Line Combinations: Game 5 - Winnipeg Jets vs. Dallas Stars
The Winnipeg Jets will battle the Dallas Stars in a do-or-die Game 5 from Canada Life Centre on Thursday.
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New York Times
38 minutes ago
- New York Times
The Knicks extend the playoffs' best series, plus the best MLB games of the 2000s
The Pulse Newsletter 📣 | This is The Athletic's daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox. Good morning! I know it's surviving in a different form, but we still need to commemorate the coming end of 'Inside the NBA.' When you get this deep into the playoffs, LinkedIn phrases start appearing in your head. Perseverance. Mental fortitude. So on and so forth. It's hard to even describe the mental state of a team facing elimination, with months and months of hard work on the line, with one game to maintain dreams or have it all erased. We had the same scenario last night, in both the NHL and NBA — with wildly different results: That series continues tomorrow. We have to wait until next week for any other playoff fun. Let's keep going: Mahomes says no to flag football Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes brushed off the idea of playing on the 2028 Olympic flag football team, saying yesterday he'll 'probably leave that to the younger guys.' Mahomes will be just 32 then, a fact that is absurd considering how long he's been an elite quarterback. We're awaiting word from Pulse draftee Lamar Jackson. Read Pat's comments here. Advertisement Leach, Miles now eligible for Hall The College Football Hall of Fame announced yesterday it will lower a coach's entry barrier from a .600 winning percentage to .595, starting in 2027, which would make the late Mike Leach — as well as Les Miles — available for selection. Leach's impact on the game was outsized, but his winning percentage of .596 before his death prevented him from entry. Miles was eligible before the NCAA vacated 37 of his wins. Read more on the layers of this here. More news 📫 Love The Pulse? Check out our other newsletters. I appreciate balance in all things, which is why I love that, amid all these important playoff games where seasons are on the line in other sports, our baseball staff is Remembering Some Elite Games. All of our Quarter-Century content has been amazing, but Tim Britton ranked the best games of the 2000s — an impossible task, really. It evoked great memories … and takes. Four I want to highlight, for different reasons: 25. 2010 NLDS Game 1: Phillies 4, Reds 0 Our 'lowest' game on this list is a banger. The late Roy Halladay, in his first postseason start, threw a perfect game. As Tim points out, there are only eight perfect games this century, but none have been more impressive than this. It's a crime Halladay, a two-time Cy Young winner and Hall of Famer, never won a World Series. 17. 2005 NLDS Game 4: Astros 7, Braves 6 The first 18-inning playoff game this century gets a special place because of how incredible the details are. Adam LaRoche grand slam. Lance Berkman grand slam. Brad Ausmus home run. Roger Clemens threw three scoreless to end. What a lovely time capsule. 6. 2014 AL Wild Card Game: Royals 9, Athletics 8 I love the alternate-reality feel of this one, where Kansas City outlasted Oakland (yes, Oakland) in 12 innings in a postseason-altering game. The Royals went to the World Series that year. Advertisement 1. 2001 World Series Game 7: Diamondbacks 3, Yankees 2 While picking this list seemed incredibly hard, the choice was easy. Hard to get more iconic than Luis Gonzalez squibbing a game-winning single to defeat what, at that time, felt like the evil empire in New York. I was 11 years old and remember it so clearly. Read the full list here, which includes this game: 📺 French Open: Dzumhur vs. Alcaraz 2:15 p.m. ET on TNT/Max Wake up, it's time to watch tennis now. For schedule's sake, watching the defending champ and his beautiful drop shots in the third round are your best bet today. If you're a real tennis sicko, catch Elena Rybakina-Jelena Ostapenko around 8 a.m. ET. Clay courts are heating up across the ocean. 📺 WNBA: Liberty at Mystics 7:30 p.m. ET on ION Watch the defending champs take on a surprising Washington team. Nice change of pace after the NBA and NHL barrage. 📺 MLB: Yankees at Dodgers 10:10 p.m. ET on Apple TV+ A rematch of last year's World Series, with both teams still elite. This is as must-watch as we get today. Get tickets to games like these here. I am a regular listener to Pablo Torre's podcast, 'Pablo Torre Finds Out,' so I get to be a hipster fan about the show in light of his recent reporting on Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson. But as Zak Keefer writes today, Torre's story of leaving ESPN and ending up here is fascinating. What exactly is Pablo finding out? I really appreciated Harman Dayal's story on how, in the NHL, high stakes on the ice lead to an inescapable mental health challenge off of it. Read that here. What happened to Sandy Alcantara, the 2022 Cy Young winner who's completely lost his way on the mound? His slide has come at the worst time for just about everyone. Want to read a thriller? Spare some time for Austin Meek's story about Mickey Bruce, a former college football star who made an enemy of the man who inspired the movie 'Casino.' It's worth your time. Advertisement F1 drivers are again criticizing Monaco's two pit stop rule. Will things change this time? Chris Vannini played an early edition of EA's College Football 26. He has thoughts on the five biggest changes. Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Our story about that Stefon Diggs video and the reaction to it. Most-read on the website yesterday: Keith Law's top 50 MLB prospects after two months of the season. Always a must-read. Ticketing links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
Washington Post
an hour ago
- Washington Post
McDavid and Oilers set for another Cup chance against Panthers in a run that feels different
DALLAS — This playoff run has felt different for Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers, though they are now back in the same place. They have advanced to their second Stanley Cup Final in a row , again against Florida after losing a seven-game series to the Panthers last June.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Phillies takeaways: Zack Wheeler vs. Braves, Rafael Marchan's big day, bullpen tryouts
