Even if Christmas and your birthday qualified for a play-in round, they’d likely lose to the opening of the Stanley Cup Playoffs as the most exciting date on the calendar. Stat sheets and win/loss records get wiped clean. Injuries get played right through like a foursome of old golfers. And the intensity ratchets seven notches. …
Last year’s first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs was relatively chalky. Only two lower-seeded teams — Edmonton and Florida — advanced to the next round (and ultimately the Stanley Cup Final). As evidenced by the six new teams in this year’s field, there is an element of unpredictability that has been missing recently. Here are three lower-seeded teams …
PHOENIX — Golden State coach Steve Kerr isn’t sure about his future, saying after the Warriors’ season ended Friday night that he’ll take some time to decompress before gathering with the team’s leadership and figuring out what’s next. “It might still go on. It may not,” Kerr said after the Warriors lost in Phoenix and …
Barry Walker has spent every Vancouver Whitecaps game this season leading fan chants and holding up signs that read “STAY CAPS STAY.” The 75-year-old superfan said the posters replace the ones he previously carried that said “Go Caps Go.” He swapped them out as rumours around the future of the Major League Soccer club grew …
To say that Eric Lauer didn’t enjoy coming out of the bullpen behind an opener on Friday would be an understatement. After working five innings of three-run ball against the Arizona Diamondbacks and taking the loss, Lauer voiced his frustrations with the Toronto Blue Jays‘ decision to have Braydon Fisher pitch the first inning — …
VANCOUVER — Emmanuel Sabbi scored and notched an assist as the Vancouver Whitecaps blanked visiting Sporting Kansas City 3-0 on Friday. The result marked Vancouver’s third straight victory and kept the ‘Caps atop the MLS standings with a 7-1-0 record. Sabbi opened the scoring in the 13th minute with his second goal of the season …
The NBA Playoffs field is officially set. Jalen Green led the way with a game-high 36 points to help the Suns clinch the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. Phoenix moves on to face Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round. Game 1 is set for Sunday in …
PHOENIX — There are several reasons why the lineup connectivity so instrumental to the Toronto Blue Jays’ success a year ago appears so disjointed right now — as demonstrated most recently by Friday’s 6-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The absence of George Springer, Alejandro Kirk and Addison Barger — potentially set to be exacerbated as …
DENVER — Max Muncy homered twice, Tyler Glasnow allowed two hits in seven innings and Los Angeles rolled to a win over Colorado in frigid conditions. The Colorado grounds crew had to clear 3 inches of snow from the Coors Field playing surface before the game, which began with temperatures at 36 degrees Fahrenheit (2 Celsius). But …
Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo hinted Friday that the outfielder may return Saturday or Sunday against the Toronto Blue Jays. “Don’t be surprised if you see him in our lineup this weekend,” Lovullo told the Burns & Gambo Show. Gurriel Jr. has not played since September when he sustained a torn ACL in an outfield collision …