shutting down the Orioles for their final two and two thirds innings at the plate. In typical Mets fashion, Garcia was designated for assignment today to make room for Kodai Senga’s return to the rotation. Obviously, someone had to be bounced to make room for Senga, but there are guys like Alex Carrillo and Waddell who have options left in the back of the bullpen. Why send away Garcia when he has been effective so far?

Anyway, the Mets are in Kansas City starting tonight for the final three games before the All-Star break. Hopefully it won’t be a total disaster with Senga, Frankie Montas, and a mystery starter (should be Clay Holmes but Mindless Mendoza is probably babying him).

The Yankees still haven’t lost since the Mets let them off the hook on Sunday. This time, they beat the Mariners 6-5 despite going without a hit for the first seven innings of the game. They finally broke through against Bryan Woo with a pair of singles by Jazz Chisholm and Ben Rice to lead off the eighth. Austin Wells hit a sac fly to get the Bombers on the board and Giancarlo Stanton homered off of Matt Brash to make the score 5-3.

In the ninth, the Yankees rallied against Seattle closer Andres Munoz, who was apparently tipping his pitches. Wells came up big with a two-run single and then Aaron Judge hit a walk-off sac fly in the 10th following a great job by Devin Williams to strand the ghost runner. It is a little painful watching the Yankees come to life knowing that the Mets could have killed their season a few days ago.

Over in London, Taylor Fritz blew a chance to force a fifth set with Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic was swept by Jannik Sinner. The announcers were treating the aging Djokovic like a dog that needs to be put down, but he was looking pretty good in this tournament before facing the top player in the world. He can still play for a while longer if he’s okay not winning grand slam events, but not might not be the case.

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Ugh. The Mets were rained out on Wednesday night, so they’ll have to play twice against Baltimore today before jumping on a plane to Kansas City, where they’ll play on Friday night roughly 24 hours after the doubleheader ends. David Peterson is pitching for the Mets in the first game against Charlie Morton, who got off to a miserable start this season but has been better lately with just six runs allowed over his last four outings. The second game, which is scheduled for 5:05 PM, will allow the Mets to tee off on Tomoyuki Sugano with a mystery starter on the bump for New York. It will probably be some combination of Justin Hagenman and Austin Warren, who was just called up to be the extra man for the doubleheader.

I don’t know why Acuna is back in the majors so quickly. The infield is already crowded with Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, and Ronnie Mauricio in the mix and Acuna needs to play every day. Travis Jankowski hadn’t been getting much playing time as the utility guy. Anyway, let’s check out what else happened in sports on Wednesday.

The Yankees designated DJ LeMahieu for assignment. He was extremely productive for the Bombers when they signed him as a free agent in 2019 and then he hit .364 and won the batting title in the short pandemic season. However, his play has fallen off a cliff since then and he was almost impossibly bad in 2024, hitting .204/.269/.259 in 228 plate appearances. He hasn’t been nearly that awful this season, but the Yankees felt it was time to say goodbye with Jazz Chisholm playing well at second base and infield prospect Jorbit Vivas showing posting a .409 on-base percentage at Triple-A.

There was happier news for the Yankees on the field, as they beat Seattle 9-6 for their third straight win. That’s right, it was the Mets who got the Yankees going on Sunday by letting them off the hook with sloppy play. Now it appears that the Bombers have righted their ship with Cam Schlittler striking out seven in his big league debut and picking up the win thanks to Chisholm’s two home runs.

In Kansas City, Jack Caglianone hit a total monster bomb that measured 466 feet to center field. Salvador Perez also homered twice, including a solo shot that gave his team the lead in the eighth inning, and the Royals beat Pittsburgh 4-3 to finish off a series sweep.

Jesus Luzardo was splendid for the Phillies. He pitched seven shutout innings while the bats unloaded for seven runs in the eighth inning to give Philly a 13-0 victory in San Francisco.

In tennis, Ben Shelton was taken down by top seed Jannik Sinner in straight sets during their Wimbledon quarterfinal. It was a promising tournament for Shelton, but we’ll have to settle for Taylor Fritz being the only American man in the semifinals. For Sinner, it was a return to his dominant self after he was bailed out of an upset scare in the round of 16 by an injury to Grigor Dimitrov.

Meeting Sinner in the semifinals will be the arguable GOAT, Novak Djokovic. He dropped the first set to Flavio Cobolli but then one three straight to prove that he’s still got it. It seems that Djokovic has already passed the torch of greatness to Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, but now he has a chance to yank it back for one more run at a grand slam title.

