Timberwolves Stun Jokić and the Nuggets to Even Their Playoff Series
The NFL Draft is *tomorrow* (Thursday, April 23), so the sports world is basically all draft buzz right now. The big pre-draft news: the New York Giants made a splashy trade with the Cincinnati Bengals to move up in t...
Minnesota Teams
Timberwolves 🐺 — The Wolves pulled off a big one in Denver, evening their first-round NBA playoff series at 1-1 with a Game 2 win. The story of the night was center Rudy Gobert, who had been snubbed for Defensive Player of the Year earlier that same day — then went out and held three-time MVP Nikola Jokić to just 1-of-8 shooting. Consider that a statement.
Twins ⚾ — The Twins beat the Mets and handed New York their 12th straight loss — and Minnesota couldn't resist having a little fun about it. The Twins' social media team trolled the Mets with a "things that come in a dozen" post. It's early in the season, but a 12-game losing streak is rough no matter when it happens.
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NFL
The NFL Draft is tomorrow (Thursday, April 23), so the sports world is basically all draft buzz right now. The big pre-draft news: the New York Giants made a splashy trade with the Cincinnati Bengals to move up in the first round, shaking up the draft order. If you're curious who your team might pick, the draft begins Thursday night and runs through the weekend.
Also worth noting: Raiders legend Rod Martin, a linebacker who set the still-standing record for most interceptions in a single Super Bowl game, passed away at age 72. A sad loss for NFL history.
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NBA
Awards news: The Spurs' Victor Wembanyama — the 7-foot-4 phenom who's only 22 years old — was unanimously named Defensive Player of the Year, the first unanimous winner in NBA history. Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won Clutch Player of the Year and is considered the frontrunner for league MVP.
Playoffs: The Lakers are looking good, taking a 2-0 series lead in their first-round matchup. The bad news for San Antonio: Wembanyama suffered an injury in their Game 2 loss, which has Spurs fans very worried heading into Game 3.
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MLB
Mets misery: The New York Mets have now lost 12 games in a row to start the season — which is historically bad. The Twins were one of the teams happy to pile on.
Cool pitching story: Oakland A's closer Mason Miller hasn't allowed a single run all season and is striking out more than 70% of the batters he faces. He's showing up in Cy Young Award conversations, which is normally reserved for starting pitchers — a closer being in that mix is unusual and worth watching.
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NHL
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are underway! The Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Montreal Canadiens series has its Game 2 tonight. The Lightning are one of the league's perennial contenders, while the Canadiens have been in rebuild mode — so this is a classic "veteran powerhouse vs. young upstart" matchup to keep an eye on.
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College Sports
College basketball's offseason transfer portal drama is in full swing. UConn (two-time defending national champions) is making moves, landing a big recruit in Nikolas Khamenia from Duke. The big blue-blood programs — Kansas, Kentucky, and North Carolina — are all scrambling to retool their rosters for next season through the transfer portal, which is basically college basketball's version of free agency.
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Other Sports
Sad soccer story: Leicester City, the English club that pulled off one of the greatest underdog championship wins in sports history when they won the Premier League title in 2016, have now been relegated two divisions in back-to-back seasons. They're headed to the third division of English soccer. A stunning fall from grace for a team that was a feel-good story just a decade ago.
Golf: The Zurich Classic of New Orleans is this week — it's a unique PGA Tour event played in two-man teams rather than individuals. England's Matt Fitzpatrick, currently ranked No. 3 in the world, is one of the names to watch as he's been quietly improving every season and looks to be hitting his peak.