Golden Knights are one win away from Stanley Cup
The Vegas Golden Knights are one win from winning their first Stanley Cup thanks largely to the play of goaltender Adin Hill.
Good morning and welcome to The Morning Column presented by The Sporting Tribune. Please subscribe if you haven’t done so already. It’s free and will be delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. OK, let’s get to it!
1. Golden Knights are one win away from Stanley Cup
The Vegas Golden Knights are one win from winning their first Stanley Cup thanks largely to the play of goaltender Adin Hill, writes The Sporting Tribune’s W.G. Ramirez.
You can talk all you like about Chandler Stephenson's two goals in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, leading the charge in Vegas' 3-2 win over Florida on Saturday, pushing the Golden Knights to the verge of winning their first NHL championship in franchise history.
You can keep talking about Jonathan Marchessault being the favorite to win the Conn Smythe.
Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, or, William Karlsson, who scored the third goal for Vegas. You can talk about any one of them.
But make no mistake, the biggest reason the Golden Knights are one win away from hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup is arguably 27-year-old goaltender Adin Hill, who has just 101 regular-season starts to his credit, including 27 this past season, when he spent more time in the American Hockey League and was barely thought of as the postseason approached.
2. Bats go cold as Dodgers fall 7-3
An early deficit was too much for the Dodgers to overcome as they fall to the Phillies, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Jake Dicker.
In baseball, trends come and they go. Since the shortened year in 2020, baseball has seen the very quick rise of "the opener". Used as an alternative to the starting pitcher, managers became tasked with using multiple different relievers, generally between 4-6, to navigate a full nine innings.
Dave Roberts opted to give Tony Gonsolin extra rest and turn Sunday's series finale into a bullpen game. Caleb Ferguson, the first of nine different Dodger pitchers to toe the rubber on Sunday, made the start. The Phillies jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on a Bryce Harper single in the 1st, added two more runs in the third and shut the door in the late innings.
Tayler Scott, Alex Vesia and Nick Robertson, pitchers who have spend nearly their entire seasons in the minor leagues, gave up six of the seven runs on Sunday afternoon. It's tough to ask a struggling bullpen to get through nine innings, but getting Gonsolin extra rest benefits the Dodgers in the long-term.
3. Griffin Canning continues to find his groove on hill
After missing last season due to injury, the 27-year-old starter is making the most of every start and finding success along the way, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Taylor Arrey.
Angels starter Griffin Canning came into this season set on “prioritizing the process,” and following his tenth start of the season on Sunday afternoon, it looks like he’s found a groove that works.
In their final game of the series against the Seattle Mariners, the 27-year-old righty threw five innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and recording seven strikeouts.
“It was good enough to keep the team in the game, and they gave me some time with a nice lead there,” said Canning after the game.
Though not his best performance of the season, Canning continues to show promise as one of the stronger starting arms in the rotation — an impressive turn of events considering his past bouts with injury.
4. Clark adapting to new role with Aces
Alysha Clark has adapted well to her new role as a sixth woman for the defending champion Las Vegas Aces, The Sporting Tribune’s W.G. Ramirez.
Las Vegas Aces forward Alysha Clark walked into Media Day last month and became an instant hit with everyone in the room.
Perhaps it was because of the radiant personality that accompanied her infectious smile. Maybe it was the fact she emanates 11 years of professionalism with every turn she makes.
Then again, Clark's adorable 12-year-old chihuahua, Sly, who's been to more Media Days than most of her younger teammates, was just as poised as Clark and eventually stole the show.
5. Aguirre’s equalizer gives Galaxy 1-1 draw with St. Louis
In the Galaxy’s first game since “Chicharito's” ACL injury, the team earned a 1-1 draw against Western Conference leaders, St. Louis City FC, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Anthony Bautista.
The Galaxy entered the team’s first-ever matchup against St. Louis City FC with the least number of points in the MLS and having just lost their captain Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez for the season due to a torn ACL.
Meanwhile, St. Louis, the newest team in MLS, entered Sunday’s matchup as the leaders of the Western Conference, having won three of their previous four games.
Despite this, the Galaxy traveled to St. Louis and were able to come away with a point against the conference leaders after a 1-1 draw Sunday.
“We had to grind and battle for everything that we get and tonight, the guys did it. And they stuck in it after giving up a goal. LA Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney said after the result.
St. Louis opened up the scoring after a great touch from Nicholas Gioacchini, who sent the ball well above Bond’s outstretched arms give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
6. Sparks lose to Lynx after blowing late double-digit lead
The Sparks had an 11-point lead with 3:38 left in regulation but lost to the Minnesota Lynx, 91-86, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Rey Moralde.
The Sparks had another heartbreaker.
It felt like they had the game in hand. And then suddenly, the Lynx caught fire. The fire was never put out and they were able to steal the game from the Sparks, 91-86.
The Lynx got off to a good 18-9 start before the Sparks' veteran acquisitions Jasmine Thomas and Azurá Stevens made back-to-back buckets. They were able to cut the deficit to 22-20 after one.
Lexie Brown caught fire in the second half as she supplemented Nneka Ogwumike's inside game with her perimeter shooting. Nneka split her foul shots near the end of the half and the game ended up being tied at 43 after 20 minutes.
Jordin Canada wreaked havoc on both sides of the ball. Napheesa Collier was able to keep it close but Canada's 12 points in the third put the Sparks ahead entering the fourth, 64-62.
7. Odds and Ends presented by Circa Sports
Here are some odds at Circa Sports if you’re thinking about placing a wager today:
8. Ticket Time presented by TickPick
Here are the “get in” prices for tickets if you’re thinking about going to a game Tuesday.
5:00 p.m. – Panthers at Golden Knights – $1,400
6:40 p.m. – Guardians at Padres – $15
7:00 p.m. – White Sox at Dodgers – $37
9. On the Air prdreresented by The D Las Vegas
Here are the game times and television channels for professional teams in the region today.
5:00 p.m. – Angels at Rangers – Bally Sports West
10. The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune
The Sporting Tribune’s Arash Markazi is joined by Andrew Bernstein for this week's Legends of Sport Friday interview with Robert “Scoop” Jackson.
Listen to The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune on The Mightier 1090 ESPN Radio in Southern California, 98.5 The Bet in Las Vegas and the Hawaii Sports Radio Network 95.1 FM and 760 AM in Hawaii. You can also listen to the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher.
Thank you for reading. Please click below to subscribe to The Morning Column presented by The Sporting Tribune. It’s free and will be delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.
That’s it for today. Talk to you tomorrow!