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- [00:00]
A
Ian Fitzsimmons here and I'm going to be brutally honest with you. I was skeptical about ordering plants online. Like this is actually going to show up alive at my house. But after my wife and I ordered from fast Growing trees, convinced they had this thing down to a science, they've built a whole system to protect your plants until they arrive. They even have a lab where they test against cold, heat, humidity, you name it. Any condition, they've got it and they thrive. We couldn't believe how good our plants looked when they arrived at our doorstep and everything showed up up exactly how he expected. A perfectly healthy plant that was easy to unbox and ready to go. Every order is backed by their alive and thrive garon tea and you'll get ongoing support from real knowledgeable experts. They have unbelievable deals on spring planting essentials. And right now you can get an additional 20% off your first order with the code sports at checkout that's 20% off at fast growing trees.com with the code sports terms and conditions apply. Again, that's fast growingtrees.com code sports.
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B
Pardon the interruption, but I'm Mike Wilbond. The Knicks are back on the court tonight and all the top NBA reporters will be at Madison Square Garden.
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C
I'm Frank Isola. And yet you sent me here to host from your studio in D.C. explain that.
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B
Oh, wait. Oh, Frank, I made a mistake. Oh, no. I thought you were here like down the hall. We got a big SUV Navigator going to the gar.
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C
Oh, I'm going to use your helicopter to get back to New York, so don't worry about it. The big one with Wilbon on the side of it.
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B
Welcome to pti. Tony is load managing himself, so taking his minutes today is our great friend from the starting lineup on Sirius XM radio, Mr. Frank Isola.
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C
They wanted me here. These guys wanted me here.
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B
That's a pretty good welcome. That sounded like the world's most famous arena. We begin today with the Thunder evening things with the spurs in the Western Conference finals. Isaiah Hartenstein's grabby defense helped limit Victor Wembanyama. The Thunder bench delivered and Shay Gilchrist Alexander bounced back from his game one struggles with 30 and nine. Meanwhile, Jalen Williams and Dylan Harper both left the game with injuries. Frank, what did you make of what the Thunder did and how they did it?
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C
Yeah, the most recent report on Jaylen Williams. Day to day, we still don't know about Dylan Harper just yet. What the Thunder did and the way they did it. I think you thought this would Happen. I thought it would happen. We thought SGA would get more aggressive, more involved in the game early, Mike. And that's exactly what happened. Plus, they needed to do something with Victor Wembanyama and putting Alex Caruso on him, who's a foot shorter. I know he's going to compete, but I thought it was smart. A lot more Isaiah Hartenstein. And to your point, you mentioned the pulling in the grave. He even pulled Stefan Cassel's hair at one point. There was a toughness to the Oklahoma City. I know it drives people crazy, but I think they got back to the way that they play. They're very aggressive on the perimeter. There's a little flopping involved. That was Oklahoma City basketball led by the MVP sga, no doubt, Frank. And.
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B
And look, the game's going to be called differently with the action moving to San Antonio. Yeah, but last night, down one, nothing. And playing at home in Oklahoma City, that's how the Thunder is had to play. That's how they got to play Victor Wembanyama. Look, dealing with Wimby, we're going to go back and we're going to make references to how people used to defend Shaquille o' Neal and how they've dealt with all the big great centers. And obviously Wimby gives center like new definition, but you still got to do some things because he is otherworldly. Hardenstein did that. He'll be called for five fouls in the first quarter in San Antonio if he tries it down there. But this game was in Oklahoma City. But I think so that was half the equation that was necessary for OKC to even this. And the other half was obviously sga. I mean, he had to be the mvp. I don't want to hear about letting the action come to him and all the things that he normally successfully does. He knew he had to force it last night and that he did. He got to his spots aggressively. Right. And so that was an impactful performance, an impactful 30 points. And I thought those two elements, Frank, had to exist for OKC to come out of this. I don't know what you do without Dylan Harper. I will say this. Caruso, McCain, Mitchell and Wallace make it a little easier for Oklahoma City to operate without J Dub because they got a depth that San Antonio doesn't have, particularly if de' Aaron Fox is not there. So San Antonio could be in some trouble with those guards both out. If they are. Yeah.
