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Pro Teams Postpone Games in Minnesota

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MINNEAPOLIS-ST PAUL – Monday’s 2:10pm series opener between the Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins was postponed as a cautionary move by the Twins and local authorities as the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul reacts to the fatal shooting death of Daunte Wright after a police traffic stop in the Brooklyn Center area.

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“Out of respect for the tragic events that occurred yesterday in Brooklyn Center, and following the additional details in this evolving situation, the Minnesota Twins have decided it is in the best interests of our fans, staff, players and community to not play today’s game.

The decision was made by the Minnesota Twins after consultation with Major League Baseball, and local and state officials. Information regarding the rescheduling of today’s game, and corresponding ticket details, will be released in the near future.

The Minnesota Twins organization extends its sympathies to the family of Daunte Wright.”

The NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and the NHL’s Minnesota Wild also postponed home games because of a 7:00pm (local) city-wide curfew put in place as authorities brace for another display of civic protests. The Minneapolis area was at the heart of intense protests last Memorial Day weekend after the fatal shooting of George Floyd. A dismissed Minneapolis police officer is currently on trial for that incident which was the root of nation-wide protests last May.

The NBA issued the following statement in announcing the cancellation of the Brooklyn Nets at Timberwolves game:

“The National Basketball Association announced that in light of the tragic events in the Minneapolis area yesterday, tonight’s game between the Brooklyn Nets and the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center has been postponed. The decision to postpone was made by the NBA after consultation with the Timberwolves organization and local and state officials.

“Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Daunte Wright during this difficult time.”

Brooklyn Center police held a news conference and stated the officer that shot Wright Sunday afternoon did so accidentally, confusing a fire arm with a police taser.

 

NHL: Boston Bruins Shore-Up Defense with Trade for Ottawa’s Mike Reilly

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BOSTON – (Source: Official team news release) – Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney announced the acquisition of defenseman Mike Reilly from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.

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Reilly, 27, has 19 assists in 40 games this season with Ottawa. The 6-foot-1, 199-pound defenseman has appeared in 244 career NHL games with Ottawa, Montreal and Minnesota, totaling eight goals and 64 assists for 72 points. The Chicago, Illinois native was originally selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the fourth round (98th overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Japan’s Matsuyama Wins His First Major and It’s Historic at The Masters

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AUGUSTA – Hideki Matsuyama won the 2021 Masters Tournament to become the first male pro tour major championship winner from Japan. Matsuyama claimed his first major championship title and sixth win overall on the PGA Tour. He became just the eighth champion (nine instances) with an over-par final-round score.

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Special temporary member/PGA Tour rookie Will Zalatoris finished a career-best runner-up and has six Top 10s and 11 Top 25 finishes in 15 starts this season.

Jordan Spieth, the first player in Masters history to birdie No. 10 all four rounds, finished inside the top three for the fifth time in eight appearances at the Masters.

Xander Schauffele’s triple bogey on No. 16 was his first in 1,042 holes in a major championship. Despite the major set-back, he registered his second Top 3 finish at the Masters.

With a bogey-free 6-under (66), (the second bogey-free round of the week), Jon Rahm picked up his fourth consecutive Top 10 finish at the Masters (4/2018, T9/2019, T7/2020, T5/2021). Rahm now has 15 consecutive par-or-better rounds at the Masters.

Final Leaderboard from the 2021 Masters

Hideki Matsuyama 69-71-65-73—278 (-10)

Will Zalatoris 70-68-71-70—279 (-9)

Jordan Spieth 71-68-72-70—281 (-7)

Xander Schauffele 72-69-68-72—281 (-7)

Jon Rahm 72-72-72-66—282 (-6)

Marc Leishman 72-67-70-73—282 (-6)

 

UMass Takes Its First Frozen Four Title

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PITTSBURGH – The University of Massachusetts soundly defeated St. Cloud State of Minnesota, 5-0, in Saturday night’s men’s ice hockey national championship. For the UMass Minutemen, it’s was their first Frozen Four title win in program history.

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The scoring started a little over seven minutes into the first period when Aaron Bohlinger found himself on a 2-on-0 and cashed in to make it 1-0 UMass. With 1:04 left in the first 20 minutes, Reed Lebster tapped one past St. Cloud G David Hrenak to give UMass a 2-0 lead entering the first intermission.

With St. Cloud State on the power play five minutes into the second frame, Phil Lagunov dangled around Nick Perbix to score a shorthanded goal. Matt Kessel added a power play goal in the back half of the second period to make it 4-0.

UMass’ Bobby Trivigno made it 5-0 when he sniped one past David Hrenak early in the third period.

UMass was on a mission to improve one slot heading into the 2021-21 season. The Minutemen finished as 2019 championship runner-ups (2020 playoff was cancelled). They closed out the 2020-21 regular season winning the program’s first-ever Hockey East title and advanced to the championship game after an overtime thriller in the Frozen Four semifinals against Minnesota Duluth,

UMass goaltender Filip Linberg made 25 saves to earn the shut-out.

 

 

NHL: Bruins Drop Key Game to Philly

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PHILADELPHIA – Patrice Bergeron and Jake DeBrusk each scored goals but the Boston Bruins lost a key road game to the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-2, on Saturday afternoon at Wells Fargo Center.

