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Rings: The Stanley Cup lives in Florida
There was no comeback. No best Stanley Cup Final ever, no dream realized of finally taking a title back to Canada. That is how good the Florida Panthers are, an unstoppably demoralizing force of nature. For it, they now reign as back-to-back Stanley Cup champions.
Last night’s 5-1 win in Game 6 never had a chance of being close, a far cry from the early throes of this series which saw three overtime games. Florida led 2-0 at the end of the first period and never relented.
Total score in those three OT contests: 13-12, Oilers. Total score in the other three games: 16-4, Panthers.
Sam Reinhart had four of last night’s five goals, which adds to his legend — Reinhart also scored the Game 7 winner in last year’s Stanley Cup Final. Not bad.
And we must pay tribute to Brad Marchand, who’s had an incredible year: a win in the 4 Nations Face-Off, a trade out of Boston (where he spent the previous 16 seasons) and now his second Stanley Cup title.
Seeing Marchand lift the cup on the same night Rafael Devers suited up for the Giants has to be tough for Boston sports fans. More on that in a bit.
With the win, Florida teams now have won four of the last six Stanley Cup titles, just as the hockey gods intended. Is this Panthers team a dynasty? Not by the literal definition, but they are just the third repeat champions of the salary-cap era.
That counts for something. Let’s keep moving:
Fight! Fever, Sun and some spicy beef
Caitlin Clark, darling of the WNBA, is not afraid of chirping back. We’ve seen her get in multiple tiffs during her young career, but last night’s fracas against Connecticut could be the spiciest. Let’s watch the highlight first:
The Fever and Sun got into a scuffle after Caitlin Clark was poked in the eye by Jacy Sheldon.
Afterwards, Marina Mabrey shoved Clark.
Clark, Mabrey and Tina Charles were called for technicals. Sheldon received a flagrant.
🎥 @NBATV | H/T @nosyone4 pic.twitter.com/TjgaLvPMFA
— The Athletic WBB (@TheAthleticWBB) June 18, 2025
Yowza.
That’s Sun guard Jacy Sheldon poking Clark in the eye, which you could theoretically excuse as just a hard foul, though referees assigned Sheldon a flagrant for the swipe. Clark reacts in kind, which is understandable after getting a digit to the eyeball. After some yelling, Sun forward Marina Mabrey exacerbates things by body-checking Clark to the ground.
It wasn’t the only dust-up between Clark and Sheldon, and it overshadowed what was a huge win for Indiana, who will represent the Eastern Conference in the Commissioner’s Cup final. That’s historically a good omen for playoff success, too.
Clark scored 20 points in the win, while Sheldon and Mabrey combined for eight points and were a cumulative minus-38. Welp.
Read our full report from the scene.
News to Know
Devers: I’ll play anywhere
In his introductory Giants news conference yesterday, Rafael Devers said he is open to playing multiple positions with his new club, which is sure to enrage Red Sox fans. Boston traded Devers on Sunday after a rift between player and club, which predominantly centered around Devers’ refusal to play first base. To twist the knife more, the Giants have asked Devers to start taking grounders at first — and he’s game, apparently. Read his full comments here.
Haliburton pushing to play
Despite what appears to be a serious calf strain, Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton wants to play in a do-or-die Game 6, a source told The Athletic. Haliburton, a superstar in these playoffs, was clearly hobbled by the injury in a lackluster Game 5 performance, and it’s already leading to what-if questions for the Pacers about this finals run. Vegas has already accounted for Haliburton’s injury, too.
Monahan to be phased out
Despite earlier reports, Jay Monahan’s time as PGA Tour commissioner will indeed be coming to a close at the end of next year, making way for new CEO Brian Rolapp, who was officially introduced to players yesterday. Rolapp will take over day-to-day duties this summer from Monahan, who will turn his focus to bigger-picture items. Gabby Herzig was there at Rolapp’s first news conference yesterday, and I was tickled to learn Rolapp only plays five to 10 rounds of golf per year. Read her full report here.
More news
Tennis stars Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu signed up to play mixed doubles together at the U.S. Open, though they will need a wild card.
Noah Lyles said his race against Tyreek Hill was canceled due to “personal reasons.” More here.
The Phillies benched Nick Castellanos yesterday after an “inappropriate” remark Monday. Sounds tense.
NASCAR is nearing a deal for a street race in San Diego next year, The Athletic’s Jordan Bianchi reports.
Speaking of NASCAR: Team officials fined driver Carson Hocevar for comments he made about Mexico City, which hosted Sunday’s race.
Saints safety Justin Reid beat Cardinals QB Kyler Murray to win an NFL chess tournament. At least New Orleans won something this season.
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Pulse Polls: Let’s talk about the Club World Cup
We’ll be quick here. This serves as both a legitimate point of conversation and a tease for what we’ll be writing tomorrow, which focuses on the men’s Club World Cup. It started this week, by the way, though you may have missed it.
Which is kind of the point — do we care about the CWC? We’ll separate this into three camps:
I’m pumped to watch. It’s early and the soccer will get better.
I saw it was happening, but I don’t care.
Wait, what’s the Club World Cup again?
Vote here. We’ll fold the results into the newsletter tomorrow.
What to Watch
📺 MLB: Angels at Yankees
7:05 p.m. ET on Prime Video
Normally this would not be on alert for me, but the Angels have secured at least a split of this four-game series and are just two games under .500. Aaron Judge, meanwhile, has one hit in his last four games and the Yanks have lost five straight. Hm.
📺 MCWS: LSU vs. Arkansas
7 p.m. ET on ESPN
Pray for my sanity tonight, as my Tigers once again face Arkansas with a trip to the Men’s College World Series finals on the line. Root for them with me? Thanks. Catch up with all our MCWS stuff on the live blog.
Get tickets to games like these here.
Pulse Picks
There are niche things one thinks about more often than they should. One of mine is the 2018 Nigerian World Cup kit, which I still see out and about today. There’s a reason for that: it was a cultural phenomenon the moment it was released online. We have the inside story of how it happened.
By name recognition alone, Michigan freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood is a star. Austin Meek talked to five high school coaches who faced Underwood last year to get a full scouting report.
Jim Bowden has six deals he’d like to see before the MLB trade deadline, including an interesting Sandy Alcantara swap.
Cristiano Ronaldo paints his toenails black. Why?
Brooks Peck did the job we all dream of: ranking new MLB concession items across the country. Give me a trident’s worth of Dr. Pepper, please.
Our writers reviewed the F1 movie called “F1: The Movie.” It was … fine.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Brendan Quinn’s affecting story on Adam Scott, who saw what might be his last chance at a second major roll away Sunday.
Most-read on the website yesterday: Aryna Sabalenka’s follow-up apology about her comments following the loss to Coco Gauff in the French Open final.
(Top photo: Sam Navarro / Imagn Images)