The Sports Report: Kings’ season comes to a familiar end
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From Kevin Baxter: The Kings’ season expired Wednesday at 10:52 p.m. Mountain Time. Cause of death was the Edmonton Oilers.
Again.
For the Kings, these Oilers have become serial killers, snuffing out their NHL playoff hopes in the first round in each of the last three seasons. And it has become easier for the Oilers over time. In 2022, they eliminated the Kings in seven games; last year, they did it in six games; this time it took just five, the last a 4-3 Edmonton win.
“It’s definitely a disappointing feeling, obviously for the third year in a row,” Kings captain Anze Kopitar said. “It just sucks right now.
“It doesn’t matter, you’re out of the playoffs regardless who gets you. But definitely not a great feeling getting the worst of it three years in a row.”
The Oiler goals came from Evander Kane in the first period and two from Leon Draisaitl and one from Zach Hyman in the second period. Evan Bouchard had three assists and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor McDavid two apiece, with McDavid’s two helpers giving him a league-best 11 in the postseason.
The Kings’ goals came from Alex Laferriere, who scored in the final seconds of the first period, Blake Lizotte, who scored in the opening minutes of the second, and Adrian Kempe, who scored in the season’s final three minutes.
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CLIPPERS
From Broderick Turner: The winner of Game 5 of the Western Conference first-round series Wednesday night was going to be one step away from advancing. The loser of Game 5 of this best-of-seven series was going to be one step away from elimination.
The Clippers are close to seeing their season come to an end following a humbling 123-93 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena.
A severe third-quarter drought put the Clippers in a 25-point hole and their season edged toward the brink in the process. When that hole got deeper with a 32-point deficit in the fourth, the Clippers were on their way to trailing the series 3-2.
“We just didn’t play well, all-around,” Clippers coach Ty Lue said. “Defensively, offensively, we just didn’t play a good game.
“So, that’s ok. Turn the page. You still have to win four games and we know we can win on their floor. We’ve shown that in the past two playoff series, We was down 3-2 the first time we played them. So, we didn’t play our best game and we understand that. I think we understand that collectively. And, so, we’ll be better for Game 6.”
Is Clippers’ series over? ‘Dallas to Cancun’ ad near Crypto.com Arena trolls Mavericks
KEEP LeBRON JAMES POLL
Should LeBron James remain with the Lakers next season, or should they part ways? Vote here.
FIRE DARVIN HAM? POLL
Should the Lakers fire Darvin Ham? Vote in our informal poll here and let us know.
Poll results will be in Friday’s newsletter.
NBA PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE
All times Pacific
FIRST ROUND
Western Conference
No. 1 Oklahoma City vs. No. 8 New Orleans
at Oklahoma City 94, New Orleans 92 (box score)
at Oklahoma City 124, New Orleans 92 (box score)
Oklahoma City 106, at New Orleans 85 (box score)
Oklahoma City 97, at New Orleans 89 (box score)
No. 2 Denver vs. No. 7 Lakers
at Denver 114, Lakers 103 (box score)
at Denver 101, Lakers 99 (box score)
Denver 112, at Lakers 105 (box score)
at Lakers 119, Denver 108 (box score)
at Denver 108, Lakers 106 (box score)
No. 3 Minnesota vs. No. 6 Phoenix
at Minnesota 120, Phoenix 95 (box score)
at Minnesota 105, Phoenix 93 (box score)
Minnesota 126, at Phoenix 109 (box score)
Minnesota 122, at Phoenix 116 (box score)
No. 4 Clippers vs. No. 5 Dallas
at Clippers 109, Dallas 97 (box score)
Dallas 96, at Clippers 93 (box score)
at Dallas 101, Clippers 90 (box score)
Clippers 116, at Dallas 111 (box score)
Dallas 123, at Clippers 93 (box score)
Friday at Dallas, 6:30 p.m., ESPN
*Sunday at Clippers, TBD
Eastern Conference
No. 1 Boston vs. No. 8 Miami
at Boston 114, Miami 94 (box score)
Miami 111, at Boston 101 (box score)
Boston 104, at Miami 84 (box score)
Boston 102, at Miami 88 (box score)
at Boston 118, Miami 84 (box score)
No. 2 New York vs. No. 7 Philadelphia
at New York 111, Philadelphia 104 (box score)
at New York 104, Philadelphia 101 (box score)
at Philadelphia 125, New York 114 (box score)
New York 97, at Philadelphia 92 (box score)
Philadelphia 112, at New York 106 (OT) (box score)
Thursday at Philadelphia, 6 p.m., TNT
*Saturday at New York, 4 p.m., TNT
No. 3 Milwaukee vs. No. 6 Indiana
at Milwaukee 109, Indiana 94 (box score)
Indiana 125, Milwaukee 108 (box score)
at Indiana 121, Milwaukee 118 (OT) (box score)
at Indiana 126, Milwaukee 113 (box score)
at Milwaukee 115, Indiana 92 (box score)
Thursday at Indiana, 3:30 p.m., TNT
*Saturday at Milwaukee, TBD
No. 4 Cleveland vs. No. 5 Orlando
at Cleveland 97, Orlando 83 (box score)
at Cleveland 96, Orlando 86 (box score)
at Orlando 121, Cleveland 83 (box score)
at Orlando 112, Cleveland 89 (box score)
at Cleveland 104, Orlando 103 (box score)
Friday at Orlando, 4 p.m., ESPN
*Sunday at Cleveland, TBD
*-if necessary
DODGERS
From Jack Harris: The narrative should have been obvious.
