Photo by Getty Images via MSU Athletics
PAYNE BECOMES THIRD RACER TO ADVANCE TO NBA FINALS
The Phoenix Suns are going back to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1993. Chris Paul scored 41 points as the Suns defeated the Clippers 130-103 in Game Six of the Western Conference Finals in Los Angeles. Devin Booker added 22 points for Phoenix with former Racer Cam Payne tossing in 7 points and 7 assists. With his team advancing to the NBA Finals, Payne becomes the third Murray State player to make it that far, joining Racer Hall of Famers Joe Fulks and Dick Cunningham. Tonight, the Eastern Conference Finals shift back to Milwaukee with the series tied at two-games apiece between the Bucks and Hawks.
CARDINALS COMPLETE SWEEP OF DIAMONDBACKS
Kwong Yunn Kim recorded his first win since April as the Cardinals swept the D-Backs with a 7-4 victory at Busch Stadium. Kim tossed five-innings of one run ball and accounted for his first two runs batted in as a major leaguer. Paul Goldschmidt and Tyler O’Neill each had three hits and an RBI for St. Louis. The Cards visit the Rockies tonight with airtime set for 6:45 on WNBS.
BULLDOGS WIN COLLEGE WORLD SERIES TITLE
Mississippi State shut out defending champion Vanderbilt, 9-0, in Omaha to win its first College World Series title in school history. Ace Will Bednar fired six no-hit innings on short rest, allowing only three walks while striking out four, before Landon Sims shut the door. The win marks Mississippi State’s first national championship in any sport.
TILGHMAN ASSISTANT FACING CHARGES FROM FORMER JOB
The former athletic director and football coach at Christian County High School has been charged in connection to theft charges. Steve Lovelace has been an assistant coach at Paducah Tilghman since April. He was arrested Monday, according to yoursportsedge.com and he resigned from Christian County High School in March. Lovelace faces charges of theft by failure to make required disposition of property over $500 and theft by failure to make required disposition of property over $10,000. Lovelace will face charges in Christian County Court with his first court hearing set for July 7.
AREA MINOR LEAGUE REPORT
In regional Minor League games, the Louisville Bats defeated the Sounds 2-1 in ten innings in Nashville, and the Memphis Redbirds split a doubleheader with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp in Memphis. The Redbirds fell to Jacksonville 6-4 in the completion of Tuesday’s suspended game and then beat the Jumbo Shrimp 6-3 in Game Two.
MEXICO WINS IN NASHVILLE
Mexico defeated Panama 3-0 in an international friendly match in Nissan Stadium. Diego Lainez scored in the first half for Mexico. César Montes added a goal in the second half and Henry Martín made it 3-0 Mexico with a goal in stoppage time.
NATIONAL SPORTS BRIEFS
Details are emerging about the accusations being levied against Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer. The Athletic reports the alleged incidents of domestic violence and sexual assault were revealed in a 67-page legal document. The woman, who is not identified, at one point had suffered “significant head and facial trauma” which included signs of basilar skull fracture. Major League Baseball told the outlet they will be investigating the matter.
NCAA student-athletes are getting the chance to benefit from their name, image and likeness. All three divisions adopted a uniform interim policy that suspends the NCAA’s N-I-L rules starting Thursday. It applies to all incoming and current student athletes. The temporary policy will be in place until federal legislation or new NCAA rules are adopted. The organization says schools and conferences can choose to bring forward more policies of their own.
Blake Coleman scored while diving head first toward goal with two seconds left in the second period to put the Lightning ahead for good as they won 3-1 over the Canadiens in Game Two of the Stanley Cup Final in Tampa. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 42 saves in the win as Tampa Bay took a two-games-to-none advantage in the series. Anthony Cirelli and Ondrej Palat both scored for the Lightning in the win. Nick Suzuki scored the lone goal for Montreal. Carey Price made 20 saves for the Habs in the loss.
The Phoenix Suns are going back to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1993. Chris Paul scored 41 points as the Suns defeated the Clippers 130-103 in Game Six of the Western Conference Finals in Los Angeles. Devin Booker added 22 points for Phoenix. Tonight, the Eastern Conference Finals shift back to Milwaukee with the series tied at two-games apiece. The status of both of the series superstars — Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Atlanta’s Trae Young — are up in the air because of injuries. The Suns will face either the Bucks or Hawks in the NBA Finals next week.
