The Sportsletter - Lucky 7s 🎰

BY JEFF YODER & MARISSA KASCH

JUNE 6, 2023 |  SUBSCRIBE  |  WEB VIEW

Good Morning,

What a start to the week. Top seeds survived at the French Open. Oklahoma’s ridiculous softball streak is still in tact. And Vegas officially holds all the cards to the Stanley Cup.

Letter Rip!

  STANLEY CUP FINALS   🏆 

Good Knight: Lucky 7s 🎰

Photo: Dave Sandford / Getty Images

Golden Knights Throttle Panthers (7-2) With Convincing Performance in Game 2, Lead Stanley Cup Finals (2-0)

All. Knight. Long. The Vegas Golden Knights took a 2-0 series lead in the Stanley Cup Finals with a 7-2 shellacking of the Florida Panthers on Monday night. It was 4-0 in the first 27 minutes before Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was pulled. His replacement, Alex Lyon, wasn’t much better. Lyon surrendered three more in the third. Matthew Tkachuk made sure to get his money’s worth with a must-see hit on Jack Eichel that led to fisticuffs and warranted his second 10-minute penalty of the game. Jonathan Marchessault and Brett Howden scored two goals each, and the Golden Knights are riding a 12-4 goal advantage through the first two games of the Finals.

Playoff March: Jonathan Marchessault’s two-goal Game 2 gives him 12 goals in the postseason, all in the last 12 playoff games. Only Leon Draisaitl (13) has more playoff goals.

Fun Fact: Florida has yet to win a road game in Las Vegas since the Golden Knights entered the league in 2017 (0-7).

Game 2 Top Performers

Jonathan Marchessault (VGK): 2 goals, 1 assist

Brett Howden (VGK): 2 goals

Michael Amadio (VGK): 1 goal, 1 assist

Matthew Tkachuk (FLA): 1 goal

Watch: Golden Knights Thrash Panthers in Game 2 (7-2)

Stanley Cup Finals Schedule

Gm 3: Golden Knights at Panthers (Thurs. 8:00 pm ET) | VGK Leads (2-0)

Read More

Yahoo! Sports: Golden Knights Blow Out Panthers in Heated Game 2

ESPN: Adin Hill’s Star Turn No Surprise to Vegas Teammates

B/R: Fans Call out Matthew Tkachuk’s Game 2 Ejection

  TENNIS  

Gauff & Co. Into French Open Quarters 

Photo: Aurelian Meunier / Getty Images

Top Seeds Swiatek, Gauff & Jabeur Into French Open Quarterfinals

Week 2 at Roland-Garros sets the tone for a frenetic French Open finish as the fields have been narrowed to eight in each draw. The clay-court tourney was void of major upsets on Monday, leaving room for a star-studded cast in the quarterfinals. The men’s final eight still has the top six seeds in action. In the women’s draw, #1 Iga Swiatek, #6 Coco Gauff and #7 Ons Jabeur were straight-set winners on Monday. The quarterfinals are today and tomorrow before the semifinals (Thursday & Friday) and finals this weekend.

Men’s Singles Highlights (Round 4)

#4 C. Ruud def. N. Jarry (7-6, 7-5, 7-5)

#6 H. Rune def. #23 F. Cerundolo (7-6, 3-6, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6)

#22 A. Zverev def. #28 G. Dimitrov (6-1, 6-4, 6-3)

Women’s Singles Highlights (Round 4)

#1 I. Swiatek def. L. Tsurenko (5-1, W/O)

#6 C. Gauff def. A. Schmiedlova (7-5, 6-2)

#7 O. Jabeur def. B. Pera (6-3, 6-1)

Today’s Schedule (Quarterfinals)

M: #3 N. Djokovic vs. #11 K. Khachanov (7:45 am ET)

M: #1 C. Alcaraz vs. #5 S. Tsitsipas (2:15 pm ET)

W: K. Muchova vs. A. Pavlyuchenkova (5:00 am ET)

W: #2 A. Sabalenka vs. E. Svitolina (6:30 am ET)

#6 Gauff will face #1 Swiatek Wednesday morning (6:00 am ET)

Read More

WaPo: Coco Gauff Doesn’t Want ‘Cowardly’ Way Out… She Wants Swiatek

SLATE: Ukrainian Elina Svitolina’s French Open Cinderella Story

  WCWS  

Sooner Streak Leads to WCWS Final

Photo: C. Morgan Engel / Getty Images

Oklahoma Wins 51st Straight Game to Reach Women’s College World Series, Set Up Final With Florida State

This is the UConn women’s basketball team on a softball diamond. Dominance doesn't even describe it. The Oklahoma softball team has won back-to-back Women’s College World Series titles, and they’re knocking on the door of a three-peat. The Sooners are 59-1 this season, including a 51-game win streak that has carried them back to the finals of the WCWS. In Monday’s semifinal, OU was knotted up 2-2 with 9-seed Stanford in extra innings before Tiare Jennings crushed two-run RBI double in the top of the 9th. That gave OU a 4-2 win and a date with #3 Florida State. The Seminoles bombarded 4-seed Tennessee in the other semifinal, and the WCWS is set.

