Timberwolves force Game 5; inside 100 days until 2024 NFL kickoff

This is an article version of the CBS Sports HQ AM newsletter, the definitive guide to every day in sports. You can sign up to receive it in your inbox every weekday morning here.

Good morning everyone, but especially…

THE WOLVES OF MINNESOTA

They say the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. O Timber Wolves I finally took that step – and not a moment before. With your back against the wall, Antonio Eduardo It is Karl-Anthony Cities had a big lead in the second half, and Minnesota held on despite some nervy moments late to win Game 4 105-102 and avoid a sweep.

• Edwards scored a team-high 29 points, including a big jumper with 39.1 seconds left to extend Minnesota’s lead to five. Meanwhile, Towns scored 25 points – 20 of which came in the second half and 10 in the final eight minutes.
• It was a badly needed escape for Towns, who shot 28% from the field and 14% from 3 through the first three games. Tuesday, he made four 3-pointers, including three in the fourth quarter. He hit three 3s in the first three games Combined.
• Still, the Timberwolves didn’t make things easy for themselves: Towns committed a foul when he bit a Luka Doncic pump fake from beyond the arc, and Edwards committed another bad foul – this time Doncic made the 3 through contact – with 13 seconds left to put Minnesota in danger. But Doncic missed a free throw and naz reid made a layup on a crafty out-of-bounds play to put things away.

Finally, Minnesota survived in the clutch, which Doncic and Kyrie Irving dominated in the first three games. Doncic still managed a 28-point triple-double, but shot just 7 of 21. Irving scored just 16 points on 6 of 18 shooting as Minnesota traded away the star defender Jaden McDaniels for him. Additionally, Irving’s perfect closing game record it is no longer.

Brad Botkin says Edwards did exactly what he needed to do to keep his season alive.

• Botkin: “He never took his foot off the gas. Big man from Dallas Derek Lively II being out with a neck injury opened up the rim and Edwards attacked downhill from the jump. … He shot just 11 of 25, but he hit some 3s and some pull-up jumpers and, most importantly, got to the foul line eight times in the first quarter. … That’s the formula for Edwards, who isn’t yet a consistent enough shooter to rely on that alone, but also can’t expect to get to the rim with multiple bodies closing off his lanes. He has to find a difficult balance, and he did that in Game 4.”

Honorable mentions

Not-so-honorable mentions

Panthers win game 4 in overtime, series paired with Rangers

For one game, at least, the guards‘The magic of extra time faltered, and the Panthers Now have a new life. Florida beat New York 3-2 in a thrilling overtime of Game 4, with Sam Reinhart shooting home the game winner just 1:12 into the extra period after some beautiful passes on the power play. And in South Florida, a victory like this can only mean one thing: leave the plastic mice.

• Vicente Trocheck scored the only goal of the first half, but Sam Bennett It is Carter Verhaeghe gave the hosts a 2-1 lead entering the third.
• Alexis Lafrenière tied things up at the beginning of the third and grabbed the goalkeeper Sergei Bobrovsky It is Igor Shesterkin sent the teams to their third straight overtime game. It was the first conference final to go to three consecutive overtime games since 2001. The Rangers won Games 2 and 3 in overtime and went 4-0 in overtime this postseason.
• This time, however, Blake Wheeler was called for calling just 59 seconds, and Florida wasted no time taking advantage.

The series, now tied at 2, returns to New York on Thursday night.

NFL Countdown: Fast forward 100 days to early 2024

We’re in double digits! Today marks 99 days until Bosses It is Crows kick off the 2024 NFL season. By my count, that means yesterday marked 100 days, and you can bet we celebrated accordingly.

Cody Benjamin counted down 100 things to know, and one of my favorites is pretty simple: who can challenge the Chiefs and 49ers? Cody has six, including…

• Walking Sticks: “If the defensive front reaches its limit, they can be a real opponent. But Joe Burrowhealth is the final key. If he’s standing up and negotiating out of his pocket, that’s their bread and butter.”
• Crows: “Reigning MVP Lamar Jackson now it has Derrick Henrique to reinforce a lightning and thundering attack, and the defense still has imposing difference makers at all levels.”
• Texans: “Fresh off his star debut, CJ Stroud There’s even more help with Stefon Diggs on board, and DeMeco Ryans‘front seven looks even more unpleasant with Danielle Caçador It is Azeez Al-Shaair.”

I love that Cody included the Texans on this list. By adding players like Diggs and Hunter, the Texans have a legitimate roster to win now but are also set up for long-term success behind guys like Stroud, Will Anderson Jr. It is Nico Collinswho just won a three-year extension and US$72.75 million. I’m all-in on Houston being a top AFC contender for years to come.

Meanwhile, I looked at the 100 most important players for the 2024 season. Among them is…

• Pereles: “What is reasonable to expect from Deshaun Watson? He has played in 12 games over the past three seasons. Since he joined the Brown In 2022, Watson has roughly the same approval rating as mac jones and the same percentage of completion as Zach Wilson. He also had a mysterious shoulder problem for much of last year. Is this fixed? Is his game fixed?”

Here’s more NFL news:

MLB will integrate Negro League statistics into record books

It’s long overdue and it’s rewriting the record books, literally as we speak. Major League Baseball is officially incorporating Negro League statistics and records into MLB historical records today. The move comes more than three years after MLB gave the Negro Leagues “major league” status.

The fact that around 3,400 player numbers were simply set aside and forgotten was ridiculous, and now, those players too can take their rightful places among the greatest of all time. As such, Josh Gibson is now the career leader of all time in …

• Batting average (.372, surpassing Ty Cobbis 0.366)
• Slugging percentage (0.718, surpassing Babe Ruthis 0.690)
• OPS (1.177, surpassing Ruth’s 1.164)

Gibson, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1972, now also holds several single-season records, including in those three categories. Other new additions near the top of these lists include Charles Smith It is Mule Suttles.

What will we watch on Wednesday

Suns in Freedom7pm on CBS Sports Network
Aces at Lynx8pm on NBA TV
Game 4: Stars on the Oilers8:30 pm on TNT