The Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers were tied 3–3 and battling in the final minute of Game 2 when the ESPN broadcast suddenly went dark.
The Rangers, who lead the Eastern Conference semifinal series 1–0, were on the power play and about to set up their attack with 50 seconds to play in regulation when the ESPN broadcast accidentally cut to the pregame scenes in Dallas.
The Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche were about to begin Game 1 of their series at American Airlines Center, but the game was supposed to be nationally televised on ESPNU, not ESPN, until the Rangers-Hurricanes clash ended.
ESPN stayed on the Stars-Rangers broadcast for about 20 seconds before cutting back to Madison Square Garden. Luckily, no goals were scored.
ESPN accidentally switched to Dallas - Colorado with less than a minute left in a tie game. Figured it out pretty quickly at least pic.twitter.com/uTl98ecCPG
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) May 8, 2024
The game remained on ESPN as it went into overtime. But those 20 seconds away from the Rangers-Hurricanes game felt like an hour to New York and Carolina fans watching on television.
THE WAY I ALMOST YEETED THE REMOTE AT MY TV WHEN @espn SWITCHED FROM THE RANGERS GAME TO THE DALLAS GAME????
REALLY??? DURING A POWER PLAY??? WITH A MINUTE LEFT??? DURING THE PLAYOFFS??? IN A TIE GAME???? #NYR bruh I need it back on MSG pic.twitter.com/0dxNHGG3D8
— DJ Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire Evangelista (@WakandaBS_isDis) May 8, 2024
DID ESPN JUST SWITCH AWAY FROM THE RANGERS GAME DURING A POWER PLAY IN THE FINAL MINUTE OF A TIE GAME?!?!??!
St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras exited Tuesday's game against the New York Mets after taking the full force of a swing from J.D. Martinez to the left forearm. Contreras was diagnosed with a fractured left arm and will need a lengthy stay on the injured list as a result.
Contreras was visibly in pain as the Cardinals' medical staff attended to his arm. To make matters worse, the play was ruled as catcher's interference, meaning Martinez was awarded first base.
Replay of the incident showed that Contreras was positioned remarkably close to Martinez. According to John Denton of MLB.com, the team had encouraged Contreras to move closer to the plate as a means of getting more low strike calls from umpires. With Contreras positioning himself particularly close to the plate, he put himself in harm’s way of Martinez’s swing, resulting in Tuesday's scary arm injury.
In an attempt to help catcher Willson Contreras get more low strikes, the #STLCards have him moved up closer to the plate. However, JD Martinez's bat hit Contreras on the left forearm during his swing.
Contreras is out of the game. He was in obvious pain, yelling out right away. pic.twitter.com/0XCgzBQG0D
Iván Herrera replaced Contreras, who had doubled in his lone plate appearance of the game. On the season, Contreras has six home runs and 12 RBI to go with a .931 OPS.
"Unfortunate situation that should never have happened," Beverley said on the Pat Bev Podcast. "What I did was bad, and that should never happen. I have to be better and I will be better."
The Athletic's Shams Charania reported the day after the incident that the Pacers fan yelled a rather mild taunt at Beverley as the team broke out of a huddle, referring to the Bucks' vacation plans as they were about to be eliminated from the playoffs.
"Cancun ... Cancun on three," the fan reportedly said.
Beverley, however, stated there was more said than those four words before he threw the basketball at the fan.
"Let's just say it was more than, 'Cancun on three,'" Beverley said. "Let's just say it was more than that.
"I've been called a lot of stuff in this league. I haven't been called that one. ... The things that were said to me, I could've gotten four or five fans kicked out."
Pat Bev talks about what transpired at the end of the Bucks vs Pacers game
Beverley also stated security at Gainbridge Fieldhouse asked him if he wanted the fans kicked out earlier in the game, but he didn't want to give them the boot.
"I'm not the guy to get fans kicked out neither," Beverley said.