On the women’s side, Belinda Bencic upset the Russian prodigy Mirra Andreeva in just two sets, although both went to a tiebreaker. It’s matches like those that make you wonder what would happen if the women had to win three sets in a match like the men. Would Bencic beat Andreeva in a third set with such thin margins? We’ll never know. Meanwhile, Iga Swiatek beat Liudmila Samsonova 6-2, 7-5 and will face Bencic later today.

Right before publishing time, the women’s semifinals began and Amanda Anisimova has upset the number one Aryna Sabalenka! She has looked vulnerable at Wimbledon and finally dropped a set in the quarterfinals to Laura Siegmund before bouncing back for the win. Sabalenka lost the first set and won the second again vs. Anisimova, but the American showed great resilience in the third set. Even after blowing a match point with the serve and allowing Sabalenka back on even footing, Anisimova rebounded right away and won the match with a break point. The United States has now put a woman in the final of the last four grand slam tournaments. The last two, Coco Gauff and Madison Keys, both won the title.

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We’ll help you climb out of this groundhog day hole with the “CDST Superstar Superbowl Afterparty Show”…

2SGBR85 Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Milton Williams, left, stops a pass by Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) during the NFL Super Bowl 59 football game on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025 in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Feeling a bit let down, as cold February lingers and throws downers in your face like the NBA All-star game and the 4 Nations’ competition to nowhere. We’ll help you climb out of this groundhog day hole with the “CDST Superstar Superbowl Afterparty Show”. You’ll be seeing hhhhhelicopters, artifically enhanced lucky Lukas, delicious visions and vapors of a once-in-a-lifetime KC barbe-que, sacked, roasted and ready for brotherly love consumption, a 7 ft, 360 pound center from St. John’s Fisher who’s on a see food diet that commands attention, and, in honor of recently concluded National Hippo Day, it’s baby Charlie, who thinks he just one of the Rhinos. Plus, a look at two potential giant killer’s for this year’s touney… 10 and oh my in the Ivies, YALE… and the hot hot hot Tigers of Mizzou, who seek to undo the ghosts of Tyus Edney. Really, now, what could indeed by Feiner?!

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Well Read’s Posts

Abe’s Posts

Week 4: Abe’s Scrumdidilyumptious NFL Picks (ATS)

NO NEED TO FEAR…WEEK 4 IS HERE, and boy have we seen an ass ton of upsets and injuries already go down in just 3 short weeks ! Like me, I assume everyone elses fantasy team is in a world of shit right now. Especially since I have Puka Nacua (WR-Rams) and Isiah Pacheco (RB – KC Chiefs) on the fucking IR. As always, here are my scrumdidilyumptious NFL picks based on very flawed science, numbies based solely on Taylor Swift’s game attendance, and a spidey sense that may or may not be functioning well based on the amount and quality of tacos I ate today. As for week 3, I got 50% (8/16) of my picks right and still questioning why the hell I picked the Bengals -7.5 knowing how unreliable they’ve been so far….I’m ashamed….bad Abe…bad (why I’m picking the Panthers +5.5)! With that being said, you still have a better shot with my picks below than literally flipping a quarter.  So if you’re stuck on a particular game to pick, just know you got better odds right fucking here!!! So let’s get smashed and have ourselves a weekend

WEEK 1: 10/16 (62.5%) WEEK 2: 8/15 + 1 Push (53.3%)  WEEK 3: 8/16 (50%) SEASON RECORD (ATS): 26/47 + 1 Push (55%)

 

|  | @gawdbrudder

 

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Week 3: Abe’s Scrumdidilyumptious NFL Picks (ATS)

Hey everyone, it’s week 3 and off to the NFL races we go with the Patriots vs the Jets tonight (ATS: Patriots ML: Jets )!  As always, here are my scrumdidilyumptious NFL picks based on very flawed science, numbies based solely on Taylor Swift’s game attendance, and a spidey sense that may or may not be functioning well based on the amount and quality of tacos I ate today. As for week 2, I got 53% (8/15) of my picks right with my 16th pick being a “push” (8 – 7 – 1).  Overall, you still have a better shot with my picks below than literally flipping a quarter.  So if you’re stuck on a particular game to pick, just know you got better odds right fucking here!!! LFGoooooo!