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C
You mentioned the bench points. 57 to 35 for Oklahoma City. Caruso again was outstanding and SGA. This is what the great players do. You can't go down oh two. You can't lose the first two games. Doesn't mean you can't win the series. But he knew the importance of that game and he delivered. But you're right, though, about Dylan Harper, who has been great. I love how poised he is when he plays. And if you take him out of the equation and you take Fox out of the equation, guys that handle the ball. And I love Stefan Castle, how the heck he went fourth in the draft. I still have no idea what a, what a player he is. How about the dunk he had last night? But Mike, as good as he is and he's going to be a star, he has 20 turnovers in two games, 11 in game one and nine last night. That you can't have it.
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B
He's a primary ball handler. He can't be Frank. And so they got to do. I think Vassell can do some of that. Yeah, but they're going to have to figure that out because those. Look, OKC wants to have those live ball turnovers to. That they convert into, you know, rushes. Odd man rushes the other way as if we're on the ice. And so that's going to be something we really got to watch before the action moves to San Antonio.
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C
And Mike, if you're Mitch Johnson, don't you have to throw it out there at some point? You know, we went back and watched the film and there were several times when Isaiah Hardenstein should have been called for a foul. I think you're 100%.
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B
You know, he sent those clips to the league office. You know he did.
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C
Hardenstein better watch himself the first couple of minutes of game three. No question about it. All right, let's move now to the Eastern Conference finals. All right, Mike, you were at Madison Square Garden for The Cavaliers epic 22 point game one collapse against the Knicks on Tuesday. The Cavs had no answers for Jalen Brunson's attacks on James Harden, nor could they revive their flatlining offense. You'll be there again for game two tonight, seeded between probably Spike Lee and Timothy Chalamet. So how do you assess the Cavs chances of evening this series?
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B
So, Frank, you know what it's like being here after a big Knicks game, particularly a controversial one. And everybody, of course, has already come up with their theories on what's going to happen. And most people have the Knicks winning in a blowout. And that's my inclination, is to feel that way. Cleveland has been. I hate to use the word resilient, but they have been. They were in both their first two series, Toronto and Detroit. But they better come out quick, they better not fall way behind because the Knicks will blow them out like they started some of those games late in the Atlanta series. Right? Yeah. They're going to have to get Donovan Mitchell going and let Donovan Mitchell hunt Jalen Brunson, turn that around. Because Donovan Mitchell was like a decoy. What was he doing late? He scores 29 points in game one, but none the last eight and a half minutes and he's walking down the right side of the court. We all thought he was injured. Yeah, that's not Donovan Mitchell. I know people say, wait a minute, he's gotten tired late in games. He's run down late in some playoff games before. He's also had 50s. So they. To me, that's a critical thing. Donovan Mitchell early, often. And make Jalen Brunson do something besides beat you to death late in games. Being clutch.
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C
Yeah. I'm having a tough time figuring out the Cavs because, you know, first round they go to a Game 7, Jarrett Allen plays out of his mind. They lose. They end up losing five straight road playoff games. Then they beat Detroit in Game 5. And you're thinking, all right, Cleveland has it figured out. They lose game six and then they blow them out in game seven. And now here they are with a 20, 22 point lead in game one, and it's now it's Jalen Brunson attacking James Harden. This is what I understand from their standpoint. Let you go back to last year when the Knicks did the same thing. It happened to them against Indiana, Game one of the conference finals, but it was Aaron Neesmith. So if he makes six of seven threes like he did, you're like, all right, who thought that was going to happen? Everyone, including all the celebrities sitting courtside, knew if the Knicks were coming back, it's going through Jalen Brunson. And I know Harden's taking a lot of criticism, as he should, and I know that Kenny Atkins has taken criticism for not long time out, which you should. But I agree with Draymond Green, who knows a little something about defense. You know, if you're Dean Wade, you know you can fight through a screen. The idea is for you to guard James Harden. You don't have to just give up every time. And I thought that was a problem.
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B
Yes, they did. They just gave up.
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C
And it's like, oh, screen.
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B
Like they were in high school.
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C
And Mike, something else about that. And you Know how it works with these crazy comebacks? It takes two to tango, right? How about the missed free throws by the Cavs? And you know, in game seven against Detroit, they were 28 of 44 from the free throw line. Gentlemen, your NBA players, it's the playoffs. And sure enough, missing free throws. Harden missed a big one. Jared Allen missed two big ones in that fourth quarter comeback. It kills you every time. Yeah.
