Good Morning,
It’s the Rory McIlroy show after Round 1 of the PGA Championship, and plenty of highlights from the NBA, NHL, MLB and WNBA bring us into the weekend. Get pumped for another full weekend of sports…
Letter Rip!
PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
McIlroy Shines in Round 1
Rory McIlroy (-5) Holds Outright Lead After Round 1 of PGA Championship
Golfers started carving up Round 1 at Southern Hills on Thursday, and then Southern Hills fought back. It’s a familiar name at the top of the leaderboard after Rory McIlroy (-5) strung together seven birdies in the opening round, including a stretch of four straight on the back-nine. The 2012 and 2014 PGA Championship winner leads outright after Day 1. Meanwhile, only a handful of golfers shot scores at 3-under or better. Big names like Tiger Woods (+4), Scottie Scheffler (+1) and Dustin Johnson (+3) were victims of Southern Hills’ difficult design. The PGA Championship continues today.
Watch: PGA Championship Round 1 Highlights
Leaderboard
R. McIlroy (-5)
W. Zalatoris (-4)
T. Hoge (-4)
M. Kuchar (-3)
A. Ancer (-3)
J. Thomas (-3)
Other Notable Scorecards: X. Schauffele (-2), C. Smith (-2), J. Niemann (-2), T. Finau (-1), P. Reed (-1), S. Scheffler (+1), J. Daly (+2), J. Spieth (+2), C. Morikawa (+2), D. Johnson (+3), T. Woods (+4) | Full Leaderboard
Round 2 Tee Times (Today)
Additional Storylines
ESPN: Tiger Woods & Rory McIlroy Walked a Different Walk to Open the PGA Championship
USA Today: Rory McIlroy in Full Flight, Takes Early Lead in 104th PGA Championship
PGA: Rory McIlroy Authors Vintage Performance in Opening-Round 65 at PGA Championship
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NBA PLAYOFFS
Smart Sparks Boston Blowout
Celtics Backcourt Shines in Bounce-Back Game 2 Win Against Heat (127-102)
It’s a dog fight in the East! The Celtics buried the Heat in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals on Thursday night (127-102). Boston led by 25 points at halftime and never stumbled. The Celtics were downright perfect, shooting above 50 percent from the field and 3-point range while packaging a stellar defensive performance. Jimmy Butler (29 points) got his buckets for the Heat, but no other Miami player cracked 14 points.
The Boston Backcourt
Meanwhile, Boston’s backcourt was borderline unconscious as the trio of Jayson Tatum (27), Jaylen Brown (24) and Marcus Smart (24) combined for 75 points on 13 threes (13-for-25). Smart was the jack-of-all-trades in Game 2, tallying 12 assists, nine rebounds and three steals alongside his 24 points. The series heads back to Boston all square at 1-1.
Watch: Celtics Blow Out Heat With Game 2 Sharpshooting (127-102)
NBA Playoffs Schedule
Gm 2: Mavericks at Warriors (Fri. 9:00 pm ET)
Gm 3: Heat at Celtics (Sat. 8:30 pm ET)
Gm 3: Warriors at Mavericks (Sun. 9:00 pm ET)
Additional Storylines
NBC Sports: Marcus Smart Does It All in Game 2 Return
CBS Sports: Relentless Celtics Roll Heat to Even Eastern Conference Finals
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NHL PLAYOFFS
Late Strike of Lightning
Ross Colton Scores With 3.8 Seconds Left to Lift Lightning Over Panthers; Blues Hand Avalanche First Playoff Loss
Another night on ice saw a wild one in Florida. The Lightning struck down the Panthers by a stunning goal from Ross Colton with 3.8 seconds left in the third period. The late goal gave Tampa Bay a 2-0 lead in the Florida series. Out west, the St. Louis Blues delivered the first loss of the postseason to the Colorado Avalanche thanks to David Perron’s two-goal night. An empty-net goal slammed the door on Game 2 to even the series between the Blues and Avs. We’re deep into Round 2 as the Stanley Cup Playoffs skate on.
Stanley Cup Playoff Highlights
Gm 2: Blues def. Avalanche (4-1) | Series Tied (1-1)
Gm 2: Lightning def. Panthers (2-1) | TBL Leads (2-0)
Tonight’s Schedule
Gm 2: Rangers at Hurricanes (8:00 pm ET) | CAR Leads (1-0)
Gm 2: Oilers at Flames (10:30 pm ET) | CGY Leads (1-0)
Additional Storylines
NHL: Panthers Blow Game 2 on ‘Fatal Mistake’ With Defensive Miscue in Final Seconds
ESPN+: Conn Smythe Watch: Ranking Candidates for Stanley Cup Playoffs MVP
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THE HIGHLIGHTS
Plenty of walk-offs and highlights from MLB on Thursday, but Trevor Story’s night for the Red Sox took the cake. Story hit three home runs en route to five runs scored and seven RBIs as the Sox beat the Mariners (12-6).
WNBA: Ogunbowale Goes Off
The Wings took down the Mercury behind a monster night for Arike Ogunbowale (37 points). The third-year guard went 10-for-10 from the charity stripe with five 3s in the Wings win (94-84).
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THE STORYLINES
For everything that has supposedly changed in the college athletics era of name, image and likeness, it has mostly brought the financial transactions that used to happen under the table into the public domain. Enter Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher’s feud on Thursday. (USA Today)
In 1972, no one dreamed a dry, 37-word clause tucked inside a new education legislation would have such a profound impact. A half century later, it’s time to reflect on how far the quest for equality has come—and where it still has to go. (Sports Illustrated)
Analyzing the New U.S. Soccer CBA
The landmark equal pay agreement announced Wednesday by U.S. Soccer and its men’s and women’s national teams is remarkable for many reasons, not least the concessions all three sides made to get this historic deal done. (FOX Sports)
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THE HEADLINES
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WEEKEND SCHEDULE
The Must-Watch List |
PGA Championship Southern Hills (All Weekend)
NBA Playoffs Gm 2: Mavericks at Warriors (Fri. 9:00 pm) Gm 3: Heat at Celtics (Sat. 8:30 pm) Gm 3: Warriors at Mavericks (Sun. 9:00 pm)
NHL Playoffs Gm 2: Rangers at Hurricanes (Fri. 8:00 pm) Gm 2: Oilers at Flames (Fri. 10:30 pm) Gm 3: Avalanche at Blues (Sat. 8:00 pm) Gm 3: Panthers at Lightning (Sun. 1:30 pm) Gm 3: Hurricanes at Rangers (Sun. 3:30 pm) Gm 3: Flames at Oilers (Sun. 8:00 pm)
MLB Regular Season Padres—Giants Series Yankees—White Sox Series Dodgers—Phillies Series
WNBA Mercury at Aces (Sat. 3:00 pm) Sky at Mystics (Sun. 3:00 pm)
UEFA Women’s Champions League FINAL: Barcelona vs. Lyon (Sat. 1:00 pm)
Premier League (Final Match) Manchester City vs. Aston Villa (Sun. 11:00 am) Liverpool vs. Wolverhampton (Sun. 11:00 am) *Man. City Leads Liverpool (90-89)
NASCAR All-Star Open at Texas Motor Speedway (Sun. 5:30 pm)
*All Times ET |
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