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Archives for June 2026

Canes Head to Vegas with Confidence

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LAS VEGAS — The five-hour, 2,000-plus-mile trip to Las Vegas on Friday afternoon was a whole lot smoother for the Carolina Hurricanes after their dramatic 4-3 come-from-behind, overtime victory over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 2  of the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday.

Carolina, trailing 2-0 midway through the third period and staring squarely at an 0-2 deficit in the best-of-seven series, pulled out a comeback for the ages capped by Seth Jarvis’ power-play game-winner 3:56 into overtime.

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It marked the first time since the Montreal Canadiens in 1944 that a team trailing by multiple goals in the final 10 minutes of regulation rallied for a victory in a Stanley Cup Final.

Now the series heads west to Las Vegas for Game 3 on Saturday and Game 4 on Tuesday before returning to Raleigh, N.C., for Game 5 on Thursday.

“I think there’s obviously more good vibes today than there could have been,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. ” … We’ve played two good games, and we’re starting over.”

“It’s a five-game series now,” Hurricanes defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere added. “It’s just managing (the emotions). We’re still human beings. We’re going to get nervous out there and have emotions, but the more you do it, the more you do anything, you get used to it. It’s just trying to holster that and bring it all in focus for the task at hand.”

The Eastern Conference champions, who were an impressive 24-12-5 on the road in the regular season, are 6-0 away from home in the playoffs. Thursday’s win also improved Carolina to 6-0 in overtime in these playoffs.

It looked like Vegas was going to finish a two-game sweep of the games in North Carolina thanks to two more goals by Brett Howden combined with defensive play which was, at times, quite stifling.

But the game turned around quickly with 9:40 remaining when 5-foot-8, 165-pound center Logan Stankoven won a puck battle along the boards behind the net from 6-foot-1, 202-pound Vegas defenseman Rasmus Andersson and then scored on a backhand shot from the right side of the crease.

“You can’t measure that stuff,” Brind’Amour said Friday, pounding his heart when asked about Stankoven’s play that flipped the game and the series. “He just keeps doing it, night in and night out. It’s pretty amazing.”

Just 2:26 later, ex-Golden Knight William Carrier made a diving pass to Mark Jankowski who blasted a shot from the high slot bar-down to tie it at 2.

Jordan Staal then gave the Hurricanes a controversial 3-2 lead with a tip-in on a power play after the Golden Knights drew a delay of game penalty after unsuccessfully challenging a goalie interference call that negated a potential Ivan Barbashev score. But Mark Stone scored a 6-on-5 goal with 1:21 remaining to force overtime.

Jarvis then won it with a one-timer from the left circle off a Gostisbehere pass on a power play after Tomas Hertl went to the penalty box for tripping.

Vegas, which was well-positioned to take full control of the series, instead heads home even at a win apiece.

“It’s fine,” center William Karlsson said of his team’s emotions Friday following the late meltdown. “It is what it is. Obviously, we would have loved to win that game. We didn’t, but it’s in the past. Nothing we can change, so now we just look ahead.”

“We’re good,” Golden Knights coach John Tortorella added. “We’re ready to play. I like a lot of things about what’s gone on in the first two games.”

One potentially very big negative for Vegas occurred in the first period when defenseman Brayden McNabb, who had three assists in the team’s 5-4 Game 1 victory and is the franchise’s all-time leader in blocked shots (1,417) and hits (1,469), was hit square in the middle of his face by an 87 mph slap shot by Nikolaj Ehlers.

A key member of the team’s penalty-kill unit, McNabb skated off immediately while covering his face and was taken to a hospital for treatment. Tortorella refused to give any update on his condition on Friday but said McNabb would fly back with the team.

“I think he’s a vital part of this team,” Karlsson said. ” … Of course, (it was) tough not to have him for the remainder of the game.”

