Rangers' Jacob Trouba Face-Planted Into Wall After Missing Dangerous Hit vs. Hurricanes
8 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Rangers’ Jacob Trouba Face-Planted Into Wall After Missing Dangerous Hit vs. Hurricanes

New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba nearly connected on a vicious hit Tuesday night during Game 2 against the Carolina Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden.

During the first overtime of the Rangers' 4–3 win, Trouba tried to lay a violent check on Carolina center Martin Necas near the boards. Necas ducked out of the way at the last second, narrowly avoiding Trouba's elbow.

Trouba went flying into the boards head first, and as he came down, his right leg landed on Necas's head. Both players were O.K. and continued to play after the collision.

Trouba is known to throw around big hits on the ice—and sometimes they are rather dangerous. He has been suspended several times over his 11-year career, including a two-game penalty earlier this season for elbowing Vegas Golden Knights forward Pavel Dorofeyev in the head.

NHL fans weighed in on the wild near-collision Tuesday night:

Trouba and the Rangers exited Game 2 with a win, handing the Hurricanes a 2–0 series deficit on Vincent Trocheck's power-play goal at the 7:24 mark of the second overtime.

The teams will match up once again Thursday for Game 3 at PNC Arena.

Carolina Hurricanes, Jacob Trouba, New York Rangers
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Royals Broadcast Went Into Hilarious Silence After Analyst Dropped Awkward Line
8 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Royals Broadcast Went Into Hilarious Silence After Analyst Dropped Awkward Line

For about 30 seconds, there was nothing but deafening silence to be heard during the sixth inning of Bally Sports Kansas City's broadcast of the Kansas City Royals' clash against the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday.

Royals analyst Rex Hudler took the microphone to further break down Kansas City right-handed pitcher Seth Lugo whiffing Brewers shortstop Willy Adames with an 81.7-mph slurve.

"And then you drop the deuce on the outside part of the plate," Hudler said. "That big curveball, nice, right out of the zone, just like you like it."

Play-by-play announcer Ryan Lefebvre didn't say a word. He let the moment breathe with viewers soaking in every last word of Hudler's funny phrasing.

Finally, the silence broke.

"Just to clarify—a deuce is a curveball," Lefebvre said.

"Yeah, it's two," Hudler responded, referencing the number of fingers that catchers use to signal for a curveball.

Too funny.

Adames eventually got his revenge for the sixth-inning strikeout, blasting a three-run go-ahead homer in the top of the ninth. The Brewers beat the Royals 6–5.

Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, MLB
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TRANSFER PORTAL: Utah State QB Cooper Legas Headed To Tulsa
8 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

TRANSFER PORTAL: Utah State QB Cooper Legas Headed To Tulsa

Former Utah State quarterback Cooper Legas is expected to transfer to Tulsa, per 247Sports’ Chris Hummer.

The signal caller appeared in 21 games over the last three seasons with 15 starts during his career with the Aggies, throwing for 3,485 yards with 32 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. Legas’ best collegiate season came last year where he started seven of the nine games he appeared in, throwing for 1,815 yards with 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

RELATED: REPORT: Miami (OH) RB Kevin Davis Will Return After Transfer Consideration

The Orem, Utah native was a three-star recruit coming out of high school and chose Utah State over offers from several programs including BYU, Air Force and Arkansas.

Legas holds ranks among the top-12 in several Utah State passing categories including career completion percentage (62.6%) which ranks him third all-time in school history and his 32 touchdown passes ranks him 11th all-time. Also, last season’s 64.8 completion percentage (138-of-213)  is the fourth-best in school history while his 32 completions at No. 25 Iowa (9/2/23) are the second-most in a single game in school history.

Legas will arrive at Tulsa looking to compete for a starting quarterback job under Golden Hurricanes' second-year head coach Kevin Wilson. Tulsa saw five players attempt passes last season as Wilson’s team went 4-8 in his first season with the program.

Cooper Legas, Mountain West Football, Transfer Portal, transfer portal news, transfer portal rumors, Transfer Quarterbacks, Tulsa, Tulsa Football, Utah State, Utah State Aggies, Utah State Football
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ESPN Cut Away From Hurricanes-Rangers Broadcast in Final Minute, and Fans Were Furious
8 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

ESPN Cut Away From Hurricanes-Rangers Broadcast in Final Minute, and Fans Were Furious

The Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers were tied 3–3 and battling in the final minute of Game 2 when the ESPN broadcast suddenly went dark.

