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Vegas Golden Knights' Adin Hill gloves a shot by the Dallas Stars in the third period of Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Western Conference finals, Monday, May 29, 2023, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Vegas, year removed from missing playoffs, gets to 2nd Stanley Cup Final

Schuyler Dixon, The Associated Press 4 minute read 5:01 AM CDT

DALLAS (AP) — Vegas captain Mark Stone credits the front office for keeping the core intact after the Golden Knights missed the playoffs for the only time in the young franchise's history last year.

The only major change was with the coach, and Bruce Cassidy — fired by Boston last year — just beat the man he replaced, Pete DeBoer, with Vegas' 6-0 rout of the Dallas Stars in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final on Monday night.

As for the guys on the ice, not much has changed, as the clincher showed.

William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault, two of the leading playoff scorers going all the way back to the franchise's other Stanley Cup Final in the expansion season of 2017-18, played a big part in finally eliminating the Stars, who extended the series after falling behind 3-0.

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Team owner, league brass blown away by Sea Bears debut

Mike Sawatzky 5 minute read Yesterday at 4:39 PM CDT

Winnipeg's Katona back on 'The Ultimate Fighter'

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Winnipeg's Katona back on 'The Ultimate Fighter'

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 3:48 PM CDT

Brad (Superman) Katona earned his way into the UFC by winning Season 27 of "The Ultimate Fighter" in 2018.

One win and two losses later, the Winnipeg bantamweight was released by the mixed martial arts promotion. In order to get back in, Katona has returned to the reality TV show for Season 31, which debuts Tuesday.

The show divides fighters into two teams living under the same roof in a Las Vegas mansion, isolated from the outside world as they train and fight. The last competitor standing wins a UFC contract.

The show, which premiered in January 2005, has produced 14 UFC champions.

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Updated: Yesterday at 3:48 PM CDT

Brad (Superman) Katona earned his way into the UFC by winning Season 27 of "The Ultimate Fighter" in 2018. One win and two losses later, the Winnipeg bantamweight was back on the outside looking in. Katona has returned to the reality TV show route, taking part in Season 31 which debuts Tuesday. Katona is seen during the UFC official weight in Richmond, B.C., Friday, Sept. 13, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
Brad (Superman) Katona earned his way into the UFC by winning Season 27 of

The NBA Finals are set: It’s the Heat and the Nuggets for the Larry O’Brien Trophy

Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

The NBA Finals are set: It’s the Heat and the Nuggets for the Larry O’Brien Trophy

Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press 5 minute read Yesterday at 10:07 PM CDT

Cancel that flight plan, Denver. Turns out, the NBA Finals are starting in the Mile High City after all.

And Jimmy Butler was proven right.

Finally, we have a title-series matchup: The Miami Heat, champions of the Eastern Conference even after getting in as only the No. 8 seed, will take on the Western Conference champion Nuggets in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. The series starts in Denver on Thursday night.

The Heat got there by winning Game 7 of the East title series in Boston on Monday night. It came one year to the day after the Celtics won a Game 7 on Miami's floor to win the East title a year ago.

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Yesterday at 10:07 PM CDT

Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler, left, dunks as Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown defends during the second half in Game 7 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals Monday, May 29, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler, left, dunks as Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown defends during the second half in Game 7 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals Monday, May 29, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Brit a big hit in Winnipeg’s hoops debut

Taylor Allen 5 minute read Preview

Brit a big hit in Winnipeg’s hoops debut

Taylor Allen 5 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

Jelani Watson-Gayle’s first season as a professional basketball player ended in regret.

Before joining the Winnipeg Sea Bears of the Canadian Elite Basketball League for the summer, the 6-1 point guard from London, England was with the Bristol Flyers of the British Basketball League (BBL).

Watson-Gayle, 24, had an impressive rookie campaign as he was named to the All-BBL British First Team. But in the deciding game of a semi-final series with the Leicester Riders, he played 27 minutes and didn’t score a single point.

He had averaged 12 points per game on the year.

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2:00 AM CDT

Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Sea Bears’ Jelani Watson-Gayle was anything but timid, as he came off the bench to score a team-high 22 points en route to a 90-85 victory against the Vancouver Bandits.

Golden Knights won’t be denied

Stephen Hawkins 4 minute read Preview

Golden Knights won’t be denied

Stephen Hawkins 4 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

DALLAS — William Karlsson scored two goals and had an assist as the Vegas Golden Knights advanced to their second Stanley Cup final with a 6-0 rout Monday night over the Dallas Stars, who had extended the Western Conference final to six games after losing the first three.

William Carrier, Keegan Kolesar and Michael Amadio each had a goal and an assist for the Knights, and Jonathan Marchessault had a goal. Carrier, Marschessault and Karlsson were all part of the inaugural 2017-18 Knights season that ended in their Cup final appearance.

Adin Hill stopped 23 shots for his second career playoff shutout — both against the Stars. The other was 4-0 in Game 3 last Tuesday, when the Knights were already within one win of clinching the series before Dallas overcame 1-0 and 2-1 deficits in both Games 4 and 5.

Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final against Florida will be Saturday night in Las Vegas.

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2:00 AM CDT

Blazers defenceman Masters out of hospital

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Blazers defenceman Masters out of hospital

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 5:39 PM CDT

KAMLOOPS, B.C. - Kamloops Blazers head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston says defenceman Kyle Masters has been released from hospital and will miss the rest of the Memorial Cup with a lower-body injury.

