BOSTON MARATHON
Sharon Lokedi broke the Boston Marathon course record, and fellow Kenyan John Korir joined his brother as a race champion on Monday as the city celebrated the 250th anniversary of the start of the Revolutionary War. The runners followed in the hoofsteps of a Paul Revere reenactor who rode down Boylston Street and proclaimed “the runners are coming” as the race celebrated the 250th anniversary of the start of the Revolutionary War. Lokedi finished in an unofficial 2 hours, 17 minutes, 22 seconds. Korir won in 2:04:45.
MLB
Walker Buehler pitched seven strong innings, Kristian Campbell’s base-loaded grounder rolled into right field for a two-run single and the Red Sox beat the Chicago White Sox in Boston’s annual Patriots’ Day game 4-2. Rob Refsnyder added a solo homer over the Green Monster in the same direction where runners for the Boston Marathon went through Kenmore Square on Monday en route to the finish line about a mile away. Buehler struck out nine and gave up a run in the first before putting up six scoreless with two hits. Former Boston outfielder Andrew Benintendi hit a solo homer for the White Sox, who have lost seven of eight.
José Ramírez hit a three-run homer and Kyle Manzardo went deep on the next pitch in the third inning, helping the Cleveland Guardians beat the American League-leading New York Yankees 6-4. Ramírez and Manzardo both cleared the fence in right off Clarke Schmidt, who gave up five runs in four innings. Manzardo has homered in three straight games and has a team-high seven. Cleveland led 6-0 before Jasson Domínguez hit a two-run homer in the seventh and Jazz Chisholm Jr., who had been in a 1-for-18 slide, had a two-run drive in the eighth.
Francisco Lindor hit two more home runs, including a leadoff shot for the second consecutive day, and the New York Mets held off the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 in the first meeting this season between the NL East rivals. Jesse Winker also went deep as the first-place Mets won their fifth straight game and improved to 10-1 at home. After the Phillies scored four times in the ninth inning, Edwin Díaz struck out Trea Turner and Bryce Harper to earn his sixth save. Tylor Megill allowed one hit and matched a career high by striking out 10 over 5 1/3 scoreless innings. Lindor drove Aaron Nola's fifth pitch off the facing of the second deck in right field, then added a three-run shot in the seventh.
Max Meyer struck out a career-high 14 in six scoreless innings, pinch-hitter Kyle Stowers had a three-run homer in the seventh and the Miami Marlins beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-3. Meyer struck out the side in the sixth and walked into the dugout to a standing ovation with Miami’s first double-digit strikeout game since last June 1. Meyer allowed five hits and walked none, lowering his ERA to 2.10. His previous strikeout high was eight strikeouts. Jesús Tinoco got three straight outs for his second save as the Marlins won their second straight following a five-game losing streak.
Sean Murphy hit a three-run homer during Atlanta’s five-run eighth inning, and the Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-6 for their fourth consecutive victory. Austin Riley hit a two-run homer for Atlanta, and Michael Harris II added two hits and drove in a run. Daysbel Hernández got three outs for the win. St. Louis lost its fifth consecutive game. It dropped to 1-10 on the road. Willson Contreras connected for a two-run homer for the Cardinals.
Wilmer Flores hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the sixth, Jung Hoo Lee added an RBI triple the next inning as fans chanted his name, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-2. Flores connected off Grant Anderson with two outs. Caleb Durbin hit his first career home run with a two-run drive in the first against San Francisco starter Robbie Ray, who allowed two runs and five hits. He struck out four and walked three over five solid innings.
Gleyber Torres and Zach McKinstry each had three hits and the Detroit Tigers beat the San Diego Padres 6-4 for their fourth win in five games. Detroit has won seven straight series openers since losing opening day at Los Angeles Dodgers. Brenan Hanifee allowed one hit and struck out two in two scoreless innings. Keider Montero, making his second start since his recall from Triple-A Toledo, allowed four runs — three earned — and five hits in 4 1/3 innings.Will Vest earned his second save.
Hunter Brown struck out a season-high nine in seven innings, and the Houston Astros beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-0. Brown allowed two hits and walked one while extending his scoreless streak to 24 consecutive innings. Forrest Whitley finished the two-hitter. It was Houston’s second shutout of the season. Toronto was blanked for the second time this year. Jose Altuve hit a two-run double, helping the Astros win for the third time in four games. Brendan Rodgers had two hits and two RBIs, and Zach Dezenzo had two hits and scored twice. Toronto right-hander Kevin Gausman allowed four runs and six hits in six innings.