WEEK 1: 10/16 (62.5%) WEEK 2: 8/15 + 1 Push (53.3%)  SEASON RECORD (ATS): 18/31 + 1 Push (58%)

| | @gawdbrudder

 

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Dorothy’s Posts

Aaron’s Posts

This Stanley Cup Final is Shaping Up to be One of the Greatest Ever

Just like Thunder in Five before it, Panthers in Five went down in flames on Thursday night with Florida blowing a 3-0 lead and falling to the Edmonton Oilers 5-4 in overtime. The good news is that we are now guaranteed at least two more games in this series and just got to see one of the most thrilling games in the history of the Stanley Cup Final. It started with a dominant first period by Florida with Matthew Tkachuk scoring a pair of power play goals and Anton Lundell adding an even-strength score in the final minute when Edmonton turned over the puck behind its own net.

The second period saw three Edmonton goals with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Darnell Nurse flipping the puck over Sergei Bobrovsky’s shoulder and Vasily Podkolzin netting the equalizer on a backhand shot that was set up by Nurse’s wraparound try. Just as important as all the scoring, though, was backup goalie Calvin Pickard stonewalling the Panthers and keeping their total at three while the Oilers caught up. Florida stayed aggressive throughout the game, with one of its best chances coming midway through the second period when Lundell intercepted a pass on the forecheck and skated into the slot with no one but Pickard in front of him. Pickard came up with a monumental stop to keep the score 3-1, and Nurse scored the Oilers’ second goal of the night a minute later.

After Edmonton had tied the game, the Panthers controlled the action and looked to be on the way to scoring the game’s seventh goal, but they were denied over and over. Even with Pickard leaving the net wide open thanks to a brilliant pass from Carter Verhaeghe to Tkachuk, defenseman Mattias Ekholm stepped up and acted as a second goalie to keep the go-ahead goal off the board. Instead, it was the Oilers who broke the tie with Jake Walman slamming home a massive slap shot from the right circle after a Florida own-zone turnover caused by Edmonton’s Mattias Janmark.

read more…

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Watching the Pacers Win is Frustrating for Knicks Fans

I just knew the Pacers were going to make the NBA Finals as painful as possible. I just knew it and I couldn’t bring myself to accept it. Everyone basketball mind I talked to said that the Pacers would not be dominated by Oklahoma City like the sportsbooks expected. Indiana was going to continue to defy the odds, and that is what has happened. I thought this series would be different because of how well the Thunder bounced back from their Game 1 loss, but Indiana took back control in Game 3 with a 116-107 victory despite trailing by four early in the fourth quarter.

Tyrese Haliburton came one rebound short of a triple-double with 22 points and 11 assists, but the real heroes for Indiana were Bennedict Mathurin and T.J. McConnell. While Oklahoma City only got 18 points from its entire bench, Mathurin scored 27 himself on 9-for-12 shooting while McConnell was a pest who looked like he wanted this game more than anyone else in the arena. He scored 10 points in just 15 minutes with five assists and five steals. Three times McConnell caught the Thunder napping and turned a typical inbounds play after an Indiana bucket into additional points for the Pacers. Those types of steals should not happen once in a game that means everything, let alone three times.

Listen to Haliburton talk about how scrappy and gritty McConnell is. This is a guy who should be happy to have a couple of minutes in garbage time, and yet he is having a major impact off the bench.

read more…

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Knicks Have No Plan at Head Coach

I really thought that the Knicks had a plan when they fired Tom Thibodeau after their loss to Indiana in the Eastern Conference Finals. Mike Malone had been let go by the Nuggets in April, and he was someone who knew how to win a championship with a versatile big man. However, in the past few days, it has become apparent that the Knicks have no idea who their next head coach will be. They’ve reportedly been shut down from interviewing a bunch of guys who already hold NBA jobs.

On Wednesday morning, the Mavs firmly rejected the Knicks’ request to speak with Jason Kidd, sources told ESPN.

Kidd joins Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka and Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch as those whose teams have denied permission to interview with New York, sources confirmed.

Since the Knicks brought Thibodeau aboard in 2020, they’ve made the Playoffs in four out of five seasons and won 50 games in each of the last two seasons. This year, the Knicks defeated the defending champion Celtics to reach their first Eastern Conference Finals since 2000. But Thibodeau wasn’t good enough because of the Knicks’ collapse in Game 1 against the Pacers that featured Aaron Nesmith becoming automatic from three-point range and OG Anunoby fumbling away an open layup that could have put the game away.

I wasn’t totally shocked when the Knicks dismissed Thibodeau because I’ve become desensitized to bizarre NBA firings. It would be nice if the Knicks were different, though. Now instead of just having to tweak a roster that was a couple of games away from a Finals berth, the Knicks must replace a head coach who was a perfect fit for New York with his defense-first mindset and his experience as an assistant coach under Jeff Van Gundy.

read more…

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Mets Continue Home Magic with Comeback Over Nationals

I really thought tonight would be the night where the Mets fell back to the pack a little bit and stopped being unbeatable at home. That night might come, but it is not this night! On this night the Mets overcame a 4-2 deficit in the eighth inning and came back to defeat the Washington Nationals in the bottom of the 10th on Jeff McNeil’s RBI single!

