🏀🏒🎾 Finals Fever: NBA, NHL, and French Open Highlights!

Welcome Back Blitzers 👋 

It’s finally starting to feel like summer. The tandem finals (NBA/NHL) are in full effect as we sprint into mid-June, and the favorites are in control. We'll also celebrate some hard-won titles at the French Open. It's a Paris goodbye (for now) until the Olympics next month.

 Plus, Caitlin Clark dropped 30 points and was left off Team USA. The U.S. Open brings us another golf major this week. And UConn's Dan Hurley says he’ll make his Lakers decision sometime today (stay tuned).

WTF Stat Of The Day: Wilt Chamberlain never fouled out of an NBA game in his 14-year career, playing in 1,045 regular season and 160 playoff games. Now that’s some discipline!Written By: TorchPro and Jeff Yonder

🏇 Belmont Stakes

• 17-1 Longshot Dornoch Scores Upset Victory at Belmont Stakes for Former MLB Player (Yahoo! Sports)

⚾️ MLB

• Cubs’ Shota Imanaga Shuts Down Reds (4-2)

• Angels Top Astros With Chaotic Walk-Off HR

• Adley Rutschman Has Huge Day for O’s (6 RBIs)

 ⚽️ Soccer

• Colombia Hands Beatdown to USMNT (5-1) - Score 2 Early, 3 Late in Embarrassing Rout

🏀 WNBA

• Caitlin Clark (30-8-6) Hits Seven 3s in Fever Win

• Liberty Hand Sun 1st Loss of 2024 Season (82-75)

• Mercury Escape Wings in Double-OT (97-90, 2OT)

⛳️ Golf

• Scottie Scheffler (-8) Hangs On to Win Memorial - Holds Off Collin Morikawa (-7) to Continue Dominant PGA Run

⚾️ College Baseball World Series

• Florida Tops Clemson With 13th-Inning Walk-Off - Gators Advance to MCWS After 5-Hour Affair

NBA FINALS - Game 2: Boston Abounds 🍀 - Celtics Use Full Fleet of Defenders to Stifle Mavericks in Game 2 (105-98) | Lead Finals (2-0)

 The Dallas Mavericks might have one of the best backcourts to play the game, but the Boston Celtics’ defensive lineup is abundantly deep. After two games, that looks to be the lead storyline in the 2024 NBA Finals. Boston’s pesky defenders kept Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving under 100 points for the second straight outing Sunday night. Game 2 (105-98) was closer than Game 1, but Dallas hasn’t had a 20-point scorer not named Doncic in the first two Finals showings. The Celtics were out-rebounded (43-41) and out-shot (47.5%—45.2%) by the Mavericks last night. It didn’t matter. The C’s defensive fleet appears to have all the answers, even on a night where Doncic tallied a 30-point triple-double (the first in Mavs’ franchise history). Luka is clearly not 100 percent healthy, though. On the other hand, Kyrie Irving is now 0-for-8 on 3s through two Finals games.

 It’s 2-0 heading back to Dallas, and the Mavs will need to defend home or let the Finals slip. Teams who go up 2-0 in the NBA Finals win the title 86% of the time.

 Stat Sheet (Game 2)

L. Doncic (DAL): 32 pts, 11 reb, 11 ast, 4 stl

J. Holiday (BOS): 26 pts, 11 reb

J. Brown (BOS): 21 pts, 4 reb, 7 ast, 3 stl

J. Tatum (BOS): 18 pts, 9 reb, 12 ast

P. Washington (DAL): 17 pts, 7 reb

K. Irving (DAL): 16 pts, 6 ast

NBA Finals (Game 3)

Celtics at Mavericks (Wed. 8:30 pm ET, ABC)

STANLEY CUP FINALS - Game 1: Shutout for Sunshine Bob

Panthers Stump Oilers in Game 1 of Stanley Cup Finals (3-0) Thanks to Sergei Bobrovsky’s Latest Playoff Shutout

 Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals was a no-doubter for the Panthers on Saturday night in South Florida. The Oilers fired nearly twice as many shots (32-18), but Florida’s stout goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky didn’t budge. Sunshine ‘Bob’ carried through with a shutout as the Panthers scored one goal in each period off the sticks of Carter Verhaeghe, Eetu Luostarinen, and Evan Rodrigues. Canada’s last hope to break the 31-year Cup curse isn’t off to a great start, but the Oilers will get a second shot at cracking the Bobrovsky code tonight in Game 2.

