The Sportsletter - The Rory Show ⛳️

BY JEFF YODER

MAY 20, 2022  |  SUBSCRIBE  |  REFER  |  WEB VIEW

Good Morning,

It’s the Rory McIlroy show after Round 1 of the PGA Championship, and plenty of highlights from the NBA, NHL, MLB and WNBA bring us into the weekend. Get pumped for another full weekend of sports…

Letter Rip!

JOIN THE TEAM

The Sportsletter is looking for a summer intern to join our team. The role will focus on generating content for The Sportsletter’s social media pages, website and newsletter, as well as other marketing tasks. We’re looking for a team player with a background in communications, marketing and/or journalism, and most importantly — a love of sports.

Interested applicants should send a resume and brief introduction to Roles@MediaMobilize.com. 

PGA CHAMPIONSHIP ⛳️

McIlroy Shines in Round 1

Photo: Christian Peterson / Getty Images

Rory McIlroy (-5) Holds Outright Lead After Round 1 of PGA Championship

Golfers started carving up Round 1 at Southern Hills on Thursday, and then Southern Hills fought back. It’s a familiar name at the top of the leaderboard after Rory McIlroy (-5) strung together seven birdies in the opening round, including a stretch of four straight on the back-nine. The 2012 and 2014 PGA Championship winner leads outright after Day 1. Meanwhile, only a handful of golfers shot scores at 3-under or better. Big names like Tiger Woods (+4), Scottie Scheffler (+1) and Dustin Johnson (+3) were victims of Southern Hills’ difficult design. The PGA Championship continues today.

Watch: PGA Championship Round 1 Highlights

Leaderboard

R. McIlroy (-5)

W. Zalatoris (-4)

T. Hoge (-4)

M. Kuchar (-3)

A. Ancer (-3)

J. Thomas (-3)

Other Notable Scorecards: X. Schauffele (-2), C. Smith (-2), J. Niemann (-2), T. Finau (-1), P. Reed (-1), S. Scheffler (+1), J. Daly (+2), J. Spieth (+2), C. Morikawa (+2), D. Johnson (+3), T. Woods (+4) | Full Leaderboard

Round 2 Tee Times (Today)

Additional Storylines

ESPN: Tiger Woods & Rory McIlroy Walked a Different Walk to Open the PGA Championship

USA Today: Rory McIlroy in Full Flight, Takes Early Lead in 104th PGA Championship

PGA: Rory McIlroy Authors Vintage Performance in Opening-Round 65 at PGA Championship

NBA PLAYOFFS

Smart Sparks Boston Blowout

Photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images

Celtics Backcourt Shines in Bounce-Back Game 2 Win Against Heat (127-102)

It’s a dog fight in the East! The Celtics buried the Heat in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals on Thursday night (127-102). Boston led by 25 points at halftime and never stumbled. The Celtics were downright perfect, shooting above 50 percent from the field and 3-point range while packaging a stellar defensive performance. Jimmy Butler (29 points) got his buckets for the Heat, but no other Miami player cracked 14 points.

The Boston Backcourt

Meanwhile, Boston’s backcourt was borderline unconscious as the trio of Jayson Tatum (27), Jaylen Brown (24) and Marcus Smart (24) combined for 75 points on 13 threes (13-for-25). Smart was the jack-of-all-trades in Game 2, tallying 12 assists, nine rebounds and three steals alongside his 24 points. The series heads back to Boston all square at 1-1.

Watch: Celtics Blow Out Heat With Game 2 Sharpshooting (127-102)

NBA Playoffs Schedule

Gm 2: Mavericks at Warriors (Fri. 9:00 pm ET)

Gm 3: Heat at Celtics (Sat. 8:30 pm ET)

Gm 3: Warriors at Mavericks (Sun. 9:00 pm ET)

Additional Storylines

NBC Sports: Marcus Smart Does It All in Game 2 Return

CBS Sports: Relentless Celtics Roll Heat to Even Eastern Conference Finals

NHL PLAYOFFS

Late Strike of Lightning ⚡️

Photo: Joel Auerbach / Getty Images

Ross Colton Scores With 3.8 Seconds Left to Lift Lightning Over Panthers; Blues Hand Avalanche First Playoff Loss

Another night on ice saw a wild one in Florida. The Lightning struck down the Panthers by a stunning goal from Ross Colton with 3.8 seconds left in the third period. The late goal gave Tampa Bay a 2-0 lead in the Florida series. Out west, the St. Louis Blues delivered the first loss of the postseason to the Colorado Avalanche thanks to David Perron’s two-goal night. An empty-net goal slammed the door on Game 2 to even the series between the Blues and Avs. We’re deep into Round 2 as the Stanley Cup Playoffs skate on.