Boston back-up goalkeeper Jeremy Swayman made his third straight start and stopped 20 shots in the loss. No. 1 goaltender, Tuukka Rask could return today (April 11).

Not only did the Bruins lose the game but they also saw one of their top defenseman go down with an injury in the first period of play.

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Cassidy said the loss of defenseman Matt Grzelcyk to what the team simply listed as an upper-body injury in the first period likely contributed to the Bruins’ limitations. The 27-year- old was playing on the top pairing for the Bruins battered defensive corp, already depleted by injuries to Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo. Grzelcyk is listed as day-to-day.

“We lost another defenseman early; it’s happened to us a lot this year,” said Cassidy. “You’re leaning on other guys, a guy we rely on in Grizz – power play situations, we saw the effect of that.”

Boston went 0 for 4 on the power play, including two missed opportunities in the third period as the Bruins attempted to tie the game.

Philadelphia’s Sean Couturier scored near the midway point of the third period to break a tie and the Flyers picked up a critical 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins on Saturday.

Flyers goalkeeper Brian Elliott stopped 30 shots for Philadelphia, which moved within four points of Boston for the fourth and final playoff spot in the NHL’s East Division. The Bruins have two games in hand on the Flyers with Philadelphia having 16 games remaining. The two teams have completed their regular-season series.

Boston plays divisional rival Washington today.

 

Sox J.D. Martinez to COVID Injured List

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BOSTON – (Source: Official Club News Release) – The Boston Red Sox today placed designated hitter/outfielder J.D. Martinez on the COVID-19 Related Injured List. To fill his spot on the 26-man roster, infielder Michael Chavis was recalled from the Alternate Training Site. Chavis will be available for tonight’s game at the Baltimore Orioles, according to Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom.

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Through seven games this season, Martinez has hit .433 (13-for-30) with seven doubles, two home runs, and 12 RBI. Entering play today, the right-handed batter led all major league players in extra-base hits (nine) and ranked among American League leaders in slugging percentage (3rd; .867), OPS (4th; 1.335), and batting average (5th).

Dating back to last season, Martinez has hit safely in eight straight games, and has recorded at least one extra-base hit in all of his team’s first seven games of the year, making him one of five players in MLB history to do so.

This marks the first major league stint of 2021 for Chavis, 25, who began the year at the club’s Alternate Training Site at Triple-A Worcester. In 25 Grapefruit League games this spring he hit .250 (15-for-60) with three doubles, six home runs, 11 RBI,

Tatum Scores 53; Celtics Win in OT

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BOSTON – Boston Celtics all-star forward Jason Tatum scored a career-high 53 points, including 18 in the fourth quarter and overtime, to lead the Celtics to a 145-136 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night. It was the first 50-point game for the 23-year-old Tatum. Boston’s Jaylen Brown had 26 points. Marcus Smart added 24 points, eight assists and six rebounds to help Boston to its fourth win in five games.

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“Scoring 50 is a big thing in this league,” said Tatum. “It’s a night I’ll always remember. First 50-point game and we got the win on top of that. Every win right now is big. So we’ll take it.”

Boston erased a 17-point deficit in the third quarter and then led by eight points in the fourth before Minnesota was able to fight back and send it into overtime. The Celtics took a 135-129 lead on a three-pointer by guard Kemba Walker.

Minnesota got within 135-132 on a three-point play by D’Angelo Russell. But Boston outscored the Timberwolves 10-4 to close-out the home victory. Center Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves with 30 points and 12 rebounds. Russell finished with 26 points and Anthony Edwards had 24 points in the loss.

Boston finished their seven-game homestead at (4-3) and now depart for a three-game Western swing that starts in Denver on Sunday, April 11. Boston also plays at Portland and at Los Angeles against the Lakers on Thursday night.

Bruins Win Three-of-Four to Tighten NHL East Playoff Race

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Bruins to Face Buffalo Sabres Six Times in Playoff Stretch

BOSTON – Since a two-game COVID+ protocol postponement stretch (March 20-23), the Boston Bruins have won five of their last nine games, including three of the last four, and have tightened the race for the NHL’s East division.

The Bruins will have an upcoming three-game stretch to refine their newly regained form before they meet the division-leading New York Islanders for back-to-back games on April 15-16. Those two games are part of a key five-game home stand for the Bruins when the face their division rival Washington Capitals and the upstart Islanders.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins are also ahead of Boston in the standings and the clubs have split each of the last two back-to-backs, most recently played April 1 and 3 in Boston.

The Bruins have 18 more scheduled games left in the regular season, and because of a scheduling quirk, six of those games are against the Buffalo Sabres (9-24-6 OTL), the cellar-dwellers of the entire NHL.

The Bruins currently lead the Philadelphia Flyers by six points for the fourth and final playoff spot in the East.

Although he has returned to practice and travel with the club, the Bruins have not started No. 1 goalkeeper Tuukka Rask since 1-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils on March 7. Since then, G Jaroslav Halak has handled the bulk of the goaltending duty, backed by Dan Vlader and, most recently Jeremy Swayman. It was Swayman who anchored the Bruins’ last two victories, both 4-2 wins at Philadelphia and Washington DC.