 Stat Sheet (Game 1)

C. Verhaeghe (FLA): 1 Goal

E. Luostarinen (FLA): 1 Goal

E. Rodrigues (FLA): 1 Goal

A. Barkov (FLA): 2 Assists

S. Bobrovsky (FLA): 32 Saves

Stanley Cup Finals (Tonight)

Gm 2: Oilers at Panthers (8:00 pm ET, ABC)

TENNIS - How the French Open Was Won 🏆️ - Carlos Alcaraz Rallies for 3rd Major in 5-Set Thriller / Iga Swiatek Sweeps the Field in 3rd Straight French Open Title

 The second major of 2024 is in the books, and what a ride we went on in Paris. Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz claimed the hardware this weekend at the French Open with polar opposite victories. Swiatek cruised to another straight-set win for her third straight Roland-Garros crown, while Alcaraz needed a massive comeback to capture his three-piece of history. Here’s how the French Open was won.

 Alcaraz Wins 5-Set Thriller for 3rd Major

#3 C. Alcaraz def. #4 A. Zverev (6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2)

He became the favorite after Novak Djokovic went out with a knee injury in the quarterfinals. Still, it took every ounce of a five-set comeback for Carlos Alcaraz to defeat Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s French Open final. Zverev led in sets (2-1) after a third-set tiebreaker before the Spaniard flipped a switch. Alcaraz won 12 of the last 15 games in do-or-die mode to earn his third major epically. At age 21, he's the youngest men’s player in tennis history to win majors on three different surfaces (Previous: Rafael Nadal, Age 22) — U.S. Open (hard court), Wimbledon (grass), and French Open (clay). 

 Swiatek Sweeps 3rd Straight French Open

#1 I. Swiatek def. #12 J. Paolini (6-2, 6-1)

Line ‘em up and knock ‘em down! Iga Swiatek’s French Open run has become something of a legend. She dropped just one set during the tournament en route to her third straight Paris title and fourth overall major victory. In Saturday’s finale, there was no wavering. Swiatek outpaced Jasmine Paolini in just over an hour. She’s won 21 straight matches at Roland-Garros and is 35-2 there in her career. Her five total majors at 23 years old already give her the most among active women's players other than Venus Williams (7).

 Tennis Fans: We'll have you covered for Wimbledon action next month.

On June 10th, 2000, and continuing with the New Jersey Devils Trend, in a thrilling conclusion to the 2000 Stanley Cup Final, the New Jersey Devils clinched their second championship with a dramatic 2-1 double-overtime victory over the Dallas Stars. Jason Arnott scored the decisive goal, sealing the win for the Devils and securing their place in NHL history.

🏒 Stanley Cup Finals

Gm 2: Oilers at Panthers (8:00 pm, ABC)

⚾️ MLB

Orioles at Rays (6:50 pm ET, FS1)

Yankees at Royals (8:10 pm ET, MLBTV)

Astros at Giants (9:45 pm ET, MLBTV)

🏀 WNBA

Fever at Sun (7:00 pm ET, NBATV)

Trivia Time Answer

B.  Martin Brodeur. Martin Brodeur holds the NHL record for the most shutouts in a single playoff season with seven, achieved in the 2002–03 postseason while playing for the New Jersey Devils. Brodeur's shutouts helped the Devils win their third Stanley Cup championship. As well as Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky has played in this year’s playoff run, his shutout in game 1 was only the second of this year’s run.

Other NEWS

🥊 Boxer Ryan Garcia Arrested in Los Angeles for Felony Vandalism (ESPN)

🏀 NBA Hall of Famer Chet Walker Dies at Age 84 (B/R)

⚽️ Chicago Red Stars Game at Wrigley Field Breaks Single-Game NWSL Attendance Record (SI)

🏈 NFL Facing Class-Action Lawsuit Over ‘Sunday Ticket’ That Could Cost $21 Billion (CBS Sports)

🏈 TE Darren Waller Officially Retires From NFL at Age 31, Reveals Near-Death Experience in Video (NBC Sports)

🏀 Ex-LSU Player Josh Maravich, Son of Pete Maravich, Dies at Age 42 (FOX Sports)

🏀 UConn Head Coach Dan Hurley to Make Final Decision on Lakers Offer Today (Yahoo! Sports)