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B
And when you go to overtime, you look at every one of those missed points or turnovers or just dumb plays that the Cavaliers made and just. It's unbelievable bouncing back. Let's see the first quarter. Frank is going to tell you. I agree.
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C
Or they could get blown out. You're right.
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B
They could get blown out. And now to the Golden Knights beating the Avalanche in Colorado last night. Vegas scored the first three goals of the game in route to a 42 win in Game 1. It's only the Avalanche's second loss of the entire playoffs and first loss at home. Frank, was Vegas's win a big deal? Little deal or no deal?
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C
All right, come on. How can it not be a big deal? Number one, they won on the road. You just mentioned the first home playoff loss for Colorado. That's one thing. But Cale McCarr didn't play. You're talking about one of the top players in the league. This is a guy that out of a possible 90 playoff games last night, he missed one. He's only. He's played in 88 of a possible 90 playoff games. The guy plays all the time. And they're saying upper body injury, but it could be multiple injuries. That's a big loss. That's an important player for them. And give Vegas a lot of credit. You know, they shut him out long enough for Dylan Coughlin to get that goal to give Vegas the lead. And I thought whoever scored first, and I understand how hockey works, deflections, it could be crazy goals, but the game had that kind of feel to it. So I give Vegas a lot of credit for getting that game one win. It's a game you have when the other teams. Well, technically, if you want to call them, the second best player next to McKinnon, when a player like that is missing, that's your chance. Vegas took their chance last night and they're up 1 0.
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B
Yeah, I agree with you, Frank. It's a big deal. And Kevin Weeks, of course, former goaltender and star analyst, now broadcast analyst, he earlier today compared McCarthy not being there to Brian Leech of the great Rangers teams being absent and all that that means. And you have this hole in your team, your second best player and you know, maybe, I mean arguably the best or certainly one of the best players at his position in the league. That's a big deal just to beat the Avalanche at all. All right.
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C
Yep.
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B
And of course and Carter hart had what, 36 saves. So he had this huge game. It was interesting being here with those guys. I mentioned weeks and PK Suban has been here as well and he talked about he picked Vegas to beat Colorado for one primary reason, goaltending and defense and torts ability to get his team to sort of just mug it up in the middle of the ice and make it difficult for Colorado to do what they've done in the previous series. So far, so good. At least in game one.
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C
I thought you were going to say because Tortorello looks like my older brother. I thought that's the reason.
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B
Does he really? Is that true?
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C
A little bit.
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B
Your brother? I'm saying.
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C
No, no. If he was my older brother, he would, he would look like me.
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B
We're taking a break coming up. Sh got it done at the plate and on the mound last night. What's the word for his performance?
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C
Plus, how best to describe the Canadians chances against the unbeaten Carolina Hurricanes? That was a good game last night.
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B
Canadian.
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C
They've been really good.
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D
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- [13:12]
A
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B
Time to show off Some exemplary vocabulary. What's first? Last night's performance from Shohei Ohtani was blank, man. Shohei, the first hitter in the game, goes yard right away. Frank just, just goes out and of course he's pitching. And he passes Bob Gibson for the seventh time that Shohei has homered in a scoreless start. Bob Gibson, the great Bob Gibson had probably had done it six times. Of course Gibson probably did it with six complete game shutouts. But nevertheless, Shohei did this. And my word is flexing because only he does this. Now we can't even say Ruthie because Ruth never led off these games showing his leading off game. He can lead off, hit it out, come out and shut you down. And now he's on some other list with Koufax in terms of the start of his season ERA and Fernando flexing.
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C
Yeah, my word and. Oh yeah, my word is superstar stuff. And the reason I say that is because Dodgers will leave a Kyle hurt. That's what he said before the game. He said, I think we're going to see some superstar stuff from Shohei. And to your point, he leads off the game with a home run, a game he's pitching in. That's only happened once before. Shohei did it in the playoffs in 2025. And then he does it for the first time for any pitcher in a regular season game. Then he strike, you know, then he retires the first nine batters he faces in the fifth inning. He's tiring a little bit. Bases loaded, one out. And on his 88th and final pitch, he gets Fernando Tatis Jr. To ground into a double play. The guy is unbelievable. You realize that his ERA is 0.73. And then in his last seven, last seven games that he's played in, he's 13 of 27. So the way that we talk about like what we're seeing, Wembanyama, it's like something we've never seen with this guy. I don't know if we appreciate it up. I know we talk about a lot on this show as we rightfully should, but I think sometimes it's becoming so commonplace, it's ridiculous what this guy's doing on pitching and hitting.
