HOCKEY
Tessa Janecke scored the winner as the United States prevailed in overtime against defending champion Canada 4-3 to win the women’s ice hockey world championship. Janecke struck with 2:54 left in overtime for the Americans to claim their 11th title at the worlds. Abbey Murphy and Taylor Heise scored a goal and had an assist, and Caroline Harvey also scored for the U.S. in the final. In a classic encounter, Sarah Fillier tied the game for Canada at 3-3 with 5:48 remaining, forcing overtime. Canada still leads the world tournament with 13 gold medals. The cross-border rivals have met in the championship game in all but one tournament, in 2019, when host Finland defeated Canada in the semifinals.
NHL
Logan Stankoven scored two second-period goals in his first playoff game with Carolina as the Hurricanes beat the New Jersey Devils 4-1 on Sunday to open their first-round series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Jalen Chatfield scored a first-period goal for the Hurricanes. Andrei Svechnikov added an empty-net clincher late in the third. Carolina kept consistent pressure on Devils netminder Jacob Markstrom. Carolina finished with a 45-24 shot advantage. Nico Hischier scored New Jersey's lone goal. Markstrom had 41 saves. Game 2 is Tuesday night.
Mitch Marner had a goal and two assists as the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Ottawa Senators 6-2 in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series. William Nylander and John Tavares each had a goal and an assist, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Morgan Rielly and Matthew Knies also scored for Toronto. Auston Matthews added two assists and Anthony Stolarz stopped 31 shots. Drake Batherson and Ridly Greig scored for Ottawa, and Linus Ullmark finished with 18 saves. The best-of-seven matchup continues Tuesday with Game 2 at Scotiabank Arena before shifting to Ottawa for two games.
Brett Howden scored two goals, and the Vegas Golden Knights opened their first-round Western Conference playoffs series with a 4-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild. Tomas Hertl had a goal and an assist for the Golden Knights, Pavel Dorofeyev also scored, and Adin Hill made 18 saves. Matt Boldy scored both Wild goals, Kirill Kaprizov assisted on both and Filip Gustavsson stopped 23 shots. Game 2 is Tuesday night in Las Vegas.
NBA PLAYOFFS
Derrick White scored 30 points, Jayson Tatum had 17 points and finished the game after a scary late fall, and the Boston Celtics rallied in the second half to beat the Orlando Magic 103-86 in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series. Payton Pritchard added 19 points off the bench for Boston, which hosts Game 2 at 7 Wednesday night. Jaylen Brown played 31 minutes and had 16 points on 6 of 14 shooting after missing the final three games of the regular season due to a lingering knee issue. Paolo Banchero led the Magic with 36 points and 11 rebounds. Franz added 23 points for Orlando, which has not made out of the first round of the playoffs since the 2009-10 season.
Oklahoma City’s playoff run got off to a record-setting start. The Thunder opened a 35-point lead in the first half of Game 1 of their Western Conference playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday. That was the biggest first-half lead of any playoff Game 1 in the league’s digital play-by-play era that goes back to 1996-97. Oklahoma City had 35-point leads twice — 61-26 and 63-28. The Thunder settled for a 68-36 lead at halftime, the biggest halftime lead of any playoff game in franchise history. They went on to win 131-80, with the 51-point margin being the largest in Game 1 history and fifth-largest in NBA postseason history.
Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points, Ty Jerome had 16 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Miami Heat 121-100 on Sunday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series. It was the seventh straight series where Mitchell has scored at least 30 points in Game 1, tying Michael Jordan, who had two streaks of seven games. Bam Adebayo had 24 points and Tyler Herro added 21 for the Heat. Darius Garland added 27 for the Cavaliers, who host Game 2 on Wednesday night. Garland and Jerome each had five 3-pointers for Cleveland, and the Cavaliers were 18 of 43 from beyond the arc.
Stephen Curry scored 31 points and the Golden State Warriors built a huge lead and held on to beat the Houston Rockets 95-85 on Sunday night in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series. Game 2 of the best-of seven series is Wednesday night in Houston. It was the 100th career playoff coaching victory for Golden State’s Steve Kerr, who moved into a tie with Larry Brown for sixth-most playoff wins. Curry was 12 of 19 from the field, hitting 5 of 9 3-pointers. Jimmy Butler added 25 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals in his playoff debut for the Warriors after joining them in a trade from Miami in February. Alperen Sengun led the Rockets with 26 points.
It’s now reasonable to think that Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo finished third in this season’s balloting for the NBA MVP award. The NBA released the three finalists for its major trophies on Sunday night with Antetokounmpo on the MVP list alongside Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver’s Nikola Jokic, the runaway frontrunners for the award. Jokic was last season’s MVP and is bidding for his fourth MVP award in the last five years. Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA’s scoring champion this season and the leader of a Thunder team that won 68 games while setting a league record for scoring margin, is seeking his first MVP trophy.
