Good Morning! Here’s what happened in the world of sports on Tuesday, April 8.

WHAT ARE THE DENVER NUGGETS DOING?

Days before the start of the NBA playoffs, the Denver Nuggets made the decision to fire head coach Michael Malone and inform general manager Calvin Booth that his contract will not be renewed when it expires at the end of the season. Malone and the Nuggets won the NBA Championship in 2023 and currently sit in fourth place in the Western Conference. So yeah, this move makes tons of sense and was not a surprise to anyone! Who knows what the future holds for Denver, as we could see a wide range of outcomes not only from this year’s playoff run, but even a potential trade of the world’s best player, Nikola Jokic…

HISTORIC COMEBACKS

The Vancouver Canucks became the first team in NHL history to win the game after trailing by three goals in the final minute! Dallas took a 5-2 lead after an empty-net goal. Aatu Raty got the goal back, scoring with exactly one minute remaining. Pius Suter buried the next two and sent the game to overtime, where Kiefer Sherwood secured the unlikely victory. A remarkable comeback, the win kept Vancouver in the playoff race– they sit six points behind Minnesota for the last wild card spot.

Over in the NBA, the Milwaukee Bucks trailed the Minnesota Timberwolves 95-71 in the fourth quarter. But Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded his third consecutive triple-double and led the Bucks to a remarkable comeback of their own. Milwaukee scored 23 unanswered points and outscored Minnesota 39-8 over the last 10 minutes of the game! It was a huge blow for the Timberwolves, who fell to eighth in the Western Conference standings.

Elsewhere in the NBA, Luka Doncic got ejected, the Cleveland Cavaliers clinched the number one seed in the east, and Ja Morant finally stopped celebrating with fake guns… he introduced a new grenade celebration instead.

MLB

Recap time!

• Congratulations to Kenley Jansen, who recorded his 450th career save! Jansen and the Angels beat Tampa 4-3.

• Going into yesterday’s game, Paul Skenes had started 25 games in his career. He had a 12-3 record and never allowed more than four runs. Well, the St. Louis Cardinals didn’t know about that– they tagged the Pirates ace for five runs in six innings, taking down Pittsburgh 5-3. All things considered, not a terrible performance to be considered the worst start of your career.

• The Mets beat the Marlins 10-5, but the score would have been a whole lot more lopsided if it wasn’t for this catch-of-the-year candidate:

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Sometimes when you turn on a soccer game in the middle of a Tuesday afternoon, you’re rewarded with something magical. Yesterday was one of those special days, as Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice scored two of the best free-kick goals I’ve ever witnessed. Rice and Arsenal lead Real Madrid 3-0 after leg one:

NOTEWORTHY NEWS

Two big-time players in women’s basketball announced their transfer plans: talented guard and potential number one pick Olivia Miles is headed from Notre Dame to TCU, while the number one scorer in the nation from last season Ta’Niya Latson is leaving Florida State for powerhouse South Carolina.

The two longest losing streaks in college baseball each came to an end yesterday when Yeshiva University played a double-header against Lehman College. Lehman ended their 42-game streak with a victory in game one, before Yeshiva, after 100 losses in a row, finally got in the win column in game two.

TODAY’S BIG GAMES (all times Eastern)

MLB:

• Yankees @ Tigers, 1:10 PM on Amazon Prime

• Phillies @ Braves, 7:15 PM on MLB Network

NBA:

• Lakers @ Mavericks, 7:30 PM on ESPN

• Nuggets @ Kings, 10 PM on ESPN

NHL:

• Flyers @ Rangers, 7:30 PM on TNT/Max

• Blues @ Oilers, 10 PM on TNT/Max

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTERFINALS:

• Aston Villa @ PSG, 3 PM on Paramount+

• Borussia Dortmund @ Barcelona, 3 PM on Paramount+

“We haven't scored a direct free kick since September 2021… So it's been a long time, and to score two goals in 12 minutes of that magnitude of that quality from the same player, a player that has never scored a free kick before in his career, I mean, what are the odds?” –Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta