Canes join a historic club, Duke departures and free chicken in the sports moments of the week
Posted April 16, 2024 2:14 p.m. EDT
Updated April 16, 2024 2:51 p.m. EDT
The internet is a big place. Unless you're 100% plugged in all the time (and let's be clear, that is NOT recommended), you're going to miss some stuff.
Let us do that work. You can be a well-adjusted human being and still catch all the best sports moments of the week, with a quick review ...
Canes eclipse 50 wins again, stay hot heading into the playoffs
The Hurricanes couldn't quite catch the New York Rangers in the Metropolitan Division standings, but they still have to feel great about how they're positioned entering the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Carolina is red hot, riding a five-game win streak entering Tuesday night's regular season finale against Columbus. Since the trade deadline, they're 15-3-1.
That's pretty, pretty good.
It's not like the Canes have been beating up on cupcakes during that time either.
Last Tuesday, they went into Boston and dominated the Atlantic Division-leading Bruins 4-1, highlighted by the return of the Andrei Svechnikov "lacrosse goal."
That Boston win doubled as the Hurricanes' 50th of the season. It's the third straight time they've hit that milestone, which is actually more significant than you might think.
After some digging, I found that Carolina is the just the fifth NHL team ever to win 50+ in at least three straight campaigns. And the rest of the list is pretty darn impressive:
Boston Bruins (four straight) - 1970-71 to 1973-74
Philadelphia Flyers (three straight) - 1973-74 to 1975-76
Montreal Canadiens (four straight) - 1975-76 to 1978-79
Detroit Red Wings (four straight) - 2005-06 to 2008-09
(The Colorado Avalanche have a chance to join this list too if they beat the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night.)
Two main takeaways here:
- Wayne Gretzky never did it, which is shocking to me
- Every other team on the list (including the Avs if they make it) won a Stanley Cup during their run
Can the Canes keep that trend alive?
The Canes will draw the New York Islanders in the first round, a team they've twice bounced from the playoffs in the last five seasons.
This team is deep, balanced and again, they're scorching hot right now.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are always kind of a crap shoot, but I like Carolina's chances as much as anyone.
Recapping The Masters
Scottie Scheffler entered the 2024 Masters as the biggest favorites we've seen since Tiger Woods in his prime.
Scheffler shot a 68 on Sunday, separating himself from a pack of formidable contenders to comfortably win his second Green Jacket by four strokes.
Oh, and he did all of that with the birth of his first child looming, I'm sure, in the back of his head.
At 27 years old, Scheffler looks like he could be the most dominant golfer we've seen in over a decade.
Now, Sunday's second place finisher, Ludvig Aberg, could have something to say about that. The Swedish up-and-comer is just 24, and looked poised to go shot-for-shot with Scheffler on Sunday ... until a fateful incident at the turn.
Aberg walked through the crowd and doled out a few high-fives between the 9th and 10th holes, but one patron got a little too excited and knocked Aberg's PowerBar out of his hands!
It's a bit silly, but that really did prove to be a turning point in Aberg's round. He double-bogeyed the 11th hole just a few minutes later and never really got within striking distance of Scheffler again.
Speaking of silly, if you aren't familiar with Chris Vernon's Masters Updates, do yourself a favor and watch it now so you can be ready for next year. (Warning: It's an ear worm)
This year's Masters also marked the end of Verne Lundquist's legendary career.
Lundquist, who is synonymous with so many legendary moments at Augusta, received touching (and well-deserved) tributes from fellow broadcasting legend Jim Nantz as well as the tournament itself.
Thank you and congratulations on an outstanding career "Uncle Verne." You will be missed.
McCain, Filipowski declare for NBA Draft
It wasn't exactly unexpected, but Duke basketball saw a pair of key players depart this week.
Jared McCain and Kyle Filipowski both officially declared for the NBA Draft on Friday, posting thank you messages on social media.
Both players are projected to be late lottery picks in June and have the skill set to be valuable role players at the next level.
Duke has also lost Mark Mitchell, another former 5-star recruit, to the transfer portal. And honestly? That's probably just fine with them, considering the embarrassment of riches coming in next season.
The Blue Devils have five 5-star recruits set to join them next season, highlighted by No. 1 overall recruit Cooper Flagg.
For that reason, Duke, not UConn, is the betting favorite to win the national title next season at 11-to-1.
They'll be just fine.
Caitlin Clark highlights potentially transformational WNBA Draft
The NBA wasn't always a superpower in American sports. In fact, they were kind of a laughing stock through most of the 1970's.
Then, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson arrived in back-to-back years and everything changed.
The WNBA could be at a similar turning point in its history, as it officially welcomed in a star-studded rookie class at Monday night's WNBA Draft.
As expected, Caitlin Clark was drafted No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever, then saw her jersey sell out (in most sizes) in one hour.
Clark may not be the best No. 1 overall pick in WNBA history (Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, A'ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, etc.), but I believe she's unquestionably the most popular.
17,000 people showed up at the Fever's draft watch party, for crying out loud.
Ticket prices across the league are starting to spike, as popularity could reach an all-time high, especially considering Clark isn't the only star in this year's class.
No. 2 overall pick Cameron Brink could have a big impact on the league in short order. And that's not to mention Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese, who both went Top 10 to the Chicago Sky, drawing Tim Duncan and David Robinson comparisons all over social media.
Time will tell, but in a few years we could be looking back at Monday night as the moment everything changed for the WNBA.
Fun with baseball
A couple of great moments on the diamond to share with you this week.
The first comes from Boston, where former Patriots great Rob Gronkowski was asked to throw out the first pitch on Monday... but he had other plans.
Not only is this super on-brand for Gronk to spike it, it's probably the smart move as well.
I'm sure the man can throw a baseball semi-straight, but you don't want to slip and end up embarrassing yourself.
Speaking of embarrassing, I can't imagine how this poor New Jersey high schooler felt after he got duped by a very well executed "hidden ball trick" and got tagged out to end the game.
I don't understand why teams don't try this more often. Especially at the high school level. Have you ever seen a hidden ball trick not work?
Boban Marjanovic: Man of the People
Finally this week, a shout out and a salute to Boban Marjanovic, a true man of the people.
The Houston Rockets big man, whom you may recognize from his Goldfish commercials or his role in "John Wick 3," earned a pair of free throws Sunday afternoon in garbage time against the LA Clippers.
Like many NBA teams, the Clippers have a promotion where fans get a treat (in this case a free Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwich) if an opponent misses two free throws in a row.
So when Marjanovic missed his first free throw (presumably by mistake), he went ahead and missed the second one on purpose to give the fans their free chicken!
What a hero. Build him a statue.
We'll see you next week.