MLB
Max Fried had no idea he was working on a no-hit bid and didn’t realize he lost it when the official scorer changed a decision as he was about to start the eighth inning. Fried says “I’m just glad that I didn’t have to worry about that” after leading the New York Yankees over the Tampa Bay Rays 4-0. Speedy rookie Chandler Simpson hit a grounder into the hole between first and second with one out in the sixth and reached when the ball bounced off the glove of first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. Official scorer Bill Mathews at first called the play an error, then later changed it to a hit.
Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees were angry over the home run that wasn’t. Judge drove a changeup from Tampa Bay’s Eric Orze deep down the left-field line, high above the foul pole at Steinbrenner Field. Umpires called the ball foul, a decision upheld in a video review. Judge and manager Aaron Boone were convinced it should have been Judge’s eighth home run of the season. Boone was ejected after plate umpire Adam Beck called a third strike on the next pitch. The Yankees went on to win 4-0.
Brandon Nimmo robbed Jordan Walker of a home run in the sixth inning and singled home the tiebreaking run in the seventh as the New York Mets beat St. Louis 7-4 for their first four-game sweep of the Cardinals in 39 years. Francisco Lindor had three hits, including a leadoff homer, and the Mets completed a four-game sweep of St. Louis at home for the first time in franchise history. The club’s previous three four-game sweeps against the Cardinals came in St. Louis, the most recent in April 1986. Juan Soto had three RBIs, including a two-run double to cap a three-run eighth that made it 7-3. New York improved to 9-1 at home and won its eighth straight meeting with the Cardinals.
Andrew Vaughn hit a two-run homer, pinch-hitter Edgar Quero added a go-ahead, two-run single and the Chicago White Sox snapped a six-game losing streak with an 8-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox Sunday, ending their worst road start in team history. Matt Thaiss added two-run shot for Chicago, which lost its first eight road games. Wilyer Abreu hit a three-run homer for the Red Sox, who had their four-game winning streak halted.
Javier Sanoja hit his first major league home run, had five RBIs and the Miami Marlins rallied to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-5 in 10 innings. Sanoja, who was starting in place of injured outfielder Griffin Conine, hit a 1-1 sweeper from Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering into the left field seats for a three-run homer to give the Marlins a 5-4 lead in the eighth inning.
Matt Olson and Drake Baldwin hit two-run homers, Grant Holmes allowed only one run and the Atlanta Braves beat the Minnesota Twins 6-2 to complete a three-game sweep. Marcell Ozuna also homered off Joe Ryan, who allowed six runs and eight hits and one walk in five innings. Byron Buxton had two hits, including a home run off right-hander Enyel De Los Santos, for Minnesota. The Braves had not won back-to-back games before sweeping the Twins. Holmes pitched 5 2/3 innings and allowed four hits with four walks and seven strikeouts.
Steven Kwan and Kyle Manzardo hit two-run homers and Manzardo added a sacrifice fly in the 10th to rally the Cleveland Guardians to a 5-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates for a three-game sweep. Manzardo drove in Jhonkensy Noel, who started the inning at second, with a one-out fly to left off Dennis Santana (0-1). The Pirates had two on in the 10th after Joey Cantillo walked Joey Bart leading off on four pitches. But Oneil Cruz swung at the first pitch and hit into a double play and Enmanuel Valdez flied out for Cantillo’s first career save. The Pirates (8-15) rallied for three runs in the ninth off Emmanuel Clase (3-0), who was going for his third straight save in the series.
The Baltimore Orioles began Sunday with right-hander Charlie Morton making his fifth start since signing a one-year $15-million contract for the sixth club of his 18-season major league career. It ended with position players on the mound for the final two innings of a humbling 24-2 defeat to the Cincinnati Reds. Morton allowed seven runs over 2 1/3 innings in his shortest start since Sept. 22, 2023. By the time infielder Jorge Mateo and catcher Gary Sanchez had allowed the final nine runs over the eighth and ninth innings, Baltimore had yielded at least 24 runs and 25 hits for only the fourth time in franchise history.
Rhys Hoskins went 3 for 5 with a homer, four RBIs and one of Milwaukee’s franchise-record nine steals and Logan Henderson recorded nine strikeouts in his major league debut as the Brewers trounced the Athletics 14-1. Brice Turang scored three runs and stole three bases to help the Brewers win the rubber match of this series. The Brewers finished a 4-2 homestand before 10-game road trip, their longest this season. Milwaukee stole six bases in the first inning. That was the highest total by any team in a single inning since at least 1961 according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Freddie Freeman broke up a scoreless game with an eighth-inning sacrifice fly and six Dodgers relievers completed the shutout after starter Tyler Glasnow left with lower leg cramps one pitch into the fifth inning as Los Angeles beat the Texas Rangers 1-0. Two-way star Shohei Ohtani returned to the Dodgers’ lineup after missing the series’ previous two games, activated off the paternity list after his wife gave birth to the couple’s first child in Southern California. Ohtani went 0 for 3 with a walk that helped produce the game’s only run.
Jo Adell had a bases-clearing double in a four-run ninth inning against San Francisco closer Ryan Walker and the Los Angeles Angels rallied to beat the Giants 5-4, spoiling the day for Justin Verlander in the rubber match of a three-game series. Walker (0-1) walked Mike Trout leading off and Jorge Soler followed with a single. Logan O’Hoppe had a one-out hit to load the bases before Walker hit Zach Neto to force in a run. Adell hit a 1-2 pitch down the left-field line. Verlander allowed just two hits and a run in six innings with six strikeouts.
