Top of the Morning! Ted Middleton here, honored to be today’s Remix guest writer. 

Long time Remix reader, first time Remix writer…. Go ahead and pour yourself something strong (coffee or orange juice of course) and let’s get into it!

C-LEAGUE MEN’S IM SLOW-PITCH SOFTBALL

Charlotte’s world famous “The Clappers” won their second ballgame of the season, downing the Yank-Me’s 13-8 in front of a sellout nine-person crowd at the Park Road Park. Star shortstop Sam Sweitzer electrified the fans with an inside-the-park home run, while Stephen Wilson (RF) showed off his superhuman strength by hitting the ball out of the infield for the first time since the banning of Steroids in Major League Baseball. 

NHL PLAYOFFS

• The defending champion Florida Panthers took a 2-0 series lead against the Tampa Bay Lightning with a 2-0 victory.

• For the second game in a row, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Ottawa Senators 3-2 in overtime. The Leafs have a commanding 3-0 series lead over their rival.

• Here’s a Wild one– Minnesota is leading Vegas 2-1! Kirill Kaprizov, healthy again and as dangerous as ever, scored two goals to lead the lower-seeded Wild to a 5-2 win.

• Your Saint Louis Blues played the Jets last night, but it started after my responsible adult bedtime. As for the outcome? I’d ask one of the Blues fans reading this…

Blues fan here– they won! Pavel Buchenvich scored a hat trick and St. Louis beat Winnipeg 7-2.

NBA PLAYOFFS

• The Knicks dominated the Pistons seizing a 2-1 series lead. New York guard Miles McBride really played his heart out and had one rebound. Editor’s note: McBride also had three points… and the final score was 118-116!

• Oklahoma City trailed Memphis by 29 points… and they won! The Thunder rallied for a 114-108 victory and are now just one win from advancing to the second round. Grizzlies star Ja Morant may be injured, too.

• Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers crushed the Denver Nuggets 117-83. They lead the series 2-1.

MLB 

The season is in full swing! 

• The White Sox downed the Twins 3-0.

• Your Seattle Mariners edged the Red Sox 4-3.

• The Rockies taught the Royals a lesson, crushing them 7-4

• Brewers knocked down the Giants 6-5.

• The Rockies taught the Royals a second lesson a few hours later, winning the second game of the double-header 6-2.

NFL DRAFT

The Tennessee Titans selected quarterback Cam Ward with the first pick in the NFL draft. Congratulations to him, his family, and his girlfriend. 

You can see results from the entire first round here. A few of the more notable first-round picks:

• The Jaguars made a big deal with the Browns, trading up to select WR/CB Travis Hunter. Jacksonville general manager James Gladstone is running a team for the first time in his career. He had an extremely clear and easy to understand logic for taking the big swing on Hunter: "There are players that you can target and acquire who alter the trajectory of a game. There are players that you can target and acquire that alter the trajectory of a football team. There are very few, and it's rare to be able to target and prioritize a player who can alter the sport itself. And Travis is somebody that we view has the potential to do that.”

• Two tight ends were taken in round one: Colston Loveland (Michigan) went to the Bears, and Tyler Warren (Penn State) was selected by the Colts.

• To the surprise of many, Jaxon Dart (Ole Miss) was the only other QB taken in round one. After selecting Abdul Carter third overall, the New York Giants traded back into the first round to select Dart with pick 25.

NOTEWORTHY NEWS

Evan Mobley was named the NBA Defensive Players of the Year… I’m three NBA seasons out of the loop and had genuinely never heard of him. But congratulations to him, it sure sounds like he is a good player. 

Lastly, in news that is neither relevant nor entirely believable: LiAngelo Ball (yes, that Ball brother) has a song called “Tweaker” with nearly 100 million streams. It’s unclear what’s more shocking: the numbers, the title, or simply the fact that I’m reporting this in the Remix. Editor’s note: this song has been out for many months. Thank you Ted for keeping us on trend!

Longtime Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy has announced he is leaving the team this summer. Leicester was relegated from the Premier League, but the veteran Vardy may have been set on leaving anyway. Here’s to one of the greatest underdog stories and celebrated careers in British football:

THIS WEEKEND’S BIG GAMES (all times Eastern)

FRIDAY

MLB:

• Blue Jays @ Yankees 7:05PM MLBN

• Red Sox @ Indians 7:10PM on Apple TV

• Rangers @ Giants, 10:15PM on Apple TV

NBA PLAYOFFS:

• Celtics @ Magic, 7 PM on ESPN

• Pacers @ Bucks, 8 PM on ESPN U + NBA TV

• Lakers @ Timberwolves, 9:30 on ESPN

NHL PLAYOFFS:

• Capitals @ Canadiens, 7PM on TNT

• Canes @ Devils, 8PM on TBS

• Kings @ Oilers, 10PM on TNT

SATURDAY

• Cavaliers @ Heat, 1 PM on TNT

• Thunder @ Grizzlies, 3:30 PM on TNT (going for the sweep!)

• Nuggets @ Clippers, 6 PM on TNT

• Rockets @ Warriors, 8:30 PM on TNT

• Lightning @ Panthers, 1 PM on TBS

• Golden Knights @ Wild, 4 PM on TBS

• Maple Leafs @ Senators, 7 PM on TBS (going for the sweep!)

• Stars @ Avalanche, 9:30 PM on TBS

SUNDAY

• Knicks @ Pistons, 1 PM on ABC

• Lakers @ Timberwolves, 3:30 PM on ABC

• Celtics @ Magic, 7 PM on TNT (sweep?)

• Pacers @ Bucks, 9:30 PM on TNT (sweep?)

• Jets @ Blues, 1 PM on TBS

• Hurricanes @ Devils, 3:30 PM on TBS (sweep?)

• Capitals @ Canadiens, 6:30 PM on TBS (sweep?)

• Kings @ Oilers, 9:30 PM on TBS (sweep?)

C-LEAGUE MEN’S IM SLOW-PITCH SOFTBALL: We’ll have to wait until Wednesday for more action…

“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard 💯” – Anonymous