Stanley Cup Playoff Highlights

Gm 2: Blues def. Avalanche (4-1) | Series Tied (1-1)

Gm 2: Lightning def. Panthers (2-1) | TBL Leads (2-0)

Tonight’s Schedule

Gm 2: Rangers at Hurricanes (8:00 pm ET) | CAR Leads (1-0)

Gm 2: Oilers at Flames (10:30 pm ET) | CGY Leads (1-0)

Additional Storylines

NHL: Panthers Blow Game 2 on ‘Fatal Mistake’ With Defensive Miscue in Final Seconds

ESPN+: Conn Smythe Watch: Ranking Candidates for Stanley Cup Playoffs MVP

🎥 THE HIGHLIGHTS

⚾️ MLB: Story’s Historic Night

Plenty of walk-offs and highlights from MLB on Thursday, but Trevor Story’s night for the Red Sox took the cake. Story hit three home runs en route to five runs scored and seven RBIs as the Sox beat the Mariners (12-6).

🏀 WNBA: Ogunbowale Goes Off

The Wings took down the Mercury behind a monster night for Arike Ogunbowale (37 points). The third-year guard went 10-for-10 from the charity stripe with five 3s in the Wings win (94-84).

THE STORYLINES

🏈 The New World of NIL

For everything that has supposedly changed in the college athletics era of name, image and likeness, it has mostly brought the financial transactions that used to happen under the table into the public domain. Enter Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher’s feud on Thursday. (USA Today)

🏛️ 50 Years of Title IX

In 1972, no one dreamed a dry, 37-word clause tucked inside a new education legislation would have such a profound impact. A half century later, it’s time to reflect on how far the quest for equality has come—and where it still has to go. (Sports Illustrated)

⚽️ Analyzing the New U.S. Soccer CBA

The landmark equal pay agreement announced Wednesday by U.S. Soccer and its men’s and women’s national teams is remarkable for many reasons, not least the concessions all three sides made to get this historic deal done. (FOX Sports)

📰 THE HEADLINES

• Veteran Ravens Punter Sam Koch Retires After 16 Seasons (CBS Sports)
• Mets Pitcher Max Scherzer to Miss 6-8 Weeks With Oblique Strain (ESPN)
• Dan Orlovsky Moves to ESPN’s No. 2 NFL Announcer Spot After FOX Sports Pursuit (USA Today)
• Yankees Cut Prospect After Stealing Teammates’ Equipment to Sell Online (Yahoo! Sports)

• SEC Publicly Reprimands Jimbo Fisher & Nick Saban Following Public Feud (SI)

🗓️ WEEKEND SCHEDULE

The Must-Watch List

PGA Championship

Southern Hills (All Weekend)

NBA Playoffs

Gm 2: Mavericks at Warriors (Fri. 9:00 pm)

Gm 3: Heat at Celtics (Sat. 8:30 pm)

Gm 3: Warriors at Mavericks (Sun. 9:00 pm)

NHL Playoffs

Gm 2: Rangers at Hurricanes (Fri. 8:00 pm)

Gm 2: Oilers at Flames (Fri. 10:30 pm)

Gm 3: Avalanche at Blues (Sat. 8:00 pm)

Gm 3: Panthers at Lightning (Sun. 1:30 pm)

Gm 3: Hurricanes at Rangers (Sun. 3:30 pm)

Gm 3: Flames at Oilers (Sun. 8:00 pm)

MLB Regular Season

Padres—Giants Series

Yankees—White Sox Series

Dodgers—Phillies Series

Full MLB Weekend Schedule

WNBA

Mercury at Aces (Sat. 3:00 pm)

Sky at Mystics (Sun. 3:00 pm)

Full WNBA Schedule

UEFA Women’s Champions League

FINAL: Barcelona vs. Lyon (Sat. 1:00 pm)

Premier League (Final Match)

Manchester City vs. Aston Villa (Sun. 11:00 am)

Liverpool vs. Wolverhampton (Sun. 11:00 am)

*Man. City Leads Liverpool (90-89)

NASCAR

All-Star Open at Texas Motor Speedway (Sun. 5:30 pm)

*All Times ET

Support The Sportsletter Team

Writer & Editor: Jeff Yoder

Product Manager: Matthew Cahill

Lead Designer: Joe Stella

Technical Lead: Kevin Lonergan

Did Someone Forward You This Email? Subscribe Here
Feedback? Contact Our Editor: Jeff@TheSportsletter.com
Not Loving The Letter? Unsubscribe
Follow us on Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Copyright © 2022 The Sportsletter
717 Market Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103