May 23, 2022
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Naomi Osaka and reigning women’s singles champion Barbora Krejcikova were both eliminated from Roland Garros after losing their first-round matches. Meanwhile, tournament favorite Iga Swiatek [[link removed]] cruised to a straight-sets victory.
Thomas Close to Top 10 Career Earners With PGA Title
Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
Justin Thomas just won the biggest payout of his career — and took one step closer to joining the PGA Tour’s top 10 all-time earners.
On Sunday, Thomas rallied from seven strokes back to win the PGA Championship in a playoff over Will Zalatoris — the third-largest 54-hole comeback in major championship history.
The 29-year-old earned $2.7 million for the win — the second-largest payout in Tour history (Cam Smith, $3.6M, 2022 Players) — and moved him into 12th all-time on the money list.
His eight Top 10s this season have paid out $5.8M, raising his career earnings to $49.9M.He now has at least one win in each of the past eight years.Thomas moved from ninth to fifth in the world rankings and from 15th to fourth in the FedEx Cup standings.
With his second-career major victory (2017 PGA Championship) and 15th overall win of his career, Thomas remains relevant even among Zalatoris and his next-gen upstarts.
And he’s looking good with oddsmakers to win a third major title at June’s U.S. Open in Brookline, Massachusetts — he’s tied with the second-best odds (+1400) with six other golfers behind favorite Jon Rahm (+900).
Warriors Might Be Unbeatable With New, Old Stars Clicking
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
The Warriors survived an injury-riddled regular season by turning supporting players into stars, but now — with the Splash Brothers and Draymond Green back to their dominant best — their collective strength has them looking unbeatable.
On Sunday, Golden State went up 3-0 over Dallas in the Western Conference Finals, all but punching a ticket to their first NBA Finals since 2018-19.
Some might argue this is exactly where the Warriors should be, given their league-high $179 million payroll, but in a season filled with superteam flops, “failsafe” options like Jordan Poole [[link removed]] and Andrew Wiggins are now putting them over the top.
The Warriors’s 114.5 PPG and 115.6 offensive rating lead the postseason, but their Green-led defense has held [[link removed]*E*&LastNGames=3&sort=FG3_PCT&dir=1] Luka Doncic and the Mavs to 101.3 PPG.Dallas is shooting only 32.6% from three — down from 40% against Phoenix.After Poole dominated in previous series, Wiggins is +66 and shooting 39.7% 3PT, both team highs on a team with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.
Wiggins has been a revelation this season, earning his first All-Star selection and justifying the Warriors’ third-highest salary ($31.6M) — and Sunday’s poster dunk [[link removed]] on Doncic might prove to be the dagger that sealed the Mavs’ fate.
If the Warriors haven’t quite contained Doncic (34 PPG), Steve Kerr’s zone defense has forced Luka’s teammates to step up — which hasn’t happened. Doncic is now tied for the longest losing streak while scoring 40+ points in NBA playoff history.
Put all this together, and you have a heavy favorite to bring home the NBA title (-155).
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Resurgent Kucherov Is Key to Lightning’s 3rd Straight Cup
Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
After missing the entire 2020-21 regular season and 35 games this campaign, Nikita Kucherov has once again returned with a vengeance in the playoffs, reclaiming his spot among the NHL’s most lethal scorers.
Kucherov posted a goal and three assists in the Lightning’s decisive 5-1 victory over the Panthers on Sunday. Tampa Bay is now one win from a series sweep and another appearance in the Eastern Conference Final.
If the Lightning are going to take home their third straight Stanley Cup — the first since the 1979-83 Islanders won four — the 28-year-old’s offensive prowess will be the driving force.
Kucherov’s 32 points led last postseason by some distance — teammate Brayden Point finished second with 23.His 1.47 regular-season points per game were second behind Edmonton’s Connor McDavid [[link removed]] (1.54).This postseason, Kucherov leads in power-play points (7).
Despite his recent injury history, the eight-year, $76 million extension Kucherov signed in July 2018 is looking better all the time.
His $9.5 million cap hit in 2021-22 — which makes [[link removed]] him Tampa Bay’s joint-highest-paid player with goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy — is [[link removed]] only tied for 11th among NHL forwards.
The two Russian teammates share another distinction as well: Kucherov and Vasilevskiy are tied (+950) for the third-best odds to win the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP — behind Colorado’s Cale Makar [[link removed]] (+600) and Nathan MacKinnon (+650).
Making Headlines
Manchester City
Soccer: Manchester City [[link removed]] won the Premier League with a comeback 3-2 victory over Aston Villa on the season’s final day. Also: Kylian Mbappe will sign a three-year extension with Paris Saint-Germain through 2025; the 23-year-old forward was heavily rumored to leave for Real Madrid.
NBA: Heat guard and Sixth Man of the Year Tyler Herro (groin) is out for Game 4 on Monday night; Miami leads Boston 2-1 in the series.
WNBA: On Sunday, Candace Parker became the oldest player (36) in league history to record a triple-double and just the third to record multiple triple-doubles.
F1: Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the Spanish Grand Prix to move into first place in the driver standings; Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc — who had to retire his car from the race due to engine trouble — was bumped down to second place.
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