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Archives for June 4, 2023

Errors Lead to Sox Weekend Woes

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – After dropping the opener of a Saturday doubleheader to begin a four-game series in Boston, the Tampa Bay Rays asserted their American League East dominance by following with a pair of wins over the Red Sox.

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The major-league-leading Rays will go for their third consecutive win to claim the series when they face host Boston in a rescheduled game on Monday afternoon. The game was originally set as Friday’s series opener before being postponed due to persistent rain and thunderstorms.

Tampa Bay was a 6-2 winner on Sunday while playing through several injuries. Wander Franco (hamstring), Jose Siri (shoulder) and Brandon Lowe (back) were all out of the lineup, leading Rays manager Kevin Cash to pencil down several possible lineup combinations prior to the game.

“There was a lot of stuff right there at the end that came down,” Cash said. “It was a little hectic.”

Without Siri available, Manuel Margot had to jump back into the outfield after a scary collision at the Green Monster during Saturday’s twin bill.

The series of injuries led to changes in planned days off, but it did not faze the unselfish Rays.

“We’re kind of a group of grinders,” Tampa Bay outfielder Luke Raley said. “We play for one another. Sometimes people are dinged up and you know you’ve got to go out there with no bench and you’ve got to play through it. So it is what it is.”

The Rays’ Shane McClanahan (8-1, 2.07 ERA) looks to bounce back from his first loss of the season, when he allowed two runs on six hits across 5 2/3 innings last Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs. The southpaw had allowed just one run over back-to-back seven-inning outings prior to the setback.

McClanahan pitched an April 11 gem against the Red Sox, striking out nine over five innings of one-run ball. It was his fourth win in six career starts against Boston.

The Red Sox will turn to right-hander Brayan Bello (3-3, 3.89) in the series finale. Bello has taken back-to-back losses despite allowing just three combined runs against the Los Angeles Angels and Cincinnati Reds in his last two starts.

Bello is 0-1 and has a 10.13 ERA in two career starts against the Rays, both of which were last season. He surrendered nine runs in eight innings between those games.

While the Red Sox have scored no more than three runs in eight of their last 13 games, it is the defense that has ached Boston manager Alex Cora as of late.

“I’m the manager of this club and we’ve been sloppy,” Cora said. “It’s not about pointing fingers, right? The roster is the roster and we have to play better baseball.”

The Red Sox have committed seven errors in their last six games, including two costly ones on Sunday.

“We just gotta clean it up in all facets,” Boston outfielder Alex Verdugo said. “We’re all professionals, we’re all in the big leagues, we all know how to play.”

Verdugo, who hits in the leadoff spot, has done his part at the plate, recording three hits in two of his last three games. All three of his hits on Sunday were for extra bases, as he ripped two doubles and a triple.

–Field Level Media

Hovland Takes The Memorial

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DUBLIN, Ohio – Viktor Hovland defeated Denny McCarthy in a playoff to win the 2023 Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, earning his fourth career PGA Tour title. Hovland has won on Tour in each of the last four seasons (only other players to do so are Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm)

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Runner-up Denny McCarthy earned the best finish of his Tour career, moving inside the Top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings (No. 26) and the Top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking (career-high No. 35).

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler carded a 5-under (67), three strokes better than any other player in the final round, to finish solo third place. Scheffler’s Strokes Gained: Tee to Green total of 20.692 is the second-highest mark in a 72-hole event in the ShotLink era behind only Vijay Singh at the 2004 Deutsche Bank Championship (21.140).

Tournament 54-hole co-leader Rory McIlroy (T-7) carded a painful 3-over (75), his highest final-round score on Tour since the 2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.

Andrew Putnam (T-5), Adam Schenk (T-7) and Lee Hodges (T-12) qualify for the 2023 Open Championship as the top-three finishers at the Memorial Tournament not otherwise exempt.