A season ago, the Dodgers were swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Division Series, marking a stunningly short postseason run for their 100-win team.
This week, the sides met at Chase Field for the first time since.
For most clubs in the Dodgers’ position, bad blood would accompany the return trip to the scene of the crime.
Leading up to this series, however, the Dodgers didn’t just downplay the significance of their rematch with the Dbacks, who rode the momentum of their Dodgers upset all the way to the World Series.
Instead, even after taking the three-game series with an 8-0 blowout win Wednesday night, the Dodgers outright rejected the notion of this being any sort of #RevengeSeries.
We gotta focus on ourselves,” third baseman Max Muncy said. “If we’re worried about the other team, we’re already in a bad spot.”
The Dodgers bullpen was turning a corner. Now, a spate of injuries has cut into its depth
ANGELS
Kyle Schwarber had a two-run single in the second inning, Alec Bohm extended his hitting streak to 15 games and the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Angels 2-1 on Wednesday.
Philadelphia won the getaway game despite striking out 18 times, the 11th time since 1906 the team has whiffed at least that many times in a game.
Ehire Adrianza hit his first home run in nearly three years for the Angels, who went 3-6 on their homestand and have not won any of their five home series this season.
The Angels went 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position. It had runners on first and third with one out in the ninth, but Gregory Soto struck out Jo Adell and Taylor Ward hit a fly ball to the warning track in left field where Schwarber caught it for the final out to secure Soto’s second save.
Adell also struck out four times.
SPARKS
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: In a suite in the arena they’ll soon call home, the Sparks’ three draft picks mingled with the Showtime Lakers. Cameron Brink, Rickea Jackson and McKenzie Forbes rubbed elbows with Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Cooper. The former NBA stars who were being honored at halftime of a Lakers playoff game last week shared stories of their success in a city that demands nothing less.
It was, as Brink said, the “perfect welcome to L.A.” But it was just the start.
“We came in to help make a difference,” the No. 2 overall draft pick said, “to help this team win.”
The most anticipated Sparks draft picks of the last decade take center stage as the team begins a new era. The Sparks open their season on May 15 against the Atlanta Dream at 7 p.m. at Long Beach’s Walter Pyramid.
HORSE RACING
From John Cherwa: Last year’s Kentucky Derby Day at Churchill Downs saw 143 horses enter the starting gate. Most will remember Mage, who crossed the finish line first in the world’s most famous race. But forgotten by all who didn’t known them were Chloe’s Dream and Freezing Point, who never made it to the finish line, who never made it back to their stall, who were euthanized after suffering life-ending injuries and were the sixth and seventh fatalities in 10 days.
Racing continued at the storied track until the death count reached 12 and racing ceased at Churchill Downs on June 4, when it was moved to nearby Ellis Park for the remainder of the meeting. The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) issued a 197-page report about the fatalities on Sept. 12. It was filled with charts and graphs and all the things they teach in presentation school. What it didn’t have was a singular reason for the rash of deaths.
“It’s not like we didn’t uncover the causes,” said Lisa Lazarus, who runs HISA. “It’s that there wasn’t one singular factor that caused each of the fatalities. But we did learn a whole lot from the investigation and the data we’ve been collecting. With that we’ve been working very closely with Churchill Downs to enhance what was already a very rigorous safety protocol process.”
