Questionable Moves Headline First Round of NFL Draft
The NFL Draft kicked off Thursday night in Philadelphia, and began with NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, egging on a crowd full of jeers. The Cleveland Browns held the most first-round draft picks, including the top overall pick, which they used toward Texas A&M defensive end, Myles Garrett. They also took safety Jabrill Peppers out of Michigan with the 25th pick and Miami tight end, David Njoku at No. 29. Although, Thursday night's opening round was taken over by a questionable move fromthe Chicago Bears, who gave their No. 3 pick, along with two others, to the San Francisco 49ers for the No. 2 overall pick. They used that chance to select quarterback, Mitch Trubinsky. This has many scratching their heads, and Bears' fans irate, for multiple reasons. First, Trubinsky was expected to still be available when the Bears selected third. So Chicago gave away two extra picks to get someone they could've had for no extra cost. Plus, the Bears most recently signed Mike Glennon to a multiyear deal, and claim that he is their starting quarterback and there is absolutely no competition. Other key moves saw running back Leonard Fournette go to the Jaguars at No. 3, wide receiver Mike Williams get drafted by the Chargers, and running back Christian McCaffrey join Cam Newton in Carolina. A couple other quarterbacks went in the top-15 as well, with the Chiefs taking Patrick Mahomes out of Texas Tech with the 10th pick that they acquired from the Bills, and Clemson star Deshaun Watson go to the Houston Texans at No. 12. The likes of Cam Robinson, Malik McDowell, Dalvin Cook, and DeShone Kizer remain available heading into the second round on Friday night.
Spurs, Raptors Advance in Game 6
Tony Parker stated after Thursday's Game 6 that he is "happy we don't have to play the Grizzlies anymore," and that's because of the tough first-round series the two-seed was involved in. The Spurs ended that series with a close 103-96 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday night, advancing to face the Houston Rockets in the second round. Kawhi Leonard led the way with 29 points, while Parker added 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting, including a clutch fadeaway jumper to seal the win late. LaMarcus Aldridge had himself a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds, helping San Antonio out-rebound Memphis 46-28, which led to 17 second-chance points. Their second-round series with the Rockets begins on their home floor Monday night. Meanwhile, the Toronto Raptors advanced to face the Cleveland Cavaliers with a 92-89 Game-6 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. DeMar DeRozan had 32 points to help his team hold off a late Milwaukee rally. The Raptors led by as many as 25 points in the third, but were outscored by 22 the rest of the way. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 34 points to lead the fierce rally that fell just short for the Bucks. Toronto used a crucial 9-0 run in the final two minutes, which was led by Corey Joseph, who scored five points during that stretch. Their series with the Cavs begin on Monday night in Cleveland, as they are coming off their first Game-6 win since 2001 against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Penguins, Senators Take Early Series Lead on Thursday
The Eastern Conference kicked off their second-round series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Thursday night, including the famous Crosby-Ovechkin showdown. Round 1 went to Sidney Crosby, who scored twice in 52 seconds, while Nick Bonino netted the game-winner in a 3-2 Penguins win over the Capitals. Bonino's goal came with 7:24 left in regulation, giving Pittsburgh the win despite getting out-shot, 35-21. Marc-Andre Fleury stood on his head with 33 saves, surrendering goals to Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Crosby now has four goals in the postseason for the Penguins, who can take an impressive 2-0 series lead on the road in Game 2 on Saturday night. Meanwhile, it was the oddest of angels for Erik Karlsson, but that did not matter when he scored the game-winning goal with 4:11 left in the third period for a 2-1 Ottawa Senators win over the New York Rangers. He got the lucky bounce to squeeze by Henrik Ludnqvist for his first goal of the playoffs, giving his team the early series advantage. Lundqvist made 41 saves before surrendering the game-winner. He also gave up a goal to Ryan Dzingel early in the game. On the other end of the ice, Craig Andersen made 34 saves, only getting beat by Ryan McDonagh in the win. If Game 1 is any indication, then this will be a series dominated by the goaltenders. Game 2 is back in Ottawa on Saturday night.
