Vegas fails to close out series in Dallas
The Dallas Stars defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 in overtime Thursday night in Game 4, and avoided the sweep.
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1. Vegas fails to close out series in Dallas
The Dallas Stars defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 in overtime Thursday night in Game 4, and avoided the sweep, writes The Sporting Tribune’s W.G. Ramirez.
The ol' Peter DeBoer-Joe Pavelski-Power Play triumvirate strikes again.
You remember in San Jose, in 2019, when a major penalty on Pavelski resulted in a five-minute major power play for the Sharks, who rallied from down 3-0 in the third period to take the lead with four goals in 4:01 while with a man advantage, and won 5-4 in overtime to capture the series in seven games?
It also completed a comeback from a 3-1 series deficit the Golden Knights had.
San Jose's coach back then? DeBoer.
Thursday night in Dallas, the DeBoer-coached Stars denied a series sweep by the Golden Knights when Pavelski scored on a power play at 3:18 of overtime to deliver a 3-2 win.
"It’s such a fine line this time of year," Pavelski said. "You just have to keep putting your game out there and having the belief you can buy more time … so we’ll see where this goes.”
2. Sparks fall short against defending champion Aces
The Sparks fall to 1-1 after losing, 94-85, to the defending champion Aces, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Rey Moralde.
Before the game, head coach Curt Miller implored his team to fight. We found out that Nneka Ogwumike was going to be out due to a non-COVID illness.
And fight the Sparks did. Unfortunately, the Las Vegas Aces were too much in the second half as they overwhelmed the Sparks, 94-85.
The first half was very impressive for the Sparks. Lexie Brown got going in the perimeter, making her first five shots. Dearica Hamby was aggressively going to the basket (more on her later). The Aces were frustrated as the Sparks defense, SPARKS DEFENSE, forced 10 turnovers in the first 20 minutes. Right before the closing minutes of the first half, the Aces' defense started to force the Sparks into some bad shots. But Chiney Ogwumike and Karlie Samuelson came back to lead an 8-0 run for Los Angeles as they boosted the lead back to 46-36 by the half.
In the third quarter, the Aces made yet another run. This time, they were successful on wresting the lead away as the MVP A'ja Wilson and Jackie Young took over. Dearica Hamby got in foul trouble. On the Sparks' side, they kept finding Chiney Ogwumike on the cuts. Still, the Aces were hard to stop. After three, Las Vegas led, 67-63.
3. Spence vs. Crawford announced for Las Vegas
Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. scheduled to fight on July 29 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Leila Amiri
Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. have reached an agreement to fight on July 29 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, N.V., for the welterweight championship title, sources announced today. This fight is rumored to be the biggest boxing match since Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao in May 2015.
Both fighters are unbeaten; Spence has a record of 28-0 with 22 victories coming by way of knockout, while Crawford has a record of 39-0 with 30 victories also coming by way of knockout.
Talk began to arise for a prospective fight with Spence following Crawford’s late TKO victory against Shawn Porter in November 2021. Even though a contract was never signed, the boxers went on to win more matches, making them both highly respected pound-for-pound boxers.
4. Clippers primed to make moves during ‘do or die’ offseason
During what will be the Clippers' most significant offseason since 2019, the team must drastically retool its front office and roster, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Joaquin Ruiz.
The Los Angeles Clippers have no choice but to shake things up organizationally during arguably their most crucial offseason. Considering LA is an aging team dealing with Kawhi Leonard’s torn meniscus, a void at general manager and another first-round exit, the Clippers cannot run it back. Simply put, the Clippers aren’t good enough to contend as is, healthy or not, and only have one Western Conference Finals appearance to show for four years of their supposed title window.
“We have to be honest with ourselves, and we have to look in the mirror,” Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank told reporters during exit interviews.
Injuries have been largely to blame for the Clippers’ shortcomings since the birth of “213.”
5. Odor lifts Padres over Nats, sweeten Soto’s return
In Juan Soto's return to D.C., the San Diego Padres (23-27) take the series against the Washington Nationals (21-29) thanks to Rougned Odor's clutch hitting, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Gabriel Santiago.
Over 2,200 miles from “America’s Finest City,” the Padres embarked on an East Coast road trip beginning in the nation’s capital. Set for three games against the Washington Nationals, San Diego was looking to improve their recently mediocre play while also providing a pleasant homecoming for Juan Soto, playing back at Nationals Park where his MLB career originated.
Coming off of losing two of three contests to the Boston Red Sox, the Padres severely needed a pick-me-up game. Naturally, Soto was the lightning rod that San Diego was looking for in Game 1 on Tuesday night. With Yu Darvish going six strong innings (allowing three earned runs), Soto was 3-4 with a solo home run and two runs scored. Infielders Xander Bogaerts and Jake Cronenworth also did well to make up for the injured-Manny Machado (glove hand, 10-day IL), combining for four RBI. Ultimately, the Padres won Game 1 by a score of 7-4 after Josh Hader’s near-flawless ninth inning.
6. Angels call up Sam Bachman with an eye towards future
The Angels are calling up right-handed pitcher and one of their top prospects, Sam Bachman, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Taylor Blake Ward.
In a surprise move to bolster their bullpen, the Angels are calling up right-handed pitcher and one of their top prospects, Sam Bachman, from Double-A.
Angels General Manager, Perry Minasian, has shown a tendency for aggressive promotions within the system and to the Major League club, highlighted this season by Zach Neto – the Angels 2022 first-round selection – after just seven games in Double-A in 2023, and a combined 44 professional games. Neto was the first position player from the 2022 draft to reach the majors, another tendency the Angels are known for, as the called up Chase Silseth as the first from the 2021 draft class to reach the Majors, and Reid Detmers, the first from the 2020 draft class to reach the bigs.
Bachman, 23, was drafted ninth overall by the Angels in the 2021 MLB Draft as a power arm who could be quick to the Majors. He was ranked by Baseball America as the seventh best prospect in the Angels organization over the off-season.
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 today.
6:30 p.m. – Miami Marlins at Los Angeles Angels – $16
9. On the Air presented by The D Las Vegas
Here are the game times and television channels for professional teams in the region today.
3:30 p.m. – Los Angeles Dodgers at Tampa Bay Rays – SportsNet LA
6:30 p.m. – Miami Marlins at Los Angeles Angels – Bally Sports West
10. The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune
The Sporting Tribune’s Arash Markazi is joined by Brandon Deutsch and Jake Dicker to discuss the Athletics getting financing to build a stadium in Las Vegas and if Major League Baseball can be successful in Las Vegas. They also talk about the conference finals in the NBA and NHL being the worst in recent memory.
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.
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That’s it for today. Happy Memorial Day weekend! Talk to you on Tuesday!