Oilers hold on, advance to conference finals; Celtics-Pacers Eastern Conference finals preview

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Good morning everyone, but especially…

THE EDMONTON OILERS

O Lubricators They’re back in the conference finals and they’re holding on tight to get there. Edmonton took a 3-0 lead into the third period of Game 7 before finally holding off a strong attack Canucks, 3-2and will face the Stars in the Western Conference final.

• Cody Ceci, Zach Hyman It is Ryan Nugent-Hopkins all accounted for in the second period, and the once-loud Rogers Arena fell nearly silent with 20 minutes remaining.
• But Conor Garland It is Filip Hronek they scored four minutes apart to give the hosts a chance. Ultimately, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman It is Dylan Holloway made some big defensive plays late to help Edmonton hold on.
• In Connor McDavidDraisaitl, Evan Bouchard and Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton has the top four assist leaders this postseason.

Austin Nivison has conclusions of a thrillerand here it is our updated support.

Honorable mentions

Not so honorable mentions

NBA Conference Finals Previews, Expert Picks

And then there were four. O Celtics, Pacers, Timberwolves It is Independents are in the conference finals, with Boston and Indiana making things happen tonight. Jasmyn Wimbish has Game 1 Stories and Choices as Boston hopes to continue its winning ways while Kristaps Porzingis (calf) stay out.

In your choices, all of our experts are seeing the Celtics moving forward. Both teams have excellent offense, but Boston’s defense makes the biggest difference, especially against Indiana’s best player, writes Brad Botkin in his bold predictions.

• Botkin: “Tyrese Haliburton averages less than 20 PPG — The Celtics are loaded with elite perimeter defenders in position to make life hell in the half court, where the Pacers will be operating more than they would like because they won’t be able to make consistent saves against Boston’s defense. One of Jrue Vacation, Derrick White, Jayson Tatum It is Jaylen Brown will be there waiting.”

Looking at the Western Conference, our experts are split into your choices. Sam Quinn says…

• Quinn: “Timberwolves at 7. This one is going to be a nail-biter. Oklahoma City launched doubles in Luka Doncic It is Kyrie Irving to try to force their teammates to beat them. Minnesota will likely try to defend them at least early, and they have defenders who can make them work. Dallas owned the paint in the last round. Minnesota is much, much bigger than Oklahoma City was. Derrick Jones Jr. will bother Antonio Eduardo. He can Mike Conley take on additional creative duties while playing through injury? In the end, I’m opting for home field advantage. This one could go either way.”

NFL OTAs open, evaluating team identities

NFL offseasons sometimes seem endless, but each day brings us closer to the season and some days even bring something special. Monday was one of those days: 21 teams opened organized team activitiesand we have highlights. And just like the first day of school, who was there and who wasn’t was as much a plot device as anything else.

O Jets also opened OTAs, and a year after doing O off-season movement in Aaron Rodgersthey redoubled their commitment to himwrites Eric Galko.

• Galko: “It was no surprise that the Jets used their first-round pick to bolster their offense and help Rodgers. But it was a surprise that the Jets used not one but four of their first five draft picks on the offensive side of the ball. … It’s clear the Jets have confidence in their defense and know all their available resources need to ensure Rodgers stays healthy and is able to lead them to the promised land this season.

Here’s more:

WNBA intends to have charter flights for the entire league, in addition to new Power Rankings

The WNBA incorporating charter flights It was a huge, huge development in theory.

In practice, there has been Lots of turbulence on takeoff, but potentially clearer skies ahead. The league plans to have all teams charter flights by today, exactly one week after just two of the five visiting teams on opening night he flew chartered.

Erica Ayala have more:

• Ayala: “On May 14, CBS Sports heard from a source that teams were asked to complete a permit application during the final week of the WNBA preseason. Teams were informed the weekend before opening night whether they received charters for their first road game of the season. The same team representative stated that they submitted travel requests for the entire season, although it was unclear when they would receive information on their full charter schedule.

The disparity in charter availability has led to some frustrating inconsistencies. Mystics guard Brittney Sykesfor example, it noted that Washington could not fly charter across the country to Los Angeles for the game against Sparks tonight, but the Fever flew charter from Indiana to Connecticut to face the Sun last week.

Erica has a great insight into why the launch was so difficulthow the players reacted and what could happen in the coming days, weeks and years.

Jack Maloney, however, Updated WNBA Power Rankings entering the week.

How much NIL money do football players actually earn?

Name, image and likeness have taken many forms and many descriptions. The old west. Free agency. A very, very notable former coach called it “cheating”.

One big question remains, however: How much do these athletes really earn?

John Talty took a fascinating look at the current fee for each football position at Power Four schools After talking to…

• NIL Agents
• collective operators
• college coaches
• personnel officers
• players and their parents
• others with knowledge of space

As John writes, “These numbers also take into account what we believe to be the retention cost of preventing a player from hitting the transfer portal.”

Quarterbacks, unsurprisingly, are at the top. How much?

• Talty: “QB Market Range: $500,000 to $800,000 – Auburn trainer Hugh Freeze said he couldn’t spend $1 million on a quarterback transfer, especially with Payton Thorne It’s already on the list. … Freeze’s comments raised the ire of collective operators frustrated with coaches complaining about the costs of doing business. … The high-end price tag for a Power Four starting quarterback is in the $2 million range, according to several people with deep knowledge of the market. ‘There are some people with more than $2 million, but most are between $600,000 and $800,000,’ the NIL expert said.”

What we will watch on Tuesday

Brave at Cubs7:40 p.m. on TBS
Game 1: Pacers at Celtics8pm on ESPN/ESPN2