Beverley, 35, will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. If the veteran finds a new NBA home by next season, he likely will serve some sort of penalty from the NBA in the form of a suspension and fine.
Per the report, police responded to reports of an assault at the nightclub at around 2:30 a.m. local time Monday. One man was taken to the hospital with injuries described as being non life-threatening, including visible swelling on the side of his face.
According to WFAA, police sources said officers were conducting interviews with witnesses at an address in Dallas listed for Lit Kitchen and Lounge.
As of Tuesday evening, police said no charges had been filed officially, per The Dallas Morning News.
Rice, 24, has endured a tumultuous offseason following a breakout rookie season with the Chiefs in 2023, during which he won the Super Bowl.
In March, Rice was arrested in Dallas due to his involvement in a seven-car crash on the highway which resulted in at least seven people sustaining injuries. Rice faces eight felony charges from that incident, including six counts of collision involving bodily injury, one count of collision involving serious bodily injury and one count of aggravated assault, according to police.
The injury bug continues to bite the New York Knicks, with the latest key rotation member to go down being center Mitchell Robinson.
The team announced Tuesday that Robinson would be sidelined for a minimum of six to eight weeks due to a stress injury in his left ankle. He'll be reevaluated after the provided timeline, though the injury is set to keep him out for the rest of the playoffs.
Robinson joins the likes of Julius Randle and Bojan Bogdanovic among Knicks players who won't be making a return during the playoffs.
Robinson had already been ruled out for Wednesday's Game 2 against the Indiana Pacers. He logged 12 minutes in Game 1's win, scoring two points and providing two rebounds.
He averaged 20.6 minutes per game during the opening round against the Philadelphia 76ers. He featured in five of the six games in the series and provided 3.0 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per contest.
With the 26-year-old unavailable, it's possible Precious Achiuwa will return to coach Tom Thibodeau's rotation. Achiuwa has made just three appearances in the playoffs but logged a postseason-high 20 minutes when Robinson was sidelined during Game 4 vs. the 76ers.
The Minnesota Twins' recent winning streak was halted at 12 games, but the original summer sausage that players jokingly said inspired the hot stretch remains with the team.
The Athletic's Dan Hayes confirmed Tuesday that the original sausage—which manager Rocco Baldelli said would be disposed once the winning streak ended—is still with the team. And in fact, its magic is still intact.
When the Twins' offense was struggling through the early innings of the series opener against the Seattle Mariners on Monday night, the original sausage was brought back into the dugout. The Twins went on to rally for one run in the fifth inning and two more in the seventh to secure a 3–1 win at Target Field.
BREAKING: The #MNTwins original summer sausage lives on. The Twins did not destroy it. And when they weren’t scoring early last night, the OG sausage was summoned in the middle of the game and the Twins put up three runs.
The Twins were struggling to start the year, winning just seven of their first 20 games despite entering the season as heavy favorites to win the AL Central. Those struggles persisted until the rally sausage was brought into the fold by Minnesota infielder Kyle Farmer.
During a series in April against the Chicago White Sox, Farmer found a Cloverdale summer sausage in his locker. He didn't want it, so he set the sausage on a table in the clubhouse for teammates to enjoy.
For some reason, Twins hitting coach David Popkins grabbed the sausage off the table and brought it to the dugout. The Twins won that day, so the sausage stayed. It became the center of celebrations after a homer or a big hit, as Minnesota catcher Ryan Jeffers would chuck the sausage at a teammate as he strolled back into the dugout.
The Twins went on to win 12 straight games, tied for the second-longest winning streak in franchise history.
Minnesota and Seattle continue their series Tuesday at Target Field. The original rally sausage likely will be in attendance, too—just don't tell the FDA.
Although he won't miss any game action during the Western Conference semifinals, Murray didn't get off scot-free. The 27-year-old will be hit with a substantial fine of $100,000 for "throwing multiple objects in the direction of a game official during live play," according to a statement from the league.