NHL PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE
First round
All times Pacific
Western Conference
C1 Dallas vs. WC2 Vegas
Vegas 4, at Dallas 3 (box score)
Vegas 3, at Dallas 1 (box score)
Dallas 3, at Vegas 2 (OT) (box score)
Dallas 4, at Vegas 2 (box score)
at Dallas 3, Vegas 2 (box score)
Friday at Vegas, 7 p.m., TNT
*Sunday at Dallas, TBD
C2 Winnipeg vs. C3 Colorado
at Winnipeg 7, Colorado 6 (box score)
Colorado 5, at Winnipeg 2 (box score)
at Colorado 6, Winnipeg 2 (box score)
at Colorado 5, Winnipeg 1 (box score)
Colorado 6, at Winnipeg 3 (box score)
P1 Vancouver vs. WC1 Nashville
at Vancouver 4, Nashville 2 (box score)
Nashville 4, at Vancouver 1 (box score)
Vancouver 2, at Nashville 1 (box score)
Vancouver 4, at Nashville 3 (OT) (box score)
Nashville 2, at Vancouver 1 (box score)
Friday at Nashville, 4 p.m., TNT
*Sunday at Vancouver, TBD
P2 Edmonton vs. P3 Kings
at Edmonton 7, Kings 4 (box score)
Kings 5, at Edmonton 4 (OT) (box score)
Edmonton 6, at Kings 1 (box score)
Edmonton 1, at Kings 0 (box score)
at Edmonton 4, Kings 3 (box score)
Eastern Conference
A1 Florida vs. WC1 Tampa Bay
at Florida 3, Tampa Bay 2 (box score)
at Florida 3, Tampa Bay 2 (OT) (box score)
Florida 5, at Tampa Bay 3 (box score)
at Tampa Bay 6, Florida 3 (box score)
at Florida 6, Tampa Bay 1 (box score)
A2 Boston vs. A3 Toronto
at Boston 5, Toronto 1 (box score)
Toronto 3, at Boston 2 (box score)
Boston 4, at Toronto 2 (box score)
Boston 3, at Toronto 1 (box score)
Toronto 2, at Boston 1 (OT) (box score)
Thursday at Toronto, 5 p.m., TBS
*Saturday at Boston, 5 p.m., ESPN
M1 New York Rangers vs. WC2 Washington
at New York 4, Washington 1 (box score)
at New York 4, Washington 3 (box score)
New York 3, at Washington 1 (box score)
New York 4, at Washington 2 (box score)
M2 Carolina vs. M3 New York Islanders
at Carolina 3, New York 1 (box score)
at Carolina 5, New York 3 (box score)
Carolina 3, at New York 2 (box score)
at New York 3, Carolina 2 (2 OT) (box score)
at Carolina 6, NY Islanders 3 (box score)
*-if necessary
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1917 — Fred Toney of the Cincinnati Reds and Hippo Vaughn of the Chicago Cubs pitched a double no-hitter for nine innings, but the Reds won 1-0 on two hits in the 10th. Jim Thorpe drove in the winning run.
1927 — Babe Ruth becomes the highest-paid player in major league history when the Yankees announce he will earn $70,000 per season for the next three years.
1939 — Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees did not play against the Detroit Tigers at Briggs Stadium, ending at 2,130 his streak of consecutive games. Gehrig never played again. Babe Dahlgren took his place at first base.
1964 — The Minnesota Twins became the third team in major league history to hit four consecutive home runs in an inning. Tony Oliva, Bob Allison and Jimmie Hall connected off Dan Pfister and Harmon Killebrew went deep off Vern Handrahan in the top of the 11th inning for a 7-3 win at Kansas City’s Municipal Stadium.
1992 — The highest-paid player tag now belongs to Ryne Sandberg of the Chicago Cubs. The All-Star second baseman signs a four-year contract extension worth $7.1 million per season.
2002 — Mike Cameron hit four homers and came close to a record-setting fifth in leading the Seattle Mariners to a 15-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox. He became the 13th major leaguer to homer four times in a game. Cameron connected in his first four at-bats in just five innings. He joined Bret Boone as the first teammates to hit two home runs in the same inning. They connected back-to-back twice in a 10-run first.
2005 — Thirty-two years after his death, Jackie Robinson receives the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, the highest honor Congress can bestow.
2012 — Jered Weaver pitched the second no-hitter in the majors in less than two weeks, completely overmatching Minnesota and leading the Angels to a 9-0 win over the Twins. The Twins never came close to getting a hit against Weaver, who struck out nine and walked one.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time...
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