The Memorial | Final Leaderboard

Viktor Hovland 71-71-69-70—281 (-7)*

Denny McCarthy 71-72-68-70—281 (-7)

Scottie Scheffler 74-73-68-67—282 (-6)

Si Woo Kim 71-68-71-73—283 (-5)

Andrew Putnam 71-72-71-70—284 (-4)

Jordan Spieth 69-72-72-71—284 (-4)

Playoff: Hovland def. McCarthy with a par-4 on the first extra hole (No. 18)

Full Leaderboard: (link)

Heat Look to Attack, Tie Up Nuggets

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DENVER – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Miami Heat find themselves in unfamiliar territory after a series opener in the playoffs, while the Denver Nuggets are all too comfortable with where they stand.

The Heat aim to level the NBA Finals against the Nuggets on Sunday when the teams reconvene in Denver for Game 2.

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Miami entered the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, thereby starting each series on the road. The Heat, however, set the tone for each previous series by recording a 13-point win over the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks and seven-point victories in each of the next two series openers.

Miami has lost four of its last five games overall and is facing a deficit for the first time in these playoffs. That’s foreign territory for the Heat, although now a reality after they dropped a 104-93 decision on Thursday in Game 1 of the best-of-seven series.

“That was one of my last messages to the group before our game,” Denver coach Michael Malone said after his team improved to 9-0 at home in the playoffs.

“I reminded our group, if they didn’t know, that Miami went into Milwaukee (in the first round) and won Game 1. They went into the Garden in New York City (in the second round) and won Game 1. They won Game 1 up in Boston (in the Eastern Conference finals). So, we did not want them coming in here taking control of the series on our court.”

Credit Nikola Jokic for making certain that didn’t happen. Jokic recorded his ninth triple-double of the playoffs — and sixth in his last seven games — after collecting 27 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds in Game 1.

“The most important thing is to win a game,” Jokic said. “I’m trying to win a game in any possible way.”

Jamal Murray added 26 points and 10 assists for the Nuggets, who shot a blistering 50.6 percent from the floor (40 of 79). Denver also made 16 of its 20 free-throw attempts, which was significantly better than Miami’s all-too-brief performance at the line.

The Heat went to the charity stripe on just two occasions to set an NBA postseason record for fewest free throw attempts in a game.

“Things have to be done with a lot more intention and a lot more pace, a lot more detail,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We are an aggressive, attacking team, and so if we are not getting those kind of opportunities at the rim or at the free throw line, we have to find different ways to be able to do it.”

Bam Adebayo collected 26 points, 13 rebounds and five assists and Jimmy Butler had 13, seven and seven, respectively. Neither player ventured to the foul line, however.

“You’ve got to attack and attack everybody, not just one individual,” Butler said. “I have to do a better job of creating the help, one, two guys, and getting to my shooter, otherwise finishing at the rim, making shots.

“But we missed a lot (Thursday), and we’ll be better in Game 2. At the end of the day, that’s what it is, and we’ll take this and we’ll learn from it.”

–Field Level Media

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | June 4th

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – The 2015 NHL Draft had two gems right at the top. With the No. 1 pick, Connor McDavid was selected by the Edmonton Oilers. The No. 2 pick – Jack Eichel – was a no brainer and fell right into the lap of the Buffalo Sabres.

McDavid, out of Richmond Hill, Ontario, is often referred to as the best player in the NHL. There are rarely arguments, but McDavid has only advanced his team to the Conference Finals.

Eichel has taken a different path, call it the Scenic Route, to the 2023 NHL Stanley Cup Final.

A native of North Chelmsford, Massachusetts, the Boston University product took home the prestigious Hobey Baker Award as a freshman. The award recognizes the best player in all of NCAA men’s ice hockey and Eichel was the second freshman to ever receive the award, following NHL legend Paul Kariya.

For BU, Eichel was the Most Valuable Player in Hockey East. He led the Conference in scoring, was voted Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, First Team All Conference, First Team All-Rookie. Eichel scored 26 goals and had 45 assists for 71 points for BU, all while playing for the USA Hockey Developmental team. In 2015, he turned pro and signed a three-year entry contract with the Sabres.

All was not sunny in Buffalo.

Eichel was the top goal scorer for the Sabres and No. 2 on the team in points, quickly rising to accept the team’s captaincy, an honor usually reserved for the most NHL-tested veterans.

Despite an NHL All-Star appearance and an eight-year $80 million contract extension, Eichel fought through two severe ankle sprains and played 67 of 82 games in 2018. He hit the 100-goal mark and 300 points mark as the NHL plowed its way through a COVID-19 season. By late April 2021, Eichel required surgery for a spinal disc herniation.