WCWS Semifinals

#1 Oklahoma def. #9 Stanford (4-2)

#3 Florida State def. #4 Tennessee (5-1)

WCWS Final Schedule

Gm 1: #1 Oklahoma vs. #3 Florida State (Wed. 8:00 pm ET)

Gm 2: #1 Oklahoma vs. #3 Florida State (Thurs. 7:30 pm ET)

Gm 3: #1 Oklahoma vs. #3 Florida State (Fri. 8:00 pm ET)*

*If Necessary

Most NCAA WCWS Championships

Both OU (4) and FSU (1) account for five of the last six WCWS titles. Oklahoma boasts six titles in total. Only UCLA (13) and Arizona (9) have more. All six of OU’s titles have come in the last 23 years (2000 or later), making Patty Gasso’s team the winningest program of the 21st century.

Read More

ESPN: Is Oklahoma Softball’s Continued Dominance Inevitable?

NCAA: Oklahoma & Florida State to Meet in 2023 NCAA WCWS Finals

  SPORTSLETTER SPECIAL  

The Gambling Game: Part 1

Image via Joe Stella / Meddia Mobilize

The Road to Legal Sports Gambling (By Marissa Kasch)

In recent years, sports betting has become a cornerstone of sports viewership across the country. New betting outlets are advertised every day, all claiming to give better odds or more money.

When you think of this increase in sports viewership, you may think of a bunch of fans so dedicated they have matching forehead tattoos. Or maybe it’s the wildest Cinderella story yet (think it’s 12:30 and the carriage is not a pumpkin yet). But surprisingly, these are not the reasons for the uptick in sports viewership. Now more than ever, fans who watch more American Idol than American League are using sports betting apps or websites to tune into games and follow bets they placed on players or teams.

With the variety of sports betting outlets available and its newfound accessibility, it is incredibly easy to bet on virtually anything: the amount of points a player will have, which team will win, how long the national anthem will be played, and even the color of the Gatorade dumped on the coach after a win. In other words, you don’t have to know much about sports to make some quick money off of them. But sports betting hasn’t always been this easy, nor was its road to legality…

➡️ Read Full Story (TheSportsletter.com)

  MLB  

MLB Quick-Hitters

Welcome to the Big Leagues, Andrew Abbott

Reds’ rookie lefty Andrew Abbott made some club history on Monday in his MLB debut. Abbott notched a shutout over the Brewers (2-0) and became the first Reds pitcher to throw six scoreless innings in his first game.

Arraez in Hot Pursuit of .400

Marlins’ 2B Luis Arraez had another hit-stacking performance with a 3-for-4 night in Monday’s Miami win over the Royals (9-6). His season batting average rests at .399 after 61 games.

Nola’s No-No Gets Broken by Former Teammate

A night full of moments in Philadelphia. The Phillies honored visiting Tigers player Nick Maton with his NL Championship ring. Aaron Nola rode a no-hit bid through seven innings before Maton broke it up with a homer. Trea Turner his two blasts for Philly, and the Phillies beat the Tigers (8-3).

  STORYLINES   

⚾️ New York’s Home Run Race

The 2023 MLB home run race looks like it might come down to Pete Alonso (Mets) and Aaron Judge (Yankees). Alonso already broke one of Judge’s rookie HR record in 2019, and he’s mounting an assault on the 62 homers Judge hit last season. (Bleacher Report)

🏀 Gabe Vincent’s Impact on NBA Finals

Gabe Vincent’s 23 points in Game 2 helped Miami turn the tables in the NBA Finals. For Vincent, the last few years have been a whirlwind, in which he went from not knowing if he'd make it in the NBA to starring on the league's biggest stage. (FOX Sports)

🏈 2023 NFL Minicamp Storylines

Nine NFL teams are scheduled to open their mandatory three-day minicamps this week, and 21 more will follow next week. We asked our NFL Nation reporters to preview this week's minicamps and tell us the biggest storylines they are watching. (ESPN)

  NEWS   📰 

• Bills Sign LB Leonard Floyd to 1-Year Deal (ESPN)
• Lionel Messi Reportedly Interested in Barcelona Return (SI)
• Viktor Hovland Caddies for College Teammate 1 Day After Memorial Win (USA Today)
• Kyrie Irving Reportedly Trying to Recruit LeBron to Mavericks (Yahoo! Sports)
• Former Jets LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson Announces He’s Going to Nursing School (CBS Sports)
• Tottenham to Hire Celtic’s Ange Postecoglou as Next Manager (NBC Sports)

• NFL Investigating Colts CB Isaiah Rodgers for Gambling Violation (SI)

   

• Patrick Mahomes Pulls Travis Kelce Away From Podium During White House Visit (FOX Sports)

  SCHEDULE   🗓️ 

Today's Must-Watch List

French Open (Quarterfinals)

M: #3 N. Djokovic vs. #11 K. Khachanov (7:45 am ET)

M: #1 C. Alcaraz vs. #5 S. Tsitsipas (2:15 pm ET)

W: K. Muchova vs. A. Pavlyuchenkova (5:00 am ET)

W: #2 A. Sabalenka vs. E. Svitolina (6:30 am ET)

MLB

Astros at Blue Jays (7:07 pm ET)

Red Sox at Guardians (7:10 pm ET)

Mets at Braves (7:20 pm ET)

Mariners at Padres (9:40 pm ET)

WNBA

Aces at Sun (7:00 pm ET)

Sparks at Storm (10:00 pm ET)

Download The Sportsletter's Must-Watch Calendar

  THE TEAM  

Writer & Editor: Jeff Yoder

Product Manager: Matthew Cahill

Lead Designer: Joe Stella

Assistant Writer: Marissa Kasch

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