{"id":149171,"date":"2025-06-22T05:07:10","date_gmt":"2025-06-22T05:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/149171\/"},"modified":"2025-06-22T05:07:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-22T05:07:10","slug":"the-panthers-start-a-dynasty-and-caitlin-clark-gets-in-a-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/149171\/","title":{"rendered":"The Panthers start a dynasty, and Caitlin Clark gets in a fight"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Pulse Newsletter \ud83d\udce3 | This is The Athletic\u2019s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here<\/a> to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox.<\/p>\n

Good morning! Hug a Boston sports fan today?<\/p>\n

Rings: The Stanley Cup lives in Florida<\/p>\n

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<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last night\u2019s 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\u2019s five goals, which adds to his legend \u2014 Reinhart also scored the Game 7 winner in last year\u2019s Stanley Cup Final. Not bad.<\/p>\n

And we must pay tribute to Brad Marchand, who\u2019s had an incredible year<\/a>: 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That counts for something. Let\u2019s keep moving:<\/p>\n

Fight! Fever, Sun and some spicy beef<\/p>\n

Caitlin Clark, darling of the WNBA, is not afraid of chirping back. We\u2019ve seen her get in multiple tiffs during her young career, but last night\u2019s fracas against Connecticut could be the spiciest. Let\u2019s watch the highlight first:<\/p>\n

The Fever and Sun got into a scuffle after Caitlin Clark was poked in the eye by Jacy Sheldon. <\/p>\n

Afterwards, Marina Mabrey shoved Clark.<\/p>\n

Clark, Mabrey and Tina Charles were called for technicals. Sheldon received a flagrant.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfa5 @NBATV<\/a> | H\/T @nosyone4<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/TjgaLvPMFA<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 The Athletic WBB (@TheAthleticWBB) June 18, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Yowza.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s 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\u2019t 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\u2019s Cup final. That\u2019s historically a good omen for playoff success, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Clark scored 20 points in the win, while Sheldon and Mabrey combined for eight points and were a cumulative minus-38. Welp.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read our full report from the scene<\/a>.<\/p>\n

News to Know<\/p>\n

Devers: I\u2019ll 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\u2019 refusal to play first base. To twist the knife more, the Giants have asked Devers to start taking grounders at first \u2014 and he\u2019s game, apparently. Read his full comments here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>. Haliburton, a superstar in these playoffs, was clearly hobbled by the injury in a lackluster Game 5 performance, and it\u2019s already leading to what-if questions<\/a> for the Pacers about this finals run. Vegas has already accounted<\/a> for Haliburton\u2019s injury, too.<\/p>\n

Monahan to be phased out
Despite earlier reports, Jay Monahan\u2019s 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\u2019s 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

More news<\/p>\n

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<\/a>.
\nNoah Lyles said his race against Tyreek Hill was canceled due to \u201cpersonal reasons.\u201d More here<\/a>.
\nThe Phillies benched Nick Castellanos yesterday after an \u201cinappropriate\u201d remark Monday. Sounds tense<\/a>.
\nNASCAR is nearing a deal<\/a> for a street race in San Diego next year, The Athletic\u2019s Jordan Bianchi reports.
\nSpeaking of NASCAR: Team officials fined driver Carson Hocevar for comments he made<\/a> about Mexico City, which hosted Sunday\u2019s race.
\nSaints safety Justin Reid beat Cardinals QB Kyler Murray to win an NFL chess tournament<\/a>. At least New Orleans won something this season.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udceb\u00a0Love The Pulse? Check out our other newsletters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pulse Polls: Let\u2019s talk about the Club World Cup<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll be quick here. This serves as both a legitimate point of conversation and a tease for what we\u2019ll be writing tomorrow, which focuses on the men\u2019s Club World Cup. It started this week, by the way, though you may have missed it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Which is kind of the point \u2014 do we care about the CWC? We\u2019ll separate this into three camps:\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019m pumped to watch. It\u2019s early and the soccer will get better.\u00a0
\nI saw it was happening, but I don\u2019t care.\u00a0
\nWait, what\u2019s the Club World Cup again?<\/p>\n

Vote here<\/a>. We\u2019ll fold the results into the newsletter tomorrow.<\/p>\n

What to Watch<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa 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\u2019s College World Series finals on the line. Root for them with me? Thanks. Catch up with all our MCWS stuff on the live blog<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Get tickets to games like these here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pulse Picks<\/p>\n

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\u2019s a reason for that: it was a cultural phenomenon the moment it was released online. We have the inside story of how it happened<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jim Bowden has six deals he\u2019d like to see<\/a> before the MLB trade deadline, including an interesting Sandy Alcantara swap.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cristiano Ronaldo paints his toenails black. Why?<\/a><\/p>\n

Brooks Peck did the job we all dream of: ranking new MLB concession items<\/a> across the country. Give me a trident\u2019s worth of Dr. Pepper, please.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Our writers reviewed the F1 movie called \u201cF1: The Movie.\u201d It was \u2026 fine<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Brendan Quinn\u2019s affecting story<\/a> on Adam Scott, who saw what might be his last chance at a second major roll away Sunday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most-read on the website yesterday: Aryna Sabalenka\u2019s follow-up apology<\/a> about her comments following the loss to Coco Gauff in the French Open final.<\/p>\n

(Top photo: Sam Navarro \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n