Yahoo Sports AM – June 24, 2024
Good morning, sports fans! It’s a Monday packed with enough action to make you forget it’s the start of the work week. We’ve got a Stanley Cup Game Seven on tap tonight, a golf world potentially witnessing history, and enough drama across the sports landscape to make your head spin. So grab your coffee, maybe a bagel (or two), and let’s dive right in!
Headline News
We’re kicking things off with a quick rundown of the biggest stories making waves this morning:
Golf
Amy Yang is your newly crowned champion of women’s golf! The talented South Korean star secured her first-ever major championship victory at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship yesterday. Congratulations, Amy!
Baseball
Things are getting sticky (literally) in the MLB:
- Mets closer Edwin Díaz got himself tossed from the game for using illegal sticky substances. Word on the street is he’s facing a ten-game suspension. Oof, that’s gonna leave a mark.
- Blue Jays fans, we’ve got some bad news: rookie sensation Orelvis Martínez just got slapped with an eighty-game suspension for violating the league’s PED policy. That’s a real shame for the young player.
- Talk about a first! The Colorado Rockies pulled off a wild win thanks to MLB’s first-ever walk-off pitch clock violation. Baseball, always keeping us on our toes.
Football
The Oklahoma Sooners are clearly feeling confident in their head coach, Brent Venables. The university just extended his contract for another six years, a deal reportedly worth a cool $46 million. Boomer Sooner!
Tennis
Move over, Taylor Fritz! Tommy Paul is officially the new top-ranked American male tennis player after clinching the Queen’s title. That’s what we call a royal flush!
🏆 Stanley Cup Final: Oilers vs. Panthers – Game 7 Tonight!
Fasten your seatbelts, hockey fans, because tonight is the night we crown a new Stanley Cup champion! The Florida Panthers are just one win away from hoisting Lord Stanley’s Cup for the first time in franchise history. But don’t think for a second that the Edmonton Oilers are going down without a fight. They’ve battled back from a seemingly insurmountable three-game deficit, and they’re hungry to end Canada’s thirty-one-year Stanley Cup drought. Let’s break down what’s at stake in this epic Game Seven showdown:
The Stakes
This game is about way more than just bragging rights. We’re talking legacy-defining moments here:
- Oilers’ Historic Comeback: If the Oilers manage to pull off the victory tonight, they’ll become the first team in seventy-nine years to overcome a three-game deficit in the Stanley Cup Final. Talk about making history!
- Canada’s Cup Drought: The Great White North has been waiting patiently (or not so patiently) for a Stanley Cup champion since the Montreal Canadiens hoisted the trophy back in . Could this be the year the drought finally ends?
- Panthers’ First Taste of Glory: On the flip side, the Florida Panthers are looking to etch their names into the history books with their very first Stanley Cup victory. They’ve got the home-ice advantage and a team brimming with confidence. Can they finish what they started?
- The Worst Collapse in NHL History? Let’s be real, blowing a three-game lead in the Stanley Cup Final would be absolutely brutal for the Panthers. We’re talking about a level of heartbreak that would be tough to shake off.
Series Recap
The Panthers came out firing on all cylinders, taking a commanding three-game lead in the series. But then something clicked for the Oilers, and they’ve been unstoppable ever since. Games four, five, and six all went to Edmonton, setting the stage for this winner-take-all showdown.
Key Storylines
Get ready for a game overflowing with narratives:
- The Oilers’ Comeback Kids: Can Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl continue their dominant play and complete the unthinkable comeback?
- Canada’s Divided Loyalties: While all of Canada would love to see the Cup return home, not everyone is necessarily rooting for the Oilers. Long-suffering fans of teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Vancouver Canucks might be feeling a tad conflicted.
- Florida’s Home-Ice Advantage: Will the Panthers feed off the energy of their home crowd and regain their early-series form?
- History Isn’t on Edmonton’s Side: Let’s face it, teams that blow three-game leads in the Stanley Cup Final are usually left wondering what could have been. Can the Panthers defy the odds?
⛳️ Scottie Scheffler Wins Again at Travelers Championship
Speaking of dominance, let’s talk about Scottie Scheffler. The dude is on an absolute tear on the PGA Tour! Yesterday, he clinched his sixth victory of the season at the Travelers Championship. To put that into perspective, the last golfer to achieve that feat was the legendary Arnold Palmer all the way back in !
Joining the Elite
With this latest win, Scheffler cements his place among the very best golfers of the past four decades. He joins a prestigious club that includes names like Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, and Nick Price—all legends who have racked up six or more wins in a single season. Not bad company to keep, Scottie!
Domination, Defined
Scheffler’s recent hot streak is nothing short of impressive. Check out these numbers: six wins and two runner-up finishes in his last ten starts. The guy is playing on a whole different level right now.
Raking in the Dough
Oh, and did we mention the prize money? Scheffler’s already banked over $27.7 million this season alone. If he keeps this up, he could be well on his way to a $60 million payday. Not a bad year at the office!
Cameron Young’s Near-Miss
In other golf news, Cameron Young came tantalizingly close to making history at the Travelers Championship. He fired an incredible round of 59 on Saturday, becoming only the thirteenth player in PGA Tour history to shoot a sub-60 round. Talk about a day he’ll never forget!