–Field Level Media

Brunson Leads Knicks in G-1 of Finals

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SAN ANTONIO — (Staff and Wire Service Report) – New York’s magical guard Jalen Brunson was beaten and battered but not dismayed, and the Knicks star had enough energy to orchestrate a fine George Gervin impersonation with an Iceman-like final quarter in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. The Spurs icon surely appreciated Brunson’s zest for heroics but the city of San Antonio was stunned over an opening defeat as the red-hot Knicks controlled the final two minutes while prevailing 105-95 on Wednesday night.

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Brunson scored 13 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and the Knicks overcame a 14-point third-quarter deficit to win their 12th consecutive playoff game, tied for the second-longest postseason streak in league history.

“Jalen was MVP in the second half,” New York coach Mike Brown said. “He was huge for us. He did what MVP candidates are supposed to do. He carried us home and we put the ball in his hands and he got it done for us down the stretch.”

Brunson had a rough time during the first half as he injured his right knee in the first quarter and his left ankle in the second.

Per the knee injury, Harrison Barnes of the Spurs and Landry Shamet of the Knicks were battling for position after a missed free throw and Barnes fell directly into Brunson’s knee with 1:27 remaining.

Brunson departed for the locker room and returned with 8:03 left in the second quarter. Two minutes later, Brunson hurt his ankle on a driving basket.

“When I saw him walk back to the bench, it was a relief feeling,” Knicks teammate Karl-Anthony Towns said of Brunson.

Brunson was just 7-of-22 shooting entering the final stanza before finding his groove. He hit 5 of 9 shots in the fourth.

“I think it starts with my confidence. It comes with my work ethic,” Brunson said of bouncing back. “I think most importantly, knowing we’re on the road, and knowing my teammates have my back, I think that’s the biggest thing in an environment like this. The trust they have in me and the trust I have in them, it’s got us to this point.”

The Spurs had few answers over the final 12 minutes when it came to slowing Brunson.

“He’s an elite player,” Spurs star Victor Wembanyama said of Brunson. “We’re going to have many more chances. It’s the first-to-four series. We’re going to have time to work on it.”

New York closed the game with 11 straight points while playing in its first NBA Finals game since 1999.

Towns contributed 18 points and 12 rebounds and Josh Hart was solid all-around with 15 rebounds, six assists, four steals and three points for the Knicks.

OG Anunoby produced 12 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter for the Knicks, who committed no turnovers in the final period. San Antonio gave the ball away five times over the final 12 minutes while shooting 28.6% (6 of 21) and being outscored 29-19.

Wembanyama registered 26 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots but made just 6 of 21 field-goal attempts.

“He missed a few shots early,” San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson said of the star Frenchman. “We got to him moving in space toward the rim.”

Stephon Castle had 17 points and eight rebounds, Julian Champagnie added 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Dylan Harper had 16 points off the bench.

Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Friday night at San Antonio.

Shamet scored 13 points off the bench for New York, which shot 41.5% from the field, including 11 of 36 (30.6%) from 3-point range.

The Spurs connected on 36% of their field-goal attempts and were 11 of 43 (25.6%) from behind the arc.

Brunson scored eight straight points, including a driving hoop with 6:08 left to give the Knicks a 94-86 advantage. Wembanyama responded with eight points during a 9-0 run as the Spurs moved ahead 95-94 with 2:16 to play.

San Antonio wouldn’t score again, and Brunson drained a corner trey to put the Knicks back ahead with 1:50 left.

Mikal Bridges made two free throws, Brunson hit a jumper and Anunoby sank four consecutive free throws to seal it.

“Obviously, we’ve been down in a series before,” Wembanyama said. “Never in the Finals, obviously. But I’m not kicking myself about anything, really. I’m not worried the slightest.”

San Antonio led by seven at the break before scoring 10 of the first 13 points in the third quarter to take a 65-51 lead on Harper’s basket.

The Knicks responded with a 20-6 burst and knotted the score at 71 on Brunson’s jumper with 2:01 remaining in the third.