The Rangers, who lead the Eastern Conference semifinal series 1–0, were on the power play and about to set up their attack with 50 seconds to play in regulation when the ESPN broadcast accidentally cut to the pregame scenes in Dallas.

The Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche were about to begin Game 1 of their series at American Airlines Center, but the game was supposed to be nationally televised on ESPNU, not ESPN, until the Rangers-Hurricanes clash ended.

ESPN stayed on the Stars-Rangers broadcast for about 20 seconds before cutting back to Madison Square Garden. Luckily, no goals were scored.

The game remained on ESPN as it went into overtime. But those 20 seconds away from the Rangers-Hurricanes game felt like an hour to New York and Carolina fans watching on television.

The Rangers and Hurricanes will play again Thursday in Game 3 at PNC Arena.

Carolina Hurricanes, ESPN, New York Rangers
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Cardinals' Willson Contreras Injures Arm in Catcher's Interference Incident
8 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Cardinals’ Willson Contreras Injures Arm in Catcher’s Interference Incident

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras exited Tuesday's game against the New York Mets after taking the full force of a swing from J.D. Martinez to the left forearm. Contreras was diagnosed with a fractured left arm and will need a lengthy stay on the injured list as a result.

Contreras was visibly in pain as the Cardinals' medical staff attended to his arm. To make matters worse, the play was ruled as catcher's interference, meaning Martinez was awarded first base.

Replay of the incident showed that Contreras was positioned remarkably close to Martinez. According to John Denton of MLB.com, the team had encouraged Contreras to move closer to the plate as a means of getting more low strike calls from umpires. With Contreras positioning himself particularly close to the plate, he put himself in harm’s way of Martinez’s swing, resulting in Tuesday's scary arm injury.

Iván Herrera replaced Contreras, who had doubled in his lone plate appearance of the game. On the season, Contreras has six home runs and 12 RBI to go with a .931 OPS.

J.D. Martinez, MLB, St. Louis Cardinals, Willson Contreras
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Patrick Beverley Explains What Happened During Altercation With Fan in Bucks–Pacers
8 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Patrick Beverley Explains What Happened During Altercation With Fan in Bucks–Pacers

Patrick Beverley addressed the incident from the closing minutes of the Milwaukee Bucks' season-ending 120–98 loss to the Indiana Pacers last week when he threw a basketball at a fan—twice—sitting behind the team bench.

"Unfortunate situation that should never have happened," Beverley said on the Pat Bev Podcast. "What I did was bad, and that should never happen. I have to be better and I will be better."

The Athletic's Shams Charania reported the day after the incident that the Pacers fan yelled a rather mild taunt at Beverley as the team broke out of a huddle, referring to the Bucks' vacation plans as they were about to be eliminated from the playoffs.

"Cancun ... Cancun on three," the fan reportedly said.

Beverley, however, stated there was more said than those four words before he threw the basketball at the fan.

"Let's just say it was more than, 'Cancun on three,'" Beverley said. "Let's just say it was more than that.

"I've been called a lot of stuff in this league. I haven't been called that one. ... The things that were said to me, I could've gotten four or five fans kicked out."

Beverley also stated security at Gainbridge Fieldhouse asked him if he wanted the fans kicked out earlier in the game, but he didn't want to give them the boot.

"I'm not the guy to get fans kicked out neither," Beverley said.

Beverley, 35, will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. If the veteran finds a new NBA home by next season, he likely will serve some sort of penalty from the NBA in the form of a suspension and fine.

Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks, Patrick Beverley
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Chiefs' Rashee Rice Under Investigation for Alleged Assault in Dallas, Police Say
8 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Chiefs’ Rashee Rice Under Investigation for Alleged Assault in Dallas, Police Say

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice is a suspect in an alleged assault which occurred early Monday morning at a nightclub in Dallas, police told The Dallas Morning News on Tuesday.

Per the report, police responded to reports of an assault at the nightclub at around 2:30 a.m. local time Monday. One man was taken to the hospital with injuries described as being non life-threatening, including visible swelling on the side of his face.

According to WFAA, police sources said officers were conducting interviews with witnesses at an address in Dallas listed for Lit Kitchen and Lounge.

As of Tuesday evening, police said no charges had been filed officially, per The Dallas Morning News.

Rice, 24, has endured a tumultuous offseason following a breakout rookie season with the Chiefs in 2023, during which he won the Super Bowl.

In March, Rice was arrested in Dallas due to his involvement in a seven-car crash on the highway which resulted in at least seven people sustaining injuries. Rice faces eight felony charges from that incident, including six counts of collision involving bodily injury, one count of collision involving serious bodily injury and one count of aggravated assault, according to police.