NBA PLAYOFFS
The Detroit Pistons snapped their NBA-record, 15-game postseason losing streak by beating the New York Knicks 100-94 in Game 2 of their playoff series. Cade Cunningham had 33 points and 12 rebounds, and Dennis Schroder made the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 55 seconds left for the Pistons. Detroit got its first playoff victory since Game 4 of the 2008 Eastern Conference finals against Boston. The Pistons hadn't even been to the postseason since 2019. Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 37 points. With the series tied 1-1, the Pistons will host Game 3 at 7 Thursday night.
Kawhi Leonard scored 39 points on 15-of-19 shooting and the Los Angeles Clippers evened their first-round playoff series against the Nuggets with a 105-102 win in Denver. Christian Braun was long on a 3-pointer with 6 seconds left, and Nikola Jokic, who recorded his 19th playoff triple-double, grabbed the rebound but also missed a 3, with 1 second remaining. Joker recorded his 19th career playoff triple-double with 26 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists but committed seven of Denver's 20 turnovers and uncharacteristically missed four free throws.
Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison says he miscalculated the depth of love his club’s fans had for Luka Doncic before the trade that sent the young superstar to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis. Despite the persistent catcalls from fans for him to be fired in the 2 1/2 months since the deal, Harrison still believes it was the right move for building a championship contender in Dallas. As he has said before, Harrison believes the blowback would have eased if fans had seen the lineup the Mavs envisioned. Injuries prevented that from happening.
NHL PLAYOFFS
Alex Ovechkin added another accomplishment to his illustrious career just over two weeks since breaking Wayne Gretzky's record for the most goals in NHL history. Ovechkin scored his first overtime goal in the Stanley Cup Playoffs to give the Washington Capitals a 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of their first-round series on Monday night. He went his first 44 playoff games over 15 previous appearances without doing that. Ovechkin scored twice to end his personal postseason drought and had a team-leading seven hits.
Mark Scheifele had a goal and assist, Kyle Connor scored his second consecutive game-winner in the third period, and the Winnipeg Jets beat the St. Louis Blues 2-1 for a 2-0 lead in their opening-round playoff series. Connor Hellebuyck stopped 21 shots to help the Jets take a 2-0 playoff series lead for the first time in three seasons. The past two years, Winnipeg won the first game and then lost the next four to be eliminated. Rookie Jimmy Snuggerud scored his first playoff goal and Jordan Binnington had 20 saves for the eighth-seeded Blues. St. Louis hosts Game 3 on Thursday.
Colin Blackwell scored 17:46 into overtime and the Dallas Stars beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 in Game 2 to even up the first-round Western Conference series. Blackwell initially took a shot that was blocked in front of the net by a teammate, but with the loose puck rolling on the ice, he circled around and knocked it in for the winner. Tyler Seguin, Thomas Harley and Evgenii Dadonov also had goals for Dallas, which avoided losing the first two games in its opening-round series for the second year in a row. Nathan MacKinnon scored his third goal of the series for the Avs, while Jack Drury and Logan O'Connor also scored.
Phillip Danault scored his second goal with 42 seconds to play, and the Los Angeles Kings blew a four-goal lead before rallying for a 6-5 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in the opener of the clubs’ fourth consecutive first-round playoff series. The Kings led 5-3 in the final minutes before Zach Hyman and Connor McDavid scored to tie it with an extra attacker. Los Angeles improbably responded, with Danault skating up the middle and chunking a fluttering shot home while a leaping Warren Foegele screened goalie Stuart Skinner. McDavid had a goal and three assists for the Oilers.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Duke star Cooper Flagg is headed to the NBA as the favorite to be the No. 1 overall draft pick. The program announced Flagg’s move in a social media post Monday. That came after a lone college season that saw the 18-year-old become only the fourth freshman named as The Associated Press national player of the year while leading the Blue Devils to the Final Four. The 6-foot-9, 205-pound forward from Newport, Maine, averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.4 steals to lead Duke in each category. The draft’s first round is set for 8 p.m. on June 15th. The early entry deadline for players to declare is 11:59 Eastern Saturday.
FLAG FOOTBALL
Flag football participation by girls has continued to spike across the country, with the sport’s inclusion in the Summer Olympics lineup for Los Angeles in 2028 serving as the most recent bump. The college level is the natural place for the next surge of growth. Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is one of seven NCAA schools fielding a club team this spring in a league launched with $140,000 and logistical support from the Minnesota Vikings. The championship tournament is this weekend. More than 100 higher-educational institutions are currently offering women’s flag football as a varsity or club sport.
COLLEGE ATHLETICS
The NCAA has passed rules that would upend decades of precedent by allowing colleges to pay their athletes per terms of a multibillion-dollar lawsuit settlement expected to go into effect this summer. The nine proposals passed by the NCAA board were largely expected but still mark a defining day in the history of college sports. An athlete’s ability to be paid directly by their university in on track to be enshrined in a rulebook that forbid that kind of relationship for decades.
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