Novak Djokovic breezed past Kevin Anderson on Centre Court in straight sets at Wimbledon on Wednesday. The world’s number one beat the South African in a rematch of the 2018 Wimbledon final. Meanwhile, two-time winner Andy Murray survived a five-set scare against Oscar Otte to win on Centre Court. Americans Coco Vandeweghe, Sloane Stephens, and Madison Keys won their second-round matches while Venus Williams and Sofia Kenin lost in straight sets. On Thursday, Roger Federer will be in second-round action as he faces France’s Richard Gasquet.
The Rocket Mortgage Classic will tee off this week in Detroit. Bryson DeChambeau will look to continue his surge up the P-G-A money list this season as he will attempt to defend his championship at the Detroit Golf Club. He’ll be playing with Cameron Champ and Kramer Hickok, who was in that epic duel last weekend with Harris English at the Travelers Championship. Another fun group to keep an eye on is the pairing of Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, and Hideki Matsuyama.
WEDNESDAY’S SCOREBOARD
MLB National League
——-
St. Louis Cardinals 7, Arizona Diamondbacks 4
Milwaukee Brewers 15, Chicago Cubs 7
Colorado Rockies 6, Pittsburgh Pirates 2
Miami Marlins 11, Philadelphia Phillies 6
San Diego Padres 7, Cincinnati Reds 5 (6)
Atlanta Braves 20, New York Mets 2
MLB American League
——–
Los Angeles Angels 11, New York Yankees 8
Seattle Mariners 9, Toronto Blue Jays 7 (10)
Detroit Tigers 9, Cleveland Indians 4 (GAME 1)
Detroit Tigers 7, Cleveland Indians 1 (GAME 2)
Boston Red Sox 6, Kansas City Royals 2
Baltimore Orioles 5, Houston Astros 2
Chicago White Sox 13, Minnesota Twins 3
Oakland Athletics 3, Texas Rangers 1
MLB Interleague
——-
Washington Nationals 15, Tampa Bay Rays 6
NBA Playoffs
——-
Phoenix Suns 130, Los Angeles Clippers 103
(Suns win best-of-seven Western Conference Finals, 4-2)
NHL Stanley Cup Final
——-
Tampa Bay Lightning 3, Montreal Canadiens 1
(Lightning lead Stanley Cup Final, 2-0)
WNBA
——-
Chicago Sky 91, Dallas Wings 81
Minnesota Lynx 82, Phoenix Mercury 76
Las Vegas Aces 99, Los Angeles Sparks 75
THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE (All Times Are Eastern)
MLB National League
——-
6:05 p.m. — Miami Marlins at Philadelphia Phillies
7:05 p.m. — Los Angeles Dodgers at Washington Nationals
7:05 p.m. — Milwaukee Brewers at Pittsburgh Pirates
7:10 p.m. — San Diego Padres at Cincinnati Reds
7:20 p.m. — New York Mets at Atlanta Braves
8:40 p.m. — St. Louis Cardinals at Colorado Rockies
9:40 p.m. — San Francisco Giants at Arizona Diamondbacks
MLB American League
——-
1:05 p.m. — Los Angeles Angels at New York Yankees
1:07 p.m. — Seattle Mariners at Toronto Blue Jays (at Buffalo, NY)
1:10 p.m. — Kansas City Royals at Boston Red Sox
2:10 p.m. — Minnesota Twins at Chicago White Sox
3:37 p.m. — Texas Rangers at Oakland Athletics
7:10 p.m. — Houston Astros at Cleveland Indians
MLB Interleague
——-
No Games Scheduled
NBA Playoffs
——–
8:30 p.m. — Atlanta Hawks at Milwaukee Bucks
(Best-of-seven Eastern Conference Finals tied, 2-2)
NHL Stanley Cup Final
——-
No Games Scheduled
PGA
——-
Rocket Mortgage Classic (at Detroit, MI)
WNBA
———-
7:00 p.m. — Connecticut Sun at Indiana Fever