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B
Throw in, throw in Lamine Yamal and you got the three people worldwide that think you want to see, right?
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C
That's flexing. Look at Mike throwing out a Spanish player. Barcelona. Impressive. Impressive.
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B
What's next?
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C
The Canadiens have a blank chance of beating the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference final.
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B
So, Frank, first of all, I mean, no Canadian team has won a Stanley Cup. Since 1993. Hard to believe Montreal did it. It's been long enough, right? So. But I'm going to still say that Montreal's got a Villains chance. They just spoiled at Buffalo. They were just villainous to Buffalo, which goodness knows has been on the wrong end of too many of these things. The Bills and now the Sabres. They just beat the Sabres in Game 7 in Buffalo. But here's the deal. Carolina is having a historic start. It's the first time in the modern Stanley cup playoff structure that a team has swept the first two rounds. And now they've been off 11 days. Nobody's off that long. They've been off 11 days. Everything sets up for them. It's like they got magic dust going. And here comes Montreal off the seven game victory, being a villain in Buffalo. A villain's chance for the Canadiens.
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C
Yeah, that 11 days, that's the longest break in the playoffs since 1919. That's been a while. My word is fighter's chance. I don't mean in the traditional hockey sense of fighting. This team, which is one of the youngest teams in the NHL, has shown a lot of fight. They go Game 7 against Tampa Bay. They only have nine shots on goal and they win. Then of course, you mentioned Buffalo. They got outplayed in that game, but they win in overtime. Here's something else to keep in mind about this Canadian team. They've played Carolina three times during the regular season. They beat them all three times. So while Carolina's only given up 10 goals in the eight games, which is ridiculous, in those three wins that the Canadians had over the Hurricanes, they outscored them 15 to 8. So the Canadians may have a little bit of an edge. Plus it's the, you know, Mike, they've played 11 games. The Canadiens have since April 26th. And here you have Carolina not even playing for 11 days. Rust.
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B
Well, and Carolina, the number one seed in the East. But still, I mean, you know, we've seen number one seeds, particularly in the NHL, get taken out. That's the final word. Let's take one last break. But still to come, another low moment in a bad, bad week for Pete Crowe, Armstrong and my Cubbies.
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C
And is the fever suddenly load managing Caitlin Clark? Oh, say it ain't so.
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B
That's a four letter word. See, there's no tanking in the wnba. We don't have to worry about tanking. Load managers. That's the issue.
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C
You're right.
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B
That's the real villain in sports, certainly
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D
in basketball, definitely, as you know, managing maintenance, repair and operations is never easy, but for the ones who always rise to the challenge, Grainger has your back. From professional grade products you can count on to fast, dependable delivery, they're there to help you keep things running smoothly. Plus, their technical product specialists are here to help answer your toughest questions. And because Grainger knows safety is always a priority, they're committed to being your partner in protecting both your people and your facilities. Call 1-800-GRAINGER click granger.com or just stop
- [19:31]
B
by the NFL schedule dropped, and it's time to settle up. There's road trips to plan, hotels to book, tickets to split, tailgates to cover scores to settle. All the things for the season. But now, when you send $10 or more to a friend with PayPal, by May 28, you could win two tickets to every home game of your favorite team. Yep, the whole season. Visit paypal.com P2P sweeps. No purchase necessary. See website for details, including how to enter by mail. Brought to you by PayPal official peer to peer payment. Sponsor of the NFL. Time to get happy, people. Happy 66th birthday. Kent Herbeck, a beloved player in Twins history and a staple of the franchise's two World Series titles. While Herbeck was known for his bat, it was his gamesmanship on defense in the 1991 World Series against the the Braves that resulted in his most memorable play, Ron Gant of the Braves, that rounded first on a single when a throw behind him sent Gant back to the bag. Herbeck lifted Gantt's leg off the base while tagging him, and Gantt was called out, ending the inning. No replay review, of course, at that time, nearly 40 years ago, the Twins went on to win that game by one run in the series in seventh. Gantt recently blamed himself for the play, saying he should have slid into the bag.
