In the world of the National Hockey League, unfortunate news broke out Thursday, May 28th when multiple news outlets reported the passing of four-time champion and former Av, Claude Lemieux. Lemieux’ career spanned twenty-one seasons and was a champion on the Canadians and Devils before hoisting the cup in the Mile High City and becoming a fan favorite for Denver sports fans. Claude would return to the Devils for his fourth and final Stanley Cup. Lemieux remained a fan favorite across the league for his stellar playoff performances and enforcer attitude he brought to the team and expanded his presence past the ice through his involvement as president of 4sports hockey. The Quebec native passed from what authorities say was an apparent suicide, which comes as a surprise to fans as he appeared days earlier in support of the Habs. May Lemieux rest in peace, and our hearts go out to his family.
After a grueling seven-game series, the San Antonio Spurs edged out a 113-103 win in regulation over the Oklahoma City Thunder who were looking to win their third Western Conference Finals appearance. The Thunder, last year’s reigning champs just couldn’t stop Wemby and Co from their “extraterrestrial” like performance that will bring them to their first finals appearance since their legendary 2014 championship run. Wembanyama scored twenty-two on 7/15 shooting with seven rebounds and two assists, chalking up just below his 27.3ppg 10.9rbg and 3.1apg for the seven-game series, the 25-26 MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put up thirty-five points on 12/21 shooting with four rebounds and nine assists, all of those stats being above SGA’s series averages.
Regardless of SGA’s individual performance however, the rest of OKC’s roster couldn’t match Shai’s pace as they put on a lackluster performance in an elimination game at home. Chet Holmgren, OKC’s “solution” to Wemby was nothing less than disappointing, recording below his averages. Fans speculated online that Chet looked physically demoralized and scared, especially in game seven. He recorded only four points, four rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. Holmgren didn’t even attempt a field goal in the second half of the game and ended up being benched in crunch time.
Luke Kornet, a veteran and a fan favorite role player for the Spurs had an electric moment that cemented the lead for the Spurs in the closing minutes of quarter four. The play was eerily reminiscent of Lebron’s 2016 chase-down block on Iguodala as Kornet stalked down Isaiah Hartenstein on the fast break after his steal and pinned Hartenstein’s dunk attempt to the glass. Wemby described Kornets hustle ridden play as “the definition of a winning play” and had nothing but praise towards the vet.
Another play, that added insult to injury and was the pinnacle of the heated series between the teams was when Spurs guard Devin Vassell dunked in the closing seconds of the game. The action sparked boos from the crowd over a violation of the league’s “unwritten rule” that most players adhere to even though the rule is more of a norm than anything else. With that deviation of the league norm, Vassell’s dunk alone could be used to describe the competitive nature this series took as both teams were gritty, playing with nothing but passion and heart.
In Major League Baseball, the Colorado Rockies lost game three of the San Francisco Giants series in classic Rockies fashion by a 6-19 blowout. The previous two games were won by the Rockies however, game one, 8-6 and game two, 8-3. Nonetheless, the Rockies still remain the worst team in the MLB, with their record being tied with the Detroit Tigers. They look to improve their record tonight, June 1st against the 23-37 Los Angeles Angels