Murray was on the bench with just under five minutes remaining in the second quarter of Monday night's game, when he was seen throwing the heating pad onto the court while play was live. The pad and towel landed next to the foot of Karl-Anthony Towns, who scored a layup on the play, and was removed moments later by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Officials did not stop play, and Murray did not receive a technical foul.
The TNT camera shows Nuggets star Jamal Murray throwing a heat pack from the bench right into game action on the floor before a T-Wolves bucket. ⁉️ pic.twitter.com/btZp6dbtZR
The Nuggets, already trailing 2–0 in the series, have managed to avoid what would've been a significant blow had Murray been suspended. Instead, he'll be available for Game 3 on Friday, which tips off from the Target Center at 9:30 p.m. ET.
In two games against the Timberwolves during the second round, Murray is averaging just 12.5 points and shooting 28.1% from the field.
The 2024 NHL draft lottery was held Tuesday night, though it came without many surprises. In fact, this year's draft is the first since 2010 in which the picks went unchanged through the lottery process, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
As such, it'll be the San Jose Sharks on the clock first. After a rough season that saw the Sharks finish at the bottom of the league with a record of 19–54–5, they'll have the chance to pick atop this year's draft, where it's widely anticipated that they'll select Boston University standout Macklin Celebrini.
Celebrini, 17, won't turn 18 until just a couple of weeks before the draft in June. This past year at BU, he became the youngest player ever to win the Hoby Baker Award, which recognizes college hockey's top talent. He racked up 64 points—32 goals and 32 assists—across 38 games, and now could be headed to San Jose as the franchise looks to add a game-changing talent to help facilitate the rebuild.
Welcome back to SI Golf’s Fact or Fiction, where we hope the finish of next week's PGA Championship in Kentucky is as great as the Kentucky Derby.
Once again, we’re here to debate a series of statements for writers and editors to declare as “Fact” or “Fiction” along with a brief explanation. Responses may also (occasionally) be “Neutral” since there's a lot of gray area in golf.
Do you agree or disagree? Let us know on the SI Golf X account.
Brooks Koepka won the LIV Golf Singapore event, turning around a slow season just in time for his PGA Championship defense. He is LIV’s best candidate to win a major this year.
Bob Harig: FACT. Based on his major promise and a confidence-boosting performance, Koepka will head to Louisville as LIV’s best hope. But don’t count out Cam Smith, who seems to have his game coming around as well.
John Pluym: FACT. Koepka’s at his best in the majors despite his recent Masters performance. Whether that’s enough to overtake Scottie Scheffler (Yes, I think he wins the PGA), we’ll see. But he’s definitely LIV’s best hope in Louisville.
A week in Singapore appears to have turned around Brooks Koepka's outlook for his PGA Championship defense.
Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Jeff Ritter: FACT. He’s the most proven major champion on the LIV circuit aside from Mickelson’s six titles, and Koepka may be putting it together just in time to pick off one more this summer and match Mickelson.
John Schwarb: FACT. This is a nod to Koepka but also acknowledgment that Jon Rahm still hasn’t rediscovered the top gear he had before going to LIV. He’s actually second in season points (well behind Joaquin Niemann) but his best finishes are a pair of thirds; wasn’t he supposed to dominate and be at the top of any major discussions?
Koepka became the first to win four times in LIV Golf. He also has four titles on the PGA Tour (not counting majors). Koepka’s career will ultimately have more LIV wins than Tour wins.
Bob Harig: FACT. This is likely inevitable. Koepka seems certain to win more times on LIV Golf and his future with the PGA Tour seems murky at best.
John Pluym: FACT. I don’t think there’s any doubt that he wins more tournaments on LIV Golf than the PGA Tour.
Jeff Ritter: FACT. Perhaps someday there will be a path back to the PGA Tour for Koepka and his fellow LIV’ers, but at the moment it looks like he’ll lift more LIV trophies from here on out.