Knicks backup center Mitchell Robinson (broken right pinkie) played 13 minutes and had two points and six rebounds.

Champagnie had 15 points on five 3-pointers as the Spurs led 55-48 at the half. Brunson logged 11 in the half for New York.

–Field Level Media

Baltimore’s Alonso Reminds Red Sox of What Could’ve Been – “A Monster”

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor-in-Chief, Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – The ballgame was tied 1-1, going into the top of the 3rd inning. Baltimore catcher Adley Rutschman singled to left-center field with one out and Red Sox pitcher Connelly Early was throwing darts.

But …

Batter-up, Pete Alonso.

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Alonso was floating in the wind for two seasons as he completed a stellar career playing for the New York Mets. Aside from Mets retired third baseman, David Wright, Alonso was the face of the franchise and very well liked and respected by the fans. But, the Mets were beginning a re-build and both time and money were short.

The Mets signed Alonso to a couple short-term contracts when he was seeking, at least a five year deal. Then, last summer Alonso opted for free agency and hit the jackpot with the Orioles, signing a 5-year, $155 million contract that pays him $31m this season, then $33m for four more years. It was a major commitment by the O’s.

The Red Sox stood by and watched, never a serious bidder, and instead signed Willson Contreras, currently the club’s No. 4/clean-up hitter and the most consistent bat on the team. Contreras has 11 home runs and 33 RBI – not too shabby.

But Tuesday night, the fans in Fenway Park – both Red Sox and busloads of Orioles fans – witnessed what might have been if the Sox had taken an aggressive play at Alonso.

As the third batter up in the 3rd inning, Alonso hit a ball 400 feet at 110.8 mph and it was rising as it cleared the Green Monster and then plugged a seat so hard, the Fenway Park and Boston building inspectors might need to take a look later tonight, or maybe Wednesday morning when the steam subsides. It was a glimpse of “what might have been” for the Red Sox is they truly went after the long ball hitting free agent – either in 2024 or 2025.

It wasn’t meant to be for the Sox, and Alonso’s homer put the Orioles ahead 3-1. Baltimore followed up with an insurance run in the fourth inning to make it 4-1.

Boston’s Mickey Gasper scored in the 5th inning, the result of a single, a wild pitch, advancing to third base on a ground-out and then scoring on a Marcelo Mayer sacrifice fly to center field.

Baltimore starter Shane Baz went seven full innings, allowing four hits, two earned runs while walking two and striking out six Boston batters. He was credited with the win and is now (3-5).

Boston’s Connelly Early pitched well, but allowed four earned runs in 5.1 innings. He allowed six hits of which two were home runs. (Coby Mayo’s seventh, hit in the 2nd inning. Early walked only one batter and struck out six. He threw 96 pitches and 64 were strikes. Two were mistakes.

Baltimore and Boston continue their three-game series Wednesday night when Chris Bassitt (4-3) takes the mound for the Orioles and rookie Payton Tolle (2-2) starts for Boston. Baltimore is three games ahead of the AL East cellar-dwelling Red Sox.

NHL: Stanley Cup Final Preview

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RALEIGH – (Wire Service Preview) – The Vegas Golden Knights know that the bookmakers in their own city have them as the underdogs in the Stanley Cup Final.

All that matters to the Golden Knights is what happens on the ice during the best-of-seven finals that begin Tuesday when they face the Carolina Hurricanes in Carolina.

“I honestly don’t really think I care or it matters to us,” Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore said on Monday. “We have belief in our room from the first game of playoffs up until now. Whatever is said is said. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter who picks who. The better team ends up winning.”

The Golden Knights, who are riding a six-game winning streak, and the Hurricanes, who are looking to become the first NHL team to go 16-1 in the postseason, are both chasing a second Cup title in franchise history.