The Mets looked pretty dead in the bottom of the eighth with two outs and nobody on base, but Starling Marte sparked them with a walk and Washington’s no-doubles defense (that never works) allowed Juan Soto’s line drive to right field to land in for an RBI double. Pete Alonso followed up with a clutch double of his own to tie the game. Then all it took was Edwin Diaz and “Great News” Reed Garrett shutting down Washington in the ninth and 10th innings, respectively, to set up McNeil’s game-winner.

What really impressed me about the Mets’ rally was how it came out of nowhere. New York had just one hit following Juan Soto’s solo shot in the third that cut Washington’s lead to 3-2. The offense had gone to sleep before being woken up by Marte’s walk and Soto’s big hit. Just as important as the hit, though, was Soto hustling home on Alonso’s double. With Alonso being thrown out at second base on the play, the Mets don’t get the tying run in if Soto doesn’t reach the plate before the tag. It was a good job by Soto to show some awareness and bust his butt to the plate.

Griffin Canning might not have had the finest game, but Soto and McNeil following up their strong performances in Denver with two hits and two RBI each is a great sign for the Mets going forward. Plus, the newest member of the bullpen Justin Garza got a couple of huge strikeouts to keep Washington from adding on in the top of the eighth.

With no NBA Finals or Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday night, the USMNT had a chance to steal the spotlight, but it got blown out by Switzerland 4-0. It would be embarrassing enough to get crushed by a legit European power, but Switzerland? That is inexcusable and there is less than zero excitement for the US with one year to go until the 2026 World Cup. Oh well, maybe the Mets will be defending a World Series championship by then… still a long way to go.

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Murray State Makes History and Panthers Dominate the Ice

The College World Series field of eight is set, and the best story was saved for last with Murray State defeating Duke 5-4 to advance to its first ever CWS. It was miraculous enough that the Racers beat Ole Miss in two of three games to advance from the Oxford Regional, but they followed it up with wins in Game 2 and Game 3 of the Durham Super Regional to reach Omaha. The NCAA Baseball Tournament doesn’t get nearly as much attention as the basketball version, but that doesn’t make Murray State’s Cinderella run any less fun. It appeared to be over for the Racers when they lost to Duke in Game 1 on Saturday, but they bounced back with 19 runs in Sunday’s win before defeating the Blue Devils for a second straight time tonight.  Duke took a 3-2 lead in the fourth inning on a solo shot by Jake Berger, but Murray State equalized in the seventh on Jonathan Hogart’s second home run of the night before going ahead in the eighth on a Luke Mistone’s solo job.

With Murray State ahead 5-4 in the ninth, the umpires tried to end the game early by calling Duke for double play interference on the cleanest takeout slide I have ever seen. Fortunately the call was overturned, and the Racers were able to regroup and get the final out despite celebrating prematurely before the replay review. The College World Series will start on Friday with Coastal Carolina taking on Arizona. Murray State plays its first game on Saturday against UCLA. After last year’s CWS field was split between four SEC teams and four ACC teams, this year there is more diversity with only two SEC teams and one from the ACC. The Pac-12 would have led with three programs in Omaha if it had never broken up, but UCLA, Oregon State, and Arizona now all represent different conferences.

Down in South Florida, the Panthers took control of the Stanley Cup Final with 6-1 pounding of Edmonton. The last two times we had a repeat Stanley Cup Final, the titles were split between each team. Sydney Crosby and the Penguins lost to Detroit in 2008 before winning the Cup in 2009. Likewise, Wayne Gretzky’s Oilers fell to the Islanders in 1983 before defeating them in 1984. So history is on Edmonton’s side, but momentum is certainly not. The Oilers appeared to be setting us up for another classic game when Corey Perry slammed in a rebound on the power play to start the second period and make the score 2-1 Florida, but the Panthers struck back with a Sam Reinhart goal that took advantage of an Edmonton turnover deep in its own end. Sam Bennett followed up by undressing Stuart Skinner on a breakaway to put the Panthers up 4-1 and they ran away from there.

In baseball, we saw the best home run robbery in a long time when Denzel Clarke went way over the wall to take a big fly away from Nolan Schanuel. Poor guy only has 17 career home runs.

The Mets and USA Soccer return on Tuesday, but the NBA Finals aren’t back until Wednesday. Remember, it’s Thunder in five.

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