John Schwarb: NEUTRAL. Two possible paths for Koepka to go back to the PGA Tour: some kind of reunification or he returns after not signing a second LIV contract (he’s believed to be signed through next year). I wouldn’t put money on either but somehow I don’t think he’s done winning regular Tour events.
Tiger Woods accepted a special exemption into next month’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst. The 15-time major winner is entitled to an unlimited number of special exemptions.
Bob Harig: FACT. Have been saying this and writing this for years. There was going to come a time where Tiger would need an exemption and—if he’s willing and able—he will get as many as he wants. It’s unlikely Woods would attempt to play if he felt he was was unworthy. He deserves to make that call. And if Jack got eight exemptions and Arnie got five, there’s no reason why a nine-time USGA champion—including three U.S. Opens—wouldn’t get an abundance of special invites.
John Pluym: FACT. Jack Nicklaus won 18 professional majors in his career, including four U.S. Open titles. He received a record eight special exemptions, including five in a row until he stopped playing the U.S. Open after 2000 at Pebble Beach. So as long as Tiger wants to play in the U.S. Open, he should get as many as he wants. He’s the only golfer in recent history to be on the same level as Nicklaus. As such, the USGA should keep giving him special exemptions.
Tiger Woods's last U.S. Open appearance was in 2020 at Winged Foot.
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Jeff Ritter: FACT. This shouldn’t even be controversial. (Is it controversial?) Woods made the tour what it is today, and although he’s diminished he can still play, as evidenced by that recent made-cut at Augusta. Is there any special exemption that will do more to boost fan interest and overall buzz than Tiger Woods?
John Schwarb: FACT. What Woods has done to earn multiple exemptions isn’t up for debate, and the truth is he is highly unlikely to take as many as Nicklaus and play U.S. Opens into his late 50s. Not sure he’ll even match Arnie’s five. Golf fans need to just enjoy these moments.
Bob Harig: NEUTRAL. This all depends on where you sit on this issue. Certainly, not even trying to qualify doesn’t help Gooch’s cause. He could use it as motivation. He’s only hurting himself here. If he believes himself to be a major player—why wouldn’t he?—he should do everything he can to get in the majors, even if he disagrees with the process.
John Pluym: FACT. His Official World Golf Ranking is No. 644, and he had only one PGA Tour victory before joining LIV. So based on the facts, he is only hurting himself by not going through qualifying. And, honestly, he hasn’t proved to be good enough to be deserving of a special exemption.
Jeff Ritter: FICTION. Skipping major qualifying is good headline fodder but it doesn’t change how I perceive Gooch at all—he has shown all of us that when it comes to career decisions, his top priority is cash. Since he didn’t give a reason, I assume he is skipping the lower-paying USO to stay fresh for the $4 million top prize at LIV Golf Nashville the following week.
John Schwarb: FACT. I don’t think many fans begrudge pro golfers getting their bags of cash like other athletes but a lack of effort or caring is where they draw the line. Not attempting to qualify for our national championship is a betrayal of one's talent.
Rudy Gobert is the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year once again.
The Minnesota Timberwolves center was named the winner of the defensive award Tuesday for the fourth time in his 11-year career.
Gobert received 72 first-place votes and 433 total points in the award voting, well ahead of San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama (19 first-place votes, 245 total points) in second place.
The complete voting results for the 2023-24 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year. pic.twitter.com/SpApbyUUw2
Gobert also was named the Defensive Player of the Year in the 2017–18, 2018–19 and 2020–21 campaigns.
In 76 games this season, Gobert registered a 104 defensive rating and 2.1 blocks per game. He was the centerpiece of Minnesota's top-ranked defense that led the NBA in defensive rating (108.4) and opponent points per game (106.5).
Gobert missed Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals on Monday because he and his partner Julia Bonilla welcomed their first-born child.