Carolina — the former Hartford Whalers franchise which became the Hurricanes for the 1997-98 season — for the won its only Cup in 2006 and had not reached the finals since. Vegas, which won in 2023, is in the finals for the third time in its nine-year history.

Thirteen players on this season’s Vegas roster played on that 2022-23 team.

“You can draw from your experience, knowing what to expect, having done it before and knowing what this is gonna look like,” said forward Jack Eichel, a member of that Cup-winning team. “But I think every series and every season has its own story, so we’re trying to write that now.”

Although Carolina’s run is garnering more headlines, the Golden Knights have been just as hot since the final few weeks of the regular season. After John Tortorella was hired in a late-season coaching change, Vegas posted a 7-0-1 mark down the stretch to claim the top spot in the Pacific Division and has marched through its opponents with a 19-4-1 record since he took over.

“He’s a big personality guy,” defenseman Brayden McNabb said. “So it’s very easy to get comfortable right away. He tells you exactly what he wants from you and it’s all black and white.

“He came in and preached the right things and got us playing better and better as a team.”

That said, the Hurricanes are worthy of their favorite status. Carolina reached this point by sweeping its opponents in the first two rounds — the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers — and then knocking out the Montreal Canadiens in five games in the conference finals, which it concluded with a pair of dominant victories.

The Hurricanes are the first team since the 1976 Montreal Canadiens to win 12 of 13 games to open a playoff run. That Montreal team claimed the Stanley Cup, and the Hurricanes are looking to duplicate the feat.

“We went through so much … now we’re here,” forward Andrei Svechnikov said. “But still the job is not done. This is the biggest stage, we all know that, but now we have one more step.”

Reaching this point was a huge achievement for a Carolina club that reached the Eastern Conference finals for the third time in four years and fourth time in eight seasons, but was becoming known for falling short.

A key to the Hurricanes continuing their success, beyond the club’s stifling defensive play, will be to embrace the situation. After all, hockey history is loaded with clubs that managed to reach a new point but then failed to reload.

“We’ve been knocking on the door for this for a while. To be in this moment now, I think everyone is extremely grateful and super excited,” forward Seth Jarvis said.

“We’re competing for the Stanley Cup with 20 of my best friends. Twenty guys I’ve spent a lot of time with. To be here in this moment with this group of guys, I can’t ask for anything more.”

–Field Level Media

MLB Preview Red Sox vs. O’s

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BOSTON – (Wire Service preview) – Quality at-bats and quality starts are what it’s all about in baseball.

The Boston Red Sox hope that both trends can continue as they return home to host the Baltimore Orioles for the first time this season, opening a three-game series with their American League East rival on Tuesday night.

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After Boston rode a six-run seventh inning to a series-clinching 9-4 win at the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday, rookie Connelly Early (5-2, 2.95 ERA) will take the ball looking to deliver another quality start. The 24-year-old left-hander has worked at least six innings in five of his last eight outings.

Sunday’s win saw Boston log 12 hits — including at least one from all nine starting batters — with Masataka Yoshida highlighting the big inning with a go-ahead two-run single.

“You got to tie the game before you can take the lead, so those were really quality at-bats,” interim Red Sox manager Chad Tracy said. “We keep stacking on after that to get into a comfortable lead.”

Tracy’s lineup also has Isiah Kiner-Falefa riding a seven-game hit streak, while Caleb Durbin tripled as part of his second consecutive multi-RBI effort.

While left-hander Garrett Crochet deals with left lat tightness in a setback of his return from shoulder inflammation, the Red Sox hope that Early can continue the team’s recent momentum. He pitched seven scoreless, four-hit innings with seven strikeouts en route to his win over the Atlanta Braves last time out on Wednesday.

“After what he did last year for us in the playoffs, I feel like he had to grow up pretty quick,” outfielder Jarren Duran said of Early. “Some of us forget he’s a rookie and he’s doing the things that he’s doing.”