Clouston updated Masters's status a day after the 20-year-old Edmonton native was taken off the ice on a stretcher during the Blazers' 10-2 win over the Peterborough Petes.

"It's not an upper-body injury. So from a personal standpoint, the human standpoint, it's awesome news," Clouston told reporters Monday.

"For Kyle and the team, it's really unfortunate that he's going to miss the remainder."

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Updated: Yesterday at 5:39 PM CDT

Kamloops Blazers' Kyle Masters is taken off the ice on a stretcher after a collision with Peterborough Petes' Brennan Othmann during third period Memorial Cup hockey action in Kamloops, B.C. on Sunday, May 28, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Kamloops Blazers' Kyle Masters is taken off the ice on a stretcher after a collision with Peterborough Petes' Brennan Othmann during third period Memorial Cup hockey action in Kamloops, B.C. on Sunday, May 28, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

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Yankees CF Harrison Bader leaves gave with tightness in right hamstring

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Yankees CF Harrison Bader leaves gave with tightness in right hamstring

The Associated Press 2 minute read Updated: 12:20 AM CDT

SEATTLE (AP) — New York Yankees center fielder Harrison Bader left Monday night's series opener against the Seattle Mariners with right hamstring tightness after running out an infield single in the third inning.

Bader easily beat the throw on his grounder in the hole between shortstop and third base, but was in discomfort standing on first base. Bader left the game after a brief discussion with manager Aaron Boone and was replaced by Greg Allen.

Boone said Bader would have an MRI on Tuesday and was uncertain whether a stint on the injured list will be needed.

“They don’t seem to think it’s too serious, but with the (hamstring) you don't want to rule out an IL or whatever. We'll see what we have tomorrow,” Boone said following his team's 10-4 victory.

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Updated: 12:20 AM CDT

New York Yankees' Anthony Rizzo hits an RBI-single against the San Diego Padres during the third inning of a baseball game Sunday, May 28, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
New York Yankees' Anthony Rizzo hits an RBI-single against the San Diego Padres during the third inning of a baseball game Sunday, May 28, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Rochette scores twice as Remparts edge T-Birds 3-1

The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Rochette scores twice as Remparts edge T-Birds 3-1

The Canadian Press 3 minute read Updated: 12:06 AM CDT

KAMLOOPS, B.C. - The first three games of the 2023 Memorial Cup championship produced 32 goals.

So when Theo Rochette of the Quebec Remparts scored 54 seconds into Monday's fourth preliminary round game at the Sandman Centre, fans expected there'd be much more to come.

But thanks to William Rousseau's 35 saves in the Remparts' net, they had to wait until 16:55 of the third period for Rochette to add his second of the night — and third of the tournament — to give his Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champion squad a 2-0 lead over the Seattle Thunderbirds, en route to a 3-1 victory.

The Western Hockey League champion T-Birds, with the netminder pulled for an extra attacker, got a goal at 17:38 from Nolan Allan and pressed for the equalizer, but couldn't tie the contest. Charles Truchon scored an empty-netter for the Remparts at 19:42 to seal the deal.

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Updated: 12:06 AM CDT

Quebec Remparts' Theo Rochette (9) scores against Seattle Thunderbirds goalie Thomas Milic (35) during first period Memorial Cup hockey action in Kamloops, B.C., on Monday, May 29, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Quebec Remparts' Theo Rochette (9) scores against Seattle Thunderbirds goalie Thomas Milic (35) during first period Memorial Cup hockey action in Kamloops, B.C., on Monday, May 29, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Nuggets run to the NBA Finals stirs up memories of wonderful wackiness in the ABA

Pat Graham, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Nuggets run to the NBA Finals stirs up memories of wonderful wackiness in the ABA

Pat Graham, The Associated Press 6 minute read 8:42 AM CDT

DENVER (AP) — Gone, but never forgotten, the ABA is enjoying a curtain call this season — all thanks to the Denver Nuggets.

Nearly 50 years after the breakup of the old, renegade league, with its red-white-and-blue basketballs and the 3-point arc that has redefined the modern game, the Nuggets finally broke through to become the last of the four ABA teams — Spurs, Pacers, Nets and Nuggets — who survived the 1976 merger to make the NBA Finals. Denver hosts Miami in Game 1 on Thursday.

One of the nicest compliments those old ABA Nuggets can pay to today's group: These Nuggets remind them of them.

“The new NBA is like the old ABA,” David Thompson, ‘The Skywalker,’ told The Associated Press in a phone interview from his home in Charlotte, North Carolina. “This Nuggets team, we’re pulling for them. I want them to finish the job that we didn’t quite get done.”

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8:42 AM CDT

FILE - Denver's Dan Issel reacts as he watches his shot fall short of the basket as he shot over Kent Benson of the Milwaukee Bucks during first quarter of an NBA basketball game on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 1979 in Milwaukee. The Denver Nuggets are the last of the four ABA teams that merged with the NBA to reach the Finals and is stirring up fond memories of the defunct league. (AP Photo/Pyle, File)
FILE - Denver's Dan Issel reacts as he watches his shot fall short of the basket as he shot over Kent Benson of the Milwaukee Bucks during first quarter of an NBA basketball game on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 1979 in Milwaukee. The Denver Nuggets are the last of the four ABA teams that merged with the NBA to reach the Finals and is stirring up fond memories of the defunct league. (AP Photo/Pyle, File)

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