Kansas City Chiefs, NFL, Rashee Rice
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Knicks Dealt Brutal Injury Blow As Mitchell Robinson Will Miss Rest of Playoffs
8 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Knicks Dealt Brutal Injury Blow As Mitchell Robinson Will Miss Rest of Playoffs

The injury bug continues to bite the New York Knicks, with the latest key rotation member to go down being center Mitchell Robinson.

The team announced Tuesday that Robinson would be sidelined for a minimum of six to eight weeks due to a stress injury in his left ankle. He'll be reevaluated after the provided timeline, though the injury is set to keep him out for the rest of the playoffs.

Robinson joins the likes of Julius Randle and Bojan Bogdanovic among Knicks players who won't be making a return during the playoffs.

Robinson had already been ruled out for Wednesday's Game 2 against the Indiana Pacers. He logged 12 minutes in Game 1's win, scoring two points and providing two rebounds.

He averaged 20.6 minutes per game during the opening round against the Philadelphia 76ers. He featured in five of the six games in the series and provided 3.0 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per contest.

With the 26-year-old unavailable, it's possible Precious Achiuwa will return to coach Tom Thibodeau's rotation. Achiuwa has made just three appearances in the playoffs but logged a postseason-high 20 minutes when Robinson was sidelined during Game 4 vs. the 76ers.

Indiana Pacers, Mitchell Robinson, NBA Playoffs, New York Knicks
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Twins' Rally Sausage—Yes, an Actual Sausage—Lives on After Winning Streak
8 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Twins’ Rally Sausage—Yes, an Actual Sausage—Lives on After Winning Streak

The Minnesota Twins' recent winning streak was halted at 12 games, but the original summer sausage that players jokingly said inspired the hot stretch remains with the team.

The Athletic's Dan Hayes confirmed Tuesday that the original sausage—which manager Rocco Baldelli said would be disposed once the winning streak ended—is still with the team. And in fact, its magic is still intact.

When the Twins' offense was struggling through the early innings of the series opener against the Seattle Mariners on Monday night, the original sausage was brought back into the dugout. The Twins went on to rally for one run in the fifth inning and two more in the seventh to secure a 3–1 win at Target Field.

The Twins were struggling to start the year, winning just seven of their first 20 games despite entering the season as heavy favorites to win the AL Central. Those struggles persisted until the rally sausage was brought into the fold by Minnesota infielder Kyle Farmer.

During a series in April against the Chicago White Sox, Farmer found a Cloverdale summer sausage in his locker. He didn't want it, so he set the sausage on a table in the clubhouse for teammates to enjoy.

For some reason, Twins hitting coach David Popkins grabbed the sausage off the table and brought it to the dugout. The Twins won that day, so the sausage stayed. It became the center of celebrations after a homer or a big hit, as Minnesota catcher Ryan Jeffers would chuck the sausage at a teammate as he strolled back into the dugout.

The Twins went on to win 12 straight games, tied for the second-longest winning streak in franchise history.

Minnesota and Seattle continue their series Tuesday at Target Field. The original rally sausage likely will be in attendance, too—just don't tell the FDA.

Kyle Farmer, Minnesota Twins, MLB
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Jamal Murray Not Suspended for Throwing Heat Pad Onto Court in Game 2
7 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Jamal Murray Not Suspended for Throwing Heat Pad Onto Court in Game 2

Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray will not be suspended by the NBA for throwing a heat pad and a towel onto the court while on the bench during Game 2 against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night.

Although he won't miss any game action during the Western Conference semifinals, Murray didn't get off scot-free. The 27-year-old will be hit with a substantial fine of $100,000 for "throwing multiple objects in the direction of a game official during live play," according to a statement from the league.

Murray was on the bench with just under five minutes remaining in the second quarter of Monday night's game, when he was seen throwing the heating pad onto the court while play was live. The pad and towel landed next to the foot of Karl-Anthony Towns, who scored a layup on the play, and was removed moments later by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

Officials did not stop play, and Murray did not receive a technical foul.

The Nuggets, already trailing 2–0 in the series, have managed to avoid what would've been a significant blow had Murray been suspended. Instead, he'll be available for Game 3 on Friday, which tips off from the Target Center at 9:30 p.m. ET.

In two games against the Timberwolves during the second round, Murray is averaging just 12.5 points and shooting 28.1% from the field.

Denver Nuggets, Jamal Murray, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA Playoffs
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