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C
Yes, he should have. You know, I actually covered that Series, Mike. I was 14. I was a child prodigy back then. You remember Game six, the Kirby Puckett home run? The famous Jack Buckhole? We'll see you tomorrow night. Then, of course, Game seven. For me, that's one of the best individual performances I've ever seen. Jack Morris, 10 scoreless innings and Gene Larkin, Columbia University's own. He drove in the winning run for
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B
the Kirby Puckett, retired Doc Rivers and Michael Wilbon from baseball. Really at at like 13 years old.
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C
That tops my happy anniversary.
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B
Ralph Sampson. On this day 40 years ago, with one second on the clock, Ralph redirected Rodney McCrae's inbounds pass over Kareem and into the Basket to win the Western Conference final over the heavily favored Lakers. This was the apex of the Rocket League Twin towers teams with Sampson and Nakim Olajuwon. The Rockets would go on to lose to the Celtics in those finals. And the franchise traded Ralph to the warriors two seasons later. In many ways, Sampson would be tailor made for today's game that allows big men, talented ones, to do whatever they wanted to do, end to end.
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C
All right, let me see if I can get you on this one. I spoke to Ralph Sampson two weeks ago, and that's exactly what he said he was talking about.
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B
Of course he did.
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C
Victor Wembanyama, Chad Holmgren. He would have loved to have played in this. Here. We could be on the perimeter sometimes. Go inside. Absolutely.
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B
Known Ralph forever and talk to him all the time. Love him, Frank. Love Ralph.
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C
I can't beat this guy.
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B
Happy trails to all three games against the brewers for my Cubs. I knew this was going to happen. Said so publicly. The brewers came into Wrigley and swept the series by a combined score of 19 5, taking over first place in the NL Central while doing so. Milwaukee capped things Yesterday with a 5 nothing shutout, 3 of the runs coming on a brutal misplay by Gold Glove center fielder Pete Crowe. Armstrong. This comes one day after PCA dropped the fly ball and just days after he was fined for shouting vulgarities at a heckling White Sox fan, for which he had to apologize.
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C
Not very PC by pca. I think I'll get you on this one. The brewers have won 16 of their last 21. I know you cannot top that, so there you go.
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B
No, we could top it. We'd won 18 to 21 previously, but we're in a tailspin now, and I'm terrified.
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C
Go, Brew Crew.
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B
Happy trails to playing in last night's game for Caitlin Clark. The Fever held Clark out of the team's easy win over Portland was what it called a back injury. But Clark hadn't been in on the injury report prior to doing so. And head coach Stephanie White denied Clark his hurt, calling it soreness, and also denied that Clark's absence was due to load management. WNBA has fined teams in the past for failing to list injured players on injury reports.
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C
He's listed as probable for tomorrow. But, Mike, there were reports coming out this was. This was part of a strike strategic injury management plan. And then 90 minutes before the game, where people are buying tickets to see her play, they announce that she's not playing.
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B
We're running out of show. We got to jump to the big finish. Frank. US Soccer defender Chris Richards defender suffered two torn ligaments in his left ankle. What is going on there?
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C
He's going to be one of our starting center backs. The reports are that he'll be available for the start of the World Cup. Let's hope. Hope so. 39 year old Sidney Crosby tells the Athletic that he wants to play as many years as possible. Your thoughts?
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B
There's too much money involved in sports now for anybody to retire. The Sabres and head coach Lindy Ruff agreed to a two year extension. It makes sense, doesn't it?
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C
Absolutely. Had a great year. Batters have a collective.241 average heading in today's games. Is that a cause for concern?
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B
It's the lowest since they lowered the mountain. 68. I mean, nobody hits for average. Last one. Rays sweeper. The O Sauc sweeper.
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C
The Royals.
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B
Diamondback sweeper. The Giants. What's the biggest deal?
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C
Probably a bigger deal. The Giants are 20 and 30. By the way. The Rays 33 and 15.
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B
Not bad.
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C
We're out of time. Thanks for watching. I'm Frank Isola.
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B
And I'm Mike Wilbot. Same time tomorrow, knuckleheads. It's a big ball and puck night. And now you're sports up.
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C
I'll see you at the Garden.
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B
This is what everyone's talking about. Everything's on the table. This is what champions come to take. This is what everyone came to see. No do overs, no second chances. No more Mr. Nice Guy. This is winner take all. And it's all happening now on the home of the NBA Finals. Don't miss it. June 3rd on ABC and the ESPN applied.