Good Morning! Here’s what happened in the world of sports on Wednesday, April 16.

NBA PLAY-IN GAMES

One year ago, Klay Thompson went 0-10 shooting and the Golden State Warriors were eliminated in a play-in game at Sacramento. Now a member of the Dallas Mavericks, he wasn’t going to let that happen again– Klay was 8-11 and finished with 23 points, including 16 in a game-changing second quarter. The Mavs led the entire way, eliminating Sacramento with a 120-106 victory.

Over in the east, the Miami Heat demolished the Chicago Bulls 109-90. Tyler Herro scored 38 points and the Bulls earned their spot in the NBA Draft Lottery.

MLB

Can we talk about Cal Raleigh? The Mariners slugger affectionately nicknamed “Big Dumper” may be the best catcher in the big leagues, and far too many fans don’t know about him. Raleigh swatted two homers last night and led Seattle to a 5-3 win over Cincinnati.

It was a good night to be a rising star on a team in the eastern time zone– Pirates center fielder ONeil Cruz and Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday each hit grand slams yesterday, and their teams won by a combined score of 15-2.

NHL

The regular season ends tomorrow, but after Montreal’s 4-2 victory over Carolina last night, the playoff matchups are set in the National Hockey League. Here’s what the extremely exciting first-round looks like… official Remix preview scheduled for Monday!

EAST:

• (A1) Toronto Maple Leafs vs (WC 1) Ottawa Senators

• (A2) Tampa Bay Lightning vs (A3) Florida Panthers

• (M1) Washington Capitals vs (WC 2) Montreal Canadiens

• (M2) Carolina Hurricanes vs (M3) New Jersey Devils

WEST:

• (C1) Winnipeg Jets vs (WC 2) St. Louis Blues

• (C2) Dallas Stars vs (C3) Colorado Avalanche

• (P1) Vegas Golden Knights vs (WC 1) Minnesota Wild

• (P2) Los Angeles Kings vs (P3) Edmonton Oilers

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

After a thrilling two weeks of quarterfinal action, we’ve got a final four in the most prestigious club soccer tournament in the world. Bayern Munich and Real Madrid were eliminated last night, but that doesn’t mean the semifinals are lacking in starpower. Arsenal, the last English team remaining, will take on French giants PSG. In the other semi, Inter Milan continues their slightly surprising run against the heavyweight club from spain, FC Barcelona.

NOTEWORTHY NEWS

The transfer saga of Nico Iamaleava has almost reached a conclusion. It’s been reported that the former Tennessee quarterback will be joining the UCLA Bruins.

Everyday in sports you hear something new. Like when a Fortnite game streamed online by top QB prospect Cam Ward sort of reveals that he’s going to be the first overall draft pick by Tennessee:

TODAY’S BIG GAMES (all times Eastern)

MLB:

• Royals @ Tigers, 6:40 PM on FS1

• Yankees @ Rays, 7:05 PM on Amazon Prime

“Those 11 dudes on defense … they’re on a football field playing football. Me — in my mind? I’m still in the backyard with my friends, playing ‘no one can touch me’…. It’s TACKLE football, you know what I’m saying? I’d draft the guy they can’t tackle.” –NFL prospect Ashton Jeanty, the top-ranked RB prospect in a really awesome open letter to GMs published yesterday in The Player’s Tribune