The NFL Draft kicked off Thursday night in Philadelphia, and began with NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, egging on a crowd full of jeers. The Cleveland Browns held the most first-round draft picks, including the top overall pick, which they used toward Texas A&M defensive end, Myles Garrett. They also took safety Jabrill Peppers out of Michigan with the 25th pick and Miami tight end, David Njoku at No. 29. Although, Thursday night's opening round was taken over by a questionable move fromthe Chicago Bears, who gave their No. 3 pick, along with two others, to the San Francisco 49ers for the No. 2 overall pick. They used that chance to select quarterback, Mitch Trubinsky. This has many scratching their heads, and Bears' fans irate, for multiple reasons. First, Trubinsky was expected to still be available when the Bears selected third. So Chicago gave away two extra picks to get someone they could've had for no extra cost. Plus, the Bears most recently signed Mike Glennon to a multiyear deal, and claim that he is their starting quarterback and there is absolutely no competition. Other key moves saw running back Leonard Fournette go to the Jaguars at No. 3, wide receiver Mike Williams get drafted by the Chargers, and running back Christian McCaffrey join Cam Newton in Carolina. A couple other quarterbacks went in the top-15 as well, with the Chiefs taking Patrick Mahomes out of Texas Tech with the 10th pick that they acquired from the Bills, and Clemson star Deshaun Watson go to the Houston Texans at No. 12. The likes of Cam Robinson, Malik McDowell, Dalvin Cook, and DeShone Kizer remain available heading into the second round on Friday night.
Spurs, Raptors Advance in Game 6
Tony Parker stated after Thursday's Game 6 that he is "happy we don't have to play the Grizzlies anymore," and that's because of the tough first-round series the two-seed was involved in. The Spurs ended that series with a close 103-96 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday night, advancing to face the Houston Rockets in the second round. Kawhi Leonard led the way with 29 points, while Parker added 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting, including a clutch fadeaway jumper to seal the win late. LaMarcus Aldridge had himself a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds, helping San Antonio out-rebound Memphis 46-28, which led to 17 second-chance points. Their second-round series with the Rockets begins on their home floor Monday night. Meanwhile, the Toronto Raptors advanced to face the Cleveland Cavaliers with a 92-89 Game-6 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. DeMar DeRozan had 32 points to help his team hold off a late Milwaukee rally. The Raptors led by as many as 25 points in the third, but were outscored by 22 the rest of the way. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 34 points to lead the fierce rally that fell just short for the Bucks. Toronto used a crucial 9-0 run in the final two minutes, which was led by Corey Joseph, who scored five points during that stretch. Their series with the Cavs begin on Monday night in Cleveland, as they are coming off their first Game-6 win since 2001 against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Penguins, Senators Take Early Series Lead on Thursday
The Eastern Conference kicked off their second-round series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Thursday night, including the famous Crosby-Ovechkin showdown. Round 1 went to Sidney Crosby, who scored twice in 52 seconds, while Nick Bonino netted the game-winner in a 3-2 Penguins win over the Capitals. Bonino's goal came with 7:24 left in regulation, giving Pittsburgh the win despite getting out-shot, 35-21. Marc-Andre Fleury stood on his head with 33 saves, surrendering goals to Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Crosby now has four goals in the postseason for the Penguins, who can take an impressive 2-0 series lead on the road in Game 2 on Saturday night. Meanwhile, it was the oddest of angels for Erik Karlsson, but that did not matter when he scored the game-winning goal with 4:11 left in the third period for a 2-1 Ottawa Senators win over the New York Rangers. He got the lucky bounce to squeeze by Henrik Ludnqvist for his first goal of the playoffs, giving his team the early series advantage. Lundqvist made 41 saves before surrendering the game-winner. He also gave up a goal to Ryan Dzingel early in the game. On the other end of the ice, Craig Andersen made 34 saves, only getting beat by Ryan McDonagh in the win. If Game 1 is any indication, then this will be a series dominated by the goaltenders. Game 2 is back in Ottawa on Saturday night.
