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Home » The Suns are so much fun, plus MLB’s foreign substance checks are already creating drama

The Suns are so much fun, plus MLB’s foreign substance checks are already creating drama

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Hello everyone, Shanna McCarriston here, more than ready to talk sports.

The NBA playoffs are one of my favorite times of the year — we will get into that crazy Suns-Clippers ending in a minute — and, while some may hate this, I’m loving that we are getting such a different pool of teams. For the first time in 10 years we will have an NBA Finals without LeBron James or Steph Curry. The last time that happened I didn’t even have a license. It’s great for the game.

Let me know which team you want to see win it all this year. I’m rooting for the Suns.

Now to the newsletter, where we will discuss the NBA Draft Lottery results, last night’s playoff game and much more. Let’s get to it.

📰 What you need to know

1. Deandre Ayton‘s clutch dunk carries Suns over Clippers in wild finish 🏀

The game’s final minutes felt like they took hours to complete, but the Phoenix Suns are now up 2-0 over the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference Finals. The final minutes took so long thanks to multiple lengthy reviews, but the final seconds of the game included an unbelievable game-winning play.

The Suns were down 103-102 with 0.9 seconds left and an incredible inbound pass and dunk by Jae Crowder and Deandre Ayton, respectively, gave Phoenix the lead and clutch win. The time on the clock was reviewed after the play and it was determined the Clippers would have 0.7 seconds left to make something happen. Los Angeles failed to score on their final possession and the Suns won in regulation,104-103.

The other headline of the game was that Devin Booker missed a lot of the second half after leaving with a bloody face following a collision with Patrick Beverley.

Here’s what the Suns star looked like:


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There is a lot more to unpack from the Suns’ win, so be sure to check out our takeaways.

2. Pistons win No. 1 overall pick at NBA draft lottery 🏀


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Ben Wallace was the Detroit Pistons’ good luck charm. Wallace represented Detroit at the 2021 NBA draft lottery last night and the Pistons were awarded the first overall pick. The team had a 20-52 record last season, which was the worst in the Eastern Conference.

Here is a look at how the entire draft lottery played out:

This is the first time the Pistons have the first pick since 1970.

Heading into the draft, the Houston Rockets and Pistons both had the best odds for the first overall selection, at a 14% chance each. These flattened odds are thanks to the reformatted lottery system. Before this draft lottery, the team with the worst record, which in this case would’ve been the Rockets, were given a 25% of getting the first pick. From there, the 11 teams left in the lottery would have decreasing odds until the last one had 0.5%.

The Pistons will likely use the pick on Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham, who is widely seen as the top prospect. For more analysis of the draft lottery results, check out our piece on the winners and losers from the night.

3. Drama over foreign substance check leads to manager ejection ⚾


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Drama in Major League Baseball over the new foreign substance policy? Who saw this coming? I know, try to contain your shock.

This drama last night occurred between Philadelphia Phillies manager Joe Girardi and Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (which kind of is shocking.) The umpiring crew checked Scherzer’s hat and glove twice in the first three frames, but, clearly not thinking that was enough, Girardi asked the umpires to check for foreign substances again.

Scherzer was not very thrilled after Girardi asked for the check. Neither was Nats manager Davey Martinez, who pointed at Philadelphia’s dugout until Girardi headed out to the field. Things calmed down and the Scherzer continued pitching as the game resume.

But there’s more, of course.

  • While walking back to the dugout after the fifth inning, Scherzer stared down Girardi, which the manager didn’t take kindly too
  • Girardi then came onto the field once again and tried to call Scherzer over to him
  • That led to the skipper getting ejected by the umpires

In what can turn into a massive headache for MLB, this was not the only drama connected to foreign substance around the league last night. On the west coast, A’s reliever Sergio Romo pulled down his pants during a routine check.

4. Ranking the top cornerbacks in the NFL 🏈

They say “defense wins championships,” so while offensive players tend to be the household names nowadays, defensive stars should not be ignored. I am BIG on giving defense the credit they deserve and love taking a dive into which teams will excel on that side of the ball heading into the season.

We’ve already looked at top quarterbacks and running backs going into the 2021 season, so let’s give some attention to another phase of the game and see how cornerbacks rank heading into next season.

Here’s a look at our top 10, via CBS Sports’ own Patrik Walker:

  • Jalen Ramsey, Rams
  • Jaire Alexander, Packers
  • Tre’Davious White, Bills
  • Xavien Howard, Dolphins
  • Stephon Gilmore, Patriots
  • Marlon Humphrey, Ravens
  • Marshon Lattimore, Saints
  • Marcus Peters, Ravens
  • Denzel Ward, Browns
  • J.C. Jackson, Patriots

For the full list and commentary, click here.

As someone from New England, I love seeing multiple Patriots on the top 10 list. I also am always glad when Jackson gets props, because, despite having the second-most interceptions last season, he’s not always given the credit he deserves. Last season the 25-year-old had nine interceptions and three recovered fumbles, but he still was not selected to the Pro Bowl.

📝 Odds & Ends


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📺 What to watch tonight


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⚾ Nationals vs. Phillies, 1:05 p.m.| PHI +1.5 | TV: MLB.TV

🏒 Lightning vs. Islanders, 8 p.m. | NYI +130 | TV: NBCS

🏀 Hawks vs. Bucks, 8:30 p.m. | MIL -330 | TV: TNT

🥇 Best thing I saw on the internet

The NFL announced they would show supper of Raiders’ defensive end Carl Nassib by matching his donation to The Trevor Project, the leading national organization focus on crisis and suicide prevention efforts for LGBTQ+ youth. This week, Nassib came out as gay, becoming the first active NFL player to do so. He pledged $100,000 to the organization in his announcement.

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