The scenic route was getting pretty ugly and he sparred with the front office and direction of the Sabres. By September of 2021, Eichel had failed his team physical, was stripped of the team captaincy and placed on the Sabres’ long-term injury list. The division was enough to force the Sabres to trade him and his $10m a year contract to the Vegas Golden Knights.

After the six-year sojourn in Buffalo, Eichel turned the page and started anew in 2022-23 as the Golden Knights were doing the same with their new coach, former Boston Bruins man, Bruce Cassidy. The stars began to align and Vegas qualified for the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, defeating Winnipeg, Edmonton (bye-bye Connor McDavid) and the Dallas Stars to earn their place in the Stanley Cup Final. (Game 1: Saturday, June 3).

While Vegas played its Jack, the Denver Nuggets played a Joker, as in center and former NBA MVP Nikola Jokic.

Born in the north of Serbia, Jokic played 2012-2014 out of Belgrade with Mega Basket, the Clip Show of Belgrade to the more Lake Show Partizan club. Jokic played in Serbian League games and Adriatic League games and caught the eye of Denver Nuggets Assistant GM/scout Arturas Karnisovas, a former Seton Hall star and Lithuanian national team player, now the president of basketball operations for the Chicago Bulls.

Denver spent its first-round pick (No. 11 overall) on guard/forward Doug McDermott, the sharpshooter out of Creighton. As the draft progressed, Chicago took Bosnian center Jusuf Nurkic with the 16th pick and Michigan State guard Gary Harris at No. 19. Both players were shipped to Denver as part of the deal.

Karnisovas pressed the brass at his post in Denver to select Jokic with the club’s second-round pick which came along at No. 41. They grabbed him after Spencer Dinwiddie, Jerami Grant and Glenn Robinson III went ahead of Jokic with picks No. 38-40. No. 41 should’ve come gift-wrapped.

Interestingly, Dario Šarić (Orlando at No. 12), Jusuf Nurkić (Chicago at No. 16) and Bogdan Bogdanović (Phoenix at No. 17) were all drafted ahead of their European counterpart, much to Denver’s delight.

After being voted to the All-Rookie team in 2016, Jokic has five All-NBA selections, three on the first team, five NBA All-Star appearances, and two NBA Most Valuable Player awards. He fell to second in the MVP voting this season behind Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid.

Eichel took the scenic route to the NHL Stanley Cup Final from his No. 2 selection while Jokic took a non-stop, direct flight to stardom with the Denver Nuggets and is playing in the 2023 NBA Finals. Jokic started his Finals experience, becoming only the second player in NBA history to record a triple-double (27, 10 and 14 assists) in his first Finals game. The other was guard Jason Kidd with the NJ Nets.

Anyone in the NBA care to re-draft?

BY THE WAY: Why is it the NHL Stanley Cup Final but the 2023 NBA Finals?

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HERE NOW, THE NOTES: USA Basketball will have two teams in the FIBA 3×3 World Cup semifinals for the second time in event history (2016). In their quarterfinal matchups Saturday evening in Vienna, Austria, the men defeated France 21-19 followed an hour later by the women overtaking Austria 21-17.

Kareem Maddox, Dylan Travis, Jimmer Fredette and Canyon Barry make up the USA Basketball men’s team.

On Sunday, the women will take on China, who defeated Germany in the quarterfinals, at 8:30am (ET). The men will face Brazil, who stunned Poland on a last-second two-pointer in the quarterfinals at 10:05am (ET).

The 3×3 World Cup is streaming live on FIBA’s 3×3 YouTube. Game times are subject to change.

FIBA HALL of FAME: This week, USA Basketball legend Katrina McClain was been selected to the FIBA Hall of Fame Class of 2023. McClain is one of 12 members of a class that also includes NBA great Yao Ming (CHN), and former WNBA’s star Penny Taylor (AUS).

