Morning Blitz
Posts
🍀 Celtics Hold Serve, Barely 🏀

🍀 Celtics Hold Serve, Barely 🏀

Conference Finals Kick off, Suarez with 10-K moves to 9-0, and more drama in college sports with NIL.

Jeff Yoder & TorchPro
May 22, 2024

Celtics fans breathed a sigh of relief last night. Pacers fans probably shattered the TV. Sports are equal parts pain and bliss, sometimes separated by a corner-3 and a “bang!” from Mike Breen. We’re kicking off the Conference Finals with an overtime thriller in today’s edition. An unprecedented NIL lawsuit makes waves, and another MLB pitcher breaks records.

Tomorrow, we kick the tires for race weekend. Readers, start your engines.

WTF Stat: Wayne Gretzky holds the record for most career points in the NHL with 2,857, nearly 1,000 more than the second-place player.

Written By: TorchPro and Jeff Yoder

🏀 NBA All-Defensive Team - The NBA announced the All-Defensive Teams on Tuesday. Rudy Gobert, Victor Wembanyama, Bam Adebayo, Anthony Davis, and Herb Jones headline the 1st Team. (CBS Sports)Emma Hayes’ 1st

⚽️USWNT Roster -The USWNT’s new coach has named her first roster as the U.S. prepares for a doubleheader of friendlies against Korea in early June. So, who made the squad? (FOX Sports)

🌭 Legendary 6-Time Hot Dog Eating Champion Takeru Kobayashi Retires From Competitive Eating (B/R)

Jaylen Brown Flexes after game 1 three to send game to OT | Source: USA Today

🏀 NBA PLAYOFFS - C's Salvage Game 1 Barn-Burner

Jaylen Brown’s Clutch 3 Rescues Celtics in Game 1 Track Meet With Pacers (133-128, OT)

The NBA Conference Finals started with a Mike Breen bang (bang!) last night in a Boston barn-burner. The two highest-scoring teams in the league are squaring off in the East Finals, and it took the Celtics every bit of 53 minutes to wrestle Game 1 from the hands of the Pacers. Boston jumped out to a 12-0 lead, but Indiana's sharp shooting carried over from last series (53.5% in Game 1). They tied the game by half (64-64) and took the lead late in the 4th. A slew of Pacer turnovers left the door open late, and Jaylen Brown’s game-tying 3 with 5 seconds left forced overtime (117-117). He earned a double “bang!” from Mike Breen. Simply iconic. Both teams swapped the lead in OT, but Jayson Tatum (36 pts) scored 10 of his 36 in the extra period to put the C’s over the top. This game was full of swings and sloppy play (35 total turnovers), but it should be a fun series.

Stat of the Game: TOs & FTs

Boston out-shot Indiana at the free-throw line (30-10). The Pacers took just three FTs in regulation, too. More complaint letters from head coach Rick Carlisle? Indiana also turned the ball over 21 times, including three lackluster turnovers in the final two minutes of regulation.

Celtics Top Scorers

J. Tatum: 36 pts, 12 rebs, 4 asts, 3 stls

J. Holiday: 28 pts, 7 rebs, 8 asts

J. Brown: 26 pts, 7 rebs, 5 asts, 3 stls

Pacers Top Scorers

T. Haliburton: 25 pts, 10 asts, 3 stls

P. Siakam: 24 pts, 12 rebs, 7 asts

M. Turner: 23 pts, 10 rebs, 4 asts, 2 blks

Watch: Brown’s Clutch 3 Rescues Celtics in Game 1 Thriller (133-128, OT)

Tonight’s Schedule (WCF)

Gm 1: Mavericks at T-Wolves (8:30 pm ET, TNT)

Phillies lefty Ranger Suarez improves to 9-0 | Source: USA Today

MLB - Ranger vs. Rangers? Suarez is Sizzlin'

Phillies’ Lefty Ranger Suarez Fires 10-K, 1-Run Gem to Beat Rangers (5-2) & Improve to Incredible 9-0 Start

Baseball’s spring trends have given us ample storyline firepower, and one of the big streaks we’ve yet to touch is the most untouchable pitcher of the moment — Ranger Suarez. The Phillies’ lefty took the mound yesterday against (who else?) the Rangers and put his perfect 8-0 start on the line. A bit ironic, if you ask us. Suarez delivered another dominant outing, posting a career-high 10 Ks over seven innings of one-run ball for a 5-2 win. The Phillies are hot with the best record in the majors, and Suarez is one of the reasons why. He’s now 9-0 through two months of baseball with a 1.36 ERA in 10 starts. That’s historic...

Suarez's Record Start: Per MLB.com, Suarez is the first pitcher to start 9-0 with a sub-1.50 ERA through 10 starts since Hall of Famer Juan Marichal in 1966 (58 years). Simply incredible. Only Cubs' ace Shota Imanaga (5-0, 0.84 ERA) has a lower ERA.

Watch: Phillies’ Ranger Suarez (10 Ks, 1 Run) Stays Perfect (9-0)

MLB Quick-Hitters

Witt Hits 2 HRs: The Royals are still rolling. Kansas City extended their win streak to five games with a blowout against Detroit last night (10-3) thanks to a pair of dingers from budding superstar Bobby Witt Jr. His two moonshots covered more than 900 feet.

Walk-Off in Wrigley: The Cubs walked off the Braves last night (4-3) on a Nico Hoerner single that plated Cody Bellinger. Atlanta has lost five of their last six. They’ve also suffered four losses this season via walk-off fashion. Bummer.

Tucker, ‘Stros Back in Orbit: After a sluggish April, the Astros are kicking into high orbit. Houston is 10-3 in their last 13 after Jeremy Pena’s walk-off single beat the Angels last night (6-5). Kyle Tucker hit two HRs — his 16th and 17th of the year — and he now leads the majors.

🏈 CFB - Switch Job in the Swamp

Latest NIL Firestorm Hits Florida After QB Jaden Rashada Sues Team, Coach for $14 Million NIL Bait-and-Switch

The NIL era’s murky waters got muddier this week, and the latest unprecedented event will only serve to warn players and coaches of the dangers lurking under the surface. But enough swampy Gator puns from us. Former Florida QB Jaden Rashada sued Florida head coach Billy Napier this week, among others, over a reneged $13.85 million NIL offer that, Rashada says, the team had no intention of delivering. Rashada ultimately chose to play at Arizona State and has since transferred to Georgia, making the UGA-Florida rivalry game on Nov. 2 extra spicy.

A Notable NIL Moment: Just to reiterate, this is an active SEC quarterback suing a rival head coach, and it’s one of the most notable NIL lawsuits to date. It could be one that’s talked about for years to come as we look back on the power of boosters to lure recruits away from rival schools with shiny promises. So what happened, exactly?

Bait & Switch in the Swamp: Rashada’s suit alleges that Florida’s staff offered him — a top-50 QB recruit at the time — a $13.85 million NIL deal that included $1 million and a job offer for his father. Rashada was initially committed to Miami with a $9.5 million NIL promise. Then, he chose Florida, but the Gators never delivered. Rashada retracted his letter of intent to play for Florida and lost out on both offers before ending up at Arizona State. He played three games last season for the Sun Devils.

"Jaden's miserable experience reveals, in stark and dramatic detail, what can happen to young student-athletes when wealthy, win-at-all-cost alumni insert themselves into college football's recruiting process.” (Rashada’s Lawyers)

More to come…

ESPN: Jaden Rashada's Florida NIL Lawsuit: What to Know, What Comes Next