DENVER – After the Tampa Bay Lightning lost a heartbreaker in overtime on Wednesday to fall behind three games to one in the Stanley Cup Finals, the easy money was on the Colorado Avalanche to close out the series at home on Friday. And why not? The Avalanche have been dominant in Denver all season … Read more
With the golf world already divided over Saudi Arabia’s emergence as a powerful force in the game, another major sport is contending with whether to do business with the kingdom. This time it’s women’s tennis, which pulled out of China last year over concerns for the welfare of a player who accused a Chinese vice … Read more
Last season, the Mets were in first place in their division for four months before collapsing. They finished with a 77-85 record, their 10th losing season in the past 15. One of the biggest culprits: an offense that was one of the worst in Major League Baseball. Only three teams scored fewer runs, and those … Read more
DENVER – Joe Musgrove was in the pool, following the instructions of his teachers, but he and his fellow neophytes were struggling. His stomach convulsed, and his lungs pleaded with his brain to surface for air. Musgrove, the emerging ace of the San Diego Padres, held out until the last desperate instant, almost to the … Read more
TAMPA, Fla. – The game that ushered the Colorado Avalanche to the precipice of winning their first Stanley Cup in over two decades had ended a minute or two earlier, and the Hockey Hall of Famer at the back of the freight elevator at Amalie Arena stared straight ahead as it descended the seven flights … Read more
CINCINNATI-No team loses more high-impact starting pitchers than the Los Angeles Dodgers. Yet no team consistently pitches so well. It is part of life in blue. “I was at the Sandy Koufax statue ceremony last week, and he talked about how, when you put this uniform on, there’s a lot of pitching legacy with the … Read more
SPLIT, Croatia – It was in their moment of triumph, when they had beaten their opponents and come together to collect their medals, when some of the boys were overcome with sadness, when the tears welled in their eyes. The teenagers, a mix of 13- and 14-year-olds representing one of the youth squads of the … Read more
CROMWELL, Conn. – For the last month, as the upstart, Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit has poached some of the most widely known players from the established PGA Tour, there has been speculation that eventually the rival organizations might have to learn to coexist. But a passionate Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour’s commissioner, did not sound … Read more
When the Orlando Magic hand their draft card to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, on Thursday night at Barclays Center, they’ll settle a debate that has raged in draft circles for the better part of a year: Who should be the No. 1 pick? The front-runner is Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren, a rail-thin but nail-tough seven-footer who … Read more
Since March, Brooks Koepka has emphatically denied he would consider joining the breakaway, Saudi-backed LIV Golf series. “Money isn’t going to change my life,” Koepka said at the time with a disdainful sneer. As recently as two weeks ago, Koepka was still telling fellow players he was not interested in leaving the PGA Tour. On … Read more