Early faced the Orioles for the first time in his career on April 26, recording the win and allowing just a pair of solo home runs on four hits through 6 2/3 innings.

The Red Sox are just 9-19 at home. Early’s performance came in the only win of Boston’s last homestand — a 1-5 stretch against the Minnesota Twins and Braves.

Though the Orioles sit just ahead of the Red Sox at the bottom of the division standings, they’ve put together one of their most consistent runs of the season.

A 9-5 Sunday win against the Toronto Blue Jays was Baltimore’s seventh on a season-high 10-game homestand it entered having lost five of six. Colton Cowser hit a three-run homer and drove in four to lead the support of Kyle Bradish, who allowed just one unearned run over seven innings.

“I’m not going to say the team needed it, but I think it’s one of those things that is encouraging and keeps morale up, keeps confidence up, and hopefully (we’ll) continue to build momentum,” said Cowser.

Manager Craig Albernaz agrees.

“We were playing the baseball that we’re capable of,” he said. “Just all the work that these guys have been putting in relentlessly every day, we’re starting to see the rewards now, and against some really good teams. It’s been fun to watch.”

Confidence has gone a long way on the mound as well. Shane Baz (2-5, 4.48) has been a part of it, putting together back-to-back solid starts ahead of taking the mound at Fenway Park.

Baz notched a season-high nine strikeouts across seven innings of one-run ball against the Tampa Bay Rays last Tuesday. It was his third straight start working at least six frames and his second straight allowing just one run.

The right-hander, who has spent his entire five-season career in the AL East with the Tampa Bay Rays and Orioles, is 3-1 with a 2.64 ERA in five career starts against the Red Sox.

–Field Level Media

Red Sox Take Series vs. Guardians

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CLEVELAND – (Wire Service Report) – A six-run seventh inning propelled the visiting Boston Red Sox to a 9-4 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday in the rubber game of a three-game series. Boston trailed 4-3 entering the seventh and scored all six runs with two outs. The inning included a two-run single by left fielder Masataka Yoshida, who had misplayed a fly ball in the fifth that allowed Cleveland to score the game-tying run.

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Jarren Duran hit his 10th home run of the season for the Red Sox. It extended his hitting streak to eight games. Every player in Boston’s lineup had at least one hit in the victory.

Chase DeLauter and David Fry each collected three hits for the Guardians.

The Red Sox lineup didn’t include Willson Contreras or Ceddanne Rafaela. Contreras, who is dealing with a lingering hand/wrist issue, entered in the ninth inning as a defensive replacement. Rafaela was a late scratch with lower back tightness.

Jovani Moran (2-1) earned the win for pitching 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief after Ranger Suarez tossed 10 strikeouts but allowed all four of Cleveland’s runs over the first five frames.

Colin Holderman (3-1) took the loss. He recorded one out and allowed two of Boston’s six runs in the seventh.

After Duran led off the game with a home run, Cleveland took a 2-1 lead in the second when Austin Hedges drove in Fry and Rhys Hoskins with a two-run single.

Boston regained the lead by scoring twice in the fifth. Mickey Gasper’s sacrifice fly drove in Marcelo Mayer, and Connor Wong scored on Wilyer Abreu’s single to put the Red Sox up 3-2.

Cleveland tied the game when Yoshida didn’t see a Jose Ramirez fly ball that dropped in for a double and allowed Brayan Rocchio to score. DeLauter followed with a single that drove in Ramirez to give the Guardians a 4-3 lead.

It was 4-4 after Cleveland reliever Tim Herrin walked Abreu with the bases loaded in the seventh. After Yoshida’s two-run single extended Boston’s lead to 6-4, Isiah Kiner-Falefa came up with a run-scoring single that drove in Abreu, and Caleb Durbin tripled to score Yoshida and Kiner-Falefa to make it 9-4.

Guardians starter Tanner Bibee went six innings and struck out five while scattering three runs and six hits.

–Field Level Media