SALE OUT: The Boston Red Sox placed oft-injured, left-handed pitcher Chris Sale on the 15-Day Injured List due to left shoulder inflammation. Sale, 34, has made 11 starts for the Red Sox this season, going 5-2 with a 4.58 ERA (30 ER/59.0 IP). In Friday’s start against the Cincinnati Reds, he allowed one run on five hits with one walk and six strikeouts in 3.2 innings, before exiting the game in the fourth inning due to left shoulder soreness.

The left-hander is 45-27 with a 3.23 ERA (225 ER/627.0 IP) in 106 career games with the Red Sox, and is 119-77 with a 3.08 ERA (370 ER/1,737.0 IP) in 334 career games (254 starts) with the Chicago White Sox (2010-16) and Boston (2017-23).

TIDBITS: Former Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings and Kansas City Kings Public relations Director Julie Fie will receive the 2023 Bell Tower of Fame at opening ceremonies of the annual Bell Tower Festival, Friday, June 9.

Tower of Fame recipients are chosen for their international, national or statewide personal or professional efforts that bring awareness and pride to Greene County. Awardees must have lived in Greene County sometime in their lives. Julie is being recognized for her outstanding NBA public relations career.

STADIUM SERIES: Just prior to the face-off of Game 1 of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final, the National Hockey League said the 2024 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series™ will take place Feb. 17-18 at MetLife Stadium, the home of the NFL’s New York Jets and New York Football Giants. The event will feature four teams – the Philadelphia Flyers, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers and New York Islanders – in two NHL regular-season outdoor games. On Saturday, Feb. 17, the Devils will play host to the Flyers, and on Sunday, Feb. 18 the Rangers will face off against the Islanders.

ROCKPORT = ROCK BOTTOM: The Rockport Company LLC has submitted a state notice that it is shutting down its Newton, Massachusetts headquarters and could layoff nearly 150 employees.

In a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act (WARN) notice filed on May 9, the shoe company indicated it plans on laying off 148 employees sometime between July 8 and July 22.

Rockport was founded in Marlborough, Massachusetts in 1971 by Saul L. Katz and his son, Bruce R. Katz. The business was acquired by Reebok in 1986 and then sold thirty years later in 2015. The Rockport Company moved to its Newton home in 2017, before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018.

PARTING WORDS & MUSIC: It’s Game 2 of The 2023 NBA Finals and tonight, it’s all about the Joker – Nikola Jokić – He’s a Joker, a picker, a grinner, a roller. He gets his love in on the run. No one calls him Maurice.

 

TL

PGA Tour: McIlroy Tied for Lead

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DUBLIN, Ohio – World No. 3 Rory McIlroy, bidding for his 24th career PGA Tour win and second win of the 2022-23 season (The CJ CUP in South Carolina) made 8-foot, 9-inch putt to save par on No. 18 and earn a share of the 54-hole lead. He shot a (70).

Four-time PGA Tour winner Si Woo Kim (T-1), who joins McIlroy in Sunday’s final pairing, is seeking his second win of the 2022-23 season (Sony Open in Hawaii) and his first multi-win season on the Tour.

Both players in Sunday’s final pairing (McIlroy, Kim) have won on Tour this season and are previous winners of THE PLAYERS Championship (2019/McIlroy, 2017/Kim).

At No. 160 in the Official World Golf Ranking, David Lipsky could become the first player from outside the Top 50 to win the Memorial Tournament since 2017 (No. 65 Jason Dufner).

Five of the 13 players standing T-9 or higher are seeking their first PGA Tour win – David Lipsky (T-1), Denny McCarthy (T-4), Lee Hodges (T-4), Mark Hubbard (T-4), Patrick Rodgers (T9).

There are 22 players within three strokes of the lead.

The 36-hole leader Justin Suh fell to T-14 and is three strokes off the lead after third-round (77), his highest score since a final round (78) earlier this season at The RBC Heritage.

The Memorial | Leaderboard After 54 Holes

Rory McIlroy 72-68-70—210 (-6)

Si Woo Kim 71-68-71—210 (-6)

David Lipsky 69-69-72—210 (-6)

Denny McCarthy 71-72-68—211 (-5)

Viktor Hovland 71-71-69—211 (-5)

Wyndham Clark 70-71-70—211 (-5)

Lee Hodges 72-69-70—211 (-5)

Mark Hubbard 69-70-72—211 (-5)

Full Leaderboard: (link)