Fernando Tatís Jr. hit a tiebreaking solo home run and scored all of San Diego’s runs as the Padres avoided being swept with a 3-2 win over the Houston Astros. Tatís sent the first pitch he saw from Tayler Scott (1-2) 427 feet to straightaway center to give the Padres a 3-2 lead in the seventh. Tatís scored from second on a Mauricio Dubón error in the first, and he led off the third with a triple before scoring on an RBI single by Gavin Sheets. Luis Arraez was carted off and taken to a hospital for evaluation after a first inning collision with Dubón on a play at first base.
Bobby Witt Jr. hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the 10th inning, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Detroit Tigers 4-3 to stop a six-game losing streak. With the score 3-3, Jonathan India’s groundout off Tyler Holton advanced automatic runner Drew Waters to third and Witt hit a 280-foot fly to left. Waters scored headfirst ahead of Riley Greene’s throw. Carlos Estévez intentionally walked Greene to put runners on the corners with two outs in the bottom half, then retired Dillon Dingler on a popup. Kansas City went 2-8 on its trip and is 9-14. Detroit had won three straight.
Cal Raleigh and Rowdy Tellez each hit two-run home runs, Dylan Moore added a solo homer and the Seattle Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-3 on Sunday to win their three-game series. Raleigh has nine home runs, tying him with Athletics first baseman Tyler Soderstrom for the ML lead. The Mariners are 3-0 in series-deciding games. Luis Castillo (2-2) matched a career-high by allowing 10 hits in five innings but won for the first time in three starts. Castillo allowed three runs, walked two and struck out five.
Antonio Senzatela pitched six inning to get his first win in nearly three years, and the Colorado Rockies beat the Washington Nationals 3-1 in the second game of a doubleheader to snap their eight-game losing streak. Washington won the opener of the split doubleheader 3-2. Senzatela, who missed 16 months from May 2023-September 2024 due to a torn ACL and Tommy John surgery, for his last victory June 19, 2022. Sunday night was his eighth start since his return last fall. He gave up a run on Nathaniel Lowe’s RBI single in the first, one of three hits for Lowe, but scattered five hits before leaving.
Josh Naylor’s third hit of the game drove in automatic runner Geraldo Perdomo in the 11th inning with the go-ahead run and the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Chicago Cubs 3-2 to avoid a series sweep. Naylor grounded a single to right for his second RBI. The 11th ended when Naylor tried to steal home and was thrown out by reliever Jordan Wicks. Shelby Miller pitched two scoreless innings and for Drey Jameson tossed a 1-2-3 11th for his first save. In a game twice delayed by rain for a total of 98 minutes, the teams exchanged runs in the 10th.
BOSTON MARATHON
The 129th Boston Marathon takes place today, starting in Hopkinton and ending at Copley Square in Boston. The race begins with wheelchair competitors around 9 a.m., followed by professional runners and para-athletes, with the final wave starting at 11:15 a.m. More than 30,000 runners are registered. Defending champion Hellen Obiri is hoping to be the first woman to win three straight in Boston since 1999.
Meanwhile, RHP Jonathan Cannon (0-2, 4.42 ERA) is set to start for the White Sox against Red Sox RHP Walker Buehler (2-1, 5.23) this morning with a scheduled 11:10 a.m. first pitch in Boston’s annual Patriots’ Day game.
John Korir has the resume that proves he is fast enough to win the Boston Marathon and the family connections that might just help him do it. The reigning Chicago Marathon champion has been getting tips on the course from his brother, Wesley, who won Boston in 2012. John Korir has finished fourth and ninth in two previous Boston attempts, and he thinks having a champion spilling his secrets could be the difference. More than 30,000 runners are registered for Monday's race. Defending champion Hellen Obiri is hoping to be the first woman to win three straight in Boston since 1999.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Nico Iamaleava says he’s heading to UCLA, a week after Tennessee announced the quarterback who helped the Volunteers reach last season’s College Football Playoff was no longer with the program. Iamaleava issued an Instagram post of himself in a UCLA uniform Sunday. Tennessee coach Josh Heupel had indicated during the Volunteers’ spring game on April 12 that Iamaleava wouldn’t be part of the team anymore. Heupel declined to get into details about any discussions with Iamaleava and his representatives. Various reports said Iamaleava was seeking a big raise in his name, image and likeness compensation after helping Tennessee to its first playoff berth.
GOLF
Justin Thomas is a winner again after nearly three years. Thomas rolled in a birdie putt from just outside 20 feet to beat hard-luck Andrew Novak in a playoff at the RBC Heritage. It's his first since since the PGA Championship in May 2022. And it was hard work. Thomas closed with a bogey-free 68 at Harbour Town. Novak wouldn't go away and made a big putt of his own on the 16th hole to stay with him and match his 68. Novak had an 8-foot birdie putt in regulation for the win. Scottie Scheffler tied for eighth.
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