Phillies catcher Rafael Marchán did not move when the 1-0 pitch came his way. The 97.6 mph fastball, so far up and away, wasn't worth it. But, for the Braves, it warranted a mound visit. Two balls. No strikes. The bases loaded. A tie game in the eighth. It was a hole Atlanta Braves reliever Daysbel Hernández made and nearly crawled out of, until sending a 2-2 pitch hurtling toward the dirt and catching Marchán's foot in the process to force in the winning run. Advertisement 'I've been saying all along: this kid's really a good player,' manager Rob Thomson said after a 5-4 Phillies victory Thursday afternoon. 'Although there's not many numbers there, he's really given us good at-bats. He understands the strike zone. He's very disciplined.' Marchán has seen limited at-bats, with 13 games played since making the Opening Day roster. The results haven't always been there: He's hitting .152/.317/.242 with a .559 OPS in 33 at-bats. But the 26-year-old starred in the first game of Thursday's doubleheader, hitting a two-run homer for an early lead along with a walk that led to another run and the go-ahead hit-by-pitch — on top of throwing out two would-be stealers, including Ozzie Albies in the ninth. Maybe stop trying? — Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 29, 2025 It was one game. But the production along with Marchán's strong game-calling skills bode well as the Phillies get into the thick of the season. J.T. Realmuto is on track to catch more than 130 games — not out of the realm of possibility, but potentially difficult on a 34-year-old coming off a season in which he played in 99 due to injury. And he's struggled at the plate recently, though Thomson said it is something the three-time All-Star needs to play through. Marchán is there, if and when he's needed. Staying ready is nothing new for him after bouncing between the minors and majors. And, for the Phillies, it doesn't hurt to have a backup catcher who ranks 11th in pop time and 19th in caught stealing above average in the majors. 'I just try to come every day and do my work,' Marchán said. The first time Zack Wheeler faced Braves third baseman Austin Riley on Thursday was neither quick nor easy. An 0-2 count turned to 3-2 as Riley chipped away, waiting out Wheeler in the second inning of the second game. But the Phillies' ace got him on the ninth pitch of the at-bat: a 97.9 mph sinker inside led to a weak grounder. Advertisement Riley lost that battle but delivered in the fourth: On a 3-1 count, he pulled a double just fair along the third-base line to send two runners home for a 2-0 lead. And he walked on four pitches in the sixth. Riley scored in both innings. 'When you see guys a lot, you start to get more and more adjusted and you start to build a memory bank of pitches and how they pitch you and sequences,' Riley said. 'But like I said, it's definitely not a very comfortable at-bat. I feel like he's putting it in the mitt, the extension's there and the velo was there tonight. We were able to put a couple good swings on and get some runs.' Riley was among several Braves who rocked Wheeler the second and third time through the order Thursday, sending him packing in the sixth after allowing four hits and six runs along with four walks. It somewhat echoed Wheeler's April 8 start against the Braves at Truist Park, when he was removed after giving up five earned runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings — though he was charged with three earned runs caused by confusion over a routine fly ball in the outfield as Edmundo Sosa started in left for the first time. Wheeler's lack of success against the NL East rival is unusual. He's allowed more earned runs against the Braves this season (11) than in 2023 and 2024 combined over six starts (nine earned runs). Over 16 starts against Atlanta from 2020-24, Wheeler owned a 2.07 ERA in 104 1/3 innings. His ERA in two starts against the Braves this season: 9.28. It is 2.96 on the season, and 1.93 against all other opponents. 'The first one was a little weird,' Wheeler said of the April start. 'This one, I just wasn't good. I threw a lot of balls, got behind on a lot of counts today and I pitched from behind a lot. It takes a toll.' He was sharp initially. Velocity on everything was up. But it didn't matter if he wasn't locating his pitches. The 3-1 sinker to Riley stung. So did a first-pitch homer, also in the fourth, to Albies — the first homer hit off Wheeler's splitter since he started embracing the pitch in 2024. 'It's a good pitch,' Wheeler said. 'But it's also a bad pitch. It just needed to be down another ball or two.' A doubleheader will put a bullpen to the test. There is a slight silver lining to two doubleheaders in two weeks: The Phillies giving potential relievers a try as their 27th man — though it has not gone well. Reliever Brett de Geus, acquired off waivers from the Miami Marlins in April, finally got his big-league opportunity with the Phillies in the second game of Thursday's doubleheader. After a scoreless eighth, it went awry in a game that had already gone sideways. Three consecutive walks in the ninth loaded the bases. The pitches were all over the place. The Braves tacked on another run en route to a 9-3 win. Advertisement Daniel Robert, brought up for the doubleheader against St. Louis on May 14, struck out one in that day's second game before giving up three walks and a run against Pittsburgh on May 16. But, as for the overall state of the bullpen? 'I still trust all those guys,' Thomson said. He threw reliever Orion Kerkering into a difficult situation in Thursday's first game with two runners on, liking Kerkering's attacking mentality. Matt Strahm gave up two runs in game one — struggles Thomson credited to execution more than anything, as the lefty's velocity has picked up. Jordan Romano escaped runners on the corners to earn the save, to the joy of a restless crowd. José Alvarado's 80-game PED suspension has placed a greater focus on the Phillies' bullpen needs. Their relievers rank 24th in the majors in ERA (4.61). The Phillies still await the emergence of solid middle-inning relief, though the current group is working — but as the doubleheaders always reinforce, depth is ever-valuable. And the Phillies are working, too. They acquired another bullpen arm, lefty Josh Walker, from the Blue Jays just as the second game ended — perhaps another 27th man. (Photo of Zack Wheeler: Emilee Chinn / Getty Images)
