May 6, 2022
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Over the past 25 seasons, the Mets were 0-330 when trailing by 6+ runs entering the ninth. On Thursday, they were down 7-1 to the Phillies with a 0.1% chance to win — and they pulled off the near-impossible.
Unlikely Kentucky Derby Favorite Zandon Eyes $1.9M Prize
Michael Clevenger-Courier Journal
On Saturday, 20 horses will compete in the 148th Kentucky Derby — and an unexpected favorite has emerged from a wide-open field.
Despite ranking a distant second to Epicenter in Derby qualifying points [[link removed]], Zandon is the 3-1 favorite, thanks mostly to a favorable post position.
The Kentucky-born colt, sold to owner Jeff Drown for $170,000 in 2020, will start from the coveted 10th gate, while Epicenter (7-2) will run from No. 3.
Add top trainer Chad Brown and Derby-winning jockey Flavien Prat, and Zandon is perfectly placed to win the Run for the Roses.
In four career starts, Zandon has two wins, a second, and a third. In 2022, he won the Blue Grass Stakes and has earned $613,500 ($713,000 in his career).Brown is seventh all-time in career earnings ($224.5M) but has never trained a Derby winner in six starts. His overall win (25%) and win-place-show (59%) rates per start are tops all-time.Prat ranks 58th in all-time earnings — $106M, including $7.6M in 2022 — with 88 wins, 70 seconds, and 40 thirds. He won the 2019 Derby with 65-1 long shot Country House.
Since the starting gate was implemented in 1930, the 10th position has the second-most Derby wins (9) behind the fifth spot (10), so Zandon is expected to make the most of it.
The winner of the Derby (6:57 p.m. ET post time, NBC) will receive $1.86 million of the $3 million purse.
Igor Shesterkin Continues to Easily Justify Rangers Extension
Dennis Schneidler-USA TODAY Sports
After a regular season in which he was arguably the NHL’s best goaltender, Igor Shesterkin hasn’t disappointed in his first Stanley Cup Playoffs as the Rangers’ primary starter.
After making 79 saves in the epic Game 1 — the second-most in postseason history — Shesterkin followed up with 39 during the Rangers’ 5-2 Game 2 win over the Penguins. The 118 combined saves are tied for second-most in the first two [[link removed]] games of a series since the NHL began tracking the stat (1955-56).
The 26-year-old is proving to be well worth the four-year, $22.7 million extension he signed before the season.
Shesterkin’s $5.7M cap hit for 2021-22 ranks just 12th among all NHL goalies.He led the league in save percentage (.935) and goals against average (2.07) in the regular season.Through two [[link removed]] playoff games, Shesterkin leads the NHL in goals saved above expected (5.9) — almost double the next-closest (3.0).
Shesterkin — who also finished fifth in Calder Trophy voting last season — will almost certainly win his first major trophy when the Vezina results are announced.
He could very well add another if he leads New York to a championship.
The Rangers have the seventh-best odds to win it all (+1600) — but Shesterkin has the best odds of anyone on the team to take home the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP (+2800).
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With New $1M Coach, Aces Poised for 1st WNBA Title
Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
The city of Las Vegas has yet to win a title since the Golden Knights became the first pro team to move there in 2017 — but behind new coach Becky Hammon, the Aces should give Nevadans renewed hope.
The Aces tip off Hammon’s highly anticipated first WNBA season against the Phoenix Mercury on Friday — and there’s no shortage of expectations for the 2020 Finals runners-up.
An assistant coach for eight years with Gregg Popovich’s San Antonio Spurs, Hammon brings championship pedigree to the team with the league’s fourth-highest payroll ($1.2M).
Hammon became the first WNBA coach to earn a $1 million salary.She was the first woman to ever coach an NBA game after Popovich was ejected in Dec. 2020.The Aces lost All-Star center Liz Cambage, but re-signed 2020 MVP A’ja Wilson (2 YRs, $398,000).
Of course, Hammon’s $1 million contract came with plenty of controversy — she makes almost as much as the entire team’s payroll. The WNBA felt the high salary was a step in the right direction, but Cambage slammed the deal in light of how poorly [[link removed]] players are paid.
But ultimately, the Aces spent well, forming one of the toughest backcourts in the league with Kelsey Plum ($196,267) and Chelsea Gray ($180,250).
With Wilson re-upping and Hammon at the helm, Vegas might finally raise its first banner — the Aces (+350) are favorites to win the 2022 WNBA title.
Making Headlines
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Baseball: Mookie Betts continues to master it all. In 2020, he made waves after he was traded to the Dodgers and signed a 12-year, $365 million contract, the second-largest in MLB history. The five-time All-Star continues to perfect his craft on the field, while adding to his portfolio off it. He spoke to FOS about his production company, MLB’s superteam — and of course, bowling. Check out the full interview here [[link removed]].
NBA: 76ers center Joel Embiid cleared concussion protocols and might [[link removed]] play in Game 3 on Friday night; Philly trails Miami 2-0 in the series. Also: Robert Covington re-signed with the Clippers for two years, $24 million.
MLB: Shohei Ohtani struck out 11 batters and added two hits in an 8-0 victory against the Red Sox; Ohtani forced 29 swings-and-misses from Boston batters — a career high and most for any pitcher this year.
NHL: The Penguins announced that goalie Casey DeSmith will miss the remainder of the playoffs after undergoing successful core muscle surgery; Tristan Jarry (foot) has not resumed skating, leaving Louis Domingue and Alex D’Orio